Weekly Recap for February 28, 2021
From the Remote Outpost along Wisconsin's Northern Border.
A relaxing week that didn't find us heading to Superior and Duluth for appointments or other nonsense. It is nice to have a semi-relaxing week, and we'll be back on the road at the end of the week to Superior again.
Our small rural town of fewer than 500 residents has a three to five-block central business district (CBD) of various local businesses. It is interesting to note that there are no business owners, small business owners association, or group to speak to the companies in town. There are currently six empty or closed businesses in the downtown CBD and one closed at the town's outskirts. These businesses have been empty and vacated for a year now. There is no indication that the empty storefronts will once again house a viable enterprise. Driving down Rittenhouse Avenue doesn't appear to be warm and welcoming to Bayfield with empty storefronts.
Enough about real-world brick and mortar businesses. How about virtual meetings. The year is 2021, and nearly everyone who is paying attention has been involved in a virtual forum over the past 12-14 months. You might have used Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Go To Meeting, or any of the plethora of virtual meeting platforms available.
I have two years of experience using Zoom, and while not an expert or guru of Zoom, I've learned a few things.
It's apparent that the following, former school boards hadn't.
We Have Another School Board Hot Mic Fiasco. Want to Guess What Was Said? Hint: It's Full-Blown Woke.
Disgusting Hot Mic Moment Ends With SF Bay Area School Board President Sprinting for the Exit
I have seen plenty of people on virtual meetings who appear to be oblivious that the camera is on and on them all the time. In many cases, they do not know or are not aware that the meeting that they are attending is being recorded.
None of the meetings that I've attended have risen to the status of meeting heads of state or requiring black tie attire. However, a certain amount of decorum from meeting attendees would be welcome.
Meeting attendees, eating their meals or snacks during the entire meeting, rattling their ice cubes in an empty glass, talking on their phones, or to someone just out of camera range are but a few instances.
Meeting attendees also need to be aware of their camera backgrounds as well. Photobombing by family members is not encouraged.
Given that virtual meetings are the norm now and not the exception, you would think that the regular meetings that are going on would improve. And we all would be sadly mistaken.
We can all insist on our local, county, state, and federal officials to end the unnecessary lockdown and restrictions on gatherings immediately so that we are not dealing with the continued madness that permeates the current evolution of virtual meetings.
Another discussion topic for another time is the concept of the driverless car/remote working, and is the two sides of the same coin? Driverless cars and companies like Waymo are already here. Hop in the driverless car and off to your destination of work or whatever. The time spent in the driverless vehicle can be used at your discretion, freeing up time for your pursuits. Like I said, a topic for further investigation soon.
The ice storm that covered the southwest part of the country over the past week or so brings up some interesting questions as well. What are electric companies like Xcel doing to ease the increase in electric vehicles (EV's) and the increased need for private and public access EV charging? If you reside in the region of this remote outpost along Wisconsin's Northern Border or are thinking of driving up here in an EV, pay attention to Plugshare.
"Revolt is the right of the people"
-John Locke
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