GeekSpeak - 2023! Where will it take us? Join the discussion Saturday, December 31st at 12pm SLT

 

What are your predictions, hopes, and fears, for 2023 and beyond?

Will we see asteroid mining, a moon base, people on Mars?  Worldwide democracy, an end to war?  A cure for cancer?

Or will we see World War 3?  And the collapse of civilisation? And new pandemics from artificial viruses?

Where do you see Europe, USA, Iran, China, Russia going in 2023? 

Tell us what you fear and hope for, for the world or personally. Where are we all going? And what do you want for yourself in this new year?

Join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to talk about the future, and what we all hope from it.

IM Vulcan Viper teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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AVIE POLL: A YEAR LATER, WE HAVE A VACCINE. HOW HAS COVID IMPACTED YOUR LIFE?- Lanai Jarrico Reporting…

With the vaccine phase of the pandemic slowly getting underway around the world, it has been a tough year since lockdowns and travel restrictions began. Many have gotten covid or know someone who has and many others have lost friends and loved one. This is a test to everyone's faith in regaining some normalcy in uncharted territory now that the vaccine is here. Second Life has become a safe haven for many around the world who are in desperate need for social interaction without worrying about social distancing and being exposed. Normally, I ask questions related to Second Life, but this is a topic that affects us all as human beings. We are all in this together and any advice or even venting concerns will help others cope better knowing they are not alone in this. I set out to ask residents from all over the grid how covid has impacted their lives and how they are coping with a new normal.

How has covid impacted your life? Now that we have a vaccine, what do you see in a year from now?

Logan: “Before I caught Covid I was very healthy and active. I hit the gym 5 to 6 days a week and I was working. I'm getting my personal trainer certificate. Ever since I have been sick I have now developed severe fatigue shortness of breath and it caused me to develop a 90% blockage of my heart. I had been in the hospital where they had put 2 stents in my heart and I haven't been to the gym since I've been sick.”

Aggie: “How has covid impacted your life?There was a significant impact - working from home. This, with the UK Lockdown meant that I have only been in my normal workplace for 7 days in the past year. There was a sense of loneliness and frustration. My normal work practice was to have several different tasks on the go, hopping in between them. What I did not know was how much I needed the occasional 'interruption' caused by someone coming for a chat, needing help, or overhearing something in the office to cause each 'hop'. I wound up with a sort of serialized 'writers block' which was pretty depressing. Working from home also meant that there was a tendency to carry on - get something finished - rather than putting it down. The

go-to-work and then leave-work cues were broken. I also discovered how much I hate Zoom! Now that we have a vaccine, what do you see in a year from now? I think next year we will be vaccinating again, counteracting the new variants that will be circulating. Work for a significant number of people will have changed in nature, as they will have found working from home suits them. Some firms may take a bolder step and restructure so that working from home is more the norm, saving them the costs of office space. Many small businesses will be unable to recover as shopping over the web rather than coming to stores will take a notch up. There will be inquiries and lessons-learnt on the various governmental and institutional responses to the crisis, but the output of these will be cherry-picked and rendered quite useless.”

Sam: “Wow what a year Covid is something one really has to be very careful about, you see this past year and even now it is hard for me for one thing I live with a roommate how has stage four cancer so ya it been unreal not being able to go out to any place, you see I has to be careful if I was to come in or near anyone who has it and I not know they did and I come home I can bring it in to them and that all it would take she be gone as her body would not be able to deal with it at all so yeah this past year has been a pain not being able to do anything or go any place, and well even now that they are vaccine's I for one am not 100% sure on how  good it is and don't feel like taking a chance just yet on it , I sure you can understand why I say that  but I am sure it will help out. I will be so happy the day we all can go back to doing the things we all loved to do before this happened. Now do not get me wrong about the vaccines I am sure they are safe and will do as they say they will and yes I know I should get it just waiting a little to see, but I get it in time soon. To all that are dealing with this hang in there we are way better then we were back in 1918.” 

Ami: “I became stuck in Asia longer than 1 year expected and unable to travel till now.  My business was affected and am changing careers and countries. As soon as I have the vaccine, I will travel to another continent and buy a home and start a new business.  Excited.”

Ryla: “My life was affected a lot not only because I don't see my family too often but because my body was affected from that moment I was infected... now  the virus is gone but I still have consequences like weakness,headache,flush nose and this is from November...I don't know if the vaccine will immunize people but is something like a moral peace if you don't have a bad reactions.I wish you all will stay safe and hopeful of one day we will escape this pandemic.”

Becka: “Covid has affected my life since I got infected with Covid in November 2020 by a careless boss who believed it was just the flu. She was allowing clients into the office and openly telling them they didn't have to wear a mask. She was putting us all at risk and tried to voice my opinion and was met with office gossip saying i needed to “shut the F up”. I ended up contracting it along with 5 other office members because of my boss’s ignorance. I resigned the day I got my results and was quarantined isolated for 2 weeks battling fevers and chill, lack of energy, weakness, loss of taste and smell and mental drain. I went through insomnia for about a month after I got sick and still suffer from fatigue and anxiety months later. I barely leave my house and find myself almost having a panic attack if I do go to the store or even the post office. I still haven't gotten the vaccine but I check the website everyday to see if there is a slot available in my area. I’m hopeful once everyone has the vaccine, the fear of catching a severe case will be minimized. It’s hard to tell where we will be in a year from now if people don’t take it seriously or they get lazy about wearing masks properly and respect social distancing. Without everyone’s diligence and respect for Covid and safety, will we not see a light at the end of this pandemic for a long time”

Staci: “My friend Courtney, who posed as Ivanka in the Golfing With Trump article we did during the election, runs her father's lobster mart in real life. She works every day, 10-12 hour days. She has a girl who comes in for afternoons, but she has school during the day. The rest of her family is at sea from 4 AM til dusk. Courtney got the Rona in February, and it was illegal for her to remain open. Even if she could, she had no staff. She was telling me this one day, wondering "Where can I get someone with experience to run the store until I am better?" The answer was at the other end of the message. I worked at the Green Harbor Lobster Pound for a few summers as a kid. OK, "as a kid" means "about 30 years ago," but Courtney was in a jam and I don't live that far from her RL, so I offered my services. Shoot, I had even been vaccinated. Courtney, who had no options, accepted my offer immediately. Two days later, I was reporting for work at the lobster mart. Courtney's dad, who's name I never learned and who I referred to as "Captain" when I needed him, doesn't like yuppies, but he did appreciate that I showed up at 4 AM. He thought it was cute that I refused to step foot on the boats, a trait I shared with his wife, who he outlived. Once he approved of me, I was allowed to open his store. Selling seafood hasn't changed that much since the 1990s, and the Captain was pleased that I knew how to measure/package scallops, that I wasn't afraid of reaching in the tank and grabbing a lobster and so forth. The customers began to come in, and they are a funny lot. Courtney lives in the town that The Perfect Storm was based in, and the guy who directed it really did nail the locals. Courtney is well-loved in her community, and not a day passed where some elderly lady didn't show up with a crock pot full of kale soup with linguica, saying "Bring this up to Courtney, she's been looking thin lately, this will help her along." The locals were able to help me do my new job, seeing me hesitate in my work and saying "They keep the bags under the counter over there, dear" and so forth. I did a half dozen 12 hour days, teaming with the high school girl at night and closing at 7 PM. I refused monetary payment, instead taking a dozen lobsters home. I had a great time, and was pleased to help my friend. Coronavirus stories shouldn't contain "I had a great time," but here we are.”

Mist: I've worked full time from home for several years now. Frankly, the  biggest impact has been that I cannot go to interest-related "meets" or  to the movies, which I dearly love and miss. I do not venture from the  house often. I firmly believe that we've handled COVID-19 so badly that it will  become endemic, like the flu, and we will have to have annual  immunizations. I would love to be able to travel again, but suspect that  I will remain uncomfortable about it for the foreseeable future.”

Karen: “It is my right to not wear a mask because I am entitled to think it's just a flu. I’m calling the cops!”

There is no doubt that Covid has impacted everyone around the world in different ways. From those who have first hand experience contracting covid or suffered a loss due to it to those taking precautions hoping not to catch it while combating others who have absolutely no regard for others and their well being.   

Many feel isolated or have limited interactions with their family and friends. We all as a global community  and have been deprived of the daily life we once had. None of us are alone in the concerns and fears collectively shared as Covid continues to spread and change. While vaccinations are being carried out around the world there are still concerns about long term effects, how it will react to new variants and ultimately what will it take to regain some normalcy. Only time will tell if each and every one of us take it seriously enough to be part of the solution and not the problem.

Be safe and well.

HOW HAS COVID IMPACTED YOUR LIFE? Please share your comments below and be part of the Avie Poll.

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GeekSpeak – Will there be life after the Pandemic? Join the discussion on April 3rd at 12pm SLT

Has the virus changed the world for good?  Will some of the imposed restrictions remain?  Social distancing, masks, no hugs? 

Will we always be afraid of new diseases in the future?  What will we do to keep ourselves safe and prevent the next pandemic?  Will we try to vaccinate all animals as well as humans?  Will we live in plastic bubbles in an endless lockdown and interact with each other only in Second Life?  Will we use nanobots to patrol our blood and kill anything non-human? 

Or will we react against the restrictions, give up fighting and just get sick, hoping that some of us will survive?

Come and discuss our smallest enemy.  Bring an electron microscope and hand soap, and your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class at 1pm every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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Lanai's Diary: Entry 4,958- 2020 Can Go F%$@ itself! Do something for your country and Wear a @&%$# mask!

 

This isn't a politically motivated statement nor is it feeding into the overwhelming news of this pandemic and how it is affecting not only our communities but the world as a whole. If there is one thing that needs to be said it is COMPLACENCY NEEDS TO STOP! Whether you believe it is “just a flu” or the news is "overcooking" the situation and only reporting the worst case scenarios, there is in fact a global pandemic happening right now and people need to take a moment and realize the only way we can try to get this virus under control is to abide by the precautions put into place by our governments and community leaders. Like Tyrone would say....F*ck all that “I can’t breath” shit about wearing masks or the entitled Karens and Davids who feel it is their right not to wear a mask. F *ck You too!

They need to STFU just like I overheard my now ex boss say about me right before the lockdowns when I made it clear in the office that Covid was a serious thing coming and I was worried. 3 days later we were on lockdown for a month and a half. I live in Pennsylvania and the area I am in just reported a 3,000 covid case spike. The highest since the start of the pandemic.

Here we are over 8 months later and people are still catching covid and or dying in record numbers all over the country and the world. As of today,  there are a million cases in Texas alone!

 Hundreds of thousands sick or dead and yet people are still being complacent. Wearing masks under their noses, standing at bus stops with no regard for the person next to them who is trying to protect themselves and their families. Others walking around convinced  this is a hoax. Still having gatherings and acting like they are immune.  Of course, people want to get back to living their lives but realize one thing. This is the new normal and will continue to be if we continue on this path of not taking this more seriously.

It is time to wake up and realize we will not fight this pandemic half assed and EVERYONE needs to put an effort into protecting themselves and their families as well as the people they come in contact with if they even give a rats ass about anybody else. 

The sooner we can put down the political, entitled and ignorant bullshit and use common sense the sooner we can begin to get back to the things we once loved. I’m sitting here writing this worried because at work, two people tested positive and are out with symptoms and I JUST TESTED POSITIVE! The past couple of days I had a fever, headaches and sweats.  Should I be worried?  All I’m thinking about is my family. Since I was exposed, did I expose them? Could this get bad? I don’t know what to think. All I know is sh*t just got real. At what point do we all realize we are ALL vulnerable and will be for a very long time if we don’t get our sh*t together.

-Lanai

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GeekSpeak – Is there life after lockdown? Join the discussion Oct 31st at 12pm SLT

Will we have to wear masks forever?  Never visit a restaurant again?  Will we work from home forever?  Will office buildings become obsolete?  Will we order all our food online in future and never again visit a foreign country?

Or will things get back to normal, the old normal?  We hope it will of course.  But what will have changed when the dust has settled and we crawl out of our houses again?  Let’s prepare for that future and explore what will have changed, perhaps forever. 

Do you see any good coming out of the pandemic and the lockdowns?  The end of cities?  The feeling that we must help each other?  Or is it all bad?

