BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Oct 20 - 04:46 PM

How a Fix-It Guru Spends Her Sundays.

I've always loved to fix things, I often will order parts to do repairs myself on things here at the house.

"Sandra Goldmark can repair a tattered sofa or a broken coffee maker. So many of her neighbors, trapped amid their stuff, are seeking her out."

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 18 Oct 20 - 09:36 AM

Ok now that zoom has filters I am not going back to real life.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mr Red
Date: 18 Oct 20 - 03:01 AM

I have seen reports that the smart money is moving into "Vintage watches". My take on that is that house prices have peaked. And so they should, money is certainly not in the hands of yer average man as we head into a COVID driven depression.
The last time I noticed something like that it was "vintage cars" - was it 2008 or early 90's

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: leeneia
Date: 17 Oct 20 - 12:50 PM

I agree, Bill D.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mr Red
Date: 17 Oct 20 - 03:19 AM

What's the mark-up for a private mooring?

Usually a hand painted words on the wall saying "private mooring".

Oh you mean the prices - well for a new-build it would all be done by the canal trust and local gov.

But on the plus side, I learned yesterday the have the Heritage Lottery Funding to connect to the navigable canal system so the rush to gentrify the area will be on. I may well join as an official volunteer. Rather than provide websites listings of canal related: Bench Marks, Milestones (AKA Mile Pegs or Road Numbers) and audio recordings of memories of the canal. see Geograph collection of lists

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Oct 20 - 03:39 PM

The basic idea something like music parties and family dinners is a small version of "contact tracing" among friends and family. Some people have jobs or interests that take them out in public a lot, and that really increases the chance of an infection. Others, like me, go almost nowhere except to the grocery store or doctor's office and are very careful. (as I said above, I have wipes to treat any surfaces I'm unsure about.)
   *IF* you poll your group and are satisfied that they have not been anywhere or done anything that is chancy the last week or so, a gathering with decent precautions is probably safe. I just had to help a neighbor take 2 boxes mistakenly delivered to my house down to his house, and both he and his wife carefully wore masks out of an abundance of precaution. Even though I didn't, because I simply hadn't been anywhere, their routine ensured safety for both of us.

It is the case that some people just cannot abide having their nose covered by a mask very long.... they process any degree of personal discomfort as an intrusion... and I'd bet these are the primary sources of so many local flare-ups.... especially when they are young and needing... wanting... to party and socialize.

   Herd immunity simply will NOT do it unless everyone is exposed and either survives or suffers. Most of us MUST take all relevant precautions until a documented vaccine has been deployed in all relevant groups and locales!

I don't like this a bit, but I intend to be a survivor....

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: leeneia
Date: 15 Oct 20 - 04:27 PM

I had a new idea. Hoped to get together with friends and play music wearing masks, but what about the flute and recorder players? Well, at least one of them plays piano as well, so I can set the electric piano on the desired wind instrument, and he can play that.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: BobL
Date: 15 Oct 20 - 03:06 AM

What's the mark-up for a private mooring?

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mr Red
Date: 14 Oct 20 - 04:20 AM

The incentive to many builders has been to put up office space, not living space. Perhaps we'll see major conversions underway in the future.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeell. In my locale there has been an enclave that is a filled-in canal basin that wants to be opened-up again. The council want mixed canalside business/residential. Potential developers want residential. Result stagnation.

Looking into the future, the best compromise has to be residential designed around "working from home". Rooms that function as offices or spare bedrooms, WiFi, Optical Fibre and 5G (they are fighting that locally) plus despite the concept - loadsaparkingspace!

Perhaps it is just as well no developer stepped up, now there has to be a re-think. But any "home" gets a 25% seller mark-up if it has a canal in the front garden!

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Oct 20 - 09:27 PM

Attended virtual Homecoming, which I would never have gone to in real life.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 12 Oct 20 - 09:31 PM

Ok new discovery: zoom filters.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 11 Oct 20 - 03:54 PM

Well, she *is* married, so a tiara is not incorrect!

