Sunday, April 19, 2020
Good morning!
My house is at the end of a street surrounded by woods and a marshy wetland packed with reed grass, cattails, and cordgrass. Numerous animals visit my end of the street and yard daily - deer, fox, rabbits, otters (something that is either a nutria or a groundhog), cardinals, blue jays, turkey vultures, orioles, a black rat snake, an occasional bald eagle and people walking their dogs. The normalcy of the animals doing animal things is calming. The contrast between what I see out my window and what I see on my computer (both of which are simultaneously in my line of sight) is striking. I think this contrast of the mundane and the scary is one of the unique parts of this event. Routines are disrupted, but most people are not experiencing this epidemic from the front lines. And the fact that life is still happening is both unnerving and comforting. (The deer seem entirely unaware that we have a pandemic.)
-----------
FT data (No change in the presentation)
https://www.ft.com/coronavirus-latest
Death vs. Cases in the US.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/daily-covid-cases-deaths?country=USA
There is going to be a lot of day to day variability in these data. Testing, the variable timeline between symptom onset and death, and variation between states in data aggregation and reporting all impact these data points.
Dr. Roer sent this National Geographic article yesterday. Living through stress and trauma impacts our dreams - not surprising, but there are neuroscientists all over the world describing this in detail.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-is-giving-people-vivid-unusual-dreams-here-is-why/
Ferrets are, apparently, a reasonable model for and able to be infected with (and spread) the coronavirus. (I apologize in advance to any ferret people out there). This pre-release (not yet peer-reviewed) article concludes that the experiment does not differentiate between droplet vs. the aerosol spread, it is an excellent example of why wearing masks in enclosed spaces with a high likelihood of infected (symptomatic or asymptomatic) patients makes sense. I also learned that hamsters are another animal model. (Are no cute animals spared? Hedgehogs?)
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.044503v1.full.pdf+html
(FYI - At least one hedgehog was impacted by COVID)
https://www.screendaily.com/box-office/coronavirus-fears-hit-box-office-as-sonic-the-hedgehog-rules-international-update/5147746.article)
Here is another review (from MIT technology review) on the data behind the Facebook survey prevalence study I wrote about yesterday.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/04/17/1000113/up-to-4-of-silicon-valley-already-infected-with-coronavirus/
Here is a comprehensive article on testing sensitivity and specificity geared toward non-medical professionals. If the topic of testing is on your mind (as it should be), this is a good starting point.
https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-how-accurate-are-coronavirus-tests-135972
And here is more information on the antibody testing I have mentioned on our calls:
https://theconversation.com/checking-blood-for-coronavirus-antibodies-3-questions-answered-about-serological-tests-and-immunity-136086
Here is an intriguing idea for an app using the sound of a cough for preliminary COVID screening. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/04/15/covid-19-cough-sound-app
Wired comes through again. On haircuts at home. This seems decidedly un-wired. I feel like there is a wired/haircutting pun I am missing here. Either way, enjoy haircutting tips from the magazine that documented the rise of the internet age.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-cut-your-own-hair-at-home/
Infographic of the day - the psychology of marketing -
https://i.redd.it/cbcarbzhdjt41.jpg
with a YouTube link talking about someone I wrote about a few weeks back, Edward Bernays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnPmg0R1M04&feature=youtu.be
Infographic of the day #2 - this one goes out to all the lawyers in my life. Love you guys. Click for the graphic; stay for the analysis below. It is very entertaining that someone has taken the time to analyze TOS readability.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/terms-of-service-visualizing-the-length-of-internet-agreements/
--- Bonus Round - Random Sunday Musings on People I probably want to have lunch with edition
Whenever I encounter a celebrity, I experience the following emotions and thoughts - "Hey, look, it's X!" followed by, "Wow. I'm in the same room with X!?!" This then leads to, "Should I say something? I don't want to disturb them." Followed by, "Anyway, they know how famous/amazing/whatever they are. I will ignore them and pretend they are not here." However, if allowed to have a good conversation (like a long lunch?), I think there are famous people out there with whom I might like to chat.
Lunch #1
I think the Late Show segment with New Zeland's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern brought her story to my attention. She is an ex-Mormon agnostic who has lead with organizations with socialist in the title. She took the lead of the NZ Labour party at age 36 and was elected Prime Minister at age 37. Lots to discuss. And she seems pragmatic and oriented to rational problem-solving.
Background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinda_Ardern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUPo62ouU84
Lunch #2
Simone Giertz seems like someone who sees the world very differently and can talk about it in detail and in many languages. She is a self-taught engineer and a polyglot, who made herself famous through a YouTube Channel and is most recently renowned for hacking a Tesla Model 3 into a truck. And she has had some serious medical issues. Her self-deprecating humor and ability to turn her interest into a paying job are pretty cool.
Background: https://www.wired.com/story/simone-giertz-build-what-you-want/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3KEoMzNz8eYnwBC34RaKCQ
Clean Hands and Sharp Minds
-Adam
Good morning!
