lannamichaels: Brachos 2a, caption: "There's a debate about that" (daf yomi)
[personal profile] lannamichaels


What images are used as avoda zarah, and can you benefit from things that have previously been used for avodah zarah? If so, what sorts of things and what needs to be done first, and who has to do them. Still a fun time!

Read more... )

lannamichaels: Astronaut Dale Gardner holds up For Sale sign after EVA. (Default)
[personal profile] lannamichaels


On the bright side, the advantage of using one-store-only virtual cards lets me know exactly which online restaurant ordering site (orderonlinemenu.com) has the leaky data security, and my credit card automatically denied the fraudulent charge.

Oy.

At least it was just a virtual number stolen, so from the email, it seems like maybe my credit card won't decide to cancel this number and give me a new one if I report the fraud. After the Really Absurd Number Of Times my card number got stolen last year, I had to make a list in a spreadsheet of which card and which virtual numbers on which cards were used on which sites, so I could update them. So even if not, this process is easier than it was. But the email just says to lock the virtual card number so it can't be fraudulently charged. Which it already has been.

This is just so annoying.

lannamichaels: Text: "We're here to heckle the muppet movie." (heckle the muppet movie)
[personal profile] lannamichaels


A Diary Of A Wimpy Kid knockoff published by Artscroll, and is exactly what you'd expect given its bona fides.

Dovi is a 4th grader at a new school and is having problems fitting in, except we have no reason to believe he's not fitting in, because that's told and not shown in any way, so it's not clear why his teacher sends him to the school therapist rabbi to be told to keep a diary. He misses his old school but we are never given any specifics about his old school or his old friends. Specifics? What specifics?

We don't even get a good idea of how many siblings he has and the age spread (his oldest brother -- probably -- went off to yeshiva in Israel, except considering the age spread of the kids, that's likely high school, but why mention any details?)

He does a lot of unspecified learning, including running a chavrusa program. He gains friends. He has no real problems and is not a wimpy kid. The shenanigans are generic and probably very boring to the target audience, who are used to the many books in this genre already, and except certain things from a confessional diary of a 4th grader at a new school who has to see the school therapist because he's not fitting in. Those things are not in this book.

Overall, I found it very bland. And that's probably the biggest problem.

Because the thing is, I don't like Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. It's better than Captain Underpants, but most things are better than Captain Underpants. All these Wimpy Kid books and that entire segment of midgrade -- I don't like them.

I'm not supposed to like them. They are written to appeal to a midgrade audience, not to the parents of the midgrade audience.

Dovi Diaries was written to appeal to adults.

But you know what? I've read worse from Artscroll.

lannamichaels: Brachos 2a, caption: "There's a debate about that" (daf yomi)
[personal profile] lannamichaels


A good time! Some nice stuff where you can really see the development of halacha over time about a lot of relevant kashrus stuff (bread, cheese, wine, milk, fish, grasshoppers, prepared foods, etc). But not much to note about specifics. But it is amusing that grocery fraud is such a constant: yes, you do have to be concerned that someone who is claiming to sell something has actually substituted something cheaper instead, and also people will absolutely pass off fish as being another kind of fish. You gotta know what you're eating!

My notes behind cut.

Read more... )

Canadian immigration question

Jul. 26th, 2025 03:11 am
staranise: A star anise floating in a cup of mint tea (Default)
[personal profile] staranise
I have an American friend who would strongly prefer to move their family to Canada. 2 adults, 4 children; both adults have degrees and professional credentials that would transfer across the border. They're currently looking for work, both abroad and in bluer states than theirs.

The question they asked me was:

Is immigrating to Canada something we can do on our own or do we need an immigration lawyer? I have been looking at requirements and it all seems straightforward enough, but I don’t want to be unpleasantly surprised


Any thoughts on the process would be welcome, like if/when a lawyer is needed, or if/when agencies that promise to help with the moving process are actually worth their fees.

Thanks! Comments are screened for people who'd rather stay private, and I'll pass the messages along.
Page generated Aug. 9th, 2025 03:43 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios