The Time Sink

If things went as planned, I'm in the office early this morning. So I can leave early. ...and blast off with the family for a road trip!

You see, tomorrow marks Shelley's transition into that decade I left last fall. ...and her choice of a birthday present is a trip to an amusement park/garden showplace in the Santa Clara Valley. It's about a two hour drive; so the plan is to leave early enough to spend the night there; hit the park on her birthday; and drive home Tuesday evening.

It should work; and it should be fun! I'll let you know how it turns out when we get back.

Short version: fantastic place. ...on the short list.

...and it's been a long two days. I need some wind down time. ...and some sleep: I'll be heading over to my Mom's place in the morning. It seems she was on the way for a routine checkup today and got to ride in one of my units for a non-routine checkup... Someone T-boned her car!

My sister says she's okay, but I'll be doing a site visit for a sight visit.

Woohoo... I made it through the day! Skoosh sleep and probably a little dehydrated from all the fun yesterday, I still managed to deal with one show-stopper, several "arrrrgghhhs", visit venerable mom, and drive home. ...all without hitting my head on anything as I fell asleep.

However... That record is hanging by a thread. So, it's off to read for a bit and then a full night's sleep.

Mom turned out okay. Okay for a lady in her seventies minding her own business almost getting the front of her full-sized car cut off... She's achy and bruised, but the pain meds should allow her to sleep and regain her usual energy levels. My niece has the duty this week. ...and the rest of us are on backup.

I had plans for a photo layout from the trip, but that will have to wait for more brain function than I have available right now. I can recommend the park as worth the time for any garden or plant people who happen to be in the area. Man, it is just a gorgeous place.

Whimsical Serendipity... Yep, I think that's one heck of a good lead. "Why?", you might ask. Well, Jerry sent a worm warning out to his subscribers tonight which included a link to these guys who appear to have a very complete bulletin, including the attack string. In a fit of whimsy, I pulled my stats. ...and guess what I found in my failed requests file:

Listing files, sorted by the number of failed requests. reqs: file
----: ----
13: /default.ida
13:
/default.ida?NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
NNNNNNN%u9090%u6858%ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%
ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%ucbd3%u7801%u9090%
u9090%u8190%u00c3%u0003%u8b00%u531b%u53ff%
u0078%u0000%u00=a

Yepper, that's the signature your virus checker should be looking for. Fortunately, my ISS, pair networks, uses FreeBSD on their machines. Still, it's a little unsettling to see that one come through so quickly; I suspect that's a clue about the virulence of this particular attack.

On a lighter note, I have a teaser page up with some pictures from the trip the other day. Text and more pictures as the days progress.

I think there's only one way to handle today's post:

Well, for the most part, I managed to stay within the game plan for the day...

I did find one little tidbit cruising around over on Dangerous Meta: You've likely heard Matt mention his 'beer truck' book. ...and Janeen and I have our 'school bus' book. Here's why.

You see, it may be cool that you're the only one who understands things, but it leaves people in the lurch if you're out of the picture. Hence, John's recent excursions into Documenting That Which Has Been Undocumentable!</sermon>

Maybe I'll just continue with Saturday's theme... Nah, gotta' get up and go to church. If I can...

Since I was soooo into not doing anything yesterday, late in the afternoon I decided to try the ankle out and go blading. ...for the first time in what, two months? Close enough. So I used every cheat I knew: I changed out the wheels and bearings, didn't rocker the wheels, took the shortest route I have, and waited until the temperature was down to 90F.

...and the ankle held!

...and I found out just how out of shape I am! Whew. That first mile wasn't too bad, but the last two were uphill, upwind, in the snow, with a pack of hounds baying on my heels (hey, John's on vacation; someone has to keep up the hyperbole<g>).

...and I found out the battery in my pulse monitor was dead. Actually, I think that was probably cool: after what my legs and lungs felt like, I don't think I want to know what was happening in TickerLand.

But the ankle held okay. I didn't try any aggressive cornering; and I just went for style points rather than speed. It still doesn't feel quite right, but I think I'll keep using pool-jet hydrotherapy on it and start working it a little harder than I have been.