May 08, 2012
Shocking... Right
Saw this headline earlier on a local news feed
Shocking Find by TSA at RI Airport
Earlier today the story ended with this... Man and boy got on plane and left. Left? They go through security with a gun broken into bits in the luggage and TSA lets them just go on their merry way?
Now we find out why.
Well, looks like they got off better than this poor girl.
Diabetic teen upset with TSA screeners at Salt Lake City Airport
Not only did they not know what to do about the insulin pump...
Ya gotta watch out for those 16 year old diabetics... you never know what she'll do. So break her $10K insulin pump BEFORE she does it!
The guy with the gun parts is no match for her.
In the meantime one has to wonder if they caught anyone really trying to do something bad. Well... other than the 16 year old girl...
Shocking Find by TSA at RI Airport
TSA officials say the .40 caliber weapon, bullets and other gun parts were artfully packed inside three stuffed animals.
A man traveling with his 4-year-old son from T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I. to Detroit on Monday was stopped at a security checkpoint.
Earlier today the story ended with this... Man and boy got on plane and left. Left? They go through security with a gun broken into bits in the luggage and TSA lets them just go on their merry way?
Now we find out why.
The man, who hasn't been identified, told law enforcement officials he was unaware the firearm was stuffed in his son's carry on. Sources tell NECN that the man told law enforcement officials he believes the boy's mother put it there.
Well, looks like they got off better than this poor girl.
Diabetic teen upset with TSA screeners at Salt Lake City Airport
Not only did they not know what to do about the insulin pump...
She says TSA agents then made the situation worse when they didn't know what to do about her juice and insulin. "She said, because we don't have the machines to scan the juice to make sure this is not an explosive we do have to do a full body pat down and search your through your bags." Of course, that's what she wanted in the first place, but it was too late.
Ya gotta watch out for those 16 year old diabetics... you never know what she'll do. So break her $10K insulin pump BEFORE she does it!
The guy with the gun parts is no match for her.
In the meantime one has to wonder if they caught anyone really trying to do something bad. Well... other than the 16 year old girl...
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April 12, 2012
I Need a Spellchecker for my Spellchecker
I was writing something today and used the word "leapt". My spellchecker did not like it at all. Angry red dashes appeared under the offending word. Scary! I looked at it again and thought the spelling was correct.
Then I began to doubt myself. I could be wrong. It's been years since I've written the word (maybe dating back to my time in high school) Perhaps I'm not even using the right word. Horrors!!!!
Off I went to dictionary.com which indeed confirmed not only did I spell it correctly, I used it correctly too. Well that's a relief. I guess I'm not totally drifting into senility yet.
I fixed the spellchecker by adding the word. It does worry me that a modern day spellchecker would not have a regular everyday type of word I learned back in grade school.
However, the burning question is... how many people are being misled on a daily basis by spellcheckers that don't know their words? Now that is scary!
Then I began to doubt myself. I could be wrong. It's been years since I've written the word (maybe dating back to my time in high school) Perhaps I'm not even using the right word. Horrors!!!!
Off I went to dictionary.com which indeed confirmed not only did I spell it correctly, I used it correctly too. Well that's a relief. I guess I'm not totally drifting into senility yet.
I fixed the spellchecker by adding the word. It does worry me that a modern day spellchecker would not have a regular everyday type of word I learned back in grade school.
However, the burning question is... how many people are being misled on a daily basis by spellcheckers that don't know their words? Now that is scary!
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Weather News You Can Use
I have a Weatherbug widget on my home page. It gives me the cute little weather summary of an icon to show the type of weather then the high/low temps for 3 days. Underneath that is supposed to be weather headlines. Today there is only one and it reads:
Weather news:
California's weather has something for everyone.
So now a travel blog summary of the climate variety in California is "weather news" I need to know. Not sure why, but Weatherbug tells me so.
Weather news:
California's weather has something for everyone.
So now a travel blog summary of the climate variety in California is "weather news" I need to know. Not sure why, but Weatherbug tells me so.
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March 25, 2012
When To End An Interview
I spotted this headline today.
Lawmakers Call for Investigation of Facebook Password Requests
Employers are asking for username/passwords for facebook? I assume it must be happening somewhere although I am not interviewing for jobs, so I have no person experience of this phenom. Still, I find this a stunning invasion of privacy!
My immediate reaction:
The interview ends the minute someone asks for any username/password for any personal account.
Yes, I will stand up, thank them nicely, and say "It's been interesting talking with you. Thank you for your time. Good bye." This would hold true whether or not I had an account on the social media site.
You may think it's a bit extreme. You may, if you've been looking for a job for a long time and are desperate, think it's cavalier of me to say this. You may think... "but you're leaving them with the impression you have something to hide!"
That is exactly the reaction they are counting on. You need to turn your thinking around! If you give them the passwords, you have put someone else in control of your online data. We will return to this in a moment.
