This story of a murder at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard that went unpunished is alarming. Blood has been spilled.
If there is to be law rather than vendetta, then those who commit murder should pay for their crimes.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Chilean Student Leader
A young college student in Chile has an impressive record of political activism. I wish the U.S. had a prominent student activist that could garner a high level of media attention.
I Had High Hopes for "Borgias"
I had high hopes for "Borgias," a 2011 American series about a man who became Pope in 1492. One critic claimed it was better than "Tudors," while others praised the acting.
There is eye candy in terms of costumes and pretty faces, but the writing is dumbed-down and repetitive. I expect more from dialogue than recitations of the obvious. I am not blind and do not require being told what is happening before my eyes. When engaged in an action, be it bribery, sex, or murder, a "Borgias" character announces his action several times--"Here I am committing the criminal act of bribery, which is illegal, because it is bribery, and I could be punished for it, so I am being careful not to be caught in my bribery attempt, which as you know, is an attempt at bribery." The writers reveal a profound contempt for their audience.
To say that "Borgias" is better than "Tudors" is like saying cow manure is more elegant than diamonds. I've watched "Tudors" thrice and may watch it again some day. "Borgias," I ignored after the second episode and never intend to watch again.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Al-Jazeera
As far as Al-Jazeera is concerned, the West is wrong all the time. They expect free intervention with no payoff for Western countries that provided military assistance to the Libyan rebels. Well, I'm sorry, but there ain't so such thing as a free lunch. Instead of obsessing over Israel, Al-Jazeerists should read a couple of the best novels by R. A. Heinlein.
The writer of this Al-Jazeera editorial quite obviously hates everything about the West. So, go to live in Iran, where you can join the morality police and beat up couples that kiss in public.
Sometimes I read Al-Jazeera and have the impression it's reasonable. Other times, I read it and come away thinking it is the mouthpiece of Iran's regime. I think that the editors need to remove the rancid pistachio nuts from the fruit salad.
The writer of this Al-Jazeera editorial quite obviously hates everything about the West. So, go to live in Iran, where you can join the morality police and beat up couples that kiss in public.
Sometimes I read Al-Jazeera and have the impression it's reasonable. Other times, I read it and come away thinking it is the mouthpiece of Iran's regime. I think that the editors need to remove the rancid pistachio nuts from the fruit salad.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Namecheap Arbitrarily Changes Passwords
Namecheap, a web host, arbitrarily changes the FTP password on its customers without warning.
Namecheap has been nothing but aggravation for me.
A more incompetent outfit, I hope I never see.
Namecheap has been nothing but aggravation for me.
A more incompetent outfit, I hope I never see.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Libya vs. Iraq
Obama handled Libya the right way.
Don't put pale faces on the ground in a country where they don't speak the language.
That's a very bad idea; that's the type of idea a Republican would have.
Let the locals do the heavy lifting on the ground. They know the people, the language, the culture, and the terrain. They have a Ph.D. in their land. Leave it to the experts.
Don't put pale faces on the ground in a country where they don't speak the language.
That's a very bad idea; that's the type of idea a Republican would have.
Let the locals do the heavy lifting on the ground. They know the people, the language, the culture, and the terrain. They have a Ph.D. in their land. Leave it to the experts.
Monday, August 22, 2011
A Crooked Judge
The "kids for cash" scandal ensnaring a crooked Pennsylvania judge leads me to observe that few other offenses can compare to a judge that sells out. If there is a death penalty, then it should be applied to corrupt officials, as is the case in China. China is admirable in that respect. It might be therapeutic for the mother of a son who committed suicide to watch the former judge hang.
What Does a College Education Get You?
Graduate from college, go back to college, graduate again, all with a 3.8+ GPA, and that will get you a job at McDonald's flipping burgers in this economy. Employers don't care about learnin' and don't even care about experience.
When I read in the Wall Street Journal that Silicon Valley companies are "starved for talent," I thought to myself: what liars. They are just bald-faced liars. They use that lie to justify going over to India, China, Russia and Brazil, which they wanted to do all along in order to get cheap labor. If the Silicon Valley companies were, indeed, "starved for talent," then they could easily hire homegrown talent, which is plentiful.
Starved for talent, my foot. The U.S. job market is saturated with highly educated, highly trained talent, ready to assume every conceivable role. Companies just don't want to hire Americans.
When I read in the Wall Street Journal that Silicon Valley companies are "starved for talent," I thought to myself: what liars. They are just bald-faced liars. They use that lie to justify going over to India, China, Russia and Brazil, which they wanted to do all along in order to get cheap labor. If the Silicon Valley companies were, indeed, "starved for talent," then they could easily hire homegrown talent, which is plentiful.
Starved for talent, my foot. The U.S. job market is saturated with highly educated, highly trained talent, ready to assume every conceivable role. Companies just don't want to hire Americans.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
I'm Glad Khadaffy's on the Skids
I'm glad the Libyan rebels seem to be emerging victorious in their lengthy civil war, thanks to NATO air power. Although many in the West bellyached about the cost and morality of the intervention, in this particular case, I think the investment will pay off a sizable dividend in terms of world peace.
It really is too kind to invite such trash as the Khadaffy clan to stand trial anywhere. I rather sympathize with the rebels who wish to mount Khadaffy's head on a pike. I'm not sure dictators deserve any sort of trial. Their guilt is established already in so many ways. It is like having a trial to determine whether there is water in the ocean. The entire Khadaffy family should have their heads mounted on pikes and placed in the Green Square in Tripoli. Trials should be reserved for common folk, low-level officials whose guilt may be in doubt.
From the perspective of the U.S., the war was justified payback for a thousand misdeeds. Europe is safer without Khadaffy, who was never anything more than a thug.
