Semi-retired consultant and advisor on #CustomerExperience (#CX) and Voice of the Customer (#VoC). Former Gartner and Forrester analyst. Politically active to foster a world that has more #equity, respects #diversity, and embraces #progressive causes. Promoting #COVID19 awareness and caution because people, businesses, and the economy will suffer consequences for our failures to limit infections. Milwaukee, WI, US (He/Him)
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2026-08-17T19:37:56Z Event JSON
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Last Notes npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The dumb doesn't fall far from the tree. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Trump just said, "I could have won the Vietnam War in a week," claiming he would have won by "going after Ho Chi Minh City and the different places." Ho Chi Minh City (called Saigon during the Vietnam War) was the capital of South Vietnam, our ally. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Republicans are trying to hide the many ways they intend to harm you and help corporations until after the midterms. New federal rules by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FDA will severely restrict or block Americans from importing cheaper personal-use prescription drugs by mail from Canada and other international sources. While originally scheduled for October 22, 2026, CBP postponed the full enforcement and implementation date to January 20, 2027. 1/5 npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray People: I don't trust banks. I trust crypto. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Why do we only hear about national debt and deficits with Democrats in office? npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Your Republican friends probably think the US has won the Iran War because they believe anything spoonfed to them by Trump and FOX News. Feel free to educate them before they vote: October has brought more attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz than any month since tracking began, with Reuters counting at least twenty-eight. Traffic is falling again, with only five commodity vessels crossing on Saturday and none on Sunday. 1/3 npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Based on WastewaterSCAN data, the summer #COVID19 surge continues to retreat at a somewhat modest pace. We are likely within a month of our winter surge beginning, and it will likely be particularly bad in the Midwest (given it's low summer levels). Surges are much smaller than they used to be, but COVID's still evolving, our vax rate is plunging, and people face more chronic Long COVID risks than they realize. A little care goes a long way! npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray When Trump says, "We're making money like we've never made before," he means you're paying and he's profiting. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The NY Times just published an article that compares #COVID19 infections to Russian Roulette--every time you get COVID, it could the time or leaves you with chronic and even disabling health problems. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Good morning from Gulf Shores, AL. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Some photos from the Whitney Plantation (dedicated to educating visitors on the experiences of enslaved people) and Oak Alley Plantation. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Are you voting? A reminder: He didn’t keep the US out of wars. Inflation is higher. Gas is pricier. Groceries are more expensive. Healthcare premiums are climbing. Tariffs are still a tax on American consumers. The deficit is higher and rising. Manufacturing is losing jobs, not gaining them. ICE isn’t going after the “worst of the worst.” US citizens have been killed by undertrained, overly aggressive federal immigration agents. He’s alienated allies and emboldened our foes. 1/4 npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray STUDY: "COVID-19 vaccination has proven effective beyond the acute phase of the disease, with protection extending to a reduced risk of post-COVID cardiovascular conditions." npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Just got my #COVID19 and flu shot! (I think this is my 10th COVID vaccination.) npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Trump, who took out full page ads demanding the death penalty for five Black and Latino teenagers falsely accused of rape (and never apologized after they were exonerated) is speaking out because he's worried that the seven Cornell frat boys accused of rape (who are mostly white) "won't get a fair shake." npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Am I the last person to know that phenylephrine, the active ingredient found in Sudafed PE, has been found by the FDA to be ineffective at relieving nasal congestion? Sudafed PE and other allergy meds on the store shelf were found by the FDA to perform no better than a placebo. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray If you really want to know the heart of MAGA, just realize Trump is losing his base because of gas prices, not for protecting pedophiles, profiting from his office, harming immigrants trying to follow our legal process, shielding ICE agents who murdered Americans, alienating allies, enabling dictators, or lying to Americans every day. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The current administration and congressional Republicans have paused several controversial policies until after the 2026 midterms to avoid voter backlash. If you don't vote for Democrats, you'll be supporting Republicans who KNOW these unpopular actions will harm people and who avoided enacting them before the midterms to prevent more damage to GOP candidates. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A day driving Trail Ridge Road, which rises to more than 12,000 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Quick #COVID19 update: Per WastewaterSCAN, the region with the highest levels of COVID is now the Northeast. The South and West are declining after hitting their peaks in late August and early September. Meanwhile, the Midwest is staying relatively level and low. These levels are still well below most of the surges of the last several years. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Republicans say they want to protect women which is why they make an issue of transgender people in sports. But there are more men from one Cornell fraternity accused of rape than there are openly transgender women competing in all of professional sports. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Speaking as someone who just visited and was bedazzled by Grand Teton National Park, let me ask, WHAT THE F*@& IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?! npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Sorry, more photos from Arches National Park. After our morning visit, we rested up and returned to see the formations with different lighting. It makes a big difference! npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A morning in Arches National Park. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Today, we visited Kodachrome Basin, a beautiful state park that was empty--a nice change of pace from the crowds in Bryce Canyon. We returned to Bryce, only to find the parking lots closed due to crowds, so we turned around and headed back to our hotel for a rest. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray WastewaterSCAN shows a jump in #COVID19 that is almost entirely driven by the South. The Midwest and Northeast are fairly low but drifting upward. The Midwest is barely above it's LOWEST point in fall, while the Northeast is about 50% above it's fall low (while being almost 75% below its winter peak). The West seems to have plateaued (about 1/3 below where it was a year ago). But the South is still spiking around 50% higher than at any point in the past year. 1/2 npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Study after study say: Vaccinations work. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray At present, there are some sewersheds reporting to WastewaterSCAN that are very high: npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A new study explains why it's so important to keep getting updated #COVID19 booster vaccinations. It's dense and scientific, so here's a plain-language summary. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The US is giving cash to non-violent black and brown immigrants to self-deport while increasing what it pays white South Africans to immigrate to the US. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray My vacation is coming at a good time, because I'm thinking of abandoning my COVID coverage. I'm more tired of fighting misinformation about inflated risks now than I was fighting minimizer information in the past. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Mapquest will let you rename the Gulf of Mexico to whatever the heck you want it to be. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray My final #COVID19 update for a couple of months (due to a vacation.) npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The current #COVID19 surge is continuing, and based on the continued rise of the positive rate of testing, it's likely it will continue for at least another two to four weeks. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Leaving notes on cars with Trump and MAGA bumper stickers can be fun! npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I am unfollowing COVID-aware accounts on which I've relied for years. I can't tell if they are purposely inflating risks or don't understand the data. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray This summer's #COVID19 surge is not limited to the South and West, although it's still concentrated there. At present, the 10 highest COVID levels on WastewaterSCAN are in: npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has given away over 300 million free books to children worldwide. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray “Most transparent administration ever,” the people in the Trump administration keep saying as they muzzle the press corps, threaten media sources, and withhold information. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray One thing to note about this summer's surge of #COVID19: npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Good Lord, is everyone in this idiotic administration dedicated to fighting wars in the 1940s? Trump made an order to replace modern magnetic launch systems with old-fashioned steam systems. Now, because of a dick-swinging contest in the Pentagon, the army is phasing out a drone battalion in favor of training soldiers to parachute and drop out of aircraft. What dangerous lunacy—all thanks to Republican voters. This administration is making the US less safe every day. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray We do not talk enough about the insane selfishness of the ultra-wealthy. Imagine being worth hundreds of millions or billions of dollars and being upset at the idea that you should pay a little more tax to balance the budget, ensure health care for the poor, or educate children. We need to start calling this what it is: unpatriotic, psychotic, greed. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Is it too much to ask that major news media actually be informed and report accurately about #COVID19? Yes, COVID is rising now in most of the US. No, this has NOTHING to do with respiratory virus season. COVID has surged EVERY SINGLE SUMMER since 2020, and then it surges again when other viruses rise in winter. (COVID has never settled into the "endemic" routine of surging once a year in winter.) npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I mean, who hasn't climbed into an SUV trunk to travel with our bosses or sent letters to bosses that closed with “With All My Heart”? (None of us, because that shit isn't normal.) npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I was asked what I do to remain cautious about #COVID19 and viral infections. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I am still concerned about the long-term impact of #COVID19 reinfections, but I understand why so many people have grown apathetic. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Years ago I was contacted about a job opening at Uline. I told them I'd never work for their unethical right-wing company. I was lucky enough to have a choice, and I understand why others may not. Still, it would be better for the world if we could stop buying from and working for companies funding divisive, racist, and damaging policies. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Novak Djokovic suffered a surprising 2nd-round defeat to Argentina's Thiago Agustín Tirante at the 2026 Cincinnati Open. He says he is suffering from “a condition that I have, health-wise, that has been bothering me for the past couple of years.” npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The situation is still fairly steady and low in the Midwest and Northeast. COVID levels are higher in the South, but there have been some signs the surge in the South MAY be past its peak. It is much too early to tell. We'll need another week or two of data to tell if the trend is definite. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A #COVID19 account posted that the West has exploding COVID levels. That isn't entirely accurate. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I often post updates about #COVID19 in wastewater, the best way to monitor the levels of COVID and other viruses. Alas, we may lose this soon. Funding for the Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) is set for deep cuts in October 2026. Trump's budget seeks to permanently slash the program's annual budget from $125M to $25M, an 80% reduction. I suspect this will affect WastewaterSCAN data as well. We could soon be flying completely blind, thanks to everyone who voted for Trump. 1/3 npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Something is happening in Anchorage with #COVID19. COVID has exploded an incredible level of 10,450 PMMoV. I'd say this might be an error, but the sewershed has reported 3 consecutive levels with huge increases. If this is true, it suggests 1 in 45 or more is infectious in that city. This would be one of the 5 highest readings ever reported on WastewaterSCAN in any sewershed. It is 12x higher than any other sewershed at present. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray For years, COVID-aware accounts shared charts with the red lines, showing #COVID19 surges and lulls were growing thru 2023. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Why some precautions are still necessary to prevent #COVID19 reinfections, at least among those most at risk: npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Average Republican: My grandparents immigrated here with nothing. They faced bigotry, but they worked hard and raised a family with the help of public schools and government aid. They didn't just integrate into the U.S.—they changed its culture with their language, faith, and traditions. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The US average for #COVID19 in wastewater is continuing to rise, and there certainly are many sewersheds with modest increases (under 100 PMMoV). There really are only a couple dozen over 150 PMMoV, concentrated (but not exclusively) in the South. COVID levels are very high in: npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray @nprofile…tlrx Well, it was the coughers daughter, and I think the old guy had a chronic issue. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray "He's coughing, but he's not infectious." npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray This November, vote! And don't get distracted by the typical right-wing fearmongering BS about communism, socialism, immigrant caravans and invasions, immigrants eating cats and dogs, migrant crime waves, litter boxes in schools, men in women's bathrooms, drag story hours in libraries, critical race theory, noncitizens voting, transgender people in sports, or the dozens of other meaningless things the right uses to distract from the very real and serious issues we face. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Want to see the scariest thing on the US CDC's website right now? npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Trump is right—two different Americas. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray With new #COVID19 data this weekend, the South is surging, along with some other spots. Among the 60 sewersheds reporting to WastewaterSCAN in the South, the average is 166 PMMoV, up from 37 six weeks ago (suggesting ~1 in 158 is infectious in the South.) npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray @nprofile…tk8a Corrected. Thanks. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray STUDY: “Within the long COVID cohort, full COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a significantly greater small-vessel pulmonary blood volume and lobar airway volume compared with non-vaccinated individuals. “ npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray “If you’re using a $4 million weapon that’s difficult to manufacture to destroy a $35,000 drone that can be easily built at scale, it’s only a matter of time before your defenses are degraded… npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray ExxonMobil and Chevron reported massive second-quarter profits for 2026, totaling over $26 billion combined. ExxonMobil's profit doubled, and Chevron's profit nearly quadrupled from Q2 2025. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Care facilities: “We care for people.” npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I love when people on Mastodon attack me, call me a vulgar name, and then tell me I'm muted. Like, what do they think I'm thinking? "Oh no, this mentally unstable troll is muting me?! Gosh, how can I go on in life knowing that?" npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Jesus is mentioned 1,310 times in the New International Version of the Bible. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A COVID-centric account posted that the flow of Long COVID studies has grown so much, they can't even keep up any longer. The truth is precisely the opposite. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Michigan Republican Jack Bergman was asked about Iran, and his response was, "I'm not going to blame Jimmy Carter, but..." npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Conservatives ignoring science and putting their health at risk is nothing new. A new study found that, in the 2010s, “conservative Americans experienced worsening health and higher mortality than liberals.” Among the causes is “declining trust in medical professionals among right-leaning individuals, including lower willingness to seek care, follow clinical advice or believe in medication effectiveness, even for issues unrelated to COVID-19.” npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray #COVID19 is presenting a very modest summer surge in the US. After rising from mid-June to early July, COVID has stopped rising the last two weeks (per WastewaterSCAN data). It still has not risen above the LOWEST point we'd seen in the prior four years. Strangely, WastewaterSCAN is now labeling COVID levels as “high,” even though it's (much) lower than ~90% of the last two years. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray This, believe it or not, is the caption on a photo on The Guardian website: “Gianni Infantino carefully explains to Donald Trump that he is not part of the Spanish national team.” npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray STUDY: "SARS-CoV-2 infection confers substantially greater and more sustained cardiovascular risk than BNT162b2 vaccination… consistent with a favorable cardiovascular risk-benefit profile for vaccination. SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with 3- to 5-fold increases in cardiovascular events during the acute phase… with risks persisting beyond nine months. BNT162b2 vaccination conferred 65-76% reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events." #COVID19 npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The Republican mind: “I've been voting in ways that hurt other people all my life, but now it's hurting me, and that's not fair!” npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray We are in a (so far) small summer surge in the US. #COVID19 in wastewater has roughly tripled, but to put this into perspective, here is the chart of US sewersheds over the past 12 months. Our surge remains so mild you can barely see it relative to levels this past year. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I have a new weekly update on #COVID19 in the US. COVID levels are rising, but they remain well below the levels we've seen the past four years. However, risks are quite diverse. The NWSS indicates COVID viral activity is Moderate in Texas, while 5 of the 7 sewersheds with the highest COVID levels on WastewaterSCAN's database are in Florida. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Air quality is no better today in the Midwest. Air is unhealthy in New York, very unhealthy in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, and hazardous in Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, and Milwaukee. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Does anyone here use #eBay to sell items and find it a successful and pleasant experience? I made my first listing in decades, and thus far, it's been a disaster. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray STUDY provides evidence that kids' birthday parties are a #COVID19 risk for grandparents. Not really a surprise, but interesting conclusions: npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray “I will choose to remember the time before Trump. Because I believe in an America after Trump.” npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray We forget just how many lives #COVID19 took from us. I was just watching a video about the movie “That Thing You Do” (a favorite of mine), and the guy who wrote the famous song died of COVID complications in April 2020. Adam Schlesinger not only wrote That Thing You Do, but he was also a founding member of several bands (including Fountains of Wayne). npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I have decided to end my project of maintaining a spreadsheet of #COVID19 studies. After thousands of hours of effort, I think the time has come to move on. The flow of studies has been slowing over the past year. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A year ago, a mother went on a podcast produced by Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization, and claimed vaccines killed her twins. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Happy Independence Day to all Americans except the ones who attacked the Capitol on January 6th, the people who supported and encouraged it, those who excused it, and everyone who elected them. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray No new wastewater data from the CDC today due to the holiday. #COVID19 is rising in the US for the first time since December, based on WastewaterSCAN's incomplete data. The positive rate is also gently rising. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Someone's going to give me crap for this, but... npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Republican Thomas Massie: “I think it’s ironic that we control the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the White House, and we’re yelling election fraud? I mean, we won all the damn elections and we’re in charge.” npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A day ago, I noted the Biobot believes #COVID19 is rising in US wastewater, and WastewaterSCAN seemed to indicate a rise as well. I said it was too early to tell, but it could be the start of a summer surge. But, as often happens with WastewaterSCAN, as more data filtered in, the trend adjusted. Now, it's back to looking quite flat. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Two months ago: “The notion that a flu vaccine must be mandatory for every service member everywhere in every circumstance at all times is just overly broad and not rational.” npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Earlier today, I posted that #COVID19 in wastewater has been low steady for six weeks or so--steadier then it's even been. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A STUDY of 169 patients with Long #COVID19 referred for evaluation of orthostatic intolerance found that central sensitization (CS) was present in 81% of participants. (Central sensitization is a condition where the central nervous system—the brain and spinal cord—becomes hyper-reactive, amplifying pain and sensory signals.) npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray STUDY: The odds of getting Long #COVID19 increased "with older age, female sex, Black racial identity, earlier variant, non-vaccination, lower pre-infection self-reported mental and cognitive health, and number of pre-infection symptoms... It was less likely for participants with no common long COVID symptoms occurring before infection." npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I continue to worry about two primary things with #COVID19: COVID in kids (who have less immunity and are undervaccinated) and the impact of reinfections (which studies find adds to the risk of Long COVID.) npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray I used to share PMC estimates and forecasts about #COVID19, but in the two years, I've come to the conclusion Hoerger inflates estimates. npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray Today's “duh” research study is a reminder to get vaccinated! npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray A reminder that not everything is #COVID19. I sometimes see people post about how “everyone” is sick or coughing, and they imply it's COVID. Here, a STUDY looked at PCR tests for people who visited a Turkish hospital for suspected respiratory tract infection in 2024 and 2025. They found 39.4% were negative. Of the viruses found: npub16ll3hlyn2w95qavde7v2e08d2x5pwjrrsv3g3sdy7869y6vkg8hsqtyrn8 Augie Ray The NWSS will publish new data on #COVID19 in US wastewater in two days. We can expect no change, with no evidence of a summer surge yet forming.
