Archive: November 14, 2005

Monday, November 14, 2005

1. Very cool optical illusion (via).

     ¶ (1) Tags: [Random, Science]

2. Dan Bricklin: wikiCalc (via Sam Ruby). See About wikiCalc 0.1:

   The wikiCalc program is a web authoring tool that creates normal web pages. It is for creating and maintaining web pages that include data this is more than just unformatted prose, such as schedules, lists, and tables. It combines some of the ease of authoring and multi-person edit ability of a wiki with the familiar formatting and data organizing metaphor of a spreadsheet... it can be run client-side as an application that publishes by FTP or server-side using CGI.

   Written in Perl. Will be GPL.

     ¶ (0) Tags: [Programming]

3. S5: A Simple Standards-Based Slide Show System (via Sam Ruby):

   S5 is a slide show format based entirely on XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript. With one file, you can run a complete slide show and have a printer-friendly version as well.

     ¶ (0) Tags: [Programming]

How to check an IP address against blacklists

Here's how to check an IP address against standard DNS blacklist servers, for purposes of blocking comment spam and such:

<?php
function isBlacklisted($ip){
    $check = join('.',array_reverse(explode('.',$ip))).'.xbl.spamhaus.org.';
    return dns_check_record($check,'A');
}
?>


dns_check_record is checkdnsrr before PHP 5.

Update: Note that for a reason unknown to me the ending period is necessary. Also, here's a multi-service version for you:

<?php
function isBlacklisted($ip){
    $services = array('xbl.spamhaus.org', '...');
    foreach($services as $service){
        $check = join('.',array_reverse(explode('.',$ip))).".$service.";
        if(dns_check_record($check,'A')) return true;
    }
    return false;
}
?>


Permalink | Comments? | Tags: Programming | id 7581

06:02 (utc-5)
edited: 15:09 (utc-5)

 

Google Analytics

Joseph Scott’s Blog » Google Analytics. Ooh, I may sign up.

Update: From their service agreement:

You will have and abide by an appropriate privacy policy and will comply with all applicable laws relating to the collection of information from visitors to Your websites. You must post a privacy policy and that policy must provide notice of your use of a cookie that collects anonymous traffic data.

I have to post a privacy policy? Ick. Lame.

Also, under proprietary rights, does this:

(c) use the trademarks, trade names, service marks, logos, domain names and other distinctive brand features or any copyright or other proprietary rights associated with the Service for any purpose without the express written consent of Google;

mean that I can't talk about the service at all (since to talk about it I'd have to say "Google Analytics", for instance)?

And, if I stop using their service, I have to notify them in writing?

15. TERM and TERMINATION . Either party to the Agreement may terminate it at any time and for any reason.

Upon any termination or expiration of this Agreement... You will delete all copies of Google Analytics's UTM code from all Pages and certify thereto in writing to Google within three (3) business days of such termination.

No thanks.

Permalink | 1 Comment | Tags: This website | id 7580

03:30 (utc-5)
edited: 03:52 (utc-5)

 

1. I finally got to run an analysis of Gnome sort this weekend. From my tests, Gnome sort appears to be slightly faster than Bubble sort (15-20%), but much slower than other O(n²) sorts like Insertion sort, which is over twice as fast as Gnome sort.

     ¶ (0) Tags: [Programming]

2. Austin Bay Blog » A big victory in The War On Terror (via Glenn Reynolds):

   When Al-Qaida’s zealots blow up trains in Spain or subways in London, those are attacks of their choosing conducted on “infidel terrain.” The genius of the war in Iraq is a brutal but necessary form of strategic judo: It brought the War on Terror into the heart of the Middle East and onto Arab Muslim turf. In Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s theo-fascists have been spilling Arab blood, and Al Jazeera has noticed that, too.

     ¶ (0) Tags: [Opinions/Politics]

3. Rap Lyrics Translated (via Steve Dekorte).

     ¶ (2)