Asking for someone's wifi password

Time for another one of my phone rants; I've seen this image float about the Internet a few times recently:

I also found this article by Rebecca Showerman, which contained a (small) poll regarding how people feel about asking someone in their home for their wifi password. While Showerman herself stated that her answer would be "within 5 minutes", my answer to that poll would be "Other - I will tell you in the comments".

Nine times out of ten, I do not ask for someone's wifi password. Why? Because the reason I visit someone's house is to see people, not to play around on the Internet with my phone, which I can do at home. Messing around with my phone in another person's home is an unsociable activity and, in my opinion, is an excellent method to prevent being invited back. In the event I do have to use the Internet, my mobile data is sufficient. Besides, whenever someone comes to visit me I don't occupy myself with my computer or phone, so why should I do it elsewhere?

Another reason I don't usually ask for the password is because I consider other people's Internet — both the password and the use of the Internet itself — to be private. To be fair, the password privacy concern can be rectified by allowing the other person to connect my device to their network themselves.

As for when I would ask, the most likely occasion would be if I wanted to show my friend something on the Internet, I had to use my phone to do it and needed something faster than mobile data. Another would be if an urgent need to use the Internet arose and it again required my phone. I also agree with the last sentence of Showerman's post, "Does it depend on who you are visiting?": for example, if I'm visiting someone with interests in phones/mobile Internet, that could influence me to ask if I think it would be useful. In addition, I'm happy to connect to someone's network if they make an offer.

I'm curious, how do you feel about asking someone, in their own home, for access to their Internet, in particular via your phone and needing to use their password? How about if it's the other way around? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I want to state that I would not demand someone leave my house for wanting to use the Internet!

Note: the above image is not mine; the credit goes to http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi05OWNlNWUyNDc5NzMwNzJj

"Final Warning" - Skylar Grey

I have written two previous articles on Skylar Grey/Holly Brook: one in October 2011 and the other in October 2012. In the first post, I wrote about her then-new single "Invisible" and her upcoming second album, which was expected to be titled Invinsible; in the 2012 post, I mainly wrote about Fort Minor but I also expressed some disappointment that her second album had still not been released.

I now have updated information about Grey's new music. Her next single, "Final Warning", was released on April 16 and its video was released on May 13. Invinsible has been renamed to Don't Look Down and is expected to come out on July 9; however, I would not be surprised if the date is pushed back again, but this time I'm hoping it'll be the real McCoy. After all, it's been over seven years since Like Blood Like Honey was released.

For now, we can enjoy "Final Warning":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToOFtvvFGGo

The dandelion in the backyard

I photographed this dandelion, which is in our backyard:

This isn't a good quality image as the flower is blurred from the focus being on the grass and the stem, but I was pleased with the next shot:

I was delighted that this picture and the others taken from a similar angle had turned out perfect!

My inspiration for photographing this dandelion — especially in the style of the second image — came from the Samsung Galaxy S III dandelion. In fact, I'm now using one of my dandelion pictures as the image for the lockscreen on my phone.

The butterfly on the ash

About a week ago, I photographed this butterfly resting on an ash pile:

The butterly did spread its wings when on the ash pile but it was only for a couple of seconds while my main camera was previewing a picture I had just taken. The pile itself is located in a nearby park.

White blossom

I photographed this white blossom about a week ago; these trees are located down one of the popular paths:

I was hoping to take more pictures of the blossom but most of it has fallen off thanks to the weather transforming from sun into (heavy) rain.

The accident

Unfortunately, our diversion in Leicestershire yesterday morning was caused by a fatal motor accident. Dad heard on the radio and read this article that a motorcyclist had lost control of his bike and crashed into a tree. The rider, Anantkumar Morjaria, was declared dead on the scene.

As much as I enjoyed our exploration of rural Leicestershire, I feel bad that it occurred from someone losing their life rather than through our own choice. I wish the best to Morjaria's family during this difficult time for them.

Nottingham in May (2)

There is not much to write about today's happenings, as it was mostly spent indoors and can't be repeated here out of respect for my family's privacy. That being said, there is one event I can write about.

When we travel from Northamptonshire to Nottingham, we usually avoid the motorways and prefer to use the back routes because they are faster. On this occasion, we had completed a third of the journey to Nottingham when our route was blocked by the police due to an accident; rather than turn around and head back out to the main motorway, we instead opted to take a diversion, which took us down the deep country roads of Leicestershire.

This added an additional twenty-five minutes to our trip, but we enjoyed seeing more of rural Leicestershire. Additionally, despite how twisty many of the roads were, I was not car sick because I had been awake for more than a couple of hours and my breakfast had already settled; it is because of the risk of motion sickness that I did not take any pictures during the extended journey (if I focus on a screen or on letters while in a moving car it's almost guaranteed to cause me to be sick).

As for the accident, other than hearing about a piece of news regarding a traffic accident in Leicestershire I don't know anything about it; when we travelled on our usual route on the way back it was as though no accident had ever occurred. I hope the incident did not cause any serious harm.

Nottingham in May

Dad and I spent the day up in Nottingham; our car has been in service up there for this past week and today had been scheduled as the day to collect it. The trip doubled as a visit to family, namely to see my grandparents but also to see my Nottingham-based cousins, aunt and uncle.

I can't go into too many details, of course, as much of what happened is private, but I'd like to share a funny event. The weather has been indecisive all day, swinging back and forth from sun to rain and even to hail: In the afternoon, Dad, my grandfather and I, thinking we could take advantage of a gap in the weather, decided to take a walk. We did not bring any raincoats.

