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I recently mentioned the dangers related to using the Great and Broken Browser (Internet Explorer) due to Object Type vulnerabilities. Here's another one: Your machine can be hijacked so instead of going to the URL of your choice, your browser is redirected to the site of your attacker's choice (see Qhosts-1). While this is rated as a low profile problem, it is another strong indicator of the control that this vulnerability can bestow upon those wanting to gain access to the information on your computer.
I am taking a short hiatus, four or five days at most. I'll still be writing but I won't publish until the end of that time. Why? Come back Monday or Tuesday and find out!
Well, as you can see nothing has changed here but that would be because it ain't done cookin' yet!
A coworker received the following email this morning:
This was interesting
Subject: Eagle
This is something to think about! Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages... The following verse is from the Quran, (the Islamic Bible)
Quran (9:11) -- For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.
Note: the verse number!!!!!
My coworker asked me to take a look at the message. I read it through and immediately something about it just felt wrong. I headed right back to my office to look-up the verse in question, search the Quran for any references to eagles and to check Snopes.com to see if there was anything there on this message.
As I had expected, the verse was bogus. Here is what the real verse says:
But (even so), if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practise regular charity,- they are your brethren in Faith: (thus) do We explain the Signs in detail, for those who understand. --Surah 9. Repentance, Dispensation verse 11
The word eagle does not even appear within the text of the Quran! Snopes also indicates that this is a hoax.
What malice would have inspired someone to pen such a blatant lie and what fool would lap it up as truth? I have issued a challenge to the person who sent this to my coworker to try and help stop this obvious hate mongering (please note that this person did not originate the message but is only guilty of being foolish enough to believe the lie and forward it to others). I'll reissue my challenge here:
Have you ever received the above message in your in-box? Did you believe it? Did you forward it?
If you've ever seen this message or if you see it in the future, please point those who sent you the message to this article (http://www.ormonds.net/whinery/arc20031001.php#BlogID314). Help stop the spread of such lies.
Did you believe it? Please, take the time to research such claims before someone else tries to make a fool out of you. All the research I did above took all of five minutes.
Did you forward it? Have the courage to admit you did a bad thing, a very bad thing. Stand up for truth and tell those to whom you forwarded this message that it is a lie. Have them visit this article so they can take this challenge as well.
Can anyone seriously believe that allowing this message to continue to spread will in anyway help the situation? You have a choice to make now: Fix the problem or continue to be a part of the problem.
So, what was that weekend hiatus all about? First, I twiddled with the site's icon, hopefully you're not seeing a journal there but a nice refreshing glass of whine. I had thought about redoing the layout here, but I like it too much so it stays for now. The big change is that I've reopened Everyday Yoga, moved all the Yoga related links there and did a major overhaul on the layout. Unlike The Whinery, Everyday Yoga isn't a blog but a site solely dedicated to Yoga. I'll still write about Yoga in this blog. Obviously not a ground breaking change for The Whinery but hey, I didn't say it would be.
I am thrilled to report that many of you are starting to jump ship away from the Great and Broken Browser (Internet Explorer). My logs show that last month nearly 60% of you were using the GaBB and about 15% were using Mozilla. This month that has shifted dramatically 44% are using the GaBB and 36% are using Mozilla. Very smart move:
"Recent exploits of Microsoft software has made it unsafe to surf the Web... it will be very difficult for some users to even know their computer is infected with a virus or otherwise compromised," he [Ken Dunham, the 'director of malicious code' at iDefense] said.
In DMCA miscarriage of justice news: Pressing your shift key may now be a felony.
It's been very quiet around here and in my life for the past while. I have wanted to write something or other here but just haven't had anything to put down on paper, as it were. Things are going well at home. Work is the same as always.
Actually, it's not entirely true that I have nothing to write about, it would be better to say that I don't have anything that I can write here without either causing major problems or putting my eggs all in one basket..
In Yoga related news, Everyday Yoga is coming along nicely. I've been writing quite a bit over there and that has helped to solidify a number of things in my mind not the least of which is what direction I want to take with my Yoga practice. Keeping to the theme of Yoga, I've decided to stop using the DVDs as the practices are just way too fast so instead of a calming practice it turns into a race to keep up. Having said that, there is one thing I really wanted to put down here and almost forgot.
