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July 27, 2006

Way to go Carson / WorkHappy.net

Hey, that's cool.

Kudos.

(And just think, with me linking to him... he'll  get another 2 hits today ... )

Posted on July 27, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 25, 2006

ReverseDOS: The Next Generation

Well, it's no secret that spammers suck.

My old .Text blog is still up and running (because I've just been too busy to execute on a killer idea I have for content redirection - I'm thinking about doing it in a week or so as an Xml4Fun article)....

But while it's up, it's been getting OOOOOooodles of spam from some crap-head moron in Italy. (Nothing against Italians, it's just that spam in Italian really isn't that focused if you ask me). But, that's really let me set up kind of a 'honeypot' that's been getting hit with like 100 or so 'spams' per day. Very nice... especially as I've been able to analyze some of their 'attack' patterns.

So, I've been doing some thinking. And in another few weeks I'm going to add some more functionalilty to ReverseDOS. (I'll probably also add a way for people to sign up for notifications of future changes - just as a service, as I'm getting about 100 or so downloads of Rdos per month now... and I'd like to keep people 'in the know' if they want to be in the know.)

Some features:
1) I'm going to add an stroke of pure genius to the rules processing engine. No, the genius isn't mine, it's Phil Haack's. His idea? Simple: plunk an HttpContext.Current.User.IsAuthenticated in to the code before we start checking for spam. If the user is authenticated, then they're logged in as an admin, or a trusted user, etc... so if they happen to use the term Viagra... no worries (well, I guess it depends on how they refer to it - but let's say there's no worry with SPAM). 
Like I said: pure genius. (Much better than the lame thing I set up where a) you'd tell it what directories had authentication, b) just trust that authentication picked up the slack..)
I've already done some testing on this feature, and it just plain works. And it also looks like it adds absolutely no overhead (which makes sense: I'm not figuring out if the user is authenticated (that's already been done) - I'm just asking what the determination is).

2) I'm going to add some new.... verbs let's call them. They'll be combined with regexes defining paths that you either want to allow or limit certain types of activities on. (Think of it kindof as a 'firewall' for your site... if that makes any sense). 
Current ideas are: GET, POST, REFER, QUERY, and PROXY. These can then be used with bitflags in your config to either allow or deny specified 'verbs' to any pattern/path. So... you could deny POST, QUERY, and REFER to a certain directory, which would make it so that people could only GET from that directory. (That would immediately solve my problems with my Italian friend - who's posting all sorts of goofy content against a .Text comment submission form that isn't accepting comments.) 
I'm still trying to figure out if it would make sense to use these with 'spam' filters or just as directory paths... (comments welcome).

In addition to those changes, I'll also be looking at making a few other changes (such as trying to fit in some logic that will let Phil Haack and the SubText folks incorporate RDos directly into SubText (especially for 'multi-user' blogs)). I'll also try laying the foundation for a system that will let RDos users 'download' spam definitions from a central repository (I'm a bit worried about spammers finding that repository though... and using it to subvert everyone's filters... ), and I'll try making a few other changes that will make modifying filters and rules a bit easier.

Hopefully I'll get to that in a few weeks.

Then, after that, if I get enough feedback telling me that people thing it would be worthwhile, I may just end up open-sourcing the piglet completely...

Posted on July 25, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 19, 2006

Faster than a speeding Pharaoh?

What's faster than a speeding superman and more powerful than 10k atom bombs?
More importantly, what happened when it slammed into the earth?

Go read, and find out. (Hint: It invloves King Tutankamun.)

Observations:
1) Mommy!
2) Seems to me that this could have very well CREATED the Sahara (and in the too-much-info dept, I have to say that 'Sahara' in Arabic in my mind everytime I say it out loud - it just sounds soo much cooler: is Saaharaa (the desert - so yes, 'Sahara desert' is a tautology... ))
3) Um... seems like that one of these thumping the earth, or even something 'pidly' like the Tungusa event of 1908 would raise the ambient temperature of the earth for QUITE a while.

UPDATE: Ooohh! Ohhh Oooooh! there's a video simulation link at the bottom of that page.

Posted on July 19, 2006 | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

July 14, 2006

SubservientProgrammer.com - That's what I get...

So, I stopped even paying attention to Scoble probably years ago. Simply too much info.

Only it looks like he spilled the beans a while back. Beans I was waiting to see MS spill.

