Being Mark Cohen

Websense Security Labs have issued an alert warning of new malicious code propagating by exploiting Skype.  This is not a vunerability in skype, it is code that downloads and runs on your PC and then sends web links to your skype contacts.  You’d have to click a strage looking link that appeared to come from one of your contacts in a Skype IM chat to get infected in the first place.

I’m impressed. Really impressed. Messing around tonight, I decided to see what’s involved in getting a dev environment set up on a mac. The apple development platform is called Xcode and it ships on the cd that you get your os on. Free. Full version. with all the libraries etc. So that’s all cool, but I was specifically looking for a way to work on c# and seeing as I use wordpress, php. Enter MAMP. It’s the LAMP stack for mac. download. drag. drop. done. I’ve never gone from nothing to a full-blown dev setup with less effort in my life.

I have wordpress set up locally, phpBB set up locally, and ready to work on some skins.  I recommend grabbing Aqua Data Studio too as it kicks ass as a database management tool. MAMP ships with phpMyAdmin which is all good and well for browser-based but I just don’t want to tie my own shoelaces together    From what i read in the doco, Xcode is cvs-friendly – but if you’re more of a Subversion person you’ll probably want to grab a copy of svnX which gives you a lot of what TortoiseSVN gives you in Windows.

when I get back to this the next step is going to be trying out mono on this lot. We can call it MAMP.net

Earth Hour is a great concept.  Maybe we’ve run away with ourselves.  Maybe we just haven’t cared for so long that it seems trivial.  Maybe in fact there is no point to leaving the lights on in massive CBD skyscrapers all weekend while there isn’t a soul in the building.  Maybe lighting up every uninhabited and unused corner of every city block is not really needed.

At 7.30pm on 31 March 2007, we are inviting Sydneysiders – businesses and individuals – to turn off their lights for just one hour, Earth Hour, as a sign of their commitment to reduce global warming.

Earth Hour is just the start of a campaign that aims to reduce Sydney’s greenhouse emissions by 5% in 2007. The event will demonstrate how simple actions can make the world of difference if everyone takes part. And it sends a powerful message that we care about the future of the planet.

Saving the earth is not a daily priority. Getting a good parking space is. Unless you’re a kid. Especially my kid. Then saving the earth is of paramount importance. Never mind getting dressed for school, or bed time. This is really important. It’s about saving the environment. So I’m told.

Get involved.  Click on the earth hour banner.  register.  Commit to spending an hour with all the lights off, maybe with some candles lit and a bottle of wine and someone you love.  Step out of your rut for just one hour.  If you have kids get them involved.  Put the TV off.  Have take-out dinner and sit round in the candlelight and talk.  You might feel like you’re saving a whole lot more than the environment

There’s a story my wife used to tell, about a man walking along the beach after a storm, with a friend.  As he walked along he picked up the starfish that were washed up one at a time, and threw them back into the water.  his friend said he was wasting his time, there were so many starfish washed up that he wasn’t even making a difference.  The man picked up a starfish, threw it into the sea and said "I made a difference to that one".

Make a difference.

My Portrait

Originally uploaded by Rageman.

Guy Kawasaki blogged about The world map of happiness today. It’s very disturbing to see the lack af any mention of Australia in the top 20. The kiwis beat us, clocking in at no 18 – and it’s always raining there. Iceland made #4 and they have night time for half a bloody year at a time.

Cool climates seem to dominate the happier countries, which I’d have to agree with.