Caution: May be Too Edgy for Some

In a recent Hallmark movie the brutal business practices of a rival are revealed. Actress Ali Liebert's horrified expression tells you all you need to know. Who says Hallmark doesn't make realistic movies?

Familiarity Breeds Tolerance

According to Yale political scientist Dennis Huber, communities which are directly affected by immigration do not display an increase in anti-immigrant attitudes.

Dennis Huber

A narrative arose after the 2016 U.S. presidential election that Trump had used his anti-immigration platform to exploit people’s fears over immigrants moving into their neighborhoods.

To test the narrative, the researchers needed to drill down to the community level. They acquired voting-precinct data, which offer a more precise measure of people’s local experiences than county-level data, Huber said. They combined the precinct data with demographic data from the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey, which provides estimates of population changes...

They chose to study the key battleground states of Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Georgia and Nevada were selected because their populations have diversified in recent years. Washington state was studied because it is less diverse and lacks significant policy conflict over immigration, Huber said.

While the study shows that people living in increasingly diverse communities aren’t as a result driven to support anti-immigrant candidates, he said, it does not challenge the idea that people are upset by demographic changes happening in the United States.

“There are people who are very upset by increasing diversity and immigration,” he said. “They just don’t appear to be living in places experiencing an increase in immigration. It does not appear to be a story about local contact.”

Comments:

1) Immigration advocates consistently conflate anti-illegal immigration with anti-immigration--in my view to tar opponents of illegal immigration as racist and xenophobic. (Your humble blogger values the rule of law higher than any specific policy and also wants more legal immigration.) I didn't see anything in the article that said the researchers distinguished the two points of view.

2) I also hope the researchers performed the basic step of excluding recent immigrants from the population who gave feedback. After all, we are trying to measure the politics of those already in place, right?

3) The study's purported result--those most upset by immigration do not have much personal experience with it themselves--is consistent with behavior of activists in other areas. For example, California environmentalists are much more opposed to fracking in North Dakota or drilling in Alaska than the people who live there.

4) The study's purported result also is consistent with a hoary principle: it's less likely that people will hate groups with whom they've had personal contact. We've seen how stereotypes melt away (not all the time, though) when people interact with others of different races, religions, cultures, and sexual orientation. Familiarity doesn't breed contempt but tolerance.

(Image from EHS Daily Advisor)

Something to Do With It

It was coincidental but thematically appropriate that our high school seniors spoke from the pulpit on Thanksgiving Sunday.

Landon talked about his lifelong battle with food allergies and his gratitude for the support from his family and doctors. He recounted how he was able to help a friend who had an anaphylactic shock while away on a trip.

Lydia first spoke about the little things she was grateful for--the paper to write her speech!--and then moved on to weightier matters, like how gratitude for her life led to her multi-year commitment to alleviating destitution in Latin America.

Young people experience emotional highs and lows, but when they are raised with an attitude of gratitude there's much less chance that bitterness and resentment will dominate their waking moments. I am sure that growing up in the church had something to do with it.

Still Funny After All These Years

One of his most famous cartoons

Gahan Wilson, 89, died on Thursday. In the 1970's and 1980's he was at the top of the cartoon profession, on par with Gary Larson (The Far Side), Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), and Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury).

His drawings and humor were distinctive; he would take an ordinary subject--driving a car, a grandmother in her living room--and insert a macabre and humorous twist. Unlike other cartoonists who often mail it in, Gahan Wilson's single-panel creations were always imaginative.

After learning about his passing, I perused a couple of volumes that I had not looked at this century (!). They were still funny after all these years.

Real Estate: A Product We Would Consider

In paying for one's personal residence the choice has been between renting or buying. Now we can add a third option: renting and buying.

In new condo developments [bold added]

entire floors are devoted to amenities—including guest suites—that are designed to accommodate owners when they host gatherings and entertain. The suites give the buyers the ability to buy an apartment with fewer bedrooms, knowing that they can reserve a suite when company comes. More important, developers say, is that separate guest suites let homeowners enjoy their private space while eliminating the headaches of cooking, cleaning and laundry that come with hosting.

In one Manhattan tower, not having to buy an extra bedroom knocks "$1 million to $1.4 million" off the purchase price. At $300 per night for a guest suite at the tower, the owner would need to host visitors for half a year before his outlay equalled the annual 4% mortgage payment on an incremental $1 million for a bedroom.

