Link to report: https://files.ontario.ca/moh-covid-19-report-en-2021-02-01.pdf
Detailed tables: Google Sheets mode and HTML of Sheets

Due to process adjustments and transitioning to CCM, additional records were reported for Toronto Public Health on January 31, 2021. This impacts overall case counts for Ontario.

In 1969, a man walked on the moon (or on a Hollywood movie set depending on your conspiracy/sanity ratio). Also in 1969, Walmart was incorporated.
Today is the first day since January 11 that the 7 day average has gone up (1889 vs. 1887 yesterday)
7 day positive rate up vs. yesterday - first time since January 10th

Testing Data:

Backlog: 11,651 (-3,965), 30,359 tests completed (4,828.9 per 100k in week) 26,394 swabbed
Positive rate (Day/Week/Prev Week): 6.49% / 3.68% / 4.38% - Chart

Other Data:

Current hospitalizations: 1,158(-1), ICUs: 354(-2), Ventilated: 260(+8), [vs. last week: -240 / -43 / +8] - Chart
LTC Data: 62 / 30 new LTC resident/HCW cases
ICU count by Ontario Health Region (vs. last week): TORONTO: 74(-12), CENTRAL: 117(-18), EAST: 63(-9), WEST: 99(-4), NORTH: 1(+0),
Based on death rates from completed cases over the past month, 34.2 people from of today's new cases are expected to die of which 0.4 are less than 50 years old, and 1.1, 3.0, 7.2, 10.4 and 12.0 are in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s respectively.

Vaccines: Source

Total administered: 341,900 (+2,256 / +55,790 in last day/week)
2.34% / 0.61% of all adult Ontarians have received at least one / both dose(s) to date
To deliver at least one/both doses to all adult Ontarians by September 30th, 47,205 / 95,249 people need to be vaccinated every day from here on
To date, 411,650 vaccines have been delivered to Ontario (last updated January 21 ) - Source
There are 69,750 unused vaccines which will take 8.8 days to deliver at current rates
Adults make up 79% of Ontario's population

Global Vaccine Comparison: - doses administered per 100 people, to date - Source

Israel: 54.72 United Kingdom: 13.95 United States: 9.4
Italy: 3.24 Spain: 3.15 Germany: 2.77 France: 2.25
Canada: 2.48

Global Case Comparison: - Cases/Tests per 100k in the last week - Source

Canada: 80.62 (1,147) United States: 313.86 (2,666) Mexico: 78.37 (136)
Germany: 92.97, Italy: 142.6 (2,866) France: 220.4 (3,286) Spain: 520.93,
United Kingdom: 250.9 (6,340) Israel: 531.82 (5,722) Sweden: 196.07, Russia: 88.47 (1,791)
Vietnam: 0.28, South Korea: 5.83 (532) Australia: 0.16 (934) New Zealand: 0.33 (934)
Dominican Republic: 93.23 (451) Monaco: 336.36, Cuba: 47.9 (956) Jamaica: 26.14 (251)

Reporting_PHU	Today	Last 7	Prev 7	Last 7/100k	Prev 7/100k	Close contact	Community	Outbreak	Travel	<40	40-69	70+	Jan	Dec	Nov	Oct	Sep	Aug	Jul	Jun	May
Total	1969	1888.7	2370.9	88.9	111.6	47.9	28.4	22.4	1.3	49	39.4	11.6	2775.6	2118.5	1358.9	774.8	313.4	100.1	133.8	240.3	376.7

Toronto PHU	886	678.1	767.3	152.1	172.1	27	57.4	15.1	0.5	48.9	40.7	10.4	814.4	611.1	425.8	286.2	110.4	21.1	33.9	97.7	168.9
Peel	330	329	423.4	143.4	184.5	58.6	26.5	13.5	1.4	51.4	41	7.6	489.5	448.9	385.1	151.9	65.7	19.7	23.9	45.2	69.4
York	128	169.6	218	96.8	124.5	60.9	28.8	9.5	0.8	45.5	44.6	9.7	260.6	211.5	135.5	80.3	26.1	6.2	9.7	18.8	28.8
Durham	90	70.3	76.1	69	74.8	52	30.3	16.3	1.4	50.7	39.4	9.9	110.1	90.8	48.4	26.7	8.8	3	3.4	8.2	16.6
Windsor	72	52.1	104	85.9	171.4	105.8	-57.5	47.1	4.7	40.8	37.8	21.1	145.3	126.6	26.7	5.6	4.6	7	22.8	20.9	12.3
Niagara	61	84.4	94.7	125.1	140.3	45.7	15.7	37.1	1.5	44.5	37.7	17.8	126.1	57.8	24	11.4	4.6	2.4	3.5	3.8	5.1
Waterloo Region	60	68.3	89.9	81.8	107.6	42.7	24.3	31.2	1.9	52.1	36.6	11.2	113.9	74.6	46.8	13.6	9	2.8	2.7	7.2	13.2
Halton	55	53.1	69.3	60.1	78.3	48.1	21	27.7	3.2	46	38.2	16.1	78.6	69.9	48.2	27.9	9.7	1.9	2.3	3.7	6.2
London	47	36.1	60.7	49.8	83.7	69.2	-37.5	61.3	7.1	51.8	41.9	8.8	78.3	53	15	8.4	4.8	1.8	1.5	3.1	4.3
Hamilton	39	66.6	77.9	78.7	92	40.8	21	37.1	1.1	48.7	34.4	17	102.9	92.1	45.5	20.9	6.1	2.7	1.7	5.4	8.4
Wellington-Guelph	36	41.6	57.1	93.3	128.2	46	5.5	48.1	0.3	52.5	30.6	16.8	53.9	39.2	17.1	7	2.8	1.1	1.7	3.2	3.6
Simcoe-Muskoka	36	44	62.7	51.4	73.2	50	20.8	27.3	1.9	50.1	37.3	12.6	61.4	47.8	24.1	15.6	6.3	1.5	2.1	4.3	6.4
Ottawa	25	53.4	87.9	35.5	58.3	164.2	-104.8	36.6	4	58.8	32.6	9.1	105.2	51	49.7	86.5	44.9	14.4	14.1	4.7	20.5
Haliburton, Kawartha	19	8.4	12.9	31.2	47.6	23.7	16.9	57.6	1.7	33.9	32.3	35.7	10.9	6.6	2	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.6	0.7	0.5
Southwestern	15	12.3	21.6	40.7	71.4	44.2	10.5	45.3	0	38.4	44.2	17.5	31.7	24.3	7.8	1.7	0.5	3.6	1.9	0.3	0.5
Chatham-Kent	15	16.3	12.9	107.2	84.6	34.2	9.6	56.1	0	34.2	30.7	35.1	16.6	6.2	2.8	1.3	0.2	3.9	2.8	0.5	2
Eastern Ontario	14	20.7	22	69.5	73.8	51	13.8	36.6	-1.4	39.3	35.1	25.5	34	17.8	7.9	10.9	2.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	1.8
Lambton	9	8.6	19.6	45.8	104.6	48.3	11.7	40	0	53.4	33.4	13.4	34.9	10.9	1.3	0.8	0.3	1.3	0.5	0.7	2.7
Thunder Bay	7	15.6	19.6	72.7	91.4	25.7	22	52.3	0	75.3	22	2.7	12.4	8.9	6.2	0.4	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.3
Brant	5	8	8.4	36.1	38	57.1	17.9	25	0	67.9	28.6	3.6	16.2	12.5	8.5	4.5	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.5	0.5
Huron Perth	5	8	20.4	40.1	102.3	28.6	14.3	53.6	3.6	33.9	32.1	33.9	17.7	11.1	6.2	0.8	0.2	1.7	0.4	0.2	0.2
Peterborough	4	4.9	5.3	23	25	58.8	5.9	35.3	0	41.2	38.2	23.5	6.8	3.9	2.1	0.9	0.5	0.3	0	0.3	0
Haldimand-Norfolk	4	4.9	9.3	29.8	57	41.2	23.5	38.2	-2.9	44.2	38.2	14.7	13.1	7.6	3.6	1.6	0.4	0.7	0.5	7.5	1
Grey Bruce	3	4	2.4	16.5	10	39.3	32.1	21.4	7.1	39.3	53.6	7.2	6.2	4.4	4.7	1.2	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.6	0.4
Rest	4	30.4	27.5	16.2	14.7	46.2	18.9	31.1	3.8	56.2	37.7	6.6	34.9	30	13.9	8.3	3.2	1	2.3	2	3.1

Canada comparison - Source:

Province	Yesterday	Last 7	Prev 7	Last 7/100k	Prev 7/100k
Canada	3924	4370.1	5504.9	80.5	101.4

Ontario	1848	1887.0	2459.4	89.6	116.8
Quebec	1223	1278.6	1531.3	104.4	125.0
Alberta	461	487.9	565.1	77.2	89.5
British Columbia	0	328.1	476.6	44.6	64.8
Saskatchewan	238	241.0	272.1	143.1	161.6
Manitoba	118	123.9	169.4	62.9	86.0
New Brunswick	26	18.9	25.3	16.9	22.6
Nunavut	10	2.0	2.0	35.6	35.6
Newfoundland	0	1.4	0.3	1.9	0.4
Nova Scotia	0	1.3	2.0	0.9	1.4
Prince Edward Island	0	0.1	0.9	0.6	3.8
Yukon	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

LTCs with 5+ new cases today:

LTC_Home	City	Beds	New LTC cases	Current Active Cases
Fairfield Park	Wallaceburg	103.0	13.0	32.0
Caressant Care on McLaughlin Road	Lindsay	96.0	9.5	22.0
The Village of Riverside Glen	Guelph	192.0	7.0	30.0
Heidehof Long Term Care Home	St. Catharines	106.0	7.0	23.0
Burton Manor	Brampton	128.0	6.5	2.5
Seaforth Long Term Care Home	Seaforth	63.0	5.5	41.0
Fieldstone Commons Care Community	Scarborough	224.0	5.0	5.0
Woodland Villa	Long Sault	111.0	4.5	17.0

LTC Deaths today: Why are there 0.5 deaths?

