The Lair

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup

Best Beer Names Ever → Or maybe just in the US #
more from the anonymous internet hate machine → I just love this. I really really do. #
CSS minifier → been intending a peek at these toys at some point #
whee. The big guns join the OpenID alliance → both provider and consumer service provisioning, please! #
Vertical branding taken to extremes – an encryption tool for err.. the mujahideen → with the marketing reading something like – “use the tool approved by the terrorist overlords to encrypt all your messages!” #
this is relevant to my interests → I swear. 20 odd years of school and I still can’t tie my laces properly. Sometime ago, I just stopped caring. #
Limericks, now in a convenient database form → uses the same software as the famous bash.org, I believe. #
Discover which candidate you would support in the US elections → if you were like … able to vote or even cared to do so. #
A Post-IntelliJ world → Yeah, but you know.. that was version 2.5 or 3.0. Everything after 4.0 has been on a downward spiral #
Victim of His Own Success: The Tragedy of Bobby Fischer → A balanced look at one of the game’s greats #
Raising the Steak → Kobe Beef : the myth and apparent reality #
five new yorkers who face extreme stress → 11th grade student? Oh please. #
prove that you are indeed a leet gamer when playing online → or not. #
everyone say it with me → scam scam scammity scam #
Top 50 British writers since 1945 → I’ve read maybe half of these people. And I already have nitpicks about the list. #
The Smart Set: Scent of a Führer → Yet more proof that vegetarians are the cause of most of the world’s problems. And you know who else was a vegetarian? yes, that’s right. #
everyone needs a bit moar lolcat in their websiet → It’s been done for lots of other pidgin languages, but it’s still funny in lolcat #
Life as a series of receipt stubs → Awesome #
Coffee Drinks Illustrated → Because pretty pictures are better than wondering why your coffee is that muddy colour #
Won’t someone please think of Vietnam? → I laughed when I heard the comparison being made. This article explains why. #
Unintentionally Sexual Comics Covers/Panels → Comics and innuendo. Old skool scans. #
MoanMyIP.com – yes, what it says → NSFW and don’t listen with the speakers turned up. You have been warned #
People aren’t what they seem over IM → News (and several films) at 11 #
A Soviet Poster A Day → Just what it says on the tin. A new Soviet era propaganda poster every day. #
Vanilla (the nifty forum software) embeds sponsored links in the product → inevitable, I suppose. Everyone needs to make some cash for their hard work. This is rather sad though. #
LOL Feeds → make a lolcat for each of the titles on your blog, twitter, jaiku or wherever #
The Chicken Fried Pork Belly Caesar → dammit. feel hungry now. #
Spite is apparently not a chimpanzee emotion → chimps are however, susceptible to vengeful behaviour #
In a blindingly obvious result: Ruby is faster to setup; but not yet as scalable as Java → The same team are expected to proclaim their findings on the colour of the daytime sky shortly #
Making Bacon → is there anything it can’t do? from an anonymous tipster #
Stephen King reviews Harry Potter → Not a huge fan of King’s recent work, but I think this review is awesome on many different levels. #
Eating meat as a dating strategy → why ordering meat can make someone seem down to earth and less finicky. Amen. #
The vast majority of people are unwilling to take another human life → fascinating read about how this reluctance is overcome #
Schneier interviews the chief of the TSA → lots of fascinating insight on airport security in the US #
Ransomizr – a Flickr ransom note generator → Generates old skool ransom notes from random Flick pics. Very cool. #
sickening, isn’t it? → cheese pie that doesn’t taste quite as good the second time. #
Microsoft Project now has an open-source competitor → imaginatively named OpenProj. Supposedly cross-platform. Looks nifty #
walking causes more damage to the environment than driving → so.very.confused now #
All men are liars, apparently → A fascinating read, if for no other reason than that my perspective is so different from his. #
237 reasons to have sex → some people take their research very seriously #
On a Ramen theme → I may have mentioned Ramen before – but this looks tasty. #
inverse relationship between grades and sex drive posited → what if you’re really smart about getting laid? Ah. Paradoxes. #
A-List Bloggers: It’s a fad. Everyone go home now. → Well I’ll be. They’re not tech gods? #
it’s apparently national orgasm week. This week. → One week a year just isn’t that great, is it? #
Scarlett Johansson will play Jenna Jameson → zomg bewbies #
The Kremlin is like something conceived by Mario Puzo → Kasparov on Putin and politics in Russia today #
being aggressive leads to higher pay. Umm. duh. → But then the article had to go and bring gender into it. #
from flirting to fornication → like this is a bad thing… Granuiad writer sounds like nose is distinctly out of joint here. #
childrens books are banned from the NYT bestseller lists → err. right. Not that I use the NYT bestseller list for my reading decisions, but ok. #
eating beef is less green than driving → that’s too bad for the planet then. I’m probably close to being classed as a militant carnivore. #
Collaborative filtering for news sources → this is an idea that sounds like it should work in practice – but one man’s news is another man’s propaganda. I expect it to be gamed viciously if it ever becomes popular. #
a new superhero for this day and age – splogfighter → the database of 13m blogs sounds rather creepy though #
PHP4 will not be supported after this year → end of an era? I just hope everyone upgrades. #
let loose the badgers of war, they said. → may I be only about the millionth person to chant “badger, badger, badger, badger, mushroom, mushroom”. #
joke comprehension may decrease with age → laugh it up, junior. laugh it up. #
smacks ever so slightly of elitism, but there is a lot to agree with in this review → jumped the shark. Over. I still watch the Simpsons though. #
rent a house and get richer → skippy pointed me to this a while ago. It flies in the face of everything I thought made fiscal sense. So. Confused. #
is anything safe to eat anymore? → can’t help but feel slightly aggrieved at this. #
how to retain people → lots of interesting stuff there #
Time notices 37Signals → ultimately not a great deal of new insight, though #
not sure this article is enough to reform GWB in the public eye but … → the human touches were very nicely done. #
blog and social network by proxy → ghostwriter? Who’s that? oh, but this is Facebook. It’s different. #
fried chicken → it’s the spice mix that counts #
why poor countries remain poor → the rest of the site is a bit suspect for my left leaning self, but this article mirrors my observations elsewhere #
map of social networks → yes, another one. #
what families eat, around the world → the pictures are a tad “You Are What You Eat”, but it’s interesting to see the variations #
want to dodge the smoking ban? become an embassy → of an uninhabited island. Yeah. That’ll work. #
Food photography aggregator → Truly one of the most brilliant places I’ve visited recently. Do not go there if hungry. You have been warned. #
customer feedback for a store which deals in sex and bondage toys → I love the velvet handcuffs. Now, about that malfunctioning key? #
“clearly, to save a woman you need a man. It’s a question of muscles” → Italy’s first? all-woman beach opens for business. Italian wumminz also ask for moar eunuchs. These Romans are crazy. #
myspace vs facebook: it’s about class, apparently → correlation is not causation and all that sort of thing #
Vimperator: Firefox with Vi key bindings → make it stop. Dear gawd, make it :wq! #
continuous partial attention → some call this multitasking, but it’s not quite that #
facebook in 40 years → face what? #
don’t say this to us. apparently → worth a snigger. Probably going to get me a “fine. read those silly articles” too. #
an earth without people → been done in a pictorial form before, but this is specifically about Manhattan’s problems #
pay us more for our wine or merlot will flow → cabernet and pinot too #
who participates and what people are doing online → I’ve dissed Forrester Research findings before, but this is useful looking information #
yet more geography factoids from my childhood which are now proven wrong → Amazon pwns Nile. Who’s yer river daddy now, eh? #
annual per capita consumption of alcohol, by country → Luxembourg? 15.5 liters per annum? pfft. amateurs #
a measure of economic time → in keeping with my recent econ topics week #
one of the most startling pro-immigration arguments I’ve seen → and unsurprisingly, anti-protectionist #
e-petitions, e-democracy and other issues → a certain number of signatories to an e-petition automatically triggers a debate in parliament. interesting #
lettuce all pray → premature wilting – hoped for in one context, undesirable outcome in another. #
do people really know the origins of the food they eat? → Soylent green? Yes. It’s people. #
Akamai traffic visualization → this is just … so… awesome. #
how he spent the war → ex-Waffen SS member and his memoirs #
no stealing plz → completely blasphemous. rather funny. #
Today is the 40th anniversary of the 6 day war → possibly one of the most influential conflicts in modern day Mid east geopolitics #
Truemors – the flop → I wuv u, Valleywag. Nothing more to say here, just read that linked article #
Shochu – more popular than sake → as an additional bonus, also easier to mispronounce when shitfaced and slurring words #
wear your gnazi badge with pride, trooper → grammar activists ftw. they be chillin. #
yoghurt is cool again. darn → redmango! pinkberry! froyo! the cute word obsession continues #
