I <3 Pizza

My Blog Got Hacked & WordPress Didn’t Help

questforpizza — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:40:28 +0000

** Update 2/7/10 **

So the folks at WordPress got back to me. Heather was nice enough to pass on my case to their security department. Their response was to change my password. Not exactly the answer or advice I was hoping for but I guess a response is better than no response. Having worked at companies where you have to deal with customers all the time, you learn how to get people to respond to you! Well, I changed my password but that doesn’t make me feel any safer. Ugh. I did some more research and apparently people with WordPress blogs are targets for hackers! My domain is about to expire so I may migrate to Foursquare. I’ve been really interested in their platform for a while.

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Hello internet. My blog was hacked on 1/4/10 by someone going by the alias Error. Apparently he/she didn’t do anything to screw up my page, which I’m thankful for, but from the looks of it, someone had full access to my site! ALL OF MY INFORMATION! My private thoughts! This is no joke, so I contacted WordPress support. After 1 email exchange, this is the response I received.

Hi *******,

I’m very sorry about that. Unfortunately, this seems to because you left yourself logged in on a computer that was accessible by others. This was not done maliciously through our system. I would suggest that you delete that post and make sure you are completely logged out of your account on any shared computers.
Best,
Heather
Automattic | WordPress.com

Thanks for the copy and paste message WordPress! For the past several months, the only computer I’ve used to access my blog were my personal computer which is in my bedroom. No one else uses my computer but me! WordPress, you really let me down. I won’t be using your platform to blog anymore. WordPress is NOT SAFE! And thanks to the power of the internet, I’ll make sure that everyone I know understands that too.

Aquarium Update

questforpizza — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:23:09 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve last played aquatic gardener. I’ve been slacking on my water changes, so I finally did one today. I’ve been sort of bad at dosing EI, occasionally missing days. I’ve seen some really strong growth but not the explosion of life that I had been hoping for. I’ve been dosing sparingly but it seems my plants are total nutrient hogs! Looks like I’m going to have to keep up with the dosing schedule. Nearly all of the plants have been doing well except for my foreground. It’s been slowly dying off so today I initiated project R.M.F. (Regrow My Foreground). I spent a few hours today researching plant needs and signs of deficiency and I came up with a short list of upgrades/to-dos…

Fix the leaky CO2 diffuser. It’s been hissing and I’ve sprayed the piece with windex but I can’t find any bubbling! I’m pretty sure it’s got a leak somewhere. I’ve emailed the ebay seller in Hong Kong. Hopefully he sends me a new one.
Change the bulb. I’m running a 96w 50/50 which is probably geared a bit towards a saltwater tank. Going to swap over to a full 6700k bulb. Ordered from AHsupply.com!
Change the cheap Coralife reflector to a MIRO4. Space age material for 94% reflectivity. The engineer in me can’t help but be impressed. Also got it from AHsupply.com!
Nuke the tank with NO3. Apparently HC is a nitrate hog, so I’m going to try to stick to the regular KNO3 dosing on MWF to see how the HC responds.

I finally figured out why my Blyxa was dying off… Iron deficiency! I doubled up on my Plantex CSM+B dosing and it came back to life! Super green. I was really happy. Also the Staurogyne that I picked up from AquaForest has grown some baby plants. Excited to get that going. I plan on filling the void in the center with a fresh lawn of Staurogyne. All of the cryptocornes are growing strong. Algae at a minimum! I’m happy! Until next update!

Finally got my bike back!

questforpizza — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:48:44 +0000

I finally got my bike back! It now has all the parts I want on it… until I find an excuse to upgrade something. Can’t wait to tear it up on the next big ride.

