Boris Johnson will reveal on Sunday the Government's "road map" on how it will lift restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, in what is expected to be a "modest" easing of lockdown.

Police say they are "fighting a losing battle" over enforcing the lockdown after "hundreds" turned out in parks across east London to enjoy picnics in the sunshine.

Sourdough has exploded in popularity during lockdown, but focaccia is experiencing its own modest rise

The company has agreed to launch a new internal data security program and will take other steps to combat hacker disruptions.

Twin sisters Nishita and Atisha Lulla talk about recording a previous single in Mumbai, the country-folk influence and more

The post Indo-American Sister Duo LULLANAS Drop Debut EP ‘Before Everything Got Real’ appeared first on My Site.

A mutation in the virus seems to be getting more common, but we don't know why.

With no alternative but to explore the nature on their doorstep, three writers describe the joy of enforced slow travel

It is a place I’d discovered before the virus: a left-hand bend in a narrow stream, a couple of steps off the footpath. There is nothing remarkable there, or not at first glance. There are breeze blocks in the stream bed and plastic bags deeply embedded in the roots of an alder tree. With a few variations, it could be anywhere in Britain: the neglected corner of a city park, the back of a private garden, behind a national park cafe. It’s just one of those spots that no one ever thinks to stop at and, if not for Covid-19, I would not have begun visiting daily, pausing for a few breaths before continuing. I saw the first snowdrops appear there, followed by primroses; then they were swamped by wild garlic and wood anemone. One morning a weasel shot out of a hole under a root and sprinted up the opposite bank. It was the first of several surprises.

