Released a new version of Simple Location. This version adds more security around multi-user sites, makes some REST API enhancements, and allows the user timezone to be the default for posts made in the WordPress editor.
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Simple Location 4.4.10 Released
IndieAuth Popup – August 2021
At the end of last month, a group got together to discuss some of the outstanding issues in IndieAuth. We had two similar sessions in 2020 and the specification is better for it(see Aaron Parecki’s summary of changes), however, we left many issues on the table due time considerations.
The spec hasn’t been updated yet, but here are some notes on the new changes. We’re hoping to follow up at another session before the end of the year.
- Tokens having an expiration is now recommended, but not mandatory. This would mean the token endpoint would return the ‘expires_in’ parameter as part of the access token response, indicating the number of seconds till it expires.
- In order to support expiring tokens, the access token response may now return a refresh token. The token endpoint will support the grant_type refresh_token in order to utilize these tokens to get a fresh access token. Refresh Tokens are common in OAuth2 and there would be no changes from the existing specifications.
- Adoption of the OAuth2 Token Introspection Specification, with the token endpoint acting as the token introspection endpoint. At this time, that spec requires authentication to use the endpoint, whereas IndieAuth’s existing token verification interaction does not. This question is ongoing, as to whether we should specifically drop the auth requirement.
IndieAuth for WordPress Version 4.1.0
IndieAuth 4.1.0 was Released. One of the biggest changes were fixes as a result of the doubling of unit tests, which allowed several small scenarios to be troubleshooted, as well as other under the hood fixes.
In addition, the introduction of refresh tokens and an introspection endpoint, as discussed in the last Indieauth popup.
Finally, an experimental ticket auth endpoint, which is disabled by default, which can be enabled by added define( ‘INDIEAUTH_TICKET_ENDPOINT’, true ); to your wp-config.php file.
Ticket Auth is an developing spec that I’ve commented on before. This endpoint received tickets and redeems them…and at the moment, nothing else(which is why it is not enabled by default). That and the fact that we have not yet iterated on how to use the token once it is received.
Bathroom Renovation – August 2021
At the end of last month, for a few days, I had my bathroom fixed. It isn’t visible in the pictures, but the metal tub was rusting through around the drawn, and there were other issues.
The bathroom had a half tile wall around, a soffit over the shower where ductwork ran from the building heating system to the exterior vent, and a few other challenges.
The renovation gutted the bathroom down to the studs and the cement, where I discovered there was none under the drain…just dirt, and the source of one of the problems. There was leaking from the bathroom above, which had to be fixed as well.
The bathroom was original to the building, built in 1976, while the blue was a nice enough color, it made it hard to replace easily. I had no spare tiles. So, in replacement, I opted to only retile the shower stall itself in white subway tile(something easily to get for years to come), and just replace the sheetrock elsewhere, so it could be repainted in a few years as needed.
I’m too tall for the bathtub, so hadn’t really used it, so went with a shower pan and doors.
This is a small bathroom, so I also had the floor retiled in black slate, and replaced the toilet(which was last replaced in the 90s) with a dual flush toilet…which was illegal in New York City till 2010, and a mechanical bidet toilet seat. I previously had added a mechanical bidet attachment. While some people have issues with bidets…I save a lot of toilet paper by using it.
Mechanical bidet seats, or attachments work by splitting the cold water intake on your toilet. The fancier models may branch off your hot water, or may have electric features, but that was unnecessary for my purpose.
The biggest change to the bathroom that I’d wanted for years was electrical.For one, I have an outlet inside the cabinet over my toilet, which allows me to charge my shaver and electric toothbrush inside.
There was originally a single light fixture over the sink. That is gone, replaced by three ceiling lights. These are disc lights, which are the latest replacement for traditional recessed lighting. A hole is still cut in the ceiling, and a junction box placed inside to convert to the appropriate voltage, with the disc light being connected and clipped into place. This allowed for one to be inside the shower itself, which was always dark, one in the middle of the room, and one over the sink. They are also temperature adjustable, if you remove them and adjust a switch, if I wanted.
Finally, the switch for the exhaust fan was replaced with a timer switch with a built in humidity sensor, so it can be safely left on till the humidity returns to lower levels. I previously just used a timer switch, this gives it a little more intelligence.
I think the final result turned out well. Nothing I bought was particularly expensive, individually, and I tried to pick things that I thought would hold up. I even got them to run a network cable through the wall between the rooms on either side, for future proofing, before they sealed it up.
Mr. Asner starred on the TV comedy “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and later on the spinoff series “Lou Grant.”
I got several near chances to meet Mr. Asner at public appearances, and jumped at the chance, but it never worked out. Despite being of the wrong generation to watch Mary Tyler Moore and Lou Grant, I watched them in reruns. I recognized him as a voice actor, etc. He was acting up until the end and still has voice roles that have yet to come out. I am sad I will not be able to enjoy future work from him.
A 96-year-old who fled the Holocaust finds a new way to be heard.
I was saddened to hear of her death. I would often meet up with her at the community pool upstate. She was always fond of talking to me.
Took me a while to find the pictures from this event after seeing Bob Diamond’s obituary.
First he discovered a long-forgotten rail tunnel. Then he spent decades trying — in vain — to revive Brooklyn’s trolley system.
Just found out about Bob Diamond’s passing. I had the pleasure of going on one of the tours of the tunnel he rediscovered when I was in high school, even bringing one of my teachers along. I later went to visit the warehouse where they were working on the trolleys for his plan. It had been many years since I had seen him, and while he was an imperfect individual, I appreciated his vision.
Israel Part 10: Masada, the Dead Sea, and the End
It’s finally time to finish this narrative. It’s only taken me six months of procrastination.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Mount Hertzl National Cemetery is the equivalent of Arlington for the United States. The cemetery contains not only people who sacrificed their lives for the state of Israel, but state leaders. The Presidents and Prime Ministers of Israel, as well as Speakers of the Knesset can be buried here. Teddy Kollek, the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965-1993 is also buried here.
Near the cemetary is Yad Vashem, established in 1953 and contains the Holocaust History Museum, the Children’s Memorial, the Hall of Remembrance, and several other exhibits. My photos at Yad Vashem were limited. Photos are not permitted in several parts of the complex out of respect for the subject.
A new museum was dedicated in 2005 which consists of 10 exhibition halls, and thus the Yad Vashem I had visited in 1999, and my father had visited in the 1970s had been transformed.
It is hard not to be silenced by the weight of the Holocaust. The Children’s Memorial is a tribute to approximately 1.5 million children who perished. Inside an underground cavern, light is reflected into infinity while the names, ages, and country of origin of murdered children are read.
The Hall of Names is a room in which the Pages of Testimony…short biographies of each Holocaust victim, are contained. Over two million pages are stored in the room. The ceiling of the room consists of a cone in which 600 photographs showing the diversity of those who were lost reflect into a pool below.
After a long day of touring, we returned to the hotel, ate at a place across the street that we saw, and went to bed for the final touring day
Friday, June 12, 2015
Masada is an ancient fortification built by Herod the Great. Almost all information regarding Masada comes from Roman historian Josephus. Herod himself, from most reports, never spent any length of time at Masada. The fortress is built on a plateau. The cliffs on one side are 1300 feet high, and on the other 300 feet high. The approaches are all rather difficult.
Masada is accessible by cable car as well as two hiking paths…the Snake Trail which is gains 980 feet in elevation over its length, and the Roman Ramp which is less steep. We took the cable car to the top. I have a long discomfort with heights, and I think I have satisfied my desire to see Masada for a long while.
In 73CE, the Romans laid siege to Masada for several months. They constructed an assault ramp, built a giant siege tower with a battering ram, which they ultimately used to breach the walls of the fortress. The Romans employed some 15,000 troops at Masada. To prevent the rebels inside from attacking those building the ramp by throwing stones down at them, the Romans used Jewish prisoners to construct the ramp.
When the Romans finally breached the walls, they found that the 960 inhabitants inside had set all the buildings inside on fire and committed mass suicide. Only two women and five children were left alive. The figure of 960 comes from Josephus, although there have not been that many skeletal remains found. Inside Masada, they have unearthed 28 people, and at a cave at the base of the cliff, another 24. Josephus was not actually at the siege of Masada, and got his information from the accounts of the Roman Commanders, so there is a distinct possibility of inaccuracies.
After Masada, we headed toward lunch and the Dead Sea, with a stop at the Ahava factory. Ahava makes beauty products out of dead sea minerals. We hadn’t done much in terms of purchasing on the trip, but we did purchase some gifts there at a factory discount. I was recently in Costco. They were carrying an Ahava warehouse pack…I could have saved some space in my suitcase.
The Dead Seat is 1407 feet below sea level and is bordered by Jordan and Israel. It is one of the saltiests bodies of water in the World. Because of its density, trying to swim is much more like floating. There is concern about the future of the Dead Sea as in January of 2015, it was reported as dropping by three feet a year.
We accessed the sea via one of the hotels, where we had lunch and where we had access to their locker room and shower facilities, as well as their pool and…of course the sea itself.
After our dip was over, we returned to Jerusalem for Shabbat. On Friday night, we attempted to attend services in the hotel, but despite being there at the posted time…no one showed up but us.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
After the lack of services the previous evening, we decided to try the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem, which happened to be a short walk away. The building opened in 1982 and the sanctuary holds 850 men and 550 women. However, we never saw it. When we arrived, we were trying to find services, and wandered into another synagogue that is in the Great Synagogue building, the Heichal Jacob Synagogue, which is a small Sephardic synagogue in the building, and ended up attending that.
It is interesting to me, that despite the differences in tradition even from Sephardic services in the United States I’d attended, I could follow the service after I got used to the accent. In my experience, a blessing by the Kohanim is only done on holidays, but apparently in this tradition, they do it every Shabbat. At the end of the service, we were asked to smell a plant on the way out.
After services, we had lunch and took a walk, then rested up for the flight home.
The plane arrived later than scheduled on Sunday, and I was at my desk working that afternoon.
Conclusion
Obviously, I did take many more pictures than I showed in this ten part series. They may make a reappearance in future.
As a teaser, coming soon(or someday), I will be adding a trip log of the events of April 10 through April 25, 1999, when I participated in the March of the Living. I had mentioned previously they had ‘encouraged’ us to transcribe the trip and I dug up those notes and the images of same.
Feeling nostalgic. This came out of my recent 1200+ photo bulk scan.
They keep telling me to have a bricktastic day.