jeailgen on Mancouch

summer: day 74

Hello!
Today, while reading Don Quixote, I was able to progress over 150 pages (very rough estimate)! At some point, Jason called (besides in the morning), which was good timing, since I was just wanting to take a break from DQ and I wanted to tell him about what I was reading (at that point, the Duke and Duchess had been tricking Don Quixote and Sancho Panza for over 100 pages! and I was telling Jason about the incident with the wooden horse that eventually exploded and the lies Sancho told afterwards--[Before mounting the horse, DQ asked if he could look inside the horse, because he feared traitors, like with the Greek horse in the Trojan war, but they assured him that he needn't worry. So, they mounted, and wore blindfolds to avoid vertigo, and meanwhile people serving the Duke/Duchess used bellows to create wind, and added heat to make the apparent flight seem plausible, and it ended with them lighting fireworks from within the horse, DQ and SP flying up, and then a lance was left in the ground with a banner telling DQ and SP that the enchanter was impressed by their courage, and therefore released the duennas of their curse without doing battle {the "duennas" were had beards, and were actually men, but they didn't find that out}, and that was the end of that trick]. Later, we went to Jervy Gannt, during which I was very frustrated, since Dad kept telling me I didn't have time for anything other than my Extended Essay (e.g. I wanted to watch Ferris Bueler's Day Off [spelling?] for my movie critiquing essay for Spanish) and such. I feel repressed sometimes by their rule--they treat me like a child, telling me that "It is late, go to sleep" and then getting angry if I go to bed anywhere beyond 1, just because it is the summer. The other day, Dad also got angry because Michelle didn't sign up for a Yoga-like class at some point, and was grumbling about not paying her college tuition next time, though I doubt he was too serious. Things like that make me want to stay in-state, because I can earn enough scholarships to not need to rely on the parental unit, and thus I won't feel as obliged to do anything they want me to. As I was rambling in Jervy Gannt, I felt this sudden anger, because the trails too, in a way, confined me, for if I left the path I would be threatened by untrimmed weeds, infested with bugs, anthills, and such. Before going to Jervy Gannt, I talked to Michelle a little, but she left soon, to eat her oatmeals, and didn't talk to me until after we returned from our walk. As stupid as it is, I also played on Neopets for a while yesterday, and bought books for my pet to read (I want it to be intelligent, but it's hard to find books of good prices...). That's about all I did though, as far as I can remember.

:\

aug 2007

>>> Hacker attempts up 62% for credit unions
The number of hackers attempting to attack the banking clients of an Atlanta security provider is up 81% since last year--with tries against its credit union clients up 62%. From June to December 2006, "we were blocking attacks from approximately 808 hackers per bank per month," said Allen Wilson, vice president of research for SecureWorks. From January through June, the average number of hackers launching attacks at each of its bank clients is 1,462. "For our credit unions, we were blocking attacks from 1,110 hackers per credit union per month. That number has risen to 1,799 hackers per credit union per month," Wilson said.
http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/07/system080307-3.html?ref=hed
http://tinyurl.com/2k2jyq

>>> 10 things you can do to make sure your data doesn't walk out the door
Hacker attacks that bring down the network get a lot of attention, so companies concern themselves with protecting against those threats. Unfortunately, the security precautions that prevent those high profile attacks may not be addressing a much more insidious problem: theft of company data for corporate espionage or other purposes. Yet disclosure of your trade secrets to a competitor or the release of private company information to the media could, in some cases, result in a much greater loss than network downtime. Here's a look at what you should be doing to keep your data from walking out the door.
http://downloads.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?docid=307311&tag=nl.e101
http://tinyurl.com/2dcwk7