Perhaps in the future, Tripoli can become a popular tourist destination, now that the cancer is on the verge of being removed.
It really is too kind to invite such trash as the Khadaffy clan to stand trial anywhere. I rather sympathize with the rebels who wish to mount Khadaffy's head on a pike. I'm not sure dictators deserve any sort of trial. Their guilt is established already in so many ways. It is like having a trial to determine whether there is water in the ocean. The entire Khadaffy family should have their heads mounted on pikes and placed in the Green Square in Tripoli. Trials should be reserved for common folk, low-level officials whose guilt may be in doubt.
From the perspective of the U.S., the war was justified payback for a thousand misdeeds. Europe is safer without Khadaffy, who was never anything more than a thug.
Perhaps in the future, Tripoli can become a popular tourist destination, now that the cancer is on the verge of being removed.
The Case of the Three Hikers
I have been interested in the case of the three American hikers kidnapped by Iran and sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage.
My belief is that they have nothing to do with espionage. Vacationing in Iraqi Kurdistan, they went hiking on a trail recommended by locals, only to be seized by Iranian troops. One suspects they were set up by the very same locals, sold out for a bounty provided by the Iranian army, which is always eager to seize Westerners. Iran has a long history of holding hostages. It is part of their sadistic psychology and dates back to the Iranian hostage crisis. Iran uses these three hikers as a political chip, to say to the world, "look, we caught three spies, we are being vigilant against American espionage, and see how they try to interfere with our country?"
Westerners need to realize that people in other parts of the world do not necessarily have the same moral values as we do. To trust any of the local inhabitants seems unwise. I would not trust anyone within one hundred miles of Iran. I would not vacation within one hundred miles of Iran. Iran must be thought of as a demon with tentacles extending out to grab Westerners and devour them. It is ruled by ignorant tyrants who do not value human rights, either for foreigners or for their own people. The only way to visit Iran is in the cockpit of a bomber jet.
I remember at the height of the Iranian hostage crisis in the 70's, a wit scrawled "Nuke Iran" on a bridge in my city, in a high-traffic area, and the graffiti remained there over a year, to my surprise. I suppose most people did not find it offensive. Eventually it was removed, but not before I had read it about a hundred times over. I thought nuking Iran was not a good idea, but did have some sympathy for the anti-Iranian sentiment. To kidnap hostages, who themselves may have done little or nothing wrong, is a very Iranian thing to do, but it is also dishonorable, and only generates sympathy for the hostages and animosity toward the hostage-takers. It is a counter-productive action that fulfilled a childish need for revenge on the part of Iranians, but spawned hostility in an entire generation of Americans. I wonder if the Iranians realize that in my elementary school, many students wore an armband with the number "50"? To think that such children will forget, even fifty years later, is a bit naive. Not even the Soviet Union provoked such animosity, perhaps because the Soviet Union had a bit more political sensitivity, even though it might have been more wicked on balance.
As things stand now, Iran is more likely than ever to be nuked, because it is developing nuclear technology. They tell the world, "Blame me," which seems most unwise. If in the future, there is any kind of nuke attack connected to terrorists, whether Islamist or not, with or without evidence, all fingers will point to Tehran. Indeed, if in the future, there is any kind of nuclear war, involving anyone, then Iran may well find itself on the short list of targets, whether or not it was initially involved. I find it most unlikely Iran will be left alone in a future nuclear conflict. Perhaps nuclear armament is a source of national pride for them. The Christians have a proverb, "Pride cometh before a Fall." The Iranian elite would be better served fulfilling the promise of their Islamic "Republic." Why they choose to oppress, torture and kill their own people is strange, a symptom of mental instability.
For my part, I can never accept a country that kills gay people for being gay. I will always be against Iran for that reason alone. But Iran is generous. It gives many other reasons. Iran is one of the least lovable countries in the world, although it does rank above North Korea in morality and popularity. North Korea is simply atrocious, ruled by orcs, plain and simple.
My belief is that they have nothing to do with espionage. Vacationing in Iraqi Kurdistan, they went hiking on a trail recommended by locals, only to be seized by Iranian troops. One suspects they were set up by the very same locals, sold out for a bounty provided by the Iranian army, which is always eager to seize Westerners. Iran has a long history of holding hostages. It is part of their sadistic psychology and dates back to the Iranian hostage crisis. Iran uses these three hikers as a political chip, to say to the world, "look, we caught three spies, we are being vigilant against American espionage, and see how they try to interfere with our country?"
Westerners need to realize that people in other parts of the world do not necessarily have the same moral values as we do. To trust any of the local inhabitants seems unwise. I would not trust anyone within one hundred miles of Iran. I would not vacation within one hundred miles of Iran. Iran must be thought of as a demon with tentacles extending out to grab Westerners and devour them. It is ruled by ignorant tyrants who do not value human rights, either for foreigners or for their own people. The only way to visit Iran is in the cockpit of a bomber jet.
I remember at the height of the Iranian hostage crisis in the 70's, a wit scrawled "Nuke Iran" on a bridge in my city, in a high-traffic area, and the graffiti remained there over a year, to my surprise. I suppose most people did not find it offensive. Eventually it was removed, but not before I had read it about a hundred times over. I thought nuking Iran was not a good idea, but did have some sympathy for the anti-Iranian sentiment. To kidnap hostages, who themselves may have done little or nothing wrong, is a very Iranian thing to do, but it is also dishonorable, and only generates sympathy for the hostages and animosity toward the hostage-takers. It is a counter-productive action that fulfilled a childish need for revenge on the part of Iranians, but spawned hostility in an entire generation of Americans. I wonder if the Iranians realize that in my elementary school, many students wore an armband with the number "50"? To think that such children will forget, even fifty years later, is a bit naive. Not even the Soviet Union provoked such animosity, perhaps because the Soviet Union had a bit more political sensitivity, even though it might have been more wicked on balance.
