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		<title><![CDATA[Drunkard's Walk Forums - General Chatter]]></title>
		<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/</link>
		<description><![CDATA[Drunkard's Walk Forums - http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums]]></description>
		<pubDate>Sat, 09 May 2026 14:49:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<generator>MyBB</generator>
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			<title><![CDATA[Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15012</link>
			<pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 08:33:38 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15012</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">The Register</span>: <a href="https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/05/07/chrome-silently-installs-a-4-gb-local-llm-on-your-computer/5230893" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Chrome silently installs a 4 GB local LLM on your computer</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="mycode_quote"><cite>Quote:</cite>The late great Grace Hopper used to hand out 30 cm (roughly 1 foot) lengths of wire as physical examples of a nanosecond: that's how far light can travel in one billionth of a second. If Google considers a 4 GB model to be "nano" sized, then it puts Hanff's hyperbolic comment about the climate footprint into real perspective. It gives a hint of the size of the real gigantic models in the datacenters metastasizing across the world.<br />
<br />
A recent study led by Grace Liu at Carnegie-Mellon found that regular AI use caused measurable cognitive impairment. It's worth thinking carefully about what we trade away when we outsource our thinking and, separately, what the planet pays to power the systems we're outsourcing it to.<br />
<br />
This vulture suggests you turn it off now, everywhere you can.</blockquote>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">The Register</span>: <a href="https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/05/07/chrome-silently-installs-a-4-gb-local-llm-on-your-computer/5230893" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Chrome silently installs a 4 GB local LLM on your computer</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="mycode_quote"><cite>Quote:</cite>The late great Grace Hopper used to hand out 30 cm (roughly 1 foot) lengths of wire as physical examples of a nanosecond: that's how far light can travel in one billionth of a second. If Google considers a 4 GB model to be "nano" sized, then it puts Hanff's hyperbolic comment about the climate footprint into real perspective. It gives a hint of the size of the real gigantic models in the datacenters metastasizing across the world.<br />
<br />
A recent study led by Grace Liu at Carnegie-Mellon found that regular AI use caused measurable cognitive impairment. It's worth thinking carefully about what we trade away when we outsource our thinking and, separately, what the planet pays to power the systems we're outsourcing it to.<br />
<br />
This vulture suggests you turn it off now, everywhere you can.</blockquote>
]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[New version of NetHack released!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15011</link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2026 07:50:41 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15011</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[A mere 11 years after the last major release, <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2026/05/05/nethack_5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">NetHack 5.0 was released last weekend.</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[A mere 11 years after the last major release, <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2026/05/05/nethack_5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">NetHack 5.0 was released last weekend.</a>]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Looking for a free media player for Android]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15006</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:26:29 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15006</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Normally, I use VLC Media Player on all of my devices... but as of yesterday afternoon it's crashing without an error message on my Android cellphone and tablet.<br />
<br />
Any suggestions for a replacement? Something that doesn't transmit my usage patterns back to its supplier is essential -- that's private information as far as I'm concerned. Freeware is good.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Normally, I use VLC Media Player on all of my devices... but as of yesterday afternoon it's crashing without an error message on my Android cellphone and tablet.<br />
<br />
Any suggestions for a replacement? Something that doesn't transmit my usage patterns back to its supplier is essential -- that's private information as far as I'm concerned. Freeware is good.]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Well, so that happened.]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15004</link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:25:22 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=1">Bob Schroeck</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15004</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[My employer has been going through a couple rounds of staff reductions, and I was one of about twelve that were let go yesterday.<br />
<br />
Unlike in the past, though, I am close enough to retirement age that I doubt my prospects for being hired anywhere else are very good, so after consulting with our investment team, I have decided to retire about a year earlier than I had originally planned.<br />
<br />
So that makes two of us, now, Rob...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[My employer has been going through a couple rounds of staff reductions, and I was one of about twelve that were let go yesterday.<br />
<br />
Unlike in the past, though, I am close enough to retirement age that I doubt my prospects for being hired anywhere else are very good, so after consulting with our investment team, I have decided to retire about a year earlier than I had originally planned.<br />
<br />
So that makes two of us, now, Rob...]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Now I feel old, 2026 edition]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15001</link>
			<pubDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2026 06:33:40 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=15001</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">Frampton Comes Alive</span> was released 50 years ago today (April 10).]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">Frampton Comes Alive</span> was released 50 years ago today (April 10).]]></content:encoded>
		</item>
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			<title><![CDATA[Banksy's identity revealed]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14995</link>
