The Weekly Update: Top 20 of 2020
Best COVID Dad joke
My husband purchased a world map and then gave me a dart and said, “Throw this and wherever it lands—that’s where I’m taking you when this pandemic ends.” Turns out, we’re spending two weeks behind the fridge.
Best bubble dining
Best definition of the new normal
“One of the most dangerous things in humanity is complacency, apathy, and being in your ‘comfort zone.’ It’s boring, predictable, and same-old-same-old. So, what if we have to adjust to a new way of behaving? Eradicate the word normal from your vocabulary—or at the very least redefine it. Make it vibrant. Make it full of possibilities. Take responsibility for your actions and your choices and choose to respond differently.” — David T.S. Wood
Best Nostradamus prediction for 2020
“The great plague of the maritime city. It will not cease until death is avenged. Of just blood, condemned for a price without crime,” Nostradamus wrote. Even though Wuhan isn't a marine city at all, scientists found that Covid-19 started and was spread in the city's seafood market.
Best conspiracy theory meme
Most sobering meme
Best explanation of maskless behaviour
“A threat to a person’s freedom to behave as he or she wishes leads to the instant desire to regain that freedom. This is often accompanied by anger, though basic differences in people’s personalities and beliefs about the mask issue mean some sullenly comply, others protest then comply, some get angry then leave and others have full-blown meltdowns that get posted on YouTube. It’s important to note that mask-wearers would get equally angry if told they could not wear a mask when they wanted.
When others try to limit a person’s perceived freedom to behave as he or she wishes, it often involves judgment or criticism — whether implied or explicit. In the case of masks, the message is that you must do the behavior and if you don't, you're inconsiderate, selfish, irrational, uninformed or just plain stubborn. Part of the anger and aggression is in response to the criticism, devaluation and rejection rather than the simple request to put on a damn mask. It’s also embarrassing, and when people are embarrassed, they tend to lash out.”
Not that I would recommend saying this in the middle of a meltdown in aisle 3.
The most over-wrought response to restrictions in a province
“A crushing depravation of fundamental freedoms and individual liberty, the breadth and depth of which is unknown in the history of this province making life in Alberta more akin to life in a totalitarian dictatorship.”
Best thing we’ve learned about working on Zoom (and Teams, and Remo, and …)
End your meetings early. Give your people time to reset before their next meeting. You too can stretch, grab a drink and organize your thoughts before diving in again. It’s a small investment in team productivity and surprisingly hard to do.
Silver-iest lining to the working from home cloud
For all the jokes about sourdough, knitting and yoga, a really nice aspect of the past ten months is that we’ve gotten to know more about our colleagues as people and parents, not just as work superstars.
Most obvious trend in interior design
We pretty quickly saw a sustained increase in interest in home decorating at the start of COVID. As people have started to realize that working from home could be the new normal, interior design has placed renewed emphasis on the mental health-benefits of a well-designed home with functional workspaces integrated into the space. Well duh.
Pantone has revealed not one but two colours of the year for 2021: Ultimate Gray (PANTONE 17-5104) and Illuminating (PANTONE 13-0647). “It’s a combination that speaks to the resilience, the optimism and hope and positivity that we need, as we reset, renew, reimagine and reinvent,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute.
Best home workout
3 x 10 dog leg lifts
3 x 10 cat curls – both arms
3 x 10 fridge row – open door and stare blankly inside wondering if there is anything at all for dinner
3 x 30 second planks with toddler
2 minutes sweep up the LegoTM before you shred the bottom of your feet
Repeat x 3
20 minutes Savasana on the couch
3 x red wine, big glass, anything but merlot
Largest consumer behaviour change
The consumer behaviors that accelerated at the start of the virus -- digital ordering, bulkier baskets and no margin for error when it comes to delivery -- are showing zero signs of abating eight months in. For three straight quarters now, Walmart Inc. has seen U.S. customers place fewer total orders but purchase much more when they do. “We’re convinced that most of the behavior change will persist beyond the pandemic,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is quoted in Bloomberg after its U.S. e-commerce business jumped 79% in the latest quarter.
Best fun fact
The Eiffel Tower gains about six inches in height during the warmer summer months. The famous landmark is mainly constructed of metal which expands in heat. In addition, the top of the tower shifts away from the sun by as much as seven inches due to the thermal expansion on the side facing the sun. Let’s hope people can watch this happen in person next summer.
Most useful animal in COVID times
The fox! If you recall from last June, hedgehogs are deeply and tightly focused. Some have spent their career studying one problem. They fashion elegant theories of how the world works and then filter the world through the single lens of their specialty. Foxes, meanwhile, “draw from an eclectic array of traditions, and accept ambiguity and contradiction.” Where hedgehogs represent narrowness, foxes embody breadth.
Hedgehogs are important. But we really need some swift foxes.
Best clients
Ours.
Best team
Ours.
Best “friend of Stormy Lake”
You.
Most self-congratulatory weekly update
This one.
Best virtual holiday party
The Stormy Lake Holiday Party, of course.
That’s it for the weekly update in 2020. See you in 2021. Happy holidays.