Brenda Francis settled into the Kingdom Hall in Calhoun, Georgia, in mid-March, surrounded by dozens of familiar faces. Signs cautioning against shaking hands and hugging were posted around the room. It felt weird to her but was certainly understandable with the threat of an outbreak looming. She herself already had stocked up on some masks and gloves.When it came time for members to comment on the Bible readings, Francis noticed the microphones typically passed around the room were now attached to the end of long poles.That was the moment Francis, a 69-year-old widow living in a small, semirural community in the South, realized just how dramatically the coronavirus pandemic was about to reshape her spiritual life, more than anything ever had in the 47 years since she was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness.A few days after the boom mics came out in the Kingdom Hall, word came down from the group's headquarters that, in the interest of safety, Jehovah's Witnesses should stop witnessing, its practice of in-person attempts at converting people to the group."People would be so receptive right now," she said of her ministry, "and we can't knock on doors."Across the country, most religious groups have stopped coming together in large numbers to pray and hold services, in keeping with stay-at-home orders. They have improvised with online preaching and even drive-in services as the faithful sit in cars. Mormons have stopped going door to door in the United States and called home many missionaries working abroad.Jehovah's Witnesses -- with 1.3 million U.S. members who hand out brochures on sidewalks and subway platforms and ring doorbells -- are one of the most visible religious groups in the nation. Members are called on to share Scriptures in person with nonmembers, warning of an imminent Armageddon and hoping to baptize them with the prospect of living forever.The decision to stop their ministries was the first of its kind in the nearly 150 years of the group's existence. It followed anguished discussions at Watchtower headquarters, with leaders deciding March 20 that knocking on doors would leave the impression that members were disregarding the safety of those they hoped to convert."This was not an easy decision for anybody," said Robert Hendriks, the group's U.S. spokesman. "As you know, our ministry is our life."It was for Francis, who became a Jehovah's Witness when she was in her 20s with a newborn and a member knocked on her door in Tennessee and persuaded her to attend a Kingdom Hall meeting. She converted. Her family was angry that she no longer came to holiday gatherings; the group doesn't believe in celebrating holidays or birthdays. Jehovah's Witnesses became her new family.The more she studied the Bible, the more she came to believe it led to eternal life. She needed to spread the word.Showing up cold on someone's doorstep didn't come naturally. She was so shy that once, she recalled, her high school principal -- "this huge Goliath guy" -- stood on her foot in a crowded hallway; she didn't say a word but waited in pain for him to move. She had considered a career going door to door as a Mason Shoes saleswoman, but after receiving a catalog, she never mustered the courage to even try to make a sale.To her, witnessing was different. Her faith had helped her stop smoking. It gave her meaning. She had seen people clean up their lives after attending meetings at Kingdom Hall."By the time I did go to doors, I was so convinced this was the right thing to do that I had no nervousness," Francis said.Through the years, she learned to build her pitch around a theme -- a Bible verse or a current event -- and tried not to sound rehearsed."You don't want to sound like a robot," she said. "You work from the heart. You want enthusiasm."Early this year, Francis had been seeing reports on Facebook about the virus sweeping through Wuhan, China. The host of a show she watched on YouTube, Peak Prosperity, had been warning that the outbreak could spread internationally.She bought masks and face shields, just in case. She started using plastic grocery bags to cover the gas pump handle when she filled up her tank.By early March, the virus still hadn't hit Gordon County, where Francis lives. But the possibility was weighing on her mind. The message on her favorite YouTube show was getting more dire as the host, Chris Martenson, a financial guru-turned-pandemic early warner, ratcheted up his pleadings for viewers to prepare themselves.Francis' 27-year-old granddaughter has a compromised immune system. As a senior citizen, she herself was vulnerable. She did what she always has done and channeled her own feelings into her door-knocking ministry. Do you think, she would ask people as she carpooled with other members to canvass the county, that the virus is a sign of the end of the world?"No one was paying much attention," she said.Elsewhere, in places like New York where infections were starting to climb, Jehovah's Witnesses members were feeling the pinch on their ministries.One of them, Joe Babsky, had been easing into conversations with members of his Planet Fitness gym in the Bronx for weeks. He knew them by first name only: Jerry, who had lost more than 100 pounds; Jason, who seemed to spend an hour on each body part; Bernie, a 78-year-old who was more fit than men half his age. Babsky had shown a few of them Bible verses and had made progress recently with Bernie discussing the logic behind the existence of an intelligent creator.Then the gym closed."All those conversations and others were cut short," Babsky said.Life continued as normal in Francis' town of Calhoun. She was convinced things were about to change, but she was too embarrassed to wear a mask -- until an encounter in Costco when a passing shopper coughed without covering her mouth.In mid-March, her Kingdom Hall meetings went virtual. Members logged into Zoom to share Bible Scriptures. Francis settled on one that she thought would resonate as she knocked on doors in her neighborhood across the county, which had by then registered a handful of COVID-19 cases.At the doorstep, Francis would start her pitch by asking people if they could make one thing in the world go away, what would it be? If the answer had to do with the pandemic, she would recite a couple of verses from the book of Luke:"There will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another food shortages and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs."All the signs were clear, she would announce. Armageddon was near. Her message finally seemed to be resonating with people.And then she got word to stop knocking on doors."This has been so much a part of our lives, so it was like, wow," she said. "I have often envisioned in paradise where going door to door would not be a thing because everyone knows God."This was not paradise.But Francis was convinced that the end of the world was not far away. There were just too many signs, she said. And so she and many other Jehovah's Witnesses members were more compelled than ever to witness any way they could. Many began writing letters or making phone calls to anyone whose numbers they had managed to collect before the pandemic hit.Masked and gloved, Francis hands out pamphlets and cards with her phone number on them to fellow shoppers at the grocery store.Last week, she sent a text to a woman in Hawkinsville, Georgia, a few miles away, whom she had been contacting from time to time. The woman said her restaurant had to close because of the pandemic and her brother-in-law was sick with the virus. A couple of days later he died.Francis texted Scriptures to the woman and told her that soon all the sickness on Earth would be over; all sins would be forgiven; paradise was near.The next day she received a written response: "Thank you so much for the information. It was such a comfort."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

Scientists map ancient underwater landslides in the region chosen for Jakarta's replacement.

Bill Gates has been big on vaccines since before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but in a new blog posting, the Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist says the only way to end the pandemic for good is to offer a vaccine to almost all of the planet's 7 billion inhabitants. That's big. "We've never delivered something to every corner of the world before," Gates notes. It's especially big considering that a vaccine hasn't yet been approved for widespread use, and that it may take as long as a year to 18 months to win approval and start distribution. Some… Read More

