Pupko.com: Camping & Birthday pictures

10-07-02.Camping/IMG_0010Camping gallery was added a while back with photos from a recent camping trip to Rocky Mountain Park, miscellaneous places around town and a “shootout” at Cherry Creek Park, while new gallery 10-08-01.BD/IMG_4988Ilya’s BD has pictures from this year’s fun Jeppesen party and of course from my BD…

…And most importantly- both galleries also contain HD videos. Enjoy!

Some 'old' news

Added my dad’s BD party to Pupko.com and will add more galleries in a few days (Costa Rica, etc)… Updated a couple of pages on ILAsoft.net as well.

By the way, TextPattern got a major design upgrade recently. Hopefully this is a sign that the platform will stay around and will not slowly dieout like the rest of them.

Cyanogen has been extremely active- major updates each week. Can’t be happier I switched to Android and specifically this mod. Thank you, Steve and all the XDA-Devs.

Back from Costa Rica

I?m back from a short trip to Costa Rica. Albeit not too many photos were taken, it was still a lot of fun. I got to spend a handful of days with my family, only wish my brother could have joined us as well.

Photos and videos to follow…

More Textpattern

Continuing to work on the website, reworking styles, migrating missing sections and pages, rewording them, etc.

Decided to drop the skins section- it used to be pretty cool at the time I made it (has it really been almost 10 years???), but at this point it’s not a jaw dropper anymore… FAQ and Wallpapers are useless as well. I will be dropping the dynamic menu, random non-repeating links, custom search, and other obsolete items. Guestbook I built couple of years ago (using Google maps and GeoCoding technology) might still be trendy, so I will think of how to make it be part of the new site, same way I did the contact form, probably.

Textpattern 4.2.0

ILAsoft.net is now running Textpattern. Habari development and communication was not dynamic enough for me, so I had to switch. I wanted something new, something I have not tried before… Not overly user friendly, but overall the system seems to match my needs :)

Please visit http://textpattern.com/ to find out more about this Textile content management system!

E-Mail Error

txp:php
switch($_GET[‘e’]) {
case 1:
?>Verification Code is missing or incorrect. Please go back, enter the verification code from the image, and try again.
The image looks something like this: You have left a required field blank.You have specified a banned email address.You have specified an invalid email address.You have no mail exchange records for your email address.The recipients email address is invalid.The recipients email address is unauthorized.There was an unknown error while checking the recipients email address.There was an unknown error while sending email.Invalid request method used.<?
break;

default:
    ?>Unknown error. Please try again.<?
    break;

}

Go back (and don’t forget to retype the verification code)

E-Mail Sent

If you are waiting for an answer, I will try to answer to your e-mail as soon as possible.

Thank you!

Guestbook

The guestbook “Add” method has been fixed. The automatic (non-logging) IP-geocoding is now working- it should automatically zoom into the region from which the user IP has originated. If not, it will stay zoomed-out.

FYI, hostip.info is currently being used (one of the first good free IP geo-coders), but now there is a number of other free alternatives, like freegeoip.appspot.com for example.

Another minor update

About and search pages are now driven by the Habari system. Links updated as well…

Happy Birthday, Israel

David Ben Gurion declared the state of Israel in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar, 5708). It will be commemorated on April the 29th this year.

It does not matter what your native tongue is, where you were born and where you currently live… It does not even matter if you agree with the political decisions of the heads of the state. What matters, is that from that day on, all people of Jewish decent can hold their heads up- the state of the Jewish nation will support and protect them no matter what. Now the whole world knows that Jews are people too! Mazel tov, ahim! ??????????, ??????!

Habari

ILAsoft.net is now running Habari, a state-of-the-art publishing platform! Habari is a community-driven project created and supported by people from all over the world. Please visit http://habariproject.org/ to find out more!

Why people change for the worse...

???? ?? ???????? ? ????? ?????????, ?? ????? ????? ??????- ??? ???? ????????, ????? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ?????… ?????? ????? ?????, ?????? ????? ??????……. ?? ?????? ??? ??????. ????????? ???? ?????? ?? ???????. ??? ?? ??? ??????? ? ??????? ??????, ??? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ?????- ??????? ?? ??????? ? ?? ????????… ???? ????? ????? ??? “??????” ? ???? ????. ????? ???????? ????? ? ?? ????, ???? ?? ??? ???? ? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???????- ?? ?????, ????????, ?? ???? ?? ????????, ? ?????? ???? ?????????? ??????. ?????? ???? ????? ??????, ????, ??????, ????????, ? ?????.

Minor Upgrade

Both, Pupko.com and ILAsoft.net, upgraded to the latest versions of TWG and MT.

Guestbook

Released a beta-version of my new guestbook. The wording, design, and some of the features are still to be improved, but it seems to be working pretty good already… Let me know what you think by leaving a comment here or on the guestbook…

Minor Update

Disabled snap.com application. Introduction of the so-called “Snap Shares”, at least in its current form, negates all of the benefits of the system for me…

New Galleries: Anya's BD & Cologne

[![](http://pupko.com/cache/07-11-17.Lyusik_IMG_0176.jpg.thumb.jpg)](http://pupko.com/index.php?twg_album=07-11-17.Lyusik)[![](http://pupko.com/cache/07-05-13.Europe_07-05-14.Cologne_IMG_1769.jpg.thumb.jpg)](http://pupko.com/index.php?twg_album=07-05-13.Europe%2F07-05-14.Cologne)Two new new galleries at [Pupko.com](http://www.pupko.com) with pictures taken at Anya"s 5th Birthday and back at [Cologne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne).

New Gallery: Palomino

[![](http://www.pupko.com/cache/07-11-02.Palomino_IMG_0144.jpg.thumb.jpg)](http://www.pupko.com/index.php?twg_album=07-11-02.Palomino)New gallery at [Pupko.com](http://www.pupko.com) with pictures taken at Katya"s, down at LoDo, and next to the [Palomino](http://www.palomino.com/) restaurant.

