I’ve discovered that Google has blacklisted Brainstorm Warning as infected by malware. I have reviewed the site code, found no evidence of malware, and requested a review from Google using their Webmaster Tools.

I’m guessing that my previous battles with SQL injection attacks (involving base64_decode  and several hours of cleanup) landed me on the blacklist.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I will post again after I receive word back from Google that Brainstorm Warning has been cleared.

I received the following e-mail today:

The daily antivirus scan of your blog suggests alarm.

https://www.brainstormwarning.org

Notify message by AntiVirus for WordPress http://wpantivirus.com

I’ve spent the last two and a half hours cleaning up the site, removing all themes, installing a fresh copy of the default theme, and cleaning the database of any potentially malicious code.

If you’d like to see a different theme for Brainstorm Warning, please post a comment with a link to download the theme.

I checked A Dance With Dragons out from my local library today and found myself struggling to remember plot elements from a book I read 7 years ago. (ADWD picks up where A Storm of Swords leaves off, but with a different cast of characters than A Feast for Crows.) Fortunately, I found this excellent 4-part recap of the first four books of the series:

• The Song of Ice and Fire So Far: Part 1 – Ancient History
• The Song of Ice and Fire So Far: Part 2 – The Dragon Kings
• A Song of Ice and Fire So Far Part 3: Thrones and Kings
• A Song of Ice and Fire So Far Part 4: Swords and Crows

Now I feel like I’m prepared to get back to reading the 1,000+ page behemoth that is A Dance With Dragons.

Watching the anime series Angel Beats recently led my thoughts to other non-Christian artists producing art that hints at truths that Scripture illuminates more clearly. Specifically, it reminded me of John Mayer’s song, Something’s Missing, perhaps the most blatant recent example of non-Christians sensing a mystery that calls to all people.

The concept of non-Christians recognizing the existence of a higher power or force but misunderstanding or even denying that spiritual “nudge” is nothing new. Paul writes about the very same in his letter to the Romans:

Continue reading →

I posted 3 new galleries today; all 3 are filed under my Private gallery section. To view the galleries, as well as private posts (which comprise roughly 50% of the site’s content), you’ll need to register an account and I’ll need to upgrade the account from Subscriber to Friend.

I’ve seen several new account registrations (many with e-mail addresses ending in .ru) with suspicious usernames. I’ve deleted all accounts with usernames I did not recognize (under the assumption that these accounts are created by spambots) in an effort to prevent unsolicited advertisements on the site.

If you are a real life human being and interested in creating an account, please use the Contact page to send me a very brief message to let me know you’re not a spambot. Even something as simple as “Yes, I’m a real human being” will suffice.

This method will still allow users to register new accounts while still keeping our user records clear of spambots. If this method doesn’t pan out, I may look at an alternative approach (though I don’t know what form that approach would take).

Merry Christmas to all!

May God bless you and your family richly this day and this season. As we gather together, spend time with family, and exchange gifts, may we never forget the true meaning behind the holiday and the greatest gift of all: Jesus the Christ, sent to the world as a baby to redeem us.

From The Miscellany of a Japanese Priest (Being a Translation of Tsure-zure Gusa):

Idle fancies come floating into our hearts just as they will; is it not because we have nothing which can rightly be called a heart? For if within the breast the heart were already occupied, none of these unruly thoughts could find room therein.

Inspired by the #squarespace trending topic on Twitter, I decided to introduce the #brainstormwarning hashtag to promote Brainstorm Warning. As stated in the introductory tweet, I will give any user including #brainstormwarning in a new tweet sage, Dr. Phil-style advice for free.

If nothing else, this should prove an interesting experiment in social micro-blogging.

Never pay for homebrew.

Homebrewinstaller ($29.95) and Wii Homebrew Installer ($15) charge money for files and information available for free on other sites. Both of these web sites are scams. For information on free Wii homebrew, I recommend visiting WiiBrew or HackMii.

For those who are unfamiliar with Wii homebrew: It is not equivalent to piracy. The purpose of many homebrew applications is to extend the functionality of hardware past the limits of official software. For example: The homebrew application NuGaSa allows Wii owners to backup and restore Gamecube save files from an SD card.

The owners of WiiBrew, HackMii, and Brainstorm Warning do not condone piracy.

I have blocked all Google AdSense ads relating to Homebrewinstaller. If you see any ads attempting to charge money for homebrew files, please post a comment or use the site Contact form to let me know and I will block the ads as soon as possible.