LTC_Home	City	Beds	Today's Deaths	All-time Deaths
Burton Manor	Brampton	128.0	4.0	23.0
Caressant Care on McLaughlin Road	Lindsay	96.0	3.5	6.0
Seaforth Long Term Care Home	Seaforth	63.0	2.5	2.5
Woodland Villa	Long Sault	111.0	2.5	2.5
Crescent Park Lodge	Fort Erie	68.0	2.0	11.0
Extendicare Kapuskasing	Kapuskasing	61.0	1.0	7.0
Niagara Long Term Care Residence	Niagara-On-The-Lake	124.0	1.0	11.0

Today's deaths:

Reporting_PHU	Age_Group	Client_Gender	Case_AcquisitionInfo	Case_Reported_Date	Episode_Date	2021-02-01
Toronto PHU	30s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-23	2021-01-21	1
Toronto PHU	40s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-25	2021-01-23	1
Toronto PHU	40s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-22	2021-01-21	1
Grey Bruce	60s	MALE	Close contact	2021-01-05	2021-01-04	1
Hamilton	60s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-30	2021-01-29	1
London	60s	MALE	Travel	2020-03-26	2020-03-19	-1
Peel	60s	MALE	Travel	2020-03-26	2020-03-19	1
Toronto PHU	60s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-11	2021-01-10	1
Eastern Ontario	70s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-26	2021-01-20	1
Huron Perth	70s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-17	2021-01-16	1
Lambton	70s	MALE	Community	2021-01-20	2021-01-19	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	70s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-30	2021-01-30	1
Toronto PHU	70s	MALE	Community	2021-01-21	2021-01-16	1
Toronto PHU	70s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-13	2021-01-12	1
Toronto PHU	70s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-10	2021-01-08	1
Durham	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-25	2021-01-18	1
Haliburton, Kawartha	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-10	2021-01-09	1
Niagara	80s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-15	2021-01-06	1
Porcupine	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-23	2021-01-22	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-22	2021-01-21	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-10	2021-01-08	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-28	2021-01-26	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-22	2021-01-21	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-14	2021-01-04	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-09	2021-01-03	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-07	2021-01-04	1
Toronto PHU	80s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-22	2021-01-20	1
Toronto PHU	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-19	2021-01-15	1
Toronto PHU	80s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-05	2021-01-01	1
Windsor	80s	MALE	Close contact	2021-01-22	2021-01-15	1
Niagara	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-03	2020-12-27	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	90s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-19	2021-01-14	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-19	2021-01-14	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-17	2021-01-16	1
Toronto PHU	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-18	2021-01-18	1
Toronto PHU	90s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-15	2021-01-13	1
Toronto PHU	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-13	2021-01-11	1
Wellington-Guelph	90s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-28	2021-01-25	1

35 life lessons I wish I learned years earlier

My name is Jared A. Brock. Having just turned 35, I sat down to reflect on everything I’ve learned so far and made a list of the things I wish I learned far sooner. None of these are rules or commands for you to follow, just personal reflections from a decade of journaling. I hope they save you a lot of time, energy, and struggle:

1. “Save the best for last” is terrible advice.

A French monk taught me this one. Every morning, I put on the newest pair of socks in my drawer. Why wear the rattiest pair? When I sit down to eat, I eat the tastiest bits first. Why let them get cold? After every shower, I put on my favorite clean t-shirt. I have a great bottle of 10-year-old Laphroaig scotch in my cupboard, but I probably won’t drink it for months because I received two bottles of reactor-aged Lost Spirits single malt for Christmas.
Why? Because life is hard enough and we aren’t promised tomorrow. This doesn’t mean we should throw caution to the wind and “live in the moment” at all times, but it does mean we should try to find the golden middle and glean a little bit of pleasure from every day we’re blessed to live. “Save the best for last” is poverty-mentality thinking. It expects worse in the future. Enjoy the best right now — in your marriage, parenting, work, travel, faith, friendship, contribution. Keep all the chips on the table. Be ready at all times to leave without regret.

2. Tools use us.

A hammer literally cannot hit a nail without using a human. A saw cannot cut through a board without using a human. A phone cannot deliver ads without using a human.

3. Avoid false dichotomies.

When given two great options, choose both. When given two horrible options, choose neither.

4. Failure is overcome by one word.

“Next.”

5. Ambition is ruinous for your happiness.

Most goal-setters (myself included) live much of life in anticipation of tomorrow, and when that day arrives, they’re either disappointed by their failures or underwhelmed by their successes.
Instead: trust the process. Whiskey, pasta, bread, beer, and cereal all require just two ingredients — wheat and water — but the outcome is completely different based on the process. Identity precedes action. Determine what you want to be, then find the process that will get you there every single time.

6. Forget what the market wants.

Listen to your gut. Your body knows the difference between good and great. Someone said you should never record a song or code an app or write an article unless it makes you laugh, cry, or orgasm. If an idea doesn’t move you, it won’t move an audience, no matter how “commercial” you think it is.

7. Give yourself a shove.

The best way to eat more candy, drink more vodka, and smoke more cigarettes is to leave them in the middle of the kitchen counter.
You get it. Willpower is useless. Instead, line up a series of little nudges to automatically get you through your day. If you want to work out, leave your shorts by the door or your cleats in your fridge. My blue diode glasses rest on top of my laptop so I have to protect my eyes before logging online. I can’t not see my vitamins when I brush my teeth, or chia seeds when I reach for the Brita. There’s a book beside my bed, toilet, desk, and car’s gear shifter.
Line up enough nudges and you can shove yourself in the right direction.

8. Grandma didn’t use toilet paper.

She used pages from the Sears catalog. Splinter-free wasn’t available until 1935. The Romans used sponges. The Greeks used clay. Francois Rabelais recommended using “the neck of a goose.” Arabians used their left hand.
Never assume our extremely unique cultural moment is “normal.”

9. Ninety-nine isn’t enough.

Water boils at 100 degrees Celcius. The difference between 99 and 100 is the difference between zero and one. Not-boiling, boiling.
Corollary: 101 doesn’t make it any more boiling.

10. Old people know better.

Honoring our elders is one of the most underrated practices in our newness-obsessed society. Sure, there are a ton of old crazy far-right conspiracy theorists, but there are also good people who have survived four wars, six recessions, and twelve presidents and are somehow still smiling. Get to know them.
Also: meet your old-person self. I try to invent a new word every week — one of them is preflection. To ponder the present through the eyes of your future self. Take an hour in silence to listen to your eighty-year-old self. They might know something you don’t.

11. Fire all your employees.

The employer-employee relationship creates an unhealthy power dynamic between humans that simply didn’t exist when we worked cooperatively to feed our clan or village. I love my work life so much more now that I only work with independent entrepreneurs who are my equals. For me, it’s either a one-man show (my writing business), an equal partnership (my film company), or a co-operative endeavor. Life’s too short to be a boss or be bossed around.

12. Accept that you are a voracious locust of doom.

Nail a roll of paper to the wall and write down everything you consume for a year — food, toilet paper, electricity, car fuel, movies, music, social media content, other people’s time, everything. See what I mean?
Saint Augustine said that the human heart can only fully be satisfied by one thing aside from God himself: everything. All the sex, all the money, all the power, all the possessions, all the glory. All of it. Nothing short of everything could ever fully satiate the human heart. We are wired for more.
Understanding this truth is the first step toward real contentment.

13. Awkward is awesome.

My best friend says that The Office gave society a beautiful gift: the ability to embrace cringe. When you meet someone new and it’s slightly weird, pretend you’re Michael Scott. Just glory and bask in the discomfort.
You can awkward-proof your life by being bold: Ask for discounts. Ask for refunds. Ask for phone numbers. Ask for pay raises. Ask inappropriate questions at inappropriate times. Lather yourself in awkward and pretty soon nothing sticks.

14. Happiness isn’t the purpose of life.

Hitler really was following his bliss by offing millions of Jews. I’m sure Jeffrey Dahmer genuinely enjoyed the taste of human flesh. Bernie Madoff seemed content to bilk charities for decades.
Happiness isn’t the purpose of life. It’s not even in the top ten. Happiness is a seasonal fruit, not a foundational root. Find firm and fertile ground.

15. There is no ugly.

My grandpa re-proposed to my grandma on their fiftieth wedding anniversary and called her the most beautiful woman he’s ever known. Old wrinkly grandma? Yes. Because we choose our definition of beauty through our thoughts, disciplines, habits, and patterns, be they conscious or otherwise.

16. We are what we consume.

The statistical average American is a walking bodybag of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, porn, pills, and digital stimulus. Imagine how different life would be if our only inputs were nature, sleep, sunlight, organic food, and embodied human interaction?
Guard your inputs carefully.

17. We’re going to die quite soon.

Make sure you live first. Practicing memento mori will help.

18. Fame is poison.

One in four Gen Zers thinks they’ll be famous by age 25. One in 3.9999999 Gen Zers are going to have a miserably disappointing life.
Why do people desire the attention of strangers? Because we all need to love and be loved, to know and be known, but are too afraid to risk personal heartbreak to seek it out. Attention is not affection. Influence is not intimacy.

19. Boomers are to blame for half our troubles.

The Me Generation took a free ride at the planet’s expense and are hellbent on taking the rest of it with them. They’re statistically low on empathy — blame the lead, asbestos, and hairspray if you must — but at least acknowledge the reality that life is hard for everyone, and no one has it easier.

20. Children are dope.

Kids are the blood transfusion in our sick system. We need to stop manipulating, brainwashing, colonizing, and propagandizing them, and learn from them instead.

21. It doesn’t have to hurt.

Joy is a choice.

22. Watch comedy before calls and meetings.

Five minutes of gut-busting laughter will prime you for even the most tedious conference call. Your co-workers and customers all have tough lives like everybody else, so brighten their day by pre-brightening your own.

23. No ragrets.

Tattoo it on your neck. Most people play it far too safe. Instead: optimize your life for the least number of regrets and the most amount of selfless contribution.

24. There are better ways to vote.

I’ve manned several local voting stations, and I’ve also hob-nobbed with politicians in Canada, America, and the UK. The reality is that they don’t work for us. They work for their corporate sponsors and private interests.
Democracy isn’t dead. It just hasn’t happened yet, with all attempts to date being stillborn or aborted. Democracy = one voice one vote. Athens wasn’t a democracy — women, slaves, and tenants had zero say. America isn’t a democracy either — no representative system is, because it’s far too easy for private interests to buy politicians. The charade of voting is illusory. All elections are sham elections.
So what to do? Vote with your money and time and attention. One sham vote every four years versus tens of thousands of dollar-votes each year? It’s a no-brainer. My wife and I haven’t stepped foot in a Walmart in more than a decade because thousands of its suppliers are based in China, the billionaire heirs are anti-democratic tax-avoiders, and they treat their employees like indentured servants. Vote for pro-democracy third-party candidates if you must — just understand the game, and vote in the ways that actually matter.

25. Everything easy has already been done.

So run a little further.
And if it hasn’t been done, it won’t be as easy as it appears. The question to ask is: what’s been standing in the way this whole time? Achievement is all about knocking down obstacles. Just make sure what’s on the other side is rightly worth the effort.

