@mindstalk.bsky.social
Interests: liberal, atheist, urbanism, public transit, Tolkien, Silmarillion, walking, anime, yuri, Bujold, Liaden, fanfic, KF94s, N95s.
My top Twitter thread (scroll past 18/end, it keeps going): https://mindstalk.net/15minComp.html
My top Twitter thread (scroll past 18/end, it keeps going): https://mindstalk.net/15minComp.html
Reposted
They’ve laid off so many people that the government is now getting its economic data from DoorDash.
November 12, 2025 at 1:09 AM
They’ve laid off so many people that the government is now getting its economic data from DoorDash.
Republicans fighting to increase pollution and make blue-collar jobs more dangerous.
So, it turns out “bringing back coal jobs” really meant bringing back black lung. What a twist. The Trump administration’s latest move to strip protections for miners sounds less like “Make America Great Again” and more like “Make Respirators Optional.”
Deep in Trump country, coal miners with black lung say government is suffocating the 'working man'
Lisa Emery, a respiratory therapist, is deeply concerned about West Virginia coal miners suffering from black lung disease.
apnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Republicans fighting to increase pollution and make blue-collar jobs more dangerous.
Reposted
Yes. It's the usual one-dimensional assumption that vaccines are the only weapon in our arsenal. They should be educating the public about the need for clean air and respiratory protection (N95 / FFP2/3).
But we don't talk about that, because it's more important to bury the "very big mistake".
But we don't talk about that, because it's more important to bury the "very big mistake".
(this very big mistake that killed an enormous number of people, if anyone's looking for the citation)
www.spiegel.de/internationa...
www.spiegel.de/internationa...
November 12, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Yes. It's the usual one-dimensional assumption that vaccines are the only weapon in our arsenal. They should be educating the public about the need for clean air and respiratory protection (N95 / FFP2/3).
But we don't talk about that, because it's more important to bury the "very big mistake".
But we don't talk about that, because it's more important to bury the "very big mistake".
Reposted
My latest at Canada Healthwatch:
"Is the flu vaccine worth getting? (SPOILER: Yes.)"
canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/11/i...
"Is the flu vaccine worth getting? (SPOILER: Yes.)"
canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/11/i...
Is the flu vaccine worth getting? (SPOILER: Yes.)
If you cut your risk in half, isn't that a win?
canadahealthwatch.ca
November 11, 2025 at 4:06 PM
My latest at Canada Healthwatch:
"Is the flu vaccine worth getting? (SPOILER: Yes.)"
canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/11/i...
"Is the flu vaccine worth getting? (SPOILER: Yes.)"
canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/11/i...
Reposted
I'm reading a history of the 1918 influenza in the US and learned that early work on the effectiveness of masking was rejected by the physicians at the time as quickly as they could get away with it. It's been a century. Time to accept the science or get out of the way. My angry account of the past:
No Question Left Unasked
www.tjradcliffe.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:06 AM
I'm reading a history of the 1918 influenza in the US and learned that early work on the effectiveness of masking was rejected by the physicians at the time as quickly as they could get away with it. It's been a century. Time to accept the science or get out of the way. My angry account of the past:
Reposted
Saw possibly the funniest comment in a while on a video where a lady was sternly saying that she’d never eat food made by people that were taking drugs, smoking, or drinking.
I have some possibly uncomfortable (for her) news about food she may have gotten from restaurants in the past.
I have some possibly uncomfortable (for her) news about food she may have gotten from restaurants in the past.
November 10, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Saw possibly the funniest comment in a while on a video where a lady was sternly saying that she’d never eat food made by people that were taking drugs, smoking, or drinking.
I have some possibly uncomfortable (for her) news about food she may have gotten from restaurants in the past.
I have some possibly uncomfortable (for her) news about food she may have gotten from restaurants in the past.
True in many places, including Euro-American cultures. AIUI not in Hinduism, where high caste Brahmins are more vegetarian, nor for 1200 years of Japanese history under Buddhist restriction, though they did eat seafood.
