Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Years Eve

Happy New Years Eve to all the ycopfiles.com and Blog Frog Loyal Readers! Tomorrow sparks the start of something new, something great, and tonight marks the start. So go ahead and hoist a drink or two to ring in the New Year. And remember, even sober, very few people can remember all of the words to Auld Lang Syne!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Happy Boxing Day

Today my Loyal Readers from England, Canada, and other Commonwealth Countries celebrate Boxing Day. And you know what that means, great Boxing Week sales all week long! And while not traditionally recognized in America, Boxing Day, or St. Stephen's Day, dates back to the days of the serfs. Tradition has it that gifts among equals were given out before Christmas, but those workers of the lower classes were given their gifts by their Feudal Lords the day after Christmas.

Often times the peasants and serfs would bring boxes to the Castle to carry home their earnings in, hence the name. So for those Loyal Readers who get to celebrate this wonderful Christmas Season with one more paid stat day off, Happy Boxing Day!

Monday, December 25, 2006

Very Merry Christmas

To my Loyal Readers who celebrate it, ycopfiles.com and the Blog Frog wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. For those Loyal Readers who don’t celebrate Christmas, we wish you and yours wonderful Seasons Greetings in this joyous time of year.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

It's Christmas Eve

According to very reliable sources, Santa is already well on his way delivering presents to good little girls and boys around the world. So it is time to set out a plate of milk and cookies, say your goodnights, and get to sleep.

If you want to know exactly where in the world Santa is right now, NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, tracks Santa every year with the same technology used to protect Canadian and American citizens from attack from the air or outer space. This comprehensive, integrated aerospace defense of North American airspace is a joint mission between the two countries run out of Peterson Air Force Base and the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station deep beneath Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.

So we wish those of you who celebrate it a very Merry Christmas tomorrow, and hope you have a very safe and happy Christmas Eve tonight.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Busiest Retail-Shopping Day

Contrary to what most people believe, neither Black Friday nor Cyber Monday is the most shopped day in retail. That honour typically falls on either the last Saturday before Christmas Eve, or on the 23rd of December, depending on what day of the week that is. This year, the 23rd of December is the last Saturday before Christmas Eve, so experts are predicting today will be the busiest retail-shopping day of the year bar none.

Hopefully all of your Christmas shopping is already done by now. And if you do have to run out to get something simple like milk or sugar, I pity you. According to a couple of studies I've read, Visa is expecting approximately 300 credit card transactions per second today, and there is to be approximately 14 000 ABM debit card transactions per minute today!

So my suggestion to you is to curl up in front of a roaring fire with a good book and a nice cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows in it. And when you do get up from your comfy couch, take a minute to show all of your family and friends your favourite Law Enforcement Computer Information Security web site, ycopfiles.com, we'll be waiting for you.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

French Quartering

Quartering was what the courts ordered as punishment for men convicted of regicide against the King of France. The English hanged, drawn, and quartered is very different from the French Quartering.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered

Hanged, drawn, and quartered was what the courts ordered as punishment for men convicted of the high crime of treason against the King of England. This sentence was considered to be the epitome of cruel and unusual punishment, so it was reserved for the heinous crime of treason.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

5th of November

Despite constantly hearing the haunting lyrics to the infamous poem repeating in my head:

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.


I somehow managed to forget to post an article on November 5th coincidentally enough about the history of the 5th of November.

Dating back to 1605, the 5th of November is the story of Roman Catholic Guy Fawkes, or Guido Fawkes, and his failed Gunpowder Plot to assassinate the Protestant King James I of England also known as King James VI of Scotland. Fawkes also intended to kill members of both English Houses of Parliament, the House of Lords and House of Commons, because the King was addressing both Houses.

Caught red-handed in a daring early-morning raid on November 5th, 1605, in a cellar rented to John Johnson, the fictional alter ego of Guy Fawkes, with a watch, slow matches, and touchpaper in his possession. And with 1800 pounds or 36 barrels of gunpowder hidden in it beneath the House of Lords, Guy Fawkes was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for the high crime of treason.