How To Prepare For the Growing Likelihood of a Breakthrough Covid Case

Increasingly it appears to be a matter of when, not if, everyone will catch the virus. Those who are vaccinated - and especially those who've had a booster shot - are not especially at risk for a severe case, but it may still feel like a bad cold or flu. 

There are steps everyone needs to take so that if that happens, you are prepared to ride it out. JL

Rachel Miller reports in Vox:

Make a plan for how and where you'll get tested if you show symptoms. Determine who will be your main source of medical care if you get sick. The advent of telehealth means this might be easier, since you won’t need to worry as much about the doctor being a long car or bus ride away. Have a plan for how you'll isolate if you test positive. Stock up on essentials: cold and cough medicines, pain relievers, fever reducers, cough drops, a thermometer, and tissues. Think about what you like to eat when you’re sick of don’t have much appetite (jello, popsicles, instant ramen, soup, etc.) And be ready to feel a wave of emotions.

Study: Brain Surgeons and Rocket Scientists Not Smarter Than Everyone Else

It may not be rocket science...or brain surgery...and for a very good reason.  

It's very difficult for an individual to better at everything, Hollywood movies to the contrary. Rocket scientists and brain surgeons are good at specific tasks which may be high in complexity, but they are not necessarily more intelligent than the average across the board. So put your feet up, turn on the tv and have a beer to celebrate. JL

Nicola Davis reports in The Guardian:

Researchers have found aerospace engineers and brain surgeons are not necessarily brighter than the general population.The study found few differences between the cognitive abilities of aerospace engineers and neuroscientists, although the results suggest the former had higher scores for attention and mental manipulation  – while neurosurgeons showed higher scores in semantic problem solving. "It's not that they are better at everything, but they are better at certain things that make them good at what they do. Everyone has a range of skills and it is very difficult to be better in everything across the board.”

Movie Theaters Breaking Records Despite Omicron, Thanks To Spider Man

A big holiday movie hits as the public is increasingly inclined to believe that if they are vaccinated, the virus does not pose a severe threat. 

Hopefully, they're right. Emphasis on 'hopefully.' JL 

Catie Keck reports in The Verge:

Spider-Man: No Way Home eclipsed previous box office records on its first night at the biggest theater chains in the nation. AMC announced that 1.1 million moviegoers attended the opening night of Spider-Man: No Way Home, making it the highest-grossing opening night for a December title in AMC’s history. Cinemark called the film’s debut its “best opening night of all time.” That’s big news for theaters whose continued existence seemed under threat at the start of the pandemic, and suggests moviegoers’ interest hasn’t yet changed dramatically in response to the latest COVID variant.

How Omicron Was Created By and For the Unvaccinated

Refusal to be vaccinated - in the US, UK, South Africa and other parts of the world - gave the new variant its opportunity. 

Now, as infection, severity and hospitalization rates climb, those same people are its intended targets precisely because this virus, like most others, aims at the most vulnerable. JL   

David Leonhardt reports in the New York Times:

In the U.S., partisanship is the biggest factor determining vaccination rates. If Democratic voters made up their own country, it would be one of the world’s most vaccinated, with more than 91% of adults having received at least one shot. Only 60% of Republican adults have done so. This vaccination gap has created a huge gap in death rates, one that has grown sharply during the second half of the year.

Why We May Never Really Be Fully Vaccinated From Here On

The early hope for one vaccine to rule them all appears increasingly and frustratingly out of reach. 

But just as for many other diseases with which mankind has learned how to coexist  it may be that there is no such thing as 'fully vaccinated.' Adequately vaccinated based on what we know now may be as good as it gets. JL 

Katherine Wu reports in The Atlantic:

For nearly a year now, being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is a ticket for a slate of liberties—a pass to travel without testing and skip post-exposure quarantine and in parts of the country, a license to enter restaurants, gyms, and bars. For many employees, full vaccination is now a requirement. (But) what counts as fully vaccinated during a lull in a Delta wave might be insufficient to fend off an Omicron surge. In this long fight against a fast-moving, fast-morphing virus, we may never actually, truly be fully vaccinated

Earlier and More In-Store Holiday Buying Mean Deliveries Are Mostly On Schedule

Consumers fears of shipping problems and product shortages, in addition to more in-store shopping for the same reasons, have meant that late holiday season shipping problems have not been as bad as feared this year. JL 

Paul Ziobro reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Delivery networks have held up during the major test of the peak shipping season, as earlier shopping and increased in-store purchases have eased the usual late-year congestion. Express shipments that arrive later in the day or ground shipments that arrive within one day of the promised window, which is more relevant to residential e-commerce deliveries, FedEx’s on-time rate was 97.4%, UPS’s was 99% and the Postal Service came in at 98.6%. Consumer awareness of supply-chain issues and shortages, spurred earlier-than-normal shopping, resulting in earlier increases in shipping

As Omicron Spreads, More Institutions Now Require Booster Shot Evidence

Operas, theaters, universities...A growing number of institutions are now requiring not just proof of vaccination, but proof of a booster shot as Omicron rages, especially in New York. 

This appears to be the next step in virus protection for audience-facing venues. JL 

NBC reports:

The Metropolitan Opera is adding its name to a growing list of entities requiring COVID-19 booster shots for attendance at indoor events ranging from entertainment to academia. NYU issued the same declaration for eligible students and staff for the spring semester. Connecticut's Wesleyan University will require the same. Audience members have been required to be fully vaccinated to enter the Met since that September reopening and a mandatory employee vaccine policy took effect over the summer.

Job Satisfaction Steady For 2 Decades. Quit Rate About Other Factors

Some percentage of employees are always looking for a better situation. They are not necessarily unhappy, just aware that there may be better possibilities out there. 

This year, the pandemic and the economy have given them the impetus to take advantage of surer and faster opportunities for promotion, compensation, benefits, commutes and all the other factors that go into job satisfaction, which is why the quit rate is so high. JL

Scott Schieman reports in Fast Company:

The vast majority of Americans express moderate to high satisfaction with their work. In 2002, 12% said they were very or a little dissatisfied with their work, a figure that barely changed in subsequent surveys. In 2021,16% said they weren’t satisfied. 83% said they were moderately or very satisfied. A greater share are contemplating quitting than express dissatisfaction with their job. Perhaps they’re seeking more status, reconsidering their career, or worried about layoffs. Or, A slice of workers are always considering leaving jobs and as the labor market looks brighter, the pent-up impulse to quit kicks in.

The Reason the US Was Unprepared For Omicron And It's Spreading So Fast

Because the original Covid virus arrived in an election year and was allowed to become politicized, many of the healthcare strategies that could have forestalled its spread or helped mitigate it have been rejected for partisan or ideological reasons. 

There is a certain karmic justice in realizing that those most opposed to mitigation efforts are likely to suffer most from Omicron as a result. But even those who are vaccinated, boostered, masked and distanced  - as in New York where the vast majority are vaccinated, but where Omicron is spreading so fast the perception is that if you live there, you are already infected - will feel the impact due to the societal fragmentation promoted by television, digital and social media, the US's many enemies - and its own angry, resentful citizens' self destructive behavior. JL

Ed Yong reports in The Atlantic:

America was not prepared for COVID-19. It was not prepared for last winter’s surge. It was not prepared for Delta’s arrival in the summer. More than 1,000 Americans still die of COVID every day. More have died this year than last. And now comes Omicron. The threat is far greater at the societal level than at the personal one, and policy makers have cut themselves off from the tools needed to protect (because) like the variants that preceded it, Omicron requires individuals to think and act for the collective good, which means it poses the same challenge that the U.S. has failed for two straight years, in bipartisan fashion. “The level of care we’ve come to expect in our hospitals no longer exists.”

Why Amazon Warehouses Can't Repurpose Every Failing Shopping Mall

Revamps and makeovers are expensive and time-consuming, requiring regulatory approvals often dependent on environmental cleanups. And since malls are usually sited close to residential areas, real estate investors find that community opposition to industrial-sized logistics facilities and the traffic they generate further delays the process.

