The Writer's Life 7/25 - Fascinating

An article in the NY Post led me to Wikipedia for the following facts: The Ritchie Boys were U.S. special military intelligence officers and enlisted men of WWII trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. 2200 of the 15,200 were German-speaking immigrants, many Jews who fled Nazi persecution, born in Germany or Austria. The group was primarily utilized for interrogation of prisoners on the front lines and counter-intelligence in Europe. Most of the men were assigned because of fluency in German, French, Italian, Polish or other languages. There is a new book out on the subject: Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler by Bruce Henderson. Of course, no one is capable of remembering everything regarding such a vast event as WWII, but it is amazing how often yet another forgotten aspect is remembered, brought to light.

The Fast Takes column in the Post tagged climate scientists as "Merchants of Misery," which I had not heard before and enjoyed. It highlighted a recent article that put forth suggestions on reducing one's carbon footprint such as: Have one less child, eat a plant-based diet, live car-free, avoid air travel, let the lawn grow longer, hang clothes outside, and raise chickens in the backyard. In response I say: Being childless is the biggest regret of my life; ixnay on the total vegan stuff; I need my car to operate the floating book shop; I haven't used an airline since the late '90's, not because of any environmental concerns but because I'm one of these nuts who hates travel; I don't have a lawn; I hang my clothes to dry in the basement of the old house, although there is a dryer there; raising chickens as a form of environmental correctness seems a symptom of mental illness.

Sci-fi continues to become reality. From Yahoo's Odd News, edited by yours truly: A Wisconsin company is offering to microchip its employees, enabling them to open doors, log onto computers and purchase break room snacks at the simple swipe of the hand. Three Square Market said more than 50 employees are voluntarily getting implants at a "chip party" to be held at its headquarters. The devices, which cost $300 each, are the size of a grain of rice and are inserted underneath the skin between the thumb and forefinger using a syringe. The procedure takes a couple of seconds. The company is picking up the tab. Employees are free to opt out. Addressing privacy concerns, officials claim the data is encrypted and does not use GPS, and the chip can be removed in seconds. Michael Zimmer, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, sees potential for "function creep," where the stated purpose of a technology ends up spilling over into other uses, including surveillance - ye olde unintended consequences. He prefers less invasive means like an iPhone app. Here's the chip:

My thanks to the woman who purchased the huge pictorial on Israel and novels by James Patterson and Nora Roberts, to the woman who bought two by Maeve Binchy and one by Cynthia Freeman; and to the home attendant who settled her tab.

Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story Collection:http:// tinyurl.com/lh2tepa 
Vic's 2nd Novel Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

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