Below is the Hackers Manifesto, as it appeared in Phrack. Read it and think twice before you label people with the same labels the sensationalist media uses...
Mentor's last words
Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...
Damn kids. They're all alike.
But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?
I am a hacker, enter my world...
Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...
Damn underachiever. They're all alike.
I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms. Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."
Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.
I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I screwed it up.
Not because it doesn't like me...
Or feels threatened by me...
Or thinks I'm a smart ass...
Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...
Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.
And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found.
"This is it... this is where I belong..."
I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...
Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...
You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.
This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.
Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.
I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.
+++The Mentor+++
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Monday, January 24, 2005
My second time out with my phantom!
I went to Tombstone yesterday and, (to the astonishment of our listeners) it was even more crowded than it was the week before. I got ready for a full day, and I definately got it!
Some Highlights...
I started in the intermediate group because the advanced group was just finishing up their second round on a field (which would be followed by a 5-10 minute break). I hopped on Jungle and got ready. Off the break I made it to an important bunker on the 40, it was necessary for us to hold down our left side. I really began to focus on posting (almost getting tunnel vision). I was sure to look around every once in a while though I knew the bunker behind the one I was posting on was furthur to the side than the latter, so I wasn't suprised to see full bodies (large targets >:] ) moving up to the bunker I was posting on. The second I saw, I shot, watched the ball arc, and contact the target. I got back in, and looked at the ref (10 ft away) who called him clean.
It was a square shot in the stomach, and it bounced.
The target looked like he had a sweater on... damn
I quickly cursed my paint purchased a little over a week ago, and returned to my position. If my paint wanted to bounce, then I'd have to put it somewhere it couldn't bounce! Goggles... :insert evil grin here: I was starting to get better at aiming. Before I'd been looking straight down the irons, (so to speak) and firing at what was in my sights. This led to a problem, I couldn't see where I was hitting. I looking at my target and not compensating for arc, and blocking my view of under where I was aiming with my marker. I started to angle the phantom up, and line up my targets about half and inch above the sight. I could still aim well, and I could see what I was firing at.
I compensated, looked at the corner my target was just at, and waited for a good shot. I would not fire a slew of balls whenever I saw the tiniest view of goggles, and I think that was what he (she?) was expecting. You could almost taste the hesitancy emitted from the back of that bunker Then, the target popped out at full ready, firing as soon as his barrel cleared (good form, he was pretty tight too). I fired one shot at the edge of the mask I could see, and got back in before the first shots hit my bunker. I heard the ref call him out. My first gog of the day... oh yeah...
There was one other player behind the bunker with me who was covering me to the right. I told him to move up to the next bunker. what? it's not like I can bunker two guys if I see them! He moved up and took a peek behind the bunker, nothing. He sat behind it on our side, and signaled me up. I moved up and took some fire from a bunker beyond the one I was moving to. ^_^;; I wasn't staying low enough... My bunkermate took some shots at him out his side of the bunker, while I bellied to the dirt peeking around my side of the bunker at where I saw him. After bit I rolled onto my side an sat up to scan the jungle area to our right. My bunkermate stood up higher to get a better angle on someone in the jungle and took two to the top of his head courtesy of our old friend ahead of us.
I figured I'd give him a little bit of time to lose interest in my bunker before posting on him. I waited a bit, and then prepaired to drop back to my prone position. I was sitting on my knees, marker angled sideways, about to drop to my elbow, when I saw a the end a silver barrel poking from the corner, a foot from me. I got up and sneaked around the other side of the bunker as quickly and quietly as I could. I put my back to the jungle, which wasn't a good idea, but I just HAD to get this guy I got right behind him and tapped him on the shoulder and said "Hey, player...". He tucked back in and turned his head around to see the business end of a phantom about four inches from his face aimed right between his eyes. I won't soon forget the look of utter confusion on his face. "You're out." Of course, shortly after this happened, I took all kinds of fire from the jungle, and got out, but it didn't matter. =)
Later I racked up 5 kills off one particularly important bunker. There is a row of laydowns on the west side of front hyperball. The row zig-zags from our (north) 30 to their (south) 40. They have cover up to the laydown and can easily crawl to our 30. To make matters worse, they also have a spool with great cover and a killer angle on anyone who thinks they can hold the left side. Unfortunately we lost a few off the break, and soon had nobody holding the left. I was left of center in a standup trained on the laydown when I saw movement at the laydown on the fifty. Damn, they can crawl up the laydowns, and flank us while being covered! I contemplated superman-ing over the waist-high bunker to a kill, and almost certain 30bps doom.
Between the 50 and the 40 laydown there was a small opening where the concrete was broken away and some of the cris-cross rebar was exposed so that you could see through it. This opening was about 8"x3" vertical and usually only served as an early warning that someone was about to obliterate your team. The size and obstruction to the opening made it almost impossible to shoot through... with a semi... For almost the whole round I stayed trained on the laydown, and that tiny opening. Each time I saw some movement I shot straight through the opening, and usually got a kill. If I hit the rebar, it just splattered, and they didn't feel it, and since they were crawling, I had time to pump again, and take another shot. They just kept trying to crawl up, and I just kept shooting them out. From their angle, if they'd have popped out the top of the laydown I would have been totally exposed and had a few paintballs flying my way before mine could make it to my opponent's goggles. But that wasn't the case.
Eventually my team took the field, but not before I fended off 5 flankers.
I remember one shot I didn't seem to break on the target's left side, so I cocked in another, called a paintcheck to be sure, and waited for him to stand up for inspection (refs don't want you to roll the paint off!). The ref was right next to him, and looked for the hit, I could see that the ref couldn't find one, but he looked at me ready to nail him as soon as the word "clean" came into my ears, looked back at the player, and told him he was out.
Actually, now that I think about it, the ref started standing there after I got a few kills there, I would even bet that the ref was telling them to watch out for the little hole, and to try to look through it before passing it (totally fine with me). This would explain a few goggle hits, and one who was actually readied and tried to fire through the hole (which just produced a spraypaint effect). Heh, gotta listen to the refs. They know the fields...
After most of the games I could find at least a few players walking around asking who had the pink paint. Pumps rock.
Some Highlights...
I started in the intermediate group because the advanced group was just finishing up their second round on a field (which would be followed by a 5-10 minute break). I hopped on Jungle and got ready. Off the break I made it to an important bunker on the 40, it was necessary for us to hold down our left side. I really began to focus on posting (almost getting tunnel vision). I was sure to look around every once in a while though I knew the bunker behind the one I was posting on was furthur to the side than the latter, so I wasn't suprised to see full bodies (large targets >:] ) moving up to the bunker I was posting on. The second I saw, I shot, watched the ball arc, and contact the target. I got back in, and looked at the ref (10 ft away) who called him clean.
It was a square shot in the stomach, and it bounced.
The target looked like he had a sweater on... damn
I quickly cursed my paint purchased a little over a week ago, and returned to my position. If my paint wanted to bounce, then I'd have to put it somewhere it couldn't bounce! Goggles... :insert evil grin here: I was starting to get better at aiming. Before I'd been looking straight down the irons, (so to speak) and firing at what was in my sights. This led to a problem, I couldn't see where I was hitting. I looking at my target and not compensating for arc, and blocking my view of under where I was aiming with my marker. I started to angle the phantom up, and line up my targets about half and inch above the sight. I could still aim well, and I could see what I was firing at.
I compensated, looked at the corner my target was just at, and waited for a good shot. I would not fire a slew of balls whenever I saw the tiniest view of goggles, and I think that was what he (she?) was expecting. You could almost taste the hesitancy emitted from the back of that bunker Then, the target popped out at full ready, firing as soon as his barrel cleared (good form, he was pretty tight too). I fired one shot at the edge of the mask I could see, and got back in before the first shots hit my bunker. I heard the ref call him out. My first gog of the day... oh yeah...
There was one other player behind the bunker with me who was covering me to the right. I told him to move up to the next bunker. what? it's not like I can bunker two guys if I see them! He moved up and took a peek behind the bunker, nothing. He sat behind it on our side, and signaled me up. I moved up and took some fire from a bunker beyond the one I was moving to. ^_^;; I wasn't staying low enough... My bunkermate took some shots at him out his side of the bunker, while I bellied to the dirt peeking around my side of the bunker at where I saw him. After bit I rolled onto my side an sat up to scan the jungle area to our right. My bunkermate stood up higher to get a better angle on someone in the jungle and took two to the top of his head courtesy of our old friend ahead of us.
I figured I'd give him a little bit of time to lose interest in my bunker before posting on him. I waited a bit, and then prepaired to drop back to my prone position. I was sitting on my knees, marker angled sideways, about to drop to my elbow, when I saw a the end a silver barrel poking from the corner, a foot from me. I got up and sneaked around the other side of the bunker as quickly and quietly as I could. I put my back to the jungle, which wasn't a good idea, but I just HAD to get this guy I got right behind him and tapped him on the shoulder and said "Hey, player...". He tucked back in and turned his head around to see the business end of a phantom about four inches from his face aimed right between his eyes. I won't soon forget the look of utter confusion on his face. "You're out." Of course, shortly after this happened, I took all kinds of fire from the jungle, and got out, but it didn't matter. =)
Later I racked up 5 kills off one particularly important bunker. There is a row of laydowns on the west side of front hyperball. The row zig-zags from our (north) 30 to their (south) 40. They have cover up to the laydown and can easily crawl to our 30. To make matters worse, they also have a spool with great cover and a killer angle on anyone who thinks they can hold the left side. Unfortunately we lost a few off the break, and soon had nobody holding the left. I was left of center in a standup trained on the laydown when I saw movement at the laydown on the fifty. Damn, they can crawl up the laydowns, and flank us while being covered! I contemplated superman-ing over the waist-high bunker to a kill, and almost certain 30bps doom.
Between the 50 and the 40 laydown there was a small opening where the concrete was broken away and some of the cris-cross rebar was exposed so that you could see through it. This opening was about 8"x3" vertical and usually only served as an early warning that someone was about to obliterate your team. The size and obstruction to the opening made it almost impossible to shoot through... with a semi... For almost the whole round I stayed trained on the laydown, and that tiny opening. Each time I saw some movement I shot straight through the opening, and usually got a kill. If I hit the rebar, it just splattered, and they didn't feel it, and since they were crawling, I had time to pump again, and take another shot. They just kept trying to crawl up, and I just kept shooting them out. From their angle, if they'd have popped out the top of the laydown I would have been totally exposed and had a few paintballs flying my way before mine could make it to my opponent's goggles. But that wasn't the case.
Eventually my team took the field, but not before I fended off 5 flankers.
I remember one shot I didn't seem to break on the target's left side, so I cocked in another, called a paintcheck to be sure, and waited for him to stand up for inspection (refs don't want you to roll the paint off!). The ref was right next to him, and looked for the hit, I could see that the ref couldn't find one, but he looked at me ready to nail him as soon as the word "clean" came into my ears, looked back at the player, and told him he was out.
Actually, now that I think about it, the ref started standing there after I got a few kills there, I would even bet that the ref was telling them to watch out for the little hole, and to try to look through it before passing it (totally fine with me). This would explain a few goggle hits, and one who was actually readied and tried to fire through the hole (which just produced a spraypaint effect). Heh, gotta listen to the refs. They know the fields...
After most of the games I could find at least a few players walking around asking who had the pink paint. Pumps rock.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
More Paintball stuff...
Hokai, so I was always a kind of tinkerer. Um... I mean... I always tinkered with things... shut up. What's kind of odd about paintball is that there's not a lot of amazing innovation going on. This makes it common for you to see someone with a custom marker, or a customized addition to their marker. So to begin with, you have open air for inventors.
And invent they did. Every once in a while you find about someone who knows someone who had a neat idea, some expensive tools at their disposal, and a block of aluminum. Bam! They've got a great idea, a prototype, a patent (hopefully) and a distributer willing to purchase that patent from them!
Yeah, I know it doesn't always work out like that, but just let me have this...
Hence, ideas have been pouring through my mind on how to improve, customize, streamline, etc. any aspect of paintball! My most recent (and hopefully fruitful) idea was what I'm calling the spring top tube.
A cigar tube loader that has a spring loaded top. But, the hinge is between the middle and back of the loader, and has a piece of plastic (about 30 degrees of a circle) extending from the hinge to the end of the tube with a flat circular top at the end. This way the tube could be held closed by being held in the harness, and then by your hand when you remove it. When it's close to the feed tube, you can release pressure on the "arm" and the arm will pop away from the tube, and so will the top attached to it. This will give enough clearance to stick the tube into the feed tube enough to get past the rubber stopper thingy. Then, a little bit of pressure closes it back to a small cigar tube, and it fits right back into the harness. Those stupid cigar tube tops can be annoying to open, to pour, and close and replace to keep dirt out of them while they are in the harness empty.
Cool yes? If not, please don't say anything.
The other idea I had was based on a dream I had a while ago, a few posts back I posted my dream, and as fire... swat... whatever I was, I needed a water gun to put out the fire. We all had what looked like paintball markers that fired water... (to put out the fire) Sigh... Anyways, mine was some kind of phantom-type (no suprise there) that had two vertical air adapters. One where the VSC Phantom would have one, and another in front of that one. Both set with 12 gram adapters (as in the VSC Phantom). Also, it was all chrome, with an annodized green shroud-like thing to cover the sides of the gun. I drew a crude picture of it, maybe I'll post it when I get some free image hosting... And find a scanner.
So this idea (of the double vertical air adapters) made me wonder about how to set up something similar to that... First I wondered if the system would allow two 12 grams to be set on the same line (like a parallel circuit), or if a switch (to select one or the other) would be better. The realization that 12 grams don't function like a normal constant air system kind of rained on the parallel style setup...
12 grams CO2 canisters are like small bottles waiting to give off their gas. The way they are tapped is that they are punctured by a "needle" which causes the gas to push into the system the needle is a part of. The way a parallel style system would work, is that it would be one end of the line going to the power tube, and two ends going to open "needle" ends. It follows that without a way of closing an opening, you can't add the 12 grams one at a time. The best way would be to use valves on both "needle" lines. Insert one or two 12 grams, turn them on, then the other. Got it? If you screw in one 12 gram into one side, since the other side is in the same system, and it's just an open needle, the CO2 would spray out the other needle. You'd have to do them both at exactly the same time, or use valves. I kind of wanted to get away from the use of valves, because they're not particularly attractive. If there was a 12 gram valve that functioned similarly to the constant air systems (pin valve built in), that would work.
And invent they did. Every once in a while you find about someone who knows someone who had a neat idea, some expensive tools at their disposal, and a block of aluminum. Bam! They've got a great idea, a prototype, a patent (hopefully) and a distributer willing to purchase that patent from them!
Yeah, I know it doesn't always work out like that, but just let me have this...
Hence, ideas have been pouring through my mind on how to improve, customize, streamline, etc. any aspect of paintball! My most recent (and hopefully fruitful) idea was what I'm calling the spring top tube.
A cigar tube loader that has a spring loaded top. But, the hinge is between the middle and back of the loader, and has a piece of plastic (about 30 degrees of a circle) extending from the hinge to the end of the tube with a flat circular top at the end. This way the tube could be held closed by being held in the harness, and then by your hand when you remove it. When it's close to the feed tube, you can release pressure on the "arm" and the arm will pop away from the tube, and so will the top attached to it. This will give enough clearance to stick the tube into the feed tube enough to get past the rubber stopper thingy. Then, a little bit of pressure closes it back to a small cigar tube, and it fits right back into the harness. Those stupid cigar tube tops can be annoying to open, to pour, and close and replace to keep dirt out of them while they are in the harness empty.
Cool yes? If not, please don't say anything.
The other idea I had was based on a dream I had a while ago, a few posts back I posted my dream, and as fire... swat... whatever I was, I needed a water gun to put out the fire. We all had what looked like paintball markers that fired water... (to put out the fire) Sigh... Anyways, mine was some kind of phantom-type (no suprise there) that had two vertical air adapters. One where the VSC Phantom would have one, and another in front of that one. Both set with 12 gram adapters (as in the VSC Phantom). Also, it was all chrome, with an annodized green shroud-like thing to cover the sides of the gun. I drew a crude picture of it, maybe I'll post it when I get some free image hosting... And find a scanner.
So this idea (of the double vertical air adapters) made me wonder about how to set up something similar to that... First I wondered if the system would allow two 12 grams to be set on the same line (like a parallel circuit), or if a switch (to select one or the other) would be better. The realization that 12 grams don't function like a normal constant air system kind of rained on the parallel style setup...
12 grams CO2 canisters are like small bottles waiting to give off their gas. The way they are tapped is that they are punctured by a "needle" which causes the gas to push into the system the needle is a part of. The way a parallel style system would work, is that it would be one end of the line going to the power tube, and two ends going to open "needle" ends. It follows that without a way of closing an opening, you can't add the 12 grams one at a time. The best way would be to use valves on both "needle" lines. Insert one or two 12 grams, turn them on, then the other. Got it? If you screw in one 12 gram into one side, since the other side is in the same system, and it's just an open needle, the CO2 would spray out the other needle. You'd have to do them both at exactly the same time, or use valves. I kind of wanted to get away from the use of valves, because they're not particularly attractive. If there was a 12 gram valve that functioned similarly to the constant air systems (pin valve built in), that would work.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
OMGHI2U!!!11ONE
Okay, so the object of my latest obsession is a new paintball marker (above)... Big suprise there... I've been avoiding the idea of spending over $1000 dollars on some kick-ass marker, but it just seemed like a SERIOUS waste of quite a bit of money! Not to mention a serious commitment to that marker!
So I've been kinda torn as to what I should do. I keep going paintballing, which only serves to remind me of the shortcomings of my marker. So I know I need to do something, but I don't know what! I know that if I pay over $1000 for a paintball gun I'd never be able to live with myself! I have enough trouble already convincing myself to go out and spend $50 on paint, $12 on air, etc. Not to mention that the purchase of a new kick-ass marker reqires that I make several other purchases, in addition to the expensive and excessive amount of paint I'll be using...
There didn't seem to be an answer for me besides being doomed to enjoy a sport by shelling out hundreds of dollars to play it.
Until I started researching the phantom...
The reviews on pbreviews are glowing! (which is very hard to find) The lowest rating I could find was an 8/10... PBReviews is the first place I go for gear. I first sort by the best ranked, and then look at the items that have over 50 reviews. (to have a 10/10 rating for 2 reviews is nothing compaired to a 9.8 rating after hundreds of reviews) This is usually a good indicator of what is really good equipment.
While reading the reviews, I saw a few recurring points:
1. This marker is disturbingly accurate
2. This marker is light, reliable, efficient, and has GREAT customer service (service unheard of in the paintball industry)
3. Playing pump will expose all the holes in your game and force you to become a better player.
4. Playing pump will save tons (tons) of money on paint and air.
This sounds like the answer to all my problems. Plus the damn thing costs $200-$380, that's a sweet grand off of what I'd been afraid of buying!
This should be good.
