Ophilia (1851) by John Everett Millais (1829 – 1896).
Today (2020-05-22) is Goth Day #12. World Goth Day originated at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 2009, when Radio 6 was looking at a number of music subcultures including Goth music. Goth DJs Cruel Britannia and Martin Oldgoth decided that May 22 would be the day each year to celebrate it.
Unfortunately, being an active Goth has a number of negative consequences. Researchers Robert Young, Helen Sweeting and Patrick West write: “identification as belonging to the Goth subculture [at some point in their lives] was the best predictor of self harm and attempted suicide [among young teens]”, and that it was most possibly due to a selection mechanism (persons that wanted to harm themselves later identified as goths, thus raising the percentage of those persons who identify as goths).”
Thus, the decision to publish this weblog post has less to do with the celebration of World Goth Day in 2020, and more to do with helping susceptible people cope with life in this challenging period of time when we all face the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us reach out with friendship and inclusion (virtually or in real-life) to those who no longer feel part of society, including those who self-identify as Goths.
In order to talk with a Goth, it might be useful to know something about Gothism!
Of course there is an official World Goth Day website complete with a list of world events. I appreciate that one of the three goths decorating this page is following COVID-19 procedures, and is equipped with a face mask.
Many attribute the start of Gothism to English author Horace Walpole (1717 – 1797) who started it off by writing The Castle of Otranto (1764). Other readers may prefer to read Ann Radcliffe’s (1764 – 1823), The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). Washington Irving (1783 – 1859) also contributed to the genre with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820), also available in its Disney animated adaption, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). Then again there are classics such as Bram Stoker’s (1847 -1912) Dracula (1897), and Anne Rice’s (1941 – ) The Vampire Chronicles (1976).
The first mention of Gothic Rock is by music critic John Stickney to describe a meeting in a wine-cellar with Jim Morrison, described as “the perfect room to honor the Gothic rock of the Doors“. While some musicians may favour The Velvet Underground as the ultimate Gothic rock group, my own preference is for Siouxsie [Sioux aka Susan Janet Ballion (1957 – )] and the Banshees, and their track Spellbound (1981). In Norway, the Stavanger band, Theatre of Tragedy, contributed to the Gothic metal genre with its beauty and the beast aesthetic that combined harsh male with clean female vocals. Other Goth oriented bands include: Bauhaus, The Chameleons, The Cure and Sisters of Mercy.
In terms of film, the 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller, Parasite, is outstanding, and should appeal to many Goths. Another film with Gothic elements is The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Because of its black humour and general lack of seriousness, it may offer a suitable dose of escapism to help people struggling to cope with a pandemic. Other relevant films in chronological order include: The Hunger (1983), Beetlejuice (1988), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), The Crow (1994) and The Craft (1996).
There are also computer/ console based Goth games. The Gothic role-playing game series was developed by Piranha Bytes GmbH, in Essen, Germany. It consists of three versions Gothic (2001), Gothic II (2002) and Gothic 3 (2006). There is also a fourth version, Arcania: Gothic 4 (2007), developed by Spellbound Entertainment AG, from Offenburg, Germany. This company has reorganized as Black Forest Games GmbH.
Fashionistas are undoubtedly irritated about the late reference to clothing in this weblog post. Cintra Wilson (1967 – ), writing You Just Can’t Kill It, in the New York Times 2008-09-17, notes: “The goth subculture, however, for those who live it, is more than the sum of its chicken bones, vampire clichés and existential pants. It remains a visual shortcut through which young persons of a certain damp emotional climate can broadcast to the other members of their tribe who they are. Goth is a look that simultaneously expresses and cures its own sense of alienation.”
My own approach to the Gothic was not through literature, music, film, games or fashion, but art, especially that found in the works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Ophelia (1851) by John Everett Millais (1829 – 1896) is one such inspiring work. In addition, John Ruskin (1819 – 1900) was particularly attracted to the Gothic in architecture, which he commented at length upon in, The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849).
COVID-19 is the name of a coronovirus disease first identified 2019-12-31, of an animal to human zoonotic event that occurred at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in China. According to Wikipedia, zoonosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites that spread from non-human animals (usually vertebrates) to humans.
This event did not affect me personally for 56 days, until my arrival at AMS, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, on 2020-02-25 at 9:00. It was then that I was asked if I had visited China, or had any of the known symptoms. While our flight OSL – AMS did not include anyone wearing face masks, there were at least four passengers on our AMS – SFO flight.
Since then, events have intensified.
On 2020-03-17, NRK, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, was reporting that Norwegian (the airline) was refusing to transport non-Norwegian-citizen residents back to Norway. One day later, two members of my family and I did not have this problem with Delta/ KLM. Everything went smoothly. We had gone to Detroit after San Francisco. At DTW, Brock had to present his residency card in order to get a boarding card to fly from AMS to TRD. Trish and Alasdair had no problems with their Irish passports.
On arrival at TRD, a representative of the authorities boarded the plane, and read out the rules. This included 1) no tourists would be allowed to land, but would be transported back to AMS, 2) that passengers must remain quarantined for 14 days, and 3) that people with corona symptoms would not be allowed on public transport, but would have to use private vehicles. After that Norwegian citizens were allowed off the plane. Once they were off, the rest of the passengers were allowed off. That could have been about 8 people, including us. We then had to present our passports at the immigration desk. They checked our status, and allowed us in. Then we had to be inspected by the health authorities dressed in hazmat outfits. Again, we were allowed to proceed. We picked up our luggage, and ran to the train, arriving on the train platform with a minute to spare.
Alasdair used his Vy (the train company) app to buy the train tickets. There were very few people on board the train. Alasdair had to “inspect” the tickets for the conductor who, before Corona, would normally be handed the telephone and press the ticket inspection button him/her-self. We then contacted our personal food shoppers by SMS. Trish had days earlier sent them a shopping list, and now paid them using our “Vipps” (bank) app.
At Røra station, we found our car – almost without any snow on it. We then drove about 7 km to Straumen, where we picked up our groceries, from the back of the shoppers’ vehicle, and transferred them into the back of our vehicle. We talked to the shoppers who had come to the door of their house, thanking them, but keeping a distance of at least three meters. Then we drove 13 km home to Cliff Cottage.
As this is being written, there are now 6 people dead from Corona virus in Norway. The average age is 89! Our local area has opened a special emergency clinic for people with respiratory problems.
The Norwegian krone has never been so cheap (or the American dollar so expensive). Today, it was 10.50 to the dollar.
On our arrival home, we began our 14 day quarantine. Because we are symptom free, we can walk in the woods and work outside, but have to avoid people.
Covid-19 World Cup/ Superbowl
The Covid-19 World Cup/ Superbowl will be taking place on 2021-01-01. This will allow cities/ counties/ states/ countries/ regions/ continents in the world to compare themselves with all the other players. There will be winners and losers in all categories. At the very least, everyone will be comparing themselves against China.
As Oliver Milman reported: The US is on course to be severely ravaged by the coronavirus outbreak due to a delayed and dysfunctional testing regime and misleading messaging from the Trump administration, public health experts have warned. (2020-03-15 02:54) Unfortunately, this early tactic of denial will probably put USA towards the bottom of developed countries.
Milman also cited an editorial by Herbert Holden Thorp (1964 – ), a chemist, inventor and entrepreneur as well as the editor-in-chief of Science:
For the past 4 years, President Trump’s budgets have made deep cuts to science, including cuts to funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NIH. With this administration’s disregard for science of the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the stalled naming of a director for the Office of Science and Technology Policy – all to support political goals – the nation has had nearly 4 years of harming and ignoring science.
