Author: azrifleman

Half-Assed Media Speculation About the Batman Shooter – Hit & Run: Reason.com

I don’t normally quote Reason, but they do mention something that I find really irritating:

Undeterred by how wrong they got the Columbine shootings 13 years ago, or how disgustingly politicized they turned Jared Loughner’s 2011 rampage, the humans who work for and talk with journalistic outlets are again rushing to speculative judgment about Jim Holmes, the suspected Batman murderer in Aurora, Colorado.

via Half-Assed Media Speculation About the Batman Shooter – Hit & Run : Reason.com.
It turns out that there’s actually a precept of the American Psychological Association known as the Goldwater rule that states that it is unethical “for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement ((http://psychiatry.org/FileLibrary/Practice/EthicsDocuments/Ethics-Principles-2010.pdf, Page 9, Section 7, Principle #3)).”
Wild speculation doesn’t help and can be harmful. I’m inclined to let the appropriate experts make their informed conclusion rather than make guesses based on potentially-unreliable reports or claims in the media.
If only more people thought the same way…

On Commenters

Say what you will about the quality (or lack thereof) of government officials, I’m just exceedingly glad that the people who comment on news websites are not in charge. Holy crap, the stupid burns.
I suppose newspaper editors would have always had to deal with various deranged Letters to the Editor, but I was able to retain some faith in humanity because the editor would use some discretion to weed out the most absurd, crazy letters and so I’d only see the mostly-sane letters that they’d publish.
The Internet has served to enhance communication for people all over the world, and for that I’m pleased, but it’s also served to bring the crazies out of the woodwork. Some times it makes me want to disconnect and go hide.
That said, YouTube commenters are by far the worst, but I guess I’ve adapted to that and consider YouTube to be a video side with a side of fresh stupidity. I’ve not yet wrapped my mind around the same thing with news site comments.

Colorado Shooting

The news is reporting that someone opened fire in a theater in Colorado, shooting 71 people and killing 12.
I’m not really sure what to say, or if there is anything that can be said.
Although I can’t do anything from where I am, I’d like to express my heartfelt condolences and sympathies to all those affected by this tragic incident.

Fear me, for I am root

Google Authenticator Plugin: I’m sorry, but it is not possible for you to import an existing shared secret. You must generate a new one.
Me: Really? That’s annoying.
GAP: Yup. Sucks to be you.
Me: Fine. *generates a new secret* Oh, there’s something I ought to tell you.
GAP: Tell me.
Me: I have root access to the database in which the secret is stored. *edits the appropriate entry in the database, thus restoring the previous shared secret*

Host Transition

I’ve transitioned the site to a new host. Everything appears to be working well, but if you have any problems please let me know.
More details soon.

Nice Weather

Switzerland’s warming up a bit, with weather being sunny and warm for the most part. Trees have fully grown back their leaves, there’s a pleasant breeze, and things have been going well in the lab. So far, this year’s doing pretty good by me.
This weather reminds me of one of the great things that Europe has to offer the world: sidewalk cafes. Sure, there’s outdoor seating at a lot of eateries in the US, but it’s just not the same as walking down the street, sitting down at a random cafe, having a drink, and watching the world go by. A simple, laid-back sidewalk cafe on a side street in Bern is great, but it’s nothing compared to the cafes in Paris. Truly one of life’s great pleasures.

Travels to Egypt

As some might recall, I traveled to Egypt and Jordan over the winter holiday. My wife and I took around 4,000 photos — we’ll spare you all the details and just stick to the highlights.
Both nations were fantastic: everywhere we went the people were pleasant, the sites stunning, and the food delicious. Everywhere was steeped with history. This post is briefly about Egypt, with a soon-to-follow post about Jordan.
At the time (about a year after the January demonstrations in 2011), Cairo had a bit of reputation for being unsafe and so there was essentially no tourists anywhere there. Fortunately, Cairo was quite safe and we ran into no trouble whatsoever and got to benefit from the lack of crowds at the various attractions; unfortunately, you could tell that business was slow for a lot of tourism-dependent merchants. Outside of Cairo there was a lot more tourists — the majority of tourists in Aswan and Luxor were Russians — and business seemed to be better, though the guides said that tourism has definitely been down since the revolution.
One of the great highlights of Egypt is, of course, the Pyramids of Giza. It should go without saying, but the pyramids are really big.

Continue reading “Travels to Egypt”

WordPress Security: Google Authenticator

Many of the readers here are also bloggers, and quite a few use WordPress.
If you host your own WordPress installation (as opposed to hosting with wordpress.com), you may be interested in the Google Authenticator plugin for two-factor authentication.
If you have an iOS (iPod Touch or iPhone), Android, or BlackBerry device that can run the Google Authenticator app, the Google Authenticator plugin can help significantly with your site’s security. Once you link the plugin and the device, your device generates a new time-dependent numeric code at regular intervals. To log into your WordPress blog’s account you’ll need your username, password, and the numeric code generated from the mobile device application.
This way, even if an attacker manages to acquire your username and password they are unable to log into your WordPress account because they don’t have the correct code. Now an attacker needs something you know (username and password) and something you have (the mobile device that generates the code).
Update: One can also configure a static password for applications that are not able to deal with one time passwords, like desktop or iPhone WordPress clients. Very cool.