There's been lots of advice for partner board games and group social meetups and work meetings online but I feel like I'm in the vacuumest vacuum in which I've ever been. I've been at a contract job for 2 months and just got an extension until 4/30. However, I spent last Thursday and Friday on furlough (no pay) and my contract has been paused (no pay) for the next 2-3 weeks.

I have a regular Wednesday evening happy hour that we've turned into a video party but beyond that I have no social interactions and no real reason to get out of bed.

I tend to be pretty bad at self-care anyway so reminders to cook or clean or exercise more may not work.

I'm totally OK with sleeping through it all. There are online classes I can do, partly-finished projects, lots of cleaning that I could do but I just need a kick in the butt.

Mainly I need motivation from fellow lazy people - just lazy people - to figure out how to start and how to keep going.

My daughter wants to work in wildlife conservation: research, management, and policy. Which degree would be better for a career in wildlife: veterinary (with a big debt) or master's in environmental biology? She planned for years to go to veterinary school, but then was waitlisted at the one offering in-state tuition (still a lot). So she talked herself out of vet school and applied for two masters in ecological biology (or biological ecology, idk) programs in Germany, where tuition is free. She got really excited about those. Then the vet school called and accepted her!

There are big pros and cons to either plan, but she is only 21 and is thinking about the next few years of school. I want her to look beyond that to what she wants to do with her life.

Google says most of its employees will likely be allowed to work remotely through the end of year. In a companywide meeting Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said employees who needed to work in the office would be allowed to return in June or July with enhanced safety measures in place. The rest would likely continue working from home, a Google spokesperson told NPR. Google had originally told employees work-from-home protocols would be in place at least through June 1. Facebook also said it would allow most of its employees to work remotely through the end of 2020, according to media reports. The company had previously announced it was canceling large events through June 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both companies began telling employees to stay home in March . Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

A slickly produced 26-minute video called Plandemic has exploded on social media in recent days, claiming to present a view of COVID-19 that differs from the "official" narrative. The video has been viewed millions of times on YouTube via links that are replaced as quickly as the video-sharing service can remove them for violating its policy against "COVID-19 misinformation." In it, filmmaker Mikki Willis conducts an uncritical interview with Judy Mikovits, who he says has been called "one of the most accomplished scientists of her generation." Never heard of her? You're not alone. Two prominent scientists with backgrounds in AIDS research and infectious diseases, who asked not to be identified over concerns of facing a backlash on social media, told NPR that they did not know who she was. If you were aware of Mikovits before this week, it is probably for two books she published with co-author Kent Heckenlively, one in 2017 and another last month. Heckenlively has also written a book

This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tomorrow begins a new section on this website. It’s to be called Current Listens, and that’s what it’s about. To a degree, it’s an answer to a frequent question I receive: “What have you been listening to lately?” It may prove to be an experiment, and it may prove to last long-term. It’s going to […]

These sound-studies highlights of the week are lightly adapted from the May 4, 2020, issue of the free Disquiet.com weekly email newsletter This Week in Sound (tinyletter.com/disquiet). As always, if you find sonic news of interest, please share it with me, and (except with the most widespread of news items) I’ll credit you should I […]

Confidence is consistently believing in your own ability. It gives you an edge, elevating your performance, personal effectiveness, and even the quality of your relationships. The good news is that it's possible to build this magnetic quality over time—and there's no better time to start than now. In this weekly series, individuals new to the workforce, returning after a hiatus, or making a career transition can find bite-sized confidence-building tips for the moments that matter. Leadership consultant Selena Rezvani provides tips on improving your self-image, cultivating a growth mindset, and focusing on small wins, as well as other techniques for improving your self-confidence—minutes at a time. Tune in every Monday for a new confidence-boosting tip and start every week off more poised and self-assured.

SketchUp Pro, the powerful and popular 3D design software, boasts a robust tool kit that users can leverage to design, document, and share their projects. Whether you're a SketchUp veteran or a brand-new user, this weekly series can help you spend less time fussing with settings and features and more time designing amazing things. Instructor Tammy Cody shares actionable, bite-sized tips for using common SketchUp tools more efficiently, as well as how to generally work smarter with the software. Tune in every Monday for a new tip.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.

