Welcome to Anna’s Diary
On life, health and nature
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Gutenberg editing
Finally, after some work, I have landed in a new, updated diary. I have a new web hotel, and you will surely notice that it is much faster than the last one. Last fall, I started looking for a new web hotel, and after Christmas, I found out that Telia’s web hotel would stop. How lucky I was. A big thank you to Peter and Michael, who have guided and helped me with data support in this data jungle.
Now I have a lot of new things to learn about WordPress Gutenberg. In my regular job at Apoteket, I get a lot of use out of my humanistic skills. Knowledge of various languages simplifies, but sometimes body language is enough, which is to some extent universal.
Generative AI as a co-pilot of various kinds is starting to progress. Data technology is dressed in various human characteristics, and for me, this is still revolutionary. I do not write prompts because I get suggestions of grammatical changes that I do not agree with.
I am curious and follow the development. Today, AI cannot read our thoughts. Yet!
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Signs of spring
Finally, the arrival of spring has been celebrated. Over 20°Celsius. Sun protection factor on and sunglasses on. It felt like a long time since I saw spring flowers, so I went for a dog walk. They were there; blue anemone, coltsfoot, wood anemone and spring onions.
Welcome spring!
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Hi webhotel!
This is so refreshing. I have been writing this diary for 13 years. Nice to change. I remember lots of travelling that I have tried to catch by photos and writing – so happy for this change, and also for the opportunity to learn.
This autumn I will go to Nepal and Kathmandu. I am staying in touch with Professor Trilok Pati Thapa. I just learnt that Kathmandu was very popular in the 1960´s as the Hippie trail. Well, I must admit that I also search for some answers. I have so much to read, and my Professor sends me literature.
I am now concidering of traveling from East Asia to reach Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. The world is fragile, as Sting points out.
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Fast AI and bye webhotel
It will be a while before I write again. Next time it will be on the new webhotel. There is so much happening in IT, and I am happy to follow along and learn. Thank you for such great assistance.
There are unusually many conflicts that involve war in the world right now. I live in my training bubble and follow the news a few times a day. A Russian submarine in the Kattegat that doesn’t even try to hide from NATO.
I am happy about little things like having a good everyday life. And I hope that you, dear readers, do too. Today, Bruce Springsteen gets to help summarize the world situation 🇺🇸
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Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus)
There has been an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Canterbury, Kent, England. Students have been affected, and deaths have occurred (please see Canterbury Meningococcus). You can be a carrier (about 10% of the population) of these bacteria without it leading to sepsis and/or meningitis. A so-called natural immunity – an asymptomatic carrier.
If you do get infected, the course of the disease is very rapid, and intensive care is required. A little bacteria that is not visible and in the worst case can be fatal.
Since there are at least 12 different serogroups, you can still get infected because you do not carry all the varieties asymptomatically. As early as 1805, epidemic meningitis was described. Transmission occurs through direct contact, close contact, such as university accommodation, military installations, or large gatherings such as the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Interestingly, vaccination is mandatory before certain pilgrimages. Not all. Right now, England is looking into whether students may have shared vapes.
The last major international outbreak was a scout camp in Japan in 2015, where 1,500 Swedish scouts were given antibiotics (ciprofloxacin) to prevent infection. Once the bacterial strain has been genotyped, perhaps vaccination can be expected to be effective. In Sweden, the Canterbury strain of meningococcus is rare, which is why, as far as I understand, it is not considered necessary to vaccinate. This is Canterbury, not Salisbury, where the Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned in 2018.
I will vaccinate myself against TBE soon. It is time again. Unfortunately, there are hospitalizations with meningitis (meningitis) or encephalitis (brain inflammation). After all, it is cozy tto go for a walk with a dog.
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First spring sun and contemporary Nirvana KBU
Now I see that it is summertime tomorrow, and I hurry to write to tie in with the previous ending. Time and consciousness belong together. That feeling that it feels like there are a hundred seconds until summer. Or when the Concorde plane flew from London to New York so fast that the passengers landed earlier than when they took off from Heathrow.
There is something special every spring when the first sun peeks out. The light is in a very special way. A feeling of hope is ignited within me. Plus, Easter is almost here, so here is a cute little chicken to get in the mood.
Eastern 2026 Pollen season has been going on for a few weeks now. Molly has had her first tick tablet. I have had a little break from my diary because I have been with family and friends. Singing and music are common interests – thank you for the perfect song! They offered a song, and I offered lunch. When I count, I have sung in the school choir for about 15 years.
Music is always with me, even though I only listen and don’t sing. I needed to be in my training bubble before I could write today. It’s wonderful with music combined with heart-pumping training. Same trainer and same music for many years. A little rockier than what I listen to myself. I searched for several hours for a song that could capture the current state of the world. It ended up acoustically with Nirvana MTV—fantastic voice, empathy, and lyrics. Perfect after Ramadan.
I got the chance to cook a new pasta dish. So new that I tested it beforehand. I found two recipes and combined them, interpreting them in my own way. Garlic, shallots, cooking wine, a little cream, cocktail tomatoes, vegetable broth, lemon zest, squeezed lemon, and scampi. Some chili flakes were added with salt and pepper. It was difficult to balance everyone’s tastes. This was mixed with pasta and fresh parsley. What a symphony!
Finally, here is a classical musical symphony that interprets Nirvana’s ”Smells Like Teen Spirit” 🎶. I love the contrast.
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The Panama Canal, and will the next pandemic be worse?
Now war is a reality. Not only a trade war. No economist has spoken out, but from what I remember, trade tariffs are a textbook example of what a country can do to increase domestic growth macroeconomically. Real protectionism.
Strategic targets are being attacked in the Middle East. I think about how important it was to control the Panama Canal so that the Nazis in the 1940s could not conquer the Caribbean and America. We will see how it develops with Greenland, which in a way has a similar geopolitical location to the Panama Canal.
We must not be naive. In Sweden, banks and pharmacies are being targeted in cyberspace, affecting our everyday lives. I am working as usual and was reminded of the swine flu. T. Bäckstrøm and O-A Olsen were my bosses. Wash your hands! Which still applies even though I sometimes wear nail polish. The article from Boots Pharmacy Kråkerøy, Fredrikstad Blad (Norway) is still online: Swineflu short nails and wash your hands!
It is with some concern that I wonder why Magnus Gisslén was not allowed to remain as state epidemiologist. We are the only country in the Nordic region where authorities with a medical mission are led without medical expertise. Why cannot the highest medical expertise be allowed to govern? Without expertise, the ability to assess signals, prioritize correctly, and, above all, understand the consequences disappears.
It is similar to the first snow in November in Sweden. Even though it happens every year, it’s always the same chaos with slippery accidents, canceled public transport, etc. What if the next pandemic is also likely to be worse?
I want to be involved and influence the day for the better. Time is passing. I heard such nice words about time in passing. Time that can be described with the laws of physics. Humanism has also tried to capture time. Me too, in my book “Time for Freedom”. Here is a variation of “seize the day” by an unknown author:
You have no yesterdays.
Time took them away.
But you have today.
