ok, so two things of note this weekend, first of which was my first anniversary on sunday the 6th.

Secondly, I have been asked by a church (no, i know better than to post the URL on slashdot) has asked me to try to break into their web server to try to find out what the pastor's son did to leave a note saying he broke in. I suspect he did it from inside the building, but my request was to see what I could do about busting in from outside. so far, all i've gathered (not including inside knowledge I already had) is that nmap is useless against it, there is a firewall in place, there is IIS 5.0 running on something NT based, and I have the IP address. I highly suspect either his dad left a password around, or that he physically accessed the server or other box behind the firewall. Any of you security experts out there have suggestions? I think they may be behind a hardware firewall, as I had to hit port 80 on telnet with a bad request to find out the IIS part.

1: mekkab. Wrong guesses: arb (FuzzyBad-Mofo), SamTheButcher (bethanie)

2. Findel. Wrong guesses: Blackneto (FuzzyBad-Mofo), salimma (JawTheShark), Jawtheshark -- Oh, damn. He's not on the list. (bethanie)

3. arb. Wrong guesses: Findel (FuzzyBad-Mofo), Blackneto (bethanie)

4. eugene_ts_wong. JawTheShark got it right! Wrong guesses: salimma (FuzzyBad-Mofo), MagnetarJones (bethanie)

5: salimma. Wrong guesses: eugene ts wong (bethanie), arb (JawTheShark), SamTheButcher (FuzzyBad-Mofo)

6: intermodal. Wrong guesses: Some_Woman (FuzzyBad-Mofo), someone with a long-ass to-do list (bethanie). And actually, the main hold up is lack of enough sizeable hard drives or network slots to build them all up...

7. bmetzler. Wrong guesses: Some_Woman (FuzzyBad-Mofo), MagnetarJones (JawTheShark), salimma (bethanie)

8: MagnetarJones. Wrong guesses: bmetzler (FuzzyBad-Mofo), whoever goes with #24 (bethanie) half point since this one was a less than obvious
pairing (as they didn't overlap, like Heliocentric's.)

9: asv108. FuzzyBadMofo got this one right too! Wrong guesses: Heliocentric (JawTheShark), FuzzyBad-Mofo (bethanie)

10. Heliocentric. Wrong guesses: MagnetarJones (FuzzyBad-Mofo), intermodal (JawTheShark), intermodal (bethanie)

11: SamTheButcher. emilami (FuzzyBad-Mofo), asv108 (JawTheShark), (H)elix1 (bethanie)

12: emilami. Wrong guesses: Heliocentric (FuzzyBad-Mofo), (H)elix1 (JawTheShark), someone who took it out on his nasty ass plaid wallpaper (bethanie). Actually I'm the one who attacked the wallpaper

13: Blackneto. Fun trivia fact: This was the first pic submitted. Wrong guesses: intermodal (fuzzybad-mofo), arb (bethanie)

14: (H)elix1. Another point for FuzzyBad-Mofo! Wrong guesses: Some_Woman (JawTheShark), Robin Hood (bethanie)

15: FuzzyBad-Mofo. Wrong guesses: eugene_ts_wong (FuzzyBad-Mofo), Some_Woman (bethanie). Congratulations to FuzzyBad-Mofo for the Definitely A Chick award!

16: Heliocentric. Wrong guesses: FuzzyBad-Mofo (FuzzyBad-Mofo), FuzzyBad-Mofo (JawTheShark), someone with a long-ass to-do list (bethanie). It's up to you whether she gets a half point for that, Heliocentric.

17: bmetzler. Wrong guesses: FuzzyBad-Mofo (FuzzyBad-Mofo), whoever uses a Mac. Haven't been around long enough to learn. (bethanie)

18: Heliocentric. Wrong guesses: MagnetarJones (FuzzyBad-Mofo), intermodal (JawTheShark), intermodal (JawTheShark)

19: Heliocentric. Wrong guesses: MagnetarJones (FuzzyBad-Mofo), Findel (JawTheShark), bmetzler (bethanie)

20: Findel. Wrong guess es: (H)elix1 (FuzzyBad-Mofo), asv108 (bethanie)

21: Heloicentric. Wrong guesses: Some_Woman (FuzzyBad-Mofo), bmetzlern (bethanie)

22: (H)elix1. Woo! FuzzyBad-Mofo got it right! first point of the game. Wrong guesses: Heliocentric (intermodal), Heliocentric (bethanie)

23. Heliocentric. Wrong guesses: MagnetarJones (FuzzyBad-Mofo), intermodal (JawTheShark), A MANLY geek!! (bethanie). Half point waiting on response from the ladies apart from bethanie herself.

