Wednesday Link Roundup - New Year's Eve Edition

William Teach at Pirate's Cove is up first with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Theo Spark has Democrat cupcakes.
This ain’t Hell… has your feel good stories. And Boomer’s Sunday.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 12.30.25 (Afternoon Edition)

Dr. Mauser: Whose Safety?
The Bugscuffle Gazette: When you import the Third World

EBL - Brigitte Bardot : RIP

Instapundit: No Pasaran: Brigette Bardot, RIP
“Women get more unhappy the more they try to liberate themselves.” Brigitte Bardot

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 29 December 2025: Unflow Edition

As AI gobbles up chips, prices for devices may rise. (NPR)
Thanks NPR. Always with the timely news of things that happened two months ago.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 12/28/2025

With New Year’s Eve just days away, a newly released U.S. government threat assessment cited by New York local outlet ABC 7 NY warns that lone wolves and small terror cells may seek to target special events in Times Square

Small Dead Animals - Saturday On Turtle Island

The Democratic Party’s America: Victor Davis Hanson – The war on white men. The New Yorker is upset. A takeover of Christmas. Islamic Caliphate of Minnesota.
Conman Carney’s Canada: Alberta parental rights. School board spin. Carney’s daughter.

Don Surber - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

ITEM 14: Breitbart reported, “Justice Department Ends Clinton Rule Giving Welfare to Migrants.”
It always go back to Jeff Epstein’s buddy.

Vlad Tepes - Hi Ho Silver, Saudis on Qatar, Daily rage videos, Helen Grus video and more: Links 1 for December 29th, 2025

3. Just a few fast rage-bait headlines showing illegal (I don’t care what piece of paper they have. Paper citizenship is a derivative and a narrative attack on the people of a nation state) Muslim migrants in the West.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 12.30.25 (Evening Edition)

Shark Tank: Byron Donalds Rips Tampon Timmy Over Day Care Fraud Allegations
Shot In The Dark: Civics

The Glibertarians - Monday Morning Links

California presses wealth tax despite national unpopularity, billionaires threats to flee
California Drops Suit Against Trump Administration for Pulling Funding for High-Speed Train

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - Russia vs. NATO Video Roundup

First up: Cappy Army on NATO beefing up it’s defensive line against Russia:
“NATO is racing to build a multi-billion dollar 2,000 mile long defensive line that stretches across the entire European continent.”

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 29 December 2025: Unflow Edition

Memory prices are expected to increase another 45% in 2026. (Notebook Check)
Laptop prices are expected to increase by 20% to account for this - or I should say predicted to increase by 20%, because I expect far worse.

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

Andrew Stuttaford warns of how nanny-staters, intoxicated with their own supposed moral superiority, are tendentiously using the concept of “externalities” to justify policies to restrict Americans’ access to alcohol.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - 'Simoleans for Somalians' is Still the Story

From Da Caller, Kash Patel Says FBI Investigation Into Alleged Minnesota Fraud Will Broaden As New Details Emerge. At PM, FBI threatens to denaturalize, deport Somali scammers in Minnesota.

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 12/29/25

Kurt Schlichter: And also to Canada, which is becoming a maple-flavored dictatorship.
America Should Grant Political Asylum to Victims of European Tyranny

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Why is Ilhan Omar's Husband's Investment Firm Removing Names From Their Website?

• The EU just had its battle of Adrianople, expect some change - Carl Deconinck • EU leaders pledge unfaltering support for Ukraine before Trump talks Sonya - CIESNIK

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 12/30/2025

Another Somalia Immigrant scam uncovered – Somalians are creating fake transportation companies. They pretend to take people to and from appointments, but not a single one ever has a passenger.

I leave you with Monday Memes … from MaddMedic, Sunday Funnies from Flopping Aces, Monday Memes from Granite Grok, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #3264 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, and Fucking Mondays..... gifdump from Wirecutter.

2025 Self-Defense Shootings in the News

At least Fox News is presenting self-defense in a positive light. 2025 self-defense shootings: Americans fight back against attackers

Church security guard, donut shop owner, homeowners among those who used guns to stop would-be attackers

They only highlight a handful of cases, but it is better than ignoring them completely, as most of the media does.

The most famous incident from the year, that they include in the list, was from June.

A church security officer gunned down a Michigan man in June, successfully stopping him from opening fire on dozens of worshippers celebrating Sunday services.

Brian Browning, 31, was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition when he arrived at CrossPointe Community Church for Sunday morning services in Wayne, Michigan, on June 22, 2025, according to FOX 2.

Click thru for the complete list.

Chicago Mayor's Policies Harm Black Residents of the City

It is funny how when you concentrate on "doing something" that "sounds good," you often end up with policies that don't ACTUALLY do Good. From the Chicago Contrarian we get a hard look at crime, and other issues, in Chicago. Chicago Mayor’s Anti-Black Agenda

Mayor Johnson has consistently minimized Chicago’s crime and violence crisis. Although murders and shootings have declined since the peak of the COVID pandemic, Chicago still reported over 28,000 violent crimes in 2024, with aggravated assaults reaching a 20-year high. Chicago once again will lead the nation in the number of murders, shootings, school age youth murdered and shot, and mass shootings.

Black Chicagoans shoulder most of the burden of violent crime, as 75 percent of murder victims and shooting victims are Black, and Black women, who make up just over 15 percent of the city’s population, comprise over 30 percent of violent crime victims.

The linked article isn't only a look at crime of course, though there is plenty of crime in Chicago. The transit system, is basically not safe today, picking one example, not at random.

But the educational system in that city is deteriorating. It wasn't that good to start with, but it is getting worse.

Then there are the fees, fines, and taxes that routinely hit the poorer residents of the city harder than other parts of the city.

And then there is basic health of the city.

Contaminated drinking water is a slow-moving epidemic in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods.

And there is still more. Click thru for the details.

Here Come All The Memories

Sicksense is an American nu metal band out of Phoenix. I found them during the lockdowns, mostly because Alissa White-Gluz, who is now lead singer for Arch Enemy, had been lead singer for that band. I haven't heard enough of Sicksense to know if I'm going to like them, but I do like this song. They are listed as Nu Metal, which a lot of people don't like; it can be a bit on the commercial side - also known as bland, as metal goes.

