Friday links: 3 December, 2021

It’s Friday again! This week absolutely tore by. No idea where any of it went! We’ve only got two more weeks until my daughter is off school until January, and I’m looking forward to having her home- and to being able to turn off the alarm clock for a few weeks! The very hungry cat, who is used to getting his breakfast at 6:30 am, won’t be too happy about that, but my daughter is usually up by 7:30 most days anyway. Not much extra rest around here!

 

Here's a collection of some of the things I’ve found interesting online this week.

 

Bill of the Month: Critically ill woman skips ER after spouse’s costly stitches

This is a really good series on NPR; I’ve caught a few of the pieces while I’ve been in the car. It highlights the massive medical bills people get and the ridiculousness of the American healthcare system. In this case, a man received a bill for more than $6,500 for six stitches, leaving his wife in fear for their financial future when she fell ill. She avoided going to the hospital because of this. Eventually, she had to go in and was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, a tick-borne illness that could have killed her if not treated in time. It’s disheartening how disposable life is in this country, all because of money. And it doesn’t have to be like this, but we actively choose to keep it this way.

 

Nonsensical Hanukkah items corporations wanted Jews to buy this year

Oof! Imagine walking into a store and seeing baskets and stuffed bunnies and plastic grass…at Christmas. Or a sweater with the saying, “Unto us a child is born,” at Easter. If we Jews get much of anything at holiday time, it’s likely to be something along the lines of this. This is a pretty good article that sums up the ridiculousness of a lot of the Hanukkah products available for purchase this year and the problem of that. Representation matters; if you’re selling a product targeted at a group you’re not a part of, literally asking ONE PERSON who is a part of that group will save you a whooooooooooooooooooole lot of embarrassment. And speaking of Hanukkah…

 

Hanukkah isn’t Jewish Christmas. Here’s the story of the holiday and why we celebrate.

Not Jewish Christmas. A minor holiday and not one that’s all that religious, to be honest (you light the candles while saying the blessing, maybe retell the story, and that’s it! The rest is just fun). Here’s a brief article that shares the story of Hanukkah, with an interview with an author of a children’s book that tells a story of Hanukkah and Christmas. There are lots of fun Hanukkah books; check your local library’s holiday section- just make sure they’re not messianic books. I ended up with one of those once and noped out of it as soon as I realized what it was. Lotta yikes there.

 

The quest to find genes that drive severe COVID.

This is something that my husband, a molecular biologist who does genetic engineering as part of his job, has suspected since the early days of the pandemic. (If you don’t live with someone who’s obsessed with genetics, you might be surprised by how much genetics affects quite literally everything. I’ve gotten quite the science education throughout our marriage!) It turns out Chromosome 3 is a real jerk for some people, and you may be at massive risk and not even know it, because the risk is hidden in your genes and all the health, fitness, and vitamins in the world won’t make the least bit of difference. But getting vaccinated will.

 

And that’s it for this week! I don’t know that we have any plans this weekend. I’d really like to get a ton of reading done, but that all depends on what we decide to do. I think one of the days is supposed to be nice-ish (or at least not super cold), so we’ll likely try to get outside for at least part of that day. Wishing you a relaxing, peaceful weekend!