Bring your friends.  No need for testing, SL is virus-safe 

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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PROPHESIES FOR A POST-COVID WORLD: THE “NEW NORMAL” – JOSH (THOMAS1 BELLIC) REPORTING

So...Last issue we interviewed folks from around the world, asking them how COVID-19 affects their lives today, and how they are coping with that change. We recorded perceptions and were surprised at how much we have in common with people on the far side of the world. http://www.slenquirer.com/2020/04/covid-19-real-world-virus-impacts.html

For this article, we asked 7 people, also from a global audience, to describe what they think the “New Normal” will be like AFTER the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control.  Will we return to the same life we had prior to this crisis? Or will that be a defining moment in Earth’s history, forever changing the way we relate to each other and to our planet?   Talk a walk with me as we explore the possible long-term changes we can expect as a result of our shared experiences these last many weeks.

Those who graciously agreed to speak with us included:

sayaka Solano – Japan

eleee90 – Russia

Wakizashi Yoshikawa – Serbia 

Lisisme Dubrovna – Canada

“Q” Quertina – Belgium 

Zip Quandry – Australia

Molder Flatley – USA

Anonymous – USA

Josh Bellic (JB):  We have seen an increase in “Family Time” as parents and Children are staying at home.  What long-term effect will COVID-19 have on families in the future?

eleee90:  Parents will be taking more care of their children. 

Wakizashi Yoshikawa: Yes, and I am not sure how disciplined children will be when parents are away

Lis: I think kids need discipline and supervision

Q̱: They get to do the things they didn't have time for for years...spend time with their family for once...even when its between 4 walls...no more rat race. Society is demanding...People live hectic lives, but not right now, as we all go back to basic.     I hope it will change the mindset of the world ...and people will value whats really important like family

Zip Quandry I think we will appreciate family and the small things they do for us much more.  

JB:  How will COVID affect Education? Do you think brick and mortar Universities will become a thing of the past as students elect more and more to take their courses online?  

Lis: It may affect the University system….especially considering student loans

Waki: I'm not sure about that Josh, as it would require 180 turn in education. And I don't see that kids can keep their attention as they do in brick and mortar classes

Lis: I think the kinder to high school will not change because parents have to work and they need those institutions to babysit and terach their kids while they work.  Right now is different because not even the parents can go out

Q̱: my son is 15 and cant go to school but he likes the home study.  It makes him focus better, less distraction. He has ADHA, so he is easily distracted. I wouldn’t mind if they do go to more on-line education in schools.  It solves the shortage of teachers since can tape the lessons and the students can watch those. And it solves traffic jams and kids getting into accidents, since they study at home.  

Zip: More people will stay working from home, education will be highly valued (particularly for younger students whose parents have been teaching them and finding it more challenging than they ever imagined).  

Molder Flatley: I think businesses and schools will become more well versed in methods of educating people without it being classroom or face to face centric.

JB:  What about Travel?  DO you think the COVID-19 travel restrictions will affect travel after the restrictions are lifted?

eleee90:  Maybe governments will take measurements early in case of a suspect virus or something like that

Waki: The issue is that when leading countries are fucked up, usually the smaller one (or under developed if you want) will suffer the most.

Lis: It will take a long long time before anyone wants to visit Italy or China or Spain.  Maybe some third world countries will realize they have a lot of opportunity in tourism 

Zip: i think travel will take a long time to recover and people will do domestic travel more than international. I don't know if the cruise industry will ever recover….and even airplane travel will change.  I think more business will be done online - no more flying overseas for meetings. Its costly and unnecessary as people are learning now with their effective online meetings

JB:  What changes do you expect in the areas of Social Interactions?

sayaka Solano: I think people will continue to use soap when you wash your hands. Wash between your fingers really well too. I always do it.  I don't have a disinfectant spray. I do use a mask now. People should wash their hands, and wear a Flu mask as well. In Japan, not many people shake hands, so no real change will happen there. 

eleee90: In a post-Covid-19 world I think people will always be scared the first time we all go out.  They will pay attention to washing hands, not standing too close with other people etc, or just staying out of areas with a lot of people inside, like a bar, etc. But since the memory is short, they will soon forgot do to do these things.  I’m especially interested in knowing what happens to teenagers. Will they pay attention? Or they will they suddenly start going back to clubs etc?

