Category: Coping with COVID
Google recently released their annual “year in search” video. The 2022 edition was vastly different that the previous year. COVID didn’t show up on the list this year, I think my searches alone would have put it in the top ten. 2021 searches reflected getting through COVID, the lockdowns, mental health, and how to develop […]
Dec 27, 2022
Dogs May Reliably Detect SARS-CoV-2 Infections at Mass Events
(JAMA) Dogs trained to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection by smell correctly identified individuals with active infections at concerts with a specificity of nearly 100% and a sensitivity of 82%, researchers reported in BMJ Global Health. The results suggest that dogs may provide a fast and reliable screening option for public events at which mass screening is required. Eight trained […]
Dec 20, 2022
Aromatherapy spray that killed two people in a multistate outbreak also killed pet raccoon
(NBC News) A lavender and chamomile-scented aromatherapy spray contaminated with deadly bacteria that killed two people in 2021 also killed one of the victim’s pet raccoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. In October 2021, investigators with the CDC discovered the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei in the lavender and chamomile scent of Better Homes & Gardens […]
Dec 20, 2022
Went to the local CVS today for an influenza vaccine and COVID booster #5. We were the only ones wearing a mask aside from the feisty senior citizen who rushed her cart up the adjacent aisle to beat us to the line. Got the shots, had COVID (for the first time) in late October, so […]
Dec 13, 2022
US Says Scientists Make Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion Energy
(Bloomberg) Scientists in California have made a key breakthrough in nuclear fusion, a technology with the potential to transform the global energy landscape. Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco were able produce a fusion reaction that generated more energy than it consumed, according to a person familiar with the research […]
Dec 13, 2022
Where is everyone getting those AI avatars?
Have you seen the new avatars on social media recently? They are idealized versions of our friends and family, and a pretty cool way to express your inner superhero. The pic above is an AI generated version of my friend Julie, who does not really have red hair, except for that time she had a […]
Dec 6, 2022
The SMS Text message is turning 30
(BBC) The text message is celebrating its 30th birthday – the first was sent to a mobile phone by a Vodafone engineer in Berkshire in the UK on 3 December 1992. It was sent in order to test out the tech, and read “Merry Christmas”. Neil Papworth sent it to one of the firm’s bosses, […]
Dec 6, 2022
The Virus Formerly Known as Monkeypox
Monkeypox A recent NPR Goats & Soda article reports that the WHO gives us one year to stop using the term Monkeypox, as the disease’s original name plays into “racist and stigmatizing language.” The international monkeypox outbreak drastically raised the disease’s profile in Europe and the U.S., affecting more than 100 countries in all. As […]
Nov 29, 2022
Inside the billion-dollar meeting for the mega-rich who want to live forever
(MIT Tech Review) Hope, hype, and self-experimentation collided at an exclusive conference for ultra-rich investors who want to extend their lives past 100. I went along for the ride. “Who wants to live forever?” The immortal words of Freddie Mercury blast from the speakers as blue lights swivel around the room and a smoky mist […]
Nov 28, 2022
It’s Thanksgiving week in the U.S, which means Americans are traveling to gather with family, and descending upon the grocery stores to buy all of the delicious carbs, and a turkey. We lived in Germany for several years, and always enjoyed our little village grocery store that put out a display of what they thought […]
Nov 21, 2022
