Sticky (18) myIDcare (OPM)

Yes, I am one of those lucky people to get the OPM hacked love letter. But they gave me a service called myIDcare. The other day, I got a note from them.

Early Warning Service

This alert indicates that your Social Security number and personal information have been used to apply for a new credit card, open a credit card account, open a bank account, or make possible unauthorized changes to your bank account.

My "love letter" was back in December. It has been busy. I don't remember all the details. I didn't know if this was a phishing note and sure didn't want to pull a Seagate, (by way of @Brian Krebs: an employee fooled by a phishing note sent all current and past employee W-2s).

So I moused over the link, it was opm.myidcare.com and a case number unique to me. OK, this might be real. Using a safe browser, (firefox/noscript), I logged in.

It turned out to be nothing, I had made a change to a bank account and that triggered the alert, but hey, way better to be safe than sorry.

So why is myIDcare sticky? Think about it. Don't you feel a bit helpless in the face of all this cybercrime? I have a friend, smart guy, successful businessman, great sailor, who keeps a substantial amount of his wealth in various safes and safety deposit boxes. I think that is nuts, but he just tells me, otherwise money is just a bunch of numbers. I am not ready to go that far, but working in cybersecurity I read story after story. I am glad there is a service like myIDcare!

Sticky (17) Hyatt Regency Waikiki Inroom Desk

We went to Waikiki last weekend for a memorial service and stayed at the Hyatt. I don't know about you, but I am so frustrated with hotels that do not provide enough outlets. This design provides enough and also accommodates adapters.

Sticky (16) Lava Lava Beach Club

To understand how sticky Lava Lava is, (and is going to be), I have to paint the word picture. This particular Lava Lava is on the East shore of the island of Kauai near the Kukui Heiau. It is attached to the Kapaa Sands resort, (not the fanciest resort on island to put it kindly), and next to it to the South The Wailua Bay View and to the North resort after resort after resort, 12 in all within a mile.

The upscale Lava Lava replaces the dilapidated David and Harry's, a really run down place that only existed because they offered breakfast. Lava Lava has just opened, in fact Kathy and Keely were there for the soft opening. That is where Kathy learned about their signature appetizer, "Sizzlin Shrimp", a very dramatic dish severed in a small cast iron skillet with a cloud of steam rising as it is brought to the table.

They clearly understand Social Media as you can see.

They have the look and feel of a beach club. In fact, we scored a table in the sand, just ten feet from where the old beachfront walking path was. It has been removed and there is just well kept sand, you know, a beach.

Even the entrance to the bathrooms keeps with the beach club theme.

You can rub your feet in the sand with a beach front table

We went there last night. There are still some opening pains. We ordered a bottle of Ca'Momi Zinfandel and our server, Ashley, did not know to take the foil off the bottle before removing the cork. She came back and said the cork broke and before I could say, "I'll take care of it", she was gone, but that proved to be our lucky break. A manager, came back with the bottle and explained the wine was still fine. We agreed and he opened it, introduced himself, gave us his card and said if you ever need a table, call my cell phone. This is no small thing! Within a month or two getting a beachfront table at Lava Lava Beach Club on a Friday night is going to be nearly impossible; this place is going to sell out.

Now why is it sticky, why am I so certain it is going to sell out? Well, remember the 12 resorts to the North? One of the most common statements in online dating sites is, "long romantic walks along the beach". 90% of what people post on dating sites may be hogwash, but I spend winters in Hawaii and I know that is true. So people, lots of people, are going to walking past Lava Lava Beach Club. They are going to see the tables and cushy chairs in the sand along the beach, the platters of "Sizzlin Shrimp", steaming noisily to heaven, hear the live music and think, "Let's try that out tomorrow night". They they are going post on social media because eating there is bragging rights stuff. Mark my words, within a year, I bet this is going to be the most popular restaurant on the island as measured by yelps, likes and such.

TIP: Walk or take a taxi, the parking lot is already full and they are just warming up, but hey, it is worth it :)

Sticky (15) Come for the hacking, stay for the BBQ

59 views, 1 like as of 3/4/16

Some ideas "stick" others don't. This one, "Come for the hacking, stay for the BBQ", caught me by surprise. Someone posted it on LinkedIn and I linked to it with an update asking what is the best place for BBQ. There were a surprising number of comments. Rudy's, (a chain), seems to be the front runner. County Line, Franklin, La Barbeque, (Warning, this web site wants to run a large number of scripts and trackers on your browser), and Kerlin were honorable mentions.

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Sticky (14) Sand art is sticky

60 views, 1 like, 1 comment as of 3/4/16

Last Saturday I was riding my Trike on the path by the ocean and I saw this. The circles appear to be perfect and the furrows are all shaped the same and are the same size. How they did it is beyond me.

The reason I think this is "sticky"(Simple/Unexpected/Concrete/Credible/Emotional)" 

• Simple: all that was involved was sand, some short of shaping tool, a string in a central point to guide the circle.
• Unexpected. I had no idea I was going to see it when I went back it was gone. That is the nature of sand art.
• Concrete: "Concrete details allow us to imagine a scene and, crucially, imagine ourselves in it." [Lifehack.org]
• Credible. This is what they call internal credibility, "Internal credibility is the ability of our ideas themselves to convince through an appeal to our audience’s sense of how the world works and how they see it." [Lifehack.org]
• Emotional. Sand art makes you smile. Take a minute and put the search string "sand art" into Google and click on images. Amazing yes?

May 7, I was biking on the path and in the same spot:

Sticky (13) Thumbtack is sticky

58 views, 1 like as of 3/4/16

Some ideas "stick"; others don't. I try stay on the lookout for art, phrases, events and technologies that are sticky. I seem to always have a project that I need someone or something to help with. Living in two places, (snowbirds), makes it even more complex. Thumbtack is a service to match needs to providers. I have a paid subscription the Angie's list, but this is working better for me.

The reason I think this is "sticky"(Simple/Unexpected/Concrete/Credible/Emotional)" 

• Simple: easy to understand and use interface.
• Unexpected. Life and Thumbtack is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.
• Concrete and Credible. You review your provider, they review you.
• Emotional. Taking the pain out of finding a provider. Here are two examples. On Kauai, we want to host a couple's dance for Valentines. I do not know any DJs, (I did have one business card, called, never heard back). Thumbtack: answers within two hours. In Washington I need to fence my back yard so our dog can run free. Still pondering, this may be more of an Angie's list request.

Sticky (12 ). Kauai Beach House photo op

102 views 7 likes as of 3/4/16

Some ideas "stick"; others don't. I try stay on the lookout for art, phrases, events that are sticky. Most of my peers on LinkedIn would not want to stay at the Kauai Beach House, it is essentially a youth hostel, but it is right on the water. That said, for the 16 years Kathy and I have spent winters on Kauai, some of the most interesting people we have met on and around the multi-use path, Ke Ala Hele Makalae, along the ocean were staying there while visiting.

The reason I think this is "sticky"(Simple/Unexpected/Concrete/Credible/Emotional), is low cost to build, a sheet of plywood, some framing lumber, and some cheerful colored paint. People love to get their picture taken and they will share those pictures on Facebook, Instagram etc. And right on that picture are the words Kauai Beach House. Also, note the orientation, it is the same view as the deck off the Beach House.