Don't post your "Adult Film" Name online!! Here's why...

I was just reading through some older blog posts in Google Reader and came across this GFI post.
It immediately reminded me of this xkcd comic.

Basically, your adult film name (AFN) is comprised of two parts:
First Name = your Pet's name
Last Name = the street you live on

So, for example, in the xkcd comic, the girl's AFN is Mister Rogers.

The post explains that it was big on Tumbler and Twitter for people to reblog/retweet the message with their AFN, which should definitely be avoided!

Why?

Because in many sites' password recovery feature, those are two of the pre-canned questions that users can select as their "secret question:"

• What is the name of your first pet.
• What street did you grow up on?

From Naked Security in 2009

Even if you like to create your own security questions, sometimes there is no option to do so and you must answer one of these questions.

So, don't go around posting these answers for the world to see!

Thanks for noticing me...

I drove to work this morning,

having a plate-full of cupcakes to share,

with the team.

On the way there, I saw a sign-holding man,

waving at the cars, trucks, and vans,

that pass by everyday.

On his sign, says "Help!

Homeless, Hungry, and Looking for Work."

We had spoken before this day, as well,

when I had stopped to fill up at Shell,

on the corner.

I had given him a few,

dollars and coins.

He expressed his thanks,

smiled, and waved me on.

Today I, pulled into Shell,

not for gas, but to share a treat,

I waved to him from across the street,

As he approached, I held out the sweets,

Which was met by a smile and a warm-filled greet.

"Aw, cupcakes," he exclaimed!

After his thanks, and a shake of the hand,

His smile halfway melted,

A bit of sorrow was there, I had felt it;

He looked very genuine and real,

And said, "Thanks for noticing me."

Tony & Rishi Acoustic Cover: The Offspring - Gone Away

Here's my first upload from SoundCloud:
T&R - Gone Away Acoustic by dudewheysmehsound

Enjoy!

Android Phones for $.01 on Amazon for Black Friday weekend? -- Not really...

I just read on LinkedIn that Amazon is currently selling all non-iPhones for one cent until Monday and was thinking, "Wow!  Now I can upgrade my wife to a smart phone!"

Not really...
Checking the deal's page, the deal only applies to new contracts or new lines added to an existing plan, not for upgrades.

Sucks for us, but if you're reading this and were thinking of switching to a new non-iPhone, here's a decent incentive (I know a 2-year contract and a free phone is a sham, but if you were thinking of doing it anyway, you will have saved money upfront on the phone with this).

iPod Returns

This morning, totally by accident, we found my old 1GB iPod Nano under the passenger seat of my Dad's car.
I've been looking for it for months now and had consigned it as being lost.

WOOOT!!

Just charged it back up.  With 194 Songs near and dear to my heart, which one to play first?!

CHOP SUEY!

Free Online Image to PDF converter

Currently working on college applications and needed to convert a screen shot of my transcript in the PNG format to the PDF format.

A quick Google search led me to this site: Neevia Technologies -- Docupub.

Dirty Spaceman

Tonight I'm leaving
Though I'm bleeding
Now you know me as Dirty Spaceman, yeah
Tonight I'm leaving
Got that spaceman head and
Now I'm leaving (now I'm leaving)

Angel Mouth ate my Jedi Jello
Now she feels the burn (now she feels the burn)
And I'm feeling extra angry
I-I-I I'm the Dirty Spaceman
(Yeah, yeah, sometimes I'm pretty)

Best lyrics ever...

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

Some things were good,
Some things were bad,
Mostly on the up and up,
Your passing makes us sad.

You were the guiding star for those at Infinity Loop,
Your standards never did stoop,
You will now guide from above,
In that we all trust and love.

Haters will troll,
Fanboys -- extoll,
Forever peace be upon you and your soul.

I for one will always Stay Hungry and Stay Foolish because of you.

Many thanks for all that you've done.

Rest In Peace,
Icon, Mentor, Genius, Legend.

Star Wars Viewing Order

While reading through this question and the answers, I decided that if and when the time comes, I'd make the kids watch the movies in the following order:
4 (Hope), 5 (Empire), 1 (Phantom), 2 (Clones), 3 (Sith), 6 (Jedi)

Double Edge Films -- 2 great shorts

Here are two amazing short films by Double Edge Films.  They definitely need more views, especially Uncle Jack!  Check them out, like them, and favorite them!!

SPIN

Uncle Jack

Enjoy!

Song 2 - stuck

Just watched Freddie rocking out...

Now I will have Song 2 in my head whilst I sleep!

JMeter -- Process Setup 06 -- Explaining Build File 01

This is part six of our setup.  Part five can be found here: http://dudewheysmehblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/jmeter-process-setup-05-editing.html

If you've been following along, you'll know by now that the heart of this process lies in the Ant build.xml file.  Here is the one which you can use / tweak for your purposes: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Byis5NEZXwweZmQ1YjA4NjctYTgwNi00ZTU1LWExMjMtMDA3ODI1Yzg4ZjIz&hl=en_US

If you have any doubts about anything, please read through the Ant Manual.

