If you have a personal website, which I assume you do if you're following me here, you should add yourself to the Internet Phonebook while the call for websites is still open! They even have an "indie web" category! https://internetphonebook.net
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-07-10T16:11:02-07:00",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/2024/07/10/17/",
"category": [
"indieweb"
],
"content": {
"text": "If you have a personal website, which I assume you do if you're following me here, you should add yourself to the Internet Phonebook while the call for websites is still open! They even have an \"indie web\" category! https://internetphonebook.net",
"html": "If you have a personal website, which I assume you do if you're following me here, you should add yourself to the Internet Phonebook while the call for websites is still open! They even have an \"indie web\" category! <a href=\"https://internetphonebook.net\"><span>https://</span>internetphonebook.net</a>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Aaron Parecki",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/",
"photo": "https://aperture-media.p3k.io/aaronparecki.com/41061f9de825966faa22e9c42830e1d4a614a321213b4575b9488aa93f89817a.jpg"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "41604749",
"_source": "16"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-07-03T10:59:16-07:00",
"url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/8655-post-COVID-doldrums",
"name": "post-COVID doldrums",
"content": {
"text": "I\u2019m over COVID, and just have a little lingering bronchitis. Also some of the worst brain fog I\u2019ve ever had. I feel like my brain\u2019s been through a blender. Spatial relationships make very little sense, my reaction times are super slow, I am definitely not safe driving right now, and so on.\n\nMy standard state of affairs is best described as \u201cdazed and confused\u201d right now. I feel like my mental acuity has pretty much gone away. I\u2019m also making a lot of ridiculous spelling mistakes when I write, and I\u2019m having trouble stringing together basic procedures for things.\n\nBasically I feel like I\u2019ve taken massive brain damage and this has me all sorts of fucked up.\n\nAt least I\u2019m not alone in this but that\u2019s cold comfort. If I can\u2019t recover from this, what future do I have? My brain is pretty much the only thing I had going for me and now I don\u2019t even have that.",
"html": "<p>I\u2019m over COVID, and just have a little lingering bronchitis. Also some of the worst brain fog I\u2019ve ever had. I feel like my brain\u2019s been through a blender. Spatial relationships make very little sense, my reaction times are super slow, I am definitely <em>not</em> safe driving right now, and so on.</p><p>My standard state of affairs is best described as \u201cdazed and confused\u201d right now. I feel like my mental acuity has pretty much gone away. I\u2019m also making a lot of ridiculous spelling mistakes when I write, and I\u2019m having trouble stringing together basic procedures for things.</p><p>Basically I feel like I\u2019ve taken massive brain damage and this has me all sorts of fucked up.</p><p>At least <a href=\"https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2400189\">I\u2019m not alone in this</a> but that\u2019s cold comfort. If I can\u2019t recover from this, what future do I have? My brain is pretty much the only thing I had going for me and now I don\u2019t even have that.</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "fluffy",
"url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/",
"photo": "https://beesbuzz.biz/static/headshot.jpg"
},
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "41544104",
"_source": "2778"
}
I prefer to use curly quotes and apostrophes in my posts, but unfortunately they are tricky to use on Windows. You have to type an incantation like ALT + 0147 to get “ and ALT + 0148 to get ” — and only on the keyboard number pad, not the numbers in the top row.
Alas, I have no number pad currently.
In recent years I’ve been using the Graphemica site since I have this search in my browser autocomplete: https://graphemica.com/search?q=quote. It’s a good reference site, but it is still a bit tedious to copy the characters.
So I set up these four bookmarklets. You can create a new bookmark in your browser, enter a title for it, then copy the full bookmarklet line into the URL field. Rinse and repeat. Each bookmarklet URL should start with javascript:
Left Quote: javascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('“');
Right Quote: javascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('”');
Right Single Quote / Apostrophe: javascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('’');
Left Single Quote: javascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('‘');
I initially had the null; at the end like the Stack Overflow answer. That worked in Chrome but I found it didn’t work in Firefox. When I removed it, it worked in both.