Take your love of letterforms to the next level with this weekly series that explores all things, big and small, related to type and the practice of typography. These tips are aimed at people using Adobe Creative Cloud: primarily InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Some tips are specific to particular applications and some are purely conceptual and software agnostic. Tune in every Monday for another timely tip to improve your typographical skills and increase the efficiency of your design workflow.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion. (Author: Nigel French)

Welcome to the Real Recording School Weekly series. Every week, Larry Crane leads a class of like-minded audio enthusiasts, engineers, and producers through a new recording or mixing challenge. Learn how to recognize and fix persistent sound issues like clicky bass, snare drum ring, boomy guitars, and hi-hat bleed, so that the music is all that listeners hear. The course features software and plugins, such as iZotope and Pro Tools, but almost all the techniques can be recreated in your favorite DAW. All you need to follow along is a pair of headphones and a passion for sound.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.

References, recommendations, and referrals are more than just flattery—they can change the trajectory of your career. Join Emilie Aries as she breaks down how to leverage these powerful endorsements to go further at work. Learn who to ask, when to ask, and how to ask—and how to follow up on requests without seeming pesky. Plus, discover a simple framework you can use to make sure you're giving as much as you're taking from your network of supporters.

What if it only took a few minutes a week to become a better iOS developer? This series is designed to provide small, smart hacks that can improve the way you code with Xcode and Swift. Tune in every Tuesday for another short video, on topics such as version control with Git, MapKit, iPad Playgrounds, and iPhone X development. Create faster, more reliable, and better-looking apps for iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch. Steven Lipton will help you take your iOS (and watchOS) projects to the next level, one week at a time.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.

Linux is the operating system of choice for enterprises that need a stable, agile, and open-source platform, and it's only getting more popular. Qualified system administrators are in demand. If you've been anticipating a transition to Linux for your company or your career, or thinking about using Linux at home, this series presents a great opportunity to explore it—one tip at a time. Instructor covers a wide range of topics relevant to anyone interested in broadening their knowledge of Linux core concepts, including virtualization, the Linux file system, file management, file transfer, process management, multitasking, networking, and security. Plus, learn about compatible hardware and the Linux desktop experience. Tune in each week to get a new tip, and keep learning Linux all year long.

This tips-based course will show Excel users productivity-boosting tricks, cool hidden features, need-to-know functions, and advanced content on subjects such as using PivotTables for data analysis. Tune in every Tuesday for a new tip from expert Dennis Taylor. Each tutorial is a short, self-contained lesson guaranteed to give you new insights into Excel.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.

Despite our best efforts, not all of our photos are immediate winners. In this weekly series, get techniques for turning good shots into exceptional photos in a matter of minutes. Photographer and teacher Chris Orwig shares insider tips for Photoshop, Lightroom, and more. Using real-world examples, Chris demonstrates how to leverage these powerful tools to enhance everything from wedding portraits to landscape photos. He also goes over general photography techniques that can help you ensure that your shots are authentic and interesting before you even touch any digital editing tools. Tune in each week for a brand-new tip.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.

Looking to add 3D to your professional skill set? In this weekly series, join EJ Hassenfratz as he shares tips, techniques, and strategies for boosting your 3D skills with Cinema 4D, the essential tool for motion graphics artists and designers. Learn how to enhance your designs—and streamline your overall workflow—with these helpful tactics. Tune in every Thursday for a new tip.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.

Take a deep dive into usability testing techniques and methodologies for user experience (UX) design projects with research expert Amanda Stockwell. In this course, you can learn which types of tests—remote or in person, moderated or unmoderated, task-based or unstructured—to use for specific types of projects and users. Amanda also shares tips on conducting usability tests, from recruiting participants to moderating sessions. Plus, learn how to analyze and present the results of your testing to the rest of your organization.

Sleep is mandatory. You can't outsource it and you can't negotiate it—and it has a powerful impact on everything you do while you're awake. So why not build habits to optimize your sleep and live your best life? Learn how to make sleep a priority and take steps to achieve sleep wellness. The Sleep Ambassador®, Nancy Rothstein, shares tips for optimizing sleep and performing at your best in work and life. Learn how to prioritize sleep, assess your sleep, create the right sleep environment, and adopt strategies to fall asleep and stay asleep. Nancy offers concrete, practical advice based on research and science—so you can master sleep as your superpower.

Get your gear on! Join photographer, author, and educator Tim Grey every Friday for insights on camera gear of all kinds. In Photo Gear Weekly, Tim shares tips for mastering your camera's advanced features, recommends accessories that will streamline your shooting and expand your creative options, and spotlights hot gear—new and vintage alike—that you'll want to know about.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.

