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Acoustic, naturally

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

It’s a mug shot from Australia in the ’20s, but it should be an album cover. I think he’d be a singer/songwriter, very thoughtful.

And should the patient’s family get a discount?

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

A review of a book by a Buddhist writer finding the ideal (unknowing) spiritual teacher in the woman with Alzheimer’s she cares for made me wonder: is it ethical to gain enlightenment from a spiritual teacher who isn’t aware of or able to consent to teaching you?

Half a loaf

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

Premise: (nearly) every time I provide an email address for an organization to reach me, it is customized for them: if I deal with Ford, they will send me mail at ford@[this domain]. This lets me see who has sold my address on to someone else.
Aside: apparently almost nobody sells email addresses anymore, as virtually all the spam that folks attempt to send me is directed to addresses I foolishly allowed to be published in my naïve youth. As a result, if you want me to get mail and you use my favorite address to reach me, you’d better be on my whitelist.
Story:
Last week (I think it was), I received spam that wanted me to go to what I believe is a malware-infect{ed,ing} site. That spam was sent to an address I had provided to what I believe is a conscientious organization, so I was disappointed that their security had (apparently) been breached.
Today, I received email from that organization stating that one of their email service providers (Epsilon) had had “an unauthorized entry into [their] computer system,” and apologizing for the inconvenience. The break-in has been reported elsewhere. The thing that was missing from the apology was any indication how I might change my email address with them, as I would (barely) rather change my address than just turn off the compromised address. Even an “if you wish to remove your address from our mailing list …” would have been nice (practically de rigueur, for that matter, considering virtually every piece of mail to a list is expected to have information regarding opting out). Also of note: the apology email was sent via Epsilon. I hope the organization got a good rate for it.

It wakes you up

Friday, April 1st, 2011

A recipe for Orange Juice Surprise:
Shake the orange juice jug to mix the juice, find out that the lid is on less securely than you thought it was. Surprise!

What’s the best kind of trap? Camera trap!

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

A nifty collection of camera-trap images of wildlife from Smithsonian. How do you know they’re the full unedited collection? Ocelot balls.

What you always suspected

Friday, March 11th, 2011

A weekly email from a restaurant rating web page tells me about “last minute openings” in reservations. After several months, I suspect that all restaurants have available tables at all times they are open. Because I don’t live in New York.

Say Anything

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

How you may not use ATT’s Create-a-Code:

You may not use or allow others to use the Service, directly or indirectly through your Device or wireless number, nor upload, distribute, transmit, communicate, link to, publish or access any Content through, using or otherwise in connection with the Service, that: Is a commercial product or service, advertises or promotes a commercial product or service, or allows, solicits, or facilitates the sale or purchase of a product or service.

Kickboxing remains the sport of the future.

Kotatsu Cat Party

Saturday, March 5th, 2011

Maru has fun under the Kotatsu, and the linked Wikipedia entry indicates that “However, cats frequently sleep under kotatsu and are small enough to fit completely underneath.” I would think the average kitty would try to remain in the convenient heated cave as much as possible. If you had multiple cats, you might not get to use it yourself.

Perhaps not funny ha-ha

Monday, February 7th, 2011

I’m browsing through a collection of historic photos of prisoners on McNeil Island, 1875-1906 (through Ancestry Library Edition). The prisoners are photographed in pairs, probably to save on film, but it leads to each picture looking like a solemn portrait of a pair of friends or a promotional picture of an unfortunate comedy duo.

An FP musical first

Monday, January 24th, 2011

Please enjoy a delightful song of my own composition, written on the occasion of testing that Audacity installed on a work laptop actually worked.