So, the process to get Energy Assistance is extremely onerous if you have misplaced your social security card because they won't even accept tax forms as verified SS numbers.

Also, NIU HR won't allow even the person whose SS card it is to come in and copy their copy of the card.

HR is consistently annoying. . .so that should have come as no surprise. I wonder if they're afraid that some nefarious entity is blackmailing me into giving them a copy of my SS card for some reason.

Ooh, that is jealous-making, Sparky!

And an annoying PITA for you sumi! How hard is it to get a replacement SS card? (Also, it's ridiculous that anyone requires that piece of paper as an original anything.)

Mundanely, I bet Jesse's phone had "location services" turned off.

No, the phone definitely knew I was in Maseru, because it was giving me Maseru weather. And I had the time settings on auto-find or whatever. It just didn't know what time zone Maseru is in!

I got my SS card replaced here in PA and it was fairly painless, but I went right to an SS office. I'm sorry it's such a hassle, sumi.

Jesse, when do you come home?

A profeprofessors husband just stop by while I was listening to Muppet Christ Superstar, particularly the part where Gonzo's chickens are bauking "Jesus Christ Superstar, do you think your who they say you are." It was a little embarrassing.

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I think this episode of Sesame Street features Game of Thrones stars. I just spent ten minutes watching Peter Dinklage sing about "Simon Says", and now Lena Headey is explaining the word of the day.

I've been very remiss in keeping everyone up to date on our cat Arthur's kidney failure. Penn rejected him because he tested positive for coronavirus, which can mutate into FIP (a terminal disease for which there isn't really any treatment, much less a cure). Wisconsin was willing to take him and put him on the immune suppressant -- no FIP, but Wisconsin later rejected him because it took enormous doses of the immune suppressant to get the amount in his system to a normal level.

And now the University of Georgia is willing to evaluate him. They would use a different immune suppressant, which is commonly used on dogs but hasn't been tried on cats. So there's a purely experimental angle to this.

Of course we're going forward. It's what we do.

Jesse, when do you come home?

I'll be back Saturday evening. I was supposed to go on a site visit up in the mountains, but it got cancelled for what turned out to be stupid reasons, so I'm a little bummed. But I hope tomorrow I'll get to go a TB hospital before I have to leave! Good times.

The closest SS office is not close. . . and for somebody who doesn't drive: pretty impossible to get to.

Something happier: blogpost that includes video of sharp tailed grouse dancing.

This morning the train line I took had about 12 trains that were late or cancelled. Some delays were up to 45 minutes but mine was only delayed five. They said it was because of "police activity at Glencoe," so I assumed a train had hit a pedestrian (possibly a suicide).

But it turned out that the police had found a body near the train tracks in Glencoe but the body had not actually been hit by the train. I should have known--when a train hits a pedestrian here the delay is usually two hours.

I've always admired NYC, as I've heard they can get the subway trains running again in only an hour after a suicide on the tracks.

I don't know about Chicago, but the other thing NYC has over Boston is multiple tracks on every (or at least most?) line. So it's possible to re-route trains. Boston only has one track each way most of the time, so there's nothing anyone can really do if there's any kind of issue.