Thwart the Comment Spammers...

Well the comment spammers have pissed me off enough to actually do something about it.

I have written the first half of a script that will allow me to encumber thier progress some.  Basically I added a table to my database that stores IP's that I wish to ban, then I created a script that queries the client attempting to connect to this site and if the IP is listed in the database they get a nasty message.  If they are not then the actual content of the site is loaded.

My next step is to write a hack for my blogging software that will allow me to add IP' to the database with one click from the admin panel, then I am going to automate the updating of the database by finding website that hosts a list of the IP's and adding any new ones each night to my database.

If you want some measure of protection now, and don't mind manually adding the IP's to your database, the here is the code that you need to include in your pages:

<?php require_once('blog.header.php');
$s =$_SERVER ["REMOTE_ADDR" ];
$ipbancheck ="SELECT * from banip where IP='$s'" ;
if( mysql_num_rows (mysql_query ($ipbancheck )) > 0) {
print "You smell and your momma dresses you funny! Get out of my site!" ;
}else{
require_once('content.php');
}
?>

And here is the script you need to add the appropriate table to your DB:

CREATE TABLE banip (
ID int(12) NOT NULL auto_increment,
IP varchar(25) NOT NULL default '',
PRIMARY KEY (ID)
) TYPE=MyISAM;

Now this example is written for my blogging software of choice Wordpress so you will have to adapt it to what you use.

So that is it, pretty vanilla stuff really.  I have mine set up as index.php, it then includes content.php if it passes the check, so none of my functions are broken, since it is technically still index.php.

More on this later, as I refine the script and add the missing components.

True inculturation and the passions...

I recently ran into this post over at WorldTimZone.

After following the link to the Masai Creed, I have to agree with Tim that when done well, the truths of God, which all know instinctively are revealed and the people regardless of Culture react to them the same way.  For those of you who are interested in this sort of thing, please go to the Masai Creed Page over at Yale University.

It is worth noting that I do believe that simple professions of faith are sometimes the most powerful, and the creed from the Masai is a wonderul example of how powerful this can be.  I do think that we sometimes can become mired down in our rubrics and theology, to the point that we lose sight of an important commandment given to us by The Word, to love thy brother as thyself.

It has been made clear to me in the past few days that I am still a slave to my passions.  That I sometimes lose sight that I am discussing not arguing, debating not fighting.  And as if to drive this realization home, I am once again reminded of my own advice to other people, that you usually hurt the ones you love the most. Whether it is a spouse, parent or close friend the relationships that mean the most to us are the ones that suffer the greatest injuries.

And with this lesson as with all others that are given to me, I again find myself face down before Christ, the instrument through which all reality was created, asking for his forgivness and help for I truly cannot run this race alone.  The way is too perilous and the course too long, my only hope lies in the Divine Grace that is the re-birth rite of all whom have chosen the way of the straight and narrow, and the eternal truth of the only miracle that can be the basis of my faith, the resurrection.

That being said I am one who stands here today and says honestly that I need doctrine, theology and structure.  Others may not, that is between them and their creator.  It has been said that the rituals and Holy Tradition of the Church are merely crutches and I cannot say that they aren't, it is not my place to pass judgement as to how you should properly act out your role as a co-inheritor of Christ in the Kingdom.  But I will say, if they are crutches, so be it.  I am a sick, broken man, and when I step foot into the Church I am entering an emergency room and just as crutches and bandages are meant to help in the mending of broken body to restore free movement and health, so too are these tools, for me, a way to heal my soul and spirit and to help me properly restore communion between my creator and myself and all of creation and myself.

But as I said before I am still a long way from being healed of my wounds, of shedding my baggage and unfortunately those around me must suffer because of it and for that I am sorry.

More on this later.

Man do I want one now...

The following graph taken from xlr8yourmac.com showcases the graphics capabilities of the new G5 Dual 2.0 ghz.

Man can't you just feel it, at 640 x 480 the G5 was turning in 358/367 frames per second, depending on the card.  Definately need to get me one of those.

E.S.O.B.

So I am wondering if there has been any movement on the official formation of the E.S.O.B. (Eccumenical Synod of Orthodox Bloggers)?

I mean it looks as though we have suitable candidates for the "brothers" or "Bishops", representatives from the Orthodox Church in America as well as the Greek Orthodox Church, among others.  We need to get together for a sobor, and elect us a Primate.

