BALLEY TV - Episode 3 with Billy Bragg & Arlo Parks →
A great episode of Joe Talbot’s (IDLES) web series where he talks with fellow musicians during the pandemic. Love Billy Bragg!
Schools in the Fall
As I was listening to the Daily podcast today, I couldn’t help but think how dangerous the thinking around school opening is…
They lead off the podcast saying stuff like studies say that inside is like 20x more dangerous than outside for contracting coronavirus; that places like restaurants, bars, churches are the most dangerous (places where people congregate for long period of time, talk/sing/laugh/etc); that coronavirus lingers in the air, etc etc. Then they talk about how opening schools will be fine. Even though everything they described fits schools as well?! Crazy.
They do mention studies that seem to suggest young children haven’t been super spreaders, but what about older students and staff? And kids bringing it home to at-risk family members?
The flu ravaged many schools in our area this past school year, so I have no faith in schools coming up with a plan to prevent coronavirus spread. Even more so after reading plans that have been put forth in a few states. Some have no mandatory masks or staff testing and very little guidance in terms of dealing with all of this…
Then there are examples like Israel, which seem to be closest to what I’d expect from most states:
Two weeks after Israel fully reopened schools, a COVID-19 outbreak sweeping through classrooms — including at least 130 cases at a single school — has led officials to close dozens of schools where students and staff were infected. A new policy orders any school where a virus case emerges to close.
The government decision, announced Wednesday evening, comes after more than 200 cases have been confirmed among students and staff at various schools. At least 244 students and school employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Ministry of Education. At least 42 kindergartens and schools have been shuttered indefinitely. More than 6,800 students and teachers are in home quarantine by government order.
Pretending this disease does not affect kids or isn’t dangerous in a school environment is going to get a lot of people hurt.
I understand the want and need to get kids in school, but that doesn’t change the reality of the situation. The quicker we can change the mindset of folks who won’t wear masks and the quicker we can get an actual federal plan and coordinated response to this pandemic, the sooner we will be able to get back to anything close to normal. Four months into the pandemic and that isn’t working out too well.
Dirty Projectors: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert : NPR →
The new songs are so good!
A collection of thoughts from our weekend outdoors
Here are my thoughts from this weekend’s camping trip to Stony Brook and. Watkins Glen:
- Not checking Twitter, Apple News, or RSS did wonders for my stress level. No service, no notifications, no stress.
- We wore masks anytime we were within 20 feet of someone, but many didn’t. Stony Brook hiking trails weren’t too busy on Friday (the rest of the park was…) so we didn’t have much to worry about as we only hiked. Watkins Glen on Saturday felt insanely packed and I’d put mask wearing at like 50% – I was very uncomfortable, even though it was probably not packed at all for “normal” times. I know I’ve been living in a bubble of Buffalo and our neighborhood for the last 4 months, but I’d prefer to not have to deal with that again anytime soon.
- I downloaded Hamilton before we left Friday AM so we could watch over the weekend. What an amazing production! One daughter is a super fan, so I’ve heard the music pretty much non-stop the last two or three years, but to see the whole production in order was great. Highly recommended. My only complaint was since Act One set such a frenetic pace, Act Two felt like it dragged a little… even though there was plenty of drama in the second half. If they could improve on one thing, it would be two one-hour, more evenly paced acts.
- Watkins Glen is insanely cool as you can see in the pictures. Highly recommended, in normal and/or non-holiday times.
Trip to Stony Brook and Watkins Glen
Friday
Saturday
Local educators urge their peers to be actively anti-racist - buffalonews.com →
The kids and I accompanied my wife to the educators rally in downtown Buffalo this evening. Super inspiring. Glad the kids got to see it!
HEY after 24 Hours
My initial thoughts on HEY after 24 hours:
- the workflows and UX are pretty great, as mentioned by almost everyone
- one negative, maybe: some screened contacts aren’t sticking to their The Feed designation, though it’s possible I did something wrong during initial training – will monitor more before reporting as a bug
- so far, The Feed looks like a great way to browse those types of email on my own time. You can get the gist from what is exposed and dig in if you want. Brilliant.
- when they launch custom domains, look out. I probably would have subscribed already.
- love to see full data export and no lock in – this makes committing a little less stressful
- full testing is kind of hard as I am hesitant to respond to emails from the Hey address. It does force me go back into Mail.app to respond, but that also reminds me how ugly and broken the old system is!
- Would have loved to get jason@ but it was always a dream given who’s involved 😄
At this point, since I use Fastmail already, the decision is whether or not the workflows are worth the extra $35 a year, assuming the custom domains come soon-ish. I am leaning “yes” at this point, as they’ve really have me re-thinking email and how I deal with it. I love that it becomes permission-based across the board and not just for opt-in lists.
I do appreciate DIY posts like these that show what’s possible on your own, but honestly all of the services mentioned cost more than Hey on an annual basis and it looks like more work to maintain. If I was already in that world, I’d probably be hesitant to change to something new, but I’m not going to build all that to match Hey functionality and not save money/time.
In the end, custom domains + Hey’s functionality out of the box seem like an easy Yes. I hope they announce more on timing for custom domains before the end of the trial, though I am not counting on that to make my decision.
More to come!
IDLES - GROUNDS (Official Video) - YouTube →
So good. Perfect soundtrack for 2020. Can’t wait for the new album!
Police: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - YouTube →
Crucial. Watch the whole episode.
Senate Votes to Allow FBI to Look at Your Web Browsing History Without a Warrant - VICE →
Sanders and any other Senator who didn’t show up for amendment vote should be ashamed.
Avenue 5 - Airlock Scene - YouTube →
Pretty much America right now.
Seminal punk label Dischord’s entire catalog is now free online →
“Free” is a bold headline, as it’s pay-what-you-can and the money does go to the artists. Definitely worth checking out. Some of my favorite bands of all time.
The pigs are out getting some sun today! Including my wife’s classroom pig, Suzanne. Coco and Laverne are not quite sure about her, yet.