Now, the president suddenly needs science. But the centuries spent elucidating fundamental principles that govern the natural world—evolution, gravity, quantum mechanics—involved laying the groundwork for knowing what we can and cannot do. The ways that scientists accumulate and analyze evidence, apply inductive reasoning, and subject findings to scrutiny by peers have been proven over the years to give rise to robust knowledge. These processes are being applied to the COVID-19 crisis through international collaboration at breakneck, unprecedented speed; Science published two new papers earlier this month on SARS-CoV-2, and more are on the way. But the same concepts that are used to describe nature are used to create new tools. So, asking for a vaccine and distorting the science at the same time are shockingly dissonant. (End quote)
The fantastic thing about this championship is that there are any number of metrics that can be used to describe winners in contrasts to losers. Of course, politicians are not really interested in this at all. They have a vested interest in explaining why their area is fantastic, and other areas are not. Even then, not all countries/ states will be playing fairly. Some metrics can be found today. The first metric is population, along with an estimate of the percentage of people aged over 60/ 65/ 70, if this is available. Another metric available immediately, is the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds. Figures from 2012, show this to be 8.0 per 100 000 people in Norway. More recent figures show figures for the world in the following graph.
The dates of test kit availability, and their first testing indicates how prepared the country/ state was. Indeed, the legitimacy of other metrics are, in part, dependent on the availability of these kits. At the end of the year, it will be important to know: how many people were tested; the number of positive test results, which with sufficient numbers of tests, could be an indication of the breadth of infection; the number of associated deaths. In order to compare players, data must be expressed as a percentage, or more usefully, absolute numbers per 100 000 people.
South Korea will undoubtedly emerge as the winner of the world cup/ superbowl, teaching the world how to approach similar epidemics. Given its population of 50 million, 74 new cases emerged on 2020-03-17 in contrast to 909 at its peak on 2020-02-29. Later, Reuters reported that South Korea kept new infections around a low 100 or less each day.
Numbers may yet resurge. Behind Korea’s success so far has been the most expansive and well-organized testing program in the world. This has been combined with extensive efforts to isolate infected people and trace and quarantine their contacts. South Korea has tested more than 270 000 people, (5 200 tests per million inhabitants). In contrast, USA has tested 74 per million inhabitants, according to the CDC.
“Diagnostic capacity at scale is key to epidemic control,” says Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. “Contact tracing is also very influential in epidemic control, as is case isolation.”
Legislation enacted in South Korea in 2015 gave the government authority to collect mobile phone, credit card, and other data from those who test positive to reconstruct their recent whereabouts. That information, stripped of personal identifiers, is shared on social media apps that allow others to determine whether they may have crossed paths with an infected person. In addition, South Korea established 43 drive-through testing stations, and in the first week of 2020-03 their Ministry of the Interior rolled out a smartphone app that can track quarantined people and collect data on symptoms.
In contrast to South Korea, and even China, USA is the developed country that I expect to come in last place. This will demonstrate that private insurance (and health care) have no place in the modern world. It may indeed indicate an end of USA’s (and capitalisms) dominance in the world, especially with respect to the economy, and innovation. In the short term, I expect a brain drain of intelligent people, and others with the opportunity to leave, from USA for places with better health care, and welfare. Canada, New Zealand and Europe will be sought after destinations. Australia and Asia, not so much. In Europe, and Italy especially, Cuba and Russia have received praise for their aid and assistance during this crisis. Perhaps these two countries will also be sought after destinations for disillusioned Americans.
In Scandinavia, there will be a regional competition between three groups of countries: Finland, Sweden and Norway/ Denmark. Finland looks as if it will be the winner.
Bjørgulv K. Bjåen writing behind a paywall in the Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land, states that Finland is in a special position. While other Nordic countries have reduced their emergency preparedness stores, the Finns have chosen to have large emergency stocks – buffers – especially with respect to drugs. In the current situation, it looks like the Finnish government will stop sales and exports of these from Finland.
Because of its Second World War experiences, Finland became a borderland between the East (The Soviet Union/ today’s Russia) and the West (Western Europe/ today’s European Union). For a decade after 1945, it had to pay major war reparations to the Soviet Union. In the process they learned to make things that they had never made before, such as icebreakers.
The contingency idea has massive support in Finland. After 1991, the Soviet Union was disbanded and four decades of a hot Cold War cooled. Sweden and Norway downsized emergency stocks, in contrast to Finland’s continued crisis thinking that embedded the principle of being prepared for surprise.
The Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea) currently has a list of 1 400 drug types that are stored in so-called turnover stocks: One should at all times have enough for six to ten months of consumption. Manufacturers, wholesalers and hospitals rotate stock, as a matter of principle. Normal consumption is calculated from last year’s consumption.
Norway has chosen another solution. Until the EEA regulations became Norwegian law, Norway had large emergency storage facilities organized by the state medical Norwegian Medical Depot (NMD). However, after the EEA Agreement entered into force in 1994, the wholesale company changed its character; from state, to semi-state, to privatized. The Norwegian parliament (Storting) decided that the state monopoly had to be disbanded because it was in breach of EEA law. No one had told Norway to disband it.
This has resulted in the down sizing of emergency stocks, and the have been scaled down, and responsibility has spread to many players. In a report from last year, National Drug Preparedness, the Directorate of Health acknowledges major shortcomings:
“Many actors with different responsibilities for drug preparedness in Norway make the landscape unclear.”
“Only a marginal proportion of medicines consumed in Norway are produced in Norway.”
“Contingency stocks in Norway are largely concentrated in the central Eastland area, and also have inadequate content”.
“The specialist health care procurement systems are not robust in terms of drug preparedness.”
“Many municipalities have not secured emergency supplies of medicines for the health services they provide.”
“There is low awareness among the population about the importance of having a supply of necessary medicines at home.”
Sweden also recognizes that emergency storage has been replaced by the idea that most can buy something when it is needed. Last year, the Swedish Defence Research Institute analysed Sweden’s supply readiness. Finland copied Sweden’s earlier model for total defence planning and developed it further, while Sweden reduced it. There is now a shortage of drug readiness stocks.
In Sweden, emergency preparedness changed dramatically after it joined the EU in 1995.
Finland also has large emergency stocks with other important crisis products, fuels, groceries, seed, grain, metal and agricultural spare parts. Fuel stores are to secure up to five months of consumption. Grain stocks will last for six months.
In Norway, emergency grain storage facilities were closed in 2003. Today, grain storage is sufficient for only three weeks. In 2014, the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural Economics Research presented a report that said grain stocks were low.
When the right-leaning Solberg government presented the state budget for 2020, it was stated by the political parties supporting the government, that national emergency stocks for grain are not needed, because Norway can buy grain from abroad. That the supply lines are completely blocked off “for some time will not be seen as realistic”, Minister of Agriculture and Food Olaug Bollestad reported in the budget document.
Marcus Carlsson, a mathematician at Lund University, discusses two approaches to pandemics in a video, mitigation and suppression. The upper model in the video shows mitigation. This is the strategy Donald Trump appears to favour 2020-03-25, and the one implemented in Sweden. It is the same one used by South Korea, but with one major difference. To be successful, it requires extensive testing and tracking of cases, from the beginning. Until now, USA has lacked the ability to test. Yet, Trump is afraid the economy might tank without this approach. Others believe that mitigation might cost an extra million, or more, lives in USA, and take at least two years to complete. Not only that, the economy will probably still tank.
Carlsson is not an epidemiologist. He is an amateur. However, he is concerned that there is no evidence of a “herd immunity” approach controlling a virus outbreak anywhere in the world, without extensive testing. He described the Swedish government’s approach as “a mad experiment with 10 million people”.
A second approach, the lower model in Carlsson’s video, is suppression. This is the approach being used in Norway and Denmark, and in most other European countries, including two that have recently given up on the first approach – Britain and the Netherlands. According to Carlsson, this is the preferred approach, especially if there is a lack of testing. In the video he reads from a paper supporting it.
In an article in the Guardian newspaper, that describes Carlson, and comments on the 18m mark of the video, Carlson calls Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, deceptive.
The Directorate of Health (Hdir) and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) recommended different strategies to the government. They chose to follow Hdir and suppression, rather than FHI and mitigation. If suppression fails, then mitigation will be used.
Interestingly, Hdir has been given an overview of how much contamination equipment, including personal protective equipment (PPE), is available, but it is secret. They believe the figures will create fear, uncertainty and weaken Norway’s position in the international market if it becomes public knowledge.
FHI’s fourth risk assessment for covid-19 was published 2020-03-24. This assessment is translated into English immediately below.
In the risk assessment, FHI presents the first estimates of the number of infected in Norway with projections of the number of infected, the need for hospitalization and intensive care for the next three weeks.
FHI recommends that the choice of strategy for the further course is postponed one to three weeks. During this period, among other things, a better basis for decision can be obtained, in particular knowledge of the effect of the measures from March 12, says Director of Public Health Institute Camilla Stoltenberg.
In the coming weeks, it is crucial to win time and fight the epidemic with measures that can significantly reduce the spread.
A clear goal for the strategy is important. A key premise is that there is only high enough population immunity that can provide lasting protection against new, large outbreaks – this is achieved by getting many people infected or by vaccine, says Stoltenberg.
The choice of strategy and measures is made under great uncertainty, and there is a need to obtain more and better knowledge quickly and continuously, she continues.
Prerequisites for the risk assessment
The Institute of Public Health is working to understand the situation and provide forecasts for the epidemic’s development in Norway. For this, a mathematical simulation is used together with real-world data, especially on hospital admissions.
The Institute today presents the first estimates of the number of infected persons in Norway with projections of the number of infected persons, the need for hospitalization and intensive care for the next three weeks. Thus we also have the first estimates for the dark figures in Norway.
There are still major uncertainties, and forecasts may change next week. As the epidemic progresses, FHI will have better data that can be built into the model, and the institute will adjust the model. The assumptions used in this assessment are:
Overall mortality among infected persons below 1% (lethality).
Severe age-related mortality; 90% of deaths in the group > 70 years.
About 1% of all infected people will need hospitalization and ¼ of these will need mechanical breathing assistance.
The measures should be adapted so that you get RE (the number of infections, ie how many an infected person is infected) down towards and maybe below 1.
Depending on the strategy choice and the effect of measures, we can expect that around 5% – 50% of the population will be infected during the epidemic.
FHI’s recommended strategy
It is clear that measures to reduce the number of infections are necessary. The choice of strategy and measures is difficult and must be done under great uncertainty. There are no simple solutions, and all strategies are experiments. Decisions with potentially major ripple effects must be made under uncertainty, regardless of who takes them.
FHI recommends that the choice of strategy for the future course be postponed one to three weeks. During this period, a better basis for decision can be obtained, in particular knowledge of the effect of the measures from 12 March.
Furthermore, the institute will develop new tools to optimize testing, isolation, infection detection and quarantine. This work is in full swing and moving forward at high speed. During such a period, the burden of measures can also be analyzed, ie the negative effects of the measures on societies, businesses, groups of sick and individuals, including consequences for life and health, and build better capacity in the health service. (End of Assessment)
In Norway, we get a daily status report from FHI. A summary of this status report for 2020-03-25 follows.
A total of 2,916 infected persons have been reported. This represents 54.3 cases per 100 000 in population. Of these, 264 of the infected were reported in the last 24 hours. 00:00 to 24:00. Highlights from the day:
12 deaths have been notified to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (2020-03-24 at 08.00). The average age of the dead is 84 years.
The average age of those infected is 47.7 years, 46.8 percent are women and 53.2 percent are men.
1 437 people have been infected in Norway. 1 043 have been infected abroad and for 350 the infection site is being clarified. Of those infected in Norway, 724 have been close contacts of a known infected case and 671 have no known path of infection, 42 are being clarified.
In Norway, 73 089 have been reported tested for coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) (as of 2020-03-25 at 12.00).
237 patients admitted to hospitals with proven covid-19 (figures from the Directorate of Health as of 2020-03-25 at 12.15). The number of admissions per day is increasing.
There are a total of 74 persons who have been or are in intensive care with certified SARS-CoV-2, of which 51 are hospitalized (figures from the Norwegian Intensive Care Register). The average age of those admitted to intensive care is 60 years. Of these, 77% are men. (End of status report)
Politico asked 34 opinion makers how they expected COVID-19 to change the world. They comments are interesting and warrant attention. Unfortunately, Politico did not reach out to anyone at Cliff Cottage. Brock’s expectation is that this epidemic, will lead to increased ruralization. That is, the urbanization trend will be stopped, and there will be a new back to the land movement, reminiscent of the early 1970s. Activities where random people congregate will decline. These will include visits to stores, bars, cafes and restaurants, theatres and cinemas, amusement parks, casinos and sports stadiums. The concert era has ended. The cruise ship era has ended. Instead, people will focus on small-scale growing of their own crops, and entertain themselves at home, producing their own music and art.
Tim Lang, is concerned about food supply, and fragile supply chains. For several years now, I have been talking (but not doing anything practical) about the use of 15 m2 (150 square foot) geodesic domes as hydroponic greenhouses to grow foodstuffs. People without gardens can grow food on balconies. People without balconies can grow food indoors. I did buy some LED lights optimized for plant growth. However, everyone should be considering how they can grow their own supply of food.
For several years now, I have suggested purchasing an abandoned motel and setting it up as a commune. There would be a common kitchen, dining hall, and socialization area. Half of the units would be used for accommodation, half as workshops.
In terms of location, I have often wondered about – then dismissed – Ocean Falls, British Columbia. This has had an important place in my wife Patricia’s family history. Her uncle, Mort Heaps, was mill manager. Her sister, Aileen, was a nurse at the hospital. This video provides an overview of its current state.
Other locations that I have considered are located in the southern interior of British Columbia, or Vancouver Island/ Gulf Islands/ San Juan Islands/ the rain shadow of the Olympic Peninsula.
This scourge will end! For every activity that is eliminated, a new one will emerge or more likely re-emerge. There could be changes. Online shopping will predominate, while physical stores will decline. Some shopping centres may be re-purposed, but many will have to be bulldozed. Hopefully, their area (including parking lots) can be used for other purposes, including housing, recreation and urban agriculture. People will grow and process more of their own food. Hopefully, it will be healthier and more organic.
On 2020-01-10 a fire broke out in a parking building at Norway’s Stavanger Airport. There were no injuries to people. However, much of the structure collapsed, including ramps to upper stories, because of structural damage caused by intense heat. Fire trucks could not enter the structure because of its low ceiling height. Because of its open walls, it was not, and was not required to be, equipped with a sprinkler system. An estimated 200 – 300 vehicles were destroyed in the fire, but about 1 300 vehicles were trapped in the building. It was initially reported the fire started in an electric vehicle. However, the fire started in a recalled diesel-powered 2005 Opel Zafira. The car was recalled after a similar fire in Cork, Ireland 2019-08-31, damaging about 60 cars in another parking structure.
Fake news, has resulted in some places in Norway banning electric cars from parking in their structures, although this is being contested by The Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. It has sent out letters about this situation, the latest on 2020-01-21. The Norwegian Directorate for Social Security and Preparedness (DSB) states that electric cars rarely burn, but when that happens, the fire has a different course than fire in a gasoline or diesel-powered car. The fire energy is smaller and develops more slowly, but the extinguishing work must be done in a different way and may take longer.
