Denial of Access Attack

 There is such a thing you know; a Denial of Access attack. A web site is flooded with requests through nefarious means so that legitimate users can't access a web site. It is malicious in intent.

Visit #1395, Sunday 20 November 22, 6:50-8:35AM. 3.8 miles, 10.7 lbs. of litter.

Temps on the low 30s, sunny and breezy.

This week I was informed Hubbard Park would be closed this weekend so parks crews could install the Christmas lights. There are so many displays to be installed that I could understand the need to give them unfettered access throughout the park. They would need to institute a temporary Denial of Parking.

As I drove by the park the day before, I could see the ONLY available parking would be at the skate house, and at 9AM is was already full. So in order to guarantee I could find a parking spot on Sunday, I would have to arrive early.

And even when I arrived at the early hour of 6:40AM, I was still beaten by others. Nevertheless, there were still parking spots to be found.

With these temporary parking restrictions, I changed my weekly plans and rather than venturing out to the trails, I remained completely within the park proper and picked up litter.

Walking around Mirror Lake in the early morning, the ducks engaged in a Pavlovian Parade as I walked by, as if I had pockets full of cracked corn to give them. I gave them a Denial of Food Attack instead.

From the "Joke Was On Me" Department: I looked across Mirror Lake and couldn't believe my eyes; some meathead put a boat on the water and was fishing! It took me quite a few minutes to come to the realization it was just another Christmas display. I had a good laugh over that!

Something else I couldn't believe: despite the roads leading to the park being barricaded, people were STILL managing to drive into the park.

Now how could that be? I eventually came to two conclusions: Either they drove in through the one way, exit only Notch Road, or they moved one of the barriers aside.

The first conclusion seems reasonable, and was witnessed by another park goer I talked to that morning although it's still stupid behavior. The second conclusion seemed reasonable as well as I soon found out.

Now I have only one rational explanation the second conclusion-presumably the parks crews would be coming to work on Sunday to continue installation of the lighting displays (although I never saw anyone), and some employee left the barrier open for the other workers' convenience.

To back this up, I noticed the gate across Hubbard Park Drive, leading to Castle Craig, was unlocked.

This lead me to believe there must be a crew at Castle Craig installing the Christmas lights there, and they didn't bother to latch the chain behind them.

Both excuses spell "lazy". The end result is people getting into the park when they shouldn't be there, and possibly opening the gate and driving up to the peaks because "hey; it's unlocked!"

My Find of the Week:

Looks like a catheter of some sort, with a valve at the top. No 'splainin' what it was doing in Hubbard Park.

But my biggest Find of THIS Week was:

With most of the identifying information redacted by me, I found this ID in the dirt parking lot in the northwest corner of Mirror Lake. And in the world of coincidences, this card owner JUST HAPPENED to live in the same condominium complex that I do! When I returned it to him this morning he was definitely surprised to see it and said he lost it "some time ago." I didn't press for details and went about my day.

In other news, Kathy Matula of the Meriden Parks Department told me there was a new trailhead kiosk on Hubbard Park Drive at the Gate. And there it is.

I eventually found my way back to the my starting point, the skate house, where hungry pigeons naively thought I had bird seed for them. Apparently the ducks didn't inform them of my miserly ways. I gave the birds a Denial of Bird Seed Attack.

Happy Thanksgiving; Hubbard Park's lights go on Wednesday, 23 November 22.