Happy New Year!
The pandemic has continued for 3/4 of a year and is looking like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, with vaccines now out and being distributed. The prospects for a truly happy New Year are looking good — not trying to jinx anything here!
Accordingly, I think the need for these posts are coming to an end, particularly as I assume that people have largely found things they like to do to enjoy life and don’t need ongoing additions to “Stuck at Home Doesn’t Have to Mean Bored at Home.”
So, with the New Year upon us, I thought people might like one last update with a few final additions to the list.
Below are the latest. Stay well!
Friends and Family
Miss seeing your friends at parties, but tired of trying (and failing) to replicate a party feel through Zoom? So was Wired’s Gretchen McCulloch, who provides a possible solution in “A Mission to Make Virtual Parties Actually Fun.”
Aquariums, Zoos, Museums & More
The New England Aquarium added Virtual Animal Encounters, which are 30 minute “encounters” with “sea lions or fur seals, harbor seals, penguins, or the Giant Ocean Tank.”
Music
For a quick throwback with a new twist: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird solo played on harmonica by Will Wilde.
Cooking, Cookies, and Other Food Options
In need of a really good steak? Thrillist explains How To Cook a Restaurant-Quality Pan-Seared Steak at Home.
In need of a good dessert? How about Thrillist’s Homemade Chocolate Nut Butter Cups?
Back to the basics with another banana bread recipe. And, like my friend Heather’s below (which I love!), this one is also quite good: My Favorite Banana Bread Recipe. For the record, I say this having made it several times.
Podcasts
Even though it’s not out yet, given that this is the last planned update of the Stuck at Home series, I am including Fairly Competing. It’s a podcast by lawyers, Ben Fink, John Marsh, and me, providing in-depth analysis of trade secret law and the law of noncompetes and other restrictive covenants for a broad audience. Whether you’re a business owner, CEO, in-house counsel, HR executive, or other employee, or a new lawyer or advanced practitioner, come join us for a discussion of the latest trends and hot topics, evolving federal and state laws, key developments, and other emerging issues in trade secrets, noncompetes, and employee mobility in today’s knowledge economy.
Travel (Virtually … or Not!)
The MIT Technology Review’s The Download shared a link from CNET to a new “3D” tour of the International Space Station – kind of like Google Street View (when it lets you even go inside the buildings). It can be a bit hard to navigate, but check it out.
Or if you feel like explore the universe, check out NASA’s Explore – The Night Sky | Hubble’s Caldwell Catalog.
For something a little closer to home, UpgradedPoints reached out to me to share their identification of The 20 Best Virtual Train Rides Around the World [Asia, Europe, Peru, U.S.]. Enjoy them!
Coping with the New (Ab)Normal
Author Anna Goldfarb provides some good advice about “How to Connect With the Co-Workers You’re Missing,” which appeared in the New York Times.
CNET of all places has good some advice for “How to boost happiness hormones like serotonin and dopamine in everyday life.”
And, The Wall Street Journal addresses asks and answers: “Tired All the Time? Here Are New Ways to Recharge as the Pandemic Drags On.”
With the extra time working from home without a commute, The Gardian suggests staying sane by using The golden hour: 15 ways to change your life in a work-from-home lunch break.
Finally,
Time to say goodbye to 2020. To do that right, check out Dave Barry’s Year in Review 2020.
If you need something to visually entertain you, here are the top 25 viral videos of 2020 (allegedly)…
And, here’s an otter one…