I don't know if I fall into the Pollyanna camp or not, but I'm not THAT worried about the Jan 6th nutjobs. I follow a local conservative forum (very conservative) and wasn't surprised that people actually attacked the Capital, but I also wasn't all that concerned either. And I think that's because I never expected them to succeed. Maybe that is some of my biases, but I also think, after following this group for several years now, we're not talking the brightest bulbs in the lot or, for that matter, the ones with the best/most rational thought.

I wouldn't be surprised if they, or groups like them try again. I expect some people may get hurt/killed which is Not Good. But in terms of a) taking over the government and then b) hanging on to it, I just don't see that happening.

I do expect Cruz and Hawley and Paul to try and harness the enthusiasm of the Trumpites for their own ambitions. I'm just not sure how well they'll do at that. They're certainly smarter than the Trumpites, but I don't think they really believe - maybe Hawley, it's hard to know with him.

What it basically comes down to is: I expect the next few years to be messy and possibly dangerous, but I don't have long-term concerns about the future.

Here’s some good stuff news, I guess. A guy in my neighborhood has a Korean taco restaurant thatopened not long before COVID. He immediately put up one of the “Love Fridges” inside the restaurant and has been one of the biggest boosters and backers of community support efforts

His latest with the cold weather is amazing. He goes out at like 5 am and finds a tamale cart vendor. Buys out their entire stock (with collected donations) so they can immediately go home and have a day off and out of the cold. (Today’s vendor had 19 dozen left at 6 am). Then he takes all those steaming hot tamales to one of the encampments of people without homes under the freeway overpasses.

He’s been doing this every day for the past couple of weeks. Aside from my out of control tamale cravings, it’s just such a creative way to directly help people who need it. The vendors are often undocumented, and fresh, hot meals they don’t have to trudge through the cold for is something people living outside don’t often get.

Sara is positive for COVID.

Oh no! I think you've dealt with quite enough as it is!

brenda, that's a fantastic story.

Laura, one anecdata: JZ has had both vax shots. First one had sore arm, tired for a day, and bounced right back. Second one: Pretty much the same thing. Hit her a little harder. Slept all the next day, but functional again. Mind, she also had COVID herself last spring so she should be chock full of antibodies by now.

I'm hearing that California will be rolling out the vax by age once they get past the first tier, so I might not have to wait until June. I will be getting jabbed as soon as they let me!

brenda, I love that story! And now I want a tamale.

Brenda, that just made me cry! In a good way

Amy, I am so sorry for the COVID exposure

lisah- I am so sorry for the sads

Faith in humanity: Briefly restored

Oh- what is interesting about the vaccine tiers is that P-12 staff and faculty qualify for 1B, but for Higher Education, only the faculty qualify. So someone like the person who runs the nursing labs as a staff member and has really high contact with students does not qualify yet. But a faculty member would (although most of them already qualify because they already work in the hospital). The Medical School Staff DO seem to qualify because they are also in the hospital and we are in a separate building across the street!. It is a moot point, because there is literally no vaccine now, but they said more is coming soon. I get that I can mostly work from home (except the three days a year I run an in person lab), so I don't qualify, but there are three people who run labs and in person simulation in our building almost every day.

Timelies all!

I'm sorry, Amy. Virtual hugs sent your way.

In some other good news, we've sold JZ's father's house.

After the fire, the insurance paid for fixing the roof and stripping it down to the studs. So we lost about 40% of the value of the property in the fire itself. BUT he had comprehensive insurance and so we'll make up basically the full expected value of the house when the insurance pays out. We know what they'll pay, they just haven't ponied up yet. (The money we lost in repairing the place we make up because all the furniture and items in the house will be worth more in insurance write-off than they ever would have been in an estate sale.)

Side note to gamers: the buyer was the CTO of Electronic Arts back in the day. He was the guy in charge of developing The Sims! (among many other things)

His wife is originally from San Francisco and she wanted to move back to the Bay Area, and she loved the view (which is spectacular - the entire Bay, San Francisco and both bridges). And they basically get to renovate the entire house to their liking. So in some ways that was not a deterrence.

We're happy to be selling to a family who will move in, instead of a flipper. Also, he's paying cash so it'll be neat and clean and done. So that's a huge thing off JZ and her brothers' shoulders.

That is a great story, brenda!