Saturday, October 19, 2013

   A sort of social survival guide...hmm I'm not sure if one could write these sorts of things clearly.  I mean I've attempted this before, writing all sorts of practical considerations, like things I've tried to think if caught in certain situations (like a coup d'etat in a more socio-politically turbulent society).  Its sadly easier to write theory down that's generally untested as opposed to a living experience.  If only you felt with a higher degree of certainty threatened, most likely social writing comes to a halt.  At least more there is a more measured approach often times to writing and exactly what you might say to whom and for what ever reasons.

Obviously, while some might be compelled on the point of courage and bravery to stand up for their own sets of convictions, it might be at some greater cost.  If only by way of the circumstance, that not only potentially any one individual (in the more devolved set of circumstances) might face or feel socially or in terms of other things, proximity and fear.

I remember reading some Knol (remember that old google wikipedia like service whose users where redirected only years ago to another service provider) by a Russian writer, not sure if her exact expertise but found something of useful information.  It went along the lines of providing benchmarks to incursion, for lack of better words, for instance, if you happened to be living in one of those more socially turbulent societies.  This is to say, measuring the degree of invasive behaviors of those engaged in varying sorts of socially and politically related hostilities.  Reads like a level of contact criteria:

1.  Are threats and or actions committed relegated to an electronic nature only?
2.  Are you encountering them personally in public spaces?
3.  Are you encountering these in private spaces (e.g., home invasion)?

Of course, the reading goes on further (at some point in my now more vague recollections), to say that there is actually something to be inferred by the level of contact received.  Namely, that often times, when groups of individuals might be motivated to some greater extent, there may be something of informal if not formal risk assessments (logic) behind the perpetration of activities.  Obviously, its higher contact risk when engaged in yet more potentially criminal behavior (if legal systems are able to do their jobs more adequately), and this may provide an individual, at least with a set of decisions to be had in so far as assessing their own personal security at least.

It at least helps to keep, I imagine, composure (in as much as possible), a level head with good reason, and much else.  As I've tried to be in keeping in general to some other advice that I've picked up on over the years, for instance, when making appeal in writing:  it is important to address fundamentally the issue of human rights (i.e., where violations are occurring and exactly what those sorts of violations might be), and then avoiding degenerating the argument to the point of like kind hostility, or at least if engagement in the same sorts of verbal hostilities/threat not only neither potentially aiding in addressing situations often times, but makes a given appeal more likely ignored if not something worse.

I'd mention at times, owing to the limited nature of one's view especially where one might be isolated in varying degrees and without the nature of social communications, might have more difficult time assessing with certainty the clearer nature of one's circumstance, it seems at times difficult making what one might feel were adequate assessments.  For this, of course, there is the nature of precaution at least that one could rely upon, if for instance, the contact criteria above were generally limited to 1-2, it would seem more obvious that limiting one's public social exposure might help, and neither clearly broadcasting intent with respect to one's intent.  More problematic to this circumstance (as I've written before), however, were that one's behavioral patterns in so far as going out and about might be known to some greater degree.  For instance, you frequent the same supermarkets (to the extent that people that you don't clearly know and whom you've generally never met before seem to magically know your name), or that you go to the same set of commercial retailers.  At least if you break from the frequency probabilities of going somewhere or doing something, you contend arguably less with the problems of encountering circumstances?!    The later degree of contact nature, is obviously a more difficult one in dealing with, obviously in a democracy with legal systems, the logical step were resorting to local enforcement regarding a crime, but outside of this, it seems, then getting into another set of issues.  Finally while it might not serve as psychological consolation, at least, for all categories of violence and related causes, political violence, for instance, in the history of the United States, actually topped the charts (grossly), and this is where the center of my writings are guided here.  Often times, the causes while having the appearance of something else in nature may have a higher degree of attribution to these sorts of causes (i.e., whether by social incitements and propaganda alike in some form).  Even while a statistic may be shown high, this hadn't necessarily meant widespread, or more likely often times if related to such a cause, the perpetrators may be in serving to a relative minority of individuals...why often times, risk assessment applies in the first place (as mentioned above).  Even where the worst form of social political violence have taken the form of violence (i.e., genocide), often times has required coordinated planning where governments often suspected right away for the nature of these attacks, and often found guilty right away.  This is to say, while risk assessment might take place with individuals  (relative to groups of individuals), usually as applied to groups of individuals, there may be greater likelihood of risk assessment in so far as the coordination of activities going beyond the boundaries of law.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Upgrading from Windows 8 to 8.1

Make sure you have all updates installed in Windows 8, I noticed I wasn't getting the upgrade option through the Windows 8 store until I had all updates installed oddly enough...also at the time that I did my upgrade process I had to go from Windows 7 (on one laptop) to Windows 8 to Windows 8.1...apparently a Windows 8 upgrade product key installs immediately an upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 to Windows 8, once upgraded to Windows 8 with all updates installed (then provides access to Windows 8.1)...last I checked.

Windows 8.1

  Happier today, for installing the recent windows 8.1 operating system.  I'd only recently note some improvements in terms as of recent days:  firstly past purchases of external sound cards have translated into the functionality of these devices aside from devoted applications for these purposes, the ability to change default sound settings both for system sounds, and applications extending beyond specialized sound production software for these purposes alone.  While generally I had resorted to the traditional windows 8 desktop for running applications and generally stayed away from the tablet style application interface applications, I've recently started to explore Store suggested applications.  Some basic improvement could be desired, for instance, at least in one application that I had worked with are:
    For image processing software, such Adobe Photoshop Express, one would hope for greater ease in accessibility to image library access, namely, through external drive devices, outside of revel for importation options.

