Items

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  2021-04-10

  Black Lives Matter, Artist and Craftsman Supply in San Diego

  It's still pretty rare that we go anywhere other than a grocery store or the occasional gas station, but it was necessary to re-up on art supplies (green pen, eraser pencil, sketch books, and the like). At one of our favorite supply stores, the Artist & Craftsman Supply in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, we found the goods. There were limited customers, all with masks. The plexiglass in front of the register kept employee-artists and customer-artists that much safer, as did the gallon-sized dispenser of hand sanitizer. As we left speedily, we noticed several "Black Lives Matter" signs posted in the windows.
• 2020-09-01

  What I think about the rules and procedures I have to follow

  The masks are the worst, but the other rules are o.k. I HATE wearing the masks all the time. The weirdest rule is the one that says we can't play wind instruments inside, as the only 2 instruments that would be a hazard would be the clarinets, because they are straight with no curves in the tubing. All the other instruments have areas where all the spit collects that are below the bell (opening) of the instrument. The likelihood of "dangerous" spit coming out is almost 0, especially for bassoon, and most brass instruments. There was one time where I asked the kid next to me to feel the inside of the boot one the long joint side (I play bassoon), and he was hesitant at first, but then he felt it, and THERE WAS NO SPIT! IT WAS NOT WET! The other side, however, is different story, but that is to be expected as all the spit travels through there, and gets stuck at the very bottom of the boot. Another one I think is absurd is the whole plexiglass-between-the-cashier-and-the-customer-rule, as it is supposed to prevent the transfer of Covid, but the cashier touches everything that the customer is buying. So it is practically useless.
• 2021-01-14

  Virtual Learning

  When I first heard about virtual learning, I thought that it would be great. I would be able to do whatever I wanted during break and in between classes. I could sleep in. The only downside was that I wouldn't see my friends. However, when online school actually started, I quickly discovered that I was seeing my friends more often because school ended earlier. Online school was great. The only obstacle was that sometimes my wifi wouldn't work well. When this happened, I was forced to go down stairs to the dining room, where the router was located. It never affected my grades, and was annoying if anything. Then I learned that we would be going back to school, and I was greatly disappointed. I was even more disappointed when I discovered that school would be completely different. We would have plexiglass in between our desks, and we couldn't even get around the school the usual way. Only certain entrances and exits would be open for use. In years to come, when I'm looking back on my life during COVID, I will have something to be grateful for: Virtual learning.
• 
  2020-11-16

  Wentworth Institute of Technology - Beatty Cafe

  What you are seeing in this picture is what a Beatty cafeteria attendant has to sit behind all day to be able to read people's IDs and sell them the “delicious” meals. It is a different situation compared to what we all used to know. The world is having to live behind plexiglass shields 24/7 just to be able to slow down the spread of this terrible virus. We are in such drastic times that our best option is to wall others off and create as little interaction as possible. Yes, the glass is clear but it is not the same as being able to walk up to them and just ask them how their day is going while they sell you an overpriced cheeseburger. Seeing this for the first time opened my eyes to what our lives may look like if this goes on for much longer. People will no longer have the in-person conversations that helped to turn their day from bad to good.
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  2020-08-06

  Twitter thread about judge with covid

  This is a Twitter thread about a judge with Covid and several people commenting about the judicial processes in their area.
• 
  2020-07-31

  Courts dramatically rethink the jury trial in the era of the coronavirus

  One of the consequences of a huge Covid outbreak in the U.S. is the halt of court proceedings, especially criminal trials. While many proceedings have been conducted virtually, the trial by a jury of your peers has not in most cases. Washington D.C. and nine states have postponed jury trials indefinitely. This has consequences for those awaiting trial, especially anyone awaiting trial from a jail cell. Courts have considered installing HEPA filters, having everyone wear masks, installing plexiglass, putting the jury out in the gallery to allow for proper social distancing but even with all of these mitigation efforts there is still a problem because jury service is compulsory and many don't feel safe performing their civic duty. Still other problems include jurors having to afford child care because their children are not in school due to Covid. This can limit the jury pool.
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  2020-05-31