There is a friendly fire coming up on the 15th and (if I don't buy one before then) I'm going to ask my friend if I can use his all day (I think he's got a phantom...)
Geez, for $200 I could impulse buy one!
(our finances are stabilizing! Thank god!)
My dream last night
Had a dream last night, it was rather odd (as most of my dreams are) but one part stood out in my mind (so much so I actually remembered it!)
First I need to set the scene:
Ok, so I'm a member of some sort of firefighting swat team/army thing (don't look at me like that! very few of my dreams make sense!), and we're going to this training place (to put out fires???) and when we get there they set up a mobile command post type thing. Tents, trucks, gear, etc. I arrive late, and forget all my gear, but it's ok because there is extra gear I can use. The gear is spread out on three tables, and I sit at a bench and start undressing. This was not in a tent, apparently we change outside, it's like a co-ed dressing area, but it's no big deal because we don't seem to mind being naked in front of our classmates.
Between the bench I was on, and the tables with gear were a few female classmates who were standing facing eachother and talking. While I was getting undressed I heard one of them say to the others, "So, boxers or briefs?" then they started commenting about what kind of man wears boxers, and what kind of man wears briefs. "briefs; classic, reliable, but kinda tight, and gets dirty easily!" "boxers; loose, fun, but totally immature!" After each girl chimed in with their preference, or something funny, and as they were finishing talking about it I (naked after undressing on the bench) picked up some long-johns (what? I like them!), pretending to ignore their conversation. Some of the girls took notice, and watched me as I walked back to my bench to put them on.
The blonde said to the other girls, but loud enough for me to hear, "...Long-johns???" with a snicker, and two other girls replied, "definately not!" And as they were laughing, and I was putting them on, a short girl with the dark punker-style hair who was looking at me said, "I don't know... not afraid to admit what he likes, doesn't care what other people think... true to himself, aloof... bold... sexy... my kinda guy..." After she said the last part I, standing with one foot on the bench bent forward tying my boot, turned my head to look at her for a second with an emotionless face... Then turned back to my boot and continued getting ready to do my job.
When I woke up after that I was so excited that I was so cool in my dream! X) And while that in-and-of itself is uncool, I don't care. I liked it. ;P
First I need to set the scene:
Ok, so I'm a member of some sort of firefighting swat team/army thing (don't look at me like that! very few of my dreams make sense!), and we're going to this training place (to put out fires???) and when we get there they set up a mobile command post type thing. Tents, trucks, gear, etc. I arrive late, and forget all my gear, but it's ok because there is extra gear I can use. The gear is spread out on three tables, and I sit at a bench and start undressing. This was not in a tent, apparently we change outside, it's like a co-ed dressing area, but it's no big deal because we don't seem to mind being naked in front of our classmates.
Between the bench I was on, and the tables with gear were a few female classmates who were standing facing eachother and talking. While I was getting undressed I heard one of them say to the others, "So, boxers or briefs?" then they started commenting about what kind of man wears boxers, and what kind of man wears briefs. "briefs; classic, reliable, but kinda tight, and gets dirty easily!" "boxers; loose, fun, but totally immature!" After each girl chimed in with their preference, or something funny, and as they were finishing talking about it I (naked after undressing on the bench) picked up some long-johns (what? I like them!), pretending to ignore their conversation. Some of the girls took notice, and watched me as I walked back to my bench to put them on.
The blonde said to the other girls, but loud enough for me to hear, "...Long-johns???" with a snicker, and two other girls replied, "definately not!" And as they were laughing, and I was putting them on, a short girl with the dark punker-style hair who was looking at me said, "I don't know... not afraid to admit what he likes, doesn't care what other people think... true to himself, aloof... bold... sexy... my kinda guy..." After she said the last part I, standing with one foot on the bench bent forward tying my boot, turned my head to look at her for a second with an emotionless face... Then turned back to my boot and continued getting ready to do my job.
When I woke up after that I was so excited that I was so cool in my dream! X) And while that in-and-of itself is uncool, I don't care. I liked it. ;P
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Paintballing today!
Hokay, so I went paintballing today. Had a lot of fun. Didn't bring a lot of money :\ , but I didn't want go if it was going to require me to spend a lot! I have trouble justifying to myself the cost of going paintballing. It is rather expensive, especially if you enjoy the sport! I had fun playing, and got some good kills, but I must express marginal dissatisfaction with my current marker...
I use a Tippmann 98 Custom with TGP Expansion Chamber, Dye drop forward, 14" thunder pig barrel, blade double trigger, and a Ricochet Apache hopper.
... Don't get me wrong, this is a beginner marker, and was not meant to compete with autocockers, high-end electros, etc., but I could still wield it like a champ. And if it couldn't outshoot faster markers, I'd just have to out-skill the players who owned them. Which, in most cases, was an easy enough task.
I kept finding myself in the position where I could see who I should be shooting at (usually kind of far away), and sometimes even had an angle on them, but after I fire off 10 rounds and they all miss, the opponent repositions and starts supressing me.
I was getting annoyed at the opportunities I was missing because the marker was not accurate enough...
What made matters worse, is that paintball markers are interently inaccurate. They are not made to be super-accurate, and you can't get very accurate firing a .68 caliber imperfectly spherical ball of paint at 290 fps, no matter how hard the designers try.
The way the industry dealt with not being able to make accurate markers, is by making fast markers.
If you want to hit a 6"x6" square, and your gun will hit in a target area of a 24" circle, you will hit that 6" square with one of your shots... eventually. This is why if you can fire 32 (!) balls a second, you are more likely to hit that 6" square more quickly than if you can only fire slowly. Makes sense? Ok.
The problem with this, is that for me, upgrading my marker doesn't make sense unless I'm getting a high-end kick-ass marker. It wouldn't make sense to buy anything less when I can possibly afford the ultimate.
But I don't want to spend over $1000 on a marker that will only make me have to buy three times more paint! Not to mention a new HPA tank, barrels, etc.
But I digress... (don't worry, all that had a point)
I ran out of air (and money) around 1:30, (which was as I planned, I didn't want to withdraw money to play, or play too long (lest I catch all the holiday return traffic). After I was out of air, I watched four rounds of our group and talked to the ref there.
The first thing I noticed was that our team was outnumbered about 3:5. I thought we'd lost some people after the last round, and pointed it out to the ref, who said that the last two rounds were played at about this ratio, and the bands (outnumbered) won anyways. This suprised me because when I looked at our team, two of our players (two out of 11 is actually quite a bit) were pump players, and the whole other team was on semi-autos (electrics and autocockers).
I watched as the round began, and the bands took the no-bands for four more rounds, heavily outnumbered, and rather outgunned.
I listened to the ref as he told me about all the great spots on the field, and the angles the players should be trying to get to. It really reminded me that it was never about how much paint you can pour downfield, a fact that I'd been close to forgetting.
I also watched in amazement as the two pump players caught most of the kills. One from laying down in the dirt popped up over the three foot tall bunker, took a single shot at a player 75 feet away, and nailed him in the side of the head.
I watched the pump players more intenly after that, and saw some amazing shots (for paintball).
Afterwards I talked to one of the guys who was shooting a Phantom or Phoenix or Phalanx something-or-other. He said that he'd been a semi player for a while, but fell in love with the accuracy of his current marker.
Did you hear that? Accuracy. It almost brings a tear to my eye to say it...
When I was leaving I relized that I had a flat (last time I park in the loose gravel area of the lot...) but I strangely didn't seem to mind. I changed to the donut, and drove home.
On the way home I made a call to my paintball buddy to ask him to keep an eye out for a pump marker for me. He said I'd probably only be interested in a Phantom or a Sniper.
I called my dad on the way home to see if he kept the tire repair kit I left there when I moved out, went straight there, and (over the course of 20 minutes) figured out how the damn thing worked, and plugged the hole in my tire. I drove to a gas station, filled the tire with air, it didn't sound like it was leaking (success!), put the donut back in the trunk, went home and started researching the Phantom. Which I am eagerly wanting to get back to after I post this! bye for now!
Out.
I use a Tippmann 98 Custom with TGP Expansion Chamber, Dye drop forward, 14" thunder pig barrel, blade double trigger, and a Ricochet Apache hopper.
... Don't get me wrong, this is a beginner marker, and was not meant to compete with autocockers, high-end electros, etc., but I could still wield it like a champ. And if it couldn't outshoot faster markers, I'd just have to out-skill the players who owned them. Which, in most cases, was an easy enough task.
I kept finding myself in the position where I could see who I should be shooting at (usually kind of far away), and sometimes even had an angle on them, but after I fire off 10 rounds and they all miss, the opponent repositions and starts supressing me.
I was getting annoyed at the opportunities I was missing because the marker was not accurate enough...
What made matters worse, is that paintball markers are interently inaccurate. They are not made to be super-accurate, and you can't get very accurate firing a .68 caliber imperfectly spherical ball of paint at 290 fps, no matter how hard the designers try.
The way the industry dealt with not being able to make accurate markers, is by making fast markers.
If you want to hit a 6"x6" square, and your gun will hit in a target area of a 24" circle, you will hit that 6" square with one of your shots... eventually. This is why if you can fire 32 (!) balls a second, you are more likely to hit that 6" square more quickly than if you can only fire slowly. Makes sense? Ok.
The problem with this, is that for me, upgrading my marker doesn't make sense unless I'm getting a high-end kick-ass marker. It wouldn't make sense to buy anything less when I can possibly afford the ultimate.
But I don't want to spend over $1000 on a marker that will only make me have to buy three times more paint! Not to mention a new HPA tank, barrels, etc.
