Saturday Slashdot reported on a Firefox vulnerability which could allow remote code execution. Today Firefox has a patch and a configuration workaround, both of which immunize against the bug. If you are using Firefox you should immediately go to the URL 'about:config', type 'network.enableIDN' into the box, and verify that 'network.enableIDN' is set to 'false'.
2005-09-07
What's In Your Laptop Bag?
TheTechZone is running a cool human interest story showing what their chief editor has inside his laptop bag. Some of the stuff in there could really make a geek salivate - like a mobile VoIP adapter and the world's smallest wireless router.
2005-08-31
I Can't Afford My Gasoline
Driving into work today, filled up the tank like I do every morning (takes half a tank a day, and I don't like it to drop below a half tank). After I fill up, I notice the gas price went up 20 cents since last morning. TWENTY FREAKING CENTS!!!! Was that really necessary? Did they have to pay more off of the tanker this morning? I don't think so!! And will they lower it again later on? Hell no.
This sums it up perfectly.
This sums it up perfectly.
2005-08-26
Google Talk
Yep, everybody's talking about it. Nothing revolutionary, it's another IM client, but integrated into Gmail so if you want to send invites, you can hook right into your Gmail contacts.
Ken over at Ars Technica takes a look at Google Talk. Short summary: Minimalist will love it, people that like all the bells and whistles probably won’t.
Keep in mind, tho, that this is still in Beta. It has a way to go. But the one thing that really struck me was the VoIP clarity - better than I've heard over AIM at least.
Well, it's fun to play with anyways.
Ken over at Ars Technica takes a look at Google Talk. Short summary: Minimalist will love it, people that like all the bells and whistles probably won’t.
Google Talk is clean and easy to use. It's also absent almost every feature found in other IM clients. Want to send a file? Pshaw! Want to have a group chat? You're too social! Want to view your previous chat sessions easily? Get outta here! Want little emoticons? Skins? Go bug somebody else!
Keep in mind, tho, that this is still in Beta. It has a way to go. But the one thing that really struck me was the VoIP clarity - better than I've heard over AIM at least.
Well, it's fun to play with anyways.
2005-08-24
Bangalore, India. God Help Me.
So... India.
At my job, I provide operational production support for two product lines now, chat (AOL Chat and AIM Chat, as well as a new chat line in the making) and now another new groups product. For both lines, the development and QA team are based in Bangalore, India. Since I'm the only lucky SA to have such an arrangement, I knew I would be traveling out there with my boss.
So today he mentions that he would like me to stay out there longer. Like 2-3 weeks. Ugh. Minimum is 10 days anyway (takes 2 days to travel, each way) so we're only talking an additional 4-11 days. But still. Three freaking weeks away from my family?? I just don't see how I can do that. I sleep like crap when I'm not at home anyway. Last time I traveled, out to CA while with NEGT (then PG&E NEG), I was gone for about a week. And slept horribly the whole time.
Now this is halfway around the globe. And if I would have thought of an Asian locale I'd want to visit, I'm pretty sure India would have been at the bottom of my list. Japan would have been cool, China maybe, definitely Australia or New Zealand (OK different continents, but same hemisphere) but India? No. I was watching reruns of The Amazing Race on GSN last night, they were in India, and the whole time I was thinking "Holy crap, what am I getting myself into... am I really going over there?"
I am so not a people person. I barely like the concept of people. I am perfectly happy communicating solely via email and IM. The notion of "shaking hands and kissing babies" and my boss puts it, is a good one theoretically, but just not my cup of tea. Especially in India. (No pun intended.)
Good God, wtf am I going to do over there for so long all by myself? In an area even more crowded than NYC?
Few silver linings exist. Yes, I would rack up the frequent flyer miles. And there's the possibility that I could, on the way back, make a few-day layover in London and meet the family there, that would be fun if we could swing it financially.
20+ hr flight. They'd damn well better let me fly business class.
I'll have to talk this over with Donna. I think maximum I might do two weeks, including travel. It's not until October, but with everything involved... gotta get the itinerary first, then mail it and my passport to get my visa, in time to process it and get it back... I hope my business AmEx application goes through. I really don't want to pay for all this myself, even if I do get reimbursed.
I feel an ulcer coming on...
At my job, I provide operational production support for two product lines now, chat (AOL Chat and AIM Chat, as well as a new chat line in the making) and now another new groups product. For both lines, the development and QA team are based in Bangalore, India. Since I'm the only lucky SA to have such an arrangement, I knew I would be traveling out there with my boss.
So today he mentions that he would like me to stay out there longer. Like 2-3 weeks. Ugh. Minimum is 10 days anyway (takes 2 days to travel, each way) so we're only talking an additional 4-11 days. But still. Three freaking weeks away from my family?? I just don't see how I can do that. I sleep like crap when I'm not at home anyway. Last time I traveled, out to CA while with NEGT (then PG&E NEG), I was gone for about a week. And slept horribly the whole time.
Now this is halfway around the globe. And if I would have thought of an Asian locale I'd want to visit, I'm pretty sure India would have been at the bottom of my list. Japan would have been cool, China maybe, definitely Australia or New Zealand (OK different continents, but same hemisphere) but India? No. I was watching reruns of The Amazing Race on GSN last night, they were in India, and the whole time I was thinking "Holy crap, what am I getting myself into... am I really going over there?"
I am so not a people person. I barely like the concept of people. I am perfectly happy communicating solely via email and IM. The notion of "shaking hands and kissing babies" and my boss puts it, is a good one theoretically, but just not my cup of tea. Especially in India. (No pun intended.)
