Interesting Links for 24-01-2022

[andrewducker]

How does it feel when someone uses your life as a basis for fiction?

(tags:writing relationships life viaSwampers )

The Price Cap is not responsible for the demise of UK energy companies - they were behaving riskily

(tags:electricity UK investment economics )

Endometriosis care in Scotland not meeting 'base level' - average diagnosis takes over 8 years

(tags:women healthcare Scotland OhForFucksSake )

No 10 officials admit holding back information from partygate inquiry after being frightened into silence

(tags:party conservatives bullying corruption UK Pandemic )

The funny thing all those demanding "free speech" have in common

(tags:freespeech bigotry libdem )

Shield badges for Scots to distance from Covid

(tags:Pandemic Scotland )

Is COVID's omicron variant the fastest spreading virus in history?

(tags:Pandemic speed )

Swordle

(tags:swords words comic funny games )

A fascinating bit of lore from behind the scenes of the Star Trek movies

(tags:StarTrek movies william_shatner )

What do Asian people *really* look like?

(tags:Asia humans art )

EU, US seek coordinated response to Russia over Ukraine crisis

(tags:Russia UK Ukraine USA war )

Comments

[cmcmck]

I suspect that'd be the 'black death' variant of bubonic plague- yersina pestis! It killed something from a third to half of the world's entire population in just over three years.

And smallpox (variola) was way more rapidly spreading and massively more deadly- a look at its spread in the Americas can still terrify!

This book:

https://www.amazon.com/Pox-Americana-Smallpox-Epidemic-1775-82/dp/080907821X

Is well worth a read.

[naath]

the black death got 1/3 to 1/2 world pop and *no one in the Americas got it*, it was devastating where it hit. Other y. pestis outbreaks were also bad, but more contained. The winner on R-0 badness is measels, but records may not be long enough to include plague

[cmcmck]

Probably no one in Africa either, although that's less certain.

[danieldwilliam]

I would be interested in the dividend policy of the energy retailers who have gone bust.

[andrewducker]

That would be fascinating.

[channelpenguin]

1. Normally I'd say that having relationships with any types of artist - esp poet,songwriter,writer,playwright, film or TV writer - is always at your own peril! As a songwriter,I do tell people that...but this is more indirect. Hmm. Can't deny I've written songs inspired by other people's partners - but nothing ever identifying.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, feels a bit distant to be dragging in.

[autopope]

Yikes on the endometriosis delays!

F had really bad, erratic periods and breakthrough bleeding, classic endometriosis symptoms. From first seeing her GP to going into hospital for diagnosis and clinical treatment took about a year, back in 2010: about 3-6 months to diagnose fibroids, not endometriosis, and another 6-9 months to get seen by a specialist. Which was important because it turned out her "fibroids" were stage I uterine cancer.

(She's fine now, but it wasn't a happy fun ride.)

The initial symptoms of fibroids, endometriosis, and uterine cancer all present the same way. But if it takes eight years to get a confirmed diagnosis ...

[andrewducker]

Yeah, it's a terrible state of affairs.

[redbird]

I expected the answer to the question about fastezt-spreading virus to be something like "almost certainly not" and a comparison to how fast European plagues spread in North America after the Spanish arrived.

What that article actually answers is "fastest spreading virus in the world today"--The comparison to measles is more relevant, as well as easier to quantify, but that's not the question in the headline.