First I need to state this: an employer is perfectly within their rights to dig around on the internet and find any information that has been made public about you. They can find public facebook postings (which is why you should be very careful what your friends post about you or what pictures your friends tag you with on facebook), twitter feeds, blog posts, linkedin posts, and any other publicly available internet information. I have no problem with a company researching an employee before hiring them. Just as an employee should check out a company prior to the interview. Therefore, public data gathering is not the problem.
There are several problems with employers asking for your login credentials to any of the social media sites.
First and foremost, it violates laws already in place regarding what an employer can ask you about your personal life. With access to a social media site they know about your marital status (okay so they might know if you are married but they aren't supposed to ask about your life with your spouse), your parental status, possibly your sexual orientation, even your political ideology. All of which are not part of the job interview last time I heard.
Then there is the problem of someone else having control of your account. This is the one that is most disturbing. Here are just a few of the questions to ponder.
Who gets the login info? who does the looking? how do you know they won't change anything while logged in? how do you know they aren't using your account to find information about someone else? what information might they copy that you consider "private"? what will they do with any info they find on your site? what do they do with the login info once they have looked at your site?
The last question is the least important since giving away your login info is like giving away the keys to your house, now the only thing to do is change the lock (in this case, the password).
They've been on your account and gotten whatever information they wanted, what's to stop them from logging in again? what's to stop them from using information they gathered while on your site in a detrimental way?
The list could go on for pages, but if none of the above bother you... then maybe you are a good fit for the company.
Something else that bothers me is knowing that one set of login credentials is often used over and over by unsophisticated computer users. Therefore, facebook login credentials could give the company access to things like credit card accounts, bank accounts, health accounts... and this is just for an interview‽ (I was listening to Grammar Girl and just had to use the Interobang here)
While the request and its ramifications are mind boggling, I don't believe new laws are needed. The current laws covering what employers can do during interviews should be sufficient. However, it may need to be emphasized that these laws cover social media as well as other aspects of personal life. So, it's a good thing to bring this to the attention of the public. People need to know why they shouldn't say yes to this request. But, I see no reason to pass any specific law for "social media".
So keep your passwords to yourself. If you have ever given out a password even if it's for purposes of getting tech assistance. It's time to change it and change any other site that uses the same password.
This has been a public service post. We now return you to our regularly scheduled navel gazing.
Lawmakers Call for Investigation of Facebook Password Requests
Employers are asking for username/passwords for facebook? I assume it must be happening somewhere although I am not interviewing for jobs, so I have no person experience of this phenom. Still, I find this a stunning invasion of privacy!
My immediate reaction:
The interview ends the minute someone asks for any username/password for any personal account.
Yes, I will stand up, thank them nicely, and say "It's been interesting talking with you. Thank you for your time. Good bye." This would hold true whether or not I had an account on the social media site.
You may think it's a bit extreme. You may, if you've been looking for a job for a long time and are desperate, think it's cavalier of me to say this. You may think... "but you're leaving them with the impression you have something to hide!"
That is exactly the reaction they are counting on. You need to turn your thinking around! If you give them the passwords, you have put someone else in control of your online data. We will return to this in a moment.
First I need to state this: an employer is perfectly within their rights to dig around on the internet and find any information that has been made public about you. They can find public facebook postings (which is why you should be very careful what your friends post about you or what pictures your friends tag you with on facebook), twitter feeds, blog posts, linkedin posts, and any other publicly available internet information. I have no problem with a company researching an employee before hiring them. Just as an employee should check out a company prior to the interview. Therefore, public data gathering is not the problem.
There are several problems with employers asking for your login credentials to any of the social media sites.
First and foremost, it violates laws already in place regarding what an employer can ask you about your personal life. With access to a social media site they know about your marital status (okay so they might know if you are married but they aren't supposed to ask about your life with your spouse), your parental status, possibly your sexual orientation, even your political ideology. All of which are not part of the job interview last time I heard.
Then there is the problem of someone else having control of your account. This is the one that is most disturbing. Here are just a few of the questions to ponder.
Who gets the login info? who does the looking? how do you know they won't change anything while logged in? how do you know they aren't using your account to find information about someone else? what information might they copy that you consider "private"? what will they do with any info they find on your site? what do they do with the login info once they have looked at your site?
The last question is the least important since giving away your login info is like giving away the keys to your house, now the only thing to do is change the lock (in this case, the password).
They've been on your account and gotten whatever information they wanted, what's to stop them from logging in again? what's to stop them from using information they gathered while on your site in a detrimental way?
The list could go on for pages, but if none of the above bother you... then maybe you are a good fit for the company.
Something else that bothers me is knowing that one set of login credentials is often used over and over by unsophisticated computer users. Therefore, facebook login credentials could give the company access to things like credit card accounts, bank accounts, health accounts... and this is just for an interview‽ (I was listening to Grammar Girl and just had to use the Interobang here)
While the request and its ramifications are mind boggling, I don't believe new laws are needed. The current laws covering what employers can do during interviews should be sufficient. However, it may need to be emphasized that these laws cover social media as well as other aspects of personal life. So, it's a good thing to bring this to the attention of the public. People need to know why they shouldn't say yes to this request. But, I see no reason to pass any specific law for "social media".
