\n<\/p>\n
By Lambert Strether.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nBird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Indian Springs WMA, two-track road, Washington, Maryland, United States. \u201cAdult male Brown Thrasher singing from lower branches of a Sycamore tree near the road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Court filing: <a href=\"#musk\">Who\u2019s in charge at DOGE?<\/a> If not Musk, who?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#ai\">Ed Zitron:<\/a> \u201cThe Generative AI Con.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#notes\">The value of note-taking<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"135.36694260999\">\n<p><a name=\"doge\"\/>\u201cDeclaration of Joshua Fisher\u201d (PDF) [State of New Mexico, et al., v. Elon Musk, in his official capacity, et al., <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.277463\/gov.uscourts.dcd.277463.24.1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">United States District Court for the District of Columbia<\/a>]. Fisher is director of the White House Office of Administration. Amazing stuff:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"456\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-12-2025-dogebags-to-infest-entire-federal-government-with-bolshevik-style-parallel-party-structure.html\">A few days ago<\/a>, we showed how Trump\u2019s Executive Orders establishes DOGE teams as a Bolshevik-style parallel structure to existing goverment agencies. And now we learn that DOGE has nobody in charge? No \u201cservice administrator\u201d? Bolsheviks, but no Lenin? Or does Fisher know who the extremely transparent DOGE\u2019s boss is, but he\u2019s just not telling us? Certainly President Trump believes Musk is in charge:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.8461538461538\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.5384615384615\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Well, this is awkward. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M2QfO8w5q0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/M2QfO8w5q0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Scott Greenfield (@ScottGreenfield) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottGreenfield\/status\/1891817931048091697\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>So who <em>is<\/em> in charge of DOGE? Big Balls?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho\u2019s in charge of DOGE? Not Elon Musk, White House says\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/charge-doge-not-elon-musk-030000740.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cThe technical designation does not mean Musk is not, for all practical purposes, the key decision-maker for DOGE, which has been staffed full of his allies and may still ultimately be fueled by his influence in the White House. Musk has eagerly touted DOGE\u2019s work, described his influence over its operations and appeared alongside Trump to talk about its mission. Trump himself has credited Musk with leading DOGE. \u2018I\u2019m going to tell [Elon Musk] very soon, like maybe in 24 hours, to go check the Department of Education,\u2019 Trump said in a Super Bowl interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier. \u2018He\u2019s going to find the same thing \u2026 Then I\u2019m going to go, go to the military. Let\u2019s check the military.\u2019 But the Fisher filing suggests a technical degree of separation that raises new questions about accountability for DOGE\u2019s operations \u2014 a breakneck effort that has alarmed federal employees and raised fears about data breaches in some of the federal government\u2019s most closely guarded databases.\u201d \u2022 Recall once more (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/southern-district-ny-pauses-doge-data-hoovering-state-ags-case-issues-excursion-into-federalist-51.html\">cited here<\/a>) Madison\u2019s fundamental architectural principle for devising checks and balances: \u201cThe interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place.\u201d And I wrote: \u201c[T]he President\u2019s actions in creating DOGE and setting it in motion run counter to Madison\u2019s principle; \u2018places\u2019 [offices] are unclear, hence interests are unclear, hence checks are unclear, hence \u2018interior structure of the government\u2019 is out of whack.\u201d Here we have a place (\u201cServices Administrator\u201d) with no \u201cman\u201d in it. And yet that Service is putatively auditing the Federal Government! It\u2019s extraordinary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDOGE\u2019s \u2018Nerd Army\u2019 Is Breaking the Government by Threatening to Snitch to Elon\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-features\/musk-trump-doge-threats-nerd-army-1235267839\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rolling Stone<\/a>]. \u201cWhen security officials, for instance, at several departments and agencies have responded that they need to check to ensure these young Musk allies have proper clearance to view sensitive databases, DOGE staff have routinely erupted in fury. Some have told these security officials that if they don\u2019t give them what they want immediately, they\u2019ll call Musk\u2019s cellphone and give him the officials\u2019 names \u2014 and have the richest man in the world call and yell at them, or get them reprimanded or fired. \u2018\u2018 one DOGE member barked at a federal security official while demanding access to sensitive information at one agency this month, a source familiar with the exchange tells Rolling Stone. This has happened repeatedly since the dawn of the second Trump administration \u2014 at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Treasury Department, at the Office of Personnel Management, and elsewhere. It has become a cruel punchline within the federal bureaucracy, four sources familiar with the matter tell Rolling Stone, that \u2018some child\u2019 from the DOGE team \u2018will threaten to call Elon Musk, if you don\u2019t do what the child wants,\u2019 as one federal career official describes it. So far, it\u2019s working.\u201d \u2022 DOGEbags indeed. And <em>they<\/em> seem to know who their boss is. Why doesn\u2019t the White House?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Elon DOGE Emperor Has No Clothes\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techdirt.com\/2025\/02\/18\/the-elon-doge-emperor-has-no-clothes\/#respond\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TechDirt<\/a>]. Excellent article. This caught my eye: \u201cIf the Justice Department\u2019s declaration is true and Elon really isn\u2019t running DOGE, then federal employees should immediately stop bowing down to these threats. After all, why would anyone need to worry about a call from someone who (according to the DOJ) has no official role or authority over the DOGE team? In fact, given this declaration, shouldn\u2019t security officials be asking DOGE staff who actually has the authority to override their security protocols? (Good luck getting an answer to that one.)?\u201d \u2022 It might be fun if some clever lawyer turned this into a lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cElon Musk\u2019s wrecking ball\u201d [Ed Luce, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/9ac3fc3b-2a95-40e0-ad73-03263fde67f7?shareType=nongift\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Financial Times<\/a>]. Ed Luce is Ed Luce, so there\u2019s nothing readers don\u2019t already know, but this sentence caught my eye: \u201cTake nothing at face value.\u201d \u2022 In the pages of the FT! Everybody in the DOGE flexnet \u2014 the bent squillionaires, the \u201cold heads\u201d, the feral\/incel engineers \u2014 lie like they breathe. No, that\u2019s not fair. It takes no audacity to breathe. For example\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, 150-Year-Olds Aren\u2019t Collecting Social Security Benefits\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/NHVS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wired<\/a>]. \u201cMusk first made the claims during his Oval Office press conference last week, when he claimed that a \u2018cursory examination of Social Security, and we got people in there that are 150 years old.’\u201d Cursory is right. More: \u201cWhile no evidence was produced to back up this claim, it was picked up by the right-wing commentators online, primarily on Musk\u2019s own X platform, as well as being reported credibly by pro-Trump media outlets. Computer programmers quickly claimed that the 150 figure was not evidence of fraud, but rather the result of a weird quirk of the Social Security Administration\u2019s benefits system, which was largely written in COBOL, a 60-year-old programming language that undergirds SSA\u2019s databases as well as systems from many other US government agencies. COBOL is rarely used today, and as such, Musk\u2019s cadre of young engineers may well be unfamiliar with it. Because COBOL does not have a date type, some implementations rely instead on a system whereby all dates are coded to a reference point. The most commonly used is May 20, 1875, as this was the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the \u2018Convention du M\u00e8tre.\u2019 These systems default to the reference point when a birth date is missing or incomplete, meaning all of those entries in 2025 would show an age of 150. That\u2019s just one possible explanation for what DOGE allegedly found. Musk could also have simply looked up the SSA\u2019s own website, which explains that since September 2015 the agency has automatically stopped benefit payments <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/o\/NHVSt\/https:\/\/secure.ssa.gov\/poms.nsf\/lnx\/0202602578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">when anyone reaches the age of 115<\/a>. However, on Monday morning Musk doubled down, posting a screenshot of what he claims were figures from \u2018the Social Security database\u2019 to X, writing that \u2018the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!\u2019 The figures suggested that over 10 millions people aged over 120 were collecting benefits\u2026. The fact that the Social Security system contains millions of entries from people who are dead is likely distinct from a potential COBOL-caused error, and also not news. A report written by the SSA\u2019s inspector general in 2023 found that 98 percent of those aged 100 or older in the Social Security databases are not in receipt of any benefits. The report added that the database would not be updated because it would cost too much money to do so.