Author Topic: How are you dealing with Coronavirus? (Read 15010 times)

hookstrapped · « **on:** March 15, 2020, 04:34:09 PM »

I'm limiting my time out to an hour a day (I work from home anyway), have canceled a trip to see my new grandchild and her brother

and am shooting with my 20mm Mir lens to make people appear farther away.
http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=10020.0

How about you?

02Pilot · « **Reply #1 on:** March 15, 2020, 04:51:15 PM »

Mostly by ignoring the news. As a hard-core introvert and mild germophobe, this really isn't changing my life a whole lot. Went for a hike a couple days ago, saw zero people. Unfortunately ended up with two deer ticks wandering around my body, but at least that gave me a different disease to think about for a while. Going away next week (road trip, no mass transit), no plans to change that.

ManuelL · « **Reply #2 on:** March 15, 2020, 05:20:56 PM »

I am starting a youtube channel dedicated to toilet roll art projects you can do at home with children no longer allowed to school or kindergarden and within a month become the worlds most successful influencer.

No, seriously. We were out on a bicycle tour today. As long as you stay away from crowds, there is not reason to not go outside. From tomorrow onwards the kindergarden is closed and our little daughter is staying home with us for the next 5 weeks. This will be a challange as she is too young to entertain herself for an extended period of time. I will discuss with my boss, if I can take some half days off every week so we can manage.

Pete_R · « **Reply #3 on:** March 15, 2020, 06:04:25 PM »

Working in hospitals, you could say I'm in the line of fire. But I find coughing loudly and pretending to mop sweat away from my face keeps people at a distance.

grit · « **Reply #4 on:** March 15, 2020, 06:15:25 PM »

I teach test prep classes, and my wife works as a membership coordinator for a museum. My company has moved all our classes online, so I'm continuing to work without having to commute. The museum has closed, and my wife can do the non-member-interaction part of her job from home, so she is doing just that. We are both very capable cooks, and get a lot of our food from CSA (produce delivery) boxes, so we haven't been terribly impacted by hoarders. Honestly, save for the scariness of the actual disease, I rather like this way of life; I get to spend quality time at home with my family, and I can still go hiking in the redwoods when I need to get out.

I also picked up an Epson Stylus Pro 4000 last week, and am entertaining myself by putting it through its paces. It was a bear to get it to work, since Epson doesn't even make Mac drivers for it anymore (I actually had to dedicate an old MacBook to the cause just to get things up and running, after several frustrating calls to the worse-than-useless Epson customer support line), but now that I've figured things out, it's a lot of fun; I haven't shot a ton of color film, but I am revisiting my archive now that I have an easy way to make color prints and am finding it a rewarding experience!

Bryan · « **Reply #5 on:** March 15, 2020, 07:44:36 PM »

I live in King County, Washington State, the Wuhan of the West. I’m just a few miles from the nursing home that was hit hard by the virus. While I was in Hawaii my corporate office sent out notices about the virus telling us, among other things to avoid travel. I replied back that maybe I should stay in Hawaii and wait for things to blow over. At the time there were no reported cases in Hawaii but the outbreak in Washington was going strong. They didn’t go for that, though one person suggested they all go to Hawaii until things blow over.

My wife was visiting me when things got bad back home. She had to go back to commuting into Seattle on a bus. She’s a technical designer for a clothing company, she has to go in to fit garments on models, can’t do that from home. The buses into Seattle are nearly empty now and traffic is greatly reduced. Unfortunately the restaurants are shutting down, a lot of people are losing work from this.

After over 7 weeks in Hawaii I flew home on Thursday on a packed flight, so much for less people traveling. When I left Hawaii they had 2 known cases, one from a cruise ship and the second was someone that traveled to Washington State.

Yesterday I went shopping for groceries, there was no toilet paper or hand sanitizer after trying 3 stores. I asked the cashier at a grocery store if they expected more toilet paper, he said they just got a shipment but it won’t be out on the shelves until the next day. I got up early this morning and was able to get a pack, I've never been so excited about buying toilet paper. There’s a lot of talk around here about getting bidets, not a common thing around here.

When I got home I really wanted to eat something other than Asian food so we went out for Mexican food last night, hardly anyone in the restaurant. We went early for happy hour margaritas. I want to support our local businesses but I need to balance that with reducing my exposure. Many of the restaurants are doing takeout and delivery now. In Honolulu I was staying next to China town, I was hitting the restaurants there because they were suffering the most out of irrational fear. Plus I love Chinese food.

