Events

VALYERMO FALL FESTIVAL

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 & 28, 2003
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

We visited for the first time last year and it was quite nice. They had an area for kids to play in bounce houses, live entertainment and lots of food.

From the web site...

IN MEDIEVAL times the great Benedictine abbeys of Europe often encouraged agricultural and crafts Feyres, where artists, craftspersons, patrons, and paupers all gathered just outside the cloister walls to wonder at that commingling of human ingenuity with the splendor of God's creation which we call "Art". Continuing this venerable tradition, the monks of Valyermo offer an Arts and Crafts Festival on the monastery grounds during the last weekend in September, where artisans and craftspersons from all over the Southland display their products in a setting where both good food and entertainment, as well as the consolation of the Sacraments are provided.

ADMISSION to the Festival is free; however a $4.00 donation is requested for parking. Ceramic plaques produced at the monastery are prominently displayed; as is their designer, Fr. Maur Van Dooerslaer, O.S.B., who is available to autograph his work. The Art Gallery and open-air shows include exhibitions of painting, sculpture, and photography; other displays include pottery, jewelry, and wood and glass crafts.

FOOD BOOTHS, cafeterias and restaurants provide a wide variety of cuisines, from Mexican and Chinese food to hamburgers, chicken, and ribs. Babysitting for children ages 1 to 3 is provided free of charge; and children can also visit the petting zoo. Tour groups are welcome; and the parking fee is waived for tour buses.

Out All Night With the Masters

Want a great night (and morning) out, looking at famous works of art....for FREE?!?!?!

The LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) is opening up its 2 current exhibits, French Masterworks and Modigliani, starting at 9 pm Thursday, September 18 and keeping them open all night long. There will also be entertainment, drinks and food.

Sorry about the late notice on this. I only came across this listing a few minutes ago. Wrightwood sits over a mile high, so it would be a great place to get away from the heat this weekend. -- Douglas

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Wrightwood Art Tour

An art tour throughout the village of Wrightwood

Saturday September 13, 2003
10 am to 5 pm

Over 40 Tri-Community artists are showcasing their work in the Art Tour. Meet our local artists and enjoy a wide range of styles and media displayed throughout the village. Many will offer demonstrations, music and food; artists will be available to answer questions and share their art.

Demonstrations
Refreshments
Music
Silent Auction -- artist donated items
(all proceeds go to the Red Cross)
Tickets
Artist Bio Booklet & Map $5
available for purchase at -- or by mail

Four Seasons Gallery
6013 Park Drive
PO Box 401
Wrightwood, California 92397

For more information:
760-249-3712

Career Column

Career-Op: I want an apprentice
by Douglas E. Welch, ComputorEdge Magazine

Yes, that’s right. I want an apprentice. Not some Dickensian, child in forced-labor kind of apprentice, of course, but someone who wants to know what I know about technology. Someone who wants to begin their career with all the advantages that weren’t available when I was starting mine. Even more, I wonder why no one has sought out myself (or any of you readers) to help them start their high-tech career.

(Continued)

101 Halloween Ideas

I am trying to prep for Halloween a little earlier this year. It always seems to sneak up on me well before I am ready. I seem to add more and more features to my yard every year -- building a new prop here or a new effect there. This year I am also creating stuff for the Haunted House at Joe's school. This is a great way to tackle larger projects and then re-use them at home. This list of tips should give you a great start on this year's Halloween Haunt.

How to keep your job

I came across this excellent item on The Farm: The Tucows Developers' Hangout via AllConsuming, a site which highlights books appearing in weblogs acorss the Internet.

While it is written with software developers in mind, this Powerpoint presentation by the authors of The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master, provides a set of guidelines valid for all high-tech workers (or even all workers, in general). The presentation outlines the threat to high-tech workers in the US and how they themselves can provide the best defense of their jobs. Anyone who is interested in developing their career should take a look.

MS03-039: A Buffer Overrun in RPCSS May Allow Code Execution

This is the latest security update from Microsoft. It appears that no one has released a virus/worm to exploit this issue, but installing this fix will protect you in the future.

From the Tech Note...

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is a protocol that is used by Windows. RPC provides an inter-process communication mechanism that allows a program that is running on one computer to seamlessly access services on another computer. The protocol itself is derived from the Open Software Foundation (OSF) RPC protocol, but with the addition of some Microsoft-specific extensions.

You outta be in pictures (tiles)

Joe has recently started Kindergarten, so I have been bringing him to school and picking him up at the end of the day. Since I am usually way too early (it must be my mid-western upbringing) I have spent some time wandering around the neighborhood.

Imagine my surprise when I happened across this wonderful collection of mosaic artwork. I have driven by this location hundreds of times, but they really don't catch your attention when you are speeding by in a car.

The work is entitled Hollywood Highlights and was created in 1994 by Margaret Nielsen. It was supported by the Percent for the Arts program of the LA Department of Cultural Affairs. The mosaics depict scenes from famous Hollywood films both new and old. You can see a photo gallery containing a few of the mosaics by clicking on the picture above. There are many more mosaics than I show in the gallery. You'll have to visit to see the rest.

If you get a chance, stop by for a few minutes and check this out. Street parking is limited, but available on the opposite (South) side of the street, off of Firmament Avenue. The address of the artwork is 15503 Ventura Boulevard, Encino, California.

Enjoy this little spot of art in the Valley!

My latest TechRepublic article is now online

Keep track of passwords with storage programs for Palm PDAs

Computer professionals now have to remember passwords for routers, servers, VPNs, ISPs, Web pages, and even their own ATM PIN. (Heck, my wife and I even have one for our kid's Upromise account!) And to further protect the security of these systems, you are being required to choose more complex passwords that include numbers, mixed-case letters, and even special characters. Is it any wonder that software developers have created password storage programs for Palm PDAs? The difficult question for you and your users is, "Do these programs enhance security or lower it?or have no effect on it at all"?

(Read the entire article)

Books

Creative Sparks

I came across this book in the bookstore a few days ago. It is a nice collection of tips and tricks to get your creativity going. A nice book to have next to the computer/easel/writing table.

Events

Los Angeles County Fair 2003

September 12-28

Pomona

Largest county fair in the nation; exhibits, carnival, horse racing, food and entertainment.

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Latest Microsoft Security Update

MS03-034: Flaw in NetBIOS Could Lead to Information Disclosure

This update closes a whole where a program could gain access to random bits of data from your computer's memory. A complete discussion of the issue is available in the tech note linked above.