iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

To whom it may concern, Having considered the sorts of behaviors (and sorts of beliefs) that constitute “being normal” in our present society, I have concluded that it’s not a bad thing to be deemed abnormal.

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Apparently the CDC has lost a third of its workforce in one year leaving the agency “zombified,” so considering that the agency which is responsible for controlling diseases appears unable to do so, it would seem our problem is not the people still taking precautions.

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I asked the professor about the news that this administration is planning on banning loans for majors that don’t make enough money, and she replied that it is frightening, but it’s important to note that fields like art and social work frighten this administration.

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Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I was told we should be preparing as we would  for an approaching storm:  systems will fail, help will be unavailable, prices will rise;  and while “prepare” is fine advice  it feels like this isn’t  “an approaching storm,”  but just the world  we’ve been living in.

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As we discussed the discourse the old punk said she still believes: we carry a new world in our hearts and that world is growing, so I said: yes, but haven’t our hearts been damaged by repeated Covid infections? and the old punk said: so we will have to carry each other.

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My aunt, the doctor, told me a new joke. She asked: How can you tell we’re already living in the world of Blade Runner? I said I did not know. So she answered. Because it seems almost everyone is failing the empathy test. And then neither of us laughed.

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librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com

After he warned me that he is sick (and his whole family is sick) my work friend told me that he hopes he doesn’t get me sick too, and so I handed him a mask and told him to do more than hope. * A compendium of the 341st week of plague poems… librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/09/25/p...

Plague Poems – The Three-Hundred-and-Forty-First Week

As I waited in line to pick up a prescription I noticed the pharmacist (and all of the technicians) were wearing masks, and I though to myself: oh, that’s a good sign; and after a moment pass…

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So many people just keep saying that Covid is over and so it’s time to move on, and yet the wastewater data just keeps saying that Covid is over here that Covid is over there and that Covid is moving on from one person to another.

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In the discussions regarding who should get the updated Covid-19 vaccine it is commonly noted that people who are at risk of severe illness should make sure to get it, and though I know most people don’t want to hear it, “at risk of severe illness” includes them too.

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If you look you will see that the CDC has changed its COVID wastewater benchmarks so that it seems like things aren’t as bad as they really are. And if you look you will see that it isn’t just the CDC that wants to pretend like things aren’t as bad as they really are.

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An open note to the stranger who said “don’t you know we’re laughing at you?”: Yes, I do know that, but frankly I am far more concerned that you also seem to be coughing at everyone.

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I heard someone say that “Extremely covid-cautious people are probably objectively correct,” and while I will admit that I do not consider my caution extreme, I will also admit that more than anything I hope that I’m wrong.

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I sent my aunt, the doctor, the study which found “Stroke is becoming more common among younger adults,” and though she noted that study’s information was from 2020 and before, she also sent me a report on “How SARS-CoV-2 contributes to heart attacks and strokes.”

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Despite the fact that Pennsylvania has reported four deaths from measles, the CDC has decided to only include one in its tally, which is further proof that those in power have learned that it is difficult to end an outbreak, but is is quite easy to change what counts.

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Whenever I read about another case of someone with measles traveling through an airport I think to myself that perhaps it’s not so bad that I cannot afford to fly anywhere these days.

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The Department of Health in Florida has confirmed the state’s first death from dengue fever this year, and though you will hear that the victim was not young or healthy, please remember: in this era of plagues none of us is as young and healthy as we like to think.

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Researchers are warning over 450,000 excess deaths may occur across the globe due to the extreme heat caused by this year’s “super-El Niño,’ but if this ongoing pandemic has taught me anything it’s that most people are very good at ignoring the world’s excess deaths.

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Please note: the autumnal equinox happens tonight, so if you are feeling like it’s getting dark out, like it’s getting darker out, like it’s getting even darker out, just know that you are right in multiple ways.

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I’ve heard it said that everything is bigger in Texas, and while I don’t know if that’s really true, I’ve seen it reported that Texas is currently the only state with very-high COVID activity in its wastewater, so at least the Covid surge really is bigger in Texas.

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It is understandable if upon hearing how this administration is kicking 750,000+ people off of their Affordable Care Act coverage you find yourself thinking “that is a sick thing to do,” which is a fair response for one of the things this will do is make people sick.

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I keep hearing people say they have been sick for weeks, they have razor blade throat, they have constant fatigue, they have prolonged headaches, they have lingering coughs, they have a steady fever, and I keep hearing these same people say that Covid was in the past.

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I watched a clip of a famous director who was wearing a mask while being interviewed at the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which just goes to show that those who know a lot about narratives understand that Covid’s story unfortunately is far from over.

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When you hear someone say “I believe Covid actually did brain damage to a large segment of our population which would explain how people are behaving differently now,” just know: that multiple scientific studies have found that Covid can indeed damage the brain.

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According to a CDC report around 71.5% of adults in the US “experienced fatigue on multiple days over the past three months,” and while I know that people are tired of hearing about Covid, it’s worth noting that one of Covid’s lasting impacts is persistent fatigue.

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The economist  told me  the coming months  will just be worse. The epidemiologist  told me  the coming months  will just be worse. The climatologist told me the coming months  will just be worse. The historian  told me  nothing at all  she just sighed.

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The climatologist  told me societies  can change  but it’s inconvenient. The teacher  told me students  can think  but it’s inconvenient. The epidemiologist  told me people  can help  but it’s inconvenient. The ethicist  told me that it’s inconvenient is no excuse.

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My aunt, the doctor, told me a new joke. She asked: Why aren’t more people paying attention to the PJ.2.1 Covid variant? I said I did not know. And so she replied: Because when it comes to Covid most people are in bed in their PJs. And then neither of us laughed.

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librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com

Upon noticing they had restocked the shelves with test kits I jokingly told the pharmacy technician they should have put them with the back to school supplies to which she replied she had suggested that but the store manager had told her no * Week 340 librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/09/18/p...

Plague Poems – The Three-Hundred-and-Fortieth Week

In honor of Labor Day: I have a friend whose boss came in carrying donuts. And I have a friend whose boss told them not to come in. And I have a friend whose boss came in carrying Covid. * I must h…

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By now I’ve stopped counting how many people in the room I’m in are actually wearing masks, for that number rarely rises above one. So now I’ve been counting how many people in the room I’m in are coughing and coughing, for that number seems to never be none.

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When you hear people say (and you will) that this administration is catastrophically mismanaging the measles outbreak, calmly but firmly remind them that this is not the first dangerously contagious outbreak that this administration has catastrophically mismanaged.

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Upon seeing the WHO post a message about how to “Prevent yourself from getting sick” with COVID, I thought to myself: it’s really good that they are posting this, and I also thought to myself: that they are posting this must mean the new wave is really bad.

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I heard a Senator say that this measles outbreak will be “a terrible legacy for this administration,” and while he’s not wrong, this measles outbreak will just be one small piece of this administration’s terrible legacy.

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Across 15 states hand soaps are being recalled as it turns out they may be contaminated with a variety of bacteria, and while it’s still a good idea to carefully wash your hands, it’s now also a good idea to make sure the soap isn’t being recalled.

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Apparently, a prominent member of Congress has told a colleague that she has tested positive for Covid, and while her case is making the news, please understand you probably have a colleague who also has it, they just haven’t tested or told you they have it.

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If you are worried about how your friends or your family will react to you saying that you’d rather not go out because the cost of catching Covid is too high, just tell them that you’d rather not go out because the cost of a tank of gas is too high.

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An open note to the stranger who noted that it’s kind of weird that I care so much about measles in Pennsylvania and about Ebola in Congo when I am not in either place: I am very sorry to hear that you seem to believe that it’s kind of weird to care about other people.

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I’ve heard it said that “The incoming ‘super’ El Niño will create chaos around the world—and we are far from ready for it,” and while I do not disagree, I can’t help but think “chaos around the world” which “we are far from ready for” also just describes the present.

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I confess, I worry upon hearing reports that there has been another measles death (the fourth) in Pennsylvania. And I confess, I worry we are approaching a point when such deaths become so normalized that they cease being reported on.

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Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Apparently “America’s measles resurgence is turning an abstract collapse in institutional trust into something visible on children’s skin,” but I can’t help but think a country that shrugs at children being shot is unlikely to be too bothered by children getting measles.

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Regarding the measles outbreak in PA a public health advocate said this is a “potential harbinger,” and while he is probably correct that this is a sign of things to come, let us not forget that this is not just a sign of things to come but something that is already here.

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Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

When you see headlines such as “COVID hospitalizations are on the rise in NYC. Here's how to protect yourself,” it’s important to remember that it’s not so much that people have forgotten how to protect themselves, as that they’ve been told they can forget about Covid.

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Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

After he warned me that he is sick (and his whole family is sick) my work friend told me that he hopes he doesn’t get me sick too, and so I handed him a mask and told him to do more than hope.

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It’s only a matter of time before you start hearing people claim that the woman from Pennsylvania who died from measles must have had pre-existing underlying conditions, so please remember: that having a human body is itself a pre-existing underlying condition.

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As the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo continues the number of cases has passed 7,200, and the number of deaths is nearly 3,500, and the amount of attention most of the world is devoting to this outbreak remains almost zero.

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It is being reported that the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to announce the US will no longer limit climate pollution from power plants, and while I suppose this means that Agency is protecting something whatever it is certainly isn’t the environment.

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