Digital Choke Daynotes

 Monday, July 11, 2005       mail    link   the story

Vacation and family reunions over, back to work today.

The Hellewell Family Reunion started last Thursday at our cabin in Baxter (CA). We have a large family. I am #7 of 10 children, and there are 33 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren, with more on the way. (Two more great grandchildren pending, and one grandchild just got engaged.)

Although not all were there, we had quite a crowd. And it was quite fun.

The cabin was built in 1937. It's a two-story log cabin, pine planked interior. The kitchen, living/dining area, and one bedroom downstairs. Upstairs are three bedrooms, each with room for two double beds. Not everyone got to stay inside, though. There were several family tents outside.

The cabin is built on a slight hill, and there is a large deck area around two sides of the cabin. A small bathroom is at one corner of the deck, along with a small shower. But with all the people there, and the facilities on a septic tank system, we always get a couple of portable outhouses during the reunion.

Although the cabin is quite near the freeway (I-80), there are lots of tall pine trees and undergrowth. A small creek is downhill from the cabin, so that's a popular place for the kids (and brings back many memories for me).

Our water supply is underground springs. In fact, if you buy Arrowhead branded water in Northern California, chances are that the water is from the underground springs around the cabin property. So the water is quite tasty, cold, and clean, and one of the favorite things about the cabin.

One of the traditions are the Hellewell Family Olympics and Games. Not the traditional fare, except for us. Most contests are grouped by ages, so all get to participate.

We have doughnut on a string eating contest (hang bite-size donuts from a string, get on your knees, and eat the donut without using your hands. Powdered donuts work best, because to win, you not only have to eat the donut, you have to whistle to win.

There is also the balloon-on-a-string contest. Blow up a small balloon, attach a string, and attach the string to your ankle. Then try to stomp/pop other's balloons, without getting yours stomped. Last balloon left wins.

Then there is the cherry-seed spitting contest. Best distance wins. And the water balloon toss. And the balsa-wood airplane-flying contest.

All contests are accompanied by loud laughter, encouraging yells, and great fun is had by all.

In addition to the contest, there is good food, much visiting, playing in the dirt, hikes with Grandma, throwing rocks in the creek, and trips to the pool in Dutch Flat, roasting marshmallows in the evening, and snacking between meals. For the adults, a Texas Hold-Em Poker Tournament. Announcements about new pregnancies, and an engagement announcement.

In the evenings, quizzes about unique facts about everyone (mine was "Who installed the original water heater for the cabin 30 years ago"). The under-12 group get to tell short jokes (some are quite good), or short funny skits. Talents are shared (family singing), and some history about the cabin and relatives are shared.

All of this goes on for three days, and ended on Saturday. Hugs for everyone, and promises to attend again at the next one in 2007.

 Wednesday, July 13, 2005       mail    link   the story

Yesterday was "Patch Tuesday", but not only Microsoft came out with three critical patches. There were also patches from Apple, Sun, Oracle, and the Firefox gang.

Mozilla Firefox 1.0.5 released (for Windows, Linux, Mac), quoting:
" Firefox 1.0.5 is a security update that is part of our ongoing program to provide a safe Internet experience for our customers. We recommend that all users upgrade to this latest version."
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/releases/1.0.5.html

If you use FireFox, the patches fix some "extremely critical" vulns in prior versions. And there are exploits out there for most of the problems.

Of course, all of you have already got your Microsoft patches via Automatic Updates (even the Office patches, if you've upgraded to the new Microsoft Update).

A good place to get a summary of all the patches is at the Internet Storm Center (a daily stop in my Internet rounds).

So ... update ... update ... update .

"What I tell you three times is true..."

And, if you need some extra money, you can become a 'mule' ... see the story here. The saga is quite common; this one happened just up the road from here.

And the Wall Street Journal had an article on their front page: "As Identity Theft Moves Online, Crime Rings Mimic Big Business". WSJ stories are subscriber-only, but one result of a Google for "Douglas Harvard" goes here, which you might find interesting.

And then there is "Google Earth", a fascinating way to waste time ...