Phone End-Of-Support Date

Is your smartphone past its "Expiration Date?"

I just was reminded of something from tech advisor Kim Komando that every phone owner needs to know: Your smartphone has an End of Support (EOS) date.

It has nothing to do with your battery or screen. It’s the day the manufacturer stops sending out security updates.

Why this matters: Once those updates stop, your phone still works. Your apps still open. But the "security door" between your banking info and a criminal? It quietly stops getting locked. Every new vulnerability discovered after that EOL date stays wide open on your device forever.

The Risk is Real:
• Over a billion unpatched Android phones are being used right now for banking and email.
• The December 2025 Android patch alone fixed over 100 vulnerabilities.
• iPhones are just as much at risk after they stop getting iOS updates.
Even if you aren't ready to buy a new phone today, you should know if yours is a "sitting duck."

Check your device's status here: https://endoflife.date

Knowledge is power! Even if you keep using an older phone, knowing it's past its prime might help you be a lot more careful about what you click.

Cold Snowy Morning

Quiet and frigid 15ºF Monday morning, with most of the snow from yesterday still hanging around. That’s making my morning view pretty awesome, while I sit at the breakfast table. My trusty old stick-on outdoor thermometer is still doing its job, and the snow in the background adds a little interest to this photo.

 

Snowy birdfeeder in the foreground, donkeys and a horse out in the field below. 

 

 

 

 

I’m enjoying one of the sourdough jalapeño & cheddar fresh-baked “English Muffs” we picked up yesterday in downtown Littleton. I decided to brew a half pot of coffee this morning, instead of going through my usual latte-making production. Works either way, I guess… I just need that hot cup of "something" to enjoy on a chilly looking morning. 

    

Thursday Bike Ride

Cool and windy Thursday afternoon... and I got my first bike ride of 2026 accomplished, woo hoo! I was thinking a short ride to get things started, but once I was on the trail, it felt too good to abbreviate it. I was glad to be wearing my cool weather cycling gear! 

 

 

There wasn't much activity out there today, with the wind gusting over 30mph, but I did see a herd of deer, who decided it was time to cross the trail just as I was approaching.

 

 

Deer checking me out, while deciding whether or not to follow everyone else across the bike path.

Daylight Saving Switch Starts

Welcome to Daylight Saving Time! 27 clocks later, my annual DST audit is officially closed. I got nine clocks set forward on the main floor last night, did four more this morning in the basement and garage, fine-tuned four auto-updating devices, and verified ten net-synchronized devices. Whew. Glad to have all our devices at least showing the same hour! 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m pleased to report no *new* clock software bugs showed up this year, although my buggy Honda car clock is still living 20 years in the past. So this morning we were tempted to play music from 2006 on the stereo, in its honor… but instead, we’re listening to our local Boulder AAA rock station KBCO FM, playing music commemorating Women’s Day. More fun than changing clocks, is listening to Sheryl Crow singing “All I Wanna Do… is have some fun!” Fun fact: Sheryl Crow just came on KBCO to announce that she really appreciates our local station, as they were the very first ones to play her music.

Friday Snow!

Happy Friday morning! We're enjoying a beautiful snowy 33°F landscape view, as we finish our delicious homemade breakfast! Here's a snowy conifer in my downhill neighbor’s back yard, with a few birds at the feeders. One House Finch is just arriving at the cylindrical suet feeder.

 

 

 

This pretty Flicker is gorging themself at the Bird Buddy feeder. I just love this image, with the thick layer of snow on top of the pretty little Bird Buddy. 

I guess we’ll be heading out soon, to shovel some of this heavy wet Spring snow off the driveway, so I can drag our empty trash bin back inside.

Groundhog Day!

We enjoyed our Groundhog Day! We started with a fun breakfast out at Syrup City Park, took a nice long walk around City Park and past the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, spent some frivolous time browsing around my favorite Marczyk’s grocery store, and finished it off by watching Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell in their Groundhog Day movie. Fun!

Chandeliers and Cow Art at Syrup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Pavilion at City Park

 

 

 

Flicker in a tree at City Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American Mastodon outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, of course, the classic groundhog scene in the Groundhog Day movie! 

