And finally, we close out the week by clearing out the links:
- Dogs and Moving. Ever wonder what it is like moving cross country with a simpleton dog and a neurotic dog. Wonder no longer. This is one of the funniest posts I’ve read in ages. Oh, and speaking of dogs, I must report (sadly) that the mayor of Idyllwild, a Golden Retreiver named Max, has just passed away. Going forward, Mini Me (a stuffed-animal version of Max) has agreed to step in as the Interim Mayor of Idyllwild. Max’s owners, after suitable grieving, will search for a new Mini Max–a Golden Retriever that will be named Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller, II, and will then officially take over as the Mayor of Idyllwild, completing Mayor Max’s mayoral term through June 30, 2014.
- Scary Search. Think Google finds everything? Think again. This is an article about Shodan, which finds loads of unprotected critical infrastructure on the great unwashed and unprotected internet. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve grown too fast. Critical infrastructure is a growing concern, so I’ll mention that “cyber-physical systems” is going to be a special topic of this year’s ACSAC. All forms of submissions on the subject are welcome.
- Playing the Market. I’m not a big stock market person. Back in the 1990s I invested in some mutual funds, and I thought that was that. My financial advisor has recently been recommending some ETFs, and I’ve been scared off by the fees. This is a great analysis of ETFs and why they might be better than traditional mutual funds. For example, right now I’m trying to decide between investing in the Vanguard California Bond Fund, or the PIMCO ETF equivalent. It’s hard to judge return against costs and commissions.
- By Golly. LA Observed brings news of a new book of interest: Dr. George Fischbeck, the retired Channel 7 weatherman has a new book out, “Dr. George: My Life in Weather,” with ex-KABC staffer Randy Roach. This caught my eye because we really don’t have weather-critters that are the caliber of Dr. George these days. Usually, they are just glorified “pretty boys” or the female equivalent, who provide you no inkling of whether they actually have degrees in meterology or anything beyond AWS training.
Music: New Songs From The Briarpatch (Tom Paxton): “Mister Blue/White Bones Of Allende”
