Benefits of Covid-19

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Funny how that works. It seems like the only time the Democrats worry about the general welfare and establish accountability is during a Republican administration.

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Funny also that the only times Republicans care about spending is during Democratic administration. Can you imagine the libertarian outcry if Dems spent 2 trillion on anything?

And things actually get ugly when one of the parties controls everything. Then there isn't even a need for a coverup.

[oil pan 4]

When one party controls the house, senate and presidents office we always get screwed.
Last time that happened we got the "affordable care act" that made health care more affordable by quadrupling the price in a decade.
And they almost pasted carbon cap and tax. Which by now would have likely doubled energy costs and made the 2008 recession never ending.

[jjackstone]

Please get the politics out of this thread. I see enough of it everywhere else in the news. Thanks.
JJ

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

My big hope is that prestigious universities lose a bit of their value, exclusivity. If we're really serious about education, then offering extremely cheap online classrooms is the way to go. I've always dreamed of hiring the top educators in their respective fields, recording their lectures, and offering online courses based on those lectures. There's simply no reason why these top educators need to repeat the same lectures every semester to a new group of 400 people crammed into a lecture hall when you can do it once, and distribute to an infinite number of people. Not only that, but the lecture can be revisited as needed.

You can't get much cheaper than free. MIT has hundreds of courses online for free.

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-topic/

[redpoint5]

The first great lecture I can remember watching on Youtube was a Harvard ethics class by Michael Sandel. I thought it was fantastic; way better than sitting in my community college classroom. I suppose there would still be a need for Q&A and shared student interaction since often we don't know the smart questions to ask and other students do. Still, this could be provided at a fraction of the cost online. An expert would still need to host the online classroom, but having not wasted their time giving the lecture, they can spend that time engaging the students. Best would probably be having students teach each other through discussion with an expert merely keeping things on track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdf...C13C91CFFEFEA6

[JSH]

Good things from COVID 19

1. I don't have to waste 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day commuting to work
2. I can pump my own gas in Oregon (but don't need to since I'm not driving)
3. We will likely save about $500 a month from not visiting restaurants / taphouses.
4. My work travel is cancelled through the end of May.

[jjackstone]

I wonder how many fewer animals will be killed due to less transportation.

[oil pan 4]

Only had about 1 call this year about extending my cars warranty.

[jjackstone]

I have noticed that a number of the homeless "communities" are no longer where they once were. I don't know if they were ran off or if an indoor place was found for them to live while the virus continues. Either way it is cleaner in the area I travel through.

Another thing I have noticed is how quiet things have become. Coming from a country setting 20 years ago one of the first things I noticed when I moved to the city is how much noise traffic made. I live two miles from a freeway and although I have gotten used to the constant background sound, I can still hear it all the time. The last week or so I have just barely been able to hear the noise even in what would normally be peak travel times.
JJ

[freebeard]

Does any one else have positives to this disease?
JJ

Fewer gender reassignment surgeries will led to a drop in the suicide rate.

When I hear 'the new normal' I think more like 'everything normal is new again'.