Twas the last Spark before Christmas and all through the office, no tickets were popping, not even a toner change, cried for attention. The changes and moves had been handled with care, in the hopes that a day off, would finally be there. All backups were tested, recovery assured. Then what should appear in my monitoring software, but a flashing red icon, a symbol of doom? A click and a tap revealed the real truth, an intruder detected, near the server room roof. I dashed to the room and threw open the door and saw a footprint, there on the floor. I saw no one around and started to panic, when I noticed a note, affixed to the rack. With trembling hands, I unfolded the slip and read with relief. Simply good wishes, for this holiday season, “may dropped packets be zero and malware be zilch”, and no after hour calls filtch your time off.
Ok, so no professional poets are in any danger from my attempt.
This is it; we are hours away from Christmas Eve and even that is a weekend for those of us lucky enough to know what a weekend is. This is my last Spark for 2022 and my second December, nary a sad or bad word Spark. The joy of the season will imbue this Spark and leave you feeling refreshed and ready for the last day of the week. When I worked retail, Christmas eve always held to promise of real entertainment, watching last minute shoppers, frantically buying anything they could see. I am sure that in the current online shopping age, there is probably still that mad dash, but seeing it in person was always something to look forward to.
But the world does not stand still today and did not in the past. So many things happen, even this close to the holiday.
So on to the good news happenings of this day:
1690 English astronomer John Flamsteed observes Uranus without realizing it’s undiscovered.
1919 Alice H Parker patents gas heating furnace, something I am particularly happy about considering our current record breaking cold snap here in the Fraser Valley.
1947 Transistor invented by John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley in Bell Labs
1954 The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts
1986 Experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan & Jeana Yeager, completes 1st nonstop, round-the-world flight without refueling.
Births on this Day: It is all about music!
1939 Johnny Kidd [Frederick Heath], British rock singer-songwriter (Johnny Kidd & Pirates - “Shakin’ All Over”), born in London, England
1940 Eugene Record, American musician (Chi Lites - “Give It Away”; “Have You Seen Her”), born in Chicago, Illinois
1940 Jorma Kaukonen, American rock guitarist (Jefferson Airplane; Hot Tuna), born in Washington, D.C.
1941 Tim Hardin, American singer (“If I Were A Carpenter”; “Black Sheep Boy”; “Reason to Believe”), born in Eugene, Oregon.
1943 Derek Small, British fictional heavy metal bassist (Spinal Tap), born in Nilford-on-Null, West Midlands, England
1945 Ron Bushy, American rock drummer (Iron Butterfly - “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”)
1949 Luther Grosvenor, English rock musician (Spooky Tooth)
1951 Anthony Phillips, English guitarist (Genesis, 1967-70)
1951 Doug Stegmeyer, American rock bassist (Billy Joel Band, 1976-87)
1951 Johnny Contardo, American doo-wop singer (Sha Na Na, 1971-83)
On the Menu:
Puff Pastry Cinnamon rolls with apple.
I tried this recipe on the weekend. It was a total flop, except that it tasted really good. My mistake was not thawing the puff pastry enough before trying to work with it. Other than that, there are delicious, light and flaky and likely if you are cooking for more than yourself, a single batch is not going to satisfy a crown.
Friday Music Selection:
Some fine finger picking here.
Quote of the Day:
Just because a guitar is old doesn’t make it good… I’ve seen guitars that were old but weren’t as good as the reissue, for me, it’s not the age that makes it happen, it’s the quality of the instrument.
Jorma Kaukonen
Cartoon of the Day:
Inspirobot:
If you were as busy as @jimender2 was yesterday, you likely missed @vikingmichael delivering the goods yesterday, check out Thursday’s Spark here: Spark! Pro Series - 22 December 2022
And so I sign off for the last time this year. May the joy of the season, lift you up and fill you with satisfaction, and may the best of this year, be the worst of the next.
And one final gift for this holiday season. For those who cannot afford the high price of AI art websites seen on Spiceworks lately, check out this free version my son came across, www.craiyon.com