This is "Here Come All The Memories" by Sicksense from their March 2025 album Cross Me Twice. And while they are a Metal band, we are not on Monday with Metal for Mondays, because this song is more on lacking in screaming guitars and thundering drums. I'm sure we will listen to one of their harder songs eventually.

New Year's Eve is upon us, and it seems like a time people review the year. So this song seems as appropriate as anything.

Tuesday Links - 30 December

Clayton Cramer starts things rolling with Ken Burns' American Revolution

Also surprising was his postscript about the Bill of Rights mentions "the right to keep and bear arms." Not in a militia, not as allowed by public safety, and not even ignored. I guess this constitutes progress.

William Teach at Pirate's Cove - Judge Says Hawaii’s Tax On Cruise Ships Is Great

Let’s see what happens to the economy of Hawaii, see if the peasants enjoy the fallout. And, anyhow, if the doomsday cultists in Hawaii hate fossil fuels, why not ban cruise ships, gas powered boats, airplanes, and helicopters?

Impro Guns - Making DIY ammunition from blanks in Germany

Combining 9mm PAK blanks with 9mm big bore airgun pellets for use in 3D Printed guns.

Again from Clayton Cramer - Nothing As Entertaining As Watching Eurocrats Defend Censorship

I suspect many Europeans still support free speech. Their governments not so much.

Andy Ngo from Ngo Comment - Portland’s Most Violent Antifa Rioter Urges More Killings from Prison Blog

Malik Fard Muhammad — now incarcerated ... for multiple counts of attempted murder tied to firebombing attacks — is using a supporter-run blog to praise the assassination of Charlie Kirk and to encourage more politically motivated killings

Again from William Teach - Wacko On Meth Steals Washington State Trooper’s Cruiser

One has to wonder, if a lieutenant operates so poorly, what about the rest? Is she an aberration, someone who just flouts the rules, doesn’t care about them? Did she fail upwards? Do the others operate so poorly?

Doug Ross - Infographic: Tim Walz and the Somalis

What happens if you combine Somalis with good old Democrat Corruption?

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Stuck In The Ruts

If you’re interested in dipping your toes into Dynasty League Baseball, Pete has a once-a-week league starting with the 1999 season. Let me know in the comments if you’re interested.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 27 December 2025: Agglomeration Of Suck Edition

Is it a bubble? Let's ask the money men lending billions to build these AI datacenters.

They say yes. (New York Times) (archive site)

9.25% interest rates for commercial construction loans that supposedly have paying customers lined up?

Yeah, they're not convinced.

Holly MathNerd - Everything is Exhausting

The same tool that confidently hallucinates legal citations and invents book titles is, depending on who you ask, either our savior or our extinction event.

This is not a serious position.

It’s an anxiety response with a sci-fi aesthetic.

Again from Wombat-socho - Rule 5 Sunday: Probably Not Mrs. Santa

We’re willing to accept a reasonable facsimile.

The Other McCain - Game of the Year!

If you weren’t watching Sunday night’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears, you missed on of the greatest games in NFL history.

Self-Defense Is Legal in Kentucky

Even on a university campus. Grand jury returns no true bill for man charged in fatal KSU shooting

A grand jury declined to indict the man charged in connection to the deadly shooting at Kentucky State University, the Franklin County Circuit Court Clerk's office confirmed Dec. 23.

The leaders of KSU seem distraught that self-defense is a thing in Kentucky.

According to an arrest citation, Bard was involved in "a physical altercation" on campus, during which he "produced a handgun and shot two other individuals." He is the father of two baseball players at the university, and visited the campus Dec. 9 to discuss his children's safety following a previous altercation involving one of his sons, Danks confirmed to The Courier Journal.

Since he was then involved in a self-defense incident, his concern about safety on campus would seem to be justified.

And I'm sure that Mr. Bard's race had absolutely nothing to do with his arrest. It had to do with his having to defend himself on a college campus. It has been law in Kentucky permitting concealed carry on public campuses in Kentucky since a state Supreme Court decision.

Self-defense is a human right. It is your legal right in Kentucky, even on college campuses, though the educational, powers-that-be hate that.

Is the Media Biased in Favor of Democrats?

Since the Mainstream Media seems to be more interested in proving there is nothing really, to the Minnesota fraud, than reporting on it, alternative forms of reporting have to fill the gap. Pulitzer Committee Furious After Guy With Camera Does Journalism By Leaving His House

Minnesota’s latest integrity initiative exploded into the open this week when a Vice Presidential thumbs up for a YouTube exposé replaced the Pulitzer Prize as America’s gold standard for journalism, sources have confirmed.

As the Minnesota Scandal continues to unravel, several Minnesota residents like Nick Shirley have gone out to report what’s really going on, since local media and their local and state government have spent so much time trying to cover it up.

Click thru for some of the insanity. (Hat tip to Madd Medic at Freedom Is Just Another Word…)

The Holiday Weekend in Chicago

From HeyJackass! we get the crime stats from Chicago. X-Mass Shooting Weekend

This year will be more inline with the ghosts of Christmases near-present than the ghosts of Christmases with summer-like numbers and winter-like temperatures.

Final X-Mass Tally: 5 killed, 21 wounded
2024 Christmas tally: 3 killed, 20 wounded*
2023 Christmas tally: 4 killed, 20 wounded
2022 Christmas tally: 5 killed, 17 wounded

While the year of the Lockdowns, and the summer of Floyd (not Pink Floyd) is high, the last truly high year was 2016.

Click thru to links to several stories, including one of Brandon's Bodies, being counted over at CWB Chicago.

The Bee

Amorphis is a Melodeath (Melodic Death Metal), or Heavy Metal band out of Finland. I found them, the way I do so many bands, via one of the streaming services that suggest new music, based on what I have been listening to. Probably Tidal, though maybe a different service.

Here's a link to the lyrics, because Death Metal.

