Hello, friends, how are you holding up? I seemed to be losing my ability to deal with the news, stupid tweets from political commentators and people on reddit. The one saving grace is that this is all happening in spring and not the winter which is already barely tolerable in this area.

Notaries Laws and Regulations

Maybe I don’t fully understand the process or reasoning, but notaries and having things notarized seems a little silly in the 21st century. Why is having some random person at my bank that I’ve never seen before sign a document make it “official”? When I worked at UK, I thought about becoming one - someone in the registrars office was one to sign things for students but they weren’t always available and I was going to do it to pitch in. Maybe if I took the classes I’d understand the importance.

Anyway, in our time of social distancing, notarizing documents is a bit challenging. Mark C. Palmer from the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism has compiled a list of state rules that have allowed for remote notaries.

Screen Sharing Options

Everyone has been talking about Zoom lately, but there are other options. Sometimes you can get away with a screen share and phone call. Also, some organizations may be have limited web conference software subscriptions available. This is a good list of screen sharing tools to bookmark and keep handy for emergencies. A lot of them are free and don’t require administrator access to your computer to use.

On a related note, another amazing entry in the Zoom background collection.

Check Out Your Library

I know I’ve suggested using your local library - well, all the time, but especially now that we’re staying home. As I said above, I’m tired of my usual internet distractions and don’t have the attention span for a book. The answer? Magazines on library apps!

When I was looking at my library website, I see that they now have Kanopy and Hoopla, which have really interesting entertainment choices. (And can be used on mobile devices or things like Roku.) Not as broad as Netflix, but things like the Criterion Collection and hard to find things like “What We Do In The Shadows” which I’ve been dying to see for ages. And they’re totally free to use. I’m pretty sure these are new additions since covid-19 started, so keep looking at your library because holdings change.

(Also, it’s not a library thing, but HBO has put a bunch of free content up on their apps.)

I’m also stoked about Hoopla because they have comics and graphic novels. Here’s a selection. I’ll see what the UX is like later today.

As Seen on Facebook Marketplace

Listen, I might.

Dad Update

My dad went home to check on things on the farm earlier this week and get some fields ready for spring planting. My siblings’ reaction to the empty grocery store shelves at the beginning of the covid-19 lock down is to become Amish or something and are planning a giant garden. Me? I’m going to buy an extra can or two a week and get a stockpile. I have hoed enough land to last a lifetime.

Dad broke ground on the plot. We usually use no-till planting which doesn’t disturb the ground as much, but since this was sod, it needed to be plowed and disc-ed. When I was a kid my favorite thing to do was walk a field after plowing and look for arrowheads.

Reminder to Breathe

When he came back in Friday, we went up to the beach to get some sun and fresh air since this weekend looked like it was going to be grey and rainy. Here’s a moment of zen.

Take care. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.