Monday’s pain now past
The other days have blurred by
Now Friday is here
Blog
My poetry site has been making me proud
I created this site a couple of years ago to be a focus for my poetry.
I didn’t think too much of it at the time. Just was following the advice to focus your content. My writings scatter across many interests, so I broke apart my stuff into more focused sites.
Well, A Poet’s Journey has done quite nicely. 1266 subscribers, and the most stable/solid stats (sessions, pageview, etc).
Funny that another experiment, Not Just Seattle, has taken up most of my vanity SEO. The Carl Setzer who opened a brewery in Beijing, getting featured by Fortune magazine, amongst others, has the lion share of SEO for my name. But my Keller Williams Realty page, and Not Just Seattle are on page 1 as well.
As of today, my namesake page, CarlSetzer.com, is on page 3. Crazy that an experiment took over the whole thing! And the site that’s getting the most action is down on page 3.
Well, yesterday’s weather in Seattle was quirky as heck
Yesterday’s weather was certainly quirky. Earlier in the afternoon, it was nice enough in Marysville to get a 20 minute walk in. As my weight’s been creeping up, this was quite welcome
Not too much later the thunderstorm rolled through. My son and I planned to hit the gym, but the weather knocked the power out there. So, we went out for a little ride.
Now, it had cleared up as we were gearing up. But it started to pour as we headed out. We opted to keep going. It was my son’s first real rain ride.
I’ve become a fair weathered cyclist over the years. So it was nice to get out and get wet on the road. I love riding so, and need to get back in the saddle more.
I want to push my fitness higher again. Not get my fitness back. Rather, adapt and create a new life, with a solid center of fitness.
Besides riding, I want to get into kayaking. I’ve a fair amount of experience on the water…and I want more. I’ve dreamt of riding rivers; rapids as well as exploring the shores of the Columbia. Well, and many others. Oh, something else I want to try on kayak: ocean riding! Imagining cutting through the surf, riding the waves…yeah, that sounds cool. Just got to avoid pissing off the surfers.
Also, during the winter I want to get deeper into cross-country skiing. That’s one I really miss.
So, my mind’s afire with outdoor ideas. Should be a fun summer!
A monsoon-like rain squall
In the morning dark
<
p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Intense rain’s forceful pounding
<
p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Rattling gutters
<
p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>
<
p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>I awoke this morning to an intense downpour. More like the Philippines or Florida than Seattle.
Evening Lightening
Flickering briefly
Lightning burns across the sky
Jagged movements blur
Updated: spell check got me, changing “lightning” to “lightening”
Footage of the Mukilteo Plane Crash
Yesterday I wrote a bit about the plane crashing in Mukilteo, just north of Seattle. Well, a dashcam caught the dramatic moment.
Impressive, and a little scary, video.
Note: no one was hurt. Though at least one car was burned out.
Infinite Recursive Loops
I do adore Jorge Cham’s comics.
Now, this seems to apply to far more than academia….
Have a great Thursday, folks!
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Strangeness surrounds us
Strangeness surrounds us
So much unbelievable
Such a crazy life
Plane Crashes, Commutes, Construction and Taekwondo: My Week So Far
It certainly has been interesting around the North Puget Sound area the past few days.
First, bigger, news-worthy thingie: plane fell out of the sky. Well, that’s how it was described by an eyewitness. Most important detail: no serious injuries. Reminds of the old pilot joke:
“A good landing is one you can walk away from. A great landing is one where you can reuse the plane.” Not sure if this plane will be in the air again. Not my skillset.
I live about 5 miles from the crash site, so this messed up my commute, as well as my son getting to his choir rehearsal yesterday. Minor things, I guess.
A couple of my construction projects are coming together abruptly. Great news, really, but I’ve spent a bit of time running around dealing with loose ends. It’s been awesome, though. It’s pretty great to get people into homes. Right now one of the best projects is a custom home we’re building on Camano Island. The proverbial dream home. These folks have worked their whole lives for this. It’s really wonderful, and somewhat humbling, to be part of helping them turn it into reality.
With that, another project’s coming together rapidly. Got to head out to the county admin building twice today! I do enjoy the folks there. Sure, not everyone is bright and cheerful…but that’s true of everywhere…even Starbucks!
I ended the evening at taekwondo (editor’s note: I love my school in Lynnwood: YS Lee Martial Arts! Full Disclosure: I manage the website, Mailchimp and Facebook communications there). Spent our normal class time working with new students, introducing them to their poomsae. It’s fun and an honor. I’m also reminded how much there is yet to learn. I know the structure of it quite well. However, knowing the art doesn’t mean you know how to teach it. Pedagogy is something I don’t know that much about. I’m trying to teach them, keep them excited and interested in the martial arts (there’s so much to learn in the beginning, it can be overwhelming). I want to keep it fun and interesting.
I also got to judge a colored belt test this evening. It’s another privilege of being a blackbelt. I deeply adore being part of these milestones. One of the testees was a girl I’ve known since she was, basically, a baby. It was great to see her making such progress. And I judged a woman I’ve known for the better part of a year now (egads, maybe more…), and I love the power she has. You won’t want to be hit by her!
Above I briefly mentioned poomsae, equivalent in karate to kata, and we translate it to “form”. Poomsae are a key differentiation between fighting and martial arts. Graceful styles, which, when done well, exude grace, strength and beauty. Below is one school’s demonstration of the first 8. I’ve enjoyed this one for years.
Do great things, be excellent to each other!
And the Google Docs Phishing Scheme Continues
I just got this message from my college (taking an AutoCAD class at Edmonds Community College). It’s the Google Docs phishing scam. You get an email from someone you know that has “shared a document on Google Docs with you”.
Rule #1 with this sort of thing: DON’T CLICK THE LINK!
This has been around the interwebs for some time. The very first of these I saw, I called the sender and asked. And I’m sure you know what they said.
Now, if someone says they got one of these from you, it’s possible your account’s been compromised. It’s also possible you’re being spoofed (someone forged your email address in the “from” spot…it’s pretty easy, actually). I recommend immediately changing your password, since it won’t hurt. You should be regularly changing your passwords, anyway (yeah, yeah…I know…).
Anyway, live your digital life with a healthy dose of suspicion. Trust but verify, and any of a number of other security-esque cliches.
Clearly this is starting to grow again. Here are two articles to explore this fun further (both posted today)
- Did Someone Just Share a Random Google Doc with You? (The Atlantic)
- Don’t Open Google Doc Unless You’re Positive It’s Legit
Practice safe computing!
Subject: “<some name you may recognize> has shared a document on Google Docs with you”
Message:
“_______ has invited you to view the following document:”
“Open in Docs” <—– DO NOT click on this link!
——————————
Do not open the document! Immediately mark the email as Spam or Delete it. This is a widespread phishing scam targeting Google Apps. If you accidentally opened the Doc, your email account may be compromised, and your email address will continue to send the scam to everyone in your contact list. Several people at EdCC have already been fooled by this scam, so you may receive this email from someone familiar, such as your instructor, staff at EdCC, or other students.
We urge you to change your password and visit your account security page in EdMail to verify the applications that have access to your data in Google Apps.