Christos anesti! Alithos anesti!

Christos anesti! Alithos anesti!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
(Traditional Greek Easter greeting) Picture of the Holy Sepulchre.

Happy Easter, all. Read more Paschal greetings worldwide.

7QT: Heartbleed, Beer, and Other Drivel

~1~ 

Heartbleed

If you use the Internet -- and I'm guessing a lot of you do -- then you will want to know that someone could have been stealing your password for the last two years.

Facebook? Pinterest? GMail? Yahoo Mail? Dropbox? USAA?  -- Yup. You've been had.

Computer security experts have "just" discovered a flaw in the popular OpenSSL encryption software that is safeguarding just about every online password and shopping site on the Internet. They call it the Heartbleed bug because it leaks your secrets. Cute, eh?

The best thing you can do if you use one of these services, is to change your password right away IF your service has applied the fix.  Here's a chart to find out.

~2~ 

Hops

My hobby is home brewing beer. Every year I learn a little more about it and try something new. This year my neighbor offered me some hops vines to plant between our two yards. Naturally, I accepted. Hops is the magic cone-flower that makes beer bitter (instead of sweet barley water) and gives beer it's distinctive taste, aroma, and even a touch of preservative.

Hops vines can grow up to 30 feet tall!

I know next to nothing about growing them, but not gonna let that stop me. Plus, what if I succeed? Fresh hops will be fresh, exciting, and tasty!

~3~ 

Kegerator

 Speaking of beer, it comes in pints. And what better way to serve a pint than freshly drawn out of my brand-y new kegerator?  Dual taps even.

All I can say is that my wife is the best! Crazy to allow it -- but the best!

Kegco K309B-2 Dual Faucet Digital Kegerator - Black Matte Cabinet, double gauge regulator, and Stainless Steel 2 Faucet Tower with Perlick 630SS forward sealing taps! Integrated drip tray, locking casters, fan-forced air, CO2 canister shelf and clip, and stainless steel guard rail.

If this means nothing to you, then just know that this means two kinds of awesome beer served from a handsome dispenser at-your-service.

~ 4 ~ 

Fr. Longenecker's Book

I picked up Fr. Longenecker's latest book The Romance of Religion: Fighting for Goodness, Truth, and Beauty.

Fighting for goodness, truth, and beauty? What red-blooded man doesn't want to do that?

Being a life-long fan of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, I have to say that I enjoy this way of exploring the Catholic faith most of all: by myth.

C. S. Lewis said that Christianity works on us like every other myth, except it is a myth that really happened. Dwight Longenecker grabs this idea and runs with it, showing that the Christian story is the greatest story ever told because it gathers up what is true in all the fantasy stories of the world and makes them as solid, true, and real as a tribe of dusty nomads in the desert or the death of a carpenter-king.

Myth has the advantage of being able to present reality in another guise so that we can actually perceive it more clearly by removing the patina of familiarity.

Do yourself a favor and read it too!

~ 5 ~

Since I love myth and the chivalry of romance, it will come as no surprise that I'm excited about the release of Black Knight 2000 from The Pinball Arcade.

Black Knight 2000™ (1989): The Black Knight rides again in this brilliant sequel to the Steve Ritchie hit from 1980. Players take on the role of good versus evil as they battle the Black Knight in high velocity gameplay.

I am a pinball nut. Note this is different than actually being good at it. But I love the lights, sounds, and the feel of pinball. I sunk many never-to-be-retrieved quarters into pinball as a starving college student. Black Knight 2000 was my object d'amore.

I may never own the real thing, but I can play on my iPhone, iPad, Android Phones and tablets, the Amazon Kindle Fire, as well as the PlayStation3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, and Macintosh.

And now Black Knight 2000 is available in all its glory for a pittance. Or as close as you can get without full haptic (touch) feedback -- but it does have Tilt sensors on the iPad and you can "bump" the table.

I'm in heaven.

~ 6 ~ 

Catholic Study Bible App

 Speaking of cool things for your iPhone, iPad, or Android if you haven't downloaded your FREE version of the Lighthouse Media / Ignatius Press Bible App, you are really missing out.

