Christmas 2020 be like ….
… very Fra-GEE-leh
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
COVID-19 has changed how many will celebrate the Christmas holidays. One of the traditions getting an update in 2020 is the Advent calendar. In Christianity, Advent marks the lead up to Christmas. It is a somber time of reflection, traditionally observed by lighting candles. The first Advent calendars were used by Germans around the 1850s. These early Advent calendars included a Biblical verse behind each date’s panel and a goodie like chocolate. Then came COVID-19 lockdowns. No more holiday parties.
The new COVID era Advent calendars are different. They are usually made of cardboard with perforated daily panels that can be punched out to reveal the bottle inside. The WineEnthusiast explains that the calendars can include: beers, wines, gin, and whiskey, and more. They can be bought at retailers like Costco and Aldi as well as online. There are online forums, websites, and Facebook groups dedicated to the COVID era Advent calendars. Here are some of the best of the new 2020 Advent calendars.
GiveThemBeer’s take on the advent calendar $79.00 isn’t for people playing around: There are 12 full-size cans of U.S. brewed craft IPAs, Stouts, and Ales hiding behind festive little doors. Expect suds from Dogfish Head, Ballast Point, Cigar City, Bell’s, Oskar Blues, Founders, and Victory.
Alameda California’s Almanac Beer has two different holiday boxes. One for the 12 days of Christmas ($88.00) and another for the eight nights of Hanukkah ($68.00). Customers can choose their flavor of drink based on their taste preferences, including sour ales or hoppy IPAs.
The Flaviar Whiskies of the World Advent Calendar costs $250.00 and features premium sips from around the globe. The advent calendar includes whiskeys from major producers like Scotland and Japan. It also includes niche offerings from countries like Israel and India. Food and Wine notes that the 2020 calendar holds two dozen 1.7-ounce vials of award-winning whiskies from single malts to rich blends. The selections include Tennessee’s Uncle Nearest Bourbon, Kilchoman 2010 Vintage from Islay’s farm distillery, and an impressive release from Compass Box. It comes with everything needed to appreciate the flavorful tour: a Glencairn whiskey tasting glass, a coaster, and a tasting notes booklet, so you know exactly what you’re sipping.
Jack Daniel’s whiskey-filled holiday calendar includes 24 windows to crack open in December. The $80.00 calendar includes 50ml bottles. There are four bottles each of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, three bottles each of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple, and two each of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye, Gentleman Jack, and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select.
Vinebox is offering a 12 Night of Wine with a mix of reds and whites. You can buy the Nice Edition or the Naughty Edition each for $129.00. The Nice Edition features “crisp, harmonious whites and silky soft reds.” The Naughty Edition contains “brooding reds and sultry whites to tempt even the most pure.” For any wine-lovers who can’t decide whether they’ve been naughty or nice – there’s also the option to buy a bundle that includes all 24 bottles from both boxes.
The Aldi Wine Advent Calendar costs $69.99: Each of the 24 mini bottles of booze inside comes to about $2.91. Plus, the box is pretty enough to leave out under the tree! there are 24 wines inside, including riesling, chardonnay, pinot noir, and more. Some are great. But even the duds are good for cooking.
This one comes from That Boutique-y Gin Company, so it’s filled with—you guessed it—24 gins all independently made in England. They start shipping out October 15, but sadly, not to the U.S. – guess we gotta plan a trip to London!
There’s also an O’Donnells 12 Days of Irish Cream Calendar is $29.99 at Aldi. The Thrilliest writes that Irish cream is a boozy holiday favorite hiding in coffee cups at all hours, and has become more popularized in recent years You can get your Irish cream fix with this calendar, which has 12 mini 100ml bottles with flavors ranging from tiramisu to mint chocolate to white chocolate.
The Baileys Advent calendar contains 12 50ml miniature bottles of three different flavors of the world-famous Baileys, wonderful creamy liqueur; Coffee Liqueur, Orange Truffle, and the traditional Irish Cream. It also features a selection of recipes too, so you can try adding some delicious new drinks to your festive holiday zooming. Sadly, not available in the U.S.