26. Broccoli still tastes terrible.

But you’re not a child anymore. Adults do hard things.

27. Fixed-order scheduling > fixed-hour scheduling.

Discipline is great, but it’s also subject to the law of diminishing returns. Life is just too dynamic to schedule with military precision. Free yourself from the tyranny of “only people who wake up at 5 AM are successful.”
All hours are not created equal. It depends on your sleep drive and chronotype. Know yourself. Unapologetically get more sleep, then do your best work at your best time in your best state.

28. “Freedom” isn’t freedom.

America wasn’t founded on freedom. America was founded on violent autonomy.
The ancient Greeks had an entirely different definition of freedom: it was the ability to choose the right regardless of circumstance.

“We talk about freedom all the time, but we’ve stopped talking about freedom a long time ago. Now we’re talking about autonomy. Freedom is different than autonomy. Freedom has boundaries. Truth is one of those boundaries. And morality is one of those boundaries. Autonomy is the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want in whatever way you want. The problem is this: If I’m autonomous and another person is autonomous, and I have preferences and those matter more than the truth, and that person has preferences and their preferences matter more than the truth, when two autonomous preference-seeking beings come together and their preferences don’t match, who is going to win? If truth is on the bottom shelf, truth won’t decide. What will decide will be power. And isn’t it ironic that in our quest for “freedom”, someone gets enslaved?” — Abdu Murray

29. The Marines were right: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

As teenagers, my friend Tyler and I were in a hurry to get somewhere quickly so we drove 120+ miles per hour for forty-five straight minutes before nearly crashing when the speed burned a footlong gash through the tire. By the time we replaced it with a spare, we were late to our destination by more than an hour.
But nevermind driving. Pump the life-brakes sometimes, or at least, let off the gas. You might get there faster, with less wear-and-tear on the engine.

30. The quest for wealth is destroying life.

We’ve commodified land, water, shelter, clothing, art, time, and nearly everything else. Very little remains, and it’s amassing into fewer hands.
We need a shared global vision. My invented word for it is benevitae: the sustainable flourishing of all creation. Our collective goal should be socioenviroeconomic sustainability. Where to start? We’d do well to let biology determine ecological sustainability and real democracy to determine economic fairness. Our current trajectory is worse than the Space Shuttle Challenger.

31. Most “leaders” aren’t leaders.

Celebrities, politicians, and book-hocking business gurus all call themselves leaders. They’re not.
Real leadership is influence that serves. True leaders are selfless and servant-hearted. They put the best interests of others ahead of their own. Politics and media, by comparison, attracts sociopaths like flies to firelight. Never give power to those who seek it. Nearly everyone worth following is dead.

32. Divide-and-conquer is a business model.

Near the end of high school, dozen friends and I binge-watched multiple seasons of LOST in our friend Mike’s basement. It was one of the most hilarious, riotous, enjoyable experiences we had as a group.
And it was the last show we ever watched together.
People used to go to restaurants in large numbers, to the movies by the dozen, climbing over each other for one of the limited video game controllers, packing out our churches, cheering on our sports teams by the busload. We were almost never alone, and we were far happier. Now we order in, watch Netflix, stream Minecraft, catch the highlights, watch porn, and go to bed. It’s killing us.
Resist the urge to be alone. It’s too easy, and it’s the exact opposite of what we really need. The #1 thing that’s correlated to human happiness is human togetherness.

33. Self-improvement won’t save us.

The great lie of individualist-consumerist culture is that we can improve our way to personal perfection and communal utopia. But it’s incrementalism at best.
It’s just chasing infinity.

34. We know nothing +/-.

On the scale of all that is known, and all that is knowable, our individual understanding is essentially mathematically zero. The entirety of human knowledge is a rounding error.
This is the beginning of humility.

35. The sun is not on fire

I was at an observatory in the Davis Mountains in Texas, and it was the first time I’d paid attention to astronomy since grade school. For three decades, I’d wrongly assumed the sun was a giant ball of flames.
But there’s no fire in space because there’s no oxygen in space. (It just looks like fire because of how our eyes perceive light through the atmosphere and prism.) As I stared at the real-time image of the sun on the observatory wall, I nearly wept. The sun actually looks like a giant, boiling, grey brain.
And then it hit me: I have so many assumptions to set aside and so much left to learn. So pay attention. Don’t worship the “question everything” mantra, but instead spend your life seeking truth, and wisdom, and understanding.
You know what you need to do to get where you want to be.

COVID Facts That Every Person Should Know (But Most Don't) - Canadian Version

Updated January 8, 2020
DISCLAIMER: I wear my mask, wash my hands and try not to touch my face. I limit my social interactions. I follow most rules, even though many don't make sense. This is NOT a “COVID hoax” or “anti-vaxxer” post.
I agreed with lockdown measures that were taken in March 2020, when a lot was unknown. We did not have full knowledge of whom the virus affected and we did not have better treatment measures.
But science and data over the last 10 months has clearly shown that our approach needs to change.
“Where all think alike, no one thinks very much” Walter Lippmann, 2-time Pulitzer Prize winner
SO WHO IS COVID DEADLY FOR? Data from government public health websites.
PUBLIC HEALTH CANADA https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid ... s.html#fn1
Out of 16435 COVID related deaths in Canada, 89.2% are in the 70+ age group.
Percentage of COVID deaths in the 0-49 age group: 1.1% (this is a total of 192 COVID related deaths in Canada)
NOTE: It is important to make the distinction that just because someone dies WITH COVID does not mean that they died BECAUSE of COVID. COVID deaths may be inflated due to this distinction. False positive cases may further inflate this number (more on this later).
LONG TERM CARE HOMES https://ltc-covid19-tracker.ca
70.3% of all COVID related deaths in Canada have been in long term care homes
PUBLIC HEALTH ALBERTA https://www.alberta.ca/stats/covid-19-a ... istics.htm
Average age of COVID-related death in Alberta: 82 years old.
Out of 1241 COVID related deaths in Alberta, 97.1% have had 1 or more co-morbidities.
Here is the breakdown: * 3 or more comorbidities: 75.0% * 2 comorbidities: 14.4% * 1 comorbidity: 7.7% * No comorbidity: 2.9% (highly likely to be in the older age demographic)
NOTE: Comorbidities included are: Diabetes, Hypertension, COPD, Cancer, Dementia, Stroke, Liver Cirrhosis, Cardiovascular diseases (including IHD and Congestive heart failure), Chronic Kidney disease, and Immuno-deficiency.
STATSCAN REPORT: COVID 19 DEATH COMORBIDITIES IN CANADA (from the first wave, until July 31, 2020) https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45- ... 87-eng.htm

90% of all COVID-involved deaths had at least 1 comorbidity.
ALL COVID-involved deaths in Canada under the age of 45 had at least 1 other disease/condition certified on the medical certificate of death.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?
We must acknowledge that these stats are all people and each number represents a human loss. We are all empathetic to that.
Now, the data clearly states the obvious: 1. A LARGE majority of COVID related deaths have and are still occurring in long term care homes. 2. COVID is a deadly threat to persons with co-morbidities and/or persons above the age of 70. It is not a LONE killer by itself. Note that any disease is dangerous to this population set, not just COVID. 3. For a healthy person below the age of 70, there is greater than 99% chance of COVID recovery. This is no worse than the flu.
This is all good news, because we know who COVID affects and who we desperately need to protect. We also have other good news…
GOOD NEWS #1: VITAMIN D3 DATA
Vitamin D acts a key function for strengthening our immune system and is primarily acquired through sunlight exposure. There is a strong correlation that a Vitamin D deficiency will likely result in a serious case of a COVID infection, lowering hospitalizations, deaths and long-term COVID effects.
Vitamin D3 was shown to be deficient in 80% of hospitalized COVID patients in Spain [2].
The most comprehensive scientific study of Vitamin D deficiency in correlation to COVID patients was conducted in India over a span of 6 weeks [3]. Out of 154 patients, 63 severe cases needed ICU. Out of these, 61 patients (97%) had a Vitamin D deficiency. Overall, India has shown to have a lower strain of COVID, possibly because Vitamin D deficiency hits a much lower percentage of the population (due to more sunlight).
The UK government has already promoted Vitamin D to the entire population and is giving out free vitamin D handouts to persons most at risk for COVID [4].
4000 IU daily is recommended to create a strong immune response to COVID [5].
GOOD NEWS #2: BETTER COVID TREATMENTS
Doctors have improved the mortality rates of severe COVID cases, using better ICU procedures. A person hospitalized in March 2020 was 3 times more likely to die than someone hospitalized in August 2020 [6].
GOOD NEWS #3: ASYMPTOMATIC %
At least 17% of the population is estimated to be asymptomatic to COVID [7]. Many are immune to the danger of COVID.
The converse argument, of course, is the possible asymptomatic spread of infection which is difficult to detect. However, if an asymptomatic person does not interact with the vulnerable portion of the population, then what difference does it make?
Instead, why not focus on controlling spread in the SMALLER vulnerable demographic where it really matters?
BAD NEWS #1: LOOKING AT CASE NUMBERS USING FLAWED PCR TESTING
PCR tests, in their current form, are faulty and ineffective [9]. In Dec 2020, the World Health Organization confirmed what was known for months; that high cycle threshold PCR tests result in a high amount of false positives and that testing labs around the world need to reduce their threshold values [10]. The US FDA has also warned of the risk of false positives from PCR tests [8].
It is important for everyone to understand what a Polymerase Chain Reaction test does. A PCR test is looking for RNA, which is a small particle of any cell (just like DNA). In this case, we are looking for the coronavirus RNA.
The amount of RNA in a saliva/nasal swab is very small, so PCR tests amplify the sample to help detect it. Each cycle doubles the material. One becomes two. In the next cycle, two is amplified to four, and so on. In Canada, and most of the world, specimens are amplified to a minimum value of at least 35 cycle thresholds (Ct). That creates over 17 billion copies of the material, enough to be able to detect any viral particle.
However, a Canadian National Microbiology study stated that specimens with Ct values greater than 24 were found to be viral culture negative [11]. What does this mean?
That if RNA is found at a Ct value of 35, the virus cannot be cultured. It cannot be grown. Because it is DEAD. The RNA is simply a remnant of a past COVID infection. A FALSE POSITIVE CASE. This case does not reflect an active infection nor is it contagious. That person was infected weeks or months ago.
This has been known irrefutable scientific fact for months: PCR tests are not reliable unless we REDUCE Ct values. Why are we creating worldwide mitigation policies based on this?
Lastly, and most importantly, using number of cases for policy making does not reflect the bigger picture. Someone with little or no symptoms of illness is NOT a case.
Instead, our main concern should this: How many of those cases are getting HOSPITALIZED and who is DYING?
THE BAD NEWS #2: LONG COVID
Long term effects of COVID; persistent symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, respiratory, brain and heart issues can continue for weeks and months for some COVID cases. While there is still more research to be done, here is what we know so far.
King’s College London and the UK National Health Service have compiled the largest data set on this topic, using information from 4182 confirmed COVID cases [12]. Here was the breakdown of how many experienced long COVID, by duration of symptoms. The study also states that these numbers were comparable to Sweden and USA.