It is frequently cheaper and faster to build a new facility on raw land rather than try to repurpose a failed mall. JL

Carol Ryan reports in the Wall Street Journal:

U.S. malls have lost a third of their value since their 2017 peak as the pandemic has accelerated the shift to e-commerce. Only  50 enclosed regional U.S. malls have been sold during the pandemic and revamps actually happened. The limited number reflects unrealistic asking prices, the difficulty of getting finance for deals and that converting them is capital intensive. Developers often prefer to buy land and avoid the expense and complexity of tearing down an old mall.

Google Announces It Will Fire Employees Who Refuse Covid Vaccination

Google wants its people back in the office. And to do so, it recognizes, means they have to be vaccinated. 

The company, like so many others, has had it with this pandemic. No more Mr. Nice Guy - 'don't be evil' notwithstanding. JL

The BBC reports:

Staff must upload documents proving vaccination status. Those who did not would be placed on unpaid leave and will ultimately lose their jobs. Those who did not do so by January 18 next year would be put on "paid administrative leave" for 30 days, followed by unpaid leave for up to six months. After that period they would lose their jobs. Google has been pushing for an eventual return to the office - which has been repeatedly delayed - and expects those attending meetings in its buildings to be vaccinated.

How Group of Top Companies Has Partnered To Stop AI Hiring Bias

Most companies buy services from third party vendors to employ hiring algorithms on their behalf. They have little if any oversight of the data used to build the algorithm let alone the assumptions that go into building out those models. 

The companies concern, from a public policy and social science perspective is that they are not just perpetuating and unjust system, but that their ability to hire and retain the best talent in a highly competitive global marketplace is being diminished. Partnering to optimize the use of algorithms can help improve performance. JL 

Steve Lohr reports in the New York Times:

Some of the largest corporations in America are joining an effort to prevent artificial intelligence from delivering biased results that perpetuate or worsen past discrimination. The Data & Trust Alliance includes CVS Health, Deloitte, General Motors, Humana, IBM, Mastercard, Meta (Facebook), Nike and Walmart. It has developed an evaluation and scoring system for AI software. If the data used to predict success at a company is based on who has done well in the past, the result may be an algorithmically reinforced version of past bias. Business leaders recognize companies, in every industry, are “becoming data and A.I. companies. Every algorithm has human values embedded in it."

The Five Omicron Symptoms To Watch For

Somewhat - but not entirely - different from the symptoms of earlier Covid variants: scratchy throat, dry cough, fatigue, muscle aches, night sweats. JL 

Gergana Krasteva reports in Metro:

Omicron symptoms are a scratchy throat, a dry cough, extreme tiredness, mild muscle aches and night sweats.

Top US Grocery Chain Kroger Ends Paid Leave for Unvaccinated Employees

Companies are tired of the disruptions and the risks to customers, which may be suppressing sales. Vaccinated employees who suffer breakthrough infections will receive paid leave benefits. 

And unvaccinated employees who belong to company health plans will have to pay a surcharge.JL

Phil Helsel reports in NBC:

Kroger, the country's largest traditional grocery store company, will end special paid Covid-19 leave for unvaccinated employees and will charge some of them who are in a company health care plan a $50 “monthly health insurance surcharge” if they remain unprotected. The paid leave will still be offered to vaccinated workers who get breakthrough cases. The Cincinnati-based company has stores in 35 states.

Computer GPU Shortage Leading To Theft From Store Samples

Pandemic driven demand for electronics, exacerbated by remote and hybrid work, has added GPUs to the list of essential shortage.

Desperate people are stealing them from display models in stores to such a degree that retailers are now zip-tying their floor models to prevent theft of internal components. JL 

Callum Booth reports in The Next Web:

Despite GPU shipments increasing 25.7%, people are so desperate for the hardware they’re cracking open computers at electronics stores to get at them. Over the last 12 months, GPU prices have skyrocketed, with some high-end units like the Nvidia RTX 3060 being scalped for 210% of their launch price.the GPU shortage was first kicked off by the “fragile” supply chain. This is structured on a “just-in-time” model, meaning it was heavily disrupted with pandemic-enforced lockdowns. People staying at home due to Covid combined with a raft of exciting games dropping, drove up demand for graphics cards.

How Amazon's Early Investments Are Reinforcing Its Current Dominance

Amazon has for years been investing in the decidedly unglamorous business of logistics. Professional investors frequently challenged founder Jeff Bezos about the necessity of these expenses. 

