COVID-19 Six Years Later

It's hard to believe that it's been six years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Concern about COVID-19 has faded into the background for most people, but it's still out there, lurking in the air when you go our shopping or go to a concert. 

So what's the real situation with COVID-19 right now? Your Local Epidemiologist has published an article that looks at the current disease landscape; how much COVID is out there right now, how it's affecting people, and what are the current trends. 

Six years! Six years with a complicated data story of real progress alongside real stubbornness. This anniversary is striking to me for two reasons. The first is the virus itself: it continues to surprise us, and we remain humbled by how much we still don’t understand. The second is what has happened to us in its wake.

For myself, I'm still being careful, masking in crowded situations and in medical facilities like doctors' offices and hospitals. (A good rule of thumb is that if the staff are masking then you should be too.) I'll keep getting vaccinated twice a year and keep hoping for a vaccine that protects against infection. And I'll keep reading YLE and other reputable sites for reliable information about COVID and any other nasties that might be out there. 

Canada Launches a New Space Program

The Canadian government has announced that it will fund the construction of a space launch site near Canso, Nova Scotia. Canada has been building satellites and other space hardware, like the Canadarms on the Shuttle and ISS, but has not had it's own dedicated launch site.  

The government will also be funding the development of a made-in-Canada launch vehicle. 

A spaceport in Nova Scotia. A spaceport in Newfoundland. Three funded Canadian rocket companies. A $105 million competitive grant program with more rounds coming. The global space economy is projected to reach approximately $2 trillion by 2040. Canada is planting its flag in that economy right now, while the ground is still moving — instead of letting a billionaire cult leader control the on-ramp.

Here’s the piece that most coverage is either missing or treating as a footnote, and it absolutely shouldn’t be.

Alongside the Spaceport deal, Defence Minister McGuinty announced that Canada plans to become a full member of the NATO Starlift initiative — a program designed to create a space-launch network across alliance members, allowing allies to get payloads into orbit on short notice, especially during a crisis or active conflict.

All I can say is that it's about time.  

Featured Links - March 18, 2026

Things I found interesting but didn't want to do a full blog post about.

Birds wintering on the Bay

• Please drive carefully: scientists plan to transport volatile antimatter for first time. "Cern researchers are testing traps capable of moving antimatter, which explodes into energy as soon as it comes into contact with regular matter."
• War on Iran may provoke a terrorist attack in US – and that may be the point. "‘Of course there’s going to be retaliation,’ says one expert. ‘It may be that this is what Trump’s interested in’"
• When you’ve been told to find new ways to use AI in technical documentation. "Some Documentation Managers and Technical Authors are now being asked to demonstrate how they are using AI and to quantify the benefits. Here are some suggestions on how to approach that challenge." In this article, I saw several uses for AI that would have potentially improved my productivity in my last job. 
• The man who proved rockets could reach space was mocked in his time. "One hundred years ago, Robert Goddard’s invention of the liquid-fueled rocket changed space exploration." This week was the 100th anniversary of Robert Goddard's first launch of a liquid fueled rocket. We've come a long way in a 100 years. 
• Forget Google Docs, Canadian-made cDox could be your new place to write. "cDox stores your data in Montreal, and promises not to train AI on it." A Canadian alternative to Google Docs.
• Dish drive (gift link). "Hundreds of antennas take root in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley for an ambitious project to monitor signals from space."
• Wireless eye implant helps blind patients read again. "Now researchers have shown that a tiny wireless eye implant may help restore some of that lost central vision. In a clinical study, many blind older adults who received the implant regained enough clarity to recognize letters and short words. While the device does not restore natural sight, it helped several participants read again after years of irreversible vision decline."
• The “dumb” TV pivot: why your next screen shouldn’t be smart. "Reclaim your living room: screens without smart TV bloatware." We have a smart TV but hardly ever use any of the built-in features, preferring to stream through our Chromecast. 

2025 Nebula Award Finalists

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has announced the finalists for the 2025 Nebula Awards. The finalists will be announced in Chicago and online during the Nebula Conference and Awards, June 3-7. 

These are the finalists for the Best Novel award.

When We Were Real, Daryl Gregory (Saga)

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Stephen Graham Jones (Saga; Titan UK)

Katabasis, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)

Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor (Morrow; Gollancz)

The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (Tor; Orbit UK)

Sour Cherry, Natalia Theodoridou (Tin House; Wildfire)

Wearing the Lion, John Wiswell (DAW; Arcadia)

I've not read any of the finalists. I'm way behind on my reading right now but I did read a couple of current novels last year, Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler, which I did expect to be a nominee, and John Scalzi's When the Moon Hits Your Eye, which might make the Hugo finalists. I also just finished Annalee Newitz's Automatic Noodle, which is a finalist for the Best Novella award. 

Photo of the Week - March 15, 2026

My vision is gradually getting better, so I've been taking the occasional picture, mostly using my Pixel 8 Pro. This is a picture of the ice on Frenchman's Bay, gradually breaking up and melting on a warm spring morning. 

Ice melting on Frenchman's Bay

Saturday Sounds - Anne's Choir - For Anne in the Attic

This week's musical treat is piece of music that links the horrors of the Holocaust to the terrorizing of immigrant communities by ICE raids in the United States. "For Anne in the Attic" was performed in Spokane, WA earlier this month. From The Globe and Mail article (gift link) titled "Chorus of Discontent"

Dressed in church choir black, the women standing at the front of the Unity Spiritual Center in Spokane, Wash., last Sunday began to sing a new song that likens the U.S. treatment of asylum seekers to the Holocaust.

“Could they see you run for your lives as the forces of hatred pursued you, found you,” the choir sang.

“Where was their humanity?”

Midway through, the pronouns shifted − no longer “they,” but “we,” a switch from the past to the present. “Do we know? Do we know?” they sang. “Can we hear your pleas for asylum when fleeing, afraid for your lives?”

The choral arrangement, For Anne in the Attic, was written by Janice Mayfield, a local woman who penned the words after rereading The Diary of Anne Frank amid the cou--ntless headlines about U.S. immigration enforcement

I have been wondering why the current political situation hasn't generated more protest songs. There have been some, as pointed out by NPR.  I blogged about Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Minneapolis" recently, but you're more likely to the 60-year-old Stephen Stills classic, "For What It's Worth" than the Springsteen song on what passes for radio these days.

You probably won't hear "For Anne in the Attic" on the radio, but it may become a modern standard in church and choral performances. (If anyone can find the lyrics online, please let me know in the comments). 

The US versus Canada 12

Trump is at it again, just this week talking about "Governor Carney" again. I think Carney, as a former central banker, must have a fairly thick skin, but the disprespect is surely pissing off a lot of Canadians, including me. 

So here are more articles about how Canada and our formerly friendly neighbour have been doing.

• Canada Is Already at War with the US—We Just Don’t Know It Yet. "Conflicts don’t always start with an invasion." 
• The United States is at War... With Canada. 'Simon Tisdall writing in the Guardian states, “Know your enemy is the first lesson of war - and Britain’s enemy is now Donald Trump.” This is a lesson that ordinary Canadians have known for well over a year. Trump continues to taunt us and belittle our nation in the same way that Putin ridiculed Ukraine prior to the invasion.'
• BREAKING: Trump's Next Pretext To Break Canada Is Already Built. It's Iran, and Canada Should Be Very Worried... "Iranian operatives. Canadian soil. American outrage. And a Pedophile/Rapist/Felon President who has already told you exactly what he wants." Note that in the last week, three synagogues and the US consulate have been shot at in Toronto. 
  
• Data Dive with Nik Nanos: The current Canada-U.S. relationship is built on contradictions (gift link). "Canadians are ripping mad at the United States. By the standards of modern polling, that anger is unusually deep and widespread. Yet even in this moment, Canadians still see the economic upside of trading with the United States."
• Americans’ feelings toward Canada, U.K. plunge to new lows under Trump, new U.S. poll finds (gift link). "A new Gallup poll finds that American views of Canada and Great Britain have dropped to the lowest levels ever." recorded, despite most still holding positive opinions of both countries."