Citizendium: a better wikipedia

I bet you all know Wikipedia; instead of "google it" sometimes you might here a chap say "try wikipedia", then you use the google search engine to figure out what wikipedia is (anorthodox way, but hey, it almost always works!). But in wikipedia anyone can edit it, and by the time someone fixes possible errors, people can get the wrong idea about an article. That's where Citizendium takes its place - to create a wikipedia based upon sources.

The name is not much if you ask me, my suggestion for a better name would be compendium because that's what it is, a "concise but comprehensive summary of a larger work" (thank you princeton's wordnet). But the articles within Citizendium will contain a sum of laconic(concise) opinions over the subject of the article. People writing the articles must use their real names (You can run but you can't hide comes to mind...). It's a better way of providing a free yet unique encyclopaedia to the greedy world of capitalism.

The only thing keeping you apart from citizendium.org is some knowledge, a list of reliable internet sources and an email! So activate your substantia grisea to type www.citizendium.org and join in for some more *accurate* and *globally approved* geeky stuff, to make your brain blow out of the many info you will encounter (not gonna happen in real life)

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. --Aristotle (Αριστοτέλης for the proud greek in origin readers)

P.S. Thank you for supporting me by subscribing :) Only a week has passed and I already have 13 interested readers - ain't that a peach!!

A lot of online scanners (and some other utilities)

I just thought that this might be interesting for some persons that worry about their internet/computer safety: http://www.security-ops.eu.tt/
It has a lot of internet tools, you just pick one, try it out, see if it suits your needs and keep it!

There's a lot of good stuff here as well: http://www.filehippo.comFilehippo is a "mirror" of many of the most wonderful computer utilities (You can even set a filter to view beta versions and/or freeware only)

Happy downloading!

Ubuntu: New kernel 2.6.20.5-16.29

A new kernel version everyone, they've patched some madwifi vulnerabilities as far as I know. May the aptitude be with you! :)

=========================================================== Ubuntu Security Notice USN-479-1 June 28, 2007 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15/.17/.20 vulnerabilities CVE-2006-7177, CVE-2006-7178, CVE-2006-7179, CVE-2006-7180, CVE-2007-2829, CVE-2007-2830, CVE-2007-2831 =========================================================== A security issue affects the following Ubuntu releases: Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Ubuntu 6.10 Ubuntu 7.04 This advisory also applies to the corresponding versions of Kubuntu, Edubuntu, and Xubuntu. The problem can be corrected by upgrading your system to the following package versions: Ubuntu 6.06 LTS:

linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-386 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-686 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-amd64-generic 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-amd64-k8 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-amd64-xeon 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-k7 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-powerpc 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-powerpc-smp 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-sparc64 2.6.15.12-28.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15-28-sparc64-smp 2.6.15.12-28.2 Ubuntu 6.10: linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17-11-386 2.6.17.8-11.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17-11-generic 2.6.17.8-11.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17-11-powerpc 2.6.17.8-11.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17-11-powerpc-smp 2.6.17.8-11.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17-11-powerpc64-smp 2.6.17.8-11.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17-11-sparc64 2.6.17.8-11.2 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17-11-sparc64-smp 2.6.17.8-11.2 Ubuntu 7.04: linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20-16-386 2.6.20.5-16.29 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20-16-generic 2.6.20.5-16.29 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20-16-lowlatency 2.6.20.5-16.29 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20-16-powerpc 2.6.20.5-16.29 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20-16-powerpc-smp 2.6.20.5-16.29 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20-16-powerpc64-smp 2.6.20.5-16.29 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20-16-sparc64 2.6.20.5-16.29 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20-16-sparc64-smp 2.6.20.5-16.29

After a standard system upgrade you need to reboot your computer to effect the necessary changes.

Details follow:
Multiple flaws in the MadWifi driver were discovered that could lead to a system crash. A physically near-by attacker could generate specially crafted wireless network traffic and cause a denial of service. (CVE-2006-7177, CVE-2006-7178, CVE-2006-7179, CVE-2007-2829, CVE-2007-2830)
A flaw was discovered in the MadWifi driver that would allow unencrypted network traffic to be sent prior to finishing WPA authentication. A physically near-by attacker could capture this, leading to a loss of privacy, denial of service, or network spoofing. (CVE-2006-7180)
A flaw was discovered in the MadWifi driver's ioctl handling.A local attacker could read kernel memory, or crash the system, leading to a denial of service. (CVE-2007-2831)

Choosing the right background image

A desktop background image or desktop wallpaper is an important part of your everyday communication with your computer. Some people like it black, some like it white, even gray-scaled, or maybe colourful anime, sexy, cheerful, hilarious or morbid. Choose a background image that best describes yourself and suits your current mood.

Try your luck at Google - type wallpaper and select Large under Size, then click that shiny "Google Search" button, let the search engine do the rest (here's a quick link to easen it up for you). You'll be amazed of the content!

I'd suggest a background with a phrase of some sort, you pick what you like, I have mine (see it here) set today as "Keep Smiling!", found it somewhere on the internet.
Keep as less items on your Desktop as you can in order to make the message readable, you'll soon figure out the reason yourself.

Trust

I believe first-established trust was when people lived in communities or groups that were gathered way back in the stone age. People actually managed to get along then, but nowadays something went wrong. What is that? We'll see.

A really big topic today, so I'll try and keep it short. I could cover a whole bunch of things, maybe write a review about something. Who do you really believe in, rely on, confide your biggest inner secrets? Most importantly what do you get in return, if anything? Trust in a phrase made out of its capitals: The Reasonable (and) Understanding Social Therapy. Catchy phrase; And a good one, too! Trust is nothing more but a therapy, a social intercourse "sliced" in sessions which brings people together, connects them and makes a healthier community for us to live in.

In real-life terms, I never really truly deeply trusted anyone (apart from my family), because in the world we live in, let's face it, you can't always expect someone to be as you think. "Mental or moral state of honesty" as it's stated in wikipedia. How do I know that the trusted person won't turn their back on me when it's not to their interest? Interest (personal or business) is trust's worst enemy. Total controversy sometimes, if not most of the time. Keep your enemies closer than your friends, and your trusted persons in between; that's how I manage to get by. Sometimes enemies can prove to you real loyalty if it's in their interest, but never trust them! Always expect a retreat on their behalf.

In medical terms (here I go geeking again) 'bona fides' or 'good faith/trust', literally, is when you rely on your doctor's hands and expect the best out of them. A patient-doctor connection link can be the biggest one, even above your beloved ones. But sometimes that 'bond' is broken when someone expects more from you. Suppose a doctor's patient died and the doctor did all they could do keep him in life, but the family expected more. They'd definitely lose their trust to that person, but that's so wrong, since the doctor tried their best! Trust is all about taking risks and trying to help as much as humanly possible. That's why I chose medicine, to give my best self in order to help someone who will need my knowledge in treating him right.

In internet terms (my evil inetgeek side holds the pen now) trusting your personal data to a website is all about giving some priviledges to your personal life, likes and dislikes... If confidement and keeping data secret isn't trust, then I don't know how else to call it. In short - keep a small list of trusted websites, sometimes websites are text illusions, drowning you in floods of "get cash now, real quick fast" or "free stuff if you sign up now!". The thing is you have to try or try a search engine to check a website's credibility. Even then you simply cannot fully trust them. All the affiliate links I have here: payperpost, text-link-ads, google adsense (look at the bottom), bidvertiser, auctionads, reviewme etc. are some of the trusted and mostly reviewed ones, so I thought "What the heck, I'll give them a shot". I don't really understand how Agloco works yet, but I believe it should be ok, since it's recommended by a lot of people (I just hope it's not just a "spam and get paid" package).

Earwax: The way it's meant to be cleaned!

I was brushing up on my anatomy books and I've encountered the almighty cerumen. Then I remembered a whole lot of people coming to the emergency room, after they have tinkered their ear with a cotton bud and couldn't hear a thing.
Cerumen is produced in the outer third of the ear tube. Some might think this yellowish substance is ugly and disgusting - I have to agree! It's made of squalene, lanosterol, and cholesterol (Yes, I have to link you to get more info about it).
The good thing about this substance is that it protects our ear canal from bacteria, fungi and some insects.

Now, if your ear produces too much earwax, I believe it's time to teach you how to properly clear the excessive cerumen from your ear.
All you need is two cotton buds, one for each ear, a bar of (clean) soap and some alcohol (No, vodka or absynthe will not be used here - try those in the mouth cavity! - use 70% alcohol). Oh, and a mirror!

Usually this procedure is after taking a bath, so I suppose you're already cleaned up, but clean your hands with the soap anyway, use mild water. Take out a cotton bud from their case at a time, and pour some alcohol on them (do that over a sink), until they get soaked. Now look into the mirror insert the bud's head - UP TO AND ONLY THE HEAD WITH COTTON OVER IT!
The reason: Humans have what we medical geeks call a "membrana tympanica" (prehistoric oompa loompa if you will - eardrum). Push that bud to the end and at the end you'll irritate or even tear it up, hence perforate it, which is a big bad no-no.
The effects of a perforation can be very bad, up to a total loss of hearing ability, or even ear infection if the affected ear is not treated and closed in a timely manner.
Continuing the cleaning process: The bud should be gently moved in a circled motion clockwise then anti-clockwise (move the whole hand and not just your wrist). Now remove it and clean the rest of the outer(outside of the ear canal) ear parts with the other end of the cotton bud.

