My bags are packed, and I’m heading to South Africa for my dad’s memorial service. I have a long layover in Frankfurt, so long that I should check into a day hotel there to get some sleep. There are some right at the airport, and I may just do that. I only arrive in Cape Town at about 12 noon on Sunday.
Thursday/ a rainbow after the rain
It rained on and off all day here in Seattle, and so when the sun came out and struck the new green leaves on the tree in the street, I went to the upstairs window to take a look. That’s when I noticed the rainbow. I ran downstairs and took a picture. All rainbows appear opposite of where the sun is (so I am looking east), and they are actually are full circles! – but most observers just see what is to them, the upper half of the arc.
Wednesday/ a birthday long ago
I am re-posting this picture that my brother had posted on Facebook on Monday. If I go by the two candles on the cake, it is September of ’67, his second birthday. My dad must have been 33 at the time, and had just lit the two candles on the birthday cake. He made the patio furniture frames (in the background) and my mom the flowery cushions of sponge and vinyl cloth. I am in the middle, mesmerized by the cake. I remember that plastic table cloth with the ribbons so well, and the candle holders. One was an elephant, the other a springbok (antelope).
Tuesday
It was a somber day for me .. late afternoon I went for a walk to Volunteer Park. We are all flowers, fragile as flowers in the wind, I thought, when I saw these.
A Tribute to my Dad
Sunday/ the University Temple church building
It was a gorgeous Sunday here in Seattle, but it was almost 4 o’clock before I chased myself out of the house to go for a walk. So where to go, I thought? I chose the University District; took the No 43 bus out there and walked around, and made a stop at the great bookstore that is run by the University of Washington.
Saturday/ OpenSSL is bleeding
On the internet front, news broke this week of researchers discovering an widely-used internet security door (an encryption protocol called OpenSSL) that has been left ajar for almost two years now. It is called the ‘Heartbleed’ bug because it draws encryption keys (!) and password information (!) from the back-and-forth sending of encrypted data between a server and a client computer. Hackers using it leave no trace, so it is unknown how widespread its exploitation has been.
Says internet security expert Brian Krebs on his blog : It is likely that a great many Internet users will be asked to change their passwords this week (I hope). Meantime, companies and organizations running vulnerable versions should upgrade to the latest iteration of OpenSSL (1.0.1g) — as quickly as possible. So the company has to upgrade its OpenSSL, and the users have to change their passwords as well. The problem is, given the growing public awareness of this bug, it’s probable that phishers and other scam artists will take full advantage of the situation. (Sending users fake and infected requests for clicking on a link to changing a password, for example. ALWAYS go directly to the website by typing in the URL or using an established ‘favorites’ link, when changing a password).
Here are Krebs’s 3 Basic Rules for online safety, that should drastically reduce the chances of handing control over of one’s computer to the bad guys.
Rule 1) If you didn’t go looking for it, don’t install it.
Rule 2) If you installed it, keep it updated.
Rule 3) If you no longer need it, get rid of it!
Friday/ gallium
I had some credit on Amazon after sending in my old iPad for recycling, and browsed around for items of interest to buy. (The challenge with Amazon is not what to buy, of course. It is what not to buy, with the overwhelming variety of items on sale). Anyway, I checked out the section that sells little bits of scrap metal (yes, there is one). Why would I buy a bit of metal? Well, the notion of a little bit of 100% pure metal appeals to the alchemist in me.
And there are some curious metals. Mercury is definitely at the top of the list, but it is very poisonous. So I settled for a vial of the metal called gallium. Gallium is a brittle, soft metallic element that becomes a liquid at around only 85°F (29.4 °C), meaning it will melt in one’s hands or in warm water. (Even though it’s not poisonous, it’s probably not a good idea to touch it, since it sticks to one’s skin, I read on-line). Check out this YouTube clip of a gallium spoon used to stir hot water, here.
Thursday/ going to watch the paint dry
It was a beautiful day outside here in Denver, much too nice to spend it in the office. I see there is sunny weather on tap for Friday and the weekend in Seattle as well, though. That’s a good thing : the new green paint on my house will be able to dry nicely.