Nils-Erik Haagenrud, Fire and Rescue Chief in Rogaland, the county where Stavanger is located, wants the county to invest in a robot that can be put into extinguishing work, when crews have to stay away from a fire, physically. Rogaland has the longest subsea tunnels in Europe, with exactly the same problems as in the parking facilities. Oslo and Romerike use robots.
Max Whirlpool (16) shown immediately after being unplugged, and waiting to be escorted outside of the kitchen, for smoking.
Max Whirlpool (16) has been expelled from the kitchen for smoking. A representative from the kitchen, who wishes to remain anonymous because he is unauthorized to speak on behalf of management, stated: “We practice tough love. There is no discrimination. Any electrical appliance caught smoking will be treated exactly the same way as Whirlpool. It will be removed from service. ” He added that Whirlpool has worked in the kitchen since 2003.
Our next microwave oven will not be a Whirlpool. That is not because of any dissatisfaction with Max, until the smoking incident. It is more related to Whirlpool as a corporation. It does not appear to take the health and safety of consumers seriously. In fact, even when one of its products was clearly to blame for a massive loss of life, 72 people, it attempted to blame others.
Recently, the Guardian reported that the Grenfell fire report “… went further than many expected, as did Moore-Bick’s dismissal of attempts by corporate groups to delay or prevent findings that might count against them, such as the “fanciful” claim by Whirlpool – the manufacturer of the Hotpoint fridge-freezer – that the fire could have been started by a cigarette.”
Earlier, the Guardian had reported on another fire, where MP Andy Slaughter said “… the government should learn from a serious fire in his constituency in 2016, when a faulty Indesit tumble dryer started a blaze in the Shepherds Court tower block in Shepherd’s Bush, west London. Residents escaped with minor injuries. Twenty fire engines and 120 firefighters attended the scene.
The same article cited a letter to UK business secretary Larry Clark, where Slaughter stated “that Whirlpool – which owns both Hotpoint and Indesit brands – had “a poor history of fire safety”.
Wikipedia, in a section titled UK Dryer Fire Risk, in its article about Whirlpool Corporation, writes: “Safety warnings about tumble dryers published on the Indesit and Hotpoint websites in 2015 advised customers that “In some rare cases, excess fluff can come into contact with the heating element and present a risk of fire.” Condensers and vented tumble dryers sold under the brands Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline and manufactured over an 11-year period between April 2004 and September 2015 present a fire risk. An estimated 5.3 million tumble dryers were bought in the UK over the time period. Originally, and even after several fires were confirmed as being caused by faulty devices, Whirlpool advised customers that using such devices was safe provided they were not left unattended but would not issue a product recall. Whirlpool offered to fix faulty machines or replace tumble dryers at a cost of £99 – an offer met with derision with consumer groups and in the press. Parliament discussed widespread difficulties with getting faulty machines fixed or replaced, including long wait times and poor service.”
Max’s replacement Sam, a Samsung MS23K3515AW purchased for NOK 900, has arrived in Inderøy. We have spent some time learning how to operate Sam. We are looking forward to working with him to serve our modest microwaving needs in the coming years: reheating food/ beverages and defrosting. Sam is originally from Malaysia.
Originally written: 2018.01.01 20:46;Updated 2019.05.03 15:00
20/20 vision is just so 19th century. In many locations it is referred to as 6/6, in Europe as 1.0. Vision acuity tests originate with their invention in 1843 by ophthalmologist Heinrich Kuechler (1811–1873), in Darmstadt, Germany.
Snellen Chart (Artwork: Jeff Dahl, based on public domain document)
In 1862, Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen (1834 – 1908) developed an optotype to estimate visual acuity. Optotype? Most people call it by its synonym, eye chart. In full size, the E at the top will be 88.7 mm (3.5 inches) tall. The other letters are proportionately smaller. When viewed at a distance of 20 feet = 6096 mm, normally rounded down to six meters, acuity can be estimated based on the smallest line a person can read.
In 1888, Swiss born/ Paris resident Edmund Landolt (1846-1926) improved upon this with the Landolt C, a broken ring that uses the Snellen letter C. Both the stroke width and the gap are 1/5 of the diameter. The gap can be oriented in various positions. Normally, there are eight different alignments, each 45° apart. The person being examined must decide where the gap is. The size of the ring is reduced until a specified error rate is exceeded. The Landolt C is the standard chart used for acuity measurement in most European countries. It is specified in ISO standard 8596.
A Landolt C optotype. Not easy to find on the Internet, because many charts only show four positions, rather than the official eight.
In the first paragraph, 20/20 vision (and two equivalents) were referred to. 20/20 is just an American reference value for visual acuity. In the rest of the world this norm was called 6/6 vision. In Europe, they actually perform division on the numbers and end up with 1.0 to describe a condition where, at 6 meters distance, a human eye is able to separate contours that are approximately 1.75 mm apart. Vision of 20/40, 6/12 or 0.5 corresponds to lower, vision of 20/10, 6/3 or 2.0 to better performance.
Normal individuals have an acuity of, or better than, 20/13.3, 6/4 or 1.5, but it is dependent on age and many other factors. 20/20, 6/6 or 1.0 vision is not perfect or even particularly good acuity. It is simply good enough. To drive smaller commercial vehicles in Norway, 20/25, 6/7.5 or 0.8 acuity is required. For passenger vehicles the requirement is 20/40, 6/12 or 0.5.
This weblog post continues the story about men’s sheds. See: https://brock.mclellan.no/2019/03/03/mens-sheds/ Here, the focus is on how a shed can be used so that men can be of service to their community. As this current post is being written, a makerspace is being constructed in Inderøy, and I am looking forward to it becoming part of a world-embracing network. Locally, there are many target groups for this workshop, including that group of men who need a men’s shed. Another target group consists of pupils at Inderøy lower secondary school. Even the local Friends of the Earth group is intending to use the workshop to make controllers for a 15 square meter geodesic dome greenhouse, equipped with hydroponic gardening facilities. Full disclosure: The author is the chairperson of the Inderøy chapter of Friends of the Earth.
Purpose
People like to be of service to others, as long as they are treated fairly and with respect. At a men’s shed, it would be helpful if participants knew the type of products that people want made, using the technology that is available at the shed or makerspace. This includes, especially, products for people who have special needs, including those who feel they lack the income to keep up with changing pace of technology, or who have unique needs, not normally met with off the shelf components.
With the possession of this information secured, shedders could spend time designing low-cost products, the systems to make them, and the plans to effect their manufacture and distribution. This includes products that can enhance everyone’s enjoyment of life, as well as those that improve the life of just one single person.
While some men may have many of the necessary skill set to design, make and distribute meaningful products, others may have only some or even none of the skills. So a first step is to assess the totality of skills possessed by the men’s shed group, the specific skills each person wants to learn, and what each person wants to do with his current and future skill sets. Just because someone is an expert, or best in a group, does not mean that that person should be selected to do that specific job. Perhaps they should teach others, or learn new skills, or improve old ones.
While the current focus is to get a men’s shed up and running in Inderøy, the great thing about open source development is that development can be forked, separated into two or more branches. Locally, my interest is to ensure that people with mobility issues can have men’s sheds close to them, including in hamlets such as Mosvik (20 km from Straumen) and Beitstad (20 km from Steinkjer). In addition, I am hoping that some of these designs/ products can be of interest to men living further away, so that people can work together on them, regionally or internationally.
This requires complete documentation of each and every project, so that they can be localized. Localization is techno-speak for translating a project into the culture of a different area. For example, a project originating in the Americas, may have to have all dimensions and components metricized for use in Asia. Tools that may be legally used in USA, may be illegal in the EU and Norway, so that substitutes may have to be found. Localization becomes much more than a linguistic translation.