I’m mostly worried about my father, he’s 80 so he’s in the most vulnerable age group. He is the healthiest 80 year old I know, he ran a full marathon when he was 79. He’s still going to the gym but he said it’s almost empty. He said he wipes everything down before using equipment there. He is concerned and is taking precautions, he also lives in King County where the outbreak is the worst. I had planned to to see him as soon as I got back but I’m going to hold off on visiting him until I’m sure I didn’t pick anything up from my travels.

Francois · « **Reply #6 on:** March 15, 2020, 09:07:49 PM »

So far I'm good. But I had something happen to me that I didn't like a bit.
Wednesday I was at the doctor's to renew my meds. The appointment was scheduled months in advance. While I was there, I saw a man and a lady come in to see a doctor at the emergency. Since all the signs are written in French, I quickly found out that they only spoke a bit of English and Arabic when I saw them ignoring every sign there was in the clinic that gave safety procedures. When they came out of the office, the doctor that saw them rushed out and told the secretaries "If I'm not back in 2 weeks, you'll know what to do." It turns out that the two patients had the Covid-19... And I was there waiting for my turn in the same waiting room, in the same clinic, they weren't wearing any mask, they didn't use the hand sanitizer pumps...

So now, I want to be careful. I don't have it so far, I don't want to get it.
So I'm really trying to restrict my social interactions. I avoid places where there are lots of people. Try and keep myself busy doing things that don't have any risk in them as I don't want to end-up at an emergency clinic or the hospital for stitches waiting in those germ infested places.

I'm happy that I didn't give in to that toilet paper zombi madness. If there are more people that get the virus, it's going to be those people that were waiting in line at Costco and fighting over packs of 48 rolls. They obviously weren't afraid of the virus. But it seems they were afraid of brown pants! So when they get sick, the doctors will be able to say that their lungs are suffering but their butt is the cleanest one they've ever seen! There was one lady that was on the news that had filled her car with TP rolls and said to the reporter that she'd be back tomorrow for more. Now what the heck is she going to do with so many rolls of TP? If you need that many rolls for a 2 week quarantine, you definitely have a problem and it's not with your lungs!

Mom went to a small grocery store to get some milk and bananas. She looked at the parking lot to see if there were many customers inside before going in. The shelves were almost all empty. No more cookies in the entire isle. Only one box of alphabet noodles was left. No more eggs. It looked like people were preparing for the apocalypse...

Right now the government is recommending that all seniors that are over 70 stay at home as much as possible. Kindergardens, schools, universities and museums are closed.

Maybe I should do some still life pictures to pass the time...

Blaxton · « **Reply #7 on:** March 15, 2020, 09:43:07 PM »

Since my school has moved to “remote learning”, I am feeling the pressure of organizing the content of my lectures on the history of jazz into something that can be transmitted through the ether. I have been spending my Monday mornings and afternoons preparing for Tuesday morning lectures and now I will need more time to pack the preparation into Zoom© This is my little sob-story. I feel lucky, so far, not to have greater challenges. We’ll see what happens. No one seems to know what to expect.

I was thinking of setting the focus on my camera to 1.5 meters and asking people on the street to let me take their portrait.

John Robison · « **Reply #8 on:** March 15, 2020, 10:20:08 PM »

I'm 50~60 miles south of Bryan in Lacey Washington. People are going nuts down here, large stores like Winco and Wallmart and Costco are mobbed for toilet
paper, bottled water, and you name it, it's out. I'm just using the opportunity to catch up on several camera projects, and, I have a backlog of B&W developing to do. I'm 70, the missus is 62 so we are being a bit more careful than younger folks.

zapsnaps · « **Reply #9 on:** March 16, 2020, 11:57:49 AM »

Badly.

The company I work for exports almost 100% of sales, which is why I (was) lucky enough to go to such photographic cities a few times a year. That has all stopped. All conferences have been cancelled too (I live in the UK, but sell into Europe and China). Fortunately, our timelines are extremely long (which allows me to look at photos in 'work' time), so we are OK for the rest of the year. But we need to be talking to folk now for next year's business. Fortunately, most of it is repeat business, so people are happy to chat on the phone.

Personally, my April long haul holiday was cancelled over the weekend due to border closures. The darkroom I use is closed, due to the owner being in self isolation.