Engineering involves a lot of theory. But we don't always get to see it in practice. This series teaches fundamental principles that all civil and mechanical engineers need to know, alongside demonstrations that show how they really work. Using everything from desktop models predicting the movement of groundwater to hand-built examples of mechanically stabilized earth, instructor Grady Hillhouse explains how engineering concepts become real. Every month, he introduces an important new topic that will improve your understanding of essential engineering principles, including force, strength, tension, compression, and more, and help you find better solutions to common design challenges.

Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.

He launched Diddy’s career.

Missing contact with fellow humans? How about a virtual happy hour? Now with date and time! Tuesday, April 7, at 7 PM. We can't really go to the 4th Avenue Pub, but let's pretend.

COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in my plan to have monthly NYC meetups. But perhaps we could get together virtually over drinks or dinner sometime? If you think this might be a good idea, please share your comments or suggestions! If it sounds like a terrible idea, feel free to let me know that too! (Non-NYC Mefites welcome too, of course!) I think we will use Zoom? Does that seem good? Or LiliaNic's WebEx account if we become a really large number of people? Looking forward to seeing y'all!

Tue April 7 at 7:00 PM, home

Hey y'all - let's have a virtual meetup! The theme is "Quarantine Hobbies" - let's share our tales of dead sourdough starter, failed crops, ugly sweaters, bad television!

My preference is to do this on a weekend closer to the evening. I don't have one of those fancy upgraded Zoom accounts that lets you go more than 40 minutes, so please share if you do. How does April 18th at 4:00 PM (Eastern) sound?

Sat April 18 at 4:00 PM,

MeFites in Japan, unite! (While, of course, maintaining appropriate distance) This upcoming Sunday (April 19) at 19:00 we'll be meeting on Zoom to chat and conviviate (that's probably not a real word). You're probably at home, you're probably going stir crazy, you probably want to meet new people or see familiar faces again, so you should join us! If you want to attend, say the word and we'll send you the Zoom meeting invite link via MeMail.

Sun April 19 at 8:00 PM,

I'd like to hang out with other MeFites online next weekend (April 24 or 25), from ca. 7pm PST. Not sure how (platform), so this and precise details would be yet TBD. 19+, your choice of food/drink (surprise us), your best hangout/bar attire, some warm (flattering) lights and funky decor, and some tunes (streamed with e.g. Watch2Gether or better).

I've never ever been to a meetup yet. I fact, I don't believe I've met a single MeFite in person yet. I haven't even managed to convince a real life person to join so please let's do this! Any interest? MeMail me or post here :)

Fri April 24 at 7:00 PM,

Hey all. I don't know if you noticed this, but we're in uncharted territory here. If you look at the sidebar, it has a list of "most active cities" for meetups, and we're essentially in second place (a couple cities have had four, sure), and if we have another meetup this Sunday, boom, we'll be one of the most active cities/amorphous regional groupings in all of Metafilterland! Can't you just feel those competitive juices flowing, urging you on to meet once again on Sunday night at 8 for some light chat, witty observations, and hilarious jokes? Edit: changed time to 8, longer explanation in the comments

I can set up the zoom thing again, and will mail invites out to anyone in the going or maybe fields. We managed about seven people last week, which was nice. I figure if we're going to do these things regularly, it might be nice to have a theme of some sort, something to get things going, and honestly, all I've got is jokes. Like, terrible jokes. Not offensive, just really, painfully unfunny jokes, the best kind! Please think up a terrible joke to share when we meet on Sunday, and from there, we can just sort of go wherever it takes us. I'd like to extend the invitation to Mefites around the world, as well, just on the off chance they're awake and up for meeting at 8pm Japan time on Sunday, but I'm not really sure how. I imagine posting in MeTa would get us more people than we could probably handle, and there's also a part of me that thinks 6-8 people is just about the upper limit for Zoom anyway. What do you folks think?

Sun April 26 at 8:00 PM,

It's easy to lose track, but Golden Week is upon us! Let's celebrate Golden Week's Greenery Day (Monday, May 4) together!. We can all reminisce about Greenery Day events through the ages, exchange Greenery Day trivia (surprisingly, Greenery Day has nothing to do with the American rock band called Green Day), and discuss how Greenery Day has affected our lives. Do you remember where you were the year that "GD" was moved from April 29 to May 4?