\u201d \u2022 Dealing with Elon is like dealing with Ukrainian propaganda. It\u2019s really <em>good<\/em> propaganda, it comes in great volume, and its amplified by an army of bots and shills. Also, any hint of DOGEbags messing with Social Security gives me the creeps. As it should you, no matter your age. NOTE: My recollection is that Elon\u2019s first series of lies was based solely on Social Security records aged 150, for which Wired \u2014 only an actual Social Security maintainer could give definitive evidence \u2014 gives an account. Elon then embarked on a <em>second<\/em> series of lies with additional records, showing other out-of-band values. The following gives an account for both campaigns (Occam\u2019s razor slicing toward the datatype side rather than the fraud side, it seems to me). <\/p>\n<p>\u201c1875 Social Security rumor\u201d [Keith Thompson, <a href=\"https:\/\/gist.github.com\/Keith-S-Thompson\/5f6934f6586f87b3690960fcdad92bc5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GIthub<\/a>]. \u201cMusk didn\u2019t directly say that payments were being made to people who are 150 year old, but that\u2019s almost certainly what we were supposed to infer. In response to this, it was claimed to be a result of a feature of the COBOL programming language, that supposedly specifies 1875-05-20 as a base date, used to mark an unknown date. This is not the case; the COBOL standard does not refer to 1875. But this false explanation spread quickly through both social media and news outlets, being reported by Rachel Maddow among others. Another alleged explanation is that that date is specified by ISO 8601, the standard that gave us the YYYY-MM-DD date format.\u201d And as far as payments go:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"16.020486555698\">\n<p>\u201cThere was <a href=\"https:\/\/oig.ssa.gov\/assets\/uploads\/a-06-21-51022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">an audit in 2023 by the SSA Inspector General<\/a> about number holders over the age of 100 with no record of death on file. They identified just shy of 19 million. They were able to find death certificates and records for a couple million, but most couldn\u2019t be verified. But here\u2019s the important part that Musk is omitting: Of the 19 million over the age of 100 without a verified death record, only 44,000 number holder accounts were actually drawing social security payments. That means only 44k people aged 100+ still collecting SS, which is a more logical situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStatistically, it is reasonable there are 44K people older than 100. It represents .013% percent of the population which is in line with the 100+ populations in the UK, France and Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"9\">\n<p>The critical importance of domain knowledge can never be overstated when it comes to data scientific research. You\u2019ll never get good (and truthful) results if you don\u2019t have a deep understanding of the intricacies of the specific data sets under investigation. And, those of us who\u2019ve done this for a while know that pretty much every data set (especially those that live in databases whose ages are measured in decades) tend to have boatloads of \u201cinteresting\u201d aspects that make straightforward analysis challenging at best.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>(I found the Github gist by starting at <a href=\"https:\/\/retrocomputing.stackexchange.com\/questions\/31288\/did-missing-corrupt-dates-in-cobol-default-to-1875-05-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">this Stack Exchange thread<\/a>. I\u2019m still waiting for a real data analyst smarter than me to explain it to me like I\u2019m give, but the bottom line is that Musk screaming fraud is a lie, and his motive for doing so should be questions).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/retrocomputing.stackexchange.com\/questions\/31288\/did-missing-corrupt-dates-in-cobol-default-to-1875-05-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stack Exchange<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; 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NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.901162790698\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 10<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2-300x201.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6470588235294\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 15<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong> Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 8 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data February 14:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 13:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6-300x191.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2-300x292.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6666666666667\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 17:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 8:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png 2396w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-2048x1152.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-624x351.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2396px) 100vw, 2396px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1-300x198.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6307692307692\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 27:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 27 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2-300x182.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2-300x231.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.76\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 25:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 25:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (CDC) Down, nothing new at major hubs.<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped, but no exponential growth either, Odd.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cUnited States NY Empire State Manufacturing Index\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/ny-empire-state-manufacturing-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe NY Empire State Manufacturing Index surged 18.3 points to +5.7 in February 2025, easily surpassing market expectations of -1 and signaling a slight rebound in business activity across New York State. New orders and shipments saw moderate growth, while employment levels declined.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Housing: \u201cUnited States NAHB Housing Market Index\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/nahb-housing-market-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe NAHB\/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index in the US fell to 42 in February 2025, the lowest in five months, compared to 47 in January, and below forecasts of 47, dragged down by concerns on tariffs, elevated mortgage rates and high housing costs. The gauge measuring current sales conditions fell four points to 46, the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months plunged 13 points to 46, and the gauge charting traffic of prospective buyers posted a three-point decline to 29.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cJudge gives Boeing and DOJ another month to negotiate 737 Max fraud plea\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/JUDh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">FlightGlobal<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have received an extra month to negotiate a possible revised guilty plea by the company to federal fraud charges related to certification the 737 Max. US federal judge Reed O\u2019Connor has delayed to 14 March a deadline by which Boeing and the DOJ must update the court about their efforts to reach a deal that would head off a trial, according to a 17 February court order. The company and DOJ had previously been required to submit an update by 16 February. But both requested an extension, citing the recent administration change in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing\u2019s Air Force One program could be delayed until 2029, or later, White House official says\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/boeings-air-force-one-program-could-be-delayed-until-2029-or-later-senior-2025-02-17\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cThe Air Force One program may be further delayed until 2029 or years later, a senior administration official said, citing supply chain issues and changing requirements, after the White House said the project failed to deliver a new plane on time over the weekend. The delays are frustrating, but not much can be done to speed delivery, the official told Reuters, noting that Boeing faced problems getting components since some manufacturers had gone out of business. Some requirements for the aircraft had also changed, given evolving potential threats, the official said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>Tech: \u201cThe Generative AI Con\u201d [Ed Zitron, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wheresyoured.at\/longcon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Where\u2019s Your Ed At?<\/a>]. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the early days of shit. The Attention Is All You Need paper that started the whole transformer-based architecture movement was published in June 2017. We\u2019re over two years in, hyperscalers have sunk over 200 billion dollars in capital expenditures into generative AI, AI startups took up a third of all venture capital investment in 2024, and almost every single talented artificial intelligence expert is laser-focused on Large Language Models. And even then, we still don\u2019t have a killer app! There is no product that everybody loves, and there is no iPhone moment!\u201d \u2022 Well, Ed? How about <em>the government<\/em>? (Note I am not suggesting that whatever DOGE\u2019s little schemers have in mind will be <em>better<\/em> than our current experience; worse, if anything, because you\u2019ll never ever reach a human.)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 44 Fear (previous close: 46 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 38 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 14 at 6:59:56 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes down one on Food Supply. \u201cThe lack of activity has downgraded this category\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Plus \u00e7a change\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9439655172414\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.51724137931\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In the town of Novgorod, they sometimes come across preserved birch bark. People used this bark to write on, including Onfim! Archaeologists have found 17 pieces of bark marked with his homework. But what do these inscriptions reveal? A young boy who disliked school! 2\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/04FPOVkFvH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/04FPOVkFvH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr Hugh Thomas (@hughs_news) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hughs_news\/status\/1891251184515641402\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Musical Interlude<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reaction is where we\u2019re at, for sure:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Bob Marley & The Wailers - Reaction [Upsetter 1970]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0EOmlinjf9w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Which works two ways:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Bob Marley & The Wailers - Small Axe [Trojan Records 1973]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HngBuyLM8TY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Workplace<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Ideal Candidate Will Be Punched In the Stomach\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottsmitelli.com\/articles\/ideal-candidate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Scott Smitelli<\/a>]. \u2022 The workplace\u2026 <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"notes\"\/>Especiallly for any DOGE-adjacent readers (<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/patio11\/status\/1890231454971621651?s=12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">full thread<\/a>):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"1058\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1-142x300.png 142w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1-484x1024.png 484w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"474\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287479\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2-300x284.