Capricious Me

Ah, smart spammers… smart. I’ve recently noticed that some of my comment spam contain author links in the form of http://*.archive.org/[0-9]*/spammysite. There are ~290 occurrences based on a quick sql query.

Whether archive.org, a very reputable highly ranked site, is crawled or not is not an issue. It doesn’t even matter if they use “rel=nofollow.” They are being exploited as enablers for spammers, who use archive.org’s caching service to extend the otherwise short lifetime of their spammy site. Rather brilliant act on the part of the spammer.

The department bbq for the new students went well… we bought tons and tons of food. There are 56 new students this year. 56!!! So many!!!

Mike’s been unerringly patient while risking life and limb to practice driving with me… Oh yes. I have a car now that my little sister’s off to college and doesn’t need it around Palo Alto. Davis is suddenly that much more dangerous now…

That is all.

Back in Palo Alto for a brief stay to house and dog-sit. My parents are sending my little sister off to college (UCSD) and are planning to stay in San Diego for a couple of days as the much yearned for, well deserved vacation they need yet have never taken.

So here I am… back from walking Sarabi (who is as cute as ever and still likes to drink from water fountains. hehe) and ready to work.

An ars technica article reports that spammers are launching DOS attacks (using the ever so reliable botnet) against anti-spam/scam sites and services. This is hardly surprising. Last year an anti-spam company, Blue Security was DDOSed out of business by spammers getting a taste of their own medicine. I’m surprised that with the botnets at their disposal and the ability to DOS rather effectively at any time, the spammers haven’t done this sooner.

On another note… Happy Birthday to Mew!

Alright. This summer’s brought me a new addiction, thanks to the incessant nagging of Chad & Mike & Ryan… Battlestar Galactica. I love it. Politics, war, humor, ethical dilemmas, scifi goodness :) It’s completely displaced 24. 24 can’t compare to how awesome this show is!! I’ve also developed a fondness for Deep Space Nine. And while I’m gushing over great tv shows… Firefly is pretty damn good.

In any case… since I never post pictures, here’s a few from a recent trip to Seattle. Road trip with SO many fun moments!! Ok… I have no patience for uploading and resizing pictures. So here’s links with descriptions. If the pics don’t work… too bad. They’re on facebook from Chad’s account.

1. Tim, asleep before we even took off. (He wasn’t really asleep.)
2. Emo chad in creepy bathroom. The cracks in the mirror reflect the cracks of his wounded soul.
3. Me, being silly outside a creepy bathroom at a creepy gas station
4. Fremont Troll! We spelled out “JIM” with our bodies as a tribute to our absent comrade.
5. Post Fremont Troll, me being violent as always
6. We happened across this Happy Birthday decor on our way to sushi.
7. The group photo for Ryan’s birthday dinner. Ah, Tim makes everyone look so short!!
8. Dapper Pig with Ryan & Tim. There were pigs all over Seattle. It’s like that cow exhibit across Boston/Cambridge last year, I guess.