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by d. katcheak

It was on christmas-last year-when I experienced my first holiday gathering. In my world we only take time away from harvesting once a year to celebrate a holiday, and that is christmas. We don’t celebrate thanksgiving because that is your holiday. On your holiday you humans eat my kind and that scares me. If my relatives and I were to celebrate thanksgiving, we would be thankful that you’re there for me to eat. But no! You’re too huge to kill and besides, you look like you taste bad. I know I may be delicious, but I’m alive! I breath, eat, and sleep just like you, but of course—in a very different way.

My best friend was shipped off to one of the men that are working here. When you’re putting my best friends dead body into your oven, I wonder if he made you very tired after you had your last bite? You’re thinking “OH! That was so good!” Then 20 minutes later you’re too lazy to come to work and take care of me and my fellow turkey relatives. You find yourself comfortable sitting at the couch watching some television. You soon came to a point when you realized that you sat too long—your butt is twice as big. My friend Harry was always a lazy person. I’m glad that you got his laziness for a  moment, and actually got what you deserved afterwards.

Another family was happily spending time with their relatives. It was time to eat and the grandfather had to get the first cut of my cousin. “Give me some of that delicious, tasty turkey.” A piece of my cooked cousin dropped onto his plate, then he took a bite, “My gums hurt from that dry turkey. How did  you cook the turkey? Maybe my 7 year old granddaughter could cook it better. I’m out of here.” The grandparents loved each others very much, but the old lady just didn’t know how to cook. She just wanted to make everybody happy. Instead she cooked my cousin Rose too long she took away her great taste, and on top of that she made my cousin too dry. She also had to apologize to her husband for cooking my cousin too long.

My uncle Tom was captured, killed, thrown in a box, and sent off to a rich family in Rhode Island. The family had a great thanksgiving, and sad to say, but he was cooked so well. The one thing that the butcher didn’t know was that my uncle was diagnosed with some type of bird flu. One of the family members happened to get real sick. They had to miss out on the fun family activities for the past week. Luckily the family was rich enough to take care of the sick family member—otherwise the person could have been killed.

You humans should realize that if things keep happening, maybe you should switch your holiday dish to pizza or popcorn. They’re very tasty and tend to make your mouth water more than I do. They also don’t be too dry or have some type of virus in them. Oh, and they’re not alive—they don’t have a life—they’re bought at the local store—which are sold in boxes. So they don’t have to be killed to satisfy your tummy. Once again I still haven’t been captured yet. I know when they think that its time for a turkey to be taken, I’m always trying to be on the far side of the barn—which is very safe for me. My name is Clarence and I want many years to live.

Earlier this week it was New York State. Now it’s Nevada. Perhaps Greece and the UK could take a lesson on what austerity means. (via LasVegasNow.com)

state cuts –

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See Also:

• Gartman: Greece’s Prime Minister Doesn’t Realize How Much Trouble He’s In
• Governor Paterson Goes Hoover: Delays Payments To Local Schools To Keep State Solvent
• Moody’s: The Coming Sovereign Debt Crisis Of 2010

DefendTheApp.com is now live. This site provides a fully functioning demonstration application that has implemented an AppSensor detection and response capability. The site also provides easy links to all relevant AppSensor information.

Not familiar with AppSensor? The basic idea is this; currently applications use a variety of secure development techniques to prevent an attacker from being able to break into the application. Secure development is great, however, we can’t just stop there.

Consider the defensive strategies used by physical banks, prisons, federal buildings, etc. We do use security controls to prevent attacks (locked doors, ID card to enter) , however, we also use a variety of methods to monitor and detect attackers before they have succeeded in their devious intents (cameras, guards, motion sensors, alarms). And in the real world, we put most of our faith in the ability to detect and catch a criminal, not in the ability to design a system that can withstand a relentless and unrestricted series of attacks.

This is the idea of AppSensor. Implement detection points within the application to discover a malicious user that is probing for vulnerabilities. Once the user is detected and a threshold of malicious activity is reached, report the user as an attacker and lock that user out of the application. If you can detect attackers and lock them out before the attacker finds a vulnerability, then you’ve significantly enhanced the security of your application.

This is a guest post by Michael Coates, a senior application security consultant with extensive experience in application security, security code review and penetration assessments. He has conducted numerous security assessments for financial, enterprise and cellular customers world-wide.

The original text is published on …Application Security…

Talkback and comments are most welcome

Related posts
OWASP Publishes Top 10 Web App Security Risks for 2010
Creating Your Own Web Server
Web Site that is not Easy to hack – Part 2 HOWTO
HTTPS Data Exposure – GET vs POST

Every now and again, we do something you may find strange for the government.  Instead of sitting in a conference room and deciding what’s best for you, we ask you to tell us how we can serve you better.

You may or may not know that I’m a web content manager for usa.gov, the US government’s official web portal.  We know it’s time to make some changes to the web site and we’ve got about a zillion ideas of how we can improve it, but we also want to hear your ideas.  After all, the site is there to help you find the government information and services you need.  

Do you have an answer to this question:  How can USA.gov deliver government information and services in ways that meet your needs and expectations?

You do?  Super! Here’s what you do.  Visit the dialog site – that’s where you can share your own ideas for usa.gov, and/or vote for ideas that other people submit.  I promise you that we’re interested in what you have to say and we look forward to implementing the ideas that come out of this dialog.

via fastcompany.com

Are you in there somewhere or everywhere?

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by f. pete

As a chick growing up, I watched my elders get shot- I thought we were at war with the humans. But no, they kill and eat us every year around the same time. thats not war, it’s slaughter! I am old enough to get eaten now, but I don’t want to get eaten, I want to live!

I lived through the Bird Flu era, but I don’t know if i have the bird flu. I had headache symptoms these past four years. And with all this disaster going on in the world, I think I can get the best of it and live to be the oldest turkey there is.

My feathers are too beautiful to be plucked! Right now I’m in my prime condition as a turkey. I command all the young turkey to stay away from any suspicious looking objects and no to go to any turkey calls. I seen this trick too many times. I see it coming up the drive way.

This year, I’m the last of my kind. All my kids and other family members got killed on the same day. How can I repopulate the field if I don’t have a mate. I’m glad I’m the last turkey because I can get saved by the government. i can get saved but I’ll be pretty lonely.     I can hear you humans already: “Eat him! He’s too delicious to waste!” I say “No, actually I’m too stringy, my meat is too spoiled.

I did it! I’m the last turkey in the world. Also the oldest. Todays date: June 15, 2089. I am 99 years old. I lived so long that the people don’t eat turkey anymore, they would rather eat canadian geese for Thanksgiving. I’m glad they’re eating canadian geese, because there is a heck of a lot of geese. Bye bye humans! I’m going to live at Hawaii.

by staff

Patrick Henry, one of your founding fathers, proclaimed, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”  Well, I’ll forgo the liberty and the death, if you don’t mind. I just want life! Give me something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and don’t carve me up for your feast. Let me live!

Bird flu—yeah, it’s still around. That’s how people get it, you know—from handling—and that includes EATING—birds. I’m a bird. Maybe I have bird flu. Maybe I don’t. Like Clint Eastwood says, “Do you feel lucky?” So think of your loved ones, and spare them the risk of touching and eating my possibly diseased carcass.  I’m not saying I know for sure I’m infected, but in the words of Jim Hickerson, our superintendent, “Anything is possible.” Why take the risk? Spare me.

Al Quaida, suicide bombings, cyber bullying, road rage…there’s too much violence in the world, so let’s start off the holiday season with one less homicide—mine. You’ll feel better for it, and I know I will.

Another reason you’ll feel better about sparing my life is that you won’t be loaded up with trytophan.  That’s the stuff that makes you sleepy. Me—I’m loaded—but loaded—with it. This is the ingredient that causes you to pass out on the floor or in the chair after eating me. You neglect everyone else, all the people who came over to visit, heck—flew over to visit.  Just lying there on the floor like a big fat lump of useless dough, snoring so loud the women can’t hear themselves talk and the kids strain to hear the sound effects on their new xbox game. All because of tryptophan coursing through your digestive system causing you to become comatose. That’s why those toddlers shoved those salmon berries up your nostrils last time—because they could! So be alert this Thanksgiving—don’t eat me.