Lis: I think there might be an awareness of global dependence on each other.  The Russians are helping out a lot of nations... sending doctors and supplies.  China just sent thousands of respirators to NYC. They are as cautious about social distancing as we are.  I don't think much is going to change except in the immediate future. Basically, everyone will forget and go back to how it was before.  History never teaches people anything.

Q̱: I for one, am a hermit. Staying at home isn’t hard for me.   Some good will come out of it when its all over. People are forced to ground themselves.  But I am afraid the way we live now will be the new norm till we have a vaccine. It’s all craziness right now. I have been in isolation in RL for years.  This is my social life. I am glad we don't have to cancel events in SL and we don't need social distance here.  

Zip: I think life as we know it was killed by the virus and we will come out of this very different people. I think our values will have been changed. What we appreciate, what we do and how we respond will be forever effected.  We will appreciate the cup of coffee with a friend more than our fancy sports cars. Online socializing will be more popular. But the one positive thing will be a less wasteful, greedy and capitalist people. Unfortunately, while this is resetting we will see massive crime and fear

JB:  Will COVID-19 precautions have any long-term impact on the environment?

Lis: There will be a lot more global recognition of the negative impact we have on the planet.  It is a robust but fragile system and we need to protect it a lot more or there will be more pandemics.  Some people are very undisciplined and will return quickly to bad waste habits. Using toilet paper for target practice - I saw that on TicTok.  Seriously? The earth gets time to heal, the air is clearing...the ozone layers are healing. It will be a shame when all gets back to normal. It will be contaminated again real soon.

Q̱: People need to be more aware and stop stressing our planet. We should be reducing our impact all year round. This is like a wake up call.  Our world is vulnerable. We make ourselves dependent on everyone, because that’s the system and its how the system works. Now is the time to reform.

Zip: I think the planet is resetting. People will waste less and love more, and i think this eventually will have a positive impact on our planet.  Already the pollution has eased in some parts of the world

JB:  How about economically?  Any changes predicted there?

sayaka: I think the supermarkets will reopen. We won’t starve...we won’t die of hunger.

Lis: We have already seen that the world has had to resort to online shopping.  This is something that will continue to expand. This is exactly where many of us old timers in SL hoped SL would go. I think production will return or even speed up.

Waki: I don't think the online shopping will last too long after the pandemic ends. It is mostly  impulsive buying which I think will settle down when people realize that they are buying things that they don't need.  I don't think solving COVID will affect the economy that much. I mean yeah, economy will go down the drain, it already is, but I don't think that it will change our way of living too much.  Humans have an extremely short attention span, and as soon they are "oh I lived" don't think much will change.  

Zip: This is going to result in an economic reset too, but i find it difficult to talk about because i don't have the brain for economics.  But i think the very rich will not be so rich and that small business will become more successful if they are creative with how they market.  People will be wary of others for a long time and it will impact retail greatly. People will continue to shop online and trips to the mall will be a thing of the past.  Countries will start producing more of their own products and stop relying on other countries for importing what they produce themselves even if it is more costly.

JB:  How will governments change?

Anonymous:  There are lots of people making predictions, and a lot of them are hoping this whole emergency can be used to make laws that they want but the people really don't.  Governments have taken on a lot of power and taken away a lot of rights and they wont want to give that back and it will be a political struggle to get them back. For instance, in Michigan, why can't landscapers work? They are outdoors.. away from everyone.  People can walk and ride bikes.. so why not landscapers. And why can't people golf? How is that dangerous? I live near a lake where have boats. The governor says you can't use your boat? WTF?

Anonymous: Most government offices are shut.  The employees, paid with tax money, are getting full pay.. .teachers too.  But they put the people who pay their wages out of business, like me. This isn’t killing any more people than die from the flu every year, and the total mortality rate for all causes in the US is actually lower than normal right now.  "The first casualty of war is truth"  

Zip: I think with all the spending of our government we will be in a very poor state for quite some time, so we will have to be more thrifty and creative.

Molder: I think eventually things will recover and we will have a better plan for future pandemics. People will see true numbers and have a better perspective on what really happened.  Eventually people will open their eyes and see the media did very little to do anything positive and created an unhealthy wave of emotions that do nothing to make the situation any better controlled in the future. The media will dredge up everything they can to create another panic.