But I digress... (don't worry, all that had a point)
I ran out of air (and money) around 1:30, (which was as I planned, I didn't want to withdraw money to play, or play too long (lest I catch all the holiday return traffic). After I was out of air, I watched four rounds of our group and talked to the ref there.
The first thing I noticed was that our team was outnumbered about 3:5. I thought we'd lost some people after the last round, and pointed it out to the ref, who said that the last two rounds were played at about this ratio, and the bands (outnumbered) won anyways. This suprised me because when I looked at our team, two of our players (two out of 11 is actually quite a bit) were pump players, and the whole other team was on semi-autos (electrics and autocockers).
I watched as the round began, and the bands took the no-bands for four more rounds, heavily outnumbered, and rather outgunned.
I listened to the ref as he told me about all the great spots on the field, and the angles the players should be trying to get to. It really reminded me that it was never about how much paint you can pour downfield, a fact that I'd been close to forgetting.
I also watched in amazement as the two pump players caught most of the kills. One from laying down in the dirt popped up over the three foot tall bunker, took a single shot at a player 75 feet away, and nailed him in the side of the head.
I watched the pump players more intenly after that, and saw some amazing shots (for paintball).
Afterwards I talked to one of the guys who was shooting a Phantom or Phoenix or Phalanx something-or-other. He said that he'd been a semi player for a while, but fell in love with the accuracy of his current marker.
Did you hear that? Accuracy. It almost brings a tear to my eye to say it...
When I was leaving I relized that I had a flat (last time I park in the loose gravel area of the lot...) but I strangely didn't seem to mind. I changed to the donut, and drove home.
On the way home I made a call to my paintball buddy to ask him to keep an eye out for a pump marker for me. He said I'd probably only be interested in a Phantom or a Sniper.
I called my dad on the way home to see if he kept the tire repair kit I left there when I moved out, went straight there, and (over the course of 20 minutes) figured out how the damn thing worked, and plugged the hole in my tire. I drove to a gas station, filled the tire with air, it didn't sound like it was leaking (success!), put the donut back in the trunk, went home and started researching the Phantom. Which I am eagerly wanting to get back to after I post this! bye for now!
Out.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Friggin' Sweet!
|
Sweet ass! I got my OpenGL Goban
|
 |
Well... it was kinda cool. that's all...
It was a pain and a half getting all the libraries the program required. Coming from a linux fan, library dependencies has got to be the most annoying thing about linux...
At least RedHat Linux (which doesn't say much). I know Gentoo has a great package manager/downloader/installer, and Debian, and OSX... I guess RedHat just sucks... Oh well. Such is life... But seriously, go is the game you spend 5 minutes learning and the rest of your life perfecting. Seriously.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
ert! no Christmas update???
Yeah, well, like I said over and over, money's been tight... So I've been very careful to downplay the need of other people to buy us things... since... we can't buy them anything... But, I definately had a great time with my family and my girlfriend's family, the Lakers lost (I don't follow basketball, but I've grown annoyed with Kobe of late, and hoped he would lose.) I say "hoped HE would lose" instead of "hoped THE LAKERS would lose" because the lakers belong to Kobe (according to one of his many arrogant quotes).
Good heavens! The highlight of christmas, a four day weekend, possibly my birthday (Dec 30!), and probably new years, is almost assuredly going to be going paintballing yesterday...
Sounds good to me!
oy.
Good heavens! The highlight of christmas, a four day weekend, possibly my birthday (Dec 30!), and probably new years, is almost assuredly going to be going paintballing yesterday...
Sounds good to me!
oy.
"Paintball update" or "It hurts to move"
ow. Soreness... ow...
I was out paintballing yesterday. I love paintballing... I have the scars to prove it! ^_^;; I haven't been able to go out for about two months (Ok, you know when you spell something, and the word looks wrong, but you know it's right? That's how I'm feeling about the word "months" right now. It's reminding me too much of the word "moths". I seem to think it needs a "u". "Mounthes"? I threw the "e" in there for good measure... back to the story!) Money's been tight since the move, and I haven't been able to convince myself to spend $50 on a box of paint, and $15 on admission, $12 for air fills, $5 for food, and $2.75(?) for gas for about 30 miles round trip. Oh my goodness... I'd never written it all down like that, it will require all my concentration NOT to total all that...
Recently I'd been longing for my beloved paintball in the usual depressing manner...
Thinking about paintball...
Looking at my paintball gear...
Dusting my paintball pictures...
And generally doing my best to annoy myself with the fact that I hadn't been paintballing in a long time.
I went to a movie last Saturday (Christmas) with my girlfriend and her borther from the Navy (down for christmas). We saw A Series Of Unfortunate Events. It was kind of Tim Burton-y and odd in a good way. Got in for free, so I bear the movie no ill-will. Anyways, before the movie started I saw a friend of mine walk in. A friend of mine from paintball. He came up and we exchanged the usual pleasantries, and he said I should come by the shop, because he got a ton of new merchandise. I told him I'd go sunday, and I did. I spent about 3 hours there (you pretty much just hang out at a paintball shop), went for coffee with my friend made up my mind that I'd go paintballing monday, bought some paint ($38), and a free air fill ($0 ^_^).
That night I was cleaning my gear only to discover that I had no pants. Quite a suprising discovery indeed.
My JT Paintball pants retail for $85 (worth it), but I buy them at Sport Chalet on clearance for $53 (Sweet!) Spending over $50 on pants was my first big paintball expence (after my initial purchase and decision to pursue the sport). At first I was unsure how pants could cost over $50 dollars. Once at the field the guy at the shop (there's a canopy-style shop set up on location) pointed to my pants and said to another player, "when I was at the tourney in florida, I could get those pants for $47, come back, and sell them for $87!" I replied, "then I don't feel so bad about paying $53 for them." He then answered with confusion, disbelief, and a question of where I got them. I said Sport Chalet. to which he replied (and I quote), "Fucking sport chalet, they don't give a shit if they lose money or not, it's all just inventory, inventory, inventory..."
Since then, Sport Chalet is my first stop for any form of lesser paintball gear... :)
Well, that was quite a digression. Anyways...
The pants had built in knee pads (a big plus), breathed well, protected from the elements (namely the elements PAINT & MUD!), and had a soft inlay (pants inside the pants) for great comfort...
Dude, where the fuck was I? Oh yeah, so, I'd just discovered I had no pants... Which put a damper on tomorrows activities... No pants = No paintballing. I know you can wear normal pants, but only if you want them to get torn to shit (if you're playing right! ;). Plus I didn't have any jeans to waste (or any jeans for that matter) My paintballing future was looking bleak... Hope was fading, I was getting light headed, and then... suddenly... My girlfriend said, "well I guess you'll just have to go to Sport Chalet tomorrow morning".
It was as if the heavens parted and down rode my girlfriend atop a golden chariot bearing my JT Tournament Paintball Pants unto me!
An angelic choir began singing sweet verse!
Dew shimmered as it clung to a bending blade of grass!
Touchstone pictures made a good Batman movie!
Ok, so some of those things didn't happen. Or maybe all of them; it's unimportant. What WAS important was that I... WAS... GOING... PAINTBALLING!
[angelic choir]
................that's enough.
[/angelic choir]
I was pretty excited...
So the next morning, I got the pants, loaded my pods, and went to Tombstone Paintball at the Serfas/Auto Center Drive exit off the 91 in Carona. It's more of a family field, you'll find about 20% advanced, 30% intermediate, 50% beginner. Good for some wholesome fun shooting you fellow man with balls of paint at 280 feet per second. This is compaired to the ultra-competative atmosphere at SC Village, known for their 20 vs 20 free-for-alls where survival is 20% luck... and 80% luck... :) Players who frequent there are widely known for being more aggressive, and... volitile... (gotta chose my words carefully, some SC patrons may be reading!) But, SC has definately got better fields (hands down) So if you can go with a private group, go SC, if just a walk-on for fun, go Tombstone...
Jesus Christ, are we ever going to get to the end of this fucking story?!
I got out twice, once was we lost 3-4 guys off the break that... was bad. and the other I got a little cocky and stayed out for too long, I got it in the left hand. But I got 15 kills that I can be sure of, and specially assisted (provided supression/deversion fire) in 3 kills). It was a pretty good day. Last time I went out I got wailed on, I had like 3 confirmed kills... Bad day. Still fun though. Just not as fun... :] By the end of the day, I knew I was getting better.
Got some In'n'Out (THE BEST burgers in the history of burgerkind) went home, took a shower, and went to the movies with my girl. What a fucking day. Kick ass.
Today... I'm so sore... Kick ass... It'll hurt, but kick it anyways...
I was out paintballing yesterday. I love paintballing... I have the scars to prove it! ^_^;; I haven't been able to go out for about two months (Ok, you know when you spell something, and the word looks wrong, but you know it's right? That's how I'm feeling about the word "months" right now. It's reminding me too much of the word "moths". I seem to think it needs a "u". "Mounthes"? I threw the "e" in there for good measure... back to the story!) Money's been tight since the move, and I haven't been able to convince myself to spend $50 on a box of paint, and $15 on admission, $12 for air fills, $5 for food, and $2.75(?) for gas for about 30 miles round trip. Oh my goodness... I'd never written it all down like that, it will require all my concentration NOT to total all that...
Recently I'd been longing for my beloved paintball in the usual depressing manner...
Thinking about paintball...
Looking at my paintball gear...
Dusting my paintball pictures...
And generally doing my best to annoy myself with the fact that I hadn't been paintballing in a long time.