New Galleries: Chautauqua Park and more

[![](http://pupko.com/cache/07-10-20.Chautauqua_IMG_0073.jpg.thumb.jpg)](http://pupko.com/index.php?twg_album=07-10-20.Chautauqua)Added couple of new galleries at [Pupko.com](http://www.pupko.com) with pictures from Chautauqua Park (Boulder, CO), Garden of the Gods, Idaho Springs and more (even some from Paris).

Minor Update(s)

Updated the guestbook to fix some “bugs” introduced after the installation of the new version of PHP on the servers.

Configured snap.com application for the front page (ilasoft.com and ilasoft.net supported). Will either disable it later on or extend for the rest of the site, based on how well in works in the next couple of weeks.

Finished the TWG Summary article I promised before.

Pupko.com / TinyWebGallery modified, Tutorial to follow

I”ve modified TinyWebGallery program, that’s running on Pupko.com to allow for slideshows in galleries (previously you had to go into a particular image first, for some reason), and to allow for gallery “summaries” (viewing a particular gallery”s 20 mid-sized pictures at a time, as opposed to image by image or small thumbnails). Let me know how you like it… I will post the tutorial on how to do that on the website fairly soon, I hope.

Additionally, I would like to thank IconBuffet for the cool penguin icons that I used :)

New Gallery: Paris 5/22, Around Paris, down the Seine

[![](http://pupko.com/cache/07-05-13.Europe_07-05-21.Paris_22_IMG_3504.jpg.thumb.jpg)](http://pupko.com/index.php?twg_album=07-05-13.Europe%2F07-05-21.Paris%2F22)Added a new gallery at [Pupko.com](http://www.pupko.com) with pictures from Paris on 5/22.

Reading

![](http://www.ilasoft.net/images/The_Moon_Is_A_Harsh_Mistress.jpg)![](http://www.ilasoft.net/images/Captain_Blood.jpg) I have been reading my whole life, and I am afraid, usually, it was not too important what it was... Some days I don't read anything at all, after all, 8-12 hours of computer does kill some "eye-cells", some days it's a couple of pages, some it's hundreds. I have been trying to limit how much I read, or at least read only good books in the native language, whenever possible, with no fantasy, minimal sci-fi, and generally history, philosophy, and such... Looking at the last couple of weeks, I must admit that I have failed. I have started or continued to read a lot of the "quality" literature, but most of them are not finished, and many fictional books I "ate" within days... That is bad and I need to continue to work on myself.

FictionBook.lib has been my most visited “book shelf.” I would like to thank the owner of the website and the numerous editors that make reading classical and modern Russian literature easy and fun even so many miles away from Rodina. Moshkov”s Library and Aldebaran were my second two places; what I could not find at FictionBook, I could usually find there… Google Book Search is also often overlooked by readagolics, which is a shame looking at the enormous number of books available free of charge there.

New Gallery: Jepessen-Boeing Picnic

[![](http://www.pupko.com/cache/07-08-11.Jeppesen_IMG_7793.jpg.thumb.jpg)](http://www.pupko.com/index.php?twg_album=07-08-11.Jeppesen)Added a new gallery at [Pupko.com](http://www.pupko.com) with pictures from the Jepessen-Boeing Picnic @ [Denver"s Downtown Aquarium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver) on 08/11/07.

New Gallery: Camping Winding River

[![](http://www.pupko.com/cache/07-08-31.Winding%2BRiver_IMG_8057.jpg.thumb.jpg)](http://www.pupko.com/index.php?twg_album=07-08-31.Winding+River)Added a new gallery at [Pupko.com](http://www.pupko.com) with pictures from the camping trip to Rocky Mountain National Park ([Winding River Resort](http://www.windingriverresort.com/)) from 8/31/07 to 9/3/07.

Major Update(s)

…Already did quite a lot of updates (i.e. platform upgraded to MT4, desktop and banner pages gone, rest of the pages altered)… Guess we could call it a “major revamp”- didn’t do anything on the website for couple of years now and I still have so much to do…….

Stay tuned…

UPDATE: Trackback test

VE

??????? ???, ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??????!

What the Moslem countries should teach on the Holocaust by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Страшное сравнение сегодняшнего мира с ситуацией в Европе в середине 30х может иметь под собой намного больше оснований чем хотелось бы верить… Нельзя всегда надеяться на лучшее- иногда для этого нужно приложить кое-какие усилия.

The shocking comparison of current issues with that of Europe in the 1930th might actually be closer to the truth then we would want… One cannot always hope for the best- at times one has to stand up and do something…

French (original): Le FIGARO: Ce que les pays musulmans devraient enseigner sur l”Holocauste, par Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Russian: Inopressa: Моя сестра кричала: нет, евреев не истребляли!

Christopher Dickey: Is there a case for conspiracy theories...

A great article was just published by NewsWeek.com: “Dickey: A Case for Conspiracy Theorists?”

As of late, it seemed to me that everyone just went mad in the US. Before, there were a lot of democrats, republicans, libertarians, etc. that actually shared my political views and opinions, they were just supporting certain people/parties. Nowadays, everyone keeps talking nonsense and absurdities… It was like a fresh breeze to read Christopher Dickey”s commentary for Newsweek- at least one normal person in here, at least somebody can still think and not go one way or another… Be critical like Dickey, don’t believe anyone, have a mind of your own!!!

P.S. Have a good Mother”s Day! :)

Yom Hashoah

![](/images/YomHashoah.gif)[_Commemoration of Yom Hashoah_](http://www.armymwr.com/yom) is April 25th this year. This is the day to remember the holocaust, tragedy that is not only part of Jewish history, but history of the whole world. We still remember what happened some 60+ years ago and that means that we will do our best to make sure nothing similar will ever happen again!

More on Holocaust Remembrance Day @ About.com

The other side of War

NEWSru.com (Russian semi-independent e-news website) just posted an article that ended up among top four news stories. The article tells of a story of a Russian nurse that was captured by Nazis and worked on their side as a “butcher”. Anna Makarova had blood of around 1,500 people, including women and children. She was hiding for 30+ years until capture and execution in 1978.

