Chris' Blog http://www.cs278.org/blog “I'm an uber geeky lazy ciderholic housenut.” Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:56:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 en 51.592776-2.479906Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesLinks for 2008-08-26 [Digg]http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/376113915/duggWed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-26
  • Revealed: The Internet's Biggest Security Hole
    Two security researchers have demonstrated a new technique to stealthily intercept internet traffic on a scale previously presumed to be unavailable to anyone outside of intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency. The demonstration is the latest attack to highlight fundamental security weaknesses in some of the web's core protocols.
  • I'm a pirate, not a theif.
    • ]]>    <ul> <li><a href="http://digg.com/security/Revealed_The_Internet_s_Biggest_Security_Hole">Revealed: The Internet's Biggest Security Hole</a><br/> Two security researchers have demonstrated a new technique to stealthily intercept internet traffic on a scale previously presumed to be unavailable to anyone outside of intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency. The demonstration is the latest attack to highlight fundamental security weaknesses in some of the web's core protocols.</li> <li><a href="http://digg.com/comedy/I_m_a_pirate_not_a_theif">I'm a pirate, not a theif.</a></li> </ul>http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-26    Links for 2008-08-25 [Digg]http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/374915306/duggTue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-25
  • The 7 Most Retarded Ways Celebrities Have Tried to Go Green
    With the threat of global warming looming, it's more important than ever that all of us appear to care about the environment.
    • ]]>    <ul> <li><a href="http://digg.com/comedy/The_7_Most_Retarded_Ways_Celebrities_Have_Tried_to_Go_Green_2">The 7 Most Retarded Ways Celebrities Have Tried to Go Green</a><br/> With the threat of global warming looming, it's more important than ever that all of us appear to care about the environment.</li> </ul>http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-25    Links for 2008-08-24 [Digg]http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/374717405/duggMon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-24
  • Your Printer is lying to you, and what you can do about it.
    Out of ink? Already? When Farhad Manjoo's Brother printer abruptly stopped zipping out prints, he began to wonder if the printer wasn't simply lying that it was out of toner in order to trick him into buying more before he needed it. The prints hadn't been fading at all, but the printer simply refused to go on without a new cartridge.
    • ]]>    <ul> <li><a href="http://digg.com/mods/Your_Printer_is_lying_to_you_and_what_you_can_do_about_it">Your Printer is lying to you, and what you can do about it.</a><br/> Out of ink? Already? When Farhad Manjoo's Brother printer abruptly stopped zipping out prints, he began to wonder if the printer wasn't simply lying that it was out of toner in order to trick him into buying more before he needed it. The prints hadn't been fading at all, but the printer simply refused to go on without a new cartridge.</li> </ul>http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-24    Links for 2008-08-23 [Digg]http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/373206202/duggSun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-23
  • What Ubuntu 8.10 SHOULD look like.
    This is a mockup that was put together for a possible look and feel for the next Ubuntu release (Intrepid Ibex), which is due out in October. And it looks amazing. And, in all reality, it is very easily doable. If Ubuntu 8.10 does not look like this... it will be a crime against humanity.
  • Holy Sh*t! Just F*ckin' Missed him!
    This is a genuine near death experience. Given to me by a work colleague who just happened to have his new camera sitting on the dash.
    • ]]>    <ul> <li><a href="http://digg.com/linux_unix/What_Ubuntu_8_10_SHOULD_look_like">What Ubuntu 8.10 SHOULD look like.</a><br/> This is a mockup that was put together for a possible look and feel for the next Ubuntu release (Intrepid Ibex), which is due out in October. And it looks amazing. And, in all reality, it is very easily doable. If Ubuntu 8.10 does not look like this... it will be a crime against humanity.</li> <li><a href="http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Holy_Sh_t_Just_F_ckin_Missed_him">Holy Sh*t! Just F*ckin' Missed him!</a><br/> This is a genuine near death experience. Given to me by a work colleague who just happened to have his new camera sitting on the dash.</li> </ul>http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-23    Links for 2008-08-22 [Digg]http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/372482994/duggSat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-22
  • Burglar Gets Stuck, Onlookers Gather & Laugh
    Burglar tries breaking into flat, has his shoelace get caught as he tries to go into residence and hangs upside town. Onlookers gather and mock and jeer at the criminal, police too damned busy laughing to arrest the poor schmuck. BONUS: Pictures of this moron included for your pleasure
    • ]]>    <ul> <li><a href="http://digg.com/comedy/Burglar_Gets_Stuck_Onlookers_Gather_Laugh">Burglar Gets Stuck, Onlookers Gather &amp; Laugh</a><br/> Burglar tries breaking into flat, has his shoelace get caught as he tries to go into residence and hangs upside town. Onlookers gather and mock and jeer at the criminal, police too damned busy laughing to arrest the poor schmuck. BONUS: Pictures of this moron included for your pleasure</li> </ul>http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-22    Links for 2008-08-21 [Digg]http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/371577598/duggFri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-21
  • I Live In Georegia, Should I Be Worried?
    One of the most dumbest and funniest question asked at yahoo answers.
    • ]]>    <ul> <li><a href="http://digg.com/comedy/I_Live_In_Georegia_Should_I_Be_Worried">I Live In Georegia, Should I Be Worried?</a><br/> One of the most dumbest and funniest question asked at yahoo answers.</li> </ul>http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-21    Links for 2008-08-20 [Digg]http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/370620778/duggThu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-20
  • British Government Caught Pirating On PMs Website
    While the British government puts huge amounts of pressure on ISPs to clamp down on file-sharers, it is doing some pirating of its very own. It seems that Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s own website is in serious breach of copyright, as it is based on a ripped-off Wordpress theme.
  • The Worst CAPTCHAs of All Time [PICS]
    These are totally crazy.
    • ]]>    <ul> <li><a href="http://digg.com/tech_news/British_Government_Caught_Pirating_On_PMs_Website">British Government Caught Pirating On PMs Website</a><br/> While the British government puts huge amounts of pressure on ISPs to clamp down on file-sharers, it is doing some pirating of its very own. It seems that Prime Minister Gordon Brown&rsquo;s own website is in serious breach of copyright, as it is based on a ripped-off Wordpress theme.</li> <li><a href="http://digg.com/tech_news/The_Worst_CAPTCHAs_of_All_Time_PICS">The Worst CAPTCHAs of All Time [PICS]</a><br/> These are totally crazy.</li> </ul>http://digg.com/users/cstoonarmy//dugg#2008-08-20     Londonvasion http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/346972130/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/27/londonvasion/#comments Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:25:25 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=379 So this time last weekend I had just arrived in London, after driving around the hotel twice and Heathrow once, for Londonvasion. Which was the first of its kind for phpBB, a conference bringing together not only the teams for the first time, but users as well. Sadly I was unable to attend the team meetings on Saturday to work commitments and my late joining preventing me arranging time off. Annoyingly my plans didn’t get executed exactly as planned, and I didn’t arrive until about 10:30pm. I had no idea where anyone was, so I checked in and got my laptop out and jumped on IRC somebody heard my distress call but my laptop overheated (serves myself right for using it on a bed I guess) so I decided to return to aimlessly wondering around the hotel lobby and corridors hoping I might bump into someone. I did AdamR from the Support Team who showed me to the room were some people remained. I met quite a few people that I don’t recall who there were.

