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Securing a bulletin board October 25, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Blogging , 1 comment so far

I host a small, private bulletin board for a group of friends using the open source community software phpbb. Out of the box, it’s not too secure, and so today I did some tidying up. This blog is to note what I’ve done, and may be of interest to anyone who uses the software.

First of all, read this very good post on the phpbb forums. Spambots, which automate registration and then try to post junk on the board, are constantly laying seige to boards which allow self-registration, and there are ways of keeping them at bay. Our big problems were having the membership list visible to anyone who came in, and spambots registering themselves. The standard software allows you to stop the spam registrations from posting, but can’t prevent them from registering.

I’ve now applied two modifications to the standard software. The first prevents anyone who isn’t logged on from seeing any part of the board. I put it into every page on the site, not just the ones listed here, so now whereever you try to go, you’ll be redirected to the login page.

The second was a little more complex, but adds extra security to the registration so that spambots can’t register. This works well for our small forum, which is invitation only, but would be more constraining for a larger site.

Applying the modifications is an automated process, but because the first wasn’t verified for my version of phpbb, and the second hadn’t been verified at all, I did them manually.

This level of work on phpbb requires moderate skill. You should be familiar with editing files and have a working knowledge of php. It was fairly simple, and well worth the effort. If I install phpbb again, I’ll probably just add these on to the installation.

Straight down but still going strong October 23, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Little Green Portfolio, Miscellany , add a comment

In the last year shares in Straight plc, Leeds based manufacturer of plastic bins for recycling and other purposes, have dropped from a high of 285.80 in November to a sorry low of 128p today.  The only news has been disappointing half year results issued at the end of September which sparked a steepening in a downward trend which was already well underway.

It seems to me that at least part of this is explained by the unusual highly price of this stock last summer.  With Britain in the grip of the worst drought on record, sales of water butts soared propelling the share price to a dizzy 314p.    Straight struggled to meet deliveries, and moved their distribution to DHL in February to deal with future growth.  The costs of these changes in the early part of the year meant that profits were down.

In August, the company acquired Gummy Bins Limited, manufacturer of bins for collecting chewing gum ‘for a nominal sum’.  The share price reacted well to this, and it allowed Straight more control over the product line. 

I haven’t sold my shares in this company, although they are now sitting at a loss. It doesn’t look like anyone’s selling at these prices, as trading volumes are very low. Lower than expected profits are a concern, but the company still has solid cashflows and at this price is probably now a bargain.  It’s suffered some growing pains, and a little irrational hype, but I’m betting it will be a solid performer now.  And if you’ve googled this after the annual results are announced in March, you’ll know if I’m right, or not.

Wordpress 2.3 problem fixed October 22, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Blogging , add a comment

I upgraded to the latest version of wordpress, and found myself getting errors when I tried to post - the code was looking for a table called ‘camdenkiwi_post2cat’ which didn’t exist.

A quick look in the Wordpress support forums revealed that the problem was probably due to the Google Sitemaps plugin I use to get google to properly index the site.  And an upgrade to the latest version fixed it.  Its one of the things I love about this software - there are so many clever people using it that if I ever find a problem, someone else has already had it and solved it.

Swap stuff with your neighbours

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden , 2 comments

It’s probably not entirely legal, but when I’m feeling lazy and want to get rid of something big, I put it outside by the garage across the road which the council use for storing rubbish, with a note on it saying ‘Please take me’.  Things always go quickly.  I also use freecycle, and give books and clothes to charity stores. 

And now Camden Council are getting into the act, organising a ‘swapshop‘ at the Somers Town Community Centre this weekend.  Take your unwanted stuff along between 11.00 and 12.30, then pick up your new wanted stuff before 2pm.  Sadly my biggest need at the moment is a dining chairs after one broke recently, and furniture isn’t accepted.  They will have someone checking electrical goods, which charity shops refuse to take, so I think I’ll give away an old laptop if I have the time to reformat its disk.

These innovative ways of reducing waste and promoting community spirit need a little organisation, and its good to see the Council being prepared to help in this area.

Ethereal Icelanders October 21, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a comment

I was astounded when a friend paid £225 for tickets to see the UK premier of Sigur Ros’ new documentary at Cecil House this week.  There is a short gig as well, but it’s a ridiculous amount for a FILM!  I’d never even heard of them, embarrassing to admit. 

For rather less than that, I bought their 2002 album () to see what all the fuss was about, and am definitely impressed.  Not £225 impressed, but I’d happily pay the original ticket price.  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything like it - ethereal, haunting, evocative of wide open spaces disappearing into eerie twilight.  Perhaps a little Enya, something of the Cocteau Twins, maybe some Eno.  No, I’m making that up.  Listen for yourself.

Control October 5, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , 1 comment so far

Somehow, having known how the story of Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis ends for twenty-five years doesn’t dull the blow.  Through the grey misery of Manchester, filmed in black and white, and the haunting music it builds to the inevitable, step by tragic step.  The film, the music and the situation meld together to produce a powerful, beautiful and deeply disturbing film.  
The Independent’s critic this morning talks of dread as Ian Curtis sings ‘They keep calling me’ in Dead Souls, just before having a fit and being carried off stage.  To me, the moment came as Curtis recorded the voice track to ‘Isolation’ on his own in the studio, the producer behind the glass wall ‘I’m ashamed of the person I am’.  

Joy Division always seemed like music for the angst-ridden end of a lonely evening.  Take care when you see this film, but do see it.

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Blimey, an efficient gas man!

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , 1 comment so far

Okay, I take it back, not all gas boiler repair people are useless gits.

The chap from H2 Plumbing visited for the second time today, and my boiler is now working beautifully.  He was on time both times, took less time than his office had estimated, charged less than Plumbforcedirect and his rather different diagnosis of my problem turned out to be correct.

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Breeding Bins October 4, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden , add a comment

Despite constant refusal to provide a doorstep recycling service in Somers Town, Camden Council seems intent on covering every spare outdoor space with ‘mini-recycling facilities’ - a few big black bins into which the tall and enthusiastic can throw their carefully separated and collected recyclables.  The newest set mysteriously appeared earlier this week in the small paved, treed area between Brook and Cranleigh Houses in Cranleigh St.

It will be helpful for some, I suppose.  Anyone who doesn’t feel like walking fifty metres to the overflowing Eversholt St bins, or a similar distance to the ones in Werrington St will be able to use them here.  That might mean the Eversholt St bins won’t get quite so full, but is it likely to encourage anyone who doesn’t already recycle to do so?  Certainly not the disabled lady downstairs, or the elderly one in the next set of flats who struggle to get their ordinary rubbish into the bin room, let alone halfway down the street and into a high bin, piece by piece.  Putting a bottle bank within a few metres of bedrooms seems a little unfair as well. 

It is time Camden looked again at recycling bags in this area.  They could easily be hung on the railings on collection days, and seem to work well in Holburn where they have been used for at least a year now.   Turning Somers Town into one big bin-site isn’t the answer.

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