Kringle Con

 

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Truly the best time is here, SANS Holiday Hack Challenge is back and baby and it's cold outside so time to put on another log on the fire and probably inspect a few logs in the game.  Santa and his elves need some help again and this time we are going tropical.  

Come sail away to the islands and learn from the best in this interactive and fun challenge.

https://2023.holidayhackchallenge.com/invite

BTW - Alphabetically this post is out of order but I'm breaking the rules and jumping back into my yearly challenge. But KQL is involved, so maybe I'll add another meme here later

Update - originally I titled this Holiday Hack, but then it came to me ... Change the title to Kringle Con for alphabetical consistency... And add another meme for good measure

Jinx

Wow it's almost December! I jinxed myself this year, planned too much and now the end of the year looks bleak.  My energy levels are low, body aches everywhere, could be arthritis/probably going part crazy. Winter hasn't really set in yet but it is around the corner so maybe that's contributing too. I may just be old and wise enough now to detect weather changes in my hip. Time to regroup though, being jinxed is never easy to recover from, especially when you jinx yourself. But this is the thing about being jinxed in general, some times it's about finding a way to detect it before it happens to not let it continue to happen, because it will.  

When I say jinx I mean I had a goal that was well within reach, but somehow still managed to fall short on. It's been slipping over several weeks and rather than dig in and catch up I chose the easy route and "went easy on myself". Sure I'm fat and happy most of the time, but life would have been so much easier if I did this, this, and this. There's also the side quests I call hobbies. I do believe in investing in hobbies, but have to be careful not to get too invested in several hobbies at once. Well at least that's the hope, but I'm a sucker for an interesting idea and also have the attention span of a mosquito sometimes. Home projects always take longer than expected but like the sucker I am, I always think I can get it done quicker this time. So take vitamins, try to exercise even a little every day, and prepare a bug out bag for when times are tough. That way if the death comes knocking the Grim Reaper will have to try harder to catch me first.

Keep warm and stay motivated people, I hope you get to work on a fun project. Life's got it's ups and downs but there are ways to make things better, sometimes we have to look in unexpected places. 

El Matto

Ideas

 

Ideas, sometimes you have them sometimes you have none. I fell into that category lately, this week was
busy, no time for planning we are shooting from the hip today.  All week I struggled for ideas for this post and it happens to be the letter 'I' week anyway... so it only makes sense this weeks topic is about ideas and how some of the best one form randomly.

Although it was busy, I did have a fantastic week.  I managed to get out in the woods last weekend with some good pals to cut up a big old fallen log.  I had to cobble together some old door parts to make a locking handle for our new house mate.  I also had an inspiring moment after looking at the giant log I brought home and decided it was perfect time to take apart an old electric lawnmower to use the base of it as a log hauling cart. It's been sitting in the garage for years collecting dust and it worked well so I'll probably end up modifying it for some off road hauling in the woods.  Been jamming lots lately too, trying to get myself ready to eventually perform some open mic sessions.  The hardest part is getting up onstage, it's mostly nerves, and even if you know how to play folks like me tend to blank out at first, just have to ease into it. I've been on stages in the past so probably will be more worry than actual problems so I'll keep at it because it's fun.  Still have some bathroom renos to work on but I chip away at things slowly.

Here's what 15 minutes of inspiration got me this week, I want to add larger wheels, some straps and maybe an electric motor assist to get up larger inclines. That's a longer range goal but I do have a motor from this lawnmower still kicking around.... Hope you all find some inspiring ideas too, until next week, keep it tidy!

Halloween Hacks

It was Halloween this week and the weather made it extra nice for trick or treaters. Why not setup some Wi-Fi monitoring to help keep watch for visitors.  It's not an exact science to me, but my thinking was open kismet and monitor for devices. Well that's what I expected, it's a bit more complicated than that in practice, and I'm trying to stick to having fun, so let's just talk about some mean tricks to play on trick or treaters.   

Trick #1: We had an abundance of candy this year so the kids got spoiled rotten, but what if next year we don't?  Well you can always leave a sign outside that says "Please take one, Happy Halloween!!!"  along with a big old empty bowl! Trick or treaters will be mad at whoever emptied the dish and more likely to intervene if they see someone taking more than one candy elsewhere. Win win for the parents out there I say.

Trick #2: We have this Halloween skull door knocker that plays an audio clip and lights up it's eyes when you pull the knocker, but more often than not it self activates when we opened the door.  Lot's of fun, much less evil than the last trick.

Trick #3: ... I'm out of tricks Halloween past now, this week has been busy. I got leftover candy for Halloween, maybe I should save it for next year? hehe that's too evil, I'd forget and eat it anyway

I'm already a day over my usual Monday deadline to post so lets end this mess of a post with some words of encouragement:

"Not every day will you be your best, but you can always try again tomorrow, for it's the ups and downs in life that make it all worthwhile."

I just made that up right now, but I think I owe a lot of it to stuff I've heard others say so it's not too random. Until next time, keep your chin up so you can always see what's ahead!

Pet Grooming 101

 

 I live with a lot of pets so early on my wife and I purchased a dog grooming kit from a pet store. I figured I might be good at it because I had a background in cattle grooming through 4-H when I was younger so why not give it a whirl.  Previous experiences with grooming cattle taught me to be patient with animals, and I'd never been kicked before so I am pretty fearless. 

Our dog is a mixed breed doodle and generally very calm anyway so I had good luck trimming him.  We also have three cats, but only one in particular that's very fluffy and in need of an occasional hair cut. It usually goes well but sometimes he's temperamental.  Over the years I've gotten better at hiding the mistakes from when they move too quick, but often there's no more than a patch or two where I cut too much off. The embarrassment in poor old fluff's face when he comes in from another trimming...  He used to bite and claw a lot, but he gets so matted up it's pure relief when he gets a good buzz cut. 

Cat's aren't much different to trim only they scratch way more, so it's best to wear gloves and sturdy clothes.   Beware the hind legs that come out of no where and try to scar your thighs. It's better if you are careful and just go slow so the cat relaxes a little. It's not perfect advice so don't go too slow either, act fast when they are calm and you can accomplish a lot quickly. It's a power move for bellies, some cat's will dig in here, but if the mats are coming free they usually relent.  Keep a cool head and watch for biting, kicking, scratching and you'll do just fine

So that sums up my level of amateur expertise, I tend to look to the experts for real tips. Here's some tips I nabbed from the Internets (thanks My Pet & I blog - top search result presented on google)

 Seven tips for grooming your dog at home:

    Regularly brush your dog's coat to prevent matting.
    Trim your dog's hair – but use caution.
    Safely trim your dog's nails.
    Check your dog's skin as you groom.
    Teach your dog to enjoy grooming sessions.
    Regularly check your dog's ears.
    Don't bathe your dog too often.

All good tips, except I usually forget to do the first one as often as we should. Live and learn, until next time, keep it fashionable!

Football is hard

Having a son that plays football has taught me a lot about dedication, sportsmanship, and willingness to go all in for the team.  It amazes me because when I was a teen I  wasn't really interested in team sports. I much preferred doing things like biking, building, and running wild and free in the country.  I got into music and joined a garage band with some friends, but we never really took it too serious.  Football on the other hand requires a boatload of dedication. Early morning weightlifting and video review sessions, after school practice, games every week or two, and many bumps and bruises to heal from in between. It's amazing to see the level of dedication from the coaches and referees to family, classmates, and friends who show up to watch, coordinate, or volunteer. Beyond anything else there;s so much that goes on during the game that requires skill full thinking and improvisation.  Having different perspectives from the sidelines vs the dynamic out on the field on cheers, boos, calls made by refs, and the split second decisions made by the coaches and team mates, it's a complicated yet beautiful mess.  

The team didn't win many games this year, but they played amazing in spite of various player injuries, some arguably bad calls, and other slip ups. They played hard right down to the last second every game. Even this last game, after a penalty called in the final seconds, as they got a touchdown that inevitably didn't count, it feels like the ref just pulled the rug out from under them. You have to wonder how he feels about it too, perhaps he stands by it due to his perspective on the field or personal experiences, perhaps he thinks he made a mistake but it's too late to change his mind. Who knows, he made a call in a game, and sometimes luck isn't in your favor. Maybe it was meant to give the team a rest to heal up, grow stronger, and get right back to it. With training camps and off season leagues, it's never really over if you are dedicated enough. I hope some day I can feel that dedicated about a sport, but for now, family and too many hobbies are my jam.

Until next time, appreciate each other and don't work too hard! Or do work hard, but enjoy every moment.

Emulation Nation

 

Emulation is defined as "the effort to match or surpass a person or achievement, typically by imitation." In the computing world it's a slightly different explanation "reproduction of the function or action of a different computer, software system, etc." 

For the purpose of making society better, maybe it comes down to these two rules

If you are human: emulate good behaviour so others will emulate good behaviour too.

If you're a computer: emulate a better computer so other computers may emulate better computers (or video game consoles)

What else should we emulate to make the world better for those around us?

Success? Sympathy? Compassion? Empathy? Love? Loyalty? Fairness?