4 weeks: 13.3% (1 out of 7 cases)
8 weeks: 4.5% (1 out of 20 cases)
12 weeks 2.6% (1 out of 50 cases)

The susceptibility to experience long COVID is increased by the following factors, but can occur in low proportions in healthy individuals as well:

Increased age
Severity of COVID infection (i.e. number of COVID symptoms experienced in the first week)
Obesity

Long COVID is a definitely a concern, but it does not warrant ignoring the negative long-term health effects of a lockdown.
BAD NEWS# 3: LOCKDOWNS DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD
If you believe that a lockdown puts life and health ahead of the economy, you have been gravely misled. Lockdowns kill and destroy more lives than save lives.
The World Health Organization themselves do not advocate for lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus [13].
The first and very comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of a lockdown in Canada was performed by Dr. Ari Jaffe, an infectious disease expert, who initially supported lockdowns but is now a strong opponent. His study concluded that the lockdowns in Canada will result in 10 statistical lives lost for every 1 COVID life saved [14].
Reasons for these lockdown deaths is due to restricted medical care such as

delay of elective surgeries
undiagnosed heart and cancer patients
lack of accessible treatment for current patients

Moreover, the following repercussions of a lockdown are also not taken into account. All of these have a negative impact on life expectancy and illness.

Mental Health
Social Isolation (top 3 predictor of heart disease)
Suicides
Domestic Abuse
Drug Abuse and Alcoholism
Poverty and accompanying Malnutrition/Starvation
Children’s Education and Childhood Trauma

The Canadian Mental Health Association concluded a study on all of the above, with 3027 participants Canada wide [15]. Here are some highlights:

10% experienced recent thoughts or feelings of suicide (up from 2.5% pre-pandemic).
40% have had their mental health decline during the pandemic
27% are worried about putting food on the table
18% report fearing physical and mental abuse while trapped at home
Ontario experienced a 38% increase in drug overdose deaths during the 15 weeks of the first wave lockdown[36]

A Canadian Psychiatric Research report has projected an increase of between 418-2114 excess suicides in Canada (depending on 1.6% to 10.7% increase in unemployment) [16].
Lastly, lockdowns are causing our general health and immunity to be being lowered. We are locked down at home, with increasing mental health issues, stress, lack of sunlight and lack of exercise. This further lowers our bodies’ response to any sort of infection, including COVID.
Using lockdowns, we have only looked at short term gratification, while disregarding long term destruction.
BAD NEWS #4: HOSPITAL OVERCAPACITY
The ideal measure to avoid a lockdown is to increase hospital capacity as much as possible.
Unfortunately, hospital space and staff shortages have always been a problem, even before the pandemic [17]. Every flu season in the last 3 years has had hospitals running at over capacity. Don’t let COVID distract you from the historical failures of the government.
This may sound ludicrous, but a simple online search will prove it. Here are a few news articles from previous years addressing that concern:
Dec 2017: https://bit.ly/38wEqwn
Feb 2018: https://bit.ly/2M5dIU4
Jan 2020: https://bit.ly/3nZ5laR
Canada, despite being one of the biggest spenders for health care, sits far behind for services provided. As of 2019, out of 28 developed countries, here is how Canada ranked [18]:

Doctors: 26th (2.8 doctors per 1000 people)
Hospital Beds: 26th (2 beds per 1000 people)

Between Mar 15-Jun 13, 2020 (the first lockdown), the Ontario surgical backlog had an average increase of a whopping 11413 surgeries per week. This led to a total of 150000 backlogged surgeries, which is estimated to take 84 weeks to clear (almost 1.5 years) [19].
We were completely unprepared for additional medical concerns, let alone a pandemic. Why has the government not addressed the hospital capacity issue? This is the most IMPORTANT factor in avoiding a lockdown. Why is the public paying the price for government inadequacy?
BAD NEWS #5: CANADA’S ECONOMIC SITUATION
Socio-economic factors are the greatest indicator for the health of the population. Lack of finances do affect mental health, physical health and life expectancy. Look at any third-world country. Look at the impoverished demographic of any population set.
Canadian Annual Deficit:
2019: $19.8 Billion [20]
Projected for March 2021: $381.6 to $398.7 Billion [21]
This is an increase in deficit of almost 2000%. THIS IS REAL. This is NOT a typo. Imagine your $20,000 student loan becoming $398,000. By far, this is the HIGHEST deficit in Canadian history.
Within the last year, Canada has had the worst increase in Debt-to-GDP ratio in the world, which has risen by 80% [22]. We have spent the most amount of money in proportion to what our economy generates.
Our Minister of Finance resigned during the summer. A day after the Fall Economic statement was released on Nov 30, 2020, our Deputy Minister of Finance also resigned.
Our current Minister of Finance has no background in this field. Watch this video of her in Parliament: https://fb.watch/23ypw_Ru1_/
The following industries have been devastated: Aviation, Tourism, Entertainment, Hospitality, Restaurants, Fitness, Retail
Our official unemployment rate in October 2020 was listed at 8.9% [23]. This is deceiving. This is artificially held low by government subsidies and by ridiculous requirements to be considered “unemployed”.
The true unemployment number could be as high as 30%, if not more [24]. That means a staggering 10 million Canadians unemployed.
218000 small-to-medium businesses are at risk of closing permanently [25]. That is 1 out of every 5 businesses. This was based on July 2020 data, before a second lockdown was announced, and is clearly much worse now.
On the other hand, large corporations are thriving. The price of a lockdown is not equally borne across the Canadian population.
We are all in the SAME storm, but not the SAME boat.
WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT STILL IMPLEMENTING SUCH DAMAGING POLICIES?
This all started with a wildly incorrect and catastrophic model of COVID deaths by Dr. Neil Ferguson, from the Imperial College in the U.K. He projected that, unmitigated, COVID-19 would kill 326,000 in Canada this year [26]. Similar projections were made for other countries. Dr. Ferguson’s faulty projections, without being reviewed, led to a swift global lockdown and mass hysteria.
Using the Wuhan lockdown as a example, with a “75% reduction in interpersonal contact rates” however, he predicted deaths would fall to under 46,000 in Canada. Coming to the end of 2020, we are at approximately 15000 COVID related deaths in Canada [1]. While that is still a tragic number, it is nowhere close to what was predicted.
Dr. Ferguson has a history of incorrect modeling, apart from COVID. [26] [27]

predicted 40000 COVID deaths in Sweden by May 2020, with no lockdown. By then, Sweden actual deaths were under 3000.
2002: predicted 150000 deaths from Mad Cow Disease. Actual toll was 2704.
2005: predicted 150 million people would be killed by the bird flu. Between 2003-2009, actual toll was 282.
2009: predicted swine flu could lead to 65000 U.K. deaths. Actual toll: 457 people.

In March 2020, Dr. Ferguson admitted that his COVID modeling was based on a 13-year old computer code that was intended for a “feared influenza pandemic”.
We shut down the world based on this? No one looked for a second opinion? His reckless advice set a dangerous precedent for lockdown policies and abuse of human and constitutional rights.
If the government realized and changed their approach now, it would essentially mean admitting they are wrong. (Personally, I feel they have succumbed to tunnel vision).
How can they reverse course without getting politically skewered for going all in on what is now by far the largest public spending campaign ever, the most significant restriction on free society ever and the greatest peacetime damage ever inflicted on a generation, socially and economically, in modern history when it turns out it didn't make much of a difference? (Credit: Josh Kocher)
Instead, politicians have used the new “science” of DEMAGOGY - political activity or practices that seek support by appealing to the desires, prejudices and emotions of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument.
Implement measures that make us FEEL safe instead of what is ACTUALLY safe. With only COVID in the spotlight, actions are based on “optics”. As long as COVID lives are down, why bother with the collateral damage from a lockdown and its accompanying non-COVID deaths? Politicians don’t have to wipe that blood off their hands. Ignorance is bliss. Let’s save 1 COVID life that is in the public eye, but it will cost 10 lives down the road, not in the public eye. This is known as the Corona Dilemma (see attached pictures) [14].
If we had always put health ahead of the economy, here’s what would have happened a long time ago.

Alcohol would be banned
Tobacco would be banned (21918 deaths/day globally) [14]
Highly processed and fried foods would be banned
MORE climate change and air pollution prevention measures would be put in place.
Driving would be banned (3699 deaths/day globally) [14]
We would instill a lockdown during every flu season to conserve hospital capacity. NOTE: 230000-650000 people die globally of the common flu every year [28].

Doing the above would save millions of lives globally. But we accept those risks despite high fatality numbers, in order to stimulate the economy. We leave the decisions to drive cars, consume alcohol, eat fried foods and smoke in the hands of the people. (Yes, they are not CONTAGIOUS so it’s a different form of threat, but a death is a death, specially if it is statistically preventable).
Another important point to consider is that politicians are making decisions while being completely protected from the consequences of their decisions. Their salary stays the same and their large pensions fully protected. This is a position of PRIVILEGE.
WHY IS THE PUBLIC SUPPORTING THESE POLICIES?
For the general public, there are many working from home with pay. They have little to lose with a lockdown, so it is easy to support it. Again, a position of privilege. They are unaware of our country’s disastrous economic situation or the dangerous effects of a lockdown.
But more importantly, public support is being driven by mass hysteria; from the fear-mongering and sensationalizing of news by irresponsible journalism and incompetent politicians.
QUESTIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT
QUESTION: Why are high cycle threshold PCR tests still being used as the lone source for creating broad policies, despite their known inaccuracy and unsuitability? Can we stop with the constant regurgitating of daily case numbers?
QUESTION: Why are long term care facilities still experiencing COVID related deaths and not being protected better?
QUESTION: Why is the rest of Canada shut down when a distinct majority of the COVID related deaths are occurring in long term care homes, in age groups of 70+ and persons with co-morbidities?
QUESTION: Why do thousands of small businesses have to suffer when there is no proof that they are responsible for COVID transmissions?
Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table [29]: Restaurants, bars and clubs were the source of 0.7% of all COVID transmissions in Ontario. In fact, 58% of COVID cases do not know how and where the person was infected. The primary known source, close contact, adds up to 45% of Ontario COVID transmissions [29]. This means an unmasked setting for a prolonged period near someone close to you.
Have we seen Walmart and Costco take the contact information of every customer that enters the premises? No tracing = no cases = let them stay open.
Our politicians are blindly flailing at theories and superstitions to control this virus. How can a politician rob someone of their entire livelihood based on a hunch?
QUESTION: What is considered essential? Who decides this? Why is the LCBO (alcohol store ) open but gyms are not? To every person who is about to lose their job or business, is that not considered ESSENTIAL?
QUESTION: Why is a cost-benefit-result analysis not mentioned in any government policy?
QUESTION: Why has the government not put out a simple disclaimer to increase our Vitamin D3 intake, especially during the winter months? This one measure can possibly yield the MOST result with LEAST effort and collateral damage.
QUESTION: Why has the government not volunteered to take a pay cut, given that most of the population is suffering economically? Don’t CEOs take a pay cut when their company is in financial trouble?
NOTE: The New Zealand PM and her ministers took a 6-month 20% pay cut in April 2020 [30].
SIDENOTE: A Canadian MP who only holds 6 years in office gets a lifelong pension. Even a war veteran does not get this benefit [31]
QUESTION: Why are these policies being made behind closed doors? The Ontario government has abused its arbitrary emergency powers to make policies without the input of ALL members of Parliament. When did we give up democracy? Watch The Ontario Government Being Questioned About This In Parliament: https://fb.watch/22j-hpTDiL/
Why have those affected financially not been given a choice? If someone has to worry about putting food on the table and a roof over their head, they should have the right to go out and make a living. Let them decide for themselves whether they are willing to risk contracting COVID (a disease with a lethality rate of under 1% for the younger healthy working population).
QUESTION: Why is every international arrival subject to an archaic 14-day quarantine, when the Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Tam herself has said that there is little - if any - evidence of COVID transmission aboard aircraft? [32]
COVID transmission through travel primarily occurred BEFORE mitigation measures were implemented. Now, it is one of the safest public places you can be in. As of Jan 2, 2020, travel has only accounted for 2.5% of all COVID cases in Canada (with a known exposure setting). Most of these travel related cases are from early in the pandemic, before restrictions were placed [1].
Read the following fact-based article: The Irrational Fear Around Air Travel Needs To Stop (And We Need To Use Science Based Measures Instead): https://bit.ly/3rnS3GT
Why is rapid testing not conducted on arriving passengers? Results from the McMaster Health Lab rapid test study at Toronto Pearson airport: 99.7% were cleared or detected for COVID on arrival [34].
QUESTION: If someone got COVID and has recovered, they have built natural immunity. Why do they need to be vaccinated?
DOCTORS AROUND THE WORLD ARE SPEAKING OUT
Great Barrington Declaration: https://gbdeclaration.org
World Doctors Alliance: Letter to Citizens and Governments of the World: https://worlddoctorsalliance.com
MOVING FORWARD: WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
We have had 11 months to prepare and learn more. A lot is still unknown about COVID but A LOT IS KNOWN.
COVID is here now and we cannot stop it; that’s the harsh truth. Risk and harm cannot be completely eliminated. COVID will affect some people; that is unavoidable. It cannot be the SOLE reason behind making broad policies.
COVID is a harmful virus but not the killer virus it was projected to be.
There is a fine line between learning to live with COVID vs paralyzing our lives due to COVID, which we crossed a long time ago. Why are we hiding from COVID when we should use our knowledge to fight against it? Let’s stop the shortsighted and reactionary decision making.
We are we so focused on “number of cases and infections”? The test results are not reliable, and infections pose little or no harm to most of the younger healthy population. The important data is “number of hospitalizations and deaths”. In other words, shift our energy from “how do we limit COVID SPREAD?” to “how do we limit COVID DAMAGE?”
The long-term health and financial effects of a lockdown need to be considered. A lockdown will only transfer lives lost and destroyed. It will not save the overall excess deaths to a population. In fact, it will increase them in the long term.
The ONLY way out of this pandemic is through herd immunity, either naturally or through a vaccine. That vaccine is at least more than a year away for most people (another governmental failure). Moreover, there are many who will choose not to take a vaccine (personally, I will take it). We cannot have another 6 months of lockdowns. Every single day adds incredible amounts of short and long term damage.
A SUMMARY OF WHAT SHOULD BE DONE:
(Edit) Firstly, we should continue precautions to limit COVID spread. These are mitigation measures that may yield results without collateral damage: masks, wash hands frequently, don’t touch your face, reasonably limit social interactions.
I hope it’s clear: the problem isn’t number of cases. It’s the number of deaths and number of hospitalizations.
We know one thing for sure: Lockdowns should be our absolute last measure and that they will still come at a serious cost to society. Lockdowns are a REACTIVE measure to avoid getting hospitals overloaded.
Our most helpful measure to avoid a lockdown would have been to increase hospital capacity, but the government has failed us there.
Moreover, implement the actions below:

Offer Focused Protection for the following: long term care homes, the vulnerable population and those that have UNAVOIDABLE interaction with them. The measure alone may reduce COVID related deaths by 90+%. Even if the above demographic is half of the Canadian population, at least the other half don’t need to be locked down.
Let everyone else live normally, if they CHOOSE (of course, with cautionary measures)
Promote a healthy lifestyle, nutritious diet and increase Vitamin D intake for EVERYONE. This alone may reduce the number of hospitalizations, severe cases and long COVID.
BONUS MEASURE: All politicians need to take a pay cut. Sign the following petition: https://www.truenorthinitiative.com/politicians_need_to_cut_their_salaries

LET ME BE CLEAR. This is not about Lives VS. Economy. Health policy has been mistakenly sold as such. The truth is that a Focused Protection approach will save more lives and protect the economy. It’s a win-win.
This is about using everything we know to have an all-inclusive approach and look at the bigger long-term picture. To make decisions using science, data and logic, as opposed to fear and emotion.
Enough damage has been done. Don’t make the CURE worse than the virus. Don’t let political agendas get in the way of real help.
Free discourse is important because it helps to prevent bad ideas from blossoming and spreading.
We cannot simply accept the first viewpoint presented to us. Science requires many different points of view, rigorously tested, before arriving to a conclusion [35]. Science DEMANDS opposing opinions. Propaganda, on the other hand, silences it.
Something is VERY wrong when there is massive blowback to any questioning of the narrative. Something is VERY wrong when fear has become a virtue and courage a vice [35].
Something is VERY wrong when law enforcement questions the government about why they are forced to abandon their oath to the Charter Of Rights & Freedoms. Read their letter: https://bit.ly/3nW0Mhu
Please copy, paste or share this message if you agree.
SHARE ORIGINAL FACEBOOK POST: https://bit.ly/2IRbRRC
Samad Kadri
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
REFERENCES
[1] https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid ... s.html#fn1
[2] https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/more-than ... -1.5162396
[3] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-77093-z
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... n-d-supply
[5] https://www.nutraingredients.com/Articl ... in-D-alarm
[6] https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/11/03/ ... s-improve/
[7] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03141-3
[8] https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/saf ... RHTwitterD
[9] https://cormandrostenreview.com/report/
[10] https://www.who.int/news/item/14-12-202 ... -ivd-users
[11] https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/71/10/2663/5842165
[12] https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101 ... 20214494v2
[13] https://www.narcity.com/en-ca/news/lock ... rol-method
[14] https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/20 ... 2/download
[15] https://cmha.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020 ... NAL-EN.pdf
[16] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 8120310386
[17] https://globalnews.ca/news/7464926/coro ... -capacity/
[18] https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/d ... mary_0.pdf
[19] https://www.cmaj.ca/content/192/44/E1347
[20] https://www.budget.gc.ca/2019/docs/plan/toc-tdm-en.html
[21] https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/federal ... -1.5209807
[22] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/ ... dp-covid19
[23] https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-q ... 6a-eng.htm
[24] https://www.thestar.com/business/opinio ... ke-30.html
[25] https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/sites/default/ ... losing.pdf
[26] https://www.iedm.org/the-flawed-covid-1 ... wn-canada/
[27] https://www.nationalreview.com/cornep ... grace/amp/
[28] https://www.health.com/condition/cold-f ... every-year
[29] https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/1 ... tario.html
[30] https://globalnews.ca/news/6820459/jaci ... s-pay-cut/
[31] https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board ... -plan.html
[32] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid- ... -1.5797065
[33] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/epidemiological-economic-research-data.html
[34] https://mcmasterhealthlabs.ca/pdf/MHL%2 ... Tr6W2NgSCw
[35] https://financialpost.com/opinion/2020- ... he-science
[36] https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/o/2020/opioid-mortality-covid-surveillance-report.pdf?la=en

Ontario February 1 update: 1969 New Cases, 2132 Recoveries, 36 Deaths, 30,359 tests (6.49% positive), Current ICUs: 354 (-2 vs. yesterday) (-43 vs. last week)

Link to report: https://files.ontario.ca/moh-covid-19-report-en-2021-02-01.pdf
Detailed tables: Google Sheets mode and HTML of Sheets

Due to process adjustments and transitioning to CCM, additional records were reported for Toronto Public Health on January 31, 2021. This impacts overall case counts for Ontario.

In 1969, a man walked on the moon (or on a Hollywood movie set depending on your conspiracy/sanity ratio). Also in 1969, Walmart was incorporated.
Today is the first day since January 11 that the 7 day average has gone up (1889 vs. 1887 yesterday)
7 day positive rate up vs. yesterday - first time since January 10th

Testing Data:

Backlog: 11,651 (-3,965), 30,359 tests completed (4,828.9 per 100k in week) 26,394 swabbed
Positive rate (Day/Week/Prev Week): 6.49% / 3.68% / 4.38% - Chart

Other Data:

Current hospitalizations: 1,158(-1), ICUs: 354(-2), Ventilated: 260(+8), [vs. last week: -240 / -43 / +8] - Chart
LTC Data: 62 / 30 new LTC resident/HCW cases
ICU count by Ontario Health Region (vs. last week): TORONTO: 74(-12), CENTRAL: 117(-18), EAST: 63(-9), WEST: 99(-4), NORTH: 1(+0),
Based on death rates from completed cases over the past month, 34.2 people from of today's new cases are expected to die of which 0.4 are less than 50 years old, and 1.1, 3.0, 7.2, 10.4 and 12.0 are in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s respectively.

