Stranger in a Strange Land

[Ed Rooney]

John, is that dog waiting for a haircut?

[John Mitchell]

19 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

John, is that dog waiting for a haircut?

 

Yup, but he wasn't wearing a mask, so he was probably out of luck. 😉

[John Mitchell]

These are the guys -- called Western Gulls here -- that we see in Vancouver.  No doubt, they hop rides to and from Asia and Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2020 by John Mitchell

[John Morrison]

Gulls aren't popular in seaside towns; nor are people who feed them...

 

 

[Ed Rooney]

https://edostrange.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-future-near-and-far.html

 

Here we go again.

[Robert M Estall]

This virus theme may have quite a lot of run-time left. So many people running out of patience, I hope they don't find grief after their partying. I'd love a long hot summer but not if it means trouble in the cities and gridlock trying to get to our beaches. Just  think, there would have been no mud at Glastonbury this year!

 

[NYCat]

A report from NYC for you, Edo. Some of the restaurants near me that already had outdoor tables have been allowed to put more out into the parking spaces in front. One place that always seems to do mostly outdoor dining has added plastic partitions between tables. The weather has cooperated so far and I've seen dining going on. A Persian place near me was very actively promoting their take-out during the shutdown and also taking donations for food for the hospitals. That was very lovely, although the cut in income I suffered made me feel like I had no extra money to donate. I only have two or three cat visits a week right now but it looks like picking up in a couple of weeks. Alamy is being good to me these days with a nice payment coming up. My main worry now with the cases of the virus spiking in the South and West is that people here may not be able to travel. Best to stay away from the worrying and just appreciate what I have. I know I am a fortunate person and having a courtyard garden to enjoy has been wonderful.

 

Paulette

[Cecile Marion]

Enjoyed your post today, Ed. It’s always a nice Sunday morning read, and I also appreciate hearing about your life in Liverpool. 
As for New York, my daughter has been back in Lower Manhattan for a bit, packing up her apartment and preparing to move out of state. She has been very frustrated by the number of people on the street who aren’t wearing masks. Not sure if you’re seeing this, Paulette. In the FIDI area, my daughter reports seeing  a lot of folks with masks around their necks or pulled down below their mouth/nose, ready to pull them back up if need be, but says it’s hard to social distance from them because there are so many people on the sidewalks. She also feels like she’s seeing a lot more homeless people than normal, but for the most part, the homeless are wearing masks. 

[wiskerke]

10 hours ago, Sally R said:

 

Hi Ed, just saw this picture of yours of a Herring Gull and realised they are like the Pacific Gulls we get here in Australia, except ours have yellow legs and much darker back feathers. You rarely see them in Perth, but see them more commonly to the south. Unlike the Silver Gulls which are the most numerous here, our Pacific Gulls sound more like your Herring Gulls, not aggressive and with a kind of nobility about them. I've put up one pic on Alamy of one I saw in southern Tasmania:

 

 

If anyone is into gulls, have a look at this book: Gulls of the World - A Photographic Guide - Klaus Malling Olsen 2018

Without it I would never have known the difference between the argenteus and the argentatus. Hmm I still don't see it, but I now know there is.

       Upperparts paler than in argentatus. Note very pale eyes surrounded by narrow, palish orbital ring, creating ʻsceptical lookʼ.

Sceptical look? Does mine have the sceptical look? Hmm.

Reviews of the book: 1; 2. (And the list of errata from 2. - Insert laughing gull emoji here.)

 

And there's the brilliant http://www.gull-research.org website. (Take a look at this page.)

 

wim

[Steve F]

On 27/06/2020 at 14:40, losdemas said:

That's a great quote! Never seen it before; had to look it up.

Seems somewhat appropriate at the present time...!

[John Mitchell]

 

2 hours ago, wiskerke said:

 

If anyone is into gulls, have a look at this book: Gulls of the World - A Photographic Guide - Klaus Malling Olsen 2018

Without it I would never have known the difference between the argenteus and the argentatus. Hmm I still don't see it, but I now know there is.

       Upperparts paler than in argentatus. Note very pale eyes surrounded by narrow, palish orbital ring, creating ʻsceptical lookʼ.

Sceptical look? Does mine have the sceptical look? Hmm.

Reviews of the book: 1; 2. (And the list of errata from 2. - Insert laughing gull emoji here.)

 

And there's the brilliant http://www.gull-research.org website. (Take a look at this page.)

 

wim

 

The "Gulls of the World" book looks really interesting. I hadn't realized that gulls were such a diverse species. Identifying them looks to be as complicated as naming flowers, something that I don't seem to get any better at. Then again, "the word is not the thing", as someone wise once said.

[NYCat]

3 hours ago, Cecile Marion said:

Enjoyed your post today, Ed. It’s always a nice Sunday morning read, and I also appreciate hearing about your life in Liverpool. 
As for New York, my daughter has been back in Lower Manhattan for a bit, packing up her apartment and preparing to move out of state. She has been very frustrated by the number of people on the street who aren’t wearing masks. Not sure if you’re seeing this, Paulette. In the FIDI area, my daughter reports seeing  a lot of folks with masks around their necks or pulled down below their mouth/nose, ready to pull them back up if need be, but says it’s hard to social distance from them because there are so many people on the sidewalks. She also feels like she’s seeing a lot more homeless people than normal, but for the most part, the homeless are wearing masks. 

