Presenting on WordPress Security
May 8, 2013 | 
Author 
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 | 
No Comments »
Nexus 7 Tablet Six Month Review
I have had my Google Nexus 7 Android tablet for a little more than six months now. You can see my early impressions of it back when I talked about using it as a mobile computer. I feel that I have been using it long enough to take a good look at it and summarize my feelings. My summary – I really don’t like it. Sorry, I just don’t.
The most obvious problem with the Nexus 7, and actually the problem that bothers me the least, is that it is just too small. This is really a personal preference. I know quite a few people who prefer the smaller seven inch form factor to the nine or ten inch tablets. I am not one of them. It is great that I can slip the tablet into my pants pocket or easily hold it without any arm fatigue, yes. On the other hand I find myself zooming in far too often. Often enough that I notice it; it interrupts my experience, and makes me switch over to my laptop. On quite a few occasions as I have been lying in bed using the Nexus 7 I have found myself setting it aside to get up and retrieve my laptop. That boils down to the tablet just not working for me. And when I have wanted to do simple book reading I still prefer the non-backlit basic Kindle or … horrors … a real book!
Ok, other than the size we could talk about apps. Google Play, the Android app store, has come a long way. I have to say that there is almost no app that I want that I can’t find. Play can be a bit cluttered and hard to pick through at times – kind of like searching for a gem in a flea market – but in the end I do find what I need. The good apps are free or reasonably priced, and I have never had any complaints with what I have found. I stopped using alternatives, like Amazon’s app store, simply because I didn’t need them and I didn’t like have to go to multiple sources for updates or searches. My summary of the app experience – great. Not an issue at all. Oh, and I love Chrome. Best mobile and desktop browser there is. Read the rest of this entry »
Who Would Have Guess I am a Freak
I will admit to the fact that I am a freak, possibly a throwback. Seriously! Sorry I don’t have any of my friend Andra Watkins’s great phrase turns to explain it, but my dentist will vouch for it all the 
same. In fact more than one of my dentists would. With each new dentist I get, not long after the examination begins the exclamation of, “Oh my word! Do you mind if I take a picture of this?” rings out.
At least one of my dentists has gone so far as to document my teeth in some “permanent record” in case my body ever needs to be identified by dental records alone. And that alone is not a prospect that has you brimming over with hope.
As it turns out though the reason for all of this excitement is because I show evidence of being exactly what I am – a meat rending carnivore. After close inspection each of my dentists has discovered that I have serrated canine teeth. All four – both top and bottom. Not only do they poke out a bit further than their surrounding teeth, but they are quite sharply scored along the back and, at least according to the very (very!) few people I have bitten over the years, do a bit more damage than the same teeth of other normal folk. As one might say, in this case, my bite really is worse than my bar.
So why I am I tell you this? Well, I am not real sure other than to tell you if I shuffle off this mortal coil please don’t let them bury the wrong person. Or bury the right person too early.
Twilight is a Tempting Lover
Twilight is a tempting lover,
sharing slight secrets in the evening hour.
Hints of pale moonlight, and sparkles of promised stars
show meekly out from her dark robes.
Calming contrast to her twin the dawn,
all action and anticipation and allure -
new beginnings,
and unknown worlds.
Twilight brings the calm of the familiar,
the curve that fits the palm,
and the scent of sacred sweat.
The promise is a familiar one,
reassuring and warm.
We wrap ourselves up in those robes,
And lie down with her once more.
I work as a programmer at the Medical University of South Carolina and partner in DesignTechWeb. Please check over there for the latest information - including blog posts and technical advice from me and my business partner Amanda Byfield-Albertson.
 
 |