Category: Weblogs and CMS

We have CAPTCHAs! (I think)

CAPTCHA sample
First, my apologies for the lengthy silence. Things have been very busy, and I wiped out pretty hard on my bike two weeks ago (all is well now…more later…maybe?) and that slowed a lot of things down at a time when I really couldn’t much afford it. Sigh.

The happy news is that in a fit of frustration (1 real comment buried in over 120 spam comments) I actually installed a CAPTCHA plugin as I threatened some time back. After what was probably not enough time looking at options, I went with Gudlyf’s AuthImage plugin. It wasn’t too hard to install, although I had to modify two theme files and one “backend” file, which could definitely be a problem when upgrading WordPress or switching themes.

People should let me know if this causes them any problems. I definitely want to annoy spammers, but not the kind folks that take the time to visit in earnest. (If you can’t post here, e-mail me at “phi AT unhinderedbytalent.com”.)

This is particularly cool because Nick Hopper (friend and nifty UMM alum) was a co-author (while at CMU) of the paper that first introduced the idea of CAPTCHAs. (See his page for a link to a copy.)

Currently listening to: The wonderful “You’re gonna make me lonesome when you go” by Madeleine Peyroux from Careless love.

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Sensible people and their 15 minutes of fame

Still from \'March of the penguins\'
Every now and then the universe provides small signs that not all is lost and the looneys don’t completely run the show. The fact that March of the penguins is selling out in Madison (and that the Wisconsin State Journal had the sense to quote my son and mother on the issue) gives me a warm fuzzy feeling (which, as the film makes clear, can only be shared metaphorically by the birds themselves). Go here for Sub-Evil Boy’s take on it all. And definitely go see the movie if at all possible – it’s seriously cool (ho, ho, ho). (Apparently the voice overs vary quite a lot according to country/language. We saw the U.S. release with Morgan Freeman’s excellent narration. Can’t say anything about other releases.)

PZ Myers, the pirate
Perhaps more importantly, the success of blogs like Pharyngula is a real sign that (talented) individuals (with way too much time to spend on their blog) can make a broad and signficiant impact without the backing of Big Corporations or Big Media or Big Much Of Anything. As evidence of this wondrous state of affairs, Pharyngula got a brief mention in Newsweek and (far cooler) Paul will be interviewed on BBC’s 5 Live program (a total fave of WeatherGirl‘s). The interview will air Monday, so we’ll all have to tune in to listen.

Do you think people would mind if I started sleeping outside Paul’s office door?

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