seating hierarchy on the London Underground → one of the coolest articles evah. I’m a longtime #6 person myself. #
hare of a dog → also known as a corgi. cooked, served with apples and onions. Mmmmm. #
last guy in the world to see Star Wars → was it worth it? #
can’t take the spam? just retire from email → nancy boys! stay and fight, I say! *snigger* #
want to be at Stanford? → now you can. offer of a place is optional #
staying in an echo chamber for long enough makes an opinion seem authoritative → broadly applicable to all the sides in the local propaganda war #
how to make great burgers → champions league final tonight. nuff said. #
accurate but nonetheless depressing sumup → errm. muslim minority group? who’s that? #
the bayesian advantage of youth → contains a beautiful analogy on the fallacy of outdated expertise #
viagra may help with jetlag → waking up with a stiffy? priceless. #
coming soon to a school near you → chess jocks! adoring teachers everywhere will do their PT for them. yay! #
the end of the petrodollar → with implications for continued use of the USD as the international currency of trade #
the other russia → in democratic russia, anything goes. #
my life for aiur → Blizzard announces Starcraft 2 #
how to survive an internet ass beating → right. sympathy, exit stage left. #
innovate not litigate, says Jon Schwartz → but uh. You’re not Microsoft #
lovely piece on global warming which has implications for many other messages → newsflash: the sky is falling approach only works once. #
population movement patterns in the US of A → and their consequences for politics? very interesting read. #
look. wumminz play chess too! → I never realized. heh. #
how much textual information do we consume daily? → less twitter, more email and more reading online for me. Still not 10 megs a day, though. I think. #
outsource … your local newspaper journalist? → if the news in your area has a depressing generic feel to it, now you know why #
city council staff in Toronto banned from using Facebook → quick. create a group in protest. #
are you a really lazy person? → I’m so there. #
Google polices web → I’ve noticed the “potentially harmful” tag under some pages myself. interesting. #
Mmmmm. horse. → yes. I said horse. Hey, I’d eat it. In a heartbeat. #
dog whistle politics → specific portions of a message that appeal to extremes or segments of a voterbase. never seen that anywhere else. no sir. #
The Streisand effect → AKA the law of unintended consequences #
11 colour myths → black isn’t always death, white is… depends on the culture, innit? #
too hot to trot → get out of my way, I’m in a hurry #
if you find any stuff that glows in the dark → Pakistan may like to have a word. #
why, yes. this curry does taste like shite → and what are those squishy bits? #
the art of being incompetent at an unwanted task → or how to avoid work you don’t want to do #
what would your daemon be? → golden compass movie thingiebob. requires flash. Gah. #
game to help foreign students get over culture shock → drinking, snogging, random acts of gun violence. Right. A game. #
Turkish citizens call for a secular state → separation of religion and state. that’s crazy talk, right there. #
find a unix command and reinvent it for the web → Pipes is more like cat and old school redirects, isn’t it? #
average everything → documentary on Channel 4 tonight #
Visit Gun Town, USA. Firearms mandatory for residents → suck it libs. low low crime rate. #
lolcat language explained → way to overanalyze it, dude #
wow. just wow. misogynistic or merely pragmatic? I can’t tell → even the comment thread following is interesting #
fastfood, advertising versus reality → I’d still eat almost all of the “reality” section. I am a sad junk food guzzling excuse for humanity #
good time atheists → or so the strawman goes #
why Arsenal doesn’t want American “investment” → I lol-ed at the first comment. Still laughing. #
what are the odds? → Virginia Tech student also escaped the Columbine shooting 8 years earlier. #
sex theme park. yes, it’s err.. real → because groping plastic mannequins groped by millions of others before you sounds like exactly the thing you should be doing. yeah. #
the ideal girlfriend → craigslist never ceases to amuse and amaze #
how many styrofoam cups are equivalent to a ceramic or plastic mug? → answer: about a thousand. I still wouldn’t give up my ornate ceramic tankard for stupid styrofoam though. #
just like they do on the discovery channel → bunny suits not provided #
great debut albums and signature tunes → Gah. He mentioned Jeremy. #
having an orgy is safer than driving → unless the orgy is in your car. and you’re the designated driver… or something #
Gaim is now called Pidgin → in the long tradition of Windows Commander -> Total Commander and the like. I like the name Pidgin though #
10 worst rap album covers ever made → ok, so the KKK reference was over the top but the others are … merely bad, not horrific trainwreck material. #
life in rural mongolia – in pictures → nothing too surprising in there, but still interesting #
lighttpd – the basics → lack of decent windows support hinders experimentation in this interesting alternative. for now. #
not about motorcycles, not about blogging → generally applicable, I guess #
another one for the taboo quiz → rapist of a ten year old girl is acquitted on “exceptional grounds”. And that’s just the tame part of the story #
hackergotchi → because the world really needs more pictures like this. #
Serenity is the top Sci-fi movie → online polls, unreliable blah blah blah whatever. Not sure about beating out Star Wars but hey, I’m not arguing #
fascinating piece on Gordon Ramsay → his bark is worse than his bite. most of the time. either that or he’s got an awesome PR firm #
charcoal? why I get that all the time → peanuts that have spent too long in the oven and then become a delicacy. serendipity? why, yes. #
The Fools Gold Loaf sammich → one hollowed out loaf of warm bread, one jar of peanut butter, one jar of jelly (jam?) and one pound of bacon. Sounds yum. #
Italian is now the national language of Italy → Suck it, northern league. #
10 things your boss hates about you → slightly tongue in cheek. I hope. #
what type of nerd are you? → science/math nerd. unsurprisingly. turns out I don’t game enough to be a computer geek, I am off to hand in my geek card now. #
conservative coding → put away the five dollar words when writing an install guide, put away the fancy stuff and write code for us mortals #
more information than you ever needed to know about “purity testing” → no gerbils in the list. for shame. #
a blogger code of conduct? → I gots ya code of conduct right here. Bite me #
first ever human chimera? → even more interesting phenomenon linked in the article – the vanishing twin #
how to beat google → including my personal favourite – small teams get more work done #
pick up your nap sack → and stuff it full of micronaps #
a namechange in the unexpected direction → why is it mandated that the wife adopts the husband’s surname? Why not … the other way around? #
in ur internets wastn ur timez → mad props to Rustifer. This is genius. #
oh that british accent → vocal chords made of tweed. I need to try that #
swimsuits or sweaters? now we know → no. not swimsuits #
Calculate your caffeine intake → Dr Peppers, Coke and other indulgences are now occasional instead of daily. I’ll live #
innovation comes from PhDs, apparently → and that’s why America is apparently doomed. omgz the skies are falling #
how to be a gentleman (apparently) → standing on entrance and exit? really? #
lawyer makes a tit of herself in court → make that both tits #
Hermione Granger gets first stalker → petrificus totalus ftw! #
is that a baseball bat in your pocket or? → men apparently stare at each other’s crotches. intently. I don’t know where to begin commenting on this, honestly. #
teenager tosses a promising career down the tubes to drink, dance and make merry → oh and he’s a 15 year old peruvian chess IM and his girlfriend is 14 years older than he is. Call this the Brazillian gambit #
man who plays devil’s advocate is really an asshole → satire imitates real life #
are big product launches necessary? → *sigh* this validates the sneaky viral marketing tactic. viva la astroturfing now, I suppose #
ISPs sell clickstream data → see anonymous internet surfing. #
surfing anonymously on the internet → reasonably balanced article about various services #
the canon of computer games → played 8 of the 10. have obsessed over 5 in that canon at one point or the other. not bad. #
Netcraft confirms: AMD is dying → I never jumped on the bandwagon myself, but AMD did keep Intel honest. Not anymore, apparently. #
British and Irish share lots of common genetic material → still won’t make it a United Kingdom #
sending out an SOS → messages in bottles are better recycled instead. Let’s all print out grouphug.us messages and use them for … #
and it was how big? → there is a doctor who is an expert on masturbating elephants. who needs a cure for cancer when you can be an expert at jerking off pachyderms? #
I will lead you to a land of milk and honey → but I’m a vegan! and forget about the loaves and fishes. Do you do soya? #
no one saw it coming! it was like a rogue asteroid!! → or not. nappy wearing astronaut turned attempted kidnapper Lisa Nowak fired by NASA. and no, there were no rockets involved. #
the story of mp3 → brandenburg and the fraunhofer institute #
50 most important people on the web → rob malda underrated, drew curtis underrated, blizzard overrated. No bias here, eh? #
the curse of expansion → The best bits of a brand can sometimes be diluted or neutered by the requirement for breakneck expansion and scaling #
59 things that the Freedom of Information Act uncovered → most deal with cop and MP excesses so yawn. A few nuggets in there, though #
manipulating Digg – for cash → you know something is wrong when people start doing this for real money #

