Welcome
- December 6, 2025
- Happy Birthday Steven Wright
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Steven Wright's humor has always struck me right where the laughter is ...
Steven Alexander Wright was born December 6, 1955 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Lucille "Dolly" Lomano and Alexander K Wright.
He is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and film producer.
He has a presentation which smacks of lethargy which has actually become a trademark of his.
His deadpan delivery includes irony, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jokes, various rhetorical plays on words, as well as a plethora of one liners alluding to contrived situations.
Life is a bitch ... and then you die.
Wright has ranked high in the annals of comedy with accolades from the Oscar through the Emmy.
Steven Wright
On the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
I have enjoyed his career immensely and today is his Birthday.
See Also:
Staycation Winding Down
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- December 5, 2025
- Repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933
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I stoppped drinking some 30 years back. It was a decision to cease and desist with all recreational drugs and this included tobacco, cigarettes and cigars, marijuana, pharmaceuticals, and of course alcohol. The consequences of this were not NEARLY as severe as I thought they would be.
I pretty much went cold turkey and never had the desire to resume any of it from that time forward. I have always been surprised to hear others speak of their difficulties putting these things down.
The United States went through a period called "prohibition" where the consuming of non medicinal alcohol was forbidden.
As always the crooks had all the liquor they could imbibe and the stupid government was unable to curtail anything toward that end effectively.
The 21st Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933. This repealed 18th Amendment and ended nationwide Prohibition of alcohol and the governmental incompetence associated with it. This amendment was ratified by state conventions, not state legislatures, and the final state to ratify it was Utah. President Franklin D Roosevelt was the Chief Executive so he proclaimed the 18th Amendment repealed on the day of ratification.
Prohibition appears to have done nothing except cause problems and further promote backward thinking among the voters.
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- December 4, 2025
- National Sock Day 2025
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I recall the day that I was told I was "diabetic". I thought it was the end of the world.
In the vernacular, my condition is formally known as "metabolic syndrome X" which has the exact same ICDM code as diabetes mellitus so no distinction is made between the two conditions because medical people are basically stupid.
One of those things I practice as the result of the findings imposed upon me is the wearing of white socks which I change daily and sometimes more often. This is in conjuction with regular diabetic foot care by a professional.
My hope is not to lose my feet as I have seen others with "diabetes" suffer.
Today is National Sock Day. It is observed since 2016 under the auspices National Day Calendar and Pair of Thieves. to recognize that socks are important to the warmth and padding needed for a diabetic to protect their feet from the trauma imposed by walking and moving about.
There are other aspects others find important but these are not significant in light of my personal needs.
I enjoy my feet and intend to keep them. The white ankle length socks I consistently wear go a long way toward that end as do the deep knee bends I do for circulation.
Happy National Sock Day.
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- December 3, 2025
- National Roof Over Your Head Day 2025
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I recall the day my mother requested permission to build her house in my front yard. Though the request certainly took me back — there was no way I would decline this request.
She had a deed for half of the acreage the next day. Today she dwells in her home, which I respectfully refer to as "Casa Beatrice" and she seems quite content to be there still.
Today is National Roof Over Your Head Day.
Today is a day to think of the homeless. The winter months mark extra difficulty for those without a place to call home. A warm place with running water and peace and quiet.
It is a day to be thankful for having a home. It happens each December 3rd in an effort to create awareness regarding homelessness in the nation. HUD reports that figures from January 2024 revealed an estimated 771,480 homeless citizens at that time.
Being homeless affects everyone. It crosses all racial and ethnic boundaries with some segments of the population being particularly vulnerable such as military veterans, persons with disabilities, families with children, and those who have experienced domestic violence or trauma.
While the complexities of homelessness make it a formidable socioeconomic problem with which to cope the coordinated efforts of government agencies, non profit organizations and the private sector can go far in the provision of help to those in need.
When my mother made a request to live here it was a serious consideration on my part. She has access to assistance when she needs it and all the technology she can utilize on demand. The day she moved in she had 150 megabits of wireless, a 50 inch color television, blueray player, Roku streaming device, and an intel NUC computer fit for a demanding engineer. Her computing needs are comparatively modest.
I hope your mother has similar success with your assets should the need arise. My parents were there for me when I was a child. As an adult I am always happy to be there for my remaining parent. Love crosses any and all boundaries thought to be insurmountable.
Happy National Roof Over Your Head Day.
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- December 2, 2025
- Jonathan Frid RIP
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When I was a kid at Key West I was interested in shooting movies. We would doodie up and play various horror genre entries for a few rolls and all in all it was quite a hoot. My friend the late Chris Gagnon was quite the talented makeup and theatrical guy and I was enthralled by all the rigamarole he incorporated into our productions.