Sure, I can hear the traditionalists whining, “But we’ve always had turkey for Thanksgiving, ever since the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and the Native Americans…” Well, let me tell you something about tradition, pal: just because you’ve always done something doesn’t mean it’s not stupid. Look at those Salem witchcraft trials—it was practically a tradition with them to accuse and hang innocent people for being witches, but that didn’t make it right. Why be a homicidal maniac on this joyous day of thankfulness? For goodness’ sake, your relative are here—behave! Eat some soy bean cake molded into the shape of a turkey, or some of that Vegan stuff—you’ll thank me for it, and I’ll thank you for it.

This holiday is all about ideals, right? People coming together to show their gratitude for cooperation and community spirit in hard times. Being left alive would make this the ideal holiday for me. So,  please, let me live.

by D. Milligrock

I love the days when the snow melts and everything comes to life. When all of the cold white stuff is completely gone, food is plentiful and life is filled with meaning. But then comes the cold, long, dark days. Those are the days that I am most afraid of. It’s not the cold, long, or dark part that makes me scared: it’s the days when mankind—your kind—comes to retrieve our kind, turkey’s, and eat us. Over the past few autumns, I’ve seen at least six of my cousins get caught and taken away. They never came back. Of course, it’s only necessary of me to think that they were eaten. So, when the dark days come, I am aware and cautious to protect myself from getting caught by your kind. I most certainly do not want to die in such a horrible manner.

There is many things your species can do to help us turkeys live in the wilderness—or sadly, captivity—without paranoia. One way is to become a vegetarian. In doing so, every other animal that you plan to kill and eat can go on living their lives—that‘s assuming you do kill other animals to eat then. Well, why wouldn’t you? You kill turkeys, so why not kill cows, pigs, and even marine mammals? I am aware that meat has proteins. You can substitute those proteins. I mean, we, turkeys, are herbivores and we get along pretty well.

My aunties brother-in-laws cousin twice removed once told us that you humans celebrate “Thanksgiving” and “Christmas” and “holidays”.  He also said that it’s just a big gathering of people who eat one big meal. I don’t understand your ways. You just gather around, eat one meal—which consists of my cousin as the main course and who know what else—then just…do it over and over again without any real reason. It’s just pointless. We do it almost every other day. It’s like a cliché. When you guys are done, you store the leftovers away and eat them another day. Why gather so much food when you know you are not going to finish it in one day? Without your frivolous holidays, my six cousins would’ve been here with me and we would’ve been having a great time. They weren’t even elderly yet.

There are other substitutes for us, turkeys. I mean, I understand that we would mix together great with mashed potatoes and gravy with a little bit of corn on the side, but we have lives to live. Geese, duck, even my close relative—the hen—could make the part. The closer the relative, the closer they taste like us. I’m sure they taste just about as good and they’re probably more abundant since they lay eggs and all that. Instead of using them for one thing—laying eggs—they could be useful for “Thanksgiving, Christmas, or holidays”.

We may be delicious and a tradition but we have lives that we want to live. I cannot stress that enough. Being killed and eaten is not the way we want to end our lives. Would you want to end your life that way? It’s a pretty graphic, disturbing image if I say so myself. I mean I picture it every day of my life. There are better, healthier options like becoming a vegetarian so you won’t kill any living animal, or—for my sake as well as other turkey’s—as another option, switch over to hen.  Leave it up to nature to balance out the ecosystem, since it’s only in their—specifically carnivores—instinct to hunt and kill to survive. What I an trying to say on behalf of my fellow species, don’t kill me!

Filed under: Concept Cars, Spy Photos, Convertible, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

We’ve been all but assured that a convertible version of the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was on the way, and now we’ve got photographic proof of the de-gullwinged drop-top weathering the wintery climes before its reveal in 2010.

Although Mercedes officials haven’t divulged much about the SLS cabrio, it’s likely to be fitted with a retractable soft-top rather than a folding hard-top in a bid to keep weight in check and retain some of the trunk’s capacity. Naturally, the chassis will be fortified to increase rigidity, but considering the SLS AMG was designed from the onset to be both a coupe and a convertible, we suspect the extent of the modifications to be limited and the weight penalty to be minimal.

