Tag: pandemic

Day 16 – Homemade Pasta

Today was make homemade pasta day! This is a great project to do with the kids. They get to discover that pasta doesn’t come from a box! If you are feeling adventurous, you can make your own pasta sauce. Disclaimer: I am not a chef!

As for making your own pasta, everyone should have the basic ingredients in their kitchen’s. Every recipe I came across listed the same ingredients. Just make sure that you follow the measurements.

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs, beaten to blend
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer to mix the the flour and salt. Then I removed the mixer bowl and added the eggs. I used my hands to form the ingredients into a soft dough. Then I removed the dough on to my (cleaned) countertop.

At this point, the kids cleaned their hands and started to knead the dough. (Ooops, Add flour to the counter before you start kneading!) Let them have fun. After a few minutes of kneading I placed the dough in a bowl and let it sit for 30 to 40 minutes. Then I placed the dough in a zip lock bag (its what I had) and placed it in the fridge over night.

I did have a manual pasta machine at home. You can find then in the range of $29-$50. Most models allow you to set the thickness and pasta type you want to cut. The more expensive models have a wider variety of pasta shapes. Find the right spot to use your manual pasta machine will require a little work. We looked at a few locations and ended up in the dining room.

Have a flat pan ready to hold the pasta you make. And a little extra flour will keep it from sticking. Then its your choice to store the pasta or place it right in to a pot of hot water. I did.

Manual Pasta Machine

#staysafe #staywell

Day 15 – Working Out

Well its like working in now. I am stretching more than ever, using my exercise bands, resistance bands, lots of push-ups and some outdoor jogging (which I haven’t been doing as much).

I added two new toys to my workout. The JayFlex Cross Grips and a jump rope. The JayFlex Cross Grips are great and easy to use. UPDATE: 4/1/20: I am hearing that these are on back-order, just find another, not as cool pull up bar. You can easily mount it on a door frame, get your workout in, remove it and store it. You can also use it to do push ups. I will caution that you will probably want to wear gloves while using the cross grips. So far, I like them.

This is not me!

And my low tech jump rope. I only lasted 20 seconds on my first rep. But I’ve worked up to to a minute per rep and I’m trying for 2 minutes. Yes, I need to set goals.

continues to increase

Day 14 Game Night

The highlight of the day was family game night. The game, Monopoly. My youngest wiped everyone out and loved every second of it. Sometimes its good to sit down and play a board game.

We also played a few games of Jenga! Oddly enough no one wants to play me in Scrabble.

#staywell #staysafe

Day 13 Gaming Skills

I had to remind my kids that I was/am a gamer. Sure I might have started off playing Pong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Scrambler, Defender, TECMO Bowl, Spy Hunter, trust me I can go on. I can’t imagine how many quarters I deposited into video arcade games during the early 80’s.

My eldest is an NBA 2K fan and I serve as his training buddy. We have a late night basketball battle everyday. The cool part is that he enjoys playing with me and he isn’t surprised when I win.

My youngest is a Fortnite fanatic. Admittedly, it has taken me a while to get up to speed on this game. It required a time investment and tutoring by my kid, coupled with lots of YouTube videos. The good news is that I am almost there. I have been deemed good enough to play Duos!

#staywell #staysafe

The Map is all Red!

Day 12 – Family Project

Each day of isolation with your family can really put your relationships to the test. As we all search for creative ways to pass the time, I wanted to share a great family activity that I used on Day 15.

While cleaning up around my house I kept coming across boxes filled with pictures. There were pictures from all of our family trips to Disney, Hershey Park, Puerto Rico, Amsterdam, Mallorca, and weekend trips to the Jersey Shore. I collected them all and ordered a Multi Picture Frame Set from Amazon. The black frame set was only $25.

The plan was to entertain my family (for as long as possible) by going through years of family photos to select the ones that they wanted to put into the frames. We sat on the living room floor and shuffled through hundreds of pictures. It was great to hear, “Dad do you remember this” or “that day was so awesome”. We spent almost three hours reminiscing, laughing, and reflecting on the good times.

My one mistake with this project was that I forgot to order picture hanging hardware. So I had to order, Command Picture Hanging Strips, $7.25.

Day 11 Infections Spread Globally

Not sure how I missed a news report about a company named Biogen, who has been identified as the source of a coronavirus cluster in the states. They held an event on Feb 26-27, which accounted for 77 of the 95 infected people in Massachusetts, and countless people outside of the state.

After reading a few stories about business people getting infected at conference, or recalling Rudy Gobert’s positive notice, it occurred to me that wealthy, upper middle class and middle-class people are likely the reason this disease is spreading around the global. I don’t know any poor people who are traveling around the global for business, vacation, cruises, to visit their timeshare, or their vacation homes. The data scientist in me would love to see the data from Homeland Security to map travelers arrival into the U.S. and the spread of infections in a time-lapsed model.

Day 10 Hey Siri

Apple’s Siri voice assistant now provides coronavirus advice. “How do I know if I have coronavirus” or “Do I have coronavirus?” It seems useful.
Not sure what happened to the website Google was going to launch. But the CDC launched “Clara“. A self-checker to help you identify whether you have corona-related symptoms.

In New Jersey, COVID-19 cases soar to over 2,800, Gov. Murphy Vows to enforce stay-at-home order.

Day 9 Grand Princess to Dock in Oakland

Not sure the cruising industry can recover from this event. They have turned in to giant floating Petri Dishes filled with older travelers. Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the thousands of passengers who will be leaving the ship won’t be heading back to their home communities. They’ll be transported to federal isolation facilities or taken to hospitals, if necessary. Crew members will be quarantined on the ship itself, which won’t stay in Oakland.

It’s a Pandemic!

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday that the coronavirus strain known as COVID-19 is now officially classified as a pandemic. The director also noted that although this distinction “does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this virus,” it should also be recognized that “we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled.”

WHO has previously avoided using the term “pandemic” in conjunction with COVID-19 throughout the various stages of the outbreak. The Director made a similar statement to the press just two days ago and avoided the term, referring to COVID-19 exclusively as an epidemic and outbreak. They justified this policy under the rationale that the word pandemic itself “can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.” However, WHO has grown “concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction” and has decided to reverse this policy in the hopes that it will spark stronger action in the international community.