As you can imagine, this was a mistake. We had only been walking for five minutes when it started to rain again, albeit lightly, but five minutes later the rain picked up, forcing us to reside in shielded area for a few minutes. The rain subsided for a second time and we continued our walk. Next? The dark clouds decided to unleash a major bout of rain, which soaked our non-waterproof coats; we waited for a little bit under another area protected from the rain until we realised that we had to go back. The rain intensified as we returned to my grandparents' house, but once we were back inside the rain eased off. Ah, always the way!

Dad and I are going back up to Nottingham tomorrow, and I think Mum is, too. We'll see what happens!

Rutland Water ducks

Near the end of our recent visit to Rutland Water, I photographed this pair of ducks:

As with other wild animals living in public areas, these two were seeking food from humans; I, of course, was the human they were following. Needless to say, I didn't give them anything!

Stumpy

Back in the spring of 2001, my family had been living in Oregon for a few months and were enjoying life there. We had a deep appreciation for the wildlife; my brother and I were fascinated by the lizards, and especially by the western fence lizards (also known as "blue-belly lizards").

For a time, we were fond of a particular lizard whom we had named "Stumpy". Stumpy was an adult male western fence lizard (this could be identified by his more prominent coloring, as the female of the species is less colorful) who resided on the outside of our house; he had lost his tail at some point, hence the name, but it was in the process of re-growing.

Our friendship with Stumpy started when my brother and I caught him one afternoon and found him to be incredibly docile; this is notable because male western fence lizards are aggressive to each other and to humans if the latter handles them. He did not make any attempt to bite us or get away, instead allowing us to stroke him for lengthy periods; it didn't take long for Stumpy to not run away from us and even let us catch him. While Stumpy was obviously a wild animal and did not live inside our house, we cared about him as though he were a pet; whenever we went outside we always looked for him to make sure he was okay.

After two months of catching Stumpy regularly, he vanished one day. My brother and I were deeply upset by this, as he had an established track record of appearing to us daily...and on this particular day he was nowhere to be found! Mum assured us that Stumpy would be fine; after all, he was a wild animal and had lived perfectly well on his own before we had moved to the area. A second day then went by without Stumpy.

Then, on the third day, out of nowhere, Stumpy reappeared! My brother and I were ecstatic at first — our reptilian friend was back — but after Stumpy had been in our hands for a couple of minutes we noticed that he was barely responding. The weather was not the source of his sluggishness as it was hot outside that day; no, he felt warmish to the touch but he didn't want to move. My brother and I then realized what was wrong with Stumpy: he was dying.

By this point, we were both struggling to hold back tears and Mum had called us inside for something. We placed Stumpy on the wooden rails at the front of our house; we hoped that we were wrong and that once we were outside again Stumpy would have recovered and his eagerness to be held would have rebounded.

Alas, that was not the case. When Mum, my brother and I went outside to check on Stumpy, he had died on the railing. This was too much for me and my brother, and we burst into tears while Mum comforted us. When Dad came back from work, he helped us provide Stumpy with a proper burial.

We learnt later on that Stumpy was likely an old lizard. That might have been the reason why he was so docile towards me and my brother; when we encountered Stumpy for the first time, his reign as the dominant male lizard in his area was coming to an end. I've heard that animals often know when it's their "time", and perhaps Stumpy knew that it was his; to this day, I'm not really sure how to explain his two-day absence combined with his return to us coinciding with his death — he could have taken himself off and never returned, but he didn't: Stumpy came back.

Today has been the 12th anniversary of Stumpy's death. We didn't know him for long, but in the time he was prominent in our lives was special to us; he was the first animal my brother and I expressed grief over. We won't forget him.

Another Rutland Water visit (2)

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's trip to Rutland Water:

Some sheep eating near the shore of the lake. A group of the sheep tried to obtain food from me and my parents; they bleated in disapproval when we merely walked past them!

These two swans are at the dam end of Rutland Water. We weren't sure what they were doing: it looked as though they were guarding a nest but a few minutes after this picture was taken both swans had moved away. Perhaps it was a comfortable spot.

This is Empingham, a small and peaceful-looking town near the dam end of Rutland Water. It's not a big place; it's home to under 1,000 people. The tower on the right is Saint Peter's Parish Church.

A view of Rutland Water from the dam side. The picture is slightly slanted but a good shot overall; I was annoyed that I took an excess of slanted pictures on this visit.

A ewe quietly chewing. I love the expression on her face...it looks as though she's laughing!

Another Rutland Water visit

My parents and I visited Rutland Water this afternoon. We had a pleasant time there and the sunshine made the trip all the more worthwhile.

I have some pictures but I haven't yet sorted through them; for now, I'll leave you with a shot of the top of a local landmark — Normanton Church:

Lilypad pond

A neighbour recently told Dad about a local pond inhabited by fish and a terrapin; the pond isn't far from our house but we had never been to it before because it's by a field we don't usually walk near. Dad and I went to the pond this afternoon:

The pond was filled with lilypads and reeds. There were a few branches and a log present in the water as well.

A goldfish; Dad estimated that there were at least 50 of them in the pond. They would frequently surface near the lilypads or whatever part of the pond Dad and I weren't near, although this particular fish didn't care.

Dad and I did see the terrapin, but it was swimming too fast for me to photograph; it wasn't possible for my camera to focus on a rapidly-moving reptilian head in water. A couple of teenagers who were at the pond while we were there said that they had seen three terrapins in the water before.

The 2013 tulip

The orange tulip has returned:

These are not my pictures; my brother has given me permission to post them here as long as he is credited, which he has been.

"Spitfire" - LeAnn Rimes

I've been away for most of today and only have time for a short post. I wanted to link to "Spitfire" by LeAnn Rimes; it's a song she performed when I saw her at The O2 Arena and is a track from her new album, also named Spitfire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge_NiWX6tzg

"Spitfire" was among the songs in her set that I enjoyed the most.