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Home » How are you tackling the shutdown? I know what some YouTubers are doing

How are you tackling the shutdown? I know what some YouTubers are doing

The New Neo Posted on by

What are you doing to keep yourselves busy?

For me it’s rather simple. I still do a lot of reading and writing and thinking (hopefully not in that exact order). That’s what I do each day anyway, and it takes up a lot of time.

As the weather gets nicer, I feel drawn to the outside more and more. But even in winter I like to walk outside and try to do it almost every day if it’s not stormy.

Walking outside is a bit more problematic these days, although perhaps even more necessary than ever. Sunshine! Light! Fresh air! Exercise! I crave these things.

But it’s not always easy to keep the proper distance. I get nervous when I hear footsteps behind me, for example. I’m a pretty fast walker, but I’m small and I don’t have a long stride, so I’m not so very hard to overtake if someone with a long stride is walking fast towards me. And if they’re behind me I can’t see them and don’t know if I can trust them to keep a good distance. It feels absurd, but sometimes if the opportunity is there I make a ninety-degree turn and go some other way – where almost inevitably I run into some other person who presents a dilemma of some sort.

And it’s not that I’m walking in a crowded area – I’m not. But nice weather draws forth some people, and with everyone at home it can happen at any time of day.

Yesterday I was walking down a fairly wide path, at least twelve feet or so across, when I heard the sound of a bicycle coming towards me from behind. I moved way to the side of the path and the rider passed me, but he was riding close to the middle of the road. And then he stopped abruptly, making his tires squeal, and turned around to face me. I have no idea why he did that – he didn’t say a word – but it unnerved me.

And then it unnerved me that it had unnerved me.

Anyway, one of my favorite activities – usually late at night – is to binge watch YouTube. Last night I discovered a few more song parodies for the pandemic and the shutdown. It warms the cockles of my heart that people are so creative.

This is one of my very favorites:

The original unfunny non-corona version:

There are so many other COVID-19 song parodies I could probably post one a day for the rest of the shutdown and not even begin to run out of them.

I do plan to post quite a few more as time goes on.

Comments

How are you tackling the shutdown? I know what some YouTubers are doing — 105 Comments

  2. I am desperately looking for work..
    so i am practicing my ColdFusion.. Learned Python.. Learned Pytorch
    used Pytorch and Fast.ai to solve the Preatorian challenge… which turned out for nothing since they didnt like my resume not being young and doing that for years, and i couldn’t get on the leader board as a person who solved it. (if anyone wants the database i created to solve it themselves, let neo know and we will trade it somehow). looking at Kaggle projects… worked on Quantopian… looking at AI project to put on cell phone… boned up on Java, bootstrap… got jypter notebooks working, and cuda core on my machine for high speed computing… worked with hashcat and password cracking for security pen tests. installed ubunto on a thumbdrive and kali on another (two linux systems)…

    lots of other things too.. i have been stuck since October..

    looking for ideas for economic reasons i can turn into a cell phone product (making lemons from nothing to make lemonade)… did some art, photography… spent time with my wife… played Chinese checkers… worked on some AI for C1-Terminal competition.. Updated my website, wrote some articles for Linkedin…

    even when its not covid i am a perpetual motion machine that doesnt stop, and and doesnt sleep much… a hellish life…

    I am a super geek with no useful outlet and no cash to get degrees so people would want me… old and useless… and maybe old and homeless all too soon.

  3. I’ve bingewatched Ken Burns’ CIVIL WAR, JAZZ, and BASEBALL, then 2 separate documentaries on Jonestown. Just finished the original version of THE BRIDGE, a Danish crime drama. The first 2 seasons are definitely worth seeing and inspire different associations than most shows with complex plots and police.

  4. My wife and I take the dogs for a walk on the town green. We pass a lot of people, and most time at less than 6ft. Doesn’t bother us, nor does it seem to bother them. No one has masks. Lose the paranoia. In the open air, unless a person literally coughs right in front of you upwind, the chances of infection are near zero. It’s the one activity that lends a sense of normalcy. I’m just waiting until Lamont follows his sister governor from Michigan and bans even this.

  5. physicsguy:

    It’s not paranoia. Neither you nor anyone else knows whether what you’re saying is true.

    I’ve read a great deal about it and the jury is out, in my opinion. There is little question in my mind, however that very close contact is not required. Almost everyone in the health field (maybe even everyone, for all I know) advocates the 6-ft rule even outside.

  7. I’ve been walking. Not far — a mile to two — but regularly. Beautiful weather in northern NV today, so I’m about to head out again. Lots of space. No one walks very close, but a lot of people are out walking. Some are riding horses. No one is wearing an N95 mask. Not even the horses.

    Bummer when people come up behind you while you’re walking, Neo. My first thought was “strap a very large revolver on your hip.” That way they know they should NOT mess with you.

    Then I thought, “nah, maybe not if she’s small. Maybe some nutcase will think he can just take your pistol from you and create mayhem.”

    So THEN I thought, “get an explosive vest and strap it around your coat so everyone can see it!” They’ll know they shouldn’t mess with anyone wearing an explosive vest.

    In fact, heck, it doesn’t even have to be the real thing. Make something that looks like an explosive vest and strap it on over your walking clothes with a wire that leads to your hand, and carry a TV remote in your hand. I don’t THINK people will say “hay, that’s a TV remote! That’s not a detonator!” I mean, Joe Biden has been calling Obama for two weeks without an answer, and won’t believe people when they tell him that’s a calculator he’s trying to call from.

    So yeah, a TV remote in your hand with a wire leading to a mock explosive vest. I don’t think people will mess with you then. They’ll recognize you’re stir-crazy from COVID isolation.

    You get the idea that I have too much time on my hands maybe?

  8. The weather by me has for the most part, since the stay-at-home began, been uncooperative for going for a walk. Rain, rain, and more rain.

    There is a nice waterfront park nearby that I went to when we had some decent weather the first week of the stay-at-home. There were a lot of people there; but, everyone seemed to be keeping a respectable distance.

    But, now that the weather is getting nicer the state government has shut down ALL parks.

    Now, I could see if people were not keeping their distance; but, if we are why can’t we walk outside in the park? Shutting down all parks does seem rather extreme to me.

    But, I still consider myself lucky. I do have my job which is very suitable for working from home. In fact, I hope that my boss sees that I am getting more done than when I am in the office, mainly because there are far fewer interruptions. And with no commute time (gives me back 3-4 hours of time) I don’t mind starting a little earlier and working a little later.

    And, yes, trying to avoid the Doomsday scenarios on the TV I have spent a lot more time on line watching YouTube, including all of these creative videos!

  9. YouTube: Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday in excerpts from the movie “Tombstone.”

    “Does this mean that we’re not friends anymore?”

  10. Last year, I had a couple of Sci-Fi short stories published and made a few dollars off them.

    So I’ve taken the time to redouble my efforts and actually make a writing schedule. An author I read told me when I met him that you have to treat it like a job, even if you already have a job. I’ve had a pulpy Military Sci-Fi series in my mind for a few years. The elevator pitch for it would be “Band of Brothers/Easy Company in Space”. I’m working diligently on that project right now.

