View source for Blog/September 2020/Sep 25th

<!-- vim: set ic nocin tw=0 complete=.,w,b,kspell spelllang=en:  -->
{{blog}} {{comment|Sep 25th}}

Since this past ''shabbat'' was an unusual (for us) two-day holiday, we had a slightly shortened week. Since we’re on heightened "lock-down" due to TCV (The Chinese Virus™), we were at home mostly all the time. We did make a quick shopping trip for groceries, and to pick up pharmaceutical supplies. Other than that, it was "Home, sweet home!".

Because we have such an effective government, [https://www.timesofisrael.com/hours-before-full-lockdown-set-to-begin-knesset-yet-to-give-final-okay/ as of this morning] we still do not know if an even stricter version of the lock-down will go into effect; nor, if it does, what exactly the restrictions will be (and nobody knows [https://www.jpost.com/health-science/coronavirus-do-health-experts-think-the-lockdown-will-work-643495 whether or not] the lock-down will be effective). Always entertaining, our Knesset!

I uploaded my family-tree to the "Geni" web-site this week, just to see if it might prove useful. Almost immediately, a Brazilian third-cousin of Esther’s (who we hadn’t known existed, previously) showed up. It turns out he might ''also'' be a third-cousin of mine (perhaps from my paternal grandfather’s side, which would be exciting if true). It seems like "Geni" is much better for making contact with other genealogical researchers than "Ancestry" is. I’m looking forward to hearing more from these far-flung oddments of the family!

A friend said he was concerned that if he were walking down the street late at night, and three black guys came towards him and he crossed the street to avoid them — that it might be racist. I told him that no, that was simply prudent since 80% of violent crimes (in the US) are perpetrated by black males. It ''would'' be racist, however, if he denied employment to a black person because their skin was black. The idea that ''everything'' in any way connected with skin-color is somehow "racist" is a fatal poison in the body-politic.

As an aside: actual racism is incredibly stupid. Just sayin’…

Various:
* Why [https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/israel-uae-bahrain-deal-criticism-doesnt-hold-to-scrutiny-642702 criticism of the Israel-UAE/Bahrain deal] is unjustified.
* An Arab opines on a [https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/hussein-aboubakr/post-palestine-middle-east/ post-Palestine Middle East].
* Another Arab wrote an excellent article on [https://www.arabnews.com/JewsOfLebanon#group-Introduction-T14F8YclgS the Jews of Lebanon].
* The concept of [https://newdiscourses.com/2020/08/how-indigenous-ways-knowing-works-venezuela/ "indigenous ways of knowing"] has become popular of late. Perhaps they can draw inspiration from the [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-23-adfg-sacrifice23-story.html Aztecs and Mayans] for human-rights ideas.
* There might be [https://pjmedia.com/election/stephen-kruiser/2020/09/22/kim-klaciks-new-ad-is-so-good-i-want-to-move-to-baltimore-and-vote-for-her-n951942 hope for Baltimore] after all.
* And what's the difference [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nonstick-pans-cheap-expensive-difference_l_5f5a63ebc5b62874bc19ff4c between cheap and expensive] non-stick pans?


If you’re at all interested, I’ve [https://8th-dev.com/forum/index.php/topic,2199.0.html written a review] of the laptop I mentioned last week. I’m getting used to it, to the point where using my MBP feels clunky. Well played, System76! Windows users should know the US gov’t issued an [https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/09/feds-issue-emergency-order-for-agencies-to-patch-critical-windows-flaw/ emergency order] for agencies to patch a critical Windows security flaw. Not something that should affect most private users, but if you’re in an office environment it needs to be addressed.

It’s "just ''shabbat''" this week, and we’ll have:<br>
homemade ''ḥalla'',
meatballs,
rice,
various ''salatim'',
and fruit crumble.

N.B.: for the pre-''yom hakippurim'' meal, Sunday afternoon, we’ll have our usual [https://platosargentinos.com/receta-puchero/ ''puchero''] with ''matsa'' balls.

Until next time,<br>
''shabbat shalom'' and ''gemar ḥatima ṭova''!


{{nav|Blog|Blog|Blog/September 2020/Sep 18th|Sep 18th|Blog/October 2020/Oct 2nd|Oct 2nd}}