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy can\u2019t we remember our lives as babies or toddlers?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2025\/feb\/16\/why-cant-we-remember-our-lives-as-babies-or-toddlers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Guardian<\/a>]. \u201cIronically, for parenting influencers who post about elaborate holidays in the name of creating \u2018core memories\u2019, the early events that children retain can be surprisingly mundane \u2013 \u2018things that most parents would never reminisce elaboratively about\u2019, [Prof Elaine Reese at the University of Otago] says. \u2018The classic example from my own research is a child who remembers seeing a worm on the footpath one time.’\u201d \u2022 Hmm. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-14-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From AM:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>AM writes: \u201cDecember 29, 2024 in Roger Williams Park. 50 degree air + ice on pond = fog. Not the most attractive tree, but atmospheric nonetheless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-18-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Indian Springs WMA, two-track road, Washington, Maryland, United States. \u201cAdult male Brown Thrasher singing from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Bird Song of the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Indian Springs WMA, two-track road, Washington, Maryland, United States. \u201cAdult male Brown Thrasher singing from lower branches of a Sycamore tree near the road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Court filing: <a href=\"#musk\">Who\u2019s in charge at DOGE?<\/a> If not Musk, who?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#ai\">Ed Zitron:<\/a> \u201cThe Generative AI Con.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#notes\">The value of note-taking<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"135.36694260999\">\n<p><a name=\"doge\"\/>\u201cDeclaration of Joshua Fisher\u201d (PDF) [State of New Mexico, et al., v. Elon Musk, in his official capacity, et al., <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.277463\/gov.uscourts.dcd.277463.24.1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">United States District Court for the District of Columbia<\/a>]. Fisher is director of the White House Office of Administration. Amazing stuff:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"456\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-12-2025-dogebags-to-infest-entire-federal-government-with-bolshevik-style-parallel-party-structure.html\">A few days ago<\/a>, we showed how Trump\u2019s Executive Orders establishes DOGE teams as a Bolshevik-style parallel structure to existing goverment agencies. And now we learn that DOGE has nobody in charge? No \u201cservice administrator\u201d? Bolsheviks, but no Lenin? Or does Fisher know who the extremely transparent DOGE\u2019s boss is, but he\u2019s just not telling us? Certainly President Trump believes Musk is in charge:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.8461538461538\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.5384615384615\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Well, this is awkward. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M2QfO8w5q0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/M2QfO8w5q0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Scott Greenfield (@ScottGreenfield) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottGreenfield\/status\/1891817931048091697\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>So who <em>is<\/em> in charge of DOGE? Big Balls?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho\u2019s in charge of DOGE? Not Elon Musk, White House says\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/charge-doge-not-elon-musk-030000740.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cThe technical designation does not mean Musk is not, for all practical purposes, the key decision-maker for DOGE, which has been staffed full of his allies and may still ultimately be fueled by his influence in the White House. Musk has eagerly touted DOGE\u2019s work, described his influence over its operations and appeared alongside Trump to talk about its mission. Trump himself has credited Musk with leading DOGE. \u2018I\u2019m going to tell [Elon Musk] very soon, like maybe in 24 hours, to go check the Department of Education,\u2019 Trump said in a Super Bowl interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier. \u2018He\u2019s going to find the same thing \u2026 Then I\u2019m going to go, go to the military. Let\u2019s check the military.\u2019 But the Fisher filing suggests a technical degree of separation that raises new questions about accountability for DOGE\u2019s operations \u2014 a breakneck effort that has alarmed federal employees and raised fears about data breaches in some of the federal government\u2019s most closely guarded databases.\u201d \u2022 Recall once more (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/southern-district-ny-pauses-doge-data-hoovering-state-ags-case-issues-excursion-into-federalist-51.html\">cited here<\/a>) Madison\u2019s fundamental architectural principle for devising checks and balances: \u201cThe interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place.\u201d And I wrote: \u201c[T]he President\u2019s actions in creating DOGE and setting it in motion run counter to Madison\u2019s principle; \u2018places\u2019 [offices] are unclear, hence interests are unclear, hence checks are unclear, hence \u2018interior structure of the government\u2019 is out of whack.\u201d Here we have a place (\u201cServices Administrator\u201d) with no \u201cman\u201d in it. And yet that Service is putatively auditing the Federal Government! It\u2019s extraordinary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDOGE\u2019s \u2018Nerd Army\u2019 Is Breaking the Government by Threatening to Snitch to Elon\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-features\/musk-trump-doge-threats-nerd-army-1235267839\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rolling Stone<\/a>]. \u201cWhen security officials, for instance, at several departments and agencies have responded that they need to check to ensure these young Musk allies have proper clearance to view sensitive databases, DOGE staff have routinely erupted in fury. Some have told these security officials that if they don\u2019t give them what they want immediately, they\u2019ll call Musk\u2019s cellphone and give him the officials\u2019 names \u2014 and have the richest man in the world call and yell at them, or get them reprimanded or fired. \u2018\u2018 one DOGE member barked at a federal security official while demanding access to sensitive information at one agency this month, a source familiar with the exchange tells Rolling Stone. This has happened repeatedly since the dawn of the second Trump administration \u2014 at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Treasury Department, at the Office of Personnel Management, and elsewhere. It has become a cruel punchline within the federal bureaucracy, four sources familiar with the matter tell Rolling Stone, that \u2018some child\u2019 from the DOGE team \u2018will threaten to call Elon Musk, if you don\u2019t do what the child wants,\u2019 as one federal career official describes it. So far, it\u2019s working.\u201d \u2022 DOGEbags indeed. And <em>they<\/em> seem to know who their boss is. Why doesn\u2019t the White House?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Elon DOGE Emperor Has No Clothes\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techdirt.com\/2025\/02\/18\/the-elon-doge-emperor-has-no-clothes\/#respond\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TechDirt<\/a>]. Excellent article. This caught my eye: \u201cIf the Justice Department\u2019s declaration is true and Elon really isn\u2019t running DOGE, then federal employees should immediately stop bowing down to these threats. After all, why would anyone need to worry about a call from someone who (according to the DOJ) has no official role or authority over the DOGE team? In fact, given this declaration, shouldn\u2019t security officials be asking DOGE staff who actually has the authority to override their security protocols? (Good luck getting an answer to that one.)?\u201d \u2022 It might be fun if some clever lawyer turned this into a lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cElon Musk\u2019s wrecking ball\u201d [Ed Luce, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/9ac3fc3b-2a95-40e0-ad73-03263fde67f7?shareType=nongift\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Financial Times<\/a>]. Ed Luce is Ed Luce, so there\u2019s nothing readers don\u2019t already know, but this sentence caught my eye: \u201cTake nothing at face value.\u201d \u2022 In the pages of the FT! Everybody in the DOGE flexnet \u2014 the bent squillionaires, the \u201cold heads\u201d, the feral\/incel engineers \u2014 lie like they breathe. No, that\u2019s not fair. It takes no audacity to breathe. For example\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, 150-Year-Olds Aren\u2019t Collecting Social Security Benefits\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/NHVS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wired<\/a>]. \u201cMusk first made the claims during his Oval Office press conference last week, when he claimed that a \u2018cursory examination of Social Security, and we got people in there that are 150 years old.’\u201d Cursory is right. More: \u201cWhile no evidence was produced to back up this claim, it was picked up by the right-wing commentators online, primarily on Musk\u2019s own X platform, as well as being reported credibly by pro-Trump media outlets. Computer programmers quickly claimed that the 150 figure was not evidence of fraud, but rather the result of a weird quirk of the Social Security Administration\u2019s benefits system, which was largely written in COBOL, a 60-year-old programming language that undergirds SSA\u2019s databases as well as systems from many other US government agencies. COBOL is rarely used today, and as such, Musk\u2019s cadre of young engineers may well be unfamiliar with it. Because COBOL does not have a date type, some implementations rely instead on a system whereby all dates are coded to a reference point. The most commonly used is May 20, 1875, as this was the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the \u2018Convention du M\u00e8tre.