Some positivity. The Earth is vibrating less. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/world/coronavirus-earth-seismic-noise-scn-trnd/?hpt=ob_blogfooterold The coronavirus pandemic is making Earth vibrate less By Harmeet Kaur, CNN (CNN)Once-crowded city streets are now empty. Highway traffic has slowed to a minimum. And fewer and fewer people can be found milling about outside. Global containment measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus have seemingly made the world much quieter. Scientists are noticing it, too. Around the world, seismologists are observing a lot less ambient seismic noise -- meaning, the vibrations generated by cars, trains, buses and people going about their daily lives. And in the absence of that noise, Earth's upper crust is moving just a little less. Thomas Lecocq, a geologist and seismologist at the Royal Observatory in Belgium, first pointed out this phenomenon in Brussels. Brussels is seeing about a 30% to 50% reduction in ambient seismic noise since mid-March, around the time the country started implementing school and business closures and other social distancing measures, according to Lecocq. That noise level is on par with what seismologists would see on Christmas Day, he said. Less noise means seismologists can detect smaller events The reduction in noise has had a particularly interesting effect in Brussels: Lecocq and other seismologists are able to detect smaller earthquakes and other seismic events that certain seismic stations wouldn't have registered. Take, for example, the seismic station in Brussels. In normal times, Lecocq said, it's "basically useless." Seismic stations are typically set up outside urban areas, because the reduced human noise makes it easier to pick up on subtle vibrations in the ground. The one in Brussels, however, was built more than a century ago and the city has since expanded around it. The daily hum of city life means that the station in Brussels wouldn't typically pick up on smaller seismic events. Seismologists would instead rely on a separate borehole station, which uses a pipe deep in the ground to monitor seismic activity. "But for the moment, because of the city's quietness, it's almost as good as the one on the bottom," Lecocq said. Seismologists in other cities are seeing similar effects in their own cities. Paula Koelemeijer posted a graph on Twitter showing how noise in West London has been affected, with drops in the period after schools and social venues in the United Kingdom closed and again after a government lockdown was announced. Celeste Labedz, a PhD student at the California Institute of Technology, posted a graph showing an especially stark drop in Los Angeles. Still, seismologists say the reduction in noise is a sobering reminder of a virus that has sickened more than one million people, killed tens of thousands and brought the normal rhythms of life to a halt. It shows people are heeding lockdown rules Lecocq said the graphs charting human noise are evidence that people are listening to authorities' warnings to stay inside and minimize outside activity as much as possible. "From the seismological point of view, we can motivate people to say, 'OK look, people. You feel like you're alone at home, but we can tell you that everyone is home. Everyone is doing the same. Everyone is respecting the rules,'" he said. The data can also be used to identify where containment measures might not be as effective, said Raphael De Plaen, a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. "That could be used in the future by decision makers to figure out, 'OK, we're not doing things right. We need to work on that and make sure that people respect that because this is in the interest of everyone.'"
Two of my tomatoes are turning red. My Carolina Reaper plants are growing nicely, planted from seeds. Gardening does a body good, with plants across the patio in 5 gallon buckets. Now that I have all the time in the world to sit and watch my garden grow. Tick tock tick tock.
Malts. I think I’ll make myself a malt now. Got some vanilla ice cream delivered a couple of days ago and I have the other fixings. Got the Borden’s Vanilla Malt powder (get it delivered from a grocery - doubt if Amazon has it - HEB or Kroger’s will). I prefer it to the chocolate, because I can add any flavor to vanilla and it isn’t overpowered by chocolate. If I want a chocolate malt, I add chocolate sauce or one of the other things with chocolate, even some mix for hot chocolate from the pantry. That last can work in a pinch. The type of malt is crucial. Never buy liquid malt! Awful stuff. Borden’s is best. Several burger places in Austin that make malts use it, and they use the vanilla. Want a strawberry malt? Try tossing some fresh strawberries in the blender. It’s a trip. When the kids were actually kids, instead of grown, I used to make them a “malt in a bowl.” They loved it and still mention their decrepit father back when he still had some hair making them a malt in a bowl. If anyone is stuck at home with little kids, I recommend making it for them as an afternoon treat. Vanilla ice cream, Borden’s vanilla malt, whatever else you want to toss in the bowl, and a small splash of milk. Stir. If you want it thicker, add a bit more ice cream, or a smaller splash of milk. Take a taste here and there to be sure it’s just right. That’s a Dad’s perk. It’s absurdly easy, you don’t need the blender and the portions are small, so they won’t go berserk with a sugar rush. Well, maybe they won’t. ;-) Saw the sun today here in Austin and some birds. One of them was a Cardinal. Beautiful!