>>> Underground phish kits rise, attacks vs. CUs unchanged
Fraudsters used more "plug and play" phish kits during July while the number of financial institution brands under phish attacks increased to 199, making July the third-highest month for attacks in the past 12 months, according to the RSA Anti-Fraud Command Center (AFCC).
Credit unions were targeted in 39% of the attacks, the same as in May and June. Still, they accounted for the largest share of the attacks. Nationwide U.S. banks were targets in 28% of attacks in July--a significant increase over the 19% they attracted in March, April and June. Regional U.S. banks drew 33% of attacks in July, down from June's 42% in June but higher than May's 28%.
http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/07/system081507-9.html?ref=hed
http://tinyurl.com/yqpfro

>>> Ongoing staff training key to preventing fraud, AACUC told
Protecting credit unions and their members from fraud requires familiarity with current scams, use of fraud prevention tools and ongoing training for employees, a risk management expert told attendees at the African-American Credit Union Coalition 2007 Annual Conference Saturday.
Chetta Hebron-Byrd, risk manager with CUNA Mutual Group, said it's important to understand the mentality of fraud perpetrators. "This is a full-time job for them," she said. "They don't care if you're young or old, or rich or poor. They're out to defraud you and your members."
http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/07/system081507-2.html?ref=hed
http://tinyurl.com/yvpw5o

>>> See a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware
Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes and software serial numbers, and shows the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any Web server. We use Belarc here (William Rogers & Associcate) and it’s great. It will give you a complete overview of your hardware and software on your PC. It’s free for personal use, but a corporate license is available.
http://belarc.com/free_download.html

>>> Capture and save screenshots with the press of a key with Screen Shot Lite
Have you seen these promotions before?

“Capture screenshots with the press of a key or turn on the autosave feature and use the Print Screen button on your keyboard or copy feature on your right-click menu. Even when other screenshot utilities do not work with certain programs, Screen Shot Lite will.”

While some of these programs are pretty good, you have a screen capture option already on your PC. When looking at a screen, just press PrtScn (usually in the upper right hand corner of your keyboard). This captures the screen into memory on your PC. You can then go to any document to paste the captured screen. If you have editing capability, you can crop the screen to remove any data not needed.

>>> Ent launches newest service center in Jackson Creek
Ent Federal Credit Union will celebrate the grand opening of its Jackson Creek Service Center, 16050 Old Forest Point, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 18. The 4,000 square-foot service center has three drive-through lanes, 24/7 ATMs with cash and check imaging capabilities, and biometric accessed safe deposit boxes.
http://www.thepbj.com/story.cfm?ID=10981

>>> List of Data Breaches in The U.S.
The data breaches noted have been reported because the personal information compromised includes data elements useful to identity thieves, such as Social Security numbers, account numbers, and driver's license numbers. Some breaches that do NOT expose such sensitive information have been included in order to underscore the variety and frequency of data breaches. However, we have not included the number of records involved in such breaches in the total because we want this compilation to reflect breaches that expose individuals to identity theft as well as breaches that qualify for disclosure under state laws. The breaches posted include only those reported in the United States and does not include incidents in other countries.
http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm#CP
http://tinyurl.com/3yd7l9

>>> ID-stealing virus creates monster problems for Monster.com
Security researchers continue weighing the damage caused by a Trojan horse that sifted resumes at job-search service Monster.com for personal information. One estimate puts the number of exposed records at 1.6 million, according to security provider Symantec Corp.

According to Symantec, the Trojan discovered recently and named Infostealr.Monstres sought e-mail and home addresses among other information from resumes and sent them back to a mysterious host server for hackers to use later as phishing targets. The realistic-looking e-mails sent back as phishes allegedly contained different Trojans that detected logon and password information used for banking accounts.

Trojans, named after the famous hollow wooden horse of Trojan War myth, are programs that install malicious software while appearing to do something much less threatening.