This song is "The Bee" by Amorphis from their 2018 album Queen of Time. And full disclosure: it contains a fair amount of the Death Metal, Death Growl.

A Miguel Gonzalez Musical Interlude

Miguel has a Musical Interlude every Sunday. Sunday Repose

Click thru for Ian Gillan, Rick Wakeman & Steve Howe performing their cover of "Light My Fire" from Light My Fire: A Classic Rock Salute to the Doors.

This is an album I knew nothing about before Sunday.

[It] is a tribute album dedicated to the Doors. It was produced by Yes member Billy Sherwood and it features Ian Gillan, Todd Rundgren, Steve Hillage and many others. It was released on June 24, 2014, by Purple Pyramid Records.

Billy Sherwood is the current bassist for Yes, Ian Gillan and Rick Wakeman were both members of Yes back in the day. Steve Hillage is a guitarist who has been in several Canterbury progressive and psychedelic rock bands.

I will have to delve into this album.

Terror Plot in Los Angeles

Those mostly peaceful Leftists were at it again. Turtle Island Liberation Front terrorists plotted to detonate weapons of mass destruction across LA: feds | New York Post

Two suspects in a far-left “anti-capitalist, anti-government” extremist group known as the “Turtle Island Liberation Front” were charged Tuesday with plotting to detonate weapons of mass destruction in and around Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve in a bombshell grand jury indictment.

The FBI — with the help of a confidential informant and undercover agent — disrupted the planned attack, which was designed to “completely pulverize” tech companies and logistics firms around LA before targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with a series of shootings and pipe-bomb explosions, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Click thru for the details.

In total, 4 people were charged.

They each face charges related to the terrorist plot and all are being held without bail.

I read yet another article, over the holiday, about how far-right violence is the thing everyone should worry about. Media bias? There's no media bias.

More Guns, Less Crime

The Left wants you to be afraid of guns and crime. Probably others as well. Fear makes it easy to control people. Disarming people makes it easy to control them. Deflating Another Gun Control Bogeyman

First of all, the term "Gun Violence" is in itself a problem.

Violence is violence regardless of the weapon or method used.

Gun violence is a handy bogeyman for gun control and other groups advancing similar agenda. By lumping homicides, suicides, and accidents together, gun grabbers of every stripe can use this family-sized phantasm to alarm the public.

There is a problem of course. "Gun crime" of all kinds has been going down. Even with the recent surge, as Democrats wage war on Police and Law & Order.

FBI statistics for the 65 years from 1960 to 2024 prove this. The decade from 2010 to 2019 had a lower average murder rate than any comparable period going back to the last year of Eisenhower’s term. In fact, the 2010-2019 average was 12% lower than in the previous decade.

COVID-19 and widespread civil unrest in 2020 produced a sharp spike in the rate that peaked in 2021. However, the rate fell in 2022 and has continued to fall.

Click thru for the details. (Hat tip to MaddMedic at Freedom Is Just Another Word…)

Student Loan Debt to be Collected

As in Collections will begin. Student loan borrowers at risk of wage garnishment in January

Five million people are in default on student loans, with the Dept. of Ed saying it may swell to 10 million soon.

The Trump administration will start garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers in default in early January, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday.

Collections were halted at the start of the pandemic lockdowns. (Hat tip to Don Surber.)

Not a Nice Way to Celebrate Christmas

Also, people need to come to terms with the fact that relationships end. Fowlerville homeowner reportedly shoots, kills armed intruder

An armed guy broke into a home. Both the homeowner and the intruder were shot. While the homeowner had non-life-threatening injured, the intruder didn't survive his wounds.

The intruder was the estranged husband of a woman who was visiting the homeowner at the time of the incident, the sheriff's office said. The ex-husband entered the residence and fired multiple shots at the homeowner, striking him twice, police said. The homeowner returned fire, ultimately striking and killing the shooter.

Fowlerville, in Livingston County, Michigan, is about 22 miles east of Lansing, and about 50 mile northwest of Detroit.

This was not a spur of the moment type of thing, since the shooter had to drive 95 or 100 miles from Lake Orion, near Pontiac, Michigan, to reach Fowlerville.

While the investigation is ongoing, the facts as reported seem to indicate this was self-defense, which is a human right. Self-defense has also been shown to be your legal right in Michigan.

Supply and Demand Means Supply IS Important to Price

If you close, and outlaw, several classes of power generating stations, you are going to restrict electric supply, and drive up price. The Data Center Price Myth

A simple story has taken hold in American politics: Big Tech is consuming vast amounts of electricity to power artificial intelligence, and ordinary households are paying the price.

It's a tidy narrative with a villain, a victim, and a moral. It also happens to be wrong.

But it is becoming clear that wind and solar are not really up to the task of running an industrial society, and that is a problem for the people who are screaming about climate boiling and net zero. And so the Left is now against data centers and technology.

Blaming data centers for rising electricity prices is like blaming FedEx for the cost of gasoline. Demand didn't fail. Supply was boxed in.

Click thru for the details on how politics have conspired to stop electric power.

Infrastructure Rebuild in Michigan

When we build infrastructure, we don't do too bad as a technology-using species. We shouldn't wait for a disaster to fix things, but it often seems like that is all we do.

On 19 May 2020 at 17:46 EDT following a heavy rain storm, the earthen embankment of the Edenville Dam failed by way of static liquefaction. (See this excerpt from a video by Practical Engineering on static liquefaction; it is queued up to the relevant portion of the video.) The dam failure released enough water to overtop the Sanford Dam 16 kilometers downstream. While that dam was damaged it did not breach.

After some legal wrangling, bureaucratic finger pointing, and other nonsense, plans were put in place to replace the Edenville Dam, the Sanford Dam, the Smallwood Dam, and the Tobacco River Dam. A couple were damaged, all had been rated as being in very bad shape before the disaster, but politicians don't like to deal with infrastructure. It isn't flashy, and doesn't really help them buy votes from anyone. And so it is all too often replaced or repaired only after a disaster.