I've used a lot of Bible software and most of it leaves something (a lot) to be desired.

Happily, this app is well put together, good UI, solid RSV-2CE Catholic translation, excellent footnotes and commentary, search, navigation, maps, bookmarking, social media integration, plus extras like recorded talks from Scott Hahn and others.

Once of my favorites is that you can also get the entire New Testament in audio dramatization! Even my kids, the Nodlings were fascinated by this and wanted to get out their bibles to "read along". Success!

~ 7 ~

If you love a short and entertaining story, read Three Hundred Words. Good, tight, and vivid writing that captures the action in medias res, yet gives you a flavor for the larger context. Excellent stuff.

This collection of short fictionalized histories, each exactly 300 words long, is an attempt to show that the uncertain times in which we now reside are no different than any other time - ever. Tragedies, triumphs, good times and bad are presented here as a calendar chronicling one year in the life of our world.

Some of the characters and events you may already be familiar with, others not at all. But don’t be too sure of yourself when reading these stories; they’ll sometimes take you where you least expect!

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Submit your 7 Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

It Comes In Pints

I have to say that Mrs. Nod is the Best. Wife. Ever.

She actually let me get it. So cool. She said after these several years of homebrewing she figured it wasn't a "fad" with me. If you are wondering what "it" is, then feast your eyes:

Kegco K309B-2 Dual Faucet Digital Kegerator - Black Matte Cabinet, double gauge regulator, and Stainless Steel 2 Faucet Tower with Perlick 630SS forward sealing taps! Integrated drip tray, locking casters, fan-forced air, CO2 canister shelf and clip, and stainless steel guard rail.

If this means nothing to you, then just know that this means two kinds of awesome beer served from a handsome dispenser at-your-service.

It's like I'm an excited teenager swooning over the latest sports car or something. Well, this is my hot-rod. 

And it's digital! You set the temperature you want and you get it. None of this temperature trial and error. Temperature makes a big difference when you are trying to dispense beer from a tap. Too cold and you get ice crystals, too hot and all you get is a glass of foam.

The CO2 also dissolves differently in the liquid at different temperatures. Don't need a mouth full of bubble prickles because the temperature and pressure are all out of whack.

This baby can hold up to 3 home brew corny kegs (5 gallon) or a full-sized commercial keg. Or a small child (heaven forbid!). Note to self -- Next on the buy list: door latch and tap locks.

All right-y then: who wants a pint?

Mission: Accomplished

Had the pleasure of attending the Lenten mission at St. Leo the Great in Fairfax this week given by the fabulous Fr. Dwight Longenecker. (May I call you fabulous?)

A Parish Mission has the purpose of refreshing and invigorating your faith, especially during the Lenten season as we prepare ourselves for the "newness" of Easter. Often, guest preachers are brought in so that you can hear the familiar with a "new voice" and a new understanding.

If that's the case then Mission: Accomplished.

Father Longenecker is a fun and compelling speaker and yet very down to earth. While I was there I picked up his latest book The Romance of Religion: Fighting for Goodness, Truth, and Beauty.

Fighting for goodness, truth, and beauty? What red-blooded man doesn't want to do that?

Being a life-long fan of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, I have to say that I enjoy this way of exploring the Catholic faith most of all: by myth.

C. S. Lewis said that Christianity works on us like every other myth, except it is a myth that really happened. Dwight Longenecker grabs this idea and runs with it, showing that the Christian story is the greatest story ever told because it gathers up what is true in all the fantasy stories of the world and makes them as solid, true, and real as a tribe of dusty nomads in the desert or the death of a carpenter-king.

Myth has the advantage of being able to present reality in another guise so that we can actually perceive it more clearly by removing the patina of familiarity.

Do yourself a favor and read it too!

Subscribe to Wynken, Blynken, and Nod via RSS here!  

Last Windows XP Patches

Yesterday (April 8, 2014) was the last day of Microsoft's public support for Windows XP.

Windows XP was launched on October 25 2001 and still accounts for more than 25% of the installed operating systems in 2014 according to NetMarketshare. (You can tell by the screenshot; these are my last Windows XP patches.)

13 years ... not bad.

So long, Windows XP, we knew ye well.