    And also, just because I’m a stubborn Irishman, I have decided that I am going to refuse to binge watch or watch- at all- The Tiger King on Netflix. When every other person recommends that I watch something and they start to sound like Jehovah’s Witnesses passing out the Watchtower, I instinctively recoil. My wife says I have a strong contrarian streak in me at times.

  11. The weather here in Michigan has been decent and my wife and I take a couple of long walks every day in our neighborhood. Lots of other people out doing the same and almost everyone is incredibly friendly, waving and saying hello. Social distance is not a problem, when meeting someone else coming the other way on the sidewalk, either we or they move into the street, no problem.

    Besides that, I’m reading a lot and taking Spanish lessons online via Skype with a lady in Venezuela. That’s VERY interesting.

    Also I found an old banjo in the basement that I bought 40 years ago, and am trying to learn to play the thing by Youtube. Not going so well.

  12. Chris B.,

    Ever since we went to Hawaii I’ve been bitten by the Ukulele bug. I keep it out where I can see it. At worse, I do a few scales each day.

    When motivated I do a page or two in a Ukulele method book that was recommended by a friend of mine who went to Berklee. He is a great musician. And works professionally as a … Network Administrator.

    His advice was don’t expect to be as good as even the occasional folks on YouTube. Just play around and have fun.

    On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate myself as a -3

    My grandkids LOVE whatever I do. They couldn’t care less if I miss a chord or forget my place.

    Just have fun. It will help take your mind off things for a bit. And when it starts to feel like work … just put it down.

    I guarantee that if you posted a video here you’d get at least 5 stars!!!

    As for other things … we’re watching episodes of ‘Craft in America’ on PBS passport. The stuff those people do is simply amazing.

    And reading. And solving Soduko puzzles. And playing online contract bridge. And going for walks with SWMBO.

    And ordering delivery for dinner – and the next day’s lunch – without feeling guilty about not cooking.

    And, most importantly, keeping up with NeoNeoCon’s world.

    Stay healthy everyone and remember – no fighting!

    —-

    A joke I read on our neighborhood email list:

    “Home Scholling Day 5: not going well …. some little monster called in a bomb threat.”

  14. I’m a teacher, so I waste my time pretending to teach on-line. Most of my students don’t even pretend to work (a few do). At least the work will be useful after this passes.

    Play Geoguessr a lot. Drink too much.

    Long walks with my wife. We do walk around people, but that’s for their benefit, not mine. (The data in NZ is pretty much unequivocal that it almost never spreads by air, because almost everyone here is tracked if they test positive and randoms are not getting it as you would expect if it spread by air. The spread has been a small number of super infectious pre-symptomatic carriers in close contact.)

  15. Since I had a scare of my own two years ago, I have taken to dieting and walking. I cover 3-4 miles a day of countryside…in a gated community everyone (or almost everyone) is retired like me. So we say hello and chat, but keep AT LEAST the six feet distance.
    The local supermarket delivers, so I don’t have that…in fact when all this passes I will keep up this service.
    Indoors I am taking MOOC courses. The MOOC of choice is EdX – MITx. Have gotten up to speed in Math and Biochem again…my – how things have progressed!
    And listen to music – and watch ballet (something new to me)…one granddaughter has turned professional with Alvin Alley Group. So i am looking forward to seeing her perform live – God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise.
    Wishing everyone The Best. Stay Safe…

  16. It’s embarrassing to admit I’m doing pretty much what I’ve always done. Two exceptions: (1) it’s harder for people to guilt-trip me into going into town for face-to-face meetings to resolve things that could just as easily be handled by phone or text, and (2) I have to be more creative about getting supplies in, particularly of perishables.

  17. Fractal Rabbit:

    Irish? Strong contrarian streak? Hard to believe.

    Seriously, though — “loves to tell stories and tells them well” — yeah, I’ll go with that.

  18. I’m doing a lot of gourmet cooking for my wife and myself. I’ve also gained about 8 pounds, and I’m promising to go on the South Beach Diet once things get back to normal. Purchasing food stuffs and cooking really does take up a lot of time.

    My wife and I also took a free on-line class from Hillsdale Collage called “The Great American Story”, and we’re going to take “Constitution 101” when it is offered next week. Very interesting, even considering I was a History major at Wayne State back in the mid-70s.

    In the next week or so, I’ll be planning my garden for the summer. Not sure what I’ll put in this year.

    I’m also transferring the old VHS tapes we made when the kids were young onto the computer. Once there, I can edit them and post them in Google Drive and send out links to my sibs and others. It’s a project I’ve intended to do for quite some time. Finally getting around to it. Next will be transferring my old cassettes to the computer, followed by taking selected LP records and dumping them onto either digital format or CD. We have quite a collection, and it’s taking as much time as I can budget.

    Not running out of things to do any time soon.

    Waidmann

  19. Re: the parody above, it seems to me that—in my case at least— there are a lot of things to be interested in, and to occupy your mind and time.

    Books to read, things to investigate you’ve never seen before on TV, neglected things around the house to do, observing the landscape and wildlife outside your window, taking a walk, checking out interesting items on Ebey and, then, learning things about them—is this supposed “genuine,” “antique,” or ”old” item really what it’s claimed to be?

    Then, there is genealogical research and allied historical research into various historical periods, and the histories of various countries, and ethnic groups, and their particular histories.

    There is going outside at night and looking at the stars and wondering, and on and on.

    I can be as bored as anyone else—with none of these things interesting to me, but there are an infinite number of such things.

  20. Aye, Neo — that be it. ‘though I would NOT get by in calling you ‘hernia’. Such a pain in the fundament.

  21. Waldmann:

    in re vinyl discs: I’ve got a few. Probably around 100, virtually all classical music. And my wife and I are getting ready to do the “move near the kids” transcontinental translation.

    Meanwhile, I’ve discovered Idagio and Sonos. I don’t listen to vinyl any longer. So what do I do with ~100 discs and a good record player before I move. I have over $1,000 in it all — maybe twice that — but I don’t know if it’s worth anything in today’s world, especially in northern NV.

  22. Snow On Pines:

    “going outside at night and looking at the stars and wondering.”

    I learned a lot from my mother in law about aging. She passed on 4 years ago at 99 years, 8 months.

    I asked her in her last decade if she ever wondered what was in store for her.

    She replied: “I spend a lot of time thinking about things. ‘Hereafter’ is always on my mind.”

    I thought that after (at that time) 90 years on earth, she was finally pondering The Big Question, so I asked, “you mean. . . ?”

    “Yeah,” she replied. “I walk into the kitchen at midnight and I wonder ‘now what was it I came hereafter?’.”

  23. Fractal Rabbit, 7:06 pm wrote, in part:

    “So I’ve taken the time to redouble my efforts . . . .”

    Does that mean you *quadrupled* your efforts? Hey, way ta go!

  24. I only watch TV a couple of hours each week, not much I want to see. I spend hours and hours reading conservative stuff, not too much conservative, but just enough to reenforce my opinions. I go through my many blog sites, like this one, to see what those who seem to think as I do are saying today. Thank You Neo.

