Inauguration Day!!! President Joe Biden & Vice-President Kamala Harris Take Their Oaths and Immediately Get To Work: Prez Signs 15 EOs, Senate In Session | CoViD-19: Variants, Vax, County Sets Single Day Local Death Record |

African Penguin at San Diego Zoo (Taken 6.28.2020)
Today is International Penguin Awareness Day

I don't have any fancy pictures of the Capitol and I prefer not using other people's photos, so instead of an Inauguration Day photo, you get a penguin in honor of Penguin Awareness Day. This is not in any way to diminish this historic day. It gave me chills watching the ceremonies and I'm looking forward to seeing what other EOs and legislation comes out in the coming days to attempt to reverse some of the damage done over the last four years, but I have to say the 17 actions today are a pretty great start, and it looks like Bears Ears and ANWR are going to be restored in the upcoming days, too. But if 'bold' is the word being tossed around, we certainly saw some of that today. And I unintentionally caught Marco Rubio on the floor and he is such a complete hypocrite. Nearly everything that comes out of his mouth can be factually refuted and his hyperbole of suggesting what 'most Americans want' just shows how clueless he really is. He's up for election in 2022 and it would be amazing if we could get him booted out for good. 

But I don't want that to ruin the day. I don't think this administration is going to be some miracle savior, but it already feels so good not to be thinking about what was left behind from that other guy. Me and Darren are gonna celebrate in the speakeasy tonight, but don't forget the rest of the week will be busy...our COVID numbers are still gnarly, reporting the most single day deaths reported in San Diego yet, and people are so confused about vaccinations it's sad. San Diego county's media briefing will be on Thursday because of the Inauguration, but I'm sure we'll be hearing more about variants, our incredibly high case rate per 100k, and hands up in the air about enforcement because all of the lawsuits are still pending (which they never mention). Meanwhile, it would be nice to see a rollout of a place to register for people who don't have health coverage so we can know when our turns are up and where we can go. If they can notify me of a missing person, they should be able to reach out when I can get my shots, no??

So besides watching all the Inaugural stuff all day, we did a Target pick-up order, and then we ended up swinging by Ross, because while I'd love to not go shopping at all, the 13 year old around here keeps growing and I can't expect her to go barefoot until she can go back to school (ha!). So we were less than 15 minutes in and out, did a quick dip to Big Lots and now we're settled back in and hopefully can stay home for the next few days at least. Testing numbers are really dropping in San Diego, perhaps because people were testing more around the holidays 'to be safe' but now are only doing so when more noticeably symptomatic, but you shouldn't hold back from getting a free test, especially if you're regularly interfacing with the public or have a known exposure. It's the only way we're gonna get control of this monster. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: "Totally Under Control" | 400,000 US Deaths On COVID-19 Memorial Day | More About L452R Variant | Warp Speed Chaos | Biden Inauguration in 12 Hours! |

Rhino Momma and Babe at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 11.26.2020)

Darren and I watched a kinda funny but mostly dumb movie called Save Yourselves! last night but then after he went to sleep I watched the documentary Totally Under Control (Hulu) about how the exiting administration has handled the pandemic and it is so unbelievable. Even as someone who has tried to follow it closely since shutdowns first started happening my jaw was to the floor. What's more infuriating is how much was known long before the American public was becoming aware, and how the corruption of this administration is even deeper than you can even imagine. Today the US has surpassed 400,000 deaths (50,000 more than I estimated by Inauguration Day) and all of those deaths lie squarely on this administration's hands. They all need to go to jail and never be allowed any positions in government ever again. The only reason I could even watch was knowing that they'll all be gone on Wednesday and hopefully we can get on track to get our broken 'new normal' lives on track to some forward progress.

Other than lots of news and email, nothing really going on around here. I was up late last night so I slept late and just spent the day getting through all the daily emails. Nothing super exciting. I did watch a lot of news including today's briefing with Secretary Ghaly. It's so funny because he has a tell when he doesn't really want to say what he's thinking, like when people are asking about youth sports while San Diego's cases per 100k hit an astonishing 97.4 unadjusted. Remember that we have to get below 28 for schools to open and below 7 to move back to the red tier, and that's only once our regions projected ICU capacity gets back above 15%. Anyway, we have a lot to look forward to on Wednesday barring any psycho surprises. I'm not the praying type, but let's send positive vibes in the universe and hope the crazies stay at bay and the inauguration and transfer of power is the most low-key boring thing we've ever witnessed in our lives. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: L452R Variant Rampant In California | Starbucks To The Rescue | We Shall Overcome | One More Chaotic Day To Go |

Momma and calf rhino at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 9.25.2020)

I never thought I had any heart or lung problems until I've recently realized how much lighter my heart feels, how much deeper I can breathe seeing the inauguration so close on the horizon. Me and Darren celebrated in the speakeasy last night and finished watching Lupin on Netflix. I'm looking forward to the next few days of San Diego winter, vegging around the house, and rejoicing, though there is still a day and a half to get through and let's just know that it is still scary and anything can happen. 

I've been trying to find more animal stories, because why not, but also have all the usual dreary links. Stay safe out there...we're so close to vaccinations it would feel so dumb to catch this virus now. 

• COVID-19:
• California becomes first state to top 3 million virus cases - AP News (1.18.2021)
  The state health department announced Sunday that an L452R variant of the virus is increasingly showing up in genetic sequencing of COVID-19 test samples from several counties.
  The variant was first identified last year in California and in other states and countries but has been identified more frequently since November and in several large outbreaks in Northern California’s Santa Clara County, the department said.
• The curse of the incidental illness: Seen as side effects to Covid vaccinations, ailments may have little to do with them - STAT News (12.28.2020) 
• Amid surge in COVID-19 deaths, officials temporarily lift limits on number of bodies cremated in L.A. County - KTLA (1.17.2021)
• Read the full Executive Order
• There is no COVID vaccine reserve. Trump admin already shipped it. "This is a deception on a national scale." - ARS Technica (1.15.2021)
• Washington state taps Starbucks for help with Covid vaccine rollout. The coffee giant has committed a team to work full time on expediting its home state's vaccine distribution. - NBC News (1.18.2021)
• Politics:
• Thank you, California - Kamala Harris (1.18.2021)
• News: 
• Lamont Jackson Chosen Interim SD Unified Superintendent When Marten Leaves - Times of San Diego (1.18.2021)
• Other Reading/Watching:
• Original Footage of the March On Washington with Martin Luther King Jr. - Internet Archive
• Pregnant Bobcat Likely Hit by Car in Rancho Bernardo Released Back to Wild After Treatment. The San Diego Humane Society Ramona Wildlife Center said this was a special case for them since they helped rescue three lives -- the feline and her unborn kittens - NBC San Diego (1.18.2021)
• African Rhino Left for Dead by Poachers Now Thriving (VIDEO) - NBC San Diego (1.18.2021)
• Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 1.18.2021 8:22pm):
• 95,555,533 Known Cases
• 2,039,947 Known Deaths
• US COVID-19 Stats 
• (JHU)
• 24,074,658 Cases
• 398,980 Deaths
• (COVID Tracking Project):
• 150,385 New Cases/23,778,275 Known Cases (6.5%+ Change over 7 Days)
• 1,393 New Deaths/390,262 Known Deaths
• 123,848 Current COVID-19 Hospitalizations
• 23,226 Currently COVID-19 patients in ICU
• 7,772 COVID-19 patients currently on ventilator
• California COVID-19 Stats:
• Aggregate California ICU Bed Availability: 0
• 30,699 New Cases/2,973,174 Total Cases (1% increase)
• 201 New Deaths/33,593 Total Deaths (0.6% increase)
• 12.2% 14-day test positivity rate
• 20,968 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (-175 patients, -0.8% from prior day)
• 4,826 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (+6 patients, +0.1% from prior day)
• 1,113 ICU beds available (+43 from prior day)
• San Diego County 
• Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
• County Expands COVID-19 Vaccination Availability To Ages 75 And Up - County News Center
• Effective 01/18/21, healthcare workers, others in Phase 1A (all Tiers), and those aged 75 and older may visit County vaccination sites, including the Petco Park Super Station. For those 65 and older, the County intends to begin vaccinations for this population before the end of the month, pending vaccine supply. Doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers may administer vaccinations to those 65 and older, if they have doses available.
• State Data:
• Southern California ICU Bed Availability: 0%
• 1,890 New Cases/211,785 Total Cases
• 38 Deaths/2,103 Total Deaths
• 89.8 cases/100k population (Assessed on 1/12. Unadjusted Case Rate)
• 16.4% Test Positivity (Assessed on 1/12)
• 22.8% Health Equity Positivity (Assessed on 1/12)
• 1,733 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (-28 patients, -1.6% from prior day)
• 502 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (+8 patients, +1.6% from prior day)
• 150 ICU beds available (+3 from prior day)
• County Data (Data Limited due to holiday):
• 2,550 New Cases/214,337 Total Cases 
• 0 New Daily Deaths/2,103 Total Deaths
• 69.7 cases/100k population (Assessed on 1/12. Adjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.) 
• Universities:
• SDSU COVID-19, UCSD COVID-19, USD COVID-19, CSU San Marcos, PLNU

