Childhood imagination

Last night, just before bed, Jamie told us about the aliens. Apparently there are aliens coming, aliens that are like Cookie Monster. They steal cookies and eat them all up. In an effort to save our cookies (freshly made oatmeal chocolate chip), Jamie said we should hide them in his closet, where the aliens would not be able to find them.
While we did leave the cookies in the kitchen overnight, we found them safe this morning. No aliens here.

Done!

I have finished Ivanhoe. It probably wouldn't have taken me so long, except it's a little hard to read when you get interrupted by kids all the time. And it's really hard to read while Winnie-the-Pooh is on.

Wee Garden

This past Saturday, while cold and windy, was the day for Dot to begin a garden. She, along with 8 or so other children, took part in a "wee garden" workshop at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. They were able to put 5 small plants and various decorations into their planters. A small mirror became a pond, and nearby there is a snake, lizard, and turtle. Included in her planter: "Dortheanthus."

The arboretum is free, and has a few parking lots (unlike many DC sites). We'll probably go back some day, when it is warmer. (Jim and Jamie tried to walk some of the grounds, but it was not a good day to be outdoors.) The bonsai museum is very interesting - so much work goes into such a small tree. You can find your state tree, walk up to the capital columns, find your favorite herb in the herb garden, wander the fern valley, be overwhelmed by azaelas, and so much more. Check it all out here.

Children's church

Are your children singing too many Patch songs in children's church? Should they be taught hymns instead? Here is an early children's hymn:

"Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For tis their nature to.

But, children, you should never let
Your angry passions rise;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each other's eyes."

Perhaps this?
"1. Thou shalt have no more gods than me.
2. Before no idol bow thy knee.
3. Take not the name of God in vain;
4. Nor dare the Sabbath-day profane.
5. Give both thy parents honour due.
6. Take heed that thou no murder do.
7. Abstain from words and deeds unclean;
8. Nor steal, though thou art poor and mean;
9. Nor make a wilful lie nor love it.
10. What is thy neighbor's dare not covet."

both are found in The Church of Our Fathers by Roland H. Bainton

I have no idea what he's talking about

Guess who is speaking today at the SELinux Symposium?

Using GConf as an Example of How to Create an Userspace Object Manager

James Carter, National Security Agency

It has become apparent that many people want some of the benefits of MLS but in a way that is easier to use than the full MLS implementation.

There are various strategies that can be used to provide security controls over an application under SELinux. One strategy is to turn the program into a userspace object manager. Since the SELinux kernel object managers cannot control objects that are only visible in userspace, creating userspace object managers is a natural part of implementing the flask architecture on Linux. GConf is a configuration system for GNOME and controls configuration keys and values which are not visible to the kernel. This paper discusses the general process of providing SELinux controls over a program and the specific steps taken to provide SELinux controls over GConf.

Photos

For a moment this morning I found myself wishing for the "good old days" when the only thing you did with photos was stick them in a album and put it on the shelf. With digital cameras, photoshop, and the internet, I have so much more work to do. Oh well.
For those who care, I have started uploading my photos here. There aren't many there yet.

By the way, Happy Birthday, Fran!

Latest projects

(Sorry for the funny expressions- I was not feeling well when these photos were taken. I don't know what was wrong with Dot.)
Think I like green? I have finished these dresses, and I have more sewing left to do - at least three pairs of shorts have been cut out and prepped, I have quilt blocks to sew together and quilt, and Dot will need a few skirts for camp this summer.
I love to sew... but I hate to see the house after the kids have been left to their own devices.