It is too complicated to relate the entire history of these dams, but the full video from Practical Engineering, not just the portion highlighted above, isn't a bad place to start.

This is Jordan Mowbray's video Edenville Dam Emergency Spillway Work Rapid Progress- Earthen Embankment - Dam Drone - Dam Collapse. Shows some of the current state of the rebuild of the dam.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 27 December

Wombat-socho starts us off with In The Mailbox: 12.24.25 (Afternoon Edition)

CDR Salamander: So We Have A USS Defiant (BBG-1)
Don Surber: When CBS silenced Andy Rooney – Twice

The Right Way - Top of the News

Candace Owens goes full Der Stürmer - The New Neo
Mark Steyn called it - Viking Pundit

EBL - Blink-182 : Boxing Day 🎄

Instapundit : Origins of Boxing Day
AoSHQ: Morning Report 12.26.25

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 26 December 2025: Unboxing Day Edition

It's not a bubble: Nvidia has paid Groq - which was valued at $6.9 billion as of September - $20 billion in cash for a non-exclusive license to its inference technology. (CNBC) (archive site)
Groq who?

Animal Magnetism - Animal’s First Red Friday News

Trump HUD Hunts Colorado Fraud: 221 Dead Now on Housing Rolls
FBI Nails Chinese Researcher in E. Coli Smuggling Bust

The Glibertarians - Post Christmas Friday Afternoon links

For the love of all that is holy, no.
Again proving tape superior to vinyl.
If only the original sources were still available instead of lost.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 12.24.25 (Evening Edition)

Chicago Boyz: The Last 130 Meters, also, Christmas 2025
Don Surber: Spinning a 4.3% jump in the economy, also, Remembering peak Trump

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - 'Twas the Day After Christmas

Said Marco Rubio, quoted in "'Witch hunt': Ex-EU commissioner Breton denounces U.S. visa ban targeting ‘censorship'" (CNBC)." Ace, Trump Begins Sanctioning EU Officials For Attempting to Impose Communist/Sharia-Compliant Censorship on Americans

Flopping Aces - The Week in Radicalism, 12/26/2025 – More from The Nation!

China Is Now the World’s Climate Champion
Yep, the country that spews coal fire and works with Russia to fund the Climastrology scam in Western nations is what The Radical Left calls a “Climate Champion”.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 12.26.25 (Afternoon Edition)

Baldilocks: Clearing The Table
CDR Salamander: Merry Christmas!!!

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 12/25/2025

Canada’s government has released new data confirming that its rapidly expanding euthanasia regime continues to grow, with over five percent of all deaths in the country now coming from doctor-delivered lethal injections.

Small Dead Animals - The Day after Christmas On Turtle Island

The Democratic Party’s America: Victor Davis Hanson – What Trump must do now. A Somali charity.
Mohammad Carney’s Canada: 2005 in review. A Canadian Muslim. Canada condemns Israel.

Vlad Tepes - On Narrative attacks, and repressive tolerance in action: Links 1 for December 26, 2025

3. Trump launches ‘powerful and deadly’ Christmas Day strikes on ISIS targeting Christians in Nigeria: ‘Terrorist Scum’
Thank you President Trump.

Once again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 12.26.25

Victory Girls: John Kennedy’s Stuffed Alligator Wins Christmas Internet
Watts Up With That: Why Molecular Biology Labs Are Almost Always Stocked With Salmon Sperm DNA

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

Steven Greenhut explains what shouldn’t – but, alas, what today nevertheless does – need explaining: “When Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas 1776, it wasn’t in the name of Christian nationalism.”

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 12/24/25

And an honest census means counting only citizens.
The Constitution Demands An Honest Census (Democrats to the Constitution, "up yours baby!" - jjs)

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Memos of Conversations Between George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin Are Released

• Is Qatari Money Corrupting American Education? - Natalie Ecanow
• Tucker Carlson: A Christian Kufir Promoting Islam - Jonathan Feldstein

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 12/24/2025

Images released from after the first time Epstein was found non-responsive. The official line was it was a suicide attempt, but Epstein claimed his cellmate, a Steroid-abusing ex-cop, tried to kill him, but did not keep the choke on long enough, and Epstein came back

I leave you with Wednesday's gifs from Wirecutter, Midweek Memes from Granite Grok, If It Weren't For Woodsterman There Would Be No Style from Woodsterman, and Friday Memes … from MaddMedic.

First They Were Shot, Then They Were Arrested

I'm guessing that things didn't go according to plan. Two men face charges after being shot by Summerlin homeowner

Two guys were apparently trying to rob a Las Vegas homeowner in his garage. Despite the bad guys being armed, the homeowner shot both of them. Cops were called and they were taken to a local hospital.

Now jail records have been updated to include their charges.

• attempted robbery with use of a deadly weapon,
• conspiracy to commit robbery,
• burglary while in possession of a firearm or deadly weapon,
• assault with use of a deadly weapon.

My original post on this incident is Good Guys 2, Bad Guys 0

Self-defense is a human right.

The Great Promise of AI? Not Hardly

In Big Tech's rush to add AI to everything, they are breaking a lot of things. From The Verge, we get an update on Smart Homes. How AI broke the smart home in 2025: The arrival of generative AI assistants in our smart homes held such promise; instead, they struggle to turn on the lights.

This morning, I asked my Alexa-enabled Bosch coffee machine to make me a coffee. Instead of running my routine, it told me it couldn’t do that. Ever since I upgraded to Alexa Plus, Amazon’s generative-AI-powered voice assistant, it has failed to reliably run my coffee routine, coming up with a different excuse almost every time I ask.

It’s 2025, and AI still can’t reliably control my smart home. I’m beginning to wonder if it ever will.

The promise of AI in the Smart Home, was that it was going to make it easier to set things up, and easier for people to get things done, like run that "Make the coffee" routine. It hasn't worked out that way.

Click thru for the details of how Amazon made things worse with AI. The old systems were dependent on you using precise vocabulary, but it could actually do things.

Hat tip to Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony and Daily News Stuff 24 December 2025: Zero Shopping Days Edition

How AI broke the smart home in 2025. (The Verge) (archive site)

When all you have is an LLM, everything looks like a chat room.