Vaccines: Source

Total administered: 341,900 (+2,256 / +55,790 in last day/week)
2.34% / 0.61% of all adult Ontarians have received at least one / both dose(s) to date
To deliver at least one/both doses to all adult Ontarians by September 30th, 47,205 / 95,249 people need to be vaccinated every day from here on
To date, 411,650 vaccines have been delivered to Ontario (last updated January 21 ) - Source
There are 69,750 unused vaccines which will take 8.8 days to deliver at current rates
Adults make up 79% of Ontario's population

Global Vaccine Comparison: - doses administered per 100 people, to date - Source

Israel: 54.72 United Kingdom: 13.95 United States: 9.4
Italy: 3.24 Spain: 3.15 Germany: 2.77 France: 2.25
Canada: 2.48

Global Case Comparison: - Cases/Tests per 100k in the last week - Source

Canada: 80.62 (1,147) United States: 313.86 (2,666) Mexico: 78.37 (136)
Germany: 92.97, Italy: 142.6 (2,866) France: 220.4 (3,286) Spain: 520.93,
United Kingdom: 250.9 (6,340) Israel: 531.82 (5,722) Sweden: 196.07, Russia: 88.47 (1,791)
Vietnam: 0.28, South Korea: 5.83 (532) Australia: 0.16 (934) New Zealand: 0.33 (934)
Dominican Republic: 93.23 (451) Monaco: 336.36, Cuba: 47.9 (956) Jamaica: 26.14 (251)

Reporting_PHU	Today	Last 7	Prev 7	Last 7/100k	Prev 7/100k	Close contact	Community	Outbreak	Travel	<40	40-69	70+	Jan	Dec	Nov	Oct	Sep	Aug	Jul	Jun	May
Total	1969	1888.7	2370.9	88.9	111.6	47.9	28.4	22.4	1.3	49	39.4	11.6	2775.6	2118.5	1358.9	774.8	313.4	100.1	133.8	240.3	376.7

Toronto PHU	886	678.1	767.3	152.1	172.1	27	57.4	15.1	0.5	48.9	40.7	10.4	814.4	611.1	425.8	286.2	110.4	21.1	33.9	97.7	168.9
Peel	330	329	423.4	143.4	184.5	58.6	26.5	13.5	1.4	51.4	41	7.6	489.5	448.9	385.1	151.9	65.7	19.7	23.9	45.2	69.4
York	128	169.6	218	96.8	124.5	60.9	28.8	9.5	0.8	45.5	44.6	9.7	260.6	211.5	135.5	80.3	26.1	6.2	9.7	18.8	28.8
Durham	90	70.3	76.1	69	74.8	52	30.3	16.3	1.4	50.7	39.4	9.9	110.1	90.8	48.4	26.7	8.8	3	3.4	8.2	16.6
Windsor	72	52.1	104	85.9	171.4	105.8	-57.5	47.1	4.7	40.8	37.8	21.1	145.3	126.6	26.7	5.6	4.6	7	22.8	20.9	12.3
Niagara	61	84.4	94.7	125.1	140.3	45.7	15.7	37.1	1.5	44.5	37.7	17.8	126.1	57.8	24	11.4	4.6	2.4	3.5	3.8	5.1
Waterloo Region	60	68.3	89.9	81.8	107.6	42.7	24.3	31.2	1.9	52.1	36.6	11.2	113.9	74.6	46.8	13.6	9	2.8	2.7	7.2	13.2
Halton	55	53.1	69.3	60.1	78.3	48.1	21	27.7	3.2	46	38.2	16.1	78.6	69.9	48.2	27.9	9.7	1.9	2.3	3.7	6.2
London	47	36.1	60.7	49.8	83.7	69.2	-37.5	61.3	7.1	51.8	41.9	8.8	78.3	53	15	8.4	4.8	1.8	1.5	3.1	4.3
Hamilton	39	66.6	77.9	78.7	92	40.8	21	37.1	1.1	48.7	34.4	17	102.9	92.1	45.5	20.9	6.1	2.7	1.7	5.4	8.4
Wellington-Guelph	36	41.6	57.1	93.3	128.2	46	5.5	48.1	0.3	52.5	30.6	16.8	53.9	39.2	17.1	7	2.8	1.1	1.7	3.2	3.6
Simcoe-Muskoka	36	44	62.7	51.4	73.2	50	20.8	27.3	1.9	50.1	37.3	12.6	61.4	47.8	24.1	15.6	6.3	1.5	2.1	4.3	6.4
Ottawa	25	53.4	87.9	35.5	58.3	164.2	-104.8	36.6	4	58.8	32.6	9.1	105.2	51	49.7	86.5	44.9	14.4	14.1	4.7	20.5
Haliburton, Kawartha	19	8.4	12.9	31.2	47.6	23.7	16.9	57.6	1.7	33.9	32.3	35.7	10.9	6.6	2	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.6	0.7	0.5
Southwestern	15	12.3	21.6	40.7	71.4	44.2	10.5	45.3	0	38.4	44.2	17.5	31.7	24.3	7.8	1.7	0.5	3.6	1.9	0.3	0.5
Chatham-Kent	15	16.3	12.9	107.2	84.6	34.2	9.6	56.1	0	34.2	30.7	35.1	16.6	6.2	2.8	1.3	0.2	3.9	2.8	0.5	2
Eastern Ontario	14	20.7	22	69.5	73.8	51	13.8	36.6	-1.4	39.3	35.1	25.5	34	17.8	7.9	10.9	2.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	1.8
Lambton	9	8.6	19.6	45.8	104.6	48.3	11.7	40	0	53.4	33.4	13.4	34.9	10.9	1.3	0.8	0.3	1.3	0.5	0.7	2.7
Thunder Bay	7	15.6	19.6	72.7	91.4	25.7	22	52.3	0	75.3	22	2.7	12.4	8.9	6.2	0.4	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.3
Brant	5	8	8.4	36.1	38	57.1	17.9	25	0	67.9	28.6	3.6	16.2	12.5	8.5	4.5	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.5	0.5
Huron Perth	5	8	20.4	40.1	102.3	28.6	14.3	53.6	3.6	33.9	32.1	33.9	17.7	11.1	6.2	0.8	0.2	1.7	0.4	0.2	0.2
Peterborough	4	4.9	5.3	23	25	58.8	5.9	35.3	0	41.2	38.2	23.5	6.8	3.9	2.1	0.9	0.5	0.3	0	0.3	0
Haldimand-Norfolk	4	4.9	9.3	29.8	57	41.2	23.5	38.2	-2.9	44.2	38.2	14.7	13.1	7.6	3.6	1.6	0.4	0.7	0.5	7.5	1
Grey Bruce	3	4	2.4	16.5	10	39.3	32.1	21.4	7.1	39.3	53.6	7.2	6.2	4.4	4.7	1.2	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.6	0.4
Rest	4	30.4	27.5	16.2	14.7	46.2	18.9	31.1	3.8	56.2	37.7	6.6	34.9	30	13.9	8.3	3.2	1	2.3	2	3.1

Canada comparison - Source:

Province	Yesterday	Last 7	Prev 7	Last 7/100k	Prev 7/100k
Canada	3924	4370.1	5504.9	80.5	101.4

Ontario	1848	1887.0	2459.4	89.6	116.8
Quebec	1223	1278.6	1531.3	104.4	125.0
Alberta	461	487.9	565.1	77.2	89.5
British Columbia	0	328.1	476.6	44.6	64.8
Saskatchewan	238	241.0	272.1	143.1	161.6
Manitoba	118	123.9	169.4	62.9	86.0
New Brunswick	26	18.9	25.3	16.9	22.6
Nunavut	10	2.0	2.0	35.6	35.6
Newfoundland	0	1.4	0.3	1.9	0.4
Nova Scotia	0	1.3	2.0	0.9	1.4
Prince Edward Island	0	0.1	0.9	0.6	3.8
Yukon	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

LTCs with 5+ new cases today:

LTC_Home	City	Beds	New LTC cases	Current Active Cases
Fairfield Park	Wallaceburg	103.0	13.0	32.0
Caressant Care on McLaughlin Road	Lindsay	96.0	9.5	22.0
The Village of Riverside Glen	Guelph	192.0	7.0	30.0
Heidehof Long Term Care Home	St. Catharines	106.0	7.0	23.0
Burton Manor	Brampton	128.0	6.5	2.5
Seaforth Long Term Care Home	Seaforth	63.0	5.5	41.0
Fieldstone Commons Care Community	Scarborough	224.0	5.0	5.0
Woodland Villa	Long Sault	111.0	4.5	17.0

LTC Deaths today: Why are there 0.5 deaths?

LTC_Home	City	Beds	Today's Deaths	All-time Deaths
Burton Manor	Brampton	128.0	4.0	23.0
Caressant Care on McLaughlin Road	Lindsay	96.0	3.5	6.0
Seaforth Long Term Care Home	Seaforth	63.0	2.5	2.5
Woodland Villa	Long Sault	111.0	2.5	2.5
Crescent Park Lodge	Fort Erie	68.0	2.0	11.0
Extendicare Kapuskasing	Kapuskasing	61.0	1.0	7.0
Niagara Long Term Care Residence	Niagara-On-The-Lake	124.0	1.0	11.0

Today's deaths:

Reporting_PHU	Age_Group	Client_Gender	Case_AcquisitionInfo	Case_Reported_Date	Episode_Date	2021-02-01
Toronto PHU	30s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-23	2021-01-21	1
Toronto PHU	40s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-25	2021-01-23	1
Toronto PHU	40s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-22	2021-01-21	1
Grey Bruce	60s	MALE	Close contact	2021-01-05	2021-01-04	1
Hamilton	60s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-30	2021-01-29	1
London	60s	MALE	Travel	2020-03-26	2020-03-19	-1
Peel	60s	MALE	Travel	2020-03-26	2020-03-19	1
Toronto PHU	60s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-11	2021-01-10	1
Eastern Ontario	70s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-26	2021-01-20	1
Huron Perth	70s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-17	2021-01-16	1
Lambton	70s	MALE	Community	2021-01-20	2021-01-19	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	70s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-30	2021-01-30	1
Toronto PHU	70s	MALE	Community	2021-01-21	2021-01-16	1
Toronto PHU	70s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-13	2021-01-12	1
Toronto PHU	70s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-10	2021-01-08	1
Durham	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-25	2021-01-18	1
Haliburton, Kawartha	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-10	2021-01-09	1
Niagara	80s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-15	2021-01-06	1
Porcupine	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-23	2021-01-22	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-22	2021-01-21	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-10	2021-01-08	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-28	2021-01-26	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-22	2021-01-21	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-14	2021-01-04	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-09	2021-01-03	1
Toronto PHU	80s	MALE	Community	2021-01-07	2021-01-04	1
Toronto PHU	80s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-22	2021-01-20	1
Toronto PHU	80s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-19	2021-01-15	1
Toronto PHU	80s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-05	2021-01-01	1
Windsor	80s	MALE	Close contact	2021-01-22	2021-01-15	1
Niagara	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-03	2020-12-27	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	90s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-19	2021-01-14	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-19	2021-01-14	1
Simcoe-Muskoka	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-17	2021-01-16	1
Toronto PHU	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-18	2021-01-18	1
Toronto PHU	90s	FEMALE	Community	2021-01-15	2021-01-13	1
Toronto PHU	90s	FEMALE	Outbreak	2021-01-13	2021-01-11	1
Wellington-Guelph	90s	MALE	Outbreak	2021-01-28	2021-01-25	1

