Today’ I’d like to discuss stricter measures. Coop and Migros both have online shops set up for home delivery but the system is overloaded by people ordering at the same time. They don’t have the truck fleet or staff to cope with the demand so I suggest a better solution.
Both Digitec and Galaxus allow people to order online and choose which shop they want to pick up their purchases. This idea is relevant today because Migros, Coop and other shops are now forcing people to queue outside shops before being allowed to go in and make their purchases.
Queuing, whilst keeping shops from getting crowded inside, will increase the risk of propagation of the virus outside the shops. People have a tendency not to stand with the minimum of two-meter distance separation. The larger the crowd the longer the queue, and the longer the wait the higher the probability of contagion.
If we could shop online and request distribution from a specific point the time we spend at the shops would be cut down to a minute or two and it would have the added benefit that we would not even need to go into the shop. I don’t want to go to the shops at all if I need to queue but there is no choice.
The system they put in place yesterday will result in more, rather than less hoarding and increase the amount of time people spend in proximity to others.
Having said this the graph for Vaud has flattened but I don’t know whether this is because they ran out of test kits or whether they have failed to update the figures at the time when I wrote this blog post. I hope the worst is over for this Canton.
It’s Day Five of ORCA in Switzerland. Next time we discuss shaking hands we should stop, and go into self-isolation. We had all the signs that a pandemic was coming. We knew about China and we saw what was going on in Italy. We knew that a virus was infecting people at a rapid rate.
When I chose not to go to the Graduate Institute because I knew a Pandemic was coming I was right. It wasn’t worth the risk. If everyone had had the common sense, and forethought to start isolating we wouldn’t have seen such a rapid increase in the spread of the virus.
When I saw people discussing whether to shake hands I thought it was alarmist and stupid and to some degree, I wasn’t wrong. I was wrong to think we should shake hands but I was right to start avoiding large groups. The trick, to avoid pandemics is to follow international news, and see what is happening in other countries, and to see what actions they are taking. we should then take the same actions pre-emptively.
If everyone outside of Italy had taken those actions sooner the virus would have struggled to spread and society might have fewer affected people.
The lesson we should have learned is that when we see a pandemic is coming we should discuss whether to go into self-isolation, rather than whether to shake hands.
Today is Day Four of Orca in Switzerland and I saw that the Canton in which I live has the most active cases of COVID19 so my motivation both to go to shops and to go for walks has taken a hit. At the same time I don’t know whether it’s COVID 19 that is having this effect or the fact that I walked a theoretical 197.2 kilometres since the start of this month for the March Activity challenge.
All I have to do now to complete the challenge is walk 7.8 kilometres a day for the next ten days and I’m done. Easy goal. I’m impatient for this challenge so that I can return to cycling, no matter whether it’s on the indoor trainer or outdoors.
Exploring The Trail Less Travelled.
Today I went off exploring the trail less traveled. I walked towards an Ingress portal and then I took a right turn and walked along a trail. I could have taken the road and crossed a bridge to get to the portal but the muddy path is an excellent option because it keeps me away from people.
The path wasn’t too muddy but I did have to scramble over a tree that had fallen to the ground and avoid slipping on mud. I captured the portal, full deployed and then I went off exploring.
A nice little hidden waterfall just 30 centimeters high.
I love walking along this river because you would never believe that you’re so close to Eysins and Nyon. If you stood quietly you could probably hear both. It’s nice because it’s secluded but it’s also nice because you could imagine children playing by this river on a hot summer’s day.
I walked beyond the waterfall but at this point the path becomes more challenging. I could have gone across and towards Nyon but I chose to go down towards the river. The river, is less full of water than it was a few days ago when the rain was heavy so I could sneak a little further than on previous explorations.
The layers of rock strata, and trees growing up around them
The image above shows a safe bit of cliff but there are moments where you feel that it’s precarious. Erosion is slowly eroding the soil away and trees are falling forward, into the valley. I wouldn’t recommend exploring certain segments on a rainy day.
During the quarantine, the message is to stay away from people. By exploring snickets in forests you achieve this goal easily. No dog walkers, no families on a walk, no one.
Quarantine can be boring, and it can be lonely, especially for those of us living in solitude who still have the fortitude to endure loneliness for society at large. Exploring is a nice way of living in the moment. It’s a way of finding things to write blog posts about, but it’s also something to show others, once solitary people, are once again allowed the company of another human.
Staying Local
During this pandemic, I am trying not to use the car and I use the scooter as little as possible. I try to stay within walking distance for everything. My logic is that by traveling further I would come in contact with more people and I might bring the virus from an infected region to one that was clear of the virus.