Contrary to what they seem to believe in C-suites across corporate America, AI is not the answer to everything.

You know what this reminds me of?

Tech Enthusiasts: Everything in my house is wired to the Internet of Things! I control it all from my smartphone! My smart-house is Bluetooth enabled and I can give it voice commands via Alexa! I love the future!

Programmers / Engineers: The most recent piece of technology I own is a printer from 2004 and I keep a loaded gun ready to shoot it if it ever makes an unexpected noise.

Ice Queen

Today's song was released on Friday 19 December as part of the celebration of 25 years of their breakthrough album. Mother Earth wasn't Within Temptation's first album, but it was the one that got them attention. Not in the US of course. The tiny minds that run the music industry in the US can't wrap their minds around Symphonic Metal, even when the singers are singing in English.

This is the 2025 acoustic version of "Ice Queen" by Within Temptation. It was originally on the 2000 album Mother Earth.

Friday Links - 26 December

William Teach at Pirate's Cove starts us off with Sob: American Immigration Law Costing Illegals Over The Holidays

She could have gone with, right? Oh, wait, Mexico has some seriously strict immigration laws.

Lone Star Parson - Are We At Peak Skulduggery?

Did you know, dear friends, that the UK has a Brigadier General, yes, a Brigadier, admittedly retired, entirely devoted to Climate Change? You didn't? Now you do.

MaddMedic at Freedom Is Just Another Word… - CCP Conducts Mass Arrests of Christians Days before Christmas

Won’t hear about this from our biASSed, leftist media!!

Beege Welborn at HotAir - Newsom Loses More CA Business and Wants to Take Away the Farm

But until I read Katie's post, I did not know that Newsom and his toadies in Sacramento were going after farms as a means of reparations. What they are contemplating legislating is so blatantly an unconstitutional land grab that the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, is now involved.

Nick Arama at RedState - Cue the Meltdowns: Bari Weiss Dropping the Hammer With Big Changes After '60 Minutes' Story Fiasco

Sounds like Weiss is going to make changes that will be better for journalism at the network, whether they like it or not. Cue the meltdowns; you know they will be coming.

Again from MaddMedic at Freedom Is Just Another Word… - Poor Timmy…

A sitting Democrat governor effectively labeled millions of ordinary Americans, working families, veterans, parents, and taxpayers, as “extremists” simply because they reject the Left’s obsession with collective racial guilt.

Middle of the Right - Wow….

Hard to believe:

Primerica Investments sent me a Real, Honest to God, Christmas card.

The Other McCain - Make Nakatomi Plaza Great Again

Hard to believe it’s been 37 years since NYPD Detective John McClane saved his estranged wife Holly from the evil terrorist Hans Gruber, a saga memorialized in the classic documentary Die Hard, which all good patriotic Americans know is the best Christmas movie ever.

AmmoLand - New Zealand to Reform Draconian Firearms Law

The Hon Nicole McKee is an impressive woman. She appears to be doing the best she can with the situation as it exists. With only five percent of the population as legal gun owners and no Second Amendment, she is pushing for the rule of law when it comes to firearm ownership in New Zealand.

Don Surber - When CBS silenced Andy Rooney. Twice.

Rooney walked when CBS spiked his essay on war. It was an opinion piece that he wouldn’t change.

I suggest that if Alfonsi meant her story as an opinion piece, she should walk, too.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 24 December 2025: Zero Shopping Days Edition

Former Samsung executives and employees have been hit with criminal charges for leaking trade secrets on memory production to Chinese memory manufacturer CXMT. (WCCFTech)

Cool. I mean, tut tut, don't do that again.

Good Guys 2, Bad Guys 0

I would like the gun-hating part of the Left to explain to me how this would be better if the homeowner didn't have the legal means to defend himself. Homeowner shoots armed men who approached garage, police say

An investigation is underway in the west valley after a homeowner shot two armed men who approached him in his garage, according to Metro Police.

Both of the would-be, bad guys are in the hospital in stable condition. No word on any charges, though I don't expect the homeowner to be charged for defending himself in Las Vegas.

Electric School Buses are NOT Being Heated in New York

I love it when politicians pretend they are engineers. Energy requirements for heat? I'm sure that won't be an issue. Parents raise concerns over heat issues in electric school buses in Lake Shore Central School District

On the heels of a statewide mandate requiring all school bus purchases in New York State be electric by 2027, parents in the Lake Shore Central School District are speaking out, claiming some bus drivers are turning the heat down, or off completely, in an attempt to conserve battery life on their electric school buses.

The powers-that-be are assuring you that the buses meet the heating standards. The kids are telling a different story.

“They’re living in New York City, which is also La La Land, because this is a city-centric mandate,” Sen. Weik said in response to the NYSERDA’s assertions. “This might work in New York City where the bus routes might be a mile to a quarter of a mile long, and gas stations are hard to come by in a city that’s so overcrowded and developed, but that’s not the case for the rest of New York whether you’re on Long Island or Upstate.”

This is the MGUY Australia video Heaters in ELECTRIC school buses TURNED OFF to SAVE BATTERY

Every single electron you take out of that traction battery and which is not converted to motion of the vehicle will inevitably reduce the usable range of a full charge. But none of this seemed to concern the state of New York, which mandated that all school buses must be electric, despite the fact that it can get very cold in winter.

The video is just under 7 minutes.

$9 Billion (or More) Fraud in Minnesota Government Programs

Is anyone shocked? US Attorney's Office: 'Half or more' of $18B billed through state programs tied to fraud - KSTP 5 Eyewitness News

As the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a new batch of charges related to suspected fraudulent billing in Minnesota’s government services, officials painted a dire portrait of just how extensive the problem might be.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson on Thursday said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pulled claims for 14 programs identified by Minnesota officials as being particularly vulnerable to fraud and found $18 billion in Medicaid billing since 2018.

While not all of those payments were illegitimate, Thompson estimated “half or more” of the $18 billion was received through fraudulent means, though he said prosecutors are still working to find the exact number.