Lucky that, unlike some other people, I still have a job and am able to work from home. Doing so also means that I am finally making use of some of the digital teaching/learning tools and skills that I have. Have also been able to help out a few other teachers by sharing a few tech tips and tech items (like document cameras, funny how I came to own 5 of them) needed for remote teaching.
A healthy percentage of the front line workers in the hospitals are IMMIGRANTS. Good thing this administration did not have their way on the negative propaganda against them.
Maybe I'll put out my hummingbird feeders today. Watching the hummingbirds just sounds so much more uplifting than watching the news.
I made a pen for my wife's ducks during my day off on Sunday. I need to plan something for this sunday. Probably smoke a ham.
Need a laugh? This is one of my favorite scenes ever from a TV show. I can't wait for After Life Season 2 this month on Netflix. If you haven't seen this clip, I guarantee it will make you laugh. If you've seen it, well well another laugh.
Wait what ??? You planted Carolina Reapers???? What are you planning to do with those SCOVIL nightmares??? DD
If my plants survive butterfly egg laying caterpillar season, and actually produce peppers this year, then I have a few plans for them. I ordered some heavy duty netting to drape over the cages, which will hopefully help prevent the nightmare I had last year with the caterpillar munching feast of all the leaves on my plants. It was pure Reaper Madness. (Now I just got a visual of the old black and white movie Reefer Madness in my head). One idea is to put most of the peppers in a food dehydrator (In the garage to avoid fumes). Once they are dried I am going to pulse them to small flakes and put in a big shaker jar to sprinkle on pizza, spaghetti, chicken, etc.. I'll also make some hot sauce/salsa with it once in awhile, but just using enough to give it a kick above the scotch bonnet, and a little more kick. I'll just save dehydrated ones to rehydrate if needed. I'm hoping I have some this year. I spent way too much money ordering a few dried reapers and a pack of Reaper seeds from Joe's shop in Carolina. Hopefully, with a little luck, I finally grow some this year.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/himalayas-visible-lockdown-india-scli-intl/index.html People in India can see the Himalayas for the first time in 'decades,' as the lockdown eases air pollution (CNN) — People in the northern Indian state of Punjab are reacting with awe at the sight of the Himalayan mountain range, which is now visible from more than 100 miles away due to the reduction in air pollution caused by the country's coronavirus lockdown. Indians in the city of Jalandhar and the surrounding area have posted photos online of the views from their homes, with some saying they haven't seen the peaks of the Himalayas for decades. "For the first time in almost 30 years (I) could clearly see the Himalayas due to India's lockdown clearing air pollution. Just amazing," Manjit Kang wrote. More at link.
"I think the American public have done a really terrific job of just buckling down and doing those physical separation and adhering to those guidelines," National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday. Fauci says the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 is now projected to be around 60,000 people. Fauci Says U.S. Coronavirus Deaths May Be 'More Like 60,000'; Antibody Tests On Way
I actually laughed. Some may find it difficult to believe based on some of my posts in D&D, but it really doesn’t take a lot to make me laugh. I grew up with a father who was a professor for 30 years and department chair for 20. All I can figure is that his students or the other profs told him the most ridiculous, the dumbest, the most lame jokes they could think of. We had dinner at the kitchen table on the evenings when he could pull himself away from the university, and at some point, he would uncork a joke he heard that day. There was a lot of eye rolling going on that we tried to hide, but we laughed while we were doing it, or at least grinned. I guess it gave me have a low bar for humor. You just made it over the bar, Carl, barely. ;-)
