Viral Vicissitudes

Pandemic Paramedic Pilots: "The Flying Nun" meets "The Jetsons" Help from Above: Okay, after dumping such a heavy load on you last post, it's time to 'lighten things up'. The same day (and radio station) I listened to the somber updated world COVID stats, I enjoyed listening to a review of  a newly tested jet suit for paramedics in particular, recently tested in the hilly terrain of the Lake District of the United Kingdom. As the report cites, a trained medical personnel wearing such an apparatus could potentially reach a person in an emergency in 90 seconds, that would otherwise take over half an hour to achieve on foot. The lifesaving potential is compelling, as are the potential applications in dense urban centers as well, allowing medical personnel in some cases to circumvent obstacles and obstructions posed by both nature and humanity (e.g., traffic jams).                                  ...

Million Marker: Dreadful, Dubious Distinctions Mental Math, Inestimable:  Easy to estimate, hard to imagine.   Today we learned (myself via BBC, five hours earlier) that about ten months into the pandemic now, we have just surpassed one million deaths as a world community, directly attributed to COVID-19. Which in turn means that millions more have been diagnosed and have either fully recovered or struggling to do so (with many still suffering the aftermath/sequela of this capricious virus). Another untold number of people, of course, are now walking around amongst us after having been exposed as well. With such round numbers, it's unfortunately easy to do the horrid calculations: 10 months, 1 million...staggering. The Bad, the Good, the Ugly(?): In the interview with a WHO representative this morning, she resonated the sobering reality (the "bad news") of how quick and aggressive the COVID viral transmission continues to be. Concurrently, she explained the "good new...

Binary Barnacles: Baiters, Blinkered...Balkanized (?)   Either/Or: The binary mathematical model (or "dualism" in philosophy), is based on data being represented by either a 1 or 0. Binary code is the most fundamental concept in modern computer science. Computers don't understand words or numbers the ways humans (supposedly) do.  At the 'lowest' levels of your computer, everything is represented by a binary electrical signal that recognizes one of two states: on or off; to make sense of complicated data, your computer encodes it in binary. Ho-hum, you say. The important implications of such models of thinking/computing to our present day circumstances, including the pandemic and protests, are compelling (or should be by the time I'm done with your here). From math models to stereotyping:  One of the major cognitive factors in all diagnostic errors (which can have grave consequences whether we are in the ER or or curbside) is the tendency/temptation to reduce a...

COVID Calgon Moments: Virtually Impossible (?) Hearken back, halcyon:   As the social and psychological effects of the pandemic continue to be felt by all, it is natural to look back in search of the "good ol' days". You know, the time before this viral varmint came a calling to our country, county, and eventually home town. Okay, so you can't literally turn back the clock, but perhaps you can at least 'suspend' time and space for a brief period in order to achieve some respite: "Can't I get a reprieve from this constant cacophony of negative news...from all the demands of others?!" Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing, at least 'virtually'! If we can't make COVID go away on our time frame, we can at least take ourselves away from COVID, at least for a.....'New York Minute'. For those of you over the age of ? , you will readily recall the Calgon commercial, featuring the caption "Calgon take me away! Lose yourself in luxu...

From Cheers to Jeers -Part 2: Veneration to Vilification (?)        It's been almost five months since I wrote here on behalf of several groups of people we have come to admire and appreciate, for their steadfast service and personal sacrifice throughout this pandemic. Ranging from health care workers to first responders, from grocery store clerks to truck drivers, these are 'everyday people' who simply continue to do their jobs they had been doing all along, but we have become more acutely aware and grateful due to their increased COVID exposure as an occupational hazard unforeseen, the extra hours of service, or other forms of sacrifice.                                                            In Part 1 I reflected on the 'reversal of fortune' some of the foregoing groups experienced and thought we might all want to...

Truth in Mending: In Defense of Negative Outcomes On turning 50: But it seems like I (this blog) just turned 40! Well, it was actually a whole twenty days ago. How time flies when you are trying to beat the clock, meet a deadline. Now I know what newspaper columnists experience. In truth, there isn't actually a specific timeline for these posts nor an editor emailing me in the middle of the night. I do this to myself. Can you imagine, on the other hand, the pressure researchers trying to find a vaccine on behalf of us all are under, desperately trying to stem the tide of COVID casualties? Truth in Mending: We have had "Truth in Lending Laws" for a long time now, requiring creditors to disclose to consumers finance charges and related aspects of credit transactions. But what about 'truth in mending', disclosures that tell us ('consumers in waiting') the limits of various studies and outcomes of research regarding vaccines, for example? Actually, they do exi...

