KIP covid thread

I didnt expect how much this would change my perspective on almost every single aspect of my life - I feel like we're counting our blessings on an hourly basis, paying so much attention to small things and creature comforts we used to take for granted. Things like being thankful we have the cabinet space to store a months worth of food, we know how to cook & enjoy it, our apt has enough room to swing a cat, etc. It's a really strange feeling - on the one hand I'm terrified of dying in a very immediate way, but at the same time I feel much more grounded and emotionally healthy than any time I can remember.

Yes, all of that. Life without work, taken apart from financial pressures, is actually the RIGHT pace for a good life.

lol Tom that’s what i thought too. the controller of my department heard me on something and was like “you’re doing this” so i was like aye aye cap’n

nobody cares if I don't shower

Tracer do you work for that fat controller or the thin controller

since when is it not comptroller

a comptroller is a chief accountant for a local government

i'm amazed that some of you are managing to lose weight - if anything, I've been eating way more and exercising less. Grateful that the husband is cooking nearly everyday now though. Also relieved that Ramadan will be here in a couple of days - aside from cutting down on the snacking, it'll also be much easier this year without having to commute to work or forced socialising at fast-breaking dinners (count me in among the natural hermits who are enjoying quarantine more than others). 

music-wise, this week has been great with new releases by people I enjoy listening to + actually having the time to listen to them!

and I really do enjoy all the "nature is healing" bullshit, like this is just nice to see regardless of everything else: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/thailand-covid-19-beaches-turtles-nest-baby-12658224

I thought I would be running in the park three or four times a week but as it stands I'm barely leaving the flat. I think it's more that UK office/commute lifestyle tends to encourage unhealthier eating and drinking patterns and just removing those makes a difference.

There is something to be said for the total loss of even the illusion of control, it forces you to focus on the lowest of horizons and the most achieveable of goals. Getting dinner right can be one of the best and most enjoyable and rewarding things you do in a day. Just focusing on putting one foot in front of another and wringing out as many moments of enjoyment in the day is absolutely fine and all you can really do right now, along with appreciating that not everyone can have that luxury.

Spending lots more time with my seven-month old at a key stage of attachment and development

Watching her gradually learn to crawl, push buttons, turn pages on books, poop solids

Reading more and finally getting to Barbara Pym

Having a partner who enjoys disinfecting our food and has a generally less anxious attitude to everything

Zoom D&D every Saturday

I quit my job in December, can’t find a new job, fantastic - I hate work

Patting myself on the back for being less anxious and gloomy about everything than I expected (but not in a head-in-the-sand way)

Finally muting toxically gloomy/meme posting/advice-giving friends on Facebook

Not punching the guy on my walk who yelled “keep away! Haha just kidding” at me yesterday

I like being a homebody so it's all good. I'm walking my 'patch' loads and loads (one corollary of all this: so is every other fucker), spending lots of time with my wife, spending *some* time with my kids, who are of an age where they're happy to be in their rooms chatting with their mates, absolutely reconnecting with my stuff: records mainly but also books and films. I'm slowly cataloguing my records on Discogs. My absolute favourite thing is to play records and do puzzles. Like a pensioner.

I'm a teacher: remote teaching is shit and I miss the general mayhem of the classroom but I'm used to extended breaks so that's sort of manageable in that I've tricked myself into thinking I'm on summer holidays (the weather is helping). I need the routine when it comes to diet, so I'm drinking more and concomitantly eating more shit so need to sort that out.

New record for solar power generation in UK on Monday, over half power generated from renewables. https://www.renews.biz/59798/uk-solar-peak-generation-record-broken/

Not punching the guy on my walk who yelled “keep away! Haha just kidding” at me yesterday

― Chuck_Tatum, Wednesday, April 22, 2020 9:25 AM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I was jogging the other day and saw another jogger approaching about 50 yards away. I started to move over to the other side of the street, but at the exact same time she had the same idea. So I moved back and so did she. It was a long-distance version of that thing where you and another person are both trying to be polite about walking on the same side of the sidewalk but you end up dancing back and forth awkwardly. I finally did an elaborate and broad hand gesture indicating which way I intended on going and she flashed back a thumbs up. That was a fun, positive, and voiceless social microinteraction.

Just scored a free case of beer (surplus stock due to slightly damaged cans) thanks to covid 19 neighbourhood support whatsapp group.

with tokyo refund money ive scored a new media centre pc, a new laptop (both yet to arrive) and mrs mac got me a smashingly hipster bike (arrived yesterday) as an early birthday pressie for greater park exploration (its a big park)

I stayed at my apt for 1 night and saw my city roommate + neighbors on the roof, all carefully distanced, and they've been taking good care of each other and bonding/sharing resources. I shop for their groceries and my bf drives in and delivers them and everyone wins. It feels good to put little surprises or a bottle of wine in each person's packages.

