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| Suyana, Ransisku, and Alba didn't seem to mind Monday's Rain (Taken 2.5.24) |
What a week it's been. And it's only Tuesday.
The Kid and I went to see Fun Home at New Village Arts Theatre on Saturday night and, wow! What an incredible show. I'm not a great theatre critic because there's really only one performance I've ever seen in my life that I thought was flat-out bad, but Fun Home itself is a Tony award winning musical and the cast on this local presentation was excellent. The theatre is beautiful and intimate, and every seat has a clear view of the stage. I cried and laughed and cried some more. If you're a person inclined to theatre, particularly touched by LGBTQIA+ issues, this one is one you should catch while you can.
I know the storms have been top of mind for everyone, but I just chug along and do what I always do. Sometimes I go to the zoo all day, sometimes I just go for a quickie to see some of my little buddies. On Monday, I bundled up in all my rain gear and got five miles in, so proud of myself for having finally found the right gear to keep dry, getting some really special moments with the gorillas, the Andean Bears, the giraffes, Ernest the lion, Nindiri the Jaguar, and some incredible playtime amongst the brother elephants, which you can watch on my YouTube channel (I recommend playing your own soundtrack and watching the video on mute, since I couldn't strip the audio.) Other days, like Tuesday, I wake up after just a few hours of sleep and am super low energy. The rain came down in buckets and even my dry gear was no match, so I was damp and tired and certain I couldn't pull of as much walking in my knee high rainboots as I had in my water-resistant booties. I still made it to see my gorillas and had them nearly to myself for almost an hour, with a couple families popping by briefly but bored because the boys were mostly just sitting with their backs to the glass. As soon as people would leave, they'd get all active and Denny was splashing mud at his brothers and the chase was on. So fun. I'm glad I made it for that. But by the time I'd gone to orangutans, they'd gone back to their rooms, my favorite little monkey was cute but stayed high in his cage to stay dry, so I did a final lap to say goodbye to the gray parrots (talkative as ever) and decided to call it a day. I did some work and cleaned the house a little, but Monday's insomnia demanded a Tuesday nap, and man, did I need it.
Tonight I've been catching up on work demands and setting up a couple ads and newsletters and procrastinating starting my listings, but I'm sure I'll be up for a while still with my polyphasic sleep cycle, so hopefully I can knock those out tonight and have a real day in normal shoes on Wednesday. Oh, and yesterday I watched two movies...Plus One (on Hulu) which is a completely predictable but cute rom-com, and Frybread Face and Me (on Netflix) which was so, so good, about a Navajo kid from San Diego who goes to live with his grandma and cousin on the "rez" for the summer as a tween and all the life lessons one would expect from that situation.
Anyway, I hope everyone can enjoy the beauty of the rain and not just suffer from the power of it. Stay safe out there. I love you.
- ELECTION: The last day to register to vote for the March 5, 2024 Primary Election is February 20! If you are not already a California voter, you can register, confirm your registration, and check the status of your vote-by-mail ballot online here.
- 146 Ballot Drop Boxes Open for March Presidential Primary Election - County News Center (2.6.24)
- This week a friend asked what resources I use for voting. I tend to use Courage California's guide as a starting point, but a few notes:
- My friend JODI CLEESATLE is running for judge in Superior Court 41! She's incredible and deserves every vote.
- I think Adam Schiff will take the Senate primary, but I'm sticking with Katie Porter on this one, for now.
- Not my district, but Margarita Wilkinson's ads are disgusting. Her family "killed by Cartel" certainly weren't killed here, so all the reasons she gives for closing the border seem to be the very same that are why people are trying to come here. There is nothing grosser than immigrants who think the door should shut behind them. Fuck off.
- Not my district, but Carl "the loser" DeMaio is running for Assembly District 80. This piece of shit needs to go far, far away. Kevin Juza has the California Democratic Party endorsement, so everyone should really put their efforts into getting him in and leaving Carl sniveling on the radio with his next racist dogwhistles.
- STORM:
- Be Safe When Driving in the Rain - County News Center (2.4.24)
- Slow down to avoid getting into an accident. It takes longer to stop when roads are wet. Allow yourself at least an extra 15 minutes or so to arrive at your destination to adjust for slower traffic.