\u2019 These systems default to the reference point when a birth date is missing or incomplete, meaning all of those entries in 2025 would show an age of 150. That\u2019s just one possible explanation for what DOGE allegedly found. Musk could also have simply looked up the SSA\u2019s own website, which explains that since September 2015 the agency has automatically stopped benefit payments <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/o\/NHVSt\/https:\/\/secure.ssa.gov\/poms.nsf\/lnx\/0202602578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">when anyone reaches the age of 115<\/a>. However, on Monday morning Musk doubled down, posting a screenshot of what he claims were figures from \u2018the Social Security database\u2019 to X, writing that \u2018the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!\u2019 The figures suggested that over 10 millions people aged over 120 were collecting benefits\u2026. The fact that the Social Security system contains millions of entries from people who are dead is likely distinct from a potential COBOL-caused error, and also not news. A report written by the SSA\u2019s inspector general in 2023 found that 98 percent of those aged 100 or older in the Social Security databases are not in receipt of any benefits. The report added that the database would not be updated because it would cost too much money to do so.\u201d \u2022 Dealing with Elon is like dealing with Ukrainian propaganda. It\u2019s really <em>good<\/em> propaganda, it comes in great volume, and its amplified by an army of bots and shills. Also, any hint of DOGEbags messing with Social Security gives me the creeps. As it should you, no matter your age. NOTE: My recollection is that Elon\u2019s first series of lies was based solely on Social Security records aged 150, for which Wired \u2014 only an actual Social Security maintainer could give definitive evidence \u2014 gives an account. Elon then embarked on a <em>second<\/em> series of lies with additional records, showing other out-of-band values. The following gives an account for both campaigns (Occam\u2019s razor slicing toward the datatype side rather than the fraud side, it seems to me). <\/p>\n<p>\u201c1875 Social Security rumor\u201d [Keith Thompson, <a href=\"https:\/\/gist.github.com\/Keith-S-Thompson\/5f6934f6586f87b3690960fcdad92bc5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GIthub<\/a>]. \u201cMusk didn\u2019t directly say that payments were being made to people who are 150 year old, but that\u2019s almost certainly what we were supposed to infer. In response to this, it was claimed to be a result of a feature of the COBOL programming language, that supposedly specifies 1875-05-20 as a base date, used to mark an unknown date. This is not the case; the COBOL standard does not refer to 1875. But this false explanation spread quickly through both social media and news outlets, being reported by Rachel Maddow among others. Another alleged explanation is that that date is specified by ISO 8601, the standard that gave us the YYYY-MM-DD date format.\u201d And as far as payments go:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"16.020486555698\">\n<p>\u201cThere was <a href=\"https:\/\/oig.ssa.gov\/assets\/uploads\/a-06-21-51022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">an audit in 2023 by the SSA Inspector General<\/a> about number holders over the age of 100 with no record of death on file. They identified just shy of 19 million. They were able to find death certificates and records for a couple million, but most couldn\u2019t be verified. But here\u2019s the important part that Musk is omitting: Of the 19 million over the age of 100 without a verified death record, only 44,000 number holder accounts were actually drawing social security payments. That means only 44k people aged 100+ still collecting SS, which is a more logical situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStatistically, it is reasonable there are 44K people older than 100. It represents .013% percent of the population which is in line with the 100+ populations in the UK, France and Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"9\">\n<p>The critical importance of domain knowledge can never be overstated when it comes to data scientific research. You\u2019ll never get good (and truthful) results if you don\u2019t have a deep understanding of the intricacies of the specific data sets under investigation. And, those of us who\u2019ve done this for a while know that pretty much every data set (especially those that live in databases whose ages are measured in decades) tend to have boatloads of \u201cinteresting\u201d aspects that make straightforward analysis challenging at best.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>(I found the Github gist by starting at <a href=\"https:\/\/retrocomputing.stackexchange.com\/questions\/31288\/did-missing-corrupt-dates-in-cobol-default-to-1875-05-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">this Stack Exchange thread<\/a>. I\u2019m still waiting for a real data analyst smarter than me to explain it to me like I\u2019m give, but the bottom line is that Musk screaming fraud is a lie, and his motive for doing so should be questions).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/retrocomputing.stackexchange.com\/questions\/31288\/did-missing-corrupt-dates-in-cobol-default-to-1875-05-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stack Exchange<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.901162790698\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 10<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2-300x201.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6470588235294\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 15<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong> Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 8 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data February 14:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 13:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6-300x191.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2-300x292.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6666666666667\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 17:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 8:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png 2396w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-2048x1152.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-624x351.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2396px) 100vw, 2396px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1-300x198.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6307692307692\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 27:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 27 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2-300x182.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2-300x231.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.76\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 25:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 25:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (CDC) Down, nothing new at major hubs.<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped, but no exponential growth either, Odd.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cUnited States NY Empire State Manufacturing Index\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/ny-empire-state-manufacturing-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe NY Empire State Manufacturing Index surged 18.3 points to +5.7 in February 2025, easily surpassing market expectations of -1 and signaling a slight rebound in business activity across New York State. New orders and shipments saw moderate growth, while employment levels declined.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Housing: \u201cUnited States NAHB Housing Market Index\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/nahb-housing-market-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe NAHB\/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index in the US fell to 42 in February 2025, the lowest in five months, compared to 47 in January, and below forecasts of 47, dragged down by concerns on tariffs, elevated mortgage rates and high housing costs. The gauge measuring current sales conditions fell four points to 46, the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months plunged 13 points to 46, and the gauge charting traffic of prospective buyers posted a three-point decline to 29.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cJudge gives Boeing and DOJ another month to negotiate 737 Max fraud plea\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/JUDh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">FlightGlobal<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have received an extra month to negotiate a possible revised guilty plea by the company to federal fraud charges related to certification the 737 Max. US federal judge Reed O\u2019Connor has delayed to 14 March a deadline by which Boeing and the DOJ must update the court about their efforts to reach a deal that would head off a trial, according to a 17 February court order. The company and DOJ had previously been required to submit an update by 16 February. But both requested an extension, citing the recent administration change in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing\u2019s Air Force One program could be delayed until 2029, or later, White House official says\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/boeings-air-force-one-program-could-be-delayed-until-2029-or-later-senior-2025-02-17\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cThe Air Force One program may be further delayed until 2029 or years later, a senior administration official said, citing supply chain issues and changing requirements, after the White House said the project failed to deliver a new plane on time over the weekend. The delays are frustrating, but not much can be done to speed delivery, the official told Reuters, noting that Boeing faced problems getting components since some manufacturers had gone out of business. Some requirements for the aircraft had also changed, given evolving potential threats, the official said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>Tech: \u201cThe Generative AI Con\u201d [Ed Zitron, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wheresyoured.at\/longcon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Where\u2019s Your Ed At?<\/a>]. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the early days of shit. The Attention Is All You Need paper that started the whole transformer-based architecture movement was published in June 2017. We\u2019re over two years in, hyperscalers have sunk over 200 billion dollars in capital expenditures into generative AI, AI startups took up a third of all venture capital investment in 2024, and almost every single talented artificial intelligence expert is laser-focused on Large Language Models. And even then, we still don\u2019t have a killer app! There is no product that everybody loves, and there is no iPhone moment!\u201d \u2022 Well, Ed? How about <em>the government<\/em>? (Note I am not suggesting that whatever DOGE\u2019s little schemers have in mind will be <em>better<\/em> than our current experience; worse, if anything, because you\u2019ll never ever reach a human.)