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"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-07-02 11:41-0700",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/2024/07/i-prefer-to-use/",
"category": [
"bookmarklet",
"writing",
"dev"
],
"content": {
"text": "I prefer to use curly quotes and apostrophes in my posts, but unfortunately they are tricky to use on Windows. You have to type an incantation like ALT + 0147 to get \u201c and ALT + 0148 to get \u201d \u2014 and only on the keyboard number pad, not the numbers in the top row.\n\n\n\nAlas, I have no number pad currently.\n\nIn recent years I\u2019ve been using the Graphemica site since I have this search in my browser autocomplete: https://graphemica.com/search?q=quote. It\u2019s a good reference site, but it is still a bit tedious to copy the characters.\n\nStack Overflow came to the rescue with a one-liner browser bookmarklet that lets you put text in your clipboard using the Clipboard API.\n\nSo I set up these four bookmarklets. You can create a new bookmark in your browser, enter a title for it, then copy the full bookmarklet line into the URL field. Rinse and repeat. Each bookmarklet URL should start with javascript:\n\nLeft Quote:\njavascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('\u201c');\n\nRight Quote:\njavascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('\u201d');\n\nRight Single Quote / Apostrophe:\njavascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('\u2019');\n\nLeft Single Quote:\njavascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('\u2018');\n\nI initially had the null; at the end like the Stack Overflow answer. That worked in Chrome but I found it didn\u2019t work in Firefox. When I removed it, it worked in both.",
"html": "<p>I prefer to use curly quotes and apostrophes in my posts, but unfortunately they are tricky to use on Windows. You have to type an incantation like <code>ALT + 0147</code> to get \u201c and <code>ALT + 0148</code> to get \u201d \u2014 and <em>only</em> on the keyboard number pad, not the numbers in the top row.</p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"animated image of a black woman on a news channel exclaiming \u201cain\u2019t nobody got time for that!\u201d\" src=\"https://gregorlove.com/site/assets/images/gifs/aint-nobody-got-time.webp\" /></p>\n\n<p>Alas, I have no number pad currently.</p>\n\n<p>In recent years I\u2019ve been using the Graphemica site since I have this search in my browser autocomplete: <a href=\"https://graphemica.com/search?q=quote\">https://graphemica.com/search?q=quote</a>. It\u2019s a good reference site, but it is still a bit tedious to copy the characters.</p>\n\n<p>Stack Overflow came to the rescue with a <a href=\"https://stackoverflow.com/a/59196111\">one-liner browser bookmarklet</a> that lets you put text in your clipboard using the <a href=\"https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Clipboard_API\">Clipboard API</a>.</p>\n\n<p>So I set up these four bookmarklets. You can create a new bookmark in your browser, enter a title for it, then copy the full bookmarklet line into the URL field. Rinse and repeat. Each bookmarklet URL should start with <code>javascript:</code></p>\n\n<p>Left Quote:<br /><code>javascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('\u201c');</code></p>\n\n<p>Right Quote:<br /><code>javascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('\u201d');</code></p>\n\n<p>Right Single Quote / Apostrophe:<br /><code>javascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('\u2019');</code></p>\n\n<p>Left Single Quote:<br /><code>javascript: navigator.clipboard.writeText('\u2018');</code></p>\n\n<p>I initially had the <code>null;</code> at the end like the Stack Overflow answer. That worked in Chrome but I found it didn\u2019t work in Firefox. When I removed it, it worked in both.</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "gRegor Morrill",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/",
"photo": "https://gregorlove.com/site/assets/files/6268/profile-2021-square.300x0.jpg"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "41537174",
"_source": "95"
}
I've been using AI to extend my 100 Days of Music sketches into full length songs and it's been super fun! I upload the song I wrote and tell it to extend it, give it some guidance, then piece it back together in Logic Pro. I've finished 25 songs so far!
