Get me out of this job!!!

Some guy says that if his post makes it onto the front page of digg he will quit his job and tell his boss she looks like a man, among other things. Well the thing ends up on the front page with 6000+ diggs and counting. Pretty funny. Is this guy for real?


“If this post reaches the homepage of digg, I will tell my boss what I honestly think about her and that I quit…how she looks, sounds and laughs like a man… and go to the pub.”


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Free Online Virus and Spyware Scanners (including updated links)

• HouseCall (Trend) Online Scanner
• Panda Online Scanner
• eTrust Antivirus Scanner (requires MS Internet Explorer)
• Microsoft: Malicious Software Removal Tool (for Windows XP and 2K)
• Microsoft: Windows Live OneCare Free Online Scanner
• BitDefender Free Online Virus Scan
• Windows Protection Center (beta)
• Kaspersky On-line Scanner
• Freedom Online Scanner
• Arcabit Online Scanner
• Symantec Security Check
• F-secure Online Virus Scanner
• McAfee Free Scan
• Tenebril - Free Spyware Scan
• Computer Associates Pest Patrol
• Panda SpyXposer
• EarthLink (Aluria) Spyware Scan
• Webroot Enterprise Spy Audit

Multi-Engine Online Antivirus Scans (upload single files for scanning)

• Virus Total Scan
  
• Jotti's Malware Scan
  

Online Spyware and Trojan Checks

• ewdio Anti-Spyware Scanner
• a-squared Web Malware Scanner
• Computer Associates
• X-cleaner AntiSpyware

How to access blocked websites - Top 10

From www.webstuffscan.com

Internet censoring is now everywhere. In my office Orkut is blocked since there was an Orkut virus scare. Countries such as China, Saudi Arabia etc. routinely block many websites. Interestingly entire blogger.com and similar blog sites were banned in India not long ago. So it is no wonder that many of us are looking for ways to access blocked websites.

Last week I did an investigation into the various methods available for bypassing website access restrictions. I have shortlisted them below as ” Top 10 methods to access banned websites”.

Top Ten methods to access banned websites

1. Use IP address - This is the simplest way to bypass domain name based access restrictions. Instead of the domain name such as www.webstuffscan.com use the direct IP address. To find the IP address use one of the free host to IP online conversion tools such as this.

2. Use Google cache - If you are not bothered whether the content is latest on a site, Google cache is best. Do a Google search for the site and then click on the cached link below the search results.

3. Use an Anonymizer - In this method you access a third party site which in turn routes your request to the required server. Some services provide URL encryption also. The problem is that most of these servers are no longer free. Do a google search for the latest list as this is a very dynamic area Following are some services which still works(free!),

Proxify - Hides original URL and provides an array of access of options. The is one of the best free servers.
Block Stop - New guy in the town!
Anonymouse - This works, but URL is visible and hence may be blocked by the filtering software.

4. Use Online Translation Tools - In this method, we can use the translation service as a web proxy. Following are the best links I know of. Again Google is your best friend for more resources.

Altavista Babel fish - In the above replace www.webstuffscan.com with the site you want. You can also visit Babel fish site.
Google Translate - Similar to Babel fish.

5. Use Google Mobile search - Google mobile search works, but output may not be optimal. This is very similar to using a Web proxy.

6. Use a public Proxy server - There are many free proxy servers out in the Web. Note that in order to use these you have to change internet connection settings in Internet Explorer or whatever browser you use. This is one such list.

7. Get web pages via email - This is useful if you need a single Web page. Obviously accessing large files is not possible. Given below are some examples.

You can use SEND http://www.yahoo.com/ in the body of the message and send it to agora@dna.affrc.go.jp to retrieve yahoo.com home page.
You can also check out services at web2mail which includes web page subscriptions.
G.E Boyd has an extensive list of servers. Note that many in the list are no longer working.

9. Use Tor Distributed Proxy - Tor is an advanced proxy server using multiple anonymous servers for a single Web request. This requires an application to be downloaded and installed.

