Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[SunnyBeBe]

I’ve really been careful with my food lately.  I’m just trying to be mindful of calories and eating more clean.  So, yesterday my mom made a tater tot casserole! 😮 I know.....well, she never heard about it from Duggar fame. It just came to her somehow.  I had never tried it before.  I did have a small serving.......it was off the charts delicious.  I wish I could say otherwise.  🤫

[Jeanne222]

1 minute ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I’ve really been careful with my food lately.  I’m just trying to be mindful of calories and eating more clean.  So, yesterday my mom made a tater tot casserole! 😮 I know.....well, she never heard about it from Duggar fame. It just came to her somehow.  I had never tried it before.  I did have a small serving.......it was off the charts delicious.  I wish I could say otherwise.  🤫

Funny you say that!  Tater Tot Casserole showed up on my FB page today.  It looks good!

[SunnyBeBe]

I just checked the Duggar recipe and my mom’s is different. She used no meat in hers.  Just 1 can cream of chicken soup and shredded cheddar cheese.  And a little milk and sour cream. It was very light and fluffy.   

Edited May 12, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[SMama]

26 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I just checked the Duggar recipe and my mom’s is different. She used no meat in hers.  Just 1 can cream of chicken soup and shredded cheddar cheese.  Maybe a little milk. It was very light and fluffy.   

The difference is your mom knows how to cook. 

[iwantcookies]

34 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I’ve really been careful with my food lately.  I’m just trying to be mindful of calories and eating more clean.  So, yesterday my mom made a tater tot casserole! 😮 I know.....well, she never heard about it from Duggar fame. It just came to her somehow.  I had never tried it before.  I did have a small serving.......it was off the charts delicious.  I wish I could say otherwise.  🤫

I have leftover cooked taco meat. So I’m going to make tater tot casserole tonight lol.

[SunnyBeBe]

11 minutes ago, iwantcookies said:

I have leftover cooked taco meat. So I’m going to make tater tot casserole tonight lol.

Who’s recipe are you using?

[iwantcookies]

6 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Who’s recipe are you using?

No recipe. I’m just going to layer meat, tots. Air fry for 10-15 minutes then add cheese. 
 

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by iwantcookies

[Scarlett45]

I have never cared for tater tots. I am a huge fan of potatoes so it is probably a texture thing.

[SunnyBeBe]

I wish I didn’t like tater tots.  That would be a blessing.  I like just about anything. Lol However, this includes veggies. Lately, I’ve been having mixed green salad with cucumbers, onion, tomato, broccoli, and a sprinkle of goat cheese.  I’m trying to have the plate filled mainly with veggies, some protein and a small carb portion.  

Edited May 12, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[iwantcookies]

31 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I wish I didn’t like tater tots.  That would be a blessing.  I like just about anything. Lol However, this includes veggies. Lately, I’ve been having mixed green salad with cucumbers, onion, tomato, broccoli, and a sprinkle of goat cheese.  I’m trying to have the plate filled mainly with veggies, some protein and a small carb portion.  

Potato is my favorite veggie 

And since I bought an air fryer I always have a bag of frozen tater tots or French fries. 

[CalicoKitty]

I avoid Tots at all costs.  When I was still teaching, I slipped on a Tater Tot in the school cafeteria.  I had two shoulder surgeries.  Please be careful if you drop one in your kitchen.  They are very slippery.

[SunnyBeBe]

Yaaaay!  The pipeline has opened! I got gas yesterday, but was worried. 

[Liddy52]

1 hour ago, CalicoKitty said:

I avoid Tots at all costs.  When I was still teaching, I slipped on a Tater Tot in the school cafeteria.  I had two shoulder surgeries.  Please be careful if you drop one in your kitchen.  They are very slippery.

I loved tater tots until I went to college way back in 1970. We were served them 3 or 4 times a week and they were frequently fried in old oil. Back in those days the cafeteria didn't have choices. Since then, I haven't eaten tater tots. 

[crazy8s]

a laugh for you all today. My nephew owns a landscaping/lawn service business, short on workers. called me to ask if i would work for $20 an hour cash. I said sure. place I worked today was a senior living place called Magnolia. I kept think where are Jana and Laura.... they are all about magnolia and that Jana loves to garden....

Edited May 12, 2021 by crazy8s

[beckie]

5 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

If it was a paper check or debit card it could have been stolen or something. Or it was direct deposited in an account you don’t frequently use. You should look into that. 

