"That's an opine"

So it's again been quite a while since I've contributed to my blog. Whether it's studying for the A+ exam or playing my latest game, I just haven't gotten around to it lately.

As always not a lot has happened. I am still working on my bootable 98 CD, though my goal is now less clear. The only thing really left to do is figure out how to trim down the required disk space for the install so I can fit both it and a game into 64 megs of RAM. Now that will be extremely difficult. Because not only do I have to get the OS itself way below 64, I have to get it so small I can include the OS plus extra programs.

My new plan is to make it so I have a basic bootable disc with what is called the ENUM key of the registry gone. With that key missing Windows will re-detect all the hardware and provide an opportunity to install the drivers. This is necessary when boot 98 on a new system with a different motherboard etc. Once that is all done I could create new zips of the existing windows and program files directories and burn a new CD. Then leave that CD in and reboot once more, resulting in a forever there after customized bootable CD for that particular computer. So at the every least I need enough space left over for a new copy of the zip files and for the CD burner software. Now I was going to use the free CDR tools that will both create ISO images/bootable ISO images and burn CDs while taking up very little disk space, but the burning portion isn't even compatible with my burner. So perhaps I can reverse engineer the necessary files to make EZ CD Creator work. Or better yet I could put a trial Nero on there. After all this a read-only medium, it's not like the thing is going to ever expire. Right? Might have to change the system time however.

I also found out that even during the first reboot from setup.exe two very unnecessary files are loaded: one for "video phone helper" and one for the MS JVM discussed in the last entry. Now why would a system need to lead to file necessary for functions no one could possible use during setup? Doesn't make much sense really. How can you use either Java or a video phone during the setup of Windows?! Good thing I figured out how to remove such things from my registry and system. Now I just need to figure out how to automate the process...

And another thing. My mouse started acting extremely strangely one day for no reason what so ever. I didn't install any mouse software or anything; the device said just a normal, standard mouse. But when I would try to use the scroll button to go up or down a page in IE for instance the page would go back/forward real quick and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. So hoping the official driver what help in some I downloaded the software from the manufacturer's web site and looked at it. At first I couldn't find anything that could help and I still had the problem. Then on one of the tabs I found an "Advanced" button and looked at it. In the diagram of the mouse the mouse had five buttons, while mine has mere the two standard and the scroll button. I then noticed the short cut of pushing buttons 4 and 5 at the same time was assigned to scrolling the scroll button. But I don't have buttons 4 and 5 ya see. So how can the scroll button be assigned to them? So I unassociated the scroller with buttons 4 and 5 and assigned those buttons to "none?, which fixed the problem. I love when software spawns extra non-existent buttons.

I've been continuing to attend my "Ethical Hacking" class at the local JC. It's about mid-term time now and I'm just starting to actually get some information that was useful. I was expecting more of a "this is what hackers will do to break in, here's how to counter-act it" sort of a class. Instead it's kind of a "how can you tell if you've been hacked" followed by "is your 'my documents' of the start menu any different". Yeah, thanks, could have guessed that. Then we learned about encryption, two key encryption, and different things like that. Again, not incredibly useful for my money but I have learned maybe three things I didn't know before.

As for the latest game, Far Cry, I'm guessing I'm somewhere towards the end now. The non-existent plot is starting to bug me, but the game itself is pretty fun. Seems like all I have to do is trigger the AI and it starts fighting itself independent of me, the player. For instance I was driving a jeep on this dirt road high above the ocean below. I went over a hill too fast, couldn't see where I was going and went off the cliff into the ocean. I expected I would die rather quickly at that point but I didn't so I ejected out of the jeep and there I was in the ocean. The jeep at the bottom of the bottomless abyss apparently. Hoping there would be a secret way to climb up to where I was going before I kept swimming that direction until I heard the sounds of a fire fight on a bridge above me. The genetically manipulated psycho apes were fighting it out with the mercenaries on this island. As I swam under the bridge a helicopter came in to help with the fight, and as I past the bridge this helicopter was destroyed and fell down into the ocean as a giant hunk of smoking metal, narrowly missing me. Up above the mutants and mercs had pretty much killed each other off so by the time I finally found a way up there were only a few mutants left on that side and the rest were mercs on the other side of the bridge I had just been under.

Now maybe a lot games are like this, operating (or seemingly so) independent of the player. But I for one was quite impressed.

The game has a lot of the normal problems of course; the AI not noticing a rock just flew over their shoulder but going to investigate the sound of the rock in front of them. Or my footsteps being a very suspicious sound but the sound of a grenade? Didn't notice. But as compared to most other games, this AI is extremely good.

Now there's only one more thing I can think of to write about: environmentalists and gas prices. And by environmentalists I of course mean left wing partisans doing their cheer leader routine for Kerry. Why are these people criticizing Bush for the high gas prices? If they knew anything about anything they'd be cheering and dancing in the street; setting off the environmentally friendly fireworks etc. The best possible thing that can happen for the environment is for gas prices to be as high as possible, thus providing a financial incentive to buy hybrid and highly gas efficient vehicles. So why would any self-confessed "pro-environment" left wing partisan be anti-high gas prices?

Lemme guess: the focus groups say the average citizen/voter would prefer low gas prices to high gas prices and since Bush is president and the gas prices are high Bush is therefore against the little people and the price is totally and completely his fault, right? So what I just described there is that these supposedly pro-environment types are in fact unprincipled patricians who care and know nothing of the environment, just using it as a buzz word to go through on their way to a very, very left wing agenda. Or they're incredibly stupid and ignorant. So which is it? I've always maintained these people that purport to be environmentalist aren't really pro-environment but rather quite simply 100% left wing partisans pushing their left-wing agenda. They just can't come out and say so because "vote for us: we're extreme left wing and hope to turn the USA into a system similar to that of Germany or the U.K. economically" simply isn't palpable to the average voter. So "we have a strong environmental policy and therefore a vote against us is a vote against the environment" works for reason. What, I'm wrong?

I've also been wondering about Kerry and his apparent unwillingness to move to the center, like normal candidates do. That's the way it works normally: you go all the way to your respective end of the spectrum to get the nomination then move to the center to appeal to everybody else. Kerry has the nomination since no one is even running against him any more, yet he does not move to the center. I think I know why: he thinks he's competing with Nader. According to the polling Kerry loses to Bush only because Nader is pulling about 5 or 6% and therefore Kerry has to do more competing with Nader right now then he does with Bush for the center. If Kerry would just look at the history of the whole he'd know come convention and election time not nearly that many people will vote Nader and he really has nothing to worry about. But it's not really like I care. In fact I care little about who becomes president. There's no candidate out there to represent me right now, we get the same thing pretty much irregardless. Except for Kerry treating terrorism as a law enforcement issue instead of a war-like issue. That's about the best and/or only argument for Bush going right now. But again, I don't care that much.

This is all I can think of for now; I'll try to add more later.

  ¶ 1:01 PM