For Jeff Anderson, 61, working from home during the coronavirus pandemic has been a respite from office politics and the chatter around the copy machine.But as the push to reopen the country's economy intensifies, so do feelings of dread at the idea of returning to the office, said Anderson, a self-described introvert and anthropology professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York."Just walking from the parking lot to my office I feel like I could be sick," he said. "It's that bad."In wanting to work alone, Anderson is not alone. People other than introverts view a return to the office with sadness and anxiety, and not just because they still risk getting infected. A Gallup poll found a majority of U.S. adults working from home would prefer to continue doing so "as much as possible" after the pandemic.These fans of online work worry that they -- and the country itself -- will lose important benefits discovered during this unprecedented experiment in mass remote work. People who have never liked schmoozing with colleagues have found new heights of productivity away from meetings and office chitchat. People worried about climate change are eager to reduce their carbon footprints by avoiding commutes by car. And while many parents are desperate for schools and day care centers to reopen, some working parents are appreciating more time with their children.Before the pandemic, Christine Reilley had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to catch an early bus to Manhattan where she works as senior director of strategy and innovation for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers."I'm better rested. I can devote more time to my work," she said. "Just saving the time and money of commuting, I really like this personally."Impossible for Some and 'Overrated' for OthersIt did not take long for naysayers to declare that working from home was "overrated."And yes, it is an option mostly for white-collar office workers. Telecommuting is rarely possible for people in manufacturing or service jobs, and for the health workers, emergency responders, grocery store clerks and delivery people who have been deemed essential personnel. And the more than 30 million Americans who have lost their jobs since March may be impatient about complaints from people still drawing paychecks.Nor can the other downsides be denied. Trying to meet on Zoom from a kitchen table with bored children and annoyed spouses complaining in the background is hardly good for productivity. Women say that video calls make it harder for them to get in a word during meetings dominated by men. This crisis has also increased the burdens on working mothers.Telecommuting was already a growing trend that left out many low-wage workers and was viewed warily by employers who worried that people were slacking off at home. Researchers warned that problem solving and creativity suffer when workers are isolated from one another. Isolated work can lead to loneliness and boredom. Remote workers have also reported they have had to work even longer hours.OK, So What Are the Benefits?For remote work to be successful, employers need to provide the right equipment and other support, said Laurel Farrer, chief executive of Distribute Consulting, a business consulting firm. And the employees must be able to get work done without supervision. If set up properly, experts and advocates say, remote work has many benefits:-- Less time on the road. Commuting by car has been linked to increased stress, more pollution and respiratory problems. The average American who drives to work spends 54 hours per year stuck in traffic, according to an analysis by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.-- Greater productivity. One well-known study from 2014 led by Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom examined remote workers at a Chinese travel agency and found that they were 13% more efficient than their office-based peers.-- A cleaner environment (maybe). According to estimates from Global Workplace Analytics, a research and consulting firm, if everyone in the United States worked remotely half the time, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle travel by more than 51 million metric tons a year. Graphics showing the reduction in air pollution and pictures of clearer skies over cities like Los Angeles have been among the silver linings of the pandemic. Of course, when people return to work, the roads may fill up again, especially if people fear getting the virus on public transit. And even if more people start working remotely, they might use their cars more for errands closer to home, said Bill Eisele, a senior research engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Office commuters make up only about 18% of all traffic, he said.-- Money saved. Global Workplace Analytics estimated that people could save, on average, $2,000 to $6,500 every year by not spending on things like gasoline and day care. Companies could spend less on real estate. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office estimated it saved more than $38 million in 2015 by not using as much office space, according to a Harvard Business School working paper from November.-- More job satisfaction. A 2005 study found that job satisfaction increased with each additional hour people spent working remotely. But it stopped increasing beyond 15 hours worked remotely.-- Less sickness. Even as companies consider reconfiguring workplaces with plexiglass barriers on desks and special air filters, letting employees work from home can help keep them safe from communicable diseases (and not just COVID-19).-- More time for fitness. You may be able to squeeze in more workouts. "Having a little more time, if you're using it wisely, can be very beneficial," said Marilyn Skarbek, an assistant professor of exercise science at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. "There are a lot of other things you can do around the house to keep you moving: laundry, cleaning -- all of that keeps you active. My house is definitely cleaner than normal." But there is a risk you could be more sedentary, she warned.Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, predicted that workers will be looking for the "happy medium," splitting time between remote work and showing up at the office. The hope is that the pandemic will have shown managers that workers can be trusted to do their jobs without constant supervision."Any kind of flexibility is something that people are really, really ripe for, just some control over where and when they work," she said.Happy Tales From the Home OfficeMany people who had never considered this kind of working life have now had a taste of it, and they love it.Jacquie Benetua-Rolens, communications and engagement coordinator at Santa Cruz Community Health Centers in Santa Cruz, California, has a 2-year-old son who has become a daily part of Zoom meetings with colleagues, waving at them in his pajamas."There is this softened, unfiltered, more honest version of ourselves that I'm enjoying getting to know," Benetua-Rolens said. "There is room to be forgiving and understanding with each other and ourselves. And it's because we've all had to juggle."Benetua-Rolens said she often thinks of her small cubicle back at the office, which she decorated with plants and pictures of her two children."I used to love it," she said. "But I don't miss it at all. I don't want to go back to that even though my house is filthy."Jessica Keup, a 37-year-old single mother and a computer programmer in Ann Arbor, Michigan, moved to her parents' home in rural Tennessee with her 3-year-old son in mid-March, after her company told employees to work from home.Since then, she has been coding from the deck while her son plays with the goats, chickens and peacocks that roost on the vast property.Keup said the solitude has made her more focused and more productive. Her work is not interrupted by chatty colleagues who want to say hi or need help fixing a computer glitch."The people who are in the office who are extroverts stand out and talk a lot and can take the oxygen out of the room," she said.At least one poll from early in the pandemic suggests a strong preference for remote work. Gallup found that almost 60% of Americans working from home would prefer to work remotely "as much as possible" after restrictions are lifted, with 40% saying they preferred to return to the workplace. The online survey of 2,276 randomly selected adults was conducted from March 14 through April 2. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.At the very least, some workers would like to see employers put lessons of the pandemic into practice, including more compassionate management in general.Rico Sisney, who works for Greenpeace USA, said he would like to continue seeing the kinds of emails his organization has been sending lately encouraging employees to take walks and small breaks."Organizations can continue that even when there is not a pandemic," Sisney said. "Highlight mental health."Christine de Denus, a chemistry professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, said she has relished the quiet of working from her porch. She thinks workplaces should adapt to all styles of working."Go to the people and say, 'How can I help you thrive?'" de Denus said. "Just because I'm quiet in a meeting doesn't mean I don't have ideas."When the time comes to return to the office, Keup said she plans to ask if she can work two to four weeks a year from Tennessee."It's beautiful. It's resting and restorative," she said. "And I'll miss that."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

