Agreeing and I'd go further and say Putin feels existentially threatened by a thriving democracy in Ukraine, when internal conditions in Russia under his rule really aren't great. I keep seeing "NATO expansion" used as a talking point to justify the invasion, when it's simpler than that--Putin cannot abide sovereign and functioning democracies in former Soviet republics as his power wanes. That's not to say he's not going to cause endless destruction on his way out, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if this is how his regime ends. His power depends on the collusion of the oligarchs who keep most of their fortunes and families in the West, while sucking Russia dry. If the US and Europe unite in sanctioning them I don't see the oligarchs tolerating long term expulsion from Western markets, higher education, real estate, travel etc.

That's awesome--I wish it existed when my girls were homeschooling!

Dd's placenta has been in the deep freeze for almost 16 years, every one of which was supposed to be the year we finally planted a tree with the placenta to nourish the roots. I just put three of these racks on the inside of my pantry door for my spices--I love seeing everything clearly and having them alphabetized. The racks are great quality, not at all expensive and come in sets of two, so the extra 4th rack holds backup toiletries inside a closet door upstairs. (PS--it's just the racks, doesn't include bottles) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SZBSXHZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Me too. And for you and all HCW, @Mrs Tiggywinkle, for your health and wellbeing, with gratitude for your good work in caring for people and apologies for all the shit you've had to put up with along the way.

In January, a Missouri woman's hacked Facebook account started a handful of groups on the protest, gaining over 340,000 followers and posting more than 7,500 times before the groups were disabled. The reach of this stuff is absolutely unbelievable. https://www.grid.news/story/misinformation/2022/02/08/the-hacked-account-and-suspicious-donations-behind-the-canadian-trucker-protests/ A hacked Facebook account is behind some of the organizing The entity behind some of the largest Facebook groups supporting the protests is an unknown person or persons who used the Facebook account of a Missouri woman. She says her account on the platform was hacked and stolen. The account launched a handful of Facebook groups for the protest, all between Jan. 26 and 28, before the trucker convoy reached Ottawa. With a combined following of more than 340,000 members and more than 7,500 posts, the group names were variations on a theme: “Convoy to Ottawa 2022,” “Convoy for Freedom 2022,” “Freedom Convoy/Ottawa 2022 for Canada,” “Freedom Convoy 2022” and “2022 Official Freedom Convoy to Ottawa.” Facebook groups are organized by administrators. Grid found that the only administrator account for these groups belonged to the Missouri woman. Reached briefly by phone on Monday, she said her account was hacked and she was not involved with the groups.... “Someone stole my identity on Facebook,” she said. “I don’t know how they [did] it.” The woman, whom Grid is not naming because she is the victim of apparent identity theft, said her daughter set up a new account for her. A new Facebook account with the woman’s name appeared in October 2021 with the post: “New account. Last one got hacked.” The groups were disabled Monday afternoon as Grid was reporting this story. Facebook did not immediately respond to questions about the hacked account.

I had a temporary office job 30+ years ago with an insurance industry lobbying firm. They asked me to find a way to send faxes with no originating number to chambers of commerce all over the US, from a fake organization with a homespun-sounding name. The fax detailed how to organize local business leader opposition to the classification and management of Superfund sites. So it would look like spontaneous local opposition in the interest of the local economy, when in fact it was very much coordinated from above, by lobbyists for insurance companies facing potentially huge payouts to individuals and communities with industrial contamination. I called around but alas! couldn't find a way to send a fax with no originating number, and then I quit that job. It shocked me, but only because I was naive and idealistic, and had no idea how common grasstops or astroturfed organization was even then. It's unbelievably, exponentially easier now for industry groups, the Russian government, political groups who want to destabilize something or shift public opinion to spread disinformation that looks like a grassroots uprising. Which is not to say there aren't ordinary Joes who drive trucks across the border, aren't vaccinated and genuinely oppose quarantine requirements. But it's worth asking who stands to benefit right now from disrupting North American supply chains, the US automotive industry, the economies and internal politics of Canada and the US during the pandemic. Same question for who benefitted in 2019-20 when "Facebook's most popular pages for Christian and Black American content were being run by eastern European troll farms." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/08/ottawa-truckers-protest-anti-vaxx-canada

I've never had a cat so this window into kitty shenanigans is absolutely hilarious! I'm much more familiar with canine behavior and feel like it's a joy and never-ending fascination to share our home with another species.

From what I've read a freeze and thaw is not going to be a significant issue. Repeated cycles of freezing and thawing might make the tests less sensitive, though. @Spryte

Once again it's interesting to me to see Ohio trending down within days of NY, and before several other states on the east coast. More support for my theory that Cleveland is so tied in with NYC we're basically a satellite petri dish 😂 Within Ohio, the downward trend in both cases and hospitalizations is most pronounced in the Cleveland area, where Omicron first surged. The rest of the state is behind on the curve but trending overall in the same direction.

