Archive for October, 2005

IM Hungry … Got Worms?!?!

Monday, October 31st, 2005

Rootkit found in new AIM worm.

This is the first time that we have seen a rootkit as part of the bundle of applications that is sent to your machine. It is a disturbing trend.

Umm…I disagree. We saw it bundled with windows and the ‘Remote Assistance’ crap. Its only a matter of time before that is exploited.

In addition to the “lockx.exe” rootkit file, the new worm delivers a version of the Sdbot Trojan horse, said FaceTime, which sells products to protect instant-messaging traffic. Sdbot opens a backdoor on the infected PC

Nice…well, so much for ’safe’ Instant Messaging…Guess we’ll all have to go back to IRC….Oh wait:

Added by the W32/Sdbot-ADD worm. When this infection starts it will connect to an IRC server where it will wait for remote commands to execute.

LOL!!!! Windows AIM users have been 0\/\//\/3d.

What The World Needs Now…

Thursday, October 27th, 2005

Ryan Miner is having his First Amendment Rights stripped by a Catholic University….

Ryan Miner, 19, of Hagerstown, Md., was sanctioned by Duquesne after posting his view [that homosexuality was ’subhuman’] in The Facebook, an online directory that is not related to the university.

Miner opposed an effort by other students to form a Gay-Straight Alliance group, an issue that is still being debated by the university.

A 10-page paper was assigned as punishment. Miner said he refuses to write it and will file an appeal.

Way to go Ryan. Stand up for your rights. Screw those liberal bastards who think that only their opinion regarding diversity is important.

Let’s all stand behind this stalwart fellow.

Gillette: The Worst a Man Can Get

Wednesday, October 26th, 2005

Apparently there’s a toxic overload going on in the bathrooms of the world.

COLGATE TOTAL

What they claim: 12-hour fresh breath and antibacterial protection.

But watch out: Conventional toothpastes often contain irritating detergents like sodium lauryl sulphate, which can cause sore gums and mouth ulcers, and abrasives like hydrated silica, which can erode tooth enamel. Total contains a glue-like substance, PVM/MA copolymer, that sticks the active ingredients to teeth. Saccharin, a known carcinogen in animals, is also found. The colouring CI 42090 (banned in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden) causes cancer in animals. Total contains Triclosan, an antibacterial agent that can in certain circumstances combine with chlorine in tap water to produce chloroform gas, which is easily absorbed into the skin or inhaled and can cause depression, liver problems and cancer.

GILLETTE MACH 3 SHAVING GEL

What they claim: The best a man can get.

But watch out: Helped by a global advertising campaign featuring David Beckham, Gillette shaving products have carved their way into the male psyche. If he thought about the ingredients, would the “epitome of the well groomed man” be so keen to promote the product? Mach 3 gel contains skin irritants such as triethanolamine, palmitic acid glyceryl oleate, three potential carcinogens (polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), BHT, CI 42090) and three central nervous system toxins or pollutants (isopentane, parfum and isobutane).

LISTERINE TEETH AND GUM DEFENCE

What they claim: Kills the germs that cause plaque and bad breath.

But watch out: This mouthwash is 21.6 per cent alcohol. Alcohol dries and changes the pH of the mouth and throat and long-term use of alcohol-containing mouthwashes increases the risk of mouth and throat cancers. Listerine also contains a mild detergent, poloxamer 407, that is soluble in liquids at low temperatures but turns to a gel at higher temperatures (ie, body temperature). That makes it a film-former, “glueing” other ingredients on to the surfaces of the mouth for longer. Fluoride in quantity is poisonous if swallowed, and the sweetener saccharin causes bladder cancer in animals. Finally, synthetic colours, aromas and flavours are made from volatile solvents that can alter the basic flora of the mouth and may cause dermatitis.

Wow! So a case can be made its better to be ugly and alive rather than dead, but beautiful. Glad I never bought into half of that hygenic junk out there.

For The Love of God

Sunday, October 23rd, 2005

Apparently Anne Rice, the writer behind such intriguing tails as Interview With The Vampire and Queen of the Damned, has turned Christian

…that same year she returned to the Roman Catholic Church, which she’d left at 18.

Anne Rice, the chronicler of vampires, witches and—under the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure—of soft-core S&M encounters, will publish “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt,” a novel about the 7-year-old Jesus, narrated by Christ himself. “I promised,” she says, “that from now on I would write only for the Lord.”

In that afterword she calls Christ “the ultimate supernatural hero … the ultimate immortal of them all.”

But she’s also taken liberties where they don’t explicitly conflict with Scripture.

Well, between this and Madonna’s turning to the Kabbalah…I’m pretty much speechless. Guess I’ll have to write some Godless novels and songs, just because everyone’s getting out of the business!