(Image from blog.trello.com)

This is not a new idea--one could not always house out-of-towners in one's home, so renting a hotel room was a solution. The innovation is that guests are staying right next door, and the daily rent is a bargain compared to a hotel with similar amenities.

And we shouldn't ignore the effect of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, which removed the Federal tax deduction for most of the interest and property taxes on high-end properties. Buyers are incentivized to buy less housing and to rent the additional capacity when needed.

If we were retirees who wanted to live in the City, we would seriously consider this product.

What We Signed Up For

It's the week before Thanksgiving, which meant it was time to take food boxes to CALL Primrose in Burlingame. CALL Primrose is a Methodist and Presbyterian joint venture that has been dispensing food since 1983.

Last year, CALL Primrose was able to serve over 27,000 individuals in need by directly providing more than 51,000 bags of groceries.

Unlike 2018, when our parish was swamped with donations, we were only able to deliver the four boxes we signed up for.

The ladies at the CP office were grateful. Exceeding our commitment would have been nice, to be sure, but not more important than honoring it. It's a good rule for charity and life; don't make a lot of promises, but keep the ones you do make.

It Checks the Boxes, but the Heart Doesn't Flutter

(WSJ photo)

We have owned and loved dogs, but allergies have kept them from our household. The Peruvian Hairless may just be the dog we're looking for:

Fans say they are smart and don’t shed. But perhaps the biggest perk of the Peruvian Hairless, they say, is its warmness. It’s like a hot-water bottle that barks...

Fans say golden retrievers, beagles and German shepherds have nothing on the Hairless. Shedding isn’t a problem, making them ideal for dog lovers with allergies. Washing them is a cinch. Forget about fleas.

(American Kennel Club)

The breed's warming feature is an important benefit to owners with arthritis and tendinitis, which we're beginning to suffer from. The Peruvian Hairless

has a body temperature of about 101 degrees, similar to other breeds and slightly hotter than humans. But without fur, the dog’s skin radiates heat.

Now, if we can just get past their atypical look, which triggers discomfort similar to the uncanny valley. We're no beauties ourselves, but the heart doesn't flutter and it wants what it wants.

Cup Half Full

'Left: old machine in white;
Right: new black Keurig K Duo

We first came across Keurig's single-cup brewing system 12 years ago, when its then-owner, Green Mountain, rented Justin Herman Plaza to promote its wares.

At the time we were unimpressed:

The coffee tasted just okay.

It was expensive on a per-cup basis.

There were a lot of plastic pods to dispose of.

Last year we bought a cheap Keurig knock-off. The coffee was good, not great; the garbage problem is manageable at one cup a day; the pods are only 40 cents each. Most importantly, set-up or clean-up takes less than minute.

Addicted to the convenience, we bought a new Keurig Duo (it comes with a carafe if one has to brew for a group) when the old machine broke. Fortuitously, the Duo was on sale at Costco for $170.

Over the years the Keurig has become lighter and cheaper and also has more quality and features. The world is getting worse in some respects, but I prefer to focus on how it's getting better. In other words I'm a cup-half-full kind of guy.

Haughtiness Oozing

A firehose of information comes at us every day. Accordingly, a filter that tells us what we need to know without tipping over to advocacy is specially valuable. I don't want to get deep into the weeds about intelligent curation--I know it when I see it!--but a wise editor decides which stories are important and, if an action is being promoted (ban fossil fuels, nationalize health care, tax both wealth and income, impeach the President) which arguments, pro and con, carry weight.

I am a paid subscriber to the San Francisco Chronicle and Wall Street Journal, both of which have not only strong opinion sections but also trustworthy news departments that frequently undermine the editorial positions. And I'm on the lookout for a few more information sources.

On the Twitter feed was an ad for Blinkist, a site that identifies "important" books, summarizes their contents, and links to the sources if the reader wishes to dig deeper. I clicked through...to my regret. Nearly every sentence was a turnoff to me, and, I suspect, many American readers. (Particularly irritating words and phrases are highlighted for your convenience.)

The Innovative App That's Trending Among Intellectuals - Blinkist Magazine

Studies have shown that last year, the typical American read 4 books. In contrast, the average number of titles completed by a Blinkist user was 26. That's why intellectuals are turning to Blinkist—because it's a proven way to get through more of the world's leading titles.