Personally, while I hadn't complained or thought in complaint as much concerning the differences between Windows 8's 'tile world' versus desktop functionality.  I hadn't readily attempted to use 'tile world' as much in my general work, mostly because I hadn't understood, then more fluently basics of things like:  switching between applications, closing them,  and/or that applications themselves seemed at a basis so highly minimal in terms of application interfacing, that these should seem limited relative to the desktop versions.  The biggest recent problems that I've noticed are re direction from the 'tile world' version to the desktop versions.  For instance, an amazon application that calls up user account sign-in redirects to a desktop web application, for user sign in process completion, or then if you were a prime user, you might not be able to access (or it appears this way) that web browser provides better prime user account accessibility in resource usages and searches in general.  In another way, the full screen style interfaces, seems to provide something of a different user experience, where site immersion neither contains all the visual distractions contained by the frames, browser interface buttons.  I've recently explored tile worlds, new interface likewise, and generally I've liked something of the reader experience here, relative to more traditional text html style saturation, the feel is more like a polished 'zine like assortment of articles in general containing both larger scaling in text and photos, an approach that seems more like the arrangement of text that I might have found through Amazon Cloud's e-reader.  Generally my feeling is positive towards this type of electronic reading experience, at least different, if at least removing all aspects of form clutter, that often times browser readers might have contained.  On the downside, its still an appreciable differences migrating culture of users used to traditional mainstays regarding applications usage, I'd have to admit these days, however, I am using outside of music production software far less applications that I might have purchased by way of boxed software, and even there cloud based services for boxed applications have been essential, in so far as much of providing upcoming features and accessibility.  Likely, applications may be more a cloud reality, in as much as user experiences are based upon cloud storage services for provisioning applications/settings and other purchased goods.  Here this resolving inter oper ability issues between applications out of the box, that might have once worked on an old operating version of windows (or some operating system), and no longer working on a new one.  Windows 8, in my opinion, hopefully should take the lead not only in promotion of cloud services here, while at once it seems users on the other hand, aren't relating in the same ways to the large scale applications that might have been more readily relied upon in the past.  Even Adobe is providing now cloud based services for their larger scale applications (which entail as opposed to a one time larger purchase in the range of several hundred dollars), a given monthly subscription for photo/image/creative art graphics software.  While the start button, could be argued nominal, and generally speaking a user culture issue (which still could fade in some future), as it were owing to interfaces themselves, its resort seems one based more on psychological comfort, then outright necessity, even those less frequently using Windows 8, after all picked up on the fact that the Start button could be evoked easily by moving the cursor to the lower right corner, and in either case, its existence in one form or another, neither would change the aspect of general operations in so far as application performance, either way, this particular corner would be spatially reserved outside of full screen application usage in a non tile world case.

There's another reason why I have generally liked the generation of new operating systems in general, and this is system performance and security in general.  Even as older operating systems, continue to be supported by Long term support for their given lifetime, as a given compiler code base exists for a given operating system, in theory grows some length with respect to the host of problems that might exist.  This isn't to say that while an operating systems popularity use, and knowledge base increasing, hadn't neglected aspects of security support as long as the software producer maintains support, but at least if knowledge bases have grown, only grows the host of problems that exist.  In theory at least, one should hope as generations of new compilers and code bases have arisen here, represents potentially some diminished code knowledge base while a new learning curve has arisen finding port between old code provisioning inter operability.  Here those utilizing old code bases for ill purposes, have to make this jump, and a new operating system represents a new hurdle arguably if ports in code are required.  Here, I'd suggest if only Microsoft embraced only further the idea of rolling out more frequently new operating system version with not only new compilers which inevitably at times require their own porting processes, we might find only increased security for the change in knowledge bases themselves.  The oper ability issues facing soft ware development in my opinion, might be better reserved facing the reality of application usage as it is trending today, which is that many of application services are of a cloud reality, and that any provider (while having faced the added learning curve of porting code processes) might benefit if channeling processes here.  Of course, this should be at odds for independent small scale developers, but on the other hand, if services could be provided regarding this model, maybe the negatives could be less so.  Only increased frequency in operating system rollouts might increase interests in operating systems themselves, but make easier change and revisions should problems be perceived in the first place.  Here sales models, may prove more dynamic (should one version flop relative another), and only provision more reactive consumer feedback concerning revisions otherwise.  Not to say the Microsoft wouldn't continue (as in the case of operating system development models, Ubuntu coming to mind here) to provide long term support services, but also that Microsoft might shift itself in terms of where its bread and butter might be.  The personal computer user, might be part of this model, but the reality of personal computing has changed in this present day relative the past, somewhere if it could provision in these more frequent operating system roll out models (a smaller consumer charge for a given operating system), it might enjoy something of renaissance in so far as consumer interests?!

While I had at one times, only briefly, delved into desktop applications development, and much to the contrary, argue against myself in this one time complaint, regarding frequent operating system's development and software compatibility, fewer are doing these sorts of things today, and anyways, the learning curve of the new is always there isn't it?!   Its hard to imagine the desktop going away as we know it, but on the other hand something of a reality has arisen, more users with smart phones readily understand separate interfaces and systems that have changed the population of user desktop cultures...Microsoft seems to be facing this with sluggish PC sales at present, and some may still feel comfortable staying on smaller screen resolutions using the sorts of tile world application interfaces while for going the general PC.  Honestly, I don't know how?  I never got into game boys or small console systems or smart phones in any event, but it is a present reality.  The more we use devices changes the arrangement of our perceived spatial environment, the more we grow accustomed to spatial environments the more we grow fond and used to these environments.  Its why the Start button is hard to go away, and why Microsoft appears to be attempting to breach aesthetic cultural divisions likewise.  Then, another solution to this approach may include a non all encompassing approach, if noticeable user complaints of then Ubuntu's leap to the Unity interface, traditions in operating system layouts might be maintained, yet with Microsoft release flavor like systems in general with different design layout approaches.


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Continuity, continuum, and causality

    Causality,  causal arrow of time that events are neither proceeded by their causes.
    Continuum as in describing a smooth continuous transition of events...also defined as measurable, or one could think of this in terms of perception which were a form of measurement.
    Continuity, if defined with respect to a point in time and space, that there should be in such space the existence of neighboring points also in such space and time for any given measure defined in such space which includes such point and neighboring point(s) also in such space.  Another way of considering is that there exists and infinity of measures which include such point and neighboring point(s) in such space.
For an closed finite interval, there exists an infinity of points in time and space also in such interval which define the continuum of such finite interval (seems a bit paradoxically absurd?!).  For each moment in time and space, we are passing through an infinity of points in time and space.  We are strangely finite and infinite in time and space all at once, or from each passing moment there is potentiality of an infinite lifetime of points in time representing experience (see time dialation and approaching the speed of light).

