Omorka's Lair

So, I don't know if this has gotten any traction outside of the Houston area, but basically there's been a major pollution event going on all week, originally in the form of a giant plume of toxic smoke and now mostly as a water contaminant spill. On Monday the smoke plume was blowing directly over my workplace (thankfully at a sufficiently high altitude that it was't mixing with the surface air) and blotting out the sun for part of the day.

It also happens to be oakbloom here, so all our high-allergy kids and asthmatic kids have been having terrible weeks and it's not possible to determine what's tree jizz and what's fine particulates. I've been having an awful joint week, myself, but again, not clear if that's related or not (February and March are generally bad joint months for me anyway, for reasons that remain obscure).

Both local and state officials have been making rumbling noises about punitive fines and other consequences, but Texas does not have a great record on holding polluters to account and Harris County isn't necessarily a whole lot better. (It's a little better. Not a whole lot.)

On the bright side, Bugcatch is out of the hospital (again).