The creek behind our new house is densely wooded and, we now know, famous for its foxes. Our foxes sing. More like a wail. A lot. Like sometimes all night. Our foxes sound so sad. Maybe they are hungry or mating or marking territory? Perhaps it is their happy noise, and we are biased since it sounds like screaming children to us humans? Maybe they feel maligned because of the eponymous news channel losing viewers to NewsMax? I am unsure where one should have the "we have noisy foxes" disclosure in the home-buying process.
Do you hear what I hear? Crying foxes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk1mAd77Hr4
-----Latest Data---
I note both deaths and cases (7-day rolling average) are still increasing at an increasing rate.
Global-View:
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938
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.
---
The FDA released a large amount of data on the Pfizer vaccine yesterday. It appears safe and effective. Indeed, this is more excellent news.
Recipients had maximal protection after the second dose
Some protection appears 14 days after the initial dose
24 hours of fever, aches, and related discomforts common after the second dose
The vaccine demonstrated equal effectiveness irrespective of age, weight, race, and ethnicity
ID doc, Dr. Boulware, offers a good summary, link to original documents
https://twitter.com/boulware_dr/status/1336319254912708608
I found a follow-on discussion about how this marks a new era of "artisanal" and "bespoke" vaccines rapidly developed for new pathogens. I do not know if the vaccine makers require skinny jeans and curated beard, but my Denver friends know the archetype.
https://twitter.com/badlogicgames/status/1334984957790392321?s=20
Here is a 2018 paper on mRNA vaccines from Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd.2017.243
And despite all of this promising news, articles like this help explain the daily trends in case and death data.
or this
https://twitter.com/DrKarb/status/1336457833991254019
In contrast to reporting on super-spreader events, I suspect we will see more lessons learned and wisdom gained articles in the coming months. It is inspiring to see knowledge increasing at an increasing rate as well. Here is an article from HBR on telehealth:
https://hbr.org/2020/12/what-patients-like-and-dislike-about-telemedicine
Infographic of the day: Unmentionables
I found the Tim Hawkins alternate curse word list today:
https://timhawkins.net/products/alternative-cuss-words-poster
In contrast, I offer a few articles that link to infographics on the history of cursing through time.
https://www.fastcompany.com/3040266/the-oldest-english-swear-words-visualized
----Bonus Round: Oddities from the Animal World
My younger son noted that we missed marking November 12 - the 50th anniversary of the Florence, Oregon beached whale incident.
Here is a remastered version of the local news story, which was a masterful job of unbiased and irony-free reporting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34&feature=youtu.be
If you watched the above, you might be thinking, "Why did they do that to the whale carcass?" I offer (legit and scientific) lessons from a nordic-sounding narrator on the perils of deceased, beached whales. (I am pretty sure this topic demands a nordic-sounding narrator).:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_6Q38CFYBw
In my background research for today's email, I accidentally learned some fascinating facts about butterflies' reproductive behaviors (and other species, too!). In addition to science, this article offers a window into gender politics through this topic's anthropomorphization. Enjoy the facts and implications of "The Complex Sex Lives of Butterflies."
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/butterfly-mating-plugs/
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam