smeg @smeg@assortedflotsam.com

They have a point. #startrek

We picked up some holly to decorate with. My kindergartner insisted we decorate the hall, per the song.

The SolarWinds breach shows exactly what will happen when the backdoors the governments place inside software and encryption will be discovered by an adversary. If a backdoor exists, anyone can use it.

We must always reject government demands for backdoors to encryption.

It only went above freezing for a couple hours yesterday, insufficient melting. And today is likely to be the same with a 30% chance of more snow this afternoon/tonight.

I rationally understand that in terms of ROI, it doesn't make sense to buy a long-poled squeegee, but it's still tempting.

Also, snow is temporary but scratches last forever.

We're boned.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/business/economy/unemployment-benefits-economy.html

I get to spend the next couple weeks patching for this SolarWinds exploit and auditing our systems for signs of compromise.

It's snowing... in Arkansas

What baffles me: half my street has small children, yet we're the only people outside in the snow. I would expect transplants from the north might not be interested, but for locals it's a rarity.

In a parenting group my spouse is in, someone asked for advice because their baby has a rash and the doctor prescribed cream isn't helping. The first response, flooded with likes, was "Stop vaccines"

Internet, you're stupid.

So sad

While I always assume a stance of sympathy when trans people tell stories of family rejection, manipulation, or abuse, as I watch a drama unfold and I know both the parents and the adult child, I'm reminded that "everyone is the hero of their own story", that there are unreliable narrators out there, and that some people are just bipolar or otherwise mentally unwell.

1 in 3 GoFundMe campaigns is now for medical bills. GoFundMe is now one of the largest insurers in the country.

This system is completely broken.

And they're supposed to be one of the better employers.

My employer eliminated 401k matching at the beginning of the pandemic, put a large number of employees of partial UI in the summer, won't be doing Xmas bonuses, and probably won't reinstitute 401k matching in the new year.

Profits are higher than ever. Our economic system is so backwards.

Received the strangest thing from a doctor's office, something I've never seen before: a refund for overpayment.

Finally got the outdoor lights up

More Americans have died in the past 2 months than died in the entire Vietnam war.

Nothing is more disheartening than walking into the hardware store on the first weekend in December and find the holiday lights section decimated and on clearance.