wordpress 2.1.1 exploitable in the worst way

March 3rd, 2007

Dev blog announcement. Essentially, someone got into the Wordpress install hosted on the servers and made some modifications to a couple of files. Malicious changes at that. The information in the blog post seems to indicate that feed.php and theme.php (both in wp-includes) were modified. Perhaps other files were as well. The changes seem to have been made fairly recently (3-4 days ago?) but best not to take any chances.

So umm. Please go download the latest release (2.1.2) if you are running 2.1.1 – don’t mess around waiting with this one, just go do it now. Upgrade, make sure all the files are overwritten by the latest release.

I also took the liberty of mailing a few people who are running potentially exploitable versions of Wordpress – drop me a reply if you need a hand upgrading or need a few custom access rules to prevent malicious access in the meantime.

And yeah, stuff like this can happen from time to time. It can happen to anyone and to any project. I’m not particularly happy with how long it took before the malicious mod was discovered but better late than never applies, I suppose. Oh and a few hours of combing through logs for a couple of blogs await – I need to see if some nasty cracker exploited the wide open installs on this domain before I had a chance to make the upgrade. Le sigh.

Posted in software, tech, web | No Comments »

very bad parenting, apparently → mother of 8 year old 218 pounder may lose custody of kid. will someone please think of the … #
8 of 10 nations with the fattest inhabitants are in the south pacific → overweight.nu? Yes, we do. #
Creative Commons Licenses v. 3 → still seem more or less the same, but with a few clauses on derivative works #
Yahoo Pipes with Dojo → JSON-P endpoints ftw! #
Yahoo UI hosts their YUI libraries for anyone to use → awesome #
infomaniacs are worse than pot smokers → roll up your email into a spliff and smoke it #
Scientists “a bit weird” and do “boring jobs” → to quote the email I got on the subject, it’s time to unite and fight back or never be invited to your kid’s parties again #
Yorkshire puds are UK’s favourite food → with gravy. and roast beef. *drool* #
tagging – when it works and when it doesn’t → librarything vs amazon – not your run of the mill winner #
first woman to win Turing award → woot for Fran Allen #
interfaces, clicks and latency → some bleedin’ obvious but well written #
should we get together and stone them? → yes, most of these are from Leviticus, which doesn’t count #
life as an intern in the big three search engines → nice article, lots of insight #
Sn…er. Sex on a plane – legal or not? → the more you know #
honey, do I look fat in this dress? → umm. no. Genius move by M&S. Bravo! #
hardline hindus declare war → on valentines day. No, really. #
Pipes now supports JSON objects → *drool* #
some more cool Pipes hacks → the last.fm mashup sounds scarily similar to one of my little projects #
how not to talk to kids → might even work for adults #
Schneier on DRM in Windows → in summary: Vista sucks, do not buy. #
good engineer bad engineer → lazy engineer, paranoid engineer etc #
natural language search → oh my. A quest for an old old holy grail begins anew #
The inner platform effect → too much customization ability and flexibility is bad, mmkay? #
Why women fall for Mr. Average → high powered career men were “too good to be true”. Cynical? Women? Of course not. #
pass the hair of a dog please → 27 million UK workers call in sick due to hangovers. Amateurs. #
music and indie bands → an instant classic #
is grad school a financial mistake? → a bit late to ask that of myself, eh? #
experience does not a better programmer make? → not sure what else will, though #
programmers dont like to code → they like to problem solve. Oh hell yes! #
Peyton and the Colts win the bowl → despite a first minute TD punt return, numerous fumbles and being 8 points behind in the first quarter. Good game #
why women are finding it hard to marry (in the UK) → I didn’t say this. Boris Johnson did. Blame him. #
tagging takes off for online users → yup. I’ve seen the anonymous tags on Ach too. #
suicide bombers are like cigarette smokers → when they’re finished, only the smoke lingers #
Oh look, sheep! Licking the road? → where else but in Wales? #
A New Sith → via psy #
A list of unusual wikipedia articles → and I had visited three! in the last 10 days. yikes #
the persona of typography → Calibri is a new font shipped with MS-Office 2007 #
procrastination hacks → I need these. um. now. ok, maybe tomorrow #
tightwad syndrome → or the lack thereof #
prostitutes in a hospice, oh my → not the ending you’d imagine #
Firebug goes 1.0 final → use it for development and love it. But I don’t keep it enabled all the time because Firefox becomes a bit unstable. #
a science experiment doomed to failure → you can take a sloth to cardiff, but can you make him move? #
when you see “young and good looking”, this isn’t the job you think they’re applying for → rent-a-protestor. Woo. Anguished protesting on demand for cold hard cash. #
downloading music, movies ok if not for profit → viva italia! #
SHA-1 cracked → if anyone is still using it, don’t #
the affluenza virus → life, liberty and the pursuit of money. Actually, just the last one #
why does everyone hate me → interesting if you watch celebrity big brother; worth a read if you don’t #
earthquake in the UK, EVERYBODY PANIC! → Oh, wait. It’s in Scotland. Never mind then. #
the vanity of mineral water → but but but … evian has special anti-aging properties! Honest! #
Rouxbe – cooking by video → it’s like food porn, only without the porn #
the ununited states → in climate, that is #
why yes, I do crap diamonds. What of it? → he did it to say his ass is a girl’s best friend. I would too. #
in a move that surprises no one, really → Beckham moves to LA #
there are no polar bears in this story → but there is a sri lankan. who died. in a freak accident. #
patient dies while ambulance crews were on mealbreak → the other side of the story #
Brazilian judge gets hit with a cluestick → reverses youtube ban on video because it is … gasp, shock … unenforceable #
how the middle class is getting screwed → written from an american perspective, but broadly applicable in most places #
common errors in english → no cure for contorted dribble writing yet, soz! #
are you taking the piss? → no, just the urinal thanks. maybe later. #
have scientific papers include their data and graphs/tables in a standard executable format → via kottke. I’ve often wished for this, but it won’t happen in the next few years – if at all. #
meet an ordinary Houston Texans cheerleader. Oh, and she’s also an aerospace engineer at NASA → all kinds of awesome #
the rights of an atheist → all hail FSM! #
wikinomics → a new buzzword for collaborative sites #
this just in – mixing red bull with alcohol is bad for you → drunkenness, drunk dialling and projectile vomiting merely unpleasant side effects. narf. #
lectures in pubs – where’s the free beer? → special credit for barfing on lecturer during class. New drinking games. Scores adjusted for degree of inebriation. #
snakes at ground zero → reptiles for earthquake prediction. It’s like a seismograph that bites. #
television over sex, says UK men → is that the telly position? #
The American Foreign Legion → if you survive in Iraq, you’re a citizen of the US of A. Beats the visa lottery odds, doesn’t it? #
it’s good to be king. Or dictator → autocrats unanonymous #
Religion causes more harm than good → says the land which brought fine secular controversy such as veilgate, wear-crucifixes-at-the-BA-gate and other entertaining news items #
I keep getting invited to the wrong parties → “the fourth most frequently lost item at seasonal festivities — after phones, purses and wallets — is underwear” #
pillow talk → public pillow fights with strangers. This will end well, I’m sure #
salty dawgs → iodated salt the new brain food. Or, perhaps, the old one. #
Cook at home, eat better → It’s all fun and games till the first batch of inedible spaghetti hits the colon #