35 things I wish I learned years earlier

This post is mod-approved and I hope it's helpful.
My name is Jared A. Brock and today is my 35th birthday. It’s been a wild ride: I’ve walked across hot coals, swam up an underground river by candlelight, eaten bull’s testicles, and roasted marshmallows on flowing lava.
I’ve written three books, directed four films, published 400+ articles everywhere from Esquire to The Guardian to TIME Magazine, road-tripped through 45 American states and nine Canadian provinces, helped get some laws changed, and traveled to forty countries including North Korea and the Vatican.
I’ve enjoyed nearly thirteen years of marriage to my seventh-grade sweetheart, and we’ve been blessed to fundraise hundreds of thousands for charity. Though not without tons of mistakes and some major setbacks — financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually — it’s been a pretty decent trip so far.
I’m lucky, blessed, downright spoiled. And even though I certainly don’t claim to be wise in any way, shape, or form, here are 35 things I wish I’d learned far sooner. None of these are rules or commands for you to follow, just personal reflections from a decade of journaling. I hope they save you a lot of time, energy, struggle, and life:

1. “Save the best for last” is terrible advice.

2. Tools use us.

A hammer literally cannot hit a nail without using a human.A saw cannot cut through a board without using a human.A phone cannot deliver ads without using a human.

3. Avoid false dichotomies.

When given two great options, choose both.When given two horrible options, choose neither.

4. Failure is overcome by one word.

“Next.”

5. Give yourself a shove.

The best way to eat more candy and drink more vodka is to leave them side-by-side on the kitchen counter.
You get it. Willpower is useless. Instead, line up a series of little nudges to automatically get you through your day. If you want to work out, leave your shorts by the door or your cleats in your fridge. My blue diode glasses rest on top of my laptop so I have to protect my eyes before logging online. I can’t not see my vitamins when I brush my teeth, or chia seeds when I reach for the Brita. There’s a book beside my bed, toilet, desk, and car’s gear shifter.
Line up enough nudges and you can shove yourself in the right direction.

6. Awkward is awesome.

7. Ambition is ruinous for your happiness.

Most goal-setters (myself included) live much of life in anticipation of tomorrow, and when that day arrives, they’re either disappointed by their failures or underwhelmed by their successes.
Instead: trust the process. Whiskey, pasta, bread, beer, and cereal all require just two ingredients — wheat and water — but the outcome is completely different based on the process. Identity precedes action. Determine what you want to be, then determine the process that will get you there every single time.

8. The Marines were right: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

9. Most “leaders” aren’t leaders.

10. Old people know better.

11. Fire all your employees.

12. Accept that you are a voracious locust of doom.

13. Forget what the market wants.

14. Happiness isn’t the purpose of life.

15. There is no ugly.

16. We are what we consume.

17. We’re going to die quite soon.

Make sure you live first. Practicing memento mori will help.

18. Fame is poison.

19. Boomers are to blame for half our troubles.

The Me Generation took a free ride at the planet’s expense and is hellbent on taking the rest of it with them. They’re statistically low on empathy — blame the lead, asbestos, and hairspray if you must — but at least acknowledge the reality that life is hard for everyone, and no one has it easier.

20. Children are dope.

Kids are the blood transfusion in our sick system. We need to stop manipulating, brainwashing, colonizing, and propagandizing them, and learn from them instead.

21. It doesn’t have to hurt.

Joy is a choice.

22. Watch comedy before calls and meetings.

23. No ragrets.

Tattoo it on your neck. Most people play it far too safe. Instead: optimize your life for the least number of regrets and the most amount of selfless contribution.

24. There are better ways to vote.

25. Everything easy has already been done.

So run a little further. And if it hasn’t been done, it won’t be as easy as it appears. The question to ask is: what’s been standing in the way this whole time? Achievement is all about knocking down obstacles. Just make sure what’s on the other side is rightly worth the effort.

26. Broccoli still tastes terrible.

But you’re not a child anymore. Adults do hard things.

27. Fixed-order scheduling > fixed-hour scheduling.

Discipline is great, but it’s also subject to the law of diminishing returns. Life is just too dynamic to schedule with military precision. Free yourself from the tyranny of “only people who wake up at 5 AM are successful.”
All hours are not created equal. It depends on your sleep drive and chronotype. Know yourself. Unapologetically get some sleep, then do your best work at your best time in your best state.

28. “Freedom” isn’t freedom.

America wasn’t founded on freedom. America was founded on violent autonomy.
The ancient Greeks had an entirely different definition of freedom: it was the ability to choose the right regardless of circumstance.

“We talk about freedom all the time, but we’ve stopped talking about freedom a long time ago. Now we’re talking about autonomy. Freedom is different than autonomy. Freedom has boundaries. Truth is one of those boundaries. And morality is one of those boundaries. Autonomy is the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want in whatever way you want. The problem is this: If I’m autonomous and another person is autonomous, and I have preferences and those matter more than the truth, and that person has preferences and their preferences matter more than the truth, when two autonomous preference-seeking beings come together and their preferences don’t match, who is going to win? If truth is on the bottom shelf, truth won’t decide. What will decide will be power. And isn’t it ironic that in our quest for “freedom”, someone gets enslaved?” — Abdu Murray

29. Grandma didn’t use toilet paper.

30. The quest for wealth is destroying life.

We need a shared global vision. My invented word for it is benevitae: the sustainable flourishing of all creation. Our collective goal should be socioenviroeconomic sustainability. Where to start? We’d do well to let biology determine ecological sustainability and real democracy to determine economic fairness. Our current trajectory is worse than the Space Shuttle Challenger.

31. Ninety-nine isn’t enough.

Water boils at 100 degrees Celcius. The difference between 99 and 100 is the difference between zero and one. Not-boiling, boiling.
Corollary: 101 doesn’t make it any more boiling.

32. Divide-and-conquer is a business model.

33. Self-improvement won’t save us.

The great lie of individualist-consumerist culture is that we can improve our way to personal perfection and communal utopia. But it’s incrementalism at best.
It’s just chasing infinity.

34. We know nothing +/-.

35. The sun is not on fire

This whole list began in Texas. I was at an observatory in the Davis Mountains and it was the first time I’d paid attention to astronomy since grade school. For three decades, I’d wrongly assumed the sun was a giant ball of flames.
But there’s no fire in space because there’s no oxygen in space. It just looks like fire because of how our eyes perceive light through the atmosphere and prism.
As I stared at the real-time image of the sun on the observatory wall, I nearly wept. The sun actually looks like a giant, boiling, grey brain. And then it hit me: I have so many assumptions to set aside and so much left to learn.
So pay attention. Don’t worship the “question everything” mantra, but instead spend your life seeking truth, and wisdom, and understanding.
You know what you need to do to get where you want to be.

