I'm not sure how much posting I'll do on Try Everything for a while. Although the title of this blog is also inspirational as we begin our journey, I'll be posting mostly over at Curious Souls. Check it out!
I still might post over here if there is something Ellen doesn't agree with on the other blog. :)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
My First Security Hole
For those of you that use Drupal, you'll understand what this search result means. For those that don't, this means that I had a page on the Orpheus.org site that ANYONE IN THE WORLD could edit. Ooops!
Luckily, the person that found the hole (likely discovered through a Google search much like the one above) was very subtle with their hack. They took the logo image from my welcome page (http://www.orpheus.org/node/1) and linked it to a porn site. I only discovered the hack just today when I went to resize the image and I realized that it had a link attached to it.
"Hmmmm... I don't remember linking that image..."
*click*
"HEY-O!"
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I was at work at the time of the click and Websense protected my innocent eyes from anything naughty. But now I'm wondering if I'll get called into HR tomorrow for inadvertently trying to look at "Filtered Websense Category: SEX" while at work. Or will I get called into my bosses office for taking the 3 minutes to make a minor edit to a non-profit organization website while at work? Only time will tell.
To all those patrons that might have clicked on that link while it was live, I say: "Orpheus does not condone hacking websites."
Friday, October 09, 2009
Strangely Silent
There is no A/C running on the train this morning. Two weeks ago, this situation would have been a Really Big Problem. Today it is not. The beautiful weather does not warrant the use of supplemental cooling systems.
The A/C normally provides a baseline level of sound so that when it is absent, an eerie sort of silence is revealed. All that you hear is motion and people. The clack-clack of the wheels on the tracks. The sniffles of noses. The muted whirr of the electric motors struggling against Newton's First Law of Motion. The squeak of tennis shoes on... whatever strange scientific miracle substance that makes up the speckled, palegreen floor.
The gentlemen to my left is brave enough to initiate a conversation on his cell phone. Because there is no other noise, everyone in our train car can hear every whisper. In his attempt to remain relatively quiet he needs to repeat himself often. He queries the other party "Did you get sumpthin to eat?" He asks this question four times. He makes another call, presumably to another party. "So, you get something to eat?" I can't decide whether I would be annoyed or comforted to have a friend whose function was to verify whether or not I ate breakfast each day. After all, it is The Most Important Meal of The DayTM.
I'd tie up this post with something profound about "eliminitating the noise in our daily lives" or something silly like that but I gotta run. "Approaching station... Priest Drive and Washington... Exit to Left..."
The A/C normally provides a baseline level of sound so that when it is absent, an eerie sort of silence is revealed. All that you hear is motion and people. The clack-clack of the wheels on the tracks. The sniffles of noses. The muted whirr of the electric motors struggling against Newton's First Law of Motion. The squeak of tennis shoes on... whatever strange scientific miracle substance that makes up the speckled, palegreen floor.
The gentlemen to my left is brave enough to initiate a conversation on his cell phone. Because there is no other noise, everyone in our train car can hear every whisper. In his attempt to remain relatively quiet he needs to repeat himself often. He queries the other party "Did you get sumpthin to eat?" He asks this question four times. He makes another call, presumably to another party. "So, you get something to eat?" I can't decide whether I would be annoyed or comforted to have a friend whose function was to verify whether or not I ate breakfast each day. After all, it is The Most Important Meal of The DayTM.
I'd tie up this post with something profound about "eliminitating the noise in our daily lives" or something silly like that but I gotta run. "Approaching station... Priest Drive and Washington... Exit to Left..."
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Together Again...
Sorry, blog. I know it's been a long time since we talked last. This is a bit awkward for me, but let me try to explain what happened.
I found Facebook. Facebook was so flashy, and had so many cool friends. Everybody loved Facebook and when she and I were hanging out, it felt like all her friends were my friends too. She knew everybody. She was the life of the party. It felt like everyone listened to what I had to say when I was with her.
And then there was Twitter. At first I couldn't figure out why she was so popular. She was just, like, a shorter version of you, right?! Then I realized that not only did Twitter have great friends, she had celebrity friends! OMG!! Shaq!! Oprah!! Danny frickin' DeVito!!! How could I not love her. I was caught up in a whirlwind! And then... When I learned that she was into "sharing" with Facebook... every man's dream, right?
So, blog. I know that it's been nearly two years since we last chatted. I know that I've neglected you for sexier technology. I know that I've treated you like crap.
And have you asked for forgiveness? No. You have just been here, patiently waiting for me to come back to you. No complaining. No talking about how I went astray. Here you are, welcoming me back with open arms. Hanging on to my every word in a saved draft, just in case my browser crashes. I may not be the most loyal man in the world when it comes to technology, but it's good knowing that I have someone I can depend on through thick and thin. I just want you to know that you were my first love. I promise that I'll try to do better, baby. I love you, blog.
I found Facebook. Facebook was so flashy, and had so many cool friends. Everybody loved Facebook and when she and I were hanging out, it felt like all her friends were my friends too. She knew everybody. She was the life of the party. It felt like everyone listened to what I had to say when I was with her.
And then there was Twitter. At first I couldn't figure out why she was so popular. She was just, like, a shorter version of you, right?! Then I realized that not only did Twitter have great friends, she had celebrity friends! OMG!! Shaq!! Oprah!! Danny frickin' DeVito!!! How could I not love her. I was caught up in a whirlwind! And then... When I learned that she was into "sharing" with Facebook... every man's dream, right?
