November 2021

November. The eleventh month in the year, although the name looks like it is something to do with the number nine. As was mentioned last month, The Thirsty Robot is now going to publish the summary every month, although this one is very late!

So, here's some of what you may have missed in November's online meetings at The Thirsty Robot:

All in the Name: Blazor

As it says on Microsoft's web-page for Blazor: 'Blazor lets you build interactive web UIs using C# instead of JavaScript. Blazor apps are composed of reusable web UI components implemented using C#, HTML, and CSS. Both client and server code is written in C#, allowing you to share code and libraries.'

https://dotnet.microsoft.com/apps/aspnet/web-apps/blazor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazor

Blazing fast? Just don't confuse it with the blazer, the article of clothing:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazer

Photo by 
Ali Karimiboroujeni on Unsplash

If we were being really clever, of course, the photo should have been one of Satya Nadella, the CEO of  Microsoft, wearing a blazer...

Photo from: https://news.microsoft.com/en-gb/2018/11/07/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-on-fuelling-tech-intensity-in-the-uk/

The photo comes from Microsoft:

https://news.microsoft.com/en-gb/2018/11/07/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-on-fuelling-tech-intensity-in-the-uk

To make it completely perfect, he should have been talking about Blazor, of course! But the world is only 'working towards' perfection, despite any evidence that points to the contrary.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Squid Game - for engineers...

Whilst we are thinking of software engineering, here's an alternative view of Squid Game, the latest

 'Haven't you seen it yet?'

'Must-See'

'Everyone has seen it!' 

streaming video (TV?) (Television?) (What does one say nowadays?) content on Netflix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkpZggx4yNI

And a fun game for programmers:

https://helloworldquiz.com

...and more on 'Hello World'...

https://esolangs.org/wiki/Hello_world_program_in_esoteric_languages_(nonalphabetic_and_A-M)

 

https://esolangs.org/wiki/Hello_world_program_in_esoteric_languages_(N-Z)

Plus, the SECRET to better programming!

https://xkcd.com/323/

Programming Languages You Thought You Knew!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curl_(programming_language) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CURL

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

Firstly, if you need to ask what a Reverse Shell (or shell shovelling) is, then you don't need it:

https://github.com/swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings/blob/master/Methodology%20and%20Resources/Reverse%20Shell%20Cheatsheet.md

And, on the subject of cyber security, here are some deliberately vulnerable web apps:

https://www.vulnhub.com

The extra 'P' makes all the difference:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa6eh7gCkpPo5XXUDfygQQA

Every wanted to get a whole web-site? (vulnerable, or otherwise!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wget

And, just in case you need one, here's a free non-linear, graph knowledge (data) base that is stored locally, not in the Cloud:

https://obsidian.md

Oh, and this (and GitHub, and lots more reasons...) might be a good time to learn Markdown...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown

Alternatively (there's ALWAYS an alternative!) you could use a Wiki where the wiki is the web-page itself:

https://tiddlywiki.com. (Remember: don't use your browser's 'File/Save...' menu command....)

or you could try:

https://www.doxygen.nl/index.html

Still in Cyber Security (obviously more important because of the capital letters!), there's:

https://www.metasploit.com. (note the free Open Source version)

https://www.exploit-db.com/searchsploit

How is that Web-site produced?

https://morningstarsecurity.com/research/whatweb

Every wondered what GCHQ does for fun?

https://gchq.github.io/CyberChef/

Pen Testing... (nothing to do with testing pens...)

https://github.com/mandiant/commando-vm

Photo by Marc Fanelli-Isla on Unsplash

High Fidelity

 

There was a long discussion about hi-fi, including these items:

https://www.richersounds.com/catalog/product/view/id/19087/s/denon-dra-800h-black/

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-v671/review

https://en-uk.sennheiser.com/on-ear-dj-headphone-hd25    DJ Headphones

The classic 'hi-fi' rules still apply:

- Whatever you buy, it will be immediately out of date (and will drop in price!)...

- Whatever you buy, someone will always say it is rubbish and that you should have bought...

- Whatever you buy, it will be almost exactly what you need, except for one minor imperfection...

- Whatever you buy, it will always sound better in the shop than when you get it home...

Although these are all superseded by the main rule:

- If you like how it looks and sounds, then all is well!

Someone asked if this had become a hardware porn discussion channel...

Games Console

You know that the world is approaching perfection when games consoles become commodities:

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Misc-/Game-Watch-The-Legend-of-Zelda/Game-Watch-The-Legend-of-Zelda-2039375.html

https://store.nintendo.co.uk/en_gb/game-and-watch-the-legend-of-zelda.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAm7OMBhAQEiwArvGi3JHA1snJdTxSdN39vlfqwIq4LxMEFlZZUNsM5F1QAjXqErSxJX1ENxoCyucQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Yes, this really is a games console!

Birthday Card

Sometimes you just don't want a card... Especially when it is NSFW:

https://firebox.com/products/never-ending-birthday-card

More extreme versions are possible, taking NSFW to the limits...

And of course, there are online retailers who will sell you all sorts of distractions...

https://www.iwantoneofthose.com

Thinking of birthdays, there is toy nostalgia:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224666960053

Filling in Online Forms Privately:

We've mentioned this before, but here's another useful tool:

https://www.doogal.co.uk/PostcodeGenerator.php

Yep, it generates genuine, real, UK postcodes. If you are very unlucky, it might even generate your own correct postcode, but this is pretty unlikely! 

Photo by Julius Drost on Unsplash

Media (Enter at your own risk...) 

As always, for the best experience, do not watch trailers or reviews before watching a movie or TV series...

Documentaries you didn't know you needed to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWEwlp4EJc

More detail on a topic than you ever (ever!) wanted:

https://www.equalexperts.com/blog/our-thinking/is-it-time-to-rethink-low-hanging-fruit/

Things you probably didn't know about:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/escalation-ladder-leading-through-conflict-jim-maastricht/

Did Someone Mention Postcodes or Postman?:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Postman_Always_Rings_Twice_(1981_film)

(not to be confused with):

https://www.postman.com/security/

or

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Postman_(film)

 

or

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postman_(disambiguation)

 

(TV series) Your screen may not be perfect:

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/dead-pixels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZbrgT9jtiI (trailer)

Dave Made a Maze... (Movie)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4457344/

As always, for the best experience, do not watch trailers or reviews before watching a movie...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIu4_lPQPxU (Later!)

Amazingly Good Film Directors You May Not Have Heard Of Before...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_Jeunet

HP and the CC (Play)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Cursed_Child

La Cabina (Movie)

https://vimeo.com/99467331 (need to log in...)

As always, for the best experience, do not watch trailers or reviews before watching a movie... (ESPECIALLY THIS ONE!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_cabina

and this one:

Rubber (Movie)

Available on many streaming services, at a price!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1612774/

Poltergeist (Movie)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/

Just in case you forgot that Steven Spielberg is good in many genres...

Lovecraftian Horror

https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/l/knitting/knitting-patterns/free-knitting-patterns

Which is just the set up for:

https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/p/cthulhu-cymraeg-knitting-pattern-by-alice-jones

and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neevas-Unisex-Octopus-Winter-Knitted/dp/B07CHBTM2S/ref=asc_df_B07CGGB9JJ/?tag=&linkCode=df0&hvadid=375377897674&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16826274036809449961&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045046&hvtargid=pla-800535978915&ref=&adgrpid=79395903320&th=1

(TV Series) Unlikely to be shown as In-flight Entertainment:

Departure (Sky and Sky Go)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9252156/

(TV Series) Dr. Brain 

(Available on Apple TV+)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Brain_(TV_series)

(Music) Commentary on Music Topics

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl_dlV_7ofr4qeP1drJQ-qg

Star Trek - Scotty's Tartan

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Kilt

https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/179738/is-the-tartan-worn-by-scotty-in-savage-curtain-an-actual-clan-tartan

https://www.lochcarron.co.uk/maxwell-ancient-heavy-weight-tartan-fabric/

https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/registerGuidance

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

Amazon Returns

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Unsold-Returned-Electronics-Pallets/dp/B07MWHBVDX

https://bstock.com/blog/buying-amazon-returns-what-you-need-to-know/

Two interesting quotes...

The universe is not stranger than you can imagine - it is stranger than you are capable of imagining.

The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible .

---

A lot of discussion happens at The Thirsty Robot. This blog is an edited, biased summary of just a small fraction of the conversation, links/URLs and references that were mentioned. It is an imperfect record and is definitely not complete - for that you should visit The Thirsty Robot!

---

Things have changed a little here - these summaries will now be monthly. The next online meeting at The Thirsty Robot is on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Thursday of the month...

If you want to meet real people in the real world, then try this: Ipswich-Tech-Drinkabout on the first Thursday in the month!