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2003

New approach to Anti-Spam

With all the talk about anti-spamming laws soon to be introduced in the US I thought I would share some of my thoughts...

As far as legal concerns go, I believe that the anti-spam laws should be tough. I think the USA would be best off with a law similar to the one in the European Union, where it is illegal to send any unsolicited email. Unfortunatelly America has already developed a strong lobby, which wants to use unsolicited e-mail as a "genuine" promotional channel (i.e. they want to send you spam from their own address). The question would be: do we really need more advertisments? The european law is simple and ends confusion.

The second issue deals with programming.
The anti-spam software of the day works using either a 'black-list' or 'white-list' mechanism.
A black list contains all adresses/topics/key-words associated with spam. If it encounters any of these words it deletes the e-mail, of moves it to a special spam folder of the e-mail client.
A white list works the opposite way: it looks for known e-mail addresses, from which mail is accepted, rejecting everything else.

Both these mechanisms have faults:
-- black lists cannot work agains the real scum spammers, who desguise themselves as a friend of yours, who wants to remind you of a meeting or something.
- white lists only accept some e-mails, making it impossible to recieve e-mail form someone you did not previously have contact with.

Solution:
1. Use a white list mechanism (either server-side, or client-side), which will accept only e-mails from the list. If an address is not on the list, then create a pair of random numbers and store them.
2. Generate a webpage (could be a subsription service for client-side software) which has an address: www.antispamserver.com/?XXXXXXXX
Where XXXXXXXX is the first of the random numbers. The page shall contain a GD generated graphic showing YYYYYYYY (the second number) and a textfield where the number can be entered.
3. Send e-mail back to the adress which wasn't on the white list saying: "You are tryning to send an e-mail to NAME, who you have never e-mailed before. Please go to: www.antispamserver.com/?XXXXXXXX and confirm that you are a real person..." (something among these lines)
4. The person visits the page, enters the code and the original e-mail is finally passed on...

There are no major loopholes in the system. The only requirement being that if you send someone e-mail, their address is automatically added to your white list. (Easy client-side, server-side solved by using the same server for POP and SMTP).

This system would not make it impossible to send spam, but would make it a whole lot more energy consuming. Let's say that the key consisted of 10 digits. The spammer would need to type in 10 characters for every one of the millions of addresses he posts to. I think that would be rather discouraging :)

Postanowienia


  1. Zyc i cieszyc sie chwila.
  2. Nie popasc w zadna rutyne, nie 'uzaleznic sie od zycia'
  3. Pracowac mniej i z odpowiednich powodow. Pracowac dla (kolejnosc wiazaca): 1.przyjemnosci, 2.kariery, 3.kasy
  4. Kupic sobie szkla kontaktowe i naprawde je nosic
  5. Dalej chodzic na imprezy, zapamietywac imiona spotkanych osob
  6. Zrobic wreszcie prawo jazdy i kupic samochod
  7. Obciac wlosy -- najlepiej ogolic sie na lyso
  8. Wyleczyc wszystkie zeby i inne dolegliwosci tego ciala w ktorym zyje
  9. Dalej chodzic regularnie na basen
  10. Nie palic papierosow, bo sie uzaleznie
  11. Dalej medytowac
  12. Dalej pisac eseje, nie odkladac brudnopisow na polke
  13. Zalozyc rodzine i miec dzieci, kiedy bede mial 30 lat
  14. Zrozumiec post-modernistyczna, post-konwencjonalna moralnosc
  15. O! Prawie bym zapomnial: Nie mieszkac w jednym domu z telewizorem

Beck -- Sea Change Tour 2003

Beck
Wow! What a concert, what an artist!

I went to see Beck play in Manchester yesterday and I have to admit I was impressed. I love Beck's music -- I have all his albums, but to see him live was something else :)

He was playing solo, but he played: guitar, harmonica, piano, acordeon, electic bass-guitar, synthesizer... he was sometimes accompanied by his programable drummer, named Roland...

I would write more, but words elude me.