  Plexiglass Barriers Are Becoming the Norm for Businesses Re-Opening During COVID-19

  The photograph depicts two plexiglass barriers suspended over counters at a Domino gas station in Blanchard, Oklahoma. These barrier are suspended from wire chains connected to the ceiling. These barriers act as a "sneeze guard" much like similar system have placed in restaurants in the past. Much like CDC recommended social distancing, these barrier act to protect employees and customers while they stand closer than six feet for transactions. This particular barrier at Domino was installed specifically in response to COVID-19. Local businesses, such as Domino, Spencer's Grocery, Subway, and China House were just a few of thoes that had been observed with these plexiglass barriers installed since COVID-19. In addition, local state and federal government offices such as Gayla's Tag Agency and the Blanchard Post Office had made the transition to these plastic protective barriers as well. As many locations make the shift to re-opening, the plexiglass barrier has become a growing standard of how people do face-to-face business, even in rural communities. Personal story submitted for the Rural Voices collection. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580.
• 
  2020-04-12

  Diary Entry

  The "lay off" Day 21 We broke quarantine yesterday to visit Malin for her birthday. First trip to Gothenburg in about two weeks. We also met up with Richard Brodie (he had agreed to part with an elderly computer screen), ordered pizza in a restaurant and shopped for groceries on the way home. I notice that the cashiers in the ICA are all behind a massive Plexiglas screen now. We talked about and justified it on the grounds that it was travel within a single region (Västra Götaland) we were not infected (Magdalena and I have been in complete isolation for more than the incubation period) and we would only be a group of 3. We were hand sanitizing the bejesus out of our hands all day and grouped several tasks deliberately to limit the chance of getting infected and then passing it on. Still. A lot of brief social contacts. A LOT. Now we need re-isolate and see what turns up in the little petri dish that is us ... Malin was in great form and settled into her lovely new apartment. As a gift, we had brought the closest thing we have that can pass as a family heirloom. Basically our first piece of furniture, a battered old chest we bought in Dún Laoghaire in 1994 when Magdalena was pregnant with Malin and we we're planning our move to our new apartment in the City Centre of Dublin. Some nice symmetry there. Every 14:00 CET on weekdays we all tune into the Daily Folkhälsomyndigheten Show to be reassured that all is going well. So far so ... uncertain. Deaths in Sweden continue to climb and Stockholm is pretty bad. In terms of EU averages, Sweden in the aggregate is on the upper end of the mid-range, a little worse than Ireland but much better than the UK or the Netherlands. Only Stockholm can be compared to Italy or Spain, but even here, the gap remains wide. Västragötaland and Skåne remain stubbornly flat and intensive care occupations across the country have been flat for weeks with 20% capacity still available. I'd really, really like to see either the death rate or the number of new cases flattening, but honestly, we just are not seeing anything statistically significant yet. The direction on all metrics continues upward and I have to admit that worries me. It seems like every week we're saying, "we'll know NEXT week", then next week comes and things are a little bit worse, but still clearly (apparently?) under control. Another week it is then. The nightmare scenario is that magical tipping point where all the curves suddenly hockey-stick upward. When that happens - and we have seen this in multiple places around the world - you are looking at weeks of chaos, overrun hospitals and rapidly escalating death rates. The only thing that gets things back under control are severe lock-downs. A more intensive Swedish lock-down could be coming if these metrics don't start flattening and then dipping appreciably soon and it's vital to not leave that too late. If we've made a mistake in our approach, we need to change course. That's good science. So, y'know, don't fuck this up Anders. But this is a marathon not a 100 meters sprint. There will not be a vaccine for 12 - 18 months. There may be effective medications, but these will require months to test, manufacture and distribute. Strict, military lock-downs cannot continue for more than a month or two and cycles of lock-downs are surely going to play havoc with peoples mental health and the economy. From that long-haul perspective the Swedish strategy continues to have merit. What are the rest of you thinking? Worried? Concerned we've been too relaxed?