FOR PATRONS ONLY - Lockdown Life

hi fran i know what is it like sad really big hugs and take care xx

Fran, love you, love your work, love your channel, many, many thanks! I thought I had written to you re. Copper Nanoparticles and how these can be produced in a household blender to paint on a facemask and to improve the antiviral protection. But this Nanoparticulate copper will rapidly oxidise in air. A new method of exposing the copper/copper oxide to a photographic flash is called "Photo Sintering". This causes the copper oxide to reduce back to copper and for the copper nanoparticles to weld together. But the messaging here on Patreon does not provide a confirmation of the messages having been sent. This leaves me with no confirmation? See "Green Copper Nanoparticles Using a Household Blender" for instructions on how.

7 weeks is a long time. It is so scary and sad. Wish I lived closer so I could pitch in at the storage unit. It sounds like an overwhelming job. Maybe you could put out a little call for assistance from some locals that know what to look for, or can be trained to know what to look for. ;-) Just a thought! Side note: You've got a nice old-school music system there so your tunes sound like they are supposed to! Nice!

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us and for the tour of your lab! A little cramped, yes, but it looks like quite a beautiful space to me. :-) Take care!

Hi Fran. Apols, only just found this, still no notifs from Patreon for some reason. There's so many things I could say to you here, about Missy, about your ingenuity when faced with a technical problem, about your music, your art, your whole philosophy. But (hopefully remaining non-partisan with other fans of English football) I'll say only the phrase that my fellow Liverpool FC supporters would say, and I believe it's what your Patrons are thinking right now - You'll Never Walk Alone. Take care, Ziggy. 8o)

Zygmunt Dean

I'd like to think that we'd be friends if we met!

Jon M Dhuse

Hi Fran, I really resonated with your stories about Mr Stinky and Missy. I feel your sadness about not being able to have a companion in your space right now. We too had a kitten that “chose” us, like Missy. What a wonderful feeling when that happens, out of the blue. An immediate connection. When we met Koi (we name our cats with Hawaiian terms, and Koi means “claim”) he was so inquisitive, he was brought in with three other foster cats who wouldn’t even get out of their carriers, but he immediately came out, checked out all the corners of the giant dog-training room, came back to me sitting in the middle of the floor, jumped into my lap and went to sleep. Well like Missy that was all she wrote. Koi has Haws Syndrome, his nictitating membranes cover about half of his eyes all the time. He was also very skinny. The vet said he would not make it unless he gained a lot of weight. No problem. Like you Fran we have a history of nursing sick cats, including a stray named Kele (Kay-lay) that my wife and I brought back from near death due to a fungal infection called histoplasmosis, which is rare in the warm and dry climate of Southern California, but our vet just happened to be from Oklahoma where histo is evidently more common and finally nailed the diagnosis. And that began several years of daily meds, syringe feeding and sub-cu fluids. We helped him get 7 extra years of life with us and he was such a blessing for us. He had such a Buddha nature to him. I could feel something going on with him. That was so hard for me when he passed away. Anyway I think we became somewhat famous among our vet’s clients for our “heroics” but we didn’t even blink. Just like you. Well back to Koi. Even with his Haws Syndrome he is so happy, he sees enough to play and pounce on our other two rescues, bumps my legs every chance he gets. He just does his thing, no complaints about his eye sight, he just loves that we love him. Missy knew how much you loved her and how much you helped her, and she loved you for that, and so much more! What I admire about animals is they don’t get bummed about their condition, they just accept it and live their life. What a role model for us. We spend so much time meditating to try to get to that exact spot. Someday we will achieve that, but man that takes a lot of work, doesn’t it? All my best to you Fran, thank you for such an intimate talk with us, from Blake.

I should but honestly I can't really do stuff like that when my head is in a fog. The normal things I would escape to seem to trap me even more these days.

Fran Blanche

Trying to... and best to you as well.

Fran Blanche

Hey Fran, Thank you for sharing. Just a thought here, why not switch gears for a bit and pull out one of your guitars, spend a couple days practicing and put on a show? music has been a huge escape from the humdrum of the quarantine for many of us. While you are at it pass the hat and you know we’ll throw a few bucks in. Plenty of less interesting and less talented folks are doing this. I’m sure your show would be awesome. Cheers!!