    I love too cook and I work hard to make good meals for my wife and I and with the internet I can put the ingredients I have in the search and come up with great meals. Tonight, I grilled some big old thick pork chops marinated in fresh, rosemary and thyme from my herb garden, with fresh garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, white wine, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, served with fresh roasted peppers and steamed vegetables in butter. My wife said it was a job well done. I am also a sucker for reading old John Sandford novels, going back through that stuff one more time.

    Other than that I am thankful for my children and their children who are dealing with this, several in the hot spots right now.

    Easter Greeting and Blessings to the Whole World as we go through this once, since I lived this long, life time thing. Peace to All.

  25. Chester Draws and Waldman:

    “. . .eating too much. . .” and

    “. . .drinking. . .”

    One of my CAP members texted me the other day: “Hard to decide if, after this shelter in place stuff is over, I should go first to Weight Watchers or AA.”

    I understand and sympathize.

  26. M J R,

    Ha! No, ‘redouble’ is just one of my Fractal Rabbit-isms. I used to say it to amuse my kids. Then it just became habit and I forget that I even say it.

  27. OldTexan,

    Have you ever watched Chef John on YouTube? His actual channel name is ‘Food Wishes’.

    I love to watch cooking videos and try new recipes. And learn actual techniques, like proper knife work. There are a lot of great cooking instructors on YouTube but Chef John is my favorite by a mile.

    Coq au Vin used to be my favorite meal at any nice restaurant. I would look for that every time we would go out to someplace nice. Chef John’s Coq au Vin recipe is better than many restaurant versions and I was very happy to learn its a shockingly easy dish to make. And its a crowd pleaser, for sure. My wife loves it and its the only dish both of our twins agree on.

  28. I just got Python (Jython) to run on a ColdFusion page! IF i can get it to load libraries like Numpy, it will be more useful than just an oddity. Don’t think i can as i have to load libraries to make python work more than basic stuff… hmmmmm….

  29. Old Texan

    I will not say anything about the importance of using kosher salt on pork chops, but I do have a serious question for you:

    How do you keep thick-cut pork chops moist? I love moist pork chops, but when we get the thick ones they always turn out really dry after cooking. I’ll gladly roast them in tomato sauce and olive oil if that will do it. What’s your secret?

  30. Waldmann and F,

    In the last 8 years or so vinyls have seen a resurgence among young audiophiles. They are warming the the fact that the sound is not as noticeably crisp as digital recordings and therefore warmer. There are vinyl aficionados out there. You might want to look online. Your LPs may be salable there or to a local record shop which carries vinyls (yes some still do exist).

    As for me, my wife and I have a modest collection of vinyls and a 43 year old stereo system (which we really could barely afford back then but bought anyway). The sound is still remarkably good and distinctly different from our CDs. We occasionally crank it up and enjoy especially our Musical Heritage Society LPs and our jazz. I especially enjoy our unusual recordings (e.g,, Handel’s Messiah on original orchestral instrumentation and Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen’s album Gallant Men).

  32. Gardening. We are fortunate to have a spacious lot (one of the older sized places that get turned into 2-3 house lots nowadays) and the frost date has passed here in Seattle. So we are starting seeds, tilling the garden and enjoying the sunshine. Lots of walkers in the neighborhood, but everyone has been courteous and maintained distance.

  33. What are you doing to keep yourselves busy?

    Caring for the dying. Now I seek to bury the dead, then rest myself.

    Not what for I had planned or prepared.

  34. F – your question – How do you keep thick-cut pork chops moist? I love moist pork chops, but when we get the thick ones they always turn out really dry after cooking.

    Answer – I get the grill extremely hot and use the upper little shelf for the pork chops instead of down right on the grill plates. I watch my time, about four minutes per side and then I check with and instant read thermometer looking for a temp of 138-140 and then i usually have take about one or two minutes more to hit the right temp and get those suckers off.

    When I grill pork I want a moist cooked center and tomorrow when I do beef tenderloins fillets I will cook to a cool red center about 125 or so. I use my grill to cook low carb meals about three or four times per week year round and I am still learning how to reach the perfect spot for the best results.

    Thank You and Easter Blessings to this wonderful group of fine Neo Folk.

  35. F and T,

    I couldn’t decide whether I should highlight my gourmet cooking or our wine sampling. We are members of a wine club, and we order a goodly portion of wine. So, perhaps AA might be a good choice. Nah, not really.

    Most of our albums are Classical as well, so it really is selective as well. One I want to save is “Radio Free Nixon” by David Fry. That was funny, and I think it’s survived the test of time pretty well. The rest probably have no monetary value.

    Handle’s Messiah gets played regularly here. I sing it every other year. Marvelous piece. Tomorrow am we will play the trio of Sandi Patty’s Via Dolorosa, Morning Like This and Unshakable Kingdom. That’s an Easter tradition here.

    The only Gallant Men I’m aware of is the 60s TV show. Although I remember Senator Dirksen.

    Anyhow, everyone, stay safe. Take care.

    Waidmann

  36. Thanks for the cooking tips, OldTexan. (Guess I should call myself old Nevadan.)

    I will give that a try.

    And Easter Blessing to all the good folks who come to partake of Neo’s wisdom.

  37. Waldman

    If you have time, my recommendation is to include Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion. Part II for Easter.

  43. Life hasn’t changed much for my wife and I except that we are busier than before. My wife works in an “essential” occupation. Many of her coworkers have quit or just don’t come in, so she is working more hours to take up the slack. I was working on a home remodel project in which I am providing all of the labor. When the crisis came, I simply kept doing what I was before. The difference is that, without the interruptions for social activities, I work a lot of hours every day.

    So, my wife and I start our days early and finish exhausted. All in all, it is quite a different experience than for the people who are occupying themselves making funny videos for social media.

  44. Artfldgr,

    I hope you find work soon. It is terrible how much age prejudice there is in the workforce. The mystery to me is it is counterintuitive. Most folks get better with age; wiser, more productive, more reliable. I understand for salaried positions there is some additional risk on increased health care costs or missed time due to health issues, but those can be addressed by hiring someone on “probation,” or hiring them on as a contractor.

    Good luck! I hope you find something soon. Not being able to work and feel productive can be a terrible strain.

  45. Chester Draws,

    That’s fascinating information about the spread and New Zealand’s tracking. Do you know of a website where the data is available?

    Regarding teaching, from what I see and hear a lot of students and teachers are struggling with the sudden shift to on-line. Sorry to hear your students are not taking it seriously.

  47. Waidmann

    Wayne State? I am a WSU grad – 1971 Biochem. Studied history also. Perhaps we had the same professors. Did you live in the Cass Canfield Corridor? I proposed to my wife in Greektown. Now we live there – in Greece I mean.

    Happy Easter everyone!

  48. AesopFan,

    You are probably aware of Michael Crichton’ term, Gell-mann Amnesia Effect to explain journalistic incompetence. The sad thing is it’s not only the journalist with the byline, but at least one Editor, if not more who are ignorant of the subject.

    Did you happen to watch the stream of the event? I did. It was interesting and very… French. I can see why Jerry Lewis is revered there. It started with a small procession of clerics wearing matching, white hard hats. I guess the point was it’s still a construction site so they had to wear PPE, but you know everything was secured for the event. And, if a hammer did happen to fall from a scaffolding at the ceiling a hard hat wouldn’t have made a difference at that height differential. In other words, the hats were extraneous and more for show than safety.