CoViD-19: "Invisible Deaths" | Aussie Open Players Quarantined | Animal News: Andean Bears, Cocaine Hippos, Northern White Rhinos |

 

Agapito the Andean Bear Cub at San Diego Zoo (Taken 9.28.2020)

It's really hard to have this beautiful California weather and wish that people would stay home, but after looking at a graph from LA cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, and reading this horrible WaPo article on "Invisible Deaths," I was thinking that maybe to get to get the point across, they start breaking down hospitalizations and ICU numbers even more. Like in LA County there were X amounts of new admittance and Y amount of people released, making a net of + or - so many beds, but specifying that so many beds became available of the new people because those people died. It's implicit in the information: like hospitalizations in California dropped 436 patients but 432 died, so how many were released home, how many died, and how many new patients took their places? Maybe if people saw that tracking more specifically, they might give a shit? But probably not. I'm definitely interested to see what happens in court this week with the strip-club case (Superior Court 37-2020-00038194-CU-CR-CTL) though now looking at it, may be further postponed until June. 

In other news, we continued to stick around the house beside our (mostly) nightly dogwalk. We watched a lot of football, caught up on news and reading, and Darren has been tearing up the kitchen with his cooking lately so that has been amazing. This week is going to be historic and crazy so keep in mind that King is the reason for the weekend, continue the fight for social justice, and stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Vaccines Dumped | China's Lockdown Is No Joke | California COVID Compliance Is Not Enough | Reporting Insurrectionists |

San Diego Zoo Safari Park Gorilla (Taken 6.28.2020)

It was such an amazing day. The weather was perfect. Last night while Darren and I were in the speakeasy, I suggested a Saturday BBQ, so he made it happen with a spread of grilled vegetables, chicken, and hot links. My sister dropped by so it's nice we got the patio table last summer from my Buy Nothing group that is like 9 feet long so we can distance. Our friends also gave us their spare TV so we set it up in the studio window so we could watch the game. 

Once the sun was down and my sister was long gone, I was glad we stayed home because the beaches looked crazy crowded and dangerous surf conditions. We'll get outta the house one of these days, but this weekend is likely not it. The COVID numbers in California seem to be plateauing, but they're still exceptionally high. People in LA are not only being told to stay home and avoid grocery stores, but people who work outside of their home and live in mixed households are being urged to wear masks at home, too. It is definitely not a good time to be raging in public or dining at these asshole 'protest' restaurants. Stay safe out there.   

CoViD-19: Labor Groups Welcome Biden Admin | Recreate Responsibly | Race To Vaccinate VS Variant Transmission | COVID Claims 2+Million Lives Globally |

 

Another Gorilla Pic From San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 11.10.2021)

I know people were out enjoying the weather and all today but personally I'm not a fan of 80+ degrees in January and we're still steering clear of the public as best we can, so have fun out there if you so choose. Maybe we'll sit in the sprinkler or something on Saturday. 

If you do go out to the ocean, be super careful. There have been numerous drownings in Northern California and they're horrifying if you read any of the reports. I guess I don't feel compelled to share those stories here, too, just know that riptides are going to be a danger throughout the weekend. 

Other than all that, it was a low-key day around here. The Casbah added a new screening of Fanboy on February 11 at South Bay Drive In and it's already about half sold out, so don't wait to get tickets. And we did do a quick final half hour Costco-run in hopes that we'll not have to go anywhere next week, especially if things get crazy around the inauguration. Next week will also be big for San Diego, because the strip club case has their hearing again which could determine how enforcement proceeds on restaurants and businesses defying the current Stay-At-Home order. In good news, Cohn Restaurants have suspended their request for the stupid Ferris Wheel at Balboa Park according to David Lundin of Balboa Park Heritage Association (email/post copied below.) Have a nice weekend and stay safe out there.  

