User: gorgon

Re:freaky

On: Radiation Storm Lets You Listen Long-Distance

There are low wattage Spanish (and Hmong) stations in Minnesota, so you may not have pciked up anything unusual.

Re:There's no such word as "virii"

On: On The Costs of Full Security Disclosure

From the Berke Breathed article posted to slashdot last night.

Re:There's no such word as "virii"

On: On The Costs of Full Security Disclosure

Yes, I actually enjoy new words, as well as bending and abusing old words. I think it adds some flavor to the language as well as allowing for some specific conotations not covered with the standard usage.

I submit that "virii" doesn't really add anything to standard usage. The only connotation "virii" sends me that "viruses" does not is "I am a pretentious wanker that thinks Latin is cool." That's useful information to have about a poster, but probably not the message they're trying to send ;).

Also, "affective" actually did leave some ambiguity since you used "effective" correctly in the same post and since using "virii" can evoke some emotions (as would be implied by "affective").

Re:There's no such word as "virii"

On: On The Costs of Full Security Disclosure

You're right "there's no such word as" is a dumb phrase, but it has a much nicer ring than "virii is a dumb word." Consider it poetic license.

As for "virii", you're obviously laissez-faire when it comes to creating new words - me not so much. I don't mind obvious new slang, its pretentious, ugly slang like "virii" that bugs me.

So when I see a repeated mistake that bugs me, I try to point out the mistake. Its probably a lost cause, but tilting at windmills can be a decent pass time.

By the way "affective" is a word, but I don't think that its the word that you meant. Try "effective" next time.

There's no such word as "virii"

On: On The Costs of Full Security Disclosure

Well, here we go again.

It asks a very valid question about how much you can disclose before malicious virii can be possible.

Here's a little lesson for you in a form that may be easier to remember.
(Sung to the tune of Mary had a little lamb).

There's no such word as "virii",
"Virii",
"Virii",
There's no such word as "virii",
The plural is "viruses".

Such wit

On: Berke Breathed Interview in The Onion

O: Is the liberal stance of the early strips indicative of your own personal politics?

BB: Liberal, shmiberal. That should be a new word. Shmiberal: one who is assumed liberal, just because he's a professional whiner in the newspaper. If you'll read the subtext for many of those old strips, you'll find the heart of an old-fashioned Libertarian. And I'd be a Libertarian, if they weren't all a bunch of tax-dodging professional whiners.

I love this guy - I hope he makes a comeback.

And thanks for the new sig, Berke.

There's no such word as virii

On: Virus Scares and False Authority Syndrome

(Sung to the tune of Mary had a little lamb).

There's no such word as "virii",
"Virii",
"Virii",
There's no such word as "virii",
The plural is "viruses".

Re:is $50000 bail low?

On: Sklyarov Released On $50,000 Bail

Well, according to the EFF article, "The judge rubberstamped the agreement reached by Dmitry's attorney, Joe Burton, and the U.S. Attorney."

So it doesn't sound like the judge was sending a message to anybody. The bail doesn't seem that out of line for someone charged with a non-violent crime.

Re:I was there, where do I send pictures?

On: Sklyarov Released On $50,000 Bail

Contact somebody at the SF Bay Area Free Dmitry site. They have a bunch of protest pictures up, and I'm sure they'd be glad to add more.

Re:Mozilla (linux) impersonating as ie

On: Mozilla 0.9.3 Released

Well, I don't know of a way to do it directly in mozilla, but mozilla with junkbuster. Just set "user-agent" in ~/.junkbuster/config.

Re:OT: Code Red Paranoia

On: Appeals Court Denies Microsoft Request for Rehearing

Its not "virii". If you wanted to use the Latin plural as an excuse, you'd say "viri" not "virii". See this rant on the subject for a better explanation than I could hope to give.
And I'd be a Libertarian, if they weren't all a bunch of tax-dodging professional whiners.

Re:Don't speak too soon

On: Code Red Goes The Way Of Y2K

Of course its not all Microsofts' problem, but I still think that they get too much of free ride. These incidents are often reported with a tone of "Oh, here's another virus. What will those hackers think of next?"

And yes, there are holes in other non-Microsoft software. My point is that we should hold all software to higher standards than we do. Defective software should be treated by the public similar to how other defective products are treated.

Re:Don't speak too soon

On: Code Red Goes The Way Of Y2K

How can I tell if I got a Code Red hit?

Check your access_log (for Apache - other web servers probably have similar log files) for hits of the form:

111.111.111.111 - - [01/Aug/2001:06:57:14 -0500] "GET /default.ida?NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN%u9090%u6858% ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%ucbd3%u7801%u9090%u6858%uc bd3%u7801%u9090%u9090%u8190%u00c3%u0003%u8b00%u531 b%u53ff%u0078%u0000%u00=a HTTP/1.0" 400 326 (IP address changed to protect the guilty).