Sadly, if I sound crazy, I am really not.  :)


If adequately holed up in the house for periods of years (we'll being running on a ten years in another two years),  you can survive!  Sadly, unlike the sorts of social confrontations that might normally play out, its more as Pink Floyd apparently died much with a previous generation awhile ago while in perpetuation of the 'leaf' from another harvest.

Living in the limbo of test world, or test subject, or more happenstance, because social and political policies were always changing.  This sort of accounting for why on a given day, measured anti social hostilities rise and fall.

And honestly in a large democracy, you might have expected nothing more of name presence.  If you talked of an American dissident such as Bobby Fischer, most would say 'Who?'  This represents or at least seems to represent the truth of any American knowledge regarding the myth of its own existence, or in other words 'What made America so successful in the first place at providing little space in representing those whom might have been marginalized, served wrongly in history?' There could be buzz words in the space of Tuskegee, but did you know the names of those victimized wrongfully?  Or in this regard that Tuskegee actually extended beyond Tuskegee, that were actually other people and places effected by a more generalized social policy?  If it should seem only isolated in mind with respect to the course of history, is this not often times the course of social presentations often times found.  The nature of vocal ism changes itself, if only Chomsky or Zinn were most actively prominent in buzz circles at the heights of certain administration, otherwise, more muted could one say clearly, how one's experience were any better or any worse in these days?!  Certainly, there would be a large percentage of any others whom hadn't shared directly in one's experience alone, and this in a way could be the centerpiece of how social policies play out more clearly.  If it weren't based as it were allowed by the tolerances of populous as a whole, only more pervasive selection on the side of margins.  Wide spread dissent at times could be rarer these days, or where at least it might have been akin to the traditional mainstays of obvious physical presence, only electronic dissent, evoking in mind something of a distrust concerning the matter of reach.  I am left wondering what happened to the springs of a few years back here.  What happened to this generation of people?!  Did they abandon their causes?  Did they find more actively work in non profit or any profitable causes aiding people on the whole regarding concerns of economic and social nature?  It seems if anything something might have been short lived, and in Kansas City, my nearest sojourn nearest in proximity were as a passenger waiting only for the conclusion of where about information of a nearest CSA cooperative (incidentally I might not have seen this very muted rally if hadn't been nearest a Costco which weren't so far then from Liberty memorial).  It were colder that day, and more likely groups of people were huddled in tents, if they hadn't appeared closest to a cook, roasting something like hot dogs.  Their numbers could hardly be described in millions, hundreds of thousands, thousands, or even hundreds, more like a small handful.  In retrospect, often times media portrayals in some circles that might have likened this movement to thugs, rapist, and looters (whose relative social margins) could hardly describe a center whole in so far as complete descriptions, but how much impact and change really amounted here?  Hadn't clear enough contrast existed?

And as to today?!  Today, it seems relative any given day having existed a year or several years past,  if only increased social belligerence weren't on the rise in some manner, a context of present politic conditions should seem proximate enough.  One's perspective being limited enough,  I had shut down some social networking accounts a few months ago, and maybe it were the better course, given so much of the information gathering that were available.  Facebook, I had recently, only made it more difficult to keep postings private (not sure of this present status), and generally as far as e hostilities were concerned, and long enough in running, our civilization is now able to make the scarlet letter true of any for potentially an electronic lifetime...shouldn't this be our modern cause of social ill?  Are we that out of touch with any moral pulse that might have existed?!

I incidentally have tried picking up some autumn reading again, Henry James's Turn of the Screw, and watching a Bela Lugosi collection.  I am not sure what I may do next otherwise.

Sure run a car with a license plate that says little more then what it states except hinting at some fundamentally held and insistent belief never stating any clear reasons why, sure that's the way many propagandists operate and have operated for sometime, preaching like to self serving choirs.  Only with deeper inset faith and views to fundamental truths holding in principle concerning the non transient nature of universal justice, how far does a licence plate moniker go?!  Trying to screw people over for lies only goes so far...

For all these years of unwarranted social harassment wouldn't anyone want to know why?!  Granted on and off, its as if there were something true fundamentally regarding the arbitrary nature of states at times in so far as the condition of one's living existence (what is right in one day seems to be a relative no no on another day), granted one weren't experiencing the literally relativity of time itself as much, and maybe that's a conditional improvement?!

Typically speaking, there isn't much of huge substance, one would imagine, in writing more of daily activities here, in that they were much the same relative a past.  If a day might seem framed with some implicit communications on a given point, never are clearer charges presented on anything really, and that is if a given point could be more clearly made, noting often times if it could generally best be made outside the boundaries of home and electronic territories.  These seem in a way more like the sorts of social orchestrations of one sort or another...a lapse in clearer activity for months seemingly providing headway here, or leaving a certain sense of the matter in mind as often coming and going as it were like the seasons themselves, neither leaving impacting and significant note.  Minding if one is this role could be adequately served to the role Weather underground, so in passing, resolutions regarding budgetary impasses are in evidence being reached...as to who winners and losers are blowing wind, remains to be seen and especially with respect to social orchestrations...hmm, the underground doesn't seem to make any more headway relative to any other days before.

If you wanted to know or really cared, I'm generally much the moderate about anything political these days.

Generally speaking if this sounded like long winded approach to people bashing, I'd offer maybe outside of statistical information (for proof) that people aren't so bad, but this hadn't meant that there weren't those with ill purpose.  Its usually a minority population that apparently bothers to care so much to the extent of malign purpose sometimes to greater ambivalence of a given population of people.  While it should seem the nature of people in these population subsets statistically fluctuate for any number of reasons, its still a concern regarding the matter of privacy (or information phishing) on the part of a given small minority that use it for less the good purposes.  Not sure if facebook reneged on the removal of that keep your postings private for shares options, but one would still hope they reconsidered?!  

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

And now onto other news

   A brief review of the great mmo social life and how people in mmo s in general really in general aren't great people to get to know in general.