That’s just the amusing end of the stick. The insurmountable problem is that “how much meat you can consume” has been a measure of prosperity since pre-history. It’s very hard to imagine what political conditions would lead to any action on this.
November 11, 2025 at 6:02 AM
True in many places, including Euro-American cultures. AIUI not in Hinduism, where high caste Brahmins are more vegetarian, nor for 1200 years of Japanese history under Buddhist restriction, though they did eat seafood.
Reposted
Reposted
If Evidence Based Medicine has a poster child, it's the 2015 Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control study claiming N95s interfere with breathing in pregnant women.
Here's their setup, which they described as "simulating the actual wearing of an N95 respirator".
The RCT "gold standard" 🤣
Here's their setup, which they described as "simulating the actual wearing of an N95 respirator".
The RCT "gold standard" 🤣
November 11, 2025 at 12:25 AM
If Evidence Based Medicine has a poster child, it's the 2015 Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control study claiming N95s interfere with breathing in pregnant women.
Here's their setup, which they described as "simulating the actual wearing of an N95 respirator".
The RCT "gold standard" 🤣
Here's their setup, which they described as "simulating the actual wearing of an N95 respirator".
The RCT "gold standard" 🤣
Reposted
Canada loses its measles elimination status. Will the U.S. be next?
Canada has lost its measles elimination status, the country’s Public Health Agency announced Monday, because of its inability to control an ongoing outbreak of the virus for at least a year. A World Health Organization group…
Canada has lost its measles elimination status, the country’s Public Health Agency announced Monday, because of its inability to control an ongoing outbreak of the virus for at least a year. A World Health Organization group…
Canada loses its measles elimination status. Will the U.S. be next?
Canada has lost its measles elimination status, the country’s Public Health Agency announced Monday, because of its inability to control an ongoing outbreak of the virus for at least a year. A World Health Organization group “reviewed recent epidemiological and laboratory data, confirming sustained transmission of the same measles virus strain in Canada for a period of more than one year,” the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement.
todayheadline.co
November 10, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Canada loses its measles elimination status. Will the U.S. be next?
Canada has lost its measles elimination status, the country’s Public Health Agency announced Monday, because of its inability to control an ongoing outbreak of the virus for at least a year. A World Health Organization group…
Canada has lost its measles elimination status, the country’s Public Health Agency announced Monday, because of its inability to control an ongoing outbreak of the virus for at least a year. A World Health Organization group…
BicycleDutch: protected intersections don't need more space www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlAp...
Intersection design, the Dutch - cycle friendly - way
YouTube video by BicycleDutch
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:56 AM
BicycleDutch: protected intersections don't need more space www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlAp...
Reposted
remember when the Roko's Basilisk concept broke nerd-crank containment and someone effortlessly dismissed it as "imagining in the future there'll be a boot of such enormous size that you have to start licking it today"
is there a speculative concept that's less scary than the Technological singularity? tech is going to escape human control and everybody dies? that's fucking stupid.
November 9, 2025 at 11:02 PM
remember when the Roko's Basilisk concept broke nerd-crank containment and someone effortlessly dismissed it as "imagining in the future there'll be a boot of such enormous size that you have to start licking it today"
Reposted
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPd... its a long one and I'm only halfway through but #notjustbikes slaps again with this super thorough & well-researched video. I'd heard of John Forester before but of course he seems to be an even bigger asshole than I thought. 🤬
This is Why Cycling is Dangerous in America
YouTube video by Not Just Bikes
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPd... its a long one and I'm only halfway through but #notjustbikes slaps again with this super thorough & well-researched video. I'd heard of John Forester before but of course he seems to be an even bigger asshole than I thought. 🤬
Yet another "incoming CEO" making life worse for his employees.
"Store employees are now required to smile if they are within 10 feet of a shopper.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
Target is now requiring its employees to smile more
As the holiday season fast approaches, Target is urging its employees to add a little more “jolly” to their work routine.
www.wilx.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Yet another "incoming CEO" making life worse for his employees.