I went to a movie last Saturday (Christmas) with my girlfriend and her borther from the Navy (down for christmas). We saw A Series Of Unfortunate Events. It was kind of Tim Burton-y and odd in a good way. Got in for free, so I bear the movie no ill-will. Anyways, before the movie started I saw a friend of mine walk in. A friend of mine from paintball. He came up and we exchanged the usual pleasantries, and he said I should come by the shop, because he got a ton of new merchandise. I told him I'd go sunday, and I did. I spent about 3 hours there (you pretty much just hang out at a paintball shop), went for coffee with my friend made up my mind that I'd go paintballing monday, bought some paint ($38), and a free air fill ($0 ^_^).
That night I was cleaning my gear only to discover that I had no pants. Quite a suprising discovery indeed.
My JT Paintball pants retail for $85 (worth it), but I buy them at Sport Chalet on clearance for $53 (Sweet!) Spending over $50 on pants was my first big paintball expence (after my initial purchase and decision to pursue the sport). At first I was unsure how pants could cost over $50 dollars. Once at the field the guy at the shop (there's a canopy-style shop set up on location) pointed to my pants and said to another player, "when I was at the tourney in florida, I could get those pants for $47, come back, and sell them for $87!" I replied, "then I don't feel so bad about paying $53 for them." He then answered with confusion, disbelief, and a question of where I got them. I said Sport Chalet. to which he replied (and I quote), "Fucking sport chalet, they don't give a shit if they lose money or not, it's all just inventory, inventory, inventory..."
Since then, Sport Chalet is my first stop for any form of lesser paintball gear... :)
Well, that was quite a digression. Anyways...
The pants had built in knee pads (a big plus), breathed well, protected from the elements (namely the elements PAINT & MUD!), and had a soft inlay (pants inside the pants) for great comfort...
ENOUGH ABOUT THE FRIGGIN PANTS!
Dude, where the fuck was I? Oh yeah, so, I'd just discovered I had no pants... Which put a damper on tomorrows activities... No pants = No paintballing. I know you can wear normal pants, but only if you want them to get torn to shit (if you're playing right! ;). Plus I didn't have any jeans to waste (or any jeans for that matter) My paintballing future was looking bleak... Hope was fading, I was getting light headed, and then... suddenly... My girlfriend said, "well I guess you'll just have to go to Sport Chalet tomorrow morning".
It was as if the heavens parted and down rode my girlfriend atop a golden chariot bearing my JT Tournament Paintball Pants unto me!
An angelic choir began singing sweet verse!
Dew shimmered as it clung to a bending blade of grass!
Touchstone pictures made a good Batman movie!
Ok, so some of those things didn't happen. Or maybe all of them; it's unimportant. What WAS important was that I... WAS... GOING... PAINTBALLING!
[angelic choir]
................that's enough.
[/angelic choir]
I was pretty excited...
So the next morning, I got the pants, loaded my pods, and went to Tombstone Paintball at the Serfas/Auto Center Drive exit off the 91 in Carona. It's more of a family field, you'll find about 20% advanced, 30% intermediate, 50% beginner. Good for some wholesome fun shooting you fellow man with balls of paint at 280 feet per second. This is compaired to the ultra-competative atmosphere at SC Village, known for their 20 vs 20 free-for-alls where survival is 20% luck... and 80% luck... :) Players who frequent there are widely known for being more aggressive, and... volitile... (gotta chose my words carefully, some SC patrons may be reading!) But, SC has definately got better fields (hands down) So if you can go with a private group, go SC, if just a walk-on for fun, go Tombstone...
Jesus Christ, are we ever going to get to the end of this fucking story?!
I got out twice, once was we lost 3-4 guys off the break that... was bad. and the other I got a little cocky and stayed out for too long, I got it in the left hand. But I got 15 kills that I can be sure of, and specially assisted (provided supression/deversion fire) in 3 kills). It was a pretty good day. Last time I went out I got wailed on, I had like 3 confirmed kills... Bad day. Still fun though. Just not as fun... :] By the end of the day, I knew I was getting better.
Got some In'n'Out (THE BEST burgers in the history of burgerkind) went home, took a shower, and went to the movies with my girl. What a fucking day. Kick ass.
Today... I'm so sore... Kick ass... It'll hurt, but kick it anyways...
GAH! DAMNIT! That didn't even haev a point!!!!111ONE *explosion*
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
When do we give away our freedom?
A talk radio station I listen to was discussing a study recently released...
over half of 750 americans phone-polled said that they would agree with forcing Muslim-Americans to register themselves with the government. About 22% agreed that it was OK to profile Muslims as possible terrorists.
This seemed unbelievable to me. I know there's a lot a fear right now, but really!
I had to call the station. I told the host that "A citizen is a citizen is a citizen, be they Muslim, african-american, or mexican. And a citizen has their own rights, and it is completely unfair to erode the rights of one group for ANY reason."
I think we all remember the Japanese internment camps... a proud point in american history? prolly not...
The host asked why I thought so many people were in favor of this, and I said that there is a lot of fear in our country right now, but we can't let it control our lives. And certainly not our civil liberties.
After I got off the phone with the host (Kevin Wall in for Larry Elder @ 790AM KABC) I listened to the other callers who made good points, and got me thinking.
Pragmatically, it makes sense to suspect muslims of terrorism
All suicide bombers and world trade center hijackers have been muslim
70y/o grandma from utah is probably NOT going to hijack the plane
You can expect people from a certain group (age/sex/religious background/etc) to proform acts of terrorism. I'm not sure anyone can disagree with that...
BUT, pragmatically, you can't expect law-breakers to obey the law
If you made all criminals register as criminals, I think that would be a short list.
What naturally follows from the criminals breaking the law by NOT registering and re-registering is by finding them, and forcing them to register.
But we're not talking about criminals here... These are Americans. US Citizens who have chosen a particular religion because they have the RIGHT to do so. And we're going to be kicking down their doors and forcing them to register themselves so we can watch them, and suspect them?
No.
Subsequent callers attacked the religion itself, stating that the Koran teaches that those who do not believe in the religion must die. While this may or may not be true, the point is irrelivent! In America you have the right of religious freedom. If your religion says you must break the law, then you will go to jail for breaking the law. It's up to you (your interpritation (sp?)) to decide what you believe in. And I don't know of any practicing Muslims living as your neighbors, members of your PTA, co-workers, etc. who are going around killing Americans because their religion says so.
We are punishing a group of citizens for religious preference.
There are a lot of religious folks in Ireland who murder people in the name of a popular religion, but does that make all members suspect? How on earth could it?!
Some may argue, that it's just a little registering, and the lawful Muslims will follow suit without incident.
But that's always how it starts...
Next thing you know, there is a crack down on those who aren't registered, and people are getting picked up on the street for not being able to show their proof of "registration". Can you imagine it? Walking down the street and being afraid that police are going to pick you up and question you for being Muslim?
That's the only place this could lead. You don't register for the hell of it. You register people so you can track them and monitor their doings.
But wait, this involves NON-Muslims too...
What if you're SUSPECTED of being a closet Muslim??? Does this mean that you're subject to all the same angst a "suspect terrorist" would have to go through???
Don't forget your civil rights...
Because you have none.
If you are suspected let me say that again...
if YOU, Joe Citizen, are SUSPECTED of being a terrorist or in league with terrorist organizations, you have NO rights
The patriot act made sure of that. You do NOT have the right to an attorney, you do NOT have the right to a speedy trial, you do NOT have the right to excercise the fifth ammendment, Do NOT pass GO, do NOT collect $200!
Funny isn't it?
You may be worried now, about how you, Joe Citizen can have your rights stripped from you in a second... Well... that's up to the person who wants to question you.
This is where this path leads. And if we want to face it with the mindset of "Gee, if we just round up all the Muslims, we'll be ok..." Then soon someone will say, "Gee if we just round up all the [insert your religion here], we'll be ok..."
over half of 750 americans phone-polled said that they would agree with forcing Muslim-Americans to register themselves with the government. About 22% agreed that it was OK to profile Muslims as possible terrorists.
This seemed unbelievable to me. I know there's a lot a fear right now, but really!
I had to call the station. I told the host that "A citizen is a citizen is a citizen, be they Muslim, african-american, or mexican. And a citizen has their own rights, and it is completely unfair to erode the rights of one group for ANY reason."
I think we all remember the Japanese internment camps... a proud point in american history? prolly not...
The host asked why I thought so many people were in favor of this, and I said that there is a lot of fear in our country right now, but we can't let it control our lives. And certainly not our civil liberties.
After I got off the phone with the host (Kevin Wall in for Larry Elder @ 790AM KABC) I listened to the other callers who made good points, and got me thinking.
Pragmatically, it makes sense to suspect muslims of terrorism
All suicide bombers and world trade center hijackers have been muslim
70y/o grandma from utah is probably NOT going to hijack the plane
You can expect people from a certain group (age/sex/religious background/etc) to proform acts of terrorism. I'm not sure anyone can disagree with that...
BUT, pragmatically, you can't expect law-breakers to obey the law
If you made all criminals register as criminals, I think that would be a short list.
What naturally follows from the criminals breaking the law by NOT registering and re-registering is by finding them, and forcing them to register.
But we're not talking about criminals here... These are Americans. US Citizens who have chosen a particular religion because they have the RIGHT to do so. And we're going to be kicking down their doors and forcing them to register themselves so we can watch them, and suspect them?
No.
Subsequent callers attacked the religion itself, stating that the Koran teaches that those who do not believe in the religion must die. While this may or may not be true, the point is irrelivent! In America you have the right of religious freedom. If your religion says you must break the law, then you will go to jail for breaking the law. It's up to you (your interpritation (sp?)) to decide what you believe in. And I don't know of any practicing Muslims living as your neighbors, members of your PTA, co-workers, etc. who are going around killing Americans because their religion says so.
