Month: May 2017
Gloucester Smiles-609
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Gloucester Smiles-608 In the Garden
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IMPORTANT NEWS TO PREVENT RANSOMWARE
There is currently a lot of media attention regarding a particularly nasty form of computer viruses or Malware known as Ransomware. Strictly speaking, it is not a virus in that it does not break into your computer on its own … it tricks you into allowing it in using social engineering. It then uses features of your operating system to encrypt your documents, pictures, music and other data. You then get a rather rude message demanding payment for the key to return your data to a usable state.
Ransomware has been around for a few years now. The current furor over the use of stolen NSA “tools” is about how the thing spread so fast … not the basic concept of holding the encryption key hostage for payment. There is nothing wrong with encrypting portions of your data. It is a preferred way of ensuring privacy so that only those with the authorized keys are allowed access. In fact, it is a requirement of much legal, medical and government communication. The crime here is to do it to someone else’s data and then hold them up for the key to decipher the data.
The only thing you can do to PREVENT getting the Ransomware type of Malware is to be careful what you open (attachments). Use common sense … UPS and FEDEX state that they DO NOT send you attachments about shipments. Basically, beware of ZIP attachments as this is the most common infection vector. Attached PDF files about invoices and overdue payment demands should also be avoided. If you really owe somebody money and they want it bad enough, eventually they will pick up the phone and call you. The IRS never sends you an e-mail demanding payment or Credit Card information. Banks never ask you for your password or PIN. Never follow a link to reset a password … log into the site directly and go into your account management to make any changes. If in doubt, call the institution using a known good number … not something supplied by an e-mail. Another common tactic is to send out a blind message implying that your mail account is overfull and you have to make some change to it or re-establish your account. Most likely you don’t even have any such account. But if you log in to do what they requested, chances are you are going to use the same password as some of your legitimated accounts or the same PIN. They then use that information to try to hack your other accounts.
To protect your data, use a good cloud-based backup system that does versioning. We recommend and use CrashPlan by Code42. There are personal, family and business plans available. Each time a file is opened and then closed it is backed up. This way you can retrieve a copy from the last hour, day, week, etc. until you get the desired result. If your data has become corrupted and the bad files now backed up, you simply go back to the day BEFORE the infection and get the version to restore. Carbonite is another such online backup plan. We have used both and while we prefer the interface to CrashPlan, they both work well.
If your system should get infected, it will have to be rebuilt anyway. That can always be done if you have copies of all of your programs … it is the DATA that makes your system unique. Using Acronis or another disk imaging product will get the system up to a usable condition faster and then the restored data is applied over that. We have done this several times for our customers in the past. It is aggravating … but it works. We will be glad to help anyone who has further questions.
A common rule of thumb is that if seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Same holds true that if it seems too BAD to be true, it could well be a scam. In today’s world of “IoT” (Internet of Things), the more skeptical you are, the better.
That … and backups, Backups, BACKUPS …
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How much energy did we produce with Cazeault Solar? National Grid Owes Us Money! Check Out Our Bill!
Call Tim Sanborn from Cazeault Solar to find out how you can help the environment and be cash flow positive right off the bat with Solar. Total no-brainer, and Tim’s company makes it look natural on your home.
Call Tim (774) 228-3411
Here’s the proof, and our house is all electric baseboard heat. We’re making money baby!
I especially like this part-
“Please do not mail payment. You have a credit balance on your account.”
If you don’t like money, then don’t call Tim.
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Brunch at the Sea Glass Restaurant
Mother’s Day morning I slept until almost 9:00 and woke up to find my boys dressed in button-down shirts and ready to go. Turns out we had 10:30 reservations over at the Sea Glass restaurant at the Castle Manor Inn.
While the weather wasn’t perfect….brunch was. When asked, we were fine sitting outside on the tented and enclosed deck. I’m all in for eating with a view whenever possible and the heaters made it warm enough for us. The Mother’s Day Buffet was loaded with with a variety of dishes and was really delicious. There were several traditional breakfast choices alongside dishes such as chowder, chicken parm, stuffed eggplant, steak tips, and more. While eating, the staff also walked around with platters of stuffed clams, shrimp cocktail, and stuffed mushrooms.
To sweeten the deal, the dessert table included chocolate mousse cake and creme brulee!
Much thanks to the staff for helping to make Mother’s Day pretty lovely….even in the torrential rain. I look forward to going back in the warmth of the summer for a less windy meal.
Learn more about THE CASTLE MANOR INN and SEA GLASS RESTAURANT HERE
I wish I had taken more photos to share in this post, but I was happy to be enjoying the time with the family.
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Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team Update
We will have a display at Motif No.1 Day in Rockport on Saturday, May 20.
- It will be somewhere down there near T Wharf. Exact location to be determined when we get there.
- The event is from 9 am – 5 pm.
- We need to be set up by 8:30 am.
- We’ll have a tent, display panels, tables, live animal exhibit…
- We need lots of volunteers for this event.
- Please get in touch if you can help out – cavpt@yahoo.com
We will be at the Crane Estate Sunday, May 21st at 2 pm with Snakes of New England and the World one hour live animal presentation.
- Also a great volunteer opportunity in a lovely setting.
- Set up at 1ish.
- Again email cavpt@yahoo.com if you can help.
Don’t miss our Annual Yard Sale on Saturday, May 27, 9 am – 1 pm (Rain date Saturday, June 3)
- In the lot behind St. Peter’s parking lot at Rogers and Main Street in Gloucester.
- Please bring all your donations over there on the day of the sale by 7 am… so we have time to sort and price.
- We will need lots of volunteers. Many of us will need to be there early, like by 5:30 am.
- The finishing crew will need to stay until everything is picked up and cleaned up.
- Maybe you can do a couple hours. All help is appreciated.
This is a big fundraiser for us, so gather your stuff and please help us out at the sale.
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Gardens Survive Rain and Winds on Stacy Boulevard
The Flowers in the gardens on Stacy Boulevard survived the heavy rains and winds on Mother’s Day May 14, 2017. Not even a Spring Nor‘easter stops us from enjoying Mother’s Day in Gloucester.
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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who make our lives more beautiful with their love and kindness each and every day. The wish is for today but the love is for always. Rock On Moms!
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YOU DIDN’T THINK I’D ACTUALLY WANT TO LIVE IN THAT DUMP DID YOU?
YOU DIDN’T THINK I’D ACTUALLY WANT TO LIVE IN THAT DUMP DID YOU?
Dad Piping Plover spends considerable time showing Mom how good he is at nest-building.
Mom nonchalantly makes her way over to the nest scrape.
She thoroughly inspects the potential nest.
Dad again rearranges the sand. Mom pipes in, “Honey, I think I’d prefer that mound of dried seaweed over there, nearer the blades of seagrass. And can you please add a few seashells to the next one, rather than bits of old kelp.”
Rejected!
Here we go again!
Five Piping Plovers have been observed at Good Harbor Beach. They are battling over territory and beginning to pair up. The male builds perhaps a dozen nests scrapes in a single day–all in hopes of impressing the female. Hopefully, within the next week, they will establish a nest; the earlier in the season Plovers begin nesting, the greater the chance of survival for the chicks.
Dave Rimmer from Essex County Greenbelt reports that although many nest scrapes have been seen, no nests with an egg on any of Gloucester’s beaches have yet been discovered. He suggests that perhaps the cooler than usual spring temperatures are slowing progress.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUCcXh0FaWp/
Not one, but two, potential nesting sites have been roped off for the Piping Plovers. The second site is near the Good Harbor Beach Inn.
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C.B. Fisk
When C.B. Fisk has their open house, Rick and I always try to go. As many times as we have been there, we always learn something new. Thank you C.B. Fisk and FOB Greg Bover for opening your wonderful shop.
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Tree down on Linden ave
Donna Ardizzoni / Circle Consulting Group 978-526-9222
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This Week in the Arts
Cape Ann Museum Annual Meeting
Tuesday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m.
The Cape Ann Museum spent the year 2016 connecting with its audiences through engaging programming, exciting special exhibitions and community collaborations. The Museum welcomes the public, members and friends to join us in celebration of the accomplishments of 2016!
At 7:00 p.m., author Peter Anastas will present Paper Trail Redux: A Stroll through the Archives of the Cape Ann Museum. Anastas will reflect on the experience of cataloging his own papers in the Museum Archives and will share stories about local writers, including Barbara Erkkila, Joe Garland and Vincent Ferrini, who have each donated their papers to the Museum Archives.
The presentation will be followed by brief reports on activities of the past year and an invitation for Museum members to elect a new slate of officers to the Board.
Refreshments will be served. This program is free and open to the public.
Stevens Brosnihan awarded Goetemann Residency
Opening talk, Wednesday May 17, 2017 7:00 PM z
at The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street
Closing talk, Wednesday June 14, 2017 7:00 PM
at the Goetemann Residency Studio, Madfish Wharf, end of Rocky Neck Ave
The committee of the Goetemann Artist Residency, a program of the Rocky Neck Art Colony, is pleased to announce the selection of Stevens Brosnihan as the first resident of the 2017 season. Each year a Gloucester area artist is invited to spend a month at the Goetemann residency studio on Rocky Neck. Brosnihan was selected as a Goetemann Resident and Gloucester Invitational Artist of the year and receives the use of the residency’s live/work studio on the Madfish Wharf on Rocky Neck from mid May to mid June this year.
Brosnihan, a Gloucester resident, received a BFA from New Mexico State University and an MFA in painting and drawing fro the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is also known as a photographer. He describes his artistic life and practice as follows; “Life on our urban farm is a tangle of processes and outcomes, accidents and events, projects, festering mounds, islands of chaos, moments of ecstatic beauty and tireless tedium. Within this domestic framework and within my community, I create art, write, debate, ponder and collaborate. Some works punctuate ideas, others diffuse into the patterns of daily doings. Projects are sometimes fleeting or ongoing eventualities. The dust seldom settles and when it does we use it to write our stories.”
The public will have the opportunity to hear about his life as an artist at a talk at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street at the beginning of his residency on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, at 7:00 PM. The public is also invited to share Brosnihan’s residency experience at the end of his stay at an informal gathering at the residency studio on the Madfish Wharf at the end of Rocky Neck on Wednesday June 14, 2017, at 7:00 PM. Both events are free to all.
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Pole’s Hill
On Saturday, The One Hour at a Time Gang, cleaned and picked up on Pole’s Hill. What a beautiful spot. Here a couple of photos of the view from up there. Even though it was cloudy so pretty.
For more information please follow the following link.
http://www.ecga.org/explore_our_properties/view_property/1082-robinson_reservation-poles_hill
One of the views from the top
View of O’Maley from Pole’s Hill
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Gloucester Smiles-629 Happy Mother’s Day
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Visitor from Upstate New York
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Gloucester Smiles-607 In the Garden
Devoted Dogs Elle and Emma
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Gloucester Smiles-606
On The Lucy Brown Davis Pathway
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SEASIDE SUSTAINABILITY AWARDED EXCELLENCE IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Congratulations to Eric Magers, so well deserved!! Seaside Sustainability was given the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs 2017 Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education.
Learn more about Seaside Sustainability’s programs here.
And recent GMG podcast with Eric here.
Photo, left to right:
Mathew Beaton – Secretary of Energy and Environmental Education
Eric Magers – Executive Director
Kris Scopinich – Director of Education Mass Audubon
Don Siriani – Legislative and Communications Director Commonwealth of MA
State Officials Recognize 33 Programs for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education
From the office of Energy and Environmental Affairs:
BOSTON – At a State House ceremony, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Matthew Beaton today honored 33 energy and environmental education programs at Massachusetts schools and nonprofits as part of the 23rd Annual Secretary’s Awards for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education.
“Hands-on energy and environmental educational programs improve students’ problem-solving skills and create lifelong passions for science and the environment,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Our administration is proud to recognize the students, teachers and nonprofits raising awareness and coming up with creative solutions to our pressing energy and environmental issues.”
“These educators are engaging students in real-world environmental and energy issues and bringing topics they learn in the classroom to life,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “The programs recognized today are developing students who will make a positive and lasting impact on their communities, schools and the environment.”
Winners competed for $5,000 in awards, funded by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust with the intention to fund further environmental education initiatives at the schools. EEA solicited Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education Award nominations in early 2017. Schools and organizations that voluntarily incorporate environmental education into public or private school curricula are given priority.
“The outstanding educational programs honored today immerse students in important issues like energy, recycling and wildlife conservation,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beaton. “It is more important than ever that we teach the next generation the importance of preserving and protecting our natural resources.”
The project applications were scored by the Secretary’s Advisory Group on Energy and Environmental Education, a group of environmental educators from state agencies, non-profits, industry and academia.
“Not only are these schools teaching students important lessons about protecting the environment, they are also providing them with valuable knowledge and skills in STEM subjects that could spark their future career choices,” said Education Secretary James Peyser.
SEE ALL RECEIPIENTS AND READ MORE HERE Continue reading “SEASIDE SUSTAINABILITY AWARDED EXCELLENCE IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION”
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Happy Mothers Day To Our Constant Never Failing Always There For Us Mother Pat Ciaramitaro
Thank You For Everything Mom. When they write sappy Mother’s Day cards to sell in stores you’d never think that there could be a woman that could live up to those impossibly high standards. But there you are, every day doing what you do, being the very definition of the mother that does everything and gives everything for her family. Always, without fail, you come through.
You are amazing.
I love you with all my heart
Good Morning Gloucester 