It really is hard when they're far away! Sending all good wishes that he's feeling better soon, and I'm glad he's got his booster on board.

Wishing you a negative pre-op test, a straightforward procedure and excellent recovery, @MEmama! Like some pps I'd probably be cautious in the next week and then extra cautious 2-3 weeks out. With Omicron in addition to great masks I've been wearing my glasses into the grocery store, and when I drove dd back to college I wore a face shield into rest areas. I thought I'd feel like a weirdo but it was fine, though granted I was around total strangers. (Dd wore her sun glasses and looked way cooler 🙂) If there are a couple errands you want to get done this week, would adding eye protection make it feel safer? And is there anything special you'd like to do before surgery? Something expansive or out of the routine, even if it's outdoors or online. Zoom happy hour with college friends, online performance, meet friends masked around a fire at a park, drive to a town you've never visited and get takeout? Recently I downloaded the free Star and Planet Finder app, to help me track the moon and Venus in the sky. It's such a small thing but has opened new worlds for me and seriously makes me want to get out of bed in the morning. I wonder if there's anything like that, that might calm the twitchy feeling now and maybe even help you through post op recovery as well.

Article is paywalled for me--take home message? Our ped initially said 2-3 months after infection to get the booster, and dd15 is 1 month post infection now. I'm keeping a close eye on cases and especially reinfections among people we know, since Omicron blew threw here early and we're on the downslope in terms of cases. But I really don't like what I'm hearing about reinfections with the BA.2 Omicron variant and it's been sequenced in TX and WA, which means it will be everywhere soon. On alternate days I'm ready to take dd for her booster, then wondering about waiting and seeing if the Omicron specific Pfizer or another type of vaccine looks more promising. Hmm, I think I'll email the athletic trainer at dd's high school to ask if she's seen repeat infections recently. Winter athletes have so much exposure they're the canary in the coal mine. ETA: Have kid1's headaches resolved, @SKL? Took 2-3 weeks for my dd.

We're about to book the most expensive portion of a trip to Ireland next summer, our time in Dublin and Galway. We'll be a group of 12 extended family members and I'm wondering with the possibilities of someone testing positive before travel or a new variant if we should look into comprehensive travel insurance. We have gotten a quote for limited insurance from Tripmate, but the exclusions are extensive and I'd love suggestions for a company that covers cancellation for any reason. Depending on cost we might consider this just for my ILs, who are in their late 70s, or for everyone. Flights were booked in August and those tickets are changeable. Not sure if we should try to find a policy that would cover flights booked that far back, or just call it good for flights and insure the other stuff. Would love to hear from anyone who has used travel insurance before and especially any experiences with pandemic travel complications and insurance.

That's really twisted. Has your dd seen it? It sounds like it was placed where no one could miss it. As a mom I'd be wondering whether my daughter saw it, and what she made of it. I wouldn't want to ask my dds to do favors or work for someone who has pulled something like that. But it's tricky--I also wouldn't want to draw her attention to it if she hadn't seen it somehow. And I'd try to figure out how to take care of my heart. I might take a picture of it, to remind myself she's really that awful, and then burn it, so that icky energy disperses in space, and take comfort that the heart of your home and family relationships is nothing like her. Feel good about not perpetuating that sort of crap, so that your children and grandchildren feel loved and respected and appreciated. ETA: Or maybe I'd just burn it and be done with it and with her.

That's brilliant. I'd have done the same when we were at that stage. And I'm really glad to hear your baby is doing well 💜

Interesting account of reporter Caroline Chen's experience visiting family in Hong Kong. After multiple Covid tests and a 21-day quarantine, she emerges to a city with universal masking and a zero infection policy. https://www.propublica.org/article/i-saw-firsthand-what-it-takes-to-keep-covid-out-of-hong-kong-it-felt-like-a-different-planet

Website to order 4 free at-home Covid tests rolled out a day early-- https://www.covidtests.gov

This is encouraging for sure! Also looks like data collection took place before Omicron.

