KelsonV @KelsonV@wandering.shop

This is a weird combination of trending searches on Target today.

On the plus side: still employed, didn't give anyone else the flu, and don't seem to have caught covid19 (yet).

Last time I went for a photo walk or a hike in anything resembling more nature than a patch of weeds in someone's lawn was March 8. It feels like a year ago.

There's a large botanical garden up in the hills that's still open - for now. They've instituted an appointment system to limit the number of people inside at a time. I'm debating trying to go this weekend while it's still possible.

Earlier in the week, a lot of people in the LA area tried to go hiking, or to the beach, or otherwise outdoors to the *same places*. Which ended up creating the crowds that the shutdown was supposed to prevent. 🤦‍♂️

So cities, counties and the state have closed a bunch more parks, beaches, hiking trails and bike paths. It's still OK to walk in your neighborhood as long as you keep your distance, but destination-based going outdoors is mostly off the table now.

9YO (looking at Rocket Radar in Pokemon Go): OK, Team Rocket is still scared of Covid.

Oh nice, #Minecraft Earth has introduced a way to access adventures at home!

Mastodon: Here's how we're all dealing with quarantine and/or illness, who needs help and what you can do, what we know about how the pandemic is spreading, and what this shows needs to be fixed about society.

Twitter: OMG WERE ALL GONNA DIE BC OF THESE IDIOTS IN CHARGE WTFWTFWTF WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE

I've...found it helpful to avoid Twitter lately, just to keep the anxiety at bay.

An allowance tracker app we use with the 9YO has a set of stay-at-home activities including one that is allegedly about learning how compound interest works, with the classic example of starting with a penny and doubling it every day.

I'm actually impressed that they snuck in a lesson on exponential/geometric growth at a time when the understanding is critical, but using a non-anxiety-inducing context.

Atlas Obscura reports on a trend where artists are drawing Amabie (アマビエ), a sort of mer-bird-person spirit associated with protection from disease.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japanese-healing-spirit-covid-19

Image by Kaori Hamura Long. The article features several other examples from the current trend.