Lots of links this week, reflecting a lot of time spent on the computer thanks to a foot injury. This is a round up of the most interesting things I saw online this past week. I follow what I’d consider to be a large variety of interests, so I hope you find something interesting below, too.
COVID-19: As a reminder, we’re still in a pandemic. Read this thread, and see this text image in particular, and then tell me again how you don’t want to wear a mask.
Remember that things can close back up again. Unfortunately, this is not the last pandemic (h/t Hither & Tither). And it seems that COVID-19 could be a chronic disease (see thread above). Interestingly, it seems the pandemic is not affecting the global CO2 rise. I have a theory that islands might be able to eradicate the virus easier than landlocked/connected locations, but this article has nothing to do with that and everything to do with tracing: How Iceland Beat the Coronavirus (h/t kottke; I’m curious to see if Hawaii will be able to get rid of the virus faster than the rest of the US; I don’t hold out high hope for the rest of us, though – The Coronavirus Will Win). A reminder that Canada is pretty awesome: Counting the Days Under Virus Lockdown by the Length of Justin Trudeau’s Hair. And, is there anything from quarantine you’re going to keep doing?
Related: are you having a hard time buying hand sanitizer? You can get a gallon shipped to you (free shipping) from Bloomington’s own Cardinal Spirits, or if you are local to Cincy/NKY, New Riff has a gallon for curbside pickup for the cheapest I’ve seen.
Current Events: IBM will no longer offer, develop, or research facial recognition technology. Amazon and Microsoft followed suit, at least in regard to supplying that technology to police. I spend time in class discussing how data is biased and have mentioned facial recognition software in particular, but I think it’s worth spending more time on this. (Most everyone just assumes that tech works how we think it does and is perfect…) Related: Microsoft’s robot editor confuses mixed-race Little Mix singers. There’s also been a push to remove racially-charged terminology in tech (h/t Lifehacker). Among all the many lists out there already, my alma mater’s librarians put together an Anti-Racist reading list that includes some titles I haven’t seen on other lists. PS. History isn’t as old as we think it is.
Another thing to worry about: A Deadly Mosquito-Borne Illness is Brewing in the Northeast. I try to pay attention to mosquito news because they really, really love me. My awesome husband Eric set up a bug net for me to sit in on our porch earlier this week. Related: has anyone seen the cicadas yet?
Space + Ocean: the first American woman to spacewalk also became the first woman to ever visit the deepest point in the ocean.
More Space: Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars are all visible right now (depending on where you live); here’s how to see them.
90s Nostalgia: Peel N Build Fruit Roll-Ups are Back. We didn’t get them very often, but I lived for a variety of 90s candies, including fruit roll ups. Maybe a box of these will find its way into the grocery cart soon.
Another Treasure Hunt: A follow-up of sorts to last week’s roundup referencing Forrest Fenn’s treasure being found, now a WWII Diary Could Hold the Secret of Missing Nazi Gold.
Radar: Also as a follow-up to last week, another cool use of ground-penetrating radar reveals an entire Ancient Roman city.
Clever Life Hack: Put a Bulletin Board Under a Puzzle to Make it Easier to Move. My parents routinely had us put puzzles on cardboard, but a bulletin board would be even easier, and the pieces wouldn’t move.
And something funny to leave you with…I can’t stop watching this: