VISTA

If I'm reading this little news item correctly, Microsoft's new operating system is actually an acronym for Very Insecure System Takes Anything -- as in another security hole of oh, say, Grand Canyon proportions has been discovered:

Mark Dowd of IBM Internet Security Systems (ISS) and Alexander Sotirov, of VMware Inc. have discovered a technique that can be used to bypass all memory protection safeguards that Microsoft built into Windows Vista. These new methods have been used to get around Vista's Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), Data Execution Prevention (DEP) and other protections by loading malicious content through an active web browser. The researchers were able to load whatever content they wanted into any location they wished on a user's machine using a variety of scripting languages, such as Java, ActiveX and even .NET objects. This feat was achieved by taking advantage of the way that Internet Explorer (and other browsers) handle active scripting in the Operating System.

Any bets as to how long it takes before this hits the Intertubes?

'Nuff said.

I will survive...

When (not 'if'!) the Zombie Apocalypse comes, it would seem that I'm all but certain to live -- at least, according to this Zombie Survival Test that I scored a Z+ on.

Who's going to survive with me?

How much do you really TRUST Microsoft?

I've made no bones about the fact that I run Linux, and why: that I got fed up with having to get approval from Microsoft so that I could run Windows and my other MS software after I upgraded my computer more times than Microsoft thought reasonable.

Related to that is my belief that it's my computer, and I should be able to do pretty much any damn thing I want to with it -- and bear the responsibility for it, too.

I'll grant that I may be toward one extreme of the spectrum. On the other hand, there are those that simply don't/can't/won't think about what's happening on the 'opposite' side from where I am: that they are risking the very freedoms that I am adamant about keeping.

To those people, I'd like to suggest that you have a read of the following links regarding the "Trusted Computing" that several companies (most notably, but not limited to, Microsoft) tout:

• The 'Trusted Computing' FAQ
• A fairly nonpartisan explanation of 'Trusted Computing' on Wikipedia
• Richard Stallman's opinion of 'Trusted Computing'

While you're reading the above, keep in mind some of the news reports we've all heard the last few years (i.e. the Bush II presiduncey), and decide if you really want to put the kinds of trust we're talking about in the hands of people you don't really know...

Good ol' Days

If you're old enough to remember the existence of such things as Lawn Darts and the myriad of other considerably-less-than-safe toys that we were given, I would strongly encourage you to go over and have a read this bit of nostalgia about old playground equipment (and the comments that follow it). I remember having experienced almost all of the stuff he describes.

And if you've got kids yourself, I'd suggest you give a little thought to the consequences of how you may be raising them...

NIMBY

Want to know why the prices on various oil-derived products keep going up?

It isn't just the price of crude.

It's the fact that the U.S. hasn't built a new oil refinery in 30+ years. That means that no matter how much oil we import, it can only be converted to gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and such so fast.

And why haven't we built a refinery for so long? Take a wild guess.

Anybody want to take bets that these folks are bitching just as hard as anyone else about high fuel prices when reporters aren't around?

Not that I'm a hardware geek, or anything...

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across a reference to a hardware tinkerer's board called Arduino. It looked pretty dang cool to me, so I went ahead and ordered one -- which arrived a few days ago.

So far this weekend, I've been having a blast playing with the thing: trying different things just to see what it's capable of, experimenting with a few ideas I've had, and generally just amusing the hell out of myself with it.

Being a computer AND hardware/electronics type, one of the things that I simply had to do was have a try at building a little robot with it, using some of the myriad of loose parts I hoard: battery power, a couple of dinky little DC motors to drive/steer it, and a few rudimentary sensors so I could change the programming in it different ways -- bump-n-run, hide from (or seek) light, mill around aimlessly, and so on.

I've enjoyed myself immensely; Elf, however, hasn't been quite as pleased: having the little 'bot wandering around has thrown a serious monkey wrench in her world. At first, she was curious about it, and followed it around my apartment -- at least, up until it 'attacked' her (changed direction toward her, and wouldn't be dissuaded by the multitude of slaps she gave it). Apparently convinced that it was a feline-oriented Terminator, she then spent a couple of hours watching it from afar so that she'd be ready to defend herself when it ran amok. When she finally decided that it wasn't really trying to kill her, she settled down considerably -- except for the fact that the 'bot kept annoying her. I honestly didn't program the thing to seek her out (it isn't that 'powerful' of a platform); she simply kept laying down in places where it would eventually turn up. About the umpteenth time it disturbed her nap (which she voiced complaints about), she finally decided to take refuge on her cat tree. Now all she does is grumble at it whenever it wanders too close.

Me vs. U.S. Census

In yesterdays mail, I got a personal letter from the dipshit that has been trying to get me to answer his goofy-ass Census Bureau questions -- this despite the fact that every time the twit turned up at my door, I was rude to him, and refused to respond to any of his other messages. You'd think that a reasonable person would get the hint; but this gonzo has apparently taken dedication to his job FAR beyond what any rational person would.

So, this afternoon, I contacted the people that are supposed to be supervising him (the Denver Regional Office!!), and let them know -- in no uncertain terms -- that I didn't want to hear from him ever again. I also informed them that if I WAS contacted by him in any size, way, shape, or form, I would file a stalking complaint with the police.

Naturally enough, the dingbats in Denver wanted to know all my particulars; I advised them that if I wanted to pass that information out, I would have answered his questions in the first place -- and, further, that I already had more Government than I needed (or wanted!). As the coup de grace, I suggested that if they REALLY wanted to know anything about me, what I was doing, and so on, that they see if they could get it from one of the government agencies that's involved in monitoring U.S. citizens communications.

Bear does *what* in the woods?

Hat tip to the Presurfer

Boo farookin' Hoo

Bush: Olympic boycott would insult Chinese

Cry me a farookin' river, willya?

Dubya is going to go witness the farce that will be the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in China.

Yo! Dubya! This is the same China that f*cked up one of our airplanes in International airspace, manipulates its currency to keep its products cheap in the rest of the world, masterminded Tiananmen Square, implemented a draconian one-child policy that includes forced abortions, uses slave labor in factories, doesn't even enforce its own government policies (unless, of course, someone publicly gets caught at it), and has a host of other 'issues'.

And you don't want to insult them? Here's a thought: how about showing them that the U.S. has some principles that we're ready to actually stand for? And that they need our money a WHOLE lot more than we need their fucking doggie chew toys and other cheap-ass crap?

Dickhead.