#BakkenLivesMatter

To the best of my knowledge this hashtag was available as of 1:00 p.m. central time, November 25, 2015. See Twitter.

It will be interesting to follow the number of hits over time. Currently the number of hits is ... drum roll ... 1.  

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Defense Authorization Bill Signed

Breaking news: President Obama signs defense authorization bill even though the bill contains language making it harder for him to close GITMO, over which he threatened a veto. 

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Before I Forget

A Note For The Granddaughters

More on this later, perhaps, but I don't want to forget -- this is the perfect gift for your budding engineer .... Cubelets.  

Cubelets are recommended for children ages 4 and above. At $500 for 20 blocks, I'm in good shape. I can start saving money now to buy the first set in three years for our youngest granddaughter.  

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Amazon: Password Resets

I still haven't seen this at my Amazon account but it appears to be important information.

"My" bank in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has had this "two-factor authentification" security feature for about two years now. I thought it was a bit of a hassle, but it appears to be hack-proof for accessing on-line accounts.

"My" California bank does not yet use the two-factor authentification security process which amazes me. In a negative way. I use the "California" bank as a "holding area" to pay bills.

I've had my "North Dakota bank account" since 1980 or thereabouts. I make a personal phone call to the bank in Grand Forks maybe once every two years just to hear the "Fargo accent." It's great to talk to a live person who really lives in the Grand Forks area. We generally update each other on our personal lives. Neither of us makes the social faux pas of mentioning the word "Minnesota." Sort of like the annual Christmas card, but in this case a short telephone call every two years just to make sure Grand Forks is still there.

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A Note To The Granddaughters

I joined my daughter and granddaughters for a short afternoon of shopping at Barnes and Noble -- maybe more on that later. Getting there, we saw something we had never seen before in Southlake, TX. Off in the distant, we could see police vehicle lights. The Southlake police have a reputation for stopping anyone for the smallest offense and we assumed they had caught another speeder (going 31 mph in a 30-mph zone, or executing a California red light right turn) -- but when we got there, there was a police vehicle (huge SUV) with lights on, and a Southlake policeman directing traffic in and out of the Central Market / HEB parking lot. For those who have not heard of Central Market / HEB, it's the grocery store for "foodies." It is the most incredible grocery store; we love it. Think of it as Harrods of London.  This is the day before Thanksgiving.

Last Saturday, we stopped by Central Market / HEB deli to ask about traditional turkey stuffing. I asked one of the women working there if Wednesday is a busy day for Central Market / HEB? She was a long-term employee -- perhaps 20 years of experience. She says she does not know because she always asks for that day off -- not to work on the day before Thanksgiving.  Employees, apparently, are given the option of working that day; pay is increased significantly to ensure adequate staff.

No, we did not drive into the Central Market / HEB parking lot.