Wednesday night. I’m an idiot: I completely forgot that you can deposit a check just by taking its picture with the bank app. On the upside, I got a lot of anti-covid vitamin D during my 2-hour walk yesterday, so it’s not all bad. …I guess I never got used to the concept of doing stuff with apps, being an elder Millennial and all. (I didn’t see my first iPhone till I was 21.) I’m officially old. Heh. I wonder, if anybody is reading this in the post-plague future, will anyone come up with a better term than “videotaping” to describe recording a video? It’s quite an anachronistic term (just like depositing checks in ATMs), but nobody can come up with a better one.

Strange day at work today: on the one hand, I definitely aced the high-level presentation I’ve been working on for the last three months. On the other hand, 90 minutes later I learned about a major reorg on my team. My job is safe, but that’s one weird rollercoaster.

Xgf is doing fine in her self-imposed basement isolation: today she baked brownies for her neighbours from upstairs. She and I still talk on the phone, and might hang out in a socially-isolated manner on Saturday. She mentioned that I sound much different now that I’m alone and with just my work to keep my company. The social “yes man” mask stays on even after the workday is over. It takes quite an effort to take it off…

In covid news, Nevada’s governor said casinos and other public places can reopen next Thursday, eight days from now. I suppose that’s one way to see who the most desperate gamblers are. There’ll be some wild pictures from casinos that try (and fail) to implement anti-covid measures like plexiglass barriers and gloves for players. Not sure how they aim to do that with card games and dice: literally burn the deck after each use and dunk the dice in ammonia after each player, I suppose. I miss Vegas dearly (having spent 10 years of my life in Nevada), but I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere until the vaccine is out. (Every country seems to be developing their own; it’ll be interesting to see who gets it done first.)

There are some reports that the states that reopened are seeing a huge spike in covid cases. Like the twitter joke goes, you can’t have the second wave if you never really finish the first wave. Being a hermit has its advantages…