April 2008

There were 61 posts published in April 2008 (this is page 2 of 7).

Neuros Recorder-2: a pocket-sized digital VCR!

I wanted to get set up where I could easily record and digitize video, so I purchased a Neuros Recorder-2 this week from Buy.com. The Recorder-2 is a tiny MPEG-4 recorder which records video straight to a CompactFlash (CF) card. Its the size of a deck of cards and it is awesome.

Its designed to snarf video from any composite video source. This means it has no TV tuner in itself. However, hook it up to your VCR, satellite TV receiver, or video camera and it will compress anything its fed to an MPEG4 file silently and professionally. You can choose resolutions from 176×144 at 15 frames per second (fps) to above-VHS-quality 640×480 at 30fps. It records sound in 128Kbps mp3 stereo, too.
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How’s your hearing?

BoingBoing mentioned the “Mosquito” anti-teen-loitering device which drives away teenagers with sound frequencies that only younger people can hear. Curious about the state of my own hearing, I decided to use The Google to find some samples to play.

Behold TeenBuzz.Org, and its collection of “mosquito” ringtones designed to allow students to discreetly hear their cellphone ringing without the teacher catching on. While clever, isn’t that what the “vibrate” setting is for?
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North Korean reactor in Syria?

A while back I mentioned the bombing run Israeli warplanes made on a mysterious building in Syria. Today, the BBC reports that the CIA has video showing North Koreans and a nuclear reactor in the facility.

What I don’t understand is that the site was wiped clean after the bombing run. Also, as far as I know there was no trace of radiation. I also fail to believe that the Syrians could be so stupid as to build a reactor in plain view of spy satellites, especially knowing that Israel has no qualms about taking them out.

If the CIA does have video inside a secret Syrian nuclear facility, well, bully for them. That would be a major accomplishment. Highly unlikely, but within the realm of possibility. However, because we normally don’t get closer than 200 miles to these things (that is, with imagery from our satellites), call me skeptical. This new “revelation” simply raises more questions for me.

If walls could talk

I said goodbye to 8321 Hobhouse Circle tonight. I went over to mow the lawn before our Friday closing and couldn’t help but walk through it one last time. It looked good. once I mowed the overgrown yard, anyway.

The backyard was just as friendly and inviting as ever. The playset sat waiting for its new owner. The Japanese Maple tree I nurtured from a deer-devastated foot-high stick now towers five feet tall. The “Provider” tree – a sweetgum I opted to keep – once again sang my praises as I brushed by it. It was a more somber song than I usually get.
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What the heck is Hungry Neck?

As I waited for traffic to clear at the intersection of E. Edenton Street and N. Swain Street this morning, I spied a historical marker next to the sidewalk. It said the area was called “Hungry Neck” by the African-Americans who lived there in the early 1900s. I can’t find much about Hungry Neck on the Google, but it certainly is fun to say.

“Hungry Neck.”
“Hungry Neck.”

Heh. I’ll get the marker’s full text on the way home.

Police patrol poop

Dear Raleigh Police,

If you’re going to have mounted patrols around the city, could you please diaper your horses? It isn’t pleasant for cyclists like me to have to ride through horse manure left in the middle of the street. Besides, you’re letting good fertilizer go to waste.

Manure in the street is sooo last century. Thank you.

Your pal,
Mark

Cheap Thoughts: Mapmaker, Mapmaker, make me a map

Wouldn’t be great if Google Maps let you choose not only your origination and destination places, but also your mode of transportation? For instance, a lot of routes Google provides are optimized for motor vehicles. What if I ride a bike and there’s a pedestrian bridge that lops ten miles off the usual route? What if there’s a path from my home to my office that’s more bike friendly in that its level and doesn’t involve multiple hills or hidden driveways?

What if I wanted to fly somewhere? Is a direct flight available? Can I avoid connections at airports with known delays? What if I wanted to sail, say, from New Bern to London? Could Google find the most favorable winds and currents?
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WordPress hacked

One of my umpteen million WordPress sites (but not this one) was “hacked” by an iframe hack. It was a WordPress 2.3 site which I’d waited to upgrade. Only one site and only one post had the hack, which was an iframe link that somehow got tacked on to the end. Google helpfully alerted me to the issue when it scanned my site and detected the hack. Pretty useful, that Google.

I’m still investigating how the attack occurred, as the single-post aspect makes me suspect a browser-based attack. I don’t really consider it a hack in the traditional sense, though I’m still puzzling over it. Any clues from my fellow network security gurus out there would be appreciated.

Y’all fellow WordPressers might want to check your WordPress database(s) for the issue. This SQL statement did it for me.

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM wp_posts WHERE wp_content LIKE "%iframe%";

…where you’re obviously pointed to your WordPress database.

More entertaining

Last night we played host to my parents, my Uncle Bill and Aunt Connie, and family friends Carl and Jana. They stopped by for a fun visit on their way to dinner. Looks like everyone is enjoying this retirement thing.

Kelly loves to show off our house. We all enjoyed seeing the family. Hopefully we’ll see more of everyone.