Sorry that I haven't been updating lately, but I've been having technical problems (or rather, my ISP has). My internet access is somewhat intermittent at present, as soon as the issue is resolved I'll catch up with the posts.
BTW, I shall be issuing the 'Blog of the month' award on the 28th, so if you haven't submitted your blog for nomination, you'd best get it in quickly. Dont forget, if you don't win this months award, you can always enter for next months.
Thursday, February 24
Monday, February 21
Sorry for the Pageload Delay
It seems that my Tagboard Server is experiencing problems at the present, which is causing my page to load somewhat slowly. Sorry for the inconvenience, hopefully all will be restored soon.
Tony
Tony
Sunday, February 20
Where do you want to go today ? (anywhere but Windows Update)
I spent the best part of a day installing SP1 and all the darn security and critical updates, I get to the last update and what happens, the thing hangs-up --- no prob thinks I, i'll just continue from where I left off --- so, I go back to Windows Update and continue the download.
30 minutes later the update is installed and the dialogue box informs me that I have to restart the PC, I click 'Restart now' and hey presto! ... the fecking PC goes into an eternal loop of restarting as soon as Windows has loaded. After spending hours trying to rectify the problem I finally give in and do a complete re-install of XP, which takes another 8hrs (having to install drivers, apps and all the other crap).
Now one of my qualities is 'persistence', so off I go to windows update and proceed to download SP1 and all the other critical crap. Many hours later i'm downloading the last of the batch, when... you guessed it, the download hangs-up again. Eventually I get the last of the updates and I'm presented with the 'Restart now' dialogue box, hesitantly I click the mouse and ....and everything works fine.
The moral of this story:
If at first you dont succeed, don't expect to know why.
30 minutes later the update is installed and the dialogue box informs me that I have to restart the PC, I click 'Restart now' and hey presto! ... the fecking PC goes into an eternal loop of restarting as soon as Windows has loaded. After spending hours trying to rectify the problem I finally give in and do a complete re-install of XP, which takes another 8hrs (having to install drivers, apps and all the other crap).
Now one of my qualities is 'persistence', so off I go to windows update and proceed to download SP1 and all the other critical crap. Many hours later i'm downloading the last of the batch, when... you guessed it, the download hangs-up again. Eventually I get the last of the updates and I'm presented with the 'Restart now' dialogue box, hesitantly I click the mouse and ....and everything works fine.
The moral of this story:
If at first you dont succeed, don't expect to know why.
Saturday, February 19
Session Time Bomb
If you have installed Microsoft Antispyware (Beta), then I suggest you run it and take a look in the Help/About/Diagnostics menu, as I found an entry there that said something like this:
sessiontimebomb 162 days
SessionTimeBomb ???? What the heck is that all about ?
I decided that I trusted Microsoft about as much as I trust Tony Blaire, so I promptly uninstalled Antispyware (Beta). I shall wait until the Final release before I re-install the beastie (Microsoft have apparently decided that they will not charge for the full version when it eventually gets released)
sessiontimebomb 162 days
SessionTimeBomb ???? What the heck is that all about ?
I decided that I trusted Microsoft about as much as I trust Tony Blaire, so I promptly uninstalled Antispyware (Beta). I shall wait until the Final release before I re-install the beastie (Microsoft have apparently decided that they will not charge for the full version when it eventually gets released)
[Listening to: Shiver - Coldplay - Parachutes (05:02)]
Friday, February 18
Warning - This is highly addictive
Ever find yourself looking for something to fill those times of inactivity or boredom ? Look no further, for here is a link to an amusing little game in which you must bat a Penguin as far as you can across the ice.
To do this you simply left-click to cause the Penguin to dive, then left-click again to swing the bat (it all hangs on your timing).
http://alec.at.tut.by/penguin.swf (requires the Flash Plug-in)
Let me know what your personal best score is.
Have fun.
To do this you simply left-click to cause the Penguin to dive, then left-click again to swing the bat (it all hangs on your timing).
http://alec.at.tut.by/penguin.swf (requires the Flash Plug-in)
Let me know what your personal best score is.
Have fun.