At Blinkist, we summarize the key insights from nonfiction books into 15-minute reads and listens. There are over 3,000 titles across 27 unique categories, cementing our app as the go-to destination for big thinkers.

More than 11 million people are expanding their horizons with Blinkist, with thousands of knowledge hunters downloading the app everyday.

'Blinkist encourages you to read more nonfiction books. The app contains cleverly written digests — called blinks — where books are broken down into their main arguments.'

– The New York Times

So, what exactly is it that top thinkers like about Blinkist?

1. It's Backed By Science

At Blinkist, there's a dedicated team of experts who sift through the millions of books published each year to find the best ones out there. We don't just want bestsellers, we want the hidden gems, the timeless classics, books written for intellectuals, by intellectuals — because we have built an app with serious purpose and intention.

'When we started most apps were for social media or gaming. We wanted to do something different and build an app that would add genuine value to someone's life'.

– Holger Seim, Blinkist co-founder

Once the books are selected, our specialist editors identify the key ideas and themes from each book, and turn them into useful summaries of insights. The best part, all of the content is created using neuroscientific principles making all the information easy to understand, but hard to forget.

Actionable examples, case studies, and anecdotes help deliver information that's relevant, useful, and applicable to a person's life. Plus, Blinkist is tailored: as soon as people start reading, the app will start to recommend new titles that they'll love, based on their unique interests and individual preferences.

2. Built By The Smartest People In Europe

We don't rely on algorithms to choose or make our content, we choose people. We read every book ourselves, we edit and record each pack of insights. We're a team of experts, specialists with PhDs and diplomas, people who are hungry, eager, and passionate for understanding and sharing knowledge.

To ensure our app, and our content, is the best it can be — we've built a team of over 200 qualified people who want to make powerful information available to millions.

3. Join The Club Of Global Intellectuals

Millions of tech-savvy intellectuals are using Blinkist to stay ahead of their peers, and on top of their fields. Blinkist encourages readers to explore a range of different areas and genres, discovering new knowledge around exciting subjects. We know intellectuals want to expand their knowledge, which is why we have 27 topic categories, filled with a wide spectrum of titles.

Blinkist allows intellectuals to learn from the best writers and thinkers, in order to become better themselves.

4. Read The World's Most Important Books

The Blinkist library contains over 3,000 titles across 27 different categories such as Self Improvement, Entrepreneurship, Parenting, Sex & Relationships, and Management & Leadership among many others. Whatever it is you're eager to learn about, Blinkist has got you covered.

'As a productivity coach and one of the lifelong learners, I can't tell you how happy I was to find Blinkist. If you enjoy nonfiction reading and are short on time, Blinkist will be your new favorite app.'

– Karen Trepte, Huffington Post

Time-honored favorites sit next to the latest bestsellers and talked-about new titles so that you're getting a complete look across the breadth of nonfiction. There are 10 new titles added to the app every week so even the most voracious reader will never run out of great content.

5. Global Success And The Stamp Of Approval

We're proud of what we do — we believe in our product because it has meaning, purpose, and intention. Our aim is to help people learn, to allow them to grow, and to better themselves in whatever way they would like.

This was recently recognized and praised by the United Nations, who acknowledge Blinkist as a Global Leader in Learning and Education.

'With Blinkist you can boost your knowledge and gain new perspectives so that you can be a better professional, a better partner, or a better you—and finally get through your book list or make sense of the increasingly big and busy world of ideas'.

– United Nations

With a community of 11 million people located across the world — from tech entrepreneurs in New York, to meditation teachers in the Himalayas — we have a band of people spanning the globe who are all thirsty for inspiring knowledge.

Be part of it! Download the Blinkist app now and join the 11 million curious thinkers who also love to learn.

The Blinkist writer's first mistake--I guess she can be forgiven because the app originated from Germany and is not attuned to American sensibilities--is that an "intellectual" is automatically viewed favorably by an American audience. Another turnoff is the presumption that people who read 4 books a year are certainly not intellectuals but essentially stupid and inferior. Then she tries to seal the deal by appealing to our putative aspirations to be a global thinker; the app has been "recognized and praised" by the United Nations, the apparent arbiter of intellect and probity.

The haughtiness oozes from each page, but they don't have a lot to be haughty about.