Plundering of the Pandemic - Part 2: "You can take the kid out of college but..."        A particular institution long thought to be immune to pandemic like forces is that of education, given the endurance through wars, recessions, and other 'vicissitudes' (!) This includes public and private education, from college on down to preschool/day care (the latter an increasing trend the last two decades). However, we have already seen this is far from true, given the number of colleges that have closed their doors permanently due to the financial impact of COVID. On the college front in particular, smaller liberal arts colleges and state schools appear more susceptible, while the demand for more local, community colleges (offering similar core classes at a fraction of the tuition) is at least temporarily on the increase. This vulnerability extends to many preschools and day care centers as well, of course. But once again, these institutions (like those mentioned in Part 1)...

Plundering of the Pandemic - Part 1: "Bricks and mortar will not stay, will not stay..."🎜          From "London Bridge is Falling Down", the lyrics now speak to us in a dramatically different manner, in a way we could not have even dreamed  of as youngsters...         Trending: September 15, 2020 -- "REI sells new, unused HQ to Facebook". Companies that possess or lease retail shops, factory production facilities, or warehouses, those that have traditionally offered a face-to-face (or now mask-to-mask) experience, have been 'under attack' for decades prior to the current pandemic. A survey of business periodicals elucidate how the forces of the current pandemic related to COVID-19 have accelerated (or exacerbated, if you prefer) a process that was well under way since the 'turn of the century', tangible evidence for which discerning business owners have long been taking heed in their apportionment of future resources for such things as ...

Sizing Up the Pandemic: Solomon's Wisdom        As I was listening to the BBC reporter interview a representative from an African country regarding the reopening of schools, the conversation went in a now highly familiar, almost predictable direction. That is, when asked how they were able to open schools safely, the representative replied: "...and we reduced class sizes by half..." Well, of course, in this new age of COVID Calculus, based on the cornerstone theorem of the Pandemic Principle, everything's half off! Why 50%, why not 48%, how come not 55%?! Whose Ph.D. dissertation from M.I.T. did this come from, anyway?         Which brings to mind the Biblical account of King Solomon. Upon being named king, he prayed for gift of wisdom over anything else, as he anticipated (in his already inherent 'wisdom', I guess) he was going to be called upon to judge his people and he wanted to do so fairly, judiciously. And thus, he was given the gift o...

Pandemic Pugilism: Counterpunching with COVID-19 Counterpunching:   (noun) - a punch thrown in return for one received                                                                                        (verb) - to throw a counter punch "We're in the middle of the fight of our lives -- all of us around the world"                                                       - Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of World Health Organization Emergencies Program, 2-6-20        If only that had been true. Currently, a typical boxing match goes for 9-12 rounds. If the director had been correct, we would have been...

  Perilous Pandemic Ponderings - Part 2: Personify the Lie, Demolish the Demon(s)       Personify the Lie:  About 20 years ago,  a woman who could quote about any Bible verse verbatim shared a reservation about the passage "Get thee behind me, Satan" -- "Why would I want the devil behind me, where I can't see, where he'd have an unfair advantage?!" Her assertion became a strong metaphor for me on behalf of those I have seen subsequently who are either in psychological denial or otherwise trying to avoid facing their problems 'face-to-face'. As the wise woman went on to explain, isn't it better to face our personal demons in order to have the slightest chance at slaying them, rather than turning our backs and giving them the advantage? The first step in doing so, then, is identifying which of the Great Lies (see part 1) we may be entertaining as truths, but leading us astray.          Steady as We Go: The second step is to recognize ...

Perilous Pandemic Ponderings- Part 1: Beyond the 'Big Ten'        The Great Lies of Life; the answers lie beneath...        Related to the three part "Compelled to Comment" series, the next two posts are an attempt to engage you in active reflection (provocation, that is!) of some less often considered sources of psychological distress. These include thoughts and even internalized beliefs that can in turn have powerfully destructive effects on our psychological well-being (i.e., insidious). The awareness of the inter-relationship among these thoughts, feelings, and behavior is critical and instrumental for 'recovery'. These are thoughts that affect us all at any given time. So it's not whether,  but instead where , when , and how   much  we are affected. These two posts, then, are not an afterthought to the discussion of suicide, but offered as powerful tools that are readily accessible, regardless of where you currently fall on the...

