The last few days the news media seemed to have decided to go with Team Reality. Reality (the real reality, not the fake "reality tv" reality) may be depressing, but at least it doesn't change several times a day.

Just got my first contact-tracing call, wheeeee. Someone who was swimming laps in my timeslot has tested positive for Covid, so now I'm banned from swimming for 14 days (and need to get a Covid test myself). I wish they were allowed to tell me the gender of the person who had tested positive, because I'm much more worried about the locker room than the pool itself. (Rules state that masks have to be worn unless folks are in the water, but in practice people leave them with their clothes and don't put them back on until after drying off, so there's always a few minutes where everyone is naked and maskless at the end of a session.)

Negative~ma, Jess (I feel like the "negativity" interpretation of my board name has taken on a better connotation of late!)

We had a second case in the warehouse, which probably does not affect me as I have not been in the office in a month or so, I don't actually remember how long it's been. I guess I was in the same building as people who were potentially exposed today, but everyone was masked and 6 feet apart and I'm not gonna be concerned about it right now. I may get another just-in-case test after the sale is over.

Also I would like one of everything, please!

In normal years we do get people whose shopping carts pretty much look like that!

I'm tempted ... I have a new apartment with a new, smaller oven and had to get rid of some of my old baking sheets (they were old and kind of beat-up). I don't, however, have a lot of storage space in the kitchen ... decisions, decisions ....

Fingers crossed, Jess. You too, -t.

On the kitchen-stuff front, it's harder to justify some things now, living downstairs from my mother. Like, I only have a single six-spot muffin tin, but she has plenty! How many muffin tins do the two of us need?? (Possibly one more, is what I'm thinking...)

We have bakeware sized for toaster ovens, Toddson! But weigh that storage question carefully before you get anything, it's really hard to get storage space back after you fill it up. Bakeware does tend to nest well, at least. That goes for you, too, Jesse.

Possibly the best thing about the outlet sale is actually that we recycle old cookware, but that doesn't do y'all much good over on the other side of the country. I'm not gonna volunteer for you to ship it to me to haul over to the bin. I'm hoping I can make some time to go through my cupboards and get rid of some stuff, though.

Seems there were a lot of celebrations when the election was called. The song they're singing in the first bit is what people were singing outside the White House after Obama's first election (in the crowd was Joan Baez ... in a zebra striped hotel robe).

In small-minded news, it seems the current occupant has his people refusing to fund Biden's transition (this from a man who, when he saw what his transition team was paying started screaming about having his money spent). He's also planning a bunch of rallies ....

The White House, which seems to have no understanding of cause and effect, said that all of the attendees were tested.

I do wonder if Trump is still shedding virus. He directed his own medical care and testing (as far as I can tell). Also, if they just used the quick test, it gives a lot of false negatives (maybe 60% accuracy).

Oh, get the FUCK out! One of my authors -- literally, I was working on his author changes this morning -- is named to the Covid task force! When I sent an email last week saying "Hey, your article was due yesterday; please return it so we don't have to send the goons out," he replied and said "Apologies -- we are a bit distracted with 'current events'," and I assumed he meant the general suspense around the outcome of the election. But no, it seems he meant "I have been talking to Team Biden about being on the freaking Covid task force!!!" That is so cool!

This is completely cool, Teppy! How is Tim feeling today?

How is Tim feeling today?

A lot better than the past few days, and no fever. So, fingers still crossed that it was just a generic virus.

This time, instead of the one looooong swab that bounces off the inside back of your skull, there was a shorter swab not much longer than a qtip but they do both nostrils. This is general staff testing rather than the more worrying "you might have been exposed" testing. I think it's a very good action for an assisted living residence to put into practice.

We're so far from out of the wood with the coronavirus... but between Biden going to run a better national policy than Trump and a truly hopeful announcement about a vaccine, I can believe that we may have crested the long upslope and have an easier downhill on this.