    Then there were three performers near the Priests, but a proper, social distance away. For some reason the performers (two men and a woman) wore hazmat suits (but no hard hats). But since they were French, the hazmat suits were a stylish white, with a tasteful red stripe. They each had their suit adjusted to look fashionable; open at the neck line, hiked up where they met their boots. They looked like an early ’80s, new wave synth band. One of the hazmat trio played a beautiful violin solo then the woman read something in French as the other man read something (I assume it was a translation of the same thing) in English. I half expected to see Mummenschanz appear and do their famous toilet paper pantomime.

    Sort-of moving. Very French. I’m sure the wreath was flattered.

  51. So I’ve said if I had more time I’d paint, and lo and behold I have more time and I’m painting.
    But I’m hear to share my current YouTube enthusiasm: The Tarantella. I’m sure everybody has heard of it. From the clips I’ve seen it is a genuine folk dance: everyone in Calabria seems to know how to do it, with varying levels of skill, everyone understands the rules, young and old do it together.
    Old cumudgeon that I am, I’m quite heartened to see kids in Levis and Reeboks dancing it. Globalism hasn’t crushed everything (and it’s thanks to globalism that I can sit in London and watch Italian street festivals, of course.)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmTzyUGrBEY
    (Note the Priest and Nun at 3 minutes)

  52. Stuff NZ was tracking the numbers the last I looked Rufus.

    I think that senior students will start to pick up as it becomes clear how much they are missing. Juniors, no chance.

  53. Two birthdays in two days wrapped in the Holy Week Triduum…Lots of online work…What shut down? I’m busier than usual.

    And yeah…ran out of beer AND wine simultaneously ?
    Poor prepping…I know. But…we still have Pimm’s & my scotch.
    We will make it to Tuesday when stuff reopens.
    Phew!

  55. 1. Obsessive analysis of the data on the virus.
    2. A couple of long walks every day.
    3. More cooking, household chores (our usual help is on ‘furlough’)
    4. Reading (including “The Betrothed,” which was recommended here).
    5. Oddly, much less TV watching. Haven’t been in the mood, plus no sports to watch.

  56. Morning update: first an apology to Neo for my crass comment about being paranoid early in this thread. It was out of line.

    No change in the active cases. Still moving along the linear portion of the sigmoid curve with flattening still showing 8-9 days out. Active cases adding, on average, 27,000 per day. Serious cases showed a large decrease in new cases, the previous day had a 10% increase. Yesterday was a small 1.5% increase. We had such an encouraging sign earlier last week only to see a massive 40% surge to end the flattening. So we need to see such a trend continue for at least 5 days.

    On topic: besides dog walking, I spend my day first doing a 1-2 hour flight on my flightsim. I’m working my way through the list of cities on departedflights.com for 1999. I like flying more classic jetliners and commuter planes. Working through the list gives me a destination to fly to each day. I use real time weather and so have to do preflight planning. The air museum started an online daily video chat for all of us docents, so the last few days I got to reconnect with all the people who I miss working with.

    Played guitar a lot in college, so now taking the time to play again about an hour a day. Relearning all those songs I knew by heart. Relearning techniques, how to set the amp, etc. Hope to get back to form in a couple of months. The muscle memory is there, sort of, but needs a lot of exercise. I miss reffing youth soccer, but maybe the high school summer season will happen, so also need to keep the exercise routine going.

    Watch TV in the evening…all streaming: Netflix, Prime, and Disney+. It’s Sunday so next episode of Westworld to look forward to watch tonight!

  58. Thank you Sarah…

    and thank you Rufus T (in my case no extra health costs… i do not take any meds, rarely see the doctor, and am rarely ill… i am not overweight… etc… we joke that god dont like me – he makes me healthy to keep me away as long as possible (this makes sense if you know really old people who are upset they got to be that old))

    On another note… msn, times, etc are working hard to paint trump as not reacting and shutting down everything… they are banking on the fact that people wont remember that when he tried to stop flights for terrorism he was a racist… when he was trying to do more about covid, he was a racist xenophobe (said biden and others).. its easy to claim things in hindsight, but they are using their best authors to write long tracts detailing how he should have gone to more extremes… without actually knowing we would top 20,000.. or even how the medicine he touted worked and they were all against it, now slowly coming around…

    i wonder what MSN and the others will do if this country changes… do they really think that they would have a better easier time being the press? do they know that over the past 20 years over 400 press people been assassinated in Russia alone? do they know the beatings they suffer? do they know how many end up in prison?

    Venezuela’s war on the press
    https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/venezuela_crisis_maduro_trump.php

    Russia – 2018
    April 15 – Maksim Borodin died of injuries from falling out of a window at his apartment
    July 23 – Denis Suvorov was found dead after being stabbed by an unknown assailant in Nizhny Novgorod.
    July 31 – Sergei Grachyov went missing in Nizhny Novgorod on July 21 after taking a reporting trip there from Moscow. His body was found 11 days later.
    September 10 – Yegor Orlov disappeared on September 7 after leaving for work in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan. His body was later found in a river in the Yelabuzhsky District.

    As of 2013 Russia ranked 148th out of 179 countries in the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. In the 2015 Freedom House Freedom of the Press report Russia scored 83 (100 being the worst), mostly because of new laws introduced in 2014 that further extended the state control over mass media
    -=-=-=-
    One would think that the press would be one of the last places that would want this change…
    once there is no USA to hide, do even the billionaires think they will keep their money and have a place at the table?

  59. I am working from home. Combined with spring cleaning and preparations for the Passover holiday. I have gained 2-3 hours a day by not commuting. Long list of fixit and garden projects waiting for me.

  60. Does anybody else hold their breath when they pass another person in the grocery store or on a bikepath?

  62. We live on an acre, with flower gardens everywhere, so I can always trim things and pull weeds.

    I’d love to be taking longs walks. Unfortunately, my husband needs a knee replacement and can’t walk other than short distances at low speed. He was taking our dog to the nearby lake, a state park, to pretend to fish, and they were both having a wonderful time and staying sane. Then the governor closed the state park, and threatened anyone parking nearby with tickets!

    I pulled weeds and mowed yesterday, but I refuse to pull weeds on Easter Sunday. Tomorrow I’ll start cutting down daffodils to make way for the daylilies and other perennials.

  63. Xylurgos,

    I attended Wayne State from ’72-’79, mostly attending nights while I worked during the day. I’m sure we had many of the same professors. I remember Dr. Milton Covensky very well. He taught the Historography class. Also Dr. Burk World Civ, and Dr. Small, teaching History of Michigan. I think everyone had to take HofM, at least if History was their major. I still have some of my textbooks, and have used them for reference. Seems like sooooooo long ago.

