[guest post by JVW]

I didn’t want the day to go by without wishing our gracious host a very happy birthday. I wondered for a moment if he wanted to keep his special day private, but I noticed that ten years ago he let slip that today was his celebration day. It’s gauche to mention a gentleman’s age (or maybe it’s a lady’s age that should go unremarked; I can’t remember these things any longer), but this is a pretty momentous birthday as he transitions from a perfect square number to a number that can be represented by only one Roman numeral, all while fighting to keep the AARP membership recruiters at bay.

Happy birthday, Patterico. I hope the celebration is equal to the benefit that you bring to all of your readers. But don’t overdo it at your age.

– JVW

Via Allahpundit on Twitter comes this story that well illustrates the way that people can manipulate a “choose your own gender” society to their advantage:

A Canadian man in his early 20s was unhappy with the high quote he got from his car insurance company, so he decided to do something about it: legally switch his gender from male to female.

The cunning 24-year-old resident of Alberta, Canada, first detailed his insurance stratagem on Reddit back in April, boasting that changing his gender on paper saved him nearly $1,100 a year.

‘I have taken advantage of a loophole,’ the man, whom CBC.ca called David, told the news outlet. ‘I’m a man, 100 per cent. Legally, I’m a woman.’

Presumably, if the company tried to use his actual gender to impose accurate rates on him, that would be discrimination of the worst possible kind.

You gotta love 2018.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]