9/3     Thinking about getting an opteron? If security is your concern,
        maybe you should think again: http://csua.org/u/8x7
        \_ Erm, maybe I'm missing something, but that page argues that
           if someone can gain root access and flash the system with
           malicious microcode, they can in the future gain full access
           through mere userspace privilege.  True, but wouldn't that apply
           to any box where you can flash the bios as root?  -John
           \_ on the PC, linux for example bypasses the BIOS except for
              initial bootstrapping.  modifying processor microdoce gives
              a more persistent hook, as would modifying firmware of
              any DMA-master capable device that is not reprogrammed
              by the OS.  this isn't the end of the world, but surely
              adds to the "security is hard" mountain.
        \_ Very few places need to be this concerned about security.  The
           financial industry, for example.  The finance and high security
           government facilities I'm aware of would be no more or less
           freaked out by this than the idea that someone got root in the
           first place.  If they take a gun to your sysadmin's head at a
           party they'll get access, too.  So, if you're thinking about
           hiring sysadmins who might show at a party maybe you should
           think again.
                 \- hello, it is interesting to talk to people in the
                    financial world about some of the "attacks" they
                    face, for example organized crime infiltrating the
                    mail room. also you have problems like say how to
                    not let the backup staff read the data. ok tnx.
                    \_ Yes, that is what I was getting at with the sysadmin
                       at a party line.  There are lots of easier ways to
                       do nasty things that don't involve updating micro-code
                       or anything high tech at all.
           \_ Wow, someone who actually knows something. Thank you for
              showing up.
              \_ That's why I avoid parties.  It has helped me land better
                 jobs.  :-)

9/3     Although not funny, it is sort of like the old joke about a Republican
        is a Democrat who got mugged.  Here's Putin finally "getting it":
        http://tinyurl.com/5qd7h
        \_ Who do you think the remark at the end is aimed at?  -John
        \_ Original post is highly misleading, as Putin has been "tough" on
           Chechen separatists all along, as his main thing was to crush them
           his last five years in office.
           He is having his own mini political catastrophe:  He is
           synonymous with being very tough on the Chechens, and look at
           what it's gotten him?
           I believe Russians will see right through this, even though Putin
           does control the TV and print media these days.
           Washington Post editorial:
           http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60580-2004Sep3.html
           "Russia's abominable behavior has helped spark but does not
           excuse Chechen terrorists and their partners in crime."
           An even better one:
           http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57859-2004Sep2.html
           "On Mr. Yeltsin's watch, the Russian army turned Grozny, the
           Chechen capital, into a ghost town of corpses and rubble. Tens of
           thousands of Chechens fled the country. As we wrote on Tuesday,
           President Vladimir Putin has since made the situation worse,
           launching a second invasion, cutting off the region from aid groups
           and journalists, refusing negotiations, and allowing Russian troops
           to torture and torment Chechen civilians."
           \_ You're confusing the Chechens who may or may not have a valid
              gripe against the Russians with the muslim terrorists who just
              killed about 350 people, all civilians, mostly women and
              children.  Putin is saying he fucked up on terrorism, this has
              little if anything to do with his actions in Chechen territory
              which is a national issue between two lands with defined
              borders.

9/4     http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/09/04/in
ternational1038EDT0487.DTL
        BushCo's response to terrorism to Putin's.  Compare and Contrast.
        \_ http://csua.org/u/8x8
        \_ I see, a more "sensible" war.

9/3     I started getting spam on an account that is only mentioned on
        my webpage (it's not my normal account). If it's an automated
        spider or something that scans webpages for email addresses,
        would it make a difference if I either 1) put up the email address
        without an actual "mailto:" link or 2) put up an image of the
        text of my email address? Thanks.
        \_ http://www.codehouse.com/webmaster_tools/email_obfuscator -tom
           \_ 30 seconds and someone's added that to their harvester script.
           \_ nice concept, but as you come up with a solution, it's already
              obsolete. Naive. Nice try.
              \_ Wrong.  Certainly it's possible to write a harvester that
                 gets around obfuscators, but there are dozens of different
                 ones out there, and they include random elements which makes
                 it difficult to script for.  You don't need to solve 100% of
                 the problem to make a big improvement.  -tom
                 \_ There's no such thing as a right/wrong answer. There are
                    are only trade-offs to consider. This is a typical
                    tom holub opinionated answer. Go get an education.
                    \_ You said it was obsolete, he said you're wrong. I think
                       he wins.
                       \_ You still view talking to, you know, other people
                          as a competitive game with winners and losers?
                          Yeah, ok, you 'win,' buddy.  Let us know when you join
                          the rest of the adult world. -- random guy
                          \_ Tom in a nutshell:  An asshole online.  Not
                             stupid, but not as smart as he thinks he is.
                             He has some native intelligence but is not
                             well educated, so he doesn't know how to
                             think about complicated concepts.  His main
                             defect is not realizing these limitations.
                             Disclaimer:  I don't know what his personality
                             is like face to face, but I've been around
                             CSUA for a while.
        \_ make a comment form and script
        \_ It's too late for that account.  Once your account is on 1 spammer
           list, it'll soon be sold and resold forever until they all have it.
           I suggest changing the account name, dropping that address and
           implementing various email hiding solutions.  Uhm, in reverse
           order to what I just said, :-).
        \_ http://www.spamhole.com
           \_ Nice.  http://Mailinator.com as well.  -John
           \_ Or http://spamgourmet.com, which is even easier after initial setup

9/3     Newsweek confirms Time magazine bounce, with even more details on
        methodology -liberal
        http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5915140/site/newsweek
        "Respondents who were queried only on Friday, after Bush's speech,
        gave the Republican a 16-point lead over Kerry."
        \_ Well, I don't know about you, but the RNC was a lot more
           successful than the DNC, regardless of who wins in Nov.
        \_ "It's a fake bounce!  It's the corporate controlled media whores
           doing fake polls!  It is that people are stupid and watch Fox
           news!  People who vote for Bush after seeing F9/11 are raging
           assholes!  EEEEEYYYAAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" -liberal mocker
           \_ who cares.  whoever wins will win by a razor thin margin.
           \_ Sigh.  Four more years I guess.  Where's my vomit bucket?
              \_ I fault the people who voted for Kerry. If the Dems had
                 picked someone more moderate (someone like Clark), they
                 wouldn't be struggling right now. Same thing for Bush.
                 The Republicans wouldn't have had such a hard time if
                 they picked someone else like McCain. Why is it that
                 each party likes to pick their most polarizing figure?
                 \_ Wait, is Kerry a waffler or is he polarizing?
                    Let me check what Rush is saying today.
                 \_ In what policy respect was Clark more moderate?
                    \_ Not so much moderate as less polarizing. Clark
                       doesn't have anti-war issues that has haunted
                       Kerry to this very day. I guess he lacks any
                       senate voting records which could be used against
                       him in an election. And Clark doesn't just have
                       a single Vietnam experience to ride his entire
                       campaign on. I think if the Dems picked clark
                       there would be little the Rpublicans could pick on.
                       \_ I beg to differ.  They would have done the same
                          thing regardless of the candidate, along with a
                          willing media that only reports on three things:
                          1) Polls.  2) Scandals.  3) Attacks.
                          Sad to say I think this thing is all over.
                          The debates will be meaningless because Bush will
                          get a pass no matter what he does.  These poll
                          numbers look bad for Kerry, but you should see
                          the battleground numbers - they are REALLY bad
                          now.
        \_ Clark supplied the armor for Waco, he should be disqualified
           from holding any office by default.

9/4     Frances comes. Bush will declare Florida a disaster area, pump lots
        of Federal fundings, and Florida will vote for Bush. Four more years.
        That, is my prediction.
        \_ This proves it -- Satan is on the side of Bush (he sent the
           unholy hurricane as an election aid).
        \_ Even with Florida voting Republican, the electoral college is
           still roughly split 50-50 according to
           http://www.electoral-vote.com To win this election, all things
           being equal, it would be enough for Kerry to win in one or two swing
           states like Colorado, Iowa, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and maybe Arizona
           or Missouri most of which are split roughtly 50-50 right now.
           Though, I think you are probably right about Florida. If I was
           JFK.v2, I'd ignore it from now on and concentrate on the states I
           have mentioned above.

9/4     What are some of the best spyware zapping programs (FREE) out there?
        \_ Ad-Aware and Spybot.
           \_ Seconded.  I run them in tandem, and they really do the job.

9/4     BushCo's response to terrorism v. Putin's.  Compare and Contrast.
        http://csua.org/u/8x8
        \_ I see, a more "sensible" war.