SubservientProgrammer

Those beans. Top secret beans that I've been sitting on for over 6 months now... awaiting the day that 'Subservient' would see the light of day. Then scoble blogs about it... and I miss it.

At any rate, I wrote the code for those 'beans'. Both the Web and ClickOnce versions. It was actually quite a hoot to do - and I love the way they've documented everything.

Go give it a whirl. (It only works in IE of course (and no, not of course because it comes from MS, but because it makes heavy, programatic use of WMP and there just wasn't any way that I could see to do the same thing in FF...)) The web version uses a verrrry early version of ATLAST, and does some brute-ish manipulation of two WMP instances within the page to handle the transition between the programmer doing the stuff you tell him to do and spending time in a loop 'typing'. My favorite part? The 'dampening' type goodness that happens once the requested video has been loaded.

You can try the ClickOnce option (it will install .NET 2.0 on you if you don't have it on your box). Once installed, the ClickOnce version is actually a media-rich SmartClient Application - meaning that it will do as much as it can online, but if it doesn't have a network connection, it will just make due with what it has locally. So, each time you're online it will pull down videos (it actually streams them down to a cache, then plays them from the cache), and store them for future use. When you go offline, it only plays from the video 'arsenal' that it finds locally.

Cool stuff. Too bad I missed the parade...

Oh, and another thing: the purpose of building this was to showcase what kind of applications you could build with the FREE versions of Visual Studio 2005 (i.e., the free Express Editions). All of the code was done with Visual C# Express, (Ported to Visual Basic Express), and with Visual Web Developer Express. All 100% free...

(Oh, and my favorite? tell him to rap...)

Posted on July 14, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 12, 2006

Free PCs - All you can Eat!!!

Woah! News Flash!!!

Microsoft just made Virtual PC 2004 100% free.

Now you've got absolutely NO reason for not using virtualization. None at all.

At present, here are your free options:
Microsoft Virtual PC (just made free TODAY!!!!)
Microsoft Virtual Server (it's been free for a while now)

VMware VM Player (pretty limited in functionality)
VMWare Server (pretty spiffy - offers excellent performance)

I still prefer to use VMware Workstation on my own laptop here in the office - in fact I seriously could NOT LIVE WITHOUT it at this point. It offers superior performance on desktops and laptops compared to Virtual PC - but that's not to say that Virtual PC is a tug-boat or anything. If you've got an external drive, Virtual PC works perfectly fine. (Without a virtual drive, startup, and heavy disk use will be a major pain (can't really comment on how VMware Workstation works without an external drive though)).  What I also find interesting is that while I can notice a performance difference between VPC and VMware Workstation on my laptop - the opposite seems to be true on my server. On my server VPC seems to be tons more speedy/responsive than VMs running on VMware Server.  Of course, VPC also has that annoying bit of functionality where it gobbles up huge chunks of RAM when each VPC starts up - whereas VMs dynamically grab RAM which lets you run oodles and oodles of VMs on a machine (something you can't do with VPC (but which you can do with Virtual Server)).

If it sounds like I'm rambling, I am. I live in virtualized environments every day. I use virtualization anymore about as much as I use Outlook - and I float back and forth between MS and VMware offerings just about every day - and if not every day, then at least every week.

Accordingly, here's what I think the ideal virtualization solution would have:
- VMware's ability to dynamically allocate RAM. (I hate how VPC gobbles it all up statically)
- VPC's excellent user interface and ease of use. (Not that VMware is 'hard' it's just not as clean/good as the VPC interface in my impression).
- VPC's ability to REALLY turn off sound. (I HATE how VMs take over the host's sound card - change the volume, and use 'speaker beeps' even when you've disconnected sound on them. MS VPCs can run completely silent).
- VMware's snapshot functionality.
- VMware's extra hardware support.
- VPC's system tray goodness.
- Full support for freaking Intellimice (and other 5+ button mice). mumble grumble.

At any rate, if you're not leveraging virtualization currently, get out and do so. Microsoft's Virtual PC is an EXCELLENT option - one that you'll love.

Posted on July 12, 2006 | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

July 10, 2006

I want a refund...

Imagine:
A man attempts to get on a plane. Security screeners find a clock, a nine-volt-battery, and completely hollowed-out shoes.  But the TSA's computers are down, and they can't check the guy's criminal record. So the TSA calls in a cop - who looks around, and clears the guy for flight.

