That video was great, Helix.
Huia, it's not covid related, but I came across a story in the Guardian about the harm done to wahine Maori by colonisation, which used a number of Maori words, including "tiriti", which I couldn't deduce from context. Could you explain it?
What can churches do about digital poverty, though?
This is a serious question, because this is a field (somewhat strange to me personally) in which churches could perhaps be more proactive.
Recognising digital poverty, and not using just the things which use the most bandwidth, would be a start. Our churches have a phone in service, so that only needs about 15-20mins of local rate phone charge. All the material sent by email is also printed out and sent in the post to those without email (or, when lockdown wasn't as severe delivered by hand allowing a socially distanced conversation along the garden path). Some longer pre-recorded services provided by the denomination have been burnt onto audio CD so they could also be listened to. There's no reason why churches putting video services online couldn't do similar with DVDs. We have some Zoom services, and some members phone in so they're there even though without the visual aspects.
In terms of the bigger picture digital poverty there are limited options. Churches could conceivably fund upgrades to broadband packages for members. I'm sure there are some churches out there who have joined in with the provision of laptops to families needing them for school, but a laptop is only as good as the internet connection available and that's harder to fix. We could campaign for a national broadband provision, but it's not going to happen in the next few weeks.
Having shielded ourselves well for the past 12 months today we went to a very very busy health centre to get the vaccine. Patients from 6 different surgeries were there but it was the nice volunteers on the doors I was most nervous about. However, Bill Gates has sent me a personal message to say that it will be OK
I'm now eligible for a jab, being past 65. I have to try to get an appointment through my regular provider, which leads to a message that they have no available appointments. This is probably going to be like trying to get a hot concert ticket. We shall see.
What can churches do about digital poverty, though?
This is a serious question, because this is a field (somewhat strange to me personally) in which churches could perhaps be more proactive.
In terms of the bigger picture digital poverty there are limited options. Churches could conceivably fund upgrades to broadband packages for members. I'm sure there are some churches out there who have joined in with the provision of laptops to families needing them for school, but a laptop is only as good as the internet connection available and that's harder to fix. We could campaign for a national broadband provision, but it's not going to happen in the next few weeks.
That is a good idea. Our presbytery is offering quite substantial grants for ministry purposes during the time of plague, and this would be a good way to get a reasonably long term benefit from it, perhaps with matching funds from the congregation. I'll pass it along right now.
One of the biggest hurdles at the moment is the lockdown itself. I've heard of elderly folks who got their first computer early in the lockdown so they could use Zoom to see family (often purchased by their family) which was left unused because getting it out of the box and plugged in is OK but to be taught how to use it really requires someone to set it up and sitting with them going through how to use it, which isn't possible for many during lockdown. Setting up a broadband connection and wifi also usually needs someone to come in (either an engineer for the company, or a family member or friend who's done it before).
Cardiff has retrained a group of staff who normally visit people to advise on benefits. Instead, they visit (in full PPE) to assist people who are elderly and/or living alone with setting up wifi, basics of using tablets, etc. It’s a fantastic service and has enabled a lot of people to stay in touch with family and friends, join in online exercise classes etc.
Thanks to all of you who have made helpful suggestions re churches and digital poverty.
Not sure if Our Place has the resources to materially or financially assist anyone very much, but we are aware that not all our folk have access to the Magic Electrical Interweb. FatherInCharge sends out a weekly email, with news-sheet, Sunday Bible readings, and other useful links, and also does a postal version for those who need it.
He intends to run a weekly Lent Study course via Zoom (ably assisted by a much more technically-minded retired priest in the next parish!), and is hoping to video a session of Stations Of The Cross to send out via our Facebook page.
BTW, I think this may have been mentioned before, but how many of you are (a) sleeping more, and (b) having weird - even baroque - dreams, as a result (possibly) of lockdown?
Mm, I’m finding it harder to get up and am definitely having more vivid dreams. Oddly, a lot are work related, though I retired 11 years ago! I had my jab this morning and my husband has his tomorrow 🎉. Very well organised as well.
Mr RoS get his Covid vaccination tomorrow.