Moral Taboos

Saturday, October 22nd, 2005

I just took another philosophical quiz on Moral Taboos. I found it interesting, here are my results…acordingly, I am less permissive than most, which, is kind of funny, since I am fairly open-minded. Albeit, I do find certain things to be more acceptable than other things.

Taboo - The Results

How did you do compared to other people?

Taboo has been played 10356 times.

Your Moralising Quotient of 0.79 compares to an average Moralising Quotient of 0.32. This means that as far as the events depicted in the scenarios featured in this activity are concerned you are less permissive than average.

This is fairly surprising as I consider myself to be fairly open-minded.

Your Interference Factor of 0.50 compares to an average Interference Factor of 0.22. This means that as far as the events depicted in the scenarios featured in this activity are concerned you are more likely to recommend societal interference in matters of moral wrongdoing, in the form of prevention or punishment, than average.

I guess this makes sense, I mean, if there is something immoral that needs to be prevented because we can’t see all ends, I recommend prevention &/or punishment over merely allowing it.

Your Universalising Factor of 1.00 compares to an average Universalising Factor of 0.48. This means you are more likely than average to see moral wrongdoing in universal terms - that is, without regard to prevailing cultural norms and social conventions (at least as far as the events depicted in the scenarios featured in this activity are concerned).

Yes, being Christian dictates that there is an objective morality which social norms can not circumvent.

The Matrix

Saturday, October 22nd, 2005

So I have nothing to do today, but wait for the Disaster Recovery work to get finished (well, I have things to do, just that I might be needed….but my stuff works, so I don’t see this happening).

Anyway, I took yet another philosophical quiz that involves ‘The Matrix.’ It was rather boring, except for one part where you choose a card or cards and the program tries to figure out which cards you have chosen. Interestingly, I chose two cards. The program then removes the card(s) you were thinking of. And amazingly, it was accurate the first time. I tried one more time to see where the trick is…. but it basically said I’d have to wait 24hrs.

Whacky, eh? I dare you to try it, if only to beat the system.

Morality Play

Saturday, October 22nd, 2005

I took another philosophy quiz…that of a Morality Play… basically, they ask you questions about the ‘morality’ of a situation and you answer based on your own inner locutions with regards to how moral something is. Its rather interesting and showed that I had a 53% Parsimony score.
(more…)

God’s Battleground

Saturday, October 22nd, 2005

I tried another one of those ‘choose your own adventure’ philosophy games….
This one is regarding consistency of thought with regards to the existence of God.

I thought it was fun, and a bit challenging…Here’s my score:

You took zero direct hits and you bit zero bullets. The average player of this activity to date takes 1.39 hits and bites 1.11 bullets. 285276 people have so far undertaken this activity.

Battleground Analysis
Congratulations!

You have been awarded the TPM medal of honour! This is our highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.

The fact that you progressed through this activity neither being hit nor biting a bullet suggests that your beliefs about God are internally consistent and very well thought out.

A direct hit would have occurred had you answered in a way that implied a logical contradiction. You would have bitten bullets had you responded in ways that required that you held views that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. However, you avoided both these fates - and in doing so qualify for our highest award. A fine achievement!

How did you do compared to other people?

* 285276 people have completed this activity to date.
* You suffered zero direct hits and bit zero bullets.
* This compares with the average player of this activity to date who takes 1.39 hits and bites 1.11 bullets.
* 7.63% of the people who have completed this activity, like you, emerged unscathed with the TPM Medal of Honour.
* 45.81% of the people who have completed this activity took very little damage and were awarded the TPM Medal of Distinction.

Way to go me! :o) This just reinforces the fact that my belief in God is based on reason and is correct. At the very least, I am consistent with regards to logical philosophy on this matter.

Will You Survive?!

Saturday, October 22nd, 2005

I recently tried out this slightly interesting philosophical game of survival….

The goal was to survive. I took the material view, if you will…

Staying Alive

Congratulations! According to one theory of personal identity, you have survived!

Your choices are consistent with the view that bodily continuity is necessary for personal survival.

Try it out….

Oops, I Did It Again…

Friday, October 21st, 2005

Dag nabit… On Monday I entered a trade @ 1.7491 and exited @ 1.7515…. I made a nice amount, but had I stayed in…. I would have made about 10x as much. A long-term buy looked good the entire week. Why oh why do I not stay in for longer time periods?! Had I stayed in, I would have earned slightly more than 1/3 of my salary in one week.

Plus, I see EWTN and Catholic Answers need money. So I better stop monkeying around with short-term profits, because these charities need me! I’m still debating who to give my last charitable contribution to for the year. Had I made that much, it wouldn’t even be an issue. I’m deciding between Aid For Women, EWTN, and Catholic Answers.

Guess I’ll just have to wait until next week, as the GBP market closes in about 5 hours. Of course, last Friday there was a huge Bull rally, so who knows…maybe this week will be the same. Today’s high was 1.7777. Can you guess my salary? I make just enough to pay the bills…. ;o)