CoViD-19: County Surpasses 200,000 Cases, 2,000 Deaths | Dereliction of Duty | Disney Sunsets Annual Passes |

 

Gorilla Troop at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 9.28.2019)

I was really hoping to publish before midnight but I'm still working through my inbox. It appears that it was another crazy news and opinion day, so I gotta say it was nice to help out at the world premiere of Fanboy at the South Bay Drive-In. I saw so many friends and everyone was so cooperative with check-in and everyone was super sweet to Nova and Darren, too. It kinda makes me cry a little how much I miss everyone, but also how bad I am at conversation after being siloed off from everyone for so long. And then there was the movie itself...SO GOOD!! It was a great film, but it was also so cool to see all of our local haunts on the big screen.

I'm gonna cut because I don't want to drag on about all the bad news but there is a lot. 

CoViD-19 Vaccine Rollout. 65+? Cool Your Jets | Impeached! (Again) | Capitol Chaos Clues Continue | California Hospital Crisis | Fletch Drops Another Sick Burn - This Time About High School Football |

San Diego Zoo Safari Park Gorilla Troop (Taken 9.28.2019)

I really doubt that news is really gonna slow down anytime soon. While the occupant of the white house was getting impeached for the second time, we found out that he's leaving a wake of international destruction with environmental laws, foreign relations, and general regulations that will prove to be challenging to overturn. But another stupid fucking thing his administration did was to announce that vaccines can be opened up to 65+, completely fucking over current vaccine efforts which are still working through Phase 1A which is supposed to be just healthcare workers and nursing homes, which already exceed available stock. This is another convenient way to make it look like state's and counties' faults when people can't get vaccinated. 

Meanwhile, locally and around the world, movements to reopen economies when we're at peak-COVID continue. My latest beef is with this idiot football coach from Torrey Pines HS who is bitching that the County and State won't listen to their data on how they can safely restart sports. Fletch had a sick burn on that during the press conference, which I've linked below. But it isn't just here. The WHO addressed it a lot today, I linked that below, too. 

Today's County briefing was kinda long but there are a lot of vaccination details that are worth noting and skimming through. I've pretty much been online all day so I'm gonna cut now, but if you're looking for something more entertaining to pay attention to, my pal and frontman for The Bronx and Mariachi El Bronx, Matt Caughthran, is hosting a new podcast for Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. The launch "coincide(s) with the birthday of brand namesake, iconic tattoo artist and a man that truly defined himself by his own terms, the late Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins (1911 - 1973.)" It'll air bi-weekly, so subscribe through your favorite app. It will "include conversations around topics the brand loves most like music, tattoos, food and travel and feature chats with engaging artists, chefs, athletes and more."

Hope to see a lot of you at Fanboy on Thursday!!

CoViD-19 SD County New Board of Supes, Who Dis? | DOJ & FBI Break Silence on Capitol Insurrection | Concerts In The Fall? Fauci Thinks So | EDD Info | Ramping Up Vaccinations |

Another Gorilla Shot From San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 3.6.2020)

Today was a super busy day of news. To avoid a repeat of Sunday, last night I popped a couple melatonin, put my phone away, and let myself sleep. Which means I was up by the time Nova got up for school, which almost never happens. It was kinda fun though, I had a morning coffee (which isn't a usual habit for me) sat outside while the sun came up, and then spent the morning watching the County Board of Supervisors meeting. I took a lot of notes and it was fun to watch because there's never been a democratic majority on the Board and so the victory was a rare feeling. I know the City has a dem majority, too, but some of them are for sure DINOs and I can't remember a mayor I've ever liked. It was just a nice feeling to hear Fletch rebuff Desmond, especially on his COVID nonsense (see quotes below). 

After that, I watched the Department of Justice/FBI briefing, went back to the Supes meeting, then caught a little bit of a UK briefing, which I took a quick note on just because their enforcement is so.much.better. than ours, already issuing 45,000 "fixed penalty notices" to non compliant people and businesses. I know part of the reason enforcement sucks so bad here is because our courts have been all over the place from lawsuit to lawsuit and the jurisdictions have to protect their asses but it is really frustrating to see pics of Gaslamp or Little Italy or Carlsbad night after night just raging on.

