Exploring News: Everything is Possible but Nothing is Real

Published on: March 16th, 2020 | Written by: Bad Guy Joe

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Corona: Let’s rip this can open.
Ok it’s been a slow bando related news week because it seems like every last fucking thing is focused on Corona Virus. So let’s talk about this in relation to exploring.

At the end of last week’s newsletter, I offered this rant: “My advice is the same as it was post 9/11, post Hurricane Sandy, etc: You only live once. You might die tomorrow. There are no guarantees. You can give in to fear, or you can live your best life. Go ahead and engage in a bit of Furbizia. Take all the precautions of course, but feel no shame. Lord fucking knows the people dictating that you should definitely don’t.“

Let me be clear: my advice is still exactly the same, and will be from this day until my last days on this dirt rock. I do want to say though that by ‘precautions’, I don’t just mean the obvious cleaning your hands and having a containment area to disrobe and leave your dirty ass stuff in. I also mean avoiding old people. Much exploring happens at night, so that’s not an issue. But if you’re planning to go see your grandma in the next two months, maybe don’t explore?

My point is simple: Only you should decide what makes sense for you. Today and every day. Just read up and make smart choices. If you decide not to go run track, that’s fine. I won’t be out every night myself because shit, I’ve got concerns for people around me and I work evenings anyway so… calculate your risks and do your shit.

Also, obviously, Toilet Paper is the new Copper. Forget about scrapping, loot the TP! All those cleaning supplies that were left in the ‘bando closet? Oh yeah. You just hit the mother load! FUCK YEAH.

Pros and Cons of Corona:
Yes, they are closing schools, transit will probably be on a holiday schedule where you live if it isn’t already (great time for tunnels). Stores, restaurants, movies, etc all closing means less people on the street. That’s an ideal condition for exploring.

What won’t be ideal is if some idiot governments go overboard and create curfews. A curfew in a huge city like NYC might reduce infection rates a little, but it’ll pump up small crime. Us crooks know how to hide from cops. With no one else on the streets, it’ll be easy AF (just hide from any person or car you see). Hitting high rises will be even more cake than before: no security guards? Figgitaboutit!!!

Small crime will definitely go up. Anything of value left on a car seat will be smash and grabbed. Security people will probably have to stay home. Door people at large buildings will also have to stay home. Those buildings with glass doors are an easy target for chaos. Banks with glass doors and windows… they better empty their ATMs cuz that shit won’t last. When people start running out of cash or food or drugs, things will get real fast.

It would be in the governments best interest NOT to put in a curfew. In NYC, a 30k large police force cannot possibly watch every inch of the 302 square miles of the city. They are also at higher risk for virus, and will potentially lose dozens to hundreds of officers to sick time.

Some rightfully argue that the city should stop arresting people and forcing them into unsanitary holding cells for 10-72 hours while they await a court appearance. The virus can spread wild in such an environment. So the city should really be just giving people Desk Appearance Tickets (DATs) (if anything). Instead, the NYPD still has their Quota (or as they call it “the performance standard”), and the courts are still imposing cash bail. So we’re seeing people thrown in the system for fare evasion, minor trespass, and anything that normally would result in a DAT.

AND YET the city is planning to create new holding jails for anyone they suspect of having Corona Virus. Meanwhile, in Ohio, one judge is smart enough to want to release prisoners, knowing that the virus will infect everyone (including prison guards).

So if you do go out and do crime, be careful. Those cops are hungry for arrests and overtime. They are also probably republicans who think the virus is a myth sent to destroy capitalism, so… like I said, take calculated risks. There are cognitively challenged cops out there.

MAKE MONEY BITCHES
Did anyone else see the new season opener of Westworld? The RICO app is hilarious and awesome. Some explorers could use something like the RICO app… some of us ARE the app.

ASS: Assorted Subway Shenanigans
Subway ridership has dropped like a brick, down 39% last week and likely to be far lower this coming week now that schools are closed and high schoolers and college kids are off the trains. This will eventually cause a huge budget problem for the MTA. Expect fare hikes next year.

NYPD’s chief transit officer has contracted coronavirus.

Meanwhile in the Bronx, cat trappers and transit workers rescued a cut half blind kitty from the layup tunnels just past 205th street on the D train. That’s some real hero stuff right there. While “Big Al” is a huge mush, and safe for the moment, he’ll need a forever home. If you’re looking for a kitty and into running track, this is your guy. Though Bronx Tails and other rescue orgs also have plenty of other cats you’d be a fool not to adopt.

Wash Your Ass
Leave it to the brits to remind us all that coronavirus is not an excuse to flush whatever you want down the toilet. Besides, remember those ridiculous rumors of the viruses’ origins?

Shorties:
A Pittsburgh area dirtbag went into a drug fueled rage and strangled a woman in the ‘bando he was living in.

Pennsylvania cops arrested to explorers for checking out some dirty ass abandoned motel. Talk about overzealous policing. Trespassing in abandoned buildings should not be a crime.

In more upbeat news, a North Carolina teen created an org to revamp an abandoned house and create a space for teens to chill. Better to save and reuse these old houses than send them to the landfill.

Hey who wants to buy a Chicago ‘bando house?

Also Cute: A wedding in a ‘bando. Yes, they paid a nominal fee to use the space, but when you’re a topophile any ole’ wedding venue won’t do. (I personally got hitched at a formerly abandoned foundry in L.I.C.)

Bando BBQ
Quite a few big bando fires this week. A crappy bando in the Bronx completely lit up last week, while a complex of huge old mill buildings in Pawtucket exploded in flame. A beautiful big ole industrial bando in SF lit up. Squatters in Jacksonville accidentally burned down their ‘bando house. Portland (OR) got their own bando fire as well.

Here’s something you don’t hear every week: few thousand people in Indianapolis lost electricity due to a big bando fire.

International Update
Another week, another set of secret tunnels in the UK. You can also check out this latest ‘hidden London tube‘ station piece.

Urbex yourself some Lebanon ‘bandos.

AND THAT’S A WRAP
With so many lies and disinformation and confusing narratives being thrown around the media during this virus crisis, it’s important to read multiple sources, and take time out of your days to ignore all the news and still do what you gotta do. These times really remind me of the early 1990s Living Colour song. Right now, more than ever, everything is possible, but is any of it real? Question all your info sources. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. We in this shit for awhile.

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