Week 14 of 2020 brings work-from-home awards, post-lockdown runs, finding alcohol online, camping in the garden, Make Life Work stickers, end of an era for print magazines and remote orchestra raves.
I’m still going to continue the tweet digest format on the weeklies but, rather than embed external content, import as quotes with citations and comments below.
(The IFTTT setup is still not working as I’d like but will continue to investigate this week.)
Work
Another fantastic project from Dom, this time a “Work From Home” awards event with some genius categories, all in aid of @MartinHouseCH.
I’d like to think I’ll go for the BEST LOCKDOWN CREATED PROJECT category but will likely end up with BEST CHILD INTERUPTION STORY.
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1245294554993037312
As we continue with the Coronavirus lockdown (which I have blogged about recently), working remotely continues to challenge society. Dom’s side project struck a nerve with me though, especially finding a good balance of work schedules with family time.
Life
Today, we braved the supermarkets for a big shop – not just for us but for the in-laws too. Strangely eery out in public but relatively calm and reassuring to see people be careful and respectful.
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1245807995226816512
After a two week self-isolation, we finally got out to a supermarket for a decent food shop (and a little retail therapy for my wife). It was certainly a strange experience though with limited fresh food stock on the shelves, very few people around but, equally, plenty distance between people respecting the 2 metre rule. This is definitely a strange time we’re going through.
Worst month of activity rings since I got an Apple Watch over 3 years ago. I need to get on top of this.
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1245076795625480192
After two weeks of isolation, it felt good to get out for a bit of a run. Certainly hurt after such a long break though. #PinkFace pic.twitter.com/2NgFD9cp8w
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1245424759879458818
Being stuck at home has certainly scuppered my fitness plans over the past month but, after self-isolation was lifted, I was straight out for a run around the village. Two runs in three days seems like a good start and I’ll continue to try 3 days next week.
Tried to redeem a @NakedWines voucher but they’re struggling with demand right now. That’s the British way of coping. 🍷
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1244570478322372609
Looks like @Flavourly are coping with demand at the moment. Get £5 off a box with my referral code `SIMON3CEE`
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1244971368116031488
With full intent to reduce my shopping trips (which are typically for the random bottle of wine or beer from the local Co-op), I tried a few familiar online outlets instead. Naked Wines 0 – Flavourly 1.
Improvising with the lovely weather in the garden today #JoblingCamp #BBQ #lockdown2020
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1246858009751494656
As the weather picked up this past weekend, we took to the garden for some DIY, the first BBQ of the year and intent to camp overnight with the kids. Unfortunately, the weather forecast a high chance of rain so we decided to play safe.
Sides
Fancy a free #makelifework sticker? Let me know and I’ll be in touch for postal details #fridayfreebies #sharethelove https://t.co/Pm1PnJYL8V
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1246083409035825152
Side projects have taken a break over the past few weeks since concluding Season 2 of Make Life Work. I thought I’d keep the product alive though with a sticker giveaway on Friday which got 5 or 6 responses.
I also put my head down “in the studio” to produce an hour mix for this season’s House Finesse show due out for this coming Easter weekend. It was great fun returning to music production although re-training my brain to use Ableton Live 10 on Windows rather than Mac did slow down my process somewhat.
Tech
This is definitely the end of an era. As someone who learned so much from both publications through the year and was even lucky enough to feature in both at times, they shall be sorely missed.
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1246332186657280000
I was saddened to hear over the weekend two magazines I was actually featured in have come to an end. I can understand how difficult it is to keep print magazines relevant through a digital era, especially with lack of stability through this pandemic, but it definitely made me realise how valuable their publishing efforts will be missed, an art that has definitely died through self-publication.
This COVID-19 Dashboard has been open-sourced and certainly makes a clear point of the exponential confirmed cases globally. Germany seem to have the better recovery rate too. https://trekhleb.github.io/covid-19/
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1244914082752409602
As the pandemic continues to impact the world in many ways, this visualisation of the metrics definitely hits home the scale of what is actually happening. So sad to see what’s happening though.
Entertainment
This is an impressive arrangement and piece of production. Plus uplifting rave classics. What’s there not to love?
http://twitter.com/Si/status/1245256091799175168
Let’s end the week on a high with some uplifting music. I’ve always been a fan of Jools Buckley who popularised orchestras performing dance music live (hat-tip to Pete Tong too for putting his name to it) so, when I saw a feature on BBC News about the Kaleidoscope Orchestra performing “Set You Free” via Zoom, it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling to know (a) people are staying connected with tech across all communities and (b) dance music still has the power to bring energy and happiness through tough times.