Prawa zachodniego czlowieka

"People have to be taught not to collapse morally before the means used by the Great Satan if it stays in Iraq. It will try to spread moral decay, incite lust by allowing easy access to stimulating satellite channels and spread debauchery to weaken people's faith."
- from 'fatwa', an edict issued on April 8 by Kadhem al-Husseini al-Haeri, an Iraqi-born cleric based in Iran

Jakie to sa dziwne, nietolerancyjne, zatwardziale, ultrakonserwatyne i nieludzkie poglady!!! Nie pozwalac wlasnym ludziom ogladac telewizji satelitarnej? Przeciez to absurdalne -- kazdy ma PRAWO ogladac co mu sie rzewnie podoba. Ogladanie telewizji to jedno z podstawowych praw czlowieka!, kazdy powinien moc czerpac wiadomosci z wszystkich mozliwych zrodel -- rozwijac sie, ksztalcic... Az burzy sie krew!

Tak, ale...
Wyobrazmy sobie odwrotna sytuacje. Zyjemy sobie w takim ustroju jaki mamy. Wiemy, ze nie jest on idealny, ale lepszego nie znamy. Nie znamy innego ustroju pozwalajacego realizowac nasze podstawowe prawa i potrzeby, wolnosci, rownosci, sprawiedliwosci...
Zyjemy sobie i zyjemy az tu nagle nadchodzi wielka armia, powiedzmy Marsjan (zeby nie bylo...) i bombarduje nasze stolice, pozbawia nas wladcow i zaczyna pro-marsjanska propagande. Marsjanie sa w gruncie rzeczy pokojowo nastawieni, ale nie podobalo im sie nasze restrykcyje prawo, ktore zakazuje emisji pornografii w telewizji, wielozenstwa i zbiorowych orgii w miejscach publicznych.

Oni zreszta wcale nie chca nas do niczego zmuszac, ale chca tylko, zebysmy mieli prawo robic co nam sie rzewnie podoba. W zwiazku z tym zniesione zostana wszystkie restryjcyjne prawa seksualne i zalozona zostanie sekta marsjanska. Przynaleznosc do sekty jest oczywiscie dobrowolna, ale sekta bedzie miala wsparcie Marsjan i to jej czlonkowie dzierzyc beda wladze. Czlonkowie sekty cieszyc sie beda calkowita swoboda seksualna, beda mogli chedozyc z kim lub czym chca i robic to w kazdym miejscu. Marsjanie dostarczac beda przybory seksualne, jesli takie okaza sie potrzebne.

A... i jeszcze jedno. Bedziemy transmitowac wam telewizje, zeby kazdy mogl poznac kulture naszej sekty zanim sie do niej przylaczy. Bedziemy transmitowac 24 godz. na dobe. i beda przerozne programy do wyboru: jeden pokazujacy seks oralny, drugi analny, kolejny zoofilie, kolejny... Zadnego hardcore'u, tylko to co sami chetnie ogladamy -- glownie nasi aktorzy, albo sceny dokumentalne z imprez naszej sekty. Wszyscy usmiechnieci, wszyscy szczesliwi, wszystkie rozterki rozwiazuja sie same na koncu filmu. Rano programy uczace (wspol)zycia w sekcie dla mlodziezy.

I podkreslamy -- nikt nie musi tego ogladac, ani tym bardziej nie musi im sie podobac! Bron boze, wcale nie chodzi nam o narzucanie wam naszej kultury, chcemy tylko, zebyscie wszyscy mieli wolnosc i prawo, zeby ogladac co tylko chcecie. Jedyne czego nie chcemy, to zeby jakas dyktatura narzucala wam swoje zdanie i swoje nietolerancyjne tradycje...

Zostaniemy tu, az sytuacja sie ustabilizuje.

...


No dobra... teraz zastap slowa: seks, pornografia, wielozenstwo, orgie, takimi slowami jak: wolnosc seksualna, liberalna telewizja (ala seriale amerykanskie), zniesienie nakazu 5cio krotnych modlitw co dnia, sekularyzacja spoleczenstwa i wladzy.
Po wykonaniu tych zmian przeczytaj tekst jeszcze raz, a moze zrozumiesz, dlaczego w zamieszczonym powyzej cytacie pojawiaja sie slowa: Wielki Szatan.

Pozdrawiam

Political Buzzwords

"A vocal minority clamoring to transform Iraq in Iran's image will not be permitted to do so. We will not allow the Iraqi people's democratic transition to be hijacked by those who might wish to install another form of dictatorship."
-D. Rumsfeld

There are certain words which apper over and over and over again in the official political statements in America and the World over. Whenever these words appear they become accepted as understandable, but after a few weeks they loose their original meaning and take on a menacing, self-affirming energy. Whether these words are meant to be "good" or "bad", they become deprived of their sense, and what remains is pure, meaningless emotional load. True form without substance.