So keep your passwords to yourself. If you have ever given out a password even if it's for purposes of getting tech assistance. It's time to change it and change any other site that uses the same password.
This has been a public service post. We now return you to our regularly scheduled navel gazing.
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March 15, 2012
New Tech Should Spring Forth Fully Formed and Functional!
I came across this article today.
Researchers send 'wireless' message using neutrinos
Of course I read it because it's one of those articles that makes me believe Star Trek was really a show from the future and we might just get there someday...
Then, because I am an idiot, I read the comments. OMG the comments!!! A few were funny, some were impressed or at least interested that some sort of research was going on.
But others... there are always the others. The whiners. They want to complain about price. They want to moan about the equipment not being able to do the job. They want to mutter about idiots doing stupid experiments.
Apparently all the tech we have today sprang up fully formed and ready to sit on our desktops. All cell phones have always been like the iphones or Androids you see now - never were they the size and weight of a good sized brick. All computers were always sitting on the desktop with nice thin screens. There was never a computer the size of a small house that wheezed along by reading punch cards and trying to calculate a few equations so we could send men to the moon.
It's disturbing to see people so hell bent on telling us not only that it won't work, but that the scientists were stupid to even try it. The saddest part is, these morons have built their case on a blurby little blog post that dumbs everything down so the semi-literate layman can claim to understand some of what is going on. From there the critics feel free to tell us why it will never work.
I shall never have my Star Trek future because these idiots have no dreams and therefore want to make sure no one else has them either. Because... dreams are stupid and they'll never work.
Researchers send 'wireless' message using neutrinos
Of course I read it because it's one of those articles that makes me believe Star Trek was really a show from the future and we might just get there someday...
Then, because I am an idiot, I read the comments. OMG the comments!!! A few were funny, some were impressed or at least interested that some sort of research was going on.
But others... there are always the others. The whiners. They want to complain about price. They want to moan about the equipment not being able to do the job. They want to mutter about idiots doing stupid experiments.
Apparently all the tech we have today sprang up fully formed and ready to sit on our desktops. All cell phones have always been like the iphones or Androids you see now - never were they the size and weight of a good sized brick. All computers were always sitting on the desktop with nice thin screens. There was never a computer the size of a small house that wheezed along by reading punch cards and trying to calculate a few equations so we could send men to the moon.
It's disturbing to see people so hell bent on telling us not only that it won't work, but that the scientists were stupid to even try it. The saddest part is, these morons have built their case on a blurby little blog post that dumbs everything down so the semi-literate layman can claim to understand some of what is going on. From there the critics feel free to tell us why it will never work.
I shall never have my Star Trek future because these idiots have no dreams and therefore want to make sure no one else has them either. Because... dreams are stupid and they'll never work.
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January 29, 2012
Trackery
In the comments to the previous post there is some discussion of tracking by google. Thoughts of which tend to make me feel extremely paranoid.
Then I remembered this post from Ars Technica the other day.
Google already knows you're a 24-year old woman who loves wombats
And I checked to see what google thinks of me...
Yes, I must have opted out of ad tracking a while back and forgotten. I don't think it's the "ad block plus" I use on my browser... but maybe it is.
Right now google is not owning up to tracking me around the web. Not sure if that makes me feel better or not. Hmmm...
Then I remembered this post from Ars Technica the other day.
Google already knows you're a 24-year old woman who loves wombats
And I checked to see what google thinks of me...
Your categories and demographics
No interest or demographic categories are associated with your ads preferences so far. You can add or edit interests and demographics at any time.
Yes, I must have opted out of ad tracking a while back and forgotten. I don't think it's the "ad block plus" I use on my browser... but maybe it is.
Right now google is not owning up to tracking me around the web. Not sure if that makes me feel better or not. Hmmm...
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January 16, 2012
Upgrade
Over the weekend I upgraded my Mac from the Snow Leopard OS to Lion. Then upgraded Mobile Me to iCloud.
The only reason I did this is because Mobile Me is going away in June. I didn't want to make the move until the initial uproar had died down, but didn't want to wait until the stragglers were doing a last minute switch. I figured the middle of January would be a good time.
Luckily Don McAllister of Screencasts Online made a couple of tutorials to make things smoother for the rest of us. I made 3 backups of my system, downloaded the Lion app from the App store. Made a copy of that and saved it to a separate drive, then installed.
It all went so well I've been rather dazed. Not only that, but my machine is behaving much better under Lion. I think all the applications, with the "Lion ready" updates, didn't work so well in Snow Leopard anymore.
Of course the downside was the upgrade to iCloud. It sucked. Apple tells you to sign in with your Appleid. This is okay if you are new to Apple and have no Mobile Me stuff.
If you have Mobile Me already DO NOT DO IT! DO NOT!!! Sign in using your Mobile Me account - trust me you will be very glad you did!