At the moment we know which Cantons are affected but we have no idea of whether villages or towns are clean. If we knew that villages or towns were clear of the virus we could go into reverse quarantine. Rather than keeping people isolated, we could keep them insulated. By this, I mean that shops, handshakes, and social life could be restored. Of course, this is unfeasible.
Before I stop writing for today I did see people start to wear masks, and gloves, attempting to isolate themselves from the risk of contagion. I’m still washing my hands, and simply staying home when not on a walk, and washing my hands as soon as I get home.
What is your pandemic footprint. Mine, is just two at this moment in time.
On Day Three of ORCA in Switzerland, I have decided to deactivate my account. In the last three days, I have been bullied by two people, a third tried to discredit me and a fourth reported a link for spam. As a result of these unpleasant experiences, I have deactivated my Facebook account.
Facebook used to be a network for connecting us to university friends as students, and professional colleagues in the world of work. Ever since Zynga games were allowed Facebook has been decreasingly about connecting with people, and more about compulsively checking for updates from friends that never come.
In theory, now is the time to be more active on Facebook, and I was until a few minutes ago. When I got that notification I finally had the motivation to deactivate, not delete my Facebook account.
During COVID19 the most important thing for us is to keep our mental health. As Facebook is not contributing to me feeling happier it is worth taking a step back.
“Oh, but your friends won’t be able to keep up to date with what you’re doing without facebook.”
I am still on Twitter, Linkedin, Telegram, Whatsapp and other platforms. Facebook is only a drop in the ocean. If people miss my presence on Facebook they can find me on other platforms.
We will see how long I stay away from Facebook. It might be half a day.
[Update 6:30pm PT: Facebook also warned that due to it sending its moderators home and relying more on artificial intelligence to screen for abuse, it could make “more mistakes”. At roughly 4pm today, a bug in Facebook’s spam filter caused a wide array of innocent links, including some about coronavirus, to be blocked from the News Feed. That led some to wrongly assume Facebook was purposefully censoring their posts. Facebook tells TechCrunch it’s investigating the problem.”]
We are in ORCA day two in Switzerland and I crashed the drone. I also avoided the shops because of the behaviour I witnessed yesterday.
The weather is excellent at the moment. Sunny, warm, and without wind. These are perfect conditions for drone flying so I thought I’d take advantage. I forgot to put an SD card in the drone so instead of flying and trying to get video I put it in sports mode. I played in the field, flying forwards, backwards, going up, down and more. Eventually, I flew towards the trees and decided that I would get the drone to fly in between trees as I have done in the past.
Previously I put the drone back into normal mode and this time I forgot so the drone hit something and “bounced”. I’ve seen this type of bounce before so I decided to put full throttle upwards. Instead of flying up and clearing the branches it got unstuck and fell to the ground. I thought that it would fall through and hit a few branches and land in the mud. The issue is that the drone was further forward than I thought and it fell through the branches and hit an asphalt road. This broke the rear right arm and loosened that motor. Other than that the battery fell off.
Some people fly their drone and crash during their first flight, or after ten flights. It took 166 flights before I had a serious crash with this drone. Before this crash, I had knicked the propellers on branches or other branches but nothing serious. If it had been above the forest floor it would have been fine. The fall was slowed down the whole way. Mud would have saved the drone.
The break is clean so I can try fixing it with the right kind of glue. I also need to find a way to get the affected motor back into its housing. The second option is to buy the plastic component that houses all the engines.
We will see if I find a way to resolve this issue.
During the weekend I thought that being in self-isolation would be a pleasant and enjoyable experience. The sound of cars is diminished. More people are walking and going for bike rides and the level of pollution could decline for at least a few days or even weeks.
On the flip side I saw that the shops were crowded and that people were panic buying. People are panic buying because they’re afraid that the shops might have to close down if the virus spreads too extensively in Switzerland. This behaviour is irrational because there is no plan to close food shops. Spain, France, and Italy have all decided to keep shops open during the crisis whilst restricting all other activities.
People are afraid without understanding the Corona Virus. In the food shop I saw a number of people all crowding around the same aisles. I saw several groups of people walking in close proximity to each other. All the behaviours that we were told to avoid are not being avoided.
By standing in such close proximity to each other these individuals are precipitating the spread of the virus. The fear that the shops will have to close, is going to occur because they ignored the first rule of self-isolation. Avoid close proximity to others.
Have you ever been sat at a desk and breathed out and seen a piece of paper move as a result? If you have then keep this in mind. The problem with Corona Virus is that it is spread through the air and by touch. This meanss that if you’re within someone’s exhalation airspace you’re running the risk of contamination. It works both ways, so if you want to avoid contaminating others avoid being too close to them. For more information the CDC has a page about the transmission of Corona Virus.
