Search Results for: node/unpossible

Hosting Issues

So I have had this hosting provider since 2005 and they have been bought out a couple times.  Some of the pluses though include the fact my email is hosted in Exchange, unlimited disk space, and supposed unlimited bandwidth (found that today).  I have never had any issues at all requiring extensive customer support until this past week.

Starting last week Windows Live Writer stopped posting correctly to my blog.  It had happened intermittently previously and I figured it was another glitch.  After the issue didn’t clear in 24 hours to the support console I went.

Date Type
09/15/2011 12:10 AM EDT Ticket Created
09/15/2011 12:10 AM EDT TMM contacted PowWeb
Subject:

Problems with libXML2

Customer Quote:

Earlier this year I started using XMLRPC to post content to my blog. Start in July I had incidents where posts would have the tags brackets(<>) stripped off. I ignored it figuring it was a glitch when it started working a couple days later. 

Starting about the middle of last week though this issue has become permanent. While I was normally easily able to work around it, the work around fails when I am posting images. 

Have there been any changes to the server configuration recently? 

I know it was not caused by a site configuration change because 3 other sites all exhibit the same behavior that are not used as frequently. 

Currently this is still just in the annoyance category, but as I start needing to put more pictures in content its’ going to increase on my ladder. 

All assistance I could find online pointed to server configuration with PHP version and libXML version issues. 

Thank you, 

TMM

09/15/2011 4:00 AM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/15/2011 7:53 AM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/15/2011 8:51 AM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/15/2011 9:50 AM EDT PowWeb contacted TMM
Subject:

[P08757884000000000] Problems with libXML2

Comment:

Hello, 

Thank you for contacting Support. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. In order to further investigate on your issue, please get back to us with the following information: 

1) Exact steps to duplicate your issue. 

2) URL of the page. 

3) WordPress username and password. 

Thank you! 

Sincerely, 

Kaila Pearson 

Customer Support

09/15/2011 9:19 PM EDT TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:

Drupal User Info: 

Username: TestUser 

Password:

URL: http://www.the-minuteman.org Full URL varies based on post title, it happens when content is published or sent as a draft to the server. Reproduction steps below show how to make it appear on the front page. 

Reproduction steps: 

1) Configure Windows Live Writer for an “Other services” blog and point to http://www.the-minuteman.org 

2) During configuration tell it to identify the blog theme. 

3) At this point configuration will hang because the post displayed on the front page website (http://www.the-minuteman.org) is incorrect. For example I get the following: 

pThis is a temporary post that was not deleted. Please delete this manually. (1eb91935-d1da-4e9a-85fd-82ce1220f24d – 3bfe001a-32de-4114-a6b4-4005b770f6d7)/p 

This should actually be: 

<p>This is a temporary post that was not deleted. Please delete this manually. (1eb91935-d1da-4e9a-85fd-82ce1220f24d – 3bfe001a-32de-4114-a6b4-4005b770f6d7)</p> 

But the tags were stripped, and the inner text passed through as part of the blog post text. 

Alternatively, you can skip the theme detection and attempt to post to the blog through Live Writer. The content within the post will exhibit the same loss of tags. 

Draft posts can be open and viewed from this listing: 

http://www.the-minuteman.org/admin/content/node 

For some reason the tags are being stripped off and every piece of information I have found points to server configuration, not blog software.

09/15/2011 9:30 PM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/15/2011 10:54 PM EDT PowWeb contacted TMM
Subject:

[P08757884000000000] Problems with libXML2

Comment:

Hello, 

Thank you for contacting Support. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Could you please get back us with the exact URL where you are trying to login to Drupal admin page, so that we can assist you further. 

Please reply to this email with the requested information, so that we can assist you further. 

Sincerely, 

Riley Malson 

Customer Support

09/16/2011 12:26 AM EDT TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:

This is not tied to my Drupal web browser interface but the XML-RPC interface that different external programs use to post content. 

The symptoms of the failure are visible on my blog. Here is an example post that failed. 

http://www.the-minuteman.org/content/2011/September/15/failed-test-post-TMM 

09/16/2011 12:27 AM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/16/2011 12:41 AM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/16/2011 12:41 AM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/16/2011 2:31 AM EDT PowWeb contacted TMM (Resolved)
Comment:

Hello, 

In order to further investigate, could you please get back to us with the Drupal admin login details. 

If you have any further questions, please update the Support Console. 

Sincerely, 

Mae Silva 

Technical Specialist

09/16/2011 8:24 PM EDT TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:

Here is the primary user account information: 

Username: TMM 

Password:

09/16/2011 8:44 PM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/16/2011 9:49 PM EDT PowWeb contacted TMM (Resolved)
Comment:

Hello, 

Thank you for your reply. 

