Monday, November 16, 2020
On multiple levels, the last few days felt like I was on a mechanical bull. I think. It is a strange thought given that I have never been on a mechanical bull, nor do I have any desire to ride one. But, between home repairs with cascading complexities (including the various minor injuries I seem to incur performing those repairs), the news, and the pandemic, Monday morning feels like the end of a wild ride with a tenuous grip. I suppose then I am looking for some intellectual chaps for my chafing psyche? I will stop this analogy here. There must be some internet rule about how chaps are a conversation-ending topic.
-----Latest Data---
Cases and deaths are still rising.
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The US Regionally - NY. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
-----
I will start the week with the COVID Tracking project blog. They offer an in-depth analysis of the third wave as of the end of last week.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/weekly-update-nov-12
Your coffee read of the day. The COVID Tracking project has offered their thoughts to the Biden administration for creating a more national-level dashboard, attempting to overcome the high degree of variation and discoordination we are currently seeing. Beyond solving the immediate problems, it is an excellent example of thoughtful user design and display of quantitative information.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/national-dashboard-recommendations
Good news on the Moderna vaccine, just as I was going to hit send.
https://mobile.twitter.com/NPR/status/1328312599272951809
Once again, our political leaders are bad examples during a pandemic, irrespective of political affiliation.
https://twitter.com/LACaldwellDC/status/1327340810262765568
Contrast these dinners with the CDC guidelines on Thanksgiving, released last week:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html
*Update: Congressional dinner plans have changed.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/525946-house-adjusts-format-for-dinner-with-new-members-after-criticism
The NEJM published a well-designed, peer-reviewed, prospective observational study of Marine recruits quarantined before admission to basic training at Paris Island. Despite two weeks of home isolation followed by another two weeks of observed quarantine on a college campus used only for the recruits, 2% of the Marines were found to be COVID+ by PCR. Interestingly, "most recruits who tested positive were asymptomatic, and no infections were detected through daily symptom monitoring." Once again, be careful with young and healthy family members who may be asymptomatic spreaders.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2029717?query=featured_coronavirus
Infographic of the day: IKEA meatballs
https://mobile.twitter.com/IKEAUK/status/1252269467515617280/photo/1
Somehow, I missed this vital Tweet from April 20, 2020. The secret of the meatball is now known.
More: https://secretldn.com/ikea-meatballs-recipe/
---Bonus round--- Historicizing myths and scientific thought
I found this delightful article in the Public Domain Review discussing the real and imagined basis for reported sightings of Innuits in the Orkney Islands as far back as the 1600s - the "Finnmen." Despite the seemingly obscure topic, the essay is an interesting review of early modern science. The discussion of how pre-modern science focused on oddities and exceptions, whereas more modern investigation saw empiricism over deductive reasoning becoming the standard. The article is a useful review of critical thinking and the evolution of scientific thought.
https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-orkney-finnmen-legends
Original article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14788810.2020.1838819
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
On multiple levels, the last few days felt like I was on a mechanical bull. I think. It is a strange thought given that I have never been on a mechanical bull, nor do I have any desire to ride one. But, between home repairs with cascading complexities (including the various minor injuries I seem to incur performing those repairs), the news, and the pandemic, Monday morning feels like the end of a wild ride with a tenuous grip. I suppose then I am looking for some intellectual chaps for my chafing psyche? I will stop this analogy here. There must be some internet rule about how chaps are a conversation-ending topic.
-----Latest Data---
Cases and deaths are still rising.
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
Nationally:
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=usa&areas=gbr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usca&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=ustx&areasRegional=usco&cumulative=0&logScale=0&perMillion=1&values=cases
Also, look at https://covidtracking.com/data
The US Regionally - NY. Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
About the data:
https://covidtracking.com/about-data/visualization-guide is the best resource to understand data visualization and data integrity.
-----
I will start the week with the COVID Tracking project blog. They offer an in-depth analysis of the third wave as of the end of last week.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/weekly-update-nov-12
Your coffee read of the day. The COVID Tracking project has offered their thoughts to the Biden administration for creating a more national-level dashboard, attempting to overcome the high degree of variation and discoordination we are currently seeing. Beyond solving the immediate problems, it is an excellent example of thoughtful user design and display of quantitative information.
https://covidtracking.com/blog/national-dashboard-recommendations
Good news on the Moderna vaccine, just as I was going to hit send.
https://mobile.twitter.com/NPR/status/1328312599272951809
Once again, our political leaders are bad examples during a pandemic, irrespective of political affiliation.
https://twitter.com/LACaldwellDC/status/1327340810262765568
Contrast these dinners with the CDC guidelines on Thanksgiving, released last week:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html
*Update: Congressional dinner plans have changed.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/525946-house-adjusts-format-for-dinner-with-new-members-after-criticism
The NEJM published a well-designed, peer-reviewed, prospective observational study of Marine recruits quarantined before admission to basic training at Paris Island. Despite two weeks of home isolation followed by another two weeks of observed quarantine on a college campus used only for the recruits, 2% of the Marines were found to be COVID+ by PCR. Interestingly, "most recruits who tested positive were asymptomatic, and no infections were detected through daily symptom monitoring." Once again, be careful with young and healthy family members who may be asymptomatic spreaders.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2029717?query=featured_coronavirus
Infographic of the day: IKEA meatballs
https://mobile.twitter.com/IKEAUK/status/1252269467515617280/photo/1
Somehow, I missed this vital Tweet from April 20, 2020. The secret of the meatball is now known.
More: https://secretldn.com/ikea-meatballs-recipe/
---Bonus round--- Historicizing myths and scientific thought
I found this delightful article in the Public Domain Review discussing the real and imagined basis for reported sightings of Innuits in the Orkney Islands as far back as the 1600s - the "Finnmen." Despite the seemingly obscure topic, the essay is an interesting review of early modern science. The discussion of how pre-modern science focused on oddities and exceptions, whereas more modern investigation saw empiricism over deductive reasoning becoming the standard. The article is a useful review of critical thinking and the evolution of scientific thought.
https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-orkney-finnmen-legends
Original article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14788810.2020.1838819
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
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