    The next morning was the big event, users and team members alike gathering to listen to other users and team members talk and engage in discussions amongst one another. I must say it was extremely insightful to meet the other people that I am forging relationships with as I settle into the teams and some of the users that turned up. Meik gave a presentation detailing the route the project has taken and where its planning to go, which apparently required pulling the rest of the development team up to join him. I was most pleased to meet DavidMJ who I have known since late 2003 when we were both involved in another project. We learned a lot from Londonvasion and because of this some features are under discussion, which will become available in good time. It was good to see some outside presentations one given by Noth who sung praise of phpBB 3.0 even though I haven’t contributed as part of the development team (I have filed numerous patches and bug reports) I felt his presentation was touching. Andy Miller, a guy working on integrating Joomla! and phpBB 3.0 gave a presentation on some of his styles for phpBB and Joomla! that give an integrated look and feel to both applications and in combination with his bridge offer almost seamless operation.

    To wrap up I think the event was an outstanding success and should definitely be at least a bi-annual event as a lot more can be done face to face than via IRC and forums and meeting new people is also fun and helps build relationships and morale in the teams. Many thanks to Marshalrusty who arranged everything and the phpBB users who give us a reason to do what we do. Finally would implore every phpBB administrator to try and attend the next conference!

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/27/londonvasion/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/27/londonvasion/     100,000 http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/339228708/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/18/100000/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:29:10 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=377 I have literally just scrobbled my 100,000th track since I joined Last.fm on 27 December 2005 meaning I have played an average of 107 tracks a day.

    The song that got the privilege to be song #100,000 was Unit It Sleeps by Metallica, more specifically it was the S&M version.

