After 10 AM. Imagine the scene at 5 AM. Can you see my driveway? The road?

It has been a very foggy day here in west Michigan.  My day began early, which is not usual for me.  I was up before 5 AM and Sylvia rose shortly afterward.  A few minutes later, we were out the door, in the car and on the road to the airport.  Sylvia had an early flight to catch.  Our trip there and my return were an adventure.  Afterward, I checked on Sylvia’s flight status and all was “on time.”  I made a quick Facebook post and then got some more sleep before getting up to feed kitty, and brew some coffee for me.

A friend and neighbor had sent an e-mail expressing hope that Sylvia made her flight okay.  I sent an answer.  here is part of it:

You must have seen my Facebook post this morning.  It was a “hairy” drive in to the airport this morning.  Sylvia arrived there okay and [mostly] on time.  Her presence with me really helped on the way there.  The fog was much worse on the way home.  Shortly after I turned east on Nth St, I realized that I couldn’t see the buildings beside the road.  As I stopped for a traffic light, I prayed for a commuter to follow to the expressway.  There was one just in front of me, he didn’t take my entrance ramp, but he led me straight to it.  As I drove up the ramp, I prayed for another—preferably a truck—that I could follow to the my exit.  As I looked for traffic as I prepared to merge onto the expressway, my heart was lifted high when I saw a bulk hauler truck coming along beside of me.  My prayer: “Thank you Lord!”  Another vehicle slid in between us, which gave me not one but two guides going before me.  Half an hour later, they left me at my exit.  I made a right turn at the end of the exit ramp with a prayer for being able to see the next road when I got there.  At that point I could barely see the shoulder of the road through the dense fog.  I noticed a car ahead of me that was sitting sideways, and realized he was on the road at the stop sign waiting for me to go past him.  As I offered yet another prayer of thanks, two sets of approaching headlights appeared out of the gloom.  As they passed, their headlight illuminated the intersection even better, leaving no doubt where to make my turn.  As I arrived, they passed, and I made that turn.  Once again the fog closed in around me.  The headlights and fog lights cast a yellow brown tint on the vapor.  This in turn gave the feeling of driving down a single lane whose sides are flanked by gigantic fall trees that spread their autumnal canopy over the road.  I had the feeling that I was on a gently upward incline (even though I know the road is flat) and making a sweeping left turn (yes, I know the road is as straight as a taut string).  Then the dim glow of the light on the community center and the church sign began to appear through the fog.  I thought, “My turn must be about here.”  I began a cautious turn and yes, I was on the road where I live and on the correct side (right in the middle—don’t you love country living?).  My progress slowed to 15 mph because of poor visibility.  (About that time I realized the lack of painted lines on our gravel road can be a bit of a disadvantage.  It’s not just that I’ll never have a clean car for as long as I live here.)  Then the familiar sight of my mailbox appeared in dim and blurry outline.  I couldn’t see the driveway but as I turned, once again I could see that I was “in the middle of my sweet spot.”  My prayers continued with thanksgiving for myself and petitions for those who faced a similar ordeal.

Once in the house, I went into the office, surfed to Delta’s Website and checked on Sylvia’s flight.  It tagged as being “on time.”  Then I heard my recliner and heating pad calling sweetly to me.  I responded and don’t remember any of the next two hours.

Even at 10 AM, I wasn’t able to see the road that passes in front of our house.  Nearly two hours later and the road is visible, but as noon approaches the scene is still wrapped in a gauzy gray shroud of fog.  Orphan Annie where are you?  We need an encouraging song from you.

Postscript: As I was writing that final sentence I heard the county dispatcher putting out a call for police assistance.  An accident has the expressway now closed at my exit.  At least travelers have the advantage of better light by which to see.

I have moved my Blogger blog into this self-hosted WordPress blog under a domain name selected for this purpose.  I’m still working on various parameters, so please be patient with me.  I started this process less than 30 hours ago.  In that time, I have uploaded and configured software, selected and modified a theme (template) and recently downloaded posts and comments from my Blogger blog.  It has been work, but it has been a fun learning experience for me.

I was not, and I am not unhappy or dissatisfied with Blogger.  Their product is excellent.  This move comes only because I am setting up a WordPress blog for our church under the church’s domain name.  I will be the administrator for that blog (as I am for their Website).  For that reason, it seemed good to me to use the same platform for both blogs.

Sylvia, my wife, is an authorized author on this blog.  Perhaps, with your encouragement, she will write a post for us from time-to-time.

Other Happenings

Our Wednesday visit with our financial went well.  Very well.  Looks like we’ll be making a large payment on our mortgage principal later this month.  It sure is going to feel good to get that elephant off our back. 🙂

My hand and wrist are taking a beating with all the online work I’ve been doing.  I’ll be posting when I can, but it won’t be everyday for a while.