Reposted
👇
For those of you who don't want to end up sick this Fall/Winter it's as easy as donning an N95.
I've been wearing an N95 at work, when shopping and in airports since 03/2020 and haven't had so much as a single cold since 2019.
Respirators WORK, and you can reuse them so the cost doesn't add up.
For those of you who don't want to end up sick this Fall/Winter it's as easy as donning an N95.
I've been wearing an N95 at work, when shopping and in airports since 03/2020 and haven't had so much as a single cold since 2019.
Respirators WORK, and you can reuse them so the cost doesn't add up.
If only there was something public health could recommend that would be effective at stopping influenza transmission regardless of strain...
If it doesn't get inside you, it can't make you sick. It's amazing that they still have trouble understanding that concept.
If it doesn't get inside you, it can't make you sick. It's amazing that they still have trouble understanding that concept.
Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a
state of the science review | Clinical Microbiology Reviews
SUMMARY This narrative review and meta-analysis summarizes a broad evidence base on the benefits—and
also the practicalities, disbenefits, harms and personal, sociocultural and environmental
impacts—o...
journals.asm.org
November 9, 2025 at 3:22 PM
👇
For those of you who don't want to end up sick this Fall/Winter it's as easy as donning an N95.
I've been wearing an N95 at work, when shopping and in airports since 03/2020 and haven't had so much as a single cold since 2019.
Respirators WORK, and you can reuse them so the cost doesn't add up.
For those of you who don't want to end up sick this Fall/Winter it's as easy as donning an N95.
I've been wearing an N95 at work, when shopping and in airports since 03/2020 and haven't had so much as a single cold since 2019.
Respirators WORK, and you can reuse them so the cost doesn't add up.
Reposted
Now do deaths.
It is shocking to me that despite learning that significantly less people (mostly our kids and grandparents) died in the US from the flu while we were all wearing masks, no one bothers to wear a mask.
It is shocking to me that despite learning that significantly less people (mostly our kids and grandparents) died in the US from the flu while we were all wearing masks, no one bothers to wear a mask.
November 9, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Now do deaths.
It is shocking to me that despite learning that significantly less people (mostly our kids and grandparents) died in the US from the flu while we were all wearing masks, no one bothers to wear a mask.
It is shocking to me that despite learning that significantly less people (mostly our kids and grandparents) died in the US from the flu while we were all wearing masks, no one bothers to wear a mask.
Reposted
When the data speaks for itself (source: www.alberta.ca/stats/dashbo... ):
November 7, 2025 at 9:47 PM
When the data speaks for itself (source: www.alberta.ca/stats/dashbo... ):
Reminder that having a flu season is a societal choice. We could use NPIs, including mass masking, to not get sick and save tens of thousands of lives in the US. We choose to let people die instead.
Another version of above chart for more clarity:
November 9, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reminder that having a flu season is a societal choice. We could use NPIs, including mass masking, to not get sick and save tens of thousands of lives in the US. We choose to let people die instead.
Nice analogy.
get COVID as infrequently as possible. Being vaccinated is like having an airbag but wearing a mask is like driving with your hands on the wheel
November 9, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Nice analogy.
Reposted
#Hand #Foot and #Mouth #Virus is on the rise in #USA.
4-5x the usual rate.
No #vaccine, no #cure.
Highly #contagious by air, surfaces, and touch.
#N95s and tightened sanitation recommend.
Small #children especially vulnerable and spreaders.
🏥⚕️🩺💉😷🚨🧼🚿💦🫧
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/h...
4-5x the usual rate.
No #vaccine, no #cure.
Highly #contagious by air, surfaces, and touch.
#N95s and tightened sanitation recommend.
Small #children especially vulnerable and spreaders.
🏥⚕️🩺💉😷🚨🧼🚿💦🫧
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/h...
