So it seems I have COVID. For extra real, this time—tested positive and everything. Optimistically, T had it in late December / early January and I didn’t catch it from her, and this time around I have it and hopefully she’s not catching it from me. But who knows.
It’s frustrating, as this was almost definitely from a (unnecessary, foreseeable, preventable) workplace exposure—if you’re sick, please stay home, especially if you have paid sick days or the ability to work from home (which not everybody in this house has); if you’re positioned to promote a culture where people feel they can stay home, please do that. Often enough, work can wait.
I’ve been sick—miserable at some times, terrified at others, well below capacity mostly. I’m deeply grateful to T for taking such good care of me (and Arthur and Pema and the house), as this’d be a very rough go all on my own.
In moments of lucidity, I’ve been reading (or watching the fourth season of Lower Decks, which I’d missed entirely). In print, I’ve been turning often to Nona the Ninth, thoroughly enjoying it (since reading Harrow, I’ve learned to accept that I won’t fully get what’s going on for much of the book, until it all clicks, and am enjoying the unhurried ride).
I was surprised to go through my bookmarks and realize I’ve done at least a bit of online reading worth sharing, too:
- Canada Post is selling Innovapost, its IT subsidiary, to Deloitte.
- Though the exact details are unclear, it seems Canada Post (and, presumably, Purolator, its remaining subsidiary, which used to use Innovapost’s services) will now have its IT services largely delivered by Deloitte. This isn’t unprecedented—the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) years ago outsourced its IT to Accenture, which is going great if you ask Accenture (if only government teams were as comfortable writing slick sales pitches about their own work! [I kid, I get that it’s not just a matter of comfort]), but has delivered mixed results from what I’ve heard.
- As both paywalled and open coverage point out, this is happening against a backdrop of (deservedly!) increased scrutiny of contracting and outsourcing in the federal government. That said, it’s also a week or so after the former VP of “strategic outsourcing” at a big consulting company was made deputy minister for a very touchy file, so there’s that.
- The part that’s extra head-scratching to me, though (maybe Kafka can explain it to me), is that it’s also happening against a backdrop of the UK’s Horizon scandal, much of which was enabled by some eyebrow-raising IT outsourcing. Wonders never cease.
- How did the US government hide spending on the atomic bomb? In plain sight.
- The changing provision and nature of washrooms for women in the UK Parliament tells a story of changing eras in social mobility and mores.
- I nodded along to much of Sameer’s explanation for his word for 2024, “remember” (stay, as always, for the delightful collection of links at the end)—if I were to adopt a similar for this year, I’d go for “reflect” (though I said much the same last year, and here we are, me still yearning for the same).
All the best for the week ahead! May we all stay (or get, as the case may be) as healthy as can be.
Lucas