I would love to say that this was because it is a Blue State, but all government is up to no good. Minnesota is just a particularly bad example.

I really don't expect much to come from this, unless the people of Minnesota wake up and take control of their government, and they seem to be more focused on Orange Man Bad than how their tax dollars are spent.

Hat tip to Ace at Ace of Spades HQ: Feds Discover Another $9 Billion in Medicaid Fraud... All in Tim Walz's Pirate Paradise of Minnesota

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Or Whatever

I hope everyone has a great day. (Scroll down for a Musical Interlude.)

This is "Veni, veni Emmanuel" by the King's Singers. It was recorded in January 2011 at St. Lukes London, England. The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal group. They are named for King's College in Cambridge.

An Important Lesson About Having a Firearm

Possessing a firearm doesn't make you the most dangerous person in the room. Attitude counts for a lot. Man, 35, Dies After Shot By Own Gun In Struggle With Homeowner During Attempted Break-In: Police | Manhattan, IL Patch

According to the statement, police say Hayes and an accomplice attempted to forcibly enter the apartment, and Hayes was reportedly armed with a shotgun.

A physical struggle ensued between Hayes and the resident, during which the resident discharged the shotgun, striking Hayes, police said.

While I wouldn't want to face a shotgun with just my bare hands, if it was a question of "him or me" I would fight to make sure it was him.

No word on the other guy, who was with Hayes, so I assume that he ran.

There is also no word on what the motive might have been. Was it a simple break-in, or was it personal?

Self-defense is a human right. It may or may not be your legal right in Illinois.

Manhattan, Illinois is a small village in Will County. It is about 10 miles southeast of Joliet, or about a 50 mile drive southwest of downtown Chicago. I don't have a feeling for how the current Criminal Justice System in Will County views self-defense, but I would guess that they support it.

Media Bias? What Media Bias?

The Other McCain has a story of Media Bias. Journalism, Credibility and ‘Experts’

Robert Stacy McCain highlights the fact that the NPR Standards Chief has issued a directive that NPR "Journalists" stop quoting Carl Tobias. Tobias is a professor of law from The University of Richmond. He has been quoted 77 times on a "variety of topics."

That 77 times was on NPR. He is also quoted in other "news outlets."

At risk of going off on a tangent, permit me to note a relevant fact: University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Reynolds has opinions on all kinds of subjects, but you never see him quoted as an “expert” by NPR, the New York Times, Associated Press, etc. Why do you think that is?

Professor Reynolds is not a partisan Democrat, that’s why. These journalists quoting Professor Tobias are partisan Democrats, and his dial-a-quote service flourished because so-called “mainstream” journalism has become nothing but Democratic Party propaganda.

Click thru for details, and more on the liberal media's fall from credibility.

The Force Awakens Tenth Anniversary

The premiere was on 14 December, with the general release on 18 December 2015. The 10 year anniversary seems like a time to reconsider what it did to our beloved Star Wars. Not that Disney-Lucasfilm is remembering. But Nerdrotic is.

This date doesn't mark what most consider the death of Disney-Lucasfilm, but it is a prominent date in the death of the Star Wars saga.

Personally, I hate the prequel trilogy. I didn't pay to see all of them in the theater.

I didn't watch The Force Awakens in the theater, and I haven't seen all of it, giving up partway through. I don't think I've seen any of The Last Jedi and I've only seen clips of The Rise of Skywalker Palpatine. Well, I've probably seen clips of The Last Jedi without realizing which movie they are from.

I like the original trilogy. It was a fun set of movies that told a fairly standard hero's story. The prequels were about a trade dispute, and politics. The sequel trilogy was about a Mary Sue, who could do no wrong, and was perfect at everything. Neither of those 2 things make for great storytelling.

Anyway, Gary at Nerdrotic has watched (or re-watched) this movie so I don't have to.

This is the Nerdrotic video The Force Awakens - How Disney Destroyed Star Wars

A film becomes a classic through a rare blend of timeless storytelling, artistic innovation, deep emotional resonance, and lasting cultural significance, allowing it to endure beyond fleeting trends by connecting it with audiences across generations through memorable characters, profound themes, and cinematic milestones that influence film making itself, creating a shared experience that stands the test of time. And that's everything Disney's Star Wars Episode 7, The Force Awakens isn't.

The video is nearly an hour, so plan accordingly.

Film Threat held a funeral for the franchise last year. It is on YouTube, and individual sections are on YT in manageable time chunks. Film Threat also put Disney-Lucasfilm on trail for crimes against the art. Both are easy enough to find if you are interested. Chris Gore was apparently a huge Star Wars fan in his youth.

The death of Lucasfilm can probably be tied to the day George L. sold to Bob Iger and Co. If you don't like that date, the release of The Rise of Skywalker Palpatine is probably a good date. Most people checked out after that. Some fans held on until The Acolyte was released. I'm not sure why that was a step too far, but the fire in the vacuum of space, the runaway fire in the 100% stone installation, and Lesbian Space Witches probably contributed to the demise.

Wednesday Link Roundup - Christmas Eve Edition

William Teach of Pirate's Cove starts us off with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Don Surber has highlights of the week.
Doug Ross has Larwyn’s Linx. And more Larwyn’s Linx.

EBL - MAGA Clinton Epstein Files ☀️

Bill Clinton in the Epstein files
Instapundit: Bill Clinton frolicking in the pool...

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 12.22.25

Transterrestrial Musings: The Dark Ages
Victory Girls: Walz And Lapdog MN Media Cover Up $9 Billion Somali Fraud

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 20 December 2025: Warp Speed Edition

LG is allowing customers to delete the Microsoft Copilot app it forced onto their televisions. (Tom's Hardware)
Or will do at some point.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Plays Battleship

Ace woke up and noticed Epstein Files Reveal Bill Clinton Cavorting With Very Young Women on Pedo Island; Democrat Flacks and Leftwing Media -- But I Repeat Myself-- Claim Trump Is "Curating" the Photos to Make Slick Willy Look Bad, "Plus a rousing chorus of "But Trump!!!""