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/18/100000/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/18/100000/     Iron Maiden Live at Twickenham Stadium http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/338966610/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/18/iron-maiden-live-at-twickenham-stadium/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:35:37 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=376 So nearly two weeks ago I went to see Iron Maiden perform at Twickenham Stadium in London, it was the only UK date on their world Somewhere Back in Time tour. They were supported by Lauren Harris, Within Temptation, and Avenged Sevenfold. I was located towards the rear of the stadium in the stands, where we were plagued by poor sound for all of the support acts and occasionally during Maidens performance itself, the atmosphere when Maiden were playing more than made up for this. With the crowd chanting every lyric with passion, even Bruce was left speechless. Another highlight was I listed to Churchill twice in one day :)

    The set list was as follows:

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/18/iron-maiden-live-at-twickenham-stadium/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/18/iron-maiden-live-at-twickenham-stadium/     It’s the moon stupid! http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/326850430/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/04/its-the-moon-stupid/#comments Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:04:16 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=375 Seriously, a Welsh bloke phoned 999 (the UK emergency number) to report a large bright stationary object in the sky which had been there for at least thirty minutes. What a total waste of police time and taxpayers money.

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/04/its-the-moon-stupid/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/04/its-the-moon-stupid/     Somewhere Back in Time http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/326557138/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/04/somewhere-back-in-time/#comments Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:51:03 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=374 Iron Maiden - Somewhere Back in Time Tour Poster

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/04/somewhere-back-in-time/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/07/04/somewhere-back-in-time/     Bon Jovi Live in Concert http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/320616163/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/26/bon-jovi-live-in-concert/#comments Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:48:25 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=373 Last night I went with my sister and her friend to see Bon Jovi live at Ashton Gate, Bristol. It was an absolutely fantastic gig, the support act (a local band), switchbladeuk, were not that great personally and it was a shame that The Feeling were not supporting. The set list was what you would expect from Bon Jovi with a surprise thrown in, producing a smashing 2 hours of audible pleasure. I also kinda forgot to mention I got to go on stage, for an entire three songs You Give Love a Bad Name, Summertime, and Raise Your Hands because my sister won a competition.

    Photos are available here.

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/26/bon-jovi-live-in-concert/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/26/bon-jovi-live-in-concert/     phpBB Developer http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/312455242/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/15/phpbb-developer/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:22:12 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=371 It’s about time I wrote an entry about this amazing opportunity I have been given, I have joined the phpBB development team and I will be helping them with their journey towards the next major release, 3.2 or Ascraeus. Sadly I am currently quite busy with stuff that needs finishing off before I can jump in and start committing, but I am immensely looking forward to being in the thick of it so to speak.

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/15/phpbb-developer/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/15/phpbb-developer/     Ubuntu Game http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/307367375/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/08/ubuntu-game/#comments Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:02:06 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=370 Ubuntu Review on Amazon

    I’m not sure what I can really say to that, other than n00b!

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/08/ubuntu-game/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/08/ubuntu-game/     June 2008 Desktop http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/306774506/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/07/june-2008-desktop/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:53:00 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=369 Chris' June 2008 Desktop: Lake District

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/07/june-2008-desktop/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/07/june-2008-desktop/     NSLU2 - beast Fixed http://feeds.cs278.org/~r/cs278/blog/~3/306757598/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/07/nslu2-beast-fixed/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:08:17 +0000 Chris http://www.cs278.org/blog/?p=368 One of my NSLU2’s went up the swanny two weeks back. Typically it was the one 80 miles away at home, that not only is my primary mail exchanger but also the DHCP server for my home network, chances are somebody might notice. Thankfully I have the ability to fail over DHCP onto sandman with a one line configuration change and a restart of dnsmasq, which I did.

    Whilst I was at home this past week I got to work trying to work out what was up. The documentation in Debian about the LED sequences told me that it was getting stuck at the initramfs stage of boot. Basically it couldn’t load the actual operating system off the discs. This meant I would have to delve deep and play with the contents of the flash memory.

    I mounted the USB sticks that I use as its discs on my server and extracted a copy of the current kernels and initramfs images that were on it. I also found the Debian installation flash firmware and set about hacking the two. I found some instructions on how to modify an existing image which is what I did. I swapped out the kernel and initramfs in the firmware for the latest ones on my discs and flashed the NSLU2. Same thing happened! So I then set about using the previous kernel version which worked like a charm. For now I have removed the new kernel from it and forced it to keep the old version. I will look into updating it when I have a little more time.

    ]]>     http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/07/nslu2-beast-fixed/feed/ http://www.cs278.org/blog/2008/06/07/nslu2-beast-fixed/     Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500