Resources to Keep Busy While Sheltering in Place

[GooooMarquette]

Have you read The Body yet? Another excellent Bryson book.

Haven't read that yet, but I plan to soon. The guy is amazing at educating you and making you laugh at the same time.

[T-Bone]

Fender is offering free instrument lessons for 3 months. 
https://loudwire.com/fender-free-guitar-lessons/

[GooooMarquette]

Fender is offering free instrument lessons for 3 months. 
https://loudwire.com/fender-free-guitar-lessons/

My main takeaway from that site is if I buy a Fender, they'll teach me to play like Hendrix.

Doable.

[Galway Eagle]

Go nuts

[Johnny B]

Go nuts

Two hundo?

[T-Bone]

60 +badgers suck, is about right for scoop.

[T-Bone]

Oh, and ukulele lessons are available in the Fender offer.

[Galway Eagle]

Two hundo?

Nope. The answers gonna drive you crazy when you look close enough

[rocky_warrior]

43

[Galway Eagle]

43

Someone knows their order of operations!

[rocky_warrior]

Someone knows their order of operations!

It was a gamble.  I mean, 1 shoe is worth WAY less than 1/2 the price of 2 shoes, and you never know if wearing things is purely additive

[Johnny B]

Re open the golf courses to a point

[jesmu84]

43

?

Shoes = 10 (so 1 shoe = 5)
Person = 5
Newspapers = 4 (so 1 newspaper = 2)

5 + (5+4) x 2 = 23

[rocky_warrior]

?

Shoes = 10 (so 1 shoe = 5)
Person = 5
Newspapers = 4 (so 1 newspaper = 2)

5 + (5+4) x 2 = 23

5 + ((10+5+4)*2) = 43

the person is wearing 2 shoes

[GooooMarquette]

5 + ((10+5+4)*2) = 43

the person is wearing 2 shoes

Stuff like that explains why you got to the exalted position of Scoop moderator.

[warriorchick]

Well, I think I have reached my WFH limit.

This afternoon  I found a huge error on our financial records (while we are under our annual audit, natch) which was completely my fault.  I had to inform both my boss and our auditors, and texted one of my team members about how my retirement was going to be shrouded in shame and scandal. 

She discovered that I simply ran the report wrong.

Best NM ever.  I think I need a break.

[Jockey]

Well, I think I have reached my WFH limit.

This afternoon  I found a huge error on our financial records (while we are under our annual audit, natch) which was completely my fault.  I had to inform both my boss and our auditors, and texted one of my team members about how my retirement was going to be shrouded in shame and scandal. 

She discovered that I simply ran the report wrong.

Best NM ever.  I think I need a break.

Don’t have love that moment of panic when you think you screwed up big-time?

The relief you feel later when you find out is was nothing doesn’t near match the earlier feeling.

[GooooMarquette]

Well, I think I have reached my WFH limit.

This afternoon  I found a huge error on our financial records (while we are under our annual audit, natch) which was completely my fault.  I had to inform both my boss and our auditors, and texted one of my team members about how my retirement was going to be shrouded in shame and scandal. 

She discovered that I simply ran the report wrong.

Best NM ever.  I think I need a break.

If you’re gonna make a mistake, it’s good if it can be a NM!

[BM1090]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but Duolingo if you're interested in learning languages.

Started learning Hindi and re-learning Spanish. It's only been a week but it's been mostly effective.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but Duolingo if you're interested in learning languages.

Started learning Hindi and re-learning Spanish. It's only been a week but it's been mostly effective.

I've been using on and off the last 2 years. 
I'd studied a language for 2-3 months before going to that country - Danish, Swedish, German, relearned Polish.

My younger daughter did Polish for 400 straight days and expired every lesson they offered on Duolingos. 

[Coleman]

I've been using on and off the last 2 years. 
I'd studied a language for 2-3 months before going to that country - Danish, Swedish, German, relearned Polish.

My younger daughter did Polish for 400 straight days and expired every lesson they offered on Duolingos.

What is her fluency level?

I did Duolingo for several months and felt like I would never progress beyond being able to read some basic things.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

What is her fluency level?

I did Duolingo for several months and felt like I would never progress beyond being able to read some basic things.

She actually did very good.  When my wife was not available, I learned she was speaking and remembering Polish better than I could.
She kept a notebook also which helped her.

And reading basic things is a big help in another country.

[Coleman]

She actually did very good.  When my wife was not available, I learned she was speaking and remembering Polish better than I could.
She kept a notebook also which helped her.

And reading basic things is a big help in another country.

For sure, that's why I did it. It definitely has value for travelers. I was just wondering if anyone was able to get to a point of being able to have a conversation with locals. It felt like I'd never get there, but admittedly I never did it for longer than 4-5 months before a trip.

[JWags85]

For sure, that's why I did it. It definitely has value for travelers. I was just wondering if anyone was able to get to a point of being able to have a conversation with locals. It felt like I'd never get there, but admittedly I never did it for longer than 4-5 months before a trip.

Admittedly is due to a past near-fluency in Spanish, but using Duolingo helped me enough with French and Italian to have brief convos in shops or restaurants.  A waitress in Paris told me my pronunciation was excellent, which I found amusing.

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but Duolingo if you're interested in learning languages.

Started learning Hindi and re-learning Spanish. It's only been a week but it's been mostly effective.

Wow, interesting.  Hows that going?  I asked both my rep in India and one of my good friends in Bombay if there is any merit to me learning and both said no.  My rep said unfortunately without being completely fluent nobody would want to converse with me in Hindi and the staff in our office like using my visits as practice for their English skills.  My friend laughed and said anyone worth talking to there would speak English anyways.  Also, the "listen to side convos" benefit would be limited cause the factory managers and other people I usually interact with speak Gujarati primarily.

Similar situation with Mandarin.  My head of Asia Pacific said there is certain leverage and power being a Westerner and speaking only English that you would lose.  But I'm dabbling in Mandarin more cause there is a tangible benefit to potentially spending more and more time in China.  Flying out of Shenzhen Airport last year headed to Shanghai, I was STUNNED by how little competent English I encountered.  The problem is Mandarin is hard as hell 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Admittedly is due to a past near-fluency in Spanish, but using Duolingo helped me enough with French and Italian to have brief convos in shops or restaurants.  A waitress in Paris told me my pronunciation was excellent, which I found amusing.


Wow, interesting.  Hows that going?  I asked both my rep in India and one of my good friends in Bombay if there is any merit to me learning and both said no.  My rep said unfortunately without being completely fluent nobody would want to converse with me in Hindi and the staff in our office like using my visits as practice for their English skills.  My friend laughed and said anyone worth talking to there would speak English anyways.  Also, the "listen to side convos" benefit would be limited cause the factory managers and other people I usually interact with speak Gujarati primarily.

Similar situation with Mandarin.  My head of Asia Pacific said there is certain leverage and power being a Westerner and speaking only English that you would lose.  But I'm dabbling in Mandarin more cause there is a tangible benefit to potentially spending more and more time in China.  Flying out of Shenzhen Airport last year headed to Shanghai, I was STUNNED by how little competent English I encountered.  The problem is Mandarin is hard as hell 

I was learning Conversational Mandarin in an adult ed class (before I stopped traveling to China a dozen years ago) and I did not think it was too difficult.  Less words to memorize since there was no verb conjugations for past or future tense or masculine or feminine or neutral nouns/adjectives to worry about.  If you wanted to make a sentence a question just throw ma at the end of any sentence.