Some reports indicate that the SLS AMG Roadster could debut as early as the Geneva Motor Show in March, but if we were betting gentlemen, we’d suspect the convertible SLS to debut later in 2010, likely at the Paris Motor Show.

Spy Shots: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lately there has been a lot of public news in my home town that I am extremely interested in. Mainly because it could affect my life  at work. Now, I am not going to get into details, but this news could create an epic boat load of work for me if the worst happens.

Every once in a while, I catch wind of an update in this issue from someone else and have to go search for it in Google to find out what is going on. Well, I am tired of that frankly, so I signed up for Google Alerts on the subject.

If you didn’t know about it, when you do a search in Google News, at the very bottom there is a link saying, “Create an email alert for…” where the dots are the search term:

Alternatively, you can just go to the Google Alerts page, and fill in your search term there. It’s the same thing really. Either way, you can be alerted to Google search results for

• News
• Blogs
• Web
• Video
• Groups
• Or comprehensive results on everything!

You can have alerts emailed to you once a day, once a week or as things happen. You can also limit the number of email alerts you receive per day. All in all, very handy when you want to stay current on a subject.

Do you use Google Alerts? What kind of stuff do you want to be alerted on? Hit me up in the comments!

During the early 1980s, I worked in a community center that looked after the welfare of an inner-city neighborhood in Mumbai. My clients were the poorest of the poor: pavement dwellers who lived on the sidewalks. We offered these families health services, enrolled their kids in school, and organized childcare for them. But every 15 days, public officials came and broke up their makeshift homes because it was illegal to squat on sidewalks. All we could do was give our clients a safe place to hide their belongings until the officials passed. Being young and hot-blooded, a small group of us took the local government to court. At that time, India had a chief justice of the supreme court who regarded even a postcard from a poor person as a legitimate opening to a public interest suit. And so the suit commenced with relative ease. Our small group was very excited that we might actually change the policies that kept pavement dwellers impoverished. To my surprise, however, my employer severely reprimanded me for this action and stripped away many of my discretionary powers. This organization, the Nagpada Neighborhood House, was one of the oldest and most prestigious nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)…

Rolf Nelson, a Wheaton College psychology professor, has just released the results of his study which aimed to shed some light on the impact of playing video games between tasks. The study, which is directed to the

We’ve been talking a bit about some of the communications problem Google seems to have at times, often not doing a very good job communicating with the public on things that may impact them greatly. Here’s yet another example, sent in by Ryan, who notes that many people have recently been kicked out of Google’s AdWord program with no recourse or explanation.

Now, it seems pretty clear that Google is trying to block “bad” advertisers who are somehow lying or cheating the system — and that’s a good thing. But these sweeping bans seem to be catching plenty of legitimate advertisers, and even more frustrating than the “ban” itself is the fact that as many times as you attempt to get them to explain why you were banned or ask for your case to be reconsidered, the company’s response is, effectively, to tell people: “You were banned for being bad, and you will never advertise with us again. Goodbye.” While I’m sure plenty of the banned accounts were banned for nefarious activity, it seems ridiculous to do a permanent and total ban with no explanation whatsoever. Google has been known to do this before (certainly many folks who use AdSense have received similar notices with the same lack of info or recourse). It’s just a shame, because it’s the sort of thing that Google could do right, and seems to have chosen not to.

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Earlier this week we noted Nouriel Roubini’s five reasons that the “barbarous relic” gold is due to fall.

Obviously this raised the hackles of the metal’s biggest fans, including QBAssetManagement, which (via GATA.org) has produced a long rebuttal.

In short, they presnt a ponzi-like view of the global currency system, call out Roubini for being intentionally provocative, and accuse him of a cherry-picked reading of history.

