When they tell you
that if you do not
take off your mask,
that if you do not
start using AI,
that if you do not
get with the times,
that you will be
left behind,
remember:
it is perfectly acceptable
to respond by telling them
that you do not want
to go where they’re going.

Thanks, @bhanlon15.bsky.social Here’s a free link www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

For 5-9 and 10-14 year olds, 63% and 48% of the cumulative increase in mortality since 2019 took place in 2024, respectively. For both age groups, the 2024 increase is higher than either the 2020 ir 2021 increases. For these age groups, the pandemic may be just beginning.
4/x

When BC's consumer carbon tax was first introduced, it was accompanied by tax cuts to both personal and corporate taxes to make it revenue-neutral. But when it was eliminated last spring, these tax cuts were not reversed. The result is a $2 billion hole in BC's finances. #BCBudget

Opinion: We’re sending B.C.’s extreme weather bills to the wrong people Costs for floods and fires are shifted onto residents and taxpayers while companies most responsible for driving disasters pocket profits

Excellent oped by Kiera Taylor: We’re sending BC’s extreme weather bills to the wrong people.

Costs for floods and fires are shifted onto residents and taxpayers while fossil fuel companies most responsible for driving disasters pocket profits
vancouversun.com/opinion/op-e...

COVID-19 leaves a lasting mark on the human brain - Griffith News COVID-19 does not just affect the respiratory system, but also significantly alters the brain in people who have fully recovered from the infectious

Read the study and think about population level implications, remembering that the vast majority of people have been infected multiple times.

What are the possible long-term neurological sequelae?

What are the implications for societies now?

news.griffith.edu.au/2025/12/16/c...

2. Watching the current scrambling response of many healthcare systems to H3N2 K, combined with the firmly embedded political and ideological resistance to masking, I can assure you all that if H5N1 goes human to human with a high CFR, we're in deep trouble as a species.

/end

SARS-CoV-2 Leaves a Lasting Mark on the Immune System A landmark new study shows COVID-19 isn’t ‘just a cold’: One infection left people with long-lasting immune damage, and those with heart disease lost up to 70% of key immune cells. Reinfections may wo...

I know I reposted this earlier, but everyone really should read this. It's in plain English, unlike a lot of COVID-related stuff. And it spells out what this virus is doing to the human immune system.
johnsnowproject.org/primers/sars...

Children’s hospitals face flood of flu visits as physicians urge Canadian families to get vaccinated | CBC News An early start to Canada’s flu season is hitting children hard, sending a flood of young patients into multiple pediatric hospitals as medical teams warn that emergency visits and admissions could kee...

This is fine. Just a flu. Immunity debt from 2020 lockdowns. Wash your hands.

OR

This is not fine. Viral infections are bad. Immunity debt is bullshit. Immunity theft and co-infection with COVID make things worse. Viruses can evolve increased virulence. Clean the air.

www.cbc.ca/news/health/...

Minimalist white poster with a subtle crumpled-paper texture; small ‘whn.global’ logo centered at the top. A small intro line sits above a huge headline where ‘COVID’ is bright red and ‘is different.’ is black. Text: ‘Paraphrased from David Brasure’s WHN blog post, “COVID Is Different.” Read the full article at whn.global/covid-is-different. COVID is different. SARS-CoV-2 behaves differently from the viruses most of us grew up with. And treating it like “another flu” is costing people their health.’ Footer: The World Health Network is a network devoted to global compassion—working together to inspire collective action through science for a safer, healthier world.

Same white, paper-texture poster and top ‘whn.global’ logo. Large title reads ‘What makes COVID different?’ with ‘COVID’ in red, followed by a bulleted list. Text: ‘Paraphrased from David Brasure’s WHN blog post, “COVID Is Different.” Read the full article at whn.global/covid-is-different. What makes COVID different? • It can breach the blood–brain barrier • It can damage your endothelial lining and increase clot risk • It can persist in tissues • It can lower key immune cells • It may increase cancer risk • You can catch it multiple times per year These are not “normal cold virus” behaviors.’ Footer line about the World Health Network.

Same clean white poster with paper texture; ‘whn.global’ at top. Big statement line mid-page where ‘Long COVID’ appears in red and the rest in black; two short paragraphs below. Text: ‘Paraphrased from David Brasure’s WHN blog post, “COVID Is Different.” Read the full article at whn.global/covid-is-different. Long COVID is caused by SARS-CoV-2. Persistent symptoms come from real, documented damage. Not anxiety, not imagination, not “just needing rest.” Hundreds of thousands of studies show SARS-CoV-2 affects the body in ways we’re still uncovering. Just because you’ve had multiple infections and “felt fine” doesn’t mean it will stay that way.’ Footer line about the World Health Network.