It’s a fine piece of writing about, what seemed to be, a common woman and I recommend it to everyone who knows Russian. This drama shows, once again, how different wartime is.

The story is available in Russian on NEWSru.com (RUS)

9/11

It’s been 4 years since the attack, but everyone still remembers this horrifying disaster.

The attack claimed more then 2,700 innocent lives and the nation and its people have yet to recover from this tragedy…

Russian spam

…Got this hilarious junk in my mailbox today. I guess Nigerian spam slowly turns into Russian.

Note that, unlike before, this e-mail has no spelling mistakes (perhaps minor styling errors). Spamers get progressively sophisticated, just like other criminals, and this tendency might mean that we will have to come up with new spam prevention tools soon.

Dear Friend,

I am Lagutin Yuriy and I represent Mr. Mikhail Khordokovsky the former C.E.O of Yukos Oil Company in Russia. I have a very sensitive and confidential brief from this top (Oligarch) to ask for your partnership in re-profiling funds over US$450 million. I will give the details, but in summary, the funds are coming via Bank Menatep. This is a legitimate transaction. You will be paid 4% for your “Management Fees”.

Write back by email and provide me with your confidential telephone number, fax number and email address and I will provide further details and instructions. Please keep this confidential; we can’t afford more political problems. Finally, please note that this must be concluded within two weeks. Please write back promptly.

Write me back. I look forward to it.

Regards,

Lagutin Yuriy.

For more: Yukos spam or other 419 spam (aka Nigerian).

Updated: Special characters removed…

Anti-Semitism as a way of life...

GlobalRus.ru posted a very interesting article by Aleksey Eremenko. It discusses current “ethical” problems that Russia is facing today- anti-Semitism and what seems to be a very popular phrase there “double standards”. The article is extremely well written and I just wish it would”ve been translated into English so that more people would be able to read it…

Nevertheless, I would like to thank Aleksey for the article and my mother for the link ;)

GlobalRus.ru: Басаев и Макашов (Давать ли слово экстремистам) (RUS)

Terror in Russia

Another terrorist attack in Russia. “The standoff followed a bloody week in Russia, in which a female suicide bomber Tuesday killed nine people outside a Moscow subway station and two airliners were downed […] on August 24, killing all 89 people aboard the planes.” This time it was only women and children…

Our hearts are with the innocent victims” families, may they know peace.

Scores killed in school siege (CNN)

Russian school siege in pictures (CNN)

High death toll in Russia siege (BBC)

Chronology of the drama in Baslan (RUS)

The new Hamas leader killed

I”d like to congratulate everyone- another murderer has been executed. I’m not sure if the new proactive politics will lower the number of terrorist attacks, but every time I hear of another terrorist wiped off this planet I feel better. Hope you do to.

Hamas leader killed in Gaza City blast (CNN)

Russian President-2004

Today (yesterday in Russia) Russian citizens chose their president. Current President (and x-KGB agent) V. V. Putin won the “race”. He got 69% of the votes (data by “exit poll”) and will stay in power until next elections in 2008.

Exit Poll Data (RUS)

On the same day, at around 9 PM the Maneg building got set on fire (probably by an accident). Two firemen died when a part of the building collapsed, a few others got injured by open fire. The building is obliterated by the fire and is unlikely to be refurbished. Maneg is a few hundred steps from the red square and was built to celebrate victory over Napoleon in the beginning of the 19 century.

Chronology of the fire (RUS)

Mikhail Khodorkovsky to be held in prison

He said, he won’t flee and become a political dissident; that they would have to arrest him… So they did. Yet another “politically motivated affair”? So most people around the world think. Yet another tragic blow for democracy and freedom in New Russia…

CNN: Russia tycoon held on fraud charge

BBC: Russia”s richest man held for fraud (RUS)

Yukos: Michael Khodorkovsky charged under six clauses of the Criminal code (RUS)

Gmar hatima tova!

Today is Erev Yom Kippur. I know a few people that do observe the holiday, but most of my friends don’t really know what it is… These two small articles might shed some light on one of the most important holidays in Jewish religion.

Gmar hatima tova to everyone, Jews and non-Jews…

Work and College...

End of the semester is soon and so are the finals. With the first final is but three days away I start to feel more and more exhausted. Work is fine. Right now we are creating tutorials for professors of the Metropolitan State College of Denver on WebCT. Just completed first topic (out of six) of the two modules. Still need to do the rest (hopefully will manage that by Wednesday) and somehow make pop-up work on resolutions of 800×600 and higher without scrollbars and any errors from the WebCT (which just might turn out to be a hard task, as WebCT has its own script all over our pages).

Leechers issue

Due to horrifying bandwidth stealing events I had to enable the “leech protector” on images. Some despicable person (to put it mildly) used my bandwidth not even for something useful- he took one of the wallpapers and posted it on a popular forum. That was an off topic post I might add… People talk to each other and this guy just puts the image there. Why didn’t he upload it to his own server? Why did he post the image in the first place (without mentioning the author too)? I don’t know the answers, but to prevent bandwidth “shortage” I had to turn on the “bloodsucker defender”… I apologize for any inconvenience it might cause (and caused already). I did not want to do this hoping that there are not SO many dunces out there… I was wrong.

Updates

I moved to a new host about 2-3 months ago, but never had the time to update anything on the website itself… Now I have a few minutes to spare, so I will try to fix any errors and may be even make something new.

P.S. I would REALLY like to recommend the host I’m with right now. And it’s not because I will get $1 if you sign up (I”ll have to get LOTS of sign-ups to be able to quit my job ), but because it’s SO cheap… I mean- $10 a year???? Comoooooon . Once again- I’m using it, so it’s not one of those “cheapo-non-existent” offers. So go, check out at least the specs: Ripple Host (also, check the right side of the front page- you might still get into the $6/first year offer).

