***CoronaBonus***

[rafletcher]

Germany has cancelled April Fools Day.

[ian]

Germany has cancelled April Fools Day.

Is this retrospective?

[mattc]

Germany has cancelled April Fools Day.

Well it seems that everyone except Ribble (!) cancelled it, given the silence on my (diverse yet comprehensive) media feed

Oh well , this cheered me up a little:
https://twitter.com/putasinghonit/status/1244680124278001665

[Polar Bear]

Harry's Garage on youtube did an excellent April Fools featuring an MGB GT.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I haven't seen a single smashed car window since the lockdown started. I don't know if the normal thieves of things in cars are scared of catching coronavirus or more likely feel they stand out too much now everything's closed and there's not a soul out (car break-ins are a nocturnal pastime round here). Or perhaps bigger opportunities have opened up for them?

Plenty round here.

Plus some bold-as-brass thefts of vehicles from farms during the day.

Thefts from gardens and houses at night.
People are desperate. Desperate people take risks.

North Yorkshire police caught 2  persons trying to pinch a quad bike from a farm near Skipton.
Pointed out that going out when no-one else was made you more visible than normal.

Local coronabonus-no tolls on Aldwark toll bridge. Not much of a bonus as it was always free for cyclists.

There is still lots of farmwork going on here. So we get battered rusty vehicles going in and out (dead-end road, 5km long).

As it is a rural road, quite a few people assume it is quiet and use it for jogging, dog emptying and 'cycle commuting'. Been busier last few weeks than every before.

[matthew]

Working from home means I can have soup followed by crumble and custard for lunch. A luxury not practical in the office.

[Giraffe]

Got to Waitrose at 08:15, no queue so straight in. Usually use Morrisons as it's opposite The Malt Shovel but, of course, TMS is shut (end of days?).
I spend a lot more in Waitrose - the prices aren't too much higher on the usual items but there are so many tempting goodies... Still, TMS' loss is W's gain (Third World Problem?).
BN: buses change next week so might not be able to carry on.
Given my age and other issues it might be better if I didn't go to shops (except local offie for BEERS).

[Ham]

On a serious note, I wonder if the unintentional benefit in knife crime reduction might be embedded, somehow.

[Hot Flatus]

I've been pondering the effect of lockdown on drug dealing. But I daresay the police have other priorities now.

[T42]

I've been pondering the effect of lockdown on drug dealing. But I daresay the police have other priorities now.

I did see somewhere that the Mexican cartels are suffering under coronavirus border regs, and that prices are soaring.

André's shoe-shop chain has gone belly-up.  Now that's a shame.

[geraldc]

I know the whole thing with ventilators is very serious, but I do like the way all the universities have had a crack at coming up with them.
Cambridge uni via their TTP branch teamed up with Dyson, only Dyson seemed to decided to run it as kind of a publicity barrage, and you see very little mention of Cambridge Uni,  but as it's Dyson the govt have put in an order, even before it being approved.
UCL teamed up with Mercedes and created some kind of valve for CPAP machines that actually works and is going into production.
Oxford and KCL teamed up and created something out of the Great Egg Race, but it works and after lobbying,the govt have ordered it. After watching the video it genuinely seems so simple.
https://twitter.com/QueensCollegeOx/status/1243551706698453002?s=09
Bonus points for Open University throwback presentation

[Mr Larrington]

I've been pondering the effect of lockdown on drug dealing. But I daresay the police have other priorities now.

Chorley Police posted on social media yesterday morning that they are issuing a limited number of drug dealing licences and encouraged would-be licensees to come to their local police station, bringing samples of their products for assessment

[spesh]

I've been pondering the effect of lockdown on drug dealing. But I daresay the police have other priorities now.

Chorley Police posted on social media yesterday morning that they are issuing a limited number of drug dealing licences and encouraged would-be licensees to come to their local police station, bringing samples of their products for assessment

I'm quite amused by today's BBC Essex post about the county's fuzz saying that going out to pick up drugs isn't classed as "essential" travel.

Mainly because of the number of people in the replies who thought the cops meant collecting granny's prescription was verboten, as opposed to scoring an eighth of skunk or getting sorted for Es and whizz. 

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

The Earth no longer moves:

The coronavirus pandemic is making Earth vibrate less

Thomas Lecocq, a geologist and seismologist at the Royal Observatory in Belgium, first pointed out this phenomenon in Brussels.

The reduction in noise has had a particularly interesting effect in Brussels: Lecocq and other seismologists are able to detect smaller earthquakes and other seismic events that certain seismic stations wouldn't have registered.

