I’m fine working remotely and have been living the social distancing life years before this pandemic. I prefer to call it the Willy Wonka life. Now that everyone is living it, I am not enjoying it as much. Here’s why:

First, why is email no longer good enough for communication. More people want to hop on the phone for a ‘quick call,’ but I don’t like talking on the phone even if it’s for a few minutes.

This brings me to point to two: why do calls need a fifteen minute overview on how Covid is affecting that person’s routine and that person’s view on leadership. Obviously, everything is messed up and one idiot is to blame. I’ll let you count backwards from seven until you figure out who that is.

Worse than a call is those who insist on a Zoom video conference. Why do I need to see your face to handle something that could be done over email? Those conferences last even longer than the quick call.

I cannot wait for this pandemic to be over and for the employees to go back into work. They’re not cut out for working online. They belong in the cubicle, virtually and physically far from me.

Believe it or not, TPOL isn’t at home. Please leave a message at the beep. I must be out or I’d pick up the phone. Where could I be?

That didn’t take long. After my complaints about PR opening too quickly to inconsiderate tourists who came in droves from Florida, the governor finally stepped in and shut it down, at least for now.

Maybe she read my last post. It’s the right move but I fear it’s too late.

Why are people coming here in the first place? It’s raining everyday, there are sandstorms, it’s hurricane season, bars are closed, and the there are man eating iguanas everywhere. Stay away.

Find the answer at canigovisitpuertorico.com.

Cancel College Football is part of The Lost & Found Year(s): Covid Trip Report.

I’ve tried my best to stay away from the Covid topic but, once again, I feel the need to speak up about America’s utter incompetence in handling this avoidable crisis. Although it is not Festivus quite yet, I need to call out the overrated Jim Harbuagh who should have already been fired for being a mediocre football coach (see Meyer Quits: Michigan Should Fire Harbaugh). Regarding Covid, Harbaugh said, “COVID is part of our society. Wasn’t caused by football or caused by sports. And there’s no expert view right now that I’m aware of that sports is going to make that worse. It’s part of our society; we’re going to have to deal with it.”

Sorry Jim, that is an idiotic comment and it is simply wrong. Playing sports does create unnecessary risk to unpaid student-athletes. It does not have to be a part of our society. If Harbuagh wants to deal with it, the only way to do so is to cancel the season this fall. While life without college football will be depressing, the good news is we won’t lose to Ohio State again (see Wolverines Trip Report).

Infected Tourists is part of The Lost & Found Year(s): Covid Trip Report.

Puerto Rico could be New Zealand. It is remote enough and it is small enough that a Covid strategy of testing, tracing, and quarantining could be implemented. Unfortunately, that is not happening. Instead, Puerto Rico has made the foolish decision to reopen for tourists starting July 15th (see Puerto Rico Flight Deal? Stay Away; see Puerto Rico’s Coronavirus Crackdown: Justified Or Unconstitutional?). Tourists are required to provide proof of a negative test that was taken within 72 hours. The results of a negative test are irrelevant because of the 14 day incubation period. If someone was not tested before arriving, that person must be tested at the airport. If someone receives a test at the airport, that person is supposed to self-quarantine for 14 days. That’s next to impossible to enforce.

The result of this short-sighted decision could spell disaster for the island. Puerto Rico does not have the infrastructure to deal with a surge. To put it mildly, Puerto Rico does not have the support of the White House to deal with a spike. Indeed, the specter of a President in the White House contemplated selling Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Imagine what that feckless fool will do, apart from blaming Puerto Rico, if an outbreak occurs here.

The prudent course of action for Puerto Rico is to realize that we are on our own in fighting this. The prudent course of action is to denounce anyone who somehow, despite 130,000 dead Americans, believes that this is a hoax (see Social Distance Yourself from Misinformation). The prudent course of action is to follow Hawaii’s lead and indefinitely delay allowing tourists.

Tourist dollars aren’t worth the death toll that will certainly follow.

Tweeting is part of The Lost & Found Year(s): Covid Trip Report.

This morning I made the mistake of starting my day by reading the news. I was immediately concerned when I read an article in the NYT titled, “Puerto Rico, Still Reeling from Old Disasters, Is Slammed by Covid-19.” I wondered how long I had been asleep. Until now, constitutional or not, we have been under extreme lock-down. The result has been a reported low infection and death rate. Was this a lie? Was Covid spreading all over Puerto Rico and not being reported? The answer is no. The article was about the economic repercussions of the pandemic, a newsworthy event in itself.

I don’t know why the NYT and other publications feel the need to sensationalize headlines about Puerto Rico (see “Puerto Rico Rocked by Earthquake”: Enough Dramatic Headlines), which is why I proceeded to tweet at the author of the article expressing my frustration.

To my surprise, the journalist responded.

To my delight, the NYT changed the headline.

In today’s lie after lie world (see Social Distance Yourself from Misinformation), the acknowledgment that the wording could have been better and a correction was refreshing to see.