Insect stuck in the ear: If your baby boy or girl got a fly stuck in their ear, I'd suggest to take the baby to a doctor, paediatrician. What the doctor will in turn do is get a syringe (just a warning: without the needle), fill it up with mild water and some drops of alcohol, turn the baby's head with the affected side to face down and insert the water slowly and gently until the insect is cleared. It's quite easy, but you need a steady hand and experience, because inexperienced persons might push the bug even deeper.

Annoying IRC "ads" upon connecting

Situation: You logon in an IRC server and after 5 minutes out of nowhere someone comes and advertises stuff, whether that be websites or channels or other IRC networks. Usually those are the "babies" of some script kiddies who like big attention in channels or need to spread some infections.
Examples:
hot`girl``!~hot@85.107.179.101
Jun 28 10:53:18 Hi baby join #Washington channel :*
dulce_adina!~dulce_adi@89.137.58.179
Jun 28 10:51:30 hai pe #Audi_a6 .:D...si ptr noi prieteni..:>
Jun 28 11:04:37 join #Audi_a6 }{
Solution:
When connecting to an IRC networking set your IRC client program to set the mode +i, in order to make you "invisible" to who listings. So if you have a nick "paolo", then you should type: /mode paolo +i
Suggestion:
Don't visit what you see, it might just not be what it claims to be.

Warning: Undetected MSN messenger worm - pic901.com

Hopefully I won't get flagged for this, but it's my duty to warn people about the presence of living or computer virus.

Looking for a sexy 'behind'? Well not here! This is a VIRUS REPORT! The program is NOT DETECTED YET (check out the virustotal.com screenshot) at the time of writing!
likemyass.net (active)
ratethisphoto.net (purged)
ratethisface.net (purged)

I've discovered this while I was checking some links gathered with the help of an eggdrop script of mine
mwrouin-m-!~info@business-67-35.netway.com.cy MSG!#cyprus
hey check :O http://www.likemyass.net/.......

(....... have replaced the filename)
This malware is undetected by most antivirus at the time of writing, so watch it: likemyass.net = BAD

The dude above is not the spammer. The malware somehow is spammed through IRC instead of MSN. This malware/trojan/virus/worm/bad exe, whatever you might want to call it, is spreading around replacing the MSN executable.
Some of my friends believe that this is the 'new' Virtumonde. It might just use its registry keys, but the MSN spamming is a whole new thing I guess!

UPDATE: The website is now down!
UPDATE 2: The website has changed to http://la.gg/UPL/PIC901.COM (but it was down when I was notified)
UPDATE 3: Solutions 1) Vundofix 2) VundoBeGone 3) Uninstall,restart and reinstall MSN Messenger from here: http://g.msn.com/8reen_us/EN/INSTALL_MSN_MESSENGER_DL.EXE
4) Try out one of my generic cleaners, cwean pack: www.erroneous.name

You are encouraged to download the executable and upload it to www.virustotal.com or www.uploadmalware.com

More info about the lil' buger at the Kaspersky's website

Ugly performance: Red Hot Chilli Peppers Live @ Serbia

The legendary Peppers came to Serbia last night to face an overthrilled yet overcrowded mass of fans. The band chose to play in an arena built just for them, as that was the only way to get to Indjija. There were a lot of downsides at this event. People actually paid a load of money to see something that resulted to fighting for a bus place!

Firstly, there were some rain drops that started at about 18h and at the end of the concert it resulted to a flood which deluged the arena! A song comes to my mind: "Singing in the rain", but it's not a glorious feeling believe me. Imagine an angry mob covered in mud wanting to leave the premises. The fans unfortunately did not have Noah's ark to save them. Secondly, the 110,000 of people eagerly awaiting for them were in an arena meant for 100,000 (It's really wasn't that bad, but a crowd stampede wanted to depart as the Peppers 'finished the job' and *that* was ugly!). Thirdly, the famous band, as all the international groups, made their fans wait for them some 60 minutes in rain - BAD.

To make matters worse, the band was Chilly and not so 'Red Hot Chilli' last night. Maybe I'm over-reacting, but coming to a place for the first time, their only concert in the Eastern Europe for this year and playing songs of a fresh new album has bad marked all over it. People want to hear the legend songs, the ones that made the group famous. And playing for one hour and what, ten or fifteen minutes is not a good performance. Feel the crowd, work with them, that's the least they could do to make this event memorable. Some folks actually got a loan to just listen to the Peppers. I would love to hear "Under The Bridge" more than "By The Way", but anyway...

