Tag: News

WHO Declares Coronavirus a Global Pandemic

In a live conference, which you may yet be able to view at this time, the World Health Organisation just officially declared COVID19 a global pandemic.

So what does this actually mean?  How I understand it, labelling anything a pandemic, means that it is unconfined, spreading and it is not too crazy to expect that it will worsen before it improves.

From my limited research, I was able to learn several things which should happen now.

  • Governments and people should begin taking this virus seriously (if they are not already). To summarise the director of WHO – The alarm bell is ringing. Loud and clear
  • Finances reserved for pandemic situations should be released to aid the global fight of this virus
  • Hospitals and healthcare systems will begin to be better prepared for a large influx of patients
  • Cancellation of large gatherings and school closures in certain circumstances will probably continue
  • Many people will spend more time at home with their recent wc paper purchases (????)  Can anyone explain this to me?

This declaration does not mean that one should panic. Please do not. I am quite certain that the concern about the possibility of panic is why the word ‘pandemic’ is kept as a very serious word, indeed.

My own recommendation is to also avoid looking for material regarding coronavirus on youtube. There is good information there, of course. There are also quite many vloggers who seem happy to create fear and panic, all only to sell their items. There are a few I have found that seem to my mind to have some kind of mental illness that makes them only want to make fear for their viewers, and that twist the truth so severely that it no longer based in any form of fact.  The World Health Organisation pages can be accessed by clicking here. Much information is also available on your country-specific health organisation pages.

So, this is the thing.

-Mliae

WHO Declares Coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern

I was just now scrolling scrolling scrolling mindlessly on the internet and saw an alert for a live broadcast of the WHO press conference. Of course I watched it.

I know that many of you here have been asking the same questions I have, so I wanted to share with you that they did declare it a global health emergency now. The director of WHO stated very clearly his appreciation for the immediate mobilisation that the government of China put in practice, and also said that the WHO does not advise travel or trade restrictions.

I am unsure how these recommendations work though, as many countries have already introduced travel restrictions exactly.  I am also uncertain what happens now that this declaration has been made. I would think that it would make available resources globally, which would not be available otherwise. And also that it would create an environment of international cooperation, communication and support. Please understand though that I know nothing about these processes and procedures, and this is only my small understanding of the situation.

I do not want to be the blogger that profits from panic and news. That is not what this is about. I do know that the world is watching this outbreak very closely, and as the situation is changing rapidly, I wanted to share this info as the info that I find important to know myself.

I am also reaching out to you with this post, because I would like to know what will change with this declaration. As I said, I know nothing of these things but many of my friends and readers here can hopefully share some knowledge.

If you know about these processes, or what it actually means to declare a global health emergency, please let us know!

-Mliae

Happy Weekend!

I only wanted to wish all of you a very lovely weekend! I am quite excited, as the voting for the Annual Bloggers Bash best bloggers awards will be starting very soon!

I hope you had a nice week. I did. It was the usual things. However, I did finally get to make use of my random factoid series in a business context. I just tossed into conversation (at a well-timed moment, not just randomly) that bubble wrap was intended as 3-d wallpaper and it went well! Lots of conversation about it. So, that made me happy 🙂

Have a great weekend!

-Mliae

 

Lifexperiment Blog Has Been Nominated For Best Lifestyle Blog At The Annual Bloggers Bash 2019! #bloggersbash

This is exciting! 😀 😀 😀

Very, very cool! I am all smiles at the moment 😀 😀 😀 You can imagine my reaction when I looked at my email yesterday evening and noticed an email from Bloggers Bash. I have seen some of the posts about Bloggers Bash shared on some of my favourite sites, so I knew it was a real thing. At first, I didn’t completely understand what was happening. And then…Eureka!

Speaking the truth, I really don’t know how to react. This is the first actual blog award I have ever been nominated for, so I am surprised, stupid happy and many other things which I am unable to describe at the moment. I guess ‘can’t find words’ is true in this case. (I always wondered how that was possible, now I know!) I also spent most of last evening dancing around and annoying my husband. I think I mentioned this at least 30 times. Today I will mention it more, but I did not receive the email until it was already evening. 😉

thumbnail_Annual Bloggers Bash Awards Nominee Best Lifestyle Blog

So here’s the thing: Some of you actually nominated me! (Yes, I checked the site to make sure I didn’t actually nominate myself in some weird early morning stupor. I didn’t. It’s impossible.) So to whoever of you nominated me, A VERY BIG THANK YOU!!  I cannot believe it! As a blogger, having someone appreciate our work enough to nominate us for an actual award means so very much. Especially when there are days when all of us wonder if anyone is actually reading our posts.  😀 So Happy….SSSSOOOOO HAPPY!

The email told that voting does not happen for awhile yet. I will, of course, let you know when voting begins. Because, well…now that I’m in this thing, I think we should do this!

Thank you to everyone in my blog family for making this such an awesome place to be!

Stoopid happy

-Mliae

I Found This Last Night: What Do You Think?

Hello there 🙂

Hope you are all recovering nicely from the holidays!

I was sorting through some items last night and found an envelope full of newspaper articles that had been sent to me about 10 years ago. I keep these things because they are from a beloved person who always thought to send me good recipes and interesting articles from around the world.  She is dearly missed.