Lecocq said the graphs charting human noise are evidence that people are listening to authorities' warnings to stay inside and minimize outside activity as much as possible.

The data can also be used to identify where containment measures might not be as effective, said Raphael De Plaen, a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
"That could be used in the future by decision makers to figure out, 'OK, we're not doing things right. We need to work on that and make sure that people respect that because this is in the interest of everyone.'"

[Hot Flatus]

Frankie Boyle has put pen to paper

https://theovertake.com/~beta/frankie-boyle-did-you-ever-wonder-what-youd-be-doing-during-an-apocalypse/

"The Prime Minister has written to every household in the UK. As that letter lands on the doormat, I won’t be the only one who’ll be picking it up with a couple of snooker cues, like a contestant on a Japanese game show. I’m assuming these letters are being sent directly from Whitehall – ground zero of our nations complete failure to comply with social distancing rules. Instead of posting the letter I’m surprised Johnson hasn’t committed to coughing his filthy news through our letterboxes in person. He also sent a text message to every mobile phone in the UK. For a handful of children in Britain that’ll have been the first contact they’ve had from their dad. I suspect Johnson’s baby will be exhausted when it comes out. Having spent months evading his cock like a magician’s assistant dodging swords in a box."

[mattc]

The Earth no longer moves:

The coronavirus pandemic is making Earth vibrate less

Thomas Lecocq, a geologist and seismologist at the Royal Observatory in Belgium, first pointed out this phenomenon in Brussels.

The reduction in noise has had a particularly interesting effect in Brussels: Lecocq and other seismologists are able to detect smaller earthquakes and other seismic events that certain seismic stations wouldn't have registered.

Lecocq said the graphs charting human noise are evidence that people are listening to authorities' warnings to stay inside and minimize outside activity as much as possible.

The data can also be used to identify where containment measures might not be as effective, said Raphael De Plaen, a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
"That could be used in the future by decision makers to figure out, 'OK, we're not doing things right. We need to work on that and make sure that people respect that because this is in the interest of everyone.'"

Brilliant! But I think you missed the key message:

Brussels is seeing about a 30% to 50% reduction in ambient seismic noise since mid-March, around the time the country started implementing school and business closures and other social distancing measures, according to Lecocq. That noise level is on par with what seismologists would see on Christmas Day, he said.

It's Christmas Every Day, people!!!

_{now where have I heard that before ...}

[Mr Larrington]

I'm now wondering whether Roy Wood still wishes it could be Christmas every day

Following the news that Missis Kwin is to address the nation tomorrow, confused gam-gams are reportedly panic-buying turkeys and Baileys.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Given the free rein that wild life will suddenly experience in living their normal lives free from human interference, I wonder if there will be a population explosion for all kinds of species.

Sadly, if there is then there is likely to be a lot of road kill once human activity returns to its own version of normal.

And are we still genocidal about badgers?

[vorsprung]

Chocolate brownies today

[hatler]

Rhubarb tea cake yesterday. Yum.

[T42]

Given the free rein that wild life will suddenly experience in living their normal lives free from human interference, I wonder if there will be a population explosion for all kinds of species.

Sadly, if there is then there is likely to be a lot of road kill once human activity returns to its own version of normal.

And are we still genocidal about badgers?

According to a chum who likes to get angry about such things, while we mortals are currently banned from the forests, hunters have free rein.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Given the free rein that wild life will suddenly experience in living their normal lives free from human interference, I wonder if there will be a population explosion for all kinds of species.

Sadly, if there is then there is likely to be a lot of road kill once human activity returns to its own version of normal.

And are we still genocidal about badgers?

According to a chum who likes to get angry about such things, while we mortals are currently banned from the forests, hunters have free rein.

In the Limousin wildlife seemed plentiful compared to the UK in spite of hunters.

[Wowbagger]

Thousands of British homes will be paid to use electricity during the day for the first time, as wind and solar projects produce a surge in clean energy during the coronavirus lockdown.

On Sunday morning, windfarms contributed almost 40% of the UK’s electricity, while solar power made up almost a fifth of the power system. Fossil fuels made up less than 15% of electricity, of which only 1.1% came from coal plants.

That's rather interesting.

From https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/05/thousands-to-be-paid-for-daytime-green-electricity-use-during-lockdown

[perpetual dan]

My mum seems to have taken up covid conspiracy theories. This is going to be fun.

[Hot Flatus]