24: MagnetarJones. Wrong guesses: mekkab (FuzzyBad-Mofo), probably eugene_ts_wong (JawTheShark), Whoever goes with #8 (bethanie). half point since this one was a less than obvious pairing (as they didn't overlap, like Heliocentric's.)

25: mekkab. More points for FuzzyBad-Mofo! Wrong guesses: bmetzler (JawTheShark), MagnetarJones (bethanie)

26: intermodal. Wrong guesses: Some_Woman (FuzzyBad-Mofo), Dude, #6 and #16, as well? Get your ass off /. and get some work done!! (bethanie). She'd get half a point for that if it weren't for the fact that I wasn't 16.

27: Heliocentric. Wrong guesses: MagnetarJones (FuzzyBad-Mofo), intermodal (JawTheShark), emilami (bethanie)

28: MagnetarJones. Wrong guesses: mekkab (FuzzyBad-Mofo), SamTheButcher (JawTheShark), whoever he is, the poor schmuck has to go down to the basement to use his computer?! Probably married w/ kids would be my guess!! (bethanie) half-point is up to MagnetarJones.

29: intermodal. Wrong guesses: Some_Woman (FuzzyBad-Mofo, I didn't know Some_Woman also liked scantily clad women on her desktops...), mekkab (JawTheShark), mekkab (bethanie)

30: Some_Woman. I figured that for either a chick's setup or someone who was married at least. Wrong guesses: Blackneto (JawTheShark), Findel (bethanie)

31. Heliocentric. Wrong guesses: MagnetarJones (FuzzyBad-Mofo), emilami (JawTheShark), intermodal (bethanie)

Honorable mention to rkz, who posted his pic too late to be included because I was too damn lazy to actually check the submit page afterwards.

Winner as far as guessing goes was definitely FuzzyBad-Mofo. The booby prize for most half-points goes to Bethanie. and the award for most pics entered was certainly Heliocentric.

it's interesting to note how relatively easy it was to identify each other's faces yet so hard to identify our computers, especially when we're on such a technically minded forum. Just goes to show there's more than technology to this place.

i thought this had posted earlier but i guess not. stupid lynx. ok, everybody...vote! who owns what setup?

As I write this, the contest page is uploading. 5 MB of tar file to be unzipped on its arrival. The page? www.systemsalchemy.org/slashdot/.

As with Fort Knox's former contest, I'll start a thread for each, where we can begin guessing. I don't know any but my own either, so I can be a participant, too...woo! Well, here goes...

i'll shut it down late night saturday...i forgot my brother in law graduates tomorrow so i have to wake up tomorrow (late tonight, actually, at this point)

sorry...

Friday night sometime (i estimate midnight) is the deadline...I'll post the link to the pics when i've got it ready, and start threads like FK did.

Here's the official call-out for the slashdot "Show me yer equipment!" game. Here's how it works:

Take a photo of your workstation area, or your conglomeration of gear, or your location of main computing. Also, if you have an easily photographable cache of machines you work on frequently but are not your main computing area, this could also be applicable. Multiple entries are permissible. The pics are screened, so there won't be dupes and so Mr. Goatse won't be a participant's workstation. Try not to be in the pic, as that will give it away (especially if you were in the FK HOF entry contest)

Note that this is the area, not just the box itself. Try to include the desk, chair, etc. To submit your entr(y/ies), go to http://slashdot.kormoc.com/eq/ (graciously scripted and provided by Kormoc) and enter in your stuff. it will be randomized, and when it comes time to post up the stuff, I will go through and filter it so Mr. Goatse doesn't get through, and then we can start guessing.

Once there are enough entries, i'll give a 3 day warning or so...i am aiming for posting ~1 week from now, we'll see. Anyway, sorry for keeping everyone waiting...was working on the technical details.

Update: File size limit: 500k. if you need larger, let us know and we'll up the limit. PHP script was designed with .jpg and some small .gif files in mind.

ok, everyone, if enough people are interested, I will be hosting the "Show me your equipment!" guessing game, which is a complete rip-off of FortKnox's Slashdot Photo Guessing Game. Unless of course FortKnox wants to hold it instead, which would also be good since he has way more fans than me.

How to play?