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This article states that researches have found some evidence that fidelity is in a persons genetic blueprint. However, as I read it, it sounds to me like ‘dad was loyal, I am loyal’. This makes me ponder the age-old question of whether or not something is genetic or environmental? I mean, those who have grown up in families where both parents are in love, loyal and know how to work through their problems are more likely to exhibit similar characteristics.

So, what do you think: Genetic or environmental?

-Mliae

Is Alexa Recording Your Conversations Without a Wake Word?

I know, I know. I sound like on of those paranoid nuts in a sci-fi film. Unfortunately, it seems that I am not. Having stumbled upon an eye-opening article on Reuters that was recently published, I wanted to do a bit more research.

Amazon has sold in excess of 10 MILLION Alexa Echo devices worldwide. (Levy, Nat, 8 May 2017, Geekwire) That figure alone is staggering! We are told that Alexa has a wake word. Mainly calling it by name ‘Alexa’. This will start a recording and you can gain information from the device. However, as many people assume that the device will cease all functioning and sleep completely when it is done with the task at hand. Not so. Amit Ashbel, director of product marketing for a research firm, told CNET that there is “a flaw in Alexa that allowed the device to continue recording indefinitely.” (Kosoff, Maya, 24 May 2018, Vanity Fair)

It seems to be common knowledge that Alexa is recording at times, but people seem to just dismiss it as a glitch. Maybe Alexa misunderstood, etc.  Unfortunately to say, I have spent some time reading about Alexa online. Only on reputable news sites. And I can safely say that yes, Alexa is recording you – even without your knowledge. And those recordings are accessible to others.

Below are a few straightforward quotes that I found:

“..The privacy implications may be even messier. Consumers might not realize that some of their most sensitive conversations are being recorded by Amazon’s devices, information that could be highly prized by criminals, law enforcement, marketers and others. On Thursday, Amazon said a “human error” let an Alexa customer in Germany access another user’s voice recordings accidentally.” (Dastin, Jeffrey, 21 December 2018, Reuters)

“How are the privacy concerns surrounding Amazon Echo different than those involving, say, smartphones?

Traditionally, the home has been the apex of 4th Amendment privacy protection in respect to law enforcement. You know, a man’s home is his castle, that sort of thing. You always need a warrant to get into someone’s house. The tricky thing about a device that’s recording data inside of your home is that you may be transmitting that recording in such a way that the government can directly collect it, or, as in the case we have in Arkansas, it may be that the data is sitting on Amazon’s servers.” (Q&A excerpt, French, Agatha, 5 January 2017, LA Times)

 

“We’ve invited these systems into our lives in ways that we are only beginning to see the negative consequences for,” Gillmor said. “There are situations where we don’t need to have these things. A lot of people got the Echo because they feel like it’s this magic thing. Maybe the magic isn’t worth it.”  (Gillmor, Daniel)

So it seems to me, that if everyone knows that Alexa is recording us in our homes, sales would not be what they are. This is where I get a bit baffled. I mean, who would violate their own privacy in their own homes just to….what, have easier access to information that’s already easily accessible at the touch of a button?

What do you think?

-Mliae

*Sources:

Reuters article (linked)

French, Agatha, 5 January 2017, LA Times

Kosoff, Maya, Vanity Fair, 24 May 2018

Levy, Nat, 8 May 2017, Geek Wire

Soper, Spencer, 24 May 2018, Bloomberg

Meteor Lights Up Arctic Sky

Happy Saturday, all 🙂

I had to share this little news snippet. I finally found it in English and I just think it’s cool. A meteor flew over the arctic north of Finland and you can actually see the entire sky light up! I heard about this a day or so ago, but was surprisingly unable to find anything about it. This video snippet is super cool and for those of you stargazers out there, I had to share it!

Click on the link HERE to view the video & article in English.

Enjoy the article and watch the video, it’s only about 40 seconds long.

I wonder where they will find this thing!

-Mliae

Is it just me, or do you currently dread reading the daily news too?

Hello there sunshine-y people 🙂

I am generally a pretty happy person. I’m slow in the mornings, but I have a routine that helps me get both eyes open. I wake up, stumble into the kitchen for coffee (which my hubby lovingly has ready and waiting…Love that guy!) I sit at the table and sip and mumble, and then when I find myself alone, I open my pc and read the world news. I have done this for as long as I can remember everyday before work and it’s nice to go about my day not wondering if I’m in the dark about something that will have an affect on my day. It wakes me up, gets me going and makes me happy.

But now, I have to vent. I just have to do it. For months now, reading the news (World & local) feels more like I’m getting a damage report, and less like I’m in the know. I mean really. I dread opening my PC some mornings now. I just don’t want to know. The entire world is in upheaval, or so it seems. I know that much of it is sensationalism, and globalism. Horrible things have always happened, but we haven’t always had that information at our fingertips. But, it seems like good things don’t happen anymore. I know they do, and there has to be somewhere I can find happy news. Isn’t there?

I keep a close watch on economic and marketing trends, so its not like I can just stick my head in the sand and pretend the world doesn’t exist. But seriously, I feel like I’m watching the world burn everyday after breakfast. What is this all about?

Is it just me, or are you feeling this way too?

-Mliae

*Photo source: Imgur