Last week during my Wednesday Yoga class, I got up into sirshasana and I have since been practicing during each evening practice. The amazing part is that while in this pose I actually feel pulled up toward my feet. This feeling is also a problem as I tend to finish with a shoulder roll which is, of course, not the recommended why to come out of sirshasana.
I have often said that regardless of whether one's perception is reality, that perception is reality. In other words, whether I am in danger or not is irrelevant to me if my perception of the situation tells me that I am in danger. If I perceive that I am in danger then I will act as if I am in danger whether the danger is real or imagined. So, I must now ask myself this question: Is what I just wrote reality or only my perception of it? I would have to say that it is somewhere between my own perspective and reality and that I have a fair bit of learning to do yet.
Why this shift to Why is there air?
style thought and what does it have to do with Yoga? Answering the latter is easier. Part of the niyamas is svaadhyaya or the study of oneself through the study of scriptures and other such good books. Along those lines, I have been reading The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar. Desikachar is the son of T. Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya died in 1989 at 101 and is known throughout the world for promoting Yoga. His students went on to found great schools and most hatha yoga programs can be traced back to Krishnamacharya. Anyway, Desikachar has continued Krishnamacharya's work and part of that was writing The Heart of Yoga. Desikachar, being an engineer, takes a very different approach to yogic philosophies. He states that he won't discuss God because God is not the same thing to all people and as Yoga should be accessible to all people, he won't discuss God. As he explains what Yoga is, he says the following:
We often determine that we have seen a situation
correctlyand act according to that perception. In reality, however, we have deceived ourselves, and our actions may thus bring misfortune to ourselves or others. Just as difficult is the situation in which we doubt our understanding of a situation when it is actually correct, and for that reason we take no action, even though doing so would be beneficial.
This makes me think that we can classify ourselves into three groups or states: The first doesn't realize that their perceptions may not be reality. This group believes that what they know is reality, period. The second group realizes that what one perceives may or may not be reality. The danger with the first group is that they act blindly on their perceptions. The danger with the second group is that while they know that there may be a disconnect between perception and reality, they can't tell which is which and so may not act at all. The third group recognizes reality and is able to act upon it with confidence. The real question then becomes, how do those in the third group know that they really aren't in the first group? That is an answer I do not have as I'm still floating somewhere in the second group.
Desikachar gives some hope. Yoga, he says, centers us and helps us to cut through the veils of misperception and see reality with clear eyes. The causes of misperception are collectively known as avidya. He says that by practicing Yoga, we clear our minds and are able to see reality clearly.
Purusa denotes the position from which we can see; it is the power in us that enables us to perceive with accuracy. The practice of yoga encourages this unhampered seeing to simply happen. [. . .] This true understanding, which results from decreasing avidya, does not usually occur spontaneously. The body and mind are used to certain patterns of perception, and these tend to change gradually through yoga practice. . . . people alternately experience waves of clarity and cloudiness when first beginning a yoga practice. [. . .] Recognizing this shift is a way to measure our progress
I do know what he is expressing with waves of clarity and cloudiness. When I am seeing clearly, it does not matter how insurmountable the task or situation may have seemed for suddenly I realize that taken one step at a time, it's no big deal. There is no situation that is so big that I cannot take just one small piece at a time and eventually wear the situation down to nothing. Hmm, the wind does not carve the mountain in one day.
Could water power the next millennium?
Water into Juice
Water battery set to shake up science world
This, literally, could be a revolutionary discovery.
The Whinery now uses expanding menus and has a new stream lined look. Unfortunately, IE won't show the menus correctly as it doesn't support CSS2 properly. If you want to see the full effect of the new look, you need to be running Mozilla, Firebird of similarly compliant browser.
Just a quick note here. Amazon has just announced an amazing new service. When you search for a word, Amazon actually searches the entire text of all books currently available and displays the results. You can even view the pages that contain your search text. It's amazing.
