My wife is working from home until further notice and has a bit of a flu. I am working from home as well, because our daughter is home from daycare and she can't go to her grandparents, for obvious reasons. This makes working more difficult than normal - The new normal.
Well, luckily crypto is holding up well under the economic pressure… oh, I should have refreshed the page.
While not elderly, I am actually in a high-risk group to be heavily affected by a virus of this kind due to the treatment I have for my stomach disorder, as it heavily suppresses immune response. For peace of mind, I made sure that my life insurance was in order last week so that at least if death comes a knocking, my wife will get some kind of cash payout that will cover a portion of the house we have just bought until she can work out what to do.
Crypto was part of the insurance policy I have set up too, but at current prices, it doesn't really put much of a dent in things at the moment. However, who knows in the future if it will be able to bring some security after my untimely demise. I think some people fear thinking about their own death, but for me, it brings some comfort. I don't really fear death though, nor what comes after as I think that it is highly unlikely that there is any after at all. The comfort comes in being mentally prepared, if not physically.
What I am glad about at the moment though is that when I can't concentrate on work, I have the ability to write a little bit for Steem. I used to write a lot more than I do, but over the last year and a half, life has got in the way and I have slowed down a bit. However, with the feeds drying up and a lot of content quality reduction as people say "fuck it, this is the new normal", I figure, Why not?
Why not post decent content? It seems to me that while so many people are locked in doors and social interaction in the real world is being put on hiatus, it is the perfect time to think, write and engage. Try something new perhaps, write in a genre or about a topic untried before. I remember back in 2017 when I started writing fiction in short stories for the first time, then poetry on top. It was kind of scary to put them out there, but also liberating.
We tend to spend far too much time where we are already skilled, already comfortable and then we wonder why we feel so much discomfort when things change - when the new normal arrives. If we are in a constant state of intentional change and always on our toes on purpose, our ability to not get caught on the backfoot increases, and we can react in what is hopefully a cleaner and leaner way.
One of the benefits of Steem for me is that it allows me to have time in my own mind thinking about the areas I choose, rather than be continually directed by the external forces. Yes, I often choose Steem related areas, as that is where my interest s lay, but they are definitely not the areas that I am the most comfortable with from a technical level. Also, there is a social charge to the areas as so many people have differing opinions and very little self-control to be part of the discussion without emotions taking hold of them. This can raise the reactive stakes quite a bit.
"Emotional Stake" should be one of the indicators on Steem, as it seems to be an independent and controlling force, regardless of one's actual Steem Power. It is interesting to observe how emotional people get over what would even in their area, be insignificant amounts. I count this as a positive for Steem, that people get so emotionally invested they can't control themselves. Though - that is the "internet normal" we have created, a space for people to voice all their displeasures and be their worst.
Have you ever considered what is the best of the internet? When you spend your time participating in discussions online, are they normally in the positive or the negative? I wonder what that tells about our individual consumption habits. For me, I think I spend more time in the neutral zones of conversation, as I am aware of the dangers of polarization of views, as groups that polarize close off discourse and create echo chambers, that can then be hijacked and weaponized.
Yet, it is interesting to think about what we consume online across the social platforms. Perhaps on Facebook where there are friends and the algorithms look to support our thinking, we end up consuming more light-hearted positive. Maybe Instagram does similar, and then drives images that we have searched out in the past. Twitter might take the other route and give us a more negative view of the world however, as the polarization increases engagement and Time on Site metrics.
Steem?
Well for me it is generally consumption through my feed either directly or through what those I follow share. I am not much of a searcher for content unless I have a specific question in mind I am trying to answer, which is why I do not spend hours watching YouTube videos that add nothing to my life needs. What I do find though when reading some of the content is how narrow some people's view of the Steem world is, where they take one tiny metric that becomes their whole view of the platform - for example, price. Price is down, things suck. Price is steady, Justin Sun is awesome. Price is a terrible indicator of a project - market cap is worse.
But it is funny when people create content that they themselves wouldn't consume given the opportunity. I find that a lot of the automated content goes into this bracket, as there is very little to engage with, very little of interest. People are interesting - I want to hear about people, their lives, their challenges, their triumphs. I want content that tells of people, that gives me answers to questions I have not yet thought of asking but will improve my life by considering. I want to hear the observations from real experience and real life. Yet - too many think that all that means is to talk about how they feel about something at any given moment.
Feelings come and go like clouds in the sky, yet people act as if they are constants. Because of this, they react and produce based on their feelings of the moment without thinking about whether they will feel the same 10 minutes, or ten days later. We all react badly at times, but some seem to have that as their default setting.
As said, I think about death quite a lot and if given the chance to look back at my life, I want to be able to say that I couldn't control much of what happened to me, but at least on average, I have no regrets in the way I reacted to them. I don't want to look back at me kicking and screaming and trivialities and insignificancies. This is the same for my Steem content, as while I know that I have my ups and downs, I don't want it to look like the market graphs.
But that is me, you have your own normal, but I think we should all consider from time to time at least, whether we need a new normal.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
I didn't know what you mean with the elderly has a higher risk since it's not true. People seem to think that because more elderly people die and I think there's a good reason for that (way less care, attention, 70+ is no longer welcome in our hospital).
Over 50% with us is younger than 40 years and the amount of teenagers is high.
I hope you stay safe and your wife will recover soon.
It's a bit chaotic here too. Two kids home, lessons by television and? It will save me money for sure but to be honest I love the hours home alone.
💕
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Most people will get it, just like any flu.
I never had the flu in my entire life which is strange since I have auto-immune diseases, I am elderly too. Same with my children. Might be the eldest now (36), travels more, meets more people and children. Perhaps viruses don't like me either.
