XSS-me and WebGoat

This is a Flash video I took running XSS-me! against Webgoat. XSS-me part of the Explot-me suite of Firefox plugins from Security Compass. Webgoat is a J2EE web application that was designed to be insecure in order to demonstrate application security issues.
The video was captured using Wink.

Tornado!

As we were driving south on I-55 from Chicago, IL today, we saw a tornado near Dwight. Luckily, we were a few miles south when it formed. Here is a report from the local newspaper with a few pictures. I haven't heard any reports of anyone being injured, but there was a lot of property damage. It was odd that as we took the picture, the weather where we were was bright and sunny, but this terrible storm was forming just a couple miles north.



Here is the video we took.

Water powered sump pump installation pictures

In my last post, I mentioned I decided to have a water powered backup sump pump installed.
These two pictures are looking up at the pump in the rafters from below. In the picture on the left, you can see the two 90 degree bends in the discharge pipe that create the back pressure that allows the pump to operate. In the picture on the right, you can see the 1" copper water pipe entering the pump.


The picture on the left shows the installation in the sump pit. You can see the yellow float through the hole in the center of the cover. The device on the floor is a 9V battery powered water alarm. This is what alerted me that the main pump failed. The picture on the right shows the discharge pipe outside the house. I chose this to prevent any issues in the event of a plugged main discharge pipe

Water powered backup sump pump

I finally decided to move forward and had the Basepump CB 1500 water powered backup sump pump system installed. I am very happy with it. I did some testing and it appears to be able to pump close to 2000 gallons per hour.

Rather than install it myself, I chose Sunkel plumbing, which I found on the distributor list on the manufacturer's website. The installation went smoothly. I chose to have the discharge routed directly outside rather than hooking into the existing discharge pipe. I did this to prevent a blockage of the existing discharge from preventing the water backup pump from working. I know two people who had their basements flood due to their discharge pipe being blocked and I did not want that to happen to me.

I'll post some pictures of the installation soon.

Sump pump

There was a heavy rain last night, and I noticed the sump pump was running quite often. I took a video to show how much water was pouring into the sump pump pit. I have extended the downspouts to carry the water farther away from my foundation, but that does not appear to have made a significant difference. I wonder if a passive gravity fed drainage tile would help? There is a bit of a grade in the yard away from the house.

I plan on getting a water powered backup sump pump system, since my previous sump pump died after six years, which caused flooding in my basement. Luckily, I had the backup sump pump rider on my homeowners insurance. State Farm Insurance was wonderful to work with. No hassles and everything looks just like it did before the basement flooded.

Take a look at the video:

Data availability

I noticed this story about a massive cache of seeds being stored in Norway. Slight tangent, but this reminds me of off site backups in IT. Spending an estimated $30 million may seem unnecessary, but it sure might pay off if something catastrophic does happen.

Where do you store your data? Safety deposit box? Gmail? DVD in your desk at work? DVD at a friend's house?

Random thoughts

Why is it that I always think of things when I'm not in a position to do anything about them. I remember reading that creative people should always keep a pencil and paper handy...

I recently read an article that discusses a few tips how to remember your great ideas. I often call or email myself. I keep a pad of sticky notes in by nightstand as well. What do you do?