Thanks for the tour, lots of interesting and beautiful artworks you've got there. I can definitely identify with the solitude. Had to work in the city centre for about a week early on in the lockdown, and it was like a ghost town, right out of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. Anyway, I hope you get your mojo back soon, and can get back into your projects again. I guess for the moment we've just gotta ride this thing out as best we can.

UpLateGeek

True that for those on the spectrum who prefer to be alone most all of the time still require interaction with people to stay sane. What always grounded me was the energy of the city, which is now absent.

Fran Blanche

Yes, the never leaving work thing has been a big problem for me as well in this smaller space. This is why I have find ways to distance myself from work even if I cannot leave the office.

Fran Blanche

I didn't used to feel either bored or alone but I have come to realize that was because I could get out whenever I wanted to do many things in many other places. Being without this is the issue I think.

Fran Blanche

Thanks Zachary... It's tough to even guess how to cope with this very long isolation. There is really no good advice for not going coocoo in solitary confinement.

Fran Blanche

Thanks Jean...

Fran Blanche

Very true.

Fran Blanche

I'm sorry to hear about your health challenges Andy... you hang in there too!

Fran Blanche

Probably too complicated for me... I don't run apps on my phone - it's just a phone.

Fran Blanche

Oh, thanks David.

Fran Blanche

Thanks Bruce....

Fran Blanche

No easy solution - the issues would be both allowing outgassing and preventing chemical interaction, such as with plastics and elastics. Even fabrics and paper could cause issues.

Fran Blanche

Thanks John

Fran Blanche

Not really no.

Fran Blanche

Yes Fran, I do consider us to be long distance friends. As such parts of this video were difficult to watch, it's hard to see you down. Nice that you cheered yourself up a bit giving the guided tour of your artifacts. My life hasn't changed a lot, since my stroke 10 years ago I am practically housebound. What little work I do, I do from home.But I can walk the short distance to my parents and I see them every day. For the purposes of lockdown we are treating it as though we live together, as none of us go anywhere independently these days. I'm sure science will get us through this, I find it frustrating that I can be of little help in the fight against the thing that cannot be named, however I do the one small thing I can do to help. I donate computer time to the various research projects into the organism. Both on a small scale from home on my motley collection of computers here in the UK and on a larger scale from our research cluster in Germany. Hang on in there Fran, we can get through this together. I for one am happy to continue my patronage during these fallow times, I see it as an investment in the future. I sure many more do too.

Dr Andy Hill

Hi Fran, thank you for the video and the tour of the lab, loved seeing the pictures and artwork. Sad to see you feeling down about it all but humbled you shared your very personal feelings about it with us. As I watched I really wanted to say something back and tell you weren’t alone then an idea struck me so I thought I would suggest it. Have you thought about an ‘Audience with Fran’ type thing? Take a selection of patreons, maybe ask those interested to get in touch and if too many pull names out of a hat, and it would need to be small in number to be manageable, maybe 10 or 12 max, and host a private Zoom meeting for say half an hour. You could just start it like a live YouTube broadcast but the difference being you see us and we could ask questions and chat back and it would hopefully be helpful to all of us in a similar situation, and you get to see some friendly faces and we wouldn’t need face masks. 😊 Take care, Leigh from a locked down UK

Leigh

I am honoured to be considered a friend.

David Peaker

Thanks for sharing. Hang in there!

Hey Fran -- wishing you good health. This is definitely a tough time... a mental and emotional burden on everyone. Your fans love you and are here to support you! Hang in there and take care of yourself!

Jason Thorpe

Love your art

Thank you Fran for opening up your heart and home to us. You have many people who all love you and for whom you have made a difference. I, for one am proud to be a patreon. This time is hard on all of us.

Bruce Davis

Just a suggestion for your “nitro” furniture that you gave things on top of, would a sheet of glass help prevent interaction? Stay safe and hang in there. Even introverts are finding this isolation difficult.

Sounds like you're in a bad marriage, with an abusive city. The solution is obvious.