As things stand now, Iran is more likely than ever to be nuked, because it is developing nuclear technology. They tell the world, "Blame me," which seems most unwise. If in the future, there is any kind of nuke attack connected to terrorists, whether Islamist or not, with or without evidence, all fingers will point to Tehran. Indeed, if in the future, there is any kind of nuclear war, involving anyone, then Iran may well find itself on the short list of targets, whether or not it was initially involved. I find it most unlikely Iran will be left alone in a future nuclear conflict. Perhaps nuclear armament is a source of national pride for them. The Christians have a proverb, "Pride cometh before a Fall." The Iranian elite would be better served fulfilling the promise of their Islamic "Republic." Why they choose to oppress, torture and kill their own people is strange, a symptom of mental instability.
For my part, I can never accept a country that kills gay people for being gay. I will always be against Iran for that reason alone. But Iran is generous. It gives many other reasons. Iran is one of the least lovable countries in the world, although it does rank above North Korea in morality and popularity. North Korea is simply atrocious, ruled by orcs, plain and simple.
Republican Ignorance
Let us hope that most Republicans are not as woefully ignorant about U.S. and world history as one of the apparent frontrunners among the Presidential candidates. I'm reminded of the ignorance of G. W. Bush. Ignorance, to Republicans, is a virtue, while learning is a liability, and intellectual curiosity is a weakness. That is why I am not a Republican.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Jerry Buell Likes to Talk Smack About People He Doesn't Know
I think some media pundits are confused about which country they live in. This is America. I never once felt like I could express my political opinions in any forum with impunity from my managers, co-workers and employers, present or future. That is why many people choose to wear a cloak of anonymity on the Internet, providing a layer of protection against all save law enforcement.
There is, in a practical sense, not a limitless amount of freedom of speech, except for those who are independently wealthy and do not have to work for a living. They are free to say what they think. Those who are not rich must take care what they post under their own name. I speak from experience. That's just the way it is.
As for the teacher who spouted anti-gay rhetoric on his Facebook page, I am uninterested in discovering the depth of his ignorance, and my first inclination would be to ignore him altogether, but on the other hand, what if he had posted racist remarks on his Facebook page? I am sure the very same writer at the L.A. Times would be calling for his dismissal. Racist teachers aren't okay. Well, if that's the case, then homophobic teachers aren't okay, either. If on the other hand, homophobic teachers are considered okay, then teachers should also be free to espouse unorthodox opinions concerning race. I don't think people should get into the business of saying some groups are protected and others are not.
Apparently, according to media sources, Mr. Buell believes gay marriage is a "cesspool." I think the chief concern that people have is that all kids should be treated as kids, not as products of a "cesspool." I hate to imagine being a gay student in one of Mr. Buell's classes. I had one or two homophobic teachers while I was attending high school, and they contributed to the problems I had during that period. In my experience, they were the worst teachers, not just because of their beliefs but because of their general incompetence. Homophobic teachers are an oxymoron to anyone who is familiar with the origins of classical education.
The more I read about this individual, the more I'm disgusted with him.
There is, in a practical sense, not a limitless amount of freedom of speech, except for those who are independently wealthy and do not have to work for a living. They are free to say what they think. Those who are not rich must take care what they post under their own name. I speak from experience. That's just the way it is.
As for the teacher who spouted anti-gay rhetoric on his Facebook page, I am uninterested in discovering the depth of his ignorance, and my first inclination would be to ignore him altogether, but on the other hand, what if he had posted racist remarks on his Facebook page? I am sure the very same writer at the L.A. Times would be calling for his dismissal. Racist teachers aren't okay. Well, if that's the case, then homophobic teachers aren't okay, either. If on the other hand, homophobic teachers are considered okay, then teachers should also be free to espouse unorthodox opinions concerning race. I don't think people should get into the business of saying some groups are protected and others are not.
Apparently, according to media sources, Mr. Buell believes gay marriage is a "cesspool." I think the chief concern that people have is that all kids should be treated as kids, not as products of a "cesspool." I hate to imagine being a gay student in one of Mr. Buell's classes. I had one or two homophobic teachers while I was attending high school, and they contributed to the problems I had during that period. In my experience, they were the worst teachers, not just because of their beliefs but because of their general incompetence. Homophobic teachers are an oxymoron to anyone who is familiar with the origins of classical education.
The more I read about this individual, the more I'm disgusted with him.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Reparations owed by the U.S.
The U.S. owes the heterosexual community a large sum in reparations for kidnapping their children due to marijuana possession. The founders of this country would be appalled to learn just how far the nation has fallen into the abyss of tyrannical injustice.
Paradise Lost
The story of the "West Memphis Three" provides a revealing glimpse of the South, its attitudes and ways of dealing with problems.
I don't think any state in the South should have the death penalty, due to the region's poor record of justice and jurisprudence throughout history.
I don't think any state in the South should have the death penalty, due to the region's poor record of justice and jurisprudence throughout history.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
My Favorite Politician
My favorite politician is not Obama. He doesn't lead, he follows, and he doesn't always follow the right people, either. Obama is more Republican than Democrat.
My favorite politician is Gorbachev. He ended the Cold War, reformed the U.S.S.R., and was the answer to a personal prayer and premonition I had at the age of ten. I remember thinking about the U.S.S.R. and all of the evil associated with it and the threat of nuclear annihilation, and I felt a change was coming and that it would come within my lifetime. It was a sensation based in the heart, a feeling only, and I was not sure whether to trust it. Maybe popular music and the popular media had inspired me to feel this way. The same may have inspired Gorbachev. At any rate he has a heart, a good heart. Not many politicians, at least on the Republican side of the aisle, do.
My favorite politician is Gorbachev. He ended the Cold War, reformed the U.S.S.R., and was the answer to a personal prayer and premonition I had at the age of ten. I remember thinking about the U.S.S.R. and all of the evil associated with it and the threat of nuclear annihilation, and I felt a change was coming and that it would come within my lifetime. It was a sensation based in the heart, a feeling only, and I was not sure whether to trust it. Maybe popular music and the popular media had inspired me to feel this way. The same may have inspired Gorbachev. At any rate he has a heart, a good heart. Not many politicians, at least on the Republican side of the aisle, do.
High Hopes for Chessmaster 9000
I have high hopes for Chessmaster 9000, ordered a few days ago for a laughable $8 from Ebay. Somehow it doesn't seem right that a world-class chess program sells for so little. Nowadays, even computer programs running on desktop PC's are beating grandmasters. The day of the human is over, I'm afraid.
And good riddance. I hate to say it, because I like playing against friends in real life, but many of the chess players I've encountered online are poor sports. Maybe it is because they are anonymous. Part of it is because the game is so cutthroat. When humans compete, a sizable percentage do feel the temptation to turn nasty and take winning or losing personally.
I like to play Chess960, which I believe is the same as Fischer chess. Chess Cube does not permit players to specify their preference concerning Chess960, so manyidiots novices join my Chess960 games unawares. They abort the game after staring at the Chess960 board for 1-2 minutes, making me wait on the "Duh...?" to be processed by their Celeron-powered, single-core, .1 ghz noggin. When they abort, the system does not penalize them and does not reward me, so it's all-lose for me, just a continual irritation. The ratio of abortions to playing games is an incredible 4:1.
When I first started playing chess online, I thought it would be neat to interact and chat with human players. The reality is that few people want to discuss chess, few even want to talk, and only a handful are even willing to say hello. Most players, if they do chat, talk about the few women they have identified online, because they are lonely, str8, and sexually frustrated. Chat is inane. Lowered expectations cannot even begin to describe the chat scene.
I'm looking forward to the arrival of Chessmaster 9000, so I can play old-school, on my computer, without an ill-mannered, impatient, unsociable, uninteresting and under-skilled human opponent. I've already downloaded the No-CD crack from that wonderful site, http://www.gamecopyworld.com. From what I've read, copy protection is the chief complaint against Chessmaster 9000. I'll be taking a long and much desired vacation from the online chess jungle. Enough with the mosquitoes, pythons and pygmies with the poisoned arrows, I say.
Computers are superb opponents. They don't abort games. If something comes up, and you have to leave, they are willing to wait and play later, or never, whichever you prefer. They don't change moods, whether they win or lose. And they permit a large variety of configurations. Chess960? No problem. They will play every time, without aborting the game. I'm looking forward to that special package in the mail. And I do plan to leave positive feedback for the ebay seller.
Update: After reading reviews of Chessmaster 9000, I discovered it does not support Chess960. Fritz 12 does, so I bought a copy of Fritz 12 from Amazon for $20. Fritz 12 also seems to be a much stronger chess engine. One reviewer stated that Chessmaster is for children, and Fritz is for adults.
And good riddance. I hate to say it, because I like playing against friends in real life, but many of the chess players I've encountered online are poor sports. Maybe it is because they are anonymous. Part of it is because the game is so cutthroat. When humans compete, a sizable percentage do feel the temptation to turn nasty and take winning or losing personally.
I like to play Chess960, which I believe is the same as Fischer chess. Chess Cube does not permit players to specify their preference concerning Chess960, so many
When I first started playing chess online, I thought it would be neat to interact and chat with human players. The reality is that few people want to discuss chess, few even want to talk, and only a handful are even willing to say hello. Most players, if they do chat, talk about the few women they have identified online, because they are lonely, str8, and sexually frustrated. Chat is inane. Lowered expectations cannot even begin to describe the chat scene.
I'm looking forward to the arrival of Chessmaster 9000, so I can play old-school, on my computer, without an ill-mannered, impatient, unsociable, uninteresting and under-skilled human opponent. I've already downloaded the No-CD crack from that wonderful site, http://www.gamecopyworld.com. From what I've read, copy protection is the chief complaint against Chessmaster 9000. I'll be taking a long and much desired vacation from the online chess jungle. Enough with the mosquitoes, pythons and pygmies with the poisoned arrows, I say.
Computers are superb opponents. They don't abort games. If something comes up, and you have to leave, they are willing to wait and play later, or never, whichever you prefer. They don't change moods, whether they win or lose. And they permit a large variety of configurations. Chess960? No problem. They will play every time, without aborting the game. I'm looking forward to that special package in the mail. And I do plan to leave positive feedback for the ebay seller.
Update: After reading reviews of Chessmaster 9000, I discovered it does not support Chess960. Fritz 12 does, so I bought a copy of Fritz 12 from Amazon for $20. Fritz 12 also seems to be a much stronger chess engine. One reviewer stated that Chessmaster is for children, and Fritz is for adults.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Seagate Hard Drive Barracuda 7200.11: Garbage
I was one of the unlucky loyal Seagate customers that purchased a Seagate hard drive, Barracuda 7200.11, only to have it decide one day out of the blue to turn into a brick. The 7200.11 suffers from a known firmware issue.
I used to be a fan of Seagate. Long ago, they had a better reputation. Today, Seagate makes quite clear on their web site that they prefer to keep the money than to honor their warranty. I investigated the RMA/Warranty terms, and they are outlandishly unfair. First of all, they have placed about an hour's worth of barriers on the web site before an RMA can be accessed. They assume that they customer has never used a computer before, and require everyone to jump through about twenty hoops before even getting to the RMA/Warranty process.
