What does virtual mean, exactly?

[lauradi7dw]

Fall can be a time with many crowded events. I participate nearly every year in the Somerville Homeless coalition 5k, a benefit run that was founded in part by friends. I don't do the massive fundraising some participants do, but usually run (walked once, was a crossing guard once). There is usually a buffet breakfast afterward. This year should have been the 25th, so some sort of event had to happen. As has been the case with many races, it was "virtual" (as was the Detroit Marathon, Baystate Marathon, and presumably dozens of other races this weekend). What that means is that one pays to register, sometimes gets the shirt or other keepsakes, and runs (honor system) on one's own, reporting the time. Is it as much fun? No, but having several days as options instead of doing it exactly when everyone else was running was a convenience. The Head of the Charles should be next weekend. There are several possible aspects to being virtual in that regard. Like running individually, people in single skulls have the option of rowing on water and reporting the time. People who have indoor rowing machines of a certain type (including me) have the option of rowing any time during the week and reporting the time (the designated length is 4702 meters. I've already done it, and my time was 25:19). There is a live at home version on Saturday. I thought about it a lot. It would be cool to be participating at the same time as folks from around the world, but it also involves hooking up a laptop to the machine so that your time and your face are visible to everyone else, and what if something happened to the connection? Or a body part? Choosing the simplest became an advantage, and it's certainly the only time I would be able to be a rower in the HOCR - even when I was rowing in a crew, on actual water, we weren't good enough.
The North American Guild of Change Ringers Annual General Meeting (AGM) weekend was supposed to be this past weekend in Honolulu. Instead, at least 90 people registered and (presumably) didn't go anywhere. The tech support was happening in Boston and Chicago. It was fun. I got out the tea towel that was made to advertise the previous Honolulu AGM in 2000, and bought a small orchid. It didn't actually make the house feel like Hawaii, but it was nice to make the effort.

Comments

[nosrednayduj]

Ken and I have been attending a variety of virtual square dances by Zoom. It's not the same, but maybe we won't forget how by the time we actually get to dance in person. Square dancing is just the worst: alternating hugs (swinging) and handshakes. Although at challenge there's not a lot of the hug part. Anyway, when we go to live square dances, we usually wear matching T-shirts, and so we've been wearing matching T-shirts for Zoom. We even wore matching T-shirts when I was in California and he was in Massachusetts!

[lauradi7dw]

The matching shirts made me think of Larry and Marian (hope I have her name right).

[nosrednayduj]

Hm, I'm not sure if I know who you mean...

[lauradi7dw]

A couple at Tech Squares who regularly wore matching shirts to dances. He died not long after I stopped attending, I think, and I could still dance a little bit at his memorial dance.

[nosrednayduj]

Right... Thanks. I remember Larry (but not his last name). I don't remember his partner. Maybe she didn't dance challenge.