QBAssetManagement-12-14-2009 –

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See Also:

• Roubini: Here’s Five Reasons The "Barbarous Relic" Gold Is Going To Tank
• Schiff: Roubini Doesn’t Get Why Gold Is Soaring
• As Gold Slides, One-By-One, The Haters Come Out Of The Woodwork

Like every parent, you only want what is best for your baby. You read the best parenting books, buy intelligent toys, and religiously consult the Consumer Report Guide for Baby Products before committing to any purchase. And when you feel really confident that you’re doing the best you can, it suddenly hits you that your baby is still in danger from poisonous chemicals and other threats. Wherever you go, whatever you buy, your young child is being exposed to poisonous chemicals on a daily basis. From processed baby foods to the cleaning chemicals we use, we’re only putting our children in danger. Here are a few steps to help you along the way. While the vegan movement is definitely becoming more mainstream, it has yet to become a standard in parenting. There are, however, quite a few good resources to help. Pick up a copy of VegFamily magazine which is filled with information, resources, recipes and more about vegan families. A few bonuses that come from raising vegan kids is that you usually don’t have to force them to eat their vegetables, and your children should have better health due to their nutrition. Do a little research and you’ll find plenty of resources and products for those who want to parent the natural way. Google up a search for vegan baby care products and you’ll find various web sites that specialize in natural/vegan products like facial skin care products, apparel, and furniture for the baby, that will help you keep poisonous chemicals away from your child. A few notable stores include KidBean. com which sells a wide array of children’s stuff to the eco-minded parent. And Evo. com and foreue. com which both sell all-natural facial skin care products for the whole family(among other things).

For great info on vegan vitamins, vegetarian supplements and nutrition, visit www.vegetarianvitaminsguide.com today!

RARE MADDEN GIRL VIVIIAN PATTENT VEGAN KITTEN HEELS 8.5

US $13.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Dec-16-2009 16:46:57 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Vegan, Kids, Baby and Family Resources is a post from the Vegetarian Vitamins Guide blog where you can find suggestions and advice from vegetarians and vegans on vegetarian diets, supplements, vitamins and overall nutrition.

One of the major health problems facing our society today is the problem of obesity. This is a condition that will increase the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis in people over the years. Everywhere we look someone is pushing the latest diet that will help us sheds those unwanted pounds. When we watch television or read print media everyone has the “most effective” weight loss program for us. We have the low-calorie diet, the Miracle Diet, the Pritikin Diet and a host of others to choose from. All making claims they are the one to get you into better shape. No wonder people are confused and baffled.

At any given time 15 to 35 percent of us are trying to lose weight. We try the latest non-fat foods, go to fat farms and get involved in the latest diet program. But for all this effort and the billions of dollars spent by millions of people we are still getting fatter. The number of Americans considered to be fat is up from 25% in the eighties to over 33% of the population today.

With the New Year fast approaching many of us will resolve to loose weight only to fail in the coming weeks or months. Some will actually experience their weight loss goals but unfortunately fewer will be able to maintain it. Some of the attempts to loose weight will also come with other medical risks. People who experience repeated failure in their weight loss program will eventually loose self esteem and feel guilt.

So are all weight loss programs doomed to fail? Exactly what is going wrong? We need to separate fact from fiction when it comes to diets and weight loss. There are a few things that may help. Read more…

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

When a 250-mph funny car suddenly loses control and launches like a missile in your direction, common sense dictates that the best thing to do is run away. As fast as possible. While the instincts of the shutter bugs at Pomona Raceway in California told most to run for cover, Andy Willsheer just kept on shooting. And when Steve Gasparrelli’s Ford Mustang funny car came screaming at him full tilt and completely out of control, Willsheer snapped off several of the most up close and personal shots you’ll ever see.

Gasparrelli’s Mustang funny car slipped on some oil right out of the gate and made an immediate 90-degree right turn right for the concrete barrier. The drag car was immediately upended by the barrier just three feet from where Willsheer was shooting. Neither Willsheer or Gasparrelli were seriously hurt in the incident. We’re not sure if Willsheer was brave or stupid for not moving, but we sure do like the pics. Be sure to head over to the Daily Mail to check out Willsheer’s amazing photos and hit the jump to watch video of the accident. Pretty amazing stuff.

[Source: Daily Mail]

Continue reading VIDEO: Photographer snaps drag car crash with nerves of steel

VIDEO: Photographer snaps drag car crash with nerves of steel originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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