Finally, I’d like to hear from you.  What are your impressions of the new site?  Any suggestions for improvements?

Yesterday, we met with our tax accountant.  As we had anticipated, it was good news.  We’ll receive a modest refund.  I’m happy.  Sylvia is happy.  Midnight yawned and went back to the serious business of napping.

Transition Begun

Yesterday after returning home, I started the process of changing from Microsoft to Linux hosting for my Internet hosting package.  This has required a lot of mouse clicks and keyboard strokes.  My hand is sore!

I’m hoping by month’s end to have a self-hosted WordPress blog up and running.  That blog will have its own domain name.  I’ll keep you informed.

Now I have to get away from this computer and rest my hand.  Spring is on the way. Have a good day.

The snow started falling after sunrise this morning.  Yesterday had brought mild temperatures and rain–lots of rain.  (I’m glad that wasn’t snow!)  In the evening fierce winds buffeted our house on the hill, and lightning lit the night sky.

Sylvia and I turned off our computers before supper, for which she had prepared a special pizza.  She had extra bread dough (honey oatmeal) left from the baking she had done that morning.  That became the crust.  Toppings were a variety of fresh veggies, pinto beans and two kinds of cheese.

Later we curled up in our recliners and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.  We went to bed late and slept well.

After feeding Midnight this morning, I walked into an unusually cool and quiet office.  I settled into my chair just enjoying the peaceful start of the day.  My gaze wandered to the right where outside the window large fluffy snow flakes were falling gently toward the now [mostly] snow-free ground.  The breeze, which was shifting between west and southwest, would at time pick up speed and send the snow speeding past the window in a blur.  Soon, the the gentle breeze would return and guide the lazily dropping snow flakes to earth.

As I look out upon this peaceful bucolic scene, I see our secondary road running through the middle.  Nothing passes by–not even a farm vehicle.

I know that my car will never look clean for more than a few minutes or hours as long as I live here in this house on the hill beside the dirt road.  And yet . . .  I can think of no place I’d rather live.  Nowhere better for me to be.

The two (passwords and lunch dates) are not related.  At least they are not related in this post.  They are two topics that are on my mind as I write this post.  I haven’t posted much lately because my hand and wrist quickly exhibit signs of the carpal tunnel problem I recently had.  I have a couple of big tasks coming up in the near future and they will require me to spend quite a bit of time at this keyboard.  On to the topics . . .

Passwords

I was surprised to read in a CNN story posted on Yahoo! that, “the most common password used on business systems is ‘Password1’.”  It is more than 8 characters in length and contains an upper case letter and a number.  It would rank as a “strong” password, but it is easily guessed by a hacker.

I am not an expert and my advice might be worth as much as you pay for it.  Nevertheless, give some thought to your passwords.  Use those caps, numbers and special characters.  Use a series of (three?) unrelated words–it will help to make up a scene or picture to remember those words.  For example, think of a house with a tree beside it and a river behind it.  A password could be “housetreeriver.”  Use caps on two or three letters in the middle or end of the words.  Substitute numbers and special characters for additional security.  That word is 14 characters long, so add to it (beginning middle or end) to use a maximum length password.  It will increase the level of difficulty for a hacker to crack your password.

Any password can be cracked, and it doesn’t take a super computer.  For most of us we only need to make it hard enough for a would-be intruder to leave in search of an easier target.  For example, on my online banking account with . . .  On second thought I’ve told you enough already.  Just tighten up your security with a better, not-easy-to-guess password and make it as many characters as you can.

Lunch Dates

Sylvia and I had lunch with our son, Bryant, yesterday.  We do that most weeks.  I really look forward to that hour (usually) with him as we eat and share family news and our activities.  Sunday evenings, we call our other son, Scott, on the phone and we chat for about an hour or so.  Those are some of the best hours in my week.

Yesterday, I mentioned to her dad, that I had called Briana (granddaughter) and had a nice chat with her.  He said, “I know.  She told me.”  She would do that.  She may be on campus, but she still talks and texts with her parents.  Regularly.

Back to my story.  I follow Briana’s blog and check her Facebook page most days.  I like to know what she’s doing and thinking.  I had been thinking about her and had read online that she had taken her microbiology mid-term exam.

As I thought about it, I decided to pick up the phone and give her a call.  I greeted her and identified myself in Spanish.  There was a pause.  (She must have been processing this strange event.)  Then she answered in Spanish.  We talked for quite a while about what was happening here and there.

As we were about to say goodbye, Briana asked if Sylvia and I would be meeting her dad for lunch again next week.  I said, “I think so.  We usually do.”  She replied, “Good!  I’m on break and I’ll try to see you then.”  I hope it works out for her to do exactly that.