Same minimalist white, paper-texture layout with ‘whn.global’ at top. A large heading ‘Here’s what you can do.’ sits above a simple bullet list; the final URL slug ‘covid-is-different’ is in red. Text: ‘Paraphrased from David Brasure’s WHN blog post, “COVID Is Different.” Read the full article at whn.global/covid-is-different. Here’s what you can do. • Improve air quality (filters, ventilation) • Wear a high-filtration mask in shared indoor air • Test when exposed or symptomatic • Stay home when sick • Use layered protections with friends, family, and workplaces Read more at whn.global/covid-is-different’ Footer line about the World Health Network.

COVID isn’t acting like the viruses most of us grew up with, and treating it like “just a cold” is putting people at real risk. David Brasure breaks down why SARS-CoV-2 is fundamentally different, how it causes long-term damage, and what we can do to protect ourselves.

If I were leader of the NDP, I would be reaching out to Steven Guilbeault right now, and any other Liberals who feel the same way as him.

Comic. [Person with ponytail pointing at diagram while speaking to three other people] PERSON: If the emergency stop is activated, any riders on the waterslide will be diverted into the beam dump, a large graphite block which will safely absorb their momentum. [caption] We regretted hiring an accelerator physicist to design our water park.

Beam Dump

xkcd.com/3168/

Long COVID includes a wide range of symptoms and can affect anyone, no matter your age or other health conditions. Learn more, and prevent #LongCOVID by preventing COVID-19!

I'll wait until you get home before I leave

Data c/o @1goodtern.bsky.social

Kaposi sarcoma in adults <45!!

Hospital episodes of tuberculosis (TB) of lymph nodes in the thoracic cavity in 10-18 year-olds.

These are AIDS-defining conditions.

“There are no parallels between Covid and AIDS.”

Suuuuuure 👌

Sheesh...

Public concerns about climate up 15-points since October 2024 - Abacus Data %

77% of Canadians say that they are worried about climate change’s future effects. This is a significant 15-point jump in concern since October 2024. abacusdata.ca/public-conce...

Get ready for late October! Comet "Lemmon" is forecasted to reach an apparent magnitude of 5 to 2, which suggests it could be brighter than last year's comet!

And it's green! This is due to the presence of a molecule you'll never find on earth: C2 (diatomic carbon)

Cocteau Twins Alice HD YouTube video by musicaeternal

Lodged in my head right now

COVID Isn’t a Cold. It’s Cigarettes All Over Again The Damage Is Everywhere – That Is the Definition of Long COVID

"This isn’t conspiracy theory bullshit. This is published research from Harvard, Stanford, Yale. Major medical journals. The best scientists in the world are screaming into the void while everyone else is at brunch":

www.notesforfriends.com/p/covid-isnt...

The “problem” with vaccines? They so effective at preventing deaths that they create generations of people that question whether disease was a problem in the first place because they have never experienced the horrors of a world without vaccines.

If COVID resulted in everyone getting harmless, untreatable, utterly gross pustules covering their entire face for weeks we wouldn't still be in a pandemic.

1. I've said exactly this for quite some time. Expanding on Adrian's @sillyputty78.bsky.social point on X / Twitter here, Covid-19 has three distinct characteristics as a disease that enables it to be denied at a societal level.

Why scientists are rethinking the immune effects of SARS-CoV-2 “Immunity debt,” a theory to explain the global surge in non-covid infections since pandemic restrictions were lifted, is increasingly being challenged by emerging evidence. Nick Tsergas reports Myco...

The most important part of this article, to me, is the end.

It challenges a false binary between “long COVID” and “everyone else.”

Maybe it's a spectrum... 🧵 (1/5)

www.bmj.com/content/390/...

Covid accelerates vascular aging
An 18-country, 38-center study of ~2,000 participants
—Effect predominantly in women, adding 5 years of aging
—Seen with non-hospitalized and mild-moderate Covid
—Reversible in some at 1-year; vaccination link to protection
apps.crossref.org/pendingpub/p...

No one could have foreseen this.

What if everyone had masked up? Analysis of app data has an answer Modelling study based on almost 250,000 positive COVID-19 tests in the United Kingdom shows that universal masking could have cut transmission markedly.

UK: What if everyone had masked up? Analysis of app data has the answer:
"Respirators would have dropped the rate of COVID transmission by an estimated factor of 9, compared with 0.6 for surgical masks. A factor of 9 is enough to put SARS-COV-2 into exponential decay!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Opinion: North Shore needs rapid transit before explosion of high-density development We need rail rapid transit built before a massive wave of development hits North Vancouver and West Van, this transportation expert says

Opinion: North Shore needs rapid transit before explosion of high-density development

Anecdotal on traffic volume, congestion, based on my own observations, but point still stands I think

Traffic has been so bad this week all around the Lower Mainland. Maybe it's time to start thinking about congestion pricing. Use the proceeds to fund Translink and improve public transit.

Easily 5 or 6 at my grocery store this morning. Most I've seen in a while.