Bettas living in peace! Yay! Fishtank update.

Disclaimer:

I know people are quick to comment and say that it is cruel to put multiple of these fish together in the same tank.  In the rest of that breath though, they would, hypocritically, curse me and condemn me to hell (which is ironically pretty cruel in and of itself).

If what I described above is an accurate description of yourself, then piss off.

Anyway, we have two tanks set up next to each other.  One is a 20 gallon (which I got new from the store) and one is a 10 gallon (which I got from a work friend).  We had one nice blue betta in the big tank.  Since we had the second tank, we figured we could get a second betta.  They are really great fish!

Bad news though.  The filter on the 10 gallon tank just seemed to die a week back.  We tried taking it apart to see if we could fix it, but no dice.

The water in the tank started getting really nasty, so we moved all the fish from the 10 gallon to the 20 gallon, except the blue betta -- since we were scared to mix the two males.  We love these fish and don't want them to hurt each other.

After doing a partial water change on both the tanks this past weekend, I decided to try an experiment.  Since we'd be home for the whole evening, we could keep an eye on the fish to make sure they don't hurt each other.

I put the blue betta in the tank with the other fishes -- right now, there must be about 40+ fishes in there -- dozens of Mollies, 2 Cory catfish, 1 Pleco, and the 2 Bettas.

The bettas have not fought with each other at all.  I guess they're so used to the other fish that their aggressiveness has vanished.  Both are really complacent.  

The blue one just sits in the corner all day.  While he was in the 10 gallon tank, he would position himself against the filter so he wouldn't be moved by the water flow.  He's just really lazy.

The red one is more inquisitive, and is constantly swimming around checking stuff out.

They swim by each other all the time -- never have we seen them flare up!

The other fish are more aggressive, than these guys -- that's for damned sure.  One of the white mollies has a gash in his check.  One of the black female mollies had some kind of white scar on the top of her head.  I've seen a few of the small mollies tailing the bettas and sucking / nipping at them!

Here are some pics of them!

And yes, I'll take better pictures later.  Just wanted to put this up to show that Bettas can be together without harming each other!

JMeter -- Process Setup 05 -- Editing jmeter.properties && Creating extra.properties

This is part five of our Setup process.  Part four can be found here: http://dudewheysmehblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/jmeter-process-setup-04-createpopulate.html

Located in the bin folder are a few files comes with JMeter to tweak it's configuration: httpclient.parameters, jmeter.properties, saveservice.properties, system.properties, upgrade.properties, and user.properties.  We will edit the jmeter.properties and create our own properties file: extra.properties (both are included in the bundles here https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Byis5NEZXwweMTgyZTc3MDktNzU5Yy00ZDAyLTg2NzktNzgzNTBiZjk2ZWI3&hl=en_US).

Note: If you wish, you can replace your default jmeter.properties with the one from the bundle, or you can edit your own.  The same thing goes for the extra.properties -- you can create it from scratch or you can use / tweak the one from the bundle.

JMeter -- Process Setup 04 -- Create/Populate Folders

This is part four of our Setup process.  Part three can be found here: http://dudewheysmehblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/jmeter-process-setup-03-adding-ant-taks.html

When we left of from last time, we still had the following to do:

• Create a directory structure for organizing JMeter test scripts, results, and reports.
• Edit jmeter.properties and create extra.properties file.
• Create custom build.xml file.
• Extended with AntContrib and AntelopeTasks.
• Edit XSL files to show more information / calculations.
• Split the times and latency (Time to First Byte and Time to Last Byte).
• Add Min, Max, Average, Standard Deviation, and 90% calculations.
• Add run times and custom title.
• Edit the default Java memory heap size to prevent out of memory errors.
• Duplicate the file and strip out the details for quick loading the browser and phones.
• Edit the build file to transform the results twice, detailed and non-detailed.
• Edit the build file to be able to perform transformations at will.
• Add a different XSLT processor to handle the transformations if needed.
• Create Performance Monitor Data Collector Set.
• Counters that can be used and links to resources.
• Creating batch file to run the ant commands.
• Edit build.xml file to handle auto start/stop of Perfmon.
• Edit build.xml file to auto send mails upon Success or Failure.

Let's start with the directory structure.

How to tell if a number is divisible by 7?

While studying for the GMAT, found this information and thought it would be good to share, seeing as how the test prep books all say that you can only find if a number is divisible by 7 through long division (Manhattan GMAT, Number Properties - updated for 12th Edition - page 14).

How to Aggregate Blogs

I purchased a .info domain name from GoDaddy for $1.99 for the first year and decided I wanted to aggregate the two blogs I've got into a feed that displays on the site.

Check out how to accomplish this task!

No more "Oh yeah!"

Sad news -- no more Slim Jims for the Macho Man, Randy Savage. :-(

Lastpass is potentially compromised -- change your master password!

From the GFI Blog by Christopher Boyd

Secure Passwords

Here is a great article about creating and managing secure passwords.  One line that sticks with you afterwards is:

"Security is all about risk mitigation - you never actually become "secure", you merely decrease your risk."

