Volans, I'm sorry, for both those things.

Jessica, I ask myself that at least a dozen times a day lately.

applesauce muffins:

You know what I miss? Driving up to Kingston to a local brewery that has an open mic blues night; Jim getting me a beer and talking to a friend of his who's a regular player, while I walk a couple of blocks to the burger place to pick up supper. Spending a few hours listening to music (and heckling the players in a friendly way), petting dogs who want pets, helping kids get board games out of the stack. When it's over, we all walk down the road to a bar that's open later and hang out until they throw us out, then drive home down quiet roads under the stars.

God, I hope Downpour makes it. The couple who own it are great - I've watched their kids tear around during fish frys in the beer garden - they give so much to the community, and their beer is amazing.

but what is a worry is that the doctors and nurses are getting sick, too, and they won't have enough staff to care for patients at this rate.

Not only sick, but completely exhausted and weary. It is very worrying.

That is a problem here too. Also housekeeping, patient transport and nutrition services. It is getting to the point where we have been warned about getting called up.

Someone needs to tell interview candidates that "what qualities are you looking for in a person for this role" is not a useful question to ask. I've been asked that in three consecutive phone screens now and I really want to know what 10 Things To Ask During A Job Interview listicle these people have all read because dude that is a TERRIBLE question. I have no interest in telling you what I want to hear, that's not how this goes!

42?

Hawaii just tightened it's pre-travel test restrictions, so if you don't have results in-hand before getting on the plane that will bring you here, you have to do the full 14 day quarantine.no early release when you do get them. Apparently, they had 44 people whose results came back positive after they'd arrived.

But the island's been hanging our at under 20 cases a day for a few days (about 200,000 people), so we're not in horrible shape, at the moment.

UGGGGGGGH WHY ARE PEOPLE

This.

The politicalization of basic health common sense continues to horrify me.

As other people have said, that trope in zombie fiction about people hiding that they've been bitten, and that's how we get shambling hordes of undead isn't wrong.

Someone please remind me not to go hate/spite read something. I don't need be simultaneously pissed off and start up the chanting of the Brain Raccoons.

Someone please remind me not to go hate/spite read something.

This has to be reserved for just the right moment. This is not that moment.

Here's a little bit of good news.

Matilda's been stressed and depressed dealing with online school since it started, and is currently taking a citywide test in Algebra (the earlier test in this series a few days ago wound up with her sobbing and in tears).

But we got her district assessment in Reading Inventory, and she's not only in 4 (Advanced), but her raw score is literally off the chart above 11th & 12th grade expectations.

Her Lexile is 1397, and the 11/12 range goes from 1185-1385.

Of course, in Math she's always Approaching Standard all year and manages to Meet it by the end of the year. She's never really recovered from the introduction of Common Core which taught her one thing which she holds as an immutable truth: she's bad at math.