Thoughts From My Inbox

September 24th, 2021

Something About…

I went to two football games last weekend (University School and the Browns) and a concert (311), but I must be getting old.  I go to games (numerous sports at various levels) to see the action on the field.  I go to concerts to see the band and hear the music.  I don’t go for virtual reality add-ons, I don’t want to be ‘carded’ through use of biometrics when I buy a beer, and I don’t want AirPods in my ears to better hear the band.  Just put a good product on the field (or the stage) and let me watch what’s going on without all the other bells and whistles.  Is that too much to ask?  (Waiting for Ashton ops manager Travis Grundke to insert his usual Andy Rooney crack)

An Iowa farm co-operative was hit with ransomware this past weekend, with the demand being $5.9M.  The co-op claims that this will have a greater effect on the US population than last spring’s Colonial Pipeline attack, stating this this will hurt the supply chain for grain, pork, and chicken.  A Minnesota co-op was also hit earlier this week.  Seems that somebody needs to step up and take action against Russia, rather than just rattling sabers.

Real Estate

We’re going cheap this week.  This property in Boston can be yours for the bargain price of $375,000.

 I saw something about a 106 year old member of the 23rd Ghost Army (WWII) having passed away in late August, so I had to find more about this group that used their artistic skills to help defeat the Nazis.  It’s a really cool story about inflatable tanks, camoflauge, and audio recordings.  And while I’m no fashion plate, I even recognized the name of designer Bill Blass, who was a member of the 23rd.

 Supply chain attacks (like the farm co-ops mentioned above) have increased by 650% this year.  Between 2015 and 2019, there were 216 of the attacks reported.  In the past year, there have been 12,000!  This includes the Kaseya attack on managed IT services providers that took place over the July 4th weekend, as well as the Colonial Pipeline attack.

 My son recently graduated from Hamilton College, so when somebody mentioned that their golf coach had been highlighted on the Today Show, I figured I’d include the video.  The coach has three kids at home, and by carrying only a few clubs and running to every shot, she can play eighteen in under an hour.  Considering that I played a round a few weeks ago using nothing longer than a five iron, maybe I should take up running.