So there you have it folks.  Current expectations of a future reality.   We’ll be back again after things settle down and we get this thing licked.  We will do another article then, checking to see how accurate we were on our predictions.  In the mean time, Stay Safe...Stay Healthy...and Stay Home!

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Geekspeak: COVID 19 GLOBAL CRISIS. WHAT CHANGES WILL WE SEE IN OUR FUTURE? Join the discussion Saturday April 11th at 12pm SLT

Soon we will have overcome the current crisis.  But we will be left with a world where millions of people are jobless and where we are all scared of the future.  So how do we rebuild?  What permanent changes will we see?

More virtual worlds?  The invention of the holodeck?  A society where education and business conferences all take place online?  Where more people work from home all the time and there are no offices?  What will happen to all the empty office buildings?
Maybe there will be no more restaurants?  An army of delivery drones?  Maybe we will see a new interest in science?  Maybe we will refuse to pollute the air again now that it is clean.  Maybe we will see robot cleaners using UV light to kill viruses.
Let’s think of the positives here and try to predict the world as it will be in 2 years. Happy Easter!  Maybe next year Easter will be online.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at the GeekSpeak auditorium at 1pm SLT, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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COVID-19 – REAL WORLD VIRUS IMPACTS VIRTUAL WORLD RESIDENTS – JOSH (THOMAS1 BELLIC) REPORTING

OK Folks.  Lets Talk.   We need to put an end to “Social Distancing” during this time of worldwide Pandemic.  No. I am not crazy, and I am not advocating a worldwide hug-fest. But we don’t need “Social Distancing”….We need Physical Distancing. Words have meaning, so let’s start calling it what it is, and leave the cutsie phrases for things without such overreaching consequences, shall we?   We don’t need “Social Distancing”. What we need in this time of isolation is “Social Connection”, “Social Closeness”, and, dare I say it…“Social Intimacy”. At a time when people are scared, deeply distressed over an uncertain future, connecting with others socially becomes more important than ever.  One of the best ways to get and maintain social closeness in these challenging times is through SecondLife.

Rarely in the history of the world have we ever faced so ominous a threat to the economic and physical health of our residents. So, for today’s article we asked SL residents from around the RL world to tell us of the effect COVID-19 has had in their lives.  Folks we spoke to for this article include:

Nicole Kovarova – Czech Republic

Zoe – Bosnia 

Fokan – Italy 

Amanda – Norway

Char Steele – Michigan, USA

Reagan DiStefano: – Texas, USA

Rose Krimau – Catalan, Spain

Aylla Clarrington  – South Africa

Robb Larkham – Arizona, USA

Bonnie – Israel

Vale – Uruguay 

Josh Bellic (JB):  How have you been affected by the COVID-19 Virus?

Nicole Kovarova: I cannot go to my university because it is closed.

 Zoe: Two weeks ago we organized in a way so we could work from home. We are all aware that we don’t have enough capacity to take care of all infected people at once.  Our hospitals and intensive care units don’t have enough beds. As a rule, we tend to be a pretty disciplined people. No one goes outside. We respect all our government has said so far.  We’re helping each other to minimize the spread of the virus. 

Fokan: Actually whether we have the COVID virus or not, we stay home.  This is affecting everyone. Life in Italy is pretty much the same for everyone.  Last week, because of the restrictions, you know, only a list of specific companies can still work.  This is really difficult to manage. We stay home. I have a family. There are people that will really suffer through this.  It could be a hard restriction on all our lives.

Amanda: I`m working 15-18 hours a day! Stupid me. I offered a way to provide Plexiglas screening to a grocery store chain in Norway. To protect people in the stores, by building Plexiglas shields around the cash register operators. They hang from the ceiling on wires.  There are many things I miss as a result of the current situation. I`m not allowed to visit my mother, or go to my cabin on weekends, or visit friends, or go shopping in Sweden, or even to go anywhere I like to go. And this Easter coming up will present a special challenge.

Char Steele: Ah yes. Well I have been laid off for an indefinite period of time, especially the rest of the 2019/2020 school year. Because of the layoffs with my family, we have had to move just to make it. So we even moved to a different state.