Higher IQ folks are more likely to be vegetarians → 3 IQ points (average) for bacon, steak and chicken breasts? No contest. #
reddit passwords stolen → or, shit happens, deal. Reddit has been having some DNS problems recently too. #
Java SE 6 released → cool stuff like a built in HTTP server included. Will probably be the last non-GPL major release. #
wordpress.com stats → pageviews and new blogs are particularly interesting #
I go when you go → the iraqi military promises ne’er to be parted from the US #
airline passenger gets posthumous upgrade → flight must have been a real killer, huh? #
The Polonium Bar and Grill → experience their cuisine and you will positively glow with satisfaction #
Twice as many 120+ IQ males as females → stupid IQ tests, biased results, why bother with this gender shite anyway blah blah blah #
buncha wankers, the lot of them → or liars. same thing. #
fashion tips for the junglist in you → please don’t hurt me, dems all jokes. #
Quebec is free → except that nothing really changed. Carry on. #
Say hello to cheap beer → where? where? #
Wiki-How – the world’s largest collaborative how-to manual → includes classics such as “how to seat dinner guests”, “survive a plane crash” and more mundanely, “save a wet cell phone” #
still no cure for cancer? → confirms that biologists are a bunch of lazy layabouts. hehehehehe. #
World’s best functioning democracies → the nordics win it #
Snap Anywhere – Javascript based site previews for hyperlinks → what SVG could have been. sigh. #
ephebophilia – not exactly the stuff pedos are made out of → your ancestors were probably serial ephebophiles #
the rich have it easy → whilst the poor don’t. Captain Obvious seen lurking around the Times offices. #
Super Lions → coming to an island near you #
“secure” UK passport cracked → stop doing that! #
perfectly matched by the – top ten bond girls → Denise Richards was a bad Bond girl? omgwtf, people! #
The Top Ten Worst Bond Girls → er. yeah. ok then #
space tourism – book now, fly in 2009 → sub-orbital flights the cut price option #
free java! → it’s like free willy, but without the whales and stuff #
MoFo releases Firefox 1.5.0.8 → which should hopefully provide an automatic upgrade path for Firefox 2.0 as well #
PSA: beware of toothbrushes. They can be swallowed → but only if you’re practising doing what they do in some porno movies. #
honey, I broke teh slashdot → 4 billion comment ids is enough for anyone. Right? Right?? #
the brotherhood (and sisterhood) of bloggers → so, where was the blogspot of the day? #
top 10 lies of web 2.0 → bubble? there is no bubble #
Britney Spears may be available. Order now and avoid disappointment → oops did anyone not see this one coming? #
heart attack burger! → clog, arteries, clog! #
Tamarin: ECMAScript version 4 → Integrates ActionScript and some enhancements to the existing 3rd edition of ECMAScript. Oh my #
Slashdot goes all Diggity → voting on submissions? Oh my #
Firefox 2.0 released → People who have RC3 need not update or reinstall #
Finland loves … latin?! → Tenere me ama indeed #
it wasn’t me, guvnor → we all look the same to you, so that has to be my evil twin #
Paris syndrome → no, this has nothing to do with the Hilton. Really. #
US bans vegemite → when vegemite is outlawed, only outlaws will eat vegemite on toast #
it’s cats, the webpage! → via 4zumanga #
Kazakhs invite “Borat” to visit their homeland and see their fermented horse urine drinking culture for himself → don’t go, Borat! They’re going to shoot you like a dog #
the architecture of security → building security as compared to internet security. By Schneier #
Iceland prepares to have a whale of a time → lots of blubber about the ban on whaling by the three main whale hunting nations #
Large collection of Charles Darwin’s written work → Creationists need not apply, kthx #
what goes up must come down → Dow Jones hits 12k mark. I see bubbles #
trolls beware – web rage is upon us → You want a piece of this? huh? Do ya? #
Evolution – good for dawang → No, I didn’t mean Darwin. #
condemned prisoner gets pregnant while in solitary confinement → hail mary! or not. #
the muck that slows you down → “70% of an application developer’s time is spent on non-differentiating components”. Sadly, this article also pimps Rails at the end. #
Deep fried … Coca Cola → because deep frying adds flavour to anything #
last christmas, I gave you my heart?! and you didn’t stay away → Wham reunites. No, really. Stop laughing. #
Russia is dying → netcraft confirms it #
GooTube – it’s official → “Paying $1.65 billion for a company that loses over $2 million a month is just a more sensible manifestation of the bubble-acquisition archetype” – Valleywag #
browser support for various features → covers only IE 6, 7, Firefox 1.5 and Opera 9. No Konqui *scowl* #
simple is beautiful → so is average #
letter from iraq → SNAFU, in a letter form #
top 10 geek business myths → where am I and why am I in this handbasket? #
JavaScript leak monitor → Wordpress, Dojo and Scriptaculous offences highlighted #
the biology of b-movie monsters → cgi freaks need not apply #
the downside of wikipedia, for biographical descriptions → “I’m intrigued by Wikipedia … [by] how the project has evolved elaborate rhetorical responses to criticism” #
who are you, how did you get into my house? → bonus question: why are array indices inconsistent? #
Ubuntu bug #1 → interesting rallying cry #
are manic thinkers happier? → certainly more caffeinated #
Mona Lisa in infrared → was she painted layer by layer? Amazing #
supersize me under medical supervision → human bodies can put up with a lot of dietary abuse and still adapt #
linkware licenses – use this WP theme, but put a link back to the site → murky waters ahead #
linux kernel developers are unhappy with GPLv3 in draft → “The release of GPLv3 portends the Balkanization of the entire open source Universe … “ #
I hate linguistics → no, really. Maybe I just meant English. #
oh dear. they’re onto me! → only step missing is the copious number of reports to be written #
RFID chips in passports → say hello to driveby identity theft #
RIP lilo :( → his nick still idles in some channels in freenode. No one wants to k-line it (obviously) #
inflight announcements – what they say → and what they really mean #
tetrachromats – its in the genes → that’s not red, that’s green! #
marry me and have lots of children. Oh, and the future Pope → get a date in 6 months or your money back. No, really. #
contracts to attend lectures → at universities. Whatever happened to “I don’t care what you do, just pass the fricking exam?” #
IP v4 addresses will run out in …. → 2011. Head for the shelters, the tubes are going to melt. #
Yahoo Developer Network on security → *cough cough* #
is cybersex cheating? → erm. yes? No? Maybe? what is cybersex? all of the above? #
Steve Irwin (the crocodile hunter) dies in freak accident → killed by a stingray. Crikey. What a way to go #
ahaha, omg omg omg. I _love_ CNN → please, please, pretty please find the YouTube video of this. #
The War on Terror : bourne shell stylee → yes, it’s geeky. No, I don’t give a damn #
employers may be liable for connectivity addiction → surf or get off the proxy #
Wikicharts → most viewed pages on Wikipedia #
is writing code a career limiting move? → nice overview of the issues involved #
Oh noes. China bans strippers at funerals → yes, you read that right. strippers. #
woo, Daniel and Katie sitting in a tree → k-i-s-s-i-n-g #
gluttony enough to warm the cockles of my heart → via linkfilter. The toppings look disgustingly unhealthy. Not to mention delicious #
I knew it! they’re all moneygrubbers!! → erm. yes, they are. really. I mean it. #
reddit browser stats → much less firefox than here, more WinXP #
a modest mathematician → stop the presses, we have a real story #
stop calling me pet! → unless you really mean it?! #
if you’re a terrorist, please don’t read this → no, I’m serious. Really. #
when to break rules → and when not to #
Firefox crop circle → some people have _way_ too much time on their hands #
redheads get all the moves → Ed? anyone page Ed yet? #
Iranian president has a leeetle surprise for Israeli visitors to his blog → specifically, an exploit for their Windows/Internet Explorer. I swear, you can’t make this shit up #
Israel’s military performance analyzed → I agree with some of the points, even if the overall sentiment isn’t to my taste #
Captain Obvious gets to do research → blinding flashes of the obvious reported across most university towns #
Ubuntu vs Debian → interesting perspective #
the new airborne threats → informative because I didn’t know the alleged terrorists were planning on using acetone and hydrogen peroxide #
mashups → not your average potato #
writing words versus writing software → more similarities in there than I had previously suspected #
a degree? who needs a degree? → what am I doing here? Where am I? Why am I here? #
Indian blogging ban lifted → Indian bloggers with multiple posts in draft begin a publishing frenzy – bring Blogspot, Typepad to a grinding halt (no, I’m joking. But it could happen) #
The 5 things Linux can learn from Microsoft → Enjoy your time at the top. Tomorrow, an upstart is going to come along and topple you #
Star Wars or Dune? → Dune, of course. #
Captain Obvious posts on Yahoo News! → Quick! Bloggers are usually younger than 30! Newsflash! #
a bad day for grape growers → a great day for alcoholics #
oh no, they didn’t → oh yes, they did. Microsoft acquires SysInternals. I hate you, Microsoft. I really really do. #
all the mail you want to send, but only to places 500 miles away → and no, not a trick question. This is the coolest thing I’ve read this week #
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the name “All Blacks”? → handbags? No? You don’t get a cookie #
and the leading causes of death are → hint: not terrorist attacks #
The Hoff gets all steamed up → Where’s Kit when you need him/it? #
like a kick in the head → can you kick it? Can ya, ya punk? Can ya? #
Ronaldo gelded by angry English fan → err. a horse, not the other Portuguese guy #
typing isn’t everything → but you too, can be a fast typing secretarial type #
TechCheatSheets → because very few of us bother remembering all the syntax for all the widgety things we use #
Beckett accepts Foreign Minister position with grace and humility → unfortunately, her exact response is open to misinterpretation #
Tits McPhee’s AI dreams suffer a Hickup → hate the game, sage; not the playa *grin* #
stock photography cliches → have they tried despair.com yet? no? #
more ammo for the gun control crazies → no guesses where I stand on the issue then, hey? #
10 mistakes developers make with databases → interesting insights in there, some controversial stuff too #
cynical or true? → why does this stuff appear on Craiglist anyway? #
1 in 10 Mexicans now live in the US → interesting comparisons between the EU and the NAFTA #
it’s not the features, stupid → it’s the hype #
PHP in contrast to Perl → technologically better != wide adoption #
signs you are a crappy programmer → insult the one true Java? NooooOoooOoooo #
Be religious, have lower blood pressure → unless you’re one of those fire and brimstone preachermen #
first sex theme park is set to open … in London → you must be _this_ tall to take this ride #
stars are mostly made – but it helps if you were born in the right month → January, February and March are good months for soccer babies #
Top 10 SciFi movies (repost? maybe) → haven’t seen three of those. Solaris and the day the earth stood still are on my list. #
Jeffery Friedl (yes, Mr. Regex) does garlic → badly. s/garlic//g in the future #
is this your first time? → er. anything for a niche market, eh? #
WYSIWYG cannot fix what you never had in the first place → making it easier to format doesn’t #
Sesame Street videos! → Cookie Monstah!! Kermie!!! Grover!!!!! More exclamation marks!!!!!! #
the Golden Gate Bridge: mapped by suicides → into the cold cold waters below. ugh #
howto delete code → don’t use comments, just blow it away. #
bad hair days → hair today, gone tomorrow – is actually a suppression of human instinct. #
Newsflash: despite stricter immigration laws, birds fly to New Jersey too → and some of those birds aren’t healthy. Yoicks! #
DrunkNewsBlog → The home of beer cocktails and how the Brits can’t handle alcohol. Tosser. #
small is better → and big companies are monoliths. And generalizations are dangerous. #
YouTube spends 1 million a month on bandwidth, raised 11.5 million in VC money → you do the math #
tracking location via routing updates → the same as cell tower location updates, but on a slightly less granular scale. Uses BGP #
is there something worse than reading the Da Vinci Code? → Titab says, yes, yes there is. #
is your son (or cousin or second cousin or relation) a computer hacker? → ZOMG H4X! #
the ultimate commenting experience → applies to pretty much everything I do, I guess #
Motorola patents a new “therapeutic” phone → Beats gerbils any day of the week, I’m sure. #
the balance of risk → wearing protective gear in a contact sport just means you’ll be less controlled with your actions. Or so the article argues. #
automattic ceo interview → raising a family in San Francisco is expensive – so much so that one multi million buyout wasn’t enough to finance this guy. Umm. Ok #
why use a second monitor → 20-30% improvement in productivity? code in one window, debug output in another? All of the above? Yep. all of the above #
what makes a professional programmer? → obvious, but worth repeating #
stop the presses! hawt chicks screw up male thought processes → in other news, ze sky: it is a fetching blue colour #
baby got back → why does this stuff always seem to originate in the UK? #
nekkid German bum → Does the name Angela Merkel ring a bell? #
when is a city not a city? → When the population drops below 50,000. Any wittier headlines with a limerick? #
the state of the blogosphere → wake me up when they figure out the splogs, the blogs about to die through neglect and then remove those numbers #
firefox grows up → mohawk styleee #
I read teh ValleyWag and I am teh proud → so suck it, San Jose #
60% of IM users prefer MSN → Oh dear heavens. Make it stop, please make it stop. #
Smuggling in escape instructions via prunes → are the writers of Prison Break reading this? I hope so #
The first 100 days of Guy Kawasaki’s blog → ” There are three kinds of bloggers: human newsbots (is this an oxymoron?), ranters, and essayists. “ #
Argentina. And steaks. → South America. It’s on my list. And I just got another reason to visit. #
sex? No thanks. We’re English cricketers → Nice’N'Naughty shirts are unlikely to bowl any maiden over #
sex in a MRI tube → occasionally something useful comes out of it, but that’s not why we’re doing it #
you can’t make this stuff up: kiss an unrelated person for more than 5 minutes and go to jail → “excuse me, officer. I was engaged in a passionate liplock with my … sister” expected to be a common excuse #
geek talk: what not to do → been guilty of this more often than I can count. #
from the department of duh facts: cohabiting is good for the guy, not so good for the lady → discusses only the dietary effects; and evades other obvious pluses such as SoD #
OkCupid does politics → which side of the spectrum are you in? #
new and improved ways of stalking → folks, it is the future and it is here today: distributed stalking is upon us. Also see this entry. By god, I love Valleywag. #
“A donkey is like a housewife … In fact, the donkey is a shade better, for while the housewife may sometimes complain and walk off to her parents’ home, you’ll never catch the donkey being disloyal to his master” → A Hindi-language primer meant for 14-year-olds dispenses some politically incorrect life advice. #
rotten fish creates a brouhaha → in a shocking jab at French sensibilities, champagne and cheese were also attacked by the indignant Swedes #
RSSPECT – yet another automatic RSS feed creator → might use this for the sooper sikrit project instead of FeedCreator #
hope yet for the geezers → the difference between a 20 year old and a 40 year old is … less than a generation. #
cancel your cable subscription now! → and lose weight, save money, become more appealing to the opposite sex, use the internet more often. What’s the downside? #
