8 Ways to Sunday

Best. Spam Subject. Ever.

Adam — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:40:29 +0000

Caught by my spam filter today: “Bush Averts Albanian Uprising by Invading Alabama”

Seems the spammers stole the headline from this satirical “news” article, but it still made me giggle.

Tags: Albania, Alabama, George W. Bush, spam, politics, war

Portal Sequel an Xbox “Exclusive” for Fall 2008

Adam — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:16:03 +0000

One of the most interesting announcements to come out of Microsoft’s E3 press conference was was the upcoming release of Portal: Still Alive in the fall of this year. This is great news. In fact, one might even say that this is a triumph.

Don’t just take my word for it; here’s the scoop from GLaDOS herself, courtesy of GameTrailers.com:

But what’s this about an Xbox 360 exclusive? No love for PC gamers like myself? Well, like most statements from GLaDOS, the devil is in the details. Here’s exactly what she said:

Hello. We hope you’ve enjoyed your brief detention in the press event room. The Aperture Science Enrichment Center is pleased to announce the worldwide debut of Portal: Still Alive, a 2008 exclusive for the Xbox 360. Due to the previous tests being solvable, we are currently manufacturing new test chambers for only the most highly qualified test subjects. Good Luck.

“A 2008 exclusive” for Xbox almost certainly means an early 2009 release for other platforms. Joystiq places the release in the fall of this year, and claims that the game will continue the original story rather than just being a pack of new levels.

It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction at this announcement.

Update: Like a lot of people, I got the wrong idea from this announcement and the blog hype that followed. The official word from Valve’s Doug Lombardi is that Portal: Still Alive is just the original game with some bonus levels and no new story content. Hopefully PC gamers will still get a shot at the new maps in 2009 as a cheap add-on via Valve’s Steam service.

Tags: Portal, Valve, gaming, Xbox 360, deliciously deceptive cake

Spam Karma Is Now Open Source Software

Adam — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:44:38 +0000

My favorite WordPress anti-spam plugin is now open source software. Dr. Dave, Spam Karma’s original author, is bowing out and releasing the code for maintenance by the WP user community. I sincerely hope the project succeeds, because I’ve always found Akismet completely inadequate.

You can read Dave’s announcement here. He’s already set up a project on Google Code to track future development, and a Google Group for discussion.

Tags: Spam Karma, Dr. Dave, WordPress, plugins, spam, anti-spam, open source software, GPL, blogging

Free Upgrade from BitDefender Antivirus 10 to BitDefender Antivirus 2008

Adam — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:20:56 +0000

I use an antivirus program called BitDefender. It’s effective, and it doesn’t slow down my computer like Norton and McAfee. What I didn’t know until this afternoon is that you can upgrade from version 10 to version 11 (AKA “2008”) for free.

Hidden away in the BitDefender online knowledge base is an article that reveals this free upgrade option. You can find a download of the new version and upgrade instructions in this BitDefender forum thread. I’d also recommend downloading the bootable rescue CD image. You’ll need the registration key from your version 10 purchase to install upgrade.

I haven’t yet made the upgrade, so I can’t tell you anything about the new version. If you’d like to learn more, this CNet review might help. I’ll probably run a full backup of my computer tonight, and upgrade tomorrow.

Update: Back to Version 10

My attempted upgrade to BitDefender Antivirus 2008 didn’t go so well. After an hour or two of use my computer would slow to a crawl, eventually freezing completely. A search through the BitDefender forums confirmed my suspicion: the new version suffers form a memory leak.

The bug has been a topic of discussion on the user forum since at least February. BitDefender’s support staff has apparently been non-responsive, and some users are annoyed enough they’re abandoning the product altogether.

I’ll be checking up on this again before my update subscription expires. If the problem hasn’t been fixed by then, I’m going to be looking for another antivirus program. Any suggestions?

Tags: antivirus, security, BitDefender, software, viruses

Quote of the Day: Transcendentalism and Yard Work

Adam — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:17:25 +0000

Today’s quote was inspired by the yard work I did early this afternoon:

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.

— Henry David Thoreau

When it comes to weeds, I have to admit that I’m a branch-hacker rather than a root-striker. It’s just too much trouble to pull the weeds out by the root when they make up about 60% of my yard. Besides, if you mow the lawn down close enough it’s hard to tell the difference between the grass and the weeds.

