Does this count as work or procrastination?

I have spent this week glued to the Worldometer.info COVID cases tracker. The website offers just the right level of statistical detail. Not too much, to prevent information overload and enough variety to allow for frequent viewing. The format is simple. Two sets of graphs showing the number of cases and deaths reported every day and the cumulative totals of both metrics since the beginning of the pandemic. The genius design element and what keeps me coming back is the ability to add a 3-day and 7-day moving average line to the graphs showing daily figures. There is an aspect of augury in this as you juggle the 3-day line, the 7-day line and the raw datato try to pull out trends or patterns. When a day’s data fails to conform to the imagined trajectory you find yourself repeating the whole process. Maybe the day of the week had an effect? Has there been an effect on the 7-day line? Will this new pattern continue? You check and check again. Hours of fun.

I would like to apologise to all our readers for the late publication of Felix during the enforced lockdown. The team has been working very hard but challenges of working entirely remotely have caused delays. We apologise and will endeavour to be more punctual in the coming year.