I have checked there is no error logs to investigate further on this issue. Since Drupal is the third party application I suggest you to contact the vendor of the application. 

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reply through Support Console. We are available 24×7. 

Sincerely, 

Neville Kodner 

Technical Specialist

09/17/2011 1:26 AM EDT TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:

I have investigated the drupal forums regarding this issue and I have gone one step further and mirrored my site on to a local development server I use for updates. 

The mirrored version of my site, a fresh copy of files and snapshot of the database, placed within my test environment works as it should. I fail to see how this is my blog software or site configuration when I can turn the problem on and off by placing it on my test server here or uploading it to Powweb. 

Not to mention the fact that it was running reliably at the beginning of August and I have not done any changes to configuration other than unrelated module updates. The issue also has seemed to come and go, finally becoming permanent over the past week. I initially ignored it thinking it was a glitch because it would come back later. 

All information I have been able to find regarding this type of issue online points again to the web services host, not the drupal software. 

My test server is running PHP 5.3.2 

Apache 2.2.14 

SQL Version 5.1.46 

Here is the exact error in the Drupal forums: 

http://drupal.org/node/415566 

Here is a similar issue in the Drupal forums: 

http://drupal.org/node/347298#comment-1209085 

http://drupal.org/node/347298#comment-1295684 

I’m confused though since you guys are running 5.2.17 and the issues reported were with 5.2.8. However this has turned on and off entirely on it’s own on your servers with my altering absolutely nothing in the configuration or settings within my blog. Meaning something changed in the hosting configuration. 

There are no error logs because it is a function erroneously stripping out data that it should not. Drupal gets a result from a function call that it thinks is correct but is in fact wrong.

09/17/2011 1:28 AM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/17/2011 1:37 AM EDT PowWeb contacted TMM (Resolved)
Comment:

Hello, 

Thank you for your reply. 

We support PHP version 5.2.17, Apache version 1.3.33 and MySQ version 5.0.45. 

If you have any further questions, please update the Support Console. 

Sincerely, 

Ariel Danson 

Technical Specialist

09/17/2011 1:42 AM EDT TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:

Has your supported versions changed since June? Something has changed and it doesn’t appear to be by my hand. I created a virgin test site and it is having the same problems. 

I have been using Windows Live Writer since January without issue until about the middle of last month.

09/17/2011 1:42 AM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/17/2011 1:46 AM EDT PowWeb contacted TMM (Resolved)
Comment:

Hello, 

Thank you for getting back to us. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We have not changed the supported version recently. Please reinstall the application or contact the application provider to fix the issue. 

Thank you! 

Sincerely, 

Aden Nelson 

Technical Specialist

So maybe I’ve been spoiled by the company I work for by the fact that we think customer service is a big deal.  Ownership of a problem is a big deal.  Making sure the customers problem is solved is a big deal.  Getting to root cause is a big deal.  Notice how it was marked resolved long before anything was actually solved.  Very quickly they blamed it on third party software without any actual proof.

This company has totally shifted the blame for the problem from them to me. Ignoring the fact that this has happened on two independent Drupal installs who’s configurations haven’t changed.  No single individual took lead to deal with this problem and just bounced it around.  I’m stuck copying and pasting the source code from WLW into the submission form in Drupal.  Any pictures I want to submit become an arm twisting game of getting the URL correct to point to the image if I’m uploading it.

I just checked, I have prepaid 2 years of hosting starting in Nov 2010.  That gives me a year to come up with a new hosting solution and a solid game plane for site and email migration.  I will actually probably move earlier because I pay per month for my Exchange hosting and if I can find it cheaper, that’s money back in my pocket that I haven’t spent yet.

In the past I was more than happy to recommend Powweb to friends but given the first time I really had a serious issue and support utterly face planted.

If anyone has any input on what the problem might be, here’s an example of what happens when I submit through WLW currently.  I have disabled the TestUser account, and regenerated a new site password for myself since they think this issue is resolved they no longer require access.  Keypass makes stuff like this much easier to handle.  I am NOT going to close this ticket until I find a resolution to this problem.  WLW worked without issue from January to the beginning of August.  At which point I had a few flaky issues, but they always came back.  Then last week it died permanently.

I am going to continue posting new content, I won’t be putting many of my own pictures up except through my photo gallery.

So I am all ears on good hosting providers that support PHP, MySQL, and Exchange services.  I’ve got time and if I move early I’ve got some side sites that can live out there that can die around November 2012.  I know I could host myself, my bandwidth out in BFE though isn’t that great and I hate general IT maintenance with a passion.  So fellow bloggers, what would you recommend.