Their fine print is mind-boggling in its minute details. To return a drive to Seagate is to risk adding insult to injury; they will keep the drive if they decide the drive is acceptable. There is, as Seagate is fully aware, a chance that a drive may suffer from an intermittent issue, or an issue relating to its interaction with other hardware, but no provisions are made for that. Seagate will keep the drive if they feel like it, passing it on to another customer. In the best case scenario, Seagate will replace the drive which has defective firmware with another, used drive that also has defective firmware, which means the entire return process must be completed again, and again, and again, as each replacement fails in succession, until the expiration of the warranty.
You know what, Seagate can keep the $70. I accept that Seagate cheated me out of my money. But you know what else? I will never purchase another Seagate product of any kind. I've added a helpful little reminder to the right-hand side of the blog.
My problems with the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 were not confined to the firmware issue, the one that turned the drive into a brick. Maybe if I had enjoyed a year or two of good performance from the drive, I wouldn't have minded so much when it stopped working. But that wasn't the case.
When the drive first arrived, it could not boot more than half the time after Windows XP was loaded onto it. If the boot failed, a black screen displayed with something along the lines of "FATAL SYSTEM ERROR." If the reset button was pressed, then Windows XP would load as usual. This happened every time without fail. To eliminate any other possible cause, I cloned the Seagate drive onto a Western Digital drive that booted every time without fail. Only the Seagate drive hiccuped during boot. And this was brand new, fresh out of the box!
Did I suffer in silence? No, as any reader might have gathered, I'm not the type. I invested an hour speaking with a CSR from Seagate technical support, who walked me through a laborious process before reaching the same conclusion I did. His answer? Seagate does not permit returns unless the drive is dead. Well, now that it really is dead, I'm not sure I want another drive just like it.
I'll tell you what, I'm looking forward to getting one of those keen solid state drives with no moving parts. Competent players like Intel are producing these drives. I've heard good things about Intel drives. All I'm waiting for is the price to go down. The sweet spot for me will be 1gb/$1, although I might hold out for 2gb/$1. Solid state drives are the answer to so many techies' prayers. I would estimate 15% of the problems with computers today derives from hard drives. Solid state drives promise reliability, which by itself justifies their existence, even if they weren't faster, but the icing on the cake is that they are faster, much faster as a matter of fact. Low energy consumption and small footprint are, of course, added benefits, if such were needed.
My dream system is an AMD Athlon II X2, 4 GB of DDR3 memory, a 60GB Intel or Corsair SSD, and a 2 TB WD hard drive. I'm not particular about motherboards, because I don't overclock and don't have any need for HDMI. I prefer on-board video, because I don't play fancy games and don't want a video card. I've priced all this, and with a humble motherboard, mouse, keyboard, and a dvd burner, the price is south of $400. That's the system I plan to reward myself with one day.
Where will I buy my dream system? NewEgg, of course. There is no other rational alternative. One of my friends annoyed me recently by buying a desktop from Best Buy for $900, when I could have built a far superior one for him for $600 (with an LCD monitor). I'm practically willing to build a system for free. My usual flat rate for friends is $50. All right, his system looks nicer, with everything packed inside a monitor-gizmo of some sort. I'll admit I'm not familiar with that layout.
I'm old-school, and to me towers are the way to go. They are easier to maintain, easier to tweak, easier to fix if something goes wrong, which, let's be honest, happens quite enough. I don't like the modern emphasis on minimizing footprint, unless it results in a system that is easier to maintain and troubleshoot, which should always be the bottom line--I don't care what business or profession someone is in. If a system is unreliable or can't be fixed without tossing the whole shebang, then that's a massive problem. Now, laptops have made great strides in this area, and I know techies that troubleshoot and repair laptops without much difficulty. Even so, I prefer desktops. Always have and always will. To me, there's nothing better than a nice, big, fat display with maximum resolution, and a secure, stable power supply that's not going anywhere, a fast box, and a big fat keyboard and big fat mouse for my big fat fingers!
I used to be a fan of Seagate. Long ago, they had a better reputation. Today, Seagate makes quite clear on their web site that they prefer to keep the money than to honor their warranty. I investigated the RMA/Warranty terms, and they are outlandishly unfair. First of all, they have placed about an hour's worth of barriers on the web site before an RMA can be accessed. They assume that they customer has never used a computer before, and require everyone to jump through about twenty hoops before even getting to the RMA/Warranty process.
Their fine print is mind-boggling in its minute details. To return a drive to Seagate is to risk adding insult to injury; they will keep the drive if they decide the drive is acceptable. There is, as Seagate is fully aware, a chance that a drive may suffer from an intermittent issue, or an issue relating to its interaction with other hardware, but no provisions are made for that. Seagate will keep the drive if they feel like it, passing it on to another customer. In the best case scenario, Seagate will replace the drive which has defective firmware with another, used drive that also has defective firmware, which means the entire return process must be completed again, and again, and again, as each replacement fails in succession, until the expiration of the warranty.
You know what, Seagate can keep the $70. I accept that Seagate cheated me out of my money. But you know what else? I will never purchase another Seagate product of any kind. I've added a helpful little reminder to the right-hand side of the blog.
My problems with the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 were not confined to the firmware issue, the one that turned the drive into a brick. Maybe if I had enjoyed a year or two of good performance from the drive, I wouldn't have minded so much when it stopped working. But that wasn't the case.
When the drive first arrived, it could not boot more than half the time after Windows XP was loaded onto it. If the boot failed, a black screen displayed with something along the lines of "FATAL SYSTEM ERROR." If the reset button was pressed, then Windows XP would load as usual. This happened every time without fail. To eliminate any other possible cause, I cloned the Seagate drive onto a Western Digital drive that booted every time without fail. Only the Seagate drive hiccuped during boot. And this was brand new, fresh out of the box!
