From the creator of both the US version of The Office and Parks and Recreation – Greg Daniels – comes Upload, and not-too-far in the future sitcom dealing with the afterlife. In this future, we have (reliable) self-driving cars, 3-D printed meals (only the wealthy can afford real food), and the ability to upload your memories and your, well, essence into the cloud for some future day when you might be able to be downloaded and physically reunited with your loved ones.

So, instead of freezing your body, you can upload yourself to one of many clouds, where you exist much as a character in a video game, where you – as you remember yourself – is your avatar. It’s all virtual, but you can interact with live relatives via VR and so on.

Starring Robbie Amell (who is uploaded) and Andy Allo (his handler at the cloud company), the story is divided between what happens on earth (who is paying for his “storage”? What are the stresses of handling someone who does/doesn’t exist?) and what happens in what is essentially a video game but with your thoughts, memories and communications with those back on earth – and wondering what comes next.

Ah, and there’s a big difference between clouds – the rich, of course, get the best cloud with the best service.

Half comedy, half philosophy, the ten episodes force you to think about what it means to be human, what a “good life” really is, and the control technology has over your life. It even addresses heaven – what if you are a believer who has lost someone but is convinced that when you die, you’ll be reunited? If you upload, have you missed your shot at heaven and that reunion?

There is also a corporate-crime backstory and a bit of an unexpected connection between the main character and his handler. And I still swear that the main character’s fiance is based in Ivanka Trump.

So there’s a lot packed into the roughly 10 hours of the first season.

As he did in Parks and Recreation, Daniels handles tech issues in unique ways, such as new conglomerates (Oscar Meyer Intel), but he really takes it to the n^th degree. It’s a tech-based sitcom, after all. Those tech-based jokes are quick, understated and hilarious (drug store automatically measures you for condoms: “medium”).

On a sad note, the entire first (Amazon Prime) was dropped May 1, 2020 (after what I would expect to be a looong CGI and editing cycle). With the pandemic still raging, when will they even be able to film Season Two (already green-lighted)?

Better than I expected – weird, clever and profane. It also has one of the most diverse casts I’ve ever seen in a regular sitcom (one not focused on queer issues or an ethnic identity – think Fresh Off the Boat or black-ish). Andy Allo (female), who is the cloud company’s handler for the main character (Amell), is the breakout star of this show. Where has she been?

From CDC.gov

This is American, so of course everything is a competition.

So the question is, who is winning (and losing) this health care crisis?

Obviously, the virus itself is kicking everyone’s ass, but what’s the collateral wins and losses to date/to me?

(Yes, I am deliberately making light of a very serious situation. If you can’t occasionally laugh at your troubles…)

Winners

• Zoom: Once a Skype wanna-be, it has emerged – after some security issues – as the go-to video chat for stay at home workers. It’s even become a verb, which is a true sign of success (google it if you don’t believe me).
• Working from home: Depending on your inclinations/politics this could be a Loser, but the technical ability many now have to just fire up their computer and work from home is something that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago for most. Broadband, beefier laptops and – most importantly – the move to the cloud have allowed many workers to do much of what they used to do at work at home in their jammies.
• Reporting: The pandemic, overall, has been bungled big-time by the federal government, but has seen local leaders – governors, in particular – step up and create a plan on the fly. The media has covered both the failures and success with dogged perseverance, and it’s compelling reading.
• Some governors: (see above). And this is not a partisan issue. Democratic governors in CA, NY, IL and MI have shone, but so have Republican governors in OH, MD and MA. And kudos to the Republican governors in particular, because they have to get up there and complain about a Republican president (especially this one); that is easier for a Democrat.
• Amazon: Amazon really stepped up its game for the pandemic, and for many stuck at home, it was a godsend. If you weren’t an Amazon fan before, you might be now. Is this giving Amazon too much power and sway over retail? Fair question, but that’s not the point here. Amazon delivered.
• SNL: While doing skits from home to form a show was hit-and-miss, the winners were great in a way that would not have happened if the “social distancing” wasn’t in effect. Cast members had to stretch their legs and really get creative. It often paid off.
• Seth Meyers: Of all the late night hosts, Meyers bested the others by a long shot. His attic/crawlspace broadcasts, with tiny doors, tiny chairs, wasps and out of control Thorn Birds hit the right notes. Will we be able to stand it for another month or so? We’ll see. Runners-up: Stephen Colbert and, especially, John Oliver. Oliver, in particular, is set up for this: His show is normally just him behind a desk and usually one long story. If he does it at home instead of in a studio really doesn’t matter.