As I walked away from the self-checkout I pulled out my bottle of hand gel and rinsed my hands. I poured a small quantity into the palm of one hand, put the bottle away and then rubbed until the gel was dry. In the last two days I read that this is the proper way to use hand gel. I then drove home and washed my hands as soon as I got home. It’s a shame that I couldn’t get pasta because a packet can last me for weeks. I consume rice at a much higher rate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgylp3Td1Bw
Switzerland is 9th in the Corona Virus league
One or two weeks ago I thought that by not going to two events I was being overly cautious. I didn’t go because I thought that risking catching the virus was not worth what I would gain at the two events. I even considered sitting in the back, where it would be less likely for someone to cough on me.
Lent
This year when people ask you what you gave up for Lent you’ll be able to say “Social interaction. I went into self-isolation to stop the spread of the Corona Virus. It wasn’t always joyful but at least we’re doing our best to eradicate this strain of the virus.
In theory, pandemics are terrible for your social life because you go from socialising in bars, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, and cafés to having to stay home like an indoor cat or a fish in an aquarium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHkKXFRbCI
For people like me, the thought of not being in crowds of 50 people is not worrying in the least. I love summer sports where we’re never more than 20 or so people anyway. The biggest hit to my social life comes in Autumn and winter when we shift from outdoor sports like cycling, climbing via Ferrata and others to indoor sports like drinking in a crowd and other less vibrant activities.
Events are being canceled left and right. The Geneva traffic jam show (Salon de L’auto, officially) is canceled. Polymanga has been shifted to August, the Giro D’italia is suspended, and more. Schools are out. Office workers are finally allowed to work from home. Pollution levels in China and Italy are going down.
À cela s’ajoute la fermeture des lieux de divertissements (cinémas, théâtres, musées, centres de jeunesse, centres sportifs, centres de fitness, piscines, centres de bien-être, discothèques, pianos-bars, boîtes de nuit, clubs érotiques).
The debate people were having about whether indoor climbing was safe or not is now moot in Switzerland. The answer is “nowhere is open”. It’s going to be an interesting month. I should go out and gather footage with the 360 camera. This is a historic moment. It’s worth documenting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqw-9yMV0sI
SARS was a memorable event and COVID19 will be more memorable. I think it’s the first time I’ve lived through a serious pandemic.
Cycling, hiking and other less sociable sports are still possible. In theory, so is swimming in the lake. We can enjoy these sports.
The 298 Km walking and Running Challenge is now ten days old and I’ve managed to run or walk the required distance every day. Yesterday rather than walk I decided to run despite the rain. As a result, a pair of my hiking trousers are now nicely covered in mud. I walked through two puddles near home hoping that most of the mud would wash off the shoes and it seems to have worked.
While writing this blog post I see that I need to run at least once a week for six months to get a running pace. It’s a shame it can’t take the data from activities like Strava does. It says “as you get faster your speed goes up and your pace goes down”. My problem is not with speed or pace. It’s with technique. I’m still trying to get my knees not to suffer when I run.
I can walk and cycle without pain, but running is uncomfortable, I need to work on the quality of my stride but that’s a topic for another time.
The weather is finally better. When I checked the temperature my watch said that it’s 16°C outside, which means that my conventional walks can start taking place again. I often walk ten-kilometre loops on the roads around here.
During my walks I listen to podcasts. Today I listened to Episode two of the FIFDH series by Histoire Vivante. They have a week of interviews with those who work on this event. Today it was about the film discussions they organise, and their role, as well as the films and their impact on the world. I also listened to How Corona Closed down Italy by The Guardian.
Oscillating Between 9 to 10 Kilometres per day.
During most of this challenge, I have not been on my summer walks but rather on smaller Ingress walks. I get the appropriate amount of steps, but the workout is different. Yesterday when I ran I hardly played Ingress, in part because of the rain but also because I was focused on simply reaching my 5km goal. Today the weather would have been good for cycling but I preferred to take a rest for my legs to recover.
Pelotons
A group of cyclists
During my walk I also saw three pelotons of cyclists along a stretch of road. There is a gentle gradient on this road so it is a good taster of what other gradients have to offer later on. I’d like to cycle in a group. So far my experience of cycling has been a solitary one. It would be an interesting experience. It would be different from a critical mass or other less energetic events.
I am now 100 kilometers into my 298 Kilometre challenge with about three weeks to go. At this rate, I will achieve the goal.
I have been thinking of climbing gyms, in other words of fitness centres and the Corona Virus. A few years ago I went to a gym where we wiped down every machine after use. We would get a paper towel, spray it with liquid and clean all the surfaces we touched. This includes exercise bikes, weight lifting equipment, elliptical machines and rowing machines. We also placed a towel so that our body was never in contact with surfaces directly.