Yeah, here in Charlottesville I hear people complaining that at X or Y there were people without masks, but somehow whenever *I* go there [rarely], everybody is compliant.

But I still hear a lot of people claiming no science says masks work, or the virus is a hoax, or what about my personal freedom, or other such crap. In fact one careful friend and I are missing today's D&D session, because it got moved indoors and some participants refuse to wear masks. One being the DM and host who has children in for piano lessons and is an AirBnB host. I tried recommending that the people refusing to wear masks could skip the indoor ones but got ridiculed. Oh well.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Jos
Date: 11 Oct 20 - 02:48 PM

Regarding masks, I was amused a little while ago to see a picture of the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, carrying out some official function wearing a visor. She was wearing it like a tiara, so that the bottom of the visor was level with her nose and her nostrils and mouth were totally exposed.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Oct 20 - 12:54 PM

I read about the flouting of safety rules some of you see with alarm...

Here in my Maryland suburb of D.C., I see almost NO one in public without a mask. Perhaps I don't go as many places..(mostly to the grocery store and my HMO)... but even as I drive, people in other cars and people walking alone are wearing masks.... and stores have signs on the door insisting on masks, and up until recently have had someone disinfecting grocery carts at the entrance. The 3-4 stores I use most have provided wipes at the entrance, but I think supplies have run low, as several times this last 2-3 weeks, they have been out.
   I was lucky that I was in Costco back in the scary early days of April when somehow, Costco got in piles of toilet paper and 5 packs of the now rare Clorox wipes!...So, I keep a zip-lock sandwich bag with several wipes on me when I go out, and have been able to wipe down every thing I don't trust! I live in the 'hottest' area of infections in Maryland, but my county executive has kept us on a slow track for re-opening.... even more than DC itself. I'm just going to use my fortunate situation of being retired to hide out until things settle down.

(I have only seen my son & his wife a couple of times since December, and they wore masks when they stopped by a couple of weeks ago! I gave them one big Clorox wipes dispenser)

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Oct 20 - 10:54 AM

The incentive to many builders has been to put up office space, not living space. Perhaps we'll see major conversions underway in the future.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Oct 20 - 05:42 AM

Rap mentions un-needed office buildings.

In Sydney's CBD an amazing building is going up - award winning, best energy saving features etc, etc. It will be a breathtaking building - but each time I go past I wonder if it will be exquisitely beautiful white elephant.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: pattyClink
Date: 10 Oct 20 - 08:21 PM

Well, I'm not a moron about technology, I just think it's pointless to do multiple computer transactions in order to park a vehicle in the woods overnight.

Ran into my first 'are you kidding' shopper today in Missouri. Loudmouth woman leaning over the produce, mask hanging low, yapping at the clerk for maybe 15 minutes. Geez. And in the parking lot, other women parking their big diesel trucks and leaving the motor running while they go in and shop. We live in a very stupid country.

On the other hand; had a great zoom sing this afternoon with a bunch of people 4 states away. Miraculous.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 11:59 PM

Thing I hope keeps happening even after the pandemic: zoom calls every other week [biweekly?] with all my sisters, even the Tazzie.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 11:15 PM

Patty, I think you might actually find that a smart phone could make a lot of these things much easier, but there is a learning curve. And you don't need to get the highest end most expensive phones to do this. QR codes are a simple way to take you directly to a website (I have an app in my phone to capture the code and open my phone browser at the site.) Do you use a mobile hotspot?

The normal here in Texas is encountering the rude mask scofflaws, those who let them droop so nothing is covered or who leave them under their chins. And timid clerks who are not brave enough to deny service to them. That puts everyone at risk. I speak up. I'll be careful not to get shot or my tires slashed.

