Blogger security

The BBC is reporting that a group is cracking Blogger and posting malicious blog entries that cause the reader to download spam or malware. Links in the entries put trojans on your system and some of the entries purport to be looking for testers for software and digital greetings cards.
The subject line will generally give it away, apparently most of the entries have things like "HAHAHAHA, man your insane!" (sic) or other such TXT SPK drivel (not that I ever use such things, oh no...). Unfortunately the system can use news stories to update some of the headers so unless you're sure the message is from me, don't use the links - or, hover over them and have a look at the target for the link without clicking on it, much as one would do with phishing emails.
Which does raise an interesting point. If the virus writers were switched on, they'd use an entry warning of the virus and containing the link to the virus itself, disguised like this entry. Ohh, existential!

New Webcomic

Been sent to another webcomic, xkcd, which isn't always clean, and sometimes most people won't get the jokes (knowing about computer languages, physics and maths helps) but there are some wonderful bits about getting your heart broken that I think almost everyone will understand.
My favourites so far are pages 137, 154, 128, 123, 112, 92, 90(!), 10, 13, 21 (google Kepler laws of planetary orbit), 36, 40, 45, 52, 54, 55, 59, 67 (nerd girls rock!), 68, 75, 77, 78, 83, 84, 88, 164 (politics), 169, 171, 179 (geek alert, I laughed out loud.), 184, 197, 207 (makes me think of Pippa in the last panel), 209, 229, 231, 236, 241 (if you don’t get it, read Ender’s Game, brilliant book), 242, 249, 250, 253, 256, 258 (oh so true), 273 (some sick stuff there), 275, 277 (another one for the engineers), 281 (been there, had a package marked as "left Aberdeen" and arrived six hours later. It’s 60 miles people! Arggh.), 282, 283, 288, 289, 291, 295 (DNE – do not erase), 296 (look for the hover over text), 300, 302, 304 and 305.
Don't forget to hover the mouse over the image for the hidden text, often an extra joke.

XKCD

Another web comic has come to my attention, from a number of sources,
www.xkcd.com

It's not always safe for work and many of the jokes aren't funny unless you know quite a bit about physics/computers/other specialised subjects. Quite a bit of "bad" language, but always justified. My favourites so far are:

pages 137, 154, 128, 123, 112, 92, 90(!), 10, 13, 21 (google Kepler laws of planetary orbit), 36, 40, 45, 52, 54, 55, 59, 67 (nerd girls rock!), 68, 75, 77, 78, 83, 84, 88, 164 (politics), 169, 171, 179 (geek alert, I laughed out loud.), 184, 197, 207 (makes me think of Pippa in the last panel), 209, 229, 231, 236, 241 (if you don’t get it, read Ender’s Game, brilliant book), 242, 249, 250, 253, 256, 258 (oh so true), 273 (some sick stuff there), 275, 277 (another one for the engineers), 281 (been there, had a package marked as "left Aberdeen" and arrived six hours later. It’s 60 miles people! Arggh.), 282, 283, 288, 289, 291, 295 (DNE – do not erase), 296 (look for the hover over text), 300, 302, 304, 305.

Don't forget to hover the mouse over the picture to get extra text!

Great dreams, crumbling away

In work on a Sunday morning, great.
Does mean I can catch up with the internet, there isn't much to do on these sort of shifts.
Looking at the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, they link to an old article in Esquire. The article could also have been featured on Phil Platt's Bad Astronomy blog, probably was to be honest. It's about the creationist museum in Kentucky, but in a broader sense it's about how American (and British to an extent) culture is being subverted by the lowest common denominator. It's a good article, if slightly biased (not much, but enough to be noticeable and I share pretty much the same bias).
Thing is, I like the idea of the USA, it's just the current implementation I have a problem with. Well, and the tendency for much of the US to ignore the rest of the world, the trend to think WWII started in 1941, that the founding of America was purely about freedom and not at all about tax and the right to occupy the land to the west - killing or moving the native occupants as necessary, all those things. Britain isn't much better, and it's getting worse. Most of the Americans I've met have been great, but while I was over there I saw plenty that filled all the stereotypes (especially the good ol' boys in the back of the rusty pickup tilting their stetsons at us while going "how ya'all doin'?"). Still going to try and go back, I do like the place but it's like having a friend that you know could do so much but they can't be arsed so spend their entire life sat watching Corrie and complaining that the world doesn't do enough for them, all the potential wasted. Maybe things will change, maybe the average American will realise that intellect is a good thing, that education is vital and that truth isn't always pleasant or what you want it to be, but may still be truth.
Well, that's me depressed, I'm going to go and watch a violent film when I finish here, just for the sheer hell of it.

From the e-goat

Starkle starkle little twink
who the hell you are I think
I'm not under what you call
the alcofluence of incohol
I'm just a little slort of sheep
I'm not drunk like tinkle peep
I don't know who is me yet
but the drunker I stand here
the longer I get
Just give me one more drink
to fill me cup
'cuz I got all day sober
to Sunday up.

Liked this one.

Mountains, midges and muscles

This weekend I've been out with Tasha, Chris and some friends of theirs from their work.

We went to Glen Coe camping (me in my new wonderful tent - oh it's nice!!!). The idea was that we'd do a peak on Saturday with all of us and another couple that would meet us at the start of the walk, then on Sunday Tasha, Chris and myself might get another peak in. We met up in the car park, and I discovered a new part of Scotland. The Midges, (they deserve the capitol M). We were next to a river, which was bad enough but when the sun was heading down the sky filled with them. The little bastards were biting every bit of exposed skin available. Out came the Deet 50, with a warning to the others not to get it on synthetic materials, but it was the barbecue that drove them off until morning.
The hill we were planning on Saturday was Buachaille Etive Mor, or as Nicola put it as Tasha and her drove past it on the way in, "Oh My F***ing God!" Starts at 280 M and ends at 1022 M, with most of the ascent 2 1/2 KM. Or to put it another way, 920 ft to 3350 ft in a mile and a half. As the peak is over 3000 ft, it's a Munro. There's another three Munro tops on the peak, the plan was to do all of them and follow the route out but after the second one with the wind blowing strong as hell, the cloud below us and the rock wet and slick, we had to recalculate. Three of the group hadn't done any hills like this and had no ridge time. The ridge to the second peak was quite broad, and from Stob An Doire (second one) to Stob Coire Altruim it looked about the same.
It wasn't.
The ridge went from ten foot wide and gentle to about two foot wide and nasty looking. So we did the only thing we could in the circumstances. We binned it. Cue a back track to the saddle and a descent via scree, wet stones, wet grass and seating glissade (sitting on the wet grass and sliding down the hill - it was good enough for Shackleton!). By the time we got back to the cars my legs were sore as hell. Nicola and the other couple (whose names I can't spell I'm afraid, nice guys though) headed back to Glasgow, while Chris, Tasha and myself headed into Fort William for dinner. Our kit was sodden and we were all damaged in some way or other.
And then came the next morning. Tasha and Chris' knees were buggered, as were my thigh muscles, so we scrapped the idea of doing a hill and dispersed, planning another hill for the coming weekend. We did also find what could be the one of best pubs in the world, the Clachaig Inn. To say that it's a climbers pub is a bit of an understatement. Think I'll be back there at some point.
I think some of the sodding midges hitched a lift home with me, though, I've been itching like a bastard all day (from the midges! Nothing else).