A January 22 post here linked a story about RFK, Jr's path to becoming a crazed anti-vaxxer, and it also expressed shock that Cheryl Hines was his wife. This past weekend, RFK, Jr. went way over the top in invoking the horrors of the Holocaust as akin to vaccine mandates. As this Newsweek article explains, Ms. Hines released her own statement condemning her husband's remarks, while he put out a classic non-apology apology, to-wit: "My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control. To the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry." As such, he embraced what a January 20 post here called one of two of the worst ways to handle a mess up. 

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Every professional sport that breaks ties with an overtime has a balanced and fair overtime rule, except the NFL. In baseball, the innings are extended where each team has the same number of offensive and defensive innings; in basketball, play continues for each overtime period of a set time; in hockey and soccer (the real football), there is sudden death but each team has an equal chance to be the first to score, and in soccer if it goes to PKs, each team has an equal  number of chances; and similarly in golf, tennis, curling, darts, shuffleboard, bowling, badminton, volleyball, skeet, cricket, rugby, and table tennis (although concededly table tennis is a bit different). The NFL has a modified-sudden-death format where a coin toss decides who receives the kickoff and, if that team scores a touchdown on its first possession, the game is over even though the other team had no offensive chance to score. As exciting as the Bills/Chiefs game finish was this past weekend, with over 30 points scored in the final few minutes, it could have been even more exciting if the Bills had been afforded the opportunity in OT to match the Chiefs' OT touchdown. Tony and Mike disagree. But on this issue they are not only old and old-school, they are wrong and wrong-headed and total knuckleheads.

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Some email programs and browsers default to set downloads in general and downloads from links and attachments to open automatically (as Gmail does, which I didn’t realize) and others don’t (like Outlook, which is my primary email client). It is more convenient to allow for automatic opening of downloads/links/attachments, but it is safer to not allow automatic opening especially for the instances where the source is  untrusted or unknown and hence might be malicious. If you are interested in changing your download settings, type into The Google something like "Stop automatic download and opening of attachments in [insert your email client or browser name]" (without the quotes) and follow the steps to do so that will appear.

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If there's one appliance that will spice up your culinary life more than any other, it's an air fryer. Everyone knows how great they are for crisping chicken without splatter or oil. But as has been explained elswhere, air fryers are not just for making fried foods, they will produce the best cheesecake ever in 20 minutes and meats and seafoods will come out more delicious than anyone can ever dream. The Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven TOB-260N1 (pictured below) is my favorite (and Wirecutters) and cost about $300, but if you want a smaller unit that is not as good and cost about $50 more, you can go with my and their second choice, the Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741/96.

Dream Horse is the story of an unlikely race horse bred by a small-town Welsh bartender who, with no experience, convinces her neighbors to chip in their meager earnings in the hopes he can compete with the racing elites. It is a true story. It's not the best movie ever made, but it's not bad, and it's heart-warming, and the photography and scenery are lovely. The cast includes Damien Lewis in quite a different role than he played in Homeland. Claire Danes is not in the movie.

PS: Kanopy is a free streaming service available to anyone who has a library membership. 

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PS 1: Although the NFL post as it appeared online added a sentence that read "And the end of the Chiefs/Bills game topped that Rams/Bucs game," it did not appear in the email. Nor did the email or the post include the line, which it should have, that the four weekend divisional playoff games likely represented the best weekend of football ever played, all of which games were decided on the last play by the offense. In all events, the last few minutes of the Chiefs/Bills game, where 30+ points were scored, might be the greatest ending of a game ever. As one observer put it, it was a game where neither offense should have lost and neither defense should have won.

