Tuesday, August 31

DNSBL and other geekish things

So I decided to send an email to Notes/Domino Spam guru Chris Linfoot because of some stuff I've been seeing whereby DNSBL sites are being denied to users because of ISP policy to reduced overhead on DNS servers. Sounds like BS to me.
I have customers who use a tool that sends DNS requests to some blacklisting sites like spamhaus and spamcop. And for whatever reason, the connections are at best inconsistent and at worst non-existent. I have read that AT&T have a policy for their business network/hosting users that they will be denied access to the DNSBL sites unless the clients specifically request an exception, with the excuse being that their DNS servers are being overloaded. Well maybe they are, but wouldn't it be nice if they would step up to the plate and, I don't know, host a local version of the zone file published by the likes of spamhaus or spamcop so that they would be helping their clients control SPAM instead of causing them more hassle?
I'm not surprised that spamhaus set up shop in the UK, with the legal protection that it provides in terms of defence costs. If they were in the US, the spammers may well have shut them down by file suits against them constantly. Interestingly enough, they have failed in most cases in the US anyway.
I'll post an update/link to Chris' site if and when he responds :-)

Ooops!

Got kind of busy with work and all - forgot to keep up the entries. I found a cool article about the history of Lotus Notes and thought it might be of interest to anyone in the field - link.
Got to get back to work just now, but I will be updating over the weekend as Helen and I travle to Pleasanton to go to the biggest Highland Games this side of the Mississippi!

Monday, August 16

I feel like a new man . . . .

Figured I'd go out for a ride on Saturday and see how I felt. Plan was to Carlsbad Starbucks and back. Only I went to a different Starbucks. Del Mar! So after rides of 12 and 16 miles I stepped up to 35. The new bike feels great and I'm sooooo happy I'm riding again. All I need to do now is find the time to ride more often. I hope to be able to do over 100 miles per week by the end of the month, with at least 50 milers each month. Maybe I'll be ready to ride Tucson this year - I have an invite to ride with some friends if I feel up to it.
Spoke to a guy at the bike store about tandems and Helen and I may be venturing into the market for one very soon. I reckon it's the best way for us to go riding because when we ride our own bikes, I end up doing way more miles than her and it's not really much fun. We rode a friend's tandem last year and really enjoyed it so you never know . . . .

Thursday, August 12

How Jedi are you?


:: how jedi are you? ::

It's been a while . . . . .

So I had a trip to AZ last week. Got food poisoning. Not good. Still recovering a week later. . . . .
I've been messing around with my V525 and managed to lock it :-( I've been reloading firmware and software on it to get a build I like, and I managed to pick one that had a proprietary lock code on it. $20 and I'll be all set.
Bought a new bicycle this week - a Specialized Roubaix Pro. Awesome bike. After the surgery in January, I resolved that I'd get a new bike when I started riding again, and I started last week. The local bike store Supergo were running a sale on Specialized bikes to move the '04 models, and the one I'd been reading up on was available. After a short consultation with Helen, I test rode and bought it. I took it out yesterday for a short ride (I'm still not very fit) and was amazed at how comfortable it was, without being "dead" like older carbon frames. And my neighor Sean came over asking me for some advice about buying a bike for triathlon use . . . .so I'm going to rebuild my old one for him to test/buy. Win, Win!

Monday, August 2

Did you see me?

Had a blast doing the volunteering for the golf event today. I even got on TV, albeit very briefly . . . . walked behind Andy North as he interviewed the CEO of Lincoln Financial on the 16th green. But that wasn't the aim of the exercise. I'm getting to play the course sometime over the next couple of months. Mind you, I'm not really in good enough shape to play it. It's loooong and tight and the greens are like glass. But there's no other way I could have played there and it is very exclusive!
Off to Phoenix tomorrow - more heat and humidity :-(

Back in the saddle again . . .

Caught up with some old friends at the Coffee House yesterday . . . . my buddies from my TNT days. Got me fired up, and I went out for a ride in the afternoon. I only rode for about an hour, but it felt good . . . . apart from the neck pain. My neck is obviously still weak from the rehab after surgery, so I'm going to have to spend a lot of time in the saddle strengthening it. At least I got some miles in on my Polar. I have yet to hook it up to my PC to get the ride info downloaded, and I've lost the heart strap :-( It'll trun up though I'm sure.
Getting ready to go to the Bridges in Rancho Santa Fe this afterooon, to volunteer for The Battle at The Bridges. A great made for TV event that means I get to play one of the most exclusive courses in America as part of my compensation for volunteering.
And I get to see these guys up close. I wonder if anyone will see me on TV?