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Rick & Morty co-creator sits with Ars, shows us what Accounting looks like in VR

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Our kids just started their fall school semester, but before that we had a special homeschool study together. We watched The Search for General Tso together and ate General Tso chicken (and some other not as spicy dishes since some of the kids like spice more than others). The main reason we did this was to talk about the history of job restrictions and other ill-treatment faced by Chinese who immigrated to America in the past. It prompted some discussions we really enjoyed, and this is at the heart of the kind of value lessons we want to pass on to our children.

At some point we're going to have a similarly themed special study and watch George Takei's Why I Love a Country That Once Betrayed Me, probably when the kids get to WWII in history this year. There's just a hint more patriotism and pro-military in that speech than I would like, but I think my children can handle it, and I think since they are all Trekkies they are going to love to get to see Takei.

On a similar note, my company just moved into a new building last week, and I was able to take my oldest son to work with me a couple days so he could help run network cables. The boss's wife spoke to him and said she bet that he was enjoying that a lot more than being in school. I told her that was the great thing about homeschooling - this is school!

Kratom Advocates Speak Out Against Proposed Government Ban

The White House petition has surpassed the 100k needed for a response, and is now at 119,024 signatures.

The Case Against James Comey

An interesting article about the man we love to hate, although this article focuses on his decision to hold a press conference about the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

We are probably stuck with Comey for another 6-7 years. Encrypt and patch.

I was most active at Kuro5hin but its server's entire data center was decommissioned. Lawrence Calvin Foster III promised to put up a read-only archive of the site but it's been long enough that we are all convinced that he had no off-site backups.

https://dontsuemebro.com/section/Diary

dontsuemebro is intended to replace kuro5hin but so far it's just a few of us diehards.

http://advogato.org/person/MichaelCrawford/

I journal only rarely at Advogato these days but I was quite active during the zeroes.

http://www.warplife.com/mdc/books/vancouver-diaries/

I was intending to publish a dead-tree book of these when Bonita finished school and moved out West to join me. What I actually got was informed that she was divorcing me on my second visit home.

That refers to the Canadian Vancouver but it includes some of my time in Sunnyvale and San Jose, California.

Green Party's Jill Stein to face charges after North Dakota protest

U.S. Green Party's Stein faces probe over North Dakota pipeline protest

Sheriff: Green Party presidential candidate faces charges in pipeline protest

New streaming show 'StartUp' rides bitcoin, fintech crazes

Call it a case of art imitating life.

The shadowy world of computer hackers, long an object of fascination in movies and popular culture, may be about to take a new leap as an entertainment vehicle. As hackers, anonymous data leaks and cyber intrigue fill real-world headlines, a new television show called "StartUp," featuring similar themes, launches on Tuesday — but with an added twist.

The 10-episode drama will debut on Sony Pictures' streaming platform Crackle, and centers around three strangers who find themselves enmeshed in a digital currency scheme (hello, bitcoin!) while fighting the FBI. "StartUp," which includes actors Martin Freeman and Adam Brody, has already released its first episode for viewers to watch on Reddit.

GenCoin, the fictional digital currency used in the show, loosely represents bitcoin, currently world's largest digital currency. Given that it's difficult to regulate and trace, some say it's an ideal vehicle for criminal activity such as money laundering.

https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/4zeuo6/startup_episode_1_exclusive_reddit_premiere/

The cartoon.

Charlie Hebdo slammed for 'lasagna' cartoon on Italy earthquake victims

Controversial French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has provoked fresh outrage with its response to last week's devastating earthquake in central Italy.

The latest edition of the edgy French publication features a cartoon entitled "Earthquake, Italian-style," which depicts victims of the 6.2-magnitude quake with varying degrees of injury, each likened to an Italian recipe. A severely bleeding man is labelled "penne with tomato sauce." A woman with a badly bruised or burned face is "penne au gratin." And a pile of victims pancaked beneath a collapsed building, their legs sticking out from the bloodied rubble, is "lasagna." The cartoon prompted a swift response in Italy and online.

Oh nooooo! We can't pretend to support free speech any more! They've gone too far this time!