PS 2: A knowledgeable loyal reader took issue with the stupidity given in the post about going for the 2-point conversion just because a penalty moved the spot from 2-yards out to 1-yard out, and made an excellent point in doing so: "I would have gone for two points, only because, given the score (6-0) and because it was still early (1st half), it made a lot of sense and there was no risk to speak of. Also, about the difference between two yards and one yard -- a two-point conversion is the same as a 4th down play, i.e., one chance to make good.  NFL stats reveal that the probability of gaining a first down on 4th-and-2 is just under 50%, while the probability of gaining a first down on 4th-and-1 is almost 75%.  Also, 2-point conversion percentage since 2001: from 2-yard line: 48.5%, from 1-yard line: 62.4%.  And those odds improve with Derrick Henry in the backfield." While not calling this read a knucklehead, we did point out to him, as Tony and Mike would have done on PTI: "The PTI guys would chew you up on using metrics instead of judgment. And as to the metrics, when examined closely, the metrics cited are based on extra points much later in the games ... and virtually not at all in the first quarter ... and they are based on where the extra point matters for some reason ... and virtually not at all where there is no clue whether or not it will matter ... putting it another way by way of a different example, getting a first down on 4th and 1 is quite high, but would you go for it in the first quarter from your own 12 yard line?" All that said, if I made the rules, I would eliminate the PAT entirely and have TDs count for 7 points.

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We have railed in this blog about sample size and other statistical concepts that, when not understood or adhered to, lead one to jump to wrong or at least unsupported conclusions. The Israeli experience with a second booster is the latest example. Another important concept to understand is the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy, which is the tendency of people to ignore the differences in the data and overemphasize the similarities, thus arriving at an inaccurate conclusion, and is an error that typically happens when a person finds and applies an existing pattern that nicely fits into their presumptions. The most common example of the fallacy is looking for environmental factors to explain cancer clusters that in reality are random events. As the January 24 edition of The New Yorker explains (at 8-9), understanding the fallacy might lead us (including the scientific community, as Dr. Fauci sees it), when it comes to the Omicron variant, to stop focusing on case counts (infections) and focus instead on hospitalizations. And, even as to hospitalizations, it might make more sense to focus only on those with respiratory symptoms and not include those who are hospitalized for other reasons but happen to test positive for Covid in the hospital.

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The Good: The athleticism is amazing and with no dominant teams, almost every game is a toss-up. And if you didn't watch the Rams/Bucs game, you missed one of  the great games and what almost was one of the greatest comebacks of all time.

The Bad: The crowd noise is such that you cannot hear the commentary although, except for Tony Roma and another one or two, the commentary is worthless; and the refereeing is atrocious and too often determines (incorrectly) the outcome of the game.

The Stupid: The coaching is moronic. Just by way of example, after a penalty is called on an extra point play where the kick would have put the team up 7 to 6, the coach decides early in the game to take the penalty, move the ball from the two-yard line to the one-yard line to go for two points ... as if the extra yard makes a difference in likelihood of converting. The extra point then was missed and the team went on to lose. As said, this is just one example, but if you don't like watching stupidity (and remember they get paid millions for making stupid decisions), don't watch NFL games.

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[Prefatory Note: I realize what is covered here will not be new to any loyal reader or semi-loyal reader. But there are others out there who read this blog who might find this post informative]

If you are concerned Covid-19-wise in getting together with someone at their place or some common place or having a tradesperson or someone at your house, there is no shame nor should there be any hesitancy in asking that person ahead of time, "Have you been vaccinated?" BUT, if that's all you ask, and the person says, "yes," you won't know if that person has been boosted. The responder might have innocently answered your question literally or they might have been shy to tell you they have not been boosted. That said, if it matters to you, be sure to frame the question as follows: "Have you been vaccinated and boosted?"

PS: I will defer comment here on the outrageous refusal of the White House and the CDC to have the term "fully vaccinated" not include boosters for those eligible for boosters.

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If you don't have a green thumb, or even if you are thought of as a butcher of house plants, this WaPo article is for you. It identifies 10 low-maintenance house plants you are unlikely to kill.

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Re Foreign Policy: There likely is a difference between what we were not willing to stand up for in Afghanistan, namely, to continue our efforts to prevent the Taliban from taking over, and what we supposedly are willing to sort of stand up for in Ukraine, namely, to impose economic sanctions on Russia should it invade Ukraine. But the difference might not be as obvious to everyone as it is to those implementing our foreign policy. Our ignorance on the matter is the main reason we don't do foreign policy here.