Our kids will be delighted as that will be all the parents and parents-in-law vaccinated, which will be one thing less to worry about.
Praying for no snow tomorrow - at least until Mr RoS is home. We got a new (to us) car in December, & he's not had much opportunity to drive it - certainly not in adverse weather conditions & with a sore arm.
My parents both have had theirs (one Pfizer, one AZ), and FinL has had his. My mother in law is in the next group as she is a bit younger. There has been a pilot locally for a hub surgery in a town doing everyone, which I think has been working well as the official alternative sites are all a bit of a pain to get to, especially on public transport.
Mr RoS get his Covid vaccination tomorrow.
Our kids will be delighted as that will be all the parents and parents-in-law vaccinated, which will be one thing less to worry about.
Praying for no snow tomorrow - at least until Mr RoS is home. We got a new (to us) car in December, & he's not had much opportunity to drive it - certainly not in adverse weather conditions & with a sore arm.
Be careful with the arm. My friend got hers today, and although it didn't hurt badly, on the way back she felt her arm weakening and she needed to drive with her non-primary arm to get home. Can someone go with him?
I had my first vaccination last week at a community hall about 15 minutes easy drive away. Short queue outside, then inside, but all very well organised and took exactly half an hour, including the regulation sit down for 15 minutes afterwards.
No ill effects, though the site of the injection ached a bit. I tried not to lie on that side for two nights, after which any soreness disappeared.
As a precaution though, I shall drive Mr Puzzler to his appointment this coming week, just in case he has a reaction.
I think 'jag' is standard norn Irish for injection.
It’s standard Scottish use as well.
Over here I've heard "jab" but I don't think we use "jag."
I had a sore arm the night after receiving the first shot. It was better the second night. No other ill effects.
My piano teacher had no ill effects after the first shot. She received her second shot this past Thursday and said she felt very tired, really "out of it", for a day or two but is fine now.
My mother was one of the unlucky 10% who get fever. She felt pretty unwell for about 24 hours. The way I see it, if the vaccine makes you feel that bad, imagine what actual Covid might be like.
My parents received their vaccinations in a mosque. I have been muchly enjoying blowing French minds with this information.
If you have the Pfizer jab you have to sit and wait for 15 minutes because there have been occasional, rare, reactions to that one. (I'm contraindicated as allergic to life)
I think I had all the known side effects, but not for long.
Was fine for 12 hrs, then suddenly really tired. Had a broken night with joint pains and fever - I assume fever, too tired to get the thermometer, but hot, and my teeth chattering. Very odd, that, not aware of ever experiencing it before. Feverishness gone by morning, and joints gradually feeling better, but with nausea and couldn't eat (so couldn't take my medication). Didn't really want to drink, but managed some water. Ended the day with a headache which finally eased off 24hrs after I first felt unwell.
Been fine since. Just a very little tenderness in the punctured arm now.
Mr RoS is at the vaccination centre now.
Mr Bee had his first Astra Zeneca jab on Friday. He was advised to wait in the car for 15 minutes before driving away. He waited 10. He had a raised temperature yesterday but is better today. His second jab is at the end of April. I’m 4 years younger than him so unsure whether I’m in the next tranche or not. Wishing I could have it on a sugar lump.
My colleagues who have had the first dose mentioned headaches and pain in the injection site, but nothing much more than that. Definitely better than getting the disease!
I think I had all the known side effects, but not for long.
Was fine for 12 hrs, then suddenly really tired. Had a broken night with joint pains and fever - I assume fever, too tired to get the thermometer, but hot, and my teeth chattering. Very odd, that, not aware of ever experiencing it before. Feverishness gone by morning, and joints gradually feeling better, but with nausea and couldn't eat (so couldn't take my medication). Didn't really want to drink, but managed some water. Ended the day with a headache which finally eased off 24hrs after I first felt unwell.
Been fine since. Just a very little tenderness in the punctured arm now.
Mr RoS is at the vaccination centre now.
Yes, a similar thing to me. I had mine yesterday morning and was fine initially. Indeed, I’ve never had any reaction to things like the flu jab, so wasn’t expecting anything. Woke up in the small hours with a headache, aching all over, feeling nauseous and shivering for several hours! I’m feeling much better now and very happy to have had it done, despite the temporary reaction. My husband had his this morning and, as he usually does have mild symptoms after the flu jab, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to him.