Easton Monkey Lite DH bar
XT Cassette
XT Cranks
Freshly serviced fork and shock
Saddle & seatpost from my Stumpjumper

The World Is Turning Against Me

questforpizza — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:43:59 +0000

Dear blog,

We haven’t interacted in a quite some time. A lot of stuff has happened recently. Here’s a list of what I can remember:

Sold my TL… my first car ever. Lots of memories, good and bad.
Been organizing Smash City meets. Good turnouts, met some great people, but lots of newbies. I’ve been kinda irritable lately so I haven’t been the best host.
Bought a new racket from Shawn. Nanospeed 9900 FTW!
Got two tickets… one speeding ticket (ugh) and one parking ticket in the SAME WEEK. F the police. Seriously. WTH is up with San Jose law enforcement? Did you see that shit about how they beat that Vietnamese kid?
I finally got my Enduro back from Trail Head. Took 3 weeks for them to get my fork and shock back from Specialized in Utah. Cost me $320, but it rides like a freakin’ dream now.
Finally manned up and ordered the Contour HD 1080p. I know it will probably drop in price soon but I need it NOW! Also got a 16gb micro SD + an extended battery. Cost me a pretty penny.
Australia trip has been pushed back until after my parents get back from their vacation.
Leonid Meteor Shower! Went up with the s2k group and ended up staying till 5am. Great show. Too bad no female companion to share it with. =/
Been trying to sell my Stumpjumper… unfortunately its not the season for bikes.

I’ve been TRYING to save money but somehow I always end up spending it. I’m really good at spending money. Ok, life… world… fate… whatever is out there – it’s time to throw me a freakin’ bone here.

8-23-09 Riding @ Stinson Beach

questforpizza — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:23:09 +0000

I’ve explored a lot of highway 1 around the South Bay. On the weekends, I like to take the S out for drives along the coast. I haven’t explored 1 south of Monterey and north of San Francisco. This past weekend I ventured up to Mt Tam to do some mountain biking and I got a chance to see bits of the north side. The roads were super smooth and very windy. I’ll make the drive out with the S soon.

The Stinson Beach community was really nice. Huge tourist trap but still very nice. Here’s some video from the ride:

Misc updates:

I’m finally redoing my aquarium! I’ve been spending a lot of time researching aquascapes to get the look that I want. Really excited with how this latest incarnation will turn out.
Vacation destination is pretty much decided. I’m going down under! Timing and logistics left to plan.
Still waiting on GoPro to announce the release date for their HD camera. Unsure of whether to go with GoPro or the vholdr Countour HD.
I’m debating if I should send my front fork to Push to get it upgraded…
I went on the “forbidden” trails of Alum Rock and I liked it a lot. I think I may have to visit the forbidden trails in the whee hours of the morning.
8/22/09 (Saturday) I rode Quicksilver with Greg and Jason. Great ride and we found the trail that makes the loop! Next time I’m determined to eat at Scramblz.

Fate… Does it Exist?

questforpizza — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:47:24 +0000

I’ve been thinking about fate and whether it really exists. There have been a series of events that have unfolded before me that just seem conveniently timed. They are all totally independent of each other. Somehow I feel as if I’m needed.

Show me what I’m looking for…

questforpizza — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:31:55 +0000

I’ve got that song by Carolina Liar stuck in my head! Been listening to it on repeat all day. Save me, I’m lost…

7-19-09 Upper Stevens Creek Canyon

Went biking today at Upper Stevens Creek Canyon. It actually turned out to be Montebello Open Space Preserve! Did all the climbing first and then blasted down some new singletrack and later the fireroad. Right as we finished up the singletrack and were about to ride the fireroad down, I hopped my bike over this bumpy section and felt the rear end of the bike go soft. This was followed by a loud sound of air escaping my rear tire. My first flat while riding. Luckily I had a spare tube. I managed to borrow a pump from one of the other riders (great people). The rest of the ride was incredibly smooth. Did a few tiny jumps and wall rides on the way down. It was too hot and I was short on water so I didn’t want to push it. One of our other members, Dave, took a pretty nasty fall. I didn’t witness it, but I did see the aftermath – not pretty! Overall good ride. I’d say it was more of a cardio workout than a fun weekend ride. Next time, we’ll either have to start earlier or ride later in the evening.

7-18-09 Beach Drive

Took a little drive along highway 1. I was hoping that it would be warm. Had a book, lunch, and towel. Was planning on taking a nap too but unfortunately it was too windy and cold. Ah well, next time.