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Hopefully one of these adult advent calendars makes it under your tree and you can spend many happy holiday Zoom visits with friends and family this holiday season.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
There was something strange going on in Whoville… but what? NBC Dateline’s Keith Morrison investigates and tells the classic tale of a sinister plot to stop Christmas in his own way. At the end — a twist no one saw coming.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
Thanks to COVID it is the virtual silly season. No more jamming into malls it is online shopping now. Half of shoppers spend some of their money on pet treats and other supplies this holiday season. If your virtual gift list includes presents for your four-legged buddy – be careful, there are some puppy toys out there that can compromise your privacy while Fido is entertained. Mozilla’s “Privacy Not Included” project analyzed the security of pooch-gifts, and the results are not good for your privacy.
All of these technologies can become part of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT technology interconnects them. For example, IoT connects the camera in your living room with the smartphone on your desk, allowing you to monitor your pet while you’re at work. IoT enables the collection and interconnectivity of data, which is extremely important when considering your safety and privacy.
Dogness iPet Robot – This doggy toy costs $299.00 and has all the bells and whistles to keep Fido entertained. It moves and chases your pooch. It has an HD video camera with night vision to record your pup, two-way audio to talk to your doggo, a laser to chase, and the ability to toss treats to your buddy with the click of a button in the app. The iPet Robot connects over Wi-Fi so your home network better be secure – otherwise, somebody could take over the rolling spybot and catch your pooch – or you – in a compromising position.
The Dogness iPet Robot also comes with Mozilla’s “*Privacy Not Included” warning. The bot can roll around your house with a night vision camera and microphone while connected to Wi-Fi. Mozilla says that both the Dogness device and app can snoop on you. The researchers report the device doesn’t encrypt your data. Dogness doesn’t state what information is collected from the robot, or what they do with it. Dogness uses artificial intelligence, but the reviewers could not determine how the firm uses AI.
If that is not scary enough, in March 2020, it was reported that Dogness left its Amazon ElasticSearch server exposed, containing the usernames, emails, clear-text passwords, and session cookies of its users. The unprotected information has led to the complete exposure of its production SQL database and application source code and the complete takeover and control of its pet feeding devices and associated accounts.
Mozilla could not determine if the Dogness iPet Robot meets its Minimum Security Standards.
Cheerble Wickedbone Interactive Gaming Toy For Dogs –This $78.99 interactive bone is next on the naughty list. You can control this interactive bone through an app on your phone that connects through Bluetooth. From the app you can make the bone roll around and change colors. When you get bored, a 20-minute interactive mode can entertain your pup without you.
The app requires access to your phone’s GPS location data—why? That’s a good question. Additionally, the reviews could not determine if the firm encrypted your data, required strong passwords, or used AI to make decisions about you. And like most IoT devices, it doesn’t seem to have a way to manage security vulnerabilities. Mozilla says this pet toy does not meet its Minimum Security Standards for these reasons.
Fitbark– I first wrote about Fitbark back in 2013. The Fitbark GPS costs $99.95 + subscription + the costs of Verizon’s LTE-M cellular network coverage. It is a bone-shaped tracking device that goes on your dog’s collar and will track her just about anywhere in the U.S. It also connects to Wi-Fi.
The Fitbark monitors your dog’s activity, sleep habits, scratching habits, and stress 24/7. You can link it to your FitBit, Google Fit, or Apple HealthKit apps and you can stress about your doggo’s health too.
Mozilla reports that Fitbark tracks your dog’s movements and whereabouts with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS. With all that tracking, an attacker could keep tabs on you or your pup. The app does collect personal data, including name, email, phone number, address, date of birth, profile photo, dog’s health, and biometric data.
The Felik Pet Companion—This mouse-shaped bot costs $129.00. It has a camera and artificial intelligence that tracks your pet, learns from their movements, and reacts to how they hunt so it can simulate real prey. Felik connects to the Wi-Fi in your house and has an app where you can schedule play throughout the day.
Mozilla says the firm seems to take privacy and security seriously. They built security and privacy-aware features into the dog toy, like the ability to toggle Wi-Fi on and off with a physical button, an indicator light when the camera is streaming, and even an on-device firewall.
Since it has a camera and a microphone, it could be sued to snoop on you. The app tracks your location. The product uses AI to analyze your personal data to make decisions about you. However, users can request an explanation about any decisions taken as a result of automated decision-making by contacting Felix.
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The Felik Pet Companion is the only online dog-toy that I would allow in my home.
The Mozilla *Privacy Not Included buyer’s guide investigates the privacy and security of connected toys, gadgets, and smart home products. They flag products they think consumers should think twice about before buying. Mozilla looks at how well they can confirm a product meets a Minimum Security Standard.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