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 08:22:23 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14995</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Apparently, it's been known to at least one court since 2008.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to say the name here, because Banksy didn't authorize the disclosure. I'll just point you at <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/global-art-banksy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">a rather long Reuters article</a> that says it.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Apparently, it's been known to at least one court since 2008.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to say the name here, because Banksy didn't authorize the disclosure. I'll just point you at <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/global-art-banksy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">a rather long Reuters article</a> that says it.]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Coming soon:  Firefly animated series]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14992</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 21:30:39 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=1">Bob Schroeck</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14992</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<a href="https://deadline.com/2026/03/nathan-fillion-firefly-animated-series-development-1236754122/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Nathan Fillion has just announced that a <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">Firefly</span> animated series is in development.</a>  The original cast is returning to do the voices, and some character design artwork has been made public:<br />
<br />
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://deadline.com/2026/03/nathan-fillion-firefly-animated-series-development-1236754122/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Nathan Fillion has just announced that a <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">Firefly</span> animated series is in development.</a>  The original cast is returning to do the voices, and some character design artwork has been made public:<br />
<br />
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			<title><![CDATA[Wait Wait...Don't Re-Hire Me!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14991</link>
			<pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:55:20 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14991</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-extra/2026/03/09/g-s1-113001/bill-kurtis-retires-as-wait-wait-dont-tell-me-judge-and-scorekeeper" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Bill Kurtis retires as 'Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!' judge and scorekeeper</a><br />
<br />
He <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">is</span> 85, after all. His final episode (unless he comes back for a special occasion) airs May 23.<br />
<br />
You've heard his voice. But if you need a reminder:<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/shorts" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-extra/2026/03/09/g-s1-113001/bill-kurtis-retires-as-wait-wait-dont-tell-me-judge-and-scorekeeper" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Bill Kurtis retires as 'Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!' judge and scorekeeper</a><br />
<br />
He <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">is</span> 85, after all. His final episode (unless he comes back for a special occasion) airs May 23.<br />
<br />
You've heard his voice. But if you need a reminder:<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/shorts" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>]]></content:encoded>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Heavy stuff]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14990</link>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 19:18:55 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=113">classicdrogn</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14990</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Dad's been in the hospital this past three and a half weeks after a fall that saw him with a cracked vertebra, along with some other compl9icating factors, age also being among them as he's near ninety. Managing pain has been a balancing act due to that, so medical consent and so on has been upo to me by proxy, though we have talked about it before so I have some guidance on his wishes in that area. Tomorrow, assuming all the specialists involved still agree that going forward is a good idea, he'll be going in for back surgery to stabilize the fracture, to reduce the risk of moving the wrong way and worsening it or damaging his spine, and the doctors are confident but there's always some risk to any surgery, and the margins for error get lower the older the patient is. <br />
<br />
I am not a religious person, but I know Dad does have notions about faith that roughly add up to not needing to be in a church to be heard and not needing a preacher if there's any message traffic the other direction, and I know he'd appreciate any well wishes anyone cares to send his way. We could all use some good vibes; it's been a rough month all around. (World issues aside, I was also in the hospital for a couple weeks with some burns on my legs and diabetes-related factors, but am largely recovered and back on even keel at this point.)]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Dad's been in the hospital this past three and a half weeks after a fall that saw him with a cracked vertebra, along with some other compl9icating factors, age also being among them as he's near ninety. Managing pain has been a balancing act due to that, so medical consent and so on has been upo to me by proxy, though we have talked about it before so I have some guidance on his wishes in that area. Tomorrow, assuming all the specialists involved still agree that going forward is a good idea, he'll be going in for back surgery to stabilize the fracture, to reduce the risk of moving the wrong way and worsening it or damaging his spine, and the doctors are confident but there's always some risk to any surgery, and the margins for error get lower the older the patient is. <br />
<br />
I am not a religious person, but I know Dad does have notions about faith that roughly add up to not needing to be in a church to be heard and not needing a preacher if there's any message traffic the other direction, and I know he'd appreciate any well wishes anyone cares to send his way. We could all use some good vibes; it's been a rough month all around. (World issues aside, I was also in the hospital for a couple weeks with some burns on my legs and diabetes-related factors, but am largely recovered and back on even keel at this point.)]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Happy Groundhog Day!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14984</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 02 Feb 2026 06:05:26 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14984</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[I don't know about "six more weeks", but I do know that today and tomorrow are forecast to be warmer than anything we had last week.<br />
<br />
Now to wait for the actual groundhog reports.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[I don't know about "six more weeks", but I do know that today and tomorrow are forecast to be warmer than anything we had last week.<br />
<br />
