Notices by Dave ⚡️ (dave@social.lightbeamapps.com), page 2

Explaining the need to continue mitigations against COVID to a relative in the UK, I said:

“I still wear a seatbelt even though I haven’t been in a major car crash, same logic.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/26/in-their-plaintive-call-for-a-return-to-the-office-ceos-reveal-how-little-they-are-needed

“The real concern driving CEO resistance is the fact remote work involves a previously unthinkable change in the way productive activity is structured and organised. If workers can do without the physical presence of managers, perhaps they don’t need managers at all, at least in the way they currently operate”

Amen!

#RemoteWork #WFH #RTO

I manage teams of people, remotely. It involves, trust, respect, and collaboration.

I suspect the reason a lot of CEOs struggle with remote work and flexibility, is because they have a command and control mentality rather than these behaviours and values

Anyone else notice that although the presenters changed in each segment of the #AppleEvent, their hand movements remained the same?

We were playing:

“Wide arms”
“Pinch movement”
“Wide arms”
“Mr Burns hands!”

#Apple #iPhone

A Sunday morning article on COVID in New Zealand

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/covid-19/525469/covid-19-will-be-with-us-forever-flu-expert

Reading it the key messages seem to be:

* Only those who are vulnerable really feel the effects of it.

* No mention of long COVID and the health complications we know can come from infection.

* It’s just sniffles we have to get used to

It’s minimising, and an ableist + eugenicist take on it all.

The reality:

* COVID impairs cognitive function, and this can happen even in “mild” cases in otherwise healthy people

* COVID causes organ damage, and this can also happen with “mild” infection

* Its damage is cumulative. The more infections you have, the more likely it is that you may become permanently disabled by it

* It is not seasonal, and summer waves aren’t just something to get used to

* You can get reinfected within weeks of a previous infection. Immunity isn’t guaranteed by infection or vaccine.

This is because it is a virus that really damages your immune system. It is constantly mutating, due to being highly contagious and people not taking mitigation measures seriously.

“We’ve got to live with it”

Exactly. This doesn’t mean throwing other people under the bus, and waiting until you’re in their position to give a stuff.

“It will be with us forever” is the headline of this article.

And I mean yup, it will be thanks to a combination of:
* Late stage capitalism
* racism
* ableism
* social pressure and inertia
* People individually opting out of social responsibility

On that last point. If you can mitigate, but choose not to because of “the vibes”, you’re not pulling your weight.

For a lot of people (not everyone I know), it can come down to:

“Masks weird me out, and taking precautions is hard because of peer pressure.”

vs

“I am now living with permanent disability.”

And just to add. It’s ok to start resuming mitigations if you’ve been slack/ignoring things for a while.

There’s a weird wrinkle in human behaviour where people think it’s all or nothing, it’s really not.

You could do a job where masking is impossible, and still mask up at the supermarket.

You could switch to outdoor meetups when the weather is good.

There’s a whole suite of minor inconveniences that could help you and others around you.

@gruber @ianb

I for one am happy to tell Apple “welcome to our world!”

This view of the EU and DMA is so incredibly similar to App Store review, and Apple’s enforcement of its own rules there.

@ianb @gruber

Indeed !

Apple are an imperfect corporate entity, and there’s no reason to give them any more leeway than any other corporate entity.

In terms of the DMA, I think they need to stop operating in bad faith. Working with it is part of doing business and supporting their customers in the EU.

@aral ... they just didn't *see* it 😅

@DrPen @darnell yup. It's predictable though.

* Farms have no financial incentive to avoid the spread, or disclose issues.
* Public health as a whole has been abandoned due to COVID.
* People are actively ignoring mitigation for COVID

Combine all of these things together, and we've a scenario where any human spread of a mutated flu is likely to get quite far before appropriate action is taken

@darnell yeah. Folks shouldn't have let their guard down with COVID either; the long term damage of repeat infections of that on your body, and long COVID, is no joke.

Fuck anyone who thinks rocking up to work alongside others when they have COVID is ok (including Lady Gaga).

Also, the idea that she gave support staff the choice with full disclosure? Laughable given the power dynamic and what would likely happen to someone who said no.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/28/lady-gaga-performed-on-stage-with-covid-did-we-learn-nothing-from-the-pandemic

@jbond

111K children in the UK with long COVID now, and this has risen in the last 3 months from 84K.

The next generation is massively being let down

@BlackAzizAnansi

Yup. I feel much less hopeful about humanity and progress, post 2020.

We have faced (and continue to face) an enemy in COVID that requires a united approach in resolving, involving a lot of collaboration. Our governments, and people in general, failed the test on this.

This is a micro of climate change’s macro, IMO

There’s a parallel in denialism of COVID risk to AIDS in the 80s and early 90s. It was denied and ignored, by various government as it was perceived to be only killed and affecting gay people, and implicitly to that view, that was a good thing.

With COVID, there is a view that it’s only an issue for vulnerable folks, and, implicit to that view is that this is a good thing.

The ableism that folks have tied up in the denial around this is an ugly thing.