Really pains me to know my 8 year old daughter is stressing out about this. She should be concerned about what time Pokémon comes on or what family game are we gonna play. Not a god damn world wide virus. She’s too smart and empathic for her own good. She started crying yesterday about all this and it just killed me. These kids will certainly have unique world views once this all passes.

I my cats.
they're so chill, helps me chill.. and I'm already laid-back and lazy.

I've read somewhere that toxoplasmosis is actually turning people into cat-lovers.

As a cat-lover and lazy person myself, i have been in denial about this for quite a while, but the innescapable truth is that we cat-lovers are zombies.

the vectors of t.gondii are infected rodents, it's not exactly native to cats.
we don't let these cats hunt vermin, they're mostly in the house.

There was some study a couple years ago that people infected by "cat parasites" were more likely to be road-ragers. Traffic annoys me, but I don't rage.

Checking in here, the family and I are doing fine. It's taken a while to adjust to the mindspace involved so I've been limiting my exposure to media and doing the gardening instead. We've had fantastic spring weather lately - sunshine and relaxation helps us strengthen our immune systems and pump out good vibes to our surroundings.

The reduced traffic levels and practical absence of aircraft has greatly improved our quality of life. With luck, a sufficient number of other people will have noticed this - may it contribute to the necessary paradigm change for humanity. My doctor gave me a funny look when I said "Long live coronavirus!" with respect to this

It does make me wonder, however, how many fewer deaths from air pollution and, perchance, slowed climate change that might result from these 'exceptional circumstances'.

My wife can’t get over how quickly the canals of Italy cleared up with the absence of humans. We really do way more damage to the planet than can even be comprehended.

To give a bit of perspective: the canals were not clear before due to the sediment being disturbed by the boats, not by mass pollution.

That said however, I do like the various environmental effects of this situation. IMHO it gives us all a much needed fresh breath.


Kind regards,

The Traveler

Sorry to hear about that! I totally get it!

Im happy my kid, who is almost 3, is still small enough to be unaware of the situation, though he does notice some things are different like no kindergarden or not playing with the neighbour's kid anymore.... But im trying to compensate by playing with him a lot, so he enjoys his day here.

Hopefully you can ease your child's difficulties and help her deal with it well.

Wish you and your family the best!

Yes, the sky minus contrails is pretty as well,and the eerie silence is kinda nice. I live a mile from Forest Park, the largest contiguous municipal parkspace in the US, there's old growth up there. I can walk across the deserted St. John's bridge to a empty (of armored two-leggers) silent paradise and not even planes overhead can knock me from my reverie. Unexpected benefits.

I'm in Greater London and not all that far from Heathrow. With no cars making a din in the distance, no airplane noise, all I can hear during the day is bird song and the odd child playing. It's like being in the countryside, it's incredible. The air feels fresher too with less pollution, feels less stuffy.

The only thing missing is turning off all street lighting from say 3am to 5am, so we can all see the Milky Way. That would be amazing.

I feel like I'm desperate to see that again, I must do soon. Of all the forms of pollution, light and noise are the ones I have the biggest personal grudge against.

Wow! I'd almost forgotten how, when I was a kid I would know it was 11pm because the street lamp nearby would be turned off. I rather miss that.

That said, be careful what you wish for - it was only a couple of weeks before SARS-COV2 (CCP virus ) panic set in when I was complaining to a friend about the traffic in town - she replied that it wasn't going to change. Turns out she was wrong, for the moment. (It's about 75% down at the moment, 95% down would be even better.) I'd rather the lights stayed on at least until I've sorted out some solar panels and a UPS.

Thought I'd share some cool resources I saw posted elsewhere for anyone who's feeling energized to support their neighbors and turn this moment into an opportunity for meaningful change. These might also be useful for those of you who are worried about access to food and basic supplies, or who are considered high risk or have already gotten sick and cant leave your home.


COVID-19 Community Resource Map

The first is an interactive global map for finding mutual aid projects in your area. Any person or organization with access to resources (this can include emergency funds, food, basic supplies, etc...) can "pin" themselves on the map. I'm still figuring it out but after tinkering a bit it seems that when you click a "pin" a list of names and locations will show, for example: churches, schools, community centers, small businesses, and activist groups that are all offering various resources to anyone in their area. There don't seem to be any links or anything like that, so you have to copy and paste the information into google for their website/facebook page/contact info etc... but it always seems to be the first result.

If you don't see anything in your area, you can "pin" yourself to offer aid if you're able (or request it, in theory). I know most of us aren't sitting on loads of cash and groceries to hand out, but if you think there's a need in your community you can definitely get creative! Many small businesses (or churches, community groups, etc...) are stepping up all over the world to fund these sort of efforts. If your area has nothing going on yet, it just means there's an opportunity to step up to the plate! You might be surprised what you can get from small organizations and businesses if you ask for it.

The number of "pins" on this map is growing every day. Even if you're unable to participate yourself, please share this wherever you can if you happen to be on social media! If the map isn't your thing you can also hop on facebook and do a search for "mutual aid" or "supply drive"; depending where you live and how wide your network is, you should get several local groups and pages.



Mutual Aid Hub

This next map is basically the same thing but it's specific to the US and doesn't have nearly as many "pins". But I figure it's still worth sharing, might as well cast the net as wide as possible.



Psychedelic integration is a lifelong process. This can be a teaching moment, if we let it.

Something level-headed:


In case of emergency :

Something I said on the chat I wondered whether it would happen, and it is being considered already:
Coronavirus in Germany: ‘immunity passports’ for people free from infection


I guess it's inevitable, and as the herd immunity grows, more countries will start introducing immunity passports. It doesn't make sense to treat those likely to be immune long-term the same way as those with no immunity at all.

