we have reservations

[OT from cottage renovations]

it appears the Grove's gulf coast relief expedition will be heading down in two groups: an advance party of two volunteers will be leaving a couple of days ahead of the rest of us.  the main group, myself included, will be flying from Baltimore to Gulfport MS on the evening of Monday 24 March.  we're set to return early on Sunday 30 March. 

the setting of travel dates moves this whole thing another step from the abstract to the real.  watch this space for further details as they become available. 

paper spacecraft

[OT from cottage renovations]

it takes the Japanese to think of it and the BBC to report on it:  an origami spacecraft, seen below going through wind tunnel testing: 

image: BBC

impressive results have been attained so far: speeds up to mach 7 and operating temperatures to 300°C. 

who's checking the perimeter?

[OT from cottage renovations]

a recurrent chore in network administration is checking perimeter security to make sure that unwanted traffic doesn't get in:  far better to find these on your own than to have them discovered by others whose motives might be less than altruistic.  penetration testing is like backups, cable management and disk defragmentation, one of those things that just has to get done. 

the latest outsourced service provider in physical security for banks is a 5 year old boy in Easingwold, Yorkshire (BBC). 

more dates

[OT from cottage renovations]

it's not just the gulf coast: working parties are being formed to remove English Ivy from the East and West woods on two Saturdays: 23 February and 1 March. 

if you're around and available, please join in.  some of the infestations are severe and we need all the help we can get.