How do I do that? I asked for a paper check and got my state refund within three weeks but have seen neither hide nor hair of my federal return. The mail service where I was living has always been iffy, and just last week they condemned the house I was living in and now I have to find somewhere else to live, which also does not help the situation with the mail.

[magpye29]

So I haven’t even around much because I got sucked into a other site’s coverage of the adventures of Princess Pinocchio and the Haphazard Prince, but I promise I thought of you all every day and this is why: the theatre where I am a volunteer usher is on my way to work so I see this image and think about all of you and your awesome snark!

 

[xtwheeler]

On 5/11/2021 at 6:11 AM, Cherry Cola said:

Oof.  That is terrible news. I totally understand that you all want to be healthy.  I am not knocking any of you for that. But ..The vaccine is experimental.  Please do lots and lots of research.  *Snip*

I'm sorry, but this is just false. The vaccines have been tested in, now, millions of people. Before they were approved for emergency use, they went through rigorous testing. The FDA did not just throw these out there. The rapidity of their approval is based on the FDA waiving the waiting periods between evaluations. The research as testing was still done. Moreover, many of the components had otherwise been determined safe. The vaccines began development in January, and entered the third, large-scale FDA required testing months before they were approved. The FDA did things like shorten the waiting time from at least 2 years to 6 months. 

 

Thus, these COVID-19 vaccines have gone through preclinical testing, three phases of clinical trials and external review by two independent panels of experts and two civil service scientific reviews.

The speed of approval for these vaccines is because: Newer vaccine technology is being used; There is unprecedented financial support; researchers were able to leverage previous coronavirus research; and hundreds of vaccine candidates are being developed and tested simultaneously. 

An emergency use authorization does not mean any safety testing was shortcut--it ONLY means that the FDA put the drugs at the top of the queue for review. They were tested, as Phase 3 testing requires, in hundreds of thousands of people & deemed safe and effective. 

In addition we now have hundreds of millions of in vivo uses to review, and they have proved to be safe and effective. 

On 5/11/2021 at 6:35 AM, Cherry Cola said:

That is just not true. Please do some research on that.  Not trying to argue with anyone. Just don't want people hurt because of lack of info. 

https://www.instagram.com/tv/COpKQCbC0iP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

A vaccine that provides up to 99% efficacy against a disease that has a 5% or so death rate represents millions of lives saved, not to mention the infections that were debilitating, causing long term illness that were prevented. The vaccines also protect the most vulnerable, who cannot themselves be vaccinated. 

As of this week, there have been ZERO deaths attributable to the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Just because there were deaths after vaccination does not mean they are attributable to the vaccines. We have no evidence that the post-vaccine deaths exceed those deaths that would have usually occurred. 

Please let me know if you'd like references to actual scientific sources for any of the above. 

Finally, self-reporting to VAERS is exactly that - - self-reporting, which is inherently useless. Anybody can report anything to VAERS. I have seen reports to VAERS that claimed some vaccine or other turned recipients into Spiderman. People have reported deaths by car accident as caused by the vaccine. 

I have extensive experience with regulatory law and pharmaceuticals. Follow the reputable science, not memes, rumors, or claims by people who are just scared for no reason. 

These vaccines have been tested just like any other pharmaceutical, and have been proven safe and effective. 

[Scarlett45]

Bringing this over from the Jill thread- she was displaying some modest bathing suits on her instagram, and she looked so good and happy I looked at the site. 

 

I dont need any more bathing suits, I have a cute lemon print suit from Torrid I have yet to wear (Covid and all), and I am still losing weight so I shouldn't buy more until maybe next year. But IF I was going to do some water sports or something, I would be in the market for this outfit. The swim capri leggings look SO comfortable and great for water activity (compared to lounging and looking cute- which of course are wonderful things!). 

[Ohiopirate02]

5 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Bringing this over from the Jill thread- she was displaying some modest bathing suits on her instagram, and she looked so good and happy I looked at the site. 

 

I dont need any more bathing suits, I have a cute lemon print suit from Torrid I have yet to wear (Covid and all), and I am still losing weight so I shouldn't buy more until maybe next year. But IF I was going to do some water sports or something, I would be in the market for this outfit. The swim capri leggings look SO comfortable and great for water activity (compared to lounging and looking cute- which of course are wonderful things!). 

Those leggings are nice.  I'm going to the beach on Sunday and staying for 2 nights.  The weather will only be in the 70s, and those leggings would have been nice to wear.  I do have enough cotton loungewear pants that will work on the beach and those are all I am packing.  It will be warm enough that I can sit outside all day reading or spend my days lying on my bed watching the waves from my hotel room.  

[Scarlett45]

8 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Those leggings are nice.  I'm going to the beach on Sunday and staying for 2 nights.  The weather will only be in the 70s, and those leggings would have been nice to wear.  I do have enough cotton loungewear pants that will work on the beach and those are all I am packing.  It will be warm enough that I can sit outside all day reading or spend my days lying on my bed watching the waves from my hotel room.  

I like that the site has different models of sizes and ethnicities, so you can see how the items might look on you with your size, skin tone, hair color etc. 

Have fun at the beach!

[Cherry Cola]

It being experimental is not false. 

This is FDA paperwork. 

The second pic is straight from the FDA as well. And look! It says report to Vaers any side effects.  

Edited May 13, 2021 by Cherry Cola

[GeeGolly]

21 minutes ago, Cherry Cola said:

It being experimental is not false. 

This is FDA paperwork. 

The second pic is straight from the FDA as well. And look! It says report to Vaers any side effects.  

Emergency use does not translate to experimental. 

Its fine if you don't want to be vaccinated. But spreading false and conflated information is not helpful for anyone.

[Cherry Cola]

And one more...the Pfizer insert. 

13 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Emergency use does not translate to experimental. 

Its fine if you don't want to be vaccinated. But spreading false and conflated information is not helpful for anyone.

This is from the FDA. How does that mean I am sharing false info? 😄

I am sharing info from FDA, CDC. If that isn't good enough, ignore my posts. I was replying to someone else anyway. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by Cherry Cola

[peppergal]

14 hours ago, beckie said:

How do I do that? I asked for a paper check and got my state refund within three weeks but have seen neither hide nor hair of my federal return. The mail service where I was living has always been iffy, and just last week they condemned the house I was living in and now I have to find somewhere else to live, which also does not help the situation with the mail.

This won't help for mail that has already been sent and may have been lost, but I'd suggest signing up for Informed Delivery from the USPS.  They will send you an email each morning with scans of all the mail that they expect to deliver to you.  This at least tells you if something goes missing between the sorting center and your mailbox.  If anything does, you have the option of reporting it so that they can track if there are systemic issues in your area.  I'll admit I also use it to decide if it is even worth walking down to the neighborhood mailbox area or if all I got was junk mail.

If you want to see what the feds did with your return, you can go here:  https://sa.www4.irs.gov/irfof/lang/en/irfofgetstatus.jsp

There's also an official IRS2GO app that you can use to check on stuff.

[Tikichick]

2 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Those leggings are nice.  I'm going to the beach on Sunday and staying for 2 nights.  The weather will only be in the 70s, and those leggings would have been nice to wear.  I do have enough cotton loungewear pants that will work on the beach and those are all I am packing.  It will be warm enough that I can sit outside all day reading or spend my days lying on my bed watching the waves from my hotel room.  

Sounds like an ideal getaway.   I'm envious, but honestly it would probably take a pry bar to get me to leave once I got there.

[Ohiopirate02]

7 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Sounds like an ideal getaway.   I'm envious, but honestly it would probably take a pry bar to get me to leave once I got there.

I booked it last month after I was fully vaccinated.  I need to go somewhere even if all I do is lie around a hotel room.  I wish it was going to be warmer or that I had booked a hotel with an indoor pool, but I got a deal.  I will make it work.

[peppergal]

Can I just say how thrilled I am that our local theater group has announced that they will resume in-person shows starting in June?  They are still offering a streaming option and there's lots of requirements to attend in person: limited seating so they can space groups apart, must provide negative covid test or proof of vaccination, masks and temperature checks required, but it is one more piece of normal life I can get back.  I miss my theater!

[beckie]

1 hour ago, peppergal said:

This won't help for mail that has already been sent and may have been lost, but I'd suggest signing up for Informed Delivery from the USPS.  They will send you an email each morning with scans of all the mail that they expect to deliver to you.  This at least tells you if something goes missing between the sorting center and your mailbox.  If anything does, you have the option of reporting it so that they can track if there are systemic issues in your area.  I'll admit I also use it to decide if it is even worth walking down to the neighborhood mailbox area or if all I got was junk mail.

If you want to see what the feds did with your return, you can go here:  https://sa.www4.irs.gov/irfof/lang/en/irfofgetstatus.jsp

There's also an official IRS2GO app that you can use to check on stuff.

Thanks. I'll check that. Can you do the informed delivery online?

[peppergal]

4 minutes ago, beckie said:

Thanks. I'll check that. Can you do the informed delivery online?

Sure can.  Just sign up here:  https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action and then you can sign in and view the last 7 days of mail in one place.

If you are in the process of moving they may have some difficulty confirming your identity for the original sign up, but it's worth a shot, especially if the USPS and credit agencies don't know you are moving yet.   They have to do the identity confirmation so that Joe Blow Stalker dude can't sign up to see all your mail. 

[beckie]

1 hour ago, peppergal said:

Sure can.  Just sign up here:  https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action and then you can sign in and view the last 7 days of mail in one place.

If you are in the process of moving they may have some difficulty confirming your identity for the original sign up, but it's worth a shot, especially if the USPS and credit agencies don't know you are moving yet.   They have to do the identity confirmation so that Joe Blow Stalker dude can't sign up to see all your mail. 

Thank you very much! I appreciate it!

[Minivanessa]

I've been signed up for the Informed Delivery emails for quite awhile, and I'm glad I have. Thanks to @peppergal for spreading the word. 

[Turquoise]

1 hour ago, peppergal said:

Sure can.  Just sign up here:  https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action and then you can sign in and view the last 7 days of mail in one place.

If you are in the process of moving they may have some difficulty confirming your identity for the original sign up, but it's worth a shot, especially if the USPS and credit agencies don't know you are moving yet.   They have to do the identity confirmation so that Joe Blow Stalker dude can't sign up to see all your mail. 

When my husband put in our change of address before our move, it gave us the informed delivery. I didn't realize it was an option before. So when you have a new address and put in your change of address @beckie they should give you this option.

[NotthebadVictoria]

On 5/12/2021 at 11:55 AM, Scarlett45 said:

I filed in Feb, but the 7th was a friday, so its only been two full business days- it should be pending by tomorrow depending on your bank. 

Well, we passed the allotted time and I called my tax guy, turns out they put my banking info in wrong 🤬🤬🤬. So who knows now.

[Absolom]

2 hours ago, Jeeves said:

I've been signed up for the Informed Delivery emails for quite awhile, and I'm glad I have. Thanks to @peppergal for spreading the word. 

I'm waiting on my mom's medication to be delivered today.  Thankfully no need to keep checking the mail box.  I will know when it's been delivered.  It's really useful if I'm out of town and need to let a neighbor know to check for a package.

[SunnyBeBe]

Sadly, informed delivery isn’t available for my office address. That’s what I really need, as I often work remotely.  

[CalicoKitty]

My Informed delivery is not very reliable.  It will say 0 mail and 0 packages arriving today, but I find 5 pieces of mail and 6 packages.  But it is better than not having it, I guess

[SunnyBeBe]

Are you all having fuel issues?  I’m having to make some tough decisions.  I have gas in my car, but when will I have access to more?  Over 73% of stores in NC are out of gas.  It’s worse in the central part of state near the capital.  Schools are having to go remote again, due to no gas.   I hope this resolves soon, as the pipeline was opened.  

Edited May 14, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[Lisa418722]

7 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Are you all having fuel issues?  I’m having to make some tough decisions.  I have gas in my car, but when will I have access to more?  Over 73% of stores in NC are out of gas.  It’s worse in the central part of state near the capital.  Schools are having to go remote again, due to no gas.   I hope this resolves soon, as the pipeline was opened.  

I'm supposed to go up to Asheville for a few days week after next, but if there is still a gas shortage, I'll just stay here.  I know on our news (in Georgia) they have said it will take a week or two to get back to normal.

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Lisa418722

[Liddy52]

7 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Are you all having fuel issues?  I’m having to make some tough decisions.  I have gas in my car, but when will I have access to more?  Over 73% of stores in NC are out of gas.  It’s worse in the central part of state near the capital.  Schools are having to go remote again, due to no gas.   I hope this resolves soon, as the pipeline was opened.  

We are having similar issues in my area of Georgia.  I have enough gas to last I hope until stations are up and running again. 

[Mindthinkr]

8 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Are you all having fuel issues?  I’m having to make some tough decisions.  I have gas in my car, but when will I have access to more?  Over 73% of stores in NC are out of gas.  It’s worse in the central part of state near the capital.  Schools are having to go remote again, due to no gas.   I hope this resolves soon, as the pipeline was opened.  

