The Ferrari Lab

@theferrarilab

Infectious disease epidemiologist, mathematical modeling ... and Lucy's person. Director, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (@ciddpsu.bsky.social) at Penn State theferrarilab.net

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The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· 21d

When I started doing wildlife research in Yellowstone the very first thing I had to do was read this book.

Cover of the book "Death in Yellowstone" by Lee Whittlesey

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· 21d

Reviewing a manuscript on AI that presumes the value of the models as given and I'm reminded that it's never not a good time to read this nugget from Borges ...

On Exactitude in Science
Jorge Luis Borges, Collected Fictions, translated by Andrew Hurley.

...In that Empire, the Art of Cartography attained such Perfection that the map of a single Province occupied the entirety of a City, and the map of the Empire, the entirety of a Province. In time, those Unconscionable Maps no longer satisfied, and the Cartographers Guilds struck a Map of the Empire whose size was that of the Empire, and which coincided point for point with it. The following Generations, who were not so fond of the Study of Cartography as their Forebears had been, saw that that vast Map was Useless, and not without some Pitilessness was it, that they delivered it up to the Inclemencies of Sun and Winters. In the Deserts of the West, still today, there are Tattered Ruins of that Map, inhabited by Animals and Beggars; in all the Land there is no other Relic of the Disciplines of Geography.
—Suarez Miranda, Viajes de varones prudentes, Libro TV,Cap. XLV, Lerida, 1658

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· 24d

Speak for yourself

A cream colored bicycle shot from behind in front of Notre Dame cathedral

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Jul 13

Just like the framers intended

A cartoon of a stack of blocks, precariously held up by a single small block that, if removed, would cause all the others to fall. Text indicates that the whole stack is "the functionality of the largest and most successful democracy in modern history" and the one block holding it up is "the mortality of any one elected official"

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Jul 5

4th of July at the O’Hare Hilton. Brought to you by Midwest thunderstorms.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Jul 3

South Asia is the best place for breakfast. I’ll die on that hill.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Jun 26

This is what she looks like after a bender.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Jun 26

Neither can Lucy

Lucy, a brown dog with down ears and one white paw, sitting on a blue ottoman

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Jun 14

Since it is Obama Appreciation Day

A box of Hershey's kisses in a blue box with the presidential seal and Barack Obama's signature.

A case of Molson Canadian and a case of Yuengling. The former is signed "To make good on President Obama's bet. Great Game". These are displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and are payment on a bet between the US and Canada on the outcome of the 2010 Olympic hockey finals.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Jun 9

Breakfast view in Jakarta. Here for Measles Analytics Hub annual meeting, not the food … the food is just a completely coincidental benefit.

Cityscape shot from above. Athletic fields in the foreground.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Jun 4

@ciddpsu.bsky.social grad student Christina Harden representing at @eeid2026.bsky.social

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· May 26

There are ways we could all be safer.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· May 19

Doing your civic duty can be fun. Primary day in PA.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· May 18

Primary voting in PA tomorrow. Vote in your primary, it is the time that you get to vote your heart for the candidate that is closest to your version of perfect. Then grit your teeth and vote in the General Election for the candidate that is furthest from your version of the worst.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· May 15

HPV and measles vaccines top the list of health impacts of Gavi's vaccine portfolio in a new analysis in The Lancet ... assuming pre-Trump funding projections ... from the Vaccine Impact Modeling Consortium. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· May 4

Lucy is frequently concerned that today will be the day that I forget what time dinner is.

Lucy, a brown dog with down ears wearing an orange and yellow vest sitting on a dirt road with trees in the background.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· May 3

Spent the day on the single speed gravel bike at the Mammoth Endurance Gravel. Wellsboro and the Pine Creek canyon are hidden gems in northern PA that I recommend to anyone. Find a day that doesn't start at 26F though.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· May 3

Made more likely by US funding cuts to international surveillance and control programs.

To address the global problem, “We need cross-border diplomacy,” Bastos says. But the 21-year-old FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases, which supports detection, containment, and prevention of animal disease outbreaks globally, is in trouble after the United States, which provided 90% of its funding, withdrew its support last year. FAO is planning to launch a smaller successor, although funding is still being worked out, says Nick Lyons, global surveillance coordinator in FAO’s Animal Health Division.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Apr 30

Apparently James Comey reposted this picture.

Donald Trump, in a room in the White House, standing in front of a buffet of fast food items, each individually wrapped, on trays and platters on a table in front of him. Behind him is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Apr 23

Lucy expresses her approvalA

Lucy, a brown dog with a white chest, asleep on a wood floor in the sunshine.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Apr 22

There is so much to love in this piece: "While the police made light of Mr. Augustine’s pasta-and-switch method, calling it a “pasta-tively terrible plan,” his scheme was just the latest in a trend of Lego thefts."

A clear plastic with small compartments, each filled with identical sorted Lego figurines. The caption reads "Lego pieces are small and untraceable, making them attractive to steal and sell on the black market --Irvine Police Department"

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Apr 7

Both of them.

Wattson, a brown and white dog with up ears sleeping on a grey bed in the sunshine.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Apr 7

I'm having a very hard time planning for tomorrow. I am going to go squeeze my dog.

Lucy, a brown dog with down ears, sleeping with her head on her paws on the arm of a blue chair, with an orange pillow.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Apr 6

The ethical conundrum of wanting a solution to end the conflict but also not wanting to reward a madman for threatening war crimes to achieve political ends. I think the former is the better because it at least delays the consequences long enough for a chance at removal from power.

A schematic of the "Trolley Problem" where both tracks have the same number of people, but one has them further away.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Apr 4

The ironic timing of this Op Ed in The Onion

A newspaper article with the title:
I work very hard, and I would like to try cake By a Horse.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Mar 29

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today ... The third best is tomorrow, if today is a Sunday and you have a dog in your lap.

A cartoon hand holding dirt with a seedling growing out of it.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Mar 19

There's never a bad time to promote this absolute banger by Walt Orenstein and Alan Hinman (and others) about the relationship between coverage, field efficacy, and the proportion of cases with a vaccine history. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3879673/

A figure with proportion vaccinated on the x-axis and percentage of cases with a vaccine history on the y-axis. Different lines indicate different levels of vaccine efficacy from 40-95. The lines are increasing from left to right. lines indicating higher efficacy are more curved (e.g. look more exponential than linear).

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Mar 18

Vibes

Lucy, a brown dog with a white chest and down ears sleeping on a wood floor in the sunshine.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Mar 18

Got to give a talk today at Mailman School of Public Health with a view of the Hudson River* in the background. Thanks to @senpei.bsky.social for hosting me! *I grew up "up the river" in the shadow of Sing Sing Prison.

The Ferrari Lab@theferrarilab· Mar 18

My entire childhood was yellow. There were also cakes with that style of icing done entirely with the star tip.