Maureen O’Connor, PhD

I've been teaching at 3rd level for 30 years. I have never experienced anything like the number of students with recent-onset cardiac, gastrointestinal, and neurological issues as I have in the last couple of years, yet people in the uni keep saying post-COVID, during COVID, etc.

A new variation of 'mild' I just heard from someone: a touch of postoperative pneumonia.

Yes, my desire to avoid infection engages either all of these points. If you somehow suffered no personal consequences from contracting COVID (as far as you can tell) and carefully isolated, you've still given the virus an opportunity to become stronger, more immune evasive, etc.

'Squirrel Street' (Eichhornstraße) tree is up!

So much wet, gross coughing on this train.

Still nice enough for outdoors kaffee und kuchen.

Still nice enough in Germany to enjoy an outdoor coffee.

Unpublicised update from the CDC. Lasting effects on EVERY organ and organ system for YEARS after infection.

The science is SETTLED! www.deseret.com/utah/2023/11...

Went to look for packing materials in a box in the office. I made the disturbing(?) discovery of a dozen used RATs. The office administrator is out with the disease we dare not speak.

www.newscientist.com/article/2400...

www.uth.edu/news/story/s...

Too scary

A powerful, beautiful, important book.

Poster available in the Residenz Würzburg gift shop. (18th?-century painting of a woman with face mask added.)

Sure, sex is great, but have you ever taught in front of smiling, nodding students? 😍

Basically

"The Covid-19 pandemic is not a state of mind—and telling us not to panic isn’t healthcare." www.thenation.com/article/soci...

I have had this same thought so many times over the last couple of years.

I am teaching in Germany for 6 months. The coughing is scarier and more ubiquitous here than in Ireland, and masking is nonexistent, compared to nearly so in Ireland. I have now seen 2 children vomiting in the street. 2 of the 3 members of staff I know are out sick, and teaching hasn't started yet.😷

Just putting this out there. Either by magical thinking logic, it can't happen if I say it will, or I will have called it: I'm afraid I'm going to get COVID here in Germany. I thought Ireland was bad, but I've seen *FOUR* other people wearing masks in the week that I've been here. Not one on campus.

having recently traveled to Ireland and seen the bog bodies of (maybe) kings who were thrown into the bog to bring about better weather, I would like to propose a radical new plan to address the climate crisis

Good summary

Rebecca Barr quoted herein. www.okdoomer.io/everyone-fan...

😵‍💫

Masks work. www.scientificamerican.com/article/mask...

Unexpectedly beautiful weather for our quick trip to Inis Meáin

johnsnowproject.org/insights/a-n...