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-07-01T18:21:56-07:00",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/2024/07/01/11/music",
"category": [
"ai",
"music",
"100daysofmusic"
],
"syndication": [
"https://bsky.app/profile/aaronpk.com/post/3kwba76jrd42u"
],
"content": {
"text": "I've been using AI to extend my 100 Days of Music sketches into full length songs and it's been super fun! I upload the song I wrote and tell it to extend it, give it some guidance, then piece it back together in Logic Pro. I've finished 25 songs so far!"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Aaron Parecki",
"url": "https://aaronparecki.com/",
"photo": "https://aperture-media.p3k.io/aaronparecki.com/41061f9de825966faa22e9c42830e1d4a614a321213b4575b9488aa93f89817a.jpg"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "41528091",
"_source": "16"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-07-01T16:39:43-07:00",
"url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/6728-Went-back-to-the-ER",
"name": "Went back to the ER",
"content": {
"text": "Last night I started feeling significant pain whenever I inhaled too deeply, telling me there was either pleurisy or another embolism happening. I gave it several hours to try to resolve on its own, and it just got worse and worse, so this morning, I headed to the ER.\n\nAnd there I waited, and waited, and waited, and then after around four hours of nothing happening while just sitting in the waiting room in agony, the pain had resolved itself, and I could breathe normally again.\n\nSo I asked about being discharged early, and was told to wait, and wait, and wait, and it was another hour or so before I was able to leave.\n\nAnyway I\u2019m back home now, and hopefully this is the last of the COVID drama in my life for a little while.",
"html": "<p>Last night I started feeling significant pain whenever I inhaled too deeply, telling me there was either <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurisy\">pleurisy</a> or another embolism happening. I gave it several hours to try to resolve on its own, and it just got worse and worse, so this morning, I headed to the ER.</p><p>And there I waited, and waited, and waited, and then after around four hours of nothing happening while just sitting in the waiting room in agony, the pain had resolved itself, and I could breathe normally again.</p><p>So I asked about being discharged early, and was told to wait, and wait, and wait, and it was another hour or so before I was able to leave.</p><p>Anyway I\u2019m back home now, and hopefully this is the last of the COVID drama in my life for a little while.</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "fluffy",
"url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/",
"photo": "https://beesbuzz.biz/static/headshot.jpg"
},
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "41527499",
"_source": "2778"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-06-30T19:16:18-07:00",
"url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/13792-Im-so-tired-of-being-sick",
"name": "I\u2019m so tired of being sick",
"content": {
"text": "I hate how every time I get sick, be it with COVID or anything else, I spend so much time feeling worthless and like I\u2019m in limbo and like everything is passing me by.\n\nI\u2019ve got stuff to do but I\u2019m feeling way too tired to do any of it and I\u2019m full of depression right now. Post-COVID everything just feels so pointless, and I also feel so alone.\n\nI\u2019m supposed to be getting my set together for Song Fight! Live, but I\u2019m just full of negative self-talk and a feeling that nobody gives a shit about me or my music. I hustle so much trying to find anyone who wants to work with me on anything and the best I can find is endless unpaid work for exposure which never amounts to anything.\n\nI forced myself to take a walk today and it was nice to get out of the house but I still just felt so alone with my thoughts, and those thoughts weren\u2019t great to listen to.\n\nSometimes it sucks to live alone.",
"html": "<p>I hate how every time I get sick, be it with COVID or anything else, I spend so much time feeling worthless and like I\u2019m in limbo and like everything is passing me by.</p><p>I\u2019ve got stuff to do but I\u2019m feeling way too tired to do any of it and I\u2019m full of depression right now. Post-COVID everything just feels so pointless, and I also feel so alone.</p><p>I\u2019m supposed to be getting my set together for Song Fight! Live, but I\u2019m just full of negative self-talk and a feeling that nobody gives a shit about me or my music. I hustle so much trying to find anyone who wants to work with me on anything and the best I can find is endless unpaid work for exposure which never amounts to anything.</p><p>I forced myself to take a walk today and it was nice to get out of the house but I still just felt so alone with my thoughts, and those thoughts weren\u2019t great to listen to.</p><p>Sometimes it sucks to live alone.</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "fluffy",
