patrick.net

Merry Christmas to all.
I’m enjoying being Santa a little bit, I never was before but now I’m able to be a little bit generous.
We are in BCS Mexico so the food is normally served rather late by local custom, we will try to move suppertime back to 7pm. I’m likely going to be up late and suffering but I guess once per year I can tolerate it.
There’s a big turkey so I’m going to invite some guys renting a house nearby.
Interesting factoid: I have met several people from Vancouver Canada who said they were going to live here and work remotely, houses are too expensive so they have decided to try it out here.

Patrick says

I claim Winter Solstice as an Irish holiday, 5,000 years old:

So what happened to this great ancient Irish civilization? Why did the Irish revert to stone age savages by the time of the Romans? I suspect whiskey.

HeadSet says

Patrick says

I claim Winter Solstice as an Irish holiday, 5,000 years old:

So what happened to this great ancient Irish civilization? Why did the Irish revert to stone age savages by the time of the Romans? I suspect whiskey.

They were always savages. The Romans conquered them, and when Christianity came about the Druids were wiped out. It's an actual example of genocide. An entire, perhaps horrific, culture completely forgotten - destroyed. Perhaps for the best, but we don't know and never can know.

One problem was that the Druid culture made a point of not writing anything down. The Druids were supposed to memorize all the history, laws, etc. That's OK until the Druids die out.

Another problem was the betrayal of the upper class Irish when the English were invading. They left Ireland with their money and their financial support for the old Irish institutions.

https://infogalactic.com/info/Flight_of_the_Wild_Geese?source=patrick.net

A lot of them became mercenary officers and government officials in France, Austria, and Russia.

I think Hennessy Cognac in France was founded about this time by one of them.

Merry CHRISTMAS!

richwicks says

The Romans conquered them

Rome did not conquer Ireland, I only mentioned "time of the Romans" to give a reference.

HeadSet says

richwicks says

The Romans conquered them

Rome did not conquer Ireland, I only mentioned "time of the Romans" to give a reference.

Did they try?

tanked says

Did they try?

I doubt it. The Romans did not even want Scotland. Just built a wall to keep the heathens out.

Patrick says

I claim Winter Solstice as an Irish holiday, 5,000 years old:

https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/winter-solstice-stone-age-people-ireland-built-fantastic-monument-new-year-020672?source=patrick.net

I trust you have begun your 10-day Pagan Bachnallian Fest?

HeadSet says

tanked says

Did they try?

I doubt it. The Romans did not even want Scotland. Just built a wall to keep the heathens out.

I think they tried in Scotland and gave up and built a wall.

The Romans never invaded Ireland. I read a story, not sure if it's true, that the Romans sent some spies to check out Ireland, but they came back with stories about how savage the Irish were. For example, that it was customary for the highest-status man to take the best piece of meat at communal feasts, but this frequently led to murders over status. The Romans figured that people who were willing to die at dinner were not going to make good Roman subjects anyway.

Merry Christmas everyone!

rocketjoe79 says

I trust you have begun your 10-day Pagan Bachnallian Fest?

Yes!

Marry Christmas to all!

And don't forget Jesus, the Reason for the Season, though the date is probably off.

tanked says

Did they try?

https://youtu.be/Vy2rO2mpsbs?source=patrick.net

Merry Christmas y'all!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas greetings and best wishes for the new year. Let us all feast and enjoy the company of our close families.

I went to Gregorian mass at noon at St. Thomas Church in Palo Alto, and it was quite inspiring. Wife was getting bored by the end (1.5 hours) but I was not bored at all.

I've always wanted to hear mass in Latin, and they have a choir which is just stupendous, assuming you like Gregorian music.

It's an elegant old church, at least for this area. I did not wear a mask, but neither did the two priests, and a couple other members of the congregation. It was not crowded, which was surprising for Christmas. But then it's pretty hard to follow in Latin, so maybe that puts some people off. They did have a nice booklet with all the words in English and Latin.

I may actually go back next week. I never liked the church when it was being forced on me, but as a purely voluntary thing, it's much more interesting. And I'm into Latin lately. I have my aunt's old Latin textbook from the U. of Chicago Lab School, and one day I'll read it.

Catholics should definitely not keep up with "modern times" but should revert to the old traditions that worked for many centuries. I was happy that they don't have a sodomy flag out front like so many protestant churches around here.

Patrick says

I was happy that they don't have a sodomy flag out front like so many protestant churches around here.

The irony of that statement is astounding. (Priests and pedophilia).