Caterina says: it’s a bad time to start a company → 1998 is calling. they want their tech bubble back. I really hope this one hurts less than the last. #
6 dumbest ways to “secure” a wLAN → they forgot one. Encryption? I don’t need encryption, why would anyone want to use my connection? #
A real life Mrs. Doubtfire → gets away with it for 5 years? Ok, that’s just plain bizarre. #
Google prefers pages with invalid HTML → or maybe it doesn’t and the results do not reflect a realistic test or whatever. yadda yadda, standard disclaimers apply #
just throw away those knackered knickers → and spraying perfume to make it smell better? Uh, just don’t go there. #
childbirth is gonna be a one off for this lady → and don’t even think about starting an argument with her. #
social tagging (or digging) can be manipulated. Stop the presses! → because a small band of taggers or diggers with an agenda can pretty much control what a site promotes – when they want to. #
Wikipedia degrees of separation → Only 3 degrees of separation between Frank Sinatra and Java. Ya Rly. #
The uneasy riders? → BS. My landlord has not one, but TWO Harleys. His monthly rideouts have 100+ attendees. Harley Davidson (anecdotally) is doing well out of the UK baby boomers. #
What do Galletti�s Gonads, Team Nads� Balls and the McCastrate Sisters have in common? → male sheep wince and cross their legs when the names are spoken #
More hate on teh Goog → point 7 has been done already, point 9 proves the author is smoking something nasty #
What’s in a name, a startup name? → Wufoo! I like Wufoo!! #
John Maddog Hall on Linux → Where do you see Linux heading in the next five to 10 years? World domination. #
have a beer bath → a beer shower, a beer flush etc. all courtesy of some nice plumber who forgot to connect pipe A to outlet A. #
Google internals → describes the now famous Map/Reduce framework, the GFS and other details that allow a fast and reliable search of indexes #
so what’s your five buck idea? → don’t have a business plan, don’t have a model, don’t do anything. Just give it your users, raw and uncut. #
Find out your Japanese name → Hi. I’m Nakashima Taiki. What’s your name? #
Supersized, my ass! → “I hope they�re also making the seats stronger. With all the jumping up and down during matches, they are going to get quite a pounding” – umm. They’re watching tennis, not having sex on the seats. (At least, one would hope) #
any publicity is good publicity, right? → so, how about a kidnap and rescue operation to boost your chances of relection? #
Cavemen and gentlemen have nothing to fear – blondes are not going to become extinct → Snopes to the rescue, once again. #
The world’s richest billionaires – mapped → stalkers start your engines! Er.. no. wait. Do not stalk billionaires, for their lawyers are better than yours. #
An EULA worth reading → promises to provide bug fixes for free and actually describes a method by which the software can be transported from machine to machine by the user. #
MS Office 2007 User interface screenshot → menus? what menus? we don’t need no stinking menus #
get smarter in 7 days → Sudoku, Brainteaser, Countdown, oily fish, shower with eyes closed, brush teeth with wrong hand #
FeedYes – an RSS feed creator for sites which don’t offer syndication → slightly weird output, but perfectly usable #
Yanni busted for domestic abuse → ooh. poetic justice #
Valleywag Google Gals final → Trisha! Trisha! Trisha! etc. You get the idea #
are you taking the piss? → yes. yes, I am. anything to avoid Fosters Lager #
plasticassets.com – where the jokes come prewritten for you → methinks they’re mistaking plastic for silicon #
luck in user performance → outliers and statistical anomalies #
spacetelescope.org – pictures from hubble → stars in your eyes #
Pixoh = edit pictures online → Cute for quick crops, resizes and conversions #
Google Drive in the offing? → more googly goodness #
how to be an expert → summary: just keep plugging at it and hope to outlive every other sodding expert #
altruism appears in 18 month old babies → the need to help is hardwired in humans #
programming languages as relationships → so.. yeah #
Jessica Alba does _not_ appear naked or semi-naked in PB March 2006 → and her expensive legal team will prove it! #
rotating plug points – well, I never! → manufacturers of large plugs need to get with the program, anyway #
weird shell commands → touch; unzip; strip; touch; gasp; finger; gasp; mount; fsck; more; yes; fsck; gasp; eject; #
twins: one is dark skinned and the other fair skinned → 1 chance in a million #
geeks in a bubble bath → dear lord. check out the wine chug #
cavemen were gentlemen → because they both preferred blondes! wheee #
A buzzword compliant blogging engine → small, simple and buzzword compliant. the holy grail ?! #
figure skating – where falling gets you big points → and doing simple things well, not quite so much #
it’s all in your head → although some of those are pretty racy #
Google search history appears as RSS → only usable with a cookie aware reader or Firefox livemarks #
Google Finance about to launch? → is this like .. the 3rd product this week? Jeebus. #
urban cougar = the new MILF → everything else in that article is .. uh.. not funny #
Googlebot becomes CSS and JavaScript aware? → woo. full browser functionality crawlers. bring it on #
love me, love my dog → looking like the dog is optional, however #
pages.google.com – the new Geocities → is there anything Google won’t get into? anything at all ? #
not much evidence of this in York, yet → we can always hope it doesn’t come to this! #
The hit song on your date of birth → whee! I actually know the song that was No 1 when I was born #
Japanese wives are amassing a secret fortune → and their husbands know nothing of it #
how raven! → bring them indoors or the birds get it #
Yahoo! filters some words and prevents their use in screen names! → and the filter doesn’t work properly! *gasp* #
Google Robots – coming to somewhere near you → in 24 years #
What should I read next? → Stumble-upon for books #
the next jihad will be in Australia → our friendly diplomat and allround good guy, John Howard, puts his foot in it. Again. #
The Simpsonmaker! (requires flash) → make your own Simpsons portrait #
Some things you should know about chocolate → belgian stuff is really made from inferior cocoa beans #
mathematical proofs are now impossible to check → complex proofs cannot be accurately checked for validity, even with years of work #
a restaurant full of wangs! → suck it, good diner #
Brokeback Mountain shopping list → oh dear #
no sleep ? no problem → get a job as a shepherd #
teflon is the next asbestos → cast iron skillets all the way! #
sleeping on a tough decision is still best → to post or not to post… Zzzz #
The economics of prostitution → too good to pass up #
Cartoon Trifecta complete! → Norway apologizes for cartoons #
pencils are the new viagra → pencil sharpeners are an optional accessory and must be purchased separately #
Cartoon Trifecta 2: Israeli group organizes anti-semitic cartoon contest → because they’ll get all the stereotypes right #
Cartoon Trifecta 1: Italian minister offers free tshirts to anyone who wants it → the downside: they have “those cartoons” emblazoned on them #
Michael Jordan under a microscope → “in love with risk” #
obligatory mushy Valentine’s Day piece → a day late, a dollar short #
Maria Sharapova switches to swimming → or … swimsuits. RAWR! #
spare the cycles, kill the coder → conversely, require a processor upgrade for each software upgrade #
The Language Log on Dan Brown’s writing ability → the Dan Brown code – even if he sucks, say he’s great #
the apocalypse is near – ESR on Sex Tips For Geeks → umm, maybe not safe for work #
something rotten outside the state of Denmark → you knew it was coming #
low fat, high fat – it’s not going to make a difference to the fat lady → when she wants to sing, she’ll sing #
website defacement gets a new excuse → omg jihad! #
the flags burnt at rallies have to come from somewhere → isn’t capitalism and the free market grand? #
Oh dear. I think most fantasy novels today fail it → everything is a rip off of LotR. Everything! #
