tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60355132024-03-17T20:03:51.010-07:00The Non-Dog BlogCorgis Yoshi and Trek have their very own training diary (See the links section). This is for everything else.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger520125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-75374992892742457322024-02-11T11:52:00.000-08:002024-02-13T08:10:15.077-08:00How to get an InyoKern Sierra Wilderness Permit ReservationHow to get an InyoKern Sierra Wilderness Permit ReservationPost COVID, getting permit reservations began to get much harder as hiking and backpacking became more popular.In 2024, the difficulty of getting a Kearsarge Pass reservation was impacted by the popular West side Cedar Grove / Road's End entrance on Highway 140 being closed for repairs. Highway 140 will be open by then, but you can't get Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-79056398037937525432024-01-16T13:09:00.000-08:002024-02-11T11:45:02.816-08:00Kelly Moore Paints Shutdown - NoooooThe painting giant Kelly-Moore Paints has just suddenly shut down all of it's stores nationwide.My first clue was I went to their Alameda store trying to buy paint for our new bathroom and found a fully stocked store completely shut with no sign of life. I went by the Oakland store on International and that was also closed up tight.Suspecting something bad and not wanting to squint at a phone or Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-51334360115537907332021-12-12T11:43:00.003-08:002021-12-12T13:55:39.881-08:00Opt Out of AT&T Marketing Messages AT&T is particular is remarkably persistent with its marketing.General instructions for AT&T customers for opting out can be found here:https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1011260/but I am not an AT&T customer.This marketing series of phone calls was from their DirectTV department.Go to: https://www.att.com/directv/Click Chat on the right.Make the subject: Opt Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-59683507053300929182021-11-27T12:44:00.003-08:002021-12-12T12:32:06.923-08:00Briones Regional Park Loop with a Missed Turn I went again to Briones Regional Park which was so much nicer that it was two weeks ago.I was cold enough there that at that time I didn't complete the hike.This time I did the full loop and then some because I missed the turn for home and overshot by a mile (literally).How I managed to miss the turn is a series of errors that I'll fill in further down.The park is a lovely green already.I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-88622664655566300962021-01-24T16:16:00.002-08:002021-01-24T16:16:53.136-08:00Mt Diablo Summit Trail ByPassThe Mt. Diablo Summit Trail is a lovely attainable trail that works its way up the mountain. The beauty of it is that you can do it in sections because it crosses the road to the summit in multiple places, and there are multiple parking opportunities.However, there is a section further up the trail that is very brushy. The park has spent a lot of time cutting the bushes back, but it's narrow Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-56072916333627879342021-01-23T20:02:00.007-08:002021-01-24T11:33:09.378-08:00Geo-Tagged Smartphone Photos and Google EarthI got a new job at UCSF March 2020 right at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Between that and trying to make some progress on my second book, I've unfortunately been a little occupied and not blogging.I've also really been trying to resist not getting too caught up in political blogging and concentrating my political observations to Facebook and Twitter - however much I want to shout from theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-87701785567787419162020-01-05T21:34:00.002-08:002020-01-05T21:34:45.193-08:00Chase Fake False Alarm ScamThis is a variation on click on this link email.
This is disguised as an "Is this you?" Monitoring alarm.
It's essentially designed to be a Faked False Alarm with a poison link.
It's the same methodology as the other scams. The window dressing is just different.
It's dressed up as "We're just checking if this login is you. If it is then carry on, no problem." Of course, the login isn't you and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-36779260510834554802020-01-02T12:31:00.000-08:002020-01-02T12:31:01.288-08:00Happy New Year - Another Amazon ScamJanuary 2 and I already have an Amazon Scam in my Inbox.
It's not fair calling it an Amazon Scam, since Amazon is the innocent party, but it's how we've been calling them, since Amazon is what they're pretending to be.
This one is essentially the same as the previous ones. A link to a compromised site that wants you to give them your essential credit card information. It's not a high-end scam Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-38770424470916335162019-12-11T15:11:00.000-08:002019-12-13T17:36:33.260-08:00Scams: Tis the SeasonIt's the holiday season, and the scams are all hard at work.
This morning I had two scams and one legit email all side-by-side in my inbox so I figured the cyber-gods are telling me I should stop jumping up and down on Facebook and write something useful. I later received a third scam.
So I am looking at:
- an amateur scam
- a better scam
- a scary credit card scam
- aUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-10130224394096109172019-05-19T14:29:00.000-07:002019-05-25T15:28:37.098-07:00Technology on Wheels Sort-of (AKA My Effing Prius)[This is stolen from my writing blog. I can't resist putting it here since it fits better here anyway.]
I'm an IT professional and I love putting advanced tech into my fictional world.
But the frustration with technology transfers easily from world to world.
I may make my living from tech, but that doesn't mean that life with my Toyota Prius is smooth at all. We actually have a very rocky Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-74329409911280047092019-05-10T22:58:00.000-07:002019-05-10T22:58:19.711-07:00Making Looking for a Job More FunI spent a year unemployed looking for work.
While my computer skill set is broad and highly sought after, getting the best jobs is often competitive and the most skilled jobs for a while were mainly inside the San Francisco city limits and I didn't want to have to make that daily commute. I finally did give up on not going into SF and interviewed there as well. While I eventually found something Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-76468187921915537092018-06-21T22:23:00.000-07:002018-06-21T22:23:34.109-07:00Python List ExercisesThere are hundreds of list exercises in Python.
Here are just a few of them.
I'm just working from web pages I found on the internet.
I intend to add to this over time.
# Print the last element on the list
# In Python, array indexes start with 0
# len[alist] prints the length
mylist = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
print ("last element: ", mylist [len(mylist)-1])
last element: d
# FindUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-66332667220279665122018-06-17T16:53:00.001-07:002018-06-23T18:01:39.511-07:00Swap Two Integers without using a Temporary VariableThis is an older exercise, but it still comes up.
