40 thoughts on “December 10, 2021: Last Call For Best Of 2021”

  1. I usually don't comment on work but I need to vent a little.

    I work in an industry that takes compliance and cyber security very seriously. Lots of reminders to never click on a hyperlink, etc.

    So, how do they have me renew software that monitors my LinkedIn activity? I get an email from unfamiliar address with a hyperlink I'm supposed to click. When I bring this up to compliance I'm just told that it is safe and I should click on it.

    Is this really the best way to do this? I bring up that they are creating bad habits and they just look at me like I'm crazy. It's similar to me offering rides and candy to kids and thinking there's nothing wrong with it just because I don't have bad intentions.

    End rant.

    1. Part of me wants to suggest you forward every single email with a link to IT, just to make sure it's safe.

      1. Co-sign.

        At my institution, Legal has also given senior staff presentations on “communications hygiene” that included suggested best practices to shield internal communications from open records requests. (I learned this from reading the notes of directors’ meetings.) Given that the (outgoing) leader of my institution has had issues with this type of hygiene, I can draw conclusions for how the institution is devising workarounds on sensitive issues.

    4. I reported an UberEats gift card purportedly from my boss as spam earlier this year because he hadn't mentioned anything about it . Turns out it was authentic! Luckily he just laughed and praised me for my vigilance (we've had lots of training about cyber security) and re-sent it.

    5. Nobody is going to comment on the fact that your employer monitors your LinkedIn activity?

      Ok, I can see restricting your access to non-work-related sites on a company machine (although if you have people dicking around on company time that's a management issue more than an IT one).

      But spying on your LinkedIn account?

      1. It's not my employer, it's compliance. Any written communication needs to be recorded and kept.

        That's why I don't comment on any discussions that come close to work topics on here. If I see someone getting bad advice, I contact them offline.

        2. Now I'm worried about how many people you've had to contact offline after I've written something...

  2. Twins coaching news:

    Hank Conger will be the first base coach and work with catchers. He was the bench coach for Lotte in the KBO last year.
    Tommy Watkins moves to third base coach and will work with outfielders.
    Tony Diaz moves to assistant bench coach and will work with infielders.
    Luis Ramirez will be the assistant pitching coach. He moves up from being the Wichita pitching coach.

  3. After about 9 months of wandering in the wilderness on the old presidential biography front, I'm about 75 pages from completing my third biography in the past 7 days (WHH, Tyler, Polk). All three books have been really good. I'm pretty set for all of the books up through Cleveland. Interestingly, there's not a lot of good options for McKinley (not Harrison, either, but he's such a minor player that I'm gonna do the Schlesinger Presidential series book, which is about 235 pages). I have an option on McKinley that will cost me about $45. Then, I have to make the decision. Do I read the definitive trilogy on TR (2300 pages)? Or do I take a lesser single volume book. I'm inclined to do the trilogy because (a) he lived in my home state for a while and I want to read about that experience in as much detail as possible and (b) he's probably the most interesting man to hold the office. We will see how I feel when I get close to #26.

      1. And I have McCullough’s ‘Truman’ in both hard and soft cover. My Dad gave me his copy when they downsized with a move into the Cities. I forgot I had it - picked up the paperback at Goodwill and went to shelve it … next to the hard cover version.

            1. I have a running list of books to read or acquire in my phone’s Notes, but I forget to update it when said books are read or acquired.

              I have photos of our DVD shelves and STILL managed to pick up a second copy of ‘The Longest Day’ at my last Half-Priced Books trip … smdh.

        2. Ooh, is this where we drop our book cred?

          I've got the full 2300 TR (one of the volumes is signed by Morris), so the Caro LBJ, and Truman! Oh, and about 5 others on TR. Not to mention that I've bought every random book on #16 I've seen at any thrift store since my Honest Abe was born. I... may have a slight problem.

          1. Oh, and I've definitely bought multiple copies of the same Bruce Catton books at used book sales.

            1. Bruce Catton books

              … hmm (looks him up) … oooh! Thanks for this! Recommend where to start?

              1. Start with Grant Moves South because I think the midwestern theater gets short shrift from most historians compared to the Army of the Potomac.

    2. His Accidency! One of my favorite little bits of trivia is that the 10th POTUS, who was born in the 18th century and left office in 1845, has a grandchild alive in the 21st century.

      1. Died in 1862. Has a grandson alive 159 years after his death.

        The difference between Tyler and Polk is ... amazing. While Tyler got (next to) nothing done, Polk did everything he wanted. Plus, Polk believed in the Union, Tyler? meh.

        1. According to the WaPo article I read when I checked to make sure at least one of Tyler’s grandsons was still alive, Tyler is the only former president whose casket was covered by a flag other than the Stars & Stripes. Tyler’s was shrouded in the flag of the Confederacy; he had served in the Confederate Congress for about six months.

          Dude went from POTUS to traitor. In my book, that makes him even worse than Jefferson Davis, John C. Breckinridge, Robert Toombs, Alexander Stephens, or any of the military leaders who resigned commissions to serve the Confederacy.

        3. Buried at Hollywood Cemetery along with another president (emphasis on the lowercase), the traitor Davis

        4. Always have enjoyed this anti-Mexican War speech by a young Whig congressman named Abraham Lincoln. Featuring great lines like "[Polk's] mind, tasked beyond its power, is running hither and thither, like some tortured creature, on a burning surface" and "[Polk] is a bewildered, confounded, and miserably perplexed man".

  5. I’mIn shorts and flip flops grilling pizza in 78 degree heat pulse a billion percent humidity. It’s beginning to look a lot like august.

    1. Yes, lots of Facebook posts about that. My mom's house, niece's family's house, and brother's family's house are pretty much right next door. That's my baby brother in the back row far right in the video, where they're all posing for a picture.

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