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Getting used to new habits for Coronavirus....

KageRyu

Lost Mad Soul
Contributing Artist
Your scaring me, but as a general rule I do pretend to really love people who invent Auto-robots! "it's alive boss, it's alive" I've always wanted to quote that...I'm sorry a thousand one liners just came to mind. I still want to get side mount radar and son-nor guided machine guns and shields for the impending zombie invasion...... for my electric wheel chair of couse....
I hear in Texas that would be covered by medicare :whistling:
 

Hornet3d

Wise
Neat little trick I have picked up from the book I am reading is the ability to program the Raspberry Pi to work with a Wii remote using blue tooth, up until now I have been using miniature keyboards. The big plus for me is that I have Wii remotes lying around so a great cost saving and as they work unmodified they now have a dual purpose.
 

Hornet3d

Wise
I am continuing to play with robotics and most of the lock down rules in the UK are still in force, mind you hairdressers are open so I have managed to get my hair cut and can see what I am doing a little better.

I have started on a different approach to a scratch build using aluminium tubing.

HM Chassis 1 HW.JPG
HM Chassis 2 HW.JPG

The plan is to equip the chassis with a 6 DOF robotic arm, well that is the plan of the moment, we will see.
 

Satira Capriccio

Renowned
CV-BEE
Contributing Artist
We've been advised that effective July 6, we will be returning to the office :sick:

It's soooo time to retire! Working from home suits me. I've been so much more productive, and to be honest, I absolutely do NOT miss being around my coworkers. Over this last year, I've realized that if I never saw some of them ever again, it wouldn't upset me in the least.

Sadly, one of the most arrogant and unpleasant coworkers will be sitting in my cubicle section.
 

Hornet3d

Wise
We've been advised that effective July 6, we will be returning to the office :sick:

It's soooo time to retire! Working from home suits me. I've been so much more productive, and to be honest, I absolutely do NOT miss being around my coworkers. Over this last year, I've realized that if I never saw some of them ever again, it wouldn't upset me in the least.

Sadly, one of the most arrogant and unpleasant coworkers will be sitting in my cubicle section.

Good luck on your retirement, the only downside I have found is that all the extra time I thought I was going to have magically disappeared.


To a large extent we were not affected by the lockdowns mainly because my wife and I have both retired. I am now old enough to draw my state pension but I have been retired for close to six years. As soon as I retired I tried to work our finances so that my wife could retired early as well. It was a stepped process with her working part time for the first two years. Getting a job as an order picker in the early morning meant we had almost all the day together and, after the two years she retired full time. She still has a number of years go before she will receive her state pension but neither of us regretted retiring early and since the lock downs we are so thankful we did.
 

Satira Capriccio

Renowned
CV-BEE
Contributing Artist
I'd loved to have been able to retire early, but because of a layoff a few decades ago, I had to use my retirement money to pay living expenses. So, I needed to continue to work past my full retirement age (66), and thought it would be sensible to wait until 70 to get the Social Security bonuses for delaying retirement until 70.

In October, I turn 69, and I'm seriously reconsidering delaying until 70. My retirement account is finally at the stage where I will receive $400 more a month than I need to live comfortably. It's really, really, REALLY time to get out of Philadelphia. Rent here is outrageous. Other than that rent, my living expenses are reasonable. My only debt was my car loan, and that's been paid off for over a year. That payment was then redirected to savings. More importantly, it's becoming important I be near my family instead of 3,000 miles away.

I missed all my nieces and nephews growing up, and several are now married with children of their own. That I've never even met. My oldest niece has three sons. Her oldest son was a baby when my dad died in 2006. He's 15 now. Which is older than my niece was when I left Oregon.
 

Hornet3d

Wise
I'd loved to have been able to retire early, but because of a layoff a few decades ago, I had to use my retirement money to pay living expenses. So, I needed to continue to work past my full retirement age (66), and thought it would be sensible to wait until 70 to get the Social Security bonuses for delaying retirement until 70.

In October, I turn 69, and I'm seriously reconsidering delaying until 70. My retirement account is finally at the stage where I will receive $400 more a month than I need to live comfortably. It's really, really, REALLY time to get out of Philadelphia. Rent here is outrageous. Other than that rent, my living expenses are reasonable. My only debt was my car loan, and that's been paid off for over a year. That payment was then redirected to savings. More importantly, it's becoming important I be near my family instead of 3,000 miles away.

I missed all my nieces and nephews growing up, and several are now married with children of their own. That I've never even met. My oldest niece has three sons. Her oldest son was a baby when my dad died in 2006. He's 15 now. Which is older than my niece was when I left Oregon.

I was lucky in the sense that I was working at a time when final salary pensions schemes were fairly common and was in a job that paid well, so well in fact I was always afraid I would be 'found out' as I could not believe what a was being paid that much for what I did. A two year working stint in Sweden was a dream come true and then they paid me extra for the privilege. As I travelled around the world there was no need to have a house based in a major city which meant when I was made redundant as 53 year old I was able to pay off my mortgage but was soon able to find work. I did full time for work until I was 57 and then went part time with an aim to retire at 59, normal retirement age in UK was 65, at least for the state pension at that time. I actually worked until 60 as a friend opened up a PC repair shop and I worked for another year for either no or minimal wages to help him out.

Family is spread out a little with a sister in Canada and a brother in Poland but I have a sister and two nieces that live within a 30 minute drive of where we live and my wife has both here parents living in the vicinity.

So there you have it, just my wife, me and the dog with some family close with no rent to pay and we both regard ourselves extremely lucky. After forty years of marriage I am pleased to say we still enjoy each others company, being two very individual people we do have our differences but they are never the source of an argument.
 

