[image: 1767003209739-20251229_083604-resized.jpg] Hellebore are blooming

Special days. Soup for the next fortnight️

Yes, Kyushu and the Rockys. Must stop spending on the house and have a holiday!

@Daniel said in Palladium Style Estate: I found it. Lionard. Wow. But far too posh for me. Where's the gardener's house...

Thanks to each of you. I needed that.

Iran is part of the global nuclear monitoring agency. Israel isn't. Israel refuses to say whether it has nuclear weapons or not when the world has known since the time of the Kennedy administration that it does have them. Fears are not facts. Insinuations are not facts. Accurate, concrete intelligence represents facts. I don't have a reason to think that there isn't fear mongering and war mongering happening now on the part of the powers that be who have openly, publicly been announcing their intent to go to war with Iran for decades now.

Awesome!

In some ways, Gigi is like any other young social media influencer. With perfect hair and makeup, she logs on and talks to her fans. She shares clips: eating, doing skin care, putting on lipstick. She even has a cute baby who appears in some videos. But after a few seconds, something may seem a little off. She can munch on pizza made out of molten lava, or apply snowflakes and cotton candy as lip gloss. Her hands sometimes pass through what she's holding. That's because Gigi isn't real. She's the AI creation of University of Illinois student Simone Mckenzie - who needed to make some money over the summer. Ms Mckenzie, 21, is part of a fast-growing cohort of digital creators who churn out a stream of videos by entering simple prompts into AI chatbots, like Google Veo 3. Experts say this genre, dubbed "AI slop" by some critics and begrudging viewers, is taking over social media feeds. And its creators are finding considerable success. "One video made me $1,600 [£1,185] in just four days," Ms Mckenzie said. "I was like, okay, let me keep doing this." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3wyplnev1o

I've decided to change the bar pendant with crosses to this cross pendant. https://athenagaia.com/products/silver-faced-greek-cross-small You can get a sense of what it looks like in three dimensions by looking at this cross pendant. https://athenagaia.com/products/rustic-center-stone-silver-greek-cross-small

Addendum: I did bring out the oil-filled heater today for the room with the TV. It’s working well and the heat is so comfortable even on the low setting. It didn’t have much effect in the kitchen, which is draftier. It’s possible that the radiator isn’t getting hot enough because of air in the system. I should try bleeding it. [image: 1766893369546-img_2287-resized.jpeg]

His point seems to be things have changed over 60 years. A 25 to 30 year old doesn't share all the cultural touchstones of my generation. Go figure. Maybe he should play assisted living facilities.

@piano-dad Congrats to the family! For Christmas I love pulling out the china (my mom’s Noritake Oriental, bamboo motif) and her silverplate (service for 12; we have sterling for 8 from her uncle, but that’s not enough). It’s like playing dress up for the house. I don’t mind hand washing it all after guests go home. My kids stay and help with the clean up.

In a nearby suburb, a critter does what it was born to do. https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-1acbbiqidajexr23

@Piano-Dad said in Who’s decorating for the holidays?: Not me. We're out in Las Vegas preparing to welcome granddaughter Raven on New Year's Eve! Ahem. Is there something you’d like to announce?

Cheers for Kimmel

BBC's list of 12 books to read in 2026. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2e6nw1w40o