August 15, 2003

Oh Joy

I got a message on my mobile from Telstra to call them regarding my home phone service. (I missed the call by about half a second.)

Sure enough, pings to my home network are failing.

So I call Telstra on the number given in the message, and I get the usual message that they are busier than usual and I'll have to wait. After a moderately interminable period, a woman comes on the line and asks me for my phone number and account details. (Which I have already given to the computer system which answers the calls.) Then she puts me back on hold.

After another interminable wait, a guy comes on the line and asks me for my phone number and account details. (Again.) I tell him I got a message to call, and he says that my account is overdue. I point out that I in fact paid it on their pay-by-phone system this very morning. But no, I don't have the receipt number. (It's recorded on my computer at home, the same computer I can't get to.) That's fine, says he.

You didn't disconnect my line, I ask?

No, says he.

It's still not responding.

I can't tell from here at work if it's a trivial problem or if I need to contact my ISP for support. My ISP's support line is only open until 7pm, then closed all weekend. I need the line up this weekend so I can... Never mind what, I need the line up! This is my internet connection!

So I have to get home by 6 so that I have time to check it and call support if necessary. Only I have another 4 creditors reports to run before I can go home, and it's already twenty past five.

Aargh!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:19 PM | Comments (59) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Two New Mu Nu

A big welcome to the latest blogs at mu.nu: Cherry's Ramblings, more rambling than ever at its new home, and Publius & Co., now with extra rat.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:19 AM | Comments (59) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

August 14, 2003

I Hate It When...

I hate it when a huge and complicated report running against a huge and complicated database (doing backwards aging and analysis of 80 million invoices and payments), after running for 36 hours, coughs and dies with a nonexistent error code.

I hate that.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:06 PM | Comments (65) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1

Posted by: Susie at August 14, 2003 03:24 PM (Avj/J)

2 !

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 14, 2003 04:20 PM (LBXBY)

3 Now I know the source of all that screaming!

Posted by: Victor at August 15, 2003 03:18 AM (L3qPK)

4 Have you tried using duct tape?

Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 15, 2003 09:28 AM (F/bg6)

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August 13, 2003

A Retraction

Ez Web Hosting have proven themselves to be the least irresponsible link in the not-actually-spam chain, and have stopped using SPEWS to bounce incoming mail, going back to relying on the excellent SpamAssassin.

Which is good. Using SPEWS to filter incoming mail throws out the good with the bad - a lot of good, since SPEWS often lists thousands of IP addresses where there are only a handful of spammers. SpamAssassin, on the other hand, simply marks messages that look like spam (and it's almost always right) and passes everything along to you. Any halfway-decent mail client can then sort the good from the bad for you - without throwing away false positives. And SpamAssassin gives a much lower rate of false positives than SPEWS. It gives you the baby and the bathwater, with the bathwater neatly labeled so you can't miss it.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:10 PM | Comments (60) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Yawn

As James Taranto would say, Generalissimo Francisco Franco Is Still Dead.

Another worm has run amok among the Windows Boxen of the world, spreading joy happiness chaos wherever it goes. Admittedly, Microsoft already had a patch out for this one, but who installs every patch Microsoft put out? Particularly when there's a history of some of Microsoft's patches not exactly working as advertised (read: Uh-oh. You do have a recent backup, right?).

If you're lonely - or just bored - and think you don't get enough email, and you're the lucky owner of a Netgear firewall/router, try turning on the automatic attack warning messages. I'm up to a couple of hundred an hour on my home network.

Of course, Linux just shrugs at these attacks. Like Code Red and Nimda, they just bounce off. Which is why SCO had to engage in their sad little lawsuit to kill Linux instead.

Curiously enough, senior SCO suits (I like that term; it suggests that the management of SCO consists of various uncomfortable articles of clothing rather than actual human beings) have been taking advantage of the post-lawsuit share price hike to dump their stock. Who'da thunk?

(Thanks to The Inquirer.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:55 PM | Comments (60) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Wonders of Modern Technology

Ah, my wonderful reliable new ADSL connection....

Not.

Sigh.

And if I wasn't up fiddling with this darn aged debtors report, I wouldn't have even known it went down.

Meanwhile, only a true fansub would subtitle the words "Rizel-chan, ganbatte ne" as "Rizel-chan, ganbatte ne".

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:01 AM | Comments (63) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

2.91 > 3

It's a good thing that Winamp didn't stop working on Winamp 2 when they released Winamp 3. It's not that 3 is bad, it's just that 2 is better. In almost every way.

There's a reason it's been downloaded 273,375,923 times (when I last checked).

And now it plays videos. And because it allows me to easily set it to realtime priority, it doesn't suffer when I'm running things in the background. Which is good, because I'm always running things in the background. The alternative would be a dual-processor machine for Windows, but that would require some of that money stuff I've heard about...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 02:32 AM | Comments (64) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I am stunned commentless by the beauty and eloquence of your prose......(especially since I didn't understand most of it

Posted by: Susie at August 13, 2003 11:04 AM (Avj/J)

2 Exactly why do you think 2 is so much better than Winamp 3? I upgraded to Winamp 3 as soon as it came out and haven't ever looked back. Its been great!

Posted by: Matt Olken at August 15, 2003 07:44 AM (/hPh6)

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Then Again...

When I said that the scriptwriter for the real world couldn't get a job in television, I hadn't considered Japan.

In episode 10 of Rizelmine, Rizel-chan heads off on a quest to find the legendary teddy-bear panties "41's Princess", originally discovered high on the slopes of Mount Everest.

No, really.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Rizel cries nitroglycerine tears. Waah! BOOM!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 02:26 AM | Comments (61) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 Can Rizel come into my template with me when I update my blogroll?

Posted by: Susie at August 13, 2003 11:03 AM (Avj/J)

2 Sounds like a good idea

I'll round up some pictures for you to look at.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 13, 2003 11:28 AM (jtW2s)

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Moses Blah?

I tell you, whoever's writing the script for this world of ours wouldn't get away with it in television.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 02:08 AM | Comments (66) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

August 12, 2003

Idiots and Bastards Too

So, one of those discount pharmaceutical spammers has decided to use my domain for their fake headers. That sucks. It's a great domain name and these vermin are polluting it by attaching it to their worthless crap.

And you know what? Hotmail can't read email headers to save its life. So when these spamming weasels hit a closed Hotmail account, guess who gets the bounce message.

Yeah.

Kill them all.

And then there's the in-duh-vidual at adsl-67-64-156-215.dsl.rcsntx.swbell.net whose computer is trying to use me as a relay every few hours. Hello? Either you're an idiot whose computer has been hacked by spammers, or you are a spammer. Either way, piss off and stop clogging up my log files. How many 554 Relay access denied messages does it take to get through to you? And why are you so desperate to spam theism2@sbcglobal.net anyway?

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:23 AM | Comments (65) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

August 11, 2003

Wa-Hey!

It's alive! It's alive!

Woo hoo! Whee! Yeehaa!

Happy happy ADSL! Happy happy no evil "transparent" proxies! Happy happy no blocked ports! Happy happy no evil $150 per gigabyte excess! Happy happy static IP! Happy happy 512kb uploads! Happy happy $70 per month cheaper!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 08:04 PM | Comments (97) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Are We There Yet?

Either my ADSL is in the process of being transferred to my new ISP, or it just plain isn't working. Either way, don't expect too much blogging in the next 24 hours.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:16 PM | Comments (62) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Nearly There

Just got confirmation from my new ISP that my line will be transferred to them very very soon.

I can't wait.

I ran over my download limit last month; that extra 600MB will cost me $90. At my new ISP, that would have only cost me $3.60.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 02:52 AM | Comments (70) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

August 10, 2003

License to Blog

The Story So Far

Pixy Misa, an undercover agent working for the Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Professional Thinking Persons, is directed by his boss, Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit, to infiltrate Frnak's Fortress of Drakness. Pixy's disguise as a heron is successful until he inadvertantly corrects Frnak's grammar.

Pixy is captured by Frnak's Heron Corps and taken for interrogation, where he is surprised to learn that Frnak's Chief Interrogatorer is none other than his friend Susie, a nice girl with a penchant for heavy weapons. Susie, it seems, has been abducted by Frnak's minions, brainwashed, and turned into a heron - although possibly not in that order.

Pixy frees Susie from captivity, and together they flee the Fortress on board a UFO. This UFO is of an odd design: its course is controlled by a huge vending machine which takes up most of the craft's interior. Fortunately, Susie is familiar with this design, having previously averted an alien invasion of Earth by ordering a can of Dr Pepper, which apparently diverted the entire fleet to Puerto Rico, where it was unable to refuel.

Due to a snack-related accident, Pixy and Susie shortly find themselves on Mars, which they discover is being used as a forward base for a renewed invasion by the Moon Men, who are now in the service of Frnak. Susie saves the day by reducing the Moon Men to small piles of ash. Susie finds a menu for the vending machine, which turns out to be written in phonetic Greek, which Pixy is able to read. Sort of.

The pair return in haste to the InstaBase in Knoxville, taking a forced detour via Rome, Kentucky, since there is no Greek letter for V. There they learn that the InstaPundit has been replaced by a robot. (Which, it seems, runs CP/M.) We learn - though our heroes do not - that this and other RoboBloggers are part of a malevolent scheme launched by the evil Frnak.

Susie's flamethrower makes short work of the Electronic Pundit, and the two return to Susie's home at Practical Penumbra to regroup. There, they discover that Susie has also been replaced by a robot. The SusieBot stuffs Susie head first into her own main template, but Susie is rescued by Pixy who wipes the Bot's boot program.

Meanwhile in Florida, a growing crowd of bloggers, forced by Frnak's nanotechnology into the shape of water birds, has broken free of their mindwashing and is planning escape. Led by Tiger, who contructs a bomb using only hard-boiled eggs and velveeta, the bloggers, still in bird shape, pair off and take to the skies in the Moon Men's fleet of UFOs.

Now the story continues in episode 17: License to Blog

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:52 PM | Comments (64) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 Hey, where do I come in?

Posted by: Tim the Michigander at August 11, 2003 03:18 AM (5fEkn)

2 Never mind-- I shot my mouth off before I watched Episode 18...

Posted by: Tim the Michigander at August 11, 2003 03:22 AM (5fEkn)

3 You've seen episode 18 already? Could you let me know what happens, cause I'm running out of ideas here

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 11, 2003 03:35 AM (jAZcn)

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Spam Trek

Tuning Spork presents his six-part series: Spam Trek.

Will the madness never end? Will I manage to think of a plot for episode 17? Tune in next week...

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:03 PM | Comments (63) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Open Toad

In this world of unceasing wonder, a mainstream publication - Canada's National Post - has an interesting and well informed article about the SCO vs. Linux brouhaha.

Weather forecast in Hell: 1C to 7C, chance of overnight frost.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:01 PM | Comments (61) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

August 09, 2003

Thoughts for the Day

Are compulsively reasonable people like Glenn Reynolds members of the political Far Centre?

I can't stand pumpkin, but I love pumpkin scones. How does that work? Take a scone, add something I don't like (pumpkin) and it tastes better. I don't get it.

Mainland brand butter comes from New Zealand. New Zealand doesn't have a mainland. It's two islands off the coast of Australia (called, in a fit of originality, North Island and South Island). Where's the mainland? Are they planning something?

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 11:38 PM | Comments (70) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I think you've had a little too much stress this weekend...thank goodness the workweek is just around the corner!

Posted by: Susie at August 10, 2003 12:33 AM (pgVBn)

2 Aaaaaaa!

Ahem.

Good morning, Susie! Doing the rounds?

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 10, 2003 12:35 AM (12oT8)

3 Yep! What was your first clue?

Posted by: Susie at August 10, 2003 12:36 AM (pgVBn)

4 The Far Center -- that's lovely.

(But shouldn't you be calling it the "Far Centre"? Or is there something I don't know about you?

Posted by: Tim the Michigander at August 10, 2003 02:52 AM (Zz4xI)

5 I thought I did. In fact, I did did. Oh, now you've confused me!

And there are lots of things about me you don't know. I'll let you in on one: right now I'm wearing a red t-shirt with a goanna printed on it. There, much better.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 10, 2003 03:09 AM (OFgwK)

6 Crikey, Terry, that's a big one! Oh, well, I must now go to work at the theatre...

Posted by: Susie at August 10, 2003 07:41 AM (pgVBn)

7 I've concocted a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake that's to die for! Well, maybe not DIE for... But it's dang delish!!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 10, 2003 11:29 AM (Me3d6)

8 mm. pumpkin cheesecake... is it anything like pumpkin pie? you'll have to post it. pleese!

Posted by: Tim the Michigander at August 10, 2003 12:41 PM (aURge)

9 Incidentally, Mainland brand dairy products come from the South Island, which is sometimes called the mainland because it's quite a bit larger than the North Island.

As for whether New Zealand is planning anything, I'm sure I really couldn't say, but I might point out that a popular postcard sold all over New Zealand depicts not just the North and South Islands, but also a "West Island" - Australia. I'm sure it's just a joke though.

Posted by: Cody at August 11, 2003 07:03 AM (oEKbI)

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The Blogging Daylights

We still haven't been able to track down the whereabouts of episode 15 of The Blogfather, so we'll move straight on to episode 16: The Blogging Daylights.

A kimchee vending machine? The mind boggles.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:38 PM | Comments (61) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Idiots On All Sides

Here's what's happened.

I have a little server hosted with United Colo. I've had this server for... maybe nine months now, and it has mostly worked fine. It hosts my blog, some other blogs, a web forum, and a few other bits and pieces.

Now, according to SPEWS, the Spam Prevention Early Warning System, United Colo (or their new owners, Sagonet; I don't know and SPEWS don't say) have also been hosting spammers. Repeatedly, say SPEWS. Is this true? I don't know. I suspect it may be so; United Colo and Sagonet host a lot of servers, some of them probably belong (or belonged) to spammers.

So, if United Colo has been hosting spammers and not dealing with them in a timely manner (as SPEWS claim), they have acted irresponsibly. United Colo make money from the Internet, and spammers do nothing but harm to the Net.

So what do SPEWS do? They list the entire /19 subnet belonging to United Colo - 8192 IP addresses - as a spam source. Including me. Me, who hasn't ever sent an unwanted email of any sort. And several hundred other people who are very likely as unfriendly towards spam as I.

So, we have a second example of irresponsible behaviour. SPEWS - knowing full well that most of those IP addresses do not belong to spammers - listed the full set anyway. Whatever inconvenience this causes to the innocent people with addresses in that range is not their problem. Besides, picking out the actual spammers would take work.

And for whatever reason, their web site is basically hosed, and it's almost impossible to get any information out of them.

Now, apart from mu.nu, I have a web and email hosting account with EZ Web Hosting. I've had this one for over a year, and again it's mostly worked fine. Yesterday, though, they decided top start using the anti-spam lists at Osirusoft to filter and reject incoming email. Before, they'd been using it as an input to SpamAssassin, which works extremely well. Not satisfied with this, they decided, without notifying anyone, to start rejecting my own emails to myself.

Numbers three and four in the chain of irresponsibility. SPEWS advises that the list they provide is not necessarily made up only of spammers, but also includes (not may include, does include) people who are just on the same part of the internet as spammers. Osirusoft forwards this list without doing anything to check it, or taking any responsibility for what people do with it. Their website, incidentally, is now coming up with an Apache test page, which is truly encouraging. [Update: No, it's back now. Still deathly slow, though.] This list includes over 32,000 IP addresses belonging to Sagonet. A handful of these actually belong - or belonged - to spammers.

An attempt to use Osirusoft's online utilities results in:

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, root@localhost and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Thanks guys. Thanks to all of you.

(And then there are the charming people who think that mu.nu is a great domain to use for fake email addresses. So I get their spam, and my mail server rejects it, but the spammers are (of course) also using fake email addresses, so the bounces bounce and the error messages from my mail server end up in my inbox with the spam still attached! Aargh! Die! Die the lot of you!

But that's a whole 'nother rant.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 08:46 PM | Comments (66) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Oh, That's Charming, That Is

The lovely people at relays.osirusoft.com have listed me as a spammer. Why? I don't know. I can't find out, because their site is almost-but-not-quite unreachable. Five minutes to bring up maybe one quarter of a web page - and then it times out.

Yay. Not.

Update:

Looks like my hosting provider has been harbouring spammers, and I've been caught in a net cast too wide. Wonderful.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 03:50 PM | Comments (62) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

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