Arctic Monkeys - 'Fluorescent Adolescent' (2007)

Awesome song && Awesomer video (even though it gives me a head ache due to the shaky cam footage, and even though I hate clowns).

JMeter -- Process Setup 03 -- Adding Ant taks and First Test run

This is part three of our setup.  Part two can be found here: http://dudewheysmehblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/jmeter-process-setup-02.html

We now have Ant working with JMeter.  Next we need to extend Ant with two external tasks:

• Ant Contrib Tasks -- from Ant-Contrib.
• We are using this for the ForEach Task.
• Additional Ant Tasks -- from Antelope.
• We are using this for the If Task.

Happy Monday!

Here are three quotes I've got written down in my notebook which should put a smile on your face!

(Please note, I'm not a Mac fanboy -- I just like cool technology and try to be as unbiased as possible, but still, some Windows bashing makes me giggle a bit!)

• "Getting people to stop using Windows is more or less the same as trying to get people to stop smoking tobacco products.
  They don't want to change;
  They are happy with slowly dying inside."
  --munky99999

• "To talk much & arrive nowhere is the same as climbing a tree to catch a fish."
  --Chinese Proverb

• 'There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't."
  --T-shirt (original source, Unknown)

Happy Monday! :-)

NES flash drive

Found this while browsing through the Makezine blog site.

JMeter -- Process Setup 02 -- Downloads and Installations

This is part two of the JMeter Process Setup.  Part one can be found here: http://dudewheysmehblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/jmeter-process-setup-01.html

The real heart of the Automated JMeter execution process is your Ant build.xml file.  This is so essential that the JMeter guys have already included the Ant ant-jmeter-1.0.9.jar file for us in the extras folder!  Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself, let's start from scratch -- this will all be geared toward a setup on a Windows machine -- either a Windows Server or Windows XP/Vista/7.

Windows Explorer (Folder and Search Options) tips for Windows 7

If you are like me and need to have a lot of info within your visible spectrum, the default Windows Explorer settings for Windows 7 is definitely not enough.  The good news is that it can be set to your preferences, which should be taken advantage of because, well, hey, they're called "Personal Computers" for a reason.

Read on for some handy tips!

JMeter -- Process Setup 01 -- Introduction

If you're working with JMeter for performance testing and already have a process setup, you are one of the lucky ones.  Starting from scratch and getting all of the various parts to fit and work takes time -- too much time especially if you're also involved in functional testing as well.

Aside: If you've stumbled upon this post looking for JMeter advice or a tutorial, please see this JMeter-tips blog.  I'll start putting up that once I have anything "post-worthy."

Local Bugzilla & Testopia Installation and Configuration Part 1 of probably 5

So, I'm tired of receiving a ton of mails from Bugzilla, as I'm sure everyone is -- especially when I'm on a distribution list and receive a CC about something I just did (Argh!!!).  Also, I'm interested in more custom reports than Bugzilla allows for currently.  Lastly, I want to try out Testopia to see how well it can fit in our process.

While searching for fixes for the mail issue I found a couple interesting pages:
This one gave me the idea to tweak the Bugzilla install to send out only 1 mail to everyone instead of sending out multiple mails (one to each person).  This will allow the Exchange server to remove the duplicates, sending everyone only ONE mail, thus reducing the clutter.

I also saw this one, which allows you to Authenticate to Bugzilla using Active Directory.  I want to try this out also, to see what the benefits are.  This will come later.

So anyway, the first step was figuring out which AMP server to install -- I have used WAMP Server before and it was very simple to set up and use.  I decided to go with XAMPP though because of the inbuilt support for Perl.

My name is Kobayashi. I work for Keyser Soze.

Pete Postlethwaite, Mr. Kobayashi -- you will certainly be missed.

How to create a new Firefox Profile

Why would you want a new profile?  The main reason is the same regardless of if you are using the browser at work for testing or if you are using the browser at home for recreation: different add-ons, configurations, and settings.

In my case, at the office, I have a profile set up with which I run automated tests in Selenium IDE.  The reason I can't use my normal browser is two-fold:

1. The add-ons which I need for Selenium IDE to run without failing for stupid reasons are dangerous to have installed for everyday manual use.
2. Everyone on my team needs to have the same setup so that we can all run the tests without having any compatibility issues.

So, how to set it up?  Fairly easy.  See these links for reference.

• Multi-Firefox
• Command line Arguments

Must-Have Selenium IDE Addons & Extentions

Selenium IDE is a great tool for automating within a tight budget, but it has one major weakness -- the logical flow of the script cannot be controlled.  Because of this, we were seriously considering moving all of our scripts to the Selenium Remote Control.

Thankfully though, I did some research and found some lifesaving addons and extensions.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!

My resolution is to keep these blogs updated more regularly!! :-)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all and to all a New Year (which is Happy)!!

I told you I was bad at keeping these blogs updated!  But guess what one of my New Years resolutions was?!