Food at the NoName Cafe – Googleville → er.. dayum! #
email: the next social engineering target → umm.. mass mailing worms need not apply. #
The Nyxem virus → check out the “top” Nyxem nations… and laugh #
use a GSM phone to stalk someone → I know what you did last summer etc #
The most negative countries → Hints of a surprise in there #
your underwear says a lot about what you want → according to the Sun, so err.. sackfuls of salt required #
threaten 1, intimidate a million → lies, damned lies and statistics #
100 best opening lines from novels → Call me Ishmael! #
that’s all a load of bullshizzle! → declare war on misplaced apostrophes #
why reboot? → a tool for examining pre and post reboot changes in Windows #
everyone stops pretending → and everyone is happy #
100 things → that could get you in a lot of trouble #
the curse of the new developer → or new anything #
The Weale Deal – get a B for not attending a class → until the university administrators rain on the parade #
what databases can (or might) learn from the web → “It has long been known that walking an arbitrary tree is a nightmare for databases” #
The 30 most spoken languages in the world → Not sure if this is out of date or not… More Spanish speakers than English ? #
The French are getting fatter ?! → umm.. err #
if you can ignore things well, you’re smart → lalalalala – I can’t hear you #
Flickrlicious → Flickr for babes #
mutopia – free sheet music → similar to project gutenberg in spirit, but free music #
whale vomit is worth a fortune! → sperm whale vomit, at that… err.. the imagery #
break stuff! → and claim for it! #
mainstream interview with Richard Stallman → “found it tremendously humiliating to be there because most of the kids there were brain dead or psychotic” #
London – a tourist guide for whales → The prince of whales no longer lives in Windsor #
Whalewatch blog – the Gonzo rescue → bluenosed whale sticks his proboscis into the Thames #
slow news day = fluff article → perpetuate the fluff articles, for everyone needs more fluff in their life #
rich man, poor man → “To be poor in a meritocracy implies failure” #
phear the russian winter → global warming, global shwarming #
GPL2 vs GPL3 → the lowdown #
omg, why didn’t I think of this ? → Guinness ice cream – that tingling in your tongue might be the start of a beer buzz #
it’s getting a bit prickly for the hedgehog → stats collected by roadkill numbers – bizarre #
who would have guessed ? CCTV cameras can be used for voyeurism → and put on a large plasma screen to boot #
The Knickers Blog → everything underwear #
a linux distro for … writers → which bundles LyX. This is the next big thing, folks… err.not #
this is why no one reads YOUR blog → the first rule of blog club is that you don’t talk about … #
why does it always rain on me → and why is there never a bus waiting #
Roddick + Sharapova = game, set and match → sage responds: NOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooo #
30 days of fast food is bad, 20 years is deadly → avoid teh baked beans, for they are death #
all about your As, Bs and Cs (not to mention Ds and Es) → the truth is indeed stranger than fiction #
newsflash: newest research indicates that Eurasians are teh hawtest! → I really need to stop writing these weird headlines #
free late night mobile calls = teh evil! → free calls promote vice! start paying for phone sex, immediately! #
it’s all a welsh conspiracy → or an english one, depending #
Mandarin Chinese to become a compulsory subject in Sussex College → well, so is Latin, but … Chinese ? #
driven to drink and smoke → when your computer goes tits up, it’s time to stop work and visit the pub #
what if your horse is gay ? → ask that too many times of a copper and you get arrested – or worse #
look away now and prevent mistakes → it’s not boredom or sleep, it’s deep concentration! #
Interview with Fred Brooks → quoted often, followed rarely #
m-type and c-type brains in understanding economic policy → m = motive, c = consequences #
Top 10 blogger lies → he has more traffic than downtown Mexico city and I hope to god he links to me! #
physician, heal thyself → save on medical bills too #
I’m feeling lucky → I can handle all the hits that come my way #
I’m sorry, Randal.. I just hope you don’t cross breed → so do we, I’d think #
women are more impressed by a man’s cooking ability → than if he owns a flashy car. Err.. yeah. #
Software essays from Philip Chu → like Joel on Software – but a different slant #
local baker outsells Mickey Ds → Mmmmm… pannini #
Mefi asks: do you settle for someone because you’re ugly ? → interesting responses #
18 weird tricks → this is all an illusion #
caviar exports stopped with immediate effect → ho hum #
Microsoft Synctoy → synchronize directories between a laptop and a desktop #
100 things we didn’t know in 2004 → I didn’t do it! a koala did. honest! #
JavaSchools → Java does not develop the part of the brain which screams on seeing “segfault” #
The Movie Nitpickers Top 10 → fascinating list of nitpicks and bloopers #
POCSS = Post Oscar Career Suicide Syndrome → win a statue, crash and burn #
you aint nuthin’ but a hound dawg → you ain’t never getting a jarb and you ain’t no friend o’ mine #
premature celebration is as embarassing as premature … oh, never mind → the difference between a guard rail and finish line can defeat even veteran jockeys #
asshats of 2005 → all we need is 640kb and other myths #
driveshaft errors → spongy tissue rip causes major panic #
catching a fish costs more energy than is replaced by eating it → let’s all drink fuel instead ? #
possum fur nipple warmers → for when synthetic goretex and thinsulate simply isn’t enough #
the top 10 sexiest geeks of 2005 → the rest of the site may not be safe for work #
driving on the left or right ? → stats indicate that leftism is prevalent in 34% of the populace #
ruby, ejb3 and all else inbetween → not to mention python #
I actually felt, like … obligated to sleep with the guy → when Carmen Electra puts herself up for auction, she doesn’t hold back #
tit art = tart ? → paint on, not paint with. #
Bruce Tate justifies turning against Java ? → maybe he just likes Ruby a lot. and doesn’t care about selling books #
Perl sys::syslog and printf flaws patched → aaargh, another update #
play coy and get a boy → well, sorta #
dog owners are sadists → or weird cross dressers #
did someone call for a taxi ? → soundproof rooms are optional #
angelina jolie has a mouth like a big warm mushy beautiful thing → who would have ever guessed ? #
last meals on death row → dead man eating ? #
Do all bug trackers suck ? → yes, pretty much.. although for different reasons #
Bangalooru ? → umm.. yeah. #
it’s all about the power → and we have yet another use for the term thread. ugh. #
how to split cabfare fairly → I love this article #
it’s all about the jennifers → some fictional, some not #
Coca-cola Blak → expensive marketdroids can’t use spellcheck #
why python is lagging behind php in the web application stakes → php should be enough for anyone #
be sober on the 6th of January, 2006 → hactivism is the new online demonstration #
10 reasons to drink during the holidays → you got a long long drive ahead of you ? no ? never mind then #
google hiring practices → or just another fluff piece #
Humane interfaces for Programming APIs and class libraries → include the most common cases in your API #
grooming guide for bank staff → looks hot to trot #
no Abba reunion – ever! → Take That said that too… oh, wait #
because subtexts in movies are really bad → I didn’t get the subtext till it was pointed out to me #
Tim Bray studies Google Analytics → I agree with most conclusions, except that I don’t intend using it much #
God does play dice → no word yet on blackjack #
what your sneeze says about you → slow news day, apparently #
wah- I don’t want to write scripts → give me the big, heavyweight languages with a runtime and a weighty IDE #
if you must visit one site today, visit this one → when sufficiently crazy or bored, man can eat almost anything #
love grows stale, diamonds are forever ? → don’t sue me, DeBeers! #
SVG images and other things to give your Firefox a twirl → only works with Firefox 1.5+ #