So, blog. I know that it's been nearly two years since we last chatted. I know that I've neglected you for sexier technology. I know that I've treated you like crap.
And have you asked for forgiveness? No. You have just been here, patiently waiting for me to come back to you. No complaining. No talking about how I went astray. Here you are, welcoming me back with open arms. Hanging on to my every word in a saved draft, just in case my browser crashes. I may not be the most loyal man in the world when it comes to technology, but it's good knowing that I have someone I can depend on through thick and thin. I just want you to know that you were my first love. I promise that I'll try to do better, baby. I love you, blog.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Boycott China :: This is Tough!
Ellen and I were at Target the other day. There were a few items on the list, but only two presented some difficulty.
Soccer Ball: All of them were MIC (Made in China) except for one. Made in Pakistan. Great. Now I get to support a guy that suspended his country's constitution, and threw their Supreme Court in jail. At least the country is a Republic, so their is hope that they can get their act together.
Power Strip: Everybody needs these. So much to plug in, so few outlets where you need them. At Target, ALL the power strips were made by one company, and all of them were... say it with me... Made in China. So - I bought one. Not even one month through and I have already broken the rules. *sigh* But - I'm going to keep going. And for every China purchase I make ($6.99 so far), I'm going to donate an equal amount to an organization that will directly help the Chinese people that have been oppressed by their government. I'm open to suggestions on this... Feel free to make one in the comments.
---
A few days ago, I did some online shopping at Amazon. I temporarily forgot all about my boycott and just added a few things to my cart without a second thought. One of those things arrived today and guess what... MIC. I went back to the original product description and the country of manufacture is nowhere to be found. This is going to be tough. I have an invisible enemy.
There are two more purchases arriving soon from the same shopping spree. Neither of them mention the country of manufacture in the description. I have a bad feeling about both of them, but maybe I'll get lucky. I'll keep you posted.
Soccer Ball: All of them were MIC (Made in China) except for one. Made in Pakistan. Great. Now I get to support a guy that suspended his country's constitution, and threw their Supreme Court in jail. At least the country is a Republic, so their is hope that they can get their act together.
Power Strip: Everybody needs these. So much to plug in, so few outlets where you need them. At Target, ALL the power strips were made by one company, and all of them were... say it with me... Made in China. So - I bought one. Not even one month through and I have already broken the rules. *sigh* But - I'm going to keep going. And for every China purchase I make ($6.99 so far), I'm going to donate an equal amount to an organization that will directly help the Chinese people that have been oppressed by their government. I'm open to suggestions on this... Feel free to make one in the comments.
---
A few days ago, I did some online shopping at Amazon. I temporarily forgot all about my boycott and just added a few things to my cart without a second thought. One of those things arrived today and guess what... MIC. I went back to the original product description and the country of manufacture is nowhere to be found. This is going to be tough. I have an invisible enemy.
There are two more purchases arriving soon from the same shopping spree. Neither of them mention the country of manufacture in the description. I have a bad feeling about both of them, but maybe I'll get lucky. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Boycott China :: It Begins
I officially have a 2008 New Year's Resolution:
I'm going to attempt to avoid buying anything "Made in China" this year.
Why?
Mostly because China censors their Internetz, poisons children, forces women to get abortions, takes US jobs and beats up their own citizens for filming them beat up other citizens. Also - because I like a challenge.
Thankfully, I've already purchased my Chumby and my XO Laptop; both made in China. I agree that it's going to be difficult to justify abstaining from some of these purchases, especially a product like the XO that, theoretically, is going to be doing so much good for the children of the world. There are certainly some very complex equations to solve in the global marketplace. But - for now - at least I will feel like I'm doing something to make the world a better place.
My First Non-Purchase
My first substitution was at Target. I wanted to buy a new beard trimmer after my previous one died on me. Like I normally do, I shopped around online for a while and settled on a model from Remington that had received good reviews. Notice that the country of manufacture is not listed in the product information. However, I had already decided to purchase this locally due to shipping costs, so no problem there. Off to the store... and... yep... Made in China. So, instead, I looked at the rest of the products on the rack and ended up with a model from Wahl that proudly declared "Assembled in the USA." It works fine, but yesterday I noticed on one of the plastic trimmer guides, stamped in tiny letters: CHINA.
I'm going to attempt to avoid buying anything "Made in China" this year.
Why?
Mostly because China censors their Internetz, poisons children, forces women to get abortions, takes US jobs and beats up their own citizens for filming them beat up other citizens. Also - because I like a challenge.
Thankfully, I've already purchased my Chumby and my XO Laptop; both made in China. I agree that it's going to be difficult to justify abstaining from some of these purchases, especially a product like the XO that, theoretically, is going to be doing so much good for the children of the world. There are certainly some very complex equations to solve in the global marketplace. But - for now - at least I will feel like I'm doing something to make the world a better place.
My First Non-Purchase
My first substitution was at Target. I wanted to buy a new beard trimmer after my previous one died on me. Like I normally do, I shopped around online for a while and settled on a model from Remington that had received good reviews. Notice that the country of manufacture is not listed in the product information. However, I had already decided to purchase this locally due to shipping costs, so no problem there. Off to the store... and... yep... Made in China. So, instead, I looked at the rest of the products on the rack and ended up with a model from Wahl that proudly declared "Assembled in the USA." It works fine, but yesterday I noticed on one of the plastic trimmer guides, stamped in tiny letters: CHINA.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
