My lovely husband reminded me this morning that we're coming up our 40th anniversary. Goodness! 40 years!

Horrid day weather-wise today. Bushfire to one side of us in the morning. Now another one on other side. And one of our dogs decided it was a good time to go missing while hubs has to see to things in case fire isn't controlled quickly. Bring on tomorrow's cool weather change soon, please!

Briefly unmasked, close range specialist appointment today for hubs. CO2 hovering around 1200 with no open window or filtration. Prior to appointment, requested dr wear an n95/P2 (and followed up to remind), but got a gappy blue mask. Wish us luck as we wait to see if anything viral came home.

If you were going to share links or resources about airborne transmission with a (maybe??) semi-receptive medical practice manager (Aust), what would you include on your list? There's the Aust Academy Sci statement (I wish there were more maskers in that cohort, but I digress). Anything from .../1

Random question. Has anybody used these IKEA glass bottles? www.ikea.com/au/en/p/kork... Do you know if they they have a similar pouring hole/lid size as a 600ml plastic bottles of bottle? Looking for a non-plastic alternative for poddy lamb feeding that would fit the teats I have. TIA :-)

KORKEN Bottle with stopper, clear glass - Shop here

KORKEN Bottle with stopper, clear glass. Tight-fitting stopper that prevents leakage. Read the full product details here

ikea.com

Any jam makers here? Made my beautiful batch of cherry jam, it set, put it in its jars and ... ...realised I forgot to add the lemon juice. (But I did add the lemon rind, sugar and cherries (obvs). Gah! (My brain!) I know lemons have preserving qualities. Will my jam spoil? What are my options?

Alone at Christmas? #joinin is always good.

Writing for Wellbeing@writeforwellbeing.bsky.social · 8mo ago

This Christmas Day join us for #JoinIn on Bluesky. Just use or look for the #JoinIn hashtag. Lovely people coming together for chat and cheer - especially for those who may be alone or troubled at Christmas, or just looking for a bit of fellowship. See you there! Please share

Kids will have very tough questions for the adults in their lives when they grow up and realize they were subjected to repeat Covid infections so we could rush “back to normal”. These kids will live with chronic illness the rest of their lives because society refused to adapt.

Congratulate me. I braved local IGA on the eve of Christmas Eve in my cute-as-a-button Zimi Chrissy mask. And yes, it was ridiculously busy. But in good news, I found a a decent sized cauliflower (my goal) that didn't cost a kidney, & sugar & lemons to make jam from cherries our neighbour gave us.

The obligation to enforce minimum standards of ethical conduct is a condition of the privilege of self-regulation for the medical profession. While the impunity and special treatment accorded senior physicians has made us all cynical, it's worth reading this to see what we have a right to expect.

WMA - The World Medical Association-WMA International Code of Medical Ethics

WMA - The World Medical Association

wma.net

My 20kg beautiful Kelpie decided she'd quite like a cuddle this morning. Unfortunately I wasn't fully awake when she decided to step over my chest to squeeze in. A little bit sore.

We'd reduce SO much: illness disability loss of capacity to work, volunteer, care, function sick kids lost lives overcrowded hospitals ramped ambulances staffing issues across the economy spiralling costs etc, etc if health workers just wore a decent fitted mask

"If HCWs wear N95 respirators and surgical masks throughout, the total infection risk can be reduced by 94.7 % and 53.9 %, respectively Increasing the ventilation rate from 1 ACH to 6 ACH reduced the infection risk. ." FYI NSW Health & @racgp.bsky.social et al www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Transmission of respiratory infectious diseases based on real close contact behavior in an emergency room

The risk of transmission of respiratory infectious diseases in emergency rooms is high, posing a severe threat to the health of healthcare workers (HC…

sciencedirect.com

Note, teachers.

Denis - The COVID Info Guy@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Workplace exposures tied to higher risk of long COVID. Study of 2,054 workers in Spain (2020–23) found nearly 1 in 4 (23.7%) developed long COVID. People in high-exposure jobs face a 44% higher risk of long COVID — Health and social care workers, teachers, retail, transport, and security staff.

I wonder how long I can get away with not bothering with the age verification thingy for here. Cause I really don't want to, and resent it being required.

I work in education, and every day I see the failure of public health. 💔

Anyone on FB might like to look up the page 'Adventures with Winx' (therapy pony). There was a lone Trident wearer in the hospital photo in the most recent post. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

So, to those who say "masks don't work", cite the flawed Cochrane report, insist upon an unfeasible RCT, accuse folks of panic, and undermine public health on social and mainstream media during a flu/RSV epidemic... 1. Seasonal viruses may be "normal", but they do immense harm.

Anyone else getting a age verification request for Bsky this morning?

Just be aware. One of the severe cases of influenza in a child recently presented primarily with GI symptoms before progressing to MOF. There is a risk of missing the window for specific treatment if you don’t think of flu A. #MedSky

Just saw an Aura in the front dash of a car near my place (I think, a local Air BNB). 👋 in masking solidarity 😷 to any comrades here who might happen to be visiting.

Next irritation for morning. Discover at least several of the replacement ink thingies for my printer, which I'd ordered goodness knows how long ago now, are incorrect. And that's even with some boxes having the correct printer model on them Another 2 minute job that's going to take a little longer

Kids with Covid. Not mild. Can we stop disabling kids please?

Denis - The COVID Info Guy@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Even 2 years after infection, around 40% of young people are still experiencing significant fatigue — indicating a major long-term health issue affecting a substantial proportion of youth who have had COVID-19. Published: 20 November 2025 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Hubs & I have appt to see new derm'ist - email request for filling in our details online using HotDoc. Have seen that b4 - not chuffed, but anywho. But 2nd form asking our consent to use AI - for our records? Appointment notes? Dunno. Anyway, that bit can well and truly go hike. Sigh. Phone call.

More evidence that Covid hurts children.

Dr Elisa Perego@elisaperego78.bsky.social · 9mo ago

In a sample of 100 children from Indonesia who had Covid, 47% showed abnormal pulmonary function on spirometry and 18% had persistent symptoms lasting more than three months following SARS-CoV-2 infection #LongCovid Link www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/61...

Latest questionable response to upcoming social media ban. Local school had a day where they held activities to 'prepare for the social media ban'. They encouraged Yr 7s to get ready by all swapping their phone numbers.(Hmm... Consent?) Anywho, I'm sure that will stop the bullying in it's tracks.

Feeling mix of sad and glad tonight. Glad because hubs got the all good on some results. Sad b/c it may well be last time we speak to the local GP who rang to speak with us. He's retiring after many decades of doctoring in our town - has impacted so many lives here & will be hugely, deeply missed.

Been looking at portable induction plates - I'd like to use the gas stove much less than I currently do. Any recommendations/comments re half decent portable plates options I could try? Know next to nothing about induction.

Pregnant women need to be informed about and protected from SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Dr Elisa Perego@elisaperego78.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Autopsies of 18 foetuses showed that "SARS-CoV-2 can be widely distributed in fetal organs through vertical transmission". In addition immune and DNA damage were found in the infected organs www.nature.com/articles/s41...

1/ Learning loss didn’t come from “lockdowns” or remote instruction. It COMES FROM (still happening) illness. Illness caused by COVID. Illness that makes kids miss school and teachers miss teaching. SICK DAYS. And the vascular damage that causes incapacity to think & retain. This is still happening.

David M. Perry@lollardfish.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Every time Covid and learning loss hits the news, people act like the only factor is folk staying home and learning online, rather than… Living through a global mass death event.