Losers

• Small businesses, especially restaurants: In the last few weeks, my work go-to Thai place shut down, the Indian restaurant next to it turned into a take-out Mexican place, and an interesting Indian place I had wanted to try just evaporated. The chains will remain (big bucks behind them), the the more inventive mom & pop places? Going to be rough.
• President Trump: From the moment he began leading the daily coronavirus briefings, it was clear that this was Trump’s rally alternative, and the briefings were light on pandemic info and heavy on how much the media was blaming the President. Not pretty.
• The Federal Government: (see President Trump, above.) If there is ever a time when the federal government should step in and – at least – set guidelines, a country-wide pandemic would be pretty high up that list. The federal response thus far has been: “states, you handle it.” Watergate chilled a generation on trust in government, the pandemic response (or lack thereof) will have a similar effect. The Federal Plan is no plan, months into the pandemic. Shameful.
• Protesters: Look, I get it – stay at home is a drag, and to some people, a deprivation of “liberty” or “freedom.” Whatever. We’re trying to save lives here. Surely that trumps (sic) the need to sit at a bar. Protesters, look at it this way: The same constitutional amendment that gives you the right to assemble is also the one that gives you the right to free speech (First Amendment). But free speech isn’t limitless – you can’t joke and yell “fire” in a movie theater, for example. Ditto for freedom to assemble – there are limits, and some governors are trying to limit – temporarily – some assembly to keep the pandemic in check. But at the end of all, you do have the right to free speech, so feel free to complain about the stay at home orders. I don’t agree with you, but I will defend your right to rant against this. But again, remember the saving lives part??
• Late night hosts not listed in the Winners list: Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and even Samantha Bee (though she had her moments).

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve upped my phone from an iPhone 4S to the 2020 version of the iPhone SE.

One upgrade that has been around since the iPhone 7, I believe, is wireless charging.

I’ve used it for one day and I am totally sold.

I got an Anker PowerWave changer, and it’s perfect for my use. I wanted something that would lie flat on my nightstand, because that’s the way I’ve always set my phone. Some people like a stand, so they can see a message if it comes in, but thrashing around at night runs the risk of setting that phone airborne.

If I hear a message or want to check the time, I can just lift the phone and it’ll turn on long enough to see what’s up.

Note: This is a slow charger – not a fast charger, but that’s fine: I’m charging overnight, so there is no hurry.

Also, this does not come with a power supply, just a USB cord (some units, especially the fast chargers, come with something to plug into an outlet). I just used the weenie charger that came with the iPhone. Bing bang done.

Now I wish my iPad supported this…

From the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, Amazon – that mall in the sky behemoth – has said they would alter its deliveries to prioritize necessities.

Need medicine – stat; socket set – not so much.

I applaud this.

As a frequent Amazon shopper – and if I wasn’t before I sure would be now – I’ve noticed delivery dates pushed out past the normal Prime delivery windows, and that’s just fine.

At the same time, I’ve been getting deliveries well within the normal Prime windows.

Case in point – my last order was for some extra charging cords for my new iPhone SE 2020 – hardly a necessity. These are extra power cords (just the cord – Lighting to USB).

Ordered May 1 before 9am. Promised delivery by end of day Sunday May 3.

Received 3:30pm Saturday, May 2nd.

Wow. Amazon is really making the most of its moment. Kudos.

On the other hand – I feel that Amazon is blowing a huge opportunity to polish its image and lead the change in income inequality (which is going to be one of the many defining battles moving forward).

To put it simply, Amazon is filthy rich. Yet its workers, protesting for safer working conditions – as well as better pay/benefits – are getting fired for these actions. Especially in the age of COVID-19, and even noting that Amazon does seem to be trying to up their worker-safety marks, terminations for making noises about this seem chickenshit.

To put it simply, Amazon is acting like a modern-day Robber Baron.

With its enormous wealth, Amazon could effort to push some of those huge profits down from management/stockholders to a lot of the people doing the actual work. I’m not dinging logistics or whatever, but at the end of the day, it’s the folks in and around the warehouses that make this Prime magic happen.

Amazon – to paraphrase the First Lady: Be better. Pay and care more – and reap the PR benefits to keep that profitable machine that is Amazon going and growing.

Yeah, pie in the sky liberal claptrap, but I really think Amazon has an opportunity here. Depending on the day, Amazon chief (and visionary) Jeff Bezos is the world’s first or second richest person.

Would falling to third or fourth really be the end of everything? And the pressure he could bring to bear on other large corporations?

Update (later same day) – Tim Bray quits over Amazon firing whistleblowers:

Remaining an Amazon VP would have meant, in effect, signing off on actions I despised. So I resigned.
— Bray, in his 4/29/2020 blog entry

Bray – co-inventor of XML with an incredible résumé – was a VP earning $1 million+. His last day was May 1, 2020.

This is putting your money where your mouth is, big time. And it sends a loud message, as Bray is very well-known and seems the opposite of a tech jerk.

Good for Bray (whom I’ve followed on his blog for years).