No Template

Professor Timothy Beal analyzes why young Americans are turning away from churches and synagogues. [bold added]

A big part of the answer is that there is less social pressure to identify as religious, especially among young adults. In fact, a young adult today is more likely to feel social pressure to justify being religious than being None. Another factor is the rise of families in which the parents identify with different religions: Children in such families are often raised with exposure to both identities and left to decide for themselves which to adopt. In many cases, they eventually choose neither.

And part of the answer is that many of the personal and social functions traditionally performed by religious institutions are now being served by new communities that we might call “alt-religious.”....

(WSJ graphic)

Based on my own experience with hundreds of young adult Nones in my classes over more than two decades, I’ve found that the specific “religious teachings” and related “positions” they object to most often concern sexuality and science. Many of them question what they perceive as religion’s negative views about women’s reproductive rights and non-heteronormative sexuality, especially same-sex marriage and transgender rights. And they question religious teachings that appear to fly in the face of scientific research, especially with regard to evolutionary theory and climate change.

It's safe to say that all traditional churches--except perhaps the Mormons and Baptists--are experiencing attrition. In our own parish we've been moderately successful in attracting young families who wish to have their children experience positive peer-to-peer interaction outside of school and sports. As other priorities intrude, the children fall away in middle and high school. A few return to visit while on college break, but we rarely see them afterwards.

When our young adults form families--which occurs later and in smaller numbers than previous generations--they do go back to church but in other locales because most of them have moved. Our own church benefits from newly arrived young professionals who themselves went to Sunday School, but on balance we lose more than we gain.

So we teach them, wish them well as they go into the world, and hope something sticks 20 years later in a land far away. It doesn't seem like a good business plan, but then again there's no template for writing one with a 2,000-year horizon.

Maybe they'll be on the vestry in 40 years.

Update - 11/21/19: On the other hand, the real problem could be poor font choices. OK, it's satire.

U.S.—A new Pew Research Center study found that the main reason millennials are abandoning the church in droves is because of terrible font choices.

The study surveyed thousands of millennials who have left the faith all across the country. While a few left because the church wasn't adequately addressing their questions or confronting the culture's challenges to Christianity head-on, over 92% said they left because of the cringe-inducing fonts churches use on their bulletins, signs, PowerPoint presentations, and websites.

"When millennials see Comic Sans used next to Papyrus and a bunch of random gradients and drop shadows, they realize the church has nothing to offer them," said Dr. Gary Wendersmith, head of the survey. "They begin to question everything, and their faith unravels." In fact, Wendersmith says the use of Comic Sans is one of the top reasons people become atheists.

"Millennials are asking, 'How can God be both all-good and all-powerful if He would allow a font like Papyrus to even exist?" he continued. "And the church just continues to design fliers, slides, and signs as though it were still 1990."

"I mean, can we at least get rid of the freakin' Papyrus, for the love of all that is good!?"

Concerned churches all around the country responded to the findings, saying they will address millennials' concerns by adding more drop shadows and rainbow fonts.

Another in a Long List of Double Standards

A blonde wife who is taller and much more famous
than I would make me insecure too. (BBC photo)

If a conservative husband were to do this to his liberal wife it would be "mansplaining" or verbal abuse.

Because it's a liberal husband talking about his conservative wife--and jeopardizing her career--it's fine.

George Conway Reportedly Tells People His Wife Is in a “Cult”

Interesting Findings on Mass Shootings

And now for something special: a study on mass shootings that produced interesting findings and did not have an obvious agenda:

Barriers and locks meant to block outsiders and active-shooter drills do little because most attackers already have access and are aware of the procedures, said the authors of the study, Jillian Peterson and James Densley. The university professors have created a mass-shooter database that goes back more than 50 years. [snip]

The most common site for a mass shooting since 1966 is the workplace, Mr. Densley and Ms. Peterson found. In May, a disgruntled Virginia Beach, Va., city employee killed 12 people at a municipal building. Next was a category that includes restaurants, bars and nightclubs, followed by retail establishments, schools, houses of worship and colleges.

There is no single profile of a mass shooter, but the study’s authors found common factors based on the target. School shooters, like the 19-year-old who killed 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school in 2018, tend to be suicidal white-male students with an interest in guns. College shooters tend to be suicidal nonwhite men with a history of violence and childhood trauma. Workplace shooters tend to be men in their 40s of any race who are having trouble on the job. [snip]

In schools, the cost of active-shooter drills for kids outweigh the benefits. Would-be attackers are learning how to take advantage of drills, which create a fascination for some students, said Ms. Peterson.