Precious Pandemic Products - Part 2: Back to School!        Well, sort of. The majority of students in our local community, as well as throughout the country and even internationally, have in reality gone 'back' to their bedrooms or an adjacent room in their house. This, if they ever emerged from their bedroom in the first place, in the case of teens. Obviously a different educational reality for most students, teachers, and parents, whether they are experiencing an 'in person' (or, I might argue, 'impersonal', given the distancing and masking), completely remote or the increasingly popular "hybrid" models of learning (the latter including a combination of synchronized / asynchronized, educational jargon on the rise). Collectively, these learning platforms have, of course, dramatically increased reliance on such Online options as Zoom, Google Classroom, Khan Academy, Coursera, etc. This is obvious to all of you and not unanticipated, even prior to this...

Compelled to Comment - Part 3: Towards a Better Understanding and Prevention        What we aspire to know, to gain advantage: As I emphasized in Part 2, while assiduous research into the critical subject of suicide is ongoing (which will certainly lead to improved models of prediction, mitigation, and prevention), intellectual honesty once again compels us to acknowledge that a foolproof algorithm does not yet exist. We do know there are certain 'risk factors' that heighten the possibility of suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts (all very important in intervention), such as: family history of depression/suicides, early maltreatment in family setting, previous attempt(s), history of mental illness (especially depression, which is frequently 'masked' in men by surface/manifest anger), and history of alcoholism and/or substance abuse. We have also become more aware of certain 'protective' factors (i.e., those that moderate the degree of risk when present): av...

Compelled to Comment: Part 2 - Suicide and the 'Black Box' (what we know and don't know)        A flight recorder is an electronic device placed strategically in an aircraft for the primary purpose of  analyzing aircraft accidents and incidents. These devices are frequently referred to as 'black boxes' (a misnomer given that they are actually bright orange to assist in their recovery). They have been a mandatory requirement in commercial aircraft in the United States since 1967, and have been finding their way into ground transportation more recently. A cynic will suggest that this technology enables lawyers to either sue or collect on behalf of their respective parties in the case of an air disaster. Ultimately, though, it is so we can better analyze, understand, and prevent future calamities.        So what do we have, if anything, that approximates a 'black box', in our similarly desperate attempts to predict, understand, and prevent peopl...

  Sports! A Passing Interest...A COVID Casualty ?   "Sport has the power to change the world...the power to inspire...speaks to youth...It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers." -Nelson Mandela, Laureus World Sports Awards, 2000                                                                                                                                                      "NBA TV ratings plummet by double digits as interest wanes..." -Sports Business Daily, 2-15-2020          "ESPN continues to hemorrhage viewers, not due to a lack of sports amid the pa...

Compelled to Comment: National Suicide Prevention Week (Part 1)  "Shutdowns Spur Mental Health Crisis": "... a huge surge in depression, anxiety, and suicidality..." cites a psychologist specializing in stress and anxiety to a reporter (Epoch Times - August 6, 2020)                      "The job was making him (his father) suicidal..." (Colton, in my office July, 2017)                                      "...Sybil felt she had indeed come to the end of the line. She didn't want to live this way...she envisioned herself in the water, sinking. Death would bring her surcease..."  (from Sybil - May, 1974, experienced many years prior)                                                         ...

  Posting Pet Peeves: Pandemic Pretensions, Political Platitudes...         It's my turn! After writing countless posts on your behalf, it's about time I had a turn to lie down on your  couch and register my COVID complaints. I have to do it remotely you say? Complaint #1!! Pet peeves, we all have them. You know, something (or someone) you find especially annoying. I actually don't recall anyone naming a pet "Peeve" and not sure why -- it seems so appropriate, especially before they are house broken (come to think of it, have you heard of anyone naming their pet "COVID" aside from when they just left a doo doo on the living room carpet?). In any case, I am going to share in this space today some of my/your 'pandemic pet peeves', those that have surfaced during the recent months associated with experiences we have had largely due to COVID-19. These come from a range of places and people, such as government, businesses, science, and the like, and ...

The Big 4-0!        For those of you have been keeping count, who have been with me here since May 5th, this represents my 40th post on the topic "Viral Vicissitudes". Lost track or hadn't even noticed? I hadn't either but this site does it for me and posts it prominently enough for me to note -- thank you Blogger.com! In any case, some readers have inquired if I was getting tired (or 'weary'--see August 20th post) of commenting on this dreadful subject and/or if I am getting close to exhausting my material (are they trying to drop me a hint, perhaps?).        While admittedly a negative subject at large, if you haven't noticed, I have used the pandemic as a platform to write on may topics that have almost universal relevance, directly related to our COVID circumstances, others indirect, and others quite distant but still quite apropos to the times in which we live. So, when will I tire of writing this 'column'? One way to answer is when you tire ...