Re Domestic Politics: There likely is a reason the January 6 Committee keeps dribbling out documents and such and then its members going on TV to say little other than that the investigation is continuing. One thing seems to be a certainty: This strategy will not lead to the changing of any minds or enabling to action (e.g.., legislation or invocation of the 14th Amendment ban on office holding or timely criminal prosecutions). The reality is they are running out of time to conduct their trial (also known as public hearings), produce a report (which likely will be just a book and not a 1-to-2 hour visual documentary), and take whatever actions they are going to take. As said in trial practice, you don't wait until your 100% ready to go to trial ... if you ahead of the other side on preparation, you go to trial as soon as you can to maximize that advantage. And here, there is no "other side" as such ... the trial is whatever the Committee wants it to be and a 1-2 hour expose movie to be played on TV or a 6-episode series that can be streamed would be the best trial they could do. All that said, our ignorance on the matter is the main reason we don't do politics here.

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Especially if you travel internationally, but even if you don't, Google Fi might be much better for you and a much lower cost (both in terms of monthly charges and phone prices--although your current phone likely will work on Google Fi) than your current cellphone carrier. The Google Fi Website will explain it, as will this Android Central article. There are no activation fees or contracts, and VPN and encryption are built-in. The coverage likely will be as good or better than you currently have. And if you have or like a Pixel phone (although almost any phone will work), Google Fi should definitely be considered.

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As this WaPo piece lays out, Bobby Kennedy's son's path to becoming a leader of the anti-vax movement is nothing short of ... well, I don't have the word for, but it is an amazing tale. And on top of it all, he is married to Larry David's ex-CYE wife, which also  makes you think.

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You might take a minute or two and add up what you are paying for your cable box and internet service and streaming services and you might be shocked. If you're fine with paying that much, read no further. But if you'd like to see how drastically that bill might be cut, read this Wirecutter article on what might be done.

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I would love to get rid of my various remotes and go with one universal remote. Unfortunately, I've never found one that actually would let you put all your other remotes away and was not unduly difficult to set up. As it turns out, I was neither alone nor incorrect. As this Wirecutter article confirms, while there a couple of models it recommends, none looks worth the expense--and they are not expensive.

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This Wirecutter article has excellent tips on how to safely re-use and otherwise extend the life of N95 and KN95 masks, which are the masks now recommended for protection against and reduce the spreading of the Omicron variant.

PS: A loyal reader, also a  fan of Wirecutter, has brought to our attention a terrific piece at page 25 in the January 24 edition of The New Yorker, entitled "Wirecutter: The Best Partner." Here is the introduction and their top pick:

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Obtaining Canadian residency involves a different process if you are working versus if you are retired. In recent years, many citizens of the United States have been looking northward as they near or have reached retirement age. The idea of retiring in Canada is appealing to many Americans seeking an affordable and picturesque locale for their golden years. And Canada can help you stretch your U.S. dollar as far as it can go while avoiding the, well, oft chaotic politics of the United States. But, retiring from the United States to Canada is not as simple as many people think. This article walks you through the most important considerations for retiring from the United States to Canada. From immigration to taxes, healthcare to climate, this is your go-to guide for retiring in Canada. 

PS: If you are intending to work, the process is different. This article will walk you through that process. 

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It is being reported that Trump is considering endorsing multiple rival candidates in various mid-term elections. As Trump sees it, this would give  him "two chances" to win in each race. No arguing with that. 

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If you think you're alone in considering the desideratum of emigrating to Canada in view of what is happening and likely to be happening in this country, you are not alone. The next time you have a doctor visit or any kind of social encounter, ask the person if they've given doing so any thought, and you are likely to be stunned at how many people are looking at the matter seriously. Even some people who swore they'd never go back to any place whose climate was at any time other than moderate are having such thoughts. 

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