Infostealer.Monstres likely wound up at Monster.com through fraudulent advertising placed on the site, the researchers said. Other job-search services are under scrutiny from the researchers as well.
(no link available)

>>> 10 pieces of hardware you should replace rather than repair
Any time a computer component stops working, or just becomes unstable — as we all know will happen from time to time — we have to decide whether to replace it, have it repaired, or just get by as is with perhaps a temporary fix. Repair or just getting by will nearly always be the cheapest solution, at least in the short run. Replacement, however, will usually provide a good opportunity to upgrade. In fact, given the rate at which the various technologies behind computer hardware are advancing, unless you replace something a week after you buy it, you may almost be forced to upgrade.
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=219&tag=nl.e101
http://tinyurl.com/2hxyyp

Summary of book three

Book three
Telemachos sails to Pylos with Athena. There, he goes and meets a man named Nestor the King; a man who fought with Odysseus in the Trojan war. Telemachos and Mentor (Athena) are invited into Nestors house to eat dinner. After they have eaten, Nestor asks Telemachos why he is here. Telemachos tells him about what is happening at his house and that he is coming to find word of what might have happened to his father. Nestor tells Telemachos that he doesn't know what happened to Odysseus after he sailed off in the first fleet of ships. Nestor says that in his voyage home the sea was not good to them, and that many ships were lost. He also tells him that those that made it home quick died, like Agemenon who was killed by his wife and cousin. Telemachos is told to go see Menelaus (King of Sparta) and ask about his father. Before they leave Athena turns into a bird, and Nestor makes a sacrifice. Telemachos spent the night at Diocles, and then at Dawn, they were off on horse back.

Nestor- He helped fight the centaurs, and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. His horse in the Trojan War was killed by Paris. Son of Neleus and Choris. Killed Mulies, son in law of king Augeas. Heracles killed his father and brother.

1995 - June - Turkey

1995 – June – Turkey

End July 2008, there was a bomb explosion in Istanbul killing 17 people and injuring 150 others. Istanbul is a big cosmopolitan city in Turkey (not its capital, which is Ankara) straddling Asia and Europe, and a most interesting exciting city.

Firstly, to recapitulate some history. About 7500 BC, there were indications of people in Central

Anatolia along with Jericho, the oldest settlement in the world. Then 3000-2200 BC, Bronze Age and the Hittites (with yet undeciphered written language) had a huge empire in competition against Egypt. There was Troy I and Troy 2, etc, until its fall to the Greeks. The Hittites were overrun by invaders from the west and Anatolia entered the Dark Ages. 1500-500 BC, Lycians and Carians city states in the west and southwest formed a sort of federation. 900-650 BC, Phrygians replaced the then Hittites with its capital at Gordian (famous for its knot, which Alexander cut). 1100-550 BC, Greeks settled along the coast and formed the Ionian League. 585-334 BC, Persians (Cyrus II) invaded and set up satrapies over Anatolia. 330 BC, Alexander the Great conquered much of Persia/Anatolia to India. 334-133 BC, Hellenistic period with the spread of Greek culture, libraries, medicine, trade, etc. 133 BC – 330 AD, Roman Empire took Anatolia province by province and by 3rd Century AD, the empire started to decline. 330 BC – 1071 AD, Byzantine Empire founded by Constantine (Constantinople) who adopted Christianity at his death bed. The height of the empire was with Justinian (whose wife, an ex prostitute, was the real power) and ably supported by Belisarius (532-585 AD). 8th Century AD, Arab reign. 1071-1243 AD, Seljuk’s, nomadic Turkish people from modern Iran/Iraq. 1288-1923 AD, Ottoman Empire, Mehmet II conquered Constantinople. Lastly Mustapha Kermal established the Turkish Republic. If you are still reading this, then Turkey is for you.

My first trip to Turkey was in June 1995, when I flew into Istanbul and spent a few days

exploring the city before joining 15 Caucasian fellow travelers to make an anti-clockwise loop from Istanbul down to Gallipoli and down to Kash, visiting many of the historical sites of the different civilizations (paragraph above) before looping up via Egridir, Maukkali, ad Afyon back to Istanbul, where I spent a day cruising up the Bosphorus before flying back to Singapore. The trip covered the western part of Turkey, mainly the Aegean coast and some of the classic sites like Troy, Ephesus, Miletus, Xanthos, etc and also visited some of the secluded coves, beaches, and small towns and villages.