Struggles
At a men’s shed many different projects will be presented for the contemplation of participants. Some will be so simple, that a single person may be able to start and complete it in a matter of minutes. Others may require the efforts of many different people, over a longer period of time. When several complex projects are available, it is important that the men’s shed community, be able to prioritize, even reject. Sometimes some projects can demand skills that are not available. Sometimes they are too long, or require too many people. Regardless of the project, there must be an overview giving a reliable project timeline for people with specific skills sets, as well as other resources that are needed. In other words, one needs a project plan.
With a project plan one knows where to begin. Yet, not all projects will begin at the same place. The Open Builds project, tracks a large number of technical projects, many equipment related. When a new person or group builds a new iteration of a project, improvements can be incorporated. Again, some solutions are simple, others are incredibly complex. Fortunately, because many people throughout the world document these open source solutions, reinvention is unnecessary, Instead one can often make a generic product directly, or adapt it for a specific user.
Life can be a struggle. As trust builds in a men’s shed community, people will gradually, perhaps even reluctantly, share insights into what they are struggling with. Sometimes people need to be alone. Sometimes they need to work alone. Sometimes they need to work alone in the proximity of others. Sometimes they need to work co-operatively (but silently) with others. Sometimes they need to work co-operatively, while talking shoulder to shoulder.
This design and make process is not always easy. Many people have special needs, and insights into solving their own struggles. With a little help, they should be able to transfer those insights over to other people. Yet sometimes, indeed often, this doesn’t happen. One major reason is that mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, divert attention.
Not all product development will deal with rocket science or cutting-edge technology. Much of it will simply involve skills with traditional equipment that shedders have used before, and feel comfortable with: Woodworking/ carpentry tools and blacksmithing/ metalworking/ welding tools. People who feel comfortable in this analog world should be encouraged to remain there, if this is what they want.
On the other hand, if they want to enter the digital world there should be a place for them there too. Much digital work at an introductory level, simply involves the copying of files, and the running of those files on a 3D printer/ CNC mill/ laser cutter, etc.
At intermediate levels, there may be a greater mismatch between the skills that are needed, and the skills that people have, so that additional training may have to be offered.
Sometimes experts will undertake the druggery necessary to bring a complex project to life. The NeuroTechnology Exploration Team lab at Rochester Institute of Technology, Henrietta, NY provides an example of how technology can be developed, then transferred throughout the world. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), where an individual controls computers and other devices using only their mind, is a rapidly-expanding field with a wide range of potential applications. BCI devices are especially desirable as assistive technologies for those with impaired motor or communicative capabilities. Everything the team uses in their projects is sourced and produced as cheaply as possible. The technologies used are noninvasive, relying either on electroencephalograms attached to the scalp or on localized muscle contractions, to convey signals to the computers and devices. The software is open-source and can be downloaded to any computer. For further information see: https://reporter.rit.edu/tech/brain-computer-interfacing-comes-rit
Colin Fausnaught (left), wears the Ultracortex head piece and holds the prosthetic arm, and Harrison Canning (right), wears the Ultracortex headpiece and fabric electrode sleeve at NeuroTechnology Exploration Team lab at Rochester Institute of Technology, Henrietta, N.Y. on 2019-02-01. Photo by Natalie Whitton
If open source solutions aren’t available off the shelf, a client may have to be open about his or her struggles to start the design process. This normally requires interaction, so that insights can be transferred, then developed and applied to specific problems. However that interaction does not have to be face to face. Shelagh McLellan’s bachelor degree project, On Trac (2011), was an iPad application that helped facilitate communication between teens and doctors. Teens were often able to communicate things on a tablet, that they would be too embarrassed to say directly to a doctor. For further information, see: https://cargocollective.com/shelaghjoyce/On-Trac
Many of the struggles facing people can be mitigated/ resolved through the construction of some sort of physical device (including clothing) that incorporates mechanical and electrical components, then programmed with software, to do a specific job.
An example
As stated previously, not all challenges are leading-edge. Here is an example of a widespread problem, that has multiple solutions.
I don’t like the way fruits and vegetables are sold. I dislike other people having the opportunity to handle produce/ vegetables/ fruit that I am expected to eat. I see four solutions to this problem. The first involves seeking psychological help and learning to live with the current situation. The second involves political action to ban consumers from stores and using self-driving delivery vans, packed by robots. The third involves the status quo, which means I leave the shopping to someone else. The fourth, and my preferred solution, is to grow fruit and vegetables at home. There could be many ways to do this, but I am most attracted to building a geodesic dome greenhouse, and equipping it with hydroponic gardening facilities. Personally, I would prefer to spend my time building greenhouses, and hydroponic equipment, than working in the greenhouse growing plants. My hope is to find someone to work with me on this project, someone more interested in growing and tending plants, perhaps the same person who currently does my shopping. This is the same solution that is being explored by the local Friends of the Earth chapter in Inderøy.
Poverty
One issue that cannot be ignored is that of poverty. Many of the challenges people face are caused by being unable to afford the products that will solve their problems. There are different degrees of poverty. Extreme poverty can result in emaciation and homelessness; more moderate poverty results in obesity and sub-standard living conditions. People put on weight, because the food they need is just too expensive. Thus, they feel they don’t have the economic freedom or economic opportunities that they would like. Some younger people feel that they don’t have the opportunity to purchase a house, and will end up being life-long renters, or worse. Some older people feel that they do not have the resources to buy even necessities, such as heat, because energy cost too much.
Insight
I don’t want to know anything about a client/ readers’ personal situation. That is a private matter. If someone wants a men’s shed to help with a struggle please wait until a men’s shed is established, or (help) start one yourself.
Here is the information I think a men’s shed would need to know in order to work on an extensive project for a potential client. A simple one or two day project involving a few people making something simple, does not need this level of detail.
Please describe the client in general terms: Approximate age and gender; living environment – urban or rural, living alone or with others (yes, dogs are included in the others category); type of housing and area; income source such as part-time or full-time employment, pension, reliance on savings, etc. This helps the men’s shed understand the client’s circumstances.
What high priority physical, emotional or social challenges is this person facing? Please try to describe them in as much detail as necessary.
What are the economic implications of these challenges?
What solutions does this person envision that will assist her or him to resolve or mitigate the challenge?
Many proposed solutions will involve the integration of smart house or internet of things technology into a residence or workplace. If so, it may be appropriate to solicit additional information. It has been my experience that many solutions are device dependent. At the same time clients are unable to use new or different devices or technologies. This is why in question 1, such specific information is requested.
What devices is the client using? Phone – clamshell, smartphone; other personal devices – tablet, laptop, desktop; servers; input devices such as keyboards, mice and scanners; output devices, such as televisions, screens and printers; Everything else that is hooked up to the internet with a cable, or without. If you have any idea about make and models and features, that would be helpful, as would any prices actually paid – new or used.
What is this person using these devices for? This is an important question, and arbitrary limits should not be put on it.
What communications and related services are being purchased/ provided? How are they being delivered? What do they cost? For example, some people have a landline incurring a monthly charge; some people are visiting coffee shops to use wifi connections; some people have cable television and/ or broadband and/ or dial-up internet and/ or alarm systems and/ or ???
What would this person want to use devices for, if a device had the necessary attributes, and service providers made services available either free, or at an affordable price? The essence of this question is, what does this person really want from his or her devices?
Men are human. This simple, three word sentence may come as a surprise to many, be they male or female. Women affected by #MeToo! misuse, may find it difficult to accept that men can be anything but low-life. Members of another gender may regard themselves as Übermenschen, supermen.