Did I suffer in silence? No, as any reader might have gathered, I'm not the type. I invested an hour speaking with a CSR from Seagate technical support, who walked me through a laborious process before reaching the same conclusion I did. His answer? Seagate does not permit returns unless the drive is dead. Well, now that it really is dead, I'm not sure I want another drive just like it.
I'll tell you what, I'm looking forward to getting one of those keen solid state drives with no moving parts. Competent players like Intel are producing these drives. I've heard good things about Intel drives. All I'm waiting for is the price to go down. The sweet spot for me will be 1gb/$1, although I might hold out for 2gb/$1. Solid state drives are the answer to so many techies' prayers. I would estimate 15% of the problems with computers today derives from hard drives. Solid state drives promise reliability, which by itself justifies their existence, even if they weren't faster, but the icing on the cake is that they are faster, much faster as a matter of fact. Low energy consumption and small footprint are, of course, added benefits, if such were needed.
My dream system is an AMD Athlon II X2, 4 GB of DDR3 memory, a 60GB Intel or Corsair SSD, and a 2 TB WD hard drive. I'm not particular about motherboards, because I don't overclock and don't have any need for HDMI. I prefer on-board video, because I don't play fancy games and don't want a video card. I've priced all this, and with a humble motherboard, mouse, keyboard, and a dvd burner, the price is south of $400. That's the system I plan to reward myself with one day.
Where will I buy my dream system? NewEgg, of course. There is no other rational alternative. One of my friends annoyed me recently by buying a desktop from Best Buy for $900, when I could have built a far superior one for him for $600 (with an LCD monitor). I'm practically willing to build a system for free. My usual flat rate for friends is $50. All right, his system looks nicer, with everything packed inside a monitor-gizmo of some sort. I'll admit I'm not familiar with that layout.
I'm old-school, and to me towers are the way to go. They are easier to maintain, easier to tweak, easier to fix if something goes wrong, which, let's be honest, happens quite enough. I don't like the modern emphasis on minimizing footprint, unless it results in a system that is easier to maintain and troubleshoot, which should always be the bottom line--I don't care what business or profession someone is in. If a system is unreliable or can't be fixed without tossing the whole shebang, then that's a massive problem. Now, laptops have made great strides in this area, and I know techies that troubleshoot and repair laptops without much difficulty. Even so, I prefer desktops. Always have and always will. To me, there's nothing better than a nice, big, fat display with maximum resolution, and a secure, stable power supply that's not going anywhere, a fast box, and a big fat keyboard and big fat mouse for my big fat fingers!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
How to Undo Yassine Edder's Vandalism
The following is a guide to recovering a compromised Wordpress site, written at the request of a visitor to this blog.
An automated robot using the nym "Yassine Edder" attacked my beloved's Wordpress site last month. I was caught unprepared, in that I was unfamiliar with the security aspects of Wordpress and had not taken the proper precautions. I accepted the blame for that negligence and pulled an all-nighter undoing the damage and locking down the site so that no one will ever be able to compromise it again and installing countermeasures that will inconvenience spammers and malicious hackers.
The message content of Yassine's graffiti manipulates victims into assuming that Yassine Edder is some sort of harmless attention-seeking teenager inspired by the media. Make no assumptions about the motives of the criminal. All that is known is that Yassine Edder is a criminal running an automated script.
Yassine's modus operandi is quite simple*. First of all, understand that Yassine is not a human being, but an automatic robot running via script. The attack is completed within two minutes. The robot attempts to read wp-config.php, and if your file permission permits this, then it can extract the password to your database. Many people, myself and my partner included, neglected to set the file permission of wp-config.php to 400 or 440, the secure setting. In order to do this, you will need to FTP into your site with a program such as FileZilla, right-click on wp-config.php, and alter the permission. This is the very first thing you must do, because until you do it, your site can be compromised again and again. There is no point in performing a clean-up until you secure wp-config.php. Clean-up is not as important as establishing security. You must change the password to your database, because it has been compromised. Change it immediately in wp-config.php, lock down wp-config.php by setting the file permission, and then go into CPANEL and change the database password on your host. This will partially close the door to Yassine Edder. However, Yassine has established an admin account, and this must be deleted from the database as well in order to slam the door in his ugly face.
The next step is to delete the admin account and also remove the graffiti Yassine left behind. I call this the clean-up stage. Bear in mind that Yassine was not permitted more than a few hours of access to my partner's site, and the damage was undone quickly. I am not sure what the consequences are for people whose site has been compromised for several days or weeks. It may be that other robots or human beings return to cause more damage. If that is the case, then there may be backdoors installed in your site. You will need to scrutinize everything carefully. The best prognosis might even be obtained by recovering from backup. I did not have to do that, but again I nipped the problem in the bud early. You should examine your logs to see what has been happening. If you are not in the habit of examining your web host logs in their raw format, now would be a good time to start. By doing so, I was able to learn which IP address or addresses conducted the attack, how long it took, and how many files were accessed. That was helpful information that I later used to ban the very same IP addresses. The Yassine robot can never access our site content from the same IP address used before. All he will get will be a stern warning with links to spam-killer and harvester-killer sites.
Now I will discuss precisely how Yassine turns your site into his personal graffiti wall. There is not much to it really. The good news for me was that the damage was not severe or widespread, at least in my case, although that may not be true for all. I can only speak from my own limited perspective.