I stayed in Old Stamboul on the European side and explored the Blue Mosque (elegant six

minaret mosque of Sultan Ahmet I with blue Iznik tiles in the interior) , the Ayasofya (St Sophia or Church of Holy Wisdom, a 6th Century Byzantine Basilica of Emperor Justinian and now a museum ), Topkapi Palace (marvelous and impressive collection of Ottoman Sultans’ imperial porcelain, weapons, relics and treasury), Dolmabache Palace (later day imperial collections including huge chandeliers), Sultanhammet Square, the Hippodrome (with its obelisk and historical games and sports), the Grand Bazaar (confusing maze of 4000 stalls and 18 entrances selling anything and everything), the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar, and took a cruise on the Mamara sea to Princes Island stopping at Buyukada, a summer resort with sandy beaches. I used the local tram and walked most of the time, and visited the underground cistern, an interesting but somewhat obscure site near the Ayasofya and Topkapi Palace, often missed by tourists and travelers.

The highlights of the trip were Gallipoli, Troy (Troas), Pergamum, Ephesus, Caunus, Alinda, Xanthos, Kash, Kekova, Myra, Arycanda, Termesssos, Pamukkale, and Kaya, each of which encompasses much history and marvel.

I met up with the group on Sunday 18th June and we spent two nights in Istanbul, where we spent the 19th June exploring mainly the Byzantine and Ottoman sites of Old Stamboul. On the 20th June, we drove southwest out of Istanbul along the Sea of Marmara to Gallipoli (Gelibolu) peninsula. This was where the Allies lost to the Turks led by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) in 1916, with each side losing quarter of a million dead. After visiting the site, we crossed the Dardanelle Straits and stayed the night at Canakkale in Asia Minor.

21st June - from Canakkale it was a short drive to visit Troy (Troas, Ilion), where Ulysses

devised the Wooden Horse in the Trojan War, and where Achilles and Hector fought, and where Paris and Helen romanced, and where King Piram (Troy VI 1800-1275 BC) reigned, and all these Homerian Illiadic characters were brought to life (again) in 1871, by amateur archaeologist Schliemann. Heading south, we visited Greco-Roman Pergamun (Turkish Bergama) with its theatre, acropolis, temple of Trajan, From Pergamun, was derived “parchment”, in contrast to Alexandrian “papyrus”. We spent the night at Seljuk.

22nd June – from Seljuk, we visited the Greco-Roman city of Ephesus (Turkish Efes), a seaport at its prime in 2nd century AD and declined after the 7th. Visited by many historical heavyweights like Mark Anthony and Cleopatra and of course St Paul, one can still see the Arcadian Way (Cleopatra entered from the Harbour), the 24,000 seat theatre (St Paul), the 70,000 seat Stadium , the Constantine Baths, the Marble Avenue with the world-renown Library of Celsus, Hadrian’s temple, and the small elegant Odeon. We visited the Seljuk Museum and marveled at the “many breasted statue” of Artemis (Diana) and spent a second night at Seljuk.

23rd June – from Seljuk, we travelled south to Alinda, a little known ruin (with impressive agora) near the village of Karpuzlu. This was Ada’s capital (344 BC) who welcomed Alexander the Great and was rewarded the governorship of the Carian region. We journeyed on to Dalyan where we

spent two nights.

24th June – we took a boat from Dalyan and sailed along the coast to Caunus where we explored the 400 BC ruins and citadel. We went to Lake Koycegiz, enjoyed a mud bath, went to Iztuzu beach on the Mediterranean Sea, and had a lovely sun, sea, and beach day.

