What to do in a Tech Crisis

1. Always go for tech assistance: visit the software publisher’s website, call, email, use the forums, etc. This is probably the most reliable way to make your software work. Remember, no matter how awesome your skills are, nothing beats the knowledge of a techie working for the publisher.

2. Always use error codes: those seemingly meaningless strings are actually really useful

3. Always use Google: it works: really really well. Be as specific as possible when entering a query, and keep using different strings until you find something (probably on the first page) that matches your questions. Then, pick up any information you can about the problem, looking for repeating words or names which might have a lot to do with it, and regoogle (verb: to google again).

Faster than a Mac…?

Today I’ve been trying to speed up my XP laptop. I’m hoping I’ll be able to make it fast enough to challenge a friends Macbook Pro in a simple contest. The challenge will be to boot our computers simultaneously,  access the internet and our respective email clients, send a victory email to the opponent, and completely power down.

I don’t know if it will work or not, but it’s nice to have a fast-running compy anyways. Here are some places I’ve gone for advice so far:

http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk/2007/02/06/the-complete-guide-to-optimising-windows-xp/

http://www.theeldergeek.com/hard_drives.htm

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5034622.html

The Linux Beginning

I actually just downloaded Linux Ubuntu today. And learned how to burn a CD (which, by the way, is different from copying to a CD). And actually RAN Ubuntu on my computer. Yeah. I RAN it.

And, I didn’t install it. Yet. First I need to defrag my hard drive so that I know there’s enough room on it to run Ubuntu in parallel with Windows XP.

But, hey! I RAN LINUX ON MY COMPUTER! WOOT!

More later, folks. I’m going to read all these Python tutorials, then go join a forum or ten, and then this blog should be about…

(10 tutorials) (10 programming forums) (100 computer hacking tips)

= 10,000 times better blog!

What I Want from My Computer

Recently I spoke with someone about owning an Apple vs owning a PC. His argument began more or less as “It’s just a completely different thing: no viruses, and everything just works”. I came back with something along the lines of “Yes, it works. But I want it to work the way I want it to work. I want my computer to do exactly what I want it to do.”

Definitely Windows doesn’t do exactly what I want it to do, quite often. And I doubt that Mac does, either.  Yet, I’ve been thinking about exactly what I want from my computer. Why am I interested in hacking? Why do I want to learn to program? What should my compy do for me?

1. My Computer is My Information Portal

The major thing that I want from my computer is the ability to access any information I need at any time. Thus: my Internet connection, love for Google, addiction to bookmarking webpages, and my new-found interest in downloading websites to my hard drive. Because of this I also want to know how to get Internet access anywhere at any time (and whether or not it’s ethical to hack someone’s WiFi… [I really want it to be...]).

2. My Computer is My Creative Tool

As you can see, I enjoy writing. I also enjoy music (which I’m really just starting to gain an interest in), drawing & painting, and generally the idea of designing things. That’s a major reason that I want to learn to program. I want to be able to create anything that I imagine, at least on paper- be it digital or carbon-based. So, I desire that my computer become a magic slate for me to produce my works of art, even if I have to be the magic conjurer. So, my creativity and my desire for information intertwine at this point.

3. My Computer Should Help Me Live

Of all things, my computer should help me to be more organized, informed, and productive. And that is where I’m afraid Windows falls short. Sure, it’s productive. Yet it stops short of actually helping me be as organized as I would like. So, that is something that I would be interested in making my computer do for me- organize. See? My computer doesn’t do everything I want it to! Now I have an excuse for hacking into my computer!

Meh, who needs an excuse?

Web Pages Offline

So, recently I’ve been on the road. Do you know how annoying it is to have a laptop, on the road, and not be able to even access a basic web page AT ALL?

So, in an effort to use my computer more efficiently, I decided to check up “offline web browsing”. The idea is to store the files from a web server on your own computer’s hard drive, allowing you to browse any stored information sans wifi.

Saving Webpages

The basic way of storing information from the Internet is to simply save the HTML file, similarly to copying a text or other file. If while browsing you want to save the web page that you’re viewing for future, disconnected reference, follow these steps:

- Select File <- Save Page As, or use the Ctrl+S shortcut.

- Select a folder to save the page in, and hit Save.

- Open the file to browse it normally!

So, this works pretty well. I can save any web page I want to and read it later! The first thing I downloaded was a Python tutorial. And then I decided to download another Python tutorial for later reference (actually, I was downloading a list of tutorials). Then I realized I had a problem. This tutorial was spread over the equivalent of an entire website.

Saving Entire Websites

Fortunately, there are tools designed to download entire websites. These tools are known as “Offline Browsers” or “Website Copiers”. The one I downloaded is called HTTrack Website Copier. It can be found here. At first, the interface looked quite intimidating, but really it is rather easy to use.

- Start a new project by selecting “Next”.

- Name the project (names the folder that the website is in), and give it a category. The bottom option, “Base Path”, simply shows where the folder will be placed.

- Enter the URL (address) of the website you want to copy in the empty box. (All pages beneath the page you enter will be copied, i.e., if you enter “www.coolstuff.com/videogames” only the video games section of the website will be copied. This requires you to know the website).

