A lot has already happened this year. SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) which can cause COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease 2019) has been making headlines shortly after it was first reported. The first cases were reported to WHO (World Health Organization) on 2019-12-31. The virus spread. It began as an epidemic in China . The world watched apprehensively. Reports surfaced of cases in other countries and the the apprehension grew. For many folk, it turned to fear when it was upgraded to a pandemic: WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020: "We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic."
We have seen increasing efforts to stem the spread of the disease. Efforts have run the gamut. Closing of borders. Cancellation of sporting events. Conferences cancelled. Churches and other places of worship also closed. Schools closed. Panic buying of household goods and supplies. Supply chain disruptions affecting manufacturers. Restaurant, bars, and other such establishments closed. Work-from-home policies established and enacted.
The changes have been many, widespread, and continuing.
Reading about all the ways that "other people" have been affected is one thing. It seems different, somehow, when it hits closer to home and affects us directly. With many of our usual social activities curtailed or cancelled, it is easy to begin isolating and lose perspective. SoylentNews arose from a troubled period (the SlashCott) and a community has formed from that challenging period.
How have you been affected? Have you been infected? Had a family member or friend who was? Helped neighbors who are struggling? Hunkering down and isolating? (In a basement is optional.) Are you suddenly working from home and finding it challenging to manage your time? Still working on site, but now have a faster commute due to all the other people staying home? Catching up on watching TV shows? Reading more SoylentNews? How has your life changed?
From a somewhat different perspective, how have others helped you to cope... and how have you been able to help others? One of the potential impacts of social distancing is isolation and depression. I count myself fortunate, indeed, to have served this site for over 6 years and for all the people I have gotten to know, here. For those who may not be aware, SoylentNews has its own IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server. Feel free to drop in to #Soylent and just say "Hi!"
Social distancing is permanent when you're dead. So, practice good hygiene and stay safe.
Previously (oldest first):
China Battles Coronavirus Outbreak: All the Latest Updates
2019-nCoV Coronavirus Story Roundup
Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Roundup
Coronavirus Roundup
Coronavirus Roundup (Feb. 17)
Roundup of Stories about the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and COVID-19 Disease
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 - CoronaVirus) Roundup
CoronaVirus (SARS-CoV-2) Roundup 2020-03-12
Working from Home: Lessons Learned Over 20 Years
(Score: 5, Funny) by hemocyanin on Tuesday March 17 2020, @04:21PM
Dremel? tsk. Just take a photo of her hand on a solid contrasting background, open in GIMP, from the image menu select mode/indexed then choose the B&W(1-bit) palette. After that remove the background with the magic wand selection tool (if the pic is a jpg, copy the image to a new layer, deselect the old image, and delete the background from the new layer). Save as PNG. Open in Inkscape , choose path/trace bitmap. Delete the bitmap leaving the path. You can edit the path with the "edit paths by nodes tool". Keep only the fingernail paths. Export as a new PNG. Open that new PNG in GIMP and paint in a depth map inside the finger nails. Open the depth map in Dmap2gcode ( http://www.scorchworks.com/Dmap2gcode/dmap2gcode.html [scorchworks.com] ), adjust your settings, put your wife's hand on your CNC router bed and clamp it down tight (there may be some pain involved while you work out the optimal settings), and do her nails.
You could skip the Inkscape part and just make your depth map in GIMP, but if you take that extra step, you can use the paths created in Inkscape to trim her nails too. A 2d CAD program like qCAD (or the free version kicad) will handle this fine. CamBam runs on linux (with minor annoyances) just fine for generating the nail trimming gcode.