From ear to ear: LCAD's student-organized initiative to print 'ear-savers' for medical staff (Q&A)

History has shown us that in times of great uncertainty, people tend to have the inclination to withdraw into feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Regardless of how these emotions are brought about; be it by political, social or economic turmoil, the ramifications are usually the same. When the future is unclear, people lose motivation and become understandably distressed. Emotions such as the aforementioned are completely justifiable given that the majority of events of this nature tend to come-about entirely unannounced and thus require people to adjust to new issues and foreign surroundings in their lives with little to no warning.

However, in situations such as what millions of people the world over are currently experiencing, in the way of the COVID-19 pandemic; sometimes a sudden life-changing event acts as the impetus that motivates an individual to pursue goals and interests that are out of their comfort zones. Goals that are driven perhaps by a sense of resolution or an obligation of duty to others and the community.

As medical professionals continue to fight on the front-lines of the pandemic; often without adequate supplies or assistance. The millions of people who stay home in an attempt to contribute to flattening the curve, may find themselves wishing they could do more to shift the tide. For one such person, that desire to contribute to the battle against COVID-19 took shape in the form of direct assistance to medical professionals through the power of 3D printing, community support and public outreach.

I spoke with Elisa Gimenez Valdes Fernandez Posada about the initiative she spearheaded alongside the Laguna College of Arts and Design to produce ear-savers; a device worn around the head to relieve the strain of face-worn PPE (personal protective equipment) for medical professionals at the Mission Viejo Hospital Foundation as well as other local hospitals in Orange County. As well as the ongoing campaign to recruit people to join the cause by contributing their time and resources. At the time of writing, the MHF has requested a total of 1000 ear-savers for their staff with possibility for more requests to come in the arriving months.

What is your name, can you tell me a little about yourself?

"I’m Elisa Gimenez Valdes Fernandez Posada, I’m 22 years old, and I’m an Animation major at LCAD. I’m from Mexico City, Mexico, but I moved to California for college, so I’m a full-time international student."

I stumbled on a post made by the LCAD Twitter account that described your involvement with the ear-savers campaign. What motivated the decision to start this initiative, what's the goal?

"The idea for ear savers came from a feeling of helplessness. Being cooped up in my house, reading the news and watching the world fall to pieces outside was the scariest feeling in the world. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how to, so I started looking for ways I could make a difference. People started posting pictures everywhere of doctors and nurses who were getting injured from their PPE. I had never even thought about how uncomfortable face masks and other PPE could be after wearing them for 12 hours a day until I saw those pictures. So, I reached out to several Orange County hospitals to gauge whether there was any need for this kind of help and the answer was a resounding yes. Along with some other hospitals requesting donations, the Mission Viejo Hospital Foundation requested 1,000 ear savers for their staff!"

Can you tell me about ear-savers? What exactly are they? 

(Courtesy/Thingverse)

"Ear Savers are a 3D printable strip of plastic that is secured at the back of the head and holds the elastic from medical face masks, relieving pressure from the ears. I read about Quin Callender -from Vancouver, Canada- who came up with the first ear saver design as a solution for the PPE injuries problem.
I thought it was amazing that he posted the file online with a public domain license and was encouraging others to print them as well. So I did some research and found out that Ear savers are approved by the NHI for clinical use, are easily disinfected so they can be used multiple times, and according to all the testimonies I found, are actually very effective in relieving and preventing pain behind the ears caused from the face masks' elastic."

So with the design in mind, it came down to finding support to help produce the ear-savers. That's where LCAD stepped in?

"With this in mind, I reached out to Hugo Hernandez, LCAD’s Fabrication Lab’s Manager, to ask if these could be printed on our printers and he got to work right away on a prototype, and we kept going from there."

Has LCAD been supportive of the initiative?

"LCAD has been incredibly supportive, and I am very thankful and proud to be part of an organization that so readily and decisively jumped to help out. Not only have they helped with outreach and social media, but the entire project is also currently being funded by LCAD. They’ve also been doing a terrific job reaching out to students and sharing resources to help during this COVID-19 crisis. Thanks to them backing and funding the project, we've been able to offer anyone with a 3D printer willing to join our efforts support such as a downloadable template and printing instructions for the ear savers as well as PLA filament for their printers."

Now that production is moving along with the ear-savers, what's the goal?

"I’d like to get at least three more printers working with us. Once all the kinks are worked out we can get a steady supply going and focus on distributing them wherever they’re needed.
My main concern is time. I want to print them faster to make sure medical professionals don’t have to spend another day injuring themselves while helping those affected by COVID-19.
I guess I keep hoping this crisis will be over soon and then the ear savers will no longer be needed, so I want to get them out fast. I know that’s a little naive and there’s no reliable way to tell how long this will last, but that’s what I keep hoping."

What does post-pandemic look like for you?

"I don’t know what post-pandemic looks like to me. Hopefully, like before, but with an essential workers’ union, higher minimum wage, and a renewed appreciation for all the people that kept the world going when the apocalypse happened: farmers, truckers, supermarket workers, sanitation workers, and all the other essential workers we often forget about. I also hope they come up with some better fail-safes to make sure something like this doesn’t ever happen again."