We are punishing a group of citizens for religious preference.
There are a lot of religious folks in Ireland who murder people in the name of a popular religion, but does that make all members suspect? How on earth could it?!
Some may argue, that it's just a little registering, and the lawful Muslims will follow suit without incident.
But that's always how it starts...
Next thing you know, there is a crack down on those who aren't registered, and people are getting picked up on the street for not being able to show their proof of "registration". Can you imagine it? Walking down the street and being afraid that police are going to pick you up and question you for being Muslim?
That's the only place this could lead. You don't register for the hell of it. You register people so you can track them and monitor their doings.
But wait, this involves NON-Muslims too...
What if you're SUSPECTED of being a closet Muslim??? Does this mean that you're subject to all the same angst a "suspect terrorist" would have to go through???
Don't forget your civil rights...
Because you have none.
If you are suspected let me say that again...
if YOU, Joe Citizen, are SUSPECTED of being a terrorist or in league with terrorist organizations, you have NO rights
The patriot act made sure of that. You do NOT have the right to an attorney, you do NOT have the right to a speedy trial, you do NOT have the right to excercise the fifth ammendment, Do NOT pass GO, do NOT collect $200!
Funny isn't it?
You may be worried now, about how you, Joe Citizen can have your rights stripped from you in a second... Well... that's up to the person who wants to question you.
This is where this path leads. And if we want to face it with the mindset of "Gee, if we just round up all the Muslims, we'll be ok..." Then soon someone will say, "Gee if we just round up all the [insert your religion here], we'll be ok..."
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Wiki Wiki What?
Wiki = The Hawaiian word for "quick"
For those of you unfamiliar with Wiki, (<-me) Wiki is an OPEN online board. Think of it as a TRUE board. In that anyone who can approach it, can make changes to it.
But there are some INTERESTING social aspects here I don't want you to miss...
When I say make changes, I mean make any changes. This means that if I want to edit your post I can do so. This means, that if I want to erase the entire board and remove all information from it I can do so.
I'm sure many of you have been members of or read threads on public forums. You know how there's always that one guy who wants to crap on everything??? what are you talking about ONE GUY?! :\ What on earth do you think would happen if you put up a public white board and tied a dry erase marker to it and an eraser? God only knows! Some of you might argue that it depends on the location and the board, and the type of people local to it. My answer to that is kind of loaded, because I must say that the location is the internet* with an asterisk... because, everyone doesn't visit every site a site develops a certain kind of locale (<-certain type of surfer)
If you have a security site with a Wiki board you are probably going to get a lot of mature discussion. Heh... you'd think that wouldn't you... But if you get a... oh, lets say, Xbox Wiki board... it's probably going to have to be moderated SOMEHOW. Lest it be filled with ASCII images of penises... oy...
Now, I SAY that, but I don't know it. Which brings me back to the suprising social aspects...
1. People are respectful.
2. People are careful about what they say when they know anyone can edit it
3. People are genuinely interested in sharing ideas
4. People are just happy to communicate with others
5. People post links. To avoid posting opinion?
This varies DRASTICALLY (sp?) from some popular public forums. Where moderators have to step in and close threads or edit posts, or squelch users. It's interesting to know how people sort of govern themselves. (one of the principals of anarchy) But my more cynical side wants to warn everyone that someone's going to get the bright idea to crap on everyone and delete entire boards for lack of anything else better to do. And when people crap on eachother here, boards get deleted, but when people crap on eachother in anarchy there are usually more body bags...
Keep in mind that repressing your opinion from certain matters is in no way healthy for the discussion, but for things like informational boards or just communicating with people all over the world, this seems like an interesting experiment in communication... Kind of sounds like this would make an interesting college paper...
Ed edited it
Ed edited it
Ed edited it
I like saying that. It's fun to say.
For those of you unfamiliar with Wiki, (<-me) Wiki is an OPEN online board. Think of it as a TRUE board. In that anyone who can approach it, can make changes to it.
But there are some INTERESTING social aspects here I don't want you to miss...
When I say make changes, I mean make any changes. This means that if I want to edit your post I can do so. This means, that if I want to erase the entire board and remove all information from it I can do so.
I'm sure many of you have been members of or read threads on public forums. You know how there's always that one guy who wants to crap on everything??? what are you talking about ONE GUY?! :\ What on earth do you think would happen if you put up a public white board and tied a dry erase marker to it and an eraser? God only knows! Some of you might argue that it depends on the location and the board, and the type of people local to it. My answer to that is kind of loaded, because I must say that the location is the internet* with an asterisk... because, everyone doesn't visit every site a site develops a certain kind of locale (<-certain type of surfer)
If you have a security site with a Wiki board you are probably going to get a lot of mature discussion. Heh... you'd think that wouldn't you... But if you get a... oh, lets say, Xbox Wiki board... it's probably going to have to be moderated SOMEHOW. Lest it be filled with ASCII images of penises... oy...
Now, I SAY that, but I don't know it. Which brings me back to the suprising social aspects...
1. People are respectful.
2. People are careful about what they say when they know anyone can edit it
3. People are genuinely interested in sharing ideas
4. People are just happy to communicate with others
5. People post links. To avoid posting opinion?
This varies DRASTICALLY (sp?) from some popular public forums. Where moderators have to step in and close threads or edit posts, or squelch users. It's interesting to know how people sort of govern themselves. (one of the principals of anarchy) But my more cynical side wants to warn everyone that someone's going to get the bright idea to crap on everyone and delete entire boards for lack of anything else better to do. And when people crap on eachother here, boards get deleted, but when people crap on eachother in anarchy there are usually more body bags...
Keep in mind that repressing your opinion from certain matters is in no way healthy for the discussion, but for things like informational boards or just communicating with people all over the world, this seems like an interesting experiment in communication... Kind of sounds like this would make an interesting college paper...
Ed edited it
Ed edited it
Ed edited it
I like saying that. It's fun to say.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Haunted chopsticks
A bit ago, I'd heard some chatter about "Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay". Very positive (professional) reviews from sources who are not usually COMPLETE WHORES Breathe, man... breathe... for the Video Game industry. So we bought it and Jet Set Radio Future (both used) from our local Game Stop. I don't play many console games (I got my first non-gameboy console about a year ago, and played Halo, NFS Underground, and Agressive Inline. Pretty good games. I'd already played Halo on PC, but I still enjoy the challenge on Xbox. Escape from Butcher Bay is Awesome. I couldn't put it down. (played for 6pm to 6am) What? sometimes that gamer blood pumps through my veins more ferociously, it can't be helped! The gameplay was fun, the fist fighting was a lot of fun! It kind of felt like I was playing a very sexy-looking splinter cell at times. The graphics are excellent, I've since read that many hold this game as the best looking Xbox game (even over halo 2). Vin Diesel looks like Vin Diesel. NO SHIT. It's unbelieveable. They used his voice, and when the first cutscenes started I thought I was watching live-action! The ambient elements of the game are outstanding, the attention to detail really makes you feel like you've been thrown into the worst "slam" in the universe. I was VERY impressed.
Purchasing the game prompted me to begin reading some reviews kinda back-asswards right?
This brings me to some of the reasons I dislike reading game reviews...
Everybody's a fucking expert
"Well, IMHO, this game was the worst game ever made! I heard they were using the [technical term] shading engine, and I just knew that once the story development went to [some company] that it was going to be bad. That coupled with the drop in [game company] stock of -23/152, and I just KNEW it was going to suck!"
Seriously guys. Do you think you're fooling anyone? Get a life, and try to devote 1/16 of the effort you put into video games into learning something new!
Bitching about gameplay time
[whine]"Oh my gawd! I couldn't believe the game was only 1541 hours long! I was like, 'why did I EVEN shell out the $2.99 to rent it a blockbuster ANYWAY?!'"[/whine]
Since when did gameplay time become such a huge fucking deal?! If the game wasn't under 2000 hours it's instantly crap to them! Just because you don't have anything better to do with your life doesn't mean that game designers have to accomidate you!
The one guy who doesn't even know what he thinks!
"This game was really bad except for the good parts, I was ready to gouge my eyes out from listening to the dialogue and the fist fighting was awesome, I've never seen a game pull off good melee fighting, and the gameplay just wore on and on and the cutscenes were amazing!"
How is this helpful? GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER BEFORE YOU EMBARRASS YOURSELF ON THE INTERNET! (you wouldn't be the first though!)
Weapon selection
"I was playing 'realistic fighter XXXIVIIIF' and I was SOOOOOO disappointed at the limited number of weapons! They had a pistol, automatic rifle, shotgun, melee weapon, and grenades!!!! I couldn't believe it! I mean it just shows a lack of creativity when you can't come up with new weapons! I'll come up with some now... Rabbit launcher, Termite missile, Haunted chopsticks, Keyboard/Sword/Gun/Whistle... Was that so hard?! If I can't fight as a Marine in Korea without a pair of Haunted Chopsticks, how am I supposed to enjoy myself?!?!!?!?!/1/!/1/1/1/!!!?!!?!?/"
God, just because the developers didn't want to include some dumbshit idea for some idiotic weapon doesn't mean that they suck, or lack creativity, or eat babies, or any of that. If they made the game one way isn't because they wanted it that way! Period. (<-Period)
Ok, lets wrap this up... STFU!... Ok... Now, when you've played so many games that you become so pointlessly cynical and desperately eager to tear down any game that more than 5% of players enjoyed, it's time to quit video games, and start some other hobby. Like reading, or hitting yourself in the head with a tac hammer.