With regards my 'practice' as curators like to describe the work of dedicated snappers, I think that will change a great deal. I tend to shoot abroad, to explore the differences of place. Now I better look closer to home. But I rarely photograph London, because I don't want to take 'tourist' snaps - yet I don't consider the snaps I take in, say, Paris, to be tourist snaps. I have no idea why my brain differentiates.

Francois · « **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2020, 01:21:22 PM »

New developments here this morning.
The government now recommends everyone 65 and up, the people under 65 who live with elderly people and people with weak immune systems to stay home.
Since I live with mom and dad, I'm now officially stuck here. Lucky for us we have a decent sized yard to get some flesh air.

gothamtomato · « **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2020, 04:28:50 PM »

Quote from: Francois on March 15, 2020, 09:07:49 PM

There was one lady that was on the news that had filled her car with TP rolls and said to the reporter that she'd be back tomorrow for more. Now what the heck is she going to do with so many rolls of TP?

This...

Francois · « **Reply #12 on:** March 16, 2020, 09:15:03 PM »

If it had been a teenager, I would have thought about something else

Maybe she wants a starring role in the next sequel to The Mummy?

Bryan · « **Reply #13 on:** March 16, 2020, 09:45:28 PM »

I just need to keep my dog away from the toilet paper, she eats it like candy.

We had a bit of a scare at work, a co-worker's husband got sick last week, luckily he tested negative for Covid-19. Regardless, they just shut down my office so I'll be working from home for a while. In my business of cleaning up hazardous waste this is when things happen. A factory shuts down, someone forgets to close a valve, we get an emergency call. Also happens around holidays.

Francois · « **Reply #14 on:** March 17, 2020, 01:31:31 PM »

Still, this bug is a real pain in the wahzoo.
Today I have to figure out how to get the groceries prepared so I don't have to go in the store.
But in the meantime I'm going to start the spring cleaning around the house.

Yesterday my dad's employer told him that they'd rather see him stay home for the safety of the entire staff. They have 5 employees in the same situation.

irv_b · « **Reply #15 on:** March 17, 2020, 04:41:24 PM »

I have been off work due to being on holiday and have been decorating up the house so have limited contact with the outside world but back to work on thursday.
Due to the govt now saying that they don't want people to go out to restaurants/pubs /clubs etc, I am wondering what will there be for me if the establishments close down I am employed so hopefully a bit of a safety net there. I'm not so worried for me catching it but my wife has cardiomyopathy so I don't want to bring any nasties home plus the son still living at home, is a teacher, so he is exposed to the best part of a 1000 kids daily. Just hoping hand washing good practice is going to be enough to keep it at bay.
Has anyone been tested? Even health workers are finding hard to get a test but celebs and sportsmen can-surprising eh!

hookstrapped · « **Reply #16 on:** March 17, 2020, 07:58:45 PM »

NYC might impose a "shelter in place" order, like 6 Bay Area counties just did. I have laundry I need to do. You can go out to do your laundry in the Bay Area, hopefully in NYC as well.

The Bay Area rules
https://www.mercurynews.com/read-shelter-in-place-order-from-six-bay-area-counties

Francois · « **Reply #17 on:** March 17, 2020, 08:32:48 PM »

Quote from: irv_b on March 17, 2020, 04:41:24 PM

the son still living at home, is a teacher, so he is exposed to the best part of a 1000 kids daily. Just hoping hand washing good practice is going to be enough to keep it at bay.

Reading this makes me feel lucky to live in Quebec. Here all the schools are closed. So are all the colleges and universities.
Today the government said it would push back the income tax deadline to June and make it easier for people to get unemployment insurance for the duration of the epidemic.

Faintandfuzzy · « **Reply #18 on:** March 18, 2020, 01:25:01 AM »

I'm spending some time downtown in our city with my F5 and P3200 for some street work...and an iPhone XR for some time exposures. The downtown core has perhaps 1/8 the normal traffic...so should prove interesting.

Indofunk · « **Reply #19 on:** March 18, 2020, 04:18:08 AM »

We should start these posts with our city/country to give some context.

Queens, NYC, USA.

