Monday October 28, 2002

More Referrer Blocking
Mark Pilgrim has faced this down already, and his solution reminds me of PingBack or BackTrack, or whatever the hell:

Since day 1, my 'further reading' script has implemented strict referrer verification, checking that referrers are reachable and actually contain a link to the post my access logs claim they link to. This was mostly done to weed out links from webmail pages, intranets, and browser-based desktop news aggregators.[Mark Pilgrim]

I had considered adding this as part of a TrackBack system, but really dread the overhead involved.... ( Oct 28 2002, 10:18:33 PM ) Technology Permalink
Trackback: http://www.brainopolis.com/roller/trackback/lance/Weblog/more_referrer_blocking_br

Civil Disobedience, can you stomach it?
Right on Bob!

Everyone who hates the DMCA has to illegally copy a movie or a song, and then tell both the Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office exactly what they did. We need 10 million or so confessed and unrepentant intellectual property pirates. That's too much illegal behavior to ignore (What could 10 million pirated copies of "Debbie Does Dallas" be worth?), but too many individual criminals to be prosecuted. Then, having pirated our movie or song, we also need to turn ourselves in to the authorities, clogging every hoosegow in America, facing our potential $10,000 fine, each of us demanding the jury trial we are guaranteed under the Constitution.[I, Cringely]

Well, I've done part of the job (downloaded and shared files). Not quite sure I'm ready to own up to it to the Feds and march on the courthouse demanding my trial. But still, I love the concept of civil disobedience. It's our country, dammit, and we've got to make "them" listen to us one way or another. ( Oct 28 2002, 08:12:29 PM ) News Permalink
Trackback: http://www.brainopolis.com/roller/trackback/lance/Weblog/civil_disobedience_can_you_stomach

Touch Me and I'll kill ya (apologies to Stripes): Charles and I appear to have the same social disfunction ;-)

One of the surest ways to get on my nerves very, very quickly, is to touch me. I have this very strong sense of personal space, and strangers touching me just makes me cringe.

I don't mind the normal, incidental contact that's a part of living in a big, crowded city. When the train's full, I'll sardine myself in with the rest of them. But on the other hand, I tend to only shake hands when it's necessary. In family gatherings, I'm the one standing at the back trying to avoid having to hug a thousand people I only see every five years. And I absolutely loathe having a conversation with someone who feels it's necessary to put their hand on your arm to emphasize whatever point they decided to make. It makes me want to crawl out of my skin.

Exceptions are made if you're attractive and female.[The Fishbowl]

( Oct 28 2002, 08:12:29 PM ) Entertainment Permalink
Trackback: http://www.brainopolis.com/roller/trackback/lance/Weblog/don_t_touch_me

Just the incentive I need to get to work trying out JellySwing: Ara says "I tested JellySwing today for our new subsystem. Wow! I can't imagine coding Swing without it!" ( Oct 28 2002, 08:12:29 PM ) Technology Permalink
Trackback: http://www.brainopolis.com/roller/trackback/lance/Weblog/just_the_incentive_i_need

Referrer blocking
While I started this just so I wouldn't see referrals from my own site, this Wired article points out the importance of my finishing the full functionality (for 0.9.7).

Strange things are afoot in blogland.

Owners of the conversational websites known as weblogs have recently noticed that their referral logs have become the newest target for spam.

Referral logs, intended to collect information on who visited a website and how they happened to arrive there, are being stuffed with bogus links....[When the Spams Hits the Blog]

No Comment. ( Oct 28 2002, 08:12:29 PM ) Roller Permalink
Trackback: http://www.brainopolis.com/roller/trackback/lance/Weblog/referrer_blocking_br

Sunday October 27, 2002

Go Russell Go
Mr. Beattie is on a roll with his No Dot Not rant. Rather than try and repeat it here, I'll just say GO READ IT! ( Oct 27 2002, 08:03:05 AM ) Technology Permalink
Trackback: http://www.brainopolis.com/roller/trackback/lance/Weblog/go_russell_go_br

Saturday October 26, 2002

RSS Best Practices
Matt isn't the only one talking about relative vs absolute URLs in RSS feeds. Sam Ruby and friends have gotten into the issue, and it looks like they'll support whatever the community decides! ( Oct 26 2002, 09:12:49 PM ) Technology Permalink
Trackback: http://www.brainopolis.com/roller/trackback/lance/Weblog/rss_best_practices_br

Friday October 25, 2002

Senator Wellstone Dead
I generally avoid politics, and I'm hardly a bleeding heart Liberal, but I am sad to hear that Wellstone has died. I do agree with many of the positions he took, and was proud of the fight he put up even when the crowd was obviously against him. Call it a David vs Goliath complex, and I always saw Paul as David. He was finally getting the seniority he needed to get things done in Committee, and I was looking forward to some honest change.

All that is gone now. Who knows who (if anyone) the Dem's will be able to put up against Coleman. Whoever it is, they'll likely lose.

Pity.