Welcome back CDC (and USDA, FDA, NLM etc) folks!

There are so many unsung and underpaid federal employees that work tirelessly to keep our water clean, food safe and track and prevent infectious diseases. They were all really missed when they were away. It was particularly sad to not hear the CDC talks and latest data at IDWeek; what a waste.

But they are all back (at least until early 2014) and I hope they don't have to go away anytime soon. Sometimes you don't appreciate something until it is taken away. We appreciate you! Thanks and thanks for your service.

Oh, can you get on updating the influenza map? Come on, you've had a couple hours!  ;)

Addendum: I'm thinking a humorous story or cartoon would be of the guy responsible for reading the 16 million unread emails at CDC that have piled up. I think it should be one guy and I'd like to recommend a particular person for the job. But I'm not saying who that might be.