Also I researched ear buds and got a fancy pair--which is my first non-spartan tech purchase in many years iirc. Trying to scale back on the fun stuff for now bc I have no idea how to re-enter the job market after (when?) some unspecified point but definitely looking forward to these little beauties arriving:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0404/1101/products/MW07PLUSJG_InsideChargingCase_800x800.png?v=1581695469

Also the wine store re-opened for curbside pickup. That's a plus!

are they as art deco as they look in that shot?

niice

Let's hope so! Years of using the free Apple headphones proved that their standard shape won't fit me so that ruled out ipods and it turns out the alternatives are all much more attractive.

what a world

had to cancel our wedding which was scheduled for late august. both feeling quite good about it though, right thing to do, will give us extra time to save up money for it for the aspects that weren't finalized yet, and a couple important people were not going to be able to make it. otoh we postponed it a year and it may not be possible due to COVID then either, but we can cross that bridge if we have to next year.

COVID really hasn't hit that badly in my province. new cases seem to be diminishing. only circa 2000 cases thus far . the only person I know to have been diagnosed with COVID so far - my ex-wife - was only sick for a week, very mild case.

working from home I'm not that fond of, but it beats being laid-off.

gf isn't working and we're really enjoying spending lots of time together.

counting my blessings rn

sorry bout wedding but positives to take from it it seems

So — like I needed a new hobby — I basically started a record store out of my home office. Spin-clean, grade and price records while I half-listen to conference calls, & post flip-thru videos on Instagram once a day or so when I’ve done a little stack. Not quite breaking even but my collection is GROWING LIKE CRAZY (also upgrades to stuff I already have inferior pressings or beat-up copies of) for a smaller outlay. Also keeping me sane while working from home. 90% of my job is talking to people & most of it got done round the water cooler (so to speak) so the isolation bit has been challenging. Fortunately my manager doesn’t seem to care too much about productivity right now so everybody wins.

Oh sick

hardcore dilettante indeed

We had to cancel our wedding and we are THRILLED

ILX slack and hangouts have played a huge positive role carrying me through this

Deep dive into ECM records

Deep dive into Test Pressing chill lists

My yoga instructor has been posting lessons on YouTube to follow along with

Been cooking more and trying some new recipes

Getting outside more

My job and my wife's job appear to be secure

This has given me a lot more clarity on what I want to do with my life when it's all done

this seems good

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/30/covid-19-crisis-demand-fossil-fuels-iea-renewable-electricity

The steady rise of renewable energy combined with the collapse in demand for fossil fuels means clean electricity will play its largest ever role in the global energy system this year, and help erase a decade’s growth of global carbon emissions.

did a zoom quiz for work and it wasn't awful at all

misread the thread title as 'KBP covid thread' and briefly thought I had missed out on something

{btw I am healthy, everyone I know is healthy, I still have a job despite working in the most covid-unfriendly line of work possible, and I have a fridge full of good beers)

working from home full time at full pay
deep diving into boxes and files that should have been cleaned out long ago
my mother seems to be healthy (if not happy) in isolation

j.lu that sounds like some kind of millennial bruce springsteen lyric

now i can't read "my mother seems to be healthy (if not happy) in isolation" in any other voice but bruce's

to the tune of Philadelphia btw

Built myself a beer garden.😂 pic.twitter.com/oKFiaiYOy3

— west belfast red. 🔴🔴 (@gabshit77) May 1, 2020

I thought this should be parked here

Lol, that rules

finally researched and procured an IPTV service, as well as setting up the home network file server id been mulling for months- pretty close to the ideal setup now

Portugal beginning to open up tomorrow. Its felt on the verge of opening up for a while but then police were asking people not to sit down in the park yesterday

Seven days nicotine-free; after the initial adjustment to lockdown life, I realised that the relative lack of social triggers made this an ideal time to quit.

Also: having shunned FaceTime for years, it turns out that I actually like zoom calls. Sure, there’s a performative element, but it’s a performative element that I can get with and work with.

Also: we have two butchers’ shops less than 5 minutes walk from our front door - their businesses are both booming, and rightly so, because they’re both superb and more people have started to realise this.

yes - that has happened with our local butcher too.

PHENOMENAL news about quitting nicotine.

An older sister of mine and her husband stopped by earlier today, after a follow-up appointment for her mastectomy last September. We hosted them outdoors, sitting more than six feet apart, wearing our masks, but it was damn good to see them both doing so well. They escaped to their car just about ten minutes before the sky opened and rain + hail poured down for 20 minutes.

British Columbia is the jurisdiction with over 5 million residents that has the lowest COVID deaths per capita in North America + western europe. the premier is going to announce what the plans to ease restrictions will be in half an hour.

a new benefit for hospitality workers my gf can apply for just came live today, on top of $1000 she received yesterday from the province of BC, and the CERB she receives from the federal government.

finally after 6 weeks or whatever of working from home I have all the software and hardware I require to do my job. will not have to return to work any time soon.

wfh estended thru September it looks like, and discussion at high levels seems to accept that the civil service will not return to a five day model working week

this is very good imo

Our “new normal” planning is looking similar

We got similar word from our executives on Monday. I'm making a trip to the office tomorrow to pick up a couple monitors, keyboard, mouse and docking station. I've been working on a laptop this whole time. They offered the office equipment much earlier, but the time has been slipping by like crazy.

- 2/3 of the way through an extremely involved and exhausting (relative to the last time) but also personally rewarding paternity leave that started the day tom hanks was diagnosed and the NBA was cancelled
- read as many books in the first five months of this year as i read last year
- got my instapaper queue (~150 articles that are all like 10-30 minute reads) to zero
- seriously dialed in my vim configuration