A New Challenge for All You Courthouse Regulars! :)

Rick wrote: Speaking of messages, I've noticed that I don't get a notification of a private message even though I may have one. Is that only on the home page where it says I have a new message?

Sorry, I started a tutorial on Private Messages a couple of days ago only to lose the post in the middle of it (I hate when that happens - I accidentally closed the tab I had open in which I was typing the message) and haven't had a chance to get back to it. For some reason, the system doesn't default to email notifications, unless we turn them on for everything you do on the site (ie every thread you post on you'd get a notification when there's additional activity on it - it would get overwhelming quickly in your inbox so we left that off).

To change your settings so you receive email alerts for your Private Messages only, please follow the draft tutorial posted here: mymountaintown.com/forum/25-letters-to-t...late?start=20#322802 Otherwise, yes you will see that note below your username on any page except the forum pages (e.g. the Home Page, the webcam pages, the Emergency Page, the community blog, etc).

Anytime you want to receive email alerts for any topics/threads, just click the "Subscribe" button at the top of the Topic. (Good for those posts in the Free Classifieds especially!)

If you need any help, please call me - I'm happy to walk you through it!

jf1acai wrote: Dang, looks like I have been missing all the good stuff in the Ring.

So, another funny glitch with the system. If we add The Ring to Recent Topics so it shows up when someone posts something new in that forum, then that topic title also shows on the Home Page, and some of them are a little too risque for that (and I like it that way so I don't want to moderate it so it can be displayed on the Home Page - that's our forum for letting loose and having some adult fun dang it!). Unfortunately, it means that you have to scroll down the Forum Index page to see if something new has been posted since the last time you visited. Look for the bright orange box!



Edit to add: what we're trying to figure out is how to make the Ring forum visible in the Forum Index list to even guests (right now if you are logged out, you don't even see it listed as above) so you can check if there's something new without having to log on. I'm not sure it'll be possible, but we'll keep digging.

It's been a while since bumping this challenge, but I feel in these trying times that are stressing so many of us out, worrying what the future will hold for loved ones, for our health, our businesses, and our economy, that stepping back to take stock of what's right in our world is even more important than usual. Right now, our leaders are making very tough choices: shut down our economy in order to slow the spread of the virus and save tens of thousands of lives vs. how long to shut it down and risk sinking in a Depression-level crash that will also cost lives. There are no easy choices and I truly hope we have the best minds with the best intentions on it, and appreciate them for making those tough decisions. They will have to live with the consequences whichever way it goes, and we will each have to do our best to get through this.

Back in 1918, our government actually mandated that no news source was permitted to publish stories on the flu pandemic, or journalists would be jailed. As a result, despite actually beginning here in the U.S., the 1918 flu pandemic is referred to as "The Spanish Flu" because it was the media in Spain that first began printing the news about it. For as bad as our relations are between our government and the media, we are not at that point. Despite the failures and mistakes made in handling this current pandemic, we are seeing leaders step up, ordinary citizens take on making masks/3D printing ventilators to help healthcare workers, neighbors offering to get groceries and supplies for those who can't get out, and businesses immediately implementing new and creative ways to continue to bring in revenue so they may stay afloat. We have the ability to order things we need online and have them delivered within days, science has meant incredible advances in the past 100 years that we have facilities, tools, drugs, and an amazingly educated healthcare workforce vastly different from last century. The probability that we'll have a vaccine to this virus in the next 18 months is pretty high considering that the virus was sequenced within a month of it being reported (remember when the human genome took a decade to finish?) a number of companies already breaking it down and isolating potential antibody targets, with at least one already entering Phase I clinical trials. That's just lightning speed astounding when you think back to where our understanding of genetics, molecular biology and immunology was just 50 or even 20 years ago.

We have a choice: we can let this crisis further divide us, or we can find a way to put aside our differences and come together to help one another. We can celebrate our successes, appreciate our resources, and look forward with positivity as to how we can come out of this better off, more adaptable, better prepared, and stronger for having survived.

I don't want anyone to suffer, be hospitalized, or lose their business. I mean it when I say I appreciate you all, whether we agree politically or not. Let's all try to keep what's truly important in mind and remember that we're all in this together, please.

I am thankful that this crisis may remind many of us how important it is to get outside and get fresh air and exercise. To spend quality time with family, check in with friends more often, and appreciate the conveniences we've had. Maybe this will get more people into growing their own food and canning it because fresh fruits and vegetables on hand always is the best!

We've got the Take Out/Take Over mountain area Chambers of Commerce effort to help our area restaurants - please patronize them if you are in a position to do so! Macaroni Kid put together a great list at that link, and I've been adding other resources to it as I find them. If you know of anything that applies, please add it, or post where you've gotten takeout and how it was to help.

We've got some Online fun, creative, and educational activities for kids at home posted, and welcome any ideas you have to add to it! We're also working on a list for service/other businesses and ways they can be supported, plus a list of all of our area church services that are now live-streaming/doing virtual video conferencing. Please post any you know of!

Please take care of yourselves. Be sure to eat healthy, get exercise, try to meditate or relax each day, get enough sleep, practice social distancing, and be washing those hands frequently. Overcoming this virus outbreak is absolutely within our control, but it's going to be with us until a vaccine is available so it's a marathon, not a sprint, to get to the end.

For some relaxation help, try going to mynoise.net and picking a background sound that soothes you.

At night when I have trouble getting to sleep, this is absolutely my favorite app: Insight Timer

Open it up, click Sleep, then go to Soundscapes and scroll through for desired sound and/or length of time to play (my fave is the Nature Sounds: Campfire & Stream!) if you simply want soothing sound, or select a meditation. They've got a kids tab too, for younger listeners (my daughter has used it occasionally).

to you all.
SC

"When faced with a radical crisis, when the old way of being in the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm of nature doesn't work anymore, when survival is threatened by seemingly insurmountable problems, an individual life-form -- or a species -- will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of its condition through an evolutionary leap." ~Eckhart Tolle

"In every crisis, doubt or confusion, take the higher path - the path of compassion, courage, understanding and love." ~Amit Ray

"Our community belongs to us and whether it is mean or majestic, whether arrayed in glory or covered in shame, we cannot but share its character and destiny." ~Frederick Douglass