Good God, wtf am I going to do over there for so long all by myself? In an area even more crowded than NYC?
Few silver linings exist. Yes, I would rack up the frequent flyer miles. And there's the possibility that I could, on the way back, make a few-day layover in London and meet the family there, that would be fun if we could swing it financially.
20+ hr flight. They'd damn well better let me fly business class.
I'll have to talk this over with Donna. I think maximum I might do two weeks, including travel. It's not until October, but with everything involved... gotta get the itinerary first, then mail it and my passport to get my visa, in time to process it and get it back... I hope my business AmEx application goes through. I really don't want to pay for all this myself, even if I do get reimbursed.
I feel an ulcer coming on...
2005-08-23
Scientific Laws of Battlefield 2
1. If you spot an enemy before he sees you, chances are you will die.
2. The probability of killing someone is inversely proportional to how much you want to kill him.
3. For every good thing done, something bad happens.
4. If you see a bunch of easy targets in front of you, you will miss all of them and die.
5.You have a better chance of throwing a handful of sniper rifle bullets and killing the enemy, than shooting them at him.
6.For every one enemy you kill with mines, you will kill 2 friendlies and they will both punish the TK.
7.Idiots have a unique pheromone receptor which can sense a friendly arty strike. Once initiated they run to the center of the strike like moths to a flame, thrust their noses in the air and put there finger on the PgDn button ready for the climax!
8.Thou shalt always respawn into an arty strike or a massive unfriendly assault and die before you can do anything.
9.A dune buggy slowly slipping down a gentle slope is the most brutal and deadly thing in the game if you're standing in its path.
10.When fleeing from an enemy, you will be shot to death, inches away from your cover.
11.When a gunner in a helo, chances are u got the worst pilot u can think of
12.When you have no money chances are your joystick will go funny.
13.If someone with an ak101 happens to glance at you, you will instantly die of fear.
14.No matter what weapon you carry, it will take over half a magazine to attempt to kill the guy that take you out with a three round burst or less.
15.Holding right mouse button when throwing a grenade changes throw length from feet to inches.
16.Even with the dexterity to balance the blade of his knife on his finger, a soldier will constantly miss when lunging to stab a stationary enemy.
17.Somehow, a man can take a 50.cal sniper round to the chest WITHOUT DYING.
18.Your pistol is a much better sniper rifle than your .50cal rifle
19.A crescent wrench can fix anything
20.You can raise a flag in a tank.
21.Seconds before you get your hard-earned Flag-Capture Point, an Enemy will pop up and kill you, giving the Capture Point to your Team-Mate.
22.After shooting an enemy Tank to low Health with your APC, your Gun will overheat and a Team-Mate will grab the kill, leaving you with not even a Kill-Assist.
23.You will never be able to swim away fast enough from an accidently drowned Jeep.
24.Claymores only kill foolish teammates.
25.If you want an enemy to abandon an armoured vehicle, run at it from the rear and let them see you doing it, they'll jump out.
26.No matter what, defibulators cure all
27. The pinnacle of aviation technology cannot help a bomb hit its target
28. All vehicles have electrical armour plating, as when u touch it, you're dead
29.The more you press the 9 key to deploy a chute, the less likely the chute will deploy
30.You spawn right next to the enemy tank.
31.If you want to be a sniper you should choose Anti-Tank Class.
32.Just as you detonate the C4 on the UAV trailer, two to three teammates will drive up in a jeep right next to the detonation site.
33.No matter how much you shoot a guy parachuting down, he will never take any damage. And, when he gets down you are out of ammo and he kills you.
34.You are killed after a 10 minute run to an enemy flag, right before you reach it.
35.Water is extremely flammable and will cause vehicles to explode.
36.If your in a group and run into a single enemy, you WILL die first.
37.Confucious say: When commander drop supply crate from sky, look up or you will endure headache until next spawn
38.Confucious say: Man with handful of wheat will hit enemy more than with M229 SAW.
39.Spawning is more like a race to the heli.
40.A tank that's motionless while capturing a flag will wait until you run up behind it to plant C4 before the drivers cat steps on the S key and kills you.
41.Just after you found a great Spot to snipe from, while taking careful Aim at a Group of Enemies - you will be knifed from behind.
42.After taking a few well-aimed Shots at an Enemy, he will spin around and kill you with a single round from his MP5.
43.You must be the fattest person in the army as you cannot fit through a 3 foot wide gap between the bamboo
44.After throwing a pack of C4 on top of a smoking tank, and pulling out detonator, the remaining C4 (in your pocket) will magically explode...every time.
45.If you are capping a flag alone in a tank the one enemy that manages to spawn in time will be a spec op...
46.If you are capping a flag and once it goes neutral you hear arty guns firing in the distance, run like #@$%!!!
47.If you need tank support, drop a mine on the road and a friendly tank will show up in no time...
48.If you respawn as an anti-tank the tank will have either disappeared or magically spawned many enemies' who know exactly where you respawned
49.When in need of medical aide call for a supply drop, the crate will be there in no time to crush you to death, thus ending your need for medical aide
50. Asking a Commander for ammo means he will send Artillery with the assumption you catch them and throw them at the enemy.
2005-08-16
What is History? (And other facts of life...)
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices. (Calvin and Hobbes are wise beyond their years.)
Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. (Lemony Snicket)
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand -- strawberries in the other screaming WOO HOO!
98% of us Americans are hard-working people. It's the other 2% that give us a bad reputation. Then again, we did elect them.
Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. (Lemony Snicket)
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand -- strawberries in the other screaming WOO HOO!
98% of us Americans are hard-working people. It's the other 2% that give us a bad reputation. Then again, we did elect them.
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