   World of Warcraft (mid 2000s):  Social gaming, should mean if you were joining a large scale guild synonymous with listening to really bad shock jock crap, sure a guild might have engaged in it repeatedly enough, sadly if you wanted to use this as a launching point for finding stuff do in game, you had to put up with the Duke Nukem aspects of speech, sorry while living through the late 90s, its not a notable highlight for this generation.  So you end up going to smaller scale guilds or avoiding guilds in general, actually, and then you might have ended up in a larger family organized guild (where generally in fairness, sadly while being less in some ways academically inclined probably one of the best guilds in game...despite some goofy roleplaying and my general trollish insular habits).   If at times, you weren't hounded by individuals that considered it beyond their extra curricular habit to see exactly why you were one of those individuals in game that 'gamed too much', or the seeming perception of it, at least being the sort choosing to stay out of guilds for a lengthy time, should mean content exploration.  That generation apparently moved on...

Eve (mid 2000s):  Generally speaking, few might have seemed to care to know who you were, and generally if you stayed out of the main hubs of tranquility, easy to vanish.  On a very rare occasion, some joker might have showed up with with an info board reading, "I'd like to throw bleach on your gene pool"  But your family was rewarded apparently in the aspect of fertility much to the contrary.  Occasionally, a little bit of small scale pvp for the bored individual trying to think of some clever way for harassing your character in high security space, the sort like steal a can to see if you could provoke a gun in high security space, and then gank your ship before security would show up and deal with the offender back in those days.  But generally easy enough to remain anonymous in Eve in so far as space, and lots of turf to roam around in... 

Warhammer (mid 2000s)...not so long after the dates creation:  You had high hopes for this one, the claimed 'WoW killer', that ended up fitting critics title then a real 'dud' of a game.  Chats easily abused for longer epithets about politics in general...you might have turned off Glen Beck on Fox at this point, literally to listen to him in game.  Of course, the Warhammer franchise didn't have the population numbers really to alienate these types and so catered much to this crowd I could imagine likely (for fear of losing enough a sizable marginal contingent and so likely banked on the aspect that maybe there were enough of a demographic of these sorts in game that should feel more welcomed in a generally less populated game).  Mostly the games, in those days siege mechanics at times seemed to be approaching that of some real life experience, and then given the nature of restrictions present (nothing of level balancing) forcibly restricted players of higher levels from any given area.  Hence running into the problem, not enough players in any given zone to do anything but quest around and try to level.  One of the few games that I hadn't really finished to a level cap.

Guild Wars:  Arguably, if you hadn't minded beautifully flamboyant costumes (more amusing then anything to myself then anything), its a game I actually liked.  Mostly, outside of Lion's Arch being the more populated area, it were hard for any particular group of people to do much and staying anonymous were easier (not unlike Eve), you hadn't need worry as much about lame hostiles.  Sure you might have occasionally been in larger guilds on occasion, but the game were generally quieter and outside the auto bots of Jade Quarry and the other player versus player areas, much content to unlock..aside from experimenting with a myriad of character build types.  It were arguably one of the easiest games to put down and pick back up in those days. 

World of Warcraft (late 2000s):  You sign up your account, and literally there aren't a whole lot of characters in game that you recognize.  You realize its generally a generational social game which recycles itself to some, not sure if one could claim that its the sort that persistently holds out amongst the generation that might have been interested (way back in the mmos inception date).  On one rare weekend day, however, lo and behold, you noticed at least one familiar face, that might have logged on just for that instance alone, and at least in some ways, the new crowd should seem actually a nicer bunch relative to the older game filled with a bit more of the obnoxiously anti socials.  Then WoW made improvements anyways with respect to the looking for group tool finders for dungeon running experience, sure you might have had to put up at times with a mixed bunch of runners (either less knowledgeable, not specified well according to gear), but generally speaking experiences here should tend to be more positive after, the tool matched on an inter server basis and by now WoW had populations in the millions (much larger likely at that time relative to present Guild Wars 2), and the more in the bunch actually might improve watering down the more obnoxious throngs gravitating towards a given game...a problem in my view that might have hurt Warhammer.  Then despite playing WoW on windows, and now being able to play this on Linux, you notice some additional problems creeping, it could be on those problems that an old operating system should suffer from the longer that it endures from...likely because in protest then to WoW going long enough with the same code base for years and then black market copies of the game circulating for advertising (incidentally with easy to find google searches), code hacks might have more easily managed to find game infiltration methods in so far as altering game engine mechanics.  Here my departure point in game, came after numerous operating system reinstallations (and the long standing wisdom) that a Linux game might not suffer from the same problems once having existed under windows.  Wine apparently at least didn't seem to be subject to the same problems that might have existed in so far as malicious code hacking, when game mechanics render a game generally conceived more a balanced 'fair' game, and when it were the opposite, I considered it time to leave.  While in many respects, I liked WoW better then relative to earlier days, it now seemed to suffer from the problem of malicious social hacks in time even given WoW's cataclysm game engine and overall design re vamps (this sort of problem were months in coming only later at least).

Eve (post 2010 or there abouts):  Only a brief resurrection of this game account.  Changes to markets made less lucrative old habits, didn't feel like figuring out anything of new ventures here.  Hard to say much about social aspects of gaming here (since outside of the aspects relating to market exchanges), I generally cared less for it, and I stayed mostly in high security space, excepting some monthly sojourn to the main hub outside of Gallente space (where my reputation weren't bad enough otherwise) to get faction gear.

Guild Wars 2 (post 2010...around inception date to present):  Generally speaking received a few guild solicitations (most went defunct in a matter of months).  Didn't go out of my way, as were customary to solicit myself to active larger guilds and deliberately so because of past experience in high population guilds.  Generally have liked it this way, solicitors and those that deliberately invite especially in larger scale guilds, often more engaged in some sort of social trouble making 1/2 the time that I could tell, but overtly, it would seem for all games combined GW2 were probably the worst for any number of reasons on social fronts, one for guild members at times insinuating knowledge of private information, having access to this, and/or suggesting potentially threatening if not hostile and abusive language (not merely harassing it might seem).  Honestly, relative to many of the mmos played in the past, Guild Wars 2 has won the trophy for stinkiest social mmo experience that I could tell ever.  Why thank you HoD of Devona's Rest hopefully your chat logs are recorded.  :)

Now in fairness to GW2 as a whole, generally outside the more desolated Devona's Rest server, it seems population elsewhere should seem (hadn't really played much on other servers) better, why DR became a server magnet for some clandestine stinky social effort, not exactly certain...although it should seem that venture must be yet another bloat stinky waste of taxpayer time?! 

On the upside of clean up, or what to do if you suspect your system is compromised and windows defender isn't aiding you

On the upside, my laptop battery doesn't drain, in ten minutes flat, running really hot in computational processing while in a generally idle state (laptop closed even) as if it were still running a more intensive PC game.

How might system compromise occur?!  Generally the following are most common in my experience:  Installing a bad program, going to certain bad websites.  Also for those that might engage in torrent sharing (I don't), this also can be problematic...there maybe, for instance, a high probability that a file sharing site has either bad files and programs alike that lead to your system being compromised.

For this firstly in terms of your system usage:  I always recommend using official software from a vendor purchased direct, or in box purchased from a legitimate vendor.  Likewise, for game resources, I always recommend avoiding using third party sites that offer add-ons to a given program that aren't formally approved of by the vendor direct.  This also includes access to information, for instance, from the game vendor direct.  I've read at least of several horror stories where people had used illegally downloaded software, only to find their system hijacked because the program weren't a legitimately purchased and installed game.  Also you might read through your software vendor official sites for warnings of any non legitimate sites that may be problematic to compromising your systems security.   Also I highly recommend, carefully paying attention to the emails received regarding social networking site message...for instance, a phony facebook email message may say something about needed update information, and provide a link redirect to a non legitimate site which attempts then have you re log into their site, only phishing your email username and password and more resource attempting something else.  Solutions to these range from typing in Facebook's url on your url bar direct, using a legitimate book mark to the given social networking site, or google searching and selecting the legitimate link in Google search direct, as opposed to using email links provided to a given site.

What to do in these instances?!  Generally I don't anything sophisticated and likely if dealing with more sophisticated hacking, I've resorted to the old method of obtaining a hopefully clean .iso of a given operating system.  One should dealing in this case, with some low level, in the manner of using a nuclear approach to the system which is format the hard drive from a presumably safe disk, then start over.  Given the nature of cloud storage, in general, its potentially easier in a way, and then one is left making due, simply parting with any existing and generally less used data that one should care little about (if you hadn't used a lame program in months, are you really going to care about that)...anyways, supposedly flickr offers a terabyte of free data storage (or something like that).


First if you felt that the clean up through any number of vendor software weren't entirely adequate at handling the process of fixing issues on your system:

1.  I always recommend that you have access to a standby clean computer that you can rely upon, you should follow steps 2-3 on this clean system (not your old presently compromised system).
2.  Changing passwords, especially on root email accounts.  Have all passwords handy, such as Windows/Microsoft Live for logging into Windows Live for say an upgrade or re installation process (like windows 8 if you hadn't had a windows 8 clean .iso for installation).
3.  Backing up data, you can use free services from Google, for instance, Google drive installing the Google drive application to your desktop and then drag and dropping files to be saved here.  I don't usually save programs but instead back up files like documents, photos, videos, and the like.
4.  Ensuring that you have a clean and legitimate copy of your operating system which can be installed from boot (either in usb or dvd form).  Generally I don't even mess with migrating any additional bloat data or old programs that I could care less about, or any program that couldn't be readily re downloaded and installed for free.
5.  Going to your computing systems hardware manufacturer's site for drivers support.  You'd need everything from Chipset support drivers, Lan drivers, Video card drivers, audio card drivers, and wi fi drivers.  Unlike Linux installations, Windows installations (with a formatted drive) will likely lead to some basic hardware functioning being down (LAN, and wi fi being most common here), video support is very basic here so you'll need to install your system's hardware graphics processing driver to get full video/graphics processing benefits.  Copy these drivers to a usb or some device which can be in turn loaded onto your system.  Generally speaking basic usb support and/or dvd support is at least provided at a minimum upon a new window's installation.
6.  You'll need to upon a cold restart of your system, ensure that you prioritize or select you dvd/usb for boot loading, and have this ready to go in your system prior to such cold boot.  You'll need to make sure how to navigate your system's bios (usually for laptops, hitting the 'ESC' key when prompted for system settings when your reboot should provide either a menu for selecting your bios configuration, or you can select directly from some menu a boot priority option).  You'd need to set your dvd/usb drive as a priority above (sequentially) your hard drive.  That is, reading the boot disk for booting up the operating system before reading the hard drive.
7.  Window's will likely detect your given operating system previously, and may give upgrade or recovery options here, likely you'd choose an advance option instead, and then here you'll need to format and/or delete any previous partitions.  You might want to check in advance to make sure that partitions are generally recoverable by way of your hardware vendor's driver programs (these may create these as necessary for memory management purposes).
8.  Generally follow all prompts otherwise for installation.
9.  Once windows 7 finishes installation and boots successfully, run each driver program, following prompting as necessary.
10.  If you had purchased windows 8 as an upgrade (as I did), obviously you'd need to re install windows 7 and then follow the upgrade process over again.  Here you'd need to make sure that you choose the installation with activation key process through Microsoft direct, this isn't exactly choosing the upgrade process once logging into Microsoft's site (which may generally read your upgrade choice alone as an new upgrade purchase not a re install upgrade).  Here a Google search for 're installation of windows 8', provided a link.  Make sure this is formally Microsoft's site providing instructions to this site.  And then follow the prompts give for upgrade installer.  This should initially by default jump past the upgrade pay options to an 'Enter activation key' prompt.
11.  Once window's 8 re installation is complete, you may want to check with your system's hardware vendor again, for windows 8 drivers and complete installations of these to gain full benefit of these under the new operating system.  Here while migration of windows 7 to windows 8 generally means functionality of most hardware devices (in my experience), migrations may not provide the most up to date drivers.




