COVID is still here. How to figure out what makes sense. I know that most people are just done with COVID and are living their lives, accepting that they may get it the way they accept getting colds and flu. But those who are older or have underlying illnesses or live with people who fit those categories need to be a little bit more analytical about this because COVID is still super contagious and the threat of serious illness and the residual effects of it loom large. I would feel terrible if I thought I gave it to someone. When there is a surge, I mask up in public spaces. Since I live in Southern California I have the good fortune to be able to go to restaurants and bars and stay mostly outside or in well ventilated places. (And I will never get on an airplane unmasked again — I always caught something before and now I am well when I travel. Yippie!) Anyway, here is UC San Francisco’s Dr. Bob Wachter’s latest tweet thread about how to mitigate your risk which I have often found very informative: Covid (@UCSF) Chronicles, Day 1013 As we enter Covid Year 3, it’s clear we’ll be in our current predicament for the foreseeable future.
Reading
OK just a little late for Xmas, but Elon deserves it for those stupid fucking tunnels.
Our 13th most-read article of the 2022.
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Originally published January 10, 2022.
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Dear Teachers,
As we continue to grapple with unavoidable disruptions caused by the pandemic, it’s important that we remain prepared and flexible for any and all circumstances. Please read the following scenarios and be ready to discuss them at this afternoon’s faculty meeting:
Scenario 1
There are ten students at home (Zoomies) and ten students in person (Roomies). You have been drinking steadily since 2020 and can’t stop crying. You’re also in-person, double-masked, and weigh fifteen pounds more than you did when this all started.
To the fans, Thank You.
Our intrepid Inner West explorer did his best to press on after the major league surgery, but sadly died on February 20, 2023. Deeply missed.
still here!
Still here! (28 December 2022) But still indisposed, unfortunately. Have some fairly major league surgery scheduled for mid-January, that’ll keep Vanishing Sydney off the streets of the Inner West for another three months at a minimum. Recuperating for the rest of the summer here down under the equator, but sincerely hope to be back in the cooler weather with some fresh material.
In the meantime, enjoy the back catalogue. You can find 2,800 original unique photographs of the Inner West of my beloved Emerald City - Sydney, Australia - snapped over the past four years. The best resolution is seen in the Archive Box on your million pixel desktop, or just keep scrolling back forever on your device. Explore the neighbourhood vicariously! It’s disappearing fast.
Go well in 2023, find some peace, and all power to your oars.
There is no excuse for this The only reason they could be this inept is if they are looking for reasons to deny disability benefits to people who need them. (And yes, I’m sure there are people who have abused the system, but that doesn’t make this ok.) He had made it through four years of denials and appeals, and Robert Heard was finally before a Social Security judge who would decide whether he qualified for disability benefits. Two debilitating strokes had left the 47-year-old electrician with halting speech, an enlarged heart and violent tremors. There was just one final step: A vocational expert hired by the Social Security Administration had to tell the judge if there was any work Heard could still do despite his condition. Heard was stunned as the expert canvassedhis computer and announced his findings: He could find work as a nut sorter, a dowel inspector or an egg processor —jobs that virtually no longer exist in the United States. “Whatever it is that does those things, machines do it now,” said Heard, who lives on food stamps and a small stipend from his parents in a subsidized apartment in Tullahoma, Tenn.
And so it begins… Yulia Galyamina, the first Russian professor who got fired because “she is a foreign agent”. And here’s Dmitry Vasilets, a Real Russian Hero. Also, while we’re talking about Russia: Please consider supporting Meduza. Russians must have access to free press, just like all of us – and after it got banned, […]
Capitalism's working great.
for each one to individually call scheduling to tell them where they are. Their phone lines are swamped and I’ve seen screenshots of crew on hold for 23+ hours trying to get through to scheduling.
— Ben (@JustAnother_Ben) December 27, 2022
Our 14th most-read article of the 2022.
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Originally published February 8, 2022.
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Downstairs to Downstairs
HOUSEHOLD SERVANT: I’m worried about Rich Lady.
OTHER HOUSEHOLD SERVANT: Don’t be. She’s rich, ain’t she?
HOUSEHOLD SERVANT: Being rich doesn’t mean her horse can’t die/ her husband can’t die/ she can’t die/ she can wear a hat well.
BUTLER: Stop arguing, you two! Someone needs to take this duck liver blancmange up to the dining room on the double!
OTHER HOUSEHOLD SERVANT: Humph! (Exits to the kitchen)
Click here to go see the bonus panel!
Hovertext:
A patreon subscriber points out that I've repeatedly done Daniel Dennett-related comics on Boxing Day, and that is the most wonderful coincidence I can image.
Today's News:
I continue to feel that everyone out to be freaking out more about developments in AI during the last 5 years.
I know this is mostly on the anti-vaxxers, but the move to take the "public" out of "public health" was not limited to them.
A rapidly growing measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio — largely involving unvaccinated children — is fueling concerns among health officials that more parent resistance to routine childhood immunizations will intensify a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Most of the 81 children infected so far are old enough to get the shots, but their parents chose not to do so, officials said, resulting in the country’s largest outbreak of the highly infectious pathogen this year.
As 2022 draws to a close, amongst the last-minute hustle before the New Year, there’s...
Hypocrite former MP condemned by postal workers union Right-wing former Labour MP Chuka Umunna has been slammed by the postal workers’ union for advising privatisers on their potential bid to take over Royal Mail – after originally condemning the privatisation of the iconic UK institution. Umunna is reportedly advising Czech firm Vesa Equity on its […]
I was informed by a guy at Vox whose salary was paid by money from SBF that all of this was just "profound failures of judgment."
So many Effective Altruism marks. And why not? It paid their bills!!!Prosecutors have alleged, and two of SBF's closest associates have admitted, that much of Alameda's money was stolen from the FTX crypto exchange.
— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) December 27, 2022
In turn, Alameda extended huge sums to SBF personally. Here's one 'promissory note' for $316mn: https://t.co/bO1gJMHly6 pic.twitter.com/qAo222KtpQ
Our 15th most-read article of the 2022.
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Originally published February 3, 2022.
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6 a.m. Wake up and put on knit cardigan, slacks, and sensible shoes. Feed my cat, Mr. Foibles. Have tea and English muffin while I read Shakespeare and listen to symphonies.
7 a.m. Get into twenty-year-old Corolla, turn on NPR, get rattled by news and switch to listening to a Charles Dickens book on tape read by Alistair Cooke.
7:15 a.m. Arrive to an exact replica of your hometown library, or what you imagine a library to look like, basically where Giles from Buffy works.
People in the Belgian town of Balen noticed more young people getting drunk, so they invented the "sobercoin". It encourages people to arrive at parties sober - by rewarding them with free drinks. (Thanks to Steve Bradford)
All around the world, women are better empathizers than men, study finds (Thanks to GJ) Half of all Americans (51%) hide out in their bathroom when they want some much-needed peace and quiet, a recent survey of 2,000 respondents says....
World's Biggest Santa Claus Of Tomato With Sand Created By Renowned Sand Artist In Odisha (Thanks to pharmaross)
Florida man busted after trying to pick up Christmas card filled with cocaine and fentanyl at police station (Thanks to pharmaross)
Another fun day at Elmo's ranch.
When it comes to Henry Cavill's departure, Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin star Minnie Driver views it through a Doctor Who perspective.
Mind Chunks by Pete Mandik Other Daily Nous Philosophy Comics / More Info About DN Comics Pete Mandik on Twitter
In 1979, Marvel UK began publishing the Doctor Who Weekly comic book magazine, later Doctor Who Monthly, featuring a continuing comic book strip. One of