Christmas Links #6

Hugh Dennis presents the History of the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal:
"Hugh explains how the Christmas Appeal first began."

Somewhat Bigger Than A Christmas Card:
"When people find out about my partner’s diagnosis, after the initial shock and condolences, they usually end a difficult conversation by saying ‘let me know if there is anything I can do to help’. In those first few shell-shocked weeks, all we could was thank people for their offer and say no. Because unless someone happened to have a cure for lung cancer in their back pocket, what could anyone actually do? I was also determined to keep things as normal as possible for our two boys, so I asked friends and colleagues to respect a rule of no cards or gifts. If our house suddenly turned into a florists, (as it was in danger of doing) it would only confuse and alarm my children."

Nine Christmas-related things you (probably) didn’t know about Doctor Who…
"...can you supply the tenth?"

Pyropet - Candle With Skeleton:
"Cute animals shaped candles will reveal their wilder side once lit."

Crooks can guess Visa card details in six seconds by querying lots of websites at once:
"In Does The Online Card Payment Landscape Unwittingly Facilitate Fraud?, a new paper in IEEE Security & Privacy, researchers from the University of Newcastle demonstrate a technique for guessing secruity details for credit-card numbers in six seconds -- attackers spread their guesses out across many websites at once, so no website gets enough bad guesses to lock the card or trigger a fraud detection system."



‘Luke Cage’ Renewed for Season 2 on Netflix:
"Sweet Christmas! “Marvel’s Luke Cage” is officially getting a second season."

An introvert's guide to the office Christmas party:
"The work Christmas party is often a colourful event, from colleagues cosying up under the mistletoe, to your boss performing an impromptu karaoke set – it’s always a rich source of cringeworthy stories and merriment."

There’s only one way to survive volunteering for the Christmas fair:
"The PTA committee is beset with problems and Liz Dashwood has 150 jam jars to fill with sweets and plastic toys. Better crack open the Baileys then…"

‘Little c’ christmas is fine – it is ‘Big C’ Christmas that people fear disappearing:
"Look, I enjoy laughing about “The War on Christmas” as much as anyone. Is anything funnier than knowing that you are annoying someone by wishing them a “Wonderful Winterval”?"

A Muslim-Owned Restaurant Has Invited Homeless People For Christmas Dinner:
"The Muslim-owned Shish Restaurant in Sidcup, southeast London, has said it will provide homeless and elderly people with a free three-course Christmas dinner this year. “No one eats alone on Christmas Day,” it said in a leaflet. “We are here to sit with you.”"