Some of my fondest childhood memories arise from these times.
We typically watched a soap opera of that time called "Dark Shadows" because it was a vampire werewolf witch offering with professional production standards and we were both fans of Jonathan Frid, who portrayed Barnabas Collins, the vampire owner of Collinswood, the estate where the main cast lived.
Oh to go back to those days, see Chris again, and indulge those childhood fantasies once more. Alas, it will never happen.
John Herbert "Jonathan" Frid was born December 2, 1924 at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and died April 14, 2012 at Hamilton, Ontario as the consequences of a fall. He was a Canadian actor, known for having played the aforementioned role of vampire Barnabas Collins on the gothic television soap opera Dark Shadows.
Today is his birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven.
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- December 1, 2025
- Advent 2025
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If you are fairly spiritual or religious, you may embark on a period of reflection and meditation during the month of December.
That period beginning with December 1st is important in the awareness of the lives of we who worship the One True God.
Some of us mark the beginning of the Advent season which is that period of preparation, reflection and religious interactions leading up to Christmas.
Other cultures may view it as the start of winter and a time to reflect on the year just past.
The celebration of Advent is seasonal in most Christian denominations as a time of spiritual consciousness and awaiting both the birth and return of Christ at His second coming. It all begins on the 4th Sunday prior to Christmas aka Advent Sunday. It ends on Christmas Eve. It is a time for spiritual reflection.
The first Sunday of Avent represents Hope. The second Sunday of Avent represents Peace. The third Sunday of Avent represents Joy. The fourth Sunday of Avent represents Love.
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- November 30, 2025
- Computer Security Day 2025
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When you operate a server cluster on an internet node security is a fact of life. I recall my first encounter with people trying to gain undue access and how it caused a gut reaction to prevent all such activity in the future.
Thusly, I became somewhat of an expert in countermeasures and firewalls and now if I choose to exclude you this is what will be. Knowing a little scripting will help things utilize automation so everything doesn't have to be some manual operation.
Today is Computer Security Day.
It goes down yearly each November 30 in an effort to raise public awareness about using computers safely and protecting them from threats.
People are urged to take steps to secure their personal information, such as strong password implementations and multifactor authentication.
I personally find multifactor authentication abhorrent.
So the aim is protecting data systems, networks, and information from theft, damage, and unauthorized access.
To maintain computer security, you should use strong passwords, keep software updated, install antivirus software, and be cautious of phishing scams, suspicious attachments, and public WiFi. This being said I keep wondering why people continually attempt to access my
wireless node when it's a known threat.
Goals are protection, confidentiality, integrity, availability of data.
Utilizing strong passwords, current software revisions, and antivirus packages and awareness of social engineering threats like phishing, malware, and sufficient protected wifi and adequate backups all go far toward maintaining computer security.
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- November 29, 2025
- Modern Blogging and the 21st Century Man
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These days I'm blogging on a platform of my own design which has undergone quite a few tweaks here and there. Nothing too Earth shattering but enough to continually change the presentation to my liking. I typically go for a shorter blog entry and it is my usual policy to include a sketch for illustrative purposes. Sometimes I place a scanned image instead. Sketch or scan, I really just leave it at that along with the verbiage I consider appropriate as I am not going to agonize over the content nor the presentation.
That's why I maintain my css implementation. Tags come. Tags go. Tags evolve.
Quite remotely, this shorter entry thing may be in part due to my abhorrence for the so-called "Microsoft" key on too many keyboards.
I detest all things Microsoft for a long time now. I utilize a mechanical keyboard these days in pursuit of efficient keying.
The beauty of using your own blog platform installation and server are many and include that modicum of control you simply can't get from some high school harry working at Wordpress or Blogger or some other canned multiuser site.
Here, I say what is and is not.
There, they have the final say.
Not having ANY of them spouting off to me.
It has been my experience that Wordpress is the last word in exploits online as well. Even when it's on your own server and public facing network. Perhaps they have improved since those days I mistakenly trusted them — but I would find that hard to believe. Also, I'm not one of these seo would be expert fakers seeking google approval of everything I do, either. As a matter of fact I routinely firewall Google's spiders from my content because they don't add a thing worthwhile and Google likes to envision themselves as this master censor of the world as well.
You may take Mr Sundar Pichai and his entire organization then shove them up your ass sideways if it proves to your liking.