Obviously, booting from a clean disk (in many cases) should generally for go the problems of most hacks which are included on boot loading.  Which is why I've at times liked the full re installation method for cleaning a system, I wouldn't claim fully this were a complete sure fire way of removing everything (for really high level hacks) that have hidden boots and partitions alike setup on your system, but at least for the more noxious low level crap, it maybe a better bet at eliminating a myriad of problems and/or bloat/malware problems on your system without adding yet more bloat into the system to supposedly clean it up in the first place.  If you get good at systems installations with windows, yeah it takes several hours in some cases, but if you have everything lined up and prepared, just sit back and watch some movies, read a book, and relax.  Its not as bad as it might seem.

I mention aside from relying on Windows 8 system security (such as Windows defender) this doesn't mean you have to put up with having your system slaved in terms of security compromise.  In other other words, for kid hacks you should be able to give em a hardy boot and final farewell pretty easily with a little bit of preparation.

Some signs that I've found commonly for bloat/malware/other system compromises:
1.  Hard drive light is persistently operating all the time.
2.  System is poor and sluggish, poor resolution in graphics, graphics aren't loading properly going to any number of commonly popular web sites.
3.  Your battery drains fast and is quite poor in terms of power management (my system at best were lasting at full charge for ten minutes, running no game application and generally resident idle on googles search bar tab, with no other tabs/web pages loaded).
4.  Applications appear to load without your instruction.  Audible system messages appear to randomly fire off.
5.  Loss of control in key control functions in a given application (seems like a ghost is in your machine...nope).
6.  You notice that you are automatically user logging out of web sites even though you didn't initiate this (clearer symptoms of possible key log intrusion).  Usually when sites detect alternate IP addresses within a certain time frequency are indicating multiple log ins from remote locations (where inferred that a user couldn't direct travel from one location to the other in such time frame) may provide you a warning that your account may be compromised in terms of security.  Here its always recommended you get on a secure system that you can trust and change your user account passwords as soon as possible.  Avoid logging back into your user account on your compromised system, and if you have difficulty with the steps that I've indicated above you can always take your system to a tech center that you can trust, just make sure your windows os product keys lined up for re installations if necessary.

The potential statistical number that you represent to the NSA

  You might be the sort of statistical number that justifies another's desk job in the first place.  Not that you amounted to anything worthy for inspection, but merely something there to justify numbers which feed into the warrant of so many jobs that were created in the first place that always need justification.

So lemme tell you about my more informally speaking since neither being in obvious position to confirm officially that such person were a worker for the NSA, but having indicated that he were a keynote speaker at a 'black hat' convention and having something of experience in Linux.  Which were sort of funny because of the nature of the meeting which were supposedly through some cliquish group of 'python' programmers through some website called 'Meet up'.  Of course, the nature of his having shown up, no more then three meetings into a given session should nothing more then translation to nothing much but a social session in general.  Hard to say whether everyone might deliberately choose in this context nothing much being said for that expressed purpose alone, or whether or not it were merely something such as the rain, airing a bit heavier into the beginning of an otherwise sluggish weekend morning.  In fairness, I seem to recall a bit about JS discussion  but generally very light in conversation on the topic, nothing intensive in so far as for development sake concerned, and little said or initiated on the topic of security.  Assuredly though, my interests in python were for 'creativity', or the sorts of inquiries that shouldn't be above warrant in a supposed democracy?!  In any event, it were the first and last session for me, although in retrospect, at the time, I knew little if anything about 'black hat' and might have been completely oblivious otherwise, if another kinder individual hadn't aptly so pointed out the nature of 'black hat', and especially so prior to any additional information that I might have read of later regarding the nature of national security interests in so far as governmental leaks otherwise.  Something, however, at such point, must have compelled me away from these groups, if it weren't for a general feeling about the nature of these 'meetup' s not being all that they might have seemed, or that one should have yet another of the same rote aptitudes of hashing out another trendy web sites by rote formulation while relegated to the purposes of veneering decorations, or in other words, who'd care for free lancing/hobby interests in other directions of creative programming that had nothing to do with being another asshole hack wannabe or part of the accepted leagues of programming for industries sake?!  In retrospect, all else maybe the warrant of suspicion?!  Democracy for you...
 

Monday, October 14, 2013

So are you still on my system?!

:)

Why do you bother exposing yourself so obviously?! 

Are you that much of an emboldened juvenile?!

Likely relying on the code created for you because you wouldn't have a clue as to how to code on your own?!  Yes?! :)

Come on man you could do better... :)

I mean you know there was a lot on my google account to be discerned, you know, lots of information worthwhile...like I receive emails from who on it?!  :)  Wasn't it a real pointless endeavor, didn't you learn generally nothing much?! :)

Could try and get some goods on me?!  :) 


Not really...so why did you bother?!  To prove you are that great really?!  :)  Really laughing my ass off at you...

As to the roleplaying in guild...hmm so lame, I mean you posit something like a laughable Pink Dye spam like I was supposed to listen to your sounds like those that lame church from Topeka crew, whom honestly managed to anger enough in this area and around the country in general with their defense to first amendment rights would amount to 'we can't get out of the f'ing parking lot because people deliberately drive down our street blocking the intersection all the time when we try to mobilize!'  Come on' what's with the taunts?!  Granted I'd see the church group pleading for a stop light at the intersection for basic clearance here... :)

But I am your poster child so be it...so be it...rofl :)

So by the way, conservatives in Australia failed to get the vote on the point of sending illegal immigrants to Papua New Guinea, isn't that laughable (despite record low illegal immigration in their own country)... a little too obvious scapegoating there?!

Anyways after all its a video game...I've had three beers.  I'm a light weight.  Where's the welfare surfer dude when you need him...

The funny keylogger with his cute amusing little idiotic hack on a dinosaur of an operating system

  So if you stay legitimate in terms of your browsing experience on Windows 8, how are you rewarded...well apparently, Windows 8 not only has browser/application vulnerabilities in terms of keyloggers, but also inter application push key systems...just had my toon remote controlled in Guild Wars 2...what's up Microsoft, can't you encrypt key operations along with integrated securities systems on keystroke use on your operating system is this dinosaur of a problem still in existence?! 

