March 18, 2020
COVID-19 Telecommuting Day 1
Some initial thoughts and processes
Today,
Wednesday March 18 is my first telecommuting day due to the Covid-19 virus
epidemic. On Monday, March 16, we had a big meeting with the County officials and was explained to all of us that the County decided to
allow people to telecommute from home should either have children whose schools
closed, or have health conditions or concerns. I had asked to be included due to recent health problems that render me vulnerable, and that I wanted to work from home. The county officials were very understanding and I was added to the initial list. The same day, everyone received an email with instructions on
how this process needs to be done.
On Tuesday, March 17, I did follow the process protocol. Specifically, I had to talk with my direct supervisor and explain the situation, as on Monday he was away for his flex time day off. I had to fill two forms: a memo which detailed the process, and an HR questionnaire. Both were kind of laborious and a little bit confusing to fill. I had to check-out a big 43'' GIS monitor out of my office, so I can work more comfortable. I spent a few hours last night re configuring my new home work space. I had to change the video card on my desktop workstation to facilitate the dual monitor mini HDMI connections - I used my old NVIDIA NVS 510 card from my previous workstation, and had to install the newest drivers for the video card. I had to re-position both of my 43'' and 27'' monitors one at the center and one at the right side of the desk. The process was tedious and took me several hours.
I spend some time today getting situated with software and hardware for my new telecommuting routine, and the new workspace settings. First thing I had to do is check-in with my supervisor through email at 6:25am.
One of the projects I am currently working is the authoring of a paper for an upcoming inaugural issue of the new IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence Journal. The paper is entitled "Machine Learning Computer Vision Applications for Spatial AI Object Recognition in Orange County, California". I had a version that I was working from my office workstation and was synced through my OneDrive folder, but I discovered that the office word MathType add in that I was using to author and edit mathematical equations had an expired subscription. I first tried to convert all the MathType equations to Microsoft Equations, but this did not worked well with the IEEE template. Thus, I had to go ahead and buy a new subscription, that cost about 40$, and install it on both my home workstation and my surface laptop.
I checked the VPN connection to the County work stuff, and it worked for most of the county services, but my access to the remote desktop terminals did not. My request to IT for remote desktop terminal access did not get completed yet.
I also had a lengthy exchange of email communication with a group of people (included a few of the staff working at home) regarding setting-up accounts, VPN access and access to the Microsoft office work accounts. Since I had to go through this process a couple of months ago (on late December), I provided advise and how-to procedures. Finally, I had to spent some time configuring how to obtain and install from my MS office account the Microsoft Skype for Business app, for setting-up an IM group for quick communication and group chatting. I managed to do it after some effort and it is now working fine. We tested it through a group chat.
I also had to spent some time yesterday re-configuring and updating software that I need for my analysis: Visual Studio, and ArcGIS Pro.
Project Progress: OCML Vision Paper
I had to work most of the day on the OCML Vision Paper. I had to rewrite twice the mathematical equations on the paper re-configuring style and updates, and the numbering and cross-referencing within the text.
I had to install the new EndNote X9 software on both my home workstation and surface laptop. It required converting the old X8 EndNote libraries to the new format, which recreated all the folders with the attachments. After I confirmed that the new libraries were sound, I had to delete the old library folders, and let my data re-sync the folders of almost 15Gb. The new software also needed default reconfiguration and linking of the connections, filters, and templates folders with OneDrive.
I spend a few hours working on the paper's figures. Currently I have 11 figures on the paper, and had to edit and output all of them through the use of the PowerPoint that contained all the graphics. I also spend some time on literature review and adding references and text on the Background session of the paper.
Working from home thoughts
Working from home is not that easy for me. My workspace is a little bit awkward, and not configured properly with respect to ergonomics. My office chair is horrible, and I had to switch back and forth between working on my workstation using the desk, and out of my recliner using my laptop.
Also, working on apps and processes that require access to the County's work software requires almost constant 2-step verification. I had to go back and forth with my cell phone's authenticator app approving requests. I had to do that at least 25 times today.
At around 5pm, I send an email to my supervisor, checking out from work.
That completed my work day. I feel that I accomplished quite a number of tasks, and I am feeling good about it. I am definitely well ahead of the curve compared to my work colleagues, and that boosted my confidence quite a bit.
After work hours, I prepared some food. I cooked a frozen pepperoni pizza and a few fish patties. We had also salad and fruit. We had dinner and watched a couple of episodes of Narcos on Netflix. Right after that I had to go to bed around 11pm. Leigh Ann had to work late again. She didn't went to bed until late hours in the morning.
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