Autum field.

Sunsetting

Over a field

Unsuspecting couple slept entire night with wasp nest under pillow

They must have been really drunk not to want to investigate what was going on in the room. I HATE WASPS AND BEEs!! I rather fight a snake than to have to fight a wasp. Now being too drunk to want to investigate what all the buzzing was about is just beyond me. I just cant believe that the wasps did not sting them during the night with them moving about. I know that i move about when i sleep and also put my hands under the pillows. IF you ask me, they were very lucky!

A more unpleasant collection of bedfellows would be hard to imagine.

As Vicki and Clive Hames settled down for the night, they couldn't fail to notice the strange buzzing in the bedroom - but chose not to investigate.

On reflection, it's probably a good job that they didn't.

The wasp nest stretched from the pillow all the way down the back of the bed
Unbeknown to the couple, a swarm of wasps had built a nest beneath the pillows of their bed.
And, remarkably, they both slept the entire night without realising.

It was not until the morning, when 57-year- old Mrs Hames pulled back her pillow to reveal the angry swarm that she was stung once on the back.

Her 60-year-old husband, meanwhile, escaped unharmed.

Mr and Mrs Hames, from Northampton, heard the "low buzzing sound" as they tried to drop off in the spare room of her stepfather's house.

If that was me, i would have the the hell stung out of me!! I do not have that kind of luck. Here is the link for the rest of the story: Wasps are MAD!

What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Microsoft updates Windows without users' consent

I think that this has been going on for a while now. I think that this could get Microsoft is a heap of trouble. I for one, do not run every patch that they put out for their operating systems because in my experiance, so patches cause more problems then they fix. I remember getting up in the morning and my computer has a box open that says "Windows needed to reboot your computer due to a patch that was insatlled" I did not install the patch and it was done during the night without me doing anything.

Windows Secrets
By Scott Dunn

Microsoft has begun patching files on Windows XP and Vista without users' knowledge, even when the users have turned off auto-updates. Many companies require testing of patches before they are widely installed, and businesses in this situation are objecting to the stealth patching.

Files changed with no notice to users In recent days, Windows Update (WU) started altering files on users' systems without displaying any dialog box to request permission. The only files that have been reportedly altered to date are nine small executables on XP and nine on Vista that are used by WU itself. Microsoft is patching these files silently, even if auto-updates have been disabled on a particular PC.It's surprising that these files can be changed without the user's knowledge.

The Automatic Updates dialog box in the Control Panel can be set to prevent updates from being installed automatically. However, with Microsoft's latest stealth move, updates to the WU executables seem to be installed regardless of the settings — without notifying users.When users launch Windows Update, Microsoft's online service can check the version of its executables on the PC and update them if necessary. What's unusual is that people are reporting changes in these files although WU wasn't authorized to install anything.This isn't the first time Microsoft has pushed updates out to users who prefer to test and install their updates manually.

Not long ago, another Windows component, svchost.exe, was causing problems with Windows Update, as last reported on June 21 in the Windows Secrets Newsletter. In that case, however, the Windows Update site notified users that updated software had to be installed before the patching process could proceed. This time, such a notice never appears.

For users who elect not to have updates installed automatically, the issue of consent is crucial. Microsoft has apparently decided, however, that it doesn't need permission to patch Windows Updates files, even if you've set your preferences to require it.

Microsoft provides no tech information — yet
To make matters even stranger, a search on Microsoft's Web site reveals no information at all on the stealth updates. Let's say you wished to voluntarily download and install the new WU executable files when you were, for example, reinstalling a system. You'd be hard-pressed to find the updated files in order to download them. At this writing, you either get a stealth install or nothing.A few Web forums have already started to discuss the updated files, which bear the version number 7.0.6000.381. The only explanation found at Microsoft's site comes from a user identified as Dean-Dean on a Microsoft Communities forum. In reply to a question, he states:

"Windows Update Software 7.0.6000.381 is an update to Windows Update itself. It is an update for both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Unless the update is installed, Windows Update won't work, at least in terms of searching for further updates. Normal use of Windows Update, in other words, is blocked until this update is installed."

Windows Secrets contributing editor Susan Bradley contacted Microsoft Partner Support about the update and received this short reply:

"7.0.6000.381 is a consumer only release that addresses some specific issues found after .374 was released. It will not be available via WSUS [Windows Server Update Services]. A standalone installer and the redist will be available soon, I will keep an eye on it and notify you when it is available."Unfortunately, this reply does not explain why the stealth patching began with so little information provided to customers. Nor does it provide any details on the "specific issues" that the update supposedly addresses.