"url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/",
"photo": "https://beesbuzz.biz/static/headshot.jpg"
},
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "41518898",
"_source": "2778"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-06-29 13:03-0700",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/2024/06/im-about-to-go/",
"content": {
"text": "I\u2019m about to go to a covid-cautious board game meetup for the first time. I\u2019m so excited: games and keeping each other safer? My people! \ud83d\ude03",
"html": "<p>I\u2019m about to go to a covid-cautious board game meetup for the first time. I\u2019m so excited: games <b>and</b> keeping each other safer? My people! \ud83d\ude03</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "gRegor Morrill",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/",
"photo": "https://gregorlove.com/site/assets/files/6268/profile-2021-square.300x0.jpg"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "41510797",
"_source": "95"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-06-28 08:50-0700",
"url": "https://tantek.com/2024/180/b1/responsible-inventing",
"name": "Responsible Inventing",
"content": {
"text": "I finally understand why \nRambaldi \nmay have hidden so many inventions.\n\nForecast\n\nWhen you invent something, you should forecast the impact of your invention in the current cultural (social, political, economic, belief systems) context, and if it\n poses non trivial existential risk\n or is likely to cause more harm than good\nShoulds\n\nThen you should stop, and:\n\n encrypt your work for a potentially better future context\n or destroy your notes, ideally in a way that minimizes risk of detection of their deliberate destruction\n and avoid any or any detectable use of your invention, because even the mere use of it may provide enough information for someone else to reinvent it who may not be as responsible. \nIn Addition\n\nInsights and new knowledge are included in this meaning of \u201cinvention\u201d and the guidance above.\n\n\nForecasting should consider both whether your invention could directly cause risk or more harm, or if it could be incorporated as a building block with other (perhaps yet to be invented) technologies to create risk or more harm.\n\nInstead\n\nInstead of continuing work on such inventions, shift your focus to:\n\n work on other inventions\n and document & understand how & why that current cultural context would contribute to existential risk or more harm than good\n and work to improve, evolve that cultural context to reduce or eliminate its contribution to existential risk, and or its aspects that would (or already do) cause more harm than good\nDa Vinci\n\nThe \nShould (1) \nprovides a plausible explanation for why \nDa Vinci \n\u201cencrypted\u201d his writings in \nmirror script, \ndeliberately making it difficult for others to read (and thus remember or reproduce). \nPer \nShould (2) \nhe also wrote in paper mediums of the time that were all destroyable, \nand he may have been successful in destroying without detection, \nsince no one has found any evidence thereof, although such a lack of evidence is purely circumstantial and he may just as likely never destroyed any invention notes.\n\nMethods & Precautions\n\nLearning from Da Vinci\u2019s example within the context of the \nShoulds, we can infer additional methods and precautions to take when developing inventions:\n\n do not write initial invention notes where others (people or bots) may read them (e.g. most online services) because their ability to transcribe or make copies prevents \nShould (2). \nInstead use something like paper notes which can presumably be shredded or burned if necessary, or keep your notes in your head.\n do not use bound notebooks for initial invention notes because tearing out a page to destroy may be detectable by the bound remains left behind. \ninstead use individual sheets of paper organized into folders. perhaps eventually bind your papers into a notebook. Which apparently \nDa Vinci did! \n\u201cThese notebooks \u2013 originally loose papers of different types and sizes\u2026\u201d\n\n consider developing a simple unique cipher you can actively use when writing which will at least inconvenience, reduce, or slow the readability of your notes. even better if you can develop a \nsteganographic \ncipher, where an obvious reading of your invention writings provides a plausible but alternative meaning, thus hiding your actual invention writings in plain sight.\n\nDream\n\nMany of these insights came to me in a dream this morning, so clearly that I immediately wrote them down upon waking up, and continued writing extrapolations from the initial insights.