8. Your own proxy server - This is an advanced technique and is probably the best. This requires your own proxy server hosted either at your home or at a hosting service provider. You can enable SSL encryption and prevent any snooping on the content as well. Also put some access control, otherwise someone can find the service and misuse it (Trust me, there are many who are looking for such an opportunity!).

Use Apache Web server as proxy server - A bit complex setup.
Use Privoxy - - This is the recommended approach. Please see this page for more details.
Use PHPProxy as a Web Proxy - You can use PHPProxy to setup a Web proxy.

10. Use alternate content providers - When everything fails, you can use alternate service providers. For example if Gmail is blocked at your place, you can take another obscure mail address and enable email forward at Gmail.

Important!
Be careful when you are using public proxy servers. It is possible for the guy who is hosting the service to snoop on the data that is passing through. So I wouldn’t recommend putting any important information such credit card details when you are using public proxy server method.

Twenty-Somethings Drowning in a Sea of Bills

I remember being in college and seeing the pretty credit card representatives at the tables in the commons giving away toys and other knick-knacks in return for filling out a credit card application. I was 20 and in college when I filled out 6 credit card applications because I was ignorant and naive enough to believe that I would have a hard time getting even one credit card. I thought I could improve my chances by filling out 6 applications! In the end, only American Express was responsible enough to not approve my application. Yes, I received 5 credit cards in the mail within a few weeks. Luckily, I did not go down the same path that so many others do.

I had a girlfriend after college who paid off her college credit card debts five years after graduating. The really sad thing is that congress recently passed legislation that does not automatically forgive credit card debt upon declaration of bankruptcy. This means that there is no way to get a clean start anymore. It seems odd that credit card companies can be reckless enough to extend credit to students, charge high interest to absorb that risk, AND not have to worry about those credit balances ever being cleared through bankruptcy.

Tech Tags: credit credit+cards american+express college+students debt

Students Dropping Out of High School Reaches Epidemic Levels

Pretty sad...but like I said, does a HS diploma really make a difference, or is it the fact that these kids are just on a bad trajectory? Would their lives really be that much better if they finished, or would they just delay their entrance into the world of the working poor and/or unemployed?

Tech Tags: students dropping+out dropout highschool

ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2007 for $9.99

Check it out, BestBuy is selling ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2007 for $9.99. This is an awesome deal and includes:

• Network and Program Firewall
• Operating System Firewall IMPROVED
• Antivirus
• Identity Theft Protection IMPROVED
• Anti-Spyware NEW
• Spy Site Blocking NEW
• Privacy Protection
• Anti-Spam & Anti-Phishing
• IM Protection
• Game Mode NEW

Plus: Email Security, Wireless PC Protection, Parental Control, SmartDefense™ Service

---> It includes a one-year subscription for upgrades. This suite normally sells for $49.99.

Tech Tags: zonealarm security internet internet+security

Cool "random fact" generator for websites

RandomFAQ.com - Random Facts


Kind of a cool item to include on a web page. The real brilliance, however, is giving away such a "free" tool and thereby driving hits to your site to generate revenue.

Tech Tags: random facts generator

Cool HTML clock generator

Tech Tags: site+clocks clocks html

'Evil' teen jailed for savage party beating

A rather disturbing story that makes me question if this young man truly is "evil". He certainly had a violent history, and when reading the testimony of one of his elementary school teachers, for example, it becomes apparent that this savage attack was entirely predictable. If this young man is "evil", is it because we as a society let him down? Was he born this way, or did we allow him and his older brother to go down the dark path that they did?

Irregardless, this is a person that needs to be segregated from society for a long time. Given his young age, however, it is entirely appropriate that he was given a chance at redemption - beginning in his late forty's, at which point, hopefully, he will have developed a better sense of conscience and judgment.

Tech Tags: 'Evil' teen jailed savage party+beating

SF supes outlaw foam food containers, decriminalize adult pot use

San Francisco is quite the city, isn't it? Too bad the housing prices are ridiculously high and that the city is prone to earthquakes. The title of the article is a bit misleading - SF isn't actually "decriminalizing" marijuana, but rather making it a low priority for police and the prosecutor's office (assuming they agree to cooperate). What this will do is create a grey area, where marijuana is still illegal, but the law is not enforced. Similar to Virginia's laws on cohabitation and sodomy? Or better yet, Alabama's law outlawing interracial marriage? Further, SF can't do anything about the Feds, who I presume will simply step up their own federal drug enforcement efforts. It should be interesting to see how this all turns out.

Terrific Gains for Homebuilders

Terrific gains for homebuilders today despite all of the doom-and-gloom we've heard in the press for the past 6 months or so regarding the housing market. Of course the housing market is down, but these companies got beat up to a point that their stocks went from being overpriced to value stocks in a matter of weeks. Even with these gains, they are still bargains. For example, NVR, has a F PE of just 7.22.


nvr housing+market

Related Companies

Centex Corporation	CTX	52.70	+2.17	(4.29%)
Pulte Homes, Inc.	PHM	30.33	+1.44	(4.98%)
KB Home	KBH	47.53	+2.75	(6.14%)
NVR, Inc.	NVR	575.59	+41.59	(7.79%)
Toll Brothers, Inc.	TOL	28.64	+1.34	(4.91%)
The Ryland Group, Inc.	RYL	47.66	+3.25	(7.32%)
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.	HOV	31.20	+2.09	(7.18%)
M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.	MDC	53.95	+2.65	(5.17%)
Beazer Homes USA, Inc.	BZH	44.59	+2.21	(5.21%)
Meritage Homes Corporation	MTH	45.12	+2.27	(5.30%)

Sector: Capital Goods > Industry: Construction Services

NVIDIA's PureVideo is Pure Gold

There is a lot of chatter out there these days about HD, HD-DVD, Bluray, etc.. So much as a matter of fact, that I've been tempted to just tune it all out. I did, however, stumble onto the NVIDIA site the other day and was tempted to download their PureVideo sample. It is amazing how clear the video is, despite the fact that it is playing on my PC and with Windows Media Player 10. Absolutely incredible! I suggest that you check it out for yourself. It is an approximately 250 MB download, but well worth it.

Here is the link.

Note: You do need to have the following - Now with an NVIDIA® GeForce® 6 or GeForce 7 Series-powered PC and NVIDIA’s advanced PureVideo™ technology, you can easily and affordably take advantage of the latest high definition video content.

nvidia pure+video hdtv

Bye bye bullies!

Nice editorial from Salon describing some of the big GOP losers as bullies. Particularily relevant is the description of Virginia's George Allen as a bully, which for all intensive purposes is what led to his unexpected downfall. It is rewarding to see George Allen take this fall, a feeling similar to that in childhood when the schoolyard bully receives his just deserts. I hope that George Allen will take this opportunity to reflect on behavior that up to this point in his life has served him well. It is not too late for Mr. Allen to grow from this experience and to become a better politician. One thing I would recommend is for him to do some civil rights work and to develop a better understanding and sense of compassion for those less fortunate. In the meantime, good riddance!

From Salon:

Nov. 13, 2006 | The votes are counted, the Democrats control Congress, and everyone knows the 2006 election turned on two things: Iraq and GOP corruption. But before we move on it's worth savoring one more aspect of Tuesday's results: the repudiation of the culture of bullying and intimidation perfected by Republican leaders, especially since 9/11.

George Allen's defeat was the clearest example. Everyone knows he stepped in "Macaca," but the debate about the word's racial meaning threatened to obscure the basic message: Allen was caught on YouTube doing what comes naturally, bullying somebody, somebody who just happened to be the lone brown-skinned man at his campaign event. Sure the racism mattered, a lot, but it was the bullying no one could deny. And when Salon, just a few weeks later, revealed the senator's habitual use of the N-word in college, one factor cited by witnesses who came forward was seeing Allen, the bully of old, captured on that video.