In his mind, there is no probably cause - nothing he could hold him on. The TSA disagreed... stating that all of the components for a bomb were present, except the explosive. Now it's a finger-pointing party to see who was wrong, who was to blame, etc.

Wait? you're NOT joking?
Sad thing is, it's NOT a hypothetical scenario. It actually happened - go scan the details.

There's obviously a thin line between crime PREVENTION (what the TSA attempts to do), and apprehending criminals  - what our police are tasked with doing. But in our unbelievably silly, PC world... that ANYONE could try to get on a plane with HOLLOWED-OUT SOLES, and be cleared for take-off is BEYOND me. Seriously: anyone thinking down there? What POSSIBLE reason could you have for flying with the soles of your shoes hollowed-out?

Warning: Thought Crimes ahead!
So I want a refund. The TSA is the biggest joke ever assembled. I am still flagged as a terrorist/security threat in BOTH NTSB databases - meaning that I can't pre-board online. That KILLS me. I've NEVER been arrested, and I haven't even had a speeding ticket in the past...6 years. But in the eyes of the NTSB I'm a terror threat and HAVE to present my ID prior to being allowed on to a plane.

But hollowed-out shoes - no biggie?

I think it's time we all demand that airport security either does a decent job of screening people, or just gets the hell out of the way and stops wasting our time and money.

Posted on July 10, 2006 | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

July 07, 2006

I love my Server

A while back I bought a server - a sweet one.

It's a Dell PowerEdge SC1420.
- It's got 2 Intel Socket 604 slots - right now both are loaded with Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz processors, and both have Hyperthreading and EM64t Support. (The nice thing about that 604 socket is that I'll be able to slap Multi-Core, VT, enabled, EM64T Xeons in a while when I need to upgrade - that way instead of seeing 4 logical processors, I'll be able to enjoy 8).
- It's also currently got 4GB of RAM, and is upgradeable to 12. (muhahahahaha)
- It ships with a dual SATA bus, and I've currently got it hooked up to 2 WD Caviar drives. Honestly, I'm sold on them - they (and Toshiba) make the best drives. Period.
- I can throw all sorts of RAID controllers at it when I want.
(As an aside, having storage is coolio - by my last calculations, I've got .7 TB floating around in my office between my new Server, Laptop, and two external drives. Best of all, I can configure my server to handle up to about 1 TB by itself if I need to.)

Best of all, it runs VMware Server like there's no tomorrow. I've had an entire domain of virtual machines (well, 4 machines) running at once on it, and I swear that each one of them was faster than my fairly-beefy laptop.

Though it makes me a complete nerd, I just love this thing. LOVE IT.

Posted on July 07, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

.NET is making me Stupid

It's no secret: your brain is a 'muscle'; either you use it, or it atrophies - pure and simple.

Take simple arithmetic: if you start relying upon a calculator to do your math for you, before long you can't add 37 + 28 without taking a second. Rely upon a calculator long enough and you'll start to almost get 'deer-in-the-headlights-on-the-brain' when you need to do some simple arithmetic ("uhhhhhhh... crud... um.... " as you start to try to envision "carry the one" in your head, etc.)

I think the same could almost be said for what .NET has done to me over the past few years. There's simply so much to learn, so many angles, and so much new stuff coming out every time I blink that I don't know that I SOLVE problems anymore. I think I just Google them, find some docs, see how someone else solved it, and then move on - excited that the problem is now solved. But I've effectively relied upon a 'calculator' to get me where I need to be. And I think that's making me stoopid.

I mean, I've got a GREAT memory and all... but I think my brain sometimes starves for real problems to solve. I guess that's one reason I love SQL Server so much - once you've mastered the techniques, you still have to routinely THINK in order to solve problems. If it weren't for that,  I think my brain would turn into jelly and run out my ears, down my arms, and on to my keyboard - and we all know how hard it is to get gunk out of our keyboards... 

Though I'm sure I'd be able to Google a solution... ;)

Posted on July 07, 2006 | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

July 05, 2006

Mohammed Al Dura and the Press...

I've got a Near Eastern Studies degree. I studied Arabic for 2+ years. I still study it today... and to be honest, I frequently pine for Arabic (I cure myself by listening to Fairuz) Likewise, I also extensively studied Jews and Israel (ancient and modern) and remain enraptured by Jewish history and culture. I just LOVE the Middle-East, and it saddens me to no end that there are so many difficulties over there.

But I'm glad that an important video link has been circulating on some of the technical blogs that I read.