\n\nAdditional Reading\n\nAfter writing down the above while it (and subsequent thoughts & deductions) were fresh in mind, and typing it up, I did a web search for \u201cresponsible inventing\u201d for prior similar, related, or possibly of interest works and found:\n\nIEEE Spectrum: \nWhat Does \u201cResponsible Innovation\u201d Mean?\n\nResearchGate paper: \nWhat Is \u201cResponsible\u201d about Responsible Innovation? Understanding the Ethical Issues\n\nScienceDirect paper: \nDeveloping a framework for responsible innovation\n\nInvent The Future\n\nWhile this post encourages forecasting and other methods for avoiding unintended harmful impacts of inventions, I want to close by placing those precautions within an active positive context.\n\n\nI believe it is the ultimate responsibility of an inventor to contribute, encourage, and actively create a positive vision of the future through their inventions. As \nAlan Kay said:\n\n\n\u201cThe best way to predict the future is to invent it.\u201d",
"html": "<p>\nI finally understand why \n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Rambaldi\">Rambaldi</a> \nmay have hidden so many inventions.\n</p>\n<h2>Forecast</h2>\n<p>\nWhen you invent something, you should forecast the impact of your invention in the current cultural (social, political, economic, belief systems) context, and if it</p>\n<ul><li> poses non trivial existential risk</li>\n<li> or is likely to cause more harm than good</li>\n</ul><h2>Shoulds</h2>\n<p>\nThen you <strong>should</strong> stop, and:\n</p>\n<ol><li> encrypt your work for a potentially better future context</li>\n<li> or destroy your notes, ideally in a way that minimizes risk of detection of their deliberate destruction</li>\n<li> and avoid any or any detectable use of your invention, because even the mere use of it may provide enough information for someone else to reinvent it who may not be as responsible. </li>\n</ol><h2>In Addition</h2>\n<p>\nInsights and new knowledge are included in this meaning of \u201cinvention\u201d and the guidance above.\n</p>\n<p>\nForecasting should consider both whether your invention could directly cause risk or more harm, or if it could be incorporated as a building block with other (perhaps yet to be invented) technologies to create risk or more harm.\n</p>\n<h2>Instead</h2>\n<p>\nInstead of continuing work on such inventions, shift your focus to:\n</p>\n<ol><li> work on other inventions</li>\n<li> and document & understand how & why that current cultural context would contribute to existential risk or more harm than good</li>\n<li> and work to improve, evolve that cultural context to reduce or eliminate its contribution to existential risk, and or its aspects that would (or already do) cause more harm than good</li>\n</ol><h2>Da Vinci</h2>\n<p>\nThe \n<a href=\"https://tantek.com/#ri-should-encrypt\">Should (1)</a> \nprovides a plausible explanation for why \n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci\">Da Vinci</a> \n\u201cencrypted\u201d his writings in \n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_writing#Notable_examples\">mirror script</a>, \ndeliberately making it difficult for others to read (and thus remember or reproduce). \nPer \n<a href=\"https://tantek.com/ri-should-shred\">Should (2)</a> \nhe also wrote in paper mediums of the time that were all destroyable, \nand he may have been successful in destroying without detection, \nsince no one has found any evidence thereof, although such a lack of evidence is purely circumstantial and he may just as likely never destroyed any invention notes.\n</p>\n<h2>Methods & Precautions</h2>\n<p>\nLearning from Da Vinci\u2019s example within the context of the \n<a href=\"https://tantek.com/#ri-shoulds\">Shoulds</a>, we can infer additional methods and precautions to take when developing inventions:\n</p>\n<ul><li> do not write initial invention notes where others (people or bots) may read them (e.g. most online services) because their ability to transcribe or make copies prevents \n<a href=\"https://tantek.com/ri-should-shred\">Should (2)</a>. \nInstead use something like paper notes which can presumably be shredded or burned if necessary, or keep your notes in your head.</li>\n<li> do not use bound notebooks for initial invention notes because tearing out a page to destroy may be detectable by the bound remains left behind. \ninstead use individual sheets of paper organized into folders. perhaps eventually bind your papers into a notebook. Which apparently \n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci#Journals_and_notes\">Da Vinci did!</a> \n<blockquote>\u201cThese notebooks \u2013 originally loose papers of different types and sizes\u2026\u201d</blockquote>\n</li>\n<li> consider developing a simple unique cipher you can actively use when writing which will at least inconvenience, reduce, or slow the readability of your notes. even better if you can develop a \n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography\">steganographic</a> \ncipher, where an obvious reading of your invention writings provides a plausible but alternative meaning, thus hiding your actual invention writings in plain sight.