War is on

President Bush addressed the nation at 10:45 PM ET Wednesday. He announced military campaign “ to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger”.

CNN.com/US: Bush announces military campaign

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Beeee! ItI don

HAPPY NEW 2003 YEAR, everyone. I hope this New Year will bring more positive things to your life… Lehaim!

ElcomSoft verdict: Not guilty

The case against ElcomSoft is considered a crucial test of the criminal provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a controversial law designed to extend copyright protections into the digital age.

The company faced four charges related to directly designing and marketing software that could be used to crack eBook copyright protections, plus an additional charge related to conspiring to do so. The jury acquitted the company of all charges.

For More: C|Net News.com

How Do People Evaluate a Web Site's Credibility?

A study by Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab and Sliced Bread Design:

“With more than 50 percent of the U.S. population having Internet access, the World Wide Web has become an important channel for providing information and services. As the Web becomes a part of people”s everyday lives-booking travel, finding health information, buying products ? there is a growing need to help people figure out whether a Web site is credible or not: Can I trust the information on this site? Can I trust in the services this site describes?”

ConsumerWebWatch: How Do People Evaluate a Web Site”s Credibility?

Moscow Terror

The world mourns for all who died and will die in this terrorist attack. Even though the death toll is nothing like 9.11, everyone understands that all terrorist attacks are same and ultimately lead to death of innocent people. We mourn those who died in terrorist attacks and those who die because of nationalists who wake up right after the onslaught. They are all victims of terror, the plague of the 20?Th and 21”st centuries.

Chronology of the Moscow Terror (in Russian)

Apple Pulls Out of Macworld

Conference organizer IDG World Expo gleefully announced on Thursday that Macworld Expo is returning to Boston, its traditional home. But Apple rained on the parade, saying it will not be taking part.

“Today IDG announced plans to move Macworld New York to Boston in July of 2004. Apple disagrees with this decision and will not be participating in Macworld Boston,” Apple”s statement said.

Apple is also considering pulling out of next year”s Macworld in New York.

For more: Wired News

FrontPage flaw puts servers in jeopardy

In its 53rd advisory for the year, the software giant said that a vulnerability in the SmartHTML interpreter could be exploited to cause a denial-of-service attack on the Web server if the computer had FrontPage Server Extensions 2000 running. For FrontPage Server Extensions 2002, the flaw could result in the attacker running the code of their choice, essentially taking control of the server.

Microsoft credited Digital Defense Services for finding the problem.

For more: C|Net News.com

Amazon to revamp privacy policy

As part of its revision of the policy, which it plans to post “in the next few weeks,” Amazon plans to clarify the circumstances under which it might sell or share customer information, the company said in a letter sent to state regulators Monday. The company also plans to list the companies with which it offers joint or co-branded services and to provide more information on the types of customer information it collects from other sources, the company said in its letter. “In sum, we believe the changes to our privacy notice will make our privacy practices and policies more transparent to customers and easier to understand,” the company said in its letter.

“There”s no significant change here from what we did in September of 2000 except the wording,” Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said.

Amazon ignited a firestorm of criticism when it last updated its privacy policy in September 2000. Under the current policy, Amazon warns customers that it might transfer their personal data “in the unlikely event” that the company or its assets are acquired. The company”s previous policy said Amazon would not “sell, trade or rent your personal information to others” and did not make an exception for the case of a transfer of business control.

For more: C|Net News.com

Judge says PayPal's arbitration rules unfair....

Company attempts to isolate itself from challenges, he rules.

A federal judge says PayPal, the fast-growing online payment service, has a mandatory arbitration policy that is unfair to customers who complain that their accounts are being mishandled.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose allows customers to take their grievances to a jury rather than an arbitration panel. Fogel also refused to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks class-action status on behalf of thousands of PayPal customers nationwide.

For more

Apple: Burn DVDs--and We'll Burn You

Apple Computer has invoked the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to prevent its customers from burning DVDs on external drives.

Earlier this month, the company”s lawyers sent a stiff warning to an Apple dealer, warning that a patch to Apple”s iDVD burning software ran afoul of the controversial 1998 copyright law.

“They alleged it violated Apple”s intellectual property and the DMCA act,” said Larry O”Connor, president of Other World Computing, a Macintosh dealer.

At issue in the legal threat is Apple”s well-received iDVD application, which permits users to burn DVDs only on internal drives manufactured by Apple. In unmodified form, it does not permit writing to external drives manufactured by third parties.

That means Macintosh owners with older computers or laptop computers, or people who opted not to buy the “Superdrive”-equipped Macs, could not use iDVD to save movies.

Matt Deatherage, a former Apple employee who edits a daily Macintosh newsletter, said Apple”s legal threat reflects the company”s underlying business strategy: If iDVD is useful only on internal drives, people may buy more computers.

“I think it’s one of those areas where Apple has decided it’s an advantage to have iDVD on new machines and they don’t want it available as an upgrade kit,” Deatherage said. “Apple”s basic job is to sell new machines. Hardware is 85 percent to 90 percent of Apple”s revenue each quarter.”

For more: C|Net News.com

Wireless, Defenseless

Protect your wireless network before someone takes advantage

By Lincoln D. Stein

“[…]I detected three users on the network. One was actively reading his email using POP. I intercepted his incoming and outgoing messages, and because POP sends passwords in the clear, I also captured his login username and password. The second user wasn’t using the Web actively, but his laptop was checking his office every five minutes for new mail. I soon had his login information as well.[…]Encryption must become easier, more transparent, and ubiquitous. If it doesn’t, the innocent-looking fellow with the laptop at American Airlines gate D13 is sure to find you, too.”

For the whole article go to http://www.newarchitectmag.com.

A word from another world

It’s my second month of vocation in Russia. Since I have a crappy dial-up here I try to limit my computer time (especially browsing- 10 minutes download time for each page is more then I can handle ;)), but I substitute that with fresh air. Since I’m behind the computer all the time when I’m in US, it’s sort of my sentence and vocation in the same time… you know- great food, lots of fun, and [almost] no computer. Actually slow internet and ENOURMOUS amount of mosquitoes are the only bad things about this vocation.

I also get to read. Literature of different countries and different times- lots of fun that I cannot have when I work or study.

The weather is pretty good too.

Food is much better here… May be because my mother does all the food for me now, may be “cause when I don’t want to go home I just eat in a restaurant (compared to fast-food in US (restaurants cost about the same compared to Russian fast-food, but compared to US, they are much cheaper). At any rate, there LOTS of GREAT bars, clubs, restaurants here (I’m in Saint-Petersburg by the way), not including historical parks and museums.

This week (20th) I’m going to Spain with my family. We might rent a vehicle or two and travel by ourselves.

All in all- I’m having as much fun this summer as my body can handle ;)

Answer to the riddle

Answer to the riddleHere is the “solution” to the past riddle. If you want to see more pictures feel free to visit my family”s website where my brother and other members of the Family host their photos.

O'Reilly Network: Apache and SSL

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), developed by Netscape Communications, and Transport Layer Security (TLS), the open-standard replacement for SSL from the Internet Engineering Task Force, are the two protocols that add encryption and authentication to TCP/IP. This article summarizes the basic concepts of how the two protocols work and how Apache implements these protocols so that one can transmit information securely over HTTP.

A short and interesting read for the tech junkies out there: “O”Reilly Network: Apache and SSL“.

The best way to kill MS (MSN) Messenger

By Thomas C Greene in Washington:

“A number of readers have reported that the Group Policy (gpedit.msc) method of removing MS messenger [Microsoft Messenger or MSN Messenger] results in very slow loading of Outlook Express, which apparently insists on exhausting all possible means of loading msmsgs.exe before presenting itself.

On hearing this we applied the GP fix to a test box and confirmed the complaint. The advantage of this approach is that it allows one to retain the program for future use while preventing it from running without permission. The disadvantage is that it buggers OE pretty badly.

A Reg reader who wishes to remain anonymous has dashed off a little script for eliminating the Messenger irritation. We”ve tested it only on Win-XP Pro, but it worked like a dream. It even eliminated the slow loading of OE after we applied the gpedit fix. It will remove Messenger, not merely disable it.

The author believes it ought to work just as well on other Windows versions, but we haven’t confirmed this.

Because the author wishes to remain anonymous, he asks that readers with bug reports, or offering refinements, contact me via e-mail. I”ll forward your memo to him, and his reply back to you.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 1.0

The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) analyzes Windows systems for common security misconfigurations. Version 1.0 of MBSA includes a graphical and command line interface that can perform local or remote scans of Windows systems. MBSA runs on Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems and will scan for missing hotfixes and vulnerabilities in the following products: Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0 and 5.0, SQL Server 7.0 and 2000, Internet Explorer (IE) 5.01 and later, and Office 2000 and XP.

MBSA uses a version of HFNetChk to scan for missing hotfixes and service packs for Windows, IIS, and SQL Server. MBSA will create and store individual XML security reports for each computer scanned and will display the reports in the graphical user interface in HTML.

Note: Please view the readme.txt file before executing the tool. The readme.txt file contains important information on system requirements, scan options, and tool support options.

http://fileforum.betanews.com/sendfile.php3?fid=1018409302

A riddle

[![What is it?](/images/riddlesmall.jpg)](/images/riddle.jpg)I have a riddle for you today (courtesy of my brother, [Alex](http://www.pupko.com)). Here is a [photo he made](/images/riddle.jpg). Tell me what it is in the comments bellow. I will post an answer next week

SOFTIMAGE&#124;XSI v.2.0 for FREE

Get your version of SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.2.0 (one of the most popular 3D products in Europe) for FREE (INCLUDING shipping and handling)! With over 2,500 new features and enhancements, SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.2.0 is revolutionizing the way modern digital artists work. With best-of-breed modeling and animation tools, and industry-leading interactive rendering, version 2.0 will redefine the way you create 3-D artistry. Simply fill out the form and they will ship you the 2-CD set at no cost. It includes The Experience CD and a comprehensive Training Kit. All in all it would have costed you about $1K plus S&H, but now you can get it for FREE!!!

P.S. I already ordered one for myself :) all thanks to my coworker Jordan. Thanks, Jordy ;)

Macromedia Announces Flash MX

Today, Macromedia announced its long awaited follow up to Flash 5. This release is not Flash 6. It is something much more significant. Flash MX brings what many have hoped Flash would become closer to reality. The amount of additional features is so immense, that I’m afraid to even try to type all of them. This is a HUGE leap for Flash. One which annihilates most of the concerns that people had for a while now. Go check out the interactive feature tour of its latest features and tell me if I’m wrong.

Global Ops Beta Test: Screens

I was among the l33t beta testers for Crave for its new game called Global Operations. I was testing it for about 2 or 3 month now (boy HOW MANY glitches and bugs they had in the beginning… you won’t believe…). These are the screenshots I made during the last test I ran… Public beta (available from their website for everyone without any keys and passwords) will be available next week and the final version of the game will be released later this month.

Enjoy…

Crave: Global Ops Beta Test

Skating and death of ikonBoard

CNNSI.com - 2002 Winter Olympics - Skating federation to investigate controversial Olympic judging - Tuesday February 12, 2002 07:49 PM: “[…]The results raised anew a long-running controversy over block voting, in which judges have been accused of voting together to favor skaters from their regions, broken down along Cold War lines.

Four of the judges who voted for the Russians are from former Soviet or communist countries; the four who voted for the Canadians are from countries in the Western bloc. The French judge was the exception, going with the Russians - somewhat ironic, considering that Pelletier is French-Canadian.”

Talking about a nice way to say crap about people whose only fault is that they are not from US or from its 52nd state. Not that I think that the decision was fare; I wasn’t there, so I cannot say anything, but giving biased explanation of why that happened is plain lame!

