A Quick Update

I-5 Rest Area Merge in Oregon

I have been slacking for the past half year when it comes to writing here. Most of my updates went to Facebook, since dealing with a theatrical three year old didn't really leave me with much free time to sit and write. Now that Paul is 4, I've found that I have some free time, so I hope to write more this year.

I was lucky enough to catch a good deal on tickets to Seattle last month. I spent several days in the Pacific Northwest hiking, geocaching, and camping. I didn't really stray too far from th I-5 corridor, since there was quite a bit snow east of Seattle and I've never snowshoed before. I didn't figure a 4-5 mile hike over unfamiliar terrain was the best time to learn. However, I got to visit the original geocache, the Lilypad (geocaching.com headquarters), and the Cache Across America caches for Washington and Oregon. I have now visited 72% (36/50) states in the US and it seems likely I will at least get to visit all of the lower 48 by my 30th birthday.

On Dealing With Comment Spam

I was catching up on my feeds today and ran across an interesting post on Defensio and Akismet. I used Akismet when it first came out and was relatively happy with it until I started getting hit with large amounts of trackback spam.

After dealing with that for awhile, I decided it was worth giving Defensio a try when I heard about it. I’ve been using it since April 2007 on my other blog. Granted, it is not what you’d consider a high traffic blog, and I don’t have much in the way of legitimate comments. But I’ve been able to turn off requiring users to have one approved comment before their comments go through automatically without having to weed out spam comments/trackbacks.

Unless something better comes along, I will be sticking to Defensio, since it’s less work for me.

My Defensio stats from my other blog - April 07 to July 08

Recent Accuracy: 100.00%
Spam: 6385
Innocents: 24
False Negatives: 4
False Positive: 0

Summer 2008: Mid Term Report

I finished my first two computer science classes (Intro to Computer Usage and Programming I) last Monday. I finished with an A in each one. I am also on track for an A in Calc I and Sociology. My Programming II class, which focuses on data structures, just started Wednesday. I think it will probably end up being my most work intensive class this semsester, but I should be able to get another A.

I also took a brief trip to New Hampshire in June to see one of my cousins graduate high school. I will most likely stay in Virginia in July, but will travel in August after the summer semester is over. Tracy and I are gearing up for MidWest Geobash in August. After we finish up there, Paul and I will head to Louisiana to visit family. Then the summer will be officially over, since the fall semester will be starting up, as well as Paul's preschool.