- Hit “Next” and then “Finish” to begin copying the website. You can immediately open the website, or later enter the “My Web Sites” folder, select the “index.html” file, and browse your downloaded websites.

Saving Flash Media

One last thing. What if you want to save media which uses Macromedia Flash? Simple. Follow these steps:

- Browse to the page with the media you want to save

- Go to Tools <- Page Info

- Select the Media tab

- Now you need to find the media that you want from the list, select it, and hit the “Save As” button in the window

- Save the file, and you can open it in a web browser that has Flash enabled!

I will continue to post “quickie abilities” as my curiosity leads me.

Discordianism?

I never knew such a thing existed. An intriguing “religion” just came to my web-eyes, and I’m not sure how to describe it. I say “religion”, because the “organization” itself does not call itself a “religion” or “organization”. Or perhaps the “group of people synonymous with the beliefs stated in the book Prinicipia Discordia” DO call themselves by those names, but it doesn’t really matter, because by acknowledging that they follow a religion, they acknowledge that they aren’t really following anything, and that Discordianism isn’t a religion at all.

Why the paradox? Because, the ideas themselves are paradoxical. And probably don’t matter at all, really.

Nevertheless, seeing a crazy idea like this reminds me about my own religion. More specifically it reminds me of the orderliness of Christianity. While some might state that disorder, dissent, and discord are wonderful, holy, or some sort of absolute, none of that really means anything. The reason we can perceive discord at all is because we perceive synchrony. Disorder derives its meaning from Order.

Why is Order more holy than Disorder? Because that is the way it was intended. It was intended that way by the Creator. The Creator who gives us our definitions. Try to escape it or joke about it- either way, it’s true. Then why at all is there discord? I believe that this is for two reasons:

1. Our limited consciousness

Because of our inability to see all of the cause-effect relationships in the universe (or many at all), we attribute many of the effects that we see as having no cause. We take for granted, perhaps, that things just happen. And really we have no choice, because things do happen, and we cannot control much of what comes into our life. We can only control what comes out of our life.

2. Entropy

God created a world of Order and Harmony, but thanks to the Fall, that is no longer the case. Originally everything worked together directly toward God’s desires (and thus, our good). Even our free wills were totally in connection to God’s will. The harmony of wills reigned throughout the universe. This lasted until one will decided to go against the Highest Will. Thanks to Satan, a third of the angels (wholly spiritual inhabitants of the universe and meant to be servants of man) fell from harmony with God, and Mankind was deceived as well. Now a curse is placed on man’s domain. Entropy rules over all matter in the universe, and even our souls/spirits are destined to demise. Everything is slowly breaking down into a less organized state of matter. Only the will of the Lord holds things together. For “by Him all things consist”.

We need to follow His orders, and wait for the day when all Order is restored. Besides, Discordianism is just kind of dumb. Possibly entertaining. But dumb, nevertheless.

How to be Pro – The Goals

These are the goals in being “pro” at a competitive game.

Master the “strats”

- Watch replays of great players, if they’re available; copy what the winners do as best you can.

- Freestyle! Analyze the game you’re playing and know your goal; try new ways of reaching that goal and keep building your strategy roster.

- Plan out your strategy from game start to end game; plan your finishing victory move (maybe go out with a bang!); practice each part of the game with focus on building up your weak points

- Practice your chosen strategies and combos until they are second nature.

Master the “macro”

- From the Super Smash Bros. items to the weapons in Halo, you should know how every item works, when to use it, and be able to put that to practice.

- Know each character and their abilities; weaknesses and strengths; strategies to use with them, etc.

- Know the maps, stages, or tracks (as the case may be); know each secret and when/how to use it.

Master your “micro”

- Be able to “touch-type” your controller; practice button-actions until they are ingrained in your very fingertips.

- See what’s going on at all times around you; know how to react, when to react, and how to get the game back on track with your strategy

- Get your skills (strats, macro, and micro) down to the level of instant actions; and remember to act, rather than react!

Mario: Master at Focusing His Chakra

I’ve stopped watching Naruto on account of a) it’s really addicting, and b) I tend to avoid things demonic (and addicting). However, the ideas of chi/chakra within the anime lead me to think of another popular character- none other than Mario.

Who is Mario? Mister Video Game, of course! He’s an Italian plumber hailing from the Mushroom Kingdom, saver-of-the-world a dozen times over. He’s also the world’s most famous VG icons, and the protagonist of one of the most popular VG franchises ever.

In the classic Mario game, the dynamics are:

1. Start at the beginning of a level

2. Progress through the level by defeating enemies and overcoming obstacles

3. Repeat steps 1-2 until you beat the game

In an average video game, the player proceeds through each level by defeating enemies. To do this, he might use guns, rockets, swords, his fists, his legs, or even his head. Those are (mostly) average weapons to use in conflicts here on our planet, so it stands to reason that our digital realities would include the same. Yet, mister Shigeru Miyamato chose to give Mario a different ability.

The ability to step on stuff.

Look at him go! With one jump and a step, his enemies are defeated, obliterated, or just plain flattened to pancake thickness. Seriously, that’s some chakra he’s got in his feet. And they say that the hardest place to focus your chakra is the bottom of your foot.

So, is Mario a regular master ninja? Or just a master plumber who is heavy enough to crush things (but strangely strong enough to propel himself into the air with ease…)?