After all that, we sat outside for 'orange ball in the sky' time, then there's my afternoon news block and now I'm ready to call it a day. I'm obsessed, I know, but it keeps me busy and makes me feel useful. 

I posted more information on the Safari Park gorillas, notices and news from the FDA, CDC, WHO, DOJ, EDD, and even snuck in some music news including the clip of Al Howard on the Kelly Clarkson show. 

I hope everyone is having a good week so far, enjoying the weather in the best and safest way you can, and I guess we'll see where this impeachment goes tomorrow. 

CoViD-19: San Diego Zoo Safari Park Gorilla Troop Test Positive for Coronavirus | Capitol Insurrection Timelines Crystallize | LA Warns of 10 Diagnosed Cases Per Minute |

San Diego Zoo Safari Park Gorilla (Taken 7.18.2020)

I was so sad this morning to hear that at least two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Humans are having a hard enough time dealing with the related symptoms, I can't imagine how hard it is to see animals suffering or care for them when they aren't able to communicate the way we are. They didn't identify which gorillas, so forgive the photo, it doesn't necessarily mean this is one of the sick. 

As for me, it was a day. A Monday that definitely felt like a Monday. Lots of news, didn't get my usual outside time, didn't sleep super great. There's a lot of reading to get through and I need to sort out my EDD which a couple weeks ago told me I needed to verify my identity and now is telling me that I need to reopen my claim. I know I'm not the only one getting this message who doesn't think they were supposed to, so I'm going to try to be patient and not freak out. Darren got his notification of extensions today, so I'm hoping I just have to wait it out. Anyway, that's my super exciting fun life today. I'll try to make it more interesting tomorrow. At least this week we've got Fanboy as a distraction. 

CoViD-19: SD Has 31 Staffed ICU Beds Available | This Is America | More Details Trickling In From Capitol Insurrection |

Black Footed Cat at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (taken 3.20.2020)

My days have pretty much consisted of a whole lot of reading, couching, sleeping, sitting outside at sunset, watching news clips on YouTube, and running interference between Ficus and Strawberry, and Strawberry and Kiwi. Tonight we took the dog for a walk through the neighborhood, but we are really doing our best to limit our interactions with the world, so I'm sorry I don't really have anything exciting to report. Besides hanging out in the speakeasy last night, things are pretty chill around here. COVID-19 is really no joke. There are only 31 staffed ICU beds available in our entire county and the stories of people dying are heartbreaking. I can't get the imagery out of my head of a nurse who said her whole ward is COVID patients who all look like they're drowning because they can't breathe. That's why it continues to be so infuriating to see businesses flouting the rules and fighting closures. We have to get these numbers down. Stay safe out there. Tomorrow should be more insanity as Congress attempts to move forward with impeachment. Can't hardly wait.  

CoViD-19: Restriction Adherence Depends On Support | Variants Spreading Exponentially Could Hinder Recoveries | Global Vax Underway |

Somali Wild Ass (Taken 1.20.2020 at San Diego Zoo Safari Park)

This is gonna be another long one because there's just so much to take in right now. I try to keep up with non-news entertainment, I'm almost done with reading Becoming and Nova and I are heavily sucked into a Netflix series at the moment, but I also make sure that I don't post any articles here that I don't read (though admittedly I often only read the summary or abstract of the scientific papers,) so I had some catching up to do. But it's also the weekend and I owe Darren some music time in the speakeasy, so I'm gonna cut out for the night. I've included some well written and strong opinion links as well as some more newsy articles and continued fallout from Wednesday's insurrection at the Capitol. And there's some stuff about Oceano Dunes if you've been following along with the controversy there. But if congress gets to take the weekend off, so too shall I. Be safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Cases Rising In Children While Push/Pushback For School Reopenings Spikes | Governor Newsom Budget Asks For Emergency Legislative Action For Relief | Protests Spill To San Diego | ANWR Protected, For Now |

Today is International Eagle Day (Taken 10.20.2020 at San Diego Zoo)

I told you yesterday that I had so much to share, so all of this post was mostly put together last night and I'll do another one today with the rest of the reading and today's COVID-19 data. 