- Turn on your headlights to see better and make it easier for other drivers to see you. It’s the law.
- Try to drive toward the middle lanes as water tends to gather in outside lanes.
- Defog your windows for better visibility. Rain can cause windows to fog up. Along the same lines, check your windshield wipers preferably before it rains again and replace them as needed.
- Avoid driving through deep water because it can affect your brakes. If you cannot avoid it, test your brakes afterward to make sure they’ve dried out and are working properly.
- Turn around, don’t drown. In heavy rains, never drive through a flooded roadway if you cannot see the pavement. Even a few inches of water running at the right velocity can sweep a car, and even a truck, and its occupants off the roadway and downstream. You should not walk or swim across a flooded roadway either.
- Give the cars in front of you extra distance. The spray from their vehicles — particularly from larger trucks and buses — can hamper your vision. And giving extra space to the guy in front of you also gives you more time to brake or adjust if you need to do so.
- Keep calm, don’t oversteer or stomp on the brakes if you start to hydroplane or skid when your tires lose traction with the wet road. The Department of Motor Vehicles says keep the steering wheel straight and take your foot off the accelerator so your vehicle can slow down slowly.
- Stay focused. Remember, it’s illegal, and dangerous, to try to text or use a hand-held cell phone when you’re driving.
- Slow down for the cone zone if you see highway or road workers ahead or to your side. Watch out for public works crews and equipment.
- City of San Diego Opens Local Assistance Center for People Impacted by Storm - County News Center (2.2.24)
- Lighter than anticipated rainfall on Thursday, stronger storm to arrive Sunday - City News Service/kpbs (2.2.24)
- Governor Newsom Lists San Diego in New State of Emergency Proclamation - County News Center (2.4.24)
- City of San Diego Issues Flood Advisory - Alert San Diego (2.4.24)
- The Scale of California's Pineapple Express Phenomenon - Statista (2.5.24)
- COVID-19:
- Can the government ask social media sites to take down Covid misinformation? SCOTUS will weigh in - STAT News (1.29.24)\
- US respiratory virus activity still high but continues to ebb - CIDRAP (1.26.24)
- Updated WHO COVID prevention guidance may endanger rather than protect, some experts say - CIDRAP (1.26.24)
- US government (under TFG) failure to protect frontline workers from COVID led to thousands of deaths, scientists say - CIDRAP (1.30.24)
- Updated Covid vaccine has 54% effectiveness, new data suggest - STAT News 2.1.24
- GUN CONTROL:
- Voters Want President Biden to Use Executive Authority to Address Gun Violence - Data For Progress (1.29.24)
- U.S. Youth Attitudes on Guns: Final Qualitative Focus Group Findings - SPLC/Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund/Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) (2.6.24)
- Politics:
- The second insurrection - Popular.info (1.29.24)
- Guttmacher Institute joined two powerful amicus briefs that were submitted to the US Supreme Court on January 30, calling on the Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ dangerous decision to limit access to medication abortion and uphold the FDA’s long-standing approval of mifepristone without imposing medically unnecessary restrictions. - Guttmacher Institute (2.6.24)
- News:
- First 2024 Measles Case Confirmed in San Diego County - County News Center (2.2.24)
- Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Queso Fresco and Cotija Cheese (February 2024). Do not eat, sell, or serve recalled Rizo Lopez Foods dairy products. FDA’s investigation is ongoing. - FDA (2.5.24)
- Other Reading:
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completes status review and finding for gray wolves in the Western United States; launches National Recovery Plan - USFWS (2.2.24)
- Disappointingly, "announcement does not make any changes to the legal status of gray wolves in the United States."
- Gray wolves are listed under the ESA as endangered in 44 states, threatened in Minnesota, and under state jurisdiction in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and portions of eastern Oregon and Washington.
- First-ever sighting of a live newborn great white - UC Riverside (2.1.24)
- Grammy Awards 2024 Winners: Full List - Paste (2.5.24)
- Government:
- EIA: EIA to initiate collection of data regarding electricity use by U.S. cryptocurrency miners (1.31.24)
- EIA increased its U.S. natural gas consumption forecast for the first quarter of 2024 - EIA (2.6.24)
- US COVID-19 Stats
- CDC Data Tracker: New Weekly Updates on Fall and Winter Virus Season
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