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- April 12, 2017
- J Geils RIP
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Since I enlisted in the Navy, one of my favorite musical groups has always been the J. Geils Band. Beginning in the brass section during his education, he formed the J Geils Band which had influences based on rhythm and blues, soul, and rock.
John Warren "J" Geils Jr
February 20, 1946 – April 11, 2017
American guitarist
Founder, J Geils Band
They enjoyed good commercial success early on but various conflicts and tensions caused their break up in 1985. Their commercially successful music included the albums Love Stinks, Freeze Frame with the song Centerfold ... and my personal favorite of all times Monkey Island with it's piano riff for the ages.
It was at this time there was a hiatus whereby Geils immersed himself in auto racing and mechanical pursuits.
In 1982, he relocated to Groton, Massachusetts. The town celebrated him — proclaiming J. Geils Day on December 1, 2009 in his honor.
Yesterday, the Groton Police conducted a well-being check on him finding him unresponsive at his home. At the age of 71 he was pronounced dead from natural causes.
Rest in peace.
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- April 12, 2017
- Another Staycation
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So I have commenced a week of off time I call my staycation ... you know, because I don't really get to go anywhere. This leaves me with the options of putzing around in the yard and vegging out in front of the teevee ... of which I plan to do both.
Today I'm headed over to Mom's to address a couple of things she wants to get done. We may have to run the lawn tractor given the wooly appearance of her yard that sprouts up before we know it.
Seriously, not much going on here and the time is already flying. I'll be back at work before I know it !
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- April 11, 2017
- Kelihos botnet Targeted
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I often find myself ridiculed by others who would scoff at my rather draconian security measures compared to many others out there who don't even bother to learn their firewall implementations and exploit countermeasures because they don't want to limit access to the public domain.
Well, I have often said that the internet has evolved into a very unfriendly place with others out there attempting to hijack your equipment and purpose it to do their bidding in the form of exploits they attempt to plant on any unsuspecting server farm.
One such exploit is the Kelihos botnet.
The Feds are after this massive botnet which has been responsible for millions of annual spam emails sent internationally with the arrest in Spain of one Peter Yuryevich Levashov, 36, a Russian who allegedly was it's operational kingpin with activity spanning the past seven or so years.
A global network of malware infected Windoze machines spamming adverts for counterfeit pharmaceuticals and fraudulent stock offers as well as stolen password lists lead to the action which consisted of court orders and a multiple jurisdictional search warrant obtained by the US which permitted replacement of infected servers with others controlled by the federal authorities.
So when you read of exploits and malware taking out a friend or coworker you might want to reconsider your position on security and the public facing server. Too many of us are pretty naive when it comes to security and the stakes can be quite high from a personal investment in time and funds perspective.
I would hate to incur the down time associated from a reinstall, restore from backup, and reconfigure ... if I can avoid the need.
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- April 10, 2017
- Siblings Day
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I have three siblings; two brothers and one sister.
None of us are very close although my sister tries really hard and my eldest brother makes the attempt. My youngest brother not only does not socialize with me but has gone out of his way to harm me in the past.
This leaves me somewhat ambivalent regarding sibling relationships and certainly any celebration of siblings in general.
Today is such a celebration. Siblings Day, aka "National" Siblings Day is some what of a newer holiday honoring the relationships of siblings. It recurs each tenth of April but lacks the national status of a Father's Day or Mother's Day.
It is my understanding that many states issue proclamations recognizing Sibligs Day and that the movement in the United States is becoming one of International scope with obvservations now spreading to Australia and India.
Regardless, Happy Siblings Day to you !
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- April 9, 2017
- How I wish I cared about Star Wars ...
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Star Wars. The movie. I saw it when I was in the Navy and yes I enjoyed it on the big screen. However, I never "became one" with it, the characters, the force or any part of it, really.
So when the sequels and prequels started rolling out I rather half heartedly look at a few of the offerings but don't really recall watching any of them from start to finish.
Being a worker in technology you'd be surprised (or perhaps not) at how many of my cohorts just think it's blasphemy not to love Star Wars.
I'm so sorry, but there's only a so much Tusken Raider, or Jar Jar Binks, or even Yoda or Obiwan I can take and the stark reality is I simply became bored with it early on and passively resisted anything Star Wars from it's beginnings in 1977 through the 2017 Jedi mess currently making the rounds. Perhaps I just became R2D2ed out.
The tragic loss of Carrie Fisher is not lost on me.
That pivotal cast member who can no longer be part of the dramatis personae is relegated to the holographic existence of Michael Jackson, Biggie Smalls, and Tupac Shakur ... as well as pre-existing takes.
So I am left feeling such the outsider ... like some elderly Simon Birch who has just killed Rebecca Wenteworth with a fly foul ball. All I can do is say "I'm sorry".
