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Gifted (2017)

Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.

In the evening Alice, Esme, and I watched Gifted. I liked the movie and give it an 8 out of 10.

It's What's Inside (2024)

A group of friends gather for a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend arrives with a mysterious game that awakens long-hidden secrets, desires, and grudges.

In the evening Esme and I watched It's What's Inside. Although chaotic at times I liked the movie and give it a 7 out of 10.

Pearl (2022)

In 1918, a young woman on the brink of madness pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation, and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm.

In the evening Alice, Esme, and I watched Pearl. I liked the movie and give it a 7 out of 10.

Unnatural Exposure

When a woman turns up dismembered in a landfill, Scarpetta initially suspects the work of a serial killer she’s been tracking. But her investigation turns far more dangerous when she realizes the victim’s skin is covered in an unusual rash—and Scarpetta herself may have just been exposed to a deadly virus.

In the afternoon I started in Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell.

Think Like a Man Too (2014)

All the couples are back for a wedding in Las Vegas, but plans for a romantic weekend go awry when their various misadventures get them into some compromising situations that threaten to derail the big event.

In the evening Alice, Esme, and I watched Think Like a Man Too. We soon realised it was a sequel to a movie we hadn't seen. I didn't like the movie much, the trailer was about the funniest part. I give it a 5 out of 10.

Fatal intrusion: a disappointment

In the early afternoon I finished Fatal Intrusion by Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado. I was disappointed by this book. Mostly because of the Hollywoodesque portraying of computer related "skills". For example, what does

I ran one of my traceroute programs and whaleboned through the proxies

even mean?

Fire and Bones

Always apprehensive about working fire scenes, Tempe is called to Washington, DC, to analyze the victims of a deadly blaze and sees her misgivings justified. The devastated building is in Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood with a colorful past and present, and Tempe becomes suspicious about the property’s ownership when she delves into its history.

The pieces start falling into place strangely and quickly, and, sensing a good story, Tempe teams with a new ally, telejournalist Ivy Doyle. Soon the duo learns that back in the thirties and forties the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant—until the son of a Foggy Bottom gang member is shot dead at his home in an affluent part of the district. Coincidence? Targeted attacks? So many questions.

As Tempe and Ivy dig deeper, an arrest is finally made. Then another Foggy Bottom Gang-linked property burns to the ground, claiming one more victim. Slowly, Tempe’s instincts begin pointing to the obvious: somehow, her moves since coming to Washington have been anticipated, and every path forward seems to bring with it a lethal threat.

In the evening I started to read Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs.

The Martian (2015)

An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.

In the evening Jaiden, Esme, and I watched The Martian. Esme and I had seen this movie already years ago but wanted to watch it again. I really liked the movie and give it a solid 8 out of 10.

Blocking crawlers in Nginx

Today, while waiting for my iPhone SE to update to iOS 18, I tailed the access log of Plurrrr. I noticed that I got many requests by crawlers announcing themselves as Bytespider and as SemrushBot. I decided to return a HTTP status code of 403 Forbidden to those bots.

To achieve this I added the following to a server section :

if ($http_user_agent
    ~* "SemrushBot|Bytespider") {
        return 403;
}

The above code has been formatted to fit the width of this blog.

The if statement tries to match in a case insensitive way one of either SemrushBot or Bytespider. If there is a match a 403 Forbidden is returned to the bot.

Note that you can add as many bots as you like by adding another pipe symbol followed by the name of the bot as stated in its user agent string.

After I had added the above code I verified the configuration files using nginx -t. When no error was reported I issued systemctl reload nginx to reload the configuration files into Nginx.

Hopefully, this will reduce the amount of traffic I am getting from those two bots.

Finally, another option is to slow down those bots by using the limit_rate directive. This limits the rate of response transmission to a client.

Things Heard & Seen (2021)

Catherine moves from Manhattan to Chosen after her husband George procures a job teaching at a nearby college. She soon comes to sense a sinister darkness lurking both in the walls of the ramshackle property - and in her marriage.

In the evening Jaiden, Alice, Esme, and I watched Things Heard & Seen. Actually, Jaiden was mostly playing on his Nintendo Switch Lite, and after a while went up to her room while the rest of us kept watching. The movie was OK and I give it a 6 out of 10.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

A spy organisation recruits a promising street kid into the agency's training program, while a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

In the evening Esme and I watched Kingsman: The Secret Service. Shortly after the movie had started we both realised that we had already seen it several years ago. We decided to keep watching the movie. Well, Esme fell asleep a few times during the movie. I liked the movie and give it a 7 out of 10.

Rebel Ridge (2024)

An ex-Marine grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief.

In the evening Esme and I watched Rebel Ridge. I liked the movie and give it a 7 out of 10.

Infiesto (2023)

Two detectives are called to a small mining town in the Asturian mountains where a young woman who had been left for dead for months has suddenly appeared, leaving the detectives to question what dark forces are at work.

In the evening Esme wanted to watch a Spanish language movie. After some searching and browsing on Netflix we selected Infiesto. I liked the movie and give it a 7 out of 10.

Fatal Intrusion

Carmen Sanchez is a tough Homeland Security agent who plays by the rules. But when her sister is attacked, revealing a connection to a series of murders across Southern California, she realizes a conventional investigation will not be enough to stop the ruthless perpetrator.

With nowhere else to turn, Sanchez enlists the aid of Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert who, unlike Sanchez, believes rules are merely suggestions. The two have a troubled past, but he owes her a favor and she’s cashing in. They team up to catch the assailant, who, mystifyingly, has no discernible motive and fits no classic criminal profile. All they have to go on is a distinctive tattoo and a singular obsession that gives this chillingly efficient tactician his nickname: Spider.

Over the next seventy-two hours, Sanchez and Heron find themselves in the midst of a lethal chess match with the killer as they race to stop the carnage. As the victims mount, so do the risks. Because this spider’s web of intrigue is more sinister―and goes far deeper―than anyone could possibly anticipate.

In the afternoon I started to read Fatal Intrusion by Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado.

Incoming (2024)

Four freshmen navigate the terrors of adolescence at their first-ever high school party.

In the evening Alice, Esme, and I watched Incoming. I liked the movie and had a few laughs. I give it a 7 out of 10.