As explained and confirmed, and without announcing it as such, but through a note added to its website, “Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy." As tweeted Dr. Simone Gold, a physician and leading purveyor of COVID-19 misinformation, this is a "win for free speech and medical freedom!" Some medical professionals are concerned, but Musk's view should put them at ease: "When confronted with the possibility that many people could die if they didn’t follow public health recommendations, Musk replied bluntly: 'Everybody dies.'”

[EOP]

This video of Matt Turner's own goal is generally seen as capturing one of the great goalkeeper failures in history. It is akin to the failure of a 13 yo quarterback reaching out to hand a ball off to a half-back only to watch it be snagged by an onrushing defensive back who went 85 yards for a touchdown. We need not dwell on the later amateur and professional football feats of that kid, but Matt Turner went on to be a premier goalkeeper for Arsenal in the Premier League and a big reason the USA has had the success it has had in this year's World Cup. Relatedly, if you missed USA vs. Iran, you missed a fantastic sporting event in terms of tension and spirit, not to  mention the self-sacrificing goal by Christian Pulisic, who unlike Turner had no shameful early event in his life, but rather had all the pressure of being a prodigious phenom from his early teen years, and lived up to it on the biggest stage in the world.

PS: UNrelatedly, there was a very uncoordinated lad who "played" soccer (he had no clue what he was doing) and the coach put him at fullback, and thinking that getting the ball into the net was the point of the fame and not realizing that goals into the net behind him were not good, he kicked in and own-goal and was proud of it. When angry parents erupted in the stands, his biological parents and step-father stood up and screamed at those fans telling them to STFU, and cease their outrageous effort to deprive the lad of his moment in the  sun.

[EOP]

An earlier post highlighted the stupidity of a Arizona Republican state legislator who has vowed not to vote on any issues until the election results are thrown out (which they won't be), reducing the Republican majority in the State House to 1-vote. Now, the Pillow Guy, who is a total nut job, has announced that he is running to head the Republican National Committee. We wish him all the best and hope he carries the day.

[EOP] 

I alone, from the beginning, bravely (and brilliantly) took the stated position that the PGA Tour would have to reach some accommodation with LIV Golf. I have been the subject of much verbal abuse and denigration as a result. Now, with Tiger Woods joining Rory McIlroy by coming out saying that Greg Norman has to go, the message is clear: The PGA Tour's "changes" are not going bury LIV Golf, LIV Golf is not going away, and a negotiated accommodation is possible as long as Greg Norman is not the person on the other side of the table. So, watch the Saudis buy off Norman and get rid of him, watch the PGA Tour buy off Jay Monahan and get rid of him, and then watch what the two sides come up with, and then please apologize.

[EOP] 

Those who picked up new I bonds yielding 6.89% in the latest auction will find themselves making more money in a few years than those who rushed in to grab the old, higher rate of 9.62%. How is that possible? Take a deep dive into the intricacies of I Bonds below and consider matching with a financial advisor for free to see if I Bonds make sense in your portfolio. The reason is that rates on I bonds are made up of two components: a guaranteed base rate and an adjustable inflation rate that changes with every new semi-annual auction. That eye-popping 9.62% rate was guaranteed only for the first six months that investors hold their bonds. After that, the rate will be heading down while the rate on the November 2022 bonds will be steadily staying up. This article explains it all in more detail.

[EOP]

If you think the RMDs cannot be managed in multiple ways, you are likely leaving money on the table that easily could be in your pocket instead. This WSJ article explains the various factors to take into account and steps that might be taken viz RMDs to keep more of your money instead of giving it to the government.

[EOP]

You might think the post-election claptrap of the losing Trump-backed candidates and their supporters would be the height of nonsense. But their amateurs. Newly elected Arizona Republican state representative Liz Harris has "just pledged to withhold voting on any legislation next year unless the state holds another election 'immediately.'" Given the Republicans 2-vote majority in that chamber, we can only wish that there are other Republican elected officials who are as moronically stupid as Harris.

[EOP]

I have been pummeled over the holidays as to what air fryer I use. The NDA I signed prohibits me from disclosing that information. But what I can share is this Wirecutter article which explains why air fryer toasters are a necessity for every kitchen and what it's top 3 picks are.

[EOP]

The French Dispatch is not for everyone, but if you like it, you'll love it because it's s so well done and so amazingly casted and acted, and is classic Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore). It's very quirky. I'd love to summarize it, but that's above my abilities. It's a series of stories, but then, that's what art is. In all events, you should know within a half hour or so if you like it, but you might change your mind half way through.

[EOP]

If there's one thing I don't understand, it's people's apparent disregard of the importance of cleaning their dishwasher filter. As this NYT article explains, doing so takes but a few minutes every few months and not only will keep your dishwasher smelling fresh as a daisy, it also can avert serious damage to your dishwasher that might result in a costly repair bill or worse.

[EOP] 

Whatever one thinks of the Supreme Court's overruling Roe vs. Wade, it left the right to have an abortion up to the states and, as such, at least allowed abortions to proceed (albeit with undue burdens placed on poor people living in states with restrictive abortion laws). But the cases coming up will eliminate without any safety valve the pillars of democracy that have been entrenched not only by the Warren and Burger courts, but by Congress in enacting the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, and the Voting Rights Act. Here, then, is what's going to happen: After shredding Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the Court now will shred Section 2; affirmative action or taking race into account in any way to rectify the harms of discrimination and segregation will be declared unconstitutional (the 13th-15th amendments had promised to rectify the evils of slavery which necessarily meant looking to race in formulating corrective actions, and now looking at race will be deemed taboo); state legislatures will no longer be constrained by state constitutions in their redistricting decisions and likely any other decisions; the Clean Air Act will be eviscerated; and the free speech clause will be declared to allow businesses (public accommodations) to discriminate against (deny service to) anyone they don't want to on any arbitrary ground (e.g., same-sex marriage or LGBTQ). And in the main, these decisions will not just be looking at issues of first impressions, they will be overruling and dismantling previous  decisions that recognized that constitutional rights and personal liberties might evolve over time in favor of the view that only rights that existed in the 1700s are deserving of constitutional protection. I know I'll get flack for this, but let's agree to hold our flintlock powder and, instead of arguing or engaging in our second amendment right to duel, just see what happens. 

[EOP]

 1. Sinister Online Fees: Fees stated online, such as airline and short-term rental (STRs) fees, more often than not fail to inform one of the actual cost of what one is buying. That's not the big problem. The  big problem is it makes comparative shopping more difficult. As to STRs, the daily unit rate is one factor of the total price, so it's important, especially for comparative shopping purposes, to look at the other charges (e.g., cleaning fees; turning on the pool heater fees; taxes; service charges; etc.) which easily can turn a $300 for a 1-night stay into $600 charge. Similarly, as to airlines, the stated price often excludes various charges (e.g., checked baggage fees; seating preference charges; reserving a seat; etc.) which can double the initial stated charge. It's called "drip pricing," and when it comes to it, don't be a drip.

2. The Price Ending in 99 Gambit: While everyone knows that there is no real price/cost difference between something that costs $4.99 and something that costs $5.00, few of us fail to appreciate that when buying something whose price ends in 99, we likely overpaid. Rather than trust me on this, this WSJ article explains the point better than I can.

[EOP]

If you've never spent Xmas in Santa Fe, or if you have and wish to do so (viscerally) again, Holiday in Santa Fe is the movie for you ... although there's not one shot of any luminarias. It stars Mario Lopez in what might be his best and most daring performance since Saved by the Bell. I will not reveal the shocking ending, but the story is a totally novel one about a big company's possible buying of a local business run by a family for generations and what happens when the beautiful corporate executive (played by the irrepressible Emeraude Toubia, although we might have preferred Marisa Tomei or even Sandra Bullock) comes to Santa Fe at Xmas to negotiate the deal with the handsome local dude. There's your classic ham throwing contest that Santa Fe is famous for and I won't tell you who wins, and the traditional chili eating contest that Santa Fe is famous for and again I won't tell you who wins. I will do one spoiler alert: If you think the unveiling of the annual glass sculpture by the daughter in honor of her deceased mother will be spectacularly beautiful, I've got a bridge to sell you--it seems to be a joke the director or screenwriter put in to punish  anyone who lasted that long watching the movie.

[EOP]

Season 3 of Dead to Me is now available on Netflix. There's a recap of the first two seasons that might leave one wondering why hardly any of it is remembered. It's a bit confusing. But the two leads are so wonderful that it holds your attention. And the episodes are a half-hour which is always a big plus.

[EOP]

You might wake up one morning, often on a holiday, and sense that something's not right with your computer. It could be anything, like a lag or latency in the sound or keystrokes, the inability of PC Settings to bring up certain components, or any number of annoyances. Here's what to try (after creating a restore point in case of a mess up):

1. As the number one go-to fix, just re-boot the computer.

2. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run a system file checker scan (by typing in sfc /scannow and hit Enter).

3. Uninstall the last system update.

4. Run a troubleshooter from the Update Settings page.

5. Run deep virus scans.

6. Roll the computer back to an earlier point with System Restore.

[EOP]

This WaPo article sets out the grumblings of 15 current and former staff members of the January 6 Committee, speaking anonymously. While they lack the nerve to let us know who they are (as if anyone cares anyhow), they are upset that Liz Cheney has directed the final report to concentrate on Trump and not spend enough time covering other parts of the story that they worked on including law enforcement's failure to assess the looming threat. Yeah, Trump gets too much press coverage as it is, so why be obsessed, as they claim Cheney is, with Trump's role to try to overturn the 2020 election and stop Congress from doing its constitutional duty in a studied course to sell a big lie to foment an armed insurrection against the country? 

[EOP]

Everyone who did Wordle on Thanksgiving realized that the solution word was a holiday-themed word. As such, it presented the best shot ever of getting the solution on the first try. Instead of wasting time banging your head against the wall for not realizing the theme angle, start thinking now about the Xmas day and New Year's day to come, which likely will be theme words.

[EOP] 

The Daily Spelling now has "hints" you can look at it. It didn't always (indeed, initially they didn't even tell you about the Queen Bee). It is permissible AFTER you get to Genius to look at the top line of the Hints to see how many words are needed to get the Queen Bee. There's nothing to stop you from looking at the further hints, but if you do so to claim you got the Queen Bee, it's cheating. Everyone except one semi-loyal reader knows this, and they covered up their cheating until after suspicions were raised by the frequency with which they got the Queen Bee and they were subjected to a mild cross-examination under which they quickly crumbled. Cheating with the Hints is now named after them ever memorializing their shame and disgrace, but we will keep the name confidential to protect their privacy and protect them from the angry mob that might be stirred to take action against them. BTW, another family member of them has the uncanny ability to immediately see a pangram 99+% of the time, and doing that is now named for and in honor of them.

[EOP]

Before turning to The Automat, the most impressive aspect of this production is Lisa Hurwitz, the producer and creator. Be sure to watch her interview before and after the show about how, never having made a film before, she made this project happen and how she got some amazing people not only to take part in it (RBG, Colin Powell, Howard Schulz), but to headline it and write a song for it (Mel Brooks). She is an amazing example of just doing it, even if much of the interviews themselves seemed a bit schmaltzy and fanciful. Yeah, she just did it!

Most people reading this likely never stepped foot in a Horn & Hardart Automatic, the place where you put nickles in a slot in exchange for beverage or food. It was a landmark and wildly successful and beloved undertaking in New York and Philadelphia for decades. Ultimately, changing demographics and lifestyles sealed its doom. But the key point, missed by the documentary and even by IMDb (which described it as a "[d]ocumentary that centers on the vending machine popularized in the 20th century that offered fresh cooked meals in a commissary-style eatery"), as one of its outside counsel explained to his young son, "these were the dumbest people I've ever met ... they had the idea for the vending machine sitting write in front of them for years, and never thought to make it a stand-alone device." To be fair, he had yet to meet and "appreciate" the dumbness of some friends I would bringing home, nor did ever meet the person(s) at Western Union who turned down the Bell telephone patent for $50K because, as they saw it, no one would want such a thing ringing in their home.

[EOP]