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 44 Fear (previous close: 46 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 38 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 14 at 6:59:56 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes down one on Food Supply. \u201cThe lack of activity has downgraded this category\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Plus \u00e7a change\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9439655172414\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.51724137931\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In the town of Novgorod, they sometimes come across preserved birch bark. People used this bark to write on, including Onfim! Archaeologists have found 17 pieces of bark marked with his homework. But what do these inscriptions reveal? A young boy who disliked school! 2\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/04FPOVkFvH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/04FPOVkFvH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr Hugh Thomas (@hughs_news) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hughs_news\/status\/1891251184515641402\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Musical Interlude<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reaction is where we\u2019re at, for sure:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Bob Marley & The Wailers - Reaction [Upsetter 1970]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0EOmlinjf9w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Which works two ways:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Bob Marley & The Wailers - Small Axe [Trojan Records 1973]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HngBuyLM8TY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Workplace<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Ideal Candidate Will Be Punched In the Stomach\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottsmitelli.com\/articles\/ideal-candidate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Scott Smitelli<\/a>]. \u2022 The workplace\u2026 <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"notes\"\/>Especiallly for any DOGE-adjacent readers (<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/patio11\/status\/1890231454971621651?s=12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">full thread<\/a>):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"1058\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1-142x300.png 142w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1-484x1024.png 484w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"474\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287479\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2-300x284.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy can\u2019t we remember our lives as babies or toddlers?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2025\/feb\/16\/why-cant-we-remember-our-lives-as-babies-or-toddlers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Guardian<\/a>]. \u201cIronically, for parenting influencers who post about elaborate holidays in the name of creating \u2018core memories\u2019, the early events that children retain can be surprisingly mundane \u2013 \u2018things that most parents would never reminisce elaboratively about\u2019, [Prof Elaine Reese at the University of Otago] says. \u2018The classic example from my own research is a child who remembers seeing a worm on the footpath one time.’\u201d \u2022 Hmm. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-14-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From AM:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>AM writes: \u201cDecember 29, 2024 in Roger Williams Park. 50 degree air + ice on pond = fog. Not the most attractive tree, but atmospheric nonetheless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-18-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Indian Springs WMA, two-track road, Washington, Maryland, United States. \u201cAdult male Brown Thrasher singing from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Brown Thrasher, Indian Springs WMA, two-track road, Washington, Maryland, United States. \u201cAdult male Brown Thrasher singing from lower branches of a Sycamore tree near the road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In Case You Might Miss\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Court filing: <a href=\"#musk\">Who\u2019s in charge at DOGE?<\/a> If not Musk, who?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#ai\">Ed Zitron:<\/a> \u201cThe Generative AI Con.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#notes\">The value of note-taking<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.\u201d \u2013Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>DOGE<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"135.36694260999\">\n<p><a name=\"doge\"\/>\u201cDeclaration of Joshua Fisher\u201d (PDF) [State of New Mexico, et al., v. Elon Musk, in his official capacity, et al., <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.277463\/gov.uscourts.dcd.277463.24.1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">United States District Court for the District of Columbia<\/a>]. Fisher is director of the White House Office of Administration. Amazing stuff:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"456\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/doge_musk-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-12-2025-dogebags-to-infest-entire-federal-government-with-bolshevik-style-parallel-party-structure.html\">A few days ago<\/a>, we showed how Trump\u2019s Executive Orders establishes DOGE teams as a Bolshevik-style parallel structure to existing goverment agencies. And now we learn that DOGE has nobody in charge? No \u201cservice administrator\u201d? Bolsheviks, but no Lenin? Or does Fisher know who the extremely transparent DOGE\u2019s boss is, but he\u2019s just not telling us? Certainly President Trump believes Musk is in charge:<\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"1.8461538461538\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"5.5384615384615\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Well, this is awkward. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M2QfO8w5q0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/M2QfO8w5q0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Scott Greenfield (@ScottGreenfield) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottGreenfield\/status\/1891817931048091697\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p>So who <em>is<\/em> in charge of DOGE? Big Balls?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho\u2019s in charge of DOGE? Not Elon Musk, White House says\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/charge-doge-not-elon-musk-030000740.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Politico<\/a>]. \u201cThe technical designation does not mean Musk is not, for all practical purposes, the key decision-maker for DOGE, which has been staffed full of his allies and may still ultimately be fueled by his influence in the White House. Musk has eagerly touted DOGE\u2019s work, described his influence over its operations and appeared alongside Trump to talk about its mission. Trump himself has credited Musk with leading DOGE. \u2018I\u2019m going to tell [Elon Musk] very soon, like maybe in 24 hours, to go check the Department of Education,\u2019 Trump said in a Super Bowl interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier. \u2018He\u2019s going to find the same thing \u2026 Then I\u2019m going to go, go to the military. Let\u2019s check the military.\u2019 But the Fisher filing suggests a technical degree of separation that raises new questions about accountability for DOGE\u2019s operations \u2014 a breakneck effort that has alarmed federal employees and raised fears about data breaches in some of the federal government\u2019s most closely guarded databases.\u201d \u2022 Recall once more (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/southern-district-ny-pauses-doge-data-hoovering-state-ags-case-issues-excursion-into-federalist-51.html\">cited here<\/a>) Madison\u2019s fundamental architectural principle for devising checks and balances: \u201cThe interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place.\u201d And I wrote: \u201c[T]he President\u2019s actions in creating DOGE and setting it in motion run counter to Madison\u2019s principle; \u2018places\u2019 [offices] are unclear, hence interests are unclear, hence checks are unclear, hence \u2018interior structure of the government\u2019 is out of whack.\u201d Here we have a place (\u201cServices Administrator\u201d) with no \u201cman\u201d in it. And yet that Service is putatively auditing the Federal Government! It\u2019s extraordinary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDOGE\u2019s \u2018Nerd Army\u2019 Is Breaking the Government by Threatening to Snitch to Elon\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-features\/musk-trump-doge-threats-nerd-army-1235267839\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rolling Stone<\/a>]. \u201cWhen security officials, for instance, at several departments and agencies have responded that they need to check to ensure these young Musk allies have proper clearance to view sensitive databases, DOGE staff have routinely erupted in fury. Some have told these security officials that if they don\u2019t give them what they want immediately, they\u2019ll call Musk\u2019s cellphone and give him the officials\u2019 names \u2014 and have the richest man in the world call and yell at them, or get them reprimanded or fired. \u2018\u2018 one DOGE member barked at a federal security official while demanding access to sensitive information at one agency this month, a source familiar with the exchange tells Rolling Stone. This has happened repeatedly since the dawn of the second Trump administration \u2014 at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Treasury Department, at the Office of Personnel Management, and elsewhere. It has become a cruel punchline within the federal bureaucracy, four sources familiar with the matter tell Rolling Stone, that \u2018some child\u2019 from the DOGE team \u2018will threaten to call Elon Musk, if you don\u2019t do what the child wants,\u2019 as one federal career official describes it. So far, it\u2019s working.\u201d \u2022 DOGEbags indeed. And <em>they<\/em> seem to know who their boss is. Why doesn\u2019t the White House?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Elon DOGE Emperor Has No Clothes\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techdirt.com\/2025\/02\/18\/the-elon-doge-emperor-has-no-clothes\/#respond\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TechDirt<\/a>]. Excellent article. This caught my eye: \u201cIf the Justice Department\u2019s declaration is true and Elon really isn\u2019t running DOGE, then federal employees should immediately stop bowing down to these threats. After all, why would anyone need to worry about a call from someone who (according to the DOJ) has no official role or authority over the DOGE team? In fact, given this declaration, shouldn\u2019t security officials be asking DOGE staff who actually has the authority to override their security protocols? (Good luck getting an answer to that one.)?