This falls under things you wouldn't bother worrying about in real life.
Swap Two Integers without using a Temporary Variable
The idea is to just add the two integer variables and then subtract each piece out in turn.
Say you have x=5 and y=9.
If you are using Python you can just stop right here as "tuple unpacking" will so all the work for Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-60404251970141656232018-05-22T11:55:00.004-07:002018-05-22T11:55:59.782-07:00The Non-Dog Blog is Staying at Blogger for NowI have WordPress installed on my new website. It's very nice, but the blogging has these odd limitations. Mostly it's my own ignorance, but some of it is from years of being designed a certain way. I have more than one blog, but in WordPress they like to assume one blog per website unless you use categorization. I have 500 posts in this blog and there's no way I'm going to spend weeks Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-30304794370298564162018-01-14T12:45:00.001-08:002018-01-14T22:19:58.660-08:00Figured out My Ski Turning ProblemFor years, I've been struggling with an annoying problem with my ski turns.
My turns look like backwards 2's. An instructor and I took a look at my tracks. The turn to the left is nice and smooth. The one to the right is sharp and abrupt.
You turn a parabolic ski by putting pressure on the ball of your foot on the outside ski. You are essentially weighting the inside edge of that ski.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-80043659260539118852017-03-31T19:12:00.000-07:002017-03-31T19:12:11.782-07:00Going Beyond the Do-Not-Call ListYou've listed all your phone numbers on the Do Not Call list and you're still getting phone calls that you don't want. I know you feel guilty about asking your favorite organization to stop calling every week and while you shouldn't feel guilty about asking for peace and quiet there are some relatively simple ways to achieve less interruption.
First double-check that your phone is on the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-57937261566886072812017-01-02T19:47:00.000-08:002019-05-25T15:16:06.794-07:00I Hate My Smart-ass Prius
My Prius is driving me crazy.
First that incessant reverse beeping which I realize I can get turned off, but that's just the beginning. I like how you just have to have the key on you. Until you actually need to find the key, which is usually during one of those times where my wife and I are out somewhere and I want to leave most of my purse in the car. Nope. Stop right there. Can't lock the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-17053003499157409482016-12-13T21:19:00.000-08:002018-04-05T16:11:12.591-07:00Python 3 Prime Number CheckerDoing basic math is good exercise when working out the details of a programming language.
This one is using Python to check for prime numbers from 2 up to whatever value we have chosen. In this example, it is up to 50, but you can choose whichever value you wish.
This is using Python 3.
If you're transitioning from Python 2 you can use this acronym to remember the basic differences.
DRIP
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-73549718498715398262016-10-20T15:24:00.000-07:002016-10-20T17:52:40.596-07:00Trump's Popularity Shows We Need Better Education in the US
The 2016 presidential campaign is nearing its end and for weeks, if not months, we've see how Trump can outright lie to his supporters. The many egregious moments (famous and too many to list) have cost him the election, but the number of moments were far above what would have cost another candidate the election. There is something that he is able to tap into that makes his fans mentally Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-30546061941946257612016-08-14T10:59:00.000-07:002017-01-01T18:14:03.803-08:00The Fibonacci Sequence in Six (plus) LanguagesThe Fibonacci Sequence in Six (plus) Languages
Python, C, Java, Node.js, Javascript, Powershell
I wanted to write a blog post that shows how to generate the Fibonacci sequence (0;1;1;2;3;5;8;13;21;34;55;...) in ten languages. Then I realized I would have to relearn some older language's syntax and that would mess up my current knowledge. So this is now down to five languages.
You should see Unknownnoreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-16293513011423286232016-07-16T12:18:00.001-07:002016-07-16T12:18:25.823-07:00Redwood Park: Goats at WorkEast Bay Regional Park is hiring cheap labor. Really cheap, but they do a job that few of us would want to do. Eat flammable underbrush. Lots of it. Enter the goats who will eat many things save for poison oak.
This is right beside the West Ridge Trail, near Moon Gate
They get to keep their horns. Hope they don't get hooked up on a tree.
Some sit down on the job.
Facial hair is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-57230832427288273152016-04-17T11:59:00.000-07:002016-04-17T11:59:02.601-07:00Walking with a Cell Phone is a bit SillyPeople who walk while talking on their cell phones make me laugh. Often.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-22152502383418262882016-03-23T07:56:00.000-07:002016-03-23T08:27:21.790-07:00No Joy in the Writing ContestOf course, I didn't get any placement in the previous writing contest and I will get used to it, but there is a free humor poetry writing contest called the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest so I entered Poetry Smokes because there wasn't a publishing restriction on the entry.
You can enter the contest here:Deadline is April 1st, 2016 and winning entries announced Aug 15, 2016, so breath Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-4567526439021477962015-12-02T21:28:00.003-08:002018-01-14T13:15:33.032-08:00Another Blog - Oh no!Publishers are encouraging authors to start blogging. Ok fine, no problem.
But for me there is a catch. The Non-Dog Blog is for everything that isn't about dogs. So what's the problem? Well... my book very much involves dogs, you really can't call it the "Non-Dog Blog" but it seems so unfair that after more that 500 posts, I have to start another one. Sigh. Well not yet. I think I can Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-25007879713982968172015-12-02T21:20:00.003-08:002015-12-02T21:20:51.070-08:00Baby's First Writing Contest EntrySo apart from trying to find a book agent, I noticed that Writer's Digest is having a short story contest. I keep thinking that I don't have a clue as to how to write a short story, but I look back at what I've written before and I'm such a liar. Sure enough, I have more than one short story. And one of them is actually not a bad one either, so I spent time cleaning up the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1