Monthly Archives: March 2015

32. Your Website Hacked By Cyb3R Sw0rD

100 Days, , , , , , ,

Friday the Thirteenth!

 

I navigated to the site this afternoon and found this glorious image in place of the usual WordPress page:

The retro-80s video game style text, somewhat reminiscent of what I remember from the old TRS-80 computers, redirects to another page, complete with kitschy midi music:

An internet search for “cyb3r sw0rd hacks” quickly turns up the Cyb3R Sw0rD FaceBook page:

I kinda figured I’d need to delete and re-install all the WordPress files on my host server. When I logged in to the server just now, though, I discovered that the Cyb3R Sw0rD hackers did exactly what they claimed; that is, they did not “harm” the site, they merely “defaced” it by inserting an “index.html” file that over-rides the WordPress “index.php” file. Deleting the index file restored the site.

In accordance to Cyb3R Sw0rD‘s suggestion, I think I had best revisit my WordPress password choices!

 

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201.8 pounds.

I’m tired.

I’m tired of being fat.

I’m tired of being broke.

I’m tired of my job.

I’m tired of being tired.

I’m. Just. Tired.

Spring break starts… in a few hours. All I gotta do is get through this last day at werk. Gonna use the break to re-set, re-group, re-energize, re-whatever. I’d re-wind if I could.

Except, there are already a bunch of “things” that “need to be done.” Get a new propane tank. Finish painting the eves. Fix the sagging deck post. Fix the decaying trim boards around the base of the house. Oh, and people keep showing up to visit. I don’t wanna seem like I’m anti-social or rude, but I have limited time to do stuff, and even more limited money, and even going out for dinner at this point is a stretch.

What I want to do, but won’t have time or resources: resume exercising and running and eating right; write an stupid eBook novel and post it to Amazon for Kindle; finish editing my friend’s eBook; beta read and comment on my other friend’s eBook; continue with the decluttering; sell a bunch of crap on eBay and throw the rest away.

Will a week be enough time? No. I’ll have to prioritize.

I’ll probably end up sleeping. And wasting time on the internet.

26.

100 Days,

I just logged on to eBay to check some prices. eBay has changed the layout of the item page. THEY NO LONGER SHOW THE FULL ITEM DESCRIPTION! There’s the “Item Specifics” box, and then there’s a “See full item description” link. You have to click the link to see the item description.

There’s already a problem with buyers not reading the descriptions and then demanding refunds because the item is “not as described.” eBay is now making it even easier for buyers to ignore the item description; they’re also making it more difficult for serious, careful buyers to find and read the item description.

Currently there is a “what do you think” survey button next to the “see full item description” link. I just now clicked on it. I selected the “I don’t like it” response, and added the following comment:

This is STUPID! But I guess you’re catering to the cell phone crowd. For me as an eBay seller, you insist that I describe the item completely and accurately, but now you make it more difficult for buyers to see the description, and you open the sellers up to even more frequent charges of “item not as described” because the buyer did not bother to click through to read the entire description.

As a buyer, you are doing me a disservice by making sellers less inclined to provide detailed descriptions, as they will feel it’s a waste of time since the description will not be readily visible anyway.

eBay is becoming increasingly seller AND buyer unfriendly, at least to those of us who like to consider our purchases or accurately and completely describe items we are selling. Perhaps your new approach will increase your sales to mobile-device shoppers. I suspect it will also lead to a higher percentage of returns.

I shouldn’t have to “dig” to find the item description, particularly on pre-owned items. As a buyer, this cinches it;I’m done with eBay.

I guess I should hurry up and list the last of my crap on eBay… and be prepared for a lot of return requests from people who don’t read the description. I’m done buying through eBay, and I hope, soon, to be done selling as well. Extra clicks — a giant step BACKWARDS in internet functionality! Thank you, cell phone culture!

20.

100 Days, ,

DAY TWENTY. Twenty percent into the THIRD “One Hundred Days.” What do I have to show for it? A house that’s on the market. A house that’s on the market with almost no interest, and the few who have looked at it probably left wishing they had not wasted their time.

Every time I go to simply clean or touch up or rearrange something I find major problems. The kind of problems that those people on the TV home improvement or real estate shows would make a big deal out of: “Oh, this is serious!” “Uhm… this is going to be expensive.” “I’m afraid I have some bad news.” “This was unexpected.” “We’ll have to call in a specialist on this.” Wood rot and termite damage are the main issues. Rust… everything metal has rusted. Yes, kids, aluminum will rust, or more accurately, corrode and disintegrate.

Plus, I’m still working on stuff. Stuff I own. Possessions. Clutter. It’s endless. How have I accumulated so much? How is it that the more I discard, the more I still seem to have?