Some members of this male half of humanity, can be confused by the mixed signals they receive. On the one hand, they should suppress emotion and be strong, independent, stoic and tough. On the other, they should express their feelings openly and work co-operatively.
Admittedly, the stronger sex may also receive mixed signals, and sometimes they even give them – I’m told. However, this weblog post is (mostly) about the weaker sex, men.
Shoulder To Shoulder = slogan, shortened from: Men don’t talk face to face, they talk shoulder to shoulder.
Shedder = user of a men’s shed
Shedagogy = term coined by Barry Golding in 2014, to describe a distinctive, new way of acknowledging, describing and addressing the way some men prefer to learn informally in shed-like spaces mainly with other men.
In referencing this report it was difficult to know what to quote, mention or dismiss. It is ten years old and Australia specific, but includes nuggets of insight that have application elsewhere. Compared with women, men live shorter lives, have worse health, suffer 70% of injuries, commit 75% of suicides, access health services less and delay seeking health services more, spend less time with doctors, focus on physical problems, avoid discussing mental and emotional problems and ….
These facts are mixed with myths. Men are to blame for the world’s evils, including their own poor health and health outcomes. Men control social, occupational, political, environmental and economic environments. Men experience health services as a service for women and children. Men are socially conditioned to engage in risky behaviours from an early age
Sheds are important in male culture. Traditionally, sheds are spaces where men have retreated from work, life and family to make or repair things and to enjoy the company of other men. Unfortunately, the backyard shed is on the decline. Combined with other factors, such as retirement or loss of a partner, this results in loss of social networks, self-esteem, sense of purpose and identity, and can cause adverse social and emotional health and well-being issues for many men.
Sheds have in common that they are spaces for men, but may be diverse in organisation, structure and function. They can offer socialisation (friendship, camaraderie), self-esteem and purposeful activity for a large cross-section of men: young men, unemployed men, older men, retired men, men with mental health problems, disengaged men, indigenous men and immigrant men.
In Australian, where the men’s sheds movement is most highly developed, it is still an under-acknowledged, under-resourced, grassroots movement, that remains (mostly) unintegrated with any form of health system. They emerged despite an absence of any policy framework, government support or co-ordination.
Misan writes, “…key criteria for success of men’s sheds include: ensuring local support; learning from others, including affiliation with a men’s shed support organisation from the outset; having multiple partners and supporters; a suitable location; secure funding; a skilled manager and management group; a good business plan together with a sound marketing, recruitment, and communication strategy; a wide range of activities for men to take part in; extended opening hours; and links with a larger organisation, including a health service that can provide support for health programs. Ensuring documentation and evaluation of outcomes is also helpful to demonstrating benefit and increasing the likelihood of attracting future funding.” (p. 13)
While every men’s shed is unique, they can be lumped into four categories: work, clinical, educational and recreational.
For those who want to remain active, work sheds focus on repair, restoration and construction. At the same time much of the work is directed to helping the local community. Clinical focused sheds help the local male community interact and discuss their health/ wellbeing issues. Educational sheds focus on improving skills and life qualities, often around a specific skill, such as cooking. Recreational men’s sheds promote more social activity in the local area
Virtual sheds also exist, and provide an online capability where members from all men’s sheds or living in more remote communities can actively communicate and be involved in numerous research, writing and photographic activities. For example, The International Historians Association has created a community shed for veteran responders which include police officers, firefighters, paramedics, rescue workers and the military who have injuries, in-capacities or disfigurements that make them immobile or unwilling to join local work sheds.
The roots of The Men’s Sheds movement go back to the 1980s in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia and the former miners. There is also mention of the Albury Manual Activities Centre, also known as “Albury Men’s Shed” which opened in 1978. The focus in Adelaide, South Australia was on gender-biased and inappropriate care of older men living with dementia in care settings, as well as with Ausralia’s Vietnam War Veterans.
Mensheds Australia was established as an institution in 2002, by Peter Sergeant and Ron Fox as an outcome of their Economic Gardening activities.
An increasing number of Men’s Shed are being started. While the movement began in Australia in (>900 locations) and quickly moved on to New Zealand (>50). In Europe there are shed organizations in England, Finland, Greece, Ireland (>200 sheds), Scotland, Sweden (Malmö) and Wales.
In USA there are sheds in Hawaii (3), Michigan (1), Minnesota (5), Ohio (1) and Wisconsin (2). See: http://usmenssheds.org/
In Canada they are found in Alberta (2), British Columbia (7), Manitoba (2), Ontario (3) and Quebec (2). See: http://menssheds.ca
It is the fondest hope that the makerspace now being constructed in Straumen, will become a part-time Men’s Shed. On the other hand, it is also hoped that this space will offer time and space to many divergent groups of people: young and old, male and female, immigrant and native, experienced and inexperienced, practical and theoretical.
The Shed in Malmö will be given the opportunity to end this post with a description of themselves: Shed i Malmö is a space where people come together to do stuff, but more importantly, socialise. It’s like a hobby room, only bigger and better equiped. It’s like a lounge room, only more durable. It’s like a social club, but with more activities than just cards. Sometimes life isn’t always positive or even a continuation of the past. There is a new message now, 2019 is going to be a year of rediscovery for Shed i Malmö: we’ve had to move out of our location and we’re still assessing our options. We are currently ‘closed for business’. Sorry. http://shedimalmo.se/
In a few weeks the festive season will be upon us: this conjoined event stretches from Christmas to New Year’s day, or – for some – Hanukkah, which starts and ends even earlier, from sunset, 2018-12-02 to nightfall, 2018-12-10.
Thomas Nast, 1881 Merry Old Santa Claus, the iconic image of Santa Claus
The social costs of this festive season are extraordinarily high. There is a peak in drug offenses, drunk driving and other forms of anti-social behavior. Traffic accidents increase, not just because of increased drug and alcohol consumption, but because people are driving tired.
Another challenge with Christmas is that people attempt to buy happiness, through expensive gifts. These do not make people feel any better, but can put people into debt.
Overeating is another factor that has a negative impact on health. While in many countries suicide rates are at their lowest in December, mental health issues peak. Once Christmas is over, there is a sharp rise in suicides, often peaking on New Year’s day. Excessive eating and drinking combined with inadequate exercise erodes physical and mental health, including but not restricted to insomnia, depression and stress.
If that is not enough, then the Christmas season signals a time to file for divorce, or in other ways end relationships, including friendships.
Perhaps the best introduction to an American Christmas is Penne Restad’s Christmas in America. (Oxford University Press, 1995).
The celebration of Christmas is not an old tradition. It was not even a holiday until the middle of the 19th century. In the United States, the American Civil War combined with urbanization and industrialization helped to promote it as a means of creating social unity. Prior to this, people of different denominations followed traditions brought with them from Europe. With improved communication and transportation, there was a greater awareness of ethnic and religious pluralism. At the same time, there was increased political and economic tension between regions, and groups. Soon Darwinism and science were challenging religion.
This 19th century Christmas gradually transformed itself into a family gathering that merged faith with commercialism. Yes, people may attend church services, but it was not the church, but the house that was the focal point of the holiday.
Christmas trees were in use by 1832. By the 1850s, Christmas was fully entrenched in Northern cities. After the Civil War, it captured the South.
Christmas tree ornaments emerged about 1870, with imports from Germany. While there were some Christmas cards in the early 1850s, demand exploded by about 1875. These soon replaced the more traditional Christmas letter.
Christmas gift-giving had its origins in the 1870s. Part of this was related to problems of extreme economic inequality that threatened social relationships. Thus, many of the gifts were charitable.