The Plot Thickens – Unpossible I Tell You!

So last Friday I made a post regarding an incident of an unpossible nature.  Well today the plot thickened!

A man was arrested Thursday morning in Pullman for assault in the first degree and unlawful possession of a firearm.

For those who aren’t aware, here is the beginning of RCW 9.41.040:

(1)(a) A person, whether an adult or juvenile, is guilty of the crime of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree, if the person owns, has in his or her possession, or has in his or her control any firearm after having previously been convicted or found not guilty by reason of insanity in this state or elsewhere of any serious offense as defined in this chapter.

It continues on this way throughout the entire law.  This is basically the state equivalent of “felon in possession” and would be listed as prohibited by the state of Washington.

So it begs the question where did he get the weapon?  Not that it really matters because it is yet another nail in the coffin of “laws controlling criminals.”  The fact is criminals don’t care about the law, it is only the law abiding that actually pay attention.

So here’s the skinny, we have a college bar, next to a college campus that forbids concealed carry.  When I say next to, we’re talking a block from the WSU Presidents house, 2 blocks from the WSU Campus Police station and the main bust stop for campus, 2 blocks from numerous on campus dorms, and centered smack dab in the middle of Greek housing.  The state forbids carrying firearms into bars, as well as being intoxicated while carrying a weapon.  Lastly this individual was a prohibited person under Washington State law.

Tell me, what in the name of god would another law have actually done in this instance?  All those laws have effectively done is ensure that any responsible person that would be in that area would be disarmed and lacking the most effective tools when criminals don’t bother to play by the rules.

That’s right, not a damn thing.

(Misc Rant/Story/Joke)

As an FYI, that area on campus is by no means my favorite.  I had friends that went to many of the bars in the area but for the most part I just went to friends places when they had parties.  The reason being is because one should avoid dangerous situations and those bars are exactly that.  When I spent some time with Pullman PD and did a couple ride-alongs I found out how bad that little part of campus really is.  There are numerous people who hang around the area to prey upon people leaving the bars.  Now I’m going to leave the user to apply the term prey how they would like because it applies to both genders.  Assault is the main issue, but other incidents abound as well.

About the only way I’d go in those dives is with a bunch of buddies from back in the unit, mainly two particular Sergeants come to mind.  One of whom is the only man that has ever really intimidated me.  That man made our Gunny look like a baby and that’s just not right!  The other one got kicked out of Burma while he was a Embassy Guard.  Yeah, I had some awesome friends going through my college career.

Though me and some other friends did think it would be funny to come out of some of the college hill bars acting drunk and kick their ass.  We just realized it would be pretty hard to explain it all away after.

Cop: So why were you all at the bar?

Us: Because the food is that awesome!

Cop: This is a campus bar, wanna try that again?

Because: We were studying human physiology?

Cop: You’re all stone sober yet everyone said it looked as if you were drunk as you all left?  They also said you left one by one headed in the same direction with regular spacing, why?

Us: Well we wanted to blend in!

Cop: Why?

Us: Umm, would you believe us if we said so you’d follow us instead of our drunk buddies driving away?

Cop:Wanna try again?  Besides, you were all armed in different manners as to remain legal, why?

Us: Because we were playing a game!

Cop: And what game is that?

Us: Induced Victim Selection Failure

Cop: What the hell is that?

Us: It’s where you try and get a wolf to go after a sheep-dog thinking it’s a sheep.

Cop: What happens to the wolf when he bites?

Us: Well that’s his own damn fault, should have just stayed his ass out of the kitchen if he can’t take the heat!  All he had to do was let us walk on by!

Yeah, I don’t think I would have been able to stay out of a jail cell if we tried that.  I have a feeling it would be treated as hunting over bait.  Not to say it wouldn’t have been worth it.*

*As an extra note, these assaults were done predominately by 3 to 4 individuals with one person leading the attack.  As one group leaves Pullman another one usually fills its place.  Seriously the group could be considered along the misfits from A Clockwork Orange and for that reason if we did it, I wouldn’t have shed a tear.  Again, that wouldn’t have been good for my court appearance.

Unpossible, TSA screener a pedophile?

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about the TSA.  The reason for this is much along the same lines as Dave talked about here.  What I came across tonight though damn near caused me to crack a tooth my jaw clinched so tight. 

The DHS and the TSA has been constantly claiming the screenings are needed for our own safety, even the full search of a 6 year old girl.  They constantly use fear mongering tactics claiming that the terrorists will use any exploitable advantage given them.

To every complaint leveraged though they claim that their screeners are thoroughly trained and are thoroughly screened themselves.  So it must be completely unfathomable that a screener was busted today for distributing child pornography.

Federal agents also allege that Transportation Safety Administration Officer Thomas Gordon Jr. of Philadelphia, who routinely searched airline passengers, uploaded explicit pictures of young girls to an Internet site on which he also posted a photograph of himself in his TSA uniform.

Remember these are the people who are searching violating your wives and your children.  This individual, if he operated a body scanner, had at his disposal numerous images of people disrobed by the force of government.  The TSA is an out of control monster who has again and again abused the American people under the guise of protecting them.  It is reasonable to suspect at this point that the government itself is trying to empower these criminals, especially given the fact that the TSA has never stopped any terrorist attack.  The have however stopped US representatives on their way home, cause you know those congress critters are totally terrorists.  So here’s a list off the top of my head of things the TSA has done to different American’s under the force of government.

There are countless more incidents, I probably should start making my own counter called the TSA counter, cause you notice when dealing with the TSA how it always starts with, “The Stupid Asshole.”  I know of a couple ways that we could shut down the TSA, but none of them are really legal and well I’d rather avoid that route.  Something obviously needs to be done though.  The government is using the threat of force to hand ourselves and our children over to sexual predators.  Failure to comply will result in your ass heading to jail at worst, at best your walking home. 

The only thing I think we can do currently is to ostracize anyone who works for the TSA.  If you have a “friend” who works for the TSA, they’re no longer a friend.  Do not associate with anyone who works for the TSA, provide the bare minimum of interaction, and sure as hell tell them to leave you alone afterwards.  These are not your countrymen, these are not your friends, these are not patriots on the front line of the defense of liberty.  If anything they are the antithesis of the above.  A person who was any of those things would strive to defend your liberty, freedom, and safety from the government they are claiming to represent.

The bottom line is that the TSA is A Security Theater and all their claims about the strict professionalism of their employees is bull.  While some may remain professional, the bottom line is they still aren’t telling their bosses NO.  These searches are pointless, unnecessary and do nothing more than verify our subservience to the state.  To prove that point, if you voice your displeasure towards these practices you will receive special treatment.

Unpossible! They Tell Me It’s the Republicans That Steal!

You can’t make stuff like this up!

The woman named “Democrat of The Year” this year by the Jefferson County Democratic Party has been convicted of felony theft by a Jefferson County jury for stealing from a developmentally disabled 71-year-old woman.

In case you missed it, I’ll phrase it in fewer words.  The Democrat of the Year was caught stealing from a developmentally disabled woman.  Now maybe it’s just a corrupt individual and the party shouldn’t be held accountable for the actions of this woman…

Nearly as bothersome as the theft itself to Maxwell and other supporters of the victim, is the fact the Jefferson County Democratic Party was made aware of the ongoing criminal investigation and honored Carson anyway.

It’s like the democrat party likes, honors, and cherishes criminal behavior among it’s members.  Doubly nice is the fact that the media for the most part resists reporting on incidents such as this when their beloved run afoul and make the mistake of getting caught.

Good to see that the Democrats are becoming much more flippant about their corruption and their willingness to ignore it.

Unpossible – That’s against the law don’t ya know?*

Let me start off by pointing out this is probably the most dangerous time of year in the area.  All of the following dangers increase greatly: the road, general stupidity, and criminality.

Students have been coming back into town since early last week, school doesn’t start until next Monday meaning idle hands.  Further you have people who are transiting through the area while dropping friends off, other people just generally unfamiliar with the town, as well as other things.  Not to mention the rush coincides with the University of Idaho which is merely 10 miles away.

The population grows by 30,000 in a matter of a week and with it goes a shift in demographics.  It also means we start seeing stuff like this again.

A 29-year-old Pullman man was arrested early Thursday morning after he allegedly put a firearm to an acquaintance’s head near Stubblefield’s on Colorado Street and pulled the trigger.

Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said the Ruger semi-automatic pistol didn’t fire when Joseph Hopkins allegedly put it to another man’s head following a drunken confrontation around 3 a.m.

Umm, didn’t you get the memo, carrying a concealed weapon, or even an open weapon is illegal while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Not to mention the fact I’m reasonably sure the individual in question was within a bar consuming alcohol.  This is significant because in the state of Washington:

(1) It is unlawful for any person to enter the following places when he or she knowingly possesses or knowingly has under his or her control a weapon:

 (d) That portion of an establishment classified by the state liquor control board as off-limits to persons under twenty-one years of age;

That right folks, unsurprisingly someone violated the law, and then topped it off with what ultimately could be considered attempted murder.  Last I checked, murder was still against the law right?