Yes, I am. Yesterday I had to go to an appt and saw two crashes because a line had developed on the Main Street. It was all people waiting to get gas. I had already anticipated the line so was in the left lane and was only in bumper to bumper for 15 minutes.  Most stations have no gas and a lot of places who do have it are selling it at $3.29 a gallon. I saw one place that was selling a gallon for $3.89. Gouging. I plan to stay home this weekend and hope it clears up next Monday. The tanker trucks that supply the stations are having a hard time too with long lines. We are where a lot of the gas is stored for the state. Thank goodness it was only the pipeline. I can’t imagine the panic and anger if it was our electric or water service that was taken out. 

[Minivanessa]

Whoa. I'm out West so AFAIK we're not short of supply but we are experiencing higher prices. Those of you who have been directly impacted, have my sympathy and hopes that things bounce back fast.

This is a good reminder for me, to not let the fuel in the tank of my car get too low. Many years ago a guy of some importance in my life, was dead dog serious about keeping the tank in the car topped up. it made sense to me, especially in winter here when storms come through, and even in good weather you don't want to get stranded somewhere because your car ran out of gas. 

Here in the US we've been spoiled rotten by strong supply chains for everything from consumer goods to building materials, to - well, gasoline. The pandemic messed with a lot of supply chains, and now the pipeline situation has been like a wake-up slap in the face for me about gasoline. And, power. 

Anticipating road trips (yet to come, sigh) and camping in my minivan, I splurged last year on a Jackery portable power station when they were offering a package deal sale when you also bought the portable solar panels. Once it arrived I realized it's also useful to have here in the condo for use when power goes out. 

I'm far from a prepper, but this past year has caused me to stop and think about many things I used to take for granted.

Edited May 14, 2021 by Jeeves

[Ohiopirate02]

I am in one of the areas where gas is hard to come by.  I learned back in 99 after Hurricane Floyd rolled through town why getting gas before an emergency is necessary.  I also distinctly remember the one time when my dad chanced it and we ran out of gas.  This was in the 80s when gas stations were not on every corner and they all closed early.  I remember having to hoof it from the car to a friend's nearby house and the friend was not home.  We then had to hoof it somewhere else (my memory gets a little fuzzy here).  That has always stuck with me and I always get gas right when my light pops up.  I payed enough attention to the news to know about the pipeline issues.  I still had a quarter tank on Monday and filled up during my lunch break before the freak out began.  The joys of owning a fuel efficient vehicle means I will be set.  My planned beach excursion is still a go.  I will need gas next week when the stations should be back to normal.  

[Tikichick]

8 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

I'm far from a prepper, but this past year has caused me to stop and think about many things I used to take for granted.

This past week gave me some pause for thought when I realized that the recent hack not only could have just as easily targeted the gasoline supply in our area, but the power grid and water supply are also vital and vulnerable.  Add that to the ripples in the supply chain still being felt from Covid and even to some extent last month's Suez Canal blockage and I have added some things to my shopping list.

I'm dreading the idea we have two cars currently needing flat-out replacement,  and we've been dragging our feet on a new refrigerator and some furniture waiting for supplies to build back up for those as well.   

[peppergal]

Yeah ransomware hacks are insidious.  It won't help anything that the pipeline operators allegedly paid the hackers $5M ransom either.

Rumor has it that Colonial Pipeline's IT infrastructure and security was poorly maintained, but even if they did have robust security, a thoughtless employee clicking on a link in an email can still cause issues.   It's all about having effective recovery plans.  You can bet that strapped public utilities are slacking on the IT as well.

My county got ransomed about 16 months ago.  Fortunately they had a good backup plan.  Someone hit the virtual "Big Red Button" immediately and disconnected all the systems to prevent additional data from being stolen.  Then they worked through their recovery plan.  I think it was less than 24 hours before they had the vital systems restored, and about 48 before regular self service options to do things like pay your water bill online were available.  It took another week to get the rest of the services (like in person or by phone transactions) up because they were taking each employee's workstation and doing a complete wipe and restore from backup.  They did not pay the hackers one red cent. 