Hand, foot and mouth disease rise in the US: Doctors warn about symptoms, share prevention tips - The Times of India
Hand, foot, and mouth disease outbreaks are surging across multiple US states this fall, with cases in Maryland reportedly four to five times higher t
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:12 AM
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All the fake reasons chuds have given for losing their shit over face coverings, from burqas to N95s, are perfectly fine when it’s cops doing crimes
They’re wearing masks so they can’t be prosecuted later. As long as they think they can’t be prosecuted, their crimes will intensify. They will torture, starve and kill, as they have already, on greater and greater scale.
Signed, someone who’s covered the unaccountable War on Terror for 23 years.
Signed, someone who’s covered the unaccountable War on Terror for 23 years.
I’ve come to believe that we need to gather considerable forces and a campaign to demand the removal of face masks by ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and police.
It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
November 9, 2025 at 4:25 PM
All the fake reasons chuds have given for losing their shit over face coverings, from burqas to N95s, are perfectly fine when it’s cops doing crimes
Reposted
The collars last year collected a combined $193M in
@rtachicago.bsky.social sales taxes. They spent less than 2% of it on a loose web of fledgling transit services. The rest went to roadway engineering and — thanks to a legal loophole — law enforcement.
datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RLcPS/7/
@rtachicago.bsky.social sales taxes. They spent less than 2% of it on a loose web of fledgling transit services. The rest went to roadway engineering and — thanks to a legal loophole — law enforcement.
datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RLcPS/7/
How collar counties spent RTA sales tax revenues in 2024
Some counties spend part of the money to operate dial-a-ride paratransit. The rest is predominantly used to pay for road infrastructure, jails and courthouses.
datawrapper.dwcdn.net
October 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
The collars last year collected a combined $193M in
@rtachicago.bsky.social sales taxes. They spent less than 2% of it on a loose web of fledgling transit services. The rest went to roadway engineering and — thanks to a legal loophole — law enforcement.
datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RLcPS/7/
@rtachicago.bsky.social sales taxes. They spent less than 2% of it on a loose web of fledgling transit services. The rest went to roadway engineering and — thanks to a legal loophole — law enforcement.
datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RLcPS/7/
Reposted
"These Counties Spend Transit Tax Money on Ride Services. They’re Lifelines for Thousands of Residents. Fledgling dial-a-ride networks are filling gaps in public transit in the collar counties, but they struggle to meet demand."
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/28/c...
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/28/c...
These Counties Spend Transit Tax Money on Ride Services. They’re Lifelines for Thousands of Residents
Fledgling dial-a-ride networks are filling gaps in public transit in the collar counties, but they struggle to meet demand.
illinoisanswers.org
October 30, 2025 at 8:35 PM
"These Counties Spend Transit Tax Money on Ride Services. They’re Lifelines for Thousands of Residents. Fledgling dial-a-ride networks are filling gaps in public transit in the collar counties, but they struggle to meet demand."
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/28/c...
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/28/c...
Insurers see continued excess deaths from covid, 120,000 North Americans a year. Also, long covid a real problem for children. thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
This Physicist Says We Don’t Take COVID Seriously Enough | The Tyee
We downplay the virus at our peril, warns Yaneer Bar-Yam. And children are more at risk than we thought.
thetyee.ca
November 8, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Insurers see continued excess deaths from covid, 120,000 North Americans a year. Also, long covid a real problem for children. thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
Reposted
America's withdrawal from the World Health Organization is affecting the ability of U.S. scientists to track flu and other pathogens. That could be a blow to the development of the 2025 flu vaccine. n.pr/4onXnXP
Why next year's flu shot might not be as good as it should be
America's withdrawal from the World Health Organization is affecting the ability of U.S. scientists to track flu and other pathogens. That could be a blow to the development of the 2025 flu vaccine.
n.pr
November 7, 2025 at 3:16 PM
America's withdrawal from the World Health Organization is affecting the ability of U.S. scientists to track flu and other pathogens. That could be a blow to the development of the 2025 flu vaccine. n.pr/4onXnXP