Hang in there Fran, we're here to support you. This lockdown thing is tough

The lockdown is not fun at all. The serious loss for many is touch when you live alone. Pets help, but hugs are not the same. What we have started doing is using Google Duo and Zoom to share meals with others. Not the same as being in the same room, but it works better than I thought it would. My partner and I (both being aspies may have helped - with lots of counseling) are "high risk", so we are living by the rules and staying in. We are unpacking from a move not yet complete, our mounds of boxes, half full of stuff that should have been pitched provide continuing entertainment. Hang in there and know that you are loved.

Kendra Akin

Your hugging that blanket really affected me, as it's one of my self-comfort strategies when I'm in the pits. This has been week 8 of isolation and working from home (WFH) for me, with Week 9 starting tomorrow. Week 7 was a massive meltdown. My productivity had been dropping week by week, and it was taking ever longer each day to get the equivalent of 8 hours of work done, for me to simply do the minimum to earn my salary. This got worse and worse, where ever shorter work sessions needed to be separated by ever longer recovery breaks. A week ago last Thursday I snapped. I was abusive to my coworkers over email and Zoom, was impatient, short-tempered and continually frustrated with myself and the world. The thing is, I love my job. Yet it was like WFH meant I could never get away from work. My sanctuary had become my prison. I spent the next weekend trying to get some space and gain some perspective. By last Sunday morning I knew I had to get out of the house more, and also had to stop doing all my work at home. Fortunately, the building at work is 90% empty, and my office-mate truly enjoys WFH. Monday was rough getting back into the swing of things, but each day got better, with Friday being wonderful. Wonderful in the sense of returning to normalcy after trauma. Thanks for sharing your world with us. I normally don't seek life details from creators, as I both respect their privacy and their work. But in these times of isolation, this felt different, a part of the story. I am also stunned by how every part of your environment is curated. Yes, some clutter is inevitable, yet it is a very small part of the overall whole. Thanks again! Edit: Typos.

BobC

Thanks for the tour, we will miss you on Sunday but be well. I am alone as well, even in better times, it just the way some of us are, for our own reasons, but something keeps us going. Be well, be strong, your Fran Fans need you!

Dwayne Goertzen

Hey sweetie, sending you a virtual hug, er, elbow bump, er, wave. Wait a friggin second, virtual, virtual.... hug! :-) Thanks for sharing your wide open talk on the things we're all feeling these days, the kitty stories, and the trip around your lab. I about fell over when you showed the jukebox.... drool (no Jan, not on the keyboard). Your Buddy Holly, wow! You can always wax poetic about the right hand side, something about legends not dying but merely fading away. ;-) As for that amazing graphite & charcoal portrait of the handsome man, well honey, the only reason I can think of for someone getting rid of it is a mighty bad break-up. One thing I've found that's helping break the current solitude is that I fired up my old gaming computer and found some folks still playing Call of Duty United Offensive... blast from the past, is just like putting on my favorite worn out sneakers. Virtual hug again. Jan aka SteelJan

Jan Snyder-Ellerman

Having never felt bored or alone, living in a lab space feels normal. It does feel odd to know our entire way of living is changed for now, and will remain changed in new ways. Hang in there Fran, feel the strength and sureness of us out here rooting for you, cheering you on!

Inventor Pardue

Thank you so much for not only sharing your home with us, but also for sharing pieces of your life. Do not blame yourself for the death of your beloved cat. Even if the pollution did contribute/cause her death, she had a much longer life than she would have had without your intervention in her life. I also live alone under lockdown, but now I do not feel so alone. Thanks again, Fran. We love ya!

Carol K Stouffer

We all love you Fran! Please don’t give up. You’re a spectacular human and a joy be around whether creating or just sitting with some tea. Philly is just one place. It may not be the Philly you remember but know that around the world there are people that are rooting for you! Here’s a shout out from Seattle! FranLab all the way!

Hi Fran, I find that working on a project keeps me from thinking too much about what is going on. Not listening to the news also helps. Take care.

The more you know the more you wish you didn't know. Ignorance is bliss. Anybody that really understood EVERYTHING would probably commit suicide. I find it overwhelming sometimes to be aware of what is going on with just the things around me. Hang in there Fran! Many of us do care about you.

William Alsing