The ending was the worst thing. The rain created a chaos, the 95,000-spot parking was "overcared" and the now angry mass of people wishing to go home, had resulted to a fight for bus seats (isn't that a first!) and long-hour driving.

Edit: I forgot to mention one big bad thing: a) No cameras allowed b) No other stuff allowed c) The bottles of water were overpriced (3x more expensive)

The mass comments can be found at a local newspaper's website: http://24sata.co.yu/specijal.php?id=11379

Personal score: 2.5/10 - It could've been better.

Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us. --Martin Luther

Windows' all-in-one patch program: Autopatcher

Even though Microsoft does provide an ISO image of critical updates, I prefer something more human-oriented, less to size, version-specific and better to the eye: Autopatcher

Autopatcher is a full package of all the necessary updates for your Windows version, which might be XP,2000,2003 or even Vista (x86 and x64!) If you're the guy that does a format every 6 months to keep their Windows at their best shape, you'd certainly love this package. Autopatcher comes with Core, Addons and Stand-alone releases.

Core version provides you critical updates, giving you better security and functionality. Addons provide you with the fun stuff, such as sexy registry edits (right-click on my computer and get a "simple" list of powerful frequently used shortcuts). Last but not least, the Stand-alone releases, which give you some free stuff

Autopatcher is pretty slick, giving you the option to update multiple Windows with a "1,2,3: shake, spray and presto!" ease.
You have some lovely screenshots at getautopatcher.com
You can find out more on their website
You can choose one of their mirrors to download
What's more, you can even order a CD

Hot Summer? Make a salad!

Satisfy your taste buds in these hot summer days with the following tuna fish salad. It's easy, it's going to cool you down, it's just for you!
Here are the ingredients for 3 persons approximately:

1. 2 bell pepper (red,yellow or green, one of each colour, it's good to satisfy your eye)
   
2. 3 medium-sized cucumbers
3. 3-4 tomatoes
4. 2 cans of tuna fish (salted and in oil preferrably)
   
5. 1 big onion (purple onion has a great taste!)
   
6. some sunflower oil (if you got tuna fish in water)
7. spices - I use black pepper with garlic and a mix of vegetable additives usually used for soups; It contains: kitchen-salt and some dried veggies (carrots,parsley,parsnip,onion,calery,garlic), it's perfect for a salad!
   
8. a spoon, a fork, a knife

Update: You need half a lemon too!

Well, I suppose you know how to cut the veggies, the peppers and the cucumbers longitudinally and vertically, the tomatoes and the onion longitudinally and vertically to become cubical. It's easier if you cut each in half and then start chopping up. Remember: You're going to eat with a fork or spoon, not a ladle! So make the bits humanly eatable.

Put everything in a large bowl. Use the fork and the spoon to mix them; Just shove the spoon in and lift it up, do the same with the fork on the other side, you'll get the hang of it. Use the spices I mentioned above (watch your blood pressure - not too much salty stuff!) and *update* squeeze a lemon then mix again.

Serve instantly or leave it in the fridge (close the bowl's top if you can) for a couple of hours then serve it cold! Dig in and I hope you'll like it.

Microsoft Windows XP Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Pack

Microsoft Windows XP Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Pack

I found this for a user over at greek-fun.com, maybe someone else is interested as well :) The link provides direct links to Windows XP Multilanguage User Interface Packs. In plain english: you can change your "Winblows" to something more human-like (yeah, Gates speaks your language :P)

Here's a back-up one, in case some of Gates' workers forget that the website is valuable: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgtnwdqf_0g4hqkj

The new beginning

For those who don't know me from blog.erroneous.name, I'm a medical student studying at the Medical Faculty of Belgrade University. I'm currently on an examination period for the second year from June to July. I have to pass Physiology (no, it's not psychology), Biochemistry, Epidemiology (only 56 questions wooohooo!) and last but not least Microbiology with Immunology.

My exams have already began, I did a bad start, I turned back a question of physiology which was about calculating a daily energetic change (metabolism is my worst subject). I sincerely didn't know what to say! Moreover, I just couldn't face my assistant and await his "decision" due to my unpreparedness. It's best to leave and return fully prepared, than give a bad first impression (No, normally I don't support this, but I believe it's time I do!).

My knowledge for some html/php/python/perl seems to pay off though, and I owe most of it to the Ubuntu Linux community, an introducement to the free world. I prepared this nice website in just 2-3 days. I was considering changing studies to computers... but I'm more into helping real people if you know what I mean :) Yes, I'm a geek that loves his PC, but I'm also the kind of guy that is simply too social to be behind a screen all day long programming. I prefer to keep this "gift" as a hobby, I will need it some day.

Hello world!

Working on a sexy design, hold your horses!

Update: OK, I believe this should suffice for starters ;)