Today Does Not Compute

-
This blog began almost six years ago as a way for me to chronicle my two major focuses at the time: running and information security. Once I changed jobs, I pretty much abandoned the security stuff. It’s too bad because if I’d stayed on top of things, I may have started my new year in better shape.

I fell for a phish scam targeting Hotmail users with a false email message supposedly from Microsoft regarding my email account. The funny thing is Internet Explorer tried to warn me but I overrode the safeguard. As a result, my Web-based account was wiped out and most of my past emails are now floating in the ether.

So what did I do on New Year’s Day?

I slept in.
I put away all holiday decorations.
I cleaned my house.
I caught up on laundry and ironing.
I visited family in Riverside County.
I talked to more family on the phone.
I enjoyed a distraction-free dinner with my husband.
I watched a lot of college football.

Like most people, I now live a great deal of my life online. If I’m not on a social network, I’m checking in elsewhere. It took a bunch of cybercriminals to make me realize I maybe devote too much of daily life to reading about it instead of actually experiencing it.

So this year things will be different. They have to be. Thanks to letting my guard down, I lost a lot of memory.

Popular posts from this blog

I Leave You With This

-
Image
There's this social media post some guy put up on Instagram. I almost scrolled past it, but I'm glad I didn't. It asked what question we should ask ourselves when we die. In retrospect, ChatGPT's response was basically pulling from Eastern philosophy, but, still, I couldn't stop thinking about it in the hours and days since I first heard it. Here's a partial transcript I cribbed using -- what else? -- AI. Some guy set up the prompt, which was long and convoluted. The following picks it up from there.  Some guy : I'm assuming most people would ask, 'Where am I going? What's next?' Something like that. Is that a good question?  ChatGPT : No, because they don't matter. Some guy : W hy don't they matter?  ChatGPT : If there's a heaven or hell or some next phase, you're likely already heading there. Asking won't change your destination. It's a wasted question.  Some guy : That's a good point. Um, what about 'Did I do en...
Read more

What's Your Slavery Footprint?

-
I just came across an app that immediately intrigued me because it brings awareness to something way too often overlooked in this country. It's called The Slavery Footprint , and I found out about it this morning courtesy of this post . Living in California, and traveling regularly through the Central Valley where a bulk of everyone's U.S.-bred fruits and nuts are produced, I became keenly aware of how poorly farmhands are treated in this country. I even blogged about it several years ago . Some of us tend to feel morally superior because of the foods and lifestyle choices we make. After taking this "test," perhaps that piety will recede a bit. After you take it, you can share your score if you wish. Personally, I'm embarrassed by mine.
Read more

Do Mom and Dad Make You Run?

-
I know of a lot of middle-aged running friends who are motivated by their parents to run. Their mother or father was in poor health for many years and it ultimately cost them their lives (or at least a higher quality of it), and so one reason they initially put on a pair of running shoes was to avoid the same fate. However, that's not the sort of parental connection outlined in a provacative post about the link between exercise and genetics in this morning's Daily Beast. It reflects a couple of scientific studies that show we may be genetically encoded to favor workouts. That means some of us will never enjoy exercising like others, nor will our children. If this is true, then those of us modeling good behaviors by eating well and exercising in moderation may merely be passing along the endorphin baton to those with our "exercise gene." And that might also explain why some parents who push their kids into sports end up disappointed that their child never "takes...
Read more