Week Note Thirteen - Grounded
Home Schooling and coping with anxiety
Last week was WFH, now all the schools are closed as requested by the Government meaning that my sons will be home schooled by myself and my wife for the unforeseeable future.
Thankfully, my workplace has been incredibly supportive knowing that it can be stressful on parents to do both at home, my team mentioned that family comes first.
What was incredible is the amount of patience that I have developed during the home schooling process because my eldest son does not take to his subjects leading to a gentle confrontation what he was feeling. And it was predictable.
Anxiety.
The world has changed around us so rapidly that it felt like it is all out of our control.
From what I know about Stoicism, after reading Derren Brown's Happy book that led me to research into the philosophy, our thoughts and actions are in our control, everything else is more or less is fine.
It's perfectly okay to feel what we feel, we are in control of what we let in our lives. Right now, it's hard because we hear nothing but COVID-19 everywhere. Tune it out, talk to your family and friends, listen to Lofi hip hop mix, read, write, stick to a routine, workout, whatever you do, stick to it daily.
Documentaries
I have been looking around online for interesting subjects to watch.
Since I am a fan of the classic Half Life games, I came across Unforeseen Consequences: A Half-Life Documentary which is a charm to watch. Yes, we want the series to be completed. Who knows. Right now, Black Mesa is a delicious eye candy to watch.
Gary Hustwit (of Helvetica) is streaming his films for free. The latest one is Objectified and I absolutely highly recommend watching RAMS - legendary designer Dieter Rams. Excuse me, I need to rewatch these all over again.
Apple BlueTooth mouse / keyboard
Take a look at the support document by Apple about connecting your mouse to your iPad. I think Apple are trying to define the cursor by combining it with a round cursor/pointer with the tvOS icon movement. And for the first time, the I-beam changes height to matches the text size. Small details is what Apple sweats so hard over and it's an influence on myself when it comes to designing websites.
And finally...
What a gem to discover on YouTube lately. Astronaut Chris Hadfield reviews space movies!
Stay safe and wash your hands.