SK2-WP2Compatibility

November 29th, 2005

Well, it’s hardly a secret that Wordpress 2.0 is drawing ever closer to release … But because there are lots and lots (and I mean literally hundreds) of changes across the board, it’s hardly surprising that plugin compatibility is a big issue.

In the big list of compatible plugins, Spam Karma features as well. It stops spam, regardless of your version of Wordpress.

But there’s a problem. Because one of the internal changes to Wordpress’ database tables introduced the comment_count field. And Wordpress 2.0 displays the number of comments against a post based on the value in this field. And Spam Karma in its current incarnation doesn’t know about no steenkin’ comment_count field.

Enter SK2-WP2Compatibility.

SK2-WP2Compatibility (yes, I tried hard to think of a fun name, honest!) is a plugin for Spam Karma 2. Anyone may download and use it; however, it only has any effect if you run it in a Wordpress 2.0 installation. Beta-1 is fine. Beta-2 is fine. RC1 is good too. Even bleeding edge SVN updated Wordpress 2.0 is fine.

It doesn’t kill any spam. It doesn’t make Spam Karma any better than it already is at killing spam. It doesn’t make you breakfast in bed. It doesn’t drag your lazy ass to work. Nope. None of those. It just tries to make sure that the poor comment_count field in your shiny Wordpress installation gets an appropriate amount of lurve. And updating. Don’t forget the updating.

So, if you’ve been plagued by a swarm of incorrect comment counts and you’ve identified Spam Karma as the culprit, maybe you should give this plugin a shot.

Simply download and copy to your SK2/sk2_plugins directory. If the plugin (SK2 plugin, not Wordpress plugin) detects that you are running Wordpress 2.0; it will run an extra update each time someone posts a comment. If you’re still running Wordpress 1.5.2, nothing happens.

Requirements: You must have Spam Karma 2 installed. If you have Spam Karma 2.1 beta 4 or later, you do not need this plugin. Simply upgrade to the latest Spam Karma and you get comment counts updated for free. No plugin required.

Current version: 1.0. Just download, unzip, read the included readme file and move the .php file to the appropriate location and you’re done.

Problems ? comments ? suggestions ? *gasp* bug reports ? Please leave a comment here or mail me directly at lair AT fierydragon dot org. Please make sure, however, that the title of your email includes the phrase sk2_wp2compatibility lest my overzealous spam killing bin your mail. I’m also available in the #wordpress IRC channel on freenode; with the innocuous nickname of tinster.

Update 3rd Jan 2005: The most recent beta of Spam Karma 2.1 fixes the comment count problem without needing this plugin. Please download SK 2.1 beta from this location. Simply delete sk2_wp2compatibility.php from your sk2_plugins directory to uninstall.

Update 10th Jan 2005: Spam Karma 2.1 final is out. The latest release of SK is fully compatible with Wordpress 2.0. Basically, if you upgrade to SK 2.1 (and you should!) then you no longer need this plugin. Delete the php file to uninstall.

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The Lair

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SK2-WP2Compatibility

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