“You want the adults in the building to be trained to know what to do,” she said. “But training the kids who are the potential perpetrators doesn’t make sense with our data.”

The last recommendation is surprising; train the adults but don't teach students what to do because would-be shooters would learn too much about school defenses. Instinctively I am skeptical, because withholding knowledge from people for their own protection is an excuse that bureaucracies use to cover up their mistakes and to maintain their authority [only they know the secret, important stuff].

Surely there can be a compromise between knowledge and total ignorance. For example, hidden passages through which police may enter the school can be kept secret. And the students can be taught the general principles of run, hide, fight, which may also be used outside of school.

Nevertheless, more studies like this, please.

Great That It Worked So Well

"Find My" icon

Leaving the house last night I dropped the AirPods on the sidewalk. The left AirPod fell out of the case, but I couldn't spot it, even after turning on the iPhone flashlight.

It was time to put Apple's "Find My" app to the test (Apple has combined its "Find my iPhone", which includes other Apple devices, and "Find My Friends" apps).

The left Pod showed up on the screen, only a few feet away. I pressed the button and heard a faint chirping sound.

Directional hearing isn't my forte, and it took a couple of minutes to locate the Pod under the nasturtiums.

A couple of swipes on the shirt, and into the ear it went, still working perfectly.

Of course, I was happy about the result, but the joy was not unadulterated. A loss would have been an excuse to buy Apple's new AirPods Pro.

Unlike the $159, one-size-fits-most AirPods, which are still available, the $249 AirPods Pro have active noise canceling...The new pods also are sweat- and water-resistant, equipped with improved microphones and come with three different size silicone tips for a better fit.

According to the reviewer the AirPods Pro sound better, too.

But I won't be making the purchase. It was too bad great that the Find My app worked so well.

A Caracas in our Future?

Two juxtaposed stories in today's fishwrap illustrate why the City is circling the drain.

Violent beating of three seniors in San Francisco’s Chinatown sparks fear, outrage

The violent beating of three older men captured on video in San Francisco’s Chinatown over the weekend has sparked fear and outrage among some residents in the city’s Chinese-American community, who said they feel increasingly targeted following several high-profile attacks on the neighborhood’s most vulnerable residents....

Three victims, all men ages 63, 67 and 68, were left with varying injuries, police said. Two were treated at San Francisco General Hospital and later released. A third was checked out by paramedics and released at the scene...

No one has been arrested and no suspects have been identified in the attack.

And who is the official who will lead the fight against this recent wave of attacks against seniors?

How Chesa Boudin, a public defender who never prosecuted a case, won SF D.A. race

Boudin’s story is even more movie-worthy. His parents were left-wing radicals in the Weather Underground and served as getaway drivers in an October 1981 robbery that wound up killing three people. Boudin, 14 months old at the time of the incident, was adopted by Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, also Weather Underground radicals. He graduated from Yale and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes scholar.

Voters elected Mr. Boudin "despite never having prosecuted a case and having a controversial background that included an imprisoned father* and a stint working for Hugo Chávez, the late president of Venezuela who was criticized for trampling human rights."

*Not your run-of-the-mill imprisoned dad: "His parents were left-wing radicals in the Weather Underground and served as getaway drivers in an October 1981 robbery that wound up killing three people."

Hugo Chavez was the socialist who turned Venezuela, the wealthiest country in South America, into a hellhole where millions flee from starvation, disease, and crime. San Francisco currently has the highest per-capita income of all U.S. cities, and the progressives are in charge. Let's hope the parallel to Venezuela stops there, but the signs aren't hopeful.

Well, San Francisco voters keep electing progressives like Chesa Boudin, so there may yet be a Caracas (Wikipedia: "Caracas has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world, with 111.19 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants") in our future.

It Needs a Lot of Cabbage

Next to the tubs of guacamole and mashed potatoes was a ham costing $549.99. Jamón ibérico de bellota is

from free-range pigs that roam oak forests (called dehesas) along the border between Spain and Portugal and eat only acorns during this last period. The exercise and diet have a significant effect on the flavor of the meat; the ham is cured for 36 months.

$35.714 per pound for cured pork is unimaginable to me, but Costco's hard-nosed buyers wouldn't have ordered the item unless they thought there was a market for it on the mid-Peninsula.