After obtaining the password to your MySQL database, Yassine then inserted records establishing a username and password, permitting a human criminal to visit later at his leisure. Go to your web host's Cpanel, go into MySql and modify the database records that Yassine has inserted or altered. If you do not know how to deal with MySQL, you must learn, as I did. Do not be intimidated. It is not really difficult. Obviously you will want to remove the record with Yassine's username and password. You will also want to remove the record that is causing your site to greet all visitors with Yassine's stupid graffiti. Take your time examining the database, because the malicious damage will be there. To my recollection there was one record with Yassine's username and password, and one record with the graffiti. However, there may be more. It should not be assumed that every site has the same experience.
After undoing the database damage, you should be home-free, or at least I was. My partner's site at this point was fully recovered with no damage and no backdoors. So I got a great big hug and a thank-you and a cup of hot cocoa. Take this opportunity to pursue the other security recommendations I have suggested elsewhere. Wp-config.php is not the only Wordpress vulnerability. There are others that should be eliminated as well. Also, the whole fiasco is a wake-up call to start making regular back-ups of your entire site, not just the files but the database as well.
There is also the possibility your FTP password could one day become compromised due to a local virus on your PC or a man-in-the-middle attack. I suggest using SFTP at all times, which is encrypted FTP. Securing your local network against viruses is important. Any compromised computer on a local network can monitor network traffic, so don't be complacent about your spouse's, roommates' or children's computers. All computers must be clean.
Footnotes:
[*] - This post and others makes an assumption that wp-config.php was the focal point of Yassine's attack. That assumption appears shakier the more I think about it. One thing I've learned in computers is that one should never be too sure about something. There are two problems that bother me about the wp-config.php hypothesis.
In the first place, I was under the impression that .php files were executed server-side and could not be read by the client. However, maybe there is a way to read the source code of an unprotected .php file. I don't know. I'm no .php expert, although I have coded .php programs of simple to moderate complexity.
Even more disturbing was the behavior of my partner's web host, the accursed Namecheap, which I have panned elsewhere for unrelated reasons. Following Yassine's attack, the entire host went down for several hours "for security-related issues", which suggests a server, or all servers were hacked. If that was indeed the case, then the host, Namecheap, was negligent in some unknown way. It may be that every Wordpress blog on certain compromised servers was attacked. I am not willing to rule out this possibility, but I don't have the resources or motivation to determine the facts of the matter.
As a general aside, I think it is interesting that I'm currently unemployed and can't get a job because employers assume I know nothing about the web. They discount the skills I obtained through self-learning. They think I know nothing. Well, skills are skills. It does not matter so much whether they are obtained on a 9-to-5 job. However, this seems to be outside the understanding of today's employers, who discard my cover letter and resume because I lack recent web-related work experience in an actual paid job. I have encountered an iron wall in the job market locking me out of any kind of technology job. However, whether I ever get a job or not, I will always be keen on computers. I'm ready, able, and willing, but the job market, the economy, is not. My potential is going untapped or diverted into recreational avenues like this blog, online chess and Scrabble. Oh well. I suppose I've got my health to be thankful for, among other things.
An automated robot using the nym "Yassine Edder" attacked my beloved's Wordpress site last month. I was caught unprepared, in that I was unfamiliar with the security aspects of Wordpress and had not taken the proper precautions. I accepted the blame for that negligence and pulled an all-nighter undoing the damage and locking down the site so that no one will ever be able to compromise it again and installing countermeasures that will inconvenience spammers and malicious hackers.
The message content of Yassine's graffiti manipulates victims into assuming that Yassine Edder is some sort of harmless attention-seeking teenager inspired by the media. Make no assumptions about the motives of the criminal. All that is known is that Yassine Edder is a criminal running an automated script.
Yassine's modus operandi is quite simple*. First of all, understand that Yassine is not a human being, but an automatic robot running via script. The attack is completed within two minutes. The robot attempts to read wp-config.php, and if your file permission permits this, then it can extract the password to your database. Many people, myself and my partner included, neglected to set the file permission of wp-config.php to 400 or 440, the secure setting. In order to do this, you will need to FTP into your site with a program such as FileZilla, right-click on wp-config.php, and alter the permission. This is the very first thing you must do, because until you do it, your site can be compromised again and again. There is no point in performing a clean-up until you secure wp-config.php. Clean-up is not as important as establishing security. You must change the password to your database, because it has been compromised. Change it immediately in wp-config.php, lock down wp-config.php by setting the file permission, and then go into CPANEL and change the database password on your host. This will partially close the door to Yassine Edder. However, Yassine has established an admin account, and this must be deleted from the database as well in order to slam the door in his ugly face.
The next step is to delete the admin account and also remove the graffiti Yassine left behind. I call this the clean-up stage. Bear in mind that Yassine was not permitted more than a few hours of access to my partner's site, and the damage was undone quickly. I am not sure what the consequences are for people whose site has been compromised for several days or weeks. It may be that other robots or human beings return to cause more damage. If that is the case, then there may be backdoors installed in your site. You will need to scrutinize everything carefully. The best prognosis might even be obtained by recovering from backup. I did not have to do that, but again I nipped the problem in the bud early. You should examine your logs to see what has been happening. If you are not in the habit of examining your web host logs in their raw format, now would be a good time to start. By doing so, I was able to learn which IP address or addresses conducted the attack, how long it took, and how many files were accessed. That was helpful information that I later used to ban the very same IP addresses. The Yassine robot can never access our site content from the same IP address used before. All he will get will be a stern warning with links to spam-killer and harvester-killer sites.
Now I will discuss precisely how Yassine turns your site into his personal graffiti wall. There is not much to it really. The good news for me was that the damage was not severe or widespread, at least in my case, although that may not be true for all. I can only speak from my own limited perspective.