Just off the top of my head I can write out examples and I challenge everyone reading this to GIVE ME A DEFINITION, which would fit every context in which the word was used by high-ranking politicians.

The list:

- dictatorship
- WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction)
- terrorism
- terrorist
- liberate
- evil (G.W.Bush's favorite)
- anti-american (new)


---
If you know any other meaningless words, let me know!



I'll end with another quote...

"The images you are seeing on television, you are seeing over and over and over... And it's the same picture... of some person walking out of some building with a vase. And you see it twenty times! And you think: >>My goodness, were there that many vases?
-D. Rumsfeld

Fardus Square

Take a look at these photos and take a minute to think...
Baghdad is a city of 5 mln people. We were told of a massive uprising, culminated by the topling of Saddam's statue. Look at picture 1 (massive uprising, close-up), then picture 2 (massive uprising, long view).

Reuters photo
A photo from Reuters, click to enlarge



A photo from Indymedia, click to enlarge

It is clear that the massive uprising involved no more then 200 people, including US soliders and international reporters...
Hmm... makes you think doesn't it?


If you're still thinking, click here.

Banned weapons: where are they?

It is one of the unanswered questions of the war: where are the weapons of mass destruction which both the United States and Britain said that Iraq possessed?

The job of tracking down banned weapons is daunting
Because they have not been found does not mean they do not exist. They could have been hidden or destroyed.

Judgment therefore has to be withheld.

The US military commander, General Tommy Franks, says that it could take a year to complete a search.



The above comes from a BBC News article.

The point here is obvious, but let me make it:
If the American generals themselves admit, that a search for WMD in Iraq will have to take at least a year, then whatever was the point of allowing the UN's weapons inspectors 3 months for searches???

I just cannot get over the hypocrisy of the Bush administration!!!

Now, you'll surely understand why I will be very, very skeptical about any findings they have. If the Bushies find WMD without the participation of Hans Blix, UNMOVIC or the United Nations, I will have a very hard time believing that the evidence they present is not fabricated!!!

Once you start lying, you have to work extremely hard to regain trust. And the Americans are doing nothing to appease the UN and convince us of their good intentions.

Signing off,
Mike

Expansion of Civilizations

There is something about our and other civilizations which is easily recognized, but consistently underestimated. It is a feature so innate to civilization as such, that it is accepted without broad questioning, yet if we allow it to proceed unchecked it will drive our civilization to an end.

The issue I am referring to has come forth at the very early stages of development of human societies, so the timescale is grand. Between a million and four hundred thousand years ago the first human societies existed as hunters and gatherers. They existed on limited territories bounded by the distance one could walk within a day and come back to camp; and they occupied only environments with suitable climate and food supply. The tribes' populations were not very large, because within the limited territory only a certain amount of food could be found. It is estimated that the populations were no more then 40 people. Where this early form of human existence endured (e.g. in remote parts of: North and South America, Africa, India, Australia) people developed a natural respect for their surroundings and a cult of the Earth, which provided a basis for sustainable existence.

Our civilization as everyone will easily observe is very different from this picture. We live in large agglomerations, cities, countries. Recently we even stated to live on a global scale. We attained a very high level of technological development, and for that reason, we consider ourselves to be the most civilized (i.e. the best) group on Earth, and all known universe. We have medical care, very high live expectancy (80 years, compared to primitive civilizations' 40 at best), and we have weekends off.

When we think of the ancient times, we tend to think of people struggling to sustain themselves, people dying of disease and living in general discomfort. We think that our times are much better in those respects, we talk about our life being much easier. But just consider one issue... how much time do you think, tribes' people spent producing food every day? Think of the answer before you read on. Nowadays, people spend an average of 8 hours working each day, but hunters and gatherers attained all the food they needed in less then three!

The rest of their time was devoted to rest, cultivation of customs and passing down the traditions. Of course they did not have our medical knowledge and so they died younger. We still die, however, only difference being our obsession with longevity and unhealthy compulsion to live forever. These are quite modern phenomena.

One thing which is very significant about these early societies is the fact, that if they were to survive they had to live off finite resources. They could only consume in one year as much as would be replaced naturally in the year following. Within such constraints only a limited number of children could be raised and the population sizes were relatively stable. This is contrary to our civilization, which is continually expanding. The world population has exceeded six billion and has been growing exponentially.