In healthcare it's already the norm (and necessity), and extending it to other types of jobs / areas of life is a natural extension.

I think this is a step over the line to be honest. Can fully appreciate and see the need for temporary restrictions on collective movement to slow the spread, but full on individual curbing of movement based upon a passport system? That is not something I feel comfortable letting any government implement.

Something about this whole situation is really starting to irk me. Not that I ever really trusted anything to come out of any governments various mouthpieces (leaders, "experts", talking heads) but in this [few weeks ago] I could see the words married up with what was appropriate and thought, 'OK, this seems like a proportionate response'. But now the laws being passed, ideas being floated, actions of various law enforcement agencies.. it's starting to slip beyond what I think is an appropriate response.

This is all overlooking the fact of course that they should have:
1. Had a bloody plan in place for a scenario like this. What the hell do our taxes pay for anyway?
2. Closed all air-travel from China/Asia 3 months ago, and progressively shut it down world-wide, with the exception of freight. Recreational air-travel is a luxury, not a necessity - and why should I care about the airline industries? Let them go bust.

But those failures aside, the reactionary response from governments is, IMO, starting to creep too far beyond what is a reasonable and justified response.

Why do you think giving some people more freedom is a step over the line? You think they should be equally restricted? What's the point of keeping people under 'house arrest' when they could be enjoying more freedom without putting anyone in danger?

Two reasons.

First and primarily, the idea that the government should be instituting any sort of passport or control on individuals to that degree is just, no. Pandemic or not, that is not acceptable in a free society, period. There is no justification for it, least not when governments did nothing to curb air-travel months ago and implement strict quarantine on recreational travelers. Why should I or anyone have their liberty curbed further when governments put the airline industries bottom line first.. that is complete and utter bs.

Second. Do you actually think a tiered system like that is going to work without inciting frustration that will inevitably lead to rioting? Asking half the class to stay behind only works with primary school aged children and not fully grown adults. You can't implement a system like that in free societies and expect it to work.

I think governments have implemented enough at this point. You can't stop the tide from coming in. Staggering the illness is the best we can hope for, and a collective distancing for a couple of months is about the most that is reasonable. Beyond that it just isn't going to work unless you want to crash the global economy completely and push people beyond their ability to care.

Frankly we've had this done to us. I never got a vote on whether I liked or wanted globalization. There was no discussion on the merits and disadvantages of it. No. Our elites pushed this system and this is one of the key disadvantages of it, and even after all the trillions of dollars they've collectively made out of it they still had nothing up the sleeve to counter this inevitable natural occurrence. And joe public has to foot the bill for their ineptitude? That is a disgrace.

I never got a vote on whether I want it to be sunny or rain today.

Globalization is not an idea that was conceptualized and is being pushed by some "powers that be". It's just a term for a natural, inevitable process that has been going on for thousands of years, like evolution. Genes mutate and we call it evolution; people travel, trade and communicate and we call it globalization. And they do so, because they want to.

You have the freedom to choose not to travel, trade or communicate. Ceasing to use the Nexus could be a first step in de-globalizing yourself.

But globalization is a broad term, perhaps you meant something more specific, like air travel?

Getting sidetracked here, this isn't really supposed to be about globalization.

Definition from google which I think is pretty apt,

"the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale."

The idea you referred to is more the general osmosis between nations through trade, visitation and sharing. That is a natural and inevitable process. Globalization is the forceful injection of an economic ideology into the hearts of other nations by powerful corporations, financial institutions and industrialists who want to lower their costs and burdens whilst raising profits and power. For example, it is the exporting of industry to third world countries whilst importing dross to first world nations - low cost international air-travel is a secondary effect of this and not the prime mover. Incidentally one of the symptoms of this true globalization is the housing crisis we see in every advanced nation on the planet right now, as the economic ideology has allowed international speculation and investors to permeate nations they have no right to meddle in, leaving the average citizens of said nations left by the wayside as anonymous rich people half the world away hoard real-estate for financial gain.

After the dust settles with this whole corona virus debacle I think many nations will start to bring industry back to their own shores and give China the middle finger, and hopefully many consumers will exact more prudent shopping choices.

Anyway.. back to the main point I picked up originally,

Governments have enough powers already. Allowing them to start giving out tiered passports or some such notion is not something anyone with a brain should be in support of. What you're really saying is "I'm a special case, let me out first" whilst simultaneously and willfully ignoring the danger of allowing any government to have that kind of power over people.

The UK government for example has passed some of the most draconian peace time legislation ever recently, without really much fanfare. I get it, we're in an emergency, but that doesn't mean all our best judgement should just instantly evaporate the moment we experience a tingle of panic. Historically we know governments always try to pass ridiculous and powerful legislation in a time of panic, because they're more likely to get it away with it. Now I again I accept a certain degree of control and exercised power may be necessary, but without any solid guarantees or checks on the powers it becomes a very dangerous precedent.

It's been 2 weeks and already the police have been using drones to spy on people walking their dogs. There's a 'narc on your neighbour' phone line (same in Australia). 2 weeks! And you want to hand over even more power to these assclowns when they have messed up so spectacularly by not even preparing for this kind of scenario? Except perhaps, by preparing a 300+ page legislative document at the drop of a hat that gives unprecedented powers for 2 years with a scheduled review at 6 months, despite the existing contingencies act requiring review every 28 days - not even slightly concerning to your intuition?

I think we should be keeping one eye on the virus and the other very closely on our elected officials right now.