Random Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/Year End Thoughts (2025)

[Max Rockatansky]

Can't say I've ever tech supported anything for anyone.

[Scott5114]

The beauty of being a Linux user is you can deny knowing anything about anyone's Windows or Mac problems. (And if one of your family members is a fellow Linux user, either they can fix it themselves or the problem is actually interesting enough you're like "I gotta see this for myself.")

[kphoger]

The beauty of being a Linux user is you can deny knowing anything about anyone's Windows or Mac problems. (And if one of your family members is a fellow Linux user, either they can fix it themselves or the problem is actually interesting enough you're like "I gotta see this for myself.")

I work for the cable company, so my 'tech support' at my parents' house is usually related to cable/internet/phone.  A couple of week-ends ago, my sister was down with her husband from out of state, and she set up their new Google Chromecast.

Since then, they got rid of Cox landline phone and switched to Cox mobile, swapped out their old modem and router for a combo gateway, and switched from a wired HD/DVR to an IP wireless cable box.  So, at some point, I'll probably at least need to do some future 'tech support' by separating the Wi-Fi networks on their dual-band gateway.

But the Windows-related stuff?  My dad has that down.

[1995hoo]

I simplified the tech support task for myself in terms of helping my mother, who lives about 20 minutes away. We both needed new PCs at the time of the Windows 7 phase-out a few years ago, so to make things easier for myself, I bought us machines that were identical in all ways except the amount of RAM.

[Scott5114]

I simplified the tech support task for myself in terms of helping my mother, who lives about 20 minutes away. We both needed new PCs at the time of the Windows 7 phase-out a few years ago, so to make things easier for myself, I bought us machines that were identical in all ways except the amount of RAM.

And from what I know of people your mother's age, I'm guessing she promptly got it configured to somehow open the garage door every third time she hits the Ctrl key.

[1995hoo]

I simplified the tech support task for myself in terms of helping my mother, who lives about 20 minutes away. We both needed new PCs at the time of the Windows 7 phase-out a few years ago, so to make things easier for myself, I bought us machines that were identical in all ways except the amount of RAM.

And from what I know of people your mother's age, I'm guessing she promptly got it configured to somehow open the garage door every third time she hits the Ctrl key.

That's pretty funny. One thing I recall she needed that I couldn't easily provide was a lesson on how to use all the electronics on my father's Volvo. She called the dealer and they told her to bring it in for a tutorial. She said it was helpful, but as far as I know she still doesn't use the navigation system.

I had to help her with a Ticketmaster ticket download recently. It's only the second time she's used mobile-phone tickets. The first time, she grumbled a lot about it but then raved about how easy it was at the venue itself. This time, the problem was getting the ticket downloaded. Somehow she managed to buy the ticket, which suggests to me that her Ticketmaster password worked, but then when I was over at her house and she asked me to help her download the ticket it rejected her login and we wound up resetting her password (after we confirmed she had spelled and capitalized it correctly). Weird. I told her she would have been rather nonplussed two weeks ago when the conductor came by to scan my ticket on the Acela and I displayed the QR code on my watch.

[ZLoth]

[ZLoth]

I simplified the tech support task for myself in terms of helping my mother, who lives about 20 minutes away. We both needed new PCs at the time of the Windows 7 phase-out a few years ago, so to make things easier for myself, I bought us machines that were identical in all ways except the amount of RAM.

My mother's computer and my computer are at the opposite ends of my home. To make things easier (or an example of laziness), I just set up TightVNC so that I can access my mother's computer remotely.

[ZLoth]

[Max Rockatansky]

The Redwood Highway really is the place to go during Christmas season.  Hotel rates were super cheap and there is hardly anyone around.

[kphoger]

People keep saying "what Christmas is all about".  The best I can figure is that it's all about attempting to buy people's affection by giving them moderately priced items they already explicitly told you they want.

On a more serious note...

Some reflections on the Christmas story—you know, the babe of Bethlehem story—without getting all religious and stuff.  "What Christmas is all about", after all, is the birth of the child called "Christ".  As a Christian, I see profound significance in that, but I'd like to share some non-religious things that have been rolling around in my head lately about it all:  lessons we can draw from the story even if we don't all believe the same things about the kid in the feeding trough.

The prophets and the angels — If your vision for the future doesn't seem to be turning out the way you imagined it, then that's no reason to lose hope.  The prophecies quoted and alluded to in the Christmas story had been spoken 400 to 500 years ago, and they foretold the people being rescued from their oppressors and peace being established in the land.  After the Jews were finally granted freedom by the Persians and returned to their home country, eventually Persia stopped sending them money for the rebuilding effort, and they made some poor decisions as a result.  Then came Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, civil war, religious guerilla warfare, and then even the peace of the Roman Empire was starting to turn sour.  There's a powerful phrase in the Bible about Christmas:  "when the fulness of time had come".  If what you had hoped for your life hasn't come to pass, then take heart that maybe the "fulness of time" just hasn't come yet.  Chances are, you've still got a lot of life left, and every turn of the calendar page brings an opportunity to get a little bit closer to your dreams.  But, moreover, those ancient prophecies were being fulfilled in a way that nobody was expecting them to be:  the coming king was not about to boot the Romans out of Judea, was not about to start a new dynasty, and the peace he was bringing was a different sort of peace than what they had imagined.  So don't lose hope just because your life's picture isn't exactly the way you had once painted it;  maybe your dreams are coming true but in a more subtle and less noticeable way, or maybe you have blessings to be thankful for that you hadn't even realized you wanted and needed.