I am very blessed.

Last night (this morning), I finally went to bed three hours after my usual time.  I was only able to sleep an extra half hour this morning.  The reason?  I was watching the Daytona 500.  The theme song for this years race should have been I’ve Seen Fire and I’ve seen Rain.

For the first time in the 54-year history of NASCAR at Daytona, the 500 did not run on the scheduled day.  Rain prevented the 1 PM start on Sunday.  Shortly after 5 PM, officials announced the race was postponed until noon on Monday.  As noon Monday approached, it was raining at Daytona Beach and the weather prognosticators were calling for an 80% chance of showers that afternoon.  Officials announced 7 PM as the new start time.  This time it worked.

It had been an exciting race when with about 40 laps (of 200) left to go, there was a caution on the track.  JP Montoya had a vibration in his car and he went to the pits to have it checked.  Crew members said it was okay.  Montoya went back on the track and was driving fast to catch up with the back of the pack.  (This is commonly done and happens regularly in situations like this.)  As Montoya was approaching a jet dryer, something on his car broke.  We could see sparks from beneath his car just before he began a long skid that took him violently into the rear of the truck and dryer that was cleaning the track.  The 200 gallons of jet fuel began to spill and a spark ignited it, which resulted in a spectacular fire ball.

Almost unnoticed in the film (available on NASCAR.com), a safety worker rushes to the stricken truck and helps the driver from the track.  The truck and driver were from Michigan International Speedway.  They were there to help with the “big” event.  The driver was transported to an area hospital, where he was treated and later released.

Montoya rode his badly battered vehicle into the infield where it came to rest.  He was able to climb out unassisted and limp away.

It took two hours to extinguish the fire, clean up the mess and resume racing.  I found it interesting that the final clean up step before drying, was to apply Tide detergent and water to the fuel-soaked race surface.  It did the trick.

Unfortunately, my favorite driver, Brad Keselowski, got wrecked in another late race incident.  It looked like he was going to finish in the top ten.  Oh well . . .  I’m ready for a nap.  Where’s Midnight.  I need him.  A warm kitty on the lap is a great sleep inducer.  I probably don’t need it, but it makes me feel good.

During the two-hour delay, Brad Keselowski pulled out his smart phone and began tweeting.  Soon, he had a group of drivers gather around him looking at the screen and kibitzing with him.  Race reporters in the broadcast booth, noticed what was happening and talked about Brad’s tweets from the track.  When I checked into his twitter account before the incident, he about 130,000 followers.  This morning he has 205,000 followers.

Before you ask, my answer is “No.”  I don’t think he was tweeting or texting at 200 mph during green-flag racing.  How can you do that when these guys drive that speed with spacing that is about what you and are comfortable with when parking our cars?

Thanks to Lin & Rebecca, I have turned off Captcha.  I had to remove the check in the “Use new interface” box.  In the old interface, the settings I wanted were available to me.  Once again the two of you are there with helpful advice and encouragement.  Please know that you are deeply appreciated.

Sylvia and I are sharing a cold this week.  Nasal strips helped us sleep well last night.  Otherwise, the congestion is so bad that it’s nearly impossible to breathe through the nose.

Snow is falling here in west Michigan.  Looks like it will last through today with more coming again tomorrow.  I’m not complaining.

I dislike “Captcha.”  I’ve tried for over two hours to find out how to turn it off.  I have failed.  Lin, from Ducken Wheel w/String, was able to turn it off, but she uses the old interface.  I don’t find that option of going back available to me.

I’m using the new interface and I want to turn off Captcha, which I find worse than annoying.  For that reason I don’t want to subject others to it.

Can somebody out there help me?  Please.

I have tried to minimize my online time for the last week.  It may have helped, but the carpal tunnel problems are still bothering me a lot.  Thanks a lot to those of you who have expressed concerns and good wishes.  They mean a lot to me.

Has this been a crazy winter or what?  We had heavy snowfall last Sunday.  After church last Sunday we made it home the 1 mile on our dirt road.  There was about 3 inches of new snow covering the road.  It was a bit slippery but Sylvia did a great job of driving.  On our driveway, she only made it halfway up the hill.  Under the snow there was a layer of ice.  That meant no traction.  After several tries, it was obvious that we were not going to get up the hill.  So I led the way up the last 200 feet of driveway to the house.  We both ended up with snow in our shoes because we had not worn boots that morning.  A couple of days later and that snow was gone.  At least it was for the most part.

Midnight is sitting on my lap as I dictate this post using my voice recognition software.  It is another great cloudy day here in West Michigan.  At least that much of the surroundings looks like winter.  It is crazy I tell you.

I haven’t forgotten you.  And I will be back if this hand ever heals.