View source for Blog/December 2018/Dec 21st

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{{blog}} {{comment|December 21st}}

We’ve been making preparations for our upcoming trip to the Olde Country.  They mostly involve trying to think what cute things we can bring with us to spoil our grandchildren.  It’s a tough job.

Esther and I worked on finishing up our outstanding work tasks, so we’d feel ready to relax and [http://ronware.org/img/bears.jpeg coo at the babies].  We were ready for that long ago, to be honest; but one must prepare.

And: happy birthdays to Daniela!

Do you recall my talking about how Senator Warren did a DNA test which showed she has perhaps 0.01% Native American ancestry?  Well, a much younger lady [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5u_jTzwbL0 did a DNA test] expecting to confirm her internal dialogue about her ancestry. It’s quite entertaining, and a bit sad as well.

The “BDS” attacks continue ''ad nauseum''.  But sometimes, [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256389 they fail miserably].  No, I mean [https://www.businessinsider.com.au/waze-ceo-says-apple-deserves-credit-for-company-success-2018-12 really, really, miserably].  In fact, boycotts seldom fulfill their ostensible purpose, and instead [https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/12/20/18146316/chick-fil-a-growth-controversy have the reverse effect].  I can feel the [https://www.perpetualkid.com/liberal-tears-snowflake-coffee-tumbler-mug/ Liberal Tears Tumblers™] filling up all over the US East and West coasts!

Interesting stuff:
* Ben Shapiro [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oDt8wWQsiA interviews Bishop Robert Barron].  Excellent discussion about religion and related matters.
* Dave Rubin [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi0QFhPzmCo interviews Chloé Valdary]; also a worthwhile video.
* An op-ed on why [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/23172 the despicable Gideon Levy should be fired].  I don’t think he should be fired; he should be ignored.
* Why you [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ThPdCicEsg cannot trust Patreon].  Yet another “tech giant” shoulders the modern “white-man’s burden” of educating the riff-raff.  The result: [https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/techwatch/alexander-hall/2018/12/17/shut-out-peterson-rubin-propose-free-speech-funding-site a new funding site] is being planned by advocates of free-speech.
* And Facebook, yet again: [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/technology/facebook-privacy.html giving your data to all sorts of people], without your consent.  FB is in big trouble, these days.


Remember I mentioned [https://www.zdnet.com/article/whats-actually-in-australias-encryption-laws-everything-you-need-to-know/ Australia’s new encryption laws]? They passed them.  But as Signal points out, they will be [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/12/signal-to-australia-good-luck-with-that-crypto-ban/ impossible to enforce] (and that’s a good thing).

We had a decent amount of rain this week, and are supposed to have some drizzle today as well as off and on for the next day or so.  And then we change venues, where the temperatures will be 10C colder.  <brrr!> 

We’re on an emergency-rations footing this ''shabbat'', since we don’t want to have much in the way of leftovers after we leave.  We’ll have:
<br>
''ḥalla'',
baked chicken,
various ''salatim'',
and cookies.

Until next time,<br>
''shabbat shalom''!


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