The lab look


I’ve been in lab all afternoon, this section finished up ten minutes early. So in case you’ve wondered, this is how I face my students nowadays.

It’s kind of offputting, but then, the students are all wearing masks, too.

Please, can we end the pandemic soon? I don’t much care for trying to teach while looking like a mysterious spaceman.

Comments

  1. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    At least you don’t need supplied pure air from a pump with filter cartridges mounted on your belt, a hood using supplied air from utility lines, or a scuba air supply on your back. I’ve had training in manufacturing/handling potent compounds.
    Your double masking is appropriate these days per CDC. Two thumbs up.

  2. weylguy says

    Used to be that if you walked into a bank with that outfit you’d be cut down instantly.

  3. jrkrideau says

    @ 7 weylguy
    When I was in my bank on Monday, I noticed that they still had a sign at the door asking people to remove hats, sunglasses and scarves as a security precaution. It was right beside the sign saying masks/face coverings are mandatory.

  4. PaulBC says

    I haven’t set foot in my bank branch since well before the pandemic. Come to think of it, I haven’t used an ATM either, except possibly to deposit a check I got for some reason or other. I don’t use cash now either.

  5. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    PaulBC@ 9, I don’t need to go to the bank to deposit checks. Both my iPad and iPhone have apps that allow me to do that from home. Just download your bank’s app to your device.

  6. PaulBC says

    @10 Oh, that’s interesting. So the bank doesn’t even need the evidence of a physical check? I do transfers with routing numbers for big payments like property tax, but I’m still surprised. Anyway, paper checks are an unusual event, usually refunds of some sort and it’s not hard to make a trip to an ATM for that.

  7. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    PaulBC @11, in both cases you use the camera in the device to photograph both sides of the check for proof. There is a slight delay before deposit is confirmed, so I presume some sort of verification is taking place.

  8. dontlikeusernames says

    Looks kind of badass in the sense of ‘futuristic dystopian society’, tbh :).

    I realize it’s probably just very uncomfortable… gotta go what you gotta do to keep everyone safe.

  9. cartomancer says

    It’s true, the waxed leather overalls and herb-stuffed plague beak they had in the 17th Century is a far more fetching and imposing look.

  10. blf says

    Groovy! A first aid kit with a robot. I presume the idea is to encourage people to be extra careful, avoiding avoidable accidents, otherwise one’s injury would be attended to by that

  11. ANB says

    Your masking is very prudent. I’m going to start double masking if/when in contact with others. I always have multiple masks (N95 and others) in my car.

    I am fortunate. I literally see no one personally all week (except in the restroom once or twice a week, but all us teachers are masked).

    Here in CA, people are pretty good about masking (except for the occasional white person/idiot).

    As for my bank, it requires an appointment, and I always have my bank card and DL to hand to them when I knock on the door (as I’m masked).

  12. unclefrogy says

    I was looking for a mask that functioned well with beards and I found a real nice one with filtered air and full face shield with the fan on the top but it cost $500.out of my price range it looked kind of comfortable with an unobstructed view.
    uncle frogy

  13. blf says

    @19, Near the end of the first lockdown here in France (so back in about June or so, last year), I did some searching for a mask which would work with a beard (as I usually describe mine, “A hedgehog being swallowed sideways”). Didn’t find any per se, but one alleged such mask was obviously not: It was a loose mesh, rather like hair- (and beard-)nets used by chefs and kitchen staff, and clearly inadequate for Covid-19 or (probably) anything other than its (very probably) intended purpose as a beard-net (to, e.g., keep loose hairs from following onto / into the food). That would have been funny (ignoring the false advertising), but what really Really annoyed me was the modeling of these “masks”: The model was wearing it below the nose; i.e., Improperly (for a Covid-19 mask).

    I still haven’t shaved, so my pet hedgehog is still interfering with my masks (plural — I’m now trying to double-mask, as this area of France is (now) being severely hit, with c.90% ICU occupancy and other distressingly-bad numbers; The mayor of the village I live in, e.g., has tested positive and is currently isolating.)

  14. blf says

    On banks: Except for one visit between lockdowns, I’ve managed to avoid visiting mine. I’m not too concerned about the bank itself, they seem to have implemented sensible protocols; what concerns me more is the bus ride to / from the bank.

    That one visit was, in my opinion, un-necessary. I’d placed a “large” order with a company in another country here in the EU, and whilst the total fit within my then-available credit card limit, it was larger than the company would accept by credit card. Well, “Ok” (sort-of), whatever. So, a bank-to-bank electronic transfer using an intra-EU system. Glitch now was my bank wouldn’t let me initiate the transfer remotely since I’d never used the system to send a payment to that company before. So I had to visit the bank with not only the company’s details, but my own ID. I’m half-happy with that security measure, and half-annoyed at having to visit the bank during a pandemic.

    I’m now, again, half-happy and half-annoyed with the latest glitch: I accidentally “blocked” my credit card, and cannot “unblock” it remotely. So I have to visit the bank. I do understand the reasoning here, so this time around I’m more annoyed with myself than the bank.

    Cheques in France are (very similar to) cash: They are paid on-demand (within time limits). The reason is because it is illegal to “bounce” a cheque for any reason. Doing so can get one banned from having anything approaching a “normal” bank account (not sure, but I think prison is also possible?). Despite this fairly high level of trust in cheques, they are falling out of use; contactless payment is very much on the rise. (Annoyingly, contactless payment is something I cannot do at the moment, hence the “need” to visit the busbank.)