For more information on how you can contribute to Elisa and LCAD's ear-saver initiative, the following links are provided.
https://www.facebook.com/LCADBFA/
https://www.instagram.com/lcadbfa/?hl=en

New streaming app Quibi is out of touch, here's why (Review)

(Christian Aguilar-Garcia/Lariat)

For as long as the necessity for people to have access to their favorite content exists, there too will also exist a variety of content-streaming applications. To that end, there is an abundance of existing and upcoming streaming services that hope to secure relevance by dominating their respective markets or at minimum remain a viable contender for the throne, often through a niche format or exclusive access to intellectual properties.

While streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ maintain a significant lead over competing services, it should be said that their popularity is not without contention from eager up-and-comers ready to disrupt the status quo. As of April 6th, the newest streaming service Quibi was unveiled to the masses. 

Quibi stands ready in anticipation for its opportunity to supplant the throne and establish itself as a serious contender in the streaming wars. However, not all appears to be in favor of the fledgling streaming service. In short, Quibi is aimed at younger generations in the way that it assumes millenials have drastically minuscule attention spans. This assumption coupled with the inability to use the service in any form that isn't a cell phone only highlight the variety of issues that inhibit the platforms ability to succeed. 

As has been seen in the past, ever so often a new streaming service arrives on the scene in an attempt to persuade users to their specific style of services and offerings. In the past these efforts manifested in failed apps such as Shomi, VidAngel, Seeso, Yahoo Screen and Playstation Vue. 

While the success of these services is variable, they ultimately failed to capture an audience that was interested in their specific set of programming and thus, became defunct. In this way, it should seem apparent what steps a fledgling service should take to avoid potential shutdown. In that regard, Quibi is an outlier. 

With Quibi's verifiable lack of branded content, a strange new short-form media format and insistence that all of it's content is solely relegated to the realm of smartphone screens. Quibi has more in the way of issues than it does in the way of informed choices. While there is some merit as to the efficiency of smaller bite sized portions, these types of videos are typically associated with social media posts and non-streaming applications such as Instagram and TikTok. 

In what was perhaps a bid to establish the convenience of Quibi's format, lies the crucial error of the platform. Essentially, full length programming is cut into smaller segments for the purpose of providing more easily consumable pieces of streaming media. With that consideration in mind, Quibi fails to establish pacing and effectively cheapens it's offerings by pulling away from the program (unless you opt to pay for the ad-free version) and introducing commercials between 10 minute episodes. 

Additionally, due to the forced aspect ratio that Quibi demands, viewing can be questionable as programming tends to favor the center of the screen depending on the orientation in which you hold your device. All in all, it results in a format that introduces caveats in the name of convenience. 

While time will tell if the Quibi platform has what it takes to be successful in the modern world of VOD offerings and exclusive branded content, it should be noted that many of the "revolutionary" features that Quibi offers have already been spearheaded by other platforms. In many ways, Quibi attempts to distance itself from the competition in ways that no one seems to have asked for. 

O.C. Judge blocks plans to re-purpose Laguna Hills Inn as Project Roomkey Facility amid potential legal fight (News Story)

(Screenshot/Twitter)

The County of Orange has announced a temporary pause to it's plans to convert the Laguna Hills Inn into a facility for homeless people during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The decision to pause the efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the vulnerable homeless population was made during a Orange County Superior Court hearing Thursday, April 16th. While a lawsuit had been filed on behalf of the City of Laguna Hills on the allegations that housing the homeless at the Laguna Hills Inn would cause irreparable harm to the surrounding communities, Judge Thomas Delaney noted that the decision to uphold the city's allegations were not what motivated his decision. 

Rather, the decision was made on the basis of the insufficient information available regarding California's right to forgo existing restrictions that come into play when a state declares a state of emergency. 

“The court understands every day that someone cannot be admitted or allowed to shelter in the hotel creates a greater risk to the people in Orange County,” Said Judge Delaney

However, Laguna Hills Mayor Janine Heft says she isn't convinced that the postponement is enough and are will continue pursuing legal action stating;

"Our city took this extreme action because we have been put in an extreme position by this project, It is horrifying to propose to place a sustantial number of COVID-19 patients in the Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods vicinity, where there are over 20,000 of the persons most at-risk seniors. We could not stand by and watch this happen."

A second hearing is currently scheduled for Monday, April 20.

Laguna Hills Inn selected as new Project Roomkey housing site for homeless (Brief)

The Ayres Hotel in Laguna Hills (Christian Aguilar-Garcia)

It took a series of protests from the concerned senior population of Laguna Woods Village to effectively shelve plans made by the County of Orange and Gov. Newsom's 'Project Roomkey' initiative.

The initiative known as Project Roomkey established FEMA funding to repurpose upwards of 15000 vacant hotel rooms across the state in a effort to help contain the spread of COVID-19 while acting as a buffer for nearby hospitals.

Due to heavy criticism of the decision to use the Ayres Hotel, the plan was abandoned and for a moment, the senior population of Laguna Woods celebrated their newfound victory.

However, given that the necessity for securing housing for the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic still exists, an alternative site for Project Roomkey has been announced, much to the displeasure of Laguna Hills officials.

Currently, Laguna Hills officials are considering legal actions in an effort to prevent further development.