    Waidmann

  64. Thanks Fractal Rabbit..
    Looking for ideas for a product.. Will share if i earn! 🙂

    Right now may be switching over to Java for android to do a game…
    as i have an idea of something…

    my big problem is that i have so many skills it means i can be all over
    ie. what to do, what direction to take, etc.. (blank page syndrome equiv)

    I literally can do most anything, including picking up something new real fast
    so i was looking at doing a AI project to do ID in pancreas slides as there is a challenge with cash prize in it, and the difficulty keeps others out

    freaking out though…
    and want to use the time in a really useful way
    i mean, this situation is almost equal to a person investing and funding the time to write or make something!!! literally.. so there is an opportunity to create… the stuff i have done since October has not amounted to anything and i only have a few months left… (if i dont find anything)… so its akin to being invested in for a few months to create X..

    hmmmmm…

  65. Art,

    Back when this whole thing was getting started, I thought of an app I had called (entirely in my head) Fire Break, before I knew that was taken by DARPA already for their awesome anti-virus program.

    I envisioned a program that worked like Wayz (if you don’t know it, check it out), only instead of reporting traffic/density or police presence (alcoholics love it) or gas stops, it reported cases of viruses. Any public health emergency virus. And it would also have a test (simple questions, no medical unless there was some way to interface with FitBits and smartwatchs, too) you could take that would assign you a likelihood based on symptoms of having various diseases (not necessarily just COVID) and whether you should isolate. All voluntary reporting of course. It wouldn’t give identities to other uses but it would show a map of where other possible positives are.

    But there might be also be a way to voluntarily report to one’s state or local health department, so that , if there’s a test, they can instruct you to go to a drive up test, or come to you.

    Anyway, I have ZERO programming skills, so it went nowhere of course. I actually made some calls to a programmer I knew but he wasn’t interested in the idea. Probably because its clunky. And its the type of app that might not fly in the USA due to privacy/HIPAA. But I could see some other countries jumping right on it.

    Its yours if you want it, not that its much.

    As far as games, if you could design a virtual tabletop RPG, played like D&D (or compatible with) but made to play through a smartphone, for people playing at distances, that might also be profitable. VTTRPGs are getting to be much bigger-even before the shut downs-, but they’re primarily based on PCs or laptops. Not much for tablets or phones. But phones might be the way to go because virtually everyone who plays them carries smartphones now. No need to purchase an item many just aren’t buying anymore. Less and less people younger than 35 are buying PCs unless they need it for work.

    The way I see it, if you could include three things (to keep it simple and streamlined), you would be golden:

    1-A Facetime/Skype-like connection, designating one individual as the Game Master

    2-A digital dice roller that all players share to maximize trust and minimize cheating.

    3-An in-game messenger, to send messages to the GM or other players privately.

  67. I heard the feds were looking for someone who can still do COBOL to handle the volume on some of the benefits applications.

  68. We’ve had closed schools since mid March, so prof wife has been teaching from home; 2 or 3 student kids home learning on-line (one lives half time with friend). I look up virus facts, relax, have fine walks in the spring sun in the shady woods.
    Wearing masks, which doctor wife made, and we take off when no others are visible on the animal paths we follow in the forest.

    We just go back from a nice couple of hours walking. She’s also on the Ministry of Health’s work-nightly skype/ WebEx call about Slovak policies.

    There’s plenty of studying, reading, I could be doing … but nah…

    Glad so many good thinking, good hearted, leave so many good comments here. Actually do wish a few more Trump skeptics were around, but it seems so many have such weak logic they don’t really want to discuss good & bad points logically.

    Hello to Corona Life!

    I,
    I
    have
    some
    time
    alone.

    … It’s the End of the World, as we know it.
    And I feel fine.
    (Best of the I. R. S. years. Has everybody filed already? Gotta file to get an early check, or so I’ve heard.)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OyBtMPqpNY

  70. “What are you doing to keep yourselves busy?”

    Sitting on the back deck, drinking martinis, and using a pellet gun to shoot at squirrels.

    [No, not really]

    If physicsguy reads this: What kind of guitars do you have?

    Serious answer: need to start going into the office as I have the right to, and am not able to do all I to need from home. Trouble has been there are iffy health care businesses (Chiros, and Physical therapy offices) in the adjoining suites, and I want no part of encountering any of that problematical traffic in the lobby.

    Maybe I will hunt squirrels in the back yard instead.

  71. hey! Fractal Rabbit… thanks!
    here is the problem from a programming perspective… the acquisition of the data… hipaa would not be a problem as each person gives their permission by entering… but whats lacking is the way to integrate the data…

    If its people self reporting, its not bad, but then what do yo do with the griefers? the people who get and enter things just to be a thorn in the side as a purpose in life? if it uses public databases, how do you get the data down to a small enough area to be meaningful?

    so the issue with the software is more logistical than technological..
    the old, lead a horse to water but cant make em drink…

    lets say you focused on just one urban area.. NYC.. large area, large number of people, etc.
    the ability to get the data you need is abrogated by the different potential groups..
    the people woh dont install many apps… the germiphobes that would..
    hypochondriacs maybe.. the effectiveness of the end result shifts heavily on the coverage..

    now, google and others are looking to use your telephone… but that will do other things to get the info
    ie…. integrate the telephone id with a record of your searches and accesses… which could tell you a lot

    here is a real world example of how good AI can be.
    a tabular AI was being used by a company (Target i believe) to predict pregnancy..
    peoples buying habits change upon hearing they are pregnant, even if others are not told
    the data was put in and a program was being run that did this…
    well… the side effects were interesting… besides sending coupons to happy families..
    people whose wives were cheating got targeted..
    a few very irate fathers of young daughters came in to complain that their daughters kept getting coupons…
    [turned out they were pregnant]

    the other side of the issue on the app was how to monetize it..
    you either charge micro-payments or spy on people in terms of data to sell
    their use constitutes an agreement to allow that…
    So the contractual issue isnt much of an issue given precedence.

    for me the problem is accuracy… without a large user base the accuracy would be way low
    it would need a larger base to start with… and sparse areas would just not be right..
    you would never have enough people to trigger the reason behind it

    this is putting aside what the formulea should be..

    right now i am writing a paper for a challenge asking for ideas behind the problems of covid
    may net 500… but the point is to generate ideas that later may be turned into studies and so on and so on
    for me, the models they are using suck as they are not models created for emerging issues
    but models to quantify known continuing issues… flu has existed so long that we have a continuous issue
    the formula and models are horrid for something that is just starting… they are wrong! period.
    and they continue to be used as if no one has as screwdriver so all the cutlery has to get bent..

    so my paper is going to be about what is needed from a data analysis view point to create better models from the get go… and a lot of it has to be quantified by things like satellite imagery that can turn a landscape into a model of interaction… not to mention right now on the side trying to figure out how to quantify different social practices in a meaningful way that modulate the outcomes… are Italians closer physical than the Japanese? yes. do cultures that use hand shakes fair worse than those that dont? yes. Do physical practices of some cultures, like the Chinese to wear masks when they are sick (not like in the US when afraid of others sickness) modulate things? what does a mass transit system do? how does a bus vs train vs jitney act on things?

