UKH

What have you done with your time? So far in our household:

Eldest daughter has learnt to roller-skate and play the muppets theme tune on the keyboard.

Youngest daughter has learnt to tie her shoelaces ALL BY HERSELF! 

Partner - got more adventurous in her cooking

And me - Made the most fantastic marble run for.. the kids. yeah its definitely for the kids!

Any highlights from yourselves?

Oh well aside from completing Pornhub and unlocking the secret levels...

Multiple essays and remote assignments with minimal procrastination

Built a load of raised beds from a heap of old wood in our communal garden, including glass covers using old windows somebody had saved years ago. Nicely planted up with veg and strawberries over the weekend.

Finished decorating the flat. There was a few jobs outstanding from when I bought the place and made a start with. Five years ago.

I've got a nice tan.

Andy F

Read two books. Getting back into watching Lost series 4 after a hiatus of many months. 

Back on my balance board 

Recognising the shock facing businesses and the very real probability of collapse for many local companies, I decided to put my breadth of experience towards helping owners to navigate the government support and, more importantly, handle staffing concerns and devise a transformation of their marketing and distribution to get through the lock-down and emerge with a better product offering.

To that end, I've been holding free one hour 1-to-1 video-clinics for local entrepreneurs. I've had three weeks of doing two of these a day and I can tell you that's plenty. It's really exhausting and involves not a little pressure when someone is desperate for a magic bullet. You have to quickly comprehend everything about their business and rapidly devise a survive and thrive strategy. These owners are united in their anxiety and it's imperative that they finish the session with a smile on their face and belief in their heart.

Fortunately the sessions have gone well and I have amassed a sizeable collection of grateful "apprentices". It's been very satisfying to find a way to help the community that plays to my strengths and I can now look forward to discounted cannabis oil, bike parts, jewellery workshops and promotional videos, amongst other items, for the rest of my life. Not to mention a secret supply of pasta and bread flour.

About 3 litres of whisky and counting...

Very comendable

I've been working from home, keeping the wheels on, doing the same old, but also addressing issues for others working from home. All of that and going f*cking nuts.

I love hearing stuff like this. Using whatever skills you have to help others and just giving your time.

I've resumed the annual Dandelion campaign with a vengeance..."This time it's war".
Done a lot of other gardening.
Finally got on the road bike I bought over winter, and sort of worked out how to use it.
My bowling and batting has also got a lot better playing in the nets with my biggest most days.
Finished a couple of Warhammer 40K paint jobs.
Spent far too much time fobbing the kids off on consoles while I desperately try to keep the wheels on at work : (

Nothing compared to BnB *doffs cap*.

Fixed the heating system and learnt my 1st Blues riff on the guitar.

Reading more

Started playing Chess again, online against a computer, and found our how rubbish I am.

Even at Beginner level(which I thought I would be beyond) it wipes the floor with me most of the time.

Dave

I have to admit that our tough lockdown here in Spain has had unexpected positive effects on me. I am more productive, eat better, sleep more and actually feel quite healthy. So far I have achieved:

- continuing my day job as usual without any negative impact in terms of income and workload.

- launched a specialized online school for my niche and recorded the first 23-lecture course.

- Programmed a side project and published it open source. 

- taken up Pilates (daily virtual classes organized by my gym)

I think it's all down to deciding on the first day that I would go mad without some planning and target. I never realized how much time I wasted every day before the lockdown. 

Plastered my lounge.

Painted my bathroom.

Planed my doors (some still jamming, cursed seasonal movement).

Dug over and planted my garden.

Re-laid the rotten bedroom floor.

Re-built the rotten staircase.

Butchered my velociraptor and chariot to make garage space.

Consumed most of my bottled unmarked home-brew lottery. Dusty demijohns next.

Kept my wife safe, fed and fairly sane.

Various pre-natal classes.

Made some welfare calls to isolated folk for a local charity.

Lost 3 or 4 kilos.

A bit of work work.

To do: Wiring, more plastering, skirting boards (when I can buy them), central heating work, decorating, curtains, planting the front garden, moving *lots* of stuff around the house ready for the baby. Busy few weeks and months ahead for me

jk

Try removing the computer's queen, rooks, and bishops before the game. That'll show it

On second thoughts though, the bastard would still probably beat me

Bastard

Oooh!  I forgot something - managed to set up our telescope (only a toy kid's one but still 20x mag or something) and get the moon in focus.  You can really see the craters well at the edge - they are massive!  Makes me wonder what the climbing is like there...but then I remembered....the moon is made of choss!

I'll get my coat

*Read all of Shakespeare, constructed a 6-seat dining table and chairs, written 15 sonnets, taught the kids science and maths, learned how to play the violin

*Just kidding..... true answer = got drunk got fat shouted at the cat

That's not how you spell cheese!

My eldest daughter being home with us from London. 23. Not spent so much time with her in recent years as she went off to Uni which is now 6 years ago. She is software developer and I just love watching her work on her screens in her make shift office ( do not understand a word of it).Its fascinating seeing your children in their work environemtn.She is lucky in that she is in work compared with all of her local friends who are struggling, grateful for small mercies.

