Well, there’s finally some malware for the Mac. Apparently, it targets users like myself; those who frequent rumors sites and those who are constantly tugging at the curtain to see the great and powerful Woz, I mean Oz. Though this malware is difficult to classify, it basically takes advantage of human curiosity to insinuate itself into a user’s Library folder where it uses several Mac services to spread itself. In order to get it to work, the user has to download and open the file. I download tons of stuff every day. Usually, I’m confident of the source of the information; but, I can easily imagine myself falling victim to this particular ploy.
So what to do about it?

1. Use Software Update to make sure you have all of the latest security updates from Apple.
2. Never open email attachments unless you are expecting it.
3. Know your source. If you are downloading a program from someone, make sure you know what you’re getting!
4. If you think there might be a problem; there probably is. Look around and see what others are saying.
5. *Optional as of this writing…* Invest in Anti-Virus Software for the Mac.

This malware, whatever classification should be the cause of some celebration as we Mac users are finally worth the time of the clever, if nefarious, hacker community. Mac users cannot hide behind marketshare for safety, we do, however, have evidence that Apple is usually most proactive in providing security updates. We’ll see if Apple has anything to say about this particular problem since it involves user participation and allegedly gives people a preview of unreleased software (something of which Apple do not approve).
Onward!

The Good:
I’ve just discovered the reverse prime keyboard shortcut in OS X. Here it is: Command + ′ (Its under the Tilde at the top left of your keyboard.) This may not seem to be a big deal, but using Expos&#233 to toggle between multiple windows in an application is a pain in the butt. Yay!
The Bad:
I’m still not making enough money here. I have some options, but they mostly involve being away from Tammy and the baby.
How am I supposed to stay away from this?!

Continue reading →

 
Well, Jake scratched Tess Sunday night. He was sleeping facing the door. Tess grabbed his back and he whipped around and caught her face. He didn’t bite her, thank goodness. Still, Tess has a nasty scrape on the right side of her face; a little more to the left and Jake probably would have reached Tess’ eye. Pretty scary. While both Tam and I thought such an incident inevitable, we weren’t really prepared with a strategy. So, he’s down in Augusta with his doggie aunts and uncles. Meanwhile, Tam and I have taken Tess to the Doc, talked to Jake’s Vet and we’re seeing what we have to do. The Vet says Jake’s reaction was normal for a dog his age and that we shouldn’t worry; but definitely should keep the dog separated from Tess when he’s sleeping or eating. Apparently, he’s just a big scardey cat. Tam and I are working with James’ kids this weekend, and I’m going to participate in the GHP auditions, so we’ll have time to come up with a plan.

So I’m a little stuck. I’ve figured out that Gallery 2 uses Smarty. Great. I’m sure that’s wonderful, but I barely know what Smarty is. I did discover this, though:

{literal}{/literal}

escapes Smarty parsing. So if you want to have your own header with Gallery 2, you need to alter your header file so that it’s wrapped in the {literal}{/literal} tags. I haven’t tried nesting content inside the tpl. That might be interesting; but it doesn’t work. It seems I’ll have to be a little more clever to make it so I only have to have one header file. If it’s not one thing its the other.

Well, it looks like I’m getting close to finishing my move to MT 3.2. It’s been a little bit of a hassle, but overall, I just haven’t had enough time to devote to the task.
Tam and I have started working on Beauty and the Beast for my friend James Wagoner. We’re off to a great start. The kids are most enthusiastic and talented bunch. We&38217;ll work on their dancing. They have plenty of time and I know they’re going to rock.
In other, most sad news, Pamela Malave-Jones passed away over the weekend. I’m working on a more fitting memorial for her on the site. Her death is a great loss to me, her students, and our state.

Happy 2006!

Here’s a little something for the netops:

🙁

I’ve finished two of the eight Nutcracker’s of this season. Everyone was so nice to me down there. My host, Dan, the loquacious and gregarious owner of The Inn was most helpful, and if you’re ever in the neighborhood, this is where you should stay.
I took a few moments today to update pictures of Tess at her various birthday parties. Here’s an example:

I’m off to Dalton, GA Wednesday to continue my run.

File this one under the this kind of thing only happens to me department.

So, it’s after 3:00AM and I’m trying to finish up this Policies page for a client. I’m upstairs at a beautiful bed and breakfast and I’ve got a shaky WiFi connection to someone’s network. It�s really horrible. I’m also developing a nic-fit.
    I decide to go downstairs on the front porch and smoke, hopefully with a more reliable signal. Getting out front, I’m surprised by the amount of traffic for this time of day in such a tiny town. I chase down a solid light on my wireless card and end up sitting on the banister on the far side of the house, my back resting on a column. Finally, I get to work.
    I’m about half-way through my task when I hear a trunk slam shut. I see a sedan parked in the parking lot cattycornered to the Inn. There’s a person walking my way. I turn back to my computer and only notice slightly that it’s starting to rain and I wonder where this person’s going. I’m also glad they didn’t ask me for anything.
    A little while later. I hear someone yelling, “Would you please help me?!” It’s coming from the direction of the car, only this time there�s a red Pontiac of some kind and a lady standing by the driver window. She’s about 150 feet away so I can’t really tell what’s going on. She’s not yelling like she’s in danger, more like she’s annoyed. It’s about 3:30 at this point. I think to myself, “Hmmm, maybe I should get my phone and call for help.” So this I do on my way over to the car. When I get there I understand the woman’s problem.
    It was her slamming the hood of the car shut earlier. That car had broken down and she walked over to her sister’s house and borrowed her car. She stopped back by to get some things out of her broken-down car and had somehow managed to lock her keys in the Pontiac. With it running. And stuck in reverse. So she was holding the car so it wouldn’t roll backwards. Good grief!
    So, I run back to the Inn, hop in the Beetle and drive over and park behind her car to keep it from going anywhere and so she can let go. She won’t let go. Meanwhile, the little sprinkle of rain is now a legitimate downpour. This lady is in jeans and a t-shirt. No hat, no jacket, and she’s getting soaked. I dig up the Venetian umbrella Tam bought when her Dad took us on the extravagant cruise two summers ago. So, the cop finally arrives and I’m standing there holding an umbrella over this lady. I can only imagine what he thought was going on. I try to explain it to him, but Stacy (we’ve introduced each other by this point), cuts me off. He listens with a kind of blank look on his face and pulls his cruiser around to the front of the Pontiac and gets out all manner of tools to break in.
    He’s got a wedge and a slim-Jim. No good. So he disappears into his car and comes back with this crazy pouch with a little hose sticking out that’s got a balloon squeezer thingy attached at the end. He shoves this thing between the roof of the car and the car door. He inflates the pouch which gives him enough room to fish for the lock control with a long, blue, metal stick. Stacy and I go to the other side of the car with a flashlight and try to help him find the lock. He gets it after a
Crazy.

Tomorrow, I’m off to start my 24th year of Nutcracker. It has definitely coming down to putting on tights to keep the baby in diapers. I really hadn’t intended to dance anymore this season, but it obviously didn’t stick.
Tam and I have had a great time visiting family and eating way too much food. Today’s big event was getting the family portrait with Saint Nick:

She’s just irresistable, no? What you can’t see is the lady to our right jumping up and down, sounding a whistle, and flapping a crazy bird puppet to make Tess smile. Tess wasn’t unhappy, just tuckered out. I should have thought to take a picture of that lady, she was a pro!