I've been approached regarding interviews and the occasional sketch file request. I've even had requests for bloggers wanting to do a guest post. I respectfully decline all interviews but you can get a sketch file from me if I still have the original and you're polite. I typically am the only one who posts here by design. After all, it is blogofdave.com ...
So happy blogging and if you can get here that means you are not firewalled.
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- November 28, 2025
- Happy Birthday Alan Ritchson
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Alan Ritchson was born lan Michael Ritchson in Grand Forks, North Dakota on November 28, 1982.
He is a military brat and therefore was subjected to frequent relocations in accordance with his father's career.
He is an actor, producer, and director and — as far as I am concerned — most importantly the lead role in Reacher.
He has other roles but none that struck me quite like the one of Jack Reacher.
Others have played the part but none of those left me totally awe struck like that of Ritchson's portrayal.
In the television program he portrays one of the hardest hitting most powerful good guy action heroes of my lifetime.
He is also a singer and song writer so I pretty much feel he can handle anything thrown at him on the artistic front.
This is no ordinary man and today is his birthday.
Happy birthday to you !
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- November 27, 2025
- Happy Thanksgiving 2025
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The Thanksgiving holiday commemorates the harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. It is now held in the US on the fourth Thursday in November.
The day became a national holiday in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday during the Civil War.
This was mostly due to the efforts of writer and activist Sarah Josepha Hale, who also authored the poem "Mary had a little lamb" in 1829 which was published in her book, Poems for Our Children.
Let us give thanks.
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- November 26, 2025
- Thanksgiving Eve 2025
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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.
Today there are a multitude of meal preparations and holiday festivities in the planning. Mom and I will travel to Rebecca's house down Platt Springs Road to indulge in a Thanksgiving feast. It will be good to see all of the children again. I don't get enough company of the children these days.
So like that turkey which hasn't second guessed it's fate I remain content to view the world from my position in life and get on with it as I may.
I hope you have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow !
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- November 25, 2025
- Changes due to my Urban Existence
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Time was I took my trash to the local pickup point on some remote intersection and that was that. Nowadays I have to conform to the city's requirements for this.
It includes a recycle container as well as a trash one and there is a schedule published appertaining to the ins and outs of moving the waste and recycle product in a predictable and efficient manner.
As in keeping with all of this I will change the pickup day to Wednesday in lieu of the Thursday usual in the name of observing Thanksgiving.
This requires checking the city schedule for such events as they occur — and this pops up around major holidays on an infrequent basis.
So rather than the open and casual dumping of the trash I have to get all formal in the name of being the good citizen in the modern American urban jungle.
In accordance with these requirements I will comply as I do and have done for as long as my feeble mind can remember anymore. Thirty years in the city will do this to you regardless of how countrified you may have once been.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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- November 25, 2025
- National Parfait Day 2025
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One of those delicious things I partake of infrequently is the parfait.
Indeed my first taste was one of those indulgences I could have never imagined. It was a fresh strawberry shortcake layered with whipped cream and was oh so tempting that I thought about the flavors a good while afterward.
The parfait originates in France and it's native meaning is ‘perfect’. It has a number of variants but is mostly a semi-frozen dessert served in a tall glass which dates back to the late 18th century.
Over the years it has been reimagined as a layered dessert served in a clear glass.
In France, it is made with ingredients that may include sugar, syrup, eggs, and cream. Though it is a dessert, parfait may or may not be sweet. It has a custard-like texture, and it must be stirred while freezing to get the texture.
Today is National Parfait Day.
It is held each November 25 marking an item available as a breakfast, lunch, snack or dessert served up in layers. So get on out there and serve some of this exquisite dish to those you find most worthy.
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- November 24, 2025
- FTP Servers and Exploitation
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Yes, I keep reading the logs of multihomed escapades enacted by those who would breach my FTP server in the name of conquest and lo ...
They are simply not cracking the (rather extensive and specific) rule set in place to protect the assets of those authorized to utilize this service.
You cannot gain access to a resource which requires both an account as well as specific access permissions just because you see it out there. Yeah, the port is open. YOU are the problem.
Also, there is specific and essential control accessibility only available from a console keyboard.
Yet, here I get these copious log entries of little hacker dudes (and possibly dudettes) trying to cross my patio daddy-o without adequate credentials. And to think I went to all this trouble to lock things down. I sometimes feel as though others truly believe I am as stupid as they are. Nice try, but no.
Stop trying to hack a resource which is not for you. It's very unbecoming of a technical type individual. It looks especially bad in light of the rights, permissions, and specific subnet entry specifications required of your attempts. Or ...
Come back when you have attained sufficient rights and permissions to gain access and we'll see how you fare.
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