Summer

Bye bye summer

Security in a digital world

Got a chance to hear the author for a bit on NPR. I'll have to go back
and hear the entire interview, there must a a podcast from All Things
Considered. Here is a link to his article on Wired.com

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/

Saturday

I had been meaning to visit the Ashland Coffee and Tea Company
 ( http://ashlandcoffeeandtea.com/  ) down in Ashland, VA and finally yesterday I did it! Lanny Fields  (  http://www.sixwatergrog.com/  ) one of the participants in the Blue and Grey (Lee's Retreat)
( http://www.blueandgraybrewingco.com/ ) Wednesday Jam session has been sending out reminders via email, and on Facebook, about the Old Timey and Celtic session held at Ashland Coffee. This Saturday was kind of a rainy day and a perfect day to do chores, but why do that when you can hang out and hear great music, so that is what I did! I was delighted to see perhaps three dozen cyclists, in their funny shorts and shoes, using the cafe as a refreshment and relief station when I arrived. The coffee shop is just perfect, with sofas and a mini library. The back room is quite large with a music stage. Sadly, not many people came just to listen to the jam, but there were plenty of great musicians. Lanny was on banjo, and several fiddlers and guitarists were playing, and to my surprise, two had autoharps. One guy even whipped out the Jaw Harp (or Jew's Harp). I'm glad I was able to make the trip, and I even saw a guy that I'm always bumping into in the Fredericksburg coffee shops http://www.hyperionespresso.com/ , so this place is known outside of my little Mayberry. Very cool.

Later I had a chance to see a benefit concert by AON (http://www.aonband.com/fr_home.cfm ), down in Warrenton, to benefit Sparrow's Nest. http://www.sparrowsrest.org/ AON's banjoist, Jeff, belongs to the Methodist congregation ( http://www.bethelumc.com/  ) out in Warrenton, and his son Nathan Krauss is an Eagle Scout candidate. He is building benches to seat 80 people at the farm Sparrow's Rest is developing. The non-profit organization helps get older kids in the foster system to develop independent living skills and work on their emotions and behaviors, with equine therapy. My cousin Jack out in Kansas City, Missouri volunteer his time with equine therapy. Nathan's monetary goal was very nearly met with the concert, and he has all the permits lined up for the construction. It sounds like a very worthy cause. Anything that contributes to young children breaking out of a cycle of dependence, and becoming employable and productive is a benefit. According to the information given at the concert, too many kids drop out of school and never even achieve a GED. With society having scarce jobs for college graduates, what is the future if you don't even have a GED? Public assistance, living in hotels, depression, drug addiction, not much hope. This organization seems like a real winner.

I took lots of videos and pictures of AON, as one of their members is returning to his home country of Chile, and I want to have something to remember him by. When I get time, I've got to string them into a little concert film and transfer it to a DVD.

After the concert, we had a short pint at a local Irish pub and got home just in time to have some salmon at an El Salvadoran restaurant. After that, I enjoyed part of a Korean film on Netflix about cyborgs. The film was set in 2077 and was very well done technically. Unfortunately couldn't keep my eyes open to watch all the cool action and read the subtitles, so I'll have to finish that film later.

Dad is 90!

Almost time for my Dad's 90th birthday party! He is several days into his 90's now! We expect lots of friends and family for the party! I might give a testimonial or show a home movie. I left the accordion at home.

Hot hot hot

Can we fast-forward to Autumn?

Stormy Weather

Purchased a movie (Pineapple Express) over Apple TV and was at a critical moment when "iTunes Store Temporarily Unavailable", which just goes to show owning a DVD might have an advantage over streaming video. It really didn't matter because it was indicative of the forceful storm approaching the 'Burg. Power soon began blinking on and off and the wind picked up. I descended to the laundry cubbie and assumed the position. The Verizon FiOS box kept beeping with it's battery backup kicking in. Eventually the lights went out completely. So much for emergency preparedness! Flashlight in the car, with dead batteries. Went to bed and still no power this morning. Dominion said it could be several days, which is awful because temps will be in the 100's today, at least. Thankfully the coffee shop has power and at least I can charge the cell phone. Time to see if the retailers have power. Might be time to shop and see a movie. Or play the drum kit, or the accordion, or the acoustic bass, or the bagpipes. The only power they require is my own.

Trailing to Patagonia: About Us

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