Roll (role) of an earring
My earring turned up in the washing several weeks after I lost it. How, I don’t know, but I took it as a good omen. Was what followed good, or bad? It depends which point in the story you read to.
Tag: New Zealand
Evidence or experience?
A book club discussion about acupuncture got a little out-of-hand this week. I reacted to people using their single personal experience of acupuncture working as proof of its efficacy. Along with the government funding acupuncture treatments being proof – since when has everything governments support been guaranteed to be efficacious?
Vaccine races
There are over 200 vaccines for COVID-19 being worked on – up from 70 in April and 120 in June. Seven vaccines are already in Phase 3 clinical trials (the last step before release) and another three are planned for June. Many of these trials are taking place in countries with poor health care systems and little money. Should we be concerned?
Where’s the humanity?
What are we trying to ‘save’ in the COVID-19 world – I say humanity, as well as humans (and the economy).
Circles or spirals?
Back around a loop to higher level alerts. We are saving people, or our economy, or both. Maybe. How do things compare in Sweden, where they have taken the distancing rather than the lockdown approach?
Damn…
Here we go back down the COVID Alert Levels because New Zealand has community transmission of the virus, after 102 days without any. Everyone has been getting more relaxed given the lack of cases in the community. Let’s hope our early action means we don’t go back into a lockdown like we’ve watched in Melbourne.
Contrasts
I like contrasts, such as the difference between our isolated property in Gibbston, Central Otago and in Redcliffs village by the sea in Christchurch. I’m going to really miss travelling in COVID times because I love the learning one finds in countries when you don’t speak the language but discover you can communicate across the divides. I will have to change the scale of contrast I’m seeking.
Our stories
Telling stories to each other is a critical part of being human. We need to take the time and make the space to be able to tell our stories and listen to the stories of others.
A cleft stick
We have employed a water diviner. Why? As a household of scientists who think the right way to look at COVID-19 is to assess the data. In the case of the Swedish experiment, the data say a lot more people died as a result of their approach. What the economic outcome will be remains to be seen in the longer term.
Future insights
Cameron Bagrie has come clean and said he doesn’t know what is going to happen to NZ house prices. However, people don’t like, “I don’t know.” They want certainty from their fortune tellers.