Early Risers.

[newbryford]

HB to Mrs' GDB and Baz.

Cooling thoughts for Aditi

 

Hockey hasn't happened as Junior and myself were "distracted" by a major flood at Mrs NB's work. Blocked drain backing up into one of the restaurant areas.............

I have a pump that was well received and a quick run to the local Screwfix yielded another

By the time the waters receded, we theoretically could have made it for halfway through the first period provided that the M6 and wet weather behaved.

Discretion is the better part of valour (and fuel economy....) and match updates will be maintained via a Facebook feed.

 

F1 highlights being watched, as well as keeping an eye on the match update. End of P2 and 3-2 down

(Typing in an ad break of the F1)

 

And about an hour ago, I had a phonecall to tell me that this season's  team shirt was ready to pick up at the ice arena.

Junior has been dispatched.............

 

Mudelling later in preparation to take the yellow peril to Wigan next weekend.

 

Probably catch up again later.

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

[New Haven Neil]

HB to the two celebrating ladies, and healing thoughts to the injured third.

 

Meal out last night was nice, Jayne in good form which was nice to see - the eats ruined my blood sugar though, but you can't be good all the time. OK again today.

 

Role reversal here, sunny most of the day after a very wet night!  Made a couple of foot bridges from an old aluminium ladders and some planks for Debs' field archery club - there are a couple of gullies that have caused issues...…#splash.   Her new bow isn't 'run in' (or whatever they do with them) yet, it looks fearsome but I suppose they are weapons, even if used for fun not fight.  Her tutor recently became veteran world champion so the guidance is from a good source. 

 

Heljan 05 dismantled to fit decoder - both Lenz 21 pin jobs I had were duff, one programmed OK but had no motor drive, the other was completely dead.  Never had that before with Lenz.  So it's still in bits.  That may save me from the awl. May.

 

 

[Gwiwer]

22 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

From a probability perspective it does, but any system that allows unlimited password retries is a piece of sh!it that should no longer be in use, IMHO .  For instance, my bank kicks me out after three failed attempts (don't ask me how I know).

 

I always use obscure user ID's for sensitive sites like banks. I never use anything as obvious as first initial plus surname. Unfortunately some institutions muck that up by accepting an email address as a user ID.

I need to have something I can remember without writing it down.  There are issues with using one password for all places.  Not all have the same requirements particularly now that some sites require a "special character".  I had though I might have been special enough but no  

 

When I was office-based the business systems required a change every four weeks.  IT became so overloaded every Monday morning with calls from locked-out colleagues that they insisted on contact via email and refused to answer the phones.  But I'm locked out of my email ........ d'oh!

 

Those same systems also did not require a complete change.  Whilst one could not use consecutive digits nor re-use a password within 13 resets (more or less a year) one could use "Rick01 followed by "Rick02" and so on.  Which is what most of us did.  

 

I use combinations I can easily remember for various personal reasons such as former (but never current) staff ID numbers.  I generally update the lot by going through my keychain every three months or so but some antisocial media sites seem to require random resets if I have logged in from an unfamiliar device.  That's all good security I guess but it does get my personal system a little out of kilter.  Special symbols?  It's surprising how many sites will not accept the hashtag as one of them.  

 

Tis time to flatten the uniform ahead of a return to the House of Fun in the morning.  It's been good to have the week off though not as much was achieved as hoped for.  Largely on account of the weather but also on account of a desire to just stay in bed at times.  

 

Best wishes to all.  I'll see you tomorrow.

[AndyID]

13 hours ago, JohnDMJ said:

 

To whom can I give my fingerprint?

 

You don't need to. From the NY Times,

 

 "New findings published Monday by researchers at New York University and Michigan State University suggest that smartphones can easily be fooled by fake fingerprints digitally composed of many common features found in human prints. In computer simulations, the researchers from the universities were able to develop a set of artificial “MasterPrints” that could match real prints similar to those used by phones as much as 65 percent of the time. "

[AndyID]

Gratings from Pacific Northwet. And it is wet, and cold too. We've had some slow rain and some fast snow but it's just rain now.