After obtaining the password to your MySQL database, Yassine then inserted records establishing a username and password, permitting a human criminal to visit later at his leisure. Go to your web host's Cpanel, go into MySql and modify the database records that Yassine has inserted or altered. If you do not know how to deal with MySQL, you must learn, as I did. Do not be intimidated. It is not really difficult. Obviously you will want to remove the record with Yassine's username and password. You will also want to remove the record that is causing your site to greet all visitors with Yassine's stupid graffiti. Take your time examining the database, because the malicious damage will be there. To my recollection there was one record with Yassine's username and password, and one record with the graffiti. However, there may be more. It should not be assumed that every site has the same experience.
After undoing the database damage, you should be home-free, or at least I was. My partner's site at this point was fully recovered with no damage and no backdoors. So I got a great big hug and a thank-you and a cup of hot cocoa. Take this opportunity to pursue the other security recommendations I have suggested elsewhere. Wp-config.php is not the only Wordpress vulnerability. There are others that should be eliminated as well. Also, the whole fiasco is a wake-up call to start making regular back-ups of your entire site, not just the files but the database as well.
There is also the possibility your FTP password could one day become compromised due to a local virus on your PC or a man-in-the-middle attack. I suggest using SFTP at all times, which is encrypted FTP. Securing your local network against viruses is important. Any compromised computer on a local network can monitor network traffic, so don't be complacent about your spouse's, roommates' or children's computers. All computers must be clean.
Footnotes:
[*] - This post and others makes an assumption that wp-config.php was the focal point of Yassine's attack. That assumption appears shakier the more I think about it. One thing I've learned in computers is that one should never be too sure about something. There are two problems that bother me about the wp-config.php hypothesis.
In the first place, I was under the impression that .php files were executed server-side and could not be read by the client. However, maybe there is a way to read the source code of an unprotected .php file. I don't know. I'm no .php expert, although I have coded .php programs of simple to moderate complexity.
Even more disturbing was the behavior of my partner's web host, the accursed Namecheap, which I have panned elsewhere for unrelated reasons. Following Yassine's attack, the entire host went down for several hours "for security-related issues", which suggests a server, or all servers were hacked. If that was indeed the case, then the host, Namecheap, was negligent in some unknown way. It may be that every Wordpress blog on certain compromised servers was attacked. I am not willing to rule out this possibility, but I don't have the resources or motivation to determine the facts of the matter.
As a general aside, I think it is interesting that I'm currently unemployed and can't get a job because employers assume I know nothing about the web. They discount the skills I obtained through self-learning. They think I know nothing. Well, skills are skills. It does not matter so much whether they are obtained on a 9-to-5 job. However, this seems to be outside the understanding of today's employers, who discard my cover letter and resume because I lack recent web-related work experience in an actual paid job. I have encountered an iron wall in the job market locking me out of any kind of technology job. However, whether I ever get a job or not, I will always be keen on computers. I'm ready, able, and willing, but the job market, the economy, is not. My potential is going untapped or diverted into recreational avenues like this blog, online chess and Scrabble. Oh well. I suppose I've got my health to be thankful for, among other things.
Friday, August 12, 2011
A Reasonable Opinion
I agreed with the recent court decision striking down a portion of Obama's health care plan.
Regulations for corporations that intend to insure people are fine and dandy, but any provisions of a health care law should be optional for individuals.
Trying to force people to do things is the type of reasoning behind Prohibition and the ban on gays in the military. It is not democratic, it doesn't work, it leads to unhappiness and it reduces productivity.
Regulations for corporations that intend to insure people are fine and dandy, but any provisions of a health care law should be optional for individuals.
Trying to force people to do things is the type of reasoning behind Prohibition and the ban on gays in the military. It is not democratic, it doesn't work, it leads to unhappiness and it reduces productivity.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Obama on Afghanistan
I watched half of Obama's Dec 1st, 2009 speech to the cadets of West Point, in which he defended the escalation in Afghanistan. I couldn't watch the whole thing, because it made me feel as uneasy as some of the cadets looked whenever the camera zoomed in to show their reactions. I wasn't impressed either by Obama's arguments or his delivery and had the distinct feeling that he did not believe in half of what he was saying. He seemed to be playing devil's advocate. I think Obama goes along with the war in Afghanistan due to political calculations. Obama strikes me as a pragmatist, rather than an idealist, and much of what he says and does is based on politics rather than reason. I don't find pragmatism particularly objectionable, but it's not terribly inspiring either.
His response to people like me, who compare Afghanistan to Viet Nam, is as follows:
Sometimes, a giant must ignore the sting of a gnat, when there are dragons lying about in wait. Our only real enemy in the modern world is China. Al Qaeda is a joke. It is a can of assorted nuts with few pistachios.
In deciding a proper course of action, one must weigh the costs against the benefits. This is a difficult medicine for wealthy and arrogant men to accept. The wealthy elite sacrificed trillions from the public coffer for vengeance. Now they demand that the working class, students, the poor and elderly pay the bill in full. Only the lower classes are being required to make sacrifices.
His response to people like me, who compare Afghanistan to Viet Nam, is as follows:
- The insurgency in Viet Nam was broad-based, while the Taliban is not.
- Al-Qaeda attacked our homeland, whereas Viet Nam did not.
- Our coalition in Afghanistan has broad international support.
Sometimes, a giant must ignore the sting of a gnat, when there are dragons lying about in wait. Our only real enemy in the modern world is China. Al Qaeda is a joke. It is a can of assorted nuts with few pistachios.
In deciding a proper course of action, one must weigh the costs against the benefits. This is a difficult medicine for wealthy and arrogant men to accept. The wealthy elite sacrificed trillions from the public coffer for vengeance. Now they demand that the working class, students, the poor and elderly pay the bill in full. Only the lower classes are being required to make sacrifices.
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