Distractions

I find I'm needing a distractions from the 24 hr news cycle.

Now that school is cancelled, my eldest - let's call him ThingOne - has to write a daily journal as part of his online curriculum. I decided to join him and that's why I've finally started writing this blog regularly (Ok - it has been two days so far but that's regular, right?). Even though I've been writing about everything that is going on, I do find I get into the zone with writing and it distracts me from my phone. Highly recommend!

Today's prompt was "Which historical figure would you have dinner with, and why?" ThingOne chose  "David Bowie, because he's dead and he's pretty cool, and he would probably drop some dope wisdom." Had to smile. Has been hugely fun to see ThingOne and ThingTwo getting into music. ThingOne has discovered the '80s - New Order, Joy Division, The Cure, and The Smiths are current favourites. Apparently this music is now called 'doomer music' - which has something to do with memes. There are doomers, gloomers, zoomers, and bloomers. I'm not even going to google it, I accept defeat. Did we have so many categories for people and things when we were kids? All I can think of right now is goths, punks, mods... Ok so maybe there were a bunch. Funny thing is that while ThingOne is apparently a 'doomer' he seems to have a fairly optimistic outlook generally, even right now with all that is going on. Morrissey might fix that I suppose. 

I asked ThingTwo who she would have to dinner and she said "Samuel Adams because he was a very important person and he spoke up against the British and got people to sign up for the Boston Tea Party. And if I could have dinner two people it would be Alexander Hamilton as well." She's doing the American Revolution at school and has become pretty entranced with that whole period. With music, by the way, ThingTwo is way more eclectic - she loves the Monkees, Amy Winehouse,  Michael Jackson, and the soundtrack to The Greatest Showman.

Who would I go out to dinner with? Oh golly, so many things to consider. Do we get to choose a certain point in a person's life when we have dinner and are we allowed to tell them about the things that have happened since they died? For example it would be kind of cool to have dinner with Jesus aged around, say, 30 (assuming he existed) and fill him in on the last 2000 years just to see the look on his face. But he doesn't sound like a lot of fun. The New Testament was basically written by his buddies and from the small amount that I've read, there aren't many jokes. 

Perhaps it is better to prioritize someone who would actually be entertaining. Turns out if you google 'Historical figures who were funny' you get a list of ten men that I can't ever imagine would be grouped together on a list for any other reason: Newton, Cromwell, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Washington, Lincoln, Ghandi, Churchill, and Einstein. Some of these apparently had a sense of humor and some really really didn't. I'll let you guess who. 

Of those, I had actually considered Einstein because he did seem like a very jolly chap, and I'd like to also include his wife Mileva Maric, also a physicist. Jane Austen might be a good choice. Helen of Troy, just to see what all the fuss was about. Given the current situation Florence Nightingale would be interesting - she might have practical advice (not sure if she is a big deal in North America but she essentially invented modern nursing during the Crimean War). One of my favourite quotes of hers is rather apt "How little can be done under the spirit of fear".

Oh dear, as usual I'm overthinking this but as a distraction it definitely works! 

Last night I really couldn't get to sleep as I obsessively read article after article. The big news yesterday was the publication of a study about how long the virus can survive on different surfaces. Not fun to read. 

I decided I needed to force myself to stop by watching some mindless TV and chose an episode of 'Gourmet makes' where a professional pastry chef attempts to recreate junk and comfort foods. The episode I watched was pretty entertaining - she tries to make Girl Scout Cookies. It was certainly working as a distraction and I was firmly down the youtube rabbit hole as I segued into another show from the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen in New York about making focaccia when I suddenly got dragged back to reality. 

The presenters got into this whole riff about using their 'tools' to mix the dough i.e. their hands, "Hey!you took the subway here, did you wash your hands before starting this?" "Heck no! You know, they say that's what makes the bagels in New York taste so good - the baker's don't wash their hands!" And boom! I'm back. I watched a bit longer but now I'm zooming in on their hands as they touch each other, their faces, the food! What I hoped would be a distraction ended up focusing my thoughts even more on the stark difference between then and now. Even the girl scout cookie moment was ruined: when will we get to buy girl scout cookies again?

Almost went back to the news, but then I remembered that a friend of mine is re-reading Divergent and recommended it as a distraction. Finally, that is what got me to calm down and fall asleep, reading a nice soothing story about a violent dystopian future.

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Just a few notes on the news cycle today:

Keeping track
I feel like I should include this every day just to keep track.

COVID-19 Research
In a past life I used to help people submit academic research grants and I still get the occasional notice. We hear in the news about how scientists around the world are racing to find a vaccine and understand the virus.  It was interesting to get a little peek into the mechanism that is funding this process. The Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) announced the 'Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Research Funding Opportunity' for grants up to $1M in the week of February 10 with a deadline for applications a week later, and results announced two weeks after that. In the 13 years I worked in the grant funding I've never seen anything like that timeline. Six months is typical and the occasional 'rapid' funding cycle that I've seen before might be a scurry over a month or so. But kudos to CIHR for acting so fast and I'm sure the same thing is happening all round the world. 

Essential?
And finally - yesterday I felt a little silly feeding the birds while the food we have on hand to eat is dwindling but then today I received this email from the local bird food shop. Supplying bird feed is essential! Not quite sure how I feel about this categorization but glad to keep the birds happy.

The County of Santa Clara Health Office has determined the Los Gatos Birdwatcher is categorized as an "essential business" and can remain open until further notice. Currently, our seed supplier is committed to continuing fresh seed deliveries. We received a much needed shipment today.

Our staff is taking extra precautions to keep surfaces clean while getting seed to our customers. If you do not want to come inside the store, curbside delivery is available. You can pull up out front and we'll load your order. Simply call the store 408-358-9453. Our phones have been ringing off the hook, so please be patient with our staff.