Random Geekery

 Rant/Ramble, Techno Geek  No Responses »
Aug 242007
 

I found an excellent article describing how to analyze a cracked Linux machine – I’ve had some experience with similar efforts on Windows in the past, but (so far) have been lucky enough not to have to do it on a Linux/Unix host.  Serves as a good guide on how to break down a crack step by step, though the elementary mistakes made by the cracker certainly made things easier – it would not have been hard to do this in a way that would have been far more difficult to detect/correct.

So, for all of those people that think that non-Windows machines are bullet proof, take note.

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 Posted by at 3:20 pm

The Other Dublin

 Travel  1 Response »
Aug 202007
 

I will be traveling to Ohio later today for business, and besides the fact that there is another Dublin there (where I will be staying in fact) I have absolutely no knowledge of the area – in fact I just now found out where it actually was besides a vague impression of it being west-ish of here.  I mean, it doesn’t have Rocky Steps even :)

Still, besides the work stuff, I’m sure that a good time will be had by all.  I mean, the place has bars right?

If anyone has any suggestions on what I should get up to in Columbus/Dublin, then by all means leave a comment.

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 Posted by at 12:57 pm

Secrets

 Rant/Ramble  No Responses »
Aug 172007
 

I found this site quite a while back, but had completely forgotten about it.  For those that don’t know what it is, the recently released mini-movie is pretty cool and explains what the site does pretty well.  I’d love to know how many cards are truly people’s secrets and how many are just people being artistic and/or clever, I’ve found I enjoy the site more if I suspend my disbelief and just go with it :)

Oh, and one more thing – Dear America, please sort out the value of your currency, the exchange rates are getting ridiculous, that is all.

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 Posted by at 9:33 am

360 Arrival and Jenny Departure

 Techno Geek  5 Responses »
Aug 162007
 

Well, the Amazon delivery fairies have arrived and delivered my XBox 360 Elite, hence it’s tough to justify staying in work :)   I can’t wait to plug this into the new TV and see the 1080p HDMI output in all its glory, since that was my main reason for choosing one of the true next-gen consoles over the Wii – I am one of the few people that can actually use the greater capabilities.  I’m also pretty curious about the XBox Live service that comes with it since it is the most commonly touted “superior” feature  over the PS3.

I bought it to keep me company while Jenny is away – she got to Dublin safely and was pretty pleased with the new Aer Lingus direct flight from Dulles – they have a nice new Airbus 330, decent service and it knocked a good 4 hours off the total travel time.  Matt also arrived back in Seattle safely, so good news all around, though the house does now feel a little empty.

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 Posted by at 1:34 pm

Dog, Brains, Beer & Football

 Goings On, Pics  1 Response »
Aug 152007
 

It has been a busy week and it is a long way from over.  We started out with the arrival of Matt and Ruth on Friday morning, threw a barbecue at our place on Saturday after we got back from the National Museum of Health and Medicine (very cool – though a bit tricky to get to), then hit Dog the Bounty Hunter (funny as hell) at the Lisner auditorium on Monday night (with associated drinking in Froggy Bottom and Galaxy Hut).  I like this pic (courtesy of Brian) from the museum, plus it’s a good action shot of my “Google is Ruining Everything” SGR t-shirt:

Jen flies back to Ireland today for a quick visit now that Aer Lingus is doing Dulles to Dublin direct, and Matt is also going back to Seattle having successfully launched the new version of Summize (and probably ruined his liver) – so go check that out, it’s pretty cool (and yes, there is a color blind option).  Then I have a Nats game on Thursday, an XBox 360 Elite on its way and last but not least picked up my share of a set of Redskins seasons tickets, so all in all a busy week :)

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 Posted by at 12:46 pm

Muse(ings)

 Goings On  1 Response »
Aug 102007
 

Ryan and I went to see Muse in the Patriot Center – I got the ticket due to my sacrifice of my spot at the 9.30 club for the Smashing Pumpkins – Ryan is a far bigger fan of them than I am so I gave up my ticket to him. It was my first time seeing Muse, and my first trip to the Patriot Center which is bigger than I thought. The size of the arena caused problems for their opening band – Cold War Kids – I think they under played the venue a touch but they had a couple of interesting tracks were generally well received for an opener.

