Monday Meanderings - 1.23.2017

The grand clock adventure continues. I have the older-than-me mantle clock keeping good time at this point. And the Westminster chimes are right on. But striking the hour correctly seems to be more than it can handle. Most of the time, the lower-numbered hours are right - for example three o'clock is almost always right - but not always; sometimes it strikes only once at that hour. And the higher numbers are simply not in reach. The clock gives up after striking 8, sometimes 9 times for the 9-12 range.

And I have decided that winding my 8-day clock on a 1-day schedule seems to work best. There is a betting pool at our household now for just how long I will patiently maintain the running of the clock. Does anyone want in on that action?

TXDOT has been asking for public input for clever, but meaningful text that will fit on those temporary lighted signs by the roadside. The current top vote-getter is a message for cars to merge into one lane with a sign reading "Alright, alright, alright." That may be more meaningful to Austinites than to others.

I am aware that privacy on the Internet is an illusion, but that was really brought home to me the other day when I downloaded a banking app for a locally-owned bank where I keep a small fund to use with a debit card.

I logged in with the proper credentials and got a response that said, "Welcome - we need to know just a little bit more about you to prove that you are really you" and there followed a series of questions, like "What year is your Toyota Highlander?" I don't remember the progression, but each question became a bit more puzzling - as in, where did they get the data for that question? I sure didn't give it to them when I opened the account.

But the final question really caught my attention. It was, "In what city is the following street located?" and listed "N. Davis" and several city choices (including Arlington, TX - the right answer).
My son knows the answer to this question as well, because he interned at the church located on North Davis in Arlington, TX in his college days. And while I have had other associations with that church on North Davis over the years, I'm pretty sure the link between me and my little bank account in Cameron Texas goes through Rob and his internship, and when you think about it, that's a pretty scary thing.