The snow stayed away, so Mr RoS had no problem driving to and from the vaccination centre. No sign of side effects yet, but it's only been 5 hours.
We had different vaccines from different centres, and are very different physically, so can't really compare our reactions to the vaccine.
Mr S got his jab today! (which relieved the 'peak bleak' - there's no snow to speak of but it's brutally cold). It was all very efficient, they were taking people early as they were well ahead.
I was very disappointed as I'd hoped to persuade him to go in his crocodile onesie to cheer everyone's day, but he most unreasonably demurred...
ooh, that would have been lovely. I just heard a sory of someone showing up to a work Zoom meeting in a dragon kigurumi, and rather wish I had one myself. I shall have to make do by going to my second shot tomorrow in a dragon mask.
That is awesome and I want one. To comply with the new French masking rules (high filtration in public), I think I would have to double-mask, but I quite often do that anyway because surgical masks are way too big for my face and get in my eyes all the time, and N95s are expensive.
On double-masking, I was also quite taken with Dr Fauci's purple penguin mask the other day.
Those are so cool - I have some leopard skin printed cotton, for something else, and am planning masks out of the leftovers. Possibly with embroidered green eyes.
I tried making proper WHO standard masks with t-shirting inside, synthetic interfacing middle and polycotton outer, and couldn't breathe through the damn thing. I could sit on the tube in it, but moving around was less than funny. I didn't cry when it absorbed weed when we left the windows cracked open to air the flat when we went walking last autumn.
You do know that there are different shaped and sized mask patterns to be found? I drafted my own pattern from a N95 mask we had that fitted, but my daughter wears child sized masks
Homemade masks are no longer supposed to be worn here because the filtration (usually about 70% for most fabric masks) is not considered high enough against the new variants. It was kind of a disappointment to me because I had found a style that really worked on my face.
Usually I wear a fabric mask over a surgical mask to improve the fit. I do have N95s e.g. for wearing on the train but they're too expensive for all the time.
That's nothing compared to the woman with a penis sculpture on her bookshelf (NSFW obviously).
My dear sir, that is not a sculpture ...
Is there not a case that anything on display on a shelf like that is functionally a sculpture, for whatever purpose it was constructed, or to whatever other uses it may from time to time be put?
The most interesting non-book thing I have on my bookshelf right now is either a stud finder or Jesus, depending on which shelf you're looking at.
In fairness, it's in front of her books, rather than wasting book space. I have stuff on my shelves in front of my books, including a stone with "in the hands of the proletariat" etched on it (for breaking windows if I'm ever part of a left wing uprising), a paperweight in suffragette colours, a quaich, and two Ship Secret Santa gifts (N.B. neither of the Secret Santa gifts are penises).
Comments
Huia, it's not covid related, but I came across a story in the Guardian about the harm done to wahine Maori by colonisation, which used a number of Maori words, including "tiriti", which I couldn't deduce from context. Could you explain it?
The family is great! I immediately subscribed.
In terms of the bigger picture digital poverty there are limited options. Churches could conceivably fund upgrades to broadband packages for members. I'm sure there are some churches out there who have joined in with the provision of laptops to families needing them for school, but a laptop is only as good as the internet connection available and that's harder to fix. We could campaign for a national broadband provision, but it's not going to happen in the next few weeks.
That is a good idea. Our presbytery is offering quite substantial grants for ministry purposes during the time of plague, and this would be a good way to get a reasonably long term benefit from it, perhaps with matching funds from the congregation. I'll pass it along right now.
Not sure if Our Place has the resources to materially or financially assist anyone very much, but we are aware that not all our folk have access to the Magic Electrical Interweb. FatherInCharge sends out a weekly email, with news-sheet, Sunday Bible readings, and other useful links, and also does a postal version for those who need it.
He intends to run a weekly Lent Study course via Zoom (ably assisted by a much more technically-minded retired priest in the next parish!), and is hoping to video a session of Stations Of The Cross to send out via our Facebook page.