But as much of the commercial world now suffers from supply chain bottlenecks, Amazon has its own ships, planes and even containers, allowing it to bypass the problems suffered by most of its competitors. JL

Ben Thompson reports in Stratechery:

For years, Amazon has been quietly chartering private cargo ships, making its own containers, and leasing planes to better control the shipping journey of an online order. Now, as many retailers panic over supply chain chaos, Amazon’s early moves are helping it avoid the long wait times for dock space and workers at the country’s busiest ports. Amazon spends to control as much of the shipping process as possible. It spent $61 billion on shipping in 2020, up from $38 billion in 2019. Now, it's is shipping 72% of its own packages, up from 47% in 2019. It’s even making its own 53-foot cargo containers in China.

Omicron Covid Grows 70 Faster Than Delta In Bronchial Tissue, Fueling Spread

Transmissability, though not yet severity, is significant. 

Understanding the nature of the threat will reduce the time needed to find solutions. 

Hannah Devlin reports in The Guardian:

The Omicron Covid variant has been found to multiply about 70 times quicker than the original and Delta versions of coronavirus in tissue samples taken from the bronchus, the main tubes from the windpipe to the lungs, in laboratory experiments that could help explain its rapid transmission. The findings, together with other recent work showing Omicron infects cells more readily, add to an emerging picture that the variant may be intrinsically more transmissible in addition to evading existing immunity.

As Markets Hit New Highs, Musk and Other Execs Selling Record Amounts of Stock

While the threat of tax increases appears to be receding, soaring stock prices are driving corporate insiders - and especially prominent tech CEOs like Musk, Zuckerberg, Brin and Page - to sell unprecdented amounts of stock.

The assumption is that their internal company forecasting models predict that this level of growth in value cannot be sustained for long. JL 

Tripp Mickle and Theo Francis report in the Wall Street Journal:

Company founders and leaders are unloading their stock at historic levels, with some selling shares in their businesses for the first time in years, amid soaring market valuations. Across the S&P 500, insiders have sold a record $63.5 billion in shares through November, a 50% increase from all of 2020, driven both by stock-market gains and an increase in sales by some big holders. The technology sector has led with $41 billion in sales across the entire market, up by more than a third. 2021 marks the most sales by insiders in a decade, resembling waves of sales during the twilight of the early 2000s dot-com boom.

Apple Again Imposes Mask Mandate In Stores As Covid Cases Rise

As Apple goes, so goes the nation?

Apple has reimposed a mask mandate for all of its US stores as Covid cases rise and one of its stores in Texas had to close when several employees tested positive. This seems likely to be a trend. JL 

Kif Leswing reports in CNBC:

Customers at Apple stores in the United States will be required to wear face masks to shop as Covid cases rise countrywide. Apple closed all of its stores in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Stores reopened earlier this year, with staff wearing masks and designated sanitation areas for customers. The iPhone maker has adjusted individual store policies in response to regional conditions, including an emphasis on customer pickups via online purchases instead of in-store shopping and increasing the amount of space to social distance. An Apple store in Texas closed last week after several employees tested positive.

US Blocks Investment In Leading Drone Maker DJI and 7 Other Chinese Cos

Taking a stand against companies that contribute to and profit from horrific Chinese abuses of the Uigher minority in Xinjiang seems like the right thing to do, so banning investment in drone maker DJI makes some sense. 

On the other hand, DJI products are still permitted to be sold in the US and the company commands 77% of the US drone market so banning investment is not exactly making a principled stand. JL 

Steve Dent reports in Engadget:

The US government will place eight Chinese companies including drone manufacturer DJI on an investment blocklist for involvement in surveillance of Uyghur Muslims. The firms will be put on the Treasury department's "Chinese military-industrial complex companies" list, meaning US citizens will be barred from making any investments. The government said it was among companies that "enabled wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance." (But) DJI drones are have not been banned for sale in the US. In 2020, DJI commanded 77% of the consumer drone market.

Unlike Last Year, Holiday Shipping Deadlines Are As Late As December 23rd

So much for logistics snafus, worker shortages and supply chain backlogs. The US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx and Amazon are all promising last minute delivery this year, claiming that if you ship on December 23rd by Next Day Air or Priority Mail it will arrive by Christmas.