On a second note, ikonBoard is no more. A new board will be out soon, but ikonBoard is dead…

Here are some links:

Updates

A new skin was released- Gray3D. Check it out. Also, guestbook and some other sections were updated (including CODE). I’m also in a process of moving the domain name from NameZero.com to RegisterFly.com (NameZero is down for about 15-30 minutes every week and also now wants almost $35 for the domain name, while RegisterFly is only $8.99 for transfer and then $9 after that).

UPDATE: Apparently RegisterFly.com is even faster then I thought. It’s all done now. Was able to change my whois info and had it updated in less then a second. Wow! If you want to buy or transfer a domain, this is the company :) Thanks, RegisterFly.com!!!!

Sick as hell#2

Guess what? I was sick the whole week! Today (Friday) I felt a bit better and was able to work over the MSN-messenger, but nevertheless didn’t drive to the office as I’m still sick. I will recuperate over the weekends and will begin working and studying on Monday. Lots of work to make up so I don?t want to miss anymore time. Already missed SO much that it?s not even funny.

Why does Netscape still exist?

There”s an excellent commentary over at ZDNet discussing Netscape/AOL vs MS, and how/why the Netscape continues to exist:

“Netscape actually lost the browser wars a long time ago, in part because of Microsoft’s tactics but also because its product is no longer very good - and no judicial ruling is going to change that. Even AOL realizes this, since it bundles Internet Explorer instead of Netscape with its own PC software.

No, there”s no question that Microsoft crushed Netscape. The real question raised by the suit is not whether the Justice Department’s proposed settlement with Microsoft is too lenient - as AOL“s jumping into the litigation at this time would suggest - but rather, Why does Netscape even exist anymore? … it seems that the most important thing ownership of Netscape allows AOL to do is sue Microsoft.

…If nothing else, AOL“s suit only serves as an ugly reminder of the $10 billion it poured down the drain when it bought Netscape back in 1999. To me it’s just sad that Netscape, once so proud and seemingly destined for greatness, has been reduced to nothing more than a whipping post for AOL“s lawyers.”

For more: News: A riddle: Why does Netscape still exist?

Sick as hell

Went skiing on Friday (which was 10+ of complete fun thanks to my bro who actually took me there and made me go on some black trails), but got sick the very next day. Saturday-Sunday night was a nightmare as I couldn’t breathe and then I thought I would be ok by Monday but it was even worse. Today (Tuesday) I’m feeling better again and hope to go to college and work on Wednesday having missed two days for nothing (feels like I was working for a month non-stop).

Russia's Freedom of Speech is dead

At last TV-6 (Russia”s last independent television station) was killed, killed by politicians as a last step of the first wave of New Russian Politics. NTV was not enough for them, they had to kill ALL independent sources. What is left is sponsored by government and CANNOT be unbiased… There is nothing that can stop Putin and his apprentices. A KGB agent behind the wheel is worst that could happen to Russia after Soviet regime…

ILAsoft

This is an old signature that I use at FTPring since the middle of the Y2K…

My transcript

Here you can view some of my official online certifications (by Brainbench). I will complete some other tests as time permits (they take way too much time).

Greymatter -&gt; MOVABLE TYPE

Even though it looks as though there were no updates since yesterday except for the privacy policy update, it is far from true. I moved ilasoft.net from Greymatter (Version 1.21b, 2000 Noah Grey) to MOVABLE TYPE (Version 1.4, 2001-2002 Ben Trott and Mena G. Trott). MT is easier to manage and has more options (including XML output and such). I will probably have a page somewhere where I will put a review of both. For right now, I will just test the new software…

Update completed

All of the pages are now completed (except code and tutorial). Pages that were already there were updated and now are up to date.

Enjoy!

New site is UP and RUNNING!

Bear with me as I change whole website. Right now only main page (including all parts that concern news) and guestbook are done. Also, only 3 skins are available, with one coming up in a few days. All other pages are working, but are not changed to the new design? Also- don?t forget to change your skin from the default one- those other two sure look sweet (more are coming up ;))

Enjoy and tell me what you think!!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year (? ????? ?????).

P.S. Yes, I do celebrate it. Since most of the world (including US) does, I believe it is a universal holiday that doesn?t have anything to do with religion, believes and etc.

Just got back from my

Just got back from my 2 week trip to the West of the US… It was LOTS of fun (especially since it was with my whole family)!

Almost done with the new

Almost done with the new layout, design and everything else you can imagine… It will be a MAJOR thing!!!

As soon as I almost

As soon as I almost finished with the layout I decided to go with GreyMatter instead of blogger… I love blogger VERY much, but running things like that on your own server is much better as far as control… I feel kinda” bad now, as there is NOTHING wrong with blogger and it gives you so much room to develop and customize. Anyway- I guess we all reach a point where we just have to move on. This is merely another one of them…

They have outdone themselves: 'Segway?

They have outdone themselves: “Segway? Human Transporter (HT) is the first enhancement to personal travel that fully integrates the user in the pedestrian world.” Read on…

P.S. On a sad note- @Home is still down and will be down until at least Wednesday :( Dial-up sucks even at its best 56K

Best Archives are now powered

Best Archives are now powered by blogger.com. News design was changed a bit, but I will not stop at this point and will continue improving it…

The 'best websites' will be

The “best websites” will be hosted by blogger too. I’m almost done with it… Redesign is also comming up (with the guestbook) ;)

gbook is back up, but

gbook is back up, but I’m done with my own… Will release it to public tomorrow…

P.S. Here are the latest “news” about gbook: [quote]_more news will follow about service downtime and migration as we continue to investigate the issue at hand. thanks for the understanding. _[/quote]

gbook.nu (where I host my

gbook.nu (where I host my guestbook) has been down for more then a week now… I would have to host my guestbook myself now…

P.S. Check out their “explanation” of what is going on at gbook.nu. Pretty funny, huh?!