There's so much happening in these chaotic final days of this administration. While we're all focused on the Capitol attempted coup, there are still things slipping through and that still deserve attention. The other day, I was watching a NatHub, and the presenter recommended a film by Patagonia called Public Trust about how the exiting administration did everything in their power to sell off and privatize public lands. It mainly focused on Bears Ears National Park and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I've embedded the full movie at the end of this post because everyone should see it. (It was released in September 2020, but sometimes I, too, miss these kinds of things.) It was funny that is was the same day that a person in my extended family was posting about how horrible the next administration is going to be for the country, and it made me want to scream. We can only hope some of the damage is reversible. All this because on the same day of the insurrection, the US Government covertly auctioned off energy leases in ANWR. The energy giants didn't bite, probably because they know they will be in litigation and don't want the bad press while they're casually raising gas prices (my gas station went up 6 cents/gallon overnight, up 25 cents in the past month. 

I also kinda watched some stuff about the California budget, so those notes and links are below, and there's a lot of push and pushback on school reopenings, while there's still some fantasy that kids will get back to school this school year. As it stands, CA schools may not reopen until cases are under 28/100k residents. San Diego sits at 53.4 cases per 100k. Additionally, research out of the UK on the B.1.1.7. variant is not looking good, suggesting that it is 43% more transmissible amongst children (0-9), while the Pfizer vaccine is only recommended for people 16+. And let's not forget that locally, we have barely tested kids at all since March, only picking it up in the more recent months when reopenings were on the table and cases were still under 10 per 100k, so the "kids don't get it" theory just doesn't hold a lot of water. Anyway, I'm fired up today but we loaded up on produce so despite my Santa Ana allergies kicking up into high gear, I feel really good and clean from loading up on fruits and salads. Stay safe out there. I'll be back later with all of today's data and reading.

COVID-19: 4,550 - County Breaks Daily Case Record, Again. Only 44 Available ICU Beds | Capitol Reports Poor Security Due To "Bad Optics" | Learning From History |

North Park Water Tower From Our Balcony (Taken 1.7.2021)

Today I read on social media that a local brewery has now reopened under the pretense of 'peaceful protest' and they've declared themselves essential. It's so infuriating. I'm trying not to rage-watch the news and socials and emails, but it makes me insane when people are just blatantly and willfully ignoring that the country is now hovering around 4,000 daily deaths and a couple dozen are dying every day right here in San Diego. I don't want to see compliance teams "educating" anymore. I want shutdowns, fines, losing of licenses, and pulling of permits. I'm sick of being home. This pandemic wasn't supposed to get this bad. But this patchwork of compliance and enforcement and regional lockdowns while some regions still aren't even doing the bare minimum of mask mandates is just not going to fucking cut it while we're waiting for vaccinations and 1 in 5 tests is coming back positive and the state is ordering backup storage freezers for all of the dead corpses that were someone's mom or dad, brother or sister, son or daughter. I have no problem reporting businesses and I have completely lost sympathy if they lose their licenses and permits. We really don't need businesses in our community that flout the rules that are meant to keep customers and the community safe. I've included the text of a notice that went out to restaurant operators from the Dept. of Environmental Health Food and Housing Division.

We've been doing our best to stay home. We needed some groceries today, so me and Darren went to Grocery Outlet and loaded up on stuff, but it's funny to think we're shopping at 8:30pm on a Friday night and that is us living on the edge. But when all is said and done, we still forgot the damn eggs. I hate when that happens. 

It was a long day, there's a ton of news, and I try to get through all of my inbox everyday but it's 11:20pm and still have 74 to go, so I'll have some delayed news and stuff worth sharing on Saturday. (To continue our raging Friday, we're watching Scott Lewis from Voice of San Diego's Friday Five.) Be safe out there. I'll just be here being a keyboard warrior.

January 14: Fanboy Premieres at South Bay Drive In

 

FANBOY at South Bay Drive-In
Thursday, January 14
6:15 pm showings - SOLD OUT
8:20 pm showings - BUY TICKETS HERE

South Bay Drive-In
(2170 Coronado Ave. San Diego, CA 92154)

CoViD-19: US Records Record 4,033 Deaths | Congress Confirms Biden Will Be President | Fallout of Insurrection On The Capitol | Self-Quarantine 101 | Variant & Asymptomatic Spread Prevalent |

As if the current president isn't bad enough, he hates birds, too. (
A La Jolla Cormorant Taken 3.9.2020)

After seeing all the madness on Wednesday, it's easy to forget we're in the middle of a pandemic. Every day around 3 or 4, we try to sit in the backyard for Darren's "orange ball in the sky" time. (He calls blue purple, yellow is orange, and pink is red...as he says, "who's to say?") So we're sitting in the backyard and the streets are busy like any 'before times' day, people are walking up and down the sidewalk, cars fill the gas station as gas prices creep up daily. 

