A couple people I know have started referring to coronavirus as "the c-word" or "the big C." I feel a bit Gryffindorish when I say: my friends, it's neither cancer nor Voldemort.
(According to most of the house tests we've done, my wife is a Hufflepuff and I'm a Gryffindor. On the theory that the Sorting Hat listens to the preferences of the wizard, we've both claimed Ravenclaw, which feels more right to us.)
Coronavirus
Microsoft's HQ is in Redmond, one of Seattle's suburbs. The news that coronavirus has probably been traveling around the area for probably the last six weeks is not making my co-workers happy. Nor does the two announced deaths so far.
I was supposed to be in one of the other Seattle suburbs, Bellevue, for a conference this week. It was supposed to start Tuesday but there were some pre-events scheduled for Monday. Saturday night e-mail from the organizers: "We are monitoring the situation closely but will continue to hold the conference." Sunday morning e-mail: "Nope, never mind. Conference canceled."
So, I'm staying home in Vancouver this week. I'm not fool enough to think this puts me at less risk. Vancouver and Seattle are three hours' drive away from each other. Thousands of travellers a day cross the border. I just spent a week in Seattle in early February. If the virus is floating around in Seattle, it's up here too. Hopefully it won't hit badly. At least in Canada you're allowed to go to the doctor before you're at death's door.
(I feel fine. So does my wife. So does everyone else I know. Hopefully we'll all stay that way.)
My colleagues in Beijing, Singapore and Tokyo have been working from home for awhile as the local authorities are restricting access to offices etc. Apparently that's had some success containing the virus spread. I'm watching with interest to see if any of the big Seattle tech companies decide to go that route. Hasn't happened yet, to my knowledge, though Microsoft did send a "discuss working from home with your manager if you feel the need" message to the Puget Sound employees.
My thoughts are with everybody affected with coronavirus around the world. For the rest of us: deep breaths. Wash your hands a lot. Listen to people who know what they're talking about.
Remote Learning
We've been asked about how Microsoft products can support learning in situations where schools can't have all students in a classroom for whatever reason, coronavirus or a flooded classroom or just an ordinary snow day. Call it "academic continuity planning." Several friends and colleagues are assembling some suggestions and case studies literally as I type this, so stay tuned. I'll post about the extra documentation on my Twitter when it's ready. Meanwhile, a couple examples that have made me smile this week:
Wellington College International Tianjin in China has been using Teams and OneNote, among other tools, to keep their daily classroom work going.
Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) is a longtime favourite customer of ours. We talked to them on Friday about their Virtual School Network program, powered by Microsoft Teams and OneNote. They extended it on two days' notice to support some students in China who were unable to return to classes on time. It was brilliant work.
Stories like this are what get me to the office every morning.
My Work Gear
Microsoft's hardware group, in my humble opinion, is one of the most under-appreciated design shops in the entire company. I've been using their keyboards, mice etc for decades. I'm glad the Surface devices have brought them some visibility.
My main laptop for work and travel is my 13" Surface Laptop 2. I like the design and the weight, and the battery life is a thing of wonder. A Surface Pro is even lighter but I like having a laptop that holds up its own screen. I covet a Surface Laptop 3 but it's going to have to wait until the next hardware refresh.
The Surface Laptops come in colours. Mine looks like a decent burgundy wine. I bought a matching Surface Arc Mouse and Surface Pen just for the aesthetics. It's nice to be one of the few people in a meeting with a laptop that's not "slate grey" or "stainless steel."
In the office I've got a Dell curved monitor and my Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop. I cannot sing enough praises of that keyboard. I've been using it (or its predecessor, the Natural Keyboard) since the 90s. The only better keyboard for sore wrists I know of is the Kinesis, but it's expensive. I find it's harder to go back and forth between the Kinesis and a laptop keyboard.
I've tried messenger bags, briefcases, and the occasional sack, but I keep going back to the North Face backpack for my laptop and accessories around, much to my wife's dismay. Eventually I'll find a bag that doesn't make me look like an aging grad student.
Inspiration
Yashar on Twitter likes to go on about elephants, especially the elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust outside Nairobi. I got to visit when I was in Nairobi last year. What an incredible place.
True Inspiration
Not my photo. Representative John Lewis is an absolute treasure and a balm to America's broken soul.
Onward
If you're in North America, worried about the virus, and feeling the need to direct some energy somewhere, may I suggest a donation to a food bank or local homeless shelter? "Social distancing measures" only work for those of us who have somewhere to go.
Meanwhile, let's see what the week brings. Since most of my calendar got canceled I have some unscheduled time! I predict this will last about three hours on Monday.