Hi everyone!
Not waving, but…
As of today that app says London's R = 1.3. That means that for every 100 people who get COVID19, 130 more people get it after that, then 170, then 220, 290, 380, 490, 640, 830.
As of Friday, the UK government reports London's R = 0.7–1.0, with an asterisk to say low cases or high variability means they don't really know. At 0.7 that decreases to nothing, at 1 it stays at 100 forever.
And here are the cases in the last 6 weeks by borough, up to Thursday:
¯\_(😷)_/¯
Depending on your attitude to risk and how prosocial you are, you could be feeling
or
Twenty of bee n aitch gold thanks mate
I'm always fascinated by how many weird little subcultures there are and how deep they go. Turns out that if you keep bees there is a bit of controversy over the use of smoke to calm them. Consider the following Platonic dialogue sparked by someone asking a youtuber why they don't use smoke:
Good Citizen
I'm obviously not Phil but there are several good reasons for not using smoke. One of the main reasons I personally avoid smoke like the plague is the amount of disruption it causes. A well smoked hive is unproductive for the rest of the day. They are done after smoking. In the flow I can't afford to lose the weight gains [💪] that a single day can produce. Most of the "beekeepers" you will hear from are quite simply that, keepers of bees who really have no independent understanding of the insect or it's systems. They do not practice husbandry, they are in short, honey robbers [!!! shots fired] and as such are base and inconsiderate. Not all, just most, and they simply will not be aware of the consequences of their actions, such as smoking.
Don Cahooti
"well smoked"? What do you mean ? The idea of "smoking" is not to intoxicate or poison or drug the bees . If your bees are lethargic the rest of the day you are using smoke incorrectly.
It is the odor, the slightest whiff of smoke, that has the “calming effect” on the bees. Purely psychological, not biological. [this seems ridiculous, can bees really be said to have psychology??]
When the bees sense that there is a fire nearby they quit flying
Good Citizen
well smoked. What most beeks [bee-keepers I assume] consider smoked enough to work them. Even a few puffs here and there is too much. It does not calm the bees in the least. It no more calms them than it stops them flying. I used to use smoke . Started out that way. Never seen a bee stop flying because of smoke. Smoke triggers panic in bees. It panics them into thinking that their hard work is about to go up in flames [ :( ] and so they gorge themselves on honey in preparation to abscond [ :(!! ]. Once they are engorged they have a harder time curving their abdomen to sting properly and are not so great at flight as they were before [really??]. This is the effect that people see as "calming". I don't have the problem of over smoking since I don't smoke anymore unless I'm doing a cutout or other serious work like a messed up top bar hive. I'll link to something along the lines of what I'm trying to tell you in case your question wasn't as rhetorical as I read it. That is, in case someone wants to learn [ice cold]. Once I learned what I was doing to those ladies and to myself I shut it down [a true gentleman].
There you go. Smoking: it's bad for you. It's bad for your bees. Just say no. If you want to see more bee drama you can watch this man review a hive he got that he doesn't like. Make sure you stick your headphones in and crank them up to max to get the full 'the bees are attacking me
I also learned from this video that apparently if bees make honey from ivy then it sets as hard as blackpool rock within a couple days and gets stuck in there — ruining EVERYTHING.
Moon
I'm onto my next (very blurry and annoying) pixel art now, but I also wrote something to go with my moon. You can read it if you like, it's kinda weird.
Astra was lonely. She asked a rock for advice.
"Rock, I am lonely, what should I do?" she said.
The rock replied: "You should go to the moon. If you can stay there for three years you will never be lonely again. I know this because I came here from the moon and I am never lonely, even though all my friends got melted down into volcanoes."
Astra looked up at the moon.
"But how will I get to you?"
The moon did not reply. She looked back, but she did not reply.
Astra looked down at the rock again. The rock noticed.
"OK — I will help you get there. But first you must bring me three rocks. The first must be blackpool rock, the second must be crack cocaine, the third must be surf rock."
Astra took an uber into the city. She asked the uber driver where she could get Blackpool rock, maybe some of those really touristy places you find around but never know how to look for. The driver said "mmm... Blackpool rock... I don't know, I've never been here before. But I do know where to get crack cocaine which is a sort of rock."
"That sounds good," she said, secretly really happy but not wanting to push up the price.
"OK, well you have to put it into the app."
She opened up her app and then the driver suddenly stopped.
"We are here. This is my son," he said, rolling down the window.
"Wait, really? That guy playing the guitar?" Astra said as the distorted notes of Misirlou danced on the edge of the electronically descending window.
"Yes, that's him."
As Richard Monsour walked over to the window, Astra noticed to her delight that he was clutching a stick of Blackpool rock between his teeth.
"Mr. Monsour? Would you mind coming with me to meet a rock?"
"Already have one," he gestured to his mouth.
"Well, another one then."
"Sure, why not. I'm always happy to meet a fan,"
When they arrived back at the rock, Astra gently held Richard's shoulders and pushed him down neatly next to the rock. She took the Blackpool rock from his teeth and set it carefully down next to him. Suddenly she remembered.
"The cocaine!"
Mr. Monsour smiled and pulled a crack rock out of his pocket. It was the biggest Astra had ever seen. She set it down next to the Blackpool rock, and the surf rock star, and the rock.
"My sister will take care of you." the rock said.
She blinked, and she was on the moon. The first year she searched for the rock's sister and was terribly lonely. The second, she gave up searching and was terribly lonely. The third, she died. As far as I know she's still there now.
My horoscope today says "Today, life feels boring. You are not an emotional compost bin who must see the worst in people. Be patient. Your emotional depth will be of use."
Hoping your week is better than that!
K