\u201d \u2022 It might be fun if some clever lawyer turned this into a lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center><br \/>\n<center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cElon Musk\u2019s wrecking ball\u201d [Ed Luce, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/9ac3fc3b-2a95-40e0-ad73-03263fde67f7?shareType=nongift\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Financial Times<\/a>]. Ed Luce is Ed Luce, so there\u2019s nothing readers don\u2019t already know, but this sentence caught my eye: \u201cTake nothing at face value.\u201d \u2022 In the pages of the FT! Everybody in the DOGE flexnet \u2014 the bent squillionaires, the \u201cold heads\u201d, the feral\/incel engineers \u2014 lie like they breathe. No, that\u2019s not fair. It takes no audacity to breathe. For example\u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, 150-Year-Olds Aren\u2019t Collecting Social Security Benefits\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/NHVS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wired<\/a>]. \u201cMusk first made the claims during his Oval Office press conference last week, when he claimed that a \u2018cursory examination of Social Security, and we got people in there that are 150 years old.’\u201d Cursory is right. More: \u201cWhile no evidence was produced to back up this claim, it was picked up by the right-wing commentators online, primarily on Musk\u2019s own X platform, as well as being reported credibly by pro-Trump media outlets. Computer programmers quickly claimed that the 150 figure was not evidence of fraud, but rather the result of a weird quirk of the Social Security Administration\u2019s benefits system, which was largely written in COBOL, a 60-year-old programming language that undergirds SSA\u2019s databases as well as systems from many other US government agencies. COBOL is rarely used today, and as such, Musk\u2019s cadre of young engineers may well be unfamiliar with it. Because COBOL does not have a date type, some implementations rely instead on a system whereby all dates are coded to a reference point. The most commonly used is May 20, 1875, as this was the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the \u2018Convention du M\u00e8tre.\u2019 These systems default to the reference point when a birth date is missing or incomplete, meaning all of those entries in 2025 would show an age of 150. That\u2019s just one possible explanation for what DOGE allegedly found. Musk could also have simply looked up the SSA\u2019s own website, which explains that since September 2015 the agency has automatically stopped benefit payments <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/o\/NHVSt\/https:\/\/secure.ssa.gov\/poms.nsf\/lnx\/0202602578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">when anyone reaches the age of 115<\/a>. However, on Monday morning Musk doubled down, posting a screenshot of what he claims were figures from \u2018the Social Security database\u2019 to X, writing that \u2018the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE!\u2019 The figures suggested that over 10 millions people aged over 120 were collecting benefits\u2026. The fact that the Social Security system contains millions of entries from people who are dead is likely distinct from a potential COBOL-caused error, and also not news. A report written by the SSA\u2019s inspector general in 2023 found that 98 percent of those aged 100 or older in the Social Security databases are not in receipt of any benefits. The report added that the database would not be updated because it would cost too much money to do so.\u201d \u2022 Dealing with Elon is like dealing with Ukrainian propaganda. It\u2019s really <em>good<\/em> propaganda, it comes in great volume, and its amplified by an army of bots and shills. Also, any hint of DOGEbags messing with Social Security gives me the creeps. As it should you, no matter your age. NOTE: My recollection is that Elon\u2019s first series of lies was based solely on Social Security records aged 150, for which Wired \u2014 only an actual Social Security maintainer could give definitive evidence \u2014 gives an account. Elon then embarked on a <em>second<\/em> series of lies with additional records, showing other out-of-band values. The following gives an account for both campaigns (Occam\u2019s razor slicing toward the datatype side rather than the fraud side, it seems to me). <\/p>\n<p>\u201c1875 Social Security rumor\u201d [Keith Thompson, <a href=\"https:\/\/gist.github.com\/Keith-S-Thompson\/5f6934f6586f87b3690960fcdad92bc5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">GIthub<\/a>]. \u201cMusk didn\u2019t directly say that payments were being made to people who are 150 year old, but that\u2019s almost certainly what we were supposed to infer. In response to this, it was claimed to be a result of a feature of the COBOL programming language, that supposedly specifies 1875-05-20 as a base date, used to mark an unknown date. This is not the case; the COBOL standard does not refer to 1875. But this false explanation spread quickly through both social media and news outlets, being reported by Rachel Maddow among others. Another alleged explanation is that that date is specified by ISO 8601, the standard that gave us the YYYY-MM-DD date format.\u201d And as far as payments go:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"16.020486555698\">\n<p>\u201cThere was <a href=\"https:\/\/oig.ssa.gov\/assets\/uploads\/a-06-21-51022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">an audit in 2023 by the SSA Inspector General<\/a> about number holders over the age of 100 with no record of death on file. They identified just shy of 19 million. They were able to find death certificates and records for a couple million, but most couldn\u2019t be verified. But here\u2019s the important part that Musk is omitting: Of the 19 million over the age of 100 without a verified death record, only 44,000 number holder accounts were actually drawing social security payments. That means only 44k people aged 100+ still collecting SS, which is a more logical situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStatistically, it is reasonable there are 44K people older than 100. It represents .013% percent of the population which is in line with the 100+ populations in the UK, France and Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<blockquote wp_automatic_readability=\"9\">\n<p>The critical importance of domain knowledge can never be overstated when it comes to data scientific research. You\u2019ll never get good (and truthful) results if you don\u2019t have a deep understanding of the intricacies of the specific data sets under investigation. And, those of us who\u2019ve done this for a while know that pretty much every data set (especially those that live in databases whose ages are measured in decades) tend to have boatloads of \u201cinteresting\u201d aspects that make straightforward analysis challenging at best.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>(I found the Github gist by starting at <a href=\"https:\/\/retrocomputing.stackexchange.com\/questions\/31288\/did-missing-corrupt-dates-in-cobol-default-to-1875-05-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">this Stack Exchange thread<\/a>. I\u2019m still waiting for a real data analyst smarter than me to explain it to me like I\u2019m give, but the bottom line is that Musk screaming fraud is a lie, and his motive for doing so should be questions).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/retrocomputing.stackexchange.com\/questions\/31288\/did-missing-corrupt-dates-in-cobol-default-to-1875-05-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stack Exchange<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Syndemics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am in earnest \u2014 I will not equivocate \u2014 I will not excuse \u2014 I will not retreat a single inch \u2014 AND I WILL BE HEARD.\u201d \u2013William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk&null=Risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>); Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>, <del><a href=\"https:\/\/biobot.io\/data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Biobot<\/a><\/del>; includes many counties; <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wastewater Scan<\/a>, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/businesssolutions\/covid-19-index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a>); \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iowacovid19tracker.org\/hospitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Iowa COVID-19 Tracker<\/a>\u201d (in IA, but national data). \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/icemsg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts<\/a>\u201d (especially on hospitalization by city).<\/p>\n<p>Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put \u201cCOVID\u201d in the subject line. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>Resources, United States (Local): AK (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/af2efc8bffbf4cdc83c2d1a134354074\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AR (<a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/633006d0782b4544bd5113a314f6268a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); AZ (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azdhs.gov\/covid19\/data\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); CA (<a href=\"https:\/\/skylab.cdph.ca.gov\/calwws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.marinhhs.org\/surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Marin, dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/healthalerts.stanford.edu\/covid-19\/wastewater-dashboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stanford, wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/?v=SC2_N&l=Oakland%2C+CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Oakland, wastewater<\/a>); CO (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.colorado.gov\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/d79cf93c3938470ca4bcc4823328946b#utility=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); CT (<a href=\"https:\/\/data.ct.gov\/stories\/s\/COVID-19-data\/wa3g-tfvc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); DE (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.delaware.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); FL (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/5b9d75ba683849928dc1a49c39ab0b1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); GA (<a href=\"https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/ga-nwss-wastewater-surveillance-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); HI (<a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); IA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmmwra.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater reports<\/a>); ID (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Boise; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idahopublichealth.com\/district-2\/novel-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.wastewaterscan.org\/?plantId=1056f05c-0e46-4e3d-b007-c0453ba7dc0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Central Idaho; <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.verily.com\/#:SARS-CoV-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Coeur d\u2019Alene; dashboard, <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.srhd.org\/topics\/spokane-county-case-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Spokane County<\/a>); IL (<a href=\"https:\/\/iwss.uillinois.edu\/wastewater-treatment-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); IN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.in.gov\/indiana-covid-19-dashboard-and-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); KS (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov\/160\/COVID-19-in-Kansas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/4456bae8a38f4b6180e008477382fff9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Lawrence); KY (<a href=\"https:\/\/louisville.edu\/envirome\/thecoimmunityproject\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>, Louisville); LA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ldh.la.gov\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/info-details\/covid-19-wastewater-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MD (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); ME (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dhhs\/mecdc\/infectious-disease\/epi\/airborne\/coronavirus\/data.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/coronavirus\/stats\/wastewater-surveillance\/dashboard\/sentinel-wastewater-epidemiology-evaluation-project-sweep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/gisportal.state.mi.us\/portal\/apps\/insights\/index.html#\/view\/52bbb104ed574887918f990af9f3debe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/stats\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); MO (<a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); MS (<a href=\"https:\/\/msdh.ms.gov\/page\/14,0,420.html#Mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>MT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/MapSeries\/index.html?appid=7c34f3412536439491adcc2103421d4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; NC (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.ncdhhs.gov\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard)<\/a>; ND (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.nd.gov\/health\/coronavirus\/cases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NE (<a href=\"https:\/\/atlas-dhhs.ne.gov\/Atlas\/Respiratory_Illness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NH (<a href=\"https:\/\/wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov\/wisdom\/dashboard.html?topic=covid-19&subtopic=recurring-updates&indicator=covid-19-wastewater#tabnavbarid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); NJ (<a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nj.gov\/forms\/datadashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NM (<a href=\"https:\/\/cvprovider.nmhealth.org\/public-dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); NV (<a href=\"https:\/\/nvhealthresponse.nv.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/empower.unlv.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>, Southern NV); NY (<a href=\"https:\/\/mbcolli.shinyapps.io\/SARS2EWSP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OH (<a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.ohio.gov\/dashboards\/other-resources\/wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); OK (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/51657c21386d4f1a962b1853c76ec589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); <del>OR (<a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/app\/profile\/oregon.health.authority.covid.19\/viz\/OregonsCOVID-19DataDashboards-TableofContents\/TableofContentsStatewide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>)<\/del>; PA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/disease\/coronavirus\/pages\/Cases.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); RI (<a href=\"https:\/\/ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SC (<a href=\"https:\/\/scdhec.gov\/index.php\/covid19\/covid-19-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); SD (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.sd.gov\/COVID\/Dashboard.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TN (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tn.gov\/health\/cedep\/ncov\/data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); TX (<a href=\"https:\/\/txdshsea.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/4ae43eefd0f641d59d35c3df82ee59cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); UT (<a href=\"https:\/\/avrpublic.dhhs.utah.gov\/uwss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VA (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/coronavirus\/sars-cov-2-in-wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); VT (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthvermont.gov\/disease-control\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WA (<a href=\"https:\/\/doh.wa.gov\/emergencies\/covid-19\/data-dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.bfhd.wa.gov\/cases-and-roadmap-to-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">dashboard<\/a>); WI (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.wisconsin.gov\/covid-19\/wastewater.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); WV (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/oehs.wvdhhr.org\/news\/oehs-coivd-19-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>); WY (<del><a href=\"https:\/\/covidwastewatermonitor.wyo.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a><\/del>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (<a href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/en\/Data-and-Analysis\/Infectious-Disease\/COVID-19-Data-Surveillance\/Wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); QC (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspq.qc.ca\/covid-19\/donnees\/eaux-usees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>les eaux us\u00e9es<\/em><\/a>); BC (<a href=\"https:\/\/bccdc.shinyapps.io\/respiratory_wastewater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>); BC, Vancouver (<a href=\"https:\/\/metrovancouver.org\/services\/liquid-waste\/testing-for-the-covid-19-virus-in-wastewater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wastewater<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3). <\/p>\n<p>Stay safe out there!<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"table\"\/><strong>TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody wp_automatic_readability=\"10.901162790698\">\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Wastewater<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.625\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> This week[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 10<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Last week[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#wastewater-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> (until next week):<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-3-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"align: left; margin-left: 0px !important; padding: 9px 0 9px 0;\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ww-natl-2-300x201.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6470588235294\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong> Variants<\/strong> [3] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#variant-proportions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 15<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> <strong> Emergency Room Visits<\/strong>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#trends_select_7dayeddiagnosed_00\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 8 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-natl-1-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-2-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Hospitalization<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9240506329114\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> New York[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/daily-hospitalization-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York State<\/a>, data February 14:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> National [6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/covidnetdashboard\/de\/powerbi\/dashboard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> February 13:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-ny-hospitalization-nyc-6-300x191.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-hospitalization-natl-2-300x292.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Positivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"2.6666666666667\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> National[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walgreens.com\/healthcare-solutions\/covid-19-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walgreens<\/a> February 17:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Ohio[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/clevelandcliniclabs.com\/respiratory-virus-surveillance-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cleveland Clinic<\/a> February 8:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1.png 2396w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-2048x1152.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-walgreens-positivity-states-1-624x351.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2396px) 100vw, 2396px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cleveland-positivity-oh-1-300x198.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Travelers Data<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.6307692307692\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Positivity[9] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 27:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> Variants[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#traveler-genomic-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 27 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-positivity-travelers-2-300x182.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-287474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-variants-travelers-2-300x231.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr colspan=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>Deaths<\/strong><\/td>\n<td\/>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\" wp_automatic_readability=\"3.76\">\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronavirusdisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 25:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"> Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] <a href=\"https:\/\/health.hawaii.gov\/coronadisease2019\/what-you-should-know\/current-situation-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CDC<\/a> January 25:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-deaths-positivity-natl-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><span class=\"Apple-tab-span\">\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-286972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/covid-cdc-ed-natl-1-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>LEGEND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1) <span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: gold;\">\u2605<\/span> for charts new today; all others are not updated.<\/p>\n<p>2) For a full-size\/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and \u201copen image in new tab.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] (CDC) Down, nothing new at major hubs.<\/p>\n<p>[2] (CDC) Last week\u2019s wastewater map.<\/p>\n<p>[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, \u201cOmmicron,\u201d has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.<\/p>\n<p>[4] (ED) A little uptick.<\/p>\n<p>[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped, but no exponential growth either, Odd.<\/p>\n<p>[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.<\/p>\n<p>[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.<\/p>\n<p>[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stats Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cUnited States NY Empire State Manufacturing Index\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/ny-empire-state-manufacturing-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe NY Empire State Manufacturing Index surged 18.3 points to +5.7 in February 2025, easily surpassing market expectations of -1 and signaling a slight rebound in business activity across New York State. New orders and shipments saw moderate growth, while employment levels declined.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Housing: \u201cUnited States NAHB Housing Market Index\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/united-states\/nahb-housing-market-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Trading Economics<\/a>]. \u201cThe NAHB\/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index in the US fell to 42 in February 2025, the lowest in five months, compared to 47 in January, and below forecasts of 47, dragged down by concerns on tariffs, elevated mortgage rates and high housing costs. The gauge measuring current sales conditions fell four points to 46, the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months plunged 13 points to 46, and the gauge charting traffic of prospective buyers posted a three-point decline to 29.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cJudge gives Boeing and DOJ another month to negotiate 737 Max fraud plea\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/JUDh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">FlightGlobal<\/a>]. \u201cBoeing and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have received an extra month to negotiate a possible revised guilty plea by the company to federal fraud charges related to certification the 737 Max. US federal judge Reed O\u2019Connor has delayed to 14 March a deadline by which Boeing and the DOJ must update the court about their efforts to reach a deal that would head off a trial, according to a 17 February court order. The company and DOJ had previously been required to submit an update by 16 February. But both requested an extension, citing the recent administration change in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturing: \u201cBoeing\u2019s Air Force One program could be delayed until 2029, or later, White House official says\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/boeings-air-force-one-program-could-be-delayed-until-2029-or-later-senior-2025-02-17\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]. \u201cThe Air Force One program may be further delayed until 2029 or years later, a senior administration official said, citing supply chain issues and changing requirements, after the White House said the project failed to deliver a new plane on time over the weekend. The delays are frustrating, but not much can be done to speed delivery, the official told Reuters, noting that Boeing faced problems getting components since some manufacturers had gone out of business. Some requirements for the aircraft had also changed, given evolving potential threats, the official said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"ai\"\/>Tech: \u201cThe Generative AI Con\u201d [Ed Zitron, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wheresyoured.at\/longcon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Where\u2019s Your Ed At?<\/a>]. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the early days of shit. The Attention Is All You Need paper that started the whole transformer-based architecture movement was published in June 2017. We\u2019re over two years in, hyperscalers have sunk over 200 billion dollars in capital expenditures into generative AI, AI startups took up a third of all venture capital investment in 2024, and almost every single talented artificial intelligence expert is laser-focused on Large Language Models. And even then, we still don\u2019t have a killer app! There is no product that everybody loves, and there is no iPhone moment!\u201d \u2022 Well, Ed? How about <em>the government<\/em>? (Note I am not suggesting that whatever DOGE\u2019s little schemers have in mind will be <em>better<\/em> than our current experience; worse, if anything, because you\u2019ll never ever reach a human.)<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s Fear & Greed Index: 44 Fear (previous close: 46 Neutral) [<a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/data\/fear-and-greed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNN<\/a>]. One week ago: 38 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 14 at 6:59:56 PM ET.<\/p>\n<p>Rapture Index: Closes down one on Food Supply. \u201cThe lack of activity has downgraded this category\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.raptureready.com\/rapture-ready-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapture Ready<\/a>]. Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current: 180. (Remember that bringing on the Rapture is good.) \u2022 This is a tough crowd. Surely Trump\u2019s first month brought the Rapture closer?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Plus \u00e7a change\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><center wp_automatic_readability=\"3.9439655172414\"> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" wp_automatic_readability=\"10.51724137931\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In the town of Novgorod, they sometimes come across preserved birch bark. People used this bark to write on, including Onfim! Archaeologists have found 17 pieces of bark marked with his homework. But what do these inscriptions reveal? A young boy who disliked school! 2\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/04FPOVkFvH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/04FPOVkFvH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr Hugh Thomas (@hughs_news) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hughs_news\/status\/1891251184515641402\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Musical Interlude<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reaction is where we\u2019re at, for sure:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Bob Marley & The Wailers - Reaction [Upsetter 1970]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0EOmlinjf9w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Which works two ways:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Bob Marley & The Wailers - Small Axe [Trojan Records 1973]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HngBuyLM8TY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Workplace<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Ideal Candidate Will Be Punched In the Stomach\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottsmitelli.com\/articles\/ideal-candidate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Scott Smitelli<\/a>]. \u2022 The workplace\u2026 <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"notes\"\/>Especiallly for any DOGE-adjacent readers (<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/patio11\/status\/1890231454971621651?s=12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">full thread<\/a>):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"1058\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1-142x300.png 142w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_1-484x1024.png 484w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>And:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"474\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287479\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2.png 500w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/notes_2-300x284.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>News of the Wired<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy can\u2019t we remember our lives as babies or toddlers?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2025\/feb\/16\/why-cant-we-remember-our-lives-as-babies-or-toddlers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Guardian<\/a>]. \u201cIronically, for parenting influencers who post about elaborate holidays in the name of creating \u2018core memories\u2019, the early events that children retain can be surprisingly mundane \u2013 \u2018things that most parents would never reminisce elaboratively about\u2019, [Prof Elaine Reese at the University of Otago] says. \u2018The classic example from my own research is a child who remembers seeing a worm on the footpath one time.’\u201d \u2022 Hmm. <\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact information for plants<\/strong>: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-14-2025.html\">here<\/a>. From AM:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-287470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/roger_willliams-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>AM writes: \u201cDecember 29, 2024 in Roger Williams Park. 50 degree air + ice on pond = fog. Not the most attractive tree, but atmospheric nonetheless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center>* * *<\/center> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"donate\"\/><strong>Readers<\/strong>: Water Cooler is a standalone entity <em>not<\/em> covered by the annual NC fundraiser. Material here is Lambert\u2019s, and does not express the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn\u2019t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! <em>Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I\u2019m on the right track with coverage<\/em>. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-226891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"606\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution.png 606w, https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/contribution-300x190.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!<\/p>\n<div class=\"printfriendly pf-alignleft\"><a href=\"#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF & Email\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow:none; padding:0; margin:0\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.printfriendly.com\/buttons\/print-button-gray.png\" alt=\"Print Friendly, PDF & Email\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2025\/02\/200pm-water-cooler-2-18-2025.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lambert Strether. Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Indian Springs WMA, two-track road, Washington, Maryland, United States. \u201cAdult male Brown Thrasher singing from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-spotlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}