To check for Code Red I use:
tail -10000 access_log | grep NNN

Don't speak too soon

On: Code Red Goes The Way Of Y2K

I think that everyone's a little too quick to call Red Code a dud this time around. Its still pretty early in this growth phase, and I've already gotten two Red Code hits on our web server (and I only got 19 last time). Of course its not going to drag the internet to a screeching halt, but it may make as much a nuisance of itself as it did a couple of weeks ago. Remember the growth phase is supposed to go until the nineteenth.

And if it does end up being a dud that's a good thing, right? Just like Y2K all of the ridiculous media coverage of Red Code got enough people to patch their servers so that it couldn't grow as quickly this time.

Of course I wish more of the media coverage would criticize Microsoft for making holey software that allows these worms to propagate so easily, but you can't always get what you want.

Re:Absolute nonsense.

On: Don't Eat the Yellow Links

I'll meet you halfway. The phrase "begging the question" should never be used. Period. When used incorrectly it is just a pretentious way to say "which leads to the question". Its unclear and adds nothing to an argument.

It does not make sense as "which leads to the question" anyway. If the phrase were something along the lines of "which begs me to ask the question", then it might make sense using the usual meaning of beg. But how does one entreat a "question"? You beg a person to do something, you don't beg a thought to do something.

This situation is similar to "inflammable". Most people don't understand that "flammable" and "inflammable" mean the same thing. So if you want to be clear you should just say "flammable". Its unfortunate that perfectly good words should die off, but when people can't understand them, that's exactly wbat should happen.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:This begs the question

On: Don't Eat the Yellow Links

This does not "beg the question", it "leads to the question."

"Begs the question" means avoiding answering a point in an argument by simply stating that your point is correct instead of supporting the point.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:Escaping the Windows XP tar pit

On: EPIC Makes Privacy Case Against Windows XP To FTC

It not necessarily harder to install Linux software. Ever installed a Loki game? Its usually as easy as installing the Windows version of the same game.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:Scared me

On: Larry Wall's State of the Onion

The Onion is about as much a dot com as the New York Times. They've had a meat-space paper a lot longer than they've had a web site.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:I see a nice research paper in this

On: CAIDA Released Code-Red Worm Post Mortem

There is no such word as "virii." The word you're looking for is "viruses."

Thank you.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:Another reason to use Linux?

On: Death To Virus Writers

A: Because Linux does not run a stable, feature-complete Internet browser You haven't tried mozilla recently, have you? Nevermind netscape 4.7x and others which are both stable and feature-complete for reasonable definitions of the term.

or office suite;

StarOffice is overly feature complete. Many of the other free alternatives are also feature complete for the average user.

a full-featured version of AOL Instant Messenger;

What is Gaim lacking that you need? I don't use IM, so I wouldn't know.

Quicken or a feature-complete variant thereof;

What features that you need are missing from GNUcash or Kapital?

any of the games that have come out in the last six months;

Hasn't Tribes 2 been out less than 6 months?

programs to interface with many of the peripheral devices that I bought.

Any specific examples? Support for new hardware in Linux is probably as good as in Windows 2000 or NT.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

That's a new name

On: Debian GNU/Linux Used in Electronic Voting Trials

So now this article called it "GNU Debian Linux". I suppose RMS would consider that a improvement over just Debian Linux, but it has a certains Cats feel to it. All your vote belong to Debian.

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I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:...barrier to voting entry...

On: Debian GNU/Linux Used in Electronic Voting Trials

Now, if you have a low-end job, your day begins before most of the polls open. If you work a 12-hour day, like most minimum-wage people do to have a chance at survival, you have no chance to get to the polls.

Unless polling places are open more than 12 hours. Or your work hours are offset from when the polling places are open. Or you work the night shift. Or you get an absentee ballot. Or ...

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:oh, the health care

On: Google To Gain a Rival?

I understand his point, and mine is that the US healthcare system isn't perfect either. If its cheaper to drive hundreds of miles to get prescriptions, there's something wrong. I don't think a Canadian style single-payer system is the way to go, I don't think it can be dismissed out of hand. The US needs reform, including better regulation of drug companies. I wish that drug companies again would not be allowed to do mass media adds for prescription drugs. Its expensive and counter productive.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:oh, the health care

On: Google To Gain a Rival?

Which is why we see large number of americans going across the border for canadian healht care.

oh, wait a minute . . .

Well, many Americans have gone across the border to get cheaper prescription drugs. Its damn stupid, but its happening all the time.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...

Re:Form letter

On: Sklyarov Arrest Follow-up

They were posted in the article on /. yesterday. The addresses are here.

--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations ...