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damont(Originally posted to my GoFundMe, and backdated to the date of that original post. This is basically copied verbatim (modulo formatting), including the fundraising stuff at the end; I *was* posting to GoFundMe after all. Feel free to ignore those bits if you want. Link to the fundraiser will be provided in the comments and upon request.)
I had scheduled the next update for yesterday (Thursday, May 14th). There obviously was no update on that day. Yes, a there was a spanner in the works.
I am now officially one degree of separation from COVID-19.
I lost a friend to the disease on Wednesday afternoon. This threw me for more of a loop than I expected, and yesterday I just couldn't get up the gumption to put together the update. But I've managed it now, and please pardon the length because I actually wrote a bunch of stuff trying to "connect the dots" on the various links I'm including.
Thus it is on Friday the 15th that we get the latest installment of "SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 related PSA meets the traditional begging post" -- and today we're looking at supply chains. In particular, there are two things -- not all that closely related -- which have been disrupting the supply of certain items.
The first thing is bottlenecks. In the tech industry we think it's a good idea to have resilient development and operational processes. Turns out that, in pursuit of other goals, resiliency of these supply chains got mostly sacrificed. Nobody was allowing for something like a pandemic -- or even a problem such as a major fire that could take out a processing plant for months. And when an industry has concentrated certain aspects into just a few plants, losing even one of them causes REALLY BIG problems. One example in the USA is the meatpacking industry, as discussed here:
Meat shortages expected as coronavirus disrupts production, despite executive order
America’s meat shortage is more serious than your missing hamburgers
I'm not sure the supply chain is as vulnerable as the latter article suggests. But even places such as Forbes and Entrepreneur are saying that some structural changes to increase resiliency would be a good idea:
Covid Shortages: Supply Chains Must Become Less Efficient
3 Fundamentals for Building a Resilient Supply Chain
The second factor is really (1) the inability of certain manufacturing processes to change course quickly, and (2) the unexpected sudden shift of demand in certain areas. This has to do with the fact that COMMERCIAL products and RESIDENTIAL products are vastly different in some ways... and when so much of the USA went into stay-at-home mode, so many people who had been spending 40 to 75 per cent of their lives in non-residential buildings VERY SUDDENLY were spending only *5* per cent or less of their time outside of residences. The industries that supply things such as (but not limited to) toilet paper to office buildings and large-scale food to cafeterias are not, and cannot be, equipped to shift from commercial to residential focus that quickly.
What Everyone’s Getting Wrong About the Toilet Paper Shortage
This factor looks to be more of a temporary blip on the radar. The affected industries CAN adapt, just not instantly.
While these two factors have brought problems, they lead to solutions that are starting to pop up all over the place. One example:
Market Comes to Aid of Egg Farmer
Their next sale day is tomorrow, so if you're near Kempton PA (northeast of Reading) and want to pick up 5 dozen eggs at $10 per package, the cash-only sale is at the Kempton Community Center. Distribution is contactless: leave your cash in the trunk, and when it's your turn pull up and open the trunk. They'll take your payment and load your eggs. This isn't a new phenomenon, as farmers markets have been around as long as I can remember, but the scale is ramping up and also the number of locations is likely to increase. Look for this type of sales whenever they make it to your vicinity.
Now it's time for the typical begging stuff. If you've been reading any of the last several weeks of these non-photo posts, you can predict what comes next: in addition to the usual plea for help for ourselves, I'll start by asking those of you who can to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES that are still open. Help keep your local economy a little bit more afloat, as and if you can. And remember that once the worst of this has passed, locally owned businesses will be struggling to get back on their feet, so please be ready to patronize them as much as you can when it's time for them to reopen. The aforementioned farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer sales are one way to achieve this.
And now, because we STILL can't afford shame, here's my shameless and desperate plea for help. Please PLEASE spread the word as much as you feel able; share this fundraiser on lots of social media, by email, even by writing the link on pieces of paper and passing them around. Encourage folks you know to donate and to spread the word themselves. I've long since estimated that I'll need about 1,000 different contributors to make the goal, so getting the word out is important. And IF YOU ARE ABLE TO, please donate! We know that some of you have done so in the past seven weeks (for which A GREAT BIG THANK YOU) and lots of you just can't. But even a spare 5 or 10 bucks, if that's all you can afford, is appreciated. Every little bit helps. (Remember, NO FEELING GUILTY if you don't have the means to contribute, or enough spoons to spread the word as far as you'd like.) And as I also keep saying: unlikely as it may be in these times of pandemic-fueled recession, if you have any job leads for either of us, PLEASE contact us! Relocation is TOTALLY an option.
Again, if anyone here actually is in a position to help out, right now would be a truly awesome time to do so. If you can't, you can't; I understand that better than most... thanks in advance for whatever you can do, and best greetings of the season to you and yours. If you live in a place where restrictions are being relaxed, please practice the UTMOST caution as you do what you must, and keep tabs on the infection rate for your vicinity, not just your state. (More on that in the next update.) If you're still under a stay-home order or have any sort of risk factor, please CONTINUE staying at home and only going out as needed. Yes, that will make it take longer for the wave of infection to peak in your area, but this way the medical systems in your area won't be overwhelmed and fewer people will die. STAY SAFE. Wash your hands, keep hydrated, boost your immune system by whatever means works for you. Practice social distancing as much you realistically can. Keep in touch with your friends and loved ones from a safe distance. Tell them you care and that you're thinking of them. And as always, thank you for your continued support.