System logs confirm stealth installs
In his forum post, Dean-Dean names several files that are changed on XP and Vista. The patching process updates several Windows\System32 executables (with the extensions .exe, .dll, and .cpl) to version 7.0.6000.381, according to the post.
In Vista, the following files are updated:
1. wuapi.dll
2. wuapp.exe
3. wuauclt.exe
4. wuaueng.dll
5. wucltux.dll
6. wudriver.dll
7. wups.dll
8. wups2.dll
9. wuwebv.dll
In XP, the following files are updated:
1. cdm.dll
2. wuapi.dl
l3. wuauclt.exe
4. wuaucpl.cpl
5. wuaueng.dll
6. wucltui.dll
7. wups.dll
8. wups2.dll
9. wuweb.dll
These files are by no means viruses, and Microsoft appears to have no malicious intent in patching them. However, writing files to a user's PC without notice (when auto-updating has been turned off) is behavior that's usually associated with hacker Web sites. The question being raised in discussion forums is, "Why is Microsoft operating in this way?"

How to check which version your PC has
If a system has been patched in the past few months, the nine executables in Windows\System32 will either show an earlier version number, 7.0.6000.374, or the stealth patch: 7.0.6000.381. (The version numbers can be seen by right-clicking a file and choosing Properties. In XP, click the Version tab and then select File Version. In Vista, click the Details tab.)

In addition, PCs that received the update will have new executables in subfolders named 7.0.6000.381 under the following folders:c:\Windows\System32\SoftwareDistribution\Setup\ServiceStartup\wups.dllc:\Windows\System32\SoftwareDistribution\Setup\ServiceStartup\wups2.dllUsers can also verify whether patching occurred by checking Windows' Event Log:
Step 1. In XP, click Start, Run.
Step 2. Type eventvwr.msc and press Enter.
Step 3. In the tree pane on the left, select System.
Step 4. The right pane displays events and several details about them.

Event types such as "Installation" are labeled in the Category column. "Windows Update Agent" is the event typically listed in the Source column for system patches.On systems that were checked recently by Windows Secrets readers, the Event Log shows two installation events on Aug. 24. The files were stealth-updated in the early morning hours. (The time stamp will vary, of course, on machines that received the patch on other dates.)

To investigate further, you can open the Event Log's properties for each event. Normally, when a Windows update event occurs, the properties dialog box shows an associated KB number, enabling you to find more information at Microsoft's Web site. Mysteriously, no KB number is given for the WU updates that began in August. The description merely reads, "Installation Successful: Windows successfully installed the following update: Automatic Updates."

No need to roll back the updated files
Again, it's important to note that there's nothing harmful about the updated files themselves. There are no reports of software conflicts and no reason to remove the files (which WU apparently needs in order to access the latest patches). The only concern is the mechanism Microsoft is using to perform its patching, and how this mechanism might be used by the software giant in the future.

I'd like to thank reader Angus Scott-Fleming for his help in researching this topic. He recommends that advanced Windows users monitor changes to their systems' Registry settings via a free program by Olivier Lombart called Tiny Watcher. Scott-Fleming will receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of his choice for sending in a comment we printed.

I'll report further on this story when I'm able to find more information on the policies and techniques behind Windows Update's silent patches. Send me your tips on this subject via the Windows Secrets contact page.Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He is also a contributing editor of PC World Magazine, where he has written a monthly column since 1992, and co-author of 101 Windows Tips & Tricks (Peachpit) with Jesse Berst and Charles Bermant.

What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Downtown

Cloudy & rainy

Another sunset from Duck.

On the bay side.

A Map of "The Island"

I have never reall followed this show. A friend sent me this link and i will post the pic for you. I am sure that some of you watch it.

What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Free War of the Worlds E-comic by Darkhorse

Free War of the Worlds E-comic by Darkhorse




Here is a link to get the whole thing converted into a PDF file. Get it while the getting is good!
The files will be available for 7 days or 100 downloads! Here is the link:
http://download.yousendit.com/3E515E8720D2BA22

What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Morning on the lake

Taken @ 8.03am

How many of you have seen this picture?

I have never seen this picture before. I wanted to pass this on to you all. Thanks to Axinar for this article.

According to The New York Times it was taken by Valencia M. McClatchey and is the only known surviving photograph of the United Flight 93 crash in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.


She gave the FBI a copy of the photo to help in the investigation. She also apparently let newspapers and television stations use the photograph - perhaps to give some visual aid to the horror that took place that morning - not at the financial or military capital of the greatest power on Earth, but someplace, up until then, of no IMPORT at all - the middle of a field.