    And its not just yes or no… its what quotient to use for them…

    you see… the real issue here from a data analysis point is that we never bothered to actually build up the information necessary that would be needed in a quantified meaningful model… academics are actually quite bad at this… they are not data experts… nor can they afford them… they are also willing to use simple things that are not hard to do to get their points as there is no plus for harder things if they do them, and a higher rate of failure… so there is no integrated approach…

    you want to see an integrated approach towards data and monetization of its potential?
    Go here: https://research.google/tools/datasets/

    Google has made itself more than the center the public knows…
    a lot of the information that your app would need or act on may even be there
    its https://research.google/research-areas/ is very interesting..

    right now you have yolo, which does the creepy AI that you may have seen in movies
    depending on how its put together and used, it can draw boxes around video images and identify contents
    you can (depending on implementation), put a camera on the street and it ill idenfy cars, people, pets, and so on…

    for instance… one thing that can be done is to feed CNN networks data on walk and gait information
    this takes a lot… (some of these databases have millions and millions of images… without renting google graphic cards cores you may not be able to even train them in a reasonable amount of time. ergo the use of pre trained nets like adam)

    but did you know that you could monitor street in NYC or any area and tell whether people are sick or not?
    you could get a general well being score of an area and even idenitify things? we are quite variable and we change how we move and act based on our personal conditions… coughing and sneezing shows up… change in gait… (ie you can identify a person by gait.. so you can monitor them day to day even if you dont have that tied to a name or actual identity)…

    all this is possible… but you have to get people like me and others into a position of doing
    and the people in command of that are actually not very visionary, have too many socioapaths, and many who prefer to play its safe at the expense of their employers who would want more, but are hobbled by this norm…

    just thoughts..
    thanks for the idea though
    if i could figure a way to the data, i would take a stab at framing it..

  72. “If physicsguy reads this: What kind of guitars do you have?”

    Right now a Stratocaster with Marshall amp. After the virus is over I’m going to look for a new acoustic as my old one gave up the ghost. Undecided on whether nylon or steel string.

  73. DNW, my husband actually shoots at squirrels on the bird feeders with his pellet gun. He hits ’em, the springer spaniel grabs them and finishes them quickly (shake, shake, that’s it). But the squirrels keep coming.

  74. It is extremely unlikely to almost impossible that walking past someone is going to transmit Wuhan in that less than a second you breath their air.
    Theoretically possible–yes. A real life event? No.

    Remember, only 17% of the people on the cruise boat caught it,and they were in close quarters with infected people for a few weeks.

    Worry less. Wash your hands, keep them away from your face, you’ll be fine.

  75. Artfldgr,

    Thanks for explaining that to me. The programmer I know just shrugged it off. And I really can’t blame him. I’m just a cop after all with “a great idea for an app”. Programmers must here these spiels all the time.

    I don’t think those difficulties are insurmountable, generally. But for an individual programmer…eh…

    I’m thinking that such a program would need to be made for South Korea or Japan, where people are more inclined to follow such recommendations and the health officials in government are more likely to sponsor and use such a thing.

    Well, like I said, you can have it if you were to ever make it work.

  76. @ Kate.
    Hahahaha. My sister, chagrined and amused in equal parts, informed me that her husband and son resorted to the same expedient in their quite upscale S.E. of Charlotte neighborhood. Not that neighbors would notice given the size of the properties and the terrain.

    I’ve got three of the bloody guns and can only shoot the old Sheridan with consistent head hunting accuracy. LOL The jolt of the break open style is like trying to fire an open bolt rifle with MOA precision. Or maybe I just haven’t got the hang of using one yet.

    @ physicsguy,
    I’ve got the same model. A ’62 sunburst, and thus one of the more common less sought after iterations. Was my dad’s. It doesn’t really get used. This time we are living in has been proclaimed by those who should know, to be a “golden age of luthiery”. There are so many great acoustics out there, it would be hard for anyone with the least diligence or practical experience to go far wrong. It’s a feast of riches in the guitar world right now.

    Good luck!

  77. artfldgr – looking for work? why not PHP? There are agencies who claim to be looking for programmers. I haven’t tried them, tho.

  78. @DNW, well my Strat is not one of classics, 1982 model, but I like it. Just put new strings on. I forgot how much better new strings sound. I learned on a nylon string, but for what I play generally, a steel string is probably the way I’ll go.

  79. Kind of late in this series but by golly, we got to do a Zoom thing with my grown kids and their families in Gunnison, CO, Grosse Point Park, MI and here in Boerne, TX where we live. I was able to see and talk to 5 of our six grand kids ranging in age from 22 to 2 years old. That was an amazing hour watching our kids visit and share.

    Then I prepared out meal for this evening, low carb, grilled bacon wrapped Jalapeño slices with cream cheese wrapped in bacon, grilled zucchini, sliced vine ripened tomatoes and very, very rare fillets of beef tenderloin grilled extremely hot and fast and a bit of red wine.

    We are truly blessed on this Easter Sunday.

  81. Rufus T. Firefly on April 12, 2020 at 3:11 am said:
    AesopFan,

    You are probably aware of Michael Crichton’ term, Gell-mann Amnesia Effect to explain journalistic incompetence.
    * * *
    Yep – my favorite “go to” when somebody tells me “I read it in the papers.”

    However, it is not so much an explanation of journalistic incompetence (although that is a serious problem) so much as a description of reader gullibility.
    So far as I know, there hasn’t been an actual explanation of the phenomenon.

    I learned about fake news for the first time while watching a “60 Minutes” report in the eighties on a case we actually knew about nearly-first-hand — never watched the show again, and started looking at other “news expose” programs with a jaundiced eye. Learned about Gell-Mann’s Effect decades later – I actually read about it in his autobiography – and recognized it immediately.

  82. Kate on April 12, 2020 at 1:08 pm said:
    I heard the feds were looking for someone who can still do COBOL to handle the volume on some of the benefits applications.
    * * *
    While teaching computer programming in the late eighties, I learned enough COBOL to grade student programs: it was still a marketable skill back then. Was almost lured into signing onto some of the job calls during the Y2K crisis (anybody remember how that turned out?), but resisted.

    Please note that most of those programs were already old 40 years ago.
    It is cheaper (and often safer, bug-wise) to just keep them going than to write new up-to-date programs, with the consequent churn in installation and training.
    If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — sometimes carried to extremes.

  83. Morning update: Again, very little change. I will note that the increase in active cases for the past three days has been about, 31,000, 25,000, 24,000. A move in the right direction, but not enough to shift the increase off the linear portion of the sigmoid curve. Serious cases had a 6% increase from the previous day and 5 times larger than the 1.6% increase the day before. NY continues to add an almost consistent 12,000 cases per day. Subtracting NY from the US active cases still does not change the trend, so cases outside of NY are still increasing in a linear fashion.

    As you may know, I’m fairly skeptical of Fauci. My wife, who is very middle-of-the-road politically surprised me yesterday. She said Fauci is “a weasel, and has let his power go to his head.” Now this shows up this morning: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/04/is_president_trump_finally_getting_ready_to_fire_dr_fauci_comments.html#comments-container

    Getting ready for near hurricane conditions here in southern New England for this afternoon. With all this craziness, just what we need: downed trees and power outages. 🙁

  84. Our daughter in Birmingham came through this storm all right, and we just survived it here. Hope you will also do well in Connecticut, physicsguy!

    My own physics guy wants to know if you used Becker for mechanics.