Messed with this site a

Messed with this site a bit. Now most of the stuff is in layers and SSI and outside JavaScripts are used extensively.

iBv3 IRC Chat Hack v3

iBv3 IRC Chat Hack v3 is out!`

######################################################

#| iBv3 IRC Chat Hack v3 by Ilya Pupko [ 11/14/2001 ]

#|

#| 11/14/2001

#| Now compatible with iBv3.RC1

#| If a user tries to close or load another page inside the chat window, he will recieve a prompt

#| Custom colors (easy to color code)

#| Window size can be specified by the user (suggested by Volvospeed)

#| Code cleaned and improved

#| 10/7/2001

#| Nickserv support added (password protect your name)

#| Custom room name added

#| Support for some IRC options added

#| Some bugs fixed

#| 10/2/2001

#| First edition

#|

#| The IRC chat software used is JPilot

#|

#| You must keep this header intact

#|

#| (c)2001 ILAsoft and Ilya Pupko.

#| Web: http://www.ilasoft.net

#| Email: [EMAIL=ibchat@ilasoft.net]ibchat@ilasoft.net[/EMAIL]

#|

#| Please Read the licence for more information.

######################################################

`

iBv3 IRC Chat Hack now has it”s own Official website. I would ask everyone who uses the hack to sign-up for the mailinglist, so that they will be first to recieve all of the updates (certainly no BS, SPAM, and etc.)

The Times is reporting that

The Times is reporting that partially burned documents about Bin Laden?s plans for a Nagasaki-like A-bomb have been found in Kabul: Bin Laden”s nuclear secrets found. Steven C. Den Beste (http://denbeste.nu/) explains in simple terms why we should not be afraid at all: “Plans are easy. Any competent physics graduate can design a bomb. The hard part is coming up with a sufficient supply of fissionable materials. That would basically be either U-233, U-235 or Pu-239, and none of those is trivial to make, and it takes quite a lot of any of these to make a bomb.”

Read more on his website

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has rejected Pakistan”s call to stop bombing Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. I’m sure it was a hard decision to make- on one hand it can be viewed as oppression of the Muslim religion, on the other as a softness of the US “Defense” policy/politics.

Read more on the sensitive subject.

Bush Adviser Says Russia Is

Bush Adviser Says Russia Is Warming to U.S. ABM Tests?? Beats me… Why would they suddenly change their position? A small amount of US-Economy transferred to a Russian Bank Account? Or may be NYTimes are simply wrong?

Read on

I'm working on a few

I’m working on a few things at the same time:

1. First of all redesigning of ILAsoft.net

2. Content of ILAsoft.net

3. Moving FTPring

4. Working on iBv3ChatHack v3

5. Working on OpinionTrack. “The OpinionTrack user feedback system can help webmasters meet the needs of visitors to their websites.” This system was inspired by the OpinionLab system, but is a bit different, as it was created from scratch for different purposes. It uses PHP and .js. I’m almost done with it…

6. Working on a few things during my work time at the C.A.T. LAB. Snippets of the code I will come up with for the CAT LAB I will post here.

7. Working on a Flash intro for SuperBuyOnline, after which I will probably design one or two websites for them.

8. …And certainly cleaning up my room and studying in college ;)

ILAsoft.net was once again reviewed

ILAsoft.net was once again reviewed by International Association of Web Masters & Designers and chosen to bear the 2001-2002 Golden Web Award. Yahooo!!!

P.S. See the award in the links section (click “more” under associates).

Embattled chipmaker AMD is tired

Embattled chipmaker AMD is tired of taking it on the chin when it comes to comparing processors. Its new Athlon XP not only has a new name, the new chips are identified by a number that is indicative of performance not megahertz. But does AMD have the marketing power to compete with Intel? I hope it does…

News Focus: Athlon XP debuts

I'm slowly moving this web-site,

I’m slowly moving this web-site, along with my other projects to a new web hosting provider. This time, on 2mhost.com platform atomoverride generously offered some space for me. Thanks dude!

I'm still working in the

I’m still working in the CAT LAB (which is really fun!) and studying in UCD. I’ve added feedback option on all of the pages and I’m still not sure how to change this web site (I already have about 4 different sketches, but I do not really like any of them :(, which means 5’th is comming soon ;))

I had an interview today

I had an interview today with Scott, Information Technology Professional of the Center for Academic Technology at Metro State College. It looks as though it went well- my first day will be this Thursday, 9AM. Isn’t it cool? I think it is really cool- they have all sorts of new gadgets and a really cool team of young professionals. I’m looking forward the first day and would like to express my thanks to Scott for letting me prove my skills on practice (if he will actually get to visit my site ;)).

I also want to tell everyone not to worry about the redesign- I WILL redesign this page very soon! I did have a lot of stuff to do, not even including college, I upgraded FTPring (considering I had to find a better host (thanks shrink, you are the man! I’m glad I made you an admin- you are more then worth it!) and in finally spend 2 days + straight!). Bear with me.

See ya later everyone…

The investigative arm of the

The investigative arm of the United States Congress has said it is considering court action against the White House to find out how President Bush”s administration formulated its energy policy. “This is a very serious matter that involves the right of the Congress to oversee the executive branch and the need for transparency and accountability,” said GAO comptroller general.

US energy policy row hots up

A small discussion (only grammatical

A small discussion (only grammatical errors were corrected!). Keep in mind- these are not my words!


SETHTHEREBATEMACHINE

(Date Posted: Sep/05/2001 11:57 AM)

?Before there was Israel the Arabs killed Jews in Israel for no apparent reason (ex. the Hebron riots of 1929 and the Jerusalem pogrom). The Arabs themselves caused the refugee problem, in 1948 the Arab armies told all the Arabs in Israel to leave their houses so that the armies could roll over the new state of Israel. Despite the Jews actually begging the Arabs to stay, they left for the promise that they could move back in after the war and have the Jewish property.

