Apache Archiva

Today I was browsing through some of the more recent Apache projects, and came across Archiva. I decided to give it a whirl.

I didn't manage to get it to work as a windows service, and a few things (like uploading artifacts to it) were kinda slow, but overall I'd say it's pretty slick and definitely something I think I will use for awhile.

Go ahead and take a look at my setup instructions (which I honestly put together so I don't forget the steps when I go to do it at home) and give it a try. I think you'll like it.

Evolution

Thought this was kinda interesting

Birthday

As some of you know, my birthday is coming up at the beginning of November. If you'd all like to pitch in to get me this, I wouldn't mind at all =)

I couldn't resist ;)

goosh

I know some of you really miss my News from the Net. I have not had time to read many articles or sites lately... However, I did come across one that catches my attention... goosh: the Unofficial Google Shell... I'd recommend that all you command-line geeks out there go take a look :)

Identity Theft

Some of you have been wondering why my google status mentioned identity theft the other day...

A couple weeks ago, I got a new RCI Platinum Plus MasterCard. Now, the interest rate was at 14.99%, which for me is really high, so there was no intention to just use the card all over the place. I didn't use it at all in fact.

Then when I went to buy my car from Beaverton Mitsubishi, I couldn't get out of a down payment, so I put it on the card. First and only purchase. I handed my card to one guy, then got it back from another half an hour later in another building.

A couple days later, I went onto the BofA website (bank hosting the card) to determine the address to send payments to. I saw the down payment on the transaction history, then a $1 paypal temporary authorization, then a $625 ($675? can't remember) temporary authorization for Paypal Dealsonline. Since I had never used it anywhere but the dealership, I was very surprised by this.

I contacted BofA. They said that until the transaction was posted, there was nothing to do. I kept explaining to them that either someone fraudulently used my card or they got my data directly from BofA. The bank suggested I call PayPal directly.

I called PayPal. They had already flagged it as suspicious because the person had not signed into their paypal account to do the transaction. Also, the person had not mistakenly typed the wrong number because they had used MY name. At this point, PayPal identified it as identity theft. They started blocked payment and started an investigation. They told me to call BofA back and what to say.

BofA cancelled my card, issued me a new one with a different number, and started an investigation.

Since I had only used the card once, and never online, chances are very high that someone at Beaverton Mitsubishi will be getting 5 years / $500,000 fine for under $700 worth of merchandise that they never received.

I also called the Merchant and told them they might want to hold on to that shipping address.

I also called my sales rep at the dealership and told him.

My new car

Whelp, I finally bought a new car.... 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder (13 miles on it).

I asked them about putting the spoiler from the Limited Edition (a little more sporty than this one) onto it - and they all looked at me in amazement and wonder... they have made it their personal challenge to try to get that done in the next couple weeks because they have never seen it done and think it would look so cool...

However, here's a pic of it pre-spoiler :)

Scorpio

Sometimes you just have to love these horoscopes ;)

Sometimes, when you are close to an object of love, you want to merge with it so you can intensify your experience. These days, however, you are easily distracted by a variety of possibilities, making it difficult to decide which one is most worthy of your attention. Your best strategy now may be to see where the tides take you, for no decision is necessary yet. The pressure to make a choice stems from your fear of missing a clue to the secrets of the universe.

By Rick Levine

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Voting

I know. It isn't like me to post a MySpace Bulletin here... but this was too good to pass up. Thanks Eric.


Who ever you choose, make sure you get out and vote!!!

Drachten: A plan for Portland?

I was watching Beyond Tomorrow, and they had a spot on Naked Streets. The basic idea is simple - get road of street signs and markings. The host even commented that there was almost no distinction between roadways and walkways. In Drachten, they replaced a standard 4-way intersection (stop lights, crosswalks, etc) with a roundabout and no signage. Only rule is that pedestrians get priority. They have a fountain that gets higher as traffic increases, thus drowning out the sound. I think the real key is that they were talking about how many accidents they had with the old system - and NO accidents in the last 4 years since they changed systems. I could definitely see something like that going over well in Portland (or Ashland).

A short yet fun read

Bored? Need some form of information you can browse and wet your appetite? I found this to be a quick yet enjoyable read.

DataStorm

Ok, there are definitely some funny parts to this... if you are watching it at work, I should warn you that the volume is pretty inconsistent.

Make a Chickensaurus Skeleton

I thought this was kinda kewl...

Synopsis: As a lesson in anatomy, my son and I reassembled a chicken skeleton from the bones remaining after a chicken dinner. We cleaned and dried the bones, then hot-glued them together. It came out pretty cool. A chicken is a lot bigger than you'd think. We gave it a pouncing pose. From the proper angle it does have a dinosaur look about it.