Though I can appreciate the immensity of the work and the intricacy of the plot and superb development of the characters — I just don't want to go there in reality.
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- April 8, 2017
- Retail Seems to be Going Away
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Looking over Bloomberg this morning I read an article regarding the rapid decline of retail in America.
Commission - Sanone - Building as a mirror
by Thiridian on Deviant Art
It seems that the bulk of online growth is being acquired by Amazon.
Other online and even brick and mortar establishments are filing bankruptcy as a casualty of the internet retail presence represented by the big box ecommerce concerns.
I have been noticing the absence of tenants in several of the local malls with the predominant shopping venues being Walmart and other discount houses ... only Walmart isn't the low price mecca it once was in my opnion.
Then there is the closure of innumerable chain store locations in addition to the cobwebs where some of my local favorite tech outlets once were.
Alas, we keep buying our tech from China and wondering why they are taking over the world.
I keep wondering why I can't buy a pair of shoes anywhere but online anymore. I go into Walmart and they have nothing that isn't at least two sizes too small.
We are asking for it and we will soon get it ... that universal lack of choices resulting from those monopolies we make.
There doesn't appear to be a lot of concern either based on my interaction with cohorts and acquaintances.
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- April 7, 2017
- The BrickerBots are coming ...
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As if things couldn't get worse on the internet, there is a new malware called BrickerBot out to turn your IoT devices into "bricks" much like the cold clay varieties used to build barbeque pits, walls, and the like.
This malware ruins some linux based routers by corrupting their storage mechanisms and scrambling the kernel (hardware control) parameters rendering the device totally unusuable.
The problem lay primarily in the unsecured device on the public domain. Being the security freak I am I ensure that there is good password implementation and ALWAYS turn off remote management in all my routing hardware up front.
However, I know those who leave the factory default passwords in place and are vulnerable to this exploit.
This crap was detected by the cyber-security firm Radware and seems to be targeting a Linux distro called BusyBox which provides a stripped down version of Unix based tools at the disposal of the creeps who would have their way with you.
The two varieties of this malware are BrickerBot.1 and BrickerBot.2 with their goal being permanent denial of service. I intend to double up on my security vigilance when new hardware goes online.
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- April 6, 2017
- Tartan Day
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As a part of my Scottish heritage today I celebrate Tartan Day. This marks the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath c. 1320.
This was a Latin document submitted to Pope Pope John XXII declaring Scotland a sovereign state with the right to use military force if attacked.
Locally, a celebration called Tartan Day South is held at the Columbia Speedway in Cayce, SC.
This event has just transpired and consisted of games, speakers, and various shows held at venues in and around the city.
As for me, I celebrate in spirit but I'm afraid my days of engaging in the rather robust games of strength the celebration entails is rather beyond me at this stage of the game.
I wear the tartan of the Johnston clan.
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- April 5, 2017
- Lessons from Oskar Schindler
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I just got through watching Schindler's List yet again. I know I must have seen it three or four times previously; and it's quite the lengthy drama ... but I watch it for those lessons it has provided me. Each time I learn a little more from it.
Oskar Schindler was a member of the Nazi party who spent his own considerable fortune saving a group of Jews from certain death at the hands of those working the Nazi concentration camps.
Afterward, having fled as a criminal his works during the war were chronicled and he was declared "Righteous Among the Nations" for saving some 1200 doomed people who otherwise would have certainly been murdered.
He lies in repose upon Mount Zion and holds the distinction of being the only member of the Nazi party to be interred there.
When I think of all he did and all that which I have done I am left feeling ashamed for my occasional utter lack of humanity. Unfortunately, having gotten my attitudes and predilections honestly as the results of how and where I was educated I fear that this remains all I know and therefore ... remains part of me.
It is what it is and I am what I am. In that clarity of retrospect I am afforded a fleeting glimpse at what I've done right and what I've done wrong and where I went wrong and why.
Few gain those insights of self awareness I've come to know in my travels upon the Earth. I think it's a function of advancing age and witness of the characteristics of those succeeding generations in my midst. My only issue remains my resistance to forgiveness on several fronts. It seems I neither want any nor find myself inclined to give it freely as I should.
That unworthy streak with which I contend is at once an honest attempt to be who I am — yet still I contemporaneously counter those forces which would drag me into the pit with each and every breath.
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- April 4, 2017
- US broadband privacy rules repealed
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I admit to being somewhat dismayed at the repeal of the broadband privacy rules adopted by the FCC last October whereby ISPs were charged with the protection of customer privacy instead of the websites accessed by their customers such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, etc.
Those rules were still pending and would have required consumer consent prior to the provision of geolocation, financials, health data, children information, and browser history for advertising and marketing.
Now inasmuch as I can selectively block advertising and scoff at the whiny sites that complain that I have an "ad blocker" when I don't ... I am also of the persuasion that more privacy is better.