Yup, still is.

As always, what would have another law done in this case?  Not a damn thing.

So how many laws does it take to restrain a criminal who has no will to follow them?  Who is really affected by all those laws?

The answer to that second question is honest law-abiding citizens.  See often I go into bars but not to drink, but to pick up a friend who called for a ride, or meet up with old college friends for a bite to eat.  According to the state I can’t carry because walking through that door will make my brain go off its rocker and start shooting people.  Being around those evil spirits will cause me to want to drink and lose my judgement.

Never-mind that people are ultimately responsible for their behaviors and actions. If I get drunk it’s my responsibility not to get behind the wheel of a car.  If I’m carrying a gun it’s my responsibility not to get drunk and hinder my ability for sound judgement.  It all comes back to the individual and responsibility.

I want to be respected and treated like an adult.  The CSGV and Brady Bunch would prefer that I be treated like a child.  Pardon me, but f-off, I prefer being an adult and having responsibilities, it results in the ability to have fun and create awesomeness.

*Make sure to read that title with a nice thick “Fargo” accent.

Unpossible – TSA Violated Policy

More from our best and brightest that is our TSA.

In response to ongoing criticism for removing the back brace from an elderly woman who claims Transportation Security Agency (TSA) officers strip-searched her an airport, the TSA issued a “clarification” about their position on the incidents, claiming — contrary to an earlier TSA statement — that the woman’s back brace was removed because the security personnel thought it was a “money belt.”

Is anyone really surprised by this incident?  We have given a much of power hungry uneducated morons the power to force anyone to do anything.  Refusal can result in the revocation of your rights and being detained on arbitrary charges that center around you not being a good little sheep.

My favorite line though from the TSA was this which shows exactly what they think about this incident.

The TSA denied that any strip-search ever took place, adding that they “truly regret that these passengers feel they had a bad screening experience.”

Note they refuse to admit the agents did anything wrong in the handling of these customers. Even though they admit that back braces are not supposed to be removed yet the agents can do no wrong.  The agents violated policy and didn’t correct their behavior upon noticing the error.  Yet these women should perceive their experiences as negative despite the TSA agents screwing up?

You know, I keep telling myself that actually going after these people isn’t worth it. The behavior of both the agency and the agents though is beginning to make me think that liberal applications of both tar and feathers is required at all levels. Seriously.

Unpossible

There was a shooting during a school board meeting in Florida.

What is completely unsurprising is the fact that the “shooter” was stopped after an armed individual returned fire. He actually killed himself after the armed individual returned fire.

I would like to point out there was this incident as well recently. The homeowner is damn lucky. I would have either waited outside, or found a way to pull down the tarp. Further upon seeing the intruder had a weapon pointed at me, I would have dropped him. That is NOT the time to hesitate. The only reason I think that home owner survived is because it ended up the firearm was unloaded. Problem is though Rule #1 says I should fear for my life, PERIOD. Never the less though the homeowner successfully defended his property, but entering the way he did was a huge risk. That tarp doesn’t provide cover, and will display your location.

Update:
The shooter killed himself after being injured by the security officer. What is even more interesting from this new article is the following:

State records show Duke, 56, served four years in prison about a decade ago for aggravated stalking and other crimes.

Doing some more digging he is in fact a convicted felon. It’s a double failure, < Begin Sarcasm > I thought that the laws were supposed to keep this from happening!< End Sarcasm >

I’d say I told you so…

But what’s the point? The people who realize that using Javascript for everything is a bad idea don’t need me lecturing them. The people who want to use Javascript for everything couldn’t create a secure system, much less understand the realities of a hostile environment if their life depended on it. Their fandom precedes the ability for critical thinking.

This is why when I read this, this morning;

This impacts Node at the Buffer to UTF8 String conversion and can cause a process to crash. The security concern comes from the fact that a lot of data from outside of an application is delivered to Node via this mechanism which means that users can potentially deliver specially crafted input data that can cause an application to crash when it goes through this path.

I said, “And nothing will change.” At least, as a minor saving grace, HTTP(S) headers do not fall vulnerable to this particular bug, but that’s mainly the headers there is question to the remainder of the processing.

The fact is, nothing is perfect, nothing is fool-proof, and frankly my hate for Javascript is largely due to the people I find who fall over themselves defending it. Does it serve a purpose? Yup, you bet. Is is a hammer that should be used while seeing every problem as a nail? Absolutely NOT.