Related:
A Sept. 11 Photo Brings Out the Conspiracy Theorists - The New York Times
Picture Made on 9/11 Takes a Toll on Photographer - Flight 93 Photo Fraud
Just how nutty are 9/11 conspiracy nuts, you ask? - JBlog Central






What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Random Sickness!!!

What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

The couple who stopped off at a Travelodge - and stayed 22 years

For most of us who visit a Travelodge, it is a fleeting pleasure. Park the car, go to bed and get away as early as possible in the morning. But for David and Jean Davidson, it is home. They arrived in 1985, and enjoyed it so much that they never left.

This sound like a contrived story to me. Who in their right mind would go and stay at a hotel for 22 years? I hate to go and stay for a week much less 22 freaking years? I can see that they are elderly, but are they insane as well? I might be less expensive than a house, but where do you cook and what happens if the hotel changes hands during that period? And what happened to their house?

What would happen if they family wanted to "visit" them? I can hear it now; Jim, check into room 104. That is the one that has the adjoining door with our room. It also has a micro fridge and a coffee maker.

What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth?

I wonder how creamy it really was? If i found a rubber in a can of soup i would want more than a "cupon" Perhaps they should have read the label. Creamy or Chunky anyone? Trojan or Durex?

Soupcon of rubber leads to food suit
By Felisa Cardona Denver Post Staff Writer

A Fort Collins family says in a federal lawsuit that they found a condom at the bottom of a Campbell's Soup can after the cream of mushroom dinner they had started eating tasted bad.
"We think it's highly unlikely that this occurred and we take all claims of product contamination very seriously," said Campbell Soup Co. spokesman Anthony Sanzio.

Audrey Smith, 63, heated the soup on Nov. 20, 2006, and she and Doyle Smith, 64, and Shane Smith, 42, noticed an unusual taste and looked inside the can, according to a lawsuit filed by the family in U.S. District Court.

"The foul taste was apparently caused by the presence of a large piece of rubber lodged at the bottom of the can," the suit says. "Upon further examination, it appeared to the Smiths that the rubber was, in fact, a condom."

After the Smiths noticed the latex, they immediately became nauseous and overcome with fear that they had been exposed to disease.

The family went to the emergency room and had blood drawn and tests performed.
Doyle Smith contacted Campbell Soup to complain and the lawsuit says the company refused to pay the family's medical expenses and offered the Smiths a coupon for a discount on their next purchase of soup.

The Smiths gave Campbell Soup a portion of the rubber for testing.
On March 19, Campbell Soup officials told the Smith family that laboratory analysis determined the rubber was latex but could not be positively identified, according to the suit.


What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Sunrise...

Taken off of 895 West @ 7.30am.

9/11 issues. We will never forget!

Where were you on this morning when the plans crashed into the Pentagon, World Trade Towers, and the ground in Pennsylvania? I was living in Austin Texas and I was at work. I did not hear about this until I came in for break and saw it on the TV, as a matter of fact; all TV stations were broadcasting this tragic occurrence.

Now to see this as a headline about a school in Utah or any school for that matter makes my blood boil:

"Utah Schools Will Not Observe 9/11 Anniversary
Several Utah schools have decided to let Sept. 11, 2007 pass without observing the sixth anniversary of the unprecedented terror attacks against the United States -- over fear of re-kindling the haunting memories for those who vaguely remember them, or introducing them to children who weren't born yet.This year, Sept. 11 falls on a Tuesday for the first since since the actual attacks. But some school administrators believe that commemorating the tragedy may inhibit the ability for students to make forward progress.

"We don't want our kids thinking about that. We want them to move on,'' said Beth Johnston, principal at East Layton Elementary in Davis County, whose oldest student was just 6 on Sept. 11, 2001. "It might be age-appropriate for older students to acknowledge and talk about it, but for our younger kids, we don't want them to dwell on violence."Education officials say it can be difficult to explain to young children what happened on that day, because of the many factors and political reasons linked to the terror strike."

There is so much additional context and so many other stories there, that it can become daunting to a teacher to figure out how to be selective enough, sensitive enough and to provide the right balance and depth,'' said Robert Austin, a social studies specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. The terrorist attacks are currently not part of Utah's core social studies curriculum, but they could become so later this year when the required studies are updated.

But still, many schools will observe the sixth anniversary since the World Trade Center towers fell in New York City and the Pentagon was damaged in Washington, D.C.Eastwood Elementary School in Salt Lake City generally observes a moment of silence, secretary Tina Jensen said. "We try to keep it pretty low key because some of the kids weren't even born. We try not to scare them,'' she said. Indeed, many students because of age barely remember it and feel little emotional connection.