Overall, promised performance seems less fraught than in recent years. Lessons learned, early preparation - and a lot of earlier-than-usual shopping - appear to be the main reasons. Fingers crossed. JL

Cameron Faulkner and Anthony DiBenedetto report in The Verge:

Similar to Walmart and Amazon, be aware if an item at Target is shipped or sold by a third party, which can result in longer lead times. Product listings usually spell out your options for pickup, same-day delivery, and standard shipping — complete with estimated availability times — before you add to your cart.

The Reason Employee Monitoring By Bosses Is Failing

Seen the job quit numbers recently? Even before the pandemic, 57% of people who left their jobs did so because of their manager. JL

The Hustle reports:

Global demand for employee monitoring software increased by 108% in April and 70% in May. Online searches for “how to monitor employees working from home” increased by 1,705% in April and 652% in May. Employee monitoring software companies saw increased sales inquiries; for tracking app DeskTime they were up 333%. Monitoring the process employees use to complete tasks strips them of autonomy and can cause “negative psycho-social outcomes,” like stress or waning commitment. And ultimately, employees may just quit.

Why Omicron Is A Dress Rehearsal For the Next Pandemic

The world and the US are much better prepared to deal with Omicron than when the original Covid virus appeared in Wuhan. But systemic fragmentation in identification and early warning, research, information sharing, healthcare delivery and treatment remain a threat to effective solutions. 

Omicron is an opportunity to assess how far the world has come in two years, as well as how far it has to go to save lives. JL

Emily Anthes reports in the New York Times:

Omicron is a dress rehearsal for the next pandemic. The work before us now - detecting, tracking and slowing the spread of a health threat we do not fully understand - is the same work required to stop a future outbreak in its tracks. Omicron’s emergence is an opportunity to take stock of both the gains made and the ways in which we are still falling short. It is a call to action: Whatever progress we have made is not enough. “We know there are pathogens worse than SARS-CoV-2 emerging and re-emerging, waiting for their moment to take off.”

The Most Accurate Way To Measure How Well A Company Innovates

The broadest metric focuses on how innovation adds value to the enterprise. This means process improvements, not just new technology. And it includes the ruthlessness with which managements cut products, services, organizational designs, operating rules and yes, people, who fail to provide 'sufficient value,' not just currently but by analytical expectation, in the future. 

At a more granular level, this involves intellectual capital applications and registers, market valuation of those, R&D hiring and investment and the systemic monetization of success, a reminder that this is not an intellectual exercise, but a set of business resource allocation and optimization decisions. JL 

Zachary First reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Innovation means, as Peter Drucker put it, “endowing human and material resources with new and greater wealth-producing capacity.” Novelty is a side effect of innovation, not its essence. Underlying this broad definition are four principles that characterize innovative companies: They create systems for continuous improvement of products, services and internal processes. They exploit their successes. They stop doing things that no longer provide sufficient value. And they “create the different tomorrow that makes obsolete and, to a large extent, replaces even the most successful products of today.”

New Nasal Spray Vaccines May Offer Covid Protection

The sprays may offer superior protection because they defend against a variety of respiratory viruses and they stop the infection in the nose, before it gets to the lungs. 

This is one of a number of innovations that have grown out of experience with and study of the way Covid attacks the human body. JL 

Bill Hathaway reports in Yale News:

A new study found that intranasal vaccination provided broad-based protection against heterologous respiratory viruses in mice, while so-called systemic immunization, which uses an injection to elicit body-wide protection, did not. Nasal vaccines, but not the shot, also induced antibodies that protected the animals against a variety of flu strains, not just against the strain the vaccine was meant to protect against. “The best immune defense happens at the gate, guarding against viruses trying to enter."

Toyota Owners Now Must Pay $8 A Month To Use Key Fob For Remote Start

This is the latest challenge to the notion of car 'ownership.' 