As Peter mentioned, we're close to a shelter in place. As a musician with a dayjob, all of my musical gigs have been canceled. If I were just a musician, I would be 100% unemployed without any remedy to collect unemployment (freelancer, innit?), and would still have to pay for health insurance. However, I'm lucky enough to have this dayjob (which, incidentally, I was about to quit a month ago. kinda glad I didn't), so I'm going to stick with it until this whole thing blows over. I'm vegan, and have enough rice and beans to survive an apocalypse, but still need to venture out every once in a while for fresh vegetables (and beer. don't forget the beer). Anyways, I feel the worst for musicians without dayjobs, actors, dancers, restaurant workers, bartenders, and all the illegal workers in NYC without whom the city would not function. Buy restaurant gift cards, buy records, pay for your Broadway tickets that got canceled ... and we'll see what happens when we're allowed to go out and suddenly everyone needs a gig

Francois · « **Reply #20 on:** March 18, 2020, 01:06:15 PM »

For groceries, some big chain supermarkets offer an order preparation service, that way you can just go and pickup the order without any interaction. Our local Walmart does it.
There are other chains that waive the collection fees, it's worth checking out.

Here the list of closed businesses is rapidly growing. Even Ikea has closed, so that's pretty big.

Indofunk: maybe you can call your favorite grocery store and have them prepare your order ahead of time, that way you won't have to spend too much time in there with other potentially contaminated people.

astrobeck · « **Reply #21 on:** March 18, 2020, 03:35:59 PM »

Tijeras, New Mexico..which is south of Santa Fe and East of Albuquerque
It's been cloudy here so not much interested in making photos...

We live in a small community, so there is a local Kroger store and there 'was' a Super Walmart not far way, and I say was because it had a fire a couple of days ago and is closed until further notice.
I bought toilet paper and hand sanitizer three weeks ago when the first hint of this craziness came to light. Also I'm stocked with rice and beans, which is good because I was raised in a not too well to do family and have always scrimped, except for toy cameras and I'm kind of ashamed for having so many at this point.
anyway, going forward...I'm staying home unless there is a real need for something. I've been reading more this year, but started that well before the virus came.

Lots of restaurants and bars have closed and the casinos have as well. School is out for three weeks and may be out until the end of semester...they're still talking about that.
We have not been told to shelter in place, but the mayor of ABQ has considered a curfew...nothing so far though.

My Dad, who is 93 is staying inside at his home near Dallas and reports similar to what everyone else is saying about large cities.
I have anxiety for him, but will keep riding my stationary bicycle for now to get rid of the worry.
Stay well everyone.

hugs from afar.
Beck

grit · « **Reply #22 on:** March 18, 2020, 04:53:24 PM »

I'm in Santa Clara, California (just north of San Jose, and about 50 minutes south of San Francisco by car); since I last posted, we have been ordered by the county to shelter in place. Normally, my wife and I have opposite schedules: she is at her office 8 to 5 and I am in the classroom 6:30-9:30 PM plus all day Sunday. We have, in the past, both joked that not seeing each other very often is what keeps our relationship humming, but we are now pleased to find that that is not the case: we are stuck together and we still enjoy each other's company (well now that I think about it, as to whether she enjoys my company I'm only making an inference, albeit with a reasonable level of confidence).

One thing I am a little bummed about; I was going to take an Advanced Photography course at our local community college in April, but it looks now like the class may be canceled. In lieu of what I had planned for the course, I'm now starting to brainstorm photo projects that don't involve leaving the house.

Also, we're running a little low on all-purpose flour, which is one of the ingredients that keeps our home kitchen humming but is now increasingly hard to find. Most other ingredients though (meat/cheese/produce etc.) are still fairly available, and many restaurants are still delivering or cooking for take-out. We do have a good supply of rice, beans, canned tomatoes, etc. to keep us going for a little while. We're not prepared for a total apocalypse, but we are figuring it out as we go.

Here's a photo of a pizza from chez Grit. We really like pepperoni.

Sandeha Lynch · « **Reply #23 on:** March 18, 2020, 05:49:34 PM »

South Wales, in a big village on the edge of countryside.
I haven't been out for a week, but that's not so unusual given that it rains so much here.
Most of what I'm seeing is news reports, and mostly that's through Twitter.
Last trip to the supermarket was a week ago and with gloves.
I guess most people who work with chemicals from time to time will have a stock of latex gloves, and it makes it handy (sorry) not to have to touch other people's stuff with bare skin.
Another trip out maybe the day after tomorrow as I believe the sun is due to shine for a couple of hours.
But it's a terrible contrast to see the fatality figures climbing in Northern Italy where maybe half of my friends live.
Over a thousand in just the past four days.

