So yesterday I got a new AR-15 rifle. Well technically it’s called an ArmaLite M-15 because Colt owns the name AR-15 but the name has become pretty generic for any rifle that is compatible with the AR-15 platform. This particular rifle is chambered as 223 Wylde which is supposed to make the most of both 223 and 5.56 ammunition. For those that don’t know, 223 rifles can’t fire 5.56 but 5.56 rifles can fire both. There is some minor drop in performance when using 223 in a 5.56 rifle though. 223 Wylde is supposed to cut the difference and handle the 223 just as well as 5.56. The difference is minor enough that I probably wouldn’t notice but it was a good deal, so I’ll see how it does. The rifle is pictured next to my Ruger 10/22 for size comparison. It’s smaller than the M-16 A2 I was used to firing back in the Army but still has a familiar feel. Of course having no auto option on the selector switch, because tax stamps are expensive. I ordered a standard sling for $10 to go along with it from Amazon last night.It should be fun to take to the range.
Replacing PRV
So we had the Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) go out in our home. I first noticed when we couldn’t operate our sprinklers due to the low pressure. The first bit of the job was finding the thing.
I first found the water main.
I then looked to the nearest access and found a shut off valve.
Well shoot that’s not the PRV. I know it’s near the main. I asked around but tapping with my shovel is what helped me find it. It had been covered by sod.
There was also a third access that was also buried. I ended up digging it all out and putting a larger access cover that was more usable for $20.
I then tried taking the PRV valve out. Minerals had of course solidified it in place so we had to cut it out. Of course turn off water at the main and drain the line using your faucet.
We then glued some PVC in place to screw it on and tightened the PRV in.
It’s nice to have full water pressure again. We let the water run for 10 minutes from a hose to help get air out of the line. I also took off all the aerators from indoor faucets to remove sediment kicked up and put them back.
1.5M Unpatched WordPress Sites Hacked
My wife’s blog was one of those impacted but I had a backup of the SQL, so I was able to restore the content like it was prior to it being defaced.
Lessons learned: I don’t log on to my wife’s blog enough to see it needs updates. So I just enabled automatic updates for everything on it to mitigate that in the future. The downside of that is, I won’t see if an update will fail until later but I can always restore things like I did in this case.
Positives: My backups work. It was simple and easy to do a restoration. I logged into PHPMyAdmin dropped the table for her blog and then imported my backup and all was well again. After completing the updates it was ready to go.
For us her blog is pretty important. It acts as our family journal that she writes in every Sunday and reflects on our family and children.
I’m now also looking into a plug-in that will remind me to update her site.
Article with more information on this exploit and hack.