Meanwhile, I live near a busy intersection. Ambulances and fire trucks blaze by multiple times all day long, the police chopper flies overhead every night, last night as female cop yelled into her speaker for a car to pull over in a low-speed pursuit on El Cajon Blvd., I could hear the woman, nearly as loud with no amplification, screaming back, "why don't you just stop fucking following me?!" She did pull over eventually. Guessing that was a DUI, multiple cruisers showed up but it seemed under control as backup quickly got called elsewhere. 

The world seems so crazy right now, but also on the brink of some sort of newness. I really don't want to hear more 'reach across the aisle' bullshit, I want the new administration and the congressional and senate majorities to come in with a vengeance...reversing policies they can, pushing a progressive agenda, ending or rewriting the rules of the filibuster, approving judges, and launching investigations into the post office, the EPA, the FDA, the CDC, ICE and all the other damage done by this administration that made the world a darker place over the course of the last 4 years (and let's face it, since McConnell has been majority leader and kept Obama's hands tied for 8 years.) I'd say I want them to come out guns blazing, but I hope to see a major shift with sensible gun policies, too. I know that I'm in a fantasyland, but for right now, I'm okay with that. Wednesday was bonkers. No reason why we can't be bonkers in our own way, too. I really overdid it with links today, but history was made this week and there were a lot of hot takes and news worth posting. Oh yeah, and we're still setting COVID death and case records.  

CoViD-19 Spirals Out of Control | Democracy Will Prevail In Spite Of Rioting Fuckwits | Senators (So Far) Standdown On Objections | Twitter Locks 45 |

San Diego River Cleanup (Taken 1.11.2019)

I finally fell asleep at 5am this morning, feeling so hopeful after it was clear that Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff were winning the Georgia senate seats, splitting the Senate with a VP Kamala Harris 'deciding vote' for ties. Now we're glued to the TV watching mobs of insurrectionists raiding the Capitol and all I can think is that maybe now is when we can take all these fuckwits' guns for real. We've been bouncing between CNN, PBS Newshour, YouTube livestreams, watching Biden speak, the Mayor of DC's remarks, and watching my twitter feeds on Tweetdeck, and it is all so gross. We knew he wouldn't go out quietly, but the 70million fucking idiots who voted for him are still among us, and while it's true that these seditionist don't represent all of those voters, they sent the message that they're cool with whatever this fucking treasonist psychopath does. 
 

Today is what is known as Epiphany. I was raised in the Catholic church and quit when I was in elementary school after I was kicked out of CCD for asking too many questions, but some traditions are hard to quit, so I always keep the tree up until the 6th, so it will be coming down today, when the Pope encourages the world ‘to lift up our eyes,’ ‘to set out on a journey,’ and ‘to see.’ The irony is not lost on me. 

Like so many today, I'm heartbroken watching things unfold in D.C., though definitely not surprised. There is so much breaking news: the Capitol was stormed by Stop The Steal rioters; there was an armed standoff; police were nowhere to be found because of mixed jurisdiction (presumably Trump's justice department instructed them to stand down}; a woman was shot and killed inside the Capitol after it was raided by insurrectionists; Melania Trump's Chief of Staff just resigned; Twitter has locked the president's account for tweets inciting violence; Zuck issued an email that they're removing Trump's posts; Congress is still planning on proceeding with the electoral college count and certification process. There's a lot of media noise, but I'd recommend watching Heather Cox Richardson's Facebook watch post from today.  I'm sure I'll knock out another post before the night is through as I've barely been able to open a third of my email today with it coming in so fast, but right now all I can say is that I hope that in the next 24 hours, the president resigns or has been forcibly removed from office. This cannot go on. 

