Monthly Archive: January 2015

$ cd ~meri > 2015 > January

PSA: glibc buffer overflow (nss_hostname_digits_dots)

2015.01.27

[covert-ops] bullhorn

Via https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2015-0235.

A heap-based buffer overflow was found in glibc’s __nss_hostname_digits_dots() function, which is used by the gethostbyname() and gethostbyname2() glibc function calls. A remote attacker able to make an application call either of these functions could use this flaw to execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the user running the application.

Update ALL THE THINGS! Again. Once, you know, a patch is available.

Annoyances, PSA, Technology

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Grab Bag: Circadian what? Can’t sleep. Casting on. Introducing Legend.

2015.01.27

While G was away, I discovered something somewhat perturbing: any concept I have of a regular schedule is driven almost exclusively by two things: G’s schedule, and Sprocket demanding to be fed at some point between 4:30 and 6:00 AM. As such, I’ve spent the last 10 days pretty much sleeping whenever I got tired, and waking up (generally) whenever my body could no longer handle being flat. Sadly, this little experiment did not produce any interesting results. The aches and pains are still going strong, I still managed to catch a cold, and I didn’t even manage to feel rested. (more…)

Annoyances, Craftiness

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Ask the HiveMind: *NIX geek edition (covert-ops section headers)

2015.01.26

[covert-ops] question mark (forest)Really, really long-time readers of this site may recall its first incarnation. It was very geeky, with a *NIX motif running through it. (You can view an Internet Wayback Machine snapshot of it here.) I am attempting to recreate this feel with the newly-returned covert-ops.org site, and I need your help.

Clearly, some of the headings that I had before simply won’t work these days. I mean, who has a QuickCam any more? But, there are other sections I would like to add, and sometimes, the appropriate geeky header doesn’t immediately jump to mind, or I have too many ideas that seem equally valid. This is where you come in. (more…)

Design, Geek, HiveMind, Site, Technology

Train of Thought » Ravelry Edition

2015.01.24

There is something you must understand about Ravelry. It’s like Wikipedia for people who play with yarn. You go there looking for one specific thing, and five hours later, you’re looking at something that couldn’t possibly be more different than your original goal, and you have absolutely no idea how you got there. This blog post shall detail just a short trip a friend and I took through the Ravelry wormhole today. The whole conversation took place in less than two hours, with much of that time spent with one or the other of us not at the keyboard, or discussing terminal emulation issues, or bemoaning Kids These Days™, or the best way to feed pills to finicky cats. So, really, no time at all.

(TL; DR: Yarn, kids these days, pandas, and you really can’t ever take anything off the Internet.) (more…)

Amusements, Craftiness

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Is it yesterday, or is it today? Also, it’s good to have goals.

2015.01.18

Time, Time, Time

[covert-ops] the thinkerI was talking about this with Jenn the last time I saw her, and it came to me again this morning, so I thought I’d share.

I normally wake up at 5AM. This seems like a stupid early time to many of my friends, but to me, it’s just time to wake up. However, with the latest round of sleep disorder, I’ve often found myself awake at 4AM. While this is only a difference of one hour, that one hour has a huge psychological difference to me. (more…)

Craftiness, Navel Gazing

Work in Progress: Brownstone

2015.01.05

20150105-wip_brownstoneI have arrived at a new milestone in the knitting of the Brownstone sweater: I have completed the actual body of the sweater. Only a few steps remain:

  • Knit on the shawl collar (that gap in the cleavage (and on down to the belly button) will be filled by the collar, I promise)
  • Seam underarms
  • Weave in loose ends (so many!)
  • Knit toggle loops
  • Attach toggle loops
  • Attach toggles
  • Weave in even more loose ends
  • Steam block

… Ok. There’s more to this than I realized. But! Definite progress has been made, and the end is in sight.

It looks like the sweater is going to be pretty long, particularly given the intended recipient. Luckily, this shouldn’t be a problem, as that style is a favorite of hers.

Craftiness

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All work and no play…

2015.01.05

20150105-heres_johnnyLast night, G and I were driving off to Bellevue for dinner. There was this guy on the side of the road at an intersection, holding a cardboard sign. He’s wearing hiking boots, shorts, a t-shirt, a hoodie (hood up), and sunglasses. He has a remarkable amount of facial hair.

A few things seemed kind of odd. The shorts are weird because Seattle people think it’s ‘bundle up’ weather once it hits 60°. The sunglasses were weird because it was almost dark out. The choice of intersection was weird because it was just to a side street – not exactly a great panhandling place.

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General

“Learn to sew” incentive, meri edition.

2015.01.04

20150104-spoonflower_geek_pandaAs mentioned previously, I want to learn to sew at least as well as I knit. I’ve taken one class, where I made a tote bag, and I’m taking another class next weekend, where I will learn all about adding zippers to projects. G’s parents gave me an awesome sewing / embroidery machine for Christmas. I have acquired a few books with beginner projects and tips and tricks. And now, I have found fabric with which I really want to be able to make something awesome. But, I’m not allowed to buy it until I have enough skill to make something awesome. This should be good incentive!

Craftiness, Shopping

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MOX Boarding House, and I need to start using larger needles.

2015.01.03

20150103-mox_boarding_houseMy new friend SR (who’s actually a phlebotomist at one of the medical offices I frequent) and I met up today. Our last outing was for coffee at the excellent SoulFood Coffee House in Redmond, so we decided to aim for lunch this time. As we are both gaming geeks – though of vastly different generations (SR was born a month after I graduated from high school; also: I am old) – we decided to check out the recently-opened Bellevue location of MOX Boarding House, a game store / pub / restaurant. (No. Really.) (more…)

Craftiness, Dining, Local, Shopping

Finished Object: Flore Hat by Tina Whitmore for KnitWhits

2015.01.03

20150101-flore_almost_complete

This is the almost finished version of the hat. You can see that the dark blue points curl up, and the green cap doesn’t sit quite as flat as one would like.

The knitting and tacking down of points (yipe) and weaving in of (many) loose ends was actually done on Thursday. However, as you can see, it was still a bit unfinished, with the curling of the dark blue leaves and the popping up of the cap leaves. (The curling of the other leaves was handled by sewing down the points and peaks to each layer below. Yes, that was a lot of sewing.) But, since there’s no ‘layer below’ for the dark blue layer, that process wasn’t going to work. The instructions said to iron the hat, and I pondered that, but I also wanted the points and peaks of the green cap to lie more flat, so I went another route.

(more…)

Craftiness

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