10 Thoughts for August 7, 2014

1. Did I mention that I won a GoPro Hero3+ Black edition?  Lucked out, from years of playing Daniel Terdiman's Picture of the Day Challenge.  It arrived Tuesday by FedEx, and I got to work figuring out how to open up the package -- yes, it requires work.  I got it charging, and reading the quick-start instructions, realized that I didn't have a Class-10 microSDHC card to use, and none came with it.  Luckily, I found a great deal for a 32GB card for $15 with free shipping.  It's supposed to arrive today so, this weekend I'll be GoPro-ing.
2. Oh, I also added this Cuisinart blender for $30 from Newegg, too (used the coupon to get the $30 price) to replace my oldish, difficult to keep clean Black and Decker blender that I threw out, earlier this year.  No rebate applications to mail in.
3. This chart of nut popularity is amusing to me, because it reflects nearly the opposite of my preferences.  My order of highest-to-lowest preference for nuts: Macadamia, Hazelnut, Pecan, Pistachio, Almond, Peanut, Walnut.  I know that Walnuts are prized for their woody flavor, but I feel as though I'm eating bark.
4. Photos from ESA's Rosetta, of comet 67P.  The close-up images stand in stark contrast to the far-away images that implied the surface of comet 67P was relatively smooth, with pock marks from incoming debris.  When you look at the pictures, remember that the comet is about 4km / 2.5 mi wide.
5. Stupid: Media telling people to change their passwords because 1.2B unique credentials / passwords were stolen.  Why it's stupid: Because these were stolen from several hundred thousand unpatched websites using an SQL injection.  Like the Heartbleed Bug, so long as websites remain vulnerable, any new password can be stolen again and again and again and...etc.  You're wasting your time if you rush to change your passwords, ahead of servers getting patched, if ever.
6. By the way, I'm really angry at both the NYT and Hold Security, for holding back the list of compromised servers and/or the list of user credentials that were compromised.  One of the best means to fight back against bad security / break-ins, is transparency.  Instead, the NYT was primarily focused on getting the scoop and not about helping consumers. 
7. Just saw the first of the Koch advocacy (anti-Merkley) ads in Portland -- advocating for balanced budgets.  Hilarious stuff, because as we all well know by now, Republicans enjoy arguing in the abstract, but can't seem to square away with the specifics.  Balanced budget?  You know who else advocated a balanced budget?  Herbert Hoover.  We all know how that ended.
8. Within 1700 miles of Hawaii, there are three hurricanes.  Genevieve is tracking upward like former hurricane Iki and Iniki did, but far west of the islands and moving away.  Iselle, within 24 hours of reaching land, is now projected to hit Hilo as a hurricane -- instead of weakening it has slightly increased strength.  Hmm...I recall warning people online not to assume that it would dissipate to a tropical storm as was projected.  Even though they live on Oahu, I told my parents to go shopping for emergency supplies (like duct / duck tape) on Monday, to avoid the rush that has now come, and shelves gone empty.  BTW, have you been to Hilo?  Much of it is under 30' elevation from sea level.  It's not just the water surge, but the sewer surge coming up from the pipes.  It's going to be really bad for Hilo.
9. It's called the Italian Triple-Dip, and it's not a good thing.  Yet another casualty of a unified currency in over two dozen countries.
10. Putin's answer to the west's sanctions?  Ban imports.  Did you hear that sound?  American and EU consumers just let out a little cheer at the thought of lower food prices -- food, after all, has to go somewhere.  Sure, I know that this means lower profit margins for American and EU companies, but you know who's suffering the most: Russians.  Stagflation could very well be in the near future.