Smartphones can be used to digitally trace Covid-19. But not if the public don’t download an app over privacy fears – or find it won’t work on their device

The idea of the NHS tracing app is to enable smartphones to track users and tell them whether they interacted with someone who had Covid-19. Yet this will work only if large proportions of the population download the app. No matter how smart a solution may appear, mass consent is required. That will not be easy. Ministers and officials have failed to address the trade-offs between health and privacy by being ambiguous about the app’s safeguards.

Instead of offering cast-iron guarantees about the length of time for which data would be held; who can access it; and the level of anonymity afforded, we have had opacity and obfuscation. It is true that we are dealing with uncertainties. But without absolute clarity about privacy the public is unlikely to take up the app with the appropriate gusto.

Some weeks ago my main worries were around my GCSEs. Now I hear every day about deaths from Covid-19

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

It is the sixth week of lockdown, and for many people things are getting progressively more intense. Most families are physically distancing at home. People are only leaving the house for their weekly shop – and spending a lot of that time waiting in the queue – or to exercise once a day.

In my family things are a bit different. Our driveway is usually empty during the day as my parents, who are doctors, go in to work. It is difficult to imagine how only some weeks ago my main worries were around my GCSEs. Now every day, I hear about deaths from coronavirus. I cannot help but feel a surge of fear for my parents as I watch these updates with my brother. I’m painfully aware of the many healthcare workers who have lost their lives.

Lawyers say failure to provide adequate PPE may amount to corporate manslaughter

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

The deaths of more than 50 hospital and care home workers have been reported to Britain’s health and safety regulator, which is considering launching criminal investigations, the Guardian has learned.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigates the breaking of safety at work laws, has received 54 formal reports of deaths in health and care settings “where the source of infection is recorded as Covid-19”. These are via the official reporting process, called Riddor: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences.

Letter seeks to dispel view that Prof Neil Ferguson was single architect of lockdown idea

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

A group of leading UK scientists have insisted that the scientific basis for the coronavirus lockdown is the work of a large group of experts, and that epidemiologist Prof Neil Ferguson is just one voice among many.

In a letter co-ordinated by Dr Thibaut Jombart, an associate professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, more than 25 prominent scientists said debates after Ferguson’s “individual error” – in which he flouted lockdown rules by receiving visits at home from his lover – had amplified a misconception that he alone persuaded the government to change policy.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford dropped by his cottage last month, days after asking the province’s residents to stay away from theirs. His office says Ford "drove alone" and was there for less than an hour to check on construction.

A man whose wife was killed in the April mass shooting in Nova Scotia is the plaintiff named in a proposed class-action lawsuit against the estate of the deceased gunman, denturist Gabriel Wortman.