Wednesday / the Delectable Egg
We walk by the cute ‘Delectable Egg’ breakfast restaurant every day on the way to work here in Denver, and it always seems to be packed. Since we stay in the Sheraton is right across from it this week, we decided to give it a shot. Of course the menu has a Denver omelette on : omelette filled with ham, cheese, green peppers, onions. One legend has it that the name was given by cooks working on the transcontinental railroad (although no mention of ‘Denver omelette’ appears in documents of the time). Anyway : our verdict is that the eggs served up are quite ordinary. One more criticism : the coffee was too weak. So we will not go back frequently as regulars.
Tuesday/ the depth of the problem
Monday’s gone
The project team stays in the Denver Sheraton this week. There is a big conference in the Colorado Conference Center, and the Hilton ‘kicked us out’ for the week. (They can get more money from the conference goers. We are on a special low long-term rate with them).
Anyway : I am too happy just to have a hotel room to go to, relax a little and then go sleep. I tested the bed’s mattress already : firm, just the way I like it. Who wants to sleep on a bed that is soft as a marshmallow?
Sunday/ a new coat (of paint)
My ole house needs a new coat of paint! .. and I’m going for a shade greener compared to what I have put on some 10 years ago. Below is a picture I took this morning of a little experiment we did on the back of the house.
Saturday/ all things domino
Six of us ordered in Dominoes pizza on Saturday night, and then settled in around a few games of Mexican train. Everyone starts with 11 dominoes, and tries to be the first to dispense of all of them on the ‘Mexican train’. Chess or scrabble it is not, as far as strategy or mental sharpness go, but hey : great for socializing and teasing the ones that get stuck and have to draw extra dominoes from the pool.
Friday/ in the news
In the news from the home front this week for me: what started as a blockage in a downstairs toilet, turned out to have been caused by a serious blockage in the sewer line going from my house to the street (it was plugged up with several feet of a fine network of plant roots).
In the news for the USA this week : 1. Obamacare enrollment for its inaugural year ended Monday. The new law is a success: 7.1 million people signed up, exceeding the target despite the glitches in the healthcare.gov website all October of last year. 2. An Iraq vet being treated for mental health issues killed thee people on the Ft Hood base in Texas before killing himself. 3. The March jobs number is 192k, falling short of the 200k expected. Unemployment unchanged at 6.7%. 4. Will the searchers ever find that lost Malaysian Airlines jet?
Thursday/ snowy day
It’s April, but we had an inch or two of snow on the ground this morning, and snow flurries while walking to the office. We always fret a little when the weather is bad on Thursdays, because it could impact our flights back home. We have people from Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Seattle (moi) and even New York, working on the project.
Wednesday/ the bears are out
I have a nice view from my Hilton Garden Inn hotel room this week, looking out on the Colorado Convention Center with its blue bear (looking in). It’s spring, and there’s been reports of bears roaming around in the ‘burbs in California, looking for food. Colorado has an estimated 15,000 black bears.
In the distance is the Pepsi Center, home for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association, the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (yes.. didn’t know there was a National Lacrosse League here in the USA, now did you?) .
Tuesday/ Watercourse restaurant
We had dinner tonight at the Watercourse restaurant : a place that serves up tasty vegetarian & vegan food on 17th Ave in Denver. I had a stir-fried Thai pasta with tofu .. quite good, actually.
Monday/ to Denver
It’s Monday, and it’s the already end of March in 2014. Time flies !
Sunday/ stay some more! (or not).
Here’s what happens when you stay at the same hotel 3 or 4 nights every week : you become a ‘Diamond’ member in six months or so. (Or ‘Platinum’ – it depends on the hotel chain). The membership cards arrived in quick succession from the Hilton, each promising more exciting travel experiences. Or the frequent traveler can get an upgrade to a nicer room, or stay for a few more free nights at any property of the hotel. I see Conde Nast says there was a major program devaluation in March, so Hilton points don’t go nearly as far as they used to. Oh well. So there’s a little less of a free thing. And if you travel year-round, the nicest vacation is staying put right at home.