Terminally Incoherent

I just popped over to the US Games Workshop site to try to figure out when will I be able to pre-order the Codex Eldar and this is what I saw:

Ooops! The whole site, including the online store. Judging from the vague error message, I’m guessing there is something wrong with the way they connect to the database. Either it is down, or someone did something to the code that prevents if from connecting correctly.

I’m glad I was not placing an order when that shit went down. I would be really pissed off if this would happen to me in mid order. I’m wondering if anyone is there to diagnose and fix this. Theoretically a big site like that should have 24h support - but who the hell knows.

I think the first thing they need to do is to mask these error messages. I mean, you just look at that thing, and you can plainly see they are using ADO connection which implies SQL server on a windows box with ASP. You can also see the path to the includes folder which may contain all kinds of juicy bits. If you do a portscan and OS fingerprint on that server you have a very solid base to start poking around.

Let’s see how long will it take them to get the site up.

Update Tue, June 27 2006, 12:00 AM

It seems that as I was typing this the main site went back up. The online store is still acting flaky though.

This cracked me up:

This is from Sinfest - I love that comic.

Lately I noticed that every time people find some niche topic in which they can specialize they develop their own jargon. This seems to be a natural process that occurs because when such specialization occurs, there is an increased need to facilitate better communication. Acronyms and buzzwords are born to avoid explaining the same things over and over again, and allow to streamline the exchange of ideas. These jargon terms introduce standard baseline of communication between experts.

As a side effect, it makes the conversations between experienced gurus inaccessible to general public, and newbies due to the artificial jargon barrier. People using technical intricate jargon also may often sound sophisticated and knowledgeable.

For example, you have the technical jargon used by most computer scientists and technology professionals. You have the business jargon used by the marketroids and pointy haired lower primates in managerial roles. They usually talk about things like synergy and paradigm - and we usually ignore them completely. You have MMOG jargon used by people who like to “aggro ftw” or go “leeroy jenkins”

Recently I was surprised to find that “players” or “pick up artists” also have a very complex and technical jargon. For example, I found out that apparently I am AFC prone to oneitis, or that when you talk with a woman you should do allot of kino, anchor positive feelings on yourself and elicit values so you can mirror them back to her.

Seriously, check out the whole website. It is a fascinating insight into a mind of a pick up artist. I don’t think I have ever seen such in depth explanation of pick up techniques, and methodologies. Some of these things actually read like actual tech related manuals. After browsing through some of of the articles there, I realized that what these guys are doing is taking classic social engineering techniques, expanding them, and applying them to dating scenarios.

I might be wrong, but I think some of the advice on the site is actually good, sound advice like being confident, positive, avoiding downer topics and etc… Some of it probably should be taken with a grain (sometimes a big grain) of salt. All in all, it is quite an interesting read.

Now I’m interested to see what other niche topics have such highly developed jargon vocabularies. I’m now on the lookout for those mysterious and elusive fields of expertise that I never knew, or heard about before.

I think that what I plan to say now, accurately mirrors the feelings of all the men in the world named Luke. That one line from Star Wars, that everyone is so fond of quoting when they meet us, stopped being cute around the time we were 8.

Do you really think this is original? Do you really think this is funny? Wow dude, you must be the first person ever, who has figured out that it was witty to inform a Luke that you are his father! There is no way in hell that someone before could have made this association! No, all those other people lack your sheer comedic genius that allows you to make lame pop culture references!

The fact that we politely smile when you do your Vader shtick does not mean we are amused by it. No, we smile because you are making a complete idiot out of yourself. So here is a tip: if you meet a Luke in the future, and you feel like making a Star Wars joke - don’t.

This was a public announcement brought to you by the “No, You are NOT my Father Foundation”.

Hehehe! This is priceless!

If you don’t get it, read this.