We're Playing the JV Team

As we see how the Omicron strain of  Coronavirus is playing out in the U.S. and other countries there is some reason to take heart. While it's more transmissible than previous strains and able to creep around the protections of the vaccine (vaccines are, what, 80% effective against it vs. 90-95% against Alpha and Delta?) the sickness it creates is less severe. People have milder symptoms, recover faster, and experience lower chance of death. This leads to a mindset of complacency. People argue, "Well, we're all going to get it eventually, and now it's not that bad, so let's stop trying so hard to avoid it." But here's the thing: we're playing the JV team.

For those not familiar with U.S. terminology, "JV" is Junior Varsity, the lower division of sports teams at schools. Omicron is like a lower division Coronavirus team because of its relative mildness. But what if the next strain to come around is first division? Premier league? The Sigma strain, let's call it; suppose it combines the high transmissibility & ability to sidestep the vaccine that Omicron has (or worse) with the severe sickness of Delta (or worse). If we've given up on public health by then we'll be screwed.

GoT S1E7: Evil is Rewarded, "Like the Real World"

It's been a few episodes of Game of Thrones since the last time I posted. Recently I watched up through S1E7, "You Win Or You Die". That episode had an "Inside the episode" companion piece, a 5-minute short, with an interesting remark from the director. "In most stories of this genre," he began— and I'm paraphrasing this from memory— "People who do evil suffer bad consequences, and people who do good are rewarded. In this story, evil gets the rewards. ...More like in the real world."

I won't go into a debate here on whether or how evil truly prospers in the real world, except to note that it doesn't have to be that way. People of good will can and should bond together to oppose bad actions. All too often, though, they get tied up in misunderstandings of their own good will, thinking it improper to oppose bad actions and rude to call out the people who perpetrate them.

Anyway, about the series... Seeing who's evil makes it easier to root for their demise. A few things that have occurred in the past few episodes:

( Episode spoilers )

First Telemedicine Appointment

Today I had my first telemedicine appointment. I.e., I saw my doctor via videoconference.

On the one hand it's amusing this "first" didn't come until 2022. In graduate school nearly 30 years ago I worked and did research in the area of virtual reality, augmented reality, and telepresence. Telemedicine, defined as connecting patients and GPs to medical specialists across great distance, was one of the applications we talked about. The thing was, nearly 30 years ago the infrastructure to do it was expensive. Only the best funded institutions had the kind of Internet connections fast enough to support it, and the computers that could capture, transmit, and receive real-time video generally cost $6,000+. Imagine them being triple that today with inflation. Of course, now you can do it with a $200 phone and garden-variety wifi or cell service.

With this history of being on the cutting edge of technology development you'd think I'd have been an early adopter as it hit the mainstream. I've been doing videoconferencing for my job for several years; well before the pandemic made it a fact of life for most people for work, school, and even visiting friends and relatives.

While I'm thoroughly comfortable with using video conferencing tools I've resisted using them with my doctors. That's because they use only a proprietary smartphone app that I have a low opinion of in general. If they would send me a Zoom or Meet or Teams link, I'd be fine. But not using some one-off app. I've used a few of those at other times over the past 2 years, and they've all sucked.

For today's appointment I didn't have any alternative. Where I've been going to see doctors for the last several years, the whole medical practice is shut. Evidently there's Covid going around their office, though they won't admit it. The doctor I saw today didn't deny that though she pointed out that her multi-week stint of remote work is due to a sports injury. (And she's a sports medicine doctor. Hmm.... 😅)

Anyway, I was cautious about using video conferencing inside this proprietary app. Once I was able to enter the meeting room I saw a "Powered by ZOOM technology" banner appear in the corner. That gave me more confidence. And the meeting went well. The doctor had a good setup for videoconferencing on her end; clearly she's familiar with the art and/or has had a professional work with her on the setup. She had a good camera position, good lighting, and a pleasant yet not distracting background. The only thing off was that her cat photobombed her by jumping up on her keyboard halfway through our chat.

Would I do a telemedicine appointment again? Absolutely. Especially with this doctor. She uses the technology well, and meeting online saves time of schlepping to the clinic and avoids the concerns about catching whatever the ill people in the waiting room may have.

There's a limit, though, to telemedicine. At some point they've got to take a blood sample, or even just check my blood pressure. (I've tried home blood pressure kits. They suck.) I'll have to go into the office for those things.