8/12/20 Covid Numbers Update

 

The infections are coming in waves, but at least the deaths aren't.

Finding Humor in Dark Times

People are not liking wearing masks, but at least workers at this Walmart have found a way to put smiles on people's faces.

 

Looking At the Deaths

 Here are some charts that show the current deaths in Colorado from Covid. Google actually as a great search page where you can find this and other covid info. Just type in "How many people in Colorado have died from covid".

How is COVID 19 Impacting Geek Life During Lock Down

 Reposted from Geeked Colorado.

https://geekedcolorado.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-is-covid-19-impacting-geek-life.html

Right now this is a tough time for everyone and now with the possibility of things slowly reopening what does that mean to current geek life. Most people think of geeks as the loner that lives in their parent’s basement, but that is not true for all geeks. Geek life is actual very social. There is everything from shopping experiences, to LARPing and of course the old mighty con. COVID 19 has taken this social interaction away from a lot of geeks. For many geeks, being a geek is very important as a way that they keep their sanity. Losing this outlet can cause depression to increase, so it is very important for geeks to stay active in their fandoms. Luckily there are ways to do this during lock down. This could be anything from video games, binge watching favorite series, or even writing fan fiction.

During this time I have been catching up on a lot of movies I missed due to my normally busy schedule. At the same time I have missed out on things I was looking forward to. I had been accepted to be official press at a con, first time I would have been official. Missed my normal Free Comic Book Day routine of running around the state to see what different comic book stores were doing. Even the week that things shut down I had been planning on going to a Marvel bingo event at a local brewry. Then I am also worrying about plans I had scheduled for later in the year.

Right now Free Comic Book Day has been postponed with no new set date. Free Comic Book Day has become very important to many small comic stores as a day when they get their heaviest foot traffic. These comic stores now have also been closed and not making money unless they also have online stores. I worry about how many comic stores will not be able to reopen. When things do start to reopen, please remember to support these smaller stores. Yes I will admit that sometimes they are pricier then other options, but many times they can be the only place to find that hard to find item. This also goes for small anime stores that in Colorado have been dropping of in the last decade.

When you are able to go out and enjoy geek shopping, please wear a face mask. I know that it is argued if the cloth ones are effective or not, but in my mind every little thing helps. You are also not just wearing a mask for yourself, but for others. This pandemic has been very scary because of how many people are asymptomatic. Someone could interact with you that appears well, but then when you go home you take the virus home with you. This could then infect your family and friends. Another thing to be aware of is that this virus can live on items for days. I know that many geeky products and not be directly cleaned with disinfecting wipes. Paper products like comics and collectibles can be damaged if you try to clean them. For items like this, time is your best defense. This means that when you buy something do not touch it for at least a week. I am actually letting things sit untouched for a month. This gives time for the virus to die. Also if you have a weak immune system I would also recommend wearing gloves both when you purchase these items in stores and at home until they have had a chance for time to kill anything on them. Placing items in the sun can help, but remember that many collectibles and paper products will fade with sun light. Be careful of this method.

Many of the fall cons still don’t know what they are doing. One of the major ones in Colorado is Nan Desu Kan (NDK). As of now on their website they say that they are still planning to go ahead with the con. Any regular con goer has at least heard of con funk. After this mass gathering it is normal to get a little sick from the con. It normally only lasts a few days, but how much worse will it be with COVID in the mix. Also all cons right now depend on if the rules about how many people can gather in one spot changes or not. Also if you have ever been to a con you know that social distancing is nonexistent. For cons if they are allowed to happen I recommend that you still protect yourself. I know personally that if the con does happen I will be wearing a face mask the whole time and have gloves for the dealer’s room. Hand sanitizer will also be a most in my con kit this year.

Face masks….yes I have been supporting them in my above writing. I know that there is a lot of kick back on them, but if my claustrophobic mother can learn to live with them so can others. Remember it is not just for yourself, but your families and others that you interact with. I will fully admit that I think less of people that are not wearing them. I feel that these people do not care about others so why should I care about them. The geek community has the power to make facial coverings a strong social movement. It will not only show that we care about others, but we can also do it more fashionably then they can. All you cosplayers out there, time to break out you mad sewing skills and let your geek flag fly. I want to challenge all of you to make the most amazing and functional masks out there. Even if you can’t sew, places like ShopDisney are creating geeky masks that you can buy (and the child one is really cute). Wearing a mask is a simple thing that each person can do and it has a potential to help the world get back to normal. The Japanese actually have a very strong mask culture. This can be seen in both their anime and popular culture products that make it to the U.S. I was actually able to by a BTS mask for my mom at the Asian store in Aurora Mall before everything shut down. They also had Fortnite ones.

