Thank you for this. It's funny how in the age of the internets so many people just can't be bothered to actually look things up to see if it's worth panicking about. I seem to remember from another comment that you are a nurse? Or perhaps a doctor? I can't quite remember, but I feel like you probably have a better…

I know that the CDC was/is there supervising at least the clean up on the apartment Mr. Duncan was staying at. I've heard from one person who is associated with the hospital's parent company that the CDC was onsite for the treatment as well. However, the original protocol for protection of health care workers only…

What's really funny to me here was that as soon as I posted my first reply about decafing people, I really thought this would be the post that everyone got pissed off about and I preemptively cringed at the dog-piling I thought I was going to get. But this has been one of the most fun and productive conversations I've…

How does Team Cat feel about miniature sledges drawn by matched teams of guinea pigs.*

Yaasss. I find it generally keeps everyone a healthy distance from me. I tend to have a personal bubble that extends several miles from my body, so the more space the better. Isn't kinda sad that we have to look like we're completely deranged to get a little respect for our personal time?

I don't know if it would be an improvement over your method, but I've found hissing at people to be an excellent deterrent for the touchers. Just whip your head around and hiss through your teeth while looking directly in their eyes. It's also great for getting parents with unruly children out of my immediate…

No joke, I just repeatedly yelled "NO" as I read this. I'm so sorry, that barista is horrible and you should punch her. The only way that could have been worse is if she offered to pour a hot drink over ice. *shudder* You are totally in the right on this one.

Meh... mostly not worth it. If they weren't douchenozzles about anything else, that never bothered me.

I worked in a store with a drive-thru and most people who specified came through there. TTrying to drive and put sugar in your coffee seems like it would suck, so we didn't have a problem with that. The people who got decaf were the ones who resolutely refused even when asked to tell us how many and/or what kind of…

Yaasss. We had a regular who came through and ordered a vanilla latte with caramel drizzle every day, so we tried to explain that it was basically an upside down caramel macchiato with an extra pump of vanilla (which costs less) and he was "basically it's not" at which point he got an "okay, then" and charged extra…

There a photo of her on her cupcake book, and every time I see it, I think you could replace the piping bag with a knife and the cupcake with a baby squirrel and she'd probably have the same expression. That being said, I still buy her books for the decorative ideas. Most of the recipes are kinda meh, though.

On a slightly related note, I have my students in my pastry classes referring to her as "hail, holy Martha." Also, I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but Gwyneth makes one of my eyes twitch.

I'm sorry. That sucks. Especially since it was white mocha. If it makes you feel any better, I sympathy gagged when i read that. If you don't get all up in their business, they don't decaf you, I just misunderstood. The people that stand there and nitpick every step of their drink were always the worst. That's why I…

... as a former Starbucks employee, I just want to ask on this: you do realize that they probably decaf you every time you remind them, right? Like, I get being nervous if someone didn't pay attention, and white mocha is truly the most wretched syrup, but that shit's really annoying. If they mess your drink up, they…

Oh my god, I would totally have something for that. And it would be horribly NSFW.

Fair enough on the respirators, I know it isn't airborne, and wasn't thinking when I typed it. I think I saw it in another article or comment or someing and it got jammed in muh brain, demanding that I say it somewhere and look like a jackass lol.

Amen. I hope the people caring for her can avoid infection themselves. It just seems completely nonsensical to me. Health care workers are only human, and the protocol for a disease like Ebola is probably so far outside of a normal routine that it must be really difficult to maintain constant vigilance of your own…

Really? The CDC doesn't recommend suits andrespirators? TThat's the dumbest shit I've heard in a long time. Now I'm depressed. I still hope like hell she makes it through. That would be the only silver lining here.

Someone else mentioned this in another thread, but I'm pretty sure actual protocol on these types of disease are full suits and respirators. It's totally messed up that this hospital (which has managed to be utterly incompetent at every step of the situation) is like "oh, no, we're totally doing everything right,…

I was actually thinking that as I read the hospital's comment on this. They should be in suits and respirators, so... yeah, that *is* a breach of protocol, Dallas Presbyterian. I'm not surprised the hospital fucked this up though. I commented yesterday that I would not be even mildly surprised if this poor woman was…