That was my big mistake. My appleid and my mobile-meid were two different things. I had to sit through about 3 hours of chat with an Apple Mobile-Me person to get it straight. They knew what they were doing, but OMG it all takes forever on chat! I got the 2 id's combined and it's all working finally!
I have yet to see if Lion will continue to play nice... iCloud too for that matter. I had no documents on Mobile Me so I think that works greatly in my favor. Many people had issues with disappearing documents.
So I've now gone through the painful process. It's nearly as bad as when a computer dies and you have to get a new one. It's why I wait as long as I think I can before doing anything.
Let's hope that's it for a while. Whew!
The only reason I did this is because Mobile Me is going away in June. I didn't want to make the move until the initial uproar had died down, but didn't want to wait until the stragglers were doing a last minute switch. I figured the middle of January would be a good time.
Luckily Don McAllister of Screencasts Online made a couple of tutorials to make things smoother for the rest of us. I made 3 backups of my system, downloaded the Lion app from the App store. Made a copy of that and saved it to a separate drive, then installed.
It all went so well I've been rather dazed. Not only that, but my machine is behaving much better under Lion. I think all the applications, with the "Lion ready" updates, didn't work so well in Snow Leopard anymore.
Of course the downside was the upgrade to iCloud. It sucked. Apple tells you to sign in with your Appleid. This is okay if you are new to Apple and have no Mobile Me stuff.
If you have Mobile Me already DO NOT DO IT! DO NOT!!! Sign in using your Mobile Me account - trust me you will be very glad you did!
That was my big mistake. My appleid and my mobile-meid were two different things. I had to sit through about 3 hours of chat with an Apple Mobile-Me person to get it straight. They knew what they were doing, but OMG it all takes forever on chat! I got the 2 id's combined and it's all working finally!
I have yet to see if Lion will continue to play nice... iCloud too for that matter. I had no documents on Mobile Me so I think that works greatly in my favor. Many people had issues with disappearing documents.
So I've now gone through the painful process. It's nearly as bad as when a computer dies and you have to get a new one. It's why I wait as long as I think I can before doing anything.
Let's hope that's it for a while. Whew!
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December 16, 2011
Winding Down the Week
Okay so it's been about a week since I posted something. And then I realized I don't have anything much to say even after a week.
I totally missed some sort of debate last night because really... who wants to voluntarily watch a bunch of idiots blowing hot air?
I haven't had time to take any pictures lately or even look at those I took a while back. Then again I have such a low attention threshold I almost never feel like going back and working on photos I took longer ago than last week.
I picked up flipboard for my iphone. I can't decide if I like it or not. I haven't created an account because they won't let me do it on my big computer and I'm too lazy to try doing it on my iphone with the tiny keyboard. So I open it and flip through the stories hoping something really interesting will be included. So far nothing has really grabbed me. I've seen other people tweeting how much they love it so I must be doing something wrong. heh.
After a conversation I had earlier today I keep thinking I really really need to write a book titled: A Geek's Guide Do-it-yourself computer security for people who think nothing will ever happen to them. The prospect is daunting though and I don't know where to start. Oh my.
Okay I need to get back to writing some code. I think I've procrastinated long enough. Have a nice weekend.
I totally missed some sort of debate last night because really... who wants to voluntarily watch a bunch of idiots blowing hot air?
I haven't had time to take any pictures lately or even look at those I took a while back. Then again I have such a low attention threshold I almost never feel like going back and working on photos I took longer ago than last week.
I picked up flipboard for my iphone. I can't decide if I like it or not. I haven't created an account because they won't let me do it on my big computer and I'm too lazy to try doing it on my iphone with the tiny keyboard. So I open it and flip through the stories hoping something really interesting will be included. So far nothing has really grabbed me. I've seen other people tweeting how much they love it so I must be doing something wrong. heh.
After a conversation I had earlier today I keep thinking I really really need to write a book titled: A Geek's Guide Do-it-yourself computer security for people who think nothing will ever happen to them. The prospect is daunting though and I don't know where to start. Oh my.
Okay I need to get back to writing some code. I think I've procrastinated long enough. Have a nice weekend.
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December 05, 2011
Stuck in a rut is far less work
Saw this tweet go out today via Twitter Support:
And it occurred to me to wonder... how many people try to change their avatars and how often? I know I see avatars that seem to be changed on a weekly and even daily basis on twitter and facebook.
My thought? There's at least 15 minutes of my life I won't get back just to change a teensy picture... not to mention the abusive tweets one decides must be written once one does waste the time to change the avatar only to find that twitter is (surprise!) FUBAR. And then the anxious waiting until twitter says "it's fixed". Followed by more abusive tweeting to the twitter help after one finally gets the beloved avatar changed.
Yeah, it makes me tired just thinking about all that work for a teensy picture. I think I'll go take a nap.
Some users are unable to upload a new #avatar. We're aware of the issue & working to fix it.