If you catch the flu yearly you should have a higher immune against the next one. Strange enough that doesn't seem to happen. This should also mean the older you get the less frequently you get ill... Not true either or perhaps it is but the risks are higher if you finally get it?
Stay safe and healthy. Thanks for answering. 💕
Are you sure about that?
Yes, at least in our country. The higher risk is only there if it comes to dying which doesn't surprise me since most Dutch people do not care bout their elderly at all.
Over 70s have all essentially been quarantined by government suggestion in their own homes, as of last night.
4 virtual rolls for ya mate...Good post.
Cheers. I will put it with the other 480 rolls that fill the living room. I maxed put the credit card on toilet paper.
!ENGAGE 25
Nice...I robbed a bank at gun point and bought a fuck load of TP and Spam with the take...I'm set for 14 months...
crisis is the only time anyone buys spam - they never eat it though.
Haha, I know. I don't know anyone who has ever eaten it to be honest...And yet, shelves cleared out. It must be good...And yet I won't be eating any.
They closed the Finnish borders today... Our renovation is looking pear-shaped.
Hmm, that's not good. At least the banks will be lenient probably. They are here anyway. It's all pear-shaped though, for sure.
@galenkp you have received
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That's the rub, with the afterlife. We don't get to decide what's true; we get to discern what's true.
Nothing wrong with taking a punt on death. :)
... just remember that the last laugh, is on you... :)
Life's a piece of shit... when you look at it.
Emotional stake is an interesting topic. The beleaguered rappler.com introduced a "mood meter", with 8 emotions to chose from, below each article when they launched (2013?).
On the homepage, the most voted upon articles would be displayed, in a very prominent and slightly interactive graphic, with the main chosen emotion, and also ripples to other articles the same people had voted on.
Generally, it seems that society is very angry and has little tolerance. But positive celebrity news makes them happy.
In 20/20 hindsight, it was a waste of developer resources - but great practice for the team at the time. Nothing the internet hadn't yet taught us was revealed.
Is there any hope for society?
Let me sleep on that before I answer.
!ENGAGE 30
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Writing an online will can be the new normal on Steemit :P Thanks for being the first. Can I ask how house purchasing work between couples in your country? When you mentioned "we" bought a house meant both of you paid 50:50 for the house or as long as her name is in the house deed and you paid 100%? I'm confuse with the way feminism work in some countries. Thanks!
I have written some posts on it, but the problem at the moment is that a centralized chain isn't secure to hold that kind of document ;D
It has nothing to do with feminism.
We bought it together, so it is 50:50 on the deed. I am not sure what you mean with the 100% thing.
It's like this. I once asked a US woman how she define "our" house as in her and her husband's house and this was her answer, "as long as her name is in the deed then she has ownership of the house under the US law." She refused to disclose that down payment and mortgage for the house was paid solely (100%) by the husband and the only reason she own the house was because her name is included in the deed. This made me very confuse with the way feminism works.
It is a legal document, regardless of who pays.
Beautifully put and very well written.
I 100% agree with this. There's an opportunity in any situation and this might well be the 'time' to come up with some great writing, thinking and actions.
I myself plan to make use of the situation by finally focusing on the actual transition from 50 k words that I wrote in november for #nanowrimo in a novel, as well as to focus on the children's book that spawned from it.
Thinking about death is highly important and something most people I know don't do ( enough ). These days it's impossible not to think of it and I feel this wake up call was very much needed. Let's hope that all of this leads to a happier and healthier world.
All the best,
Vincent
Enjoy the "free time" that global crises provide :)
People avoid discomfort and there is not much more uncomfortable than imagining the fade to black and no more scenario. People prefer the story of continuance, as they can't imagine anything other.
Yes but that's also exhausting XD
I'm curious as to how one would code emotional stake, that would be a much cooler metric than "reputation" ;D
Perhaps it would be measured through a wearable and an app that monitors the heart rate while reading specific material :)
Pretty sure you could game that by exercising viciously or something while reading posts you're supposed to be having strong reactions to in order to get the good reputation XD
This is 2020, most people are so out of shape walking to the fridge will skew the results ;D
Should not be laughing. Can't stop.
As an introvert, I didn't have to change my daily routine much. However, I suffer without gym training and my favorite library. The positive side: I have more time for Steemit as well, and for cooking experiments.
For exercise, use the elastic band things, they are great.
erm... in my case, I think that's exactly what I've been doing in every comment that I drop in each one of your posts since three years ago. Observations from real experience and real life.
How else could I do it than from 'real experiences and real life'?
Although I must admit, that sometimes, I express them in a somewhat cryptic way but not entirely impersonal or anonymous. Yeah, privacy stands out. But nonetheless; always Observations from real experience and real life. And that's only because I like to make people think and reply back beyond reach. :)
The problem with not making it personal is, anyone can use Google :)
Ah! but that's not a problem for chaps like you who can easily identify and filter inauthentic and impersonal Googlesque gibberish online in a jiffy. Isn't it? :)
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We do not know what is a curse for us, but what, for us, a blessing. Do not be afraid. Probably now, this is the most important.
For me, the last year and three months were a terrible test, it was then that I lost my job, and, I could not find it, until now, but God has kept me and my family, all this time. For employers, my 47 years is like a sentence.
Now, I look at the panic that accompanies people who are left without work, in view of quarantine, and I understand how much I was, for this, prepared, lol. We can say that I have been quarantined for more than a year now.
I haven’t lost anything, there is just as much bread on my table, I’m dressed and shod, coughing, no less and no more than a year ago, asthma makes itself felt, that's all, Thank God. We cannot add anything to ourselves if God does not protect us.
steem has given me much than what i can expect
Congratulations @tarazkp!
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