  85. Kate, Thanks. At least the trees here have no leaves yet, so we’ll see. But in my town someone sneezes and the power goes out.

    I used Fowles and Cassidy for mechanics. It is generally the first time students see physics beyond the intro level, and I thought it had the right balance. It’s a transition course where they have to do multistep solutions really for the first time. If it was a good class I might throw in a problem or two from Symon, or if they were really great something from Goldstein to stretch them a bit. Griffiths was the bible for E&M. I never adopted a standard text for QM. Griffiths is good but too front loaded with the math which I liked to introduce as needed. So I just gave the students a lists of books as references; seemed to work well as they were seniors by that point.

  87. Ah, he remembers Symon problems, and also Griffiths for E&M. After a rigorous small-college physics undergraduate training, he found graduate work in EE “a piece of cake.”

    Yes, it was in CT where I learned to fill up the bathtub and put pitchers of water on the counter whenever bad weather was expected. As you say, the power goes out when someone sneezes. Good luck today!

  88. Xylourgos being in Greece, it’s Holy Week there now. 🙂

    We have just me and the priest for services at our parish lately. We’re trying out live-streaming for the first time in the past week or so. Actually started on Sat. of Lazarus, with the video part.

    I’m looking forward to hiking season, if my knees can stand it. I think once I get moving, they’ll be okay. But right now, it’s rainy here.

  89. artfldgr – looking for work? why not PHP? There are agencies who claim to be looking for programmers. I haven’t tried them, tho.

    Havnt done PHP professionally… so they look at my resume and say… cant teach old dog new tricks… meanwhile the dems are shipping in an extra 80,000 programmers from india… so even young kids from college cant get work because the india managers hire only india people. the people supported a system that disenfranchises them in their own country and gives them no place to go.

    after all… if you want the maximum diversity, hire any one but a old evil white male they are the antithesis to that… also, only women have re-education and career change programs… only 8A gets the 80% guaranteed loans from SBA… also, there is an age issue in programming… which has been around since at least the 1980s in that the managers who dont program think that old people who have kept up with tech cant learn… also back when, an associates degree was what was needed…. but now they are asking for bachelors… which males have a hard time getting for continuing ed as they want more diversity in programming.. also, i am of the ONLY class its legal to discriminate against… the only unprotected class…

    so i figure when i lose my home, i lose my life
    its ok.. all that politics has costed me my family, my son, my retirement, etc.
    there is nothing and i wont live on the street again.. been there… im too old now for that.

    i dont really mind it… its been an awful life anyway, without friends, without hope, with everything taken away once i get a bit together… so its not a loss… they have plenty of replacement imports (no one wants to discuss)…

    Besides, every evil guy like me that dies makes the world a better place dont you know… .
    all is good… i can stop hurting everyone i love by existing…
    no different than having cancer being cancer.

    I never woke up anyone to what was really happening under the surface. the key subjects were refused to be discussed, so they were refused a forum for change… that’s the way it should be. because thats the way it is I could never make public the key things… and i tried and tried… till i gave up.. then everyone told me how much better my posts were that i gave up trying any more.. so that told me its better without me… because changing the things i was so much on would be necessary to have me.. a man starving on the street eating rats is not going to be witty on neo..

    its a very down day.
    i have 36 days left..
    then savings
    my wife cant get help if i am around – and she can get so much more
    so i am hoping covid takes me and not her. she is my everything.
    i always wondered why your a hero if you push someone out of the way
    and your not a hero if you get out of the way…

    I would have gone to school… but given the schools proportions and money offered…
    no way..if i could not clear enough to save, i could not clear enough to attend…
    and how many of the males are actually foriegn – tons of free money..
    [even the free school isnt for people like me… i could list 50 programs for over 40
    women who want to relearn, but zero for men]

    given the dems and what they do, there is no hope for change..
    given this situation, there is no way they are going to hire me. but i will keep trying

    in fact they let me go to win a diversity award, and removed everyone in
    the department that didnt fit that to replace them… but that’s not illegal.
    nor was it illegal to have whole departments of people from one country…

    We dont know what to do..
    i haven’t stopped working to death literally for decades.
    to the point i have no friends, have no interaction with other humans
    (no going out, no hanging out, no one comes to see sports, just two days a year to see my best man)

    i just get up and work till i pass out at night.. then do it again…
    get up… learn and work all day… then find out there is no way to prove it or show it to the person that has to beleive it.. when most of the interview managers are from india, and almost all the job search are from india, i even applied to such a company IN india… the job was filled already…

    I invented solutions to data search… but was crushed… my chip design never to be made
    but if i was another kind of person, it would have a chance… i have other solutions..
    worthless because i have no network, no one that wants it from someone like me
    that includes my artwork too… tried to do galleries…
    but they are all about young oppressed artists with a story
    not old men meeting the end they deserve for the slavery and evils they caused (but didnt)

    its like the kid in class that always raises their hand…
    but never gets called to give others a chance
    we want X but not from you…

    well see what happens…
    wont we?

    the reason my posts were so long, was i was fighting for my life the only way i knew how..
    the reason i resisted shutting up, is i didn’t want to lose… but now i know better…

    White Males Should All Be Killed, Tweets Black Nurse
    White men are now the Democratic Party’s punching bag. That’s a dangerous bet to make.
    Dear White, Straight, Cisgender, Man People: You Are Privileged
    Should White Boys Still Be Allowed to Talk? – The Dickinsonian
    Has the term ‘straight white male’ really become an insult?
    How should we talk about white men today? – The Washington …
    ‘Straight white males are an inferior type of human who should know their place’
    The Demonizing of White Men – The Daily Signal
    The Straight, White, Middle-Class Man Needs to Be Dethroned

    The Truth about Anti-White Discrimination
    (Many white Americans feel that discrimination against whites is on the rise. Experiments suggests otherwise)

    ‘White males’ should be BANNED from speaking during university classes so women and transgender students are more willing to contribute to discussions, seminar suggests

    Cisgender Straight White Males Need Not Apply | Inc.com
    Anti White Male Movement – Chronicle of Higher Education

    IF i dont like the above… i am a Nazi white supremacist…
    if i grew up believing ML King content of character, i am a NAZI

    my family was exterminated by the Nazis…
    now by the left here… there will be no more.. my son is not marrying..

    so this is all goodness…
    to say otherwise is to be a Nazi
    and dying is better than that…
    it hurt the last time i was called that
    Especially if my wife from Indonesia has a better life because of it…
    as she is hurt when they do that to me…

  90. I know you all feel differently…
    and i appreciate that…

    but that wont pay my rent, and keep me from starving
    and as maslow points out, you really cant enjoy life if your never above subsistence living working hard just to survive..

    so i know your all good people and will wish me good
    especially neo..

    but unless wishes pay the rent and put food on the table…
    thats all they are… wishes… something less than prayers..
    and my family has always had a hard time believing
    after watching millions exterminated and most of them praying too

    so i thank you all, and save you the trouble of expressing it.
    get back to the thread… and enjoy life.. its the only one you get
    and the more you know that, the more painful it is
    when you cant get the basics thing that most others have.

    all the best people.
    i will keep posting till i cant post…
    the best will be my posting i found something!!!
    🙂

  92. Artfldgr,

    I may have missed it, but it appears you took apart Fractal Rabbit’s first suggestion but did not address the second. I agree the first one is not very practical for a home coder without major industry or government backing,

    But the second one seems like a very sound idea. I have never been an RPG’er or video gamer, for that matter, but from what I know from folks who are; a phone app sort of like “Words with Friends” aimed at the D&D crowd could be very popular. Nintendo(?) came out with a phone app version of Pokemon and it was a monster hit.