Tuesday, February 15
Searching for Entertainment
It was the mid-nineties when I first got connected to the Internet and it wasn't long before I discovered that wonderful entity 'the search engine'. This tool was my gateway to hours of entertainment, whereas most people probably used the search engine to diligently seek out vital information, I put it to far better uses. Here's what I would do: -
I'd take a dictionary and starting at the letter 'A', I would find a word that I considered pretty obscure, then enter it into the search engine. I would then go to the first page that showed in the results.
Working through the dictionary alphabetically, I'd find a second word and enter it into the search engine. I'd then go to the second page that showed in the results, and so on. In this way I would spend hours trekking around the Internet, discovering websites that covered a wide variety of subject matter. Little by little I would build upon my bookmarks and slowly increase my vast knowledge of useless facts.
Of course, back in the nineties the threat of spyware, adware and virus's was not what it is today. So if you want to play the search engine game, then I suggest you arm yourself with an arsenal of anti-threatware utilities first. Incidentally there are many good free sources of anti-threatware available for download, here is a list of links to some of the better ones that I have discovered.
Anti-Virus
AVG Antivirus (free edition)
Trend Housecall (free online scan)
Spyware/Adware Removers
Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta (free edition)
Lavasoft Ad-Ware SE Personal (free edition)
Spybot Spyware Remover (free edition)
Firewalls
Zonealarm (free edition)
Sygate Personal (free edition)
Security Fixes from Gibson Research Corporation
DCOMbobulator (closes the DCOM's remote exploit in Windows XP)
Xpdite (Replaces an unsafe file in Windows XP)
ShootTheMessenger (prevents the Windows Messenger Service exploit)
Unplug n Pray (closes the Universal Plug and Play Service in Windows)
Gibson Research Corporation homepage
Enjoy your searching.
I'd take a dictionary and starting at the letter 'A', I would find a word that I considered pretty obscure, then enter it into the search engine. I would then go to the first page that showed in the results.
Working through the dictionary alphabetically, I'd find a second word and enter it into the search engine. I'd then go to the second page that showed in the results, and so on. In this way I would spend hours trekking around the Internet, discovering websites that covered a wide variety of subject matter. Little by little I would build upon my bookmarks and slowly increase my vast knowledge of useless facts.
Of course, back in the nineties the threat of spyware, adware and virus's was not what it is today. So if you want to play the search engine game, then I suggest you arm yourself with an arsenal of anti-threatware utilities first. Incidentally there are many good free sources of anti-threatware available for download, here is a list of links to some of the better ones that I have discovered.
Anti-Virus
AVG Antivirus (free edition)
Trend Housecall (free online scan)
Spyware/Adware Removers
Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta (free edition)
Lavasoft Ad-Ware SE Personal (free edition)
Spybot Spyware Remover (free edition)
Firewalls
Zonealarm (free edition)
Sygate Personal (free edition)
Security Fixes from Gibson Research Corporation
DCOMbobulator (closes the DCOM's remote exploit in Windows XP)
Xpdite (Replaces an unsafe file in Windows XP)
ShootTheMessenger (prevents the Windows Messenger Service exploit)
Unplug n Pray (closes the Universal Plug and Play Service in Windows)
Gibson Research Corporation homepage
Enjoy your searching.
Monday, February 14
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day celebration dates back to the ancient times when the 'Feast of Lupercal' was celebrated in the honour of the Roman God of Fertility. This day falls on the 15th of February every year. According to a time worn custom, on the eve of Lupercalia (14th of Feb) a ritual of 'name drawing' was followed, during which a young man drew the name of a girl from the lot, who was to be his sweetheart for the whole year.
Since then, this day (14th of Feb) has been considered as the day of Cupid, the mischievous son of Venus -the Roman Goddess of Love. Lovers through the ages have taken this day as their own - a day to celebrate the finest human emotion.
