Sunday, August 19, 2007

What do you remember?

Hockeyman asks this question on his blog.

Like him, although more like age 2 than 4, I recall JFK being shot. For years I've wondered about this memory, was it a real one? Or one that I'd 'acquired' through the repeated rehashes of this assassination by the press and media through the years. It's taken me a while to be certain, but I believe I really remember watching JohnJohn saluting the coffin as it passed. We had a black and white tv of the old circle in a square variety up till 1965 and that's what I recall seeing it on. I vividly remember my mom crying and believe that's why the incident is so set in my mind. At 2 your world is you. Your mom provides for your needs and makes you feel safe; seeing her cry so has stuck in my mind all these years. I don't honestly recall her crying at anything else, although I'm sure she did at some point or another.

I do not recall Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination at all but I have a vague memory of RFK's. Neither evoked the emotion that JFK's did in my home.

I do, however, remember where I was when I heard about Elvis' death. I was traveling through the mountains of eastern BC with my then fiance and my mom and dad. I recall staring at the Three Sisters for as long as the twisting #1 highway through there allowed, listening to song after song of his. A certain quiet had entered the car and when the radio reception failed no one urged for another station. I am an Elvis fan. Have always been. Of his music, of his movies (laugh all you want, read some of the accounts by respected actors who worked with him, of his abilities and how they were under utilized. There was a lot of lost potential there, sadly) and later as I grew up and read many many versions of his life, of the man. One's life is what one makes of it, or allows to be made of it. (I think maybe that's a topic for another post.)

Another 'moment' in time that I recall is John Lennon's death. The poignancy of his re-entry into the mainstream music scene (so to speak) with Double Fantasy, made even more so by "(Just like)Starting Over" and ended so abruptly is not lost on me, even though I've never been more than a casual fan of the Beatles and a very uninformed one about John Lennon in particular. In fact, my favourite Beatle has always and remains, Ringo Starr. I was working as a security guard on the midnight shift, and recall sitting at the desk, greeting the workers as they arrived for work. Many of them wore sad expressions, nodding to the small radio I was listening to his songs on.

There are other, more...well, personal... incidences in time that I recall. Moments that a picture or a sound, sometimes even a smell can take me back to the emotions thereof in a heartbeat.

We have, in the past forty or so years, as the Chinese? curse is said to say, "...lived in interesting times" I'm sure many will never view the world the same after some of the more momentous moments of our time. I know I certainly don't. I don't really know if I regret that as much as I'd like to wish that I did. I'm not sure that having an eyeopening moment in your life is as bad a thing as one would normally assume. I know a lot of parents try very hard to shield their children from such moments as do I, myself. But there also comes a time when letting them see and feel and understand said feelings is more important that preserving their innocence.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Stolen quotes

"Knitting socks is like sex - if I love you I will knit socks for you, and if I don't love you, you CANNOT pay me enough for a pair of hand-knit socks!"

"Been there, done that, worn out the souvenir tee shirt."

"A true friend is someone who not only knows the song in your heart, but can sing it back to you when you've forgotten the words."

Thursday, August 02, 2007

I hate Passwords

The chip card is coming! The chip card is coming!

Okay, sure, after my first reaction, it's not a bad idea. Probably will slow down the phishers and whatnot idiots that abound in this world for a time or a while, but they'll find a way around it. I'm sure.

But passwords in general, just offend me. One, I really dislike remembering important stuff. I'd much rather use my brain space remembering trivia about trivial things that no one else seems to give a shit about. I dun wanna have to think of a novel and unique way of spelling out easy to remember (for me) words and phrases. And L33Tspeak? Bah, that shit gives me hives. Mutter.

I hate the concept of passwords even when being used to protect crucial data. I realize thanks, that my personal data is crucial to me, but there's still a part of my reasoning that just doesn't see what I have that anyone else might want badly enough to spend the time cracking (about 30 secs I'm told by friends who despair of me ever using a password that doesn't suck) the ones I do use. To protect my very mundane information. (I'm still struggling with the idea that someone once actually actively worked on stealing my life by cultivating my friends, adopting my hobbies and personality, even my appearance, but that's another post.)

I'm not talking about banking info or insurance/life policies or other such. For one, I don't keep that stuff online. Nor for that matter, even on my computer.

I'm talking about why I have to have a *strong* password for my gmail account, or hotmail or for that matter even here. What really, do such people get out of this? What is the point of doing stuff like cracking into a blogger account just to piss someone off? Just messing with someone because they can? Frankly, my defenses are so minuscule that it's no big whoop to get through them, so I don't see the point as being the challenge of accomplishing it.

This goes further than mischief like tp'ing the crotchety neighbour's yard. It's malicious and rude. I see little value in being considered rude. Maybe that's just me but even among the teens I work with, rude only goes so far. They trade quips and smart mouth remarks with ease but there's a line they seldom cross, and quickly acknowledge and retreat to the other side of as well. Sure, there's the odd one that doesn't care but they are often and quickly ostracized until they get that glitch under control.

There's so many other things one could spend that sort of brain ability or time on. I do understand 'reverse engineering' and 'hacking' when done for the sheer fact of just 'knowing' how something works. I've taken more than one knitted or crocheted item and examined it, poked and prodded it, even unravelled parts of it just to figure out the pattern, so I could reproduce it. That's how many people, myself included, learn. (note to anyone reading who's ever tried to help me learn coding, just...shush...)