The American Christmas is incomplete without Clement Moore’s An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas in the 1820s. Here is the spirit of Christmas in the persona of Santa Claus, with fur-trimmed red suit, sack of toys, reindeer, sleigh and home at the North Pole.
Christmas dinner is so notable that it warrants its own Wikipedia article. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_dinner
So how should Christmas be managed to avoid its negative aspects? The answer is to build more work-like attributes into it.
Activities should be planned, and scheduled. People should know what is happening, and what they personally are expected to do.
In the build-up to Christmas, people can be asked to design Christmas cards, to write an annual Christmas letter and/ or to plan meal menus. They should also use their skills to design and make decorations and presents. To reduce costs, guidelines can be given that make these more appropriate. For example, gifts are to be made from re-purposed materials.
Alcohol is not part of a normal work week, and (for me) there is no reason why it should be part of a leisure event, such as Christmas. Avoiding alcohol is yet another way to reduce costs, and to ensure relationships endure. To prevent meals from expanding waistlines, there should be calorie limits in place, and moderate quantities. At Cliff Cottage, the permanent residents weigh themselves daily. Some people make their weight publicly available, while others keep it private.
When families get together to celebrate, there should be fixed times to arise, and to head off to sleep. There should be opportunities for exercise, and opportunities for every individual to be alone. Child-minding should be an activity distributed among the adults.
While there may be a desire to spend some time listening to music, or watching a film, moderation is also a key here. In fact, it could be more fun to sing, or perform musically together, rather than to listen to someone else’s efforts. Perhaps, the entire family could have fun making a video, rather than watching someone else’s.
Let us all make Christmas fun again, but putting structure and moderation in place during Christmas, 2018!
V1 2018-06-24 18:09; V2 2018-06-24 23:37 Some minor changes, including names/descriptions of courses.
English version, Norwegian version follows
The Intergalactic Rocket Science Academy (IRSA) has hovered over everyone’s heads, in outer space, far too long. Now, it needs your help to launch a one week workshop, Down to Earth.
Target group: Earthlings, especially those with physical or mental health issues. OK, that includes all of them.
Earthling at a café in Prague, Czechia (photo: Anders Nord 2018 in Unsplash)
Principles: Fun First! “If it ain’t fun, it ain’t part of IRSA.”
Location: Space Station Straumen [that is Inderøy’s municipal centre. More specifically, at Hastighet, Inderøys teknogarasje = Velocity, Inderøy’s techno garage, being constructed – at least in theory – as this weblog is being written. It has received a grant of NOK 250 000, about CAD 40 000 to equip a 70m2 former classroom with production machinery, such as 3D printers and a laser cutter, not to mention electronic equipment.]
Arrival Sunday evening; Departure Saturday morning. Information about the specific movement of space shuttles from various planets will be provided later. [Actual dates and years? Petty details like those will be worked out later.]
Groups: There are three groups earthlings can choose between.
Clothing: Functional clothing for everyone [Replaces: Fashionable and functional adaptive clothing for the elderly and disabled.] At the end of the week, each participant will have one garment that they can take with them to their home planet.
Food: Tasty and nutritious food for everyone [Replaces: for the elderly and allergic.] At the end of the week, each participant will have (at least) five recipes they can take home with them. They will also prepare food for the evening meal.
Technology: Home automation for everyone [replaces, for the elderly and disabled.] At the end of the week, each participant will have one device that they can take with them to their home planet. Involves programming, electronics, 3D-printing.
Notes:
Earthlings have lost the ability to photosynthesize, and must “eat”. They gather together for a “meal” several times during an earth day. Earth friendly food will be served, and a food group will be formed in advance to make sure that all participants are able to eat the food served.
Earthlings need to “reflect”, “rest” and “sleep”. These are time periods when they need to be alone. To put it in terms a robot would understand, they need to recharge their batteries.
Remember, Earthlings are primitive. They cannot theorize, practicize and exercise simultaneously, but need separate sessions devoted to each one. They have no capacity for brain to brain communication, but must rely on “speech” (sound making) and “hearing” (sound sensing) for communication. Because of variations in sound sensing capabilities, sound makers have to use artificial amplifiers, especially in the presence of old earthlings.
Earthlings use “breaks” for informal communication, and fluid exchange. Fluid intake of water, coffee or tea is public. Fluid outtake is private, and is undertaken in rooms especially designed for the purpose.
Daily program
Morning meal 9:00 – 10:00.
Theory session: 10:00 – 10:45; break; 11:00 – 11:45; break.
Time for reflection, exercise (walk): 16:00 – 18:00.
Evening meal: 18:00 – 19:00.
Optional cooperative projects: 19:00 – 20:00.
Theory sessions:
First hour
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: Coping with life. Strategies for enhanced survival as an earthling.
Wednesday: Clowning. Expressing emotions without words. Extends over two hours.
Second hour
Separate sessions for each of the groups, every day but Wednesday. Here, theoretical information related to the specific group will be presented.
Practical sessions:
Separate sessions for each of the groups. Here, earthlings will use their hands to make things related to the goals of their specific group.
Exercise sessions:
Walks need to be selected, so that people, either alone or with others can walk sufficiently.
Stop the Press!
While it might be fun to start off with a five-day workshop, the entire event might also turn out to be a catastrophe. Perhaps the correct approach is doing what the IRSA does best: build a three stage workshop rocket!
Y0 (Year Zero)
Stage 1. An experimental session. Each teacher makes a lesson plan for a single 45 minute theory hour, plus a single 45 minute practical hour. These two hours are offered as a separate event.
A teaching session should be more than a single organism, creating sound bytes in front of other organisms. The teacher will have to assess whether materials should be read, before the session starts. If so, what is the teacher going to do if there are students with reading difficulties (hint: make audio files of the materials.) Photographs, illustrations, videos, simulations and demonstrations may all be used to enhance learning.
A quiz at the end of the session, can help determine if participants have learned what has been expected of them. At the end of this event, participants are asked for feedback, about the event they have just attended.
Stage 2. A course over several weeks. The feedback from the experimental session will allow the teacher to make adjustments to the lesson plan for the first session, or scrap it entirely. The teacher can now make continue to make lesson plans for the entire course, along with assorted aids, and to implement them on a weekly basis, making adjustments each week as needed. At the end of the course, participants – once again – are asked for feedback.
Stage 3. A workshop! Now we are back to where we started from, but with one major difference. The teacher has experience and, hopefully, confidence.
Y1 (Year One)
If one decides that the workshop has value for other people than the initial participants, additional workshops can be made. These can be located in different cities and held in different languages.
At the same time, new topics can be developed for different target groups. Three of these groups could be 1) parents, 2) immigrants and 3) youth.
If you would like further information about workshop participation, or if you would like to host a similar workshop on your planet, contact brock at mclellan dot no.
Ned til Jorden: Den norske versjonen/ Down to Earth: The Norwegian version.
Intergalaktisk Rakettvitenskaps Academy (IRVA) har svevet over alles hoder, i det ytre rom, altfor lenge.Nå trenger den din hjelp til å starte en ukes workshop, ned til jorden.
Målgruppe: Jordboerne, spesielt de med fysiske eller psykiske problemer. OK, det inkluderer alle av dem.
Prinsipper: Moro først! “Hvis det ikke er morsomt, er det ikke en del av IRVA.”
Sted: Romstasjon Straumen [det er Inderøys kommunale sentrum. Nærmere bestemt Hastighet, Inderøys teknogarasje konstruert – i det minste teoretisk – da denne bloggen blir skrevet. Det har mottatt en gave på NOK 250 000 for å utstyre et 70m2 tidligere klasserom med produksjonsmaskiner, for eksempel 3D-skrivere og laserkutter, og ikke minst elektronisk utstyr.]
