Recent Posts

31

Chez Tremblay / Re: Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

« Last post by Sason on May 27, 2020, 03:13:44 pm »

I wondered that when I took the ferry from Wales to Ireland. They had a lane in Dublin for Irish and UK citizens to walk straight through while I had to take the lane for other citizens and show my passport. As my great grandparents come from the North of England, I wondered how they would tell if I did not open my mouth. My accent would give me away.
However, when I took the ferry from Denmark to England, everyone just waved their passports. Leaving Denmark (Esbjerg), the guy noticed mine, smiled and said "Ah Australian, Princess Mary." Now that I have a NZ passport, I always say I will only use my Australian passport for Australia (that is the law) and Denmark.

 

They might give you VIP treatment because they think you're one of her closest friends!

32

Chez Tremblay / Re: Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

« Last post by Front-Ranger on May 27, 2020, 02:49:07 pm »

Off on a tangent. As you know, I put in a security system a year ago. I keep track of all the door and window statuses on my phone. Last night I checked it as I went to bed and noticed that it said my car was parked 50 feet away.

During the night, I woke up and checked my phone. It now said my car was parked 60 feet away. My car must have been trying to creep away under cover of darkness!! 

33

Chez Tremblay / Re: Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

« Last post by Front-Ranger on May 27, 2020, 01:02:56 pm »

About the tracing, it's done through your cell phone. Smart phones work by contacting the nearest tower or satellite and so movements of the population can easily be tracked. Even if you turn off your location in Settings, it can still be determined how far and how much people are moving about. I'm not sure about flip phones, but they can be roughly tracked also. Since 99% of the population carries a mobile phone, this is an accurate determinator of movement.

As far as "returning to normal", what is normal? After cataclysms like this in the past, some whole industries collapsed, while others surged. My fear is that if we try to return to the normal of the past, we'll just fall into a Depression, because the past ways of doing things don't work anymore. This was evident way before the pandemic but now we have the perfect opportunity to sweep the old ways away. In some cases, technology will help us build whole new industries and networks. In other cases, we'll be wise to return to heirloom approaches.

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Chez Tremblay / Re: Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

« Last post by Jeff Wrangler on May 27, 2020, 11:27:39 am »

Brian, what is the government tracing app? Is that something that shows the government where everyone has been so they can keep track of their movements?

That's the sort of thing that worries me. A lot. About Big Brother being able to trace all of us, using the excuse that they need to trace contacts.

On another topic, I find myself feeling a little worried when I hear people and governments looking forward to things getting better soon so they can start opening places and pretty soon we'll be able to do A, B and C. I fear there's a chance things won't return to normal nearly that fast. I've heard of experts saying anywhere from four years to never. By then, I can't even imagine what will have happened to national economies.

Others say cases might decline over the summer, giving everyone a false sense of security, then resurge in the fall.

You know I'm a pessimist. When I see things like a crowded swimming pool, I'm sure it will come roaring back. I don't think we're ever going back to what things were like in, say, this past December.

35

BetterMost People / Re: Happy Birthday TOYCOON!

« Last post by serious crayons on May 27, 2020, 10:11:19 am »

I was just thinking of Toycoon the other day as someone (among many) I met at the BBQ but haven't seen around Brokiedom for years on years.

36

The Culture Tent / Re: In the New Yorker...

« Last post by serious crayons on May 27, 2020, 10:09:49 am »

Depending on how past is past, don't forget economics. Before Social Security and such, economic necessity  played a role in causing older people to live with their children, or sometimes the other way around.

True. Or they'd go to a poor house or a poor farm. I'm not sure there were even nursing homes, but in any case there certainly weren't assisted living or senior housing facilities.

But I think that at least in many cases people liked living in multi-generational homes. Old people wanted to die at home, offspring felt an obligation to care for them just as they'd received care as children.

I have a friend from Georgia the country who was studying for a grad degree in gerontology and through a university program was able to live in a nearby senior complex at a discounted rate in exchange for spending time with the older residents. She loved it and was happy to spend more time than was even required. She grew up in Georgia living close to her grandmother, knowing all her grandmother's friends, etc., and thinks it's weird and sad that in this country different generations aren't as well connected.

37

Chez Tremblay / Re: Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

« Last post by serious crayons on May 27, 2020, 09:53:09 am »

Brian, what is the government tracing app? Is that something that shows the government where everyone has been so they can keep track of their movements?


On another topic, I find myself feeling a little worried when I hear people and governments looking forward to things getting better soon so they can start opening places and pretty soon we'll be able to do A, B and C. I fear there's a chance things won't return to normal nearly that fast. I've heard of experts saying anywhere from four years to never. By then, I can't even imagine what will have happened to national economies.

Others say cases might decline over the summer, giving everyone a false sense of security, then resurge in the fall.

38

Chez Tremblay / Re: Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

« Last post by Front-Ranger on May 26, 2020, 08:41:00 pm »

My, life is complicated these days! I'm so glad you can visit your Mum, Sonja. Let us know how it goes.

39

Chez Tremblay / Re: Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

« Last post by brian on May 26, 2020, 07:53:19 pm »

How they establish who's a citizen and who's a tourist without people showing their passport I don't know! 

I wondered that when I took the ferry from Wales to Ireland. They had a lane in Dublin for Irish and UK citizens to walk straight through while I had to take the lane for other citizens and show my passport. As my great grandparents come from the North of England, I wondered how they would tell if I did not open my mouth. My accent would give me away.
However, when I took the ferry from Denmark to England, everyone just waved their passports. Leaving Denmark (Esbjerg), the guy noticed mine, smiled and said "Ah Australian, Princess Mary." Now that I have a NZ passport, I always say I will only use my Australian passport for Australia (that is the law) and Denmark.

40

Chez Tremblay / Re: Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

« Last post by Sason on May 26, 2020, 06:36:08 pm »

Brian, I do hope that if and when something happens to your sister or b-i-l, you'll be able to get there quickly. These times are so worrisome when you have close relatives in another country.

Interesting memories from your Scandinavian sojourn back in the day!

When I said we didn't need passports, I meant citizens in the Nordic countries. It's different for tourists.

How they establish who's a citizen and who's a tourist without people showing their passport I don't know!