Access is Granted

Yet, there is no plausible explanation, except maybe for the FM principle.

Some of you may be familiar with this expression, which doesn't mean frequency modulation. so I will leave it at that. Of course, you're free to substitute freakin' madness and that will work just as well.

A previous post detailed that I couldn't access several blogs on my sidebar, but instead received a warning that the sites could be risky. 

Frustrated and just plain annoyed as to why this message suddenly came up as these blogs were ones accessed regularly without any issues. It seems this could have been a recent security add-on through our home internet provider (Xfinity). This feature would block a site from loading if it suspected any potential dangers from malware, spyware or other risks. Yet, the sites could be accessed when not on my home network, so I was going to access blogs away from the apt.

Happily, I will not have to do that.

Maybe due to that FM principle?

Not sure how or why, but this past weekend all of those sites could be accessed with no displayed cautions. And, that trend thankfully has continued into this week.

And, I did absolutely nothing to cause either the initial problem or the eventual resolution.

Sometimes, there is magic and as long as all is working again, I believe.

Several mornings this week, our river views have been fogged in. The weather hasn't been spring-like with steady rain last weekend and a forecast of light snow changing to rain this week. However, we haven't had any of the nastier weather affecting many other states.

Thanks for all the comments on last week's Friday Funnies post that showed photos of lost shoes in singles and pairs. The diverse locations where the footwear was seen didn't provide any clues. As in many cities, there is a homeless population within Nashua, so perhaps a few bloggers were correct in supposing that the paired shoes were left for them. 

That said, here's what I saw earlier this week l and in this location, a Recycle can downtown on Main Street and only the lone boot. This one was not made for walking solo.

Friday Funnies

There's been many songs that mention shoes and or walking, for example: Blue Suede Shoes,These Boots Are Made for Walking, No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem, Boogie Shoes, Walking Shoes, Red High Heels, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Walking in Memphis, Waling on Sunshine, Just Walking in the Rain, I'm Walkin'.

Shoes, not songs, are the subject of this post

In the past, I've seen lost or discarded clothing, especially gloves. But, recently on local walks in Nashua, NH, there's been a recurrence of seemingly abandoned footwear. Of course, it's certainly not funny to think of shoeless people, I documented the sightings. 

None of the footwear shown below was moved or posed. All photos were in situ in other words as found in the original place (as noted) and not arranged for photo purposes. 

In late fall, this leaf pile almost concealed a pair of very worn sneakers and a lone sock.

A couple of weeks ago, this lone right child's boot was found just off a walkway. It featured Woody from Toy Story movie fame, but was missing a companion boot.

These two lone sandals found in different locations on local streets. They almost made a pair as the top photo looked like a right shoe, the bottom was definitely a left one.

This nearly-new white sneaker had no nearby mate and seemed in like-new condition. It was spotted in a grassy area near the local library.

This pair of what's referred to as boat shoes was poised on a good vantage point near a local bank.

Here's another complete pair. These black mens' shoes seemed in very good condition. The pair was alongside a wall in the downtown area.

Shoes haven't been the only things spotted. These socks were in the middle of a downtown street this week which even more curious.

Just wondering — Has anyone else had similar experiences finding articles of clothing or footwear? if so, please share in a comment.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

West Side Story (1961) is showing at the library this Sunday

We're bringing popcorn for this 2 hr+ film

The Culprit Revealed

Yesterday's post, Proceed with ⚠️ was shared after I received a security notice when accessing a few blog sites early yesterday. 

After the notice displayed for one site, I systematically went through all the blog sites on my sidebar and received the same caution for two other blogs.

The notice advised the sites be avoided because: This site might compromise your device or contain high-risk content. To avoid these risks, we recommend avoiding this site.

This struck me as quite unusual and highly unlikely as these blog sites were ones I've been accessing for several years, not some recent sites. All three are listed on my sidebar.

Do I think these sites pose any risk?

Certainly not and also several other bloggers commented that they had previously received similar cautions, which they ignored. Nothing dire happened as a result.

But, of course, I wanted to know more especially why did this message suddenly displayed when these blog sites have been accessed without issue. To be honest, I still do not have a complete answer, but at least determined the source.

Why the Block?

Apparently, it's related to the security provided from our internet provider, Xfinity. According to online information this feature monitors network traffic and blocks a site from loading when it has detected potential dangers that could contain malware, spyware, phishing or other risks that could harm personal devices and/or compromise personal information. The message strongly recommends to avoid the blocked website to protect devices and data. 

What can be done 

Again, according to online sources, when trying to access a website that may have been blocked mistakenly by Advanced Security, it's possible to go to the Security Risk History for a device and select Allow Access next to the website you want to visit. 

Alternately, if you believe the site is legitimate and need to access it, you can carefully evaluate the source of the link or information and consider using a different browser or a more secure connection (like a VPN). 

What's not recommended

While it's possible to disable Advanced Security, doing so would remove security protection for all devices on your network. As we currently have a number of these on our home network, this option will not be completed. 

It's unfortunate that this advanced security feature from our internet provider has blocked certain blog sites, However, Patrick isn't planning to change or modify any security settings.

Personally, I'm hoping that this is a temporary glitch. I'll try to access the selected sites, but will not click Proceed Anyway to ignore the caution. My advance apologies for not being able to read or comment on some many blog sites.

Further Update: It seems that our home internet service is now blocking even more blog sites through a feature called Safe Browse IO, which is not a virus or malware. This security feature is a central element of Xfinity xFi Advanced Security. It blocks access to potentially dangerous or malicious websites, acting as a security layer to protect users from online threats. 

That may be so, but to my mind it's become a downright annoyance and very frustrating.

Again, I do not believe any of these blog sites has harmful information, but I'm not willing to take any chances that could compromise our devices or data. That said, it's possible I may find another way for internet access that doesn't use our home service. There's a Function Room with wi-fi available for residents, which I will use later this week. Details to follow.

Proceed with Caution ⚠️

A caution to fellow bloggers — this screen displayed on three blog sites listed in my sidebar this morning.

FYI this message displayed attempting to access these blog sites on both an iPad and MacBook using Apple's Safari browser, the only browser on my devices. 

Needless to say, I didn't proceed, but took a screen shot to display here and then ran a virus check on my PC with no dire report. (The screen shot above was edited to blur a blog site and my bookmarks.)

It's posted for your information as a precaution, since the websites are displayed on my sidebar: Buttercup Counts Her Blessings, Carola Bartz and Mad Snapper. I'm hoping this is a temporary situation and that I can re-visit these blogs in the future.

If it's happened to you, now or previously, please feel free to comment.

Friday Funnies

🌼 Happy Spring to Everyone 🌻

The first day of spring, or the spring equinox was yesterday, March 20, in the Northern Hemisphere. Currently, there's a lack of flowers around Nashua, NH, compared to other areas where blooming daffodils, crocuses and tulips have been posted on blogs.

Instead, here's a bright bit of yellow that I spotted in the area last week.

First sighting for Spring ?

Hoping that Spring makes an appearance in the next couple weeks, but tit may be delayed. The forecast is calling for the possibility of some snow and rain next week.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my earlier Spam Begone post, I appreciated reading how others deal with spam calls and texts and junk mail. Of course, the best advice as many commented is never reply to an unknown call, text message or email is to — delete it, block it, mark as junk and never, ever reply.

Book Sale Update: The Friends of Nashua Public Library Book Sale held last weekend netted $32,700 which was slightly higher than the 2024 sale (which was about $31,000, not $34,000 as previously posted). Sale proceeds were all from donated items and will continue to support ongoing and future library programs, such as twice weekly film showings, Recent Releases are on Tuesday and Cinema Classics are on Sunday. (This Tuesday, we saw Wicked at the library.)

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

We're going to the see a cinema classic at the library

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) in B&W

Spam (Somewhat) Begone

An earlier post this month on blog spam detailed how I've been reporting spammers to Google as spam, malware or phishing. Recently, I reported some as harassment since they had left repeated spam comments. That seemed like harassment to me.

Internet graphic

Have Blog Spam Comments Gone?

Not completely, but there has been a marked reduction in the amount of blog spam that has been posting in comments compared to previously. In the past couple of weeks, I've received a few sporadic spam comments, none for online cricket betting as before. 

So, maybe, going through this process has been having an effect. I know that many bloggers moderate their comments and so reported they received little to no spam. While that seems a more time-consuming process, this is strictly a personal view since this process works for many bloggers. I will continue filing reports to Google.

Blog spam is just one issue. So many people, we know complain about receiving unwanted phone calls for so many things (auto warranties, credit cards, insurance). They also lament about the amount of junk mail.

Phone Call Spam
We have both cell phones and a residential or "house" phone. Today, most people only have a cell number given out to family, friends, medical providers and anyone else who needs your phone number. 

Internet graphic

While both Patrick and myself own and use cell phones, our numbers are only shared with family and friends and, when necessary, to others such as when we are traveling away from home. Otherwise, the "house" number is given out. It has proven effective in not having folks send us text messages, including medical offices. I always know when I have an appointment and thankfully have few of these, so do not need both phone and text reminders.

There's a lot of articles on how to deal with phone spam. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has one as well, How to Block Unwanted Calls on both a cell phone and/or land line, regardless if you are already registered on the National Do Not Call Registry. The article explains the difference between Call Blocking and Call Labeling.

Internet graphic

Junk Mail, Everyone?

Our postal mail, when we receive any, gone are the days when mailboxes contained real mail (remember post cards, letters and cards?), contains hardly any junk mail. 

Why? Because when and if we receive mail in the form of requests for donations, unwanted catalogs, etc. After we moved into this apartment, we would get unsolicited catalogs addressed to the former resident.Then, and now, I call any number that's included and politely request that no future mailings be sent.  The usual response is that the mailings could take a few months to stop. I again politely reply that they will be recycled until they stop. Wonder of wonders, it never takes that long. I've stressed that politeness is always a keyword. Customer service folks who answer calls should never be shouted at or abused. Far too often, I suspect they are on the receiving end of nasty calls. There's no excuse for this abuse.

Once again, the FTC has an online article on How to Stop Junk Mail explaining how to get less mail from marketing companies and also credit card and insurance companies. Real Simple magazine also had a good article on How to Stop Junk Mail for Good in Less Than in less than 5 Minutes.

Mail asking for donations to worthy organizations is a big problem for many. I follow the same procedure as for unwanted catalogs and call the organization to request our name/address be removed from the solicitation list and also not be sold to another organization. It's working for us; we get virtually no unsolicited donation requests, really. Our donations are limited to local organizations with exceptions for donations to relief organizations that provide assistance for natural disasters and, most recently, the LA fires.

These are always done in the form of a check (remember those) not by credit card. A letter is included specifying that the monies be used for whatever purpose necessary and no acknowledgement or receipt is required or requested (we do not itemize for taxes). The letter further requests our names and address are not to be provided to any other organization as we make our own choices. Adhering to these requests assures that the organization remains on our donation list. We haven't yet removed one we've selected.

Also, you can cross off your mailing address on a check. I do this on all donation checks. As advised by our local bank, a check can still be legally cashed — we've never had one returned. 

Do These Things Work?

Yes, they do at least for us and possibly for others. Unwanted catalogs usually stop after one call. Local organizations do not send additional solicitations during the year and we do not get solicitations from other local organizations. 

The information in the post is based on my personal experiences. Yes, it can take a bit of effort up front, but the results have been worth it. You may have other methods that work for you as there are countless articles, websites, YouTube videos available providing info on how to stop/lessen unwanted spam from calls, texts, email and mail.

BIG Movie & Book Buys

☘️ Happy St Patrick's Day🍀 from us and Maxine (photo below).

First, braggin' rights to many fellow bloggers, who correctly named Big as the 1988 movie featuring Zoltar, the antique fortune telling machine in the previous post.

Correct first response was from Kathy followed by Ginny, Emma (mimmylyn), Rita, Michelle and Denise. Also, braggin'rights twice to Emma for providing this synopsis: Of course I remember the movie. It was Big. The first time it was shown was when the boy was at the carnival and wanted to ride a ride that a girl he had a crush on. He was unable to ride because he was too short. He came upon the Zoltar machine and made a wish to be big. The next morning he was indeed 'big'. He spent the rest of the movie waiting to see Zoltar again so he could be back to normal. When he saw Zoltar at the end of the movie his wish is again granted.

Big starred actor Tom Hanks who also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. However, at the 1989, 61st Academy Awards he lost to Dustin Hoffman who won for Rain Man. Ironically the late actor Gene Hackman was also a Best Actor nominee for the film, Mississippi Burning.

My total book sale purchases were under $10

The annual book sale of Friends of the Nashua Public Library was a huge success. We attended the Friday night preview which was quite hectic with book sellers looking for bargain buys. I bought a couple of books the first night, David O. Selznick's Hollywood and a Simple Weeknight Meals cookbook (America's Test Kitchen. It's not that we needed another recipe book, but this oversize softcover is similar to a couple of other ATK books, so it fit well in the bookcase.

Always room for an ATK cookbook

On Saturday, I volunteered for 6 hours basically tidying up books and adding more to the sale tables from the overflow books stored below. It's amazing how tired you can get bending up and down after doing so for a couple of hours. After that, sorting and re-filling tables in the paperback fiction room was much easier. Boxes there were all displayed on tables and it was just a matter of condensing and filling in empty spaces in boxes.

The other books shown in the above photo were all purchased Sunday, the final sale day, when I went to return some borrowed books and to browse the sale (without volunteering) just as a buyer. 

My 2-day buying total was $9.50 and that was a definite bargain when compared to the $193 suggested retail cost for all six books. Most hardcovers with the exception of very large oversized ones (like Selznick's Hollywood) were priced at $2; paperbacks were priced at $1 or 50 cents. So, you can readily see why book sellers always attend this sale in large numbers. The Friends' goal is to clear out as many books as possible since more will be donated in time for the 2026 sale.

The official sales tally hasn't been announced yet, but I heard from other Friends members (in the know) that Preview Night sales were around $17,000. This was before the general buying public shopped all day Saturday and half-day Sunday. (Once it's known, I'll share the total in a future post.)

Maxine was all decked out in her finest greenery for a St. Patrick's Day celebration which will take place at the Hudson Senior Center this week.

She's a permanent resident at this senior center where we meet to play dominoes weekly. There's no resident housing there; Maxine hangs out in the center office when not celebrating a holiday and never misses the chance to dress for the occasion. In reply to a blogger's comment, it does look like she's holding an angry stuffed cabbage 🥬.

Friday Funnies

Today's post is a trip down movie trivia.

Can you name the 1988 movie that featured this antique fortune telling machine ?

Bonus Point if you know why the machine was used and what happened. (This isn't an internet grab, as I took this photo of the machine, but can't recall its location.)

Zoltar granted a wish in the film

This fantasy-comedy film, directed by Penny Marshall, met with widespread critical acclaim, especially for the lead actor's performance. It established him as a major box-office success and crowd favorite. The film was a commercial success; it grossed $151 M worldwide against a production budget of $18 M.

As always, no prizes, just braggin' rights. The answer (and winners) posted next week.

Nashua Public Library Friends Book & Media Sale Set-Up

This weekend, the Friends of the Nashua Public Library are holding their Annual Friends Book & Media Sale. The 3-day sale starts with Friday Preview sale night for Friends and invited book sellers and ends Sunday afternoon. Monies raised fund various library programs and events throughout the year. The 2024 sale brought in $35,000. The sale includes thousands of donated books, hundreds of movies,  music CDs, assorted games and puzzles. It takes place in the library's entire lower level. Set-up was done several evenings this week by Friends members, including myself, assisted by local high school students.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

As Friends members, we're going to Preview night

We vow not to buy more books, but then we can donate them back

Nashua River Happenings

Just Ducky is the best way to describe happenings on the Nashua River the past couple of weeks from melting snow and ice, new ducks seen on the river, favorite ducks returning and ongoing construction work in the nearby pocket park. It's been a busy time.

This is how the portion of the Nashua River viewed from our apartment window looked during most of February, snow-covered, but not frozen over, with no ducks in sight.

What a difference in the past two weeks as warming temps arrived and the formerly frigid temperatures started to moderate. The ice was breaking up and floating downstream.

The river's ever-present population of seagulls returned. This group was spotted on some of the remaining river bank ice, but no problem with cold feet. 

Why? seagulls' feet can get cold, but they're not susceptible to frostbite as they are mostly bone and tendon with little muscle or nerve tissue. Gulls have a countercurrent heat exchange system, which helps prevent blood from freezing in their feet. Here's how that works: warm arteries that carry blood toward the feet are in contact with cooler veins that return blood from the feet. So, heat transfers from warmer arterial blood to cooler venous blood, and prevents excessive heat loss in the feet. If only humans were as fortunate as seagulls.

Common Mergansers

Last week, the river had new visitors as a group (waddling or flock) of up to a dozen Common Mergansers appeared on the river below our apartment window. These ducks are part of the Anatidae family which consist of ducks, geese, and swans. It was the first time we'd seen any  on the river.

I read that in the UK, these ducks are called Goosanders. The word, merganser, comes from Latin words mergus and anser, which mean waterfowl and goose, respectively. The name roughly translates to plunging goose.

There's been some very windy days on the river

Mergansers are diving ducks and a member of the sawbill family, with serrated bills used for catching fish. It's considered a very sociable bird and whenever we've seen them, there's always several in the flock and these flocks are usually small. Unlike Canada Geese, common mergansers do not mate for life, but form monogamous pairs for at least one breeding season.

Common mergansers are carnivores (piscivores) feeding mostly on fish but also hunt a range of other aquatic prey: mollusks, crustaceans, worms, insect larvae, and amphibians. 

Male (top) and female (bottom) Common Mergenser

The Common Merganser is a sexually dimorphic bird which refers to visible differences in physical and behavioral traits between males and females of the same species. These differences can include size, color and markings. Males tend to be bigger in size and weigh. Female ducks are slightly smaller with less colorful markings. The female merganser in the above photo was the only one seen in the flock this week.

Legs of Mergansers are positioned for swimming and diving

Mergansers move clumsily on land, and can resort to running when there's a perceived threat. They assume a very upright position similar to penguins and frequently fall and stumble. As shown in the photos above their legs are positioned towards the rear. While an asset when diving, this makes it difficult for them to walk on land.

Early morning flock of Mergansers on the Nashua River

For the past week, we've watched this flock of Common mergansers hunting either in the early morning or late afternoon. (All images were taken from our 5th floor windows.) When not diving for food, the mergansers were usually swimming on the water surface or floating with the stream and would fly or fish their way back. This week, we watched as they followed this procedure for several mornings.

The river also hosted returning favorites and perhaps the most familiar of all ducks, Mallards. These very social ducks prefer to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes. This group of males and females were seen pairing off on the river over the weekend. Unlike mergansers, the mallards will swim closer to the river bank, especially if they anticipate that walkers on the river walk will toss bread, which is never the best thing for them. Just as for humans, bread is a poor source of protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals that ducks require for a healthy diet.

Male (top) and female (bottom) Mallard

Male mallards (drakes) have a striking iridescent green head, yellow bill, white band around the neck, rusty-colored chest, gray body, and a blue speculum (wing band) on the wings seen during the breeding season. Female mallards (hens) are mainly speckled brown and tan with a dark brown cap and brown eye stripes. 

The name, mallard, originally referred to any wild drake, and it is sometimes still used this way. It was derived from the Old French malart or mallart for "wild drake" although its true derivation is unclear. The Mallard is the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds (everything except the Muscovy Duck). While Mallard pairs are generally monogamous, paired males often will pursue females other than their mates. (Perhaps, as in the above photo?)

Meanwhile, now that the weather has been improving, work has resumed in the Le Parc De Notre Renaissance Française, locally known as the French Park, which is adjacent to the mill apartments. Construction work had been halted with the snowfalls and ice, but it resumed this past week. A permanent amphitheater is being installed and walkways are being placed along the river walk. Unfortunately, we won't be enjoying this open space area this summer. Completion has been predicted by year-end 2025.

AWARDS NIGHT: The Tiny Film Festival we attended at the Nashua Public Library last weekend was a fun, if very short, film premier event. All 60-second films were submitted by community members with 15 entries jin categories ranging from grade school, high school to adult film makers. The library did have a shortened red carpet. A photographer was on hand to take photos of three winners in each group and a final group photo. Winners were awarded a small trophy and gift card. Snacks were provided by the library staff.

Friday Funnies

This is a random collection of photos that provoked some phun thoughts in my mind and, believe me, some days it doesn't take much. Feel free to groan.

This shoe owner was not well heeled and definitely without sole.

This was definitely a shattering scene.

Maybe this sign is pointing the way to a very small town ?

Some days are cagey or you might feel caged in.

No ifs, but so many frozen butts were seen on city sidewalks and streets after most of the snow and ice melted. This nasty scene was repeated in many areas; a sidewalk cleanup will be very welcome — the sooner, the better. Like many others, I also thought that folks were smoking less due not only to health concerns but costs; however, this was only one of several areas that was littered with cigarette butts, so there's still many smokers.

This is good advice for anything traffic-related and even more so for life.

Tonight, we're going to view some very short movies and attend a film awards ceremony. But, we're not going to a cinema. The third annual Tiny Film Festival is at the Nashua Public Library complete with a red carpet for the presenters and popcorn for the attendees. Best of all, we can walk to the show.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

For most U.S. states, clocks are set 1 hour ahead this weekend