Category: Random News

  • John Gremillion and I are currently bicycling from Houston to Chicago to raise money for the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston’s summer production. We’ll be doing live feeds daily on Facebook, and posting each evening at our website, 2chicago4mikado.org, where you can also make a tax-deductible donation.
  • I have been cast in the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston’s summer production, A Topsy Turvy Mikado, which will be July 19-28 in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston. This brand-new production will be set during a rehearsal for the premiere performance in London in 1885, and has been cradfted especially for the Society by Alistair Donkin (formerly of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. Tickets will go on sale to the public on June 1, but becoming a patron of the Society at $250 or higher will get you early access and includes two premium seats. More information will be available soon at hgns.org
  • I will also be participating in the Society’s annual gala, An Auction of Arias, at 7pm on Friday, May 17 at Ouisie’s Table in River Oaks. The evening will feature a three-course dinner from ome of Houston’s finest kitchens,  a silent auction, and the opportunity to bid on what songs will be performed that evening. I will have several songs on the “menu”, which will include not only G&S but also opera arias and musical theater numbers. Price is only $100 a person, which includes two drink tickets, and registration is open now at hgns.org/tickets
  1. Do not call numbers that that appear in pop-ups warning your computer is infected/compromised/&c. It is a scam.
  2. Do not believe web pages that say your computer is infected/compromised/slow and to download X now to fix. It is a scam.
  3. Do not accept calls from Apple Support/Windows Support/Microsoft/IRS. It is a scam.
  4. Do not call the first support number you find in a search. It is an ad.
  5. Do not believe emails that say they have your password or phone number and video of you misbehaving, or that there is a bomb. It is a scam.
  6. Do not believe emails that require you to enter your username and password to see an attachment. It is a scam. 
  7. Do not believe emails that say your account has been suspended. It is most likely a scam.
  8. Do not click on Unsubscribe in a email in another language or advertising Viagra or from an outfit with whom you’ve never dealt. It will only get you on more spam lists.
  9. Do not install Flash Player. It is a huge security risk
  10. Do not install programs or extensions or add-ons from outside your platform’s official source unless you have a Very Good Reason and you know exactly what it does and trust the source you are clicking with all of your life’s information.
  11. Do not trust sites that are missing the lock icon in the address bar.
  12. Do not share anything in an email or chat that you wouldn’t want to see in the news or shared with your family, friends, and coworkers.
  13. Do not repost something you haven’t verified. When you share a lie, you are the liar.
  14. Do have a unique, strong password for every site.
  15. Do use a password manager (Keychain, LastPass, Dashlane).
  16. Do apply updates.
  17. Do wait for the .1 release to do upgrades.
  18. Do ask if you are unsure.

Will update from time to time.

Friday night in our area of Houston was windy, but not too bad. A little rain, but not much until Saturday morning, then it tapered off by 9. Round Two just started…this is going to be the real test. This is the link to the nearest Harris County Flood Warning System station upstream from our house.The main site. Click on “Channel Status” on the left to see the stations that are nearing (yellow) or over (red) the tops of their banks.