But Allen's not the only bully who lost on Tuesday. In the last year Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum tried to transform himself into a good Catholic conservative motivated by love, not hate, but Santorum sealed his defeat in 2003 in an interview where he equated homosexuality with bigamy, polygamy, incest and most famously "man on dog" sex. In the furor that followed, Republican leaders from Sen. Bill Frist to President Bush defended Santorum, head of the Republican Conference, who held onto his leadership post despite the storm. "The president believes that the senator is an inclusive man," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters. "The president has confidence in Sen. Santorum and thinks he's doing a good job as senator -- including in his leadership post." Pennsylvanians obviously disagreed.

Then there's Donald Rumsfeld. Given his unconscionable botching of the Iraq war, it may seem a small thing to accuse Rumsfeld of mere bullying. But his complete control over war planning and execution -- as well as over the president's perspective on them -- stemmed largely from his capacity to belittle and intimidate everyone from Condoleezza Rice to generals to the Pentagon press corps. So many images from Bob Woodward's "State of Denial" have stayed with me – Rummy "snowflaking" the Pentagon with his orders on little white post-its, micromanaging every aspect of the defense department, is one of my favorites. But one of the most damaging sections depicted his work to make sure Bush didn't pick Adm. Vern Clark, the outspoken chief of naval operations, as his first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2001. "Clark was the one officer who might survive Rumsfeld and preserve some sense of dignity and independence for the uniformed military," Woodward explained, and Rummy preferred the more pliable Air Force Gen. Richard Myers. Rumsfeld got his way, on that choice and countless others – at least until last Tuesday.

One bully who wasn't on the ballot last week, Rush Limbaugh, got maybe sweetest thumping of all. Here's hoping soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the bloviating radio host flowers and candy, because he cost Jim Talent his Missouri Senate seat – and the Republicans their Senate majority -- by mocking Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's symptoms. (Thanks for having that camera in the studio, Rush -- your monstrous ego was your party's undoing.) Now Limbaugh is claiming he feels "liberated" by the Republicans' losses, because he no longer has to "carry water" for inept GOP leaders. That's just good comedy. From Vice President Dick Cheney to President Bush to beleaguered Denny Hastert after the Foley scandal, Republicans in trouble made it a point to head to Rush's studio and cry on his man-bosom about Democratic perfidy. Let's hope the nation is soon "liberated" from Limbaugh's abuse.

There's almost no way to overstate the extent of the political sea-change last Tuesday's election results represent. Allen's defeat has particular importance, since as recently as last spring he was considered a frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2008. Allen was cut from the same cloth as Bush, two transplants to the South – Allen from Southern California to Virginia, Bush from Connecticut to Texas – who embraced certain Southern stereotypes, from cowboy boots to nicknames to a faux-down-home suspicion of book learnin', but not much Southern dignity or decency.

So what about President Bush? Has he learned from the drubbing of these bullies last week? He's pledging a new spirit of bipartisan cooperation, but I'm not optimistic. What's that old saying Bush mangled, "Fool me once...won't get fooled again?" The president who lost the popular vote in 2000 nonetheless ruled as one of the most radical leaders in U.S. history. The president who got a chance to start over, with wide popular support, in the wake of 9/11 instead ruled as the bully-in-chief, presiding over a regime that made dissent synonymous in treason. Arrogant in victory, he's humble in defeat. Democrats are to be forgiven if they have a hard time trusting the new Bush. But given voters' professed support for the party's priorities, from a minimum wage hike to a timeline for Iraq withdrawal, Democrats should be sure to test him, early and often.

george+allen losers GOP bullies

Digg Story: Virginia Senator George Allen Concedes Defeat

Thought you might want to check this out.

digg user mikealao would like to share this story with you:

http://digg.com/politics/Virginia_Senator_George_Allen_Concedes_Defeat

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"Virginia Senator George Allen Concedes Defeat"
Finally, the arrogant Virginia politician receives his comeupance. Quite frankly, he ran a lousy campaign and made stupid mistakes that highlighted his weaknesses. I for one am glad to see his political star diminished.
+11 people dugg this story