As for Muse, I was very impressed, they put on a good show and have convinced me to buy some of their music – something I would not have done previously based on limited radio exposure. They certainly did not under play the arena and their opening number in particular (from their new album too) was very good, got the crowd going early.

Ryan, who was still coming down from his high as a result of seeing Calla in the Black Cat on Tuesday without only 30 other people and buying a t-shirt directly from the lead singer (posted here) had seen Muse on 2 previous occasions and thought this was the least impressive performance due in part to some potential lip sync and pre-recorded pieces that he spotted.

Not being as familiar with them, I was oblivious to the problems and enjoyed the show. Afterward we headed back to Arlington to catch the second half of One Ton Wonton’s set in Ragtime and had a few beers to wind down. All in all a good night.

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 Posted by at 9:51 am

Philadelphia, but no skydiving……

 Pics, Travel  7 Responses »
Jul 292007
 

So, we visited Philly and had a great time, but my skydiving was called off thanks to the horrible weather today – I’m pretty disappointed but that’s the way the cookie crumbles I guess. We did the Rocky steps of course (see picture below – and yes, the cheezy pose is mandatory) as well as the Art Museum that is apparently located in the same place (Jenny thought it would be bad not to). We passed on the Liberty Bell because the line was ridiculous and just had a wander around City Hall and Love Park instead.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcomerford/943363031/

I think Philly gets a thumbs up overall, it certainly has more of a proper city feel than DC, and the food we had was fantastic. Alma De Cuba cannot be recommended highly enough – the food, presentation and service were all top notch and it was only a couple hundred yards from the Sofitel we were staying at, which I can also recommend as a place to stay. The dessert picture below is of their signature “Chocolate Cigar” – absolutely yummy. I think to cheer myself up for missing skydiving I will go watch a summer blockbuster for a couple of hours…..

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 Posted by at 9:13 pm

Indebleu and Lessons in Career Management

 Goings On, Rant/Ramble  5 Responses »
Jul 232007
 

Jen and I hit indebleu on Saturday night for a sligtly more upscale dinner than usual.  The food was excellent – we had the duck meatballs to start followed by the New York Strip (me) and the quail (Jenny).  Jen was too full for dessert so that meant I had the very tasty l’opera dish to myself.  So, only two minor gripes – first, though the wine list is long it is apparently not stocked very well, both of my choices were unavailable and so we went with a recommendation.  That was served slightly too cold but was otherwise a good bottle.  The other gripe (even more minor) was that the service was slightly slow and the waiter needed to get some voice projection lessons.  I would still definitely recommend it, the issues were minor and the food was very good.

As for the lesson in career management – do not tell your boss you are thinking about switching to the management track from the technical track a couple of days before he goes on vacation – wait until he gets back.  That way he does not   gleefully (and somewhat evilly) set you up as his stand in for the duration of his vacation….

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 Posted by at 8:14 am

Niall O’Riordain

 Uncategorized  2 Responses »
Jul 172007
 

My friend, Niall, passed away on Saturday – he was just 27 years old and I’m still in shock, I can only imagine what his family is going through and I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers.  I won’t be able to make it to the funeral on Thursday in Waterford, so I think I’ll just remember Niall from happier times, like this one below that is one of the few I can find with the two of us together.  Rest in peace my man, you will be missed.

 Posted by at 9:05 am

One Ton Wonton

 Goings On, Pics  No Responses »
Jul 052007
 

Scott’s new band, One Ton Wonton, played at TT Reynolds in Fairfax on Tuesday night and we went along to check them out.  I’d missed their first gig due to my latest European trip, but this time there were no such conflicts.  A good time was had by all, though judging by my head the next day perhaps I had a little too much of a good thing :)

Pictures from the gig are over on Flickr, but here’s one of the shots of the band in action:

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 Posted by at 2:15 pm
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