Here we are not allowed in the cities unless necessary. The police are making people return home.  Unemployment insurance is not enough to get by….small town…rural area. I am an Elementary School teacher, and they want to switch all classes to online delivery.  That will be a chore. I hear they are graduating medical students early but i can neither confirm nor deny...lol. I do hope it gets better before we hit a depression era.  That’s what is scary - too many people out of work….no food in the stores…and people willing to do anything to feed their families. A friend of our neighbor has already experienced such things.  Her door was kicked in for her stuff. She lives in a good part of the city too. But people know they are well stocked there. It scared us. We had to leave. 

Reagan DiStefano: The changes I am making as a result of the virus are I am now washing my hands all day long it seems....staying away from other people when I can, other than the ones that live with me.  I am disinfecting everything. I have had to stop some things as well: I stopped going out to dinner…visiting with friends, and hugging people that i care about. All of that has stopped. I work for a Geriatrics Practice that is completely mobile.  Think of it as a Visiting Dr. They can no longer go to patient’s homes... everything is a Telehealth call. But as I've heard that two retirement facilities have gone into quarantine because of 6 cases... I'm worried. That’s not good. It means loved ones are being brought home, and no more new patients for us.  So, with less and less work for me to have, I could be laid off.

Rose Krimau: I've been home for 17 days, working from home too, along with all of my family. When I am not working I read, watch some shows on my tablet, exercise a little, log on SL,...Have you ever thought you would be asked not to leave your home for weeks?  I find it especially cruel the way people are dying, alone, because they need to be isolated from their families who cannot be there to comfort them while they are in hospital,...and there can't even be a goodbye or a funeral. When someone is taken to hospital, you don't know if you'll ever see them again and they must feel so scared and lonely without the family visiting

Aylla Clarrington:  Well, my company does cylinder head reconditioning and repair and we can't work now so no work =  no pay and I had to send the 2 workers on unpaid leave.

Robb Larkham:  Here in Arizona we are actively pursuing "social distancing" to try to attenuate the impact of the virus. In that other reality they call real life I am working at teaching my classes online to assure that students can make it through the semester with as little stress as possible. 

Bonnie: This is really hard on me. I have two kids at home and their father has terminal cancer so he can't leave his house. I have no idea if they will ever see him again.  It makes me extra cautious about leaving my home because I am about to be the only parent for my children. It hasn’t affected my job that much yet. I am working on a high tech project from my home, but I usually meet colleagues for coffee outside my house. Now we drink coffee together on Hangouts and Skype.

Vale: I don’t go out anymore.  I know some people are affected and are taking precautions like using masks. We have made changes in how we work.  In fact we are working in shifts these days. At home, residents are coming together to support each other. People sing from their terraces to entertain others.  And everyday at 8:00 at night people come out of their homes to applaud those who go out to work to help others, such as medical personnel, etc., and others who have to go out and be exposed so they can help others.   I saw a nurse going to work and all her neighbors applauded her. It is very motivating, after all...a way of saying thank you.

JB:  Are you staying at home? 

Nicole: I spend more time at home now. The Law requires it.  It has lasted two weeks now, but it will probably continue until the end of April.

Aylla:  Yes,  we have to work from home.

Fokan: This makes me, and others like me, spend time with family.  I work in warehousing. I work with anything in there. I cannot telework. I can drive or I stay in warehouse.  Either way, I need to go to work.

Reagan:: out of 25 of us.. 6 are still coming to the office. I am still driving to work. I have my own office and I don't really have much interaction with others

Bonnie: Yes. I stay at home because I am afraid to leave my house.  I was at the supermarket and a woman refused to respect my space.  I am afraid of people like that.

JB:  What do you do to keep busy?

Nicole: I study and work at home.  I am a student and I am business law

Zoe: I am working from home. I am an economist in an engineering company, and my daughter has an online school.

Aylla:  Alan works in the garage with his wood hobby and I do things around the house and washing and that kind of daily things.

Robb: Staying at home provides me more time to read, rediscover old pleasures like Scrabble and work on all those projects at home that are always on the back burner. 

Bonnie: I am guiding the kids to learn how to code and making sure they learn lots of math and practice music. I talk and chat with friends, work on business networking on Hangouts Meet, through Lunchclub and LinkedIn.  I also watch movies, meditate, exercise and listen to lots of music…Oh yes…and bake! I found that keeping a routine helps the most, and learning a language or something. It is important to keep the mind active. I am learning IBM AI system language.

Vale:  In fact you do things that you can't do normally, like finally getting  around to trashing all those old things you have kept in the house but will never use.  You finally throw it out. We may spend time cleaning the house in ways that we normally don’t have time to do.  Some people exercise at home, or read. I only walk in my house, but athletes, like soccer players for instance, are exercising at home more these days. 

JB:  Has there been any good come from these conditions? Is there an “Upside” to staying home?

Zoe: So, the good side of isolation actually, is getting to spend extra time with my daughter.  I get to what is she doing in school, and how their techers treat them. I also get to see how children behave in school. 

Fokan: We have time to think, and that is good. :-) We need to think about what we are building everyday. 

Amanda: ummm, what is the upside here? Well, at work I dont have to go to meetings all the time...we use more skype and Teams.  And ...people are better at washing their hands.

Reagan: Well i'm thankful that i'm still working.  I won't fall behind on my bills

Rose: Hmmm..maybe that we value things we took for granted before, as simple as going out.

Bonnie: I like that I have more time with the kids…and more baking and cooking, and making sure the food is good and healthy.

Vale: Parents are spending more time with their children. Some send jokes about the virus by using the Whatssup App.  People tend to be more connected to family and friends...they talk about the news and share information as they learn more about the virus. They also say the air is better now- less contaminated.  And the wildlife is coming back, with animals ranging farther afield, and coming into the cities.

JB:  Has COVID-19 affected your time in SL? Has it changed the time you spend here?

Zoe: SecondLife is even more fun than usual.  I am spending more time in SL these days. I’m normally online the entire day because of my job, so now I can be online at SL too.  I am also making new friends…every day more and more people are logging online here. 

Fokan: I have been a member of SL for a long time, so it is not because of COVID-19 that I am here.  I would be here anyway. 

Reagan: I see there are more people online any given time of the day….some people have shorter fuses….less patience.  I think we come here to get away from it, but it's still there. It's like trying to leave work at home….. you try to leave it, but it still comes with you

Rose: I’m not really able to spend any more time here than I did before.  With the whole family staying home, I'm not alone as often as I normally am.

Aylla:  Actually, I was not able to get into SL at all for a day or two.  We had to wait a day or two for them to fix a break in the undersea cable that carries internet to South Africa. 

Robb: In times like this Second Life becomes one of those safe havens where you can still connect with people, especially those you are close to, and help mitigate our concerns and put a little order into the rapidly changing situation all of us around the world have to navigate.

Bonnie: I haven't been logging in much the last months since November, but now I have been logging in 2-3 times a week to check on friends and play and lose myself a little.  It’s a release…an escape. I have no problem with escaping as long as we're conscious of what we're doing. IMHO.

Vale:  We value now the freedom to go out, a hug, a kiss...To be close with they people you care about, because we no longer can.  It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, this virus can kill you, no matter your race.. all the world has stopped.I think eventually they will find a solution to this problem, and things will return to normal….and we as humans won’t have learned a thing. It's like when you're at hospital and you are scared and wondering if you will get well or not, but afterwards when you are safe back at home you think “why I was worried about such stupid things”.  Once all is well again, you forget all about it.

So there you have it folks.  When it comes right down to it, “It’s a Small World After All”   Practice a little extra kindness during this stressful time. That person living in close proximity to you is under the same pressure and same “Stay at Home” restriction that you are. Many of us reading this article may have fewer family members to love when this thing has run its course. Stay close through social media. Exercise some extra “Social Connectedness”

-Josh

Letter from the Editor:

On behalf of the SL Enquirer please be safe,wash your hands often, practice social distancing and follow the directives put in place by your state and/or country seriously to help prevent the spread. 

SLE wishes you all well. We as a global community are all trying to make sense of this new time we are living in. Find comfort in any way you can. If it means taking a walk, reading a good book, Zoom parties or facetiming with family and friends. Keep the faith that we will overcome this pandemic and get back to our lives. It won’t be easy but working together we will make a difference. - Lanai Jarrico

Please share what you are doing to get through this pandemic in the comments section below. Your words may help others struggling during this time.

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