It's easy. email me a picture of your workstation area (including desk, chair, computer. etc. but without you in it...we might recognize you from FK's contest.) ***email address removed due to that server having errors. working email will be placed upon decision about method (so i might be able to play too)***. Once I have enough (relatively soon, hopefully), I will post them. If FortKnox or someone with more fans wants to do it instead, then I will step aside and allow them to do it instead. (I don't think many people read this anyhow). Once posted, the users will spend time guessing whose each is by number, and then after a few days I will post a thread for users to paste their final answers into. It'll be good old rippoff of FK fun ^_^ (who got the idea from Technolust, to give credit where it's due).

UPDATE:

Clarifications and new JE concerning the topic should be posted sometime tonight (well, between like 9PM and 3AM, anyhow) pending Eugene's idea and any volunteering that may occur. FK will be advertising this in his journal, so we may have a good turnout after all!

hit my cap on posting...30 posts in 4 hrs. i wasnt aware there was one till JtS posted that he hit his...i dont know how I will ever post on the bottom of the thread if I can't make it past the section for pic25 without hitting my cap...maybe i should make a second account and use it under one of my other dozen or so browsers...

waltz on over to FortKnox's journal and check out the contest. Make a bunch of inane posts. See if we cant make it in the hall of fame.

this is going to sound petty as hell, but i am thinking of leaving slashdot. Why? heres a list.

bad moderation. i have been mod bombed at least twice, which makes me less inspired to participate.

lack of mod points. if i had mod points every once in a while i might feel like i could do something to improve the former problem.

idiots for editors. its one thing to post an april fools joke or two. but I have gotten no news whatsoever out of slashdot today, and very little in the past week or month.

CmdrTaco. If the man in charge posts the same april fools joke four times in the same damn day, how much worse can things get?

Lack of intelligent posters. There are a few worthy posters. A few. most of you know who you are, and half of you are considered trolls. perhaps if there were a -1 karmawhore moderation it would be better and real posts would float to the top.

in fact, i think there are only two things keeping me here as it is. one is the brunching shuttlecocks slashbox, since it seems discouraging to daily check a site that updates every week or so.

The other is habit. Were it not for habit i would never come back. it is 90% more likely you will end up in a flamewar than have an intelligent reply to one of your posts. I know there are a number of people who even check slashdot notes to defend their words, rather than in the hopes of intelligent replies. While I admit that i have learned a few decent things from slashdot, I just dont know if its worth it. Surely there must be something better.

As to whether i will leave, we'll see. I dont know yet.

and i already know enough to say "fuck it" and not read slashdot today. I can see there will be no quality jokes today, much less articles.

as much as i hate to post here twice in one day, I must add this: modbombing someone turns them into a troll. All because I post one comment to an article of an interview with a SuSE guy about the questions i would really want answered rather than what was posted and got mod bombed as a result. It made me not want to benefit the community, not want to assist the masses with insight and questions, and not want to so anything productive to help those who trod upon me. So if you wanted to know what could possess a person to do nothing but dick around in comments, theres yer answer. IN SOVIET RUSSIA, SLASHDOT TROLLS YOU!

Here is yet another post that most will write off as pure trolling. But I have some things to say and I'll be damned if I'm not gonna say them.

Moderation abuse is rampant. Especially by /. editors. And I do not care whether it gets me mod blacklisted or not. Also note as a disclaimer that I am not a pure troll, though i do find it to be the only amusing thing on slashdot sometimes. I maintain excellent karma as it is right now.

However. I find that I am often unfairly moderated, usually suddenly and without good reason. I take for example http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=57369&cid=5530411 which was modded up at first, and as suddenly as i could go to the main page and back, was down to 0, flamebait. With no karma bonus. Please explain to me how the fuck a karma bonus magically disappears from a post. Editor power abuse, I am sure.

Also, this thread. http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=57369&threshold=-1&commentsort=3&tid=163&mode=thread&cid=5530397

That thread, which I freely admit was offtopic from the main topic, was a discussion. It was below threshold, and besides the parent and one other post, I was the only one modded down. The way I see it, it is abuse to moderate offtopic for replying to someones post concerning the same topic. Also, it has been said slashdot is a discussion site. if i cannot discuss, it is no discussion site. Someone is trying to silence me.

You know what? go ahead. Mod blacklist me. I don't fucking care anymore. Just quit being a dick about it.

Anyone ever get the feeling they have pissed off someone with mod points? I know I have. Could also have to do with the fact that I haven't posted much of value, but i have been getting 'offtopic' on 'on topic' posts, and 'flamebait' on others. Perhaps if Malda would spend some time doing something with his life rather than banning moderators he disagreed with, this wouldn't be such a problem.

The Internet logs onto YOU!