addendum to previous post

 

p.s. Thanks to a friend for pointing out something I had not fully considered. What might work well for a group of retirees learning for pleasure almost assuredly does NOT work well for school children or even young adults who are college students. So, while I am happy to have the opportunity to learn in this phygital environment, it has significant shortcomings for educating the next generation for which we may pay a high price long into the future.

New vocabulary for our times

Yesterday during one of our weekly “Zoom” classes at Hebrew Institute, a course taught by Rabbi Steven Exler in which we are studying The Book of Isaiah, he began musing about the day we all hope will come when we can resume learning in person. But he was quick to recognize that the remote format may continue to be appropriate for some participants for any variety of reasons, and he introduced a word I had not heard: Phygital. After class, I could not resist trying to learn more about this.

 

Phygital (physical plus digital) is a marketing term that describes blending digital experiences with physical ones.

I searched and found some interesting discussions about this. Most of the material I found focused on commercial applications.

 

You may not realize it, but COVID-19 has accelerated the existence of phygital experiences in your life. No, that wasn’t a typo - phygital experiences are ones in which technology and traditional physical experiences blend so seamlessly that they create new and better ways of accomplishing everyday tasks. We like to say they become immersive because they simply and effortlessly become a convenient part of your everyday life.

 

A classic example of phygital is using a kiosk. Whether at the airport, a bank, or restaurant, a kiosk makes it possible for users to accomplish routine tasks quickly and efficiently using digital technology in a specific physical space. Just about everyone has used one and they’ve become so commonplace and accepted that most consumers don’t even think about this as a digital experience - it’s just the way things are done.

I used to go to these classes in person, which I could do easily with my scooter. The vast majority of the participants would walk over; being in the City, the synagogue does not have a parking lot and on-street parking is limited.  But whenever the weather was rainy or too cold, I would just stay home. Further, we have a number of participants who spend the winter months in warmer climates. Now all of us are able to Zoom in to classes. So, while I do miss the camaraderie that comes from in-person learning, phygital would seem to be a win-win all around.

Have a warm and restful weekend.

Love,                                            

Rebecca 

Added insurance

Thanks to my sister Wendy for sharing this with me, just in case you were inspired to construct a She Shed and were wondering if you could insure it.

Love,

Rebecca

 

She shed

One of my sillier pleasures is watching the daytime game show, “The Price is Right.” I find the host, Drew Carey, to be very entertaining, and many of the contestants are fairly amusing. These days, with strict social distancing practices and no live audiences, they seem to be specifically choosing participants who are quite effusive.

Today, one of the final showcases included something I had never seen before: a “she shed.” In case you are also not familiar with this,

 

 A she shed is a female man cave. It is a dedicated space in the home set aside just for the woman of the house. It can a place for recreation, rejuvenation and enjoying personal activities. Most of all it is a female sanctum dedicated entirely to the woman.

Although this definition says it is a “dedicated space in the home,” what they were showing on “The Price is Right” was actually a separate structure that would be placed in the yard, although since it does not include a bathroom, I suppose one would not want to place it too far from the house.

To read more about she sheds, check out

 What is a she shed?

Here are a few pictures of she sheds.

 

I guess it is true that we learn something new every day.

Stay well.

Love,                                           

Rebecca

 

Saying the right words

 

I noticed something funny in watching President Biden take the oath of office, which was been shown repeatedly over the past week. Usually, it seems to me that the individuals being sworn in as President and Vice President precisely repeat the words said by the Chief Justice. But at the very end of the presidential oath, Chief Justice Roberts said (emphasis mine) “so help you God,” following which President Biden (correctly) said “so help me God.” I had not noticed this when Vice President Harris was sworn in, and did not recall having noticed it before.

Here is the Presidential oath of office as defined in the Constitution:

Around noon, the president-elect recites the following oath, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

 

I wondered when that phrase “so help me God” was added to the oath. On Wikipedia, I read

 

The First Congress explicitly prescribed the phrase "So help me God" in oaths under the Judiciary Act of 1789 for all U.S. judges and officers other than the president. It was prescribed even earlier under the various first state constitutions as well as by the Second Continental Congress in 1776. Although the phrase is mandatory in these oaths, the said Act also allows for the option that the phrase be omitted by the officer, in which case it would be called an affirmation instead of an oath: "Which words, so help me God, shall be omitted in all cases where an affirmation is admitted instead of an oath." In contrast, the oath of the president is the only oath specified in the Constitution. It does not include the closing phrase "So help me God", and it also allows for the optional form of an affirmation which is not considered an oath. In practice, however, most presidents, at least during the last century, have opted to take the oath (rather than an affirmation), to use a Bible to do so, and also to close the oath with the customary phrase.