Also enjoying wathcing my other daughter ( 20) work for her Maths exams which start next week. Again I do not understand anything she does but I just love looking at her workings out as I do not understand any of it.

Crecoting a fence which I have put off for a year.

Bought a Revell Saturn V model to make when it starts raining to keep myself occupied.

Pub Quizzes with my 6 brothers and sisters( including 1  who lives in Vietnam)

And going into work as my business is doing OK and my employees are not feeling threatened by no work as we seem so far to still be getting orders.

The Thursday night clap which has brought all my neighbours out onto the Road so we share something.

The politeness of people as you exercise.I think there is a strong sense of we are all in this together.

Most of all its being with my family and having that time together.

I'm teaching my 8 year old science and geography and we are learning French together.

I've enrolled in photography and business courses and there are several bits of software I am getting better acquainted with.

Stacked some concrete blocks on top of each other and stepping up and down and up and down. Its doing wonders for my legs. 

And birding. Lots and lots of birding. Of course.

I can hang the 10mm rung on the Beastmaker for 7 seconds. Couldn't do that before.

Have improved a bit at chess. Still rubbish, but less so. 

Finished a 95,000 word book on Adam Smith's political philosophy (to be fair, it wasn't far off finished before lockdown).

Reading this, makes me think I shouldn't be so fed up. But lord, I am fed up.

Oh yeah and I adopted a Bengal kitten. Not sure it's an achievement, but it was something I'd wanted to do for ages.

Try signing up to Chess.com and playing random humans who are matched based on your cumulative score so you tend to play against people who are about as good as you. Much better than playing the bastard computer, not least as you get time to think whilst the other person thinks.

Great to hear the orders are still coming in, neilh. Hope that continues until we reach the other side. 

Weirdly, this whole episode has made me think of buying a telescope. Never had the compulsion to before but been sitting out in the garden with the outdoor fire going looking up a lot!

I sent a piece in for the "Covid Chronicles" segment on PM on Radio 4 and got selected. So I've now had to record myself reading it out (yuck!). The producer said they'll probably use it this week, although I'm preparing myself for it never getting aired if "events dear boy, events" take over and they don't have enough time to broadcast them anymore. But you never know, maybe I'll get my 4.5 minutes of fame as a chronicler of our troubled times.

Otherwise cleaning, cooking, entertaining a toddler, telling two teenagers they could do SOMETHING else beside play games all day, sending uber-cheery emails with loads of work attached to my students, and a blissful hour a day of cycling up on to the moors and down again.

I've loved homeschooling. My kids do well at school so we are lucky in that sense anyway, but it's been really nice to sit with them and see them do the things all the teachers say they do. We only took one week of holiday for Easter as they were keen to keep a bit of structure to the day. In saying that, I'm pretty sure they're loving their homebuilt den, watching sherlock gnomes instead of times-tables right now.

Why haven't you been contributing to the philosophy thread? 

Mr Ratfeeder has been doing yeoman's work trying to persuade Prof. Hellier of the error of his Humean ways, but I think some more philosophers could be helpful. It all started with the Derbyshire police drone tweet, so it would be useful to know what Adam Smith would have thought of that!

Learned to appreciate having a garden... Particularly one that faces the evening sun where beer can be drunk. Always just saw it as a maintenance hassle before. This whole process will be much worse for people living in flats / without private outdoor space. 

Ha! What thread is this?

Smith was very much a Humean (as am I) so I know which side he and I will be on...

Oh, I’ve looked at the thread. The reason I won’t be contributing is because it’s actually a fantastic example of ANOTHER thread - people talking utter rubbish about stuff they know nothing about. I’m afraid it’s a horrible mess of confused people getting things wrong. The person you are claiming to be a “Humean” is nothing of the sort, though, FWIW. Hume would never have said such absurdly reductive things. 

I've been identifying any flowering plant I see on my daily walk, 48 so far. The process of identifying is fun, the search is fun too. Plus I've learned a bit of botany.

i hope I can get to know a hundred flowering plants by the end of may.

Yellow pimpernel is the best discovery so far.

I wonder if I will be furloughed when Universities realise they can't start as normal in September and might then be able to give them the attention they deserve?

You are a star!

Great thread.

I expected, before lockdown happened, that when it happened I would do hours of harpsichord practice and hours of French and Italian, as well as working (hard) at home.

But within minutes of lockdown my daughter and daughter-in-law moved in. So we are five (me, adult son, husband + 2). The kids are so lovely. My "office" is the conservatory, with the door open to the kitchen where both girls have their offices. When one swears we all swear. We make each other tea. We have been learning tunes on the recorder together. I have done hours and hours of gardening. Daughter and I go running together, son and I go cycling.

Overall, much less cerebral than expected (apart from work, which is very), and much much happier than expected. 

Whoops original reply above got the 'quote original' bits mixed up so some of my reply looked like your message...fixed below.

Gah.  I can't help but think I am failing at this bit.  If only I didn't have to go to work it could be so much better but as it is I am throwing them to the consoles so I can spend a couple of hours videoconferencing and then have to pick up the pieces afterwards.  Missed opportunities : (

I wonder if I will be furloughed when Universities realise they can't start as normal in September and might then be able to give them the attention they deserve?

Oh come on. That's not in the spirit of times. Get stuck in!

Talked to family more than normal helping improve my relationships with them.

Bit of riding around on my bike. 

Bit of walking around the park, practiced a bit with photo editing.

Rebuilt my desktop computer (just needs a new OS installing).

Working on my counselling and progressing with Al-Anon (like AA but for friends and family of alcoholics).

Done a bit of writing.

Realised that I actively want to be alive after 5 years of regular suicidal ideation.

Tidied my house a bit.

Sanded and revarnished my desktop. Knocked some batons into the frame to enable the machine screws holding the cross piece to be tightened up without collapsing the box section.

Baked a banana loaf (now mostly gone...).

Managed to get the dog to lose weight due to the amount and length of walks he’s getting. Only one a day but we’re trying out different footpaths we didn’t know existed around here. 

Demolished a 10x8 shed and used the area to make a lovely secluded suntrap in the garden, all decked and fitted with rattan furniture. Beautiful big, private area where me, the wife and our two daughters can while away the hours in the sun.

Working from home but have to go to site about 5 days in 4 weeks. Been appointed project manager for a £1.5 million project which I’m excited about after 30 years of maintenance.

Ive been having a pub night with 3 mates every Saturday via what’sapp video. Tomorrow we are having a pub crawl around our houses! 3 rooms which we have to put a pub sign up in and it has to be a pub the 4 of us know. One beer in each pub.

I like your optimism that the furlough scheme will still be paying out money in September...

Just Heard You on PM!

Thanks for reminding me, just found it now. Radio 4, PM @ 1650.

I've learnt to play several songs on my new electric guitar but had to stop because my wrist is hurting due to being overly enthusiastic. I'm learning to fly on a flight sim that I've set up in my study.  I used to take flying lessons but now i'm too old, too poor and too stuck in the house so will have to settle for pretend flying. I normally shoot an air rifle at a shooting club, targets only no hunting, but I've bought a pistol so that I can shoot in the back garden/garage.

Al

I'm not sure it's an achievement as such, but my son and I have been placing his teddy bear in the garden doing a different activity each day. We've been quite amazed at the amount of interest it's had and the kind notes and messages left by neighbours. We've even had an additional bear left. It appears that several families plan their walks past our house to see what the bear is doing.

Mr Bat Bob (the bear) has his own instagram page now (mr_bat_bob).

I have also painted a fence.

I caught Mew in pokemon go. 

You will loose the dandelion war, unless you can get to the seed and kill it, it is buried many inches under ground. I have been putting undiluted weed killer on the leaves every spring, kills them for the summer, but the next spring they are always back.

My 9 year old daughter has learnt how to solve a Rubik cube. She's got it to under 5 mins, from any configuration, and tried reaching me the algorithms (good luck with that)

As I'm still working as an A&E doctor, my time off has been spent drinking more, getting fatter, and achieving even less than usual.

Still pretty cringy listening to your own voice but with the music mixed in they made it sound a lot better than my original under-the-duvet recording file!

Mr Bat Bob is becoming a bit of a star!

I've become more clear eyed about why I wasn't making progress before, and I'm gradually kicking myself up the behind.

From Mark Twain:  ''Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.''

Seems to be true!

Here's the DAILY MASH'S take on "Lockdown achievements":

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/lifestyle/people-having-a-really-produc...

Actually I thought it was classic radio 4, strangely old fashioned and perhaps they should offer you an occasional slot for your thoughts - a natural broadcast voice

Haha, that is brilliant.

I have to admit, I posted some photos on FB the other day of my kids (which I rarely do) on a very small abseil -basically a pallet lent up against a tree with a step ladder access. I thought twice; "am I showing off here?" as the vast majority of my friends have neither the means or know-how to do something so 'adventurous' in their back garden. My conclusion was Yes, I am showing off - it was awesome and the kids loved it.

THE DAILY MASH is only for a laugh, I think, but sometimes it helps a bit to keep me sane and focused

Great to hear your kids liked the abseil. Kids like anything new, don't they

Diagnosed with EGPA, learning to create spreadsheets to managing the drugs, timings, etc.

Made huge batch of granola cheaper than shop bought.

Read all of the Mitch Rapp, and Victor the Assassin books.

Creating an album of photos taken with clip-on lens for iPhone.

Started to learn French, online.

I remember sutty of these forums talking about taking the fuses out of electronic things, either to make teenagers do something else, or just to garner a litter bit of respect from them if they were being 'that kind of teenager' to him. Quite a cunning plan. 

Oops,, the respect would come after 'fixing' whatever it is by appearing to replace the fuses.