1) I'm so incredibly sick of the garbage that the world's media pimps out as news. It's NOT news - and I'm glad to see people railing against that.

2) I'm glad to see cases of blatant mis-representation being exposed - mostly because had I linked to a link exposing this stuff people would just blow me off as some conspiracy nut or crackpot.

So go check out that great link which shows some of the ways in which the media is manipulated. It's a BIG download (40MB), but I promise it's worth your time. But frankly, I think that video is child's play, and just doesn't do enough justice to showcase what is really going on.

Nearly 6 years ago, I - like so many other people in the world, caught glimpses of an image of a Palestinian father caught in a cross-fire screaming [1] to Israeli troops to stop shooting. The images, of course, showed the father's helplessness, and the death of his son. Those images enraged me. I'm pretty sure they enraged the world. But they were part of a gigantic hoax, one that makes the footage portrayed in the Pallywood video mere child's play (well, 60 minutes did say 30 people died, when only 1 died... I guess that's NOT child's play). That's right, a hoax - a total and complete hoax designed to prey on people's emotions. [2]

My big worry? That hoaxes like these are breeding a new type of Anti-Semitism that will, if left unchecked, lead people to believe that Jews are a form of sub-human evil. [3] So I'm very glad to see other people railing against these hideous inaccuracies in the media. Personally, I think it's time we start demanding that the media quit blatantly publishing false-hoods, and that they do a MUCH better job of issuing retractions. (Imagine any other sector being able to 'fix' errors like they do - I couldn't do it with my clients, a doctor sure as hell couldn't tell you with a sticky-note attached to the bill (in 8pt font) that they were sorry - you don't REALLY have cancer, it was just a simple mistake...)

At any rate, sorry to wax political - I won't let it happen too much here. I just feel so strongly that in-accurate reporting is a MAJOR source of the world's problems.

NOTES
[1] Here's a great, historical, representation of the 'facts' (i.e., a newstory similar to the one most people would have seen):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/952600.stm

[2] But while many people saw those horrible images, very few people saw much about how they were part of an elaborate hoax, that has been decried by a NUMBER of legitimate sources (not crack-pot organizations). For example:

http://camera.org/index.asp?x_context=3&x_outlet=167&x_article=855

Make sure to follow the log at the bottom of that page/story - showing the historical 'unraveling' of this hoax. Note too that it's not some crack-pot, nut-job, web site, but a site dedicated to truth and accuracy in reporting.

Here's another overview of how the hoax was perpetrated:

http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~ginsburg/aldura/

[3] It's perfectly okay to disagree with Israel and Jews and still not be anti-semitic. Bernard Lewis argues that it's even possible to HATE and PERSECUTE Jews without being Anti-Semitic. His argument is that true Anti-Semitism comes from equating Jews with some sort of purely irrational hatred - something that equates them with being less than human, or part pure-evil/non-human, etc.

Honestly, take some time out of your life and read Bernard Lewis' thoughts - if nothing else, it will get synapses firing in your brain that likely haven't fired for years - just because he does such a good job of making philosophical and historical arguments to back up his case:

http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/21832.html

Posted on July 05, 2006 | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 04, 2006

Happy 4th of July!

And just in case the Associated Foreign Press is watching, they can kiss my American butt.

Seriously, if that article were written by Americans about how 'silly' those Frenchies got during Bastille Day... there would be an international uproar about American insensitivities. What right do they have to call my love of my flag an 'epidemic'?

Seriously, what's their problem? I've been in France on Bastille day and watched the parades - I even cheered with genuine enthusiasm for the French. Likewise, I was present for the 700th anniversary of Switzerland, and didn't begrudge their fireworks and celebrations one bit, in fact I marveled that a nation with so much ethnic diversity could remain so strong for so many years. Heck, just yesterday I was listening to Mongolian music celebrating the Altai mountains, and had to wipe away a tear because of how powerfully the voices I was listening to portrayed such a love for their own homeland.

So why is it so bad for me and my family and neighbors to love our homeland and our flag? I won't claim that America is perfect, or that it doesn't have its problems - it does. But anyone with a pulse also knows that one of its biggest problems right now is that people can't get here fast enough. People the world over still flock here for a chance at making their dreams come true. So how can it be that bad?

Stated differently: I don't begrudge anyone else the right to feel good about their heritage, their country, and their people's contributions to the world, so I sure as hell wish people would afford me the same right.

Posted on July 04, 2006 | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)