Thirty Helens Agree

I was trying to get Ruby on Rails working with Tiger tonight and I kept running into a problem with database connectivity. It looks like I missed the part about switching to gcc 3.3 when building the mysql gem (like, der!). If you’re looking to setup your environment these are the directions that work with Tiger! Oh, and following the directions completely is highly recommended.

What happens when you’re not so smart and you want to start a bonfire? You use way too much gasoline and, well, you can probably take it from there. :)

So, I’m excited that Cingular finally released the firmware update for the Treo 650 that fixes a number of problems, but more importantly it adds Bluetooth DUN support! Now I can fire up my Powerbook and be on the internet from anywhere that has a GPRS signal. Now, I’m not exactly sure when I would do this.. but that is beside the point. It was quick and easy to set it up on the Powerbook and it works well.

The speed is better than I would have expected too! It’s coming in at a decent 150Kbits/sec.

I found out some pretty bad news today about a former coworker of mine. She worked out of the UK office and was on holiday in Egypt when the terrorists bombed the resort. It turns out she is presumed dead in those attacks because no one has heard from her or her boyfriend. I’m not sure if more bombs would help, but I’m ready to start lobbing them. Give me the button to push.

It seems like I’m not alone in experiencing the uptick in the SSH Brute Force attacks people have been seeing. Check it out:

12:57:35 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14721]: session closed for user root
12:57:36 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14730]: session opened for user root by (uid=0)
12:57:36 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14730]: session closed for user root
12:57:37 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14739]: session opened for user root by (uid=0)
12:57:38 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14739]: session closed for user root
12:57:39 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14748]: session opened for user root by (uid=0)
12:57:39 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14748]: session closed for user root
12:57:40 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14757]: session opened for user root by (uid=0)
12:57:41 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14757]: session closed for user root
12:57:48 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14772]: session opened for user root by (uid=0)
12:57:49 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14772]: session closed for user root
12:57:50 homer sshd(pam_unix)[14786]: session opened for user root by (uid=0)
01:10:41 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1037]: authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=NODEVssh ruser= rhost=211.160.20.130
01:10:42 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1038]: check pass; user unknown
01:10:42 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1038]: authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=NODEVssh ruser= rhost=211.160.20.130
01:10:48 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1057]: authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=NODEVssh ruser= rhost=211.160.20.130 user=mysql
01:10:49 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1086]: authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=NODEVssh ruser= rhost=211.160.20.130 user=mysql
01:10:52 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1097]: check pass; user unknown
01:10:52 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1097]: authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=NODEVssh ruser= rhost=211.160.20.130
01:10:59 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1118]: check pass; user unknown
01:10:59 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1118]: authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=NODEVssh ruser= rhost=211.160.20.130
01:10:59 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1116]: check pass; user unknown
01:10:59 homer sshd(pam_unix)[1116]: authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=NODEVssh ruser= rhost=211.160.20.130

Notice they are trying various usernames to try and find a way in. I’ve been poking around and there doesn’t seem to be a known attach on SSH other than brute force like this. Time to beef up my passwords.

This weekend I started poking around with the Ruby On Rails development framework (I’ll post more on that later). For now I recently came across what may quickly become one of my favorite internet sites: 43things.com. This site was written with Ruby on Rails and is one of the more addictive sites I’ve been on (much like Flickr). Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

I think this has been making the rounds over email, but it is too good to not post. I love the face the kid in the picture is making. I think that about sums it up! The question I have is what is the top of her bathing suit covering? The position and size of the that top is truly the most disturbing aspect of this photo..

Every time I go to the gym I swear some guy asks me to give him a spot. Nine times out of ten the guy is huge and lifting so much weight there’s little I could to “spot” him. Here’s a guy that could have used a better spot. Anyone for ribs?

I have a couple more friends who have joined the blogging world. When you have a minute check out Comments on Reality and The Cold Cut Mafia.