Return of the Silly Store...

Yeah that is right folks, silly swag is back in all its glory!

And to celebrate we have added a new product, the What Would Frodo Do? t-shirt!

That is right, you can wear a shirt that speaks to your geekiness and your disdain for Christian marketing goofiness!

We aim to please.

You might be Orthodox if...

Here is a short list of identifying behaviour, that could mean you have been assimilated... err you may be Orthodox.  This list found on The Onion Dome.

1. You have an emergency head scarf in your glove compartment.
2. You know all the take-out restaurants near your place of employment that serve meat-free, dairy-free meals.
3. You think of peanut butter as one of the essential food groups.
4. You think of shrimp as "vegan."
5. You have developed ways of stretching your legs while standing in place without drawing attention to yourself.
6. You can't describe your Sunday morning church service to co-workers without using foreign terms.
7. You've ever gotten into an argument with somebody about the ingredients in marshmallows.
8. History Channel shows about the Byzantine Empire make you wistful.
9. Sending your misbehaving teenager off to a monastery on a Greek island doesn't seem like a bizarre idea at all but a very practical one.
10. Bestselling paperbacks containing obscure historical tidbits about the 4th century make you go, "Hey, that's not the way it happened!"
11. You use "icon" as a verb.
12. You go to a friend's wedding and wonder why the walls inside the church look so bare.
13. The phrase "let us complete our prayers" doesn't make you look at your watch.
14. You know which brands of margarine are dairy-free.
15. And buy them.
16. Religious terms like 'te deum' or 'mass' in a book about pre-revolutionary Russia set your teeth on edge.
17. You think "plagal" means "add 4."
18. "Old calendar" doesn't mean "last year's calendar" to you.
19. You use "ecumenist" as a swear-word, or have had it so used against you.
20. You use "Metropolitan" as a noun. And you don't mean the car.
21. You automatically do mental arithmetic if somebody mentions a date, or the number of a psalm.
22. You know of two distinct groups of people referred to as "the seventy" and know from context which is meant.
23. Your answer to "Is the Pope Polish?" is "Rome or Alexandria?"
24. You think of chicken as a luxury and shrimp as a staple.
25. "Georgia" makes you think of Tbilisi and not Atlanta.
26. The phrase "both Catholic and Protestant" puts your nose out of joint.
27. You think Rice Krispy™ bars are meat, but clams are not.

For your edification...

Here is a little comic for your edification.

Calvin and Hobbes for September 11th

No, No, you don't have to thank me, doing good is its own reward.

Non-beard scissormatics

Well this must really be the work of the third person of the Holy Trinity!

Apparently I am not the only one to shed his facial hair in the past couple of weeks.  You can add Huw Raphael to that list which is already populated by my Priest Father David, another Priest I know Father Ted, Karl Thienes, myself, James, Bishop and Moose just to name a few.

The ranks of the un-bearded/non-fully bearded grow everyday!

Lord Have Mercy...

I just ran across this and I am appalled, no really.

It seems that now the New Testament is being pawned off as a teen girls magazine.  I think I am going to be sick; there are no words to express how wrong this is, all I can do is show you this picture:

And ask you to forgive me for exposing you to this nonesense.

Out and About

Long time no post.

I have just returned, and am still recooperating from a jaunt to the Windy City, which by the way has nothing to do with meterological conditions.  Overall the trip was great.  Heather and I were able to spend some time with her parents, which we sorely needed; and spend time together somewhere new.

Heather and I have both been to Chicago before but never together, I like to think that when you visit a place with someone you love it is like visiting it for the first time.  And it was really like that for us this weekend.  I would reccommend the Open Top Double Decker Bus rides to anyone out there who doesn't have a "can't look like tourists" complex.  It was an amazing day for it, and both of the guides we had were informative and engaging.

Well I guess that is enough of that for now.  I am hoping to purloin a decent digital camera and start a photo blog on this site as well as the text blog, so maybe the next time I go on a little vacation, every one can see what I see.

Oh and as for the "Site Spotlight" part of this post, I just wanted to mention that I am now a regualr contributor to Xygoxen.net, so stop by for news updates and hopefully articles and reviews by yours truly.... hopefully