Those Twelve Months

Here’s a little Beggar’s Night treat for all of you guys, gals and ghoulies out there. Because Harry Dresden is not a beggar any longer, he’s a chooser!
Given Jim’s recent mention of adding a new book to the Files, tentatively titled Twelve Months, I decided to take it upon myself to ponder the nuts and bolts of all that could possibly occur in that time frame. That said, I sure as heck didn’t manage to cover everything.
July By all accounts, the duology that is Peace Talks and Battle Ground happens across several days in early to mid July. Shortly after America’s Independence Day, July 4th, from what I can tell.
Harry should hope that Marcone’s accountants already mailed the second installment of the year’s property taxes. In Cook County, that payment is due by August 1.
Harry is going to spend the rest of the month recovering. The Winter Knight Mantle was drained. By the time he staggered into bed at the Carpenters’ house, Harry was Winter Light.
Zero calories, zero taste.
Oh. Sometime this month, Harry and Maggie stop by the svartalf embassy. So that Maggie can give her friend Ingri, Austri’s daughter, a hug.
August Somewhere in this range, Harry offers a recently retired Rawlins a job. The man has mad skills sitting outside doors with a shotgun.
Then the big stuff.
First, this is probably where Harry’s foes are sure enough of themselves that this is where the first assassination attempt occurs. I suspect it does not go well for them.
Secondly, this should be where CPD starts to get it’s act together enough to reach out to Harry. That likely includes Stallings and brass even higher up...and Bradley is going to be a much bigger factor in that equation than Rudolph.
Thirdly, this should also be about the point where the City of Chicago, the Mayor’s Office, starts to get it’s act together...and reaches out to Harry. To paraphrase Randy and move it up the ladder, “Fuck those guys, we’ve got a Wizard!”
*which would serve to quash any negative vibes from #2.
Harry may find himself an official “Wizard of Chicago”. If not with a regular paycheck and benefits, then a much healthier retainer and consulting fee than he was getting from SI.
Most importantly, I’d expect that the repairs on the Castle go into full swing as construction materials begin to flow freely into the city.
I’d expect Michael to ask Harry where in the Castle he wants his bedroom. I doubt it will be the same suite Marcone used...for some odd reason.
And about here, Harry gets his lab properly cleaned, burn stains removed, and refurbished with something a bit sturdier than Walmart wire shelving.
Does Harry choose to create a bachelor pad in the basement? I’m not sure about that now. Remember that a bedroom for Maggie fits into the equation—even if she’s going to be at boarding school.
Move in at St. Mark’s Academy for the Gifted and Talented for 2014 is probably the last weekend in August, Saturday the 31st.
Oh yes. The holders of the Bean Cards are probably going to start asking Harry for help. Unlike what Harry might think, that they’ll be asking for Wizard or PI help, some of those folks are simply going to be asking for a job. Or a place for their families to live.
Under the Law of Unintended Consequences, remember that some of those will probably be the more experienced shooters still on their feet at the end of the Battle of the Bean.
Last, the Leanansidhe pops by to say hello. Because she’s pleased and delighted that her garden connects to Harry’s subbasement lab once more.
September At the start of the month, Maggie is going to begin classes at St. Mark’s. Chicago public schools started September 2nd, 2014. I’m not sure a private institution would be much different.
Also, about this time, the broken bones of our various and assorted heroes should be fully mended. Let’s see, a broken arm for Harry, a broken jaw and what might have been a fractured spine for Butters, and what appeared to be a broken collarbone and two broken legs for Sanya. Am I missing anything?
Listens-to-Wind (broken back?) and Ebenezar (broken pelvis) might be a wee bit longer, due to their age.
Oh. Any whatever had Martha Liberty’s knee in a cast should be healed as well.
Speaking of healing broken things...
I’d expect that the process of remodeling, refurbishing and then furnishing the Castle is completed through this month. This is when the basketball hoop in the great hall makes it’s appearance.
I’ll be curious just how much input Molly and Lara have into the remodeling. I mean, beyond the obvious “No, you are NOT going to furnish every room from Goodwill!”
I expect Molly to chip in financially, as in when a delivery truck abruptly backs up to the Castle door full of furnishings for one section or another of the Castle. But just how will Lara feel her way?
You know the two women will be arguing color palettes!
I’d also expect this to be the point where Chicago is recovered enough for the City’s social circuit to resume—and Harry makes his first public appearance at a gala with Lara.
October We all know that Harry’s birthday comes on Halloween. Shenanigans continue. Also note that if Harry was born in 1974 and Skin Game, Peace Talks and Battle Ground take place in 2014, then Harry is turning 40.
Now, given how long Wizards live, this doesn’t exactly mark a “midlife crisis”—but given how they age, it most certainly marks a passage from physical youth to their physical middle age. I’d enjoy seeing that realization, that impact on Harry.
Oh. And at a PTA meeting, Harry is introduced to Maggie’s new P.E. and English teachers.
OctobeNovember According to the timeline, Maggie was conceived at the end of February. Wouldn’t it be cool if she were born a month early (for various reasons), and she and Harry shared a birthday?
Otherwise, we’ll hopefully see Maggie’s 11th birthday on page in November.
Nota bene, Wizards generally come into their power around age 12, as both Harry and his mother did.
November The hallmark here is not only Maggie’s probable birthday, but Thanksgiving. The date of the latter was November 27th in 2014, so the two could coincide.
What I’m going to hearken back to here is in Cold Days, where inside his skull, Bob had set up a replica of the Thanksgiving dinner from Butters’ parents’ house. The truth is, Butters now has enough domesticity in his life that I think it’s his turn to host Thanksgiving.
He should be recovered from his injuries by November. Butters, all of the Alphas, Will and Georgia’s baby, the Carpenters, Sanya walking on two legs...
Harry won’t be emotionally ready to host. But he and Maggie can certainly show up at Butters’ place.
With Lara.
Oh. And we’d get to meet Butters’ parents as well, spending time with their hero son. Isn’t Waldo’s dad a podiatrist? “Here, Mister Dresden, let me look at your feet...say, why aren’t you wearing arch supports?”
December First things first! I want to know that Harry sent both the seed balls and the live mice to Hugin and Munin as Christmas presents. Let’s keep our priorities straight here, people!
Next? We already see Christmas Eve. I want to see Eb showing up for Christmas morning, at Maggie’s invitation and insistence. I need to see this.
The presence of Harry’s fiancé could make things...interesting.
January New Years Eve is doubtless going to make for another “public appearance” for Harry and Lara. Chicago’s social circles. Did you think to buy a tux instead of renting now, Harry? Of course, a public appearance that predictable likely mean more assassination shenanigans. Maybe renting is a good idea after all?!!
February In a heartbreaker, Thomas’s birthday falls on Valentine’s Day. It would be fitting for Harry, Maggie and Lara to visit him on the Island, if they haven’t managed to free him yet.
With Lara’s resources, I’m pretty sure they can make it there without using the Water Beetle.
What else? Hey, it’s Frigid February in the Windy City. Harry is the Winter Knight. What else could possibly happen?!!
February/March The timeline also means that Justine would give birth sometime around that date. Hopefully Harry and Lara have caught up to Nemestine before this.
Goals, Harry.
March Just for fun this month, a Warden of the White Council knocks at the door of Castle Dresden, to check Harry’s residence for signs of black magic. As he was warned would happen.
However, because the Captain of the Wardens isn’t stupid, that Warden is one Anastasia Luccio. And rather than checking for black magic, the two sit down in Harry’s den (er, man cave) for a much needed long talk over coffee.
After Harry calls her “Stacy” when he answers the door. Because what else is an evil wizard (little w) going to do?
April Spring, when both hope and flowers begin to blossom, seems like a good place to put this one. When Harry was missing, though there was no body he was still declared dead and Murphy was Executor of his Will.
Though there is no body for Murphy, I expect the same thing to happen with Karrin. In the midst of the post Battle chaos, when there are enough witnesses to her death, the process should be a weary veritable rubber stamp post Battle. With all of the missing, the mortal authorities have been through this before.
So...who else would Karrin name Executor in turn, especially if she recently updated her Will? The woman believed in preparation. An incredibly painful process for Harry.
Because what else would Jim Butcher do to Harry Dresden on April 1st? I mean, seriously, people.
Oh...and I might expect her grandmother’s house to go back to her family. Or into a trust, for a future Einherjar to use. Other effects—including her armory and her motorcycle—are debatable. But I fully expect those two socks worth of diamonds to bounce right back to Harry.
And with a Castle to remodel, furnish and maintain, he can certainly use them.
May Things have been both painful and healing enough for Harry to start to gain some resolution. With the weather warming, I think this would be a good time for Harry Dresden to head up to the wilds of Canada and spend some serious time studying with River Shoulders.
Harry may well have already spent the odd few days doing so here and there, or using the Ways for day trips to study, but this gives him a good excuse to get away from Lara and Molly’s tempestuous wedding machinations.
June I’m thinking that at the start of the month, while Maggie is still in school, something happens. Perhaps some information is dropped—and Harry goes on a mission.
The vengeance mission, against Drakul.
And it would be cool to see Harry and Carlos bump into one another, both surveilling the place, and form an angry, reluctant impromptu alliance.
Fun and peril and friendship shenanigans all ensue.
Mid month, Maggie should be out of school for the Summer. I doubt Harry leaves her boarding at St. Mark’s year round just for the security. It’ll be time for a Dad and Daughter vacation.
July Three things of import are about to happen.
The first will undoubtedly be a Chicago-wide recognition of the Battle of the Bean. A memorial, on the one year anniversary. Not only as a day of mourning, but celebration of recognition of how much has been rebuilt in that time.
Odds seem high that the local heroes will be recognized and honored, up on stage. Among many, that would include a modest Johnny Marcone, a bemused Harry Dresden, and public servant Waldo Butters.
I’d expect the event to take place at Millennium Park, the site of the Battle of the Bean. The city would make restoring the park a high priority. For that matter, the svartalves would probably pitch in with shaping the earth and landscaping as a matter of honor, and of good will.
Of course, that very same day, Joseph Listens-to-Wind is due to return. Surreptitiously, of course, because White Council members aren’t supposed to associate with sorcerers. Excommunicated Wizards. Rather, wizards, little w. Guys like Harry.
Waitasecond...idle there really anyone like Harry?
Several days later will be The Wedding, assuming it comes off—and Ebenezar doesn’t drop a rock on Chateau Wraith first.
Not to terribly disappoint you, but that one is so very involved, enough so that I’ll do a separate post for it.
And......I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if the book ends with on a Changes-like cliffhanger, when Harry abruptly disappears.
Courtesy, of course, of Alt Harry.
So, what do you think? Anything important about to happen that I missed somewhere in those twelve months? Rather, I know I missed something—so what is it?

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Ontario February 1 update: 1969 New Cases, 2132 Recoveries, 36 Deaths, 30,359 tests (6.49% positive), Current ICUs: 354 (-2 vs. yesterday) (-43 vs. last week)

35 life lessons I wish I learned years earlier

1. “Save the best for last” is terrible advice.

2. Tools use us.

3. Avoid false dichotomies.

4. Failure is overcome by one word.

5. Ambition is ruinous for your happiness.

6. Forget what the market wants.

7. Give yourself a shove.

8. Grandma didn’t use toilet paper.

9. Ninety-nine isn’t enough.

10. Old people know better.

11. Fire all your employees.

12. Accept that you are a voracious locust of doom.

13. Awkward is awesome.

14. Happiness isn’t the purpose of life.

15. There is no ugly.

16. We are what we consume.

17. We’re going to die quite soon.

18. Fame is poison.

19. Boomers are to blame for half our troubles.

20. Children are dope.

21. It doesn’t have to hurt.

22. Watch comedy before calls and meetings.

23. No ragrets.

24. There are better ways to vote.

25. Everything easy has already been done.

26. Broccoli still tastes terrible.

27. Fixed-order scheduling > fixed-hour scheduling.

28. “Freedom” isn’t freedom.

29. The Marines were right: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

30. The quest for wealth is destroying life.

31. Most “leaders” aren’t leaders.

32. Divide-and-conquer is a business model.

33. Self-improvement won’t save us.

34. We know nothing +/-.

35. The sun is not on fire

COVID Facts That Every Person Should Know (But Most Don't) - Canadian Version

Ontario February 1 update: 1969 New Cases, 2132 Recoveries, 36 Deaths, 30,359 tests (6.49% positive), Current ICUs: 354 (-2 vs. yesterday) (-43 vs. last week)

35 things I wish I learned years earlier

1. “Save the best for last” is terrible advice.

2. Tools use us.

3. Avoid false dichotomies.

4. Failure is overcome by one word.

5. Give yourself a shove.

6. Awkward is awesome.

7. Ambition is ruinous for your happiness.

8. The Marines were right: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

9. Most “leaders” aren’t leaders.

10. Old people know better.

11. Fire all your employees.

12. Accept that you are a voracious locust of doom.

13. Forget what the market wants.

14. Happiness isn’t the purpose of life.

15. There is no ugly.

16. We are what we consume.

17. We’re going to die quite soon.

18. Fame is poison.

19. Boomers are to blame for half our troubles.

20. Children are dope.

21. It doesn’t have to hurt.

22. Watch comedy before calls and meetings.

23. No ragrets.

24. There are better ways to vote.

25. Everything easy has already been done.

26. Broccoli still tastes terrible.

27. Fixed-order scheduling > fixed-hour scheduling.

28. “Freedom” isn’t freedom.

29. Grandma didn’t use toilet paper.

30. The quest for wealth is destroying life.

31. Ninety-nine isn’t enough.

32. Divide-and-conquer is a business model.

33. Self-improvement won’t save us.

34. We know nothing +/-.

35. The sun is not on fire

Those Twelve Months

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