As usual we will be on Zoom, so download the Zoom client in advance for an optimal experience, and sign up here to receive an invitation to the event. We're scheduled for 8-10pm (roughly), Monday May 4. The following day is also a government holiday. Suggestions for non Greenery Day-related topics of discussion are also welcome. And does anyone want to play Trivial Pursuit?

Mon May 4 at 8:00 PM, Zoom Zoom Zoom

Excitement! Adventure! Zoom! Witty Banter!* Mefites beamed directly to your home! Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! (Monster truck voice intensifies) *wittiness of banter not guaranteed, offer void in Taito-ku, Saitama, and some parts of Aichi, consult your doctor if banter causes itchiness or swelling

We had a nice crowd on Monday, hopefully we can have a decent one this week, too. I'll send out the invites Sunday morning, hope to see you all there.

A 1902 house's long-neglected porch regains its turn-of-the-century charm

How much are you willing to endure to see your King? How far are you willing to go?

President Trump's depiction of urban life in America is often grim, and the tension between the president and big city mayors is often filled with name-calling and lawsuits. For many mayors who end up in the president's crosshairs, it's a balancing act as they try to determine how to ward off criticism, as well as Trump administration policies they think may be harmful, while not jeopardizing federal funds earmarked for city projects. For example, Trump raised plenty of hackles with his recent comments about the homeless in California hurting the prestige of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Darrell Steinberg, chairperson of California's State Commission on Homelessness and Supportive Housing, calls the president's statements hypocritical. "This is a president who is calling for the elimination of the Community Development Block Grant Program, which is a primary source of funding for affordable housing," says Steinberg, who is also the mayor of Sacramento. Last week, Steinberg signed a

Updated at 8:11 p.m. ET The interim chief of the Fort Worth Police Department apologized on Tuesday to the family of Atatiana Jefferson in the aftermath of her fatal shooting by a police officer while she was in her home. "This incident has eroded the trust that we have built with our community and we must now work even harder to ensure that trust is restored," said Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus. Aaron Dean, the officer who shot Jefferson, resigned from the department and has been charged with murder . Kraus said that there is "absolutely no excuse" for the incident and that Dean will be held responsible for his actions. He asked the Fort Worth community to not allow the incident to reflect poorly on the entire police department. "The officers are hurting," he said. "They try hard every day to try to make this city better." Jefferson's family is calling for an independent investigation so that the Fort Worth Police Department is not investigating itself. The mayor told NPR she

i guess you would call this my quarantine album - i call it solskifte, which means sun division - and in a lot of ways, not just seasonal, that's what seems to be going on - much more inside on march 31, i got an email announcing that there was going to be an rpm challenge for april, in addition to the one in feb they have every year and i do albums for every year on march 24, i had to leave work early because after lunch i felt like i was going to drop - i had been feeling some slightly annoying sinus trouble that i had thought was allergies, but i realized i had something worse i didn't know if i was running a fever or not - i made a quick trip to the med center - i called first - and after a brief exam, i was told i had a low grade fever and was instructed to quarantine for 14 days - this was also something my company's new covid-19 policy demands, so there's no problem here and i even get partial compensation so i spent the next few days trying to feel better - it wasn't until sunday that i was starting to feel that maybe i didn't have this bad thing - or that maybe in spite of being 62 with a few medical problems i was going to make it meanwhile, my poor kid's stuck with me in the apartment and not real happy well, this is long - but on april 1st, i decided to try coming up with new music and ended up writing some songs that are about how i felt about being in my apartment, sick, and wondering what would happen next sometimes it's been warm enough to open up my window for a bit - and this is what i felt about that calling on the wind to give me back my name remembering an old world that used to seem tame clouds outside my window never give us rain i used to go out there but i won't do that again in the cruelest month the birds eat seedlings in the cruelest month i dare not confess my feelings in the cruelest month the world is awry tossing out its life like trash thrown aside staring at the glass and wondering what i am sense the blood within my body - still wondering what i am my thoughts are like birds, but they never rise above my feet are nailed onto the earth and i do not know love in the cruelest month the birds eat seedlings in the cruelest month i dare not confess my feelings in the cruelest month the world is awry tossing out its life like trash thrown aside