I had scheduled the next update for yesterday (Thursday, May 14th). There obviously was no update on that day. Yes, a there was a spanner in the works.
I am now officially one degree of separation from COVID-19.
I lost a friend to the disease on Wednesday afternoon. This threw me for more of a loop than I expected, and yesterday I just couldn't get up the gumption to put together the update. But I've managed it now, and please pardon the length because I actually wrote a bunch of stuff trying to "connect the dots" on the various links I'm including.
Thus it is on Friday the 15th that we get the latest installment of "SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 related PSA meets the traditional begging post" -- and today we're looking at supply chains. In particular, there are two things -- not all that closely related -- which have been disrupting the supply of certain items.
The first thing is bottlenecks. In the tech industry we think it's a good idea to have resilient development and operational processes. Turns out that, in pursuit of other goals, resiliency of these supply chains got mostly sacrificed. Nobody was allowing for something like a pandemic -- or even a problem such as a major fire that could take out a processing plant for months. And when an industry has concentrated certain aspects into just a few plants, losing even one of them causes REALLY BIG problems. One example in the USA is the meatpacking industry, as discussed here:
Meat shortages expected as coronavirus disrupts production, despite executive order
America’s meat shortage is more serious than your missing hamburgers
I'm not sure the supply chain is as vulnerable as the latter article suggests. But even places such as Forbes and Entrepreneur are saying that some structural changes to increase resiliency would be a good idea:
Covid Shortages: Supply Chains Must Become Less Efficient
3 Fundamentals for Building a Resilient Supply Chain
The second factor is really (1) the inability of certain manufacturing processes to change course quickly, and (2) the unexpected sudden shift of demand in certain areas. This has to do with the fact that COMMERCIAL products and RESIDENTIAL products are vastly different in some ways... and when so much of the USA went into stay-at-home mode, so many people who had been spending 40 to 75 per cent of their lives in non-residential buildings VERY SUDDENLY were spending only *5* per cent or less of their time outside of residences. The industries that supply things such as (but not limited to) toilet paper to office buildings and large-scale food to cafeterias are not, and cannot be, equipped to shift from commercial to residential focus that quickly.
What Everyone’s Getting Wrong About the Toilet Paper Shortage
This factor looks to be more of a temporary blip on the radar. The affected industries CAN adapt, just not instantly.
While these two factors have brought problems, they lead to solutions that are starting to pop up all over the place. One example:
Market Comes to Aid of Egg Farmer
Their next sale day is tomorrow, so if you're near Kempton PA (northeast of Reading) and want to pick up 5 dozen eggs at $10 per package, the cash-only sale is at the Kempton Community Center. Distribution is contactless: leave your cash in the trunk, and when it's your turn pull up and open the trunk. They'll take your payment and load your eggs. This isn't a new phenomenon, as farmers markets have been around as long as I can remember, but the scale is ramping up and also the number of locations is likely to increase. Look for this type of sales whenever they make it to your vicinity.
Now it's time for the typical begging stuff. If you've been reading any of the last several weeks of these non-photo posts, you can predict what comes next: in addition to the usual plea for help for ourselves, I'll start by asking those of you who can to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES that are still open. Help keep your local economy a little bit more afloat, as and if you can. And remember that once the worst of this has passed, locally owned businesses will be struggling to get back on their feet, so please be ready to patronize them as much as you can when it's time for them to reopen. The aforementioned farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer sales are one way to achieve this.
And now, because we STILL can't afford shame, here's my shameless and desperate plea for help. Please PLEASE spread the word as much as you feel able; share this fundraiser on lots of social media, by email, even by writing the link on pieces of paper and passing them around. Encourage folks you know to donate and to spread the word themselves. I've long since estimated that I'll need about 1,000 different contributors to make the goal, so getting the word out is important. And IF YOU ARE ABLE TO, please donate! We know that some of you have done so in the past seven weeks (for which A GREAT BIG THANK YOU) and lots of you just can't. But even a spare 5 or 10 bucks, if that's all you can afford, is appreciated. Every little bit helps. (Remember, NO FEELING GUILTY if you don't have the means to contribute, or enough spoons to spread the word as far as you'd like.) And as I also keep saying: unlikely as it may be in these times of pandemic-fueled recession, if you have any job leads for either of us, PLEASE contact us! Relocation is TOTALLY an option.
Again, if anyone here actually is in a position to help out, right now would be a truly awesome time to do so. If you can't, you can't; I understand that better than most... thanks in advance for whatever you can do, and best greetings of the season to you and yours. If you live in a place where restrictions are being relaxed, please practice the UTMOST caution as you do what you must, and keep tabs on the infection rate for your vicinity, not just your state. (More on that in the next update.) If you're still under a stay-home order or have any sort of risk factor, please CONTINUE staying at home and only going out as needed. Yes, that will make it take longer for the wave of infection to peak in your area, but this way the medical systems in your area won't be overwhelmed and fewer people will die. STAY SAFE. Wash your hands, keep hydrated, boost your immune system by whatever means works for you. Practice social distancing as much you realistically can. Keep in touch with your friends and loved ones from a safe distance. Tell them you care and that you're thinking of them. And as always, thank you for your continued support.