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkange

The Midwest Chick Saturday Meme Drop………….
Pirates Cove Extinction Rebellion Goes Dark For Their Protest

Vlad Tepes - Religious war is for all the marbles: Links 1 for December 23rd, 2025

This is the joint effort by communists and Muslims/Islam to take down Western civilization to the very roots. What will replace it will be so much worse it can’t even be described. Think of Saudi Arabia with all the public beheadings and no oil money.

Political Hat - News of the Week (December 21st, 2025)

New York’s Death Wish: Abandoning the Most Vulnerable to Assisted Suicide It’s not surprising, but it is shocking and devastating all the same. Empire State Governor Kathy Hochul is about to sign the assisted-suicide bill.

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 12/20/2025

Gas Prices Drop to Lowest December Levels Since 2020
Gasoline prices are expected to fall further this holiday season, giving travelers relief at the pump as national averages dip below 2020 levels.

Small Dead Animals - Monday On Turtle Island

Conman Carney’s Canada: Hamas in Chowtown. Censoring Rebel News. Canadians voted for this.
The Democratic Party’s America: L.A. legalizes assaulting ICE agents. The Story of America.

Don Surber - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

ITEM 11: Breitbart reported, “All net job growth is going to native-born Americans as foreign-born employment continues to decline, a new jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued on Tuesday reveals.”

The Glibertarians - Tuesday Morning Links

Trump DOJ Sues D.C. For Banning ‘Most Popular Firearms’
DHS Raises Self-Deport Bonus to $3K

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

Peter Earle is correct: “Eye-catching statistics about executive compensation tell us nothing about fairness, and distract from the real drivers of wage growth and worker prosperity.”
“Fiscal policy is raising costs for American families.”

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

Why Johnny Can’t Read
Tis the Season for Jihadist Christmas Attacks
Zero Republican professors found across 27 academic departments at Yale

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 12/22/25

Leftists excuse perpetrators and vilify victims.
Leftism Promotes Psychological Abuse

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: The Fulton County 2020 Election Bombshell

• 5 Years Too Late, Fulton County Proves Trump’s Call To Raffensperger Right - Hans Mahncke
• Demons Despise the Sound of Shaking Paper - Chris Bray

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 12/23/2025

National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Contains Hidden Election Integrity Gem – Could Have Huge Implications for Voting Machines. Voting machines will have to undergo penetration testing by security experts before being approved for use.

I leave you with Sunday Funnies For 12-21-25 from Stately McDaniel Manor, Monday Memes …. from MaddMedic, Mondays..... picdump from Wirecutter, Monday Memes from Granite Grok, and Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #3245 from 90 Miles from Tyranny.

Another Idiot Shooting At Someone In His Driveway

Why would you shoot at someone who was leaving? Homeowner charged for shooting at Amazon driver in Richmond County

According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the delivery driver knocked on Sidney Pittman’s door to deliver a package on Dec. 14 in Ellerbe. He told her it was the wrong address, but as she was driving away, detectives say the homeowner shot into her car with her 16-year-old son inside.

Ellerbe, North Carolina is about a 90 mile drive southwest of Raleigh, or about 75 mile drive east of Charlotte.

So now this genius homeowner is facing felony charges, and it will be hard to prove he had a reasonable fear of death or grave bodily injury, because she was leaving.

Your home is not a free fire zone.

Sadly he cannot be charged with felony stupidity in North Carolina.

So What Were You Doing at Age 11?

I'm guessing that stealing cars wasn't on the activity list, but that is just a guess. 'Somebody could have been killed’: Video shows kids leading Newburgh Heights police on stolen car chase before crash

“Shock. One word. Shock,” said Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy.

This is the Police Activity video 11-year-old Leads Cops On Stolen Car Chase in Ohio

Police later determined the driver was an 11-year-old child, with two other children, ages 8 and 12, inside the vehicle. The pursuit continued westbound over the Denison Bridge, where the driver lost control after an abrupt turn and crashed into a nearby home.

That quote comes from the video description at YouTube. It also says the kids learned how to steal the car by watching YouTube videos.

The video is 7 minutes.

Together

While I am getting sick of the standard Christmas Carols, there are some not-so-standard songs that I still like.

This song is "Together" by Tarja from her 2017 album Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas).

The Horrible Movies of 2025

Despot of Antrim is a YouTube movie critic who shows up on some channels that I like. He is often a guest on Critical Drinker After Hours, which I quite like.

He considers the year 2025, and the 13 worst movies of the year. Big-budget, Hollywood movies. Of the 13 movies he mentions, 12 lost money, some lost a lot of money. And that is based on the numbers published by the studios. We know from history that the real budget numbers for Disney movies won't come out until Disney files tax forms with the UK government for films that were shot in the UK. We should see those final numbers in 2026.

It was a terrible year for the box office. Movie theaters can't survive on this kind of revenue, and if Hollywood keeps making slop, no one will see a reason to go to the cinema, and no one will have a reason to subscribe to streaming services.

This is the Despot of Antrim video The Worst Movies of 2025. It is a long video at just over 2 hours, but it is conveniently divided into chapters so you can watch what you want, and come back later if you're interested. I love this kind of thing, but then I love movies. I just wish Hollywood would make some worth seeing.

It Is Sad, That Things Have Fallen So Far

Holiday advice from Miguel Gonzalez: Out of Pocket

And please: Be careful driving and be extra careful wherever large crowds gather.

Carry and pack extra mags with the proper defensive ammunition.

Every Christmas gathering is a target.

Tuesday Links - 23 December

William Teach at Pirate's Cove has some news on the Climate Change front. NY Has Backed Off Of Climate Goals Or Something

Bummer. NY and Hochul just need to crack down, because the majority of New Yorkers voted to do this. They need to suck it up.

Chicago Contrarian - Downtown Alderman Moves to Strengthen CPD Curfew Powers

Alderman Brian Hopkins (2) has moved to give more power to the Chicago Police to deal with violent and dangerous teen takeovers of the city in the wake of the many crimes — including murder — that have occurred during these chaotic mob scenes which have wracked the city for years.