Zechariah and Mary — Faith is not the absence of doubt.  Zechariah and Mary both couldn't understand how the angels' message could come true:  Zechariah because he and his wife were too old to have kids, and Mary because she was a virgin.  But that wasn't the end of the story.  Don't let anyone tell you that all you need to succeed is to believe in your dream hard enough.  Sure, that may give you a little boost of confidence, but everyone has their doubts.  I guarantee, the person you look up to the most has had times of doubting, times when they couldn't see any possible way forward.  Zechariah doubted, but then he eventually did what the angel said;  Mary wondered, and yet she's held up as a model of faith.  Acknowledge your doubts and fears, express them out loud or in writing, and then let them inform your faith.  In fact, faith without any doubt tends toward over-confidence and only serves to set you up for an eventual let-down.

Joseph and Mary — Real heroes are just normal people who exhibit integrity, willingness, and faithfulness.  Joseph was a migrant laborer, and Mary was an unmarried teenaged mother.  They were living in a dirty redneck town (Nazareth), and their hometown was so small as to be nearly forgotten (Bethlehem).  Their family home was small enough that the guest room being occupied meant Mary had to give birth with the animals and use a feed trough as a crib—even though they were probably in town a while before the due date actually came.  They were poor, vulnerable, the sort of people who would be totally overlooked and dismissed as a nobody.  But Joseph was praised for choosing Mary's welfare over his own honor, and they're both remembered for their humility and willingness to do what they needed to do—even if by a lot of metrics they were unqualified.  Do you feel un-special?  Do you feel like other people are better than you?  Welcome to the club.  But that doesn't mean you can't make a big impact in the world.  When you do right by those around you, you make the world a better place.  Be the light in your little corner of the world:  whether your influence is wide or not, it can be deep.  Even if your good influence only matters to one person, you're a hero.

Herod and Jesus — Influence is not the same thing as control, and fear is not the same thing as respect.  Both Herod and Jesus are called kings, but they were not at all the same.  Even though healthy love (as for one's parents) can include an element of fear, it is totally backward to make others scared of you and then think you've earned their respect.  When Herod heard from the Magi about the coming king, it's said that he was troubled, "and all Jerusalem with him".  Herod had become increasingly paranoid and tyrannical lately, and those closest to him were terrified of him the most—for good reason.  He had obtained his seat of power by doing some awful things, and he was likely to maintain that power by doing some more.  But that isn't real power.  Herod demanded the peoples' respect, but he didn't really have it.  And whose influence has outlived their lives the most?  Herod or Jesus?  Jesus, as an adult, wasn't one to lose his temper, was willing to submit to others' authority, and was a living example of giving others honor and respect instead of demanding it from them.  Maybe you have some sort of leadership position in life:  then use it to exert real influence, by not always insisting on your own way, by elevating others instead of yourself, by earning people's respect by how you speak and act instead of demanding it as a tyrant.  Or maybe you don't have any leadership position in life at all:  that doesn't mean you don't have any meaningful influence.  In a business context, it's often the employee in the lowliest position who is the heart and soul of the company.  In a family, it's often the most mistreated member who humbles the others by his or her demeanor.  At the end of your life, as they lay you in the grave, people will only talk about what you'd done to truly earn their admiration, and nobody will talk about how tenaciously you held onto your authority.[/b][/b]

So, as the new year approaches, let's make resolutions that have less to do with our physical health or our bank account, and make ones that have more to do with how we think, how we love, and how we treat those around us.

[wanderer2575]

For the first time, I will be dining at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve.

[ZLoth]

[kphoger]

Only male reindeer keep their antlers in the winter.  This means Rudolph is female.

[Max Rockatansky]

Nah, Rudolph is just a Misfit Toy.   That's why he doesn't fit in.

[Big John]

Only male reindeer keep their antlers in the winter.  This means Rudolph is female.

He was growing his during his exile. Full grown at Christmas eve.

[kphoger]

I guess this means that the hero of the movie is female, and also that Donner and Mrs Donner are rangiferine lesbians.  Who knew the movie was so progressive?

[kphoger]

Who knew the movie was so progressive?

I just realized!

Rudolph's red nose is a metaphor his transgender identity.
Hermey is homosexual.
Clarice is an ally.
Cornelius, Rudolph, and Hermey's friendship represents solidarity between LGB and trans people.
The Island of Misfit Toys is symbology for the LGBTQ community.

It all makes sense now.
And you'll never be able to watch the movie the same way again.
You're welcome.

[Max Rockatansky]

He has antlers though when he grows up (as noted in post #65). 

[1995hoo]

[ZLoth]

[TheHighwayMan3561]

When they performed "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" at halftime of Lions/Vikings, I wondered why - it's 5 PM on Christmas Day now, so Santa was already here and long gone.

[ZLoth]

My 84yo mother falling and going to the hospital was not on my Christmas BINGO card.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

There's a radio station still playing holiday music. Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree was on and for some reason one of the lines where she sings "later we'll have some pumpkin pie" sounded like "later we're gonna have some fuckin' pie".

[Molandfreak]

There's a radio station still playing holiday music. Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree was on and for some reason one of the lines where she sings "later we'll have some pumpkin pie" sounded like "later we're gonna have some fuckin' pie".

Ha!