\n</li>\n</ul><h2>Dream</h2>\n<p>\nMany of these insights came to me in a dream this morning, so clearly that I immediately wrote them down upon waking up, and continued writing extrapolations from the initial insights.\n</p>\n<h2>Additional Reading</h2>\n<p>\nAfter writing down the above while it (and subsequent thoughts & deductions) were fresh in mind, and typing it up, I did a web search for \u201cresponsible inventing\u201d for prior similar, related, or possibly of interest works and found:\n</p>\n<ul><li>IEEE Spectrum: \n<a href=\"https://spectrum.ieee.org/what-does-responsible-innovation-mean\">What Does \u201cResponsible Innovation\u201d Mean?</a>\n</li>\n<li>ResearchGate paper: \n<a href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262864436_What_Is_Responsible_about_Responsible_Innovation_Understanding_the_Ethical_Issues\">What Is \u201cResponsible\u201d about Responsible Innovation? Understanding the Ethical Issues</a>\n</li>\n<li>ScienceDirect paper: \n<a href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733313000930\">Developing a framework for responsible innovation</a>\n</li>\n</ul><h2>Invent The Future</h2>\n<p>\nWhile this post encourages forecasting and other methods for avoiding unintended harmful impacts of inventions, I want to close by placing those precautions within an active positive context.\n</p>\n<p>\nI believe it is the ultimate responsibility of an inventor to contribute, encourage, and actively create a positive vision of the future through their inventions. As \n<a href=\"https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alan_Kay#1970s\">Alan Kay said</a>:\n</p>\n<blockquote>\n\u201cThe best way to predict the future is to invent it.\u201d\n</blockquote>\n<a href=\"https://fed.brid.gy/\"></a>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Tantek \u00c7elik",
"url": "https://tantek.com/",
"photo": "https://tantek.com/photo.jpg"
},
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "41503069",
"_source": "2460"
}
COVID-related anxiety disorder affects many locals
“About 238,000 adults in San Diego County suffer from a serious anxiety disorder resulting from their experience of the COVID pandemic. These cases have occurred entirely due to the pandemic, and are in addition to those who suffered from generalized anxiety disorder prior.
Anxiety was a reasonable response at the peak of the pandemic, but for reasons of personal vulnerability, individuals in this group have continued to experience crippling levels of anxiety after the pandemic ended. This is similar to the way post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms remain long after exposure.
This group particularly needs services because they may be unaware of the source of their symptoms and that effective treatments do exist. I call on treatment centers and individual therapists with expertise in treating anxiety disorders to reach out to this group.”
— David Mills, San Diego
I wondered where such a number came from. I emailed the paper to see if they had a citation and they pointed me to covid19ptsd.com, specifically the June newsletter. The newsletters were pretty thin and didn't include that number, but did cite some other news articles. From what I can tell, I think the number is extrapolated. The current percent of Americans experiencing anxiety symptoms (self-reported) minus the pre-pandemic percent is about 9%. I think they took the number of adults in San Diego County and multiplied by 9% to get that number.
The phrasing in the letter also bugged me. “entirely”? “reasonable”? “crippling”? The headings on that site at the time included “The Pandemic Has Ended, But Negative Consequences Remain” (more on that below). It all seemed so condescending. I decided to send my own letter to the editor in response:
COVID is still with us
Re: Mr. Mills’ letter on June 8, I take issue with framing the pandemic as something in the past. Despite government officials and our bosses telling us the pandemic has “ended,” the virus continues to spread and mutate almost entirely unmitigated, causing long-term health issues, disabling, and killing people. We just had the second largest wave of transmission this past winter based on wastewater data (see pmc19.com/data). The dangers of C19 have not changed much; the powers that be just decided to put all of the burden on individuals and end the emergency response.
I also object to the implication that anxiety around the ongoing pandemic is “unreasonable.” There are plenty of reasons to be anxious about C19, not least of which is the fact that so few are willing to take easy, well-known precautions like wearing a mask to protect each others’ health.
