There is a lot of misinformation about COVID-19 treatments out there. I don’t want to contribute to it, but this seems reputable. I still wonder where the research and data analysis is on this sort of thing.

A bit of a personal story. Back in Feburary and old friend contacted me about a serious illness he had contracted in China at the end of 2019. COVID-19 was already in the news but wasn’t yet a US story. He isnt a medical professional but a very smart and well-connected fellow. He believed that he had COVID-19 and that his high blood pressure medication had saved his life. He wasn’t clear on the details and I wasn’t (and still am not) keen on experimenting with such things. I took his note mostly as a warning as to the seriousness of COVID-19. It isnt clear that his own severe illness wasn’t just a function of his HBP condition or that HBP meds would help people with COVID-19 in any case. A good read for anyone looking to stay informed. I googled and there are lots of similar research publications on this topic.

A supercomputer found a promising theory about why COVID-19 cases go downhill fast. It even explains the bizarre range of symptoms.

This stuff is so stupid it boggles the mind. This isnt a very mobile industry. They need to be where the oil is. The state should hold all the cards here. I suppose it is just simple corruption. I tell people that if south Louisiana were it’s own country it would be one of the richest in the world. I suppose it could still be corrupt and filled with poverty and environmental damage.

Louisiana’s Amendment 5 Wants To Exempt Big Oil From Paying Property Taxes Forever While Making Taxpayers Foot The Bill

I remember my grandmother telling me about Italian prisoners of war in south Louisiana during WW iI. They would go visit the prisoners and write letters back to their families for them. Ran across this article about German prisoners in Texas during WW II. Could have been a better article, but worth a read. From Timeline via Medium.

Even Nazi prisoners of war in Texas were shocked at how black people were treated in the South

In Texas, some of the Germans actually befriended Americans of all colors

from USA Today:

America is facing a monkey shortage as demand skyrockets for COVID-19 research, experts say

Found this interesting. I have noticed slight mood altering effects of common over the counter pain medicines over the years but thought it was just my imagination.

The Most Common Pain Relief Drug in The World Induces Risky Behaviour, Study Suggests

Found that Baffler article I mentioned a few posts ago. In short, the US Senate makes a mockery of one person, one vote and Democracy in general.

Abolish the Senate

Had occasion to send a certified mail letter just down the road, not even across town. We can track it on line and it was sent August 25 and today (Sept 7) it is still being delivered. Almost two weeks. Seems like the vandalizing of the USPS by the current administration is real. Isn’t this a problem for business?

Had heard about Netflix and their culture for a while. Of course every tech firm loves to tell you what a great “culture” they have. Most fall well short of their stated goals. This looks like good advice on how to keep a growing tech firm from imploding.

Netflix Culture: Freedom and Responsibility

from The Atlantic.

Louisiana: Images of the Pelican State

Reading an article in the (hardcopy) of The Baffler by Thomas Geoghegan about the need to abolish the US Senate. I did find a decade old article by the same author in the New York Times that makes similar points, but more focused on the fillibuster. Among them:

“Forty-one senators from our 21 smallest states just over 10 percent of our population can block bills”