so busy?

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I’m currently in a state of being extremely busy juggling things like preparing for a new school term, managing a botched house extension, getting our main car repainted, moving a metric ton of dirt the workers we fired (from previously mentioned house extension job) left on the street in front of our house with the only Radio Flyer I’ve ever seen in Thailand, getting diphtheria/tetanus boosters because I gouged my leg on my rusty barbecue grill, replacing a temporary crown on my tooth with a permanent one, running around to every home improvement shop in town to find the correct angle grinder attachment/vinyl flooring sheets/ceiling hangers, etc.

Here is a shot of the best khao tom I’ve had all year, up in the mountains, on break from performing Okinawan music to Northeastern Thais.

Mountain mushroom soup rice glory!

Also, we miss Max and have decided not to bring him back on a repatriation flight to face 2 week quarantine by himself, and instead wait until we can go get him (intl flights are still not allowed into Thailand) safely.

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet (for Thailand)?

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Teaching online has been a side hustle for 10+ years and I’ve taught a few workshops along the way, so I get asked about the best platform a lot recently: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet?

So after testing and teaching classes this summer on all three, I can say that Google Meet is the best for a university teacher in Thailand.

This is based on performance, security, ease of use (for both teacher and student), and features. Price did not really factor into this decision, because my employer enabled free access to Meet and Teams. I will say that the 40-minute limit on free Zoom account meetings probably affects many.

Google Meet (basic but reliable) > Zoom (dumb 40 min. limit) > Microsoft Teams (uh… better suited for business?)

BONUS TIDBIT: Google Meet can now show many (max. 16) people on the grid, one of the last advantages Zoom (max. 49) had over it (Microsoft Teams is still at 4).

COVID-19 Numbers, USA

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Doubled nationwide and doubled in Hamilton city (not county), in comparison to 10 days ago. People from other countries cannot understand why many Americans won’t wear masks, but it’s simpler than you’d think – Freedom or Death!

It would be remiss not to mention that arsonists have tried to destroy at least 50 5G towers in several countries in the EU, UK, and US. It has not helped the spread of the coronavirus at all.

There goes Cincinnati.

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So here’s the number of infections in that county today (the video was taken a day or two ago in Over-the-Rhine, an urban historic district):

via COVID-19 Global Cases tracker by CSSE at Johns Hopkins University
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

And now the county jail is probably at higher risk of infection:

Man arrested for violating stay-at-home order, accused of posting video of large gathering in OTR

Reading the comment feed on that recorded livestream will tell historians everything they need to know about the United States at this point in time.

Update: Well not quite everything, because there’s also that 5G/Coronavirus rumor spreading to the states from the UK, where they are setting 5G cell towers on fire.