— Gregor Morrill, San Diego
That covid19ptsd site seemed fishy when I first saw it. The headline was “Celebrate The End Of The COVID Pandemic” and listed the date September 15, 2024. That seemed to imply an event, but there were no other details. It also acknowledged Long Covid, which made the “ended” language even more odd. There was a very generic call to donate without details of what the funds are for. “Help our organization by donating today! All donations go directly to making a difference for our cause.” Currently it shows they’ve raised $215 out of a $10,000 goal.
As I was writing this post, I looked over the site again. I was surprised that the tone had changed. Now the headline is “The COVID Pandemic Has Not Completely Ended.” That’s a positive improvement, at least. The September date is gone, though, and the ambiguous prompt to donate is still there. Thanks to the Internet Archive, we can compare the changes.
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2024-06-27 17:01-0700",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/2024/06/the-san-diego-union-tribune/",
"category": [
"covid"
],
"content": {
"text": "The San Diego Union-Tribune printed this letter to the editor (archived) June 8:\n\n\nCOVID-related anxiety disorder affects many locals\n\n\n\u201cAbout 238,000 adults in San Diego County suffer from a serious anxiety disorder resulting from their experience of the COVID pandemic. These cases have occurred entirely due to the pandemic, and are in addition to those who suffered from generalized anxiety disorder prior.\n\nAnxiety was a reasonable response at the peak of the pandemic, but for reasons of personal vulnerability, individuals in this group have continued to experience crippling levels of anxiety after the pandemic ended. This is similar to the way post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms remain long after exposure.\n\nThis group particularly needs services because they may be unaware of the source of their symptoms and that effective treatments do exist. I call on treatment centers and individual therapists with expertise in treating anxiety disorders to reach out to this group.\u201d\n\n\n\u2014 David Mills, San Diego\n\n\nI wondered where such a number came from. I emailed the paper to see if they had a citation and they pointed me to covid19ptsd.com, specifically the June newsletter. The newsletters were pretty thin and didn't include that number, but did cite some other news articles. From what I can tell, I think the number is extrapolated. The current percent of Americans experiencing anxiety symptoms (self-reported) minus the pre-pandemic percent is about 9%. I think they took the number of adults in San Diego County and multiplied by 9% to get that number.\n\nThe phrasing in the letter also bugged me. \u201centirely\u201d? \u201creasonable\u201d? \u201ccrippling\u201d? The headings on that site at the time included \u201cThe Pandemic Has Ended, But Negative Consequences Remain\u201d (more on that below). It all seemed so condescending. I decided to send my own letter to the editor in response:\n\nCOVID is still with us\n\nRe: Mr. Mills\u2019 letter on June 8, I take issue with framing the pandemic as something in the past. Despite government officials and our bosses telling us the pandemic has \u201cended,\u201d the virus continues to spread and mutate almost entirely unmitigated, causing long-term health issues, disabling, and killing people. We just had the second largest wave of transmission this past winter based on wastewater data (see pmc19.com/data). The dangers of C19 have not changed much; the powers that be just decided to put all of the burden on individuals and end the emergency response.\n\nI also object to the implication that anxiety around the ongoing pandemic is \u201cunreasonable.\u201d There are plenty of reasons to be anxious about C19, not least of which is the fact that so few are willing to take easy, well-known precautions like wearing a mask to protect each others\u2019 health.\n\n\u2014 Gregor Morrill, San Diego\n\nThat covid19ptsd site seemed fishy when I first saw it. The headline was \u201cCelebrate The End Of The COVID Pandemic\u201d and listed the date September 15, 2024. That seemed to imply an event, but there were no other details. It also acknowledged Long Covid, which made the \u201cended\u201d language even more odd. There was a very generic call to donate without details of what the funds are for. \u201cHelp our organization by donating today! All donations go directly to making a difference for our cause.\u201d Currently it shows they\u2019ve raised $215 out of a $10,000 goal.\n\nAs I was writing this post, I looked over the site again. I was surprised that the tone had changed. Now the headline is \u201cThe COVID Pandemic Has Not Completely Ended.\u201d That\u2019s a positive improvement, at least. The September date is gone, though, and the ambiguous prompt to donate is still there. Thanks to the Internet Archive, we can compare the changes.",