After being throughly annoyed by these strange self-hating humans, I will disregard everything they said, and continue playing with fresh eyes. AND enjoy the experience. Plus I plan to play it on the increasing levels of difficuilty, because what's life without challenges? Ummm... death??? what kind of statement was that?
Out.
Purchasing the game prompted me to begin reading some reviews kinda back-asswards right?
This brings me to some of the reasons I dislike reading game reviews...
Everybody's a fucking expert
"Well, IMHO, this game was the worst game ever made! I heard they were using the [technical term] shading engine, and I just knew that once the story development went to [some company] that it was going to be bad. That coupled with the drop in [game company] stock of -23/152, and I just KNEW it was going to suck!"
Seriously guys. Do you think you're fooling anyone? Get a life, and try to devote 1/16 of the effort you put into video games into learning something new!
Bitching about gameplay time
[whine]"Oh my gawd! I couldn't believe the game was only 1541 hours long! I was like, 'why did I EVEN shell out the $2.99 to rent it a blockbuster ANYWAY?!'"[/whine]
Since when did gameplay time become such a huge fucking deal?! If the game wasn't under 2000 hours it's instantly crap to them! Just because you don't have anything better to do with your life doesn't mean that game designers have to accomidate you!
The one guy who doesn't even know what he thinks!
"This game was really bad except for the good parts, I was ready to gouge my eyes out from listening to the dialogue and the fist fighting was awesome, I've never seen a game pull off good melee fighting, and the gameplay just wore on and on and the cutscenes were amazing!"
How is this helpful? GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER BEFORE YOU EMBARRASS YOURSELF ON THE INTERNET! (you wouldn't be the first though!)
Weapon selection
"I was playing 'realistic fighter XXXIVIIIF' and I was SOOOOOO disappointed at the limited number of weapons! They had a pistol, automatic rifle, shotgun, melee weapon, and grenades!!!! I couldn't believe it! I mean it just shows a lack of creativity when you can't come up with new weapons! I'll come up with some now... Rabbit launcher, Termite missile, Haunted chopsticks, Keyboard/Sword/Gun/Whistle... Was that so hard?! If I can't fight as a Marine in Korea without a pair of Haunted Chopsticks, how am I supposed to enjoy myself?!?!!?!?!/1/!/1/1/1/!!!?!!?!?/"
God, just because the developers didn't want to include some dumbshit idea for some idiotic weapon doesn't mean that they suck, or lack creativity, or eat babies, or any of that. If they made the game one way isn't because they wanted it that way! Period. (<-Period)
Ok, lets wrap this up... STFU!... Ok... Now, when you've played so many games that you become so pointlessly cynical and desperately eager to tear down any game that more than 5% of players enjoyed, it's time to quit video games, and start some other hobby. Like reading, or hitting yourself in the head with a tac hammer.
After being throughly annoyed by these strange self-hating humans, I will disregard everything they said, and continue playing with fresh eyes. AND enjoy the experience. Plus I plan to play it on the increasing levels of difficuilty, because what's life without challenges? Ummm... death??? what kind of statement was that?
Out.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Smashed, Hammered, Wasted, etc...
Sounds like fun???
I was invited to a medium sized party this Saturday. Yesterday I got a call from the host who advised that the party was going to start early (late afternoon) to allow for a bit of food, followed shortly by hours of drinking, and crashing there. We were advised to bring a blanket because we shouldn't depend on being able to drive home. Dually noted.
I was never one for drinking. I've been known to do so with close friends, but never purely for social reasons. It just never held much of an allure to me. Instead, it held quite the opposite.
How many drunks do you remember fondly?
Yes, I know drinking isn't synonymous with "getting drunk" or any of those other colorful euphamisms. But it just never really made sense to me.
As a result, on the opportunities I've had to get drunk I've taken care to become only buzzed, or (on one occasion) really buzzed. This was kind of fun, I suppose, I remember everything, I think! and I can say with relative self-impugnity that I had fun.
This time, however...
I openly plan to take my time getting drunk so I can enjoy the ride (and possibly forget) as much as possible.
I realize that is is kind of an odd thing to plan for, I've never really been a person who plans ahead, heh... but I've always been careful around alcohol, because I don't think there's anything cool or smart or funny about stumbling about, and puking all over yourself. Ok, maybe funny...
But I suppose I'll soon find out. Funny, since I've decided this, I've been looking forward to Saturday very much. I suppose I'm just anxious to try new things!
Isn't that what life's all about???
Now, I shall away to the corner! To buy some cocain, and try yet another new thing!
Nothing like living life to its fullest!
I was invited to a medium sized party this Saturday. Yesterday I got a call from the host who advised that the party was going to start early (late afternoon) to allow for a bit of food, followed shortly by hours of drinking, and crashing there. We were advised to bring a blanket because we shouldn't depend on being able to drive home. Dually noted.
I was never one for drinking. I've been known to do so with close friends, but never purely for social reasons. It just never held much of an allure to me. Instead, it held quite the opposite.
How many drunks do you remember fondly?
Yes, I know drinking isn't synonymous with "getting drunk" or any of those other colorful euphamisms. But it just never really made sense to me.
As a result, on the opportunities I've had to get drunk I've taken care to become only buzzed, or (on one occasion) really buzzed. This was kind of fun, I suppose, I remember everything, I think! and I can say with relative self-impugnity that I had fun.
This time, however...
I openly plan to take my time getting drunk so I can enjoy the ride (and possibly forget) as much as possible.
I realize that is is kind of an odd thing to plan for, I've never really been a person who plans ahead, heh... but I've always been careful around alcohol, because I don't think there's anything cool or smart or funny about stumbling about, and puking all over yourself. Ok, maybe funny...
But I suppose I'll soon find out. Funny, since I've decided this, I've been looking forward to Saturday very much. I suppose I'm just anxious to try new things!
Isn't that what life's all about???
Now, I shall away to the corner! To buy some cocain, and try yet another new thing!
Nothing like living life to its fullest!
Nerds
There is little that pisses me off more than nerds.
I know a lot about computers, I appreciate computers, I am intelligent, I am a great learner, and am quick at mathematics. But have no delusions... I AM a GEEK. I am NOT a nerd. Nerds are people who think that having more knowledge than another person makes them better than other people. They may not admit it, some might not even know it, but they do. But the people around them know, they can tell it in the tone of their voice.
How can you tell a Geek from a Nerd???
Easy. A geek will know about things. A nerd will know about EVERYTHING.
I went to the store to buy some tomatos--
Did you know that tomatos are actually fruits? But I think it should be another classification because of the acid content-- *SLAP!*
Generally speaking, a geek may annoy you because you find geeks annoying. But a nerd will annoy you because he just WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT THINGS HE "KNOWS".
This includes things like asking questions and then answering them...
We definately can't do it this way. Why? Because it wouldn't be bandwidth efficient. Why? Because the use of a connection-less protocol can increase speed, but the gains in speed wouldn't outweigh the possiblity of lost packets. Why? Because connection-less protocols don't use the three-way-handshake method of data transmission. Why? Because... they... just don't.
When they get stuck like that, a solid hit with a 2x4 to the back of the head will usually get back to where they should be... Just like a western digital hard drive! Oh! I'm so bad! :)
The above was something I had to endure in a recent staff meeting, and the catylist for this post. I was rather annoyed that our staff meeting time was being absorbed by these idiots trying to sell us their crap, while other, more pertainent, topics get pushed back another two weeks.
Another thing... Nerds are fidgety (sp?) they're always twitching, or moving their hands excessively, and all the crap.
Nerds think that if they've got a thought in their head, they've got to share it with everyone. Nerds finish your sentances, and jump at the chance to correct you to make themselves feel superior by being correct.
Geeks are more like cool nerds. We know what they know, but we keep our mouths shut until it comes time to dispense enlightenment. :)
Hence the phrase: Network Guru
We sit atop a mountain of legacy hardware in deep meditation, contemplating cool names for our nethack characters. When someone draws near to us, it is, in most cases, not to ask for wizdom, but to force it from us, by stating idiotic nonesense. This, of course, causes us to strike them down with our superior knowledge, and pragmatic thinking. I'm getting goose-bumps!
Actualy, now that I've written it, I'm not sure that I agree with it. Geeks vs Nerds, I mean. Maybe I just used "nerds" to put a common label on the kind of person I described, I mean, there ARE humble nerds... I think that there should be another classification between Geeks and Nerds due to their high acid content--[Hit with 2x4!!!]
I know a lot about computers, I appreciate computers, I am intelligent, I am a great learner, and am quick at mathematics. But have no delusions... I AM a GEEK. I am NOT a nerd. Nerds are people who think that having more knowledge than another person makes them better than other people. They may not admit it, some might not even know it, but they do. But the people around them know, they can tell it in the tone of their voice.
How can you tell a Geek from a Nerd???
Easy. A geek will know about things. A nerd will know about EVERYTHING.
I went to the store to buy some tomatos--
Did you know that tomatos are actually fruits? But I think it should be another classification because of the acid content-- *SLAP!*
Generally speaking, a geek may annoy you because you find geeks annoying. But a nerd will annoy you because he just WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT THINGS HE "KNOWS".
This includes things like asking questions and then answering them...
We definately can't do it this way. Why? Because it wouldn't be bandwidth efficient. Why? Because the use of a connection-less protocol can increase speed, but the gains in speed wouldn't outweigh the possiblity of lost packets. Why? Because connection-less protocols don't use the three-way-handshake method of data transmission. Why? Because... they... just don't.
When they get stuck like that, a solid hit with a 2x4 to the back of the head will usually get back to where they should be... Just like a western digital hard drive! Oh! I'm so bad! :)
The above was something I had to endure in a recent staff meeting, and the catylist for this post. I was rather annoyed that our staff meeting time was being absorbed by these idiots trying to sell us their crap, while other, more pertainent, topics get pushed back another two weeks.
