Speaking of missing chips, Ford is apparently going to start selling Ford Explorers without the chips that power rear air conditioning and heating controls.

Ford spokesperson Said Deep told The Verge that heating and air condition will still be controllable from the front seats, and that customers who choose to purchase a vehicle without the rear controls will receive a price reduction. According to Deep, Ford is doing this as a way to bring new Explorers to customers faster, and that the change is only temporary.

The global supply chain problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to cause issues, particularly when it comes to embedded electronics. In this case, the vehicles will get upgraded within a year to restore the missing abilities. This is slightly ridiculous, but it ultimately seems like a reasonable solution to a vexing problem.

In much of this country, folks are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, often by drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Here in Boston however, we celebrate a different holiday: Evacuation Day. Rather than (just) a nod to the vomiting that’s likely to ensue from all that binge drinking, Evacuation Day commemorates the end of the siege of Boston, as the British troops were forced to withdraw. It was General George Washington’s first victory in the Revolutionary War, and an important morale boost for the colonies.

My towniest pal Mat and I have a long-standing tradition of meeting for a bit of Evacuation Day revelry. Ordinarily, we imbibe a few beers at a local Irish pub, and razz the British. Of course, there aren’t actually any British troops about, so it’s more general razzing into the ether. “Getcher arses back to jolly old England” and whatnot. A good time is had by all.

Sadly, we’ve not been able to celebrate in person for the past two years. But this year? This year we are on for some backyard beers. So, a Happy Evacuation Day to you, dear reader. I’m off to raise a glass to the patriots of the American Revolution. And sure, Saint Patrick as well.

If wearing a mask is making your glasses foggy, try this simple solution.

Organ transplants are an incredible miracle of modern science. However, there are not enough organs for the number of recipients in need. As such, they must be rationed out in an attempt to do the most good overall. Chronic alcoholics don’t get new livers, and people who refuse the COVID-19 vaccination don’t get new hearts. David Ferguson spoke out about such a decision related to his son DJ:

“It’s kind of against his basic principles; he doesn’t believe in [the COVID vaccine]. It’s a policy they are enforcing and so because he won’t get the shot, they took him off the list of a heart transplant,” Ferguson said.

I can’t fathom believing in all of the science surrounding taking someone else’s heart and putting it in your own body, but not accepting the basics of vaccination. It’s heartbreaking that the politicization of another miracle of modern science, the COVID-19 vaccines, is going to result in this man needlessly dying.

I’m sorry for DJ’s family, particularly his children. But the simple fact is that he is making a selfish decision, and it is not laudable. He’s entitled to make this poor decision, but having done so, he and his father must now accept the consequences of that choice. Some other, more deserving candidate will get the heart he could’ve had. That’s exactly the way it should be.

When I read the headline “‘One Couldn’t Live Without the Other’: Married High School Sweethearts With COVID Die on Same Day”, I imagined a sad but touching story. I envisioned an elderly couple, together for decades and decades, passing away at the end of a long and happy life. Unfortunately, this isn’t that.

Alvaro, 44, and Sylvia Fernandez, 42, of Loma Linda, had been together since high school. The parents of four children died Dec. 19, just hours apart.

A headline like “40-Something Parents Die of Preventable Causes, Leave 4 Children Orphaned” wouldn’t make anyone feel good, but it would more accurately convey the gravity of the story, and of our global pandemic.

Recently, a reporter asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she’d support a prohibition on members of Congress trading stocks:

“No. We’re a free market economy,” Pelosi said. “They should be able to participate in that.”

Frankly? No, no, they shouldn’t. It’s very clear that Congresspeople have used knowledge the general public doesn’t have to acrue wealth, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may or may not be illegal, but it is most certainly distasteful. It ought to be beneath us all, and we shouldn’t accept it as reasonable.

Serving as a member of Congress is an honor and a privilege. It would be completely reasonable to enact a law that prevents those holding these positions of power from trading stocks. Upon entering Congress, assets could be placed in a blind trust and invested in index funds. If the country did well, those assets would increase in value in kind. We can find 535 competent people willing to forgo the ability to daytrade while they have their hands on the levers of power.

Meanwhile, in a related story, the folks at Insider did some incredible work. Dealing with shockingly terrible computer systems, they were able to determine how Congresspeople and congressional aides are failing to comply with financial conflict-of-interest laws.

3.3 billion people around the world are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s an incredible accomplishment, but there’s still a lot of work to do. In particular, we need to work around things like a dope resisting the vaccine while still trying to get proof of vaccination.

Thanks to friend-of-the-site Jason S., who alerted me to the bizarre story of the recently departed David Saunders. At Saunders’s request, his body was donated to be used for medical research. Unfortunately, the man instead became an unwitting participant in a public spectacle, courtesy of DeathScience.org. They offered the masses a chance to witness an autopsy and dissection of Saunders’s body, in the oh-so-sciencerrific environment of a Marriott hotel ballroom, all for the low, low price of $500.

Yikes.

Perhaps even worse, Saunders was a victim of the global pandemic.

According to Saunders’ death certificate, he died of COVID-19, meaning a potentially infectious body was dissected at an event where people were invited to examine and touch the body.

Double yikes.