7-17-09 Getting Lost at Almaden Quicksilver Park (Hicks Rd)

Went biking with Mike on Friday. We originally tried to do Saratoga Gap but deemed it unsafe for his hardtail. The dust cap came off of his fork so we stopped at Trail Head Cyclery to get it checked out. Turns out he didn’t have an oil shock! We made our way out to Almaden Quicksilver Park. Found some really fun fireroad. I had an awesome time just cruising down. Somehow we ended up going off the map and getting lost. Then it got dark. Not just sun was setting dark, it was pitch black! And we had no light… somehow we managed to make it out to Hicks Road and hike our bikes back up to the parking lot. On the way home, we saw the bikeparty critical mass. Awesome! Definitely going to check that out next time. Round Table pizza was gooooood.

Catching Up From June & July

questforpizza — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:54:08 +0000

A lot has happened since the last post. I’ve been meaning to write an entry but I’ve been keeping myself busy! So here’s a reminder to yourself of what you’ve done with all your spare time.

6-20-09 Green Skeggs & Ham Ride

This ride was awesome! Abel lead our group and he took us on nearly all the fun trails. I felt like I broke through a barrier here because I was able to climb the entire ride without having to stop.

6-27-09 Beach Drive

6-28-09 Soquel Demo Forest Ride

Ahhh Soquel, how can I forget this ride? This mofo was steep. The climbing and descending required you to stay focused at all times. This is also where Jack had that epic fall off of the jump. After watching him take a mouthful of terra firma, I decided to save the jumps and stunts for another day. I also experienced the worst food headache of all time. It was so bad that I could barely walk from the car to the grocery store where I spent $2o on food. It was delicious.

7-03-09 Mount Diablo Ride

This was just a straight workout. The climb was long, hard, and steep. There was no shade at all! I learned how hard I could push my legs before they cramped up. Gotta try to nail that pre-ride regimen down – good sleep and good eats.

7-04-09 Wilder Ranch Ride

We explored some new trails here! Nice long singletrack along a low rolling hillside. Didn’t edit the video yet.

7-05-09 Red Bull Grand Prix @ Laguna Seca

Went up to Laguna with Joe. Great race and perfect weather! I don’t mind going to races on my own. Love being at the track! Photos on Facebook.

6-14-09 Purisima Creek Redwood Meetup

questforpizza — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:59:38 +0000

Last Sunday was my first Bay Area Mountain Bike Meetup. It was great! I did a bad job of pacing myself in the beginning and I fell behind on the uphill. I also lost my breathing rhythm. Gotta work on that this Saturday when we hit up El Corte Madera aka Skeggs. Anyways, the downhill was really fun. I didn’t really want to push it because I’d never been there before but I think I can keep up with most of the folks there. Everyone was really nice. I can’t wait to ride again! Here are the videos:

This Saturday when I ride Skeggs, I’m going to try to brake only when necessary and lean the bike more in the corners.

Alum Rock Ride & SJSU Graduation

questforpizza — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:19:03 +0000

This morning I went out to Alum Rock with one goal in mind. Ride the sketchy section with the steep descent that drops in right next to the paved road… and I DID IT! But before all of that I veered off my normal route and went up Bortadello trail, and I’m glad I did! I had no idea Alum Rock Park actually had singletrack. It was lined with sharp thorny weeds and there were bugs everywhere. It also didn’t help that I went the wrong way up. I climbed all the fun single track and descended down this not so fun fireroad. Now I know better!

In the afternoon I attended Anton’s graduation. Hard to believe that it’s been 4 years since my own. The ceremony was really nice, nestled in between the Mission and MLK library. The SJSU folks did a good job of creating a nice intimate setting for the art department. The motivational speeches were a bit lacking but they made up for it with enthusiasm and sincerity.

As I was writing this entry, I was thinking to myself that lately very few people really pique my interest. I want to surround myself with people with high aspirations, depth, intelligence, and passion. I’m ready for grad school.