By: Lambert Strether, Corrente

Patient readers, I had to finish a post on Reddit about counterwork, so here goes a skeleton water cooler. Talk to each other! —Lambert

bird song today

northern tit live in the woods of the north Open all year round. Pooh! !

#Coronavirus disease

Number of cases By US Region:

peak behavior; I think if we follow past behavior, we can expect more rallies on the way down.If you look at the two previous peaks, you can see that we had a dip, then an up, and then a final down The phase of fiddling and cheating, which was almost instantaneous, now seems to be over. It looks like “rising like a rocket and falling like a stick”; the slope of the descending curve is about the same as the ascending curve. (The previous peak – how small the early one looks now – is roughly symmetrical on both sides. But the size of this peak, and its penetration into the population, is unprecedented.) I wonder if it will happen when B.2 comes along Plateau caught. Now that the Northeast has formed, it may be the first area to watch for this behavior.

The official line is ‘Covid is behind us’, the pandemic will be “End in January(Gottlieb) and “I know some people don’t seem to want to give up on the wonderful pandemic, but you know what? it’s over” (Bill Maher) completely exploded. What a surprise!

No update, man, WTF? MWRA (Boston Area) Wastewater Testing:

Keep encouraging. The return of students has not yet jumped.

Massachusetts Water Authority The (MWRA) service area includes 43 cities in and around Boston, including not only multiple school systems, but also several large universities. Since Boston is very education-heavy, I think this could be a good leading indicator of the general spread of Covid in schools.

from CDC Community Profile Report (PDF), Fast Rising Counties:

Still improving, especially in California, but South Ohio and Minnesota are still stubbornly red. (remember these are fast riser County. A county that goes from red to green isn’t coronavirus-free; the number of cases isn’t, um, rising rapidly. )

last version:

hospitalized (CDC community profile):

Very encouraging (enhanced MWRA data and case data).There are only two orange states: entertainment/vacation oriented Montana and Virgin Islands (Note that trends, whether up or down, are marked by arrows at the top. Acceptance rates are shown in the bottom graph. So there may be an uptrend, but the baseline is very low.)

just a reminder:

As with everything else, because the US is not a serious country, our hospitalization numbers are terrible. Here baseilne is off:

mortality rate(Our data world):

all: 907,190 902,196. As we all know, death is a lagging indicator. I think the absurdity of the “Omicron is mild” talking point is self-evident at this point. If you know someone in “live my life” mode, you might consider telling them that their odds of dying from Covid were tied for the second-worst chance of New York’s first wave.

Covid cases in Our most popular travel destinations (additional):

There is also good news here. for the time being.

Plant contact information: Readers, feel free to contact me via Lambert [UNDERSCORE] stretch [DOT] current [AT] Yahoo [DOT] com to (a) learn how to send me a check, if you are allergic to PayPal, and (b) learn how to send me pictures of plants. Vegetables are good! Fungi and coral are considered honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, put it in parentheses at the beginning of the message: (so). Otherwise, I will use your initials anonymously. See previous water cooler (with plants) here. Today’s Factory (Quist):

“I’ve never seen a centennial plant at this stage before,” Quest wrote. “In Oakland, California, the photo isn’t great, but it’s interesting.”

reader: The water cooler is a separate entity no Covers the recently concluded and – thanks! — Successful annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you particularly like, or an item you don’t see anywhere else, don’t hesitate to express your gratitude in a tangible form. Remember, tip jars are for tipping! Regular positive feedback makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track. I worry when I don’t receive a donation for five or ten days. Even more obviously, a steady stream of donations helps me save money, which I take into account when setting my fundraising goals: