CNet raises an interesting problem: what happens if you die without telling anyone your passwords? It could be a real problem for your heirs:
"He did not keep a hard copy address book. I think everything was online," said [San Francisco poet William] Talcott's daughter, Julie Talcott-Fuller. "There were people he knew that I haven't been able to contact. It's been very hard."
"Yahoo (his e-mail provider) said it wouldn't give out the information due to privacy laws, but my dad is dead so I don't understand that," she said.
One solution is to use a secure password storage facility, like Bruce Schneier's Password Safe, and then put the master password in trusted escrow like a safe-deposit box or your attorney's office. Of course, you'll have to keep up with this, because you'll change your master password at least every three months, right?
Today is Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. Observant Jews will spend the day in shul, but of course they will have to walk there since it's a high holiday. Humor, however, is permitted. Therefore, if you're Jewish, today you can pun but you can't ride.
The Cubs did, in fact, win yesterday, but so did the Pirates, which ensured the Cubs would end at the bottom of the National League with 96 losses. That's one shy of the number of seasons the Cubs have played since their last World Series win in 1908. Management hasn't yet fired Dusty Baker—that should come this afternoon—but I believe this was his last trip back from the mound as Cubs manager:
But this is always a gratifying sight, even if it really didn't matter much:
And hey, they did win a game in October. That doesn't happen very often.
Until next year, I guess.
Two-for-one today. First, yesterday Parker had some play time with our downstairs neighbor's dog Jackson. All of us, including our neighbors, hope they play together more often, because both dogs were tuckered out and slept like angels the rest of the day.
This photo shows Parker before he figured out that he outweighs Jackson 3:2:
Earlier yesterday Parker visited my office. Does he look guilty to you? He does to me. But maybe that's just wishful thinking. Note how far he had to travel to get something that he should have been chewing:
Today is the Apple Cider Century, which I am not riding today because of the late unpleasantness. At this writing (noon in Three Oaks, Mich.), it's 15°C (59°F) with light West winds and nary a cloud to be found. Perfect riding weather.
Sigh.
Tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be beautiful as well. Tomorrow morning I meet with my surgeon for my post-op follow-up, and perhaps he'll declare me fit enought to ride again. If so, I'll at least get to spin a little on the last warm day of the year.
A friend of mine who works for Tribune Co. invited me to today's Cubs game.
It's going to be pretty intense. The Cubs have fought valiantly since mid-May for their rightful place in the National League Central division, and it all hangs on today's results. At this moment the Cubs are where they want to be. But if the Cubs can pull it out today, and if the Pirates lose, then the Cubs will have failed to win the bottom slot in the league.
Yes, seeing that big "E" next to the Cubs' entry for the past two months has really made baseball come alive in Chicago, but you have to admit: 96 losses in a season is impressive. Not as impressive as the Royals' clean century, but still impressive. Today could be loss #97, which is only one fewer than the number of years since they last won the World Series.
I'll have photos of the game, and another Daily Parker, tomorrow.
He knows he's being bad. He just can't help it.
Anne found this really cool link to a live webcam pointed at an African watering hole. Or maybe it's CSPAN, given the number of baboons on display.
Our fur-covered pirhana sometimes attacks objects by category, like yesterday's "things that oppress the puppy" spree:
(The second photo shows a carabiner that we attach to his leash on which we've clipped a small Maglite and a roll of plastic bags.)
Last week, my puppy Parker chewed through a laptop power cord. The fortunate part of this was that he munched on the DC lead, causing the laptop to shut down immediately when it detected the short. Had he gotten through the AC lead it might have been a lot worse.
In due course I ordered a new adapter from Dell. In my haste I ordered the wrong adapter, which I didn't realize until I opened the package. So I got in touch with Dell by email to request an RMA and shipping instructions.
Here's the great customer service part. Even though it was my fault that I got the wrong adapter, they're sending me a pre-paid UPS shipping label and eating the shipping costs. When I wrote back to customer service to say, no, really, my fault, I'm happy to pay for the shipping, I got this reply:
Dear Mr. Braverman:
Thank you for your reply.
I understand that you have placed the order for the wrong item erroneously however, please be informed that the pick is already scheduled with ups carrier and the tracking number is also generated.
I request you to wait until the carrier comes and picks up the package. I am elated to serve an esteemed customer like you and customer satisfaction is our main priority and I assure you it is our hope that you have a positive experience with our company in future also.
Mr. Braverman, I hope this takes care of your concern, please feel free to contact me for any additional support.
Thank you for choosing Dell.
Respectfully,
Shemochi_K
Customer Care Specialist
ABU Customer eCare
Dell Inc.
I am so happy to have such an elated customer-service rep. That just doesn't happen every day. It does, however, show why I buy from Dell.