 

Looking at the traffic cameras in Montana I'm glad I'm not there. Blowing snow on a lot of the roads up near Glacier but they are at rather high elevations.

 

I've not let Shona take me for a walk yet and she's not a happy camper. I'm going to take her out now but strangely MrsID has declined an invitation to join us.

 

Ski jacket and balaclava me thinks.

[Ozexpatriate]

13 hours ago, JohnDMJ said:

To whom can I give my fingerprint?

It's a staple of action movies for the limp (or severed) extremities of an incapacitated "baddies" be used to access biometric locks.

 

23 minutes ago, AndyID said:

"New findings published Monday by researchers at New York University and Michigan State University suggest that smartphones can easily be fooled by fake fingerprints digitally composed of many common features found in human prints. In computer simulations, the researchers from the universities were able to develop a set of artificial “MasterPrints” that could match real prints similar to those used by phones as much as 65 percent of the time. "

I'm not surprised. Unfortunately it is more incentive for those who want everyone to be chipped with RFID tags.

 

I am required to use a passcode to unlock my 'phone. I might be able to disable that come Tuesday.

[Ozexpatriate]

18 minutes ago, AndyID said:

We've had some slow rain and some fast snow but it's just rain now.

September seems too soon for snow at your location - but I suspect that October is not.

 

Here, there was evidently rain overnight. It is now cool (8°C) with a heavy overcast but it has not rained since I surfaced. The next couple of days are supposed to be dry and cooler than average.

 

In other weather news, Hurricane Lorenzo may hit the Azores on Tuesday. It is interesting that blizzards in Montana and category 4, Atlantic hurricanes can exist concurrently. Hurricane season ends on November 30.

 

Edited September 29, 2019 by Ozexpatriate

[tigerburnie]

Early start for tomorrow, so I'll wish you all G'night

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The umbrella is still in my back garden. I went out to inspect it earlier and its broken. This is the third time said umbrella has appeared in my garden and I have returned it to its owners twice. This time I'm leaving it where it is. All they have to do is fold the thing up to stop it being blown away.

[PhilJ W]

Hurricane Lorenzo is causing problems for our weathermen. Normally today we have a long range (5 day) forecast on the Countryfile program. Tonight they said that they could not predict with any accuracy beyond Wednesday. This is because its not possible to predict the course Lorenzo will take after it hits the Azores. If it tracks north to the west of Ireland it will draw up warmer air across the British Isles which will give us relatively warm weather with the odd shower. If it tracks east up the English Channel we'll have very strong winds and a lot of rain as will northern France.

[laurenceb]

Birthday greetings to Mrs Baz & Mrs GDB

Hope Aditi is feeling better

Night awl

[Dave Hunt]

Back from last night's party somewhat later than planned. It was an excellent affair and everyone kept dry (ish) as the preparations had involved a marquee and rather than our planned midnightish departure we finally got home in the small hours. Hence the time available for sleep before the Wales/Oz game was limited but it was well worthwhile getting up to watch it. Well done the reds! Then back to some well deserved eyelid inspection followed by a muddling session. Thus visits to ERs have been on hold for a while and I've only just seen the announcements concerning our birthday ladies so belated good wishes to Mrs Baz and Mrs GDB together with commiserations to Beth (no, not just for being married to Jamie) and Aditi.

 

Nothing to add to discussions on Flu vaccinations or ASCII codes as I haven't yet been invited to have one and it's too long since I learned about the other.

 

Have a good night one and all.

 

Dave

Edited September 29, 2019 by Dave Hunt

[brianusa]

Having read the troubles and turmoil of those back home, flooding, bustitution, etc, its the lonely expats turn.  The weather report has already been mentioned and it seems to be normal for this time of year.  In spite of being a comparably large area the PNW enjoys a similar weather pattern for its various regions.

     In regard to passwords etc, surely by this time a suitable alternative could be employed.  As we age the likelihood of forgetting them all increases especially as they get more demanding.  I have tried everything from neatly typed up lists to scraps of paper, but the worst is when your current password that's been used for ages is mysteriously no longer recognised.  Then you have to reset which means another password to remember

    Considering the number of household electronics in this day and age, surely one secure simple password could do for all; after all, its not 'rocket science' although its sometimes feels like it to some of us.