The reason for celebration is ageless, but it was much later that a great lover gave the day his name. The eternal lover that gave us the famous word 'Valentine' and originated the tradition of writing love letters on this day, is believed to be Bishop Valentine. He was a priest in Rome when, the city was ruled by 'Claudius the Cruel'. Inspite of the fact that Claudius had forbidden Christian conversions and Christian marriages, the Bishop refused to surrender to Roman Gods and carried on his religious duties in secret. He was imprisoned for disobedience, but even in prison he converted the convicts. While he was in prison, the jailer's daughter became his friend and was loyal to him through his ordeal. When Claudius came to know that imprisonment had not broken his enduring Christian spirit, the bishop was executed. However, on the day of his death Valentine wrote a note to his friend, 'the jailer's daughter' and signed it - 'From Your Valentine'. This great man who died for his beliefs, for his enduring love of the Christian God, was chosen as the patron Saint of lovers. 14th February has since been celebrated as Valentine's Day.
Romantic souls all over the world have preferred to focus on the romantic twist of this tale, the story of the man who united lovers in the holy bond of marriage; a man who loved his jailer's daughter and started the tradition of writing love notes.
There are many other stories as to the origin of Valentine's day, but this particular one is regarded as the most credible.
Anyway, I wish you all a happy Valentine's Day.
Since then, this day (14th of Feb) has been considered as the day of Cupid, the mischievous son of Venus -the Roman Goddess of Love. Lovers through the ages have taken this day as their own - a day to celebrate the finest human emotion.
The reason for celebration is ageless, but it was much later that a great lover gave the day his name. The eternal lover that gave us the famous word 'Valentine' and originated the tradition of writing love letters on this day, is believed to be Bishop Valentine. He was a priest in Rome when, the city was ruled by 'Claudius the Cruel'. Inspite of the fact that Claudius had forbidden Christian conversions and Christian marriages, the Bishop refused to surrender to Roman Gods and carried on his religious duties in secret. He was imprisoned for disobedience, but even in prison he converted the convicts. While he was in prison, the jailer's daughter became his friend and was loyal to him through his ordeal. When Claudius came to know that imprisonment had not broken his enduring Christian spirit, the bishop was executed. However, on the day of his death Valentine wrote a note to his friend, 'the jailer's daughter' and signed it - 'From Your Valentine'. This great man who died for his beliefs, for his enduring love of the Christian God, was chosen as the patron Saint of lovers. 14th February has since been celebrated as Valentine's Day.
Romantic souls all over the world have preferred to focus on the romantic twist of this tale, the story of the man who united lovers in the holy bond of marriage; a man who loved his jailer's daughter and started the tradition of writing love notes.
There are many other stories as to the origin of Valentine's day, but this particular one is regarded as the most credible.
Anyway, I wish you all a happy Valentine's Day.
Saturday, February 12
The Irony
The Front Page of a Local Newspaper.
Obviously the editor wasn't behind Kraft's (producers of dairy products) cause.
Windows XP Updates Questionaire
I've been looking at my site-stats and noticed that 89% of my visitors are using Windows XP, so I'd like to ask a few questions of those 89%.
- Do you have Service Pack 1 installed ?
- Do you have Service Pack 2 installed ?
- If you're using Service Pack 2, have you had any problems with it ?
- Do you have the latest security updates ?
- If you have the latest security updates has installing them caused any problems ?
Feedback would be appreciated, thank you.
Friday, February 11
Firms warned to approach Firefox migration with caution
Analyst firm Gartner has said that companies should think carefully before migrating from the Internet Explorer browser to the open-source Firefox browser from Mozilla.
The Gartner report said Firefox's growth, so far, was "unsustainable" as many of the features that had made it popular were primarily aimed at individual users not businesses.
Gartner said the most likely scenario in the future is that Internet Explorer will co-exist with Firefox on PC's as companies install Firefox as a back-up browser and to make sure they do not miss out on future features.
Another probable factor in Firefox failing to severely dent Internet Explorer's base in the commercial sector is the increasing number of worms and viruses now targeting Firefox and other browser alternatives to Internet Explorer.
(full article here)
The Gartner report said Firefox's growth, so far, was "unsustainable" as many of the features that had made it popular were primarily aimed at individual users not businesses.
Gartner said the most likely scenario in the future is that Internet Explorer will co-exist with Firefox on PC's as companies install Firefox as a back-up browser and to make sure they do not miss out on future features.
Another probable factor in Firefox failing to severely dent Internet Explorer's base in the commercial sector is the increasing number of worms and viruses now targeting Firefox and other browser alternatives to Internet Explorer.
(full article here)
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