  93. Regarding neo’s statement in the post that she finds herself watching youtube more…

    I have been watching less of all media in the past month. However, in the few months prior I notice I watch much less commercial programming in favor of simply going to youtube and searching. I have found incredible stuff on youtube. Some done professionally, or through universities, museums, etc. But much of it done by clever individuals. I’ve spent hours watching home inventors, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, sewers…. do amazing projects. Great physics and astronomy lectures. Amazing history lessons. And, outstanding political commentary.

    I cut the cord last year and went with YoutubeTV. It’s a good product. Unlimited DVR in the cloud, so one can watch on one’s own schedule and fast forward through commercials. But I think I will soon “cut” that due to the quality of stuff available for free on the net.

  94. Again on the youtube topic, I listened to a podcast of someone who has built a mini-empire beginning with youtube videos and he made an excellent post.

    Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Steven Colbert, many news personalities… They have full time staffs of 100 or more people that produce their shows. Now, due to “self-quarantining” they are producing their shows from home and by and large they are worse than what many youtubers do completely on their own. And those other folks still have writers writing their material.

    You can really see that so many of our big name talents are not what they appear to be without their cadre of writers, producers, show runners, joke writers, cue card holders, make up artists, hairstylists and cameramen working 40 hours a week to make them look good. Not to mention multi-million dollar budgets, broadcast studios, equipment…

    There are people doing a better job completely on their own.

    And another point this youtuber made. We all had notice this was coming. Why couldn’t NBC, CBS, ABC send a production crew to Kimmel, Colbert, Fallon, etc. homes prior to lockdown and set up a decent camera and mic? Or, even have a tech wearing a mask come in after lockdown, stay away from anyone else, and set something up.

    The network emperors have no clothes.

  95. Final (?) thing on the youtube topic:

    Dennis Miller said now that all these media professionals, pundits and the experts they feature are broadcasting from their own homes you see a lot of them aren’t doing as well financially as most of us assumed. When you see their rooms, furniture, decorating style… Things aren’t what we imagined they were.

  96. I learned about fake news for the first time while watching a “60 Minutes” report in the eighties on a case we actually knew about nearly-first-hand

    Me too. They asked a professor of surgery if they could do a program on how young surgeons are trained. He gave them free rein of the hospital, a famous teaching institution in New York, up state. When the program aired it was about “Ghost surgery,” in which the patient did not know who the surgeon was assuming it was the professor. No mention of the truth and the “patient” was a hospital employee who lied. The Chief Resident at the time told me the story.

  98. I was an avid viewer of 60 Minutes, Dateline, Frontline… any news show that took it to “the Man” on behalf of the little guy. Michael Moore had a show for awhile that I also watched religiously.

    Dateline aired an episode about reported spontaneous explosions and fires in General Motors trucks. I saw the episode when it aired and was amazed that they actually caught an instance on film. Well, GM was amazed also, and did some investigation and was able to prove that technicians working for Dateline had rigged the whole thing using pyrotechnics strapped to the truck.

    I was such a believer in the integrity of journalists that, when the truth became public I anxiously awaited the next episode of Dateline. I knew the hosts, Jane Pauley and Stone Phillips would be outraged that an NBC employee had staged the fire. I honestly thought they both might quit the show on the air.

    That week’s episode aired and it was just a normal show. Then, finally at the end, Pauley and Phillips read a brief apology obviously crafted by someone else and then a commercial and that was it. Next week, they were both on the air with a new episode like nothing had ever happened. Pauley and Phillips didn’t seem at all upset, or disgusted, seemed like they may have even known about it. NBC didn’t demote them. It had no impact on their careers.

    That’s when the scales fell from my eyes. I started researching and found documentation of how my blue collar hero, Michael Moore had staged footage in, “Roger and Me,” along with lists of the movie’s many lies.

    I grew up reading the great, Mike Royko in Chicago and just assumed all journalists were like him. I now understand he was a rare exception.

  99. I second pretty much everything in the string of comments by Rufus.
    On two occasions, I have been in a group filmed for a tv “human interest” program, once here in Denver and once in Wales (dance school & dance team — a decade ago, sad to say), and in both cases it was obvious that the only talent in the duo of reporter & cameraman was the tech.

    Pauley and Phillips Dateline – fake but accurate – in the pre-internet days, they could get away with it. Dan Rather still contends his letter about GWB was genuine.

    Both were eye-openers about the magnitude of fake news being foisted on the public (cue Gell-Mann again) because the viewers either never hear the debunking, believe the apologies, or flat out don’t care: “If GM wasn’t guilty of that offense, they were probably guilty of something just as bad.”

    The question of why “somebody didn’t see this coming” and set up home studios – that is curious, isn’t it?
    Couple of possibilities: it couldn’t happen to them because they’re special; they believe their own fake news half the time (the half that claimed the virus was no big deal, which alternates with the half that claims Trump is killing us all by not becoming the total dictator we’ve accused him of being since he won the election); there really isn’t anyone in the news organization leadership who has two brain cells to rub together.

    I’m going with “all of the above.”

  100. Rufus T. Firefly on April 13, 2020 at 11:22 am said:
    Regarding the post topic of clever folks posting videos of COVID related material.
    * * *
    That was a hoot. I sure wouldn’t be able to tell his presentation from a “real” report, other than it being somewhat better.

    As for clever people — there is no end to them.
    Here’s the latest from Bookworm Room, where you can find several “galleries” of meme art; and the Babylon Bee never disappoints.

    https://www.bookwormroom.com/2020/04/09/bookworm-beat-4-9-20-the-coronavirus-memes-are-getting-angry-illustrated-edition/#comments

    http://www.bookwormroom.com/category/illustrated-editions/

  102. “my wife … is my everything.” – Artfldgr

    You are her hero because of who you are, and you can pull through this together.

    “…i will keep posting till i cant post…
    the best will be my posting i found something!!!”

    Looking forward to seeing that post!

  104. Busy: Work. I only work from 8:30 to 3:30. I’m in education as related service (SPED) and right now my philosophy is I won’t work past my contracted hours unless I’m writing AR or reeval reports because I know for sure the teachers in my district aren’t. I have to carry out my duties since my position has a lot of legalities attached to it. I’ve been busy more than the teachers have been in the past two weeks since I carry my usual schedule when I meet students (via Google Hangouts). Only on Saturday mornings do I lesson plan for the next week. Basically same old same old. Plus, right after working hours I have to prepare my job applications.

    Self-Therapy: Weekly Google Hangouts/Meets with co-workers who I consider friends and non-worker friends and family. Add in scotch and whiskey.

    Goals: Reading upon different therapeutic modalities.

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