BTW, I think this may have been mentioned before, but how many of you are (a) sleeping more, and (b) having weird - even baroque - dreams, as a result (possibly) of lockdown?
My dreams are always weird anyway. 🐉 🦄 👹 👑
My own surgery told us that we would be the first in the queue after a lunch break. They neglected to mention the 5 other surgeries
I'll see myself out.
It had me wondering if some wise gov't (or car dealer) is giving out new (or gently used) Jaguar cars as a reward for getting vaccinated.
Our kids will be delighted as that will be all the parents and parents-in-law vaccinated, which will be one thing less to worry about.
Praying for no snow tomorrow - at least until Mr RoS is home. We got a new (to us) car in December, & he's not had much opportunity to drive it - certainly not in adverse weather conditions & with a sore arm.
Be careful with the arm. My friend got hers today, and although it didn't hurt badly, on the way back she felt her arm weakening and she needed to drive with her non-primary arm to get home. Can someone go with him?
Indeed it is.
No ill effects, though the site of the injection ached a bit. I tried not to lie on that side for two nights, after which any soreness disappeared.
As a precaution though, I shall drive Mr Puzzler to his appointment this coming week, just in case he has a reaction.
Neither Mr F (health centre) nor I (vaccination hub) were instructed to sit and rest. We were out the door and into bus/taxi immediately.
16 hours on I'm not noticing any side effects - pretty sure the vague headache more to do with last night's red wine.
Over here I've heard "jab" but I don't think we use "jag."
I had a sore arm the night after receiving the first shot. It was better the second night. No other ill effects.
My piano teacher had no ill effects after the first shot. She received her second shot this past Thursday and said she felt very tired, really "out of it", for a day or two but is fine now.
My parents received their vaccinations in a mosque. I have been muchly enjoying blowing French minds with this information.
Was fine for 12 hrs, then suddenly really tired. Had a broken night with joint pains and fever - I assume fever, too tired to get the thermometer, but hot, and my teeth chattering. Very odd, that, not aware of ever experiencing it before. Feverishness gone by morning, and joints gradually feeling better, but with nausea and couldn't eat (so couldn't take my medication). Didn't really want to drink, but managed some water. Ended the day with a headache which finally eased off 24hrs after I first felt unwell.
Been fine since. Just a very little tenderness in the punctured arm now.
Mr RoS is at the vaccination centre now.
Yes, a similar thing to me. I had mine yesterday morning and was fine initially. Indeed, I’ve never had any reaction to things like the flu jab, so wasn’t expecting anything. Woke up in the small hours with a headache, aching all over, feeling nauseous and shivering for several hours! I’m feeling much better now and very happy to have had it done, despite the temporary reaction. My husband had his this morning and, as he usually does have mild symptoms after the flu jab, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to him.
We had different vaccines from different centres, and are very different physically, so can't really compare our reactions to the vaccine.
I was very disappointed as I'd hoped to persuade him to go in his crocodile onesie to cheer everyone's day, but he most unreasonably demurred...
On double-masking, I was also quite taken with Dr Fauci's purple penguin mask the other day.
I tried making proper WHO standard masks with t-shirting inside, synthetic interfacing middle and polycotton outer, and couldn't breathe through the damn thing. I could sit on the tube in it, but moving around was less than funny. I didn't cry when it absorbed weed when we left the windows cracked open to air the flat when we went walking last autumn.
You do know that there are different shaped and sized mask patterns to be found? I drafted my own pattern from a N95 mask we had that fitted, but my daughter wears child sized masks
Usually I wear a fabric mask over a surgical mask to improve the fit. I do have N95s e.g. for wearing on the train but they're too expensive for all the time.
https://theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/09/texas-lawyer-zoom-cat-filter-kitten
That's nothing compared to the woman with a penis sculpture on her bookshelf (NSFW obviously).
My dear sir, that is not a sculpture ...
Is there not a case that anything on display on a shelf like that is functionally a sculpture, for whatever purpose it was constructed, or to whatever other uses it may from time to time be put?
The most interesting non-book thing I have on my bookshelf right now is either a stud finder or Jesus, depending on which shelf you're looking at.
My thought also.