The Restaurant Business

I’ve never been a big patron of restaurants, both for reasons of cost and health (plus I hate being waited on and having to tip for it), but I’m glad that people who were are trying to help with gift cards.

[Update a few minutes later]

I should note, here or someplace, that so far this has barely affected my lifestyle at all. I rarely go out to eat, and am generally a hermit when I’m not traveling.

America’s Micro And Macro Efforts

…to combat the epidemic. At the least, it’s an interesting experiment.

[Update a few minutes later]

Meanwhile, the Manchurian media.

[Update w while later]

South Korea infections are dropping; what’s the key to its success?

Basically, testing and tracing. I’ll feel better once there’s a lot more testing going on here.

[Update late morning]

When will it be over, and how will be know? TL;DR, it’s about getting R naught below 1.

Meanwhile, despite the slow start, there’s a lot we can be proud of.

The Toyota A/C

The A/C in our RAV4 quit working a few weeks ago (we discovered it during a winter heat wave in January). Turns out that the condenser sprung a leak, and won’t hold refrigerant. A new one is $278 from AutoZone. I’ve been looking at the manual, trying to work up the gumption to replace it. I called a local shop to get a quote on labor, and he told me they’re not doing A/C work right now, because they think discharging the system is too risky for lungs, but when they start doing it again, it would be about $600, including recharging it. Fortunately, it’s a cool, rainy week, and repairing it isn’t urgent, even with our planned trip up the coast this weekend.

A Revolutionary New Concept

The Europeans are thinking about building a rocket that retrofires and lands vertically. Eric Berger brings the snark.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!