This has been countered by the administration which contends that the Obama rules repealed woutld have unfairly given websites the ability to harvest more data than ISPs.
I see more anonymous proxies and add blocking in my future. Those sites which choose to deny me access can simply do so and be damned. I'm not one of these facebook addicts and other twits who cannot stand not to be online telling everything they (think they) know to anyone who happens to venture by.
Those who cannot implement anonymous proxies and block sites that collect ads for the ISPs and websites will fall prey to these dreaded "smart ads" so many encounter advertising search engine queries and stores nearby.
I remain on the fence regarding this particular repeal and will give the benefit of the doubt to the administration.
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- April 3, 2017
- Blast from my Past
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Back in the old days, you know, when I was actually a young man with hopes and dreams I worked with a number of what were at that time "cutting edge" examples of computing equipment.
Of those, The Osborne 1 hit the scene about in my third year working as a computer "professional" and was the first really successful example of portable microcomputing for the common person.
It had the characteristics of the old Compaq "luggable" like the tiny screen and dual floppy drives and was considerably less costly than my first IBM PC ... 1800$US compared to 5K$US for equally capable equipment !
It shipped with the CP/M operating system and a bundle of applications which made it exquisitely useful upon arrival and it represents a kinder, simpler time in technology with the cut throat nature of business only evolving with the success of Microsoft and their windoze product.
Alas, I found it to be rather quickly supplanted by the Kaypro which was a similar "cannister" configuration capped with a keyboard covering the drives and screen ... only the Kaypro's screen was larger (a FULL nine inches) and it was certainly a force with which to be reckoned with in those days when peripherals were the size of refrigerators and the bits were a mere 8 to 16.
Contrast this with the 64 and up we have today.
The Osborne 1 in all it's glory was unveiled to the world at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco on this day in 1981 and remains one of those hallmarks in the timeline of personal computing regardless of the trivial provisioning it possessed compared to nowadays.
It was a goodie and the portends of all the wonders to come back when coding was coding and not drag and drop "objects" in some IDE — monitors were large screen devices and not some LCD/LED thin film transistor monstrosity — and phones were not the primary computing devices owned by the masses who can't reallty fathom technological innovation unless it's something stolen from someone else and marketed as such.
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- April 2, 2017
- ICBD (International Children's Book Day)
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I've always had a love of books. I think my mom instilled that into me during my childhood when I devoured innumerable sets of encyclopedias from Golden Book, through Grollier's, and Funk and Wagnall's ...
and it all gave me an edge which has held me in good stead through now with my ability to work in highly technical environments with competence and productivity.
Today is International Children's Book Day.
It is marked annually and sponsored by sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People, an international nonprofit and celebrated on (or about) the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen and features various composition competitions, awards, and events featuring the authorship of literature for juveniles.
My personal favorite author from my childhood is Beverly Cleary who is a hundred years old and one of those pillars of my youth. She was born on April 12, 1916 and thus will be 101 in 11 days.
So if you haven't done so I invite you to share the gift of books with a child. I tried to do so with my nephews and nieces back when they were young and I believe it did favorably impact a couple of them.
Happy International Children's Book Day to you and yours !
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- April 1, 2017
- Whole Lot of Mess
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I have so much to do today that I will likely run out of day prior to running out of chores.
I have the Saturday clean up routine where I run the robot a couple of times and try to wipe things down and tidy up. I was left feeling pretty good about the ceiling fans that I cleaned up last weekend and this has inspired me to further the cause.
I need to blow off the roof. Leaves have collected in the hips ... but I need a tarp first to go over the HVAC compressor.
Need to mulch leaves in the yard for the 4th time this season. Every time I mulch them up more fall from the trees. They look better ground up and quasi-scattered by the lawn tractor.
Then there's the new camera array. I've decided that the two oldest cameras are going to be taken out of the mix. This drops the array from 11 sources to 9 ...
but the two cameras being removed are in excess of 10 years old and the picture quality is less than the new ones replacing them.
I took everything down and cleared the router and cam server last night so all is ready for the new provisioning.
I need to do my "weekend bed linens. I do love fresh sheets and pillow cases along with turned mattresses and today is the day.
Food has to be bought. Thursday evening was my final trip to Bi-Lo and I need to start getting food items elsewhere so I thought I might hit the Aldi's and perhaps make a run to Costco. They don't weigh down a customer with a lot of trivial nonsense in exchange for lower prices like Bi-Lo does.
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- March 31, 2017
- Camera Array Update Saturday
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For those of you with access, the camera array will be updated on Saturday bringing the 8 source configuration up to 11.
I anticipate the festivities running several hours at least and during this time the array will be down as I remove the old and provision the new ...
I like being able to check on the place in my absence and the motion detection of the new server has already paid for itself in HD video evidence.
So ... bear with me and please stand by as I make a few improvements.
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