CoViD-19: San Diego Reaches 53.4 Cases Per 100k; Reports 32 B.1.1.7. Patients | New Dem-Majority Board Will Rescind All "Nonsense" | Dems Projected To Take GA Seats | |

Hummingbird Pollinator of Africa Rocks at San Diego Zoo (Taken 10.20.2019)

It was really hard to leave the house today. I had a headache from my indulgent wine consumption on Monday and I wear pajamas like they're a uniform, but I felt like we had to do a Costco run before Wednesday and the bonkers election certification that's going to go down, plus potential madness from the Georgia senate runoffs (which at the moment appear to be going to the democrats.) It almost feels like I can breathe again. But not before all the crazy shit goes down first. Somehow I'm on Roger Stone's email list (which goes straight to spam) but this time I read it and DC could be insane tomorrow and who knows if that will fan out across the country. So anyway, we've got ourselves some rations to get us through till inauguration day if necessary and that also explains why this post is going out so late tonight. I recently realized I could have the CNN streaming on our Roku so I've been obsessed with these election results, but there's a ton of other news today, too, so check it all after the jump.

CoViD-19: California Enlists O2 Strategy To Aid Overwhelmed Hospitals | Georgia Official Sterling Shuts Down Election Lies With Legendary ASL Interpreter | LA: If CPR Doesn't Save You In 10, You're Dead |

I miss the sea lions during pupping season. (Taken 1.27.2020)

I don't have press credentials and I've never tried to get them and I don't think I'd get them if I applied, but sometimes the media briefings are so infuriating. The media people seem to coattail each other, asking the same questions about the same things, even when the answer is already promised for some future announcement, like the California governor promising vaccine distribution updates coming out on Wednesday and his new promised budget on Friday. I want to know how the state scientific advisory group will handle vaccines if the FDA gives approval for half doses or mix and matching like the UK is doing. I want to know why the tests that can detect the S dropout aren't used on every COVID test. I want to know if the new science from the UK about the variant is concern enough to change the recently rolled out plans for safe reopening of schools. I want to know how he thinks things will look when the new administration comes in. 

Anyway, Mondays are always full on news junkie days for me. I watched Governor Newsom's briefing, then watched the Georgia election briefing, then NewsHour, and NBC local and national news, so there are lots of notes today. But you have to do yourself a favor and watch the Georgia briefing. I hope it isn't making fun of hearing impaired by saying that the ASL translator IS AMAZING. His expressions, his whole body usage, and at times what seems like mockery and incredulity is so, so good. You can see some of his highlights starting here. 

We officially made it a full quarantine, too. We hadn't left the house since Christmas, but Darren had to break to do our laundry today, but as I said, we were all negative tested as of 1/1. I plan on doing some shopping, but it was so cozy in the house today, I figured I could wait it out a couple more days, though I also kinda feel we should bunker up in case there's like crazy rioting on Wednesday. So maybe Tuesday is the day to do it. Before they start calling Georgia. I have certainly become quite the doomsday prepper and need to make sure the speakeasy is fully stocked through inauguration. Be good out there. 

CoViD-19: Sunday Media Madness | UK SAGE Report: Kids Causing Spread | Leave Bean Dad Alone |

Fi Enjoying The Sunshine (Taken 1.2.2021)

It's another low-key day around the house. I'm especially glad that we all got tested and were negative (Darren's result came back today) because Nova's slight fever is still hanging around though she says she feels totally fine. And to be clear, she's only been about one degree hot, but enough that the little no-touch thermometer gives us a warning beep. According to WebMD, 100.4 or more is considered a fever. Although I still feel like a mean mom because they tried to ask if we can go visit with family since we all tested negative. I know they know that My sister's family's tests were now over two weeks ago, so we don't all have some imaginary free pass now, and until Nova is normal, we're not going anywhere. 

It also appears our new neighbors are in the process of moving in. I can't imagine 3 adults living in that space, but I guess they're going to try to make it work. Darren met one of them briefly yesterday, but we don't know their story or how they're connected, just that so far they've been very quiet. 

Other than that, we're watching football, following the convict-in-chief story about the Georgia election tapes, and the story of "Bean Dad" who is John Roderick, singer of the amazing Seattle band, The Long Winters, and a former Seattle City Council candidate who is getting characterized on Twitter for being an abusive, misogynist, horrible father because he dared make his 9-year-old daughter figure out how to use a can opener. We've been teaching Nova how to feed herself for years, with many stumbles and fails along the way, and now know she can reliably feed herself. But of course the concern trolls have to inject themselves into the story and make it about their own abuse and shitty relationships with food and somehow accuse John of being a terrible person unworthy of meeting his potential future grandchildren. The internet is just full of stupid today. (more after the jump)