Shuffling – Just In Case You Were Wondering
May 21, 2013 | 
Author I have moved. Well, I have been shuffling around a bit is more more the case. In the past I have put my more personal posts on my separate blog at Postcards From Myself. Well, since my 
professional life has changed a bit and my web and tech post are really on DesignTechWeb now, I have moved my personal posts over here. What that basically means is that this blog, this one right here at MichaelCarnell.com, will be an eclectic mix of creative writing (I use that term loosely), food and cigar reviews, travel records, and the occasional train or car post. There may be an occasional tech tip or review sprinkled in, but that won’t be the norm going forward.
If you want tech and only tech, please head on over to DesignTechWeb.com and subscribe there. That is the place where both Amanda Albertson-Byfield and I will be doing our tech tech thing. Basically it has been that way since we formed our business partnership over two years ago, but I have cheated from time to time. I resolve to quit cheating. On my blogging, on my writing, and maybe even on my diet. Hopefully.
If you are one of the insightful folks who wants to stay up with most everything I do, then please stay tuned here. Subscribe here. Visit and comment here! If I post things on other sites, like the aforementioned DesignTechWeb site, I will post a note of it here so you can make sure not to miss anything. Also don’t forget that I keep up JustBritish for British car news, CharlestonRail.org for Charleston railroading history and news – including streetcars, and MichaelsTrains.com for my model railroading hobby. Note that that last one, the model railroading site, has a lot of hobbyist electronics thrown in like the Raspberry Pi and the TI Launchpad.
Wow, that still sounds like an awful lot of sites to maintain on a regular basis, doesn’t it? Well I resolve to do my best to keep them all going, but I also reserve the right to combine more of them in the future if need be. OK? Hey, you get what you pay for!
XEN by Nish Patel
A nice relaxing Sunday evening spent in the back yard shade. Enjoyed it while smoking a fine cigar I had stored in the humidor for a good while now, the XEN by Nish Patel. The XEN has a Nicaraguan binder, and is boxed-pressed with a smooth Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut wrapper.
The light on this stick was easy and the flavor very smooth and mild to medium strength. There were hints of spice, but nothing at all overpowering. I loved the large volumes of thick smoke the cigar produced which enabled me to blow smoke rings even though there was a slight breeze out side. As for the scent, my daughter said it had an excellent aroma. As for the burn itself, the stick had a firm ash that lasted about 1 to 1.5 inches.
Other than the cigar, man it was relaxing sitting out in the back on the swing. The weather hasn’t turned to hot yet, especially in the evening. It was about 5:30pm and the trees protect the area from any direct sun. Even the dogs were behaving and not barking – for a while anyway. As you can tell by the photo, the yard is really green back there. What you can’t tell from the photo is that most of that green is made up of weeds. I really need to get back and trim some bushes and pull back some of those weeds.
What you can’t see from the photo is the small corner of the yard that I really claim. It is that vine covered are beyond my hand. In the corner plot are three Japanese maples that my family gifted me, a small angel statue, and a fairy stone. I need to weed, but I don’t want to disturb the angels or fairies either! When I have done some of the cleanup I will post a picture of the area.
Ah well, anyway … a good cigar and a nice evening. Next time I will tap into a growler from the Charleston Beer Exchange instead of my constant companion – Diet Coke.
The Good Fight
Some morning you will wake up to find that the dream you have been chasing is just bait. Shiny, attractive, alluring, but just bait. If you are lucky, you may find out in time, but in all likelihood you won’t. You will be too distracted to notice the truth. Too late you will discover the hook is firmly set and there is no breaking free, no wiggling loose. The line has been pulled tight, and the best you can hope for is to put up a good fight.
Presenting on WordPress Security
Just wanted to let you all know that I will be speaking at the May WordPress User Group meeting on WordPress Security. Since WordPress enjoys the position of being one of the most widely used web platforms, it is also one of the most attacked. This has become particularly clear with the DNS and dictionary attack over the last month.
We will look at the basics of WP security touching on everything from file permissions and user accounts to preventing script injection and backup procedures to protect your blog from hacking or downtime.
The May meetup of the User Group will be held on May 14 at The Flagship on the corner of Calhoun and East Bay, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, and feature 2 presentations. For more information, visit the WordPress User Group of Charleston’s site.
Posted in Events & Appearances, Security, Website Design | 
Tags: Presentation, Security, user group, WordPress | 
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I am a programmer at the Medical University of South Carolina and partner in DesignTechWeb. Please check there for the latest technical advice and information from me and my business partner, Amanda Byfield-Albertson.
Between work, playing with my old British cars, and chasing trains around, I am a writer, cigar devotee and rum runner.
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