16.12.2012 Bulletin

by Marita
(Montevideo Uruguay)

Dear Folks,

The rain deterred some people from coming to Torrente on Sunday, but it let up and we had a good time.

Items of note include:

1. My mailboxes have been filling up - because someone here got hacked and has a virus, too. The Subject lines usually include something like "Hey" and asks what you think of a specific web-site. The hacker is in the Ukraine, and is definitely not msn. If you do get hacked, please let all the people in your address book know about it, and that you may have a virus. And if you get something like that from someone you have met at the UIE, or someone here in Uruguay, destroy the E-Mail (don't open it), and let the sender know.

2. The Met live showing at Teatro Solis last Saturday was reported to have been almost sold out, and was excellent, and well received. If you were unable to go, but are interested, there are several other operas that will be shown. Tickets were Pesos 200.

3. Learning Spanish is a frequent topic, and the website
suggests watching Spanish language films with Spanish subtitles, so you hear and can read that is said at the same time. It has a list of lots of online films you can watch for fee.

4. Christmas is almost here, so, for those of you who have never tracked Santa, this might be something fun to do, particularly if you have children or grandchildren. The site grew out of a misprint: A department store ran an advert, giving a telephone number for children to all to speak to Santa. The misprint led to NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense command) being overwhelmed by small children calling to talk to Santa. Since then, the military, which tracks everything else, has been tracking Santa's travels, and puts up videos of his travel through different cities around the globe. It also includes games, and the famous letter "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus".



5. For Those of you more interested in the economics of Christmas, the PNC Christmas Price Index analyzes the cost of the presents in The 12 Days of Christmas, either as one set of the gifts (given on day 12), or the entire set of all gifts on all 12 days. Spoiler Alert: The cost went up by 4.8% this year. The Six Geese-A-Laying are the real budget busters this year, up 29,6% from last year due to the increase in feed costs for large birds. The site offers an analysis of the price changes, depending on labor contracts and such like.