And it occurred to me to wonder... how many people try to change their avatars and how often? I know I see avatars that seem to be changed on a weekly and even daily basis on twitter and facebook.
My thought? There's at least 15 minutes of my life I won't get back just to change a teensy picture... not to mention the abusive tweets one decides must be written once one does waste the time to change the avatar only to find that twitter is (surprise!) FUBAR. And then the anxious waiting until twitter says "it's fixed". Followed by more abusive tweeting to the twitter help after one finally gets the beloved avatar changed.
Yeah, it makes me tired just thinking about all that work for a teensy picture. I think I'll go take a nap.
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December 02, 2011
Geekery
Tonight I am tired of computers.
After setting up a server today and trying to set up access controls (the user can only do certain things and nothing else) I was wishing I could just tell the friggin' computer "this is what I want to let them do - nothing else - got it?" At which point it would do all the nitpicky work and I'd be finished.
But then I realized as soon as we can tell computers this stuff, someone will figure out a way to tell the computer a long story, instead of giving it a command... something like Little Red Riding Hood... then they'd say "command shell". Then they would own your computer. I call it Future Buffer Overflow.
I know this little post will lose me the last 3 readers who persist in reading... heh.
After setting up a server today and trying to set up access controls (the user can only do certain things and nothing else) I was wishing I could just tell the friggin' computer "this is what I want to let them do - nothing else - got it?" At which point it would do all the nitpicky work and I'd be finished.
But then I realized as soon as we can tell computers this stuff, someone will figure out a way to tell the computer a long story, instead of giving it a command... something like Little Red Riding Hood... then they'd say "command shell". Then they would own your computer. I call it Future Buffer Overflow.
I know this little post will lose me the last 3 readers who persist in reading... heh.
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November 18, 2011
Headline...
Saw this headline today:
Mass. Gov. Patrick aims to lower unemployment
And my first thought was... so he's going to shoot the unemployed because that would certainly lower the unemployment rate.
I blame The Bloggess. I read this and laughed so I am certainly going to hell. Then I read a bunch of the comments which made me laugh even more (especially #25 about Pittsburgh). So what do you expect when I then see the headline above... it's all in how you look at things.
Mass. Gov. Patrick aims to lower unemployment
And my first thought was... so he's going to shoot the unemployed because that would certainly lower the unemployment rate.
I blame The Bloggess. I read this and laughed so I am certainly going to hell. Then I read a bunch of the comments which made me laugh even more (especially #25 about Pittsburgh). So what do you expect when I then see the headline above... it's all in how you look at things.
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November 02, 2011
So Are They Saying Women Shouldn't Drive?
I follow Car Talk on facebook. They posted a link to this article from Cars.com
Study: Women More Likely to be Injured in Car Accidents
Here's the bit at the end that I found baffling...
Take into account... What in the world does that mean?
Are we supposed to creep along at 20mph just in case? Wear armor? Send up a flag so everyone knows there's an old airbag in the car? Buy better life insurance? Get better crash insurance? Sheesh.
While it's interesting to know that newer cars have better airbags in them, the conclusion is silly.
Study: Women More Likely to be Injured in Car Accidents
Here's the bit at the end that I found baffling...
Still, if you’re operating vehicle without advanced airbags, it’s important to take into account the heightened risk of injury if you are a female driver.
Take into account... What in the world does that mean?
Are we supposed to creep along at 20mph just in case? Wear armor? Send up a flag so everyone knows there's an old airbag in the car? Buy better life insurance? Get better crash insurance? Sheesh.
While it's interesting to know that newer cars have better airbags in them, the conclusion is silly.
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October 21, 2011
When I Said I Was Worried About the Camera...
Y'all thought I was kidding...
Check it out.
Doesn't look ready for prime time, but that never stopped anyone. heh.
Check it out.
Doesn't look ready for prime time, but that never stopped anyone. heh.
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October 11, 2011
This and That
We were down in Boston over the weekend. Got 2 days of sailing in and stayed in the city on Saturday. Might be the last 2 days of sailing this season, so we didn't want to miss the great weather.
We knew about the protestors, we even saw one of them walking along with his sign (although not holding it up since he wasn't with a group). Little did we know there was also a movie being filmed (RIPD). And since it was a holiday weekend there was also a parade. Whew! Add the warm weather and you can see why we were happy to get out on the water and away from the crazy.
I have pics that I haven't uploaded yet. They aren't very good since they're iphone. Some might be interesting.
The movie seemed to have taken over everything in our part of the city. I didn't see any of the "stars". This was a good thing as far as I was concerned because there were too many fans hanging around waiting to see their idols. All we wanted was to find a way around the closed streets... get to the hotel, get to Starbucks. It was annoying mostly.
I have never seen so much large equipment all in one place when they aren't trying to fix a road or build something. Blocks and blocks of semis with equipment, all kinds of cranes, lights, fans... they trucked in everything. There were security guards all over, every corner you'd be able to trip over at least one usually more. I was wondering why they were around since they appeared to be more concerned with chatting on phones or talking with friends who stopped by than actually watching anything. I should look into a gig like that.
There are many many many many extra people milling about a movie set. The primary activity appeared to be (once again) standing around and talking. If they all get credited at the end, no wonder it takes 15 minutes just to show all the names. There should be a category called "Best Conversationalist".
Luckily sailing was great. The restaurants and most of the bars were great. The exception was the hotel bar. It had reserved tables... spend level was minimum $60... Okayfine. We left and went down the street to another bar for a last drink. Maybe they made some money on the reserves... maybe the big stars came in later. All we wanted was a last drink and a place to sit. We found it. I mentioned this since the hotel insisted on sending me one of those surveys (how tiresome those are)... I told them it would have been nice if the table charge had been mentioned when the bar was being presented as a place to go at the hotel... I'm guessing nothing will come of that.
In the meantime... speaking of movies. It seems the Zombies are trying to make sure Brad Pitt's new movie does not get filmed.
Police seize weapons from Brad Pitt film
Personally I figured the police were annoyed because the film crew wouldn't let them talk too...
We knew about the protestors, we even saw one of them walking along with his sign (although not holding it up since he wasn't with a group). Little did we know there was also a movie being filmed (RIPD). And since it was a holiday weekend there was also a parade. Whew! Add the warm weather and you can see why we were happy to get out on the water and away from the crazy.
I have pics that I haven't uploaded yet. They aren't very good since they're iphone. Some might be interesting.
The movie seemed to have taken over everything in our part of the city. I didn't see any of the "stars". This was a good thing as far as I was concerned because there were too many fans hanging around waiting to see their idols. All we wanted was to find a way around the closed streets... get to the hotel, get to Starbucks. It was annoying mostly.
I have never seen so much large equipment all in one place when they aren't trying to fix a road or build something. Blocks and blocks of semis with equipment, all kinds of cranes, lights, fans... they trucked in everything. There were security guards all over, every corner you'd be able to trip over at least one usually more. I was wondering why they were around since they appeared to be more concerned with chatting on phones or talking with friends who stopped by than actually watching anything. I should look into a gig like that.
There are many many many many extra people milling about a movie set. The primary activity appeared to be (once again) standing around and talking. If they all get credited at the end, no wonder it takes 15 minutes just to show all the names. There should be a category called "Best Conversationalist".
Luckily sailing was great. The restaurants and most of the bars were great. The exception was the hotel bar. It had reserved tables... spend level was minimum $60... Okayfine. We left and went down the street to another bar for a last drink. Maybe they made some money on the reserves... maybe the big stars came in later. All we wanted was a last drink and a place to sit. We found it. I mentioned this since the hotel insisted on sending me one of those surveys (how tiresome those are)... I told them it would have been nice if the table charge had been mentioned when the bar was being presented as a place to go at the hotel... I'm guessing nothing will come of that.
In the meantime... speaking of movies. It seems the Zombies are trying to make sure Brad Pitt's new movie does not get filmed.
Police seize weapons from Brad Pitt film
Personally I figured the police were annoyed because the film crew wouldn't let them talk too...
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September 27, 2011
Notes Jotted At the Airport
Here were a few things I was noticing while waiting for our flights. I can't help but write them down because it's fun.
-- OMG geeky guy next to me in geeky deep philosophical coding conversation on phone. Let me gag him!
-- If I ever wear big white tennies to travel my husband has instructions to shoot me.
-- Geeky guy just exclaimed "Gate 19!" hung up on his friend, jumped out of his seat, walked off leaving his computer, half eaten sandwich, and bags to check gate change. Wow.
-- Why is there always one person who won't sit down when we're trying to get going? Why?
-- No kids on this flight. I'm sure that's a first ever!
-- Southwest has much nicer terminal areas than United. Much.
-- What is with people just stopping either directly after walking off the jetway or in the middle of the main walking corridor blocking traffic when they exit the plane? Idiots.
-- Pilot talking on intercom. Sound is so bad we can't begin to hear him. So what's the point? I guess this means we'll be landing soon. Excellent.
-- Woman in front of me has fully reclined her seat but keeps tossing about on it like she can't find a comfortable position. Waiting for the seat back to collapse onto my lap. It's only a 2 hour flight - not an all-nighter!
And thus some of the thoughts that flitter through my head become an eventual blog post.
-- OMG geeky guy next to me in geeky deep philosophical coding conversation on phone. Let me gag him!
-- If I ever wear big white tennies to travel my husband has instructions to shoot me.
-- Geeky guy just exclaimed "Gate 19!" hung up on his friend, jumped out of his seat, walked off leaving his computer, half eaten sandwich, and bags to check gate change. Wow.
-- Why is there always one person who won't sit down when we're trying to get going? Why?
-- No kids on this flight. I'm sure that's a first ever!
-- Southwest has much nicer terminal areas than United. Much.
-- What is with people just stopping either directly after walking off the jetway or in the middle of the main walking corridor blocking traffic when they exit the plane? Idiots.
-- Pilot talking on intercom. Sound is so bad we can't begin to hear him. So what's the point? I guess this means we'll be landing soon. Excellent.
-- Woman in front of me has fully reclined her seat but keeps tossing about on it like she can't find a comfortable position. Waiting for the seat back to collapse onto my lap. It's only a 2 hour flight - not an all-nighter!
And thus some of the thoughts that flitter through my head become an eventual blog post.
Posted by: Teresa in
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July 27, 2011
It's Obligatory
About once a year or so reporters feel obligated to tell us how technology will ruin our lives. This time, it's the "smartphone".
Sleep with your iPhone? You're not alone
Didn't I hear this about, let's see... radio, television, Walkmans, ipods, computers, computer games, texting phones, etc, etc, etc.
I swear there has been at least one story like this every year since I can remember. When I was a kid (and we had 3 whole tv channels) the story was
"Kids aren't going outside to play! They sit in front of the tv mesmerized! What will become of us!!!"
The funniest part of the story which is reflected in the title of the piece...
For the two-thirds mentioned here, they don't mention whether or not this is the only phone in the house.
And
No word on whether those in technology meltdown have a landline phone next to their beds...
Sleep with your iPhone? You're not alone
While smartphone users worry about mobile hacking and other security threats that are making news these days, psychologists and others are concerned about another equally troubling issue: the growing obsession among people who would much rather interact with their smartphones than with other human beings.
Didn't I hear this about, let's see... radio, television, Walkmans, ipods, computers, computer games, texting phones, etc, etc, etc.
I swear there has been at least one story like this every year since I can remember. When I was a kid (and we had 3 whole tv channels) the story was
"Kids aren't going outside to play! They sit in front of the tv mesmerized! What will become of us!!!"
The funniest part of the story which is reflected in the title of the piece...
For some, the anxious feeling that they might miss something has caused them to slumber next to their smartphones. More than a third of U.S. adults -- 35 percent -- now own a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center, and two-thirds of them sleep with their phones right next to their beds.
For the two-thirds mentioned here, they don't mention whether or not this is the only phone in the house.
And
No word on whether those in technology meltdown have a landline phone next to their beds...
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July 21, 2011
Well... Yeah...
Seen on the intarwebs:
@JustinNOAA: Update: ~148 million under #heat advisories/warnings today; 32 states + DC
It's called SUMMER. My advice - look up the definition and learn. Good grief.
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May 20, 2011
Are You Ready for the Rapture?
I'm not sure what time it starts... no one told me. No mention of timezones either. But the rapture is nearly upon us.
So are you headed to the Pearly Gates? If so the TSA is already ahead of you
If you don't plan on being one of the heavenly horde perhaps you'll join me for the looting spree all of Facebook has been planning...
In any case, if I can't get my iphone because the world ends a week early - I will make sure I have some fun instead.
Just sayin...
So are you headed to the Pearly Gates? If so the TSA is already ahead of you
@TSAgov Agent Smith In case of a Saturday rapture, please form a single-file line in front of the Pearly Gates for your security check.
If you don't plan on being one of the heavenly horde perhaps you'll join me for the looting spree all of Facebook has been planning...
In any case, if I can't get my iphone because the world ends a week early - I will make sure I have some fun instead.
Just sayin...
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April 18, 2011
You Know There is too Much Going On When...
It's about 4 days between blog posts.
So what's new? How are ya?
Me? Just dandy.
My excitement for the week was reporting my SBUX card missing. Right after I got the email saying they were sending the new one, I found the card. Naturally. I have no recollection of putting it in with the paper money. I have never done that before. Weird.
Speaking of SBUX - I don't know what it is lately, but it seems every day for the last couple of weeks I've gotten in line behind a person reluctant to advance to the register. You know the ones - they leave a HUGE gap between themselves and the person in front of them so you have no idea if they are even in line. I want to take my shoulder and shove them forward.
We did go walking over the weekend. It's on my todo list to upload the pictures tomorrow. I had to spread things out so I can relax a bit.
That's about it for now. Time to get off the computer. I leave you with a pic of a tree with a fuzzy trunk.
So what's new? How are ya?
Me? Just dandy.
My excitement for the week was reporting my SBUX card missing. Right after I got the email saying they were sending the new one, I found the card. Naturally. I have no recollection of putting it in with the paper money. I have never done that before. Weird.
Speaking of SBUX - I don't know what it is lately, but it seems every day for the last couple of weeks I've gotten in line behind a person reluctant to advance to the register. You know the ones - they leave a HUGE gap between themselves and the person in front of them so you have no idea if they are even in line. I want to take my shoulder and shove them forward.
We did go walking over the weekend. It's on my todo list to upload the pictures tomorrow. I had to spread things out so I can relax a bit.
That's about it for now. Time to get off the computer. I leave you with a pic of a tree with a fuzzy trunk.
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April 14, 2011
Mystery Water
Our house has a finished basement. I work down there... or maybe I should say here since I am sitting in the room itself as I type this. The room (formerly a bedroom for the previous owner's son) has a bathroom attached - en suite if you watch House Hunters International - heh. The bathroom is an inside room, no walls against the outside of the house. One wall borders the walk in closet for the room, the other 2 walls border the unfinished part of the basement where the heater lives.
It's not a large room, toilet, sink with some good counter space, a shower (no tub), and a linen closet. There is a small rug in front of the sink area.
I mention the rug because the rug is the first problem I noticed.
I walked into the bathroom yesterday morning and the rug was laying at an angle in front of the toilet.
Odd.
I knew I hadn't moved it. I figured my husband had for some reason although I couldn't imagine why. I bent down to pick it up and it was soaking wet. Wet like someone had taken a pitcher of water and upended it on the rug. Of course I started looking around. There was no sign the water had overflowed the toilet. I looked under the sink. The floor of the cabinet was completely dry. I looked around the edges of the sink cabinet. No sign the water had come out from under the cabinet, the wood was dry.
Freaky.
That evening I told my husband what happened. He grabbed a flashlight and headed into the bathroom to look around. He saw no problem with the plumbing on the back of the toilet, no sign either that the sink was leaking. The walls all looked dry and unstained. Then he looked in the shower. It never occurred to me to look there since there's tray with about a 4 inch edge - how could water get from the shower to the floor? It didn't seem probable.
Wrong?
Or maybe not. There was a small puddle in the shower and the drain cover was askew... except we don't use that shower so where did the water come from? Why had the drain cover moved? Then he looked in the linen closet and found the entire floor wet. I never even thought to look in there.
The rag bag and a couple bags with old bed linens reside on the floor there. I pulled them out. Got rid of the dead bugs that had accumulated since I last cleaned it and got to work getting it washed and dried again. There's a drain clean out down there, but no sign of leaking around it.
In the meantime my husband checked the unfinished part of the basement. Along the wall, between the shower and the sink, water had leaked out of the bathroom.
But where did the water come from? How did it get there? It had to have happened over night. My husband suspects somehow water backed up into the shower due to a clog which eventually gave way. He looked closer at the shower drain. It's very possible the drain around the shower leaks. Since we don't use that shower, we'd never know it.
I suspect our water treatment system did it's weekly back wash, which it does about once a week in the middle of the night, and that's where the water came from. It backed up into the shower tray and leaked around the drain, soaking the floor. I might be wrong about that, but it's a theory.
Still... not being 100% sure, it's very unsettling. We've had many past experiences with water in basements - none of them good. Because we aren't sure what is going on, we will await events. If it happens again we'll have to bring in a plumber.
I'm not optimistic.
It's not a large room, toilet, sink with some good counter space, a shower (no tub), and a linen closet. There is a small rug in front of the sink area.
I mention the rug because the rug is the first problem I noticed.
I walked into the bathroom yesterday morning and the rug was laying at an angle in front of the toilet.
Odd.
I knew I hadn't moved it. I figured my husband had for some reason although I couldn't imagine why. I bent down to pick it up and it was soaking wet. Wet like someone had taken a pitcher of water and upended it on the rug. Of course I started looking around. There was no sign the water had overflowed the toilet. I looked under the sink. The floor of the cabinet was completely dry. I looked around the edges of the sink cabinet. No sign the water had come out from under the cabinet, the wood was dry.
Freaky.
That evening I told my husband what happened. He grabbed a flashlight and headed into the bathroom to look around. He saw no problem with the plumbing on the back of the toilet, no sign either that the sink was leaking. The walls all looked dry and unstained. Then he looked in the shower. It never occurred to me to look there since there's tray with about a 4 inch edge - how could water get from the shower to the floor? It didn't seem probable.
Wrong?
Or maybe not. There was a small puddle in the shower and the drain cover was askew... except we don't use that shower so where did the water come from? Why had the drain cover moved? Then he looked in the linen closet and found the entire floor wet. I never even thought to look in there.
The rag bag and a couple bags with old bed linens reside on the floor there. I pulled them out. Got rid of the dead bugs that had accumulated since I last cleaned it and got to work getting it washed and dried again. There's a drain clean out down there, but no sign of leaking around it.
In the meantime my husband checked the unfinished part of the basement. Along the wall, between the shower and the sink, water had leaked out of the bathroom.
But where did the water come from? How did it get there? It had to have happened over night. My husband suspects somehow water backed up into the shower due to a clog which eventually gave way. He looked closer at the shower drain. It's very possible the drain around the shower leaks. Since we don't use that shower, we'd never know it.
I suspect our water treatment system did it's weekly back wash, which it does about once a week in the middle of the night, and that's where the water came from. It backed up into the shower tray and leaked around the drain, soaking the floor. I might be wrong about that, but it's a theory.
Still... not being 100% sure, it's very unsettling. We've had many past experiences with water in basements - none of them good. Because we aren't sure what is going on, we will await events. If it happens again we'll have to bring in a plumber.
I'm not optimistic.
Posted by: Teresa in
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