 Sorry Guild Wars 2 if I see this happen and I stay ultra clean in terms of web/application use, I'm out on your game.  I left WoW for the same bullshit reason, and I'll leave yours.

 But thank you hack for making yourself obvious, you not only amusingly make yourself obvious with keystroke controls, but also log onto my google account not once but twice...and then try to conspicuously make yourself obnoxiously clear doing it.  :)

Devona's Rest and character No Blinking
 

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Some observations of leadership in Guild Wars 2 world versus world gameplay

     I am writing this mostly from the observations perspective of world versus world which I've participated at times in frequently as of the past the year, and running more so presently.  I add to this caveat neither having served directly in general in specific leadership roles (other then organizing in some very rare instance simple things like tower captures on our server's home turf where ever it is).  Hopefully, somewhere maybe there could be useful feedback for those considering leadership roles in world versus world gameplay.  Before I get started this will be keeping on a positive note, still wanted to thank all of those leading in our battlegrounds today.  We've been in general running at times lower in staff at times, but still managed with contributors to actually have gains, in the previous week, and there's always room for improvement.

So here are the observations:

1.  Enough players not enough supply.   This would be an addendum to previous post mentions.  The biggest killer for groups having lost a borderlands or being wiped generally from a given map in Eternal Battlegrounds.  May not be exactly the numbers.  Sure some morale loss, may have players frustrated at such an experience, but if you've participated enough, you learn the leadership of groups play in different sorts of strategies.  Some opponents like to cap and defend, while other groups, may often leave your side of the map, simply looking for more offensive captures right away.  League systems may have some incentive effect of cap and hold strategies, but at the moment, world versus world systems seem to be more slated towards offensive captures in general.  In terms of experience, monetary rewards and much else, this actually may provide good news, since firstly even if you've spent time trying to defend on your turf and lost, you still have the reward gains of re capturing stuff that were lost in the first place.  The problem here is that most spending the time defending may have burned much supply defending.  If you are more experienced, you may notice others like yourselves immediately looking to re establish a supply camp (at least two of these firstly), while hoping that the timing of your re capture of supply hasn't meant that a large passing zerg hasn't stripped everything in the process.  If you were a leader, you might be inclined to rally people at a given way point (stopping for adequate man power resources), to go ahead with supply camp recapture.  There are also other leadership strategies such as guiding players to inquire on another map (you presently occupy with convenient waypoint) to gain supply.  Whatever the case, a leader may be estimating based upon head counts the amount of supply to replenish a groups supply momentum, otherwise, dropping prints that can't be built at a given objective may prove fruitless.  Thus when losing ground on turf, the important mantra.  Check a groups supply, and rebuild this as quickly as you can.  If you have 20 players with 0 supply keep in mind at 10 units per head, you are looking at 2 supply camp captures to replenish a zergs supply hauling capacity.  In this respect, it might also help, to work capturing supply camps throughout the map, while doing some educated guessing as to where an enemy zerg might be heading if your manpower resources are generally smaller relative theirs.

2.  Time is of the essence.  Sometimes, it may help to lead for recapture right away that an opponent server isn't really interested in defending much they hold on your territory or their likewise.  While other times, when resistance is heavy working towards capturing an alternative objective may be a better option all together.  If you see heavy fortification, and able opponent bodies laying in defensive wait, for some it may be wise to back of right away, while at other times, if you are a leader and sense that there are some well positioned man power in your group to assist and support in terms of heals and manning the rams (with level 4 or above experience) to take the risk in throwing down rams right away.  In the later case (heavy resistance), generally on the more successful ventures, a leader not only drops 2 or 3 rams, but also drops an arrow cart position where it can be used against opponent defensive siege (such as other arrow carts) or generally to ward opponent defenders in numbers of the wall, and fortunately under this years world versus world gameplay revisions it makes it easier then ever despite more formidable arrow cart resistances to capture objectives even with rams at the doors. The quicker that you can capture an objective generally tends to be positive for any number of reasons: opponent servers are slower in mobilizing to defend, and quick captures can be a big morale boost for your group potentially attracting other players on map.   I've seen leaders in some cases, moving rapidly throughout the map generally running on principle to successful capture strategies.  This may be in avoidance to obvious temptations, like capturing this biggest objectives in sight while working more rapidly through a series of smaller ones which may have the effect of off balancing opponent servers strategies of mistakenly staying put at the biggest objectives (while under defending the smaller one's on their turf).  Planning a large scale golem zerg where larger sums of golems end up getting lost in a barrage of defense at the largest fortified objective, may not only de moralize your server for the effort but end up costing a little (unless your server is generally well ahead of the game and care less for the expense), more tight competitive play may result less in this sort of tactic.  Especially if in sum, the reward for doing a capture may have been accomplished in other ways cheaper in terms of prints, and in terms of little man power desire to hold a defensive position at such capture (generally being less consequential to points gained on the timer.  Mostly though, I tend not to see these (as opposed to the more ancient days of yesteryears server), these sorts of tactics.  If you are a leader, generally speaking as you've grown accustomed, you'd likely being making decisions right away, providing adequate pauses (for rally), and generally keeping your groups momentum going with a solid plan.  Enough wipes on your map with a zerg can be a problem to holding a group together while providing an opponent some inkling as to what your numbers are like, where you might be heading, and so forth.  Of course, irrespective of these factors, your leader might have some momentum counter balances, such as attempting to organize in mass players from their respective guild to help maintain a groups critical mass composure, newer less experienced players may be more likely to join in on your zerg if they see bigger numbers in group likewise, and the more the numbers may translate more likely in steadier numbers ranks.  A leader will generally be quickly reactive in decision making to resistances for objectives, while keeping in mind, potential defense on their own server's turf, and knowing any number of offensive capture strategies for a given structure while keeping in mind their opponents ranks.  Faster may be generally better when you need to recoup losses, while slowing down the fight when you are top for the given week's matchup another strategy.

3.  Communication and understanding what happens with your zerg.  Unfortunately, more often then not, it seems zergs that run less tightly often times run into the momentum problem of moving forward towards any potential objective that you seem to be headed but neither paying attention to what their leaders are doing.  Comunication is key here.  In my experience, good leadership may keep organization more tightly running, and quite actively communicating in chat as to what he/she may be doing both in advance and during game play.  While some may resort to voice over the internet services to keep players organized, other leaders do spend the time actively communicating on their given map to let their group know what's going...whether to skip a potential objective nearby, and I've seen our maps big zerg diminish, as the momentum nearby seems to naturally gravitate towards a to be skipped objective.  Use communication, be active, learn to use the auto run toggle while using active communication to let your zerg know what your intentions might be.  Know fluently how to actively switch between map, and local chats.  It may be important to help, especially for new comers and less experienced players alike to at times re iterate keeping together.  Active communicating leaders tend often to fare better then one's that communicate less.  A leader should also pay attention to their groups movement, building a huge tail on a zerg certainly may not help if an opponent's zerg in waiting has the numbers to pick off the head while the tail struggles to catch up, and vice versa.  A little bit of pause for group rally, may pay off as finishers can provide excellent stack buffs to your zerg likewise, and/or those with buffs to be provided.  In these cases, your zerg even in thinner ranks may cost a generally larger zerg a wipe if caught unawares with enough organization.

Thus, in summation some of the big three key ideas, I'd say in my experience when leading keep the following in mind:  have a plan where you are going before you are going, have an array of plans for offensive capture, be well stocked with prints, insist on leadership in dropping prints (so that these aren't haphazardly thrown ...leading to problems in group supply), communicate actively with your group, keep your group well supplied, keep it moving, avoid too many zerg wipes, try to encourage guild participation (if you aren't already in a larger world versus world oriented guild), keep your group moving together, and keep your success momentum going, make note of players that have potential world versus world skills and keep them in mind when allocating manpower to siege resources (if you need you can always take ownership of siege, for instance, to provide space for another player with such skills).

Some groups may enjoy the more long standing bunkered down siege captures, but the longer that you wait around, means potentially the easier for opponents to bunker down likewise, building supply lines (if you haven't adequately managed cutting off theirs), and fortifying structures if you provide incentives (albeit in my experience, I see less of that in recent days).  Rams now (with ram mastery skills) in my opinion, tend to rock, since they are faster then ever for bringing doors down.  If you can stock for the week, any number of superior rams, and superior siege prints (as you can afford), this will likely aid in speeding captures up.  I've seen at times less trending in use of Golems in general for larger scale zergs, while I've seen occasional golem groups tending to be more successful (wee hours of the morning North American time zones).  Generally speaking world versus world populations for our tier tends to increase during certain hours, while diminishing during other hours, and throughout the week.  Weekend gameplay differs from week day population game play, keep this in mind.  Catapults at nearest to walls can make for excellent keep captures where catapult reuse avoids the obvious problems of re stocking a groups supply.  For instance, on your server's borderlands: if you work bay, working catapults literally closest to the south wall west of the south gate) allows for hitting both inner and outer keep walls.  If you run into a resistance on one gate, try another gate, and test for resistances before laying siege if you can (for instance, a bogey print drop may tempt resistances that much more, or sometimes it just takes hitting the door).    The three highest frequent prints that I've seen in use: flame rams, arrow carts, catapults, and ballista s.  There is informally speaking status built from what I can tell with commanders in world versus world, if you are new and show up with a commander tag, it takes time to build an informal reputation likely amongst veteran players that consistently play.  If you are together and generally are well together enough in planning, however, or at least show consistent gains in aptitude in leading successful will likely build better group loyalties, being active well enough (doesn't have to be for long long hours I'd imagine, but with enough consistency so that your name is recognized) on map will likely attract groups of players.  As you gain leadership experience, likely you will recognize with your resources what you can handle even if there is resistance.  We've been able with certain group compositions, for instance, to handle heavier resistances at doors merely by having the assurances (of a healing core) coupled with ram mastery trained players (coupled with adequate player gearing and skills) manage successful captures (opponents with 4 arrow carts and one superior carts), so just because their is resistance doesn't mean always avoidance at all costs...you'll likely learn your groups tuning as you participate as a leader over time.


Obvious new comer leadership mistakes:  leaving a sigil up when there aren't really enough players on a map to sustain the amount commanders there firstly, and too much idle with an active sigil while in battleground.  A more respected leaders is working for the time that they are there and courteous to all in map when going on downtime by removing active commander sigil, and potentially trying to find another leader to sigil up.



Friday, October 4, 2013

Gravity (Movie)

   Excellent hard science fiction movie that I've seen thus far this year.  Appears generally well written using survival story theme, but not atypical relative to other survival movies...that is, not one using the theme of alien invasions, or having landed on some remote hostile alien world, and so forth.
 
In case you might have wondered about the velocity of the debris field as depicted in the movie...keeping in mind, is an orbit relatively the same for a particular body mass relative another, there may be smaller difference in relative velocities between the two.  It may be possible for two body masses to hold some manner of stable orbit, yet have major differentials in relative velocities (not sure about that depicted in the movie...for instance, differences in orbital planes between two body masses, the other, possibility when the eccentricity of the orbit between two body masses are different...a less then circular orbit relative one closer to zero eccentricity means that relative velocities may be increased at both periapsis and apopsis altitude, if the debris field, for instance, were to coincide its trajectory at a particular orbital track at periapsis altitude largely eccentric orbits may have fairly significant relative velocities differential)...one way of one craft intercepting another craft is by changing the periodicity of the orbital track simply adjusting ap/pe altitudes.

You can simulate this stuff by the way with Orbiter 2010 software online.

Space junk/debris presently is something that is tracked by the way, and is considered an issue especially in the future of near earth orbital space flight.  

See also Space debris

Add a visual of orbital debris...the movie refers actually to the scenario possibly called 'Kessler syndrome' where a run away chain of events critical mass of debris causes a chain reaction 'pulverization', it is at present a debatable subject but not reserved in possibility strictly to fantasy (or beyond realism).

Oblivion

 Between the fascination of an upcoming pandemic ridden college football season, Taylor Swift, and Kim Kardashian, wildfires, crazier weathe...