Patrick says

I've always wanted to hear mass in Latin

I was an altar boy in the 3rd Grade, and that was the last year of the Latin mass. The biggest hurdle was memorizing "the Confiteor," which was the longest recitation. Starts like "Confiteor Deo omnipotenti...." or "I confess to God Almighty."

HeadSet says

Patrick says

I was happy that they don't have a sodomy flag out front like so many protestant churches around here.

The irony of that statement is astounding. (Priests and pedophilia).

I do think it's still a mistake to have celibate priests. It is simply not natural for men to abstain from sex.

On the other hand, lately it is the protestant churches with sodomy flags. They seem to be willing to violate all norms and ethics in the quest for members and donations.

Patrick says

I went to Gregorian mass at noon at St. Thomas Church in Palo Alto, and it was quite inspiring. Wife was getting bored by the end (1.5 hours) but I was not bored at all.

I've always wanted to hear mass in Latin, and they have a choir which is just stupendous, assuming you like Gregorian music.

It's an elegant old church, at least for this area. I did not wear a mask, but neither did the two priests, and a couple other members of the congregation. It was not crowded, which was surprising for Christmas. But then it's pretty hard to follow in Latin, so maybe that puts some people off. They did have a nice booklet with all the words in English and Latin.

I may actually go back next week. I never liked the church when it was being forced on me, but as a purely voluntary thing, it's much more interesting. And I'm into Latin lately. I have my aunt's old Latin textbook from the U. of Chicago Lab School, and one day I'll read it.

Catholics should definitely not

I majored in Latin and English in high school and love Latin. I also love Gregorian Chants.

mell says

I majored in Latin and English in high school

Your High School had academic majors?

HeadSet says

mell says

I majored in Latin and English in high school

Your High School had academic majors?

Was gonna ask the same thing. They probably should though. Forcing chemistry down a kids throat that will never need it seems kind of silly. I did okay with it, but retained no practical and useful knowledge that I'd use today. Our HS Chem teacher was also a crazy person.

I still think there needs to be a practical economics class before any other subject. Basically what actually happens on the ground and not from 30,000'. Things like interest, credit cards, stocks, property taxes, income taxes, 401k's etc. But it's probably designed that way though to keep about to be new consumers in the dark and fleece them.

It's not final, but I legit have a document that I'm preparing for my kids to teach them everything the school won't. Don't want my kids to be financial morons.

Patrick says

I do think it's still a mistake to have celibate priests. It is simply not natural for men to abstain from sex.

I'm guessing that they masturbate quite a lot.

WookieMan says

I still think there needs to be a practical economics class before any other subject. Basically what actually happens on the ground and not from 30,000'. Things like interest, credit cards, stocks, property taxes, income taxes, 401k's etc. But it's probably designed that way though to keep about to be new consumers in the dark and fleece them.

Democrats will never allow basic economics to be taught in high school.

Booger says

Democrats will never allow basic economics to be taught in high school.

Agree. Which is why I'm doing it. I'm not joking when I say I'm writing my own curriculum for standard finance (not economics) for the kids. Most young adults don't even understand what getting charged 24% interest on a credit card means, yet your publicly financed college allows these thieves to openly market CC's on campuses. They'd offer free food when I was a student if you opened a card.

If you don't know what you're doing with a CC you will get fucked. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in daily and normal finances that adults should know. Education system does NOTHING to teach kids about real life finances. Most teenagers need to ask mom and dad to fill out a W-2 for their first job. That's not the way it should be.

WookieMan says

I'm writing my own curriculum for standard finance

Yes, syllabus something like:

Interest and how interest is calculated. The difference between simple and compound interest. Credit cards - grace periods, minimum payments, and why paying off the credit card balance in full each month is a great idea. Difference between a Credit Card and a Debit Card.

How to use and reconcile a checking account.

Mortgages - points, origination fees, prepaid interest, other closing costs. Impact of Realtor commission. Real estate taxes. Rent versus buy calculation and considerations.

Taxes. How to fill out a 1040. How to use consumer tax software. IRAs and 401k.

Investment - CDs, laddered CDs, ETFs, Index funds, mutual funds, dollar cost averaging, loaded vs unloaded, bonds. (At this point, I would not get into puts, calls, warrants, shorts, other than to point out these are more gambling than investing).

Yup HeadSet. None of that shit was taught when I was in high school and that's when it needs to be taught. We've kind of started already to an extent with our kids. Comprehension is key. I'm of the opinion if you can't do your own taxes after your first job, you're likely fucked financially. Some will figure it out for sure later. But until you figure out what is being taken from you, it will keep being taken from you.

HeadSet says

mell says

I majored in Latin and English in high school

Your High School had academic majors?

Yes in Europe.