It’s been quite a week, which is why I’m posting this later in the week than I want. Anyway, the wife, the son, and I went apple picking this past weekend (the daughter was out of town or she would have come too). The weather was perfect, and the farm we typically visit was less crowded than we expected. We walked away with over 50 pounds of pumpkins and gourds, and over 20 pounds of apples! That’s actually fewer apples than we normally get. We’ll get through them all. Between snacks and baked apples for dessert … they’ll be gone in no time.
I was chatting with a coworker about the farm we go to and reminded that we have been to several different pick-your-own farms over the years (since my adult kids were wee little ones). Historically we would “discover” a farm that wasn’t overcrowded, visit it for a few years while noticing that it was getting more crowded each year, then hit a point where there were too many people and we’d search for another farm. This cycle has repeated a few times. We’ll probably hit our threshold on our current farm soon, but not yet!
Anyway, just a fun, family tradition. Our little family unit has several of them … and I love it. Next up is finding a good Octoberfest in the area to hit.
Stuff I’m Reading
I finished “Artificial Condition” by Martha Wells. It’s the second in the Murderbot Diaries series. Not only is the series great sci-fi, but they’re short, quick reads. Looks like there are six-ish books already published with more on the way. Very exciting!
I didn’t read many saved articles this week because homework. I’m also focusing on organizing and deleting articles now, rather than reading them first. But hey, if you want to know how to calculate the subnet mask of an IP address based on the CIDR … let me know.
What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.
Mother Teresa
Thing I Learned This Week
Ever heard of “Fly Geyser“? It’s a geyser in Nevada that first formed in 1916 when the landowner was trying to drill a well. The pocket of water turned out to be geothermally heated and near boiling. Since then, mineral deposits have formed a colorful cone which still spits water into the air. Apparently this geyser is “growing” more rapidly than any other in history. The inside of the mounds contain quartz, which typically takes about 10,000 years to grow within geysers. Crazy!
Security Tip of the Week
Keep your devices up-to-date. Check for patches and software updates regularly. Yes, even if you have “auto-update” turned on. The easiest way to gain access to a system is through a known exploit.
There was a report released just this week about a known exploit on older versions of iOS that allow your iPhone to be hacked remotely without you even knowing. And because it uses iMessage, you have no way of stopping the attack. Boom, scared into taking action yet?!
Modern operating systems are very easy to update:
- Windows: Start -> Settings -> Update & Security -> Windows Update
- Mac: Apple Menu -> System Preferences -> Software Update
- iOS: Settings -> General -> Software Update
- Android: Settings -> Software Update
Song of the Week
A little throwback to the 80s … and a nod to Fall and Oktoberfest
This post has been day 41 of #100DaysToOffload