There are over 70 million fathers in the United States, whom we’ve celebrated on the third Sunday in June since 1910.
Yesterday was no exception. Whether you’re a new dad, a seasoned pro, or even a granddad, we honor the beauty and challenge of raising kids—from late night bottle feedings, to coaching little league, chaperoning dances, building tree forts, removing splinters, lugging boxes into freshman dorms, and so much more.
It’s not a job for the faint of heart. Thanks for all you do. Now for this week’s Jolt.
So many of the things we’re used to doing in person have evolved into virtual opportunities: going to the office, visiting with friends, celebrating major family milestones, even dating.
Add to that an incredibly varied list of educational, cultural and even virtual travel experiences—many of them free, all offering a chance to go places, see things and expand our knowledge without ever leaving home. For example, you can tour Buckingham Palace, take a dog sled ride through Alaska, livestream the northern lights, visit MOMA, and learn how to make a new taco Tuesday recipe from a famous chef. All you need is a laptop and a dream.
We’ve compiled a shortlist of our favorites below. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s Jolt.
- Experience Disney Parks Around the World With These Virtual Rides (Video)
- Chicago Is One of the Coolest Cities in the Country — and You Can Take a Virtual Trip There Right Now
- BroadwayHD Is Letting You Watch Your Favorite Musicals For Free — for a Limited Time
- This Virtual Tour of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Will Make You Feel Like You’re on an Epic Island Hike
- How You Can Livestream the Northern Lights Right Now
- Spot Dolphins in the Ocean With These Calming Beach Cams
- Want to Leave This Planet NASA Is Offering Some Seriously Cool Virtual Space Tours Right Now?
- 10 Cocktails That Will Take You Around the World While You’re Stuck at Home
- 18 Italian Hotel Chefs Share Their Favorite Recipes to Help You Get a Taste of Home
- These World-class Hotel Chefs Will Create Custom Recipes Based on the Ingredients You Already Have at Home
Or, check out the entire list here.
Thanks to continued COVID-19 social distancing rules, many of the nation’s biggest theater chains remain closed by the governmental advisory. On the flip-side, from coast to coast, the popularity of the nation’s 305 drive-in movie theaters—many of which were built when Eisenhower and Elvis were popular—is on the rise.
Even Governor Cuomo wants to fast-track the reopening of New York’s 30 or so drive-in theaters, citing the implied safety of sitting in a car with the same people you’ve been quarantined with for months. You might want to BYOP (bring your own popcorn), but the thought of spending a starry night watching a movie outdoors sounds pretty dreamy to us.
And now for this week’s Jolt.
It’s clearly the right time to head into outer space. Saturday, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Talk about social distance. The two astronauts are now sitting 400 kilometers above Earth, on the International Space Station, where they will remain for 4 months.
Give us a little time to try and turn things around down here. Now for this week’s Jolt.
This Memorial Day was different, for so many reasons. In addition to curtailed parades, modified tributes, and social distance celebrations meant to honor the military men and women who gave their lives to preserve the many freedoms we enjoy as Americans, those freedoms are currently under attack from a totally different kind of invisible enemy.
Again, the United States Armed Forces are selflessly putting their lives on the line to ensure we have enough hospital beds, to see that the ailing are being treated, to keep the peace, and to remind us what it means to serve and to sacrifice for this country. For your efforts, we are eternally grateful.
Now for this week’s Jolt.
Thinking back on our own commencements from high school and even college, it seems implausible that this year’s graduates won’t get to hear their name called, then awkwardly walk the stage to shake a few clammy hands and grab their hard-earned diplomas.
Obviously this time of distance and quarantine comes with all kinds of concessions. We simply want to throw our figurative cap high in the air, to celebrate and honor the efforts of students everywhere. Your hustle is noted, your dedication admired, and your digital diplomas are real. We wish you all the luck in the world.
Now for this week’s Jolt.
We already acknowledged the relativity of a work from home day; which can easily surpass the typical time spent in an office, based on blurred beginnings and ends. That part can be challenging.
On the upside, regardless of how long your day, research indicates working from home increases the opportunity to solve problems and think creatively. Apparently the lack of traditional daily structure and office distractions can lead to remarkable breakthroughs—not just for individuals, but for entire teams, and companies.
We just had a rather large revelation: we miss all those office distractions, especially the people. Now for this week’s Jolt.
We scoured the internet and polled our own team to find helpful ways to better navigate the WFH situation, as we head into another week away from the office, away from each other, and away from normal rhythms and routines.
Speaking of routines, this seems to be at the top of the list: experts and everyday folks rocking quarantine stick to routines, and map out their days—from meals to breaks, meetings to stretches, calling friends and calling it quits at an hour that allows time to differentiate between work and life. Even if you’re stuck in the same place.
The list of WFH recommendations goes on, from exercise to mindfulness, hydration to sleep. Admittedly, our favorite tip from the mental health gurus revolves around kindness: to others and to yourself. This situation is rough enough, and can easily be compounded by feelings of anger, isolation, self-doubt, and more.
We’re all doing the best we can. So cut yourself some slack and maybe pick a time to read the Jolt each week. Just an idea.
The Jolt is still dedicated to sharing uplifting news and positive energy, despite what is happening in our industry and around the world.
With that in mind, we simply want to recognize one of the silver linings that comes with this quarantine: Family. Sheltering in place with parents, grandparents, siblings, children, and even friends, has paved the way for generations of people around the planet to catch up, reconnect, and share in perhaps the most under-appreciated commodity on the planet: Time.
We know that kids who are home from college and isolated from their friends would not typically choose their parents and a jigsaw puzzle as their Saturday evening activity; we’re just honoring the in-person, almost old-fashioned moments that are happening between humans during this odd time of social distance from so many other people. We’re certain that a new appreciation for spending time with family will survive, long after the coronavirus, encouraging those of us stuck together to maintain better relationships (after we take a needed break), while motivating many who are currently separated, to come together.
Our family sends your family deep appreciation during this time of crisis and the occasional silver lining. Now for this week’s Jolt.
By now, you’ve likely discovered how to WFH in style, and even unearthed the magic of a custom ZOOM virtual background. If not, get instructions here.
As social distancing measures begin to seem like commonplace, the landscape of our personal and professional lives continues to change. The same is true for all of us at Energo: teams have been remote for a month, while essential employees in the field operate in full accordance with CDC guidelines, ensuring the safety of customers. It’s certainly not a world we imagined, but we’re making it work.
In the same way, we’re here to put some positive energy into helping your business run, starting with this week’s Jolt.