25th June – driving south, we passed Fethiye to visit the deserted Greek village of Kaya

(blue/white houses, basilicas) from where the Greeks were repatriated in 1923. We then picnicked at the beautiful azure Oludeniz lagoon. In the afternoon, we visited the magnificent site of Xanthos, ancient city of the powerful Lycian kingdom. We drove down route 400 to the southern town of Kash and spent two nights there.

26th June – we chartered a boat to the underwater ruins of Kekova, a submerged and untouched city under the sea, not accessible by land, and therefore not touristy. The kale (castle) on the hill was impressive and the view from the citadel was brilliant.

27th June – continuing the coast on land, we visited the ruins of Myra (near Demre) with its

theatre and honeycombs of Lycian tombs. There is also the 5th century Byzantine church of St Nicholas of the Santa Claus legend. We then journeyed on to visit Arycanda, a most impressive site perched on the Taurus Mountains, with a fine theatre and beautiful views. The night stop was at Elmali (in Turkish it means Apple), a bustling market town, which suffered an earthquake in 1931.

28th June – driving north through the mountains, we visited Termessos. On arrival, there was an ancient agora, but the real site was a hard hike to the top of the valley with superb views and interesting ruins. Alexander the Great did take this mountain fortress, which was defended by a fiercely Spartan people during the 2nd and 3rd century AD. We then journeyed north, driving hairpin bends with fantastic sceneries, to Egirdir, a lovely lakeside town, where we went to the beach and spent the night.

29th June – heading west, we drove to Pamukkale (also known as Cotton Castle), one of Turkey’s famous tourist sites. Situated on an escarpment, glistening white petrified calcium oxide stalactites allow water to fall from basin to basin, in pools of warm water. It has been an attraction since Roman times with the ruins of Hierapolis, a Roman health spa, which we visited. We were able to soak ourselves in the pools which were not allowed in 2000 when I revisited Pamukkale. We overnight at Pamukkale.

30th June – heading north into the interior, we climbed to the Afyon (3000 feet) where we spent the night. Afyon is dominated by the citadel, the Kara Hisar, and the best place for Turkish Delights.

1st July – driving north to the Marmara seashore, we crossed it at Yalova port, then cross the Bosphorus Bridge back from Asia to European Istanbul.

2nd July – after bidding farewell to my fellow travelers, I spend Sunday taking a cruise up the Bosphorus before flying back to Singapore on the 3rd July 1995

The photo links are at:- http://picasaweb.google.com/ang.hockchye/Turkey1995

Phi Bloga Recapa: BCS Bowls

I don't want this final Phi Bloga Recapa of the season to be my closing remarks on the college football season. Still, I want to wrap up the BCS bowl season with a tour around sports blogfrica for reactions to the five big games.

In a year where calls for a playoff system intensified yet again, the results of most of the bowls did nothing to quite those calls. Strong finishes by Texas and USC armed them with legitimate arguments to top the rankings. And Utah's surprising upset of Alabama reinforced a new fluidity to the college game, where a non-BCS conference like the Mountain West might be tougher than the Big East or Big Ten.

Those quibbles put to the background. For right now, let's check some reactions to this year's BCS bowl games. To the victors go the spoils.

Rose Bowl: USC 38 Penn State 24. The Trojan Horse at the Trojan Empire says:

Let’s just rename the event and call it “The woodshed” powered by Citi. For the third consecutive year, the Trojans have dragged their Big 10 Rose Bowl opponents behind that Pasadena shed, where they were paddled into submission. A new program, new coaching staff, new theories, and a fresh batch of criticism, yet we have the same results. Though the 38-24 final score may appear respectable and hint of a 4 quarter war on the football field, this was total domination by USC, in a game that was basically over at the half.