So when did our civilization diverge from the "natural" ways of early human existence? I would venture to claim, that the key turning point was the invention of herding and agriculture. Perhaps it was inevitable, since people had large brains and a lot of time to observe nature, that they would discover how nature's cycles worked and learn to harness them. The advent of agriculture and herding meant, that people were able to produce more food then they needed and to consume it without worrying about the following year. This of course meant, that they were able to have more offspring than would be otherwise possible. At this moment society started expanding.

If you accept that in a suitable environment a replicator, able to utilize that environment will most likely arise, then perhaps it was inevitable that the idea, or meme [1] of expansion arose. This meme is very simple and it does not contain much information in itself. It is very covert, but it is able to incorporate itself into other ideologies, usually rendering them more successful. The expansion meme simply states: multiply!

The omnipresence of this meme is perhaps best illustrated by looking at successful religions, such as Christianity, Islam, etc. They all contain the idea of necessary expansion: "spread the good word", "convert the infidels", etc. Similarly the very concept 'civilization' contains the expansion meme. All throughout the history of colonization, the western peoples believed they were generously bringing 'civilization to the uncivilized primitives'. Even today, United States, claims it is bringing 'democracy to the suppressed people of Iraq'. And so our civilization expands.

The meme of expansion is also buried in the concepts of modern economy. Every company which wants to be successful, has to continually grow. It has to expand it's customer base, product line, market share and so on. A company, which does not grow will be unable to compete with it's expanding competition, which means death in a free market. On the stock market companies' values only rise or fall, there is no other option. Any company, which would only like to maintain its status would soon be outcompeted by aggressive rivals, just like native North American tribes were outcompeted by the expanding European civilization.

This attitude of our civilization causes a serious problem on many levels and many of today's conflicts can be understood if we realize that it is the expansion meme, which is their cause. Today the most aggressive form of civilization expansion is the economic expansion in which western style, liberal market economies are forced upon countries which have not yet developed them. We say that we want these people to be free and have a good standard of living, but the reasoning behind it is such: if they are free and have money, we will be able to sell them our goods and expand.

This expansion of civilizations will inevitably cause them to run into each other in various fields, because as we all know, the world is very small these days. Whether these conflicts of interests will cause a real Huntingtonian clash of civilizations, or will be resolved in a final Fukuyamian end of history is perhaps a question of diplomacy and politics. The clashes are inevitable however and have to be realized.

The intriguing thing is that the west now propagates liberal economy, while the east promotes Islam. These ideas belong to different spheres of influence, so if everyone plays their cards correctly, we should not need a conflict.

There is another fundamental question, which has to do with civilization expansion. Even if we manage to avoid conflict, our civilizations produce and consume much more then the planet is able to sustain. If every inhabitant of Earth was to consume as much as an average American, we would need the resources of four planets to produce it all.

This begs only one question: when? When shall we exceed the planet's carrying capacity and how high the price for our ignorance will be? We have to realize that this innate quality of expansion can only be sustained for so long. We have to find ways to neutralize it, before it is too late.


[1] Memes are a concept derived from a book by Richard Dawkins ('The Selfish Gene'). A meme is a thought or concept, which is propagated in a human population via imitation, repetition, books, finally modern mass media. Memes are mutable replicators, thus some consider them to be alive.

Dzisiaj w mojej glowie

Dzisiaj w mojej glowie klebi sie glownie samotnosc...
Samotnosc trudno interpretowac, wiec zamiast slow bedzie zdjecie.

Noel Griggs -- Chimney

Ile jest kawy w kawie?

Zostalo dzis naukowo udowodnione (przeze mnie) ze kawa rozpuszczalna marki Nescafe (Original) osiaga stan calkowitego nasycenia przy gestosci 0.5 lyzeczki/ml, w temperaturze 90 st. C.

To fundamentalne odkrycie powoduje iz wiemy teraz, ze przecietna osoba, ktora uzywa srednio 1.5 lyzeczki kawy, pije przynajmniej 3 ml CZYSTEJ kawy w kazdej filizance.

Oznacza to rowzniez, ze wszelkie proby zageszczenia kawy ponizej granicy 0.5 lyzeczki/ml sa skazane na niepowodzenie.

Obecnie poszukuje czasopisma gotowego opublikowac wyniki moich badan, oraz osob (najchetniej bogatych prawnikow patentowych) zainteresowanych pomoca w opatentowaniu zwiazanych z odkryciem wynalazkow.

Dziekuje wszystkim za uwage, ide sie napic kawy.

MK