Lazing Not Freezing

And *this* is how to spend a subfreezing 9°F Friday morning, with light snow drifting down!

Mixing Sim and Real World

My niece flew back today, after visiting relatives and friends on the east coast. I made a fun new adventure out of it for me, by flying the simulated Boeing 787-10 over the same route at roughly the same time. I had even more fun, by figuring out how to track her flight on the same map as my simulated flight! In this snapshot, my aircraft is the blue airplane symbol, and her Airbus A320neo is the little blue "traffic" symbol surrounded by a red hexagon, about 21 minutes behind me. After I landed, I looked up the gate where she was supposed to arrive, which was B31, and taxied up to the same exact spot on the north side of Concourse B. Yeah, pretty nerdy, I know...

First Walk of 2026

This wasn't our usual day to get takeout breakfast, much less "dine out", but we decided to do something special on our New Year's morning -- breakfast out and a fun walk somewhere we haven't been in awhile. 

So... off we went to the highly popular Urban Egg restaurant for a somewhat different breakfast. They had some cute wreaths outside the kitchen. I love their cinnamon swirl pancake!

After breakfast, we went for a walk, starting at the nearby George M Wallace park in the Denver Technological Center (DTC), and venturing along that trail much farther than I've ever gone. 

Shiny leaf on the frozen creek. It's amazing to me, how much effort it took, to capture this simple little photo. When I brought the camera down lower to capture more of the frozen creek in the background, the bright sun completely washed out the colors, and everything came out in various shades of charcoal. 

Christmas decorations near and far -- at first, we thought the sun was reflecting off the bulbs, but then as we got closer, we realized they were still powered on.

Interesting-looking dried plants in a marshy area -- my phone says this is Pentanema Squarrosum…?

This Sumac seed pod was standing out by itself, just asking me to take a picture. 

Cute goat nibbling on old Christmas tree

Partially frozen over pond by the creek in Orchard Hills Park

Gadwall ducks in a small pond by the creek in Orchard Hills Park

The creek in Goldsmith Gulch, with some interesting clouds in the distance

Happy horses in this field

Delightful blend of subtle colors… my phone says this might be Oregon Grape

Conifer tree with the sun peeking through the clouds just above… puts a cheerful spin on the gloomy sky

Relay (movie)

Peaceful sunset to end a quiet Monday, as we wrap up the year. We watched the movie “Relay,” which was a bit of an adrenaline rush. My interest was piqued by the use of pseudo-teletype technology — using a third-party operator as a voice mask to stay anonymous. It’s a clever bit of realism; because the operator just reads the text provided, the caller's true voice and identity stay completely off the grid. I doubt the required level of anonymity would be achieved in real life, as I’ll bet those services are required to keep a log of all their calls.

October Pics

We’re enjoying the Fall color views from our breakfast table, and on our outings in the Littleton area. Here are some photos from this week. 

Rapids along the South Platte River near the Mineral Avenue overpass, with some nice yellow Cottonwoods

Nice view of Eagle Watch Lake, through a yellow Cottonwood

Nice yellow Cottonwood by the rapids where the rafters and kayakers usually put in, on the South Platte River

Reds and yellows along the South Platte River

Cottonwood trees and clouds, with some pretty yellow in the foreground

South Platte River with pretty yellow in the foreground

Pretty red leaves — my iPhone says this is a Virginia Creeper

Pretty reds — the three-leaf pattern reminds me of the Poison Oak I used to see in California — my iPhone says this is Fragrant Sumac

Raindrops on Blackrock Lake

Cottonwood tree chock full of Blackbirds all enthusiastically singing

House Finche inbound to the bird feeder, with Fall colors in the neighborhood below

My favorite tree for Fall, the Purple Autumn Ash

Kitty Rufus and round squirrel

House Finches, Fall colors, foothills and overcast in background

Blue Jay and Fall colors

Kitty Rufus sprawled out

Blue Jay enjoying the peanuts that we put out for the squirrels

House Finches on our Bird Buddy feeder

Cyclist pausing on the bridge over a creek feeding into the South Platte River

Pretty red Fragrant Sumac along the South Platte River

Fall colors in front of Red Tail lake. My phone says this is a Maple. 

Prickly Pear fruit by the trail