Another thing... Nerds are fidgety (sp?) they're always twitching, or moving their hands excessively, and all the crap.
Nerds think that if they've got a thought in their head, they've got to share it with everyone. Nerds finish your sentances, and jump at the chance to correct you to make themselves feel superior by being correct.
Geeks are more like cool nerds. We know what they know, but we keep our mouths shut until it comes time to dispense enlightenment. :)
Hence the phrase: Network Guru
We sit atop a mountain of legacy hardware in deep meditation, contemplating cool names for our nethack characters. When someone draws near to us, it is, in most cases, not to ask for wizdom, but to force it from us, by stating idiotic nonesense. This, of course, causes us to strike them down with our superior knowledge, and pragmatic thinking. I'm getting goose-bumps!
Actualy, now that I've written it, I'm not sure that I agree with it. Geeks vs Nerds, I mean. Maybe I just used "nerds" to put a common label on the kind of person I described, I mean, there ARE humble nerds... I think that there should be another classification between Geeks and Nerds due to their high acid content--[Hit with 2x4!!!]
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Haiku
This one was for a coworker of mine who's son's name is Tristain.
I had a nice mouse
Then Tristan found my nice mouse
I had a nice mouse
I wrote this in a moment of encompassing futility.
Work my ten hour day
Up all night watching patches
Late to work again
This one was for fun, I do like (well prepaired) tofu though.
Tofu once again.
Flavor devoid healthy goo.
Make some real food.
What? I love pineapple!
Pineapple is good
Pineapple in light syrup
Pineapple pancakes
We're all so disconnected, but so united we don't even know it
We're stuck in traffic
People are hot and angry
Honks of brotherhood
Ah Nethack... Why must I love it so?
Goodbye Jim the Rogue
Killed by a newt while helpless
Must I love Nethack?
After being forced to use IE.
*Click* Pop-up *Click* Pop!
Do you trust "Speed download bar"?
I'll switch to Firefox
This one was forced. I think it shows.
Bill loaded windows
A computer seppuku
Death by your own code
Hell, the code he used to write windows 3.1 is probably still in XP! hahaha... *sob*
I had a nice mouse
Then Tristan found my nice mouse
I had a nice mouse
I wrote this in a moment of encompassing futility.
Work my ten hour day
Up all night watching patches
Late to work again
This one was for fun, I do like (well prepaired) tofu though.
Tofu once again.
Flavor devoid healthy goo.
Make some real food.
What? I love pineapple!
Pineapple is good
Pineapple in light syrup
Pineapple pancakes
We're all so disconnected, but so united we don't even know it
We're stuck in traffic
People are hot and angry
Honks of brotherhood
Ah Nethack... Why must I love it so?
Goodbye Jim the Rogue
Killed by a newt while helpless
Must I love Nethack?
After being forced to use IE.
*Click* Pop-up *Click* Pop!
Do you trust "Speed download bar"?
I'll switch to Firefox
This one was forced. I think it shows.
Bill loaded windows
A computer seppuku
Death by your own code
Hell, the code he used to write windows 3.1 is probably still in XP! hahaha... *sob*
Is my boss watching me???
Yes.
After reading an article off of MSN, I remembered that people still suffer under the delusion of privacy in the workplace. Please, allow me to teach those of you who believe this something very important:
Anything that takes place on hardware (or software) owned by a company is property of the company.(<-period)
This means, surfing the net, chatting with your friends, e-mail, webmail, files on the hard drive, and phones (to an extent).
The reasoning behind this is a real reason, and a fake reason:
The fake one first...
If anyone comes to experience their workplace as a hostile one as a result of actions facilitated by company hard/software the company is liable.(<-period)
What this means is that if you write something mean spirited on your monitor and leave, and someone walks into your cubical and sees it, they can sue the company for creating a hostile work environment... It may sound stupid, but now-a-days everyone is overly sensitive... punk-ass-bitches... oh crud!
And now... the REAL reason...
Productivity.
For those of you who can't read very well, the dot at the end of that last word was a period. It signifies the end of the statement. Productivity is the REAL and ONLY reason behind monitoring the activity of their employees. They want to be sure that their employees are in fact working to make the company successful! This is not to say that they are enacting stalinist policies and slapping you across the face for any minor indiscression.
Believe it or not, your boss understands.
He knows that you have to screw around online a little, he may secretly resent not being able to keep you working 150% of the time, but he knows that if he does that; all he'll wind up with is a gaggle of burn-outs.
Winding down at the workplace with a little idle surfing is a prevelage, NOT a right. And once you start realizing that, the better off you will be.
But, keep in mind...
That there are many ways to spy on you, so before you even TYPE anything, think about who just may see it.
And all the information they gather on you, ESPECIALLY e-mail is COMPLETELY admissable in court... So be VERY careful to what you "admit" to.
After reading an article off of MSN, I remembered that people still suffer under the delusion of privacy in the workplace. Please, allow me to teach those of you who believe this something very important:
Anything that takes place on hardware (or software) owned by a company is property of the company.(<-period)
This means, surfing the net, chatting with your friends, e-mail, webmail, files on the hard drive, and phones (to an extent).
The reasoning behind this is a real reason, and a fake reason:
The fake one first...
If anyone comes to experience their workplace as a hostile one as a result of actions facilitated by company hard/software the company is liable.(<-period)
What this means is that if you write something mean spirited on your monitor and leave, and someone walks into your cubical and sees it, they can sue the company for creating a hostile work environment... It may sound stupid, but now-a-days everyone is overly sensitive... punk-ass-bitches... oh crud!
And now... the REAL reason...
Productivity.
For those of you who can't read very well, the dot at the end of that last word was a period. It signifies the end of the statement. Productivity is the REAL and ONLY reason behind monitoring the activity of their employees. They want to be sure that their employees are in fact working to make the company successful! This is not to say that they are enacting stalinist policies and slapping you across the face for any minor indiscression.
Believe it or not, your boss understands.
He knows that you have to screw around online a little, he may secretly resent not being able to keep you working 150% of the time, but he knows that if he does that; all he'll wind up with is a gaggle of burn-outs.
Winding down at the workplace with a little idle surfing is a prevelage, NOT a right. And once you start realizing that, the better off you will be.
But, keep in mind...
That there are many ways to spy on you, so before you even TYPE anything, think about who just may see it.
And all the information they gather on you, ESPECIALLY e-mail is COMPLETELY admissable in court... So be VERY careful to what you "admit" to.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Warwalking
My preliminary warwalk of our appartment was unsuccessful.
However, later I saw a network pop up, and made a few more passes around the appartment. There are three networks broadcasting SSID with 0 <-zero encryption... oh... and they're running DHCP, to make your illegal access to the internet even easier...
AND... One of the access points is still at (completely) factory default... With my knowledge of default passwords, I could get access to their wireless router and perform wholely anti-social things with it.
IF...
...I were so inclined. But that would not be very advantageous of me to do so, because that would deny me of the possiblity of connecting to their network and accessing the internet for free. (which is illegal to do on purpose) However, with my limited knowledge of computers :-> I wouldn't know what network I was connected to anyways!
Windows does the "hacking" for you anyways... It automatically selects any open wireless access point and connects to it for you. Some people get their own wireless access point and wind up accessing the internet on their neighbor's network and not even know it!
Way to code microsoft... way to code...
But anyways, one detail I neglected to mention, is that the best connection I can get to one of those three open (and one secure) networks... Is about a 5%... It goes drops in and out so much there's no use in even trying to access the internet.
But...
The wireless card that I have is rather old, and my friend was able to connect (strongly, might I add) to one of the networks broadcasting via DHCP public IP addresses... wow... that's just wrong... Although, I think I know where my server will be... :)
I'm looking forward to getting back on the internet once I get a kick-ass card
I hate people who say "NIC Card" Don't they know that the "C" in NIC stands for CARD?!... SERIOUSLY!...
Ok, now that that's out in the world, and on the internet for all to see... the healing can begin. Lets start the Hug Circle!
However, later I saw a network pop up, and made a few more passes around the appartment. There are three networks broadcasting SSID with 0 <-zero encryption... oh... and they're running DHCP, to make your illegal access to the internet even easier...
AND... One of the access points is still at (completely) factory default... With my knowledge of default passwords, I could get access to their wireless router and perform wholely anti-social things with it.
IF...
...I were so inclined. But that would not be very advantageous of me to do so, because that would deny me of the possiblity of connecting to their network and accessing the internet for free. (which is illegal to do on purpose) However, with my limited knowledge of computers :-> I wouldn't know what network I was connected to anyways!
Windows does the "hacking" for you anyways... It automatically selects any open wireless access point and connects to it for you. Some people get their own wireless access point and wind up accessing the internet on their neighbor's network and not even know it!
Way to code microsoft... way to code...
But anyways, one detail I neglected to mention, is that the best connection I can get to one of those three open (and one secure) networks... Is about a 5%... It goes drops in and out so much there's no use in even trying to access the internet.
But...
The wireless card that I have is rather old, and my friend was able to connect (strongly, might I add) to one of the networks broadcasting via DHCP public IP addresses... wow... that's just wrong... Although, I think I know where my server will be... :)
I'm looking forward to getting back on the internet once I get a kick-ass card
I hate people who say "NIC Card" Don't they know that the "C" in NIC stands for CARD?!... SERIOUSLY!...
Ok, now that that's out in the world, and on the internet for all to see... the healing can begin. Lets start the Hug Circle!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