Over a thousand in just the past four days, yes that's right.
And the peak is still a long way off.

Francois · « **Reply #24 on:** March 18, 2020, 07:44:04 PM »

Quote from: grit on March 18, 2020, 04:53:24 PM

many restaurants are still delivering or cooking for take-out.

You see, ordering take-out is one thing I wouldn't do as I can't be sure that the people in the kitchen don't have the asymptomatic version of the virus.
And since you can't torch the food to get rid of the bug, you can't get a more direct infection path than putting the virus straight in your mouth yourself.

I did the groceries online this morning and it was pretty sad. A lot of the foods we eat were not available anymore. Lots of stuff is missing and the stores ration the orders. Like we were only allowed to order 6 jars of yogurt per order at Walmart. Bread is getting rare, at least online. Kleenex? Just forget it. Bottled water is also getting scarce. No more canned tomatoes at one place. I had to put orders at two stores in order to get all that I usually buy at one.
And we're not guaranteed that all what we ordered will be available as our order will be ready only Friday morning...

It's feeling a lot like wartime, except without war.

Francois · « **Reply #25 on:** March 18, 2020, 07:57:17 PM »

Quote from: Sandeha Lynch on March 18, 2020, 05:49:34 PM

But it's a terrible contrast to see the fatality figures climbing in Northern Italy where maybe half of my friends live.
Over a thousand in just the past four days.

Over a thousand in just the past four days, yes that's right.
And the peak is still a long way off.

I believe that in some places it's going to look like when the Spanish Influenza epidemic struck...

I found a good video that explains the science of pandemics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgBla7RepXU
It's made by PBS, so it's good.

irv_b · « **Reply #26 on:** March 18, 2020, 09:04:16 PM »

South London.....
I went out to get some shopping at the supermarket today and even though I had seen many a photo on Twitter, I was surprised at how empty the shelves were. I know that the shops are setting time out for the pensioner to get their shopping now but there are still people who are over filling the trolley and I can foresee half of it getting thrown away because they wont eat it before it goes off, then they will be back for more. Hopefully they will start rationing soon.
Off to work tomorrow so will see what it is like in the big wide world of S.E. England before we get a total ban of going out here. Like grit I have been thinking of projects to shoot around the house and home and maybe I'll get the time to get into the darkroom

cs1 · « **Reply #27 on:** March 18, 2020, 09:13:26 PM »

Quote from: Indofunk on March 18, 2020, 04:18:08 AM

Anyways, I feel the worst for musicians without dayjobs, actors, dancers, restaurant workers, bartenders, and all the illegal workers in NYC without whom the city would not function. Buy restaurant gift cards, buy records, pay for your Broadway tickets that got canceled ... and we'll see what happens when we're allowed to go out and suddenly everyone needs a gig

That worries me, too. Being an artist must suck right now. I've started bluegrass mandolin lessons via internet conferencing with a teacher in Oregon (I live in Germany where there're hardly any bluegrass pickers, let alone teachers) and Zak (my teacher) told me that he's glad that he concentrated on internet lessons recently so he's lucky to be able to keep teaching. I hope that there'll be some service like twitch or youtube that will allow "virtual concerts" with stereo sound so that musicians can play concerts in a safe place which can be watched by a paying audience via the internet.

Bryan · « **Reply #28 on:** March 18, 2020, 10:07:06 PM »

Quote from: grit on March 18, 2020, 04:53:24 PM

Also, we're running a little low on all-purpose flour, which is one of the ingredients that keeps our home kitchen humming but is now increasingly hard to find. Most other ingredients though (meat/cheese/produce etc.) are still fairly available, and many restaurants are still delivering or cooking for take-out. We do have a good supply of rice, beans, canned tomatoes, etc. to keep us going for a little while. We're not prepared for a total apocalypse, but we are figuring it out as we go.

Here's a photo of a pizza from chez Grit. We really like pepperoni.

That Pizza looks delicious, Pepperoni is my favorite. I found bread flour at the grocery store but they were out of yeast, I finally found some on Amazon. I also ordered supplies to make a few batches beer, I like to use the spent grains in my bread. I will have some beer yeast left over but that doesn't work well for making bread, from what I've read it comes out quite dense.

My wife is still having to commute into Seattle for work, she's pretty pissed about it. She said she was the only person on her bus this morning, besides the driver. I guess maybe the bus is a good way to avoid people now. She does come in contact with people at work though, they need to do something about that.