Ankomst søndag kveld; avreise lørdag morgen. Informasjon om de nøyaktige bevegelser av romskip fra de ulike planeter vil bli gitt senere. [Faktiske datoer og år? Små detaljer som disse vil også bli utarbeidet senere.]
Undervisningsgrupper: Det er tre grupper jordboerne kan velge mellom.
Klær: Funksjenelle klær for alle. [Erstatter, Fasjonable og funksjonelle, adaptive klær til eldre og funksjonshemmede.] På slutten av uken vil hver deltaker ha ett plagg som de kan ta med seg til deres hjemme planet.
Mat: Velsmakende og næringsrik mat for alle. [Erstatter, til eldre og allergiskere.] Ved slutten av uken vil hver deltaker ha (minst) fem oppskrifter de kan ta med seg. De vil også tilberede mat til kveldsmåltid.
Teknologi: Hjemmautomatisering for alle [Erstatter, for eldre og funksjonshemmede.] Ved slutten av uken vil hver deltaker ha en enhet som de kan ta med seg til deres hjemmeplan. Involver programmering, elektronikk, 3D-utskrift.
Merknader:
Jordboerne har mistet muligheten til å fotosyntetisere, og må “spise”. De samles sammen for et “måltid” flere ganger i løpet av en jorddag. Jordvennlig mat serveres, og en matvaregruppe vil bli dannet på forhånd for å sikre at alle deltakere kan spise maten.
Jordboerne trenger å “reflektere”, “hvile” og “sove”. Disse er tidsperioder når de trenger å være alene. For å si det som en robot ville forstå, må de lade opp batteriene.
Husk at jordenboerne er primitive. De kan ikke teoretisere, praktisere og trene samtidig, men trenger separate økter viet til hver enkelt aktivitet. De har ingen kapasitet til hjernekommunikasjon, men må stole på “tale” (lydfremstilling) og “hørsel” (lydfølelse) for kommunikasjon. På grunn av variasjoner i lydavkjenningsegenskapene, må lydprodusenter bruke kunstige forsterkere, spesielt i nærvær av gamle jordboerne.
Jordboerne bruker “pauser” for uformell kommunikasjon, og fluidutveksling. Væskeinntak av vann, kaffe eller te er offentlig. Væskeutslipp er privat og foregår i rom spesielt egnet til formålet.
Tid for refleksjon, mosjon (gange): 16:00 – 18:00.
Kveldsmat: 18:00 – 19:00.
Valgfrie samarbeidsprosjekter: 19:00 – 20:00.
Teori økter:
Første time
Mandag, tirsdag, torsdag, fredag: Løft med livet. Strategier for forbedret overlevelse som jordboende.
Onsdag: Klovne. Å uttrykke følelser uten ord. Strekker seg over to timer.
Andre time
Separate økter for hver av gruppene, hver dag bortsatt fra onsdag. Her vil teoretisk informasjon relatert til den spesifikke gruppen bli presentert.
Praktiske økter:
Separate økter for hver av gruppene. Her vil jordboere bruke hendene til å gjøre ting relatert til målene til deres spesifikke gruppe.
Treningsøkter:
Vandringer må velges, slik at folk, enten alene eller med andre, kan gå tilstrekkelig.
Stopp pressen!
Selv om det kan være morsomt å starte med en fem-dagers verksted, kan hele arrangementet også vise seg å være en katastrofe. Kanskje er riktig tilnærming det som IRVA gjør best: bygge et tre-trinns verkstedrakkett!
Y0 (År Null)
Fase 1. En eksperimentell økt. Hver lærer gjør en leksjon plan for en 45 minutters teori time, pluss en 45 minutters praktisk time. Disse to timene tilbys som et separat arrangement.
En undervisningssesjon bør være mer enn en enkelt organisme som produserer lydbyter foran andre organismer. Læreren må vurdere om materialet skal leses før sesjonen starter. Hvis så, hva skal læreren gjøre hvis det er studenter med lesevansker (hint: lag lydfiler av materialet.) Fotografier, illustrasjoner, videoer, simuleringer og demonstrasjoner kan alle brukes til å forbedre læringen.
En quiz i slutten av sesjonen, kan bidra til å avgjøre om deltakerne har lært hva som er forventet av dem. På slutten av denne hendelsen blir deltakerne bedt om tilbakemelding, om hendelsen de nettopp har deltatt på.
Fase 2. Et kurs over flere uker. Tilbakemeldingen fra eksperimentell økt vil gi læreren mulighet til å gjøre justeringer til leksjonsplanen for den første økten, eller skrap den helt. Læreren kan nå fortsette å lage lektionsplaner for hele kurset, sammen med assisterte hjelpemidler, og å implementere dem på ukentlig basis, foreta justeringer hver uke etter behov. På slutten av kurset blir deltakerne – igjen – bedt om tilbakemelding.
Fase 3. Et verksted! Nå er vi tilbake til hvor vi startet fra, men med en stor forskjell. Læreren har erfaring og, forhåpentligvis, tillit.
Y1 (År Ett)
Hvis man bestemmer seg for at verkstedet har verdi for andre enn de opprinnelige deltakerne, kan det opprettes flere workshops.Disse kan lokaliseres i forskjellige byer og holdes på forskjellige språk.
Samtidig kan nye emner utvikles for ulike målgrupper.Tre av disse gruppene er 1) foreldre, 2) innvandrere og 3) ungdom.
Hvis du vil ha mer informasjon om workshopdeltakelse, eller hvis du ønsker å være vert for et lignende verksted på din planet, ta kontakt med brock på mclellan dot no.
All of the Charm posts on this weblog are meant to be fun. Today’s post is no exception, and details the 27th (Skarnsund) Bridge Run from Vangshylla (where we live) to Mosvik, about 6 km away, on Sunday 2018-06-17, starting at 10:00.
When we first moved here in 1988, Vangshylla was a ferry terminal that connected Inderøy to the neighbouring municipality of Mosvik. The ferry was replaced by Skarnsund Bridge on 1991-12-17, when it was opened by King Harald. Skarnsund Bridge is the only bridge crossing of Trondheim Fjord. For further information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skarnsund_Bridge
Trondheim Fjord and the Fosen Peninsula. Near the centre of the map lengthwise, you will find Mosvik marked on the map, on highway 755. It is about five kilometers west of Skarnsund Bridge, the only bridge crossing of the fjord. Vangshylla is on the eastern side of the fjord. The two dots on the highway between Mosvik and Verdal are Straumen and Røra, respectively. (CC BY-SA 2.5 Ørland, Fosenportalen)
Run officials have a spreadsheet detailing all participants, past and present, and can with certainty tell anyone which walks/ runs they have participated in. Readers may notice a dual personality tendency in the writing of this post. While most participants walk starting at 10:00 in the morning, there is also a more elite group that runs across the bridge, starting at 13:00 in the afternoon.
Our neighbour, Astrid Stømberg, is one of few who has completed all 27 walks/ runs. Trish usually walks with her, while my responsibility is to drive to Mosvik, and to pick the two of them up. A free bus ride is also available, but only at the end of the day.
Because of privacy concerns, we have not included pictures of people. All photos by Trish McLellan.
The former ferry terminal at Vangshylla, the start of the walk/ run.
Skarnsund Bridge, taken from the former ferry terminal at Vangshylla.
Some of the walk takes place along tractor paths through a forest.
Most of the walk is along Highway 755.
Along the way, 12 questions were asked. Here is one of them: In which country is this photo taken? 1. Greece X. Turkey 2. Italy.
There can be illegal aliens hiding in the tall vegetation. In this case, a black-listed plant, the lupin.
The half-way point.
Here, a fisher is more concerned about catching a tasty dinner, than worrying about walkers.