Now to wait for the actual groundhog reports.]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Fourth Oddities Spotted in the News]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14981</link>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:33:50 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=1">Bob Schroeck</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14981</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<a href="https://playbill.com/article/meet-rocky-horror-shows-broadway-creatures-of-the-night" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Cast announced for Broadway production of <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">The Rocky Horror Show</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://playbill.com/article/meet-rocky-horror-shows-broadway-creatures-of-the-night" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Cast announced for Broadway production of <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">The Rocky Horror Show</span></a>]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Anybody here use BitLocker?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14979</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 09:43:01 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14979</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/23/surrender_as_a_service_microsoft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Microsoft unlocks BitLocker for feds</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="mycode_quote"><cite>Quote:</cite>Last year, Redmond reportedly provided the FBI with encryption keys to unlock the laptops of Windows users charged in a fraud indictment.<br />
<br />
The government <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gud.18672/gov.uscourts.gud.18672.114.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">case</a> [PDF], which claims defendants in Guam fraudulently collected pandemic unemployment benefits, represents the first publicly known instance of Microsoft providing BitLocker keys, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/01/22/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-bitlocker-encrypted-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Forbes</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
Workaround: Don't save your keys to your Microsoft Account, your OneDrive, or any other service controlled by Microsoft.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/23/surrender_as_a_service_microsoft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Microsoft unlocks BitLocker for feds</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="mycode_quote"><cite>Quote:</cite>Last year, Redmond reportedly provided the FBI with encryption keys to unlock the laptops of Windows users charged in a fraud indictment.<br />
<br />
The government <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gud.18672/gov.uscourts.gud.18672.114.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">case</a> [PDF], which claims defendants in Guam fraudulently collected pandemic unemployment benefits, represents the first publicly known instance of Microsoft providing BitLocker keys, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/01/22/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-bitlocker-encrypted-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Forbes</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
Workaround: Don't save your keys to your Microsoft Account, your OneDrive, or any other service controlled by Microsoft.]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Dearly Departed of 2026]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14973</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:45:41 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=23">robkelk</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14973</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[It seems odd to start a <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">Dearly</span> Departed thread with somebody like this...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aldrich-ames-spy-soviet-obit-2511e4b9d56dbcd825982e83d4c71f71" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Aldrich Ames</a>, CIA turncoat.<br />
<br />
Died in prison.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[It seems odd to start a <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">Dearly</span> Departed thread with somebody like this...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aldrich-ames-spy-soviet-obit-2511e4b9d56dbcd825982e83d4c71f71" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="mycode_url">Aldrich Ames</a>, CIA turncoat.<br />
<br />
Died in prison.]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Happy 2026!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14966</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 21:16:14 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=1">Bob Schroeck</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14966</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Wishing a happy new year to all forum members]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Wishing a happy new year to all forum members]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Well.  So that happened.]]></title>
			<link>http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14961</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Dec 2025 13:59:31 -0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/member.php?action=profile&uid=1">Bob Schroeck</a>]]></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=14961</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[So, Saturday night I noticed that all the Christmas lights on our bushes had gone out.  Friday had been torrential rain all day, and I figured something shorted out and I'd have to dig into our decorations box and find the necessary fuse for the relevant string.  Didn't think much more about it, because we were hosting friends over the weekend.  I meant to go out yesterday and take a look, but after our guests left I was too wiped to deal with it.<br />
<br />
So, this morning, before I left to drop off packages at UPS and mail the last couple cards (we'd ordered some fancy ones from Amazon and they hadn't arrived until yesterday), I went to see if I could do a quick diagnosis of the problem.<br />
<br />
I could, and did.  After a careful inspection I determined that at some point between Friday and Saturday night, some bastard had walked right into our front yard and stolen all the net lights we had draped on the bushes.  One bush was decorated with a string run back-and-forth, and he thoughtfully left that one behind, but everything else... gone.<br />
<br />
The guy had chutzpah, too, because <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">we were home when he did it</span>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[So, Saturday night I noticed that all the Christmas lights on our bushes had gone out.  Friday had been torrential rain all day, and I figured something shorted out and I'd have to dig into our decorations box and find the necessary fuse for the relevant string.  Didn't think much more about it, because we were hosting friends over the weekend.  I meant to go out yesterday and take a look, but after our guests left I was too wiped to deal with it.<br />
<br />
So, this morning, before I left to drop off packages at UPS and mail the last couple cards (we'd ordered some fancy ones from Amazon and they hadn't arrived until yesterday), I went to see if I could do a quick diagnosis of the problem.<br />
<br />
I could, and did.  After a careful inspection I determined that at some point between Friday and Saturday night, some bastard had walked right into our front yard and stolen all the net lights we had draped on the bushes.  One bush was decorated with a string run back-and-forth, and he thoughtfully left that one behind, but everything else... gone.<br />
<br />
The guy had chutzpah, too, because <span style="font-style: italic;" class="mycode_i">we were home when he did it</span>.]]></content:encoded>
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