in the northern part of the world, the sun takes a while to be given a bigger share of our sky - which also can stand for a metaphor for a lot of things these days circle round the river, make a place for sun hold your hand out to the field when day is done night chills still in spring, night looks back days still hint at weakness, the trees stay black this is our portion even through the equinox solskifte is slow to undo locks these are the days when we are unsure where to go solskifte gives up the sun so slow circle round the ashes that fall from the sky heartless and invisible to our careless eye circle round the hearts that drive the grasping hand say a prayer for those who are married to this land this is our portion even through the equinox solskifte is slow to undo locks these are the days when we are unsure where to go solskifte gives up the sun so slow

my daughter has a treefull of crows outside her window and she's convinced they're as interested in her as she is in them she's sure they are her friends i've tried to tell her that i'm not sure they're really all that interested in her, but i don't really think that's getting through to her - and i don't know whether she really understands the current situation - why she has to stay home, why her dad had to stay in quarantine for 14 days just because he was a little sick, why her dad was worried about what was going to happen i guess this song is about all that i can't tell you if the crows like you even though you believe they talk to you they were created for another world but maybe we pretend that it's not our world too fly around and looking for a meal fly around and looking for a summer deal but it's april and where we live everything takes so long to happen well, it's not much fun, wondering if i'll be gone i can't even go for a walk on the lawn the days all count to the last fade away but then again, it's always really been that way do you think the crows don't think about all that? somehow i think they do - the way they gather at their friend lying there, complaining everything more or less has to happen but with any luck, it will warm up a little and i think my hourglass isn't ready to settle we can go out and watch the crows once again and you can tell me that they are your friends one day we'll get to walk out and feel free and not think about the things that could be we can be like crows and bluff our way through all the things, good and bad, that happen and the secret to life, so i've been told is you keep lucking out and then you find yourself old and you wonder, what the hell did i do with all that time? and it didn't make much sense, and it didn't even rhyme and if i gave you a ring for surety some crow would go and grab it and hide it in a tree and forget about it - that crow and you and me just more of those things that happen

this is about just sitting at home, waiting to see if i got better or not - spoiler - i did get better i have been keeping warm i have been keeping warm the sun has not been keeping warm i have been keeping warm outside the world goes gray outside the children play not everyone follows the soul of the day outside the world goes gray the wheels of the carts are turning but not today for me the stars are coldly burning but not today for me i wake up with nothing resolved nothing done and nothing resolved the world wears a mask of glass for me i look out there and there's nothing's resolved i'm getting soft on memory i do not want what could be time drips seconds carelessly too slow and too fast to please me and i understand the revelation is here and no one wanted to look at it, no one wanted fear and i understand i can claim another day and i have no ideas but to let it slip away

this guy - well, he always gets his way, eventually i've got it, you know i've really got it everything you could really want all the music you listened to all the booze you drank all the friends you slept with all the friends you didn't they're just shadows, so are you but you know what you're going to do come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside don't you cry about murder don't you cry about the carelessness of man your problem is, you just don't see there was never any other plan but take this glass of rum from my bony hand give me a toast, let me tip my top hat come on baby, come on into my house i'll give you this and i'll give you that come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside say hello to president kennedy say hello to fu manchu say hello to the 36 wise men yes, they've been staying with me, too the bishop said god could sort them out well, i've been waiting for many years here's that party pal you've been dreaming of now let's not see any tears come with me for a cadillac ride open the earth and see what's inside

A very silly rendition of this well-known piece with the beat on the wrong note. It kinda works!? Also available on youtube if you want to see the score.

the thing is that all that is offered is futility ... i could make you run to the sky says the great keeper of the lie i am the reason why you medicate i am the reason why you hate turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind i could give you vast kingdoms i could give you the song of the sea i could give you the heart of the crane i could give you eternity turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind there's no sense in standing on that rock there's no sense in praying to the clock there's no sense in counting all the stripes there's no sense believing all the hypes turn away and find something small to occupy your time turn away and find something small to occupy your mind

hoping that some of the things we like, which seem to be shallow comforts until we're deprived of them, will manage to come back sometime soon time to go walking - time to go singing time to go loving - that's what i want to just wander supermarkets of desire and see what's mine there - that's what i want there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved maybe be wiser - maybe be foolish maybe there is room where we can be both maybe live a little sweeter knowing we can win or lose maybe there is room where we can do both there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved there is nothing on the wind that doesn't blow away something will be saved

I've been working on a musical collaboration with a fellow musician friend of mine during these crazy coronavirus times, in hopes of generating something fun and creative while we have all this spare time not working or gigging. Here's the second song from that collaboration.