I'm not sure what the solution is.  Can the government force corporations or even local public utilities to maintain a specific level of cyber security?  I've heard talk of passing laws at the state level to prohibit paying ransom in these cases with the hope that the hackers will pick on someone else that might pay, but I think they can only apply it to other governmental agencies and not to private entities.   Is there a way to impose harsh penalties on leadership that don't keep their infrastructure up to date?  Probably not.  I do think we should take a look at when regulations prevent parallel infrastructure from operating effectively.  For instance the Jones Act is what prevents more of the southeast's fuel from being shipped by tanker ship, and it all has to do with protecting another US industry and not about safety or environmental protection.  There was talk about temporarily waiving it in this case, but they wanted to wait and see if the pipeline came back up first, so they never did. 

[Tikichick]

On 5/12/2021 at 3:33 PM, iwantcookies said:

No recipe. I’m just going to layer meat, tots. Air fry for 10-15 minutes then add cheese. 
 

 

No recipe casserole sounds edible, unlike cream of whatever soup glopped in tater tots!

[SunnyBeBe]

I read that NC relies on that pipeline for 90% of their fuel supply!

[Minivanessa]

I remember long ago in 1998 and 1999 when Y2K loomed. The fact that so many state and local governments were running horribly outdated and under-maintained IT systems was really highlighted. I assume there was a lot of system updating going on back then - but that's been two decades ago now. It wouldn't surprise me that state and local governments are again cheaping out on IT.

I'd like to think that the ransomware attacks have made most of them wake up  lately, and figure out better security and restoration plans. Like @peppergal's county (so good to hear they were prepared!).

[SunnyBeBe]

Wouldn’t you think that when we suffered the shortages, emergency situations, crisis with covid, that those in charge of ensuring our fuel supply would have thought about our reliance, risks, options, etc. in NC?   Or, what about when Texas recently suffered from energy shortages that crippled parts of that state?  Didn’t anyone in NC who has a job protecting our fuel think about our vulnerability?   I guess not.  ☹️ That is not my area, but even I know that there should be more thought and planning involved. 

[Tikichick]

1 hour ago, peppergal said:

Yeah ransomware hacks are insidious.  It won't help anything that the pipeline operators allegedly paid the hackers $5M ransom either.

Rumor has it that Colonial Pipeline's IT infrastructure and security was poorly maintained, but even if they did have robust security, a thoughtless employee clicking on a link in an email can still cause issues.   It's all about having effective recovery plans.  You can bet that strapped public utilities are slacking on the IT as well.

My county got ransomed about 16 months ago.  Fortunately they had a good backup plan.  Someone hit the virtual "Big Red Button" immediately and disconnected all the systems to prevent additional data from being stolen.  Then they worked through their recovery plan.  I think it was less than 24 hours before they had the vital systems restored, and about 48 before regular self service options to do things like pay your water bill online were available.  It took another week to get the rest of the services (like in person or by phone transactions) up because they were taking each employee's workstation and doing a complete wipe and restore from backup.  They did not pay the hackers one red cent. 

I'm not sure what the solution is.  Can the government force corporations or even local public utilities to maintain a specific level of cyber security?  I've heard talk of passing laws at the state level to prohibit paying ransom in these cases with the hope that the hackers will pick on someone else that might pay, but I think they can only apply it to other governmental agencies and not to private entities.   Is there a way to impose harsh penalties on leadership that don't keep their infrastructure up to date?  Probably not.  I do think we should take a look at when regulations prevent parallel infrastructure from operating effectively.  For instance the Jones Act is what prevents more of the southeast's fuel from being shipped by tanker ship, and it all has to do with protecting another US industry and not about safety or environmental protection.  There was talk about temporarily waiving it in this case, but they wanted to wait and see if the pipeline came back up first, so they never did. 

My husband actually is an IT person who specializes in cyber security.   More and more of the mundane products and tools we use in our day to day lives are "enhanced and made smarter" with technology that makes them vulnerable to hacking with absolutely zero protections implemented, nothing.   Home security systems (doorbell cams), coffee pots, cars, etc.   He's super watchful about what we do or don't have exposure to.

As far as can the government force corporations or local utilities to maintain specific levels of cyber security, yes.   They can pass legislation on the basis of things being in the interest of protecting the public interest.   Water and power grid no doubt have some requirements in place.    The next concern would be, how well do those requirements keep pace with the determination of hackers?        

[Rabbittron]

Well tomorrow it's the birthday party for the dog 22 years young. I just got home from ordering his meat birthday cake and preordered McDonald's for hamburgers and cheese burgers for the doggie guests and the dog parents who are coming to the dog park for the party.  But the funniest thing is that my mom is a going to pick up my dad and stepmom from the airport because of the fact that the party is the same time as the plane lands. This party costs about the same amount as one of my kids parties.