I know a lot of people who have worked out routines for ordering takeout from their favorite local restaurants, in a bid to keep them in business. I've added gear to my SUV for dining out - I have two cloth chairs that live in the back and keep a cooler handy and some silverware - so when my daughter and I meet for lunch in her parking garage at work (it's an open sided structure so it provides fresh air and shade during the heat of summer). I pick up takeout on my way over and we sit six feet apart to eat and talk. We bump elbows, but I haven't hugged her since March. And that's the grief of these days.

I keep a journal and note everyplace I go if I do go out shopping. Sometimes only every couple of weeks, and I try to shop for others when I'm out. My "contact tracing" notes not only would help if I got sick, but serve to remind me that maybe I should stay home more and have the meal or groceries delivered.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 10:06 PM

Business real estate has taken a big hit because, well, why do you need an 80 story office building that cost a billion to build and millions to maintain when people work from home? Give the workers an allowance for the use of their home computers and home network connections (or supply them) and you come out with fewer expenses (and bigger profits). The worker takes home more money by forgoing the daily commute, etc. The office camaraderie takes a hit, but that wasn't cost-efficient anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: pattyClink
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 09:40 PM

Blessed are the mask-makers!! My sis-in-law produced a torrent of them , especially for staff at a nursing home, who were lost in the shuffle of PPwhatever. And, apparently, lots of languishing fabric stashes got used at long last. So that's been great.

Outside of online sings and concerts, not seeing a lot of great innovations. Essentially all public campgrounds now require online registration instead of speaking with the nice people at the gatehouse, even if said people are right there in the gatehouse. It takes forever, it's inefficient, it's cold, it's inhospitable, it's inflexible, and lots of people reserve and then don't show up. One state actually wants you to then check in with some damn QR code. (many parks are so remote they don't even have signal). I found a city park instead. There are a lot of 35 year old jerks trying to force everyone into some smartphone world we do not want to inhabit for every little transaction of life.

Back in the music realm, I did find a great way to learn an instrument online. I would rather pay a real teacher real money, but if traveling all the time, that's not too practical. The technology now allows canned lessons in baby video bites, accompanied by pdfs of music materials, feedback via video uploads, etc.   It is astonishing what the technology can do when guided well.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 12:11 PM

That "new normal" was my normal normal. I telecommuted for years until faced with a dean who believed (erroneously) that it didn't work and she didn't trust people to work from home (perhaps she didn't trust herself and that is the reading she was responding to). For her I wasted five years driving an hour a day to sit in front of the university computer instead of my home computer. I retired and took on a web content editing job—that I do from home.

The volunteer work is where it took a hit, though some volunteering can be done online, such as the transcription of old texts in the museum collection. I'm probably going to start going in to rake leaves at the Botanical Garden, something that gives plenty of fresh air and socially distant space.

The thing that these folks working from home will discover is that it's on them to maintain the equipment (unless you're like my ex, working on an encrypted laptop from home and if it needs work he takes it down to the Federal Building.) You can take a deduction for office space if it is a room dedicated to just work. If you use your computer for other stuff, they'll get you in an audit, and if you claim that deduction you're more likely TO be audited. (Assuming the IRS survives the current administration.)

The other thing is that they'll really really miss some of their office co-workers, and it's difficult to get together and a Zoom meeting or Messenger or Facetime just isn't the same. Going out for lunch together, for example, was always the highlight of the day, if not the week. The monthly birthday cake, the holiday potluck meals. Those I miss a lot.

In my spare time I'm making masks, and I'm seeing things turn up on Amazon "Handmade" to do with masks. Now people are selling the equivalent of the chains you put on your glasses so they can hang around your neck to attach to a mask so it can dangle when you're not using it. Shiny beaded chains with lobster claw fasteners on both ends (they need a different kind of clip, I think, so I'll be making a prototype soon). And I'm sure if I looked, other mask accommodations are out there. (To say nothing of the masks for sale, many of them fast and cheap, others well-thought-out and constructed.)