No doubt Thoreau and his transcendentalist cohorts would find my approach lacking in moral and intellectual rigor.

Tags: Thoreau, quotations, transcendentalism, yard work, laziness, evil

Day of Silence: Stupidest Gay Rights Protest Ever

Adam — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:49:26 +0000

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network is promoting today as the 12th annual Day of Silence. The idea is that you help promote awareness of gay rights by not talking about anything all day… including gay rights.

Considering the centuries that homosexuals have been forced into silence by society, this strikes me as the most ironically ineffectual protest idea ever. They have sincerely good intentions, but I can’t imagine how something like this can produce any good results.

According to ReligiousTolerance.org, for example, a fundamentalist Christian group took advantage of a recent Day of Silence to stage their own “Truth Without Interruption Day.” By remaining silent, supporters of gay rights were unable to make any counterpoints against their opponents. That, of course, was the whole idea behind TWID.

Oscar Wilde — the famed wit imprisoned for homosexuality in 1895 — probably said it best:

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.

Congratulations, GLSEN, on your fatal overdose of sincerity.

Tags: Day of Silence, gay rights, protests, stupidity, counter-productive

Of Spoken English and Typewriter Sounds

Adam — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 07:13:01 +0000

Just finished watching a subtitled foreign-language film, and I’m reminded of something a South American exchange student told me in (I think) high school.

He said the way native English speakers talk reminded him of a typewriter. Each word is the snap of a key, the end of each sentence a carriage return.

He contrasted it to native Spanish speakers, who flow their words all together. There was no judgement in his passing observation.

Clackity chkt click, snap. Vrrrrrt!

Tags: English, language, sound, movies, subtitles, typewriters

Muppets Sing: “Danny Boy”

Adam — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 02:25:03 +0000

Continuing the unusual string of video posts I’ve been doing, here’s something I recently found on YouTube. Animal, Beaker, and the Swedish Chef sing “Danny Boy” in their uniquely unintelligible style.

Happy belated Saint Patrick’s Day!

Yeah, yeah I’ll get back to making “real” posts soonish.

Tags: Muppets, music, comedy, Saint Patrick's Day, Irish, Beaker, Animal, Swedish Chef

How to Steal Credit Card Numbers with RFID

Adam — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:52:34 +0000

Yesterday’s episode of Boing Boing TV shows how to steal credit card information with a laptop and an $8 peripheral. Just walk up next to someone with an RFID-enabled card, and you’ve got it. As the hacker being interviewed points out, with a larger antenna you could set up in Starbucks and walk out with a dozen or more credit card numbers.

I first expressed my concern about this exact thing in a post four years ago:

It poses a grave privacy concern, exposing your [information] to anyone who can pick up a radio signal. I imagine high-tech identity thieves prowling the club with RFID receivers disguised as cell phones or pagers, culling ID info…

It’s amazing to me just how much I called it. An anonymous commenter on the BBTV post says that RFID-reading cell phones are already on the market:

You do not need to hack anything. Nokia and others are currently putting RFID readers in cell phones — you can already buy models with this feature in the open market (google for “6131nfc” for example).

So what can you do to protect yourself? There are a lot of recommendations out there, from drilling a hole through the chip to breaking it by striking your credit card with a hammer. On the less destructive side, this video from Popular Science magazine shows how to make an aluminum foil barrier in your wallet that blocks the radio signals from getting out.

Yes, aluminum foil. When the alien overlords come, you can turn it into a stylish hat to block their mind control rays.

I don’t have any RFID-enabled cards right now, but if I get one I’ll probably give it the tinfoil hat treatment. What about you?

(Props: Boing Boing TV)

Update: How to Destroy an RFID Chip

Added 5/6/2008 — How-to website Instructables has a run down of the various ways to destroy or completely disable RFID chips in passports, credit cards, and elsewhere. (via The Big Noob and Boing Boing)

Tags: credit cards, RFID, privacy, security, identity theft

Mortgage Crisis Leads to Tent Cities of Homeless

Adam — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 04:30:12 +0000

As reported by BBC News:

I learned about this video from a post on Boing Boing, where Cory Doctorow raises an excellent question: why is the British news media covering this, but not the US media?

Tags: economics, tv news, BBC, media bias, video, shantytowns, homeless, recession