My dogs are pretty happy I'm home all day. I took them for a walk around the neighborhood today, surprising how many people were out for walks. The weather is quite nice here right now.

On the bright side there will be some great buying opportunities in the stock marked if you like to gamble with your money that way.

02Pilot · « **Reply #29 on:** March 18, 2020, 10:40:09 PM »

I'm in NY - far enough upstate that people from the city think I'm a hick, but close enough to the city that real hicks think I'm probably city folk. Stores are getting restocked, traffic is really light. My school's gone online for the rest of the semester, so I'll be teaching from home (I've taught online before - I can do it, but I don't like it). I went for another hike today, far enough away that I didn't see too many people.

Not really too bothered by the whole thing - in the grand scheme of pandemics it's not particularly virulent or deadly by historical standards. Gives me time to work on some car and house projects. Got most of what I need to survive. And besides, if the shit hits the fan the only supply that really counts is ammunition.

hookstrapped · « **Reply #30 on:** March 18, 2020, 11:15:50 PM »

Somehow I don't find it reassuring that it's not as bad as the Black Death of the 14th century (75-200 million killed) or the 1918 flu (50-100 million killed).

David A-W · « **Reply #31 on:** March 18, 2020, 11:33:05 PM »

Don't tell everyone, but while the local supermarkets have been ransacked, the local independent shops - greengrocer, butcher, Co-Op, cornershops - have plenty of stock, at least the one's near me in SE London do. Try those first before joining the masses.

02Pilot · « **Reply #32 on:** March 19, 2020, 12:00:02 AM »

One of the problems with being a historian is that you tend to see everything in comparison with historical events. The raw numbers don't tell the whole story. The mortality rate of the Black Death was far higher what we're seeing now; as a percentage of affected population it was far, far worse than even the worst clusters of COVID-19. See here: http://www.jlgh.org/JLGH/media/Journal-LGH-Media-Library/Past%20Issues/Volume%204%20-%20Issue%201/v4_i1_Eastman.pdf

The effects of the Spanish Influenza of 1918-19 were made considerably worse by the unusually high movement of people around the world as WWI ended and forces demobilized and returned to their home countries, the weakening of some populations by the direct or indirect effects of four years of war, and the lack of action to limit large gatherings of people (Philadelphia's St. Patrick's Day parade being one of the more notorious examples). It also had a strange W-shaped mortality curve that's still not quite fully understood. And with all that working against it mortality was still 0.6% in the US.

These events happen - history is full of plagues. It's only in comparison to the dramatically lowered chance of contracting a debilitating or deadly illness that's become the norm in the last ~70 years that it seems particularly dangerous. Put another way, if basically every adult knew someone who died of rheumatic fever or whooping cough or measles or whatever the local serious disease was (as was the case for most of human history), the idea of a slight spike in mortality would not have been particularly unusual. Only new, very high mortality diseases or very unusual circumstances sparked panic.

And besides, the Black Death brought the end of feudalism and (eventually) the Renaissance, and within two years of the Spanish Influenza outbreak the Roaring 20s were, well, roaring.

Indofunk · « **Reply #33 on:** March 19, 2020, 12:15:59 AM »

Quote from: cs1 on March 18, 2020, 09:13:26 PM

Quote from: Indofunk on March 18, 2020, 04:18:08 AM
Anyways, I feel the worst for musicians without dayjobs, actors, dancers, restaurant workers, bartenders, and all the illegal workers in NYC without whom the city would not function. Buy restaurant gift cards, buy records, pay for your Broadway tickets that got canceled ... and we'll see what happens when we're allowed to go out and suddenly everyone needs a gig
That worries me, too. Being an artist must suck right now. I've started bluegrass mandolin lessons via internet conferencing with a teacher in Oregon (I live in Germany where there're hardly any bluegrass pickers, let alone teachers) and Zak (my teacher) told me that he's glad that he concentrated on internet lessons recently so he's lucky to be able to keep teaching. I hope that there'll be some service like twitch or youtube that will allow "virtual concerts" with stereo sound so that musicians can play concerts in a safe place which can be watched by a paying audience via the internet.