The growing importance and value of digitization to driving a car has given auto companies new means of controlling various features which cease to work unless the ostensible 'owner' agrees to pay a monthly or annual fee. If they do not, the company remotely shuts off the feature. Let the buyer beware. And read the fine print. JL 

Tim De Chant reports in ars technica:

Automakers keep trying to get a piece of that sweet subscription income. Toyota lets owners use an app to remotely lock their doors or if they own a plug-in vehicle, to precondition the interior. But as some complimentary subscriptions for Remote Connect come to an end, Toyota owners can no longer use their key fob to remote-start their vehicles. The fob’s functionality is dependent on maintaining an active Remote Connect subscription. Once subscriptions expire,  the key fob remote start stops working. Toyota didn't change the rules, though that detail was buried in the fine print.

In First Such US Military Action, Air Force Dismisses 27 Who Refused Vaccination

While 94% of Air Force personnel are vaccinated - by order - several thousand remain defiant. 

Most US military personnel have complied with the vaccination mandate. This action suggests that the services may use this as a means of weeding out those who are proving reluctant to obey orders generally. JL 

Alex Horton and Timothy Bella report in the Washington Post:

The Air Force removed 27 people for not obeying orders to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. 94% of the Air Force is fully vaccinated, according to the service’s data. But tens of thousands of active-duty members across all services have declined the vaccines, a show of defiance in a culture built around following orders. The number of active-duty U.S. military personnel declining to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by their deadlines is approaching 40,000. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “expects 100 percent” compliance.

Amazon Outage Reveals Societal Extreme Dependence On Cloud Services

Feeding pets, turning lights on and off, home security, ordering streaming videos...the list of increasingly crucial internet dependent services is literally endless. 

The question is given how almost pathetically reliant society has become on this connectivity, the degree of vulnerability it has created - and how resilient society may or may not be when that dependence is severed. JL 

Sarah Needleman reports in the Wall Street Journal:

The outage of Amazon Web Services was an awakening to how many internet-enabled devices they now have in their homes and how much even some of their most basic daily needs depend on a connection to the cloud. It affected videoconferencing tools, home-security system Ring,Ticketmaster and streaming services from Walt Disney and Netflix. An internet-connected feeding machine dispenses kibble for felines. Roomba robot vacuums to clean up rely on an app to beckon the machine. Alexa-powered lights in home wouldn’t work either. “You start to worry, how vulnerable are we to this one service?"

Omicron Cuts Vaccine Protection 30 Percent But Shots Limit Severe Infection

The implication is that while the Covid Omicron variant cuts the effectiveness of the vaccine, it still prevents the most serious consequences for those infected. JL

Michaeleen Doucleff reports in NPR:

In the South African study, the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness against infection dropped down to about 30% for the omicron variant, compared with about 80% against the variant before omicron. (But) two shots of the Pfizer vaccine still offered about 70% protection against hospital admission because of COVID-19. The data suggests that the protection seems to hold up in people with some risk factors such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as in older people.

How Were the Devastating Kentucky Tornadoes Related To Climate Change?

The research is not yet conclusive but data reveal trends suggesting an increase in tornado numbers and severity in recent decades, consistent with climate change developments. There have been more tornadoes of greater severity in warming fall and winter months.

More frequent and damaging storms are expected to increase, especially as population grows in the areas where tornadoes tend to hit in southeastern US states. The relevant US government agencies have been asked to focus more research on the causality between climate change and tornado as well as hurricane severity. JL

John Allen reports in USA Today:

Observations suggest an eastward shift in tornado frequency in recent decades and increasing frequency of tornadoes outbreaks, though the ties to climate change are as yet uncertain. Climate projections for the late 21st century have suggested that the conditions favorable to the development of the severe storms that produce tornadoes will increase over North America, and the impact could be greatest in the winter and fall. Projections suggest increases in severe storms in fall and winter of 16% to 25% relative to now

US Supreme Court Refuses To Block NY Healthcare Worker Vaccine Mandate

The court has been consistent in supporting vaccine mandates for workers. As in most other professions, declarations by those in health care claiming they will quit their jobs rather than get vaccinated have tended to be significantly exaggerated. JL

Kevin Breuninger reports in CNBC:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied an emergency bid to block enforcement of New York’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for health care workers. The legal challenge was filed by a group of 20 doctors and nurses who argued that the state’s vaccine mandate violates the First Amendment to the Constitution because it fails to include a religious exemption.