All the revisionist history is disgusting. After India got it independence, India and Pakistan did a huge population transfer, where India got the Pakistani Hindus and Pakistan got the Indian Muslims. Both populations were absorbed within a few years. When Israel declared statehood, the Arab countries made life for Jews even worse then it was before, and they basically harassed them so much that they escaped how ever they could even at the risk of the death penalty. But when they came to Israel, the Israelis absorbed them very fast. There were over 900,000 Jews from Arab countries that have come to Israel since 1948. According to the mathematically correct numbers or Arab refugees, there were about 400,000 of them. The Arabs with combined lands larger then the United States refused to give refuge to there Arab brothers, they knew by keeping them as refugees they would remain an open sore to the state of Israel.

There is so much more I could write but it takes to long. But there are some very good books on the subject such as: From Time Immemorial: Origins of Arab-Jewish Conflict-by Joan Peters?

Ciggy76

(Date Posted: Sep/05/2001 4:31 PM)

?Ok, being that I am a Jewish male age 25 and having been to Israel in the past I can say this. It is fairly normal to see armed soldiers around walking the streets. That is just part of what Israel is. Israel is a Jewish state surrounded by 26 Arab states that are ruled by non-democratic governments. I personally am friends with a few Arabs and for the most part we all agree that what is going on there is absolutely stupid. Live and let live. Just remember this when conversing with Palestinians, 1 they do have a claim to the land which is Israel, 2 they fought a war immediately after the UN divided the land up and lost. Last time I checked we haven?t given back our land to the French or the British that we won from a war. Israel was willing to give it up for peace. Lastly, all the Arab nations seem to want Israel to give land to Palestinians so they can get rid of there refugees… Just a thought, why don’t said refugees get citizenship in the other Arab nations… they aren’t wanted there… hmm kinda odd don’t ya think.?

lt

(Date Posted: Sep/05/2001 5:12 PM)

?Christianirc, what is “It is almost a white man versus native Americans type thing, though on a different level” supposed to mean?

The Jews were in Israel l-o-n-g before the Arabs or the Christians, so if anyone is getting kicked out of the “native” land it?s the Jews. It is called the Old Testament. Check it out.

And I don’t feel sorry for anyone that STARTS a war and LOSES and then cries that they don’t get their land back so they can start another war.

Jihad, man: “Kill the Jews and Christians and we get to go directly to heaven!”

Think about it.?

Trafael

(Date Posted: Sep/05/2001 10:01 PM)

?Amazingly enough I’m in “broadcasting” now from Israel. Although I grew up here, I”ve been living in NY for the past 6 years and just came here for a 10 day trip.

It’s amazing how much media can blow things out of proportion and distort people”s common sense. Just from watching the news one might think that the chances of getting hurt in Israel are enormous, however everything we do in life in general is a calculated risk. I personally don?t know of anyone that that was hit in a terrorist attack throughout my 21 years that I lived here. My parents and brother and many other relatives live here and were never anywhere close to getting hurt. So it is a handful of fanatics that end up controlling people?s emotions and feeling of security for no reason. It’s amazing how much the news influence people”s sense of security - I started to have little doubts myself about security issues before coming here but now again seeing daily life here was completely reassuring. Chances of being hit by those crazed fanatics are close to nil and for instance the number of people killed in car accidents in Israel is overwhelmingly higher than in those kamikaze incidents.

And there is unbelievable daily cooperation between Jews and Moslem here that no one cares to talk about. Just by having so many of those peoples intermingled and work together daily is heartwarming. My parents went to a Moslem wedding, held in an Israeli Moslem town just days before my arrival here. On the other hand there are many Moslem Arabs that will come to my brother”s wedding (which is happening today). Both my parents encounter lots of Moslem Arabs daily as coworkers or as patients as part of their work. In fact my mother provides doctor”s services to a totally Moslem Arab town. It’s a shame that everything seems so frightening on TV when daily life here is so much different. For me it is much like the way people used to be scared of crime in NYC, which although you constantly heard about it never really happened to you (crime has gone way down in NY, but even before that it didn?t use to be the way people made believe.)

To sum up, by rationalizing and having a clear handle on facts much of the BS that you see on the news is just that. I refuse to be ruled by a handful of fanatics that would curtail my steps and try to influence history through media photos which ignore 99.99% of real life and focus on the 0.01%; the unusual and the odd.

In 4 days since my arrival I visited several archeological sites which are amazing and inspire peacefulness and a sense of proportion when compared to the little skirmishes you hear about those days. The Israelites, Greek, Romans, Byzantines, crusaders, Mamelucks, ottomans and many others were all here and left their towns and fortresses all around (several sites have 25 layers of different civilizations one on top of each other). Kings and slaves are all now ashes and dust. And as civilizations come and go the only thing that prevails is the sun the sea and the land. ?And humans.?

For the complete discussion (or if you believe I’m biased) go to http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=22&threadid=49287

Justice Dept wont pursue Microsoft

Justice Dept wont pursue Microsoft break-up.

The Justice Department said in a statement that it would “not seek a break-up of the company into separate operating systems and applications businesses, as previously had been ordered by the court. Instead, the Department will seek an order that is modeled after the interim conduct-related provisions of the Final Judgment previously ordered in the case.”

The United States and Israel

The United States and Israel walked out of the United Nations meeting on racism at Durban, South Africa, on October the 3rd

A suicide bomber has carried

A suicide bomber has carried out an attack in central Jerusalem, killing himself and injuring several other people, police have said. The bombing took part in the city”s busy and popular Russian Compound area, which has been targeted before. Police said five people had been hurt in the blast - at least one seriously.

Suicide bombing hits Jerusalem

One ring to rule them

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,

One ring to bring them and in darkness bind them,

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

I’m a big fan of Tolkien, so waching The Lord of the Rings Movies will be almost as cool as waching Matrix ;)

Yasser Arafat delivered a blistering

Yasser Arafat delivered a blistering verbal attack on Israel at a world racism conference at Durban, South Africa on Friday, but the Palestinian leader also was reported to have pledged in writing to oppose including any radical statements against Israel in the final conference report and to help ensure that the meeting did not fail.

Arafat Sends Mixed Signal at Meeting On Racism