I'm planning on doing this! Just gotta figure out logistics. My avant-noise trio has already said we could get together at the practice space and livvestream a rehearsal/concert, but that would involve venturing out into the world, and riding the subway from Queens to Brooklyn. I do have the capability to livestream from my home studio, and have been talking to other musicians about doing a remote concert, but it's tough getting around the latency of web conferencing platforms. I'll figure something out, or I'll livestream alone...

Jeff Warden · « **Reply #34 on:** March 19, 2020, 03:07:19 PM »

Just staying put. There are confirmed cases within two blocks of my house so we're being careful. Stay safe everyone.

Blaxton · « **Reply #35 on:** March 19, 2020, 04:46:25 PM »

After reading my belly-aching about switching to remote lecturing via Zoom, a colleague (who is currently stranded in California on a research trip) sent this video:

https://youtu.be/CCe5PaeAeew

Francois · « **Reply #36 on:** March 19, 2020, 07:55:11 PM »

You gotta keep busy with something...
This morning I made a replacement sticker for all the logos for the Vari-Program function on my Nikon F-90x.
Then I removed all the sticky gunk on the back of it (rubberized paint that aged badly), the reminder labels went with it. So I printed a new one on my Label Writer.
Looks pretty good to me so I'm quite proud of that

cs1 · « **Reply #37 on:** March 19, 2020, 08:56:34 PM »

Quote from: Indofunk on March 19, 2020, 12:15:59 AM

I'm planning on doing this! Just gotta figure out logistics. My avant-noise trio has already said we could get together at the practice space and livvestream a rehearsal/concert, but that would involve venturing out into the world, and riding the subway from Queens to Brooklyn. I do have the capability to livestream from my home studio, and have been talking to other musicians about doing a remote concert, but it's tough getting around the latency of web conferencing platforms. I'll figure something out, or I'll livestream alone...

Yes, this will probably only work if the band is in the same or adjacent rooms (bad idea right now -- unless you're family and together anyhow

). The lag of most web conferencing systems will spoil all timing that you need as a band. The only way to do this is (other than to get in the same room, which you shouldn't) is to do a semi-live performance with video tracks of the other recorded with a click track and have one person play live with the recorded others. Could be fun if you round-robin the live players.

Francois · « **Reply #38 on:** March 19, 2020, 10:12:30 PM »

Or the other option is to use wireless transmitters and have people play far enough from each others to be safe...
Long extensions maybe?

hookstrapped · « **Reply #39 on:** March 19, 2020, 10:16:28 PM »

Quote from: cs1 on March 19, 2020, 08:56:34 PM

Quote from: Indofunk on March 19, 2020, 12:15:59 AM
I'm planning on doing this! Just gotta figure out logistics. My avant-noise trio has already said we could get together at the practice space and livvestream a rehearsal/concert, but that would involve venturing out into the world, and riding the subway from Queens to Brooklyn. I do have the capability to livestream from my home studio, and have been talking to other musicians about doing a remote concert, but it's tough getting around the latency of web conferencing platforms. I'll figure something out, or I'll livestream alone...
Yes, this will probably only work if the band is in the same or adjacent rooms (bad idea right now -- unless you're family and together anyhow ). The lag of most web conferencing systems will spoil all timing that you need as a band. The only way to do this is (other than to get in the same room, which you shouldn't) is to do a semi-live performance with video tracks of the other recorded with a click track and have one person play live with the recorded others. Could be fun if you round-robin the live players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLhGKHIvEdzeGkX61LXlCun_TWKy9FufXQ&time_continue=9&v=YHUg7Kroepc

Indofunk · « **Reply #40 on:** March 19, 2020, 11:33:15 PM »

Quote from: cs1 on March 19, 2020, 08:56:34 PM

Quote from: Indofunk on March 19, 2020, 12:15:59 AM
I'm planning on doing this! Just gotta figure out logistics. My avant-noise trio has already said we could get together at the practice space and livvestream a rehearsal/concert, but that would involve venturing out into the world, and riding the subway from Queens to Brooklyn. I do have the capability to livestream from my home studio, and have been talking to other musicians about doing a remote concert, but it's tough getting around the latency of web conferencing platforms. I'll figure something out, or I'll livestream alone...
Yes, this will probably only work if the band is in the same or adjacent rooms (bad idea right now -- unless you're family and together anyhow ). The lag of most web conferencing systems will spoil all timing that you need as a band. The only way to do this is (other than to get in the same room, which you shouldn't) is to do a semi-live performance with video tracks of the other recorded with a click track and have one person play live with the recorded others. Could be fun if you round-robin the live players.