Lethbridge police are being investigated by an outside force after handcuffing a woman in a stormtrooper costume outside a Star Wars-themed business earlier this week. But still the force faces accusations that not enough is being done to investigate what happened.

Danish Chagani was excited when the lawyer who lived down the hall from his Toronto condo wanted to rent his unit after he bought a house for his young family. But the first-time landlord says the feeling was short-lived.

A Colombian advertising company is pitching a novel if morbid solution to shortages of hospital beds and coffins during the coronavirus pandemic: combine them. ABC Displays has created a cardboard bed with metal railings that designers say can double as a casket if a patient dies. Company manager Rodolfo Gómez said he was inspired to find a way to help after watching events unfold recently in nearby Ecuador.

The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation’s top disease control experts for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House, according to internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press. The files also show that after the AP reported Thursday that the guidance document had been buried, the Trump administration ordered key parts of it to be fast-tracked for approval. It included detailed “decision trees,” or flow charts aimed at helping local leaders navigate the difficult decision of whether to reopen or remain closed.

President Vladimir Putin told Russians they are "invincible" when they stand together as the country on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in lockdown from the coronavirus. With cases surging and authorities urging Russians to stay in their homes, celebrations of this year's Victory Day were muted after the Kremlin grudgingly postponed plans for a grand parade with world leaders. Instead of columns of military hardware and thousands of troops marching through Red Square as planned, Putin walked alone to lay flowers at the Eternal Flame outside the red brick walls of the Kremlin.

No, you should not CC the CEO on every email you send.

The slowing economy due to COVID-19 has allowed solar, wind and hydro power to overtake coal-fired power.

In one of my latest reports (Key Criteria for Evaluating Unstructured Data Management), one of the key criteria was the availability of…

Stoked by divisive politics preying on ignorance, the threat grows and victims mount. 

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Police complaints commissioner raises questions about explanation for not recommending criminal charges. 

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Evidence points to London being a ceremonial site from the fourth millennium BC

Other researchers have rejected the findings and say dog owners do not need to be concerned

Uncooked pet food could be source of pathogens dangerous to humans, research suggests

Covid-19 could be 'antidote to complacency' among those on the fence about vaccines, scientists say

Humans can easily forget that the cities and towns they call home and frequently visit are also home to wild animals, writes Sandra E Garcia. In Wales, goats roam the streets, while in San Francisco the Coyotes have come out

Infowars founder Alex Jones among conspiracy theorists sowing doubts about pandemic

'Nothing like waking up to a fake article on your death,' tweets Elisa Granato

Nasa and the European Space Agency have shared new images of Comet Atlas as it flies towards Earth.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/kingdom-hearts-iii-standard-edition-playstation-4/9497135.p?skuId=9497135

Not sure if it was a glitch or intentional, but I got a notice this morning saying that my copy of Final Fantasy Remake Standard Edition had shipped.  That made me happy enough, as I was afraid it might be delayed - had it pre-ordered on Amazon but it shifted to delivery unknown earlier in the week so I canceled it.  But, back on topic - about 3 hours later I got a message that I had a 25 dollar reward.  I did not have anywhere near that many points before so I looked for where they came from.  When I clicked on the Final Fantasy VII Remake purchase, this is what it said:

Total Points: 1142

My Best Buy Visa Purchase Bonus - 83

$10 Dollar Certificate for Final Fantasy VII Preorder - 500

$10 Dollar Certificate for Final Fantasy VII Preorder - 500

Base Points - 59

Did this happen to anyone else?  Considering I preordered it when I still had Gamers Club - so got it for 51.23 ... this has been an especially Cheap Ass Gamer type of purchase.

P.S.  Sigh, I really miss Gamers Club.  Hate spending 64.04 on new releases (that includes local tax).

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/mario-rabbids-kingdom-battle-nintendo-switch/5909500.p?skuId=5909500

Part of the 1-Day sale

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/nintendo-labo-offer

Includes Variety Kit, Robot Kit, Vehicle Kit, and VR Starter Kit.

Nintendo $50 USD eShop Cards US for $42.5

Coupon: NK8

Fortnite Darkfire Bundle (PS4/XB1/Switch) $14.99  msrp $29.99

Amazon has the PS4 version for the same price.

BOGO Fortnite Figures

Other Fornite deals:

Buy any v-bucks card, get the SteelSeries - Arctis 1 Wireless Stereo Gaming Headset for PC for $59.99

Here's what the Darkfire Bundle includes:

https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/darkfire