When we go to climbing gyms we always end up with hands smelling of the objects we have touched. After a session at a climbing gym, I enjoy washing my hands because the water turns dark with the dirt that my hands collected.
Climbing.com wrote an article about whether climbing gyms pose a threat. There is not enough data to provide a reliable answer yet. From a logical standpoint, the answer is clear. If we should avoid shaking hands, or having any physical contact if we should stay at least one meter from other people, then climbing is an activity to avoid. We touch the same handholds, we share ropes and we share belay devices.
During the health crisis, I believe that climbing outdoors would make more sense because UV light kills bacteria and viruses. At outdoor climbing locations, there are fewer people so exposure to virus carriers is smaller.
Health Magazine and The New York Times both explore the topic of fitness centres and the risk of transmission. “In addition to avoiding frequently handled machines and equipment, it’s recommended, as always, that you wash your hands often and don’t touch your face.” This is from the New York times article. Health wrote “Any place where large numbers of people congregate at any one time over a period of time, allows them to shed their microorganisms or germs on various places,”
I currently have neither a normal gym, nor climbing gym membership. I would favour normal gyms over climbing gyms. I can clean the machines before and after I use them minimising the risk of exposure. This is already a normal part of my gym routine so there would be no change. According to the Irish Times swimming pools are also safe due to Chlorine in the water.
Disclaimer: For further information refer to the articles I have linked to. I am not a health professional.
What do you have to say about AirPods? I see them as useful and simple. I have tried earphones, headphones, and Bluetooth variants. With some earphones, I found that they hurt my ears. With others, I found that they slipped out too easily. With yet more, I found that the noise cancellation feature was unpleasant. All in all, AirPods are still the earphones that I prefer.
Earphones and headphones are curious, because we may keep them with us every day for weeks, months or even years. Eventually, they break. The most common problem that I had with earphones is that the solder from the speaker in the earpiece to the cord would detach. Another problem, with headphones, was that the soft fabric would wear out and break.
With work headphones, I found that the leather/plastic part that rests on ears gets warm and unpleasant after hours of wear. My favourite headphones were Koss headphones. They folded into a little egg. One day I was opening them before a shoot and they snapped and I was sad. They were the best headphones I ever owned. They were also the most expensive. They were given.
As I slipped from cassette players to minidisc and CD players to iPods, Symbian devices, android devices and iPhones I have usually used the earphones that came with the device and i never bothered to put the plastic fabric on the earpieces.
Recently the left ear on my AirPods died and so for a few days I tried the various earphones I have, to see if one would be an apt replacement. I lost the habit of hearing the noise of the cable that runs from the earphones to the device it’s plugged into. I could hear it rubbing against my collar, against my sweater and against the coats I’ve been wearing. I don’t know whether that was an issue a few years ago. I don’t know whether it’s because the earphones are relatively old or whether I’m more demanding.
Replacing AirPods
Replacing AirPods is not as easy as switching from a wired charging case to a wireless one. Apple’s website makes buying new charging cases a matter of a few seconds.
The journey to replace AirPods is more complicated. To replace AirPods you have three options. The chat window, a phone call, or going to the shop in person. The chat experience was bad. The first time I tried I got disconnected because it took me too long to find the serial number.
In the second case, the experience was bad because I gave the serial number and a description of the problem but the person or bot kept asking questions as if my simple sentence had not answered the question. “My AirPods are at least two years old and the left ear has stopped working” . “Ok, can we do a diagnostic test?”
When you’re a geek, and when you’ve tried pairing the AirPods, and you’ve tried following their suggestions to resolve the problem before joining the chat it’s frustrating. It’s also frustrating because AirPods are 75 CHF per ear so you’re speaking about 150 CHF to replace something that costs 169 CHF to buy new if I remember correctly.
Due to the current health situation, and due to having to schedule a meeting with a genius I decided that going to the Apple store to resolve this issue was not worth the time.
Buying a New Pair
As I browsed various online stores I saw that Mediamarkt had new pairs for 129 CHF instead of 159 CHF. For 179 CHF I could have upgraded to wireless charging. I didn’t go for this option because I hardly ever use wireless charging. The charging case needs to be charged every few days so wireless charging is uninteresting. I use wireless charging for the phone infrequently.
The Upside
I decided to replace my iPhone SE because the battery was beginning to weaken and the screen touch interface was not as responsive as it used to be. With the AirPods, I have once again used a device until it was at the end of its useful life. If buying new AirPods was as simple as buying a charging case I would have kept the right ear and charging case. I have broken the habit of buying something new just because I wanted to try something new.
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