Snow @ Home, 06 February 2017

We have just had a very good snowing; accumulation to roughly 8.5" according to Cindy's little plastic ruler.

Snowfall began last evening, piled up further during the night, and although the air temperature is not particularly low at present (36° F. at noon), it is again snowing lightly even as the trees shed what they had been holding.

Winter wonderland!

<https://goo.gl/photos/5YQCHNiSbM5L45yu6>

Mark_

Yurts in WA State Parks (pix)

We recently "camped" in Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, a few miles nearer the Cascade foothills than our home is.  While there, we saw that a pair of their yurts was grouped at the end of a long, double-wide, RV place.  We inquired, and were told that we might be able to have two trailers on the gravel _and_ two non-RVing, ordinarily-tenting, friends occupying the yurts.

Such an arrangement could make for a nice outing.

Pix of the yurts:
<https://goo.gl/photos/UJxgbJMfxpymiDFT8>

Mark_

How to reply to an e-mail message: a kindness

When replying to an e-mail message, it is a common practice to insert your comments after the quoted material to which a comment pertains.  It might look something like this (depending upon the mail client being used)

| This would be a received comment, as quoted into
| a _reply_.  It might be only a few lines long, or it
| could contain multiple paragraphs.  Some mailers
| use a "> " at the left margin.  The recipient of
| your mail does not know which your mailer is
| showing to you.

And _this_ material would be a replied comment,
inserted after the material to which it pertains; it
will not be "marked" in any way.

However:

Inserting comments is not always appropriate, and on small screens it might seem somewhat inconvenient.  In the event that quoting material back to the originator is not needed for clarity, it is a kindness to remove it before hitting <send>--especially if pictures are involved.  Image files are quite large, and when they are replied back to the sender, they then reside on his hard drive twice.

Recipients whose hard drives are nearly full will thank you.


Update 24 March--one more thing:  Many/most/all of our mobiles (celephones, etc.) append "Sent from my iPhone" or etc. to outgoing mails.  You never see it, but we do.

It can be disabled more or less immediately after your acquisition of the device; see its Preferences for the setting that can turn it off.

Thanks.


Mark_
25 January 2017
Day 6 of the new Dark Ages: _"Idiocracy" Live_.

Beethoven Rumba

[EDITED; material added 26 January 2017]

A friend sent us this link a few days ago; I enjoyed the music so much that I looked around for more by the performer (composer), Joachim Horsley.
(All such music should be heard via headphones, earbuds, etc.; this is worth the little extra effort.)

• <"Beethoven In Havana" (7th Symphony, mv. 2 Rumba)> 

• <"Psycho" Theme on Piano with Knives - YouTube> Note the color palette of the video.

• <"Flight of the Bumblebee" (piano, 4 hands, with drums)> 

• Vocal with piano: <"Trains Passing" - Official video - Joachim Horsley> 

• <https://www.youtube.com/user/LittleHorseDotNet> 

• <http://www.joachimhorsley.com> 

• <http://www.littlehorsemusic.com/> 

• <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1804090/> 

Mark_ 

10 January 2017

The Old NBC Network Chimes

This is a very interesting short program about the trademark NBC network chimes: G E C:
<https://www.20k.org/episodes-1/2016/10/31/2p162x32dmuidfce3zkfvfi5x3wefg>

More information:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_chimes>

The chimes worked into a swing-band number by Paul Whiteman, "The Announcer Blues":
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgrQSRvOczU>


NBC used another, lesser-known sound mark that was associated with one of its news and information programs: "Monitor".  This is also quite an interesting story about the formative steps in creating mass broadcast media.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_(NBC_Radio)>

I recall the "Monitor Beacon" sound as both creepy and suggestive of something futuristic.  I recognize many of the names associated with the program, but I cannot say that I recall the programming itself, which declined and then ceased in 1975, the year of my graduation from college.
The "Beacon" sound: <http://monitorbeacon.net/sounds/Monitor_Beacon.mp3>.
Have a look at these lists of on-air "communicators":
- <http://monitorbeacon.net/nbc-monitor/monitors-communicators/>
- <http://monitorbeacon.net/nbc-monitor/monitors-history/> Hosts and guests, and the creation of the Beacon sound.

Mark_
09 January 2017

Winter Driving Kits

Here is what I carry in my cars for improving the winter driving experience:

• { Dri-Z-Air, calcium chloride: <www.drizair.com/faqs.html>. 

• { Road Salt: <http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2014/02/best-ice-melts/index.htm>. 

• Fred Meyer: <https://www.fredmeyer.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?searchTerm=driveway+de-icer&urlRequestType=Base&productId=4275850&catalogId=10551>.  This is, I believe, considerably less costly than the same substance @ Dri-Z-Air (same form--little globular pellets of various sizes).

• For traction, the cat-box litter I carry in my cars was extremely inexpensive @ Dollar Tree (which may be the only such store chain where literally everything costs only a single dollar per item/package)  <https://www.dollartree.com/Soft-Paw-Clumping-Cat-Litter-7-lb-Bags/p297608/index.pro>.  The very nice wide-mouth plastic container-with-cap in which I carry it came from there, too.  

Also in the car at all times:

• Hand warmers (air activated; disposable) <http://www.sears.com/only-hot-hand-warmer/p-00655664000P>.  

I also own a couple of the reusable _supersaturated solution_ kind.  These are _phase-change_ systems; they liberate heat as the substance in the plastic envelope turns from clear liquid to cloudy solid.  Recharge: Return to the stored-heat liquid phase in a pan of boiling water.  Fairly amazing.  

I intend to investigate the charcoal type, too.

(Or, DIY: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDNFLHzPIJA>; this one is not _phase change_, so is not rechargeable.

• Warm gloves.

• Silver "space" blankets (2): Keep warm, or dry, or clean. 

• Cheap rubber-faced "gardening" gloves <http://www.harborfreight.com/nylon-knit-gloves-with-nitrile-palms-medium-66375.html>.  These may not keep hands dry as such (because the backs are fabric), but they will prevent the worst of soiling.  In addition, gloved hands are generally both stronger and grippier--and so in a couple of ways _safer_--than ungloved hands.

• Cheap retro-reflective safety vest <http://www.harborfreight.com/reflective-safety-vest-x-large-94700.html>. 

• Flashlight: Human-powered doesn't need batteries, but also is awkward or impossible when both hands are needed for tasks; carry both this and a battery torch? 

Human-powered torches are of three types:

  - Shaker: Inefficient; slow to charge its battery; requires only one hand.

  - Crank: Efficient & fast charging of its battery, but requires both hands.

  - Squeeze-lever: Some of these light only while being operated; requires only one hand, which can tire.

  - (Solar: An appealing solution, but once it has died, it really is dead for the night; these are useful only for helping in finding your _real_ torch.)

• Hand sanitizer.

• Zip-closure bags, light- and heavy-duty (car-sickness, messy garbage or trash, etc.).

• Paper towels (because checking or pouring oil can be messy).

I also carry a dining kit:

• Paper towels.

• Cheap flatware, including a sharp metal knife.

• Paper plates.

• Soda straws (bendy); because drinking from a big-mouth water bottle can be difficult or dangerous while under way.

• The above is stored in a plastic enclosure with cover, as suitable for transporting a sheet cake; both halves can be used as trays for snacking in the car.  Also from Dollar Tree.  (No, the driver would absolutely NOT do what some may be envisioning right now!)

Finally, because I am a big fan of visibility (conspicuity): 

• I have added retro-reflective tape to my truck and trailer, and I have been thinking about how to do so to Cindy's car without causing either (a) mirth, or (b) disgust.  

• European cars often have bright red foul-weather lights on their (left) rears (often beneath the bumper); Cindy's has this (high, instead of low).  I am considering how to add such to my truck and trailer; I have had a couple of experiences with very dense fog--and I didn't like it at all.

There is a large amount of good advice online, too.

Mark_ 

08 January 2017

Reminder: "Spear Phishing" (Warning)

I post this as a timely reminder that an e-mailed convenience can be used to compromise your online accounts.  The technique is referred to as "spear phishing"; it works like this:

You receive an e-mail message informing you of the need to go change your password, and a convenient link to the necessary settings page is provided right on the message.  This link goes not to where you are being told it does, but to a lookalike page that delivers your information to the criminals.

The safe solution is simple: Take the alert seriously--don't even bother considering the other alternative.  However, use the links you should have entered into your own address book software for that institution or web service.  In this way, you use your IQ to divert _bad luck_ away from yourself (and, alas, toward other people).

I wrote "timely" because this is apparently the technique that got [someone] into Democratic e-mails during the period before the 2016 presidential election.  

• New York Times <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/06/us/russian-hack-evidence.html> 

• Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing> 

I have said this before:  Most of us have lived our entire lives in neighborhoods (both our domiciles and our retail and other business activities) in places where criminal activity was more a matter of news reportage than of experience.  Now the criminality--the actual threats--come(s) right into our homes.

Welcome to the constantly-connected future.

Mark_

06 January 2017 (a date that still seems like it belongs to The Future)