Happy Friday, Gentle Readers,
I pray this missive finds you well. I know the MAHA crowd has great concern about the additives and preservatives in the food humans consume, but does anyone have anything to contribute about whatever is being slipped into dog food? No, really, this is a serious question. We have been feeding our dogs the same food for years, and lately they have been getting as sick as, well, dogs. We've ruled out everything else, so at this point, we suspect that the manufacturer has changed the recipe.
Since the kibble is no longer on the shopping list, we have resorted to creating our own dog food. So far, our canines have enjoyed a hearty mix of leftover turkey or beef, with rice and vegetables. Basically, we are putting everything in the dog food that you see on the bags, but that probably isn't in the mix. As a result, in a down economy, our dogs are the only ones in our income bracket with what amounts to private chefs and customized menus. I don't know what's next. Chateaubriand, maybe? At any rate, if anyone has some good, healthy, cheap (especially cheap) homemade dog food recipes, drop them in the comments below. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
You know, you could always try using your pet's name.
The perfect way to avoid a heist of priceless jewelry is to have a state-of-the-art, well-supported, and impregnable security system. Unfortunately, the Louvre in Paris did not have that, which may be one of the reasons thieves made off with the French Crown Jewels. The Louvre is home to a veritable cornucopia of important artwork, and not just the Venus de Milo, "The Coronation of Napoleon," or the Mona Lisa. With that in mind, one would think that the security system would have a stronger password than "Louvre."
One would think, but according to the French news outlet Liberation, back in 2014, experts conducted an audit of the museum's security and were easily able to compromise the system and workstations:
How did the experts manage their intrusion? Primarily through the weakness of certain passwords that the French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) politely describes as "trivial": type "LOUVRE" to access a server managing the museum's video surveillance, or "THALES" to access one of the software programs published by… Thales. Furthermore, "the Louvre Museum's office network includes some obsolete systems (Windows 2000)," the Agency points out. At the time, ANSSI therefore encouraged the Louvre to take corrective action: create more complex passwords, fix vulnerabilities in the applications, and migrate "obsolete systems to versions maintained by the software publisher." Faced with these major flaws, which of these measures did the Louvre implement? The museum declined to comment, but more recent documents show that continued support from ANSSI was indeed necessary.
Regarding IT, as in 2014, the report highlights that "some workstations have obsolete operating systems (Windows 2000 and Windows XP) that no longer guarantee effective security (no antivirus updates, no passwords or session locks, etc.)." The audit also recommends changing passwords more frequently. Again, it is impossible to know what measures the Louvre has implemented to mitigate these intrusion risks, as the museum's management declined to comment.
Windows 2000. Windows... XP. Uh-uh. I'll bet management has declined to comment. Billions of dollars in irreplaceable art, with an IT system worth $1.95. Or whatever that is in francs. With passwords like that and Windows XP, it's a wonder a gang of French hillbilles didn't back a pickup truck to the front door and make off with the Winged Victory of Samothrace in the bed. The French police are going to have to start watching "Pawn Stars" to see if anything turns up in the shop.
You know, anyone at the Louvre could have dragged one finger across the keyboard and come up with a better password than "Louvre." Hell, a retiree with a bingo drum could have done a better job. Maybe the security team thought potential thieves would try "password123" before trying something that obvious. Of course, that may be giving the team too much credit.
Wine recommendation
Because at this rate, it's only a matter of time before my dogs ask to see a wine list.
This week, we sampled the 2022 Vietti Barbera d'Asti Trevie.
Okay, we haven't given the dogs all of our food. We still had some meatballs left the other night, and thought this might make a nice pairing. You can drive this wine off the lot for $20-$25. It's acidic and easy on the tannins, with strong red fruit presence, particularly cherry. That said, expect a nice oak flavor and a little smokiness to round things out. Despite some chocolate, this wine had a strong cherry finish. Sure, you can match it up with duck or pork, but it worked pretty well with plain old meatballs.
I need to run since the dogs have ordered appetizers for this evening. So, that's it for me. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next time.
So the government shutdown is still going on, and so is the THM Schumer Shutdown Sale for VIP memberships. You can click here to sign up and create an account, and take 74% off when you use the code POTUS 47. Just remember to use a better password than "Louvre."
Join the conversation as a VIP Member