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech 20 Cincinnati 7. MadJay at TechSuperfans says:

Redshirt freshman LB Barquell Rivers was starting his first game and had gotten nice drops in his pass coverage and shown good instincts all game, but was being blocked pretty easily. Here at the goal line he charged down the line of scrimmage, reading the play. As Pike made his cut, Rivers squared up and made a picture-perfect hit - head up, arms wrapping and driving with his legs - at the 1 yard line. Instead of his momentum carrying him into the end zone, Pike was stopped cold and it allowed the rest of the swarm to arrive and bury him for no gain.

At this point my Calm and Beloved Reader, despite having watched noble and phenomenal goal line stands from this defense for years (most notably against Auburn in the 2004 Sugar Bowl), a tear ran down my cheek. For people who hadn't watched the Hokies much, there encapsulated in four downs was the essence of Virginia Tech. When the game is on the line, no matter who is out there (in this case replacements for Brett Warren and All-ACC DE Jason Worilds), the Hokie defense always is going to put on their hard hats and go to work. That is the Lunchpail. They will defend that end zone with a ferocity that takes other teams by surprise. And in this case, they stopped the Bearcats and sealed the game for the Hokies.

Sugar Bowl: Utah 31 Alabama 17. JazzyUte at Block U says:

There has not been a victory like Utah's since the BCS was created that demonstrates just how utterly flawed the system is. This is the BCS nightmare, because no one can make a legitimate excuse for keeping Utah from winning the championship. They went undefeated, they beat four ranked teams, two top-ten teams and dominated the 4th ranked Tide, who were a quarter away from playing in the national championship only a few weeks prior.

But if they want to debate that Utah does not belong or the Utes should not be in the national championship picture, then the debate needs to come back to a playoff. Because speculation and subjective analyzing is no way to decide a national champion.

Fiesta Bowl: Texas 24 Ohio State 21. EyesOfTX at Barking Carnival says:

The Longhorns didn’t accumulate a lot of the “style points” the pinheads at ESPN and in the sports media nationally seem to value over substance, and they didn’t get the blowout victory that some had hoped might put Texas in line to win the AP poll for a split national championship (a real pipe dream, that).

But Texas won yet another huge game against yet another great football program. The Longhorns won ugly, they won with character, they won with tremendous courage, determination and leaders who stepped up their play when it mattered most. Guys like Colt McCoy, Quan Cosby, Jordan Shipley, Brian Orakpo, Roy Miller, Rodderick Muckelroy, Earl Thomas, Sergio Kindle and Henry Melton - all of them struggled at times during the game, but every of them stepped up to the plate and made plays when it mattered most. They left the field wearing torn and filthy uniforms, with bruised and battered bodies, knowing they had been in a battle with another group of warriors, and had come out on top.

Championship Game: Florida 24 Oklahoma 14. Henry Louis Gomez at Saurian Sagacity says:

The point is that championship teams in college don't rank 57th in scoring defense. In the BCS era the winner of #1 vs. #2 match has historically on average ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense. 57th is a far cry from 6th. Granted OU's offense played far below their averages and that's mainly why they lost but their defense played basically to the level they played at all season and that simply isn't good enough.

OU fans seemed gracious and classy. Perhaps being humbled so many times in big games in recent memory gave them trepidation about being cocky. I know I wasn't cocky. I thought we had an advantage based on our defense and that we should win the game. But that's an intellectual exercise and I've been a fan long enough and had my heart broken enough to know that the better team doesn't always win.

I still feel bad for Utah and I feel bad for the Gators. One of the things that makes me angry about the ludicrous BCS system is that the controversy it inspires actually takes away from the winner's glory. Florida won and yet there's a lot of AP writers who voted for Utah. And that's their right. But the point is that some will point to that and the records of the two teams and take away some legitimacy from the Gators.

jeailgen

albums

profile

Saturday, 29 August 2009

summer: day 74

aug 2007

Summary of book three

1995 - June - Turkey

Phi Bloga Recapa: BCS Bowls

jeailgen

Subscribe

Subscribe to jeailgen

Send a message

Post to chatboard

Archives

Recommended

Subscriptions

Blogrings