Mouse Movers And Other Remote Worker Hacks To Avoid 'Bossware' Surveillance

Managers' fearful or resentful of remote workers' relative freedom have employed billions of dollars worth of employee tracking software to monitor behavior, if not actually performance. There are many who, despite two years of positive outcomes across many industries, still arent comfortable with the work of anyone they cannot physically see. 

In response, many remote workers are using anti-surveillance tricks to stymie the micro-managers. This tit-for-tat cold keyboard war shows no signs of abating. JL

Samantha Cole reports in Motherboard, image Wikimedia commons:

Bossware is spyware from your boss. Companies make employees use keyboard or mouse-tracking software to ensure they’re working every moment they’re on the clock at home. If managers aren’t spying, chat apps turn users' activity bubbles to “away” when they’re inactive for a short time. Amazon is full of plug-and-play mouse movers that physically rotate the mouse’s cursor from below, or USB sticks preloaded with software that mimics mouse movements. Rewarding ‘presence vs productivity’ has always been around, but the forced virtualization of the workplace with the pandemic has made it worse”

As US Covid Deaths Near 800,000, 1 in 100 Older Americans Have Died

And these are not necessarily people who would have died anyway. 

Statistically, almost 20% more older people have died than would have ordinarily done so.  

Julie Bosman and colleagues report in the New York Times:

As the coronavirus pandemic approaches the end of a second year, the United States stands on the cusp of surpassing 800,000 deaths from the virus. 75% of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400. 18% more older people died of all causes in 2020 than would have died in an ordinary year

Shorting Empire State Bldg: How Warehouses Became More Valuable Than Offices

Given the confusion generated by Covid and its impact on hybrid versus full time versus remote work, no one is really sure how much demand there will be for office space in the near to long term future.

But there is relative predictability about the extraordinary growth in ecommerce delivery and its affect on logistics space demand. That uncertainty has created an arbitrage opportunity based on the  value of competing types of commercial real estate. And industrial is now worth more. JL 

Konrad Putzier, Chip Cutter and Peter Grant report in the Wall Street Journal:

The new owner of Allstate's campus plans to demolish the office buildings and convert the site into 3 million square feet of e-commerce warehouses and logistics facilities. “I didn’t think I would ever live in a world where industrial land is worth more than office land.” For many years, investors saw office space as a safe and predictable place to put their money. The Covid-19 pandemic and the surging popularity of remote work have changed that. The uncertainty has led to a flurry of bets by investors looking to make a fortune by shorting office owners.

Why Covid Vaccine Boosters Are More Effective Than the 1st Two Shots

Boosters increase the quantity and quality of antibodies significantly higher than those provided by the first two shots, which means that immunity is less likely to wane as quickly and that protection is greater over the same time. JL 

Hannah Devlin reports in The Guardian:

Mutations in the virus mean its spike protein now looks different from the original Wuhan strain all current vaccines were designed to target. That means antibodies from previous infection and vaccination will be less efficient at intercepting Omicron. Because they stick to the virus less vigorously, a higher quantity of antibodies is required to compensate for them being less well matched. A booster dose increases the levels and quality of antibodies significantly above two doses, which means waning immunity will occur more slowly after a third dose.

Leaders See Hybrid-Office Return Turmoil Is Biggest Boon To Consulting Since Y2K

In times of great uncertainty, smart leaders ask for outside advice. Unfortunately, when the events transpiring are unprecedented, the advisors are not likely to know much more than those seeking wisdom. 

What many skilled leaders are finding is that trusting their experience and intelligence - as well as those of their trusted subordinates - is probably going to be as useful as any ostensible guidance they attempt to purchase on the open market. JL 

Matthew Boyle reports in Business Week:

Confusion and a void of actual expertise create perfect conditions for corporate America’s most brazen opportunists. As executives across the country assembled internal cross-disciplinary SWAT teams and ordained remote-work czars, advice started to trickle in on RTO. But with RTO spanning everything from compensation to building operations to mental health, the topics expanded, and so did the range of advisers, with everyone flying blind, the greatest thing to happen to consulting since Y2K. (But) whether the RTO-industrial complex (achieves) success will depend on whether the gurus can pivot from prosaic advice on ventilation systems and Zoom etiquette to the ever-evolving “workplace”

78 Percent Of Global Workers Favor Mandatory Workplace Covid Vaccination

The margin of support for workplace Covid vaccine mandates is overwhelming. 

People are in no mood to play political or ideological games with the virus. JL 

Douglas Broom reports in World Economic Forum:

The poll of more than 14,000 employees in 33 countries found that 78% are in favour of vaccine mandates in the workplace. Offered a choice between vaccination or frequent testing as a condition of working, most people (68%) would opt for the jab. More women than men were strongly opposed to the removal of workplace precautions like vaccine mandates.

Surveillance Tech CEO Threatens Reporter For Asking Questions, Being Intrusive

Irony abounds. JL

Tim Cushing reports in Tech Dirt:

The reporter was seeking comment from several camera providers about NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) claims made on their websites. "NDAA compliant" may look good slapped on products and in marketing copy, but all it means is the company is not one of a handful of Chinese companies which have been blacklisted by the federal government. The CEO objected to the reporter's questions, warning the reporter "we will pull the trigger on a lawsuit the

 instant you refence [sic] me or my company in any article" .

Why 3 Key Apple Car Execs Left For Flying Taxi Startups

US Federal Aviation Authority approval of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft usable as air taxis is proceeding more quickly than many seem to realize. 

Autonomous cars remain on a relatively slow track - and Apple has still not publicly acknowledged it is even working such a beast. As a result, key tech talent may believe there is a quicker path to market via the air than the ground. JL 

Cate Lawrence reports in The Next Web:

Three Apple 'Project Titan' employees have departed for the sunnier skies of eVTOLs, as in electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. So why the shift to aviation?  2021 has been an excellent year for eVTOL companies going public through ​​ special purpose acquisition companies. United Airlines placed an order for $1 billion of eVTOL aircraft with the option to buy additional ones for $500 million. A Special Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA covering demonstrator aircraft is the final threshold to conduct hover flight tests in the coming weeks.

The Temptation To Mine Informational Gold From Patient Medical Records

The insights may prove valuable for improving patient care and outcomes. 

But in the tradeoff between data monetization and respecting personal privacy, monetization always - always - wins. JL

Ron Winslow reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Details on the medical care of hundreds of millions of patients are piling up in electronic health records in clinics and hospitals around the world, comprising a growing treasure trove of real-world data on the daily practice of medicine—patient diagnoses, treatments and outcomes. Aided by advances in artificial intelligence, search capabilities and other analytics, researchers are now probing the huge databases for rapid insights into the performance of the healthcare system.

Why Hospitalizations Are Now the Best Indicator of Covid Impact

Due to the growing numbers of people vaccinated, Covid infection no longer means what it did a year or two ago. 

To better guide public policy about masks, quarantines and the like, hospitalizations provide a more accurate indication of outbreak severity than do raw infection numbers. JL

Monica Gandhi and Leslie Bienen comment in the New York Times:

Covid-19 hospitalizations as the most important metric to track closely will provide the most reliable picture of how an area is faring with the virus. And by focusing attention on the number of hospitalizations, health professionals can better focus on reducing them. This becomes especially important as case counts become more complicated. A positive case of Covid-19 doesn’t mean what it used to if you are vaccinated. In areas of high vaccination, an increase in cases does not necessarily signal an increase in hospitalizations or deaths.

The Rise of the Amazon Warehouse Town

Ecommerce warehouses and logistics facilities tend to cluster. In part its because the algorithms that drive location decisions focus on cheap land, the availability of a low income workforce, desperate local governments and lax regulatory hurdles. 

Customers may be advantaged by these facilities, but you wouldn't want to live there. JL 

Maanvi Singh reports in The Guardian:

To feed the one-click, one-day delivery demands of the nation, new warehouses are opening quickly. They sometimes chew up entire suburban blocks and communities in the process, crowding roadways with delivery trucks and vans and air space with cargo planes, clouding the air with more pollution. The people living within a mile of most Amazon warehouses are more likely to be poor and people of color than those living in the typical neighborhood in the surrounding urban area.