Auf Great Barrier Island warten alle Besucher, dass die Nacht anbricht. Denn die neuseeländische Insel ist ein Sternlicht-Reservat. Nur an wenigen Orten auf der Welt lassen sich die Gestirne so gut beobachten wie hier.

Die Haare im Wind, salzige Luft in der Nase, immer nah am Wasser: Eine Segelkreuzfahrt durch die Inselwelt der Kykladen ist ein Erlebnis. Zur echten Herausforderung wird sie, wenn der Meltemi in Sturmstärke bläst.

In part two of a three-part series, Michael Emenau explores the job options available for music producers and discusses how to search for opportunities.

/files/2013/09/Becoming_a_Producer_Networking_thumb_5.jpg

The post Becoming a Music Producer Pt. 2: Music Career Tips appeared first on Dubspot Blog.

'If we approach and interpret the Bible wrongly, we will likely come to false conclusions, not just in the understanding of salvation but in everything else that the Bible teaches.'

I have successfully eliminated feeding time drama. I will tell you how.

But first - if you're willing to make a small screw hole in the pantry door, you can get an inexpensive metal latch hook that will improve that part of your system. If that won't work, you can find another way to keep that door securely closed. If you get stuck, just use your second AskMe question. You should be able to solve this problem :)

If you can't, well, it doesn't sound like you're getting a ton of help from the robot. Would it be just as easy to store the food in an air-tight container and serve whenever you feel like it?

Now - here's how I got my round little foster cat to stop harassing us for food:

I convinced her that I was not responsible for deciding when to feed her. I had an old phone with a distinctive, not-unpleasant alarm sound (harp glissando), set the alarm for her feeding times, and made a huge show about hearing the alarm sound, running over to it (to shut it off), and feeding her exactly then. It was clear that I was controlled by the harp sound. She made the connection very quickly, and would go sit and watch the sound/alarm system when it was close to meal times. My life improved. Safety improved (no cat weaving around my ankles). My estimation of my own cleverness improved also :)

People tend to overthink this, and I am speaking from real experience. Just keep the requisite number of gallons of water you'd use in the timespan for which you're planning and change them every couple of years, just for the sake of doing it. They'll last for eons in reality.

In an emergency, water's great, but in a longer-term bad situation, it falls pretty far down the list. Unless you're in an unusually arid place, a means to obtain the water necessary to live (maybe not to shower, run the dishwasher or laundry though) will make itself known. And you'd never store enough to matter for *that* long, while a few gallons of cooking oil or a bag of salt would make you a local hero for a long, long time.

What people tend to really wish they'd planned for, but don't:

1) cooking oil
2) toilet paper, paper towels
3) spices, herbs, pepper and salt
4) sugar, chocolate (especially for its fat), candy, honey
5) soap, shampoo, cleaning products
6) seeds for easy-to-grow stuff
7) vitamins
8) if you can keep a couple of hens, you won't regret it.

Nothing's as tradeable (relative to effort) as eggs!

Aside from the last three, these things can be stored for a long, long time. And in reality, #6 and #7 would be good for a few years.

I am a Sarajevan who lived during the siege with no heat, electricity, water, phone (etc) for the most of a three-year period. What's on the list above is what I was almost always missing. We got "dry" food packages from various sources. These tended to be Truman eggs (good for a little protein, but thats about it), macaroni, rice, powder potatoes, Vietnam-era "biscuits" - supposedly with vitamins, but these were from the late 1960s and of dubious nutritional value.

What was missing was: fat, protein, flavor and variety. Boiling was the only way to cook things, due to lack of any cooking oils. To fry something was a rare miracle - even if you were frying reconstituted potatoes from powder. And to have a little pepper or salt was nirvana.

Do you actually like this guy? You've written an essay here and the only positives you list about this person are qualities you assumed about him during the period you had no personal contact. Of course he makes himself look interesting in his own blog.

Stop worrying if he likes you or not, or likes you enough or more than your friend maybe. For the next few weeks, your sole focus should be "do I actually like this guy, really?"

If it's your anxiety telling you you're not good enough that's one thing, but I don't get the impression from what you've written that you've spent a lot of time looking at this dude with a critical eye. HE needs to be right for YOU before you start concerning yourself with whether you're good enough for him.