"html": "<p>The San Diego Union-Tribune printed this <a href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/06/12/many-in-san-diego-county-still-suffer-from-covid-related-anxiety/\">letter to the editor</a> (<a href=\"http://web.archive.org/web/20240627224325/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/06/12/many-in-san-diego-county-still-suffer-from-covid-related-anxiety/\">archived</a>) June 8:</p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"h-cite\">\n<p class=\"p-name\"><b>COVID-related anxiety disorder affects many locals</b></p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cAbout 238,000 adults in San Diego County suffer from a serious anxiety disorder resulting from their experience of the COVID pandemic. These cases have occurred entirely due to the pandemic, and are in addition to those who suffered from generalized anxiety disorder prior.</p>\n\n<p>Anxiety was a reasonable response at the peak of the pandemic, but for reasons of personal vulnerability, individuals in this group have continued to experience crippling levels of anxiety after the pandemic ended. This is similar to the way post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms remain long after exposure.</p>\n\n<p>This group particularly needs services because they may be unaware of the source of their symptoms and that effective treatments do exist. I call on treatment centers and individual therapists with expertise in treating anxiety disorders to reach out to this group.\u201d</p>\n\n\n<p>\u2014 David Mills, San Diego</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I wondered where such a number came from. I emailed the paper to see if they had a citation and they pointed me to <a href=\"https://covid19ptsd.com/\">covid19ptsd.com</a>, specifically the June newsletter. The newsletters were pretty thin and didn't include that number, but did cite some other news articles. From what I can tell, I think the number is extrapolated. The current percent of Americans experiencing anxiety symptoms (self-reported) minus the pre-pandemic percent is about 9%. I think they took the number of adults in San Diego County and multiplied by 9% to get that number.</p>\n\n<p>The phrasing in the letter also bugged me. <em>\u201centirely\u201d</em>? <em>\u201creasonable\u201d</em>? <em>\u201ccrippling\u201d</em>? The headings on that site at the time included \u201cThe Pandemic Has Ended, But Negative Consequences Remain\u201d (more on that below). It all seemed so condescending. I decided to send my own letter to the editor in response:</p>\n\n<p><b>COVID is still with us</b></p>\n\n<p>Re: Mr. Mills\u2019 letter on June 8, I take issue with framing the pandemic as something in the past. Despite government officials and our bosses telling us the pandemic has \u201cended,\u201d the virus continues to spread and mutate almost entirely unmitigated, causing long-term health issues, disabling, and killing people. We just had the second largest wave of transmission this past winter based on wastewater data (see <a href=\"https://pmc19.com/data\">pmc19.com/data</a>). The dangers of C19 have not changed much; the powers that be just decided to put all of the burden on individuals and end the emergency response.</p>\n\n<p>I also object to the implication that anxiety around the ongoing pandemic is \u201cunreasonable.\u201d There are plenty of reasons to be anxious about C19, not least of which is the fact that so few are willing to take easy, well-known precautions like wearing a mask to protect each others\u2019 health.</p>\n\n<p>\u2014 Gregor Morrill, San Diego</p>\n\n<p>That covid19ptsd site seemed fishy when I first saw it. The headline was \u201cCelebrate The End Of The COVID Pandemic\u201d and listed the date September 15, 2024. That seemed to imply an event, but there were no other details. It also acknowledged Long Covid, which made the \u201cended\u201d language even more odd. There was a very generic call to donate without details of what the funds are for. \u201cHelp our organization by donating today! All donations go directly to making a difference for our cause.\u201d Currently it shows they\u2019ve raised $215 out of a $10,000 goal.</p>\n\n<p>As I was writing this post, I looked over the site again. I was surprised that the tone had changed. Now the headline is \u201cThe COVID Pandemic Has Not Completely Ended.\u201d That\u2019s a positive improvement, at least. The September date is gone, though, and the ambiguous prompt to donate is still there. Thanks to the Internet Archive, we can <a href=\"http://web.archive.org/web/20240613082217/https://covid19ptsd.com/\">compare the changes</a>.</p>"
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"name": "gRegor Morrill",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/",
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