      Brian

[Coombe Barton]

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/09/29/sandys-treatment-day-285/

[Coombe Barton]

Thirty or more years ago, when card in keyboard authentication was in its infancy, had occasion to go to a secure government site to try to interest them. The NHS now has this, but it was under development then. The guy we'd come to see said something like "We don't need this, we change the passwords every three days."

My colleague leaned over to a monitor on one of the desks we were passing, pulled a post-it from underneath the monitor held it up, and said "So is this the current password?"

[Tony_S]

3 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/09/29/sandys-treatment-day-285/

Not quite telepathy but Aditi’s penultimate college used to run a course called Pastoral Counselling. The course was described as being for vicars etc to,get some formal accreditation for their pastoral care work. It would appear that not everyone read the description. There were a few enquiries that clearly indicated some people thought it was something to do with sheep. 

[Barry O]

Garden now awash. Flippin rain. Mega chuckeditdarn all day. Even the ducks are fed up with it.

 

Had a busy day so early night required.

Goodnight awl!

Baz

[Tony_S]

The Charente is the subject of an “ooh how lovely “ in the property section of our newspaper today. Jamie and Beth may have more neighbours soon if readers follow the advice. 

[Stubby47]

Re John's on-screen moth and using technology...

 

I recently went in our local shop to pick up milk & a paper, got a £10 note out and waved it at the card scanner...

[newbryford]

13 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Re John's on-screen moth and using technology...

 

I recently went in our local shop to pick up milk & a paper, got a £10 note out and waved it at the card scanner...

 

Some of today's "yoof" has little knowledge of what a tenner looks like.

 

99p hamburger - contactless card.......

[laurenceb]

16 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Re John's on-screen moth and using technology...

 

I recently went in our local shop to pick up milk & a paper, got a £10 note out and waved it at the card scanner...

If only

[Stubby47]

A question on The Chase the other evening: "At what rpm speed did a 7" record normally revolve?"

The answer given: 6.

Brad was chuckling to himself...

[JohnDMJ]

12 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

A question on The Chase the other evening: "At what rpm speed did a 7" record normally revolve?"

The answer given: 6.

Brad was chuckling to himself...

 

I'd have said about 4 to 5!

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

The weather here in the northwest has continued to rain, only stopping about 5 o’clock this evening. However, I’ve had quite a productive day in the cellar today. Work has concentrated on the pullout drawer that will live under the stairs. All the parts have now been cut and the base, the back and both sides have been fixed onto the base, the front has been cut, but as yet is not fixed. This will be fixed in place when the drawer runners are fitted. This will then mean I can adjust the front to ensure that it doesn’t catch on any part of the framework or stairs. I’ve also cut a fascia board that will cover the bottom of the support framework.

 

On the subject of passwords, like others have mentioned, before I retired, the company system meant we had to change our password every 30 days, so my solution for a password was the the Day and Date (eg Monday30) on which I changed my password, I would then put a cross in my diary on that date! For home I have a crib sheet with various hints such as, old clock number, old pay numbers, old car reg numbers, make, models etc. 

 

Goodnight all 

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

My colleague leaned over to a monitor on one of the desks we were passing, pulled a post-it from underneath the monitor held it up, and said "So is this the current password?"

Some things never change. A colleague told me a story of a large aerospace company where employees habitually tape their credentials underneath the telephone on their desk.

 

With all the strong passwords, two factor authentication, and smart cards (with a numeric pin) that need to be plugged into a computer to access websites, it is no wonder people resort to this sort of thing.

 

Currently for my job I need a pin for my mobile telephone, a two-factor authentication application on my mobile telephone, an eight digit pin for my smart card, and two sets of strong passwords for network access (with different user IDs) that need to change every 90 days. (These can be the same, if you remember to update both of them, but one of them is needed only infrequently.)

 

Edited September 29, 2019 by Ozexpatriate