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Things We Should Retain from the Pandemic


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I'm generally optimistic, and we'll get this thing under control sooner or later. Which got me thinking...

 

Better work/life balance. I think companies get more work, and higher quality work, from people who come into an office two days out of the week, and spend the rest of the time working from home. When people ask me why I'm so productive, it's because I work when it's the optimum time to work, so I get more done. People who are freed from commuting every day have extra time for health, family, or for that matter, finishing up projects that would normally end up unfinished on a desk at 5:00 PM. Two days is good for the social piece, and touching base with the people.

 

Getting food delivered. Granted, you've always been able to get pizza delivered and such, but now even upscale restaurants will deliver. Of course, being able to take off the evening, go into town, kick back in a restaurant, accomplish some errands on the way to and from the place, and have a leisurely meal isn't something I'd want to give up. But sometimes, I just don't want to have to deal with parking, the time going back and forth, and the wait.

 

Streaming concerts. This is a good way for smaller bands to get exposure and a few bucks, and keeps the sound people employed if the band realizes the importance of that role. And I don't have to wear earplugs!

 

Wearing a mask if you're sick and have to go into public. Even the people who are anti-mask because "it doesn't really protect me that much" understand that it keeps you from spreading your germs to others. Mask-wearing is common in Asian countries if you're sick, there's no reason it shouldn't be common here as a matter of consideration to others.

 

Are there any other "new normal" things you'd like to see stay as the "new normal"?

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I'm an outdoor person. I grew up in Florida without Air Conditioning and to this day don't really like it. AC is less healthy than open windows, and in the USA, AC units consume more energy that the entire industrial sector. So a good thing for me is that as in Europe, most restaurants around here now have outdoor dining areas.

 

Last week we went to a restaurant by the city Yacht Basin, and got to sit outdoors about 10 feet from the water feeling the breeze, listening to the wind whistle through the rigging, and watching the pelicans, gulls and terns forage for their dinner. Last year there were only a couple of 'smoking section' tables outdoors, and none near the water.

 

It doesn't affect me, but it's nice to see so many people working from home instead of in that daily commute. I think the benefits are less pollution and fewer car crashes.

 

Perhaps the best thing might be proving that mRNA vaccines work will eventually lead to a new breakthrough in preventive medicine.

 

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Agree with Craig 100% on his thoughts.

 

With more Work From Home, that will affect architecture and design. Currently workplaces, and surrounding environments like office parks, skyscrapers and urban plazas are geared towards making livable spaces for office workers. Now, that will have to shift more towards homes, apartments and neighborhoods. Even suburban tract housing developments will need to have accoutrements like cafes/remote office spaces for people who want to separate their physical home environment and work and environment.

 

Entertainment-wise, the streaming option is here to stay. At least it'll provide a superior product than a streamed pirated version of the movie.

Netflix and especially Disney+ are already changing the visual entertainment paradigm by emphasizing a series model. Disney+'s series like 'The Mandalorian,' 'WandaVision' and 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier' offer cinematic quality while dispensing them in a weekly serial format - it's the best of both movie and TV worlds, and creates an audience that collectively goes along for the ride rather than digesting it all at once and separately (i.e. the Netflix series model), where, while convenient, the series' relevance does not linger in the eyes of pop culture as long.

 

There will still be value in going to cinemas, although they will be staged more like *events* a.k.a. a "movie concert" type experience with some value added to being at a physical cinema (that goes beyond 3D/Imax screens).

 

Food delivery is here to stay, although some foods are more compatible with that than others (i.e. non-fried foods).

Curbside pickup, whether it's for food, groceries or other retail products is also here to stay; it saves time and parking hassle. In my experience, some of it needs to be streamlined, but the potential is definitely there.

 

Livestreamed public meetings, done out of necessity, are also here to stay. They increase public engagement.

 

Livestreamed concerts, as mentioned earlier, will also be NewNormal, but having done a few myself, there's the interactive aspect that's missing. All I can get are comments on a chat screen and the number of viewers (wno may or may not actually be paying attention). I haven't done any Zoom concerts, where I get to see at least some of the audience, but the dead silence that follows the end of songs is still awkward and off-putting to a performer.

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Livestreamed concerts, as mentioned earlier, will also be NewNormal, but having done a few myself, there's the interactive aspect that's missing. All I can get are comments on a chat screen and the number of viewers (who may or may not actually be paying attention). I haven't done any Zoom concerts, where I get to see at least some of the audience, but the dead silence that follows the end of songs is still awkward and off-putting to a performer.

 

I think it will progress toward hybrids, where you have a few people - maybe livestreaming from a cafe. If you can have 10 people in an audience who are really into what you do, that's kind of all you need. I've played in front of small crowds and huge crowds, and like them both. But the advantage of a small crowd is you can interact with them, tell stories, joke around, which brings anyone who's streaming the concert more into your world.

 

I have a friend who streamed a concert on YouTube the other day from her home. The cost was $20, she pulled in about $1,200. Not bad for an evening, and she just leaves her stuff set up - doesn't have to deal with equipment setup or tear down. But I could also see a club or restaurant wanting to set aside some space for people to play a livestream, to publicize their place. Just before the pandemic hit, a jazz singer here in town that I know played at a bar, and I wanted to support her so I went. I would never have gone otherwise, but when I saw the place, it was very cool, just the right size, good sound system, and the list of coming bands looked promising. If I'd seen it on a live stream, I would have found out about it, and wanted to go there in person from time to time.

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TBH, there are some public behaviours that I was hoping would have become more universally routine during this pandemic that haven"t. Is it really too much to ask people to wash their hands, fully cover their mouths with their elbows when they sneeze and cough and couldn"t runners at least hoark on the grass, instead of on the sidewalk where I"m trying to get in a few miles myself?

 

Oh dear, have I gone off on a tangent again?

 

Actually, the best thing that I have seen during the past year is many more people outdoors, often with their families, getting some more activity/exercise. I hope that continues. That is so healthy in a number of ways.

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Things I should not retain from the Pandemic: 30 pounds of pizza and burrito weight. I believe in Science and pragmatic good manners, so the sensible safety habits are easy to respect. However, as I no longer own that pair of Octapads, working off the pizza will be a steeper uphill climb. Exerbike, thy name is Wormwood, but here I come, all the same. My "personal growth" has gone off the rails a bit... :doh:

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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Things I should not retain from the Pandemic: 30 pounds of pizza and burrito weight. I believe in Science and pragmatic good manners, so the sensible safety habits are easy to respect. However, as I no longer own that pair of Octapads, working off the pizza will be a steeper uphill climb. Exerbike, thy name is Wormwood, but here I come, all the same. My "personal growth" has gone off the rails a bit... :doh:

 

I forget the source, but it was something to the effect that average weight gain during the pandemic has been 2 pounds per month :)

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