My house is at the end of a street surrounded by woods and a marshy wetland packed with reed grass, cattails, and cordgrass. Numerous animals visit my end of the street and yard daily - deer, fox, rabbits, otters (something that is either a nutria or a groundhog), cardinals, blue jays, turkey vultures, orioles, a black rat snake, an occasional bald eagle and people walking their dogs. The normalcy of the animals doing animal things is calming. The contrast between what I see out my window and what I see on my computer (both of which are simultaneously in my line of sight) is striking. I think this contrast of the mundane and the scary is one of the unique parts of this event. Routines are disrupted, but most people are not experiencing this epidemic from the front lines. And the fact that life is still happening is both unnerving and comforting. (The deer seem entirely unaware that we have a pandemic.)
-----------
FT data (No change in the presentation)
https://www.ft.com/coronavirus-latest
Death vs. Cases in the US.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/daily-covid-cases-deaths?country=USA
There is going to be a lot of day to day variability in these data. Testing, the variable timeline between symptom onset and death, and variation between states in data aggregation and reporting all impact these data points.
Dr. Roer sent this National Geographic article yesterday. Living through stress and trauma impacts our dreams - not surprising, but there are neuroscientists all over the world describing this in detail.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-is-giving-people-vivid-unusual-dreams-here-is-why/
Ferrets are, apparently, a reasonable model for and able to be infected with (and spread) the coronavirus. (I apologize in advance to any ferret people out there). This pre-release (not yet peer-reviewed) article concludes that the experiment does not differentiate between droplet vs. the aerosol spread, it is an excellent example of why wearing masks in enclosed spaces with a high likelihood of infected (symptomatic or asymptomatic) patients makes sense. I also learned that hamsters are another animal model. (Are no cute animals spared? Hedgehogs?)
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.044503v1.full.pdf+html
(FYI - At least one hedgehog was impacted by COVID)
https://www.screendaily.com/box-office/coronavirus-fears-hit-box-office-as-sonic-the-hedgehog-rules-international-update/5147746.article)
Here is another review (from MIT technology review) on the data behind the Facebook survey prevalence study I wrote about yesterday.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/04/17/1000113/up-to-4-of-silicon-valley-already-infected-with-coronavirus/
Here is a comprehensive article on testing sensitivity and specificity geared toward non-medical professionals. If the topic of testing is on your mind (as it should be), this is a good starting point.
https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-how-accurate-are-coronavirus-tests-135972
And here is more information on the antibody testing I have mentioned on our calls:
https://theconversation.com/checking-blood-for-coronavirus-antibodies-3-questions-answered-about-serological-tests-and-immunity-136086
Here is an intriguing idea for an app using the sound of a cough for preliminary COVID screening. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/04/15/covid-19-cough-sound-app
Wired comes through again. On haircuts at home. This seems decidedly un-wired. I feel like there is a wired/haircutting pun I am missing here. Either way, enjoy haircutting tips from the magazine that documented the rise of the internet age.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-cut-your-own-hair-at-home/
Infographic of the day - the psychology of marketing -
https://i.redd.it/cbcarbzhdjt41.jpg
with a YouTube link talking about someone I wrote about a few weeks back, Edward Bernays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnPmg0R1M04&feature=youtu.be
Infographic of the day #2 - this one goes out to all the lawyers in my life. Love you guys. Click for the graphic; stay for the analysis below. It is very entertaining that someone has taken the time to analyze TOS readability.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/terms-of-service-visualizing-the-length-of-internet-agreements/
--- Bonus Round - Random Sunday Musings on People I probably want to have lunch with edition
Whenever I encounter a celebrity, I experience the following emotions and thoughts - "Hey, look, it's X!" followed by, "Wow. I'm in the same room with X!?!" This then leads to, "Should I say something? I don't want to disturb them." Followed by, "Anyway, they know how famous/amazing/whatever they are. I will ignore them and pretend they are not here." However, if allowed to have a good conversation (like a long lunch?), I think there are famous people out there with whom I might like to chat.
Lunch #1
I think the Late Show segment with New Zeland's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern brought her story to my attention. She is an ex-Mormon agnostic who has lead with organizations with socialist in the title. She took the lead of the NZ Labour party at age 36 and was elected Prime Minister at age 37. Lots to discuss. And she seems pragmatic and oriented to rational problem-solving.
Background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinda_Ardern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUPo62ouU84
Lunch #2
Simone Giertz seems like someone who sees the world very differently and can talk about it in detail and in many languages. She is a self-taught engineer and a polyglot, who made herself famous through a YouTube Channel and is most recently renowned for hacking a Tesla Model 3 into a truck. And she has had some serious medical issues. Her self-deprecating humor and ability to turn her interest into a paying job are pretty cool.
Background: https://www.wired.com/story/simone-giertz-build-what-you-want/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3KEoMzNz8eYnwBC34RaKCQ
Clean Hands and Sharp Minds
-Adam
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