 

I'd say about 3/4 of the people I see are wearing masks. I pull mine off my nose to breathe as I walk and put it back up as I approach people. I'm getting pretty good at it. Fortunately, the streets aren't that crowded as I do everything I can in the morning and then hole up in my apartment. The people without masks are usually young. All the indoor spaces require masks.

 

Paulette

 

[Ed Rooney]

Someone sent me a snap taken last night outside the White Horse Tavern that shows a bunch of people, shoulder to shoulder. No face masks. 🤪

[NYCat]

I haven't been outside after dark in months.....Is that sad? Or just smart.

 

Paulette

[Mr Standfast]

 

 

 

Found this chap while tidying up captions.

 

 

[Colblimp]

In Cork and County Cork, people wear face masks which only cover their mouths, not their noses...

[Michael Ventura]

19 minutes ago, Colblimp said:

In Cork and County Cork, people wear face masks which only cover their mouths, not their noses...

That’s odd about not covering the nose but at least the mouths are cover....better than nothing.  My area, just outside of DC, People seem to be very good about wearing masks.  It is heartening to see.  My nurse daughter says masks absolutely slow way down the breath particles from aerosolizing.  In the past three months, no healthcare worker, working with Covid patients at her hospital, have gotten the virus...just shows you that the personal protective gear they wear really does work!  Funny tho, she has a firefighter boyfriend who hates wearing a mask and will only do so when absolutely forced, she says.  I mean he will wear one in businesses but not so much in outside social areas. 

[Bill Brooks]

In Toronto about 3/4 of the people are wearing face masks and social distancing. The worst offenders are people in their 20's who are not social distancing or masking at all.

 

I have a theory that that behavior has something to do with their sex life since lockdown, or lack thereof. Difficult to send subtle signals through a mask.

 

Had a haircut on Friday last. Hope my 65 year old barber is still alive in 5 weeks time, when I will need another haircut.

[John Mitchell]

Mask-wearing outdoors and indoors is declining in Vancouver, especially among young people. Cases have been falling in Canada, but I find it scary that people are letting their guard down. Here's a cautionary tale from Calgary, where at least 40 residents of the same condo tower came down with the virus. A few of them have been hospitalized.

Edited June 29, 2020 by John Mitchell

[sooth]

.

Edited October 19, 2023 by sooth
whatever

[Colblimp]

7 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

That’s odd about not covering the nose but at least the mouths are cover....better than nothing.  My area, just outside of DC, People seem to be very good about wearing masks.  It is heartening to see.  My nurse daughter says masks absolutely slow way down the breath particles from aerosolizing.  In the past three months, no healthcare worker, working with Covid patients at her hospital, have gotten the virus...just shows you that the personal protective gear they wear really does work!  Funny tho, she has a firefighter boyfriend who hates wearing a mask and will only do so when absolutely forced, she says.  I mean he will wear one in businesses but not so much in outside social areas. 

I maintain if the mask isn’t covering the nose it’s not achieving anything? 
 

I wore a medical mask at a protest I was covering a couple of weeks ago.  Not only did it keep slipping down, it decided to break after about 20 minutes.  Useless things. 

[sb photos]

11 minutes ago, Colblimp said:

I maintain if the mask isn’t covering the nose it’s not achieving anything? 
 

I wore a medical mask at a protest I was covering a couple of weeks ago.  Not only did it keep slipping down, it decided to break after about 20 minutes.  Useless things. 

 

I'm no expert, but I would have thought a cough or sneeze, or someone shouting loud would eject more particles and horizontally until they drop. From the nose particles would likely drop more downwards and with less force unless caught by a breeze. Either way, masks worn by the public appear to be flimsy and poor fitting and not fit for purpose. I suppose even these masks are better than nothing. I last wore a mask at a BLM protest march I covered. It was a poor fit and continually steamed up my glasses. Now have a small Calotherm spray, though I should have used washing up liquid before leaving home. Later most marchers removed their masks so they could chant and shout increasing risks to all.

[spacecadet]

 

2 hours ago, sb photos said:

It was a poor fit and continually steamed up my glasses.

Maybe make yourself one of the fashionable shapely ones. I'm also concerned about that, being a wearer myself. I'm hoping to get away with a snazzy hanky folded diagonally but I dread having to wear one for 4+ hours in an airport and on a flight. Thanks for the tip.

Guess what.........there was no spike in infections after the BLM marches. Better not say it too loud.

Edited June 29, 2020 by spacecadet

[Ed Rooney]

4 hours ago, Colblimp said:

I maintain if the mask isn’t covering the nose it’s not achieving anything? 
 

I wore a medical mask at a protest I was covering a couple of weeks ago.  Not only did it keep slipping down, it decided to break after about 20 minutes.  Useless things. 

 

Because the paper masks can break, I always have a second one with me. On the street, when I'm not close to anyone, I wear the mask on my chin. It's very easy and fast to pull it up over my mouth and nose when I get close to others or inside a shop.

 

In Italy, a friend tells me, masks are becoming a fashion accessory. 

 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Ed Rooney

[Mr Standfast]

I'm using some washable neck tube masks. Glasses still mist up and the world smells of fabric conditioner.  Needs must. 😉