Coronavirus

[Michael]

I finally figured out what's going on. "They" are listening to buffoons and not boffins when they make their rules.

[Randi]

[Hanibal94]

Sure sounds like it

Here in Germany, the politicians have generally listened to boffins when making the rules - but then people get upset because the rules change frequently because our knowledge of the virus changes frequently!
And now we're in a second full lockdown. The "light shutdown" in November didn't do enough, so they had to go all the way:

- Pretty much everything non-essential has been closed (although restaurants can still do takeout/delivery)
- Schools and kindergartens are closed
- In areas with lots of pedestrians, such as downtown, you have to wear a mask
- You're not allowed to leave your apartment without a good reason, such as going to work, buying food/medicine, or exercising within 15 km of where you live
- There are also limits on how many people from different households can meet indoors (although these are a little higher for the 24th to 27th)
- Some places are also setting curfews, or banning alcohol and fireworks

While vaccines are on the way - hurrah! - the EU insisted on buying them as a group, instead of just purchasing as many doses as possible like Britain and the US, so it will probably take a while before we can get it.
I think I need to go out and get some sun to improve my mood after writing this.

[studentforever]

Stay safe and keep smiling even if the latter has to be forced. There was an old song which said that whistling a happy tune so 'no one ever knows I'm afraid' reduced the fear. My theory is that fake smiles fool your brain into thinking you are less sad/frustrated/... than you are, so even if you don't feel better you don't feel as bad. It's free anyway

[jil]

Excellent advice! (And there's always chocolate - just cooking a Gu chocolate melting middle pud!)

I had already resigned myself to Christmas on my own. The friends I might have formed a bubble with are still shielding so I would have needed to self-isolate before joining them and it also didn't seem worth the risk with vaccines coming. I'd stocked up on lots of goodies last week, so I shouldn't have to go out shopping for a while.

Anyway pudding's out of the oven...

[studentforever]

I have a problem folks - chocolate upsets my 'arthritis'. No-one knows why but I can detect chocolate by the symptoms when I didn't identify its presence by the taste. So, all these treats people talk about aren't for me, two or three days aching and so stiff that stairs are scary just don't compensate for the brief pleasure. Great fun trying to get waitresses NOT to put chocolate sprinkles on deserts.

[jil]

Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

I definitely don't know how I'd cope with that

[Michael]

I'm with you on that! What an affliction!!!

[Randi]

Cruel fate!

[AvastMH]

Hope you felt cheered up Chris

jil - that's a real nuisance! I'm sorry to hear it. It's why I gave up meat donkey's years ago - creaked like an old door with rusty hinges after eating the stuff My sympathies then

Stopped to re-watch the Govt's presentation yesterday which closed down Xmas. There's that moment, in the stable yard, when you realise that a door is open and the horse is tentatively trying out the threshold. A bright person might nip over and give dobbin a little push backwards as they shut the door. A nitwit will say 'I saw the door was open, and then the horse bolted down the stable yard so I thought I ought to try and catch up with it.' The latter is where we find ourselves in England's southeast Tier 4.
I see that Hogmanay has bitten the dust too

[Morgan]

We are all staying close to home here. We did have a new Christmas event last evening, however. Inspired by the Italians singing from their balconies last spring, I started playing a patriotic song on my French horn at 6:00pm. My neighbor boy joined me (he plays jazz clarinet and sax.) We have played most evenings since spring- off and on now that it gets dark early. The neighbors have all listened and gotten closer and better connected.
We are all missing singing carols and of course no singing in church (or the parking lots as we are now attending.) Last night we had a Christmas concert. A flutist joined us. We had a concert across the street with 19 people all most in their cars or separated into family groups spaced greater than 20 feet apart. We will remember it as the year we had our concert outside - and the virus raged as well.

[Michael]

Very cool, Morgan! I wish I could have heard it. And the French Horn isn't the easiest of instruments to play. Brava!

[studentforever]

Sounds fun. I must admit I thought a well spaced carol sing in the local football club's car park would be fun. Get a volunteer choir, well spaced on an open air stage, blue tooth speakers as in some of the drive in pantos. Only single households in each car and if cars well spaced out then the occupants of each car could join in the singing. Too late for this year though and I hope it won't be necessary next.

[AvastMH]

Sounds fun. I must admit I thought a well spaced carol sing in the local football club's car park would be fun. Get a volunteer choir, well spaced on an open air stage, blue tooth speakers as in some of the drive in pantos. Only single households in each car and if cars well spaced out then the occupants of each car could join in the singing. Too late for this year though and I hope it won't be necessary next.

That sounds like lots of fun - if your local radio station got behind it I bet it would happen! I've seen the proposed 'Jingle of Bells' at 6 PM on Christmas Eve has now been on national telly. It saves the embarrassment of bad singing, but I'll probably warble a carol anyway

[Morgan]

Thanks for the Head's up. We will be sure to join in at 6:00 Pacific Standard Time. Michael, What time zone are you in??
Morgan

[Michael]

Hi Morgan, I'm in the Pacific Time Zone. (Victoria, B. C.) We would have been permanently in Daylight Time, but our Premier decided to wait for Washington, Oregon and California to join us. It seems your Congress had more important things to argue about.

[Morgan]

Oh Michael, don't get me started on things for Congress to argue about! But listen for us at 6:00 tomorrow.

[Michael]

Where will I hear you? Let me know, and I'll tune in.

[ggordon]

A silver lining in the pandemic is some of the creative solutions that have been devised. This year the Space Needle in Seattle will not be having it's traditional New Year's fireworks show because of concerns about the usual crowds. So instead they have come up with a creative solution and have provided a brief preview.

https://youtube.com/embed/q28gkSXRMs8

They say they that if you look at the Space Needle during the show you will just see maroon lights shining on it. However, they will be using computer images integrated with video of the Space Needle to create a show that will be streamed over TV and the Internet. This will allow everyone to watch safely from home.

[Michael]