Blog/March 2017/Mar 10th

March 10th

It was a pretty quiet week. The highlight for us was Sarah’s return from Prague, where she tootled around the city and saw the historic architecture and museums and stuff. She also said that despite it being illegal there, the reek of marijuana smoke hung over the city. So too, the reek of cigarette smoke. I guess the Czechs just enjoy smoking. Anyway, she had a good time there and was happy to have made the trip, and to return safely.

The week started off, however, with some “hardware drama”. My mail-and-web-server, from which you are viewing this blog, had some hardware problems. As in, it would simply shut down with no warning and for no apparent reason. Since you’re viewing this, you can assume that the problem has been resolved, and it has; but it took up quite a lot of my time at the beginning of the week. You’ll notice the blog has a different appearance now. That’s because I upgraded the blog software — only four years or so in arrears, but better late than never.

I made the mistake of engaging in an online “discussion” with someone who is convinced Trump is an anti-Semite. I do regret having dipped my toes in that particular cesspool, but it illustrates some important things:

First, people have a tendency to ensconce themselves in their information bubbles. Also known as “echo chambers”, because the only points of view they hear are the ones they already lean towards. Just to be clear, this tendency is not solely to be found on “the Left”.

Second, people have a tendency to disregard as biased any factual counterarguments to their entrenched views. For example, my proving that Trump has never shown anti-Semitic tendencies, has Jewish offspring, and surrounds himself with Jewish advisors is dismissed as “whitewashing” or irrelevant because of perceived bias of some sort.

Third, arguing with such people is ineffective because they equate your disagreement with dishonesty or worse on your part. That simply makes all your arguments so much chaff in the wind.

All this is a serious problem, and that problem is getting more severe as time goes on. Online “news sources” make access to reinforcing “echo-chambers” more prevalent (although that very same access can be used to sponsor true diversity of thought).

Listening to a variety of opinions, and being exposed to alternative points of view, is one of the cornerstones of liberalism, a foundation of Western-style democracies. It’s a shame that people’s minds are closed to such an extent that they cannot bear to hear views differing from their own.

Jew Haiku:

Lost in an ocean
Of irrelevant comments
Please go whine elsewhere

Things of note:

• Computer security is important even in the Trump era. Or maybe “even more important”. Practice safe hex!
• Win $1,000,000 the easy way.
• The very worst line-reading, ever. Period.
• Some Divinity schools have decided to neuter God.
• The updated story of Purim

This week, we released version 17.02 of 8th to much fanfare and applause. It’s considerably faster than its predecessor. After it was released, I was told that I should support the “SHA-3” series of hash-functions, so I added them. Then I did a timing test and found that the default hashing-function in 8th is ridiculously fast. I did choose it for its purported speed, but I hadn’t actually tested that speed until now.

This year, Purim is following close on the heels of shabbat. So we’re gearing up to run right back to shul after shabbat’s done, to hear the megillah with its dramatic story of Esther (not my Esther, the “original” one). One interesting note: the king in the story is “Ahasuerus”, a.k.a. “Xerxes”. But in Hebrew the name is “aḥashwerosh” (אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ). Turns out the original Persian pronunciation is similar to the Hebrew and not so similar to the Greek “Xerxes” (Ξέρξης). Score one for the historicity of Jewish scripture!

The weather this week was really pleasant and spring-like. But apparently we’re heading for a weekend with below-average temperatures, rain and possibly hail (!) and flooding. Just in time to celebrate purim!

This shabbat both Sarah and Dinah are with us. We’ll cook up:
chicken breast with mushrooms and artichokes, zucchini soup, stuffed artichokes, stuffed mushrooms, cauliflower kugel, rice, lentil stew, various salatim, date-pecan cake, and watermelon.

Until next time,
shabbat shalom and purim sameaḥ!

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