Our new normal says these masks will be around for a while so I have been making fall color and holiday masks for the friends and family who want them. And several have said that even when this is over they will continue to wear masks in public. That's new, and they won't be alone, so it won't be unusual.

There is an exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum to do with "Pandemic Objects." My sewing machines are the object that have come to the fore, as have the machines of hundreds of thousands of others who have stepped up to sew masks and make PPE garments. It's a regular part of my day. I made two custom extra-large masks last night for my daughter's friend who is a big guy with a beard. I've made several masks for guys with beards (and to those I sent out earlier, I have a better design now that I'm using that fits better.) And someone could do an exhibit on the evolution of masks, as we have learned about different designs and materials and finally stopped making bias tape when we discovered t-shirt yarn that is so much more versatile and faster to make. (But I'll never forget how to make bias tape ever again!)

The new normal means every day is isolated, looking for opportunities to talk to people in person, even just conversations in the rare trip to the grocery store or to greet the delivery person who brings groceries.

What I'm looking forward to is the "normal" after January 20, when a grownup takes over the administration and the medical people and scientists can do their jobs again and we can try to pick up the pieces smashed by the angry toddler in office right now.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Jos
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 11:20 AM

err ... buoyant?

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 10:37 AM

Snicker, Mr. Red!

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mr Red
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 03:44 AM

with all of those sock people - Wot? The ones footing the bill?

economy itself will rebound - not before it takes a huge hit. At the moment the stock market is boyant, fed by "the Fed". But when QE runs out, it will run down. Then it will pick up - eventually. My prognosis is a dip every 15** years or so, give or take an unrelated crisis. and we are up to 12.5 already. If you think 2008 was tough - hold on ta yer hat.

**because that is a generation that were too young to understand and assimilate the lessons the last time.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: mg
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 02:29 AM

i have been fascinated by all the simple small items that have been invented or put on market lately. they just pop up on my screen and probably read my thoughts.but they are very clever. people have had a bit of time out to invent things I think...I think the economy itself will rebound..but that does not mean individuals will...this time has given people a chance to find other, more efficient, less human ways of doing things. let's take meat butchering and packing. now...we do microsurgery with robots and lasers. think we can't butcher and shrink wrap a cow? Yes we can, and we never have to worry about viruses taking down the meat packers. Devastating for them but hopefully agriculture can absorb them. when iworked for extension in WA USA..obvious that mobile butchers were needed..start with chickens, rabbits etc...start to finish including sanitation and disposal..quick and easy...i do think we need more humans in animal husbandry so i hope there is room for displaced workers. they can 3 d print a house for about 4K now...there goes construction...we know how to prevent various diseases with diet etc..there goes a lot of pharmacy and medicine. and i hope people take a good hard look at pharmacy..some pranksters in the business.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 10:23 PM

I had a video visit with my doctor last month, and I really liked it. It seemed far better than a telephone visit. I have electronic devices that can take my vital signs, and most of my doctor visits lately have been just conversation. I can see where a great percentage of doctor visits could be done online,and then I wouldn't have to sit in the waiting room with all of those sock people.

Subject: RE: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 07:28 PM

Mail-in voting. I'll continue to do it. Convenient and safe.

Telemedicine. Not for everything (E.g., piles, surgery) but useful for many things and I believe will be expanding greatly as time goes by.

Working from home -- business real estate is already taking a hit as it's discovered huge office buildings really aren't needed.

Video meetings. Been around for years, but have come into their own. My wife's on one right now with folks all over the US and one Perth, Australia.

Subject: BS: The new normal. What novel ideas seen?
From: Mr Red
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 07:12 PM

Our glorious UK postal service have a new (?) service of picking up your mail/parcels so you don't have to travel to a Post Office.

Ironically, I had two leaflets through my door on the subject (10 minute walk to PO) and GF & friends who live in more rural areas have had no leaflets!

I presume you buy postage+premium on-line and some passcode/barcode print-out. I can see someone needing it, but why not target those who benefit the most? Nice idea, shame about the execution.