Please go to the most competent practitioner. You want an expert. I've had braces THREE times--once in adolescence and twice in adulthood. The first orthodontist was excellent except he told me to "be my own orthodontist" a few years after I had my braces removed, and a couple years after that I stopped wearing my retainer. My teeth moved so much over the next few years that it hurt to eat. The second ortho was on my dental insurance and was a quack. I couldn't tell--he and the entire office seemed professional. Totally messed up my bite and when that became clear and I called back they'd "lost my records" so I had no recourse. My family dentist then made me a mouthguard, which he adjusted so many times he was essentially performing orthodontia. My face looked different and it still hurt to eat. Total nightmare. Switched our whole family to a new dentist who is great. New dentist recommended an excellent ortho who was the most expensive of the practitioners I saw in adulthood. Totally knew what he was doing and totally corrected what the others had screwed up. Both my daughters needed braces and there's no one else I trusted with their care. Yes, we spent a small fortune on orthodontia but it was totally worth it, and I've told my girls never to stop wearing their retainers. That last orthodontist is close to retirement, but is training a young orthodontist to take over the practice, and they keep records forever. In addition to the dentist who screwed up my bite, I've had two other dentists who were quacks. I hate to say it but I think dentistry attracts its share of quacks. You really don't want the bargain dentist or orthodontist. Good practitioners tend to have pretty full practices. They don't need to offer special deals or take every insurance. But paying a few hundred or even 1-2K more could well save you 10s of thousands in repeat treatment in the future.

FWIW I've seen a month-old negative Binax left in a college dorm that still read negative after all that time. That said, I have no doubt there are some good reasons Binax instructs people to check results at 15 min.

After two years sidelined from track due to shin splints and the pandemic, dd15 had a surprisingly great first year of high school track. She qualified for States and made it up on the podium both winter and spring. Then she ran summer AAU track, and qualified and ran in the AAU Junior Olympics in Houston in multiple events. Her times were competitive with seniors who went to college on athletic scholarships. She's interested in pursuing a college track scholarship and dh and I plan to support that interest as far as it goes. At the same time, we're aware college athletics are super intense. Since she's a strong student we could see her walking on to a college track team without a scholarship, and enjoying the freedom to choose when she wants to focus on academics or athletics. She's our youngest, so it's simpler to support her interest in track than if she were an older sib. I have talked with sports moms who say they wish they hadn't let athletics dictate their whole family's schedule, and we do try to balance sports with other priorities. That said, it really has been fun as a parent to see her shine, especially after all the years we carted her along to her older sister's activities. This summer we're hoping to go to Ireland for two weeks, after the AAU regional qualifiers but before Junior Olympics. Dd is not happy that we won't be home for her to practice with her team and coaches for the whole lead up to JO. But this is the balance we've found between a family heritage trip and her pursuit of her sport. I think she feels our support yet sometimes wishes we put athletics first. That tension is okay with me--I feel like it's a good life lesson that excellence and competition are entirely worthy of wholehearted, serious pursuit, but family and education come first.

For those with babies reading this thread--lanolin is not good for yeast diaper rashes, because it can lock a yeast infection under an oil coating. But for just plain raw/dry/irritated skin there's truly nothing better! We used clotrimazole cream to treat yeast rash and lanolin for regular diaper rash. For diaper rash if we tried one and it wasn't clearly helping in a day or two, then we would try the other. One of the two always worked.

Target and many other drugstores carry Lansinoh lanolin to heal cracked nipples when breastfeeding, which is how I first learned of it. Our pediatrician said it was fine for dds to nurse right after applying Lansinoh, which reassured me for other uses. We also used it as super diaper cream and kept buying for dry skin.

I swabbed dd15s tonsils, but since then have seen info that saliva is enough. So now my thought is just swab the back 1/3 of the inner cheeks, dipping down by the back molars on both sides. Omicron seems to progress from the throat to the nose, so the nose tests positive later than saliva.

My apologies if we've communicated about this before--I don't have the bandwidth to keep up with threads and things outside my IRL people right now. Did you do a saliva + nasal swab? A South African study of nearly 400 people found that adding the saliva swab made the correlation between PCR and rapid test results near 100%. Dd15 tested faint positive by saliva + nasal swab at home with a Binax rapid test on day 2 of mild symptoms. Day 1--mild sore throat, Binax saliva + nasal swab negative Day 2--sore throat, headache, Binax saliva + nasal swab faint positive Day 6--symptoms resolving, Binax nasal swab dark positive I firmly believe that adding the saliva swab increases the accuracy of rapid home tests DURING THE INFECTIOUS period nearly to the accuracy of a PCR test, except for the first day or two when even a rapid saliva + nasal might not show positive. This is why repeat testing dramatically increases the accuracy of rapid tests, and why manufacturers like Binax sell tests in a 2-pack. ETA: With Omicron, saliva will often show positive before nasal swab. Not the case with Delta. Also I don't know exactly when dd was exposed but have heard of lots of people developing symptoms 2 days after exposure to Omicron. Symptoms can appear much earlier than with Delta. Doesn't mean every Omicron case shows up that early, though.