 

I spent a couple of hours going through videos of presidential inaugurations over the past thirty some years, and here is what I found:

 

Year	President	Oath Administered by	Final Words said by Chief Justice
1977	Carter	Burger	So help me God
1981	Reagan 1	Burger	So help me God
1985	Reagan 2	Burger	So help me God
1989	GHW Bush	Rehnquist	So help me God
1993	Clinton 1	Rehnquist	So help me God
1997	Clinton 2	Rehnquist	So help me God
2001	GW Bush 1	Rehnquist	So help me God
2005	GW Bush 2	Rehnquist	So help me God
2009	Obama 1	Roberts	So help YOU God (both at original and retake)
2013	Obama 2	Roberts	So help YOU God
2017	Trump	Roberts	So help me God
2021	Biden	Roberts	So help YOU God

 

I even went back and watched a video of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, at which then Chief Justice Earl Warren administered the oath of office, and lo and behold Warren said “so help YOU God,” to which President Kennedy responded “so help me God.”

I am not sure why Chief Justice Roberts used different wording when swearing in President Trump than he had used for President Obama and subsequently used for President Biden.

I also noticed something I had not noticed previously, namely, that the oath sworn by the Vice President is rather different than the one asked of the President, and in fact contains that key phrase at the end.

The vice-president-elect is sworn in first, and repeats the same oath of office, in use since 1884, as senators, representatives, and other federal employees: 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

I was always a math and science student, and only studied as much history and political science as I needed to maintain a decent grade point average. So, for me this has been an interesting civics lesson, but I could not resist at least creating one table to track my findings.

Stay well.

Love,                                           

Rebecca

 

 

Quite an amazing young woman

 

With all the excitement on Wednesday, I forgot to include this clip from the presidential inauguration, in case you missed it. It is nothing short of amazing that this incredibly bright and poised young woman is a bit shy of her 23^rd birthday!

Amanda Gorman (born March 7, 1998 [on my 46^th birthday!] ) is an American poet and activist from Los Angeles, California.^[1] Gorman's work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora.

Gorman published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015. In 2017, Gorman became the United States of America's first National Youth Poet Laureate.^[2] She became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration, reciting her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of Joe Biden in January 2021.^[3]

Meanwhile, on a more amusing note, check this out.

 

My Favorite Things song parody

Have a healthy, safe, calm, and enjoyable weekend.

Love,                                                           

Rebecca

 

Impressive accomplishment from our new president

At noon yesterday, Joseph Biden was inaugurated as the 46^th president of the United States. One of his key promises was to improve the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Never could we have imagined that he would get to this so quickly!

We were “zooming” with friends until just before our daily reading time with Julia and Noah. While we waited between the two calls, I checked my email and saw the following:

Register your interest in getting the COVID-19 vaccination at MSK

From: MSK Engage, Mailbox

01/20/2021 at 12:45 PM

To: Rosenstein, Rebecca B

You’re receiving this message because you may be eligible to receive your COVID-19 vaccination at MSK. We would like you to complete this COVID-19 Vaccine Interest Questionnaire to provide us with some helpful information. It takes about 2 minutes to complete.

 

We knew that President Biden has made it a top priority to speed the process of vaccination, but we are deeply impressed that he got to me within his first 45 minutes of taking office!

I started to read the first book to the children while Barry quickly logged in to the MSKCC patient portal, and the result was:

 

Appointment Details

Thursday, January 21, 2021

COVID VACCINE FIRST DOSE

Confirmed

Covid Vaccine

9:30 AM

Instructions: Before your appointment, please complete the New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Form by visiting https://forms.ny.gov/s3/vaccine. You will need to enter your appointment date into this form. After you complete the form you will receive a confirmation email. We'll ask you to show us that email at your appointment. You can show it to us on your phone or printed on paper. Your vaccination appointment is for you to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The specialized team of care providers in our vaccination clinic will not be able to talk with you about your cancer care. For more information about receiving your COVID-19 vaccination at MSK, visit https://www.mskcc.org/pe/pfizer_biontech or https://www.mskcc.org/pe/moderna. If you need to cancel or reschedule this appointment, please contact the office of your primary MSK doctor.

Location Details

Enid A. Haupt Pavilion

425 East 67th Street, 4th Floor, Suite 5
New York, Ny 10065 (between First And York Avenues)

 

It turns out that MSKCC was sending those notices to every patient who had been treated within the past year. My last dose of pembrolizumab was on February 12^th of last year, so I just made the cut-off.

And now, drum roll please, here I am with my official COVID-19 vaccination card:

I received the Pfizer vaccine (yeah!), so will return in 3 weeks for the second dose:

 

Appointment Details

Thursday, February 11, 2021

COVID VACCINE SECOND DOSE

8:30 AM

Instructions: If you need to cancel or reschedule this appointment, please contact your MSK Primary Physician.

Location Details

Enid A. Haupt Pavilion

425 East 67th Street, 4th Floor, Suite 5
New York, Ny 10065 (between First And York Avenues)

 

Barry, as a faculty member, recently received his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The moral of the story is that there may sometimes be a silver lining to needing treatment at MSKCC.

Stay safe and well!

Love,                                                           

Rebecca