Pendraia

Sage
Contributing Artist
Over here it's fairly normal at the moment in regards to covid. We have to check in with QR codes at restuarants and some limitations regarding numbers in stores and eating places but only wearing masks now if we can't socially distant or if you work in an environment where they require them like a dentist or eating place. Looking at getting my first covid vaccination sometime in the next couple of weeks but having seen the problems they're having in India and that some of the people who get covid have been vaccinated I'm not sure that all the mutations will be protected against.

@Hornet3d I retired last year during the lockdown so I was 60 also and had been working parttime for the last few years. My husband and I are what we call self funded retirees. Not a huge income but as we have paid off the house not a lot of expenditure either.

We thinking of selling the house and downsizing to something smaller and are considering moving to Tasmania when we do. My youngest 2 are planning on buying a house together and would like to buy ours. So we'll have to wait and see what happens there.
 

Hornet3d

Wise
So the basic chassis is finished with some modifications and some more to come. I did not like the large headed screws that were used on the adapters that bolt the wheels to the motor shaft, for a start they fouled the screws that held the motor in place unless the adapter was moved down the shaft slightly. They are also a source to pick up debris when running so I changed the screws the grub screws with no heads.

I also raised the top plate so that I could slide the motor power control boards under the main deck but I have revised that and now the plan is to add extensions to the sides of the chassis, again using blue anodised metal plate, which will allow the motor control boards to sit further out between the wheels. That change allows me to drop the top deck to the original height. Next on the list is power supple and I have enough room under the lower deck to fix two power supplies between the wheels, one regulated 5v supply for the processor board and the second a 12 - 15 supply to power the motors.

P5114733HW.JPG

Top left chassis with raised top deck, top right with motor power boards in position and the lower is with the top deck lowered to original height.
 

Hornet3d

Wise
Slight break from robotics as I try and work out some coding so I am spending time on the other hobby I took up during lock down, namely diamond painting.

This is my attempt so far.
Diamond Painting.JPG


With the finish article hopefully looking like this.

New Diamond Painting.jpg


At 120 X 60 CM and with my bad maths I work out that there is close to 200,000 diamonds (or drills as they are called) needed to complete the painting.
 

Miss B

Drawing Life 1 Pixel at a Time
CV-BEE
Whoa! Now THAT's an undertaking for sure. I think someone else, maybe Pommerlis, did one of those types of images a number of years ago.
 

Hornet3d

Wise
Whoa! Now THAT's an undertaking for sure. I think someone else, maybe Pommerlis, did one of those types of images a number of years ago.

I was aware of the size being an undertaking what I did not realise is that with 35 different colours many of the symbols they use on the canvas are difficult to distinguish apart, particularly when you have eyes as old as mine.
 

Hornet3d

Wise
Well it looks like lockdown is going to last a little longer in the UK as the date to lift the last restrictions, set for 21st June may be delayed four weeks. I can't say I am surprised and, in truth, it will not affect me very much.

So we will carry on spending more time in the garden and watching nature bring something fresh and something with colour to our lives.

Basket 1.JPG
Basket 2.JPG
 

robert952

Brilliant
Most places here in North Carolina have had restrictions lifted. Still need masks in airports/airplanes, doctor/hospital environs and where you might have trouble keeping social distance (6'/2 meter). Masks not mandatory if you are fully vaccinated. Those not vaccinate are asked to where masks. (How will we know who has and hasn't?)

I observe that now masks aren't mandated, more people seem to be wearing masks in mall, stores, restaurants. Highly recommended in malls, museums, etc where it may be hard to keep social distance. I carry my mask and wear it as I deem necessary (usually when in stores and mall, and at museum I visited last week).

I do keep pointing out to friends who haven't gotten vaccination, the virus isn't going away. They seem to think if enough people get vaccinated, the threat goes away. Not true. If you don't have vaccination and you do catch the virus you may be in for a rough ride. Having a vaccination reduces the chance tremendously of having full fledged CoVid19.

Family member caught it and had the roughest 2 months in their life. Fortunately, by that time, a lot was known on how to treat it, so, while life threatening at several points, they had the tools to fight the infection. BTW, the family member had had 1st shot but was exposed before it could take full effect. Having had one does likely helped with the fight and recovery.

I think the end is near as far as a pandemic. But we will always have to be concerned and aware of resurgence potential.
 

Miss B

Drawing Life 1 Pixel at a Time
CV-BEE
Most places here in North Carolina have had restrictions lifted. Still need masks in airports/airplanes, doctor/hospital environs and where you might have trouble keeping social distance (6'/2 meter). Masks not mandatory if you are fully vaccinated. Those not vaccinate are asked to where masks. (How will we know who has and hasn't?)
I don't know about North Carolina, or anywhere else in the world, but here we get a vaccination card with dates of the shots, and which vaccination was given. You have to carry it around with you wherever you go. I've already seen a plastic card carrier at Amazon made especially for the vaccination card, and it's set up to be worn with a lanyard so you can wear it around your neck with any other identity cards you may have for work, etc. You can be asked to see the card as proof you've been vaccinated, and not just when traveling.

I think the end is near as far as a pandemic. But we will always have to be concerned and aware of resurgence potential.
Of course. Look at the Flu How many years . . . excuse me . . . decades has that been around every winter?????

I don't take the Flu vaccination each year, but it's gotten to the point where it's updated yearly, and at some point, hopefully, the same will be true for Coronavirus.
 

DanaTA

Distinguished
The CDC suggests that you don't carry it around with you! It could be damaged, it could get worn, it could get lost. You may need it in the future if there are booster shots for variants that are more resistant. They suggest you take a photo of the card with your phone and keep that with you. Do not laminate it! That would make it impossible for new booster shots to be recorded, you'd have to get a new one.

Dana
 
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