West High School history teacher Dave Harper said he teaches students about Sept. 11 at the end of the school year, when he presents the tragedy within the context of global conflicts between cultures and explains how the attacks led to later events. Scott Crump of Bingham High School in South Jordan asks his students to write essays about whether they would like to be remembered as the "9/11 generation.''

Eagle Mountain's Eagle Valley Elementary School plans to have a National Guard member speak to students about patriotism. The school will have a Humvee behind the school during lunch. Students will wear red, white and blue Wednesday. "It's important to continue to teach our students about the importance of the sacrifice... and not just forget 9/11,'' Principal Keith Conley said. "That's why we've asked men and women to serve throughout the world to protect the United States.''

This to me is like trying to tell the children that the War in Iraq is not going on and that their parent or relative that is in the armed forces did not get killed. It is kind of like saying "Nothing to see here, move along" It is part of our history and it should be taught and children should have to learn about it because it could happen again. If another terrorist attach happens in the USA, a child might say why did this happen not knowing that it has happened before in the USA. I think that knowledge is power and not knowing what happened in your past even if it is only six years ago, can only lead to making us weaker, not stronger.

It is a harsh reality that we have to face now living in the USA. Terrorist attacks have been happening for years all over the world and we thought that it could not happen here on our soil; anyone remember December 7, 1941? Japan was not terrorists but they attacked US soil. I was not alive when Japan attacked us but i was taught about it. It did not scare me. Should the schools in Utah not teach that as well? Lets just face it folks, it is apart of the history of the USA and as such, good or bad, it should be remembered for posterity’s sake for all the people that lost their lives in this horrible attack.

If this pisses you off as much as it does me, just use the hyperlink embedded in her name and send an email to her! I just wonder how many of those little kids play violent video games? They must live in a fantasy world in Utah where nothing bad happens there. I live in the real world where violence happens every day and people loose their lives in war. We were attacked and we should not forget about it!

I have been to Ground Zero and it was a sobering experience for me to see all the devastation that happened. The say in the article that some kids do not remember and feel little emotional connection to it. That is BS in my book. I have a connection to Pearl Harbor from learning about it and watching movies and TV programs about it. This will happen for them plus if they get the chance to see it, they will have a connection then.

What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Priorities...

You know how when you are younger and something is a "top priority"? Well, when I was younger I used to love to be tanned. I would have a beautiful tan from staying out on the lake or going to the beach or swimming in a pool with friends. Well, as I have grown older, things have changed. I no longer worries about a good tan much less have the time to get in the sun.

Normally, I would get burned like in March or April on spring break and I would not peel or burn the rest of the summer. That does not happen now. The only time I get in the sun is when I mow the lawn or on the off chance, go to the beach.

So, we went to the beach over the Labor Day weekend and we had a good time. On Saturday, we stayed out on the beach from 9.30am till 4pm and we all got burnt to a crisp. I did not use any protection unlike my wife and daughter, but they still got burnt as well. We were all hurting that night and next day. I have for the last week peeled off most of the top layer of skin! My face and chest, arms and feet have peeled off and are still peeling at this very day. I told my mother and she was like "I can’t believe that you got this burnt" and I said "I never get into the sun anymore, we don’t live close to the lake and we do not have a pool like when we lived in an apartment." She said "well, I never thought of it like that, I guess you are right."

Being tanned is just not a priority anymore and it is better for my skin anyway. I guess that I am just getting older and maturing a bit more as well.


What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

Very Interesting Contrast...

I found this on Eponymous Blog site.

Thanks for the pic, very awsome!!

What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

The Blog...

I have been into pictures more lately than I have been into posting simply because I have not found much that is interesting to me to post about. I like to do the picture thing with my cam phone because it is just so easy and it also takes very good pics. I have read some people's reviews of the phone/cam and I just don’t agree with them on the picture quality.

I am just in a holding pattern until we figure out when we will be going to St. Louis. It really sucks because I don’t know what kind of job to look for and even when we will be there to do this so it is just pointless to do that at the moment.

I have also slacked off of riding and working out lately. It is just hard to get back into it when you stop. I rode this weekend and we got in like 7 miles. I wanted to go on Sunday morning, but my right leg/hip has been hurting ever since I slipped in the pool while we were on vaca at OBX. I went to the chiropractor last week for the back hurting from this and that worked, but my right leg where it joins the hip hurts intermittently and I did not ride Sunday because of this. It is hurting me tonight and I do not know why as all I did today was sleep.

I am always in a constant search for content and readership on my blog. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to email me. What bothers me is that I do not get a lot of comments from people that "view" this site. I wish that I would get more. So if anyone is out there in cyberspace, please feel free to drop me a line or to or a comment.

Thank you for your patronage.
RMStringer.


What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

From work.

@6.21pm

Cloudy...

A chance of rain.