The LambCutlet Disorganisation

With myself recently installing the former module because of certain annoying Internet scum, it was aparent to me that some of the latter’s pages weren’t being handled in some curious cases. After fiddling with module loading order, I eventually isolated it to the fact I had the mod_security’s directive set to SecFilterEngine DynamicOnly as when it was set to SecFilterEngine On, which would filter every request, everything worked as it should though at the expense of greater CPU time.

So reverting things back to the way they were and digging around in mod_security’s documentation, it turns out that by default PHP isn’t explicitly set as a dynamic page and only implicitly made dynamic by virtue that most Apache installations are set up to choose a module, which in our case is PHP, based on it’s MIME-type. Here’s the little fix for your httpd.conf by finding:

# Extensions that are parsed as PHP
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .phtml
# Extensions that are parsed as PHP source
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

… and replace with:

# Extensions that are parsed as PHP
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .php .phtml
# Extensions that are parsed as PHP source
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

Restart Apache and those filters that “occassionally don’t work for PHP” should be a thing of the past! :D

In under 6 months, the “Spread Firefox” message has amassed a total of 50 million downloads since version 1.0’s release back on the 1st of November, 2004. On this very site, it now accounts for 31% of the traffic with Internet Explorer just holding out with 56%. Mozilla Suite makes up 3%, Opera 2% and Safari 2% with the remaining 6% miscellaneous things such as new aggregators or download managers. Though such stats are probably of no surprise given it’s demographics, as geeks tend to be the ones whom champion alternate browsers. ;)

Though having a chat with some friends whom run a popular UK nightclubbing and dance music related site, the demographic is less technical though still avid computer users. If one charts how Firefox rose there, it’s nothing short of astounding. To give you some idea; 2 years ago, Gurn’s April 2003 stats had Internet Explorer with an absolute 98% share with two-thirds being IE6. Mozilla Suite and Opera shared 1% with 0.5% each and Firefox, then still known as Firebird basically didn’t even register.

Gurn’s April 2004 stats was much the same, Internet Explorer was still in the 90’s though chipped down to 95%. Mozilla Suite hits in at 1.8% and Opera at 1.5%. Firefox (then Firebird) again barely registered. However, since November 2004 the story has been very different for that site. Early Firefox adopters already made up 7% of traffic with Internet Explorer loosing 10% and dropping down to 85%. Opera in it’s various versions made up 4% and some Mozilla Suite users seemed to have migrated to Firefox too as it was a lighter weight browser taking it’s share to 1%.

Roll on to today’s Gurn, just one more day till the 1st of May, Internet Explorer has lost even more ground and is at 73%, Firefox makes up 17% with Opera at 5% and Mozilla Suite still steady at 1%. Even the non-Windows crowd show up in this months’ stats with Safari with 0.6%!

Viva la Alternative Browser Revolution! ;)

Chris Lightfoot of “The Alternative Political Compass” fame (the other, original “Political Compass” was by a different group altogether) has cooked up “Political Survey 2005” using real data from the YouGov opinion polls with the help of Tom Steinberg. Chris’ analysis on his own blog makes for interesting reading plus some YouGov presentation slides with information you wouldn’t quite expect.

As ever, my little set of results are of no surprise to me whatsoever and for reference, the old survey plonks me here… namely a “Lefty” in the usual sense, though pretty pragmatic overall. So no need to abolish “The State” or anything like that… yet. ;) That is afterall where the original “Political Compass” would put me, in the midst of Libertarian-Socialists where I’d be keeping good company with Gandhi, The Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. If such ideas sound very far fetched, Buddhist-Anarchism would also fall into that area of the political spectrum.

Still on the political spectrum, here’s a set of charts for the 2005 UK Elections. Makes it very clear the New Labour ↔ Tory are more or less the same as each other, hence why voters are now so disillusioned and looks just like the Democrats ↔ Republicans electoral battle in American during 2004. The Liberal Democrats have been sitting more or less the same place, though with a slight move to Socialism, obviously as a result of merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1990. The Greens basically sit where pre-Thatcher Labour would have sat, just with a good strong dose of Individualism.

What bugs me though is no party is willing to de-FUD nuclear power as modern reactors are probably the only viable way to curb the greenhouse gas emittions from our power hungry developed societies. Plus I want to buy Genetically Modified food as on balance they could have a lower enviromental impact, though when I go into a shop and ask for such things, all I get are just some very odd looks… :(

Then again, do we really need an election? Though Mr. Lightfoot does suggest a bit of electoral reform might just do the trick too. :D

Old Blighty gears itself up once again for another General Election for the 5th of May 2005 and if memory serves, this would be my third time where I’ll cast my vote. What concerns me however, aside from the potentially low turn-out which may leave a very sour in our mouths on the Friday, is the fact there’s this perception that this country is just a two party system… Labour or Conservative!

What the flying fuck is going on? Seriously? Given a ±3% margin of error, it’s quite clear that roughly 1 in 3 people would vote either Labour or Tory, just short of 1 in 4 would vote for the Liberal Democrats and roughly 1 in 12 that would vote for some other party, be it UK Indepenence Party, The Greens, and so on. Thusly, 11 in 12 people would vote, with pretty much even spread across Labour, Tory and the LibDems. I certainly count at least 3 parties there?

Choose “the lesser of two evils”, then that is just what you… something that’s evil, something you didn’t really agree with in the first place, plus it leaves you with two parties which aren’t really that different from each other except by party name and colours. Aunty Beeb has the 3 major and 2 runner-up parties in a side-by-side comparison of their stance.

Still stuck? Have a gander at “Who Should You Vote For?”… answer 23 statements with how much you agree or disagree with each in turn, click the old button and Bob’s you mother’s brother! A few people that have took it were rather surprised of their left-leaning and conversely others of their hidden right-leaning streak… so in my opinion though a basic quiz, is probably a pretty good guide of which way you should go vote if you’re one of the “floating voters”.

Doesn’t bother me which way you vote… could be for a party supporting Cornish independence for all I care! Just as long as you voted and it was for a party you honestly agree with, then more power to you. Afterall, a democracy only works if there is a healthy opposition to ruling party and if you can’t be bothered to involve yourself properly, then either quit complaining or expatriate yourself to some despot dictatorship. I guess in the latter case you have the luxury in not needing to have a say in anything at all! ;)

Oh and for those curious of what my questionaire results were… here they are:

• Labour: -24
• Conservative: -35
• Liberal Democrat: +68
• UK Independence Party: -14
• Green: +29

Pretty much what I expected… they have me sussed! ;)

From little acorns grow huge oak trees… or some such. Anyhoo, this site has broken a few of it’s own records in terms of traffic! For the month of March 2005; the site has served 100 325 pages, 12 086 unique visitors, using up a total of 12.09 GB… reaching six, five and double digits for the first time respectively!

The top of the list for most popular pages would be the phpBB 2.1/2.2 (now 3.0) screenshots with our big brown friend Domokun getting his fair share of clicks too. The new kid on the block would be “The Amazing Fortune Cow”… guess you lot just can’t get enough bovine humour? ;)

My holiday piccies from Latvija, Cymru and much more recently, 香港 (Hong Kong) are rather popular too, aided by my ramblings of antics whilst off in far away lands meaning as far as Google is concerned I’m a “definative resource” for some rather surprising things!

Still, thanks to all 4½ of you that actually read the blog! ;)

With almost all the world having had the joy of April Fool’s Day… here are some of 2005’s best in no particular order (in my not so humble opinion, yadda yadda yadda!):

• Encyclopædia Britannica takes over Wikimedia Foundation!
• NASA’s “Astronomy Picture of the Day” with an exclusive new picture of “Water on Mars”!
• Scientific American conceeds to defeat by Creationists! [Slashdot has the whole article]

… and to complete an un-holy foursome, a real article that was apparently mistaken for taking everyone for a fool!

• British Home Secretary Charles Clarke is asked to pardon Anne Boleyn 500 years after loosing her head!

It’s a funny old world! ;)