Other Stuff – Annabel Treshansky's Blog

Coronavirus apps

By Annabel Treshansky

On 12th May 2020

In Coronavirus Lockdown, Programming

Reading Time: < 1 minute

I collected some links about apps people have been developing in connection with the coronavirus pandemic:

Coronavirus App Links

UK finds itself almost alone with centralized virus contact-tracing app that probably won’t work well, asks for your location, may be illegal – The Register
UK snubs Apple-Google coronavirus app API, insists on British control of data, promises to protect privacy
High level privacy and security design for NHS COVID-19 contact tracing appNCSC technical paper about the privacy and security design of the NHS contact tracing app developed to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
Apple Developer FrameworkExposureNotificationImplement a COVID-19 exposure notification system that protects user privacy.
The Guardian: NHS coronavirus app: memo discussed giving ministers power to ‘de-anonymise’ usersExclusive: draft plans for contact-tracing app said device IDs could be used to identify users
Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the UK: About the data
Latest Coronavirus Deaths API
NHSX

May 12, 2020

Here’s a little challenge…

By Annabel Treshansky

On 31st March 2020

In Coronavirus Lockdown, Other Stuff

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Here’s a little puzzle that has been entertaining all kinds of people I know during lockdown!

It’s harder than it looks:

I think it’s 43… 😁

Answer in the comments?

And if you know where this came from, please let me know as I’d like to find more of them!

Mar 31, 2020

Photo: Mothers Working from Home with Kids.

Remote Working and Home Learning links

By Annabel Treshansky

On 29th March 2020

In Collaborative Software, Communications, Coronavirus Lockdown, Other Stuff, Remote Working

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Photo: This is definitely how organised my family life is.

How’s everyone finding it, working from home through the apocalypse?

The Apocalypse: I expected Zombies and Anarchy. What I got was no cycling and no toilet paper.

Also a million browser tabs

One challenge I didn’t expect was a virtual avalanche of constantly updating incoming information. There has been so much to take into account in this transition from normal everyday life to a combination of lockdown, home education and simultaneous working from home.

Soon I had an impossibly unmanageable number of browser tabs open and it couldn’t go on. So here they are: a collection of useful links that I am listing here to clear the decks in my browsers.

Mar 29, 2020

Happy Pi Day!

By Annabel Treshansky

On 14th March 2020

In Other Stuff

Reading Time: < 1 minute

My favourite apron: I bake π

It’s March 14th: Happy Pi Day (3.14) to all my lovely readers (just me then!). I’ll be scheduling this to publish at 15 hrs, though sadly I can’t stretch the next part of the time to 92 minutes…

(If I could fit 93 minutes in an hour, I’d be smashing it as a management consultant).

Instead, I’m spending my day at a Scottish Unitarian Churches’ Communications, IT and Social Media Workshop, but I’ll be having some friends round for pie later on (check out the awesome pies my kids made in the main photo!)

Mar 14, 2020

Central Heating and Cat Videos

By Annabel Treshansky

On 4th February 2020

In Other Stuff

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Our boiler broke down last week. Thinking about it, it’s probably winter when most people’s boilers break down, because that’s when they’d be getting more use. But my goodness, it’s also when you appreciate it being fixed the most!

In the meantime, I’ve been very lucky to be lent a heater by one of my GITS teammates, which has been greatly enjoyed by all the family, and especially our cat Spot*:

Spot enjoying the heater. Thanks Shane!

Feb 4, 2020

Beach scene with clouds that look like gradients

Mindfulness Meditation Practices

By Annabel Treshansky

On 30th January 2020

In Mindfulness, Multimedia

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Let’s get some perspective…

Here are some resources I’ve collected to help with mindfulness meditation, metta bhavana (loving-kindness), relaxation and focus. I hope they’re helpful.

Jan 30, 2020

Mindfulness in Education: a Free Back to School Kit for Teachers, Students and Parents

By Annabel Treshansky

On 30th January 2020

In Mindfulness

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Recently, I was lucky enough to take part in a mindfulness meditation session arranged by the University Chaplaincy as part of Mental Health Week. It was a very peaceful break in the day, and definitely one of the nicest ways of raising mental health awareness.

I have always been a fan of mindfulness, or ‘Buddhist Meditation on the Mindfulness of Being’ as it was called when I first tried it at Glastonbury in the 90s. I’m an old hippy, I’ll own that.

But meditation practice has had very beneficial effects in my own life, in improving focus, reducing stress, and generally re-evaluating my perspective on things. For the last couple of years, I have been going to weekly Mindfulness @ Lunchtime meditation practices at St Mark’s Unitarian Church whenever I could get there, and I’ve found these sessions very helpful. So I was very interested to see this offer from Mindful Schools, encouraging the practice of mindfulness in education.

But how is it being used? Here’s an example for teachers:

Pause and Check In

Follow this link to find a 3 minute sample guided mindfulness meditation for teachers at the beginning of the school day from Mindful Schools. I found it through a LinkedIn advert. It’s short, and I really like it:

Pause and Check In: 3 Minute Mindfulness Meditation

Jan 30, 2020