Outpost Mercantile and Autumn Colors

Sunday, September 28, 2014 There's a new(ish) business in town: Outpost Mercantile, near Lake Wobegon Trail and the Ding Dong Cafe. I gather that it's an eatery.


Seen from the north-northeast, their new sign doesn't stand out all that much. September 27, 2014.


Outpost Mercantile, seen from the west. September 27, 2014.


A little bit of 'everything:' the rear of Outpost Mercantile, someone's boat, and autumn foliage. September 27, 2014.


Fall colors, some trees still green, and lots of sunshine. September 28, 2014.


The corner of 9th Street South and Ash, this afternoon. September 28, 2014.

That's all I've got for now: see you next week.

Tech Support: Real and Otherwise

Sunday, September 21, 2014 Oddly enough, yesterday's storms went by, mostly south of Sauk Centre, with nary an interruption of power. This afternoon, with little but cloudiness happening, power went out in our house: and stayed that way for what felt like fifteen or 20 minutes.

We may or may not get good fall colors this year. One tree near the north end of Ash Street is, as usual, getting a head start on one of its branches: but otherwise we're still reasonably green around here.

Help with computers, legitimate and otherwise, is in the Sauk Center Herald. That "Police warn of a computer scam" is the old 'tech support' scam, where someone calls a computer owner, talks the person into giving the caller remote access to the computer, and then demands money to get it "fixed."

That happened to someone here in Sauk Centre on September 11, and apparently it's been done elsewhere in the area. The computer owner wouldn't pay, and ended up with a virus getting installed.

I've gotten calls like that, myself: not often, and not recently. Happily, I'd read about that sort of scam: and knew enough about Microsoft to realize that their tech support staff wouldn't be calling me.

Before getting to a new business in town, these Wikipedia pages do a pretty good job of talking about common sense and today's tech: Technical support scam; Ransomware; Virus hoax.


From the Sauk Centre Herald. September 21, 2014.

"How safe is your computer from hackers" tells about Sauk PC Repair, a new business that's in the old Hillcrest Hotel Building on South Main. The folks there do quite a bit besides virus removal: like upgrades, making custom computers, and repairing laptops.

Green Grass and Autumn

Sunday, September 14, 2014 Trees and grass are still green, but it's cooler: feeling more like autumn.


The view through my webcam, 1:15 this afternoon. September 14, 2014.

That's about all I've got this week. Next week there should be more.

The Community Mural

Sunday, September 7, 2014 It's rained, we've had clear skies, and the Community Mural is taking shape.


Sauk Centre's Community Mural: in progress. September 3, 2014.

I like the old red-and-white design: but the new mural looks pretty good, too. One more thing: school is back in session, so there's a lot of traffic outside, just before and just after.

Labor Day Weekend, Pea-Size Hail, and Another Internet Outage

Monday, September 1, 2014 Labor Day Weekend. I heard thunder after supper today. Then, right around 6:30, the lights went out. Power was back 15 or 20 minutes later: but this household's Internet connection was out until 8:30 pm.

The hail I saw was pea-sized: not particularly damaging, but enough to make me happy to be inside.

Aside from that, though, it's been a beautiful day.


Yesterday evening's storms were mostly south and east of us, heading for the Metro area. August 31, 2014.


We've been getting the house painted. August 31, 2014.


Clouds this evening, as the storm was moving on. That odd little streak toward the left of the photo is a drop of water coming off the roof. September 1, 201


The hail I saw was pea-sized. September 1, 2014.


After this evening's storm: more of that pea-size hail, a wet driveway, and feet. September 1, 2014.

School starts tomorrow: which is an academic point for someone my age, except as it involves family members.