A lot of phone app games have also been doing what they can to help us through these times. The different Candy Crush games have been randomly giving out 24 hours of unlimited lives. Pokemon Go has also adjusted many aspects of their game to make it more friendly to lock down measures. This includes everything from cutting walking distance for hatching eggs to remote raid passes.

As to the future is being built it is unclear what the new world will look like. I know that many of the social changes will have lasting effects at least for the next few decades like what happened after the Spanish flu. How much the geek world will be impacted is also unclear. I personally know that this will change parts of my life moving forward. The geek world can stay strong if we all work together to be happy and safe.

COVID-19’s Impact on Education

Republished from A Coloradoan In Education. Published 3/17/20.

https://acoloradoanineducation.blogspot.com/2020/03/covid-19s-impact-on-education.html

            Right now education on all levels is feeling the impact of the coronavirus. Grade schools are taking extended spring breaks and higher education is doing longer breaks and switching to online formats. As of today many schools are also canceling their graduation ceremonies. One interesting thing that Japanese elementary students are doing is they set up their own graduation ceremony in Minecraft (Wilson). Schools and people will need to be creative during this time to meet all of their different needs. These school closures are also impacting parents and not everyone has backup child care.

At the same time it is understandable for these closures to happen if you look at both health advisories and how education works in our country. Classrooms are normally small and packed with students and these changes are needed in order to protect everyone. Most desks are spaced only far enough away from each other to allow people to walk past and most student’s do not have their own desk, but have several other students sharing the same space at different times of the day. I will fully admit that I have worked in the private for profit education industry at online only schools. I understand that for traditional schools thinking about switching over to online only can be scary, but it has been done and needs to be done with the current health issues. One of the key things is using any existing online classroom to the fullest.

                There are many different classroom platforms that schools can use. Some of the most popular are D2L, Canvas, and Blackboard. During the changeover, professors/teachers that have already started to integrate online education will have the easiest time with the change. Blackboard has seen a massive jump in downloads of its app and is doing what it can with video tutorials (Blakemore). This switch over with the help of technology could be a big help slowing the virus, but it can also be hurtful as well. Here in Colorado a lot of our students do not have access to computers or the internet. Many students in DPS are on free or reduced lunch and this more than likely coincides with them being able to get access to their school work. Another impact on this is that many if not most libraries are also closed right now. The other option would be going to restaurants, but with the governor closing all dine in at restaurants yesterday this has also been stopped. This means that if students are lucky enough to have a laptop computer their only option would be to go to stores like Walmart or sit outside in their cars at locations that have free wifi for their customers.

Extended spring breaks and the technology issues are not the only negative impact that students are facing. It is also getting to be that time of year when high school students need to take the ACT and SAT. If students are not able to sit for these tests or prepare for them, this could impact them being able to get into college. Some colleges have started to look at multiple measures when trying to see if a student should be given admission to their school. One of these is high school GPA (which the virus could also affect). The problem is that not all schools are doing this and most still rely on test scores.

The virus is not only impacting traditional education venues, but non-traditional as well. Both the Denver Museum and Denver Zoo has also announced that they will be closed until future notice. When you add this to the closure of the local libraries, even self-education is getting smaller and smaller. There are ways around this as well. One is that Scholastic is offering free online courses for kids. The even have developed material for kids on the coronavirus, check out: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/press-release/scholastic-creates-free-open-access-digital-hub-help-keep-students-learning-while-scho .

Some museums also offer virtual tours : https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours .

For older learners you can also check out Harvard’s free courses: https://online-learning.harvard.edu/trending

So as we start to settle in to see if we can wait out this virus, I challenge all of you to keep your education going.

Works Cited

Blakemore, Lee. “Blackboard works together with the educational community to deliver continuity of education during coronavirus.” Education Dive. Accessed March 17, 2020.

https://www.educationdive.com/spons/blackboard-works-together-with-the-education-community-to-deliver-continuit/574037/?fbclid=IwAR3AI8jNs9QYZnqcp6ZH1ypRTPF27Dq6oqMM3ElXoC_a61FItQofzI1JQGI

Wilson, Scott. “Japanese students hold graduation ceremony in Minecraft amid school cancellation.” Sora News 24. Accessed March 17, 2020.

https://soranews24.com/2020/03/15/japanese-students-hold-graduation-ceremony-in-minecraft-amid-school-cancellation/

Now the Food Is Going

 Finally the food and medicine have started to disappear. At least I had already stocked up on these when people were going after the paper products. I find it interesting how even though they have switched to food they are still focusing mostly on foods that need a fridge or freezer. Go for the stuff that will last longer.

Cleaning Supplies Now Gone

 

So I went on a supply run with Val at work today to see if we could track down any cleaning supplies for work. They have now disappeared from shelves along with paper products. At least people are starting to think a little bit.

Also like my last post, the memes have started showing how stupid it was for people to focus on paper products.