Microsoft has finally released a patch for the WMF buffer overrun exploit in Windows, so we can all breath a sigh of relief (at least until the next ime). As a software professional, I really pity the engineers at Microsoft - having to suffer the decisions made in designing Windows over the last 15 years whilst defending against the latest and greatest attack. But, as a consumer I can’t wait 9 days for a fix when my local emergency services, banks and hospitals all depend on Windows to work.

Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Solstice and Peaceful Kwanzaa! 

[ ](/u/2007/03/11/kelly_point_park_portland.jpg) Following up on the [visit to Sauvie Point](/archives/2005/12/11/best-swimming-in-portland/) last week, Becky and I went exploring the last two suggestions we have for Portland dog friendly beaches yesterday. We started off with a drive out to [Kelly Point Park](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=45.6463+-122.761&spn=0.021462,0.056099&iwloc=A&hl=en) on the northern tip of the island, an 'unofficial' dog friendly park where the dog leash rule is routinely flouted by the locals. Kelly Point Park has been carefully manicured for the city dweller trying to get back to a little bit of nature, it has concrete parking and paths so you don't have to get muddy, toilets in case you get caught short and bench tables for a civilized picnic.

JibJab has released a wonderful year in review for George Bush, in which he laments his challenges of the year to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. Not to be missed!

It was a truly awesome winters morning, so Becky and I went up to the [Northern tip of Sauvie Island](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=reeder,+portland,+or&ll=45.815760,-122.799168&spn=0.085586,0.177755&hl=en) for a walk on the beach. This is an 'unofficial' dog friendly beach, just beyond Collins beach, clean and quite. We've been searching for dog friendly beaches ever since we got back from California. The beach at [Sandy River Delta](http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.646583,-122.763677&spn=0.010731,0.022219&hl=en), Troutdate was recommended, the delta as a whole is wonderful but being at the end of the Columbia River Gorge you really notice the wind chill, so we haven't let Becky out into the water yet.

Took some night shots of San Francisco on our recent trip, and just got around to uploading them onto the web. What do you think?

Xen 3.0 is out, with lots of new features including the ability to run unmodified OSes on virtualization enabled hardware (e.g. Windows on Intel VT-x processors), SMP guest operating systems, compatible with large (4GB) memory and AGP/DRM graphics enabled. Time to go out and buy one of those fancy new processors. Here's the announcement from the Xen developers list: [ ](http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/Research/SRG/netos/xen/) Folks, Now seems a good time to call a Xen 3.

The Siskiyou National Forest on the border of Oregon and California has got to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Driving South on our way to Santa Cruz a couple of days ago, we rounded a corner to see these magnificent Roosevelt Elk by the side of the road.

On Sunday, we took Becky for a play on the beach at Santa Cruz (California). The area north of the lighthouse is an off leash area, and provides a wonderul playground at sunset. Even in late November, the pacific sunsets are unbelieveable.

We drove down the Columbia River Gorge yesterday for a ‘one tank trip’, it truly must be one of the most spectacular river canyons in North America. The weather was typical for this time of year in the Pacific Northwest - cold with a little rain, but that just seemed to bring out the character of the gorge.