My main worry is not being in a room with 2 other people - I'm pretty sure I can avoid contact and wash my hands often enough - but rather the journey to get there, on multiple subways which even on a non-coronavirus day I don't feel comfortable touching anything

I'm gonna try a Zoom session or something to see how bad the latency would be.

ManuelL · « **Reply #41 on:** March 20, 2020, 05:13:02 AM »

We do a lot of web conferencing at work and the connections are really bad at the moment. Half the meetings have to be stopped because people break off so much that you can't understand anything. All the people at home seem to bring the internet to its limits. You will probably have to find a good off peak time to make this work.

cs1 · « **Reply #42 on:** March 20, 2020, 06:56:24 PM »

The main problem is with the conferencing providers themselves. Most Internet providers have enough capacity that the bandwidths are normally fully available (at least in most European countries). But the conferencing providers haven't anticipated the raise in usage. We use an on-premise conferencing system at work and can easily do conferences with ten people without lag or sync problems with all participants connecting from their home offices via VPN. I think that if there was a startup offering a low latency streaming service for musicians that would really be cool.

Francois · « **Reply #43 on:** March 20, 2020, 09:56:52 PM »

You might try OBS Studio (https://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/obs-studio-portable)
It's an open source live streaming that supports most major providers. It also supports VST plugins and does a bunch of stuff.
Best of all, the portableapps version doesn't install anything on your computer!

Jeff Warden · « **Reply #44 on:** March 20, 2020, 10:08:14 PM »

Quote from: Francois on March 19, 2020, 07:55:11 PM

You gotta keep busy with something...
This morning I made a replacement sticker

Good job! :-)

Francois · « **Reply #45 on:** March 21, 2020, 01:23:26 PM »

Thanks!
And for some odd reason I like the sticker better than the original printing that was on there.

If anyone needs the file I used, just let me know.

kentish cob · « **Reply #46 on:** March 21, 2020, 08:32:35 PM »

Work is still open so just having to take the necessary precautions and get on with it. Some colleagues are moving towards home working, which I may have to do too, but that would severely limit my effectiveness...
Mrs Cob is in private school catering, so needs to continue to work as the school currently remains open to the children of "key workers."

I'm concerned, but optimistic at this point. The kids (17 & 20) are both home and safe, and understand the importance of the restrictions, and I've oft been thought as "socially distant" so not difficult to maintain a degree of isolation, and I have a stack of books to read, and a backlog of films to develop.

A fairly small number of confirmed cases in the area, but none closer than around 12 miles at last count, so that's some comfort at least.
My best wishes and hopes to you all and your families.
We'll have a photowalk and a couple of beers when we come out the other side.

I expect I'll soon be turning to this for inspiration:

Francois · « **Reply #47 on:** March 21, 2020, 10:38:56 PM »

I know this thing is starting to scare me a bit, but not for my own or my parent's safety. I'm more concerned with the people who work at grocery stores, drugstores and the medical personnel. Yesterday I took the car around a bunch of shopping centers and grocery stores out of curiosity and what I saw scared the s*** out of me. The parking lots were full to the brim and there were a ton of elderly people coming out of the stores with just a jar of pickles and things like that. People simply don't get the message, and they're going to be the first ones to fill-up the medical system and spread the disease.

And it's not only the old people that are a problem. In Sherbrooke yesterday there was a young woman with the Covid-19 who was refusing to go into isolation and refusing to go to the hospital. It took a bunch of policemen with facemasks and full protection to get her out of her house... More people unnecessarily at risk.

I might be bored solid today but that's no reason to put people at risk.

Bryan · « **Reply #48 on:** March 22, 2020, 01:18:26 AM »

Boredom is not a problem for me, after being gone two months my wife has a honey-do list a mile long. On top of that she keeps adding stuff faster than I can get it done.

Francois · « **Reply #49 on:** March 22, 2020, 01:00:54 PM »

What actually bores me the most is that I restrain myself from using power tools in case of an accident. Last thing I want is to be at the clinic for stitches. And since I sometimes tend to be mishaps prone, I have to be extra careful.
Last time I used my belt sander I managed to grind off a fingertip, and I always thought that it was the safest tool in the shop.... This was a couple of weeks ago and I am still missing a bit of skin on my finger.

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Author Topic: How are you dealing with Coronavirus? (Read 15010 times)