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Thanks for the good thoughts. The fire has been contained in the City of San Diego, but we live in El Cajon which is in east county. The fires are burning east of here. We did not have to evacuate but the fires got within a couple of miles of us and several of my colleagues lost their homes. Thankfully the winds have shifted and are now blowing from the ocean instead of the desert bringing welcome moisture and sending the flames to the less inhabited portions of the county. We are still packed up, but I think the chance of evacuation is really slim. I just am not unpacking because I am superstitious and don't want to tempt fate. Please thank everyone for their kind thoughts, Josh tried to get me on the taglog and even enlisted Wulf's help but we could never manage it. So I can't thank them my self. The kids are off from school for the week so I have taken the week off, although this is the first day that the courts have re-opened. I probably will be really glad I wasn't there for the madhouse when I get back and find out about the pandemonium! I will write again later.

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From Defender 82 via e-mail Just thought I'd let you know, although the Cedar fire is still not totally contained, things have pretty much gotten back to normal here. I had a bad chest cold/bronchitis for the past week mostly from breathing the ash. I lost my voice much to the amusement of my colleagues and the judges I appear before. The ash seems to have stopped falling but if the moring is damp from dew as we walk out the door the air smells like a wet ashtray. I went back to work last week and am ready to get back to reading and, I hope, writing Firefly. Although I seem a bit blocked at the moment. I hope the DVD (which I pre-ordered at Amazon) re-inspires me.

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