Doug Ross - 10 Steps to End Jihad Against the West - An Infographic

Call Islam what it is. Call dishonesty what it is. And call apologists for Islam what they are.

Aaron Hanscom at PJ Media - From Kristallnacht to Today: Why Jews Fear History Repeating

After the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust on Oct. 7, 2023, Jews throughout the world are becoming increasingly sensitive to signs that eerily parallel those preceding the Nazi genocide. Is this paranoia? An overreaction? Let’s look at a warning this week from a non-Jew, radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

Again from William Teach - Surprise: The Amount Of Fraud In Minnesota Is Vastly More

It’s funny when Democrats say “It’s only a billion dollars” like that is chump change in Reality Land

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: A Week In The Ruts.

Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley et Hamas delendam sunt.

The Other McCain - Thoughts From a ‘Heritage American’

Perhaps you’re not on X (formerly known as Twitter) and therefore have been spared the quarrel over “Heritage Americans.” Don’t know who coined that term or in what context it originated, but it seems to be a critique of the “proposition nation” ideology that George Will did so much to promote. Far be it from me to embrace or endorse a crypto-Nazi “blood and soil” ideology — the polar opposite of “proposition nation” — but the problem is that we are (or should be) talking about public policy.

Again from Wombat-socho - Rule 5 Sunday: In Honor Of Alice Cooper. (And there is a link to a song-of-the-day, but it might not jump out at you.)

The protagonist, Rally Vincent, was not only a hot babe who could shoot, but she could drive like a bat out of hell. What better gal to look for, if you need a girl with a gun and a job?

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 21 December 2025: Door Out Of Summer Edition

Privacy is marketing. Anonymity is architecture. (Servury)

The value of your service provider not being able to recover your password is that they can't do anything else to your account either because they don't know who you are.

Alice Jones Webb on Women and Shooting

There was a time this line of questioning was fairly common. Maybe I've just become too reclusive in my old age. From Take It Outside: So You Want Your Girlfriend to Like Guns

This is an article by Alice Jones Webb from a few years back, that is no longer on the original website where it was published. She thought it would be worth rescuing it from oblivion.

For those of you who don't know, Alice Jones Webb has written for Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Hook & Barrel, MeatEater, Free Range American, Recoil, and other outdoor publications. She describes herself as "a professional outdoor writer, solo hunter, muddy-boots homesteader, and unapologetic conservationist."

Do you love guns? Do you love your girlfriend? Do you wish your girlfriend loved guns?

Don’t despair. There are a few things you can do to turn your girl on to shooting.

While I’m not typically one to give relationship advice, I am one to regularly give shooting advice.

There are variations on some of the advice I used to give.

One is enroll her in a class. While men usually do love their wives and partners, they are not usually the best person to be teaching them about shooting. Too much baggage from the relationship. When I was teaching NRA classes we usually "discouraged" husbands and wives from sitting together for similar reasons.

Another is let her select her own firearm. A gun needs to fit your hand, the way your shoes fit your feet. A grip that is comfortable for you, might not be comfortable for her.

Here is probably the best piece of advice.

Make Her First Experience a Good One

If you want your girlfriend to love shooting, you need to do everything within your power to prevent a bad first experience. This is especially true if she’s never fired a weapon in her entire life.

Think about shooting with your girlfriend like your first date. If that first romantic encounter had gone south, you wouldn’t have had the opportunity for a second.

The same is true of shooting. You want to woo her with that first trigger pull. If it isn’t enjoyable, she probably won’t be making a second trip with you to the range.

When I was teaching people to shoot, I had access to a .22 short Beretta pistol. It was a small gun, but it was solid metal. The .22 short ammo resulted in virtually no recoil. For that first shot, or first magazine, it didn't really scare anyone too much or seem overwhelming. Usually the first trip to the range was some basic safety instruction, and fundamentals of shooting, but then it was mostly trying various caliber firearms to see what they were comfortable with, starting very small and working up. And since most indoor ranges today have some rental firearms, we could make sure that the grip issue was addressed.

I have seen too many women handed a .44 snubbie, either because someone thought it would be funny, or because they believe it is the best firearm ever manufactured. I routinely shoot a .357 Magnum revolver, but I don't enjoy shooting .44 special out of a short barrel, let alone .44 Magnum. Sometimes it is a brother/cousin looking for a laugh. Those guys are idiots, but the sisters know that. Sometimes not. The result is the same.

Don't be that guy, not even toward your sister.

So. Do you want the women in your life to be able to defend themselves, their children, and others? Do you want to occasionally take them to the range? Or do you want a quick laugh, and a long argument?

There is much more more. click thru.

Network Update Errors Can Cost Lives

When you are updating a firewall, mistakes can make it impossible for your systems to talk to the outside world. If you work at a telephone/telecom company, you can disrupt phone service for a lot of people. From The Register: Ten mistakes marred firewall upgrade at Australian telco, contributing to two deaths

As The Register reported at the time, Australia’s equivalent of the USA’s 911 and the UK’s 999 and 112 emergency contact number is 000 – Triple Zero – and local law requires all telcos to route emergency calls to that number. For 14 hours on September 18, Optus could not route some customers’ calls to 000 and was unaware of any problems on its network. The company eventually learned of the situation from customers who complained to its call center.

During the 14 hours of the outage, 455 calls to Triple Zero didn't go through. Two of the callers died.

Click thru for the details, and there are a lot of them. How the change was made without review. Why people noticed a problem but didn't escalate it. The fact that the call center never expected to be the front line on Triple Zero problems, and they didn't know what to do. And other issues.

Calling 911 in the US, 999 in the UK or 000 in Australia is a fine thing to do, but as we have seen all too often, it only takes a missed bit in a configuration update, or a guy with a backhoe, to make a huge hole in those services. You should figure out what your Plan B is. These are complex systems built, run, and maintained by flawed humans. They won't work perfectly all the time. Sometimes, they won't work at all.

I won't compare the internet, and the technology that we've built on top of it, to a house of cards, but it isn't far off. The recent, and what seem to be escalating, outages make that point for me.