Shits and Giggles Inc.

Eve Online – The 48 Hrs Hump

2010-08-10T02:31:00.001+01:00

Well,I’ve been playing EVE for my first 48 hours,so here are some basic thoughts and advices.

Now,the small review – The game is rather engrossing and some people might upgrade short of the 14 day trial period(in my case – 1 day into the trial I upgraded).The good thing about this type of upgrade is that your 14day limited account is transformed into a 14-ish + 30day full account,which might be quite enough to make the 300mil ISK you need to get an in-game extension without forking money! The graphics of the game are quite stunning,especially when taken into consideration that even my old laptop runs it without noticeable lagging at Full-res and High-detail! Another bonus is that especially if you do mining a lot,the CPU is hardly taxed,so you can enjoy a movie or a e-book or even a second game,while you Alt-TAB from time to time,so you can check if your cargo hold is full. I am yet to scratch one of the epic arks,but even the low-level intro missions are enough to get you fully engrossed in the game. That’s positive side of the game,now the negative – BEWARE OF THE ASSHATS. That’s the biggest drawback of the game – you’ll be pounced upon rather quickly by no-life’s,which might sour the enjoyment of the product. Ignore them and follow some simple rules and you’ll be ok. Random idea- RTFM a lot!

First off,Ignore EVERYONE initially and NEVER respond to provocation. Example – If you’re tracked in a high-security system and some locks you,Don’t fire! You’ll be committing suicide!

2.Don’t mine and then jettisoning your stuff thinking that you can retrieve it later. It’ll either be stolen,or worse,you’ll give someone the choice of attacking you when you retrieve them,bc it voids the “security” of the high-sec system. That’s why mine and haul should be done

3.Avoid Low-Sec systems like the plague

4. Mining is tedious,but makes money!

5. Do the tutorials and Career Agent missions early on,because it gives you access to ISK,ships,skills and mods

6. Stockpile 300 000 000 ISK for a PLEX early on

7. Keep your head down,but finding a corporation is a good idea.

8. When in doubt- Ignore or avoid long-term players

9. Always read the Documentation when you buy something,because it’s more than likely that you can’t equip them outright

Well,that’s the first impressions from the game… Will play more and blog about it

bk109 out mining,and mining and BOREDOOOOOOM,mining

AMD-V in Compaq 615 (and other HP Notebooks)

2010-04-03T05:53:00.001+01:00

To all those NAY-sayers out there:

Only thing needed was(shockingly) the latest available BIOS…

The Microsoft Hardware Virtualization detection tool also confirmed it,so… Enjoy,folks!

bk109 out

Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 24 hours test

2010-03-09T22:30:00.001Z

Hey,folks,Guess what! The Broadcom STA bug is still there… The good news,however,is that it’s solvable by the same tutorial i posted earlyer.

Now,Impressions – It’s definitely evolving quite nicely, but as of A3 daily from Monday,it’s somewhat unstable! Especially yelp… In any case, No real show-stoppers at the moment, but a major hurdle for now is getting the fglrx drivers to work with Lucid, but at least the default drivers in X.ORG support desktop composition,so the eyecandy is there!

Now, the look and feel of Lucid is definitely an improvement, but it does need some fine tweaking, but after 24 hrs it’s a marked improvement over Karmic. The only small thing needing some getting used to is the Window control buttons being moved in the upper left section of the window, but it’s not really even an annoyance…

The verdict – A3 is surprisingly stable, but I’d like to caution would-be adopters to wait till at least the first beta rolls out. That or be prepared for some bugs,but all in all, i’ve seen worse RTM’s than this (Windows ME,folks!) … Actually, scratch that – install it,try it, test it, report bugs if you find them, because “Uncle Tux NEEDS YOU”!

bk109 (filling) out (a bug report again)

PS. I just like to show off a bit:

Lucid Lynx First impressions

2010-03-07T23:08:00.002Z

Howdy folks,I just wanted to make a couple of observations of my first experiences with Lucid Lynx Alpha3.
First showstopper bugs - None up to now,which is creepy due to past experiences with 'stable' versions of Ubuntu. No problems getting both the B43 and the STA driver to work in LiveCD mode from the start. Internet works, Audio works, Bluetooth works...
And second - Visuals. I have to admit that they are a refined version of Karmic, which is good, because there were some good ideas in there, but the execution was a tad ... lacking. All in all,it's a big improvement,though the repositioned Maximize/Minimize/Close buttons might take a little getting used to.
Now,the annoyances - The Random SNAFU start so beloved in 9.10 is still here, which is not that good. I had 2 good starts of the LiveCD and one random black screen. Also of some note is that for now at least unetboot doesn't handle lynx dailies, but it should be solved soon.
All in all, I'm going to try this A3 and I already signed up on launchpad to do some testing for the community
bk109 out

Small annoyance with Compaq 615 and/or other Win7/Vista Laptops

2010-03-03T14:52:00.001Z

So, Last night I was surprised to find a notification in my laptop that my battery needs replacement! So,at first I was rather concerned, because after all it’s a relatively new laptop,so why the battery should warrant replacement 8-9 months after its manufacturing date. That’s why I downloaded the good ol’ sp41862 (the HP battery tester for the XP)… Good news,the battery is Good, bad news, the Windows battery meter had for some reason become uncalibrated…
Good news,the remedy is astoundingly simple,nay,DUMB!

You just start Windows, disconnect the AC and use the computer till your battery dies and your computer shuts down and/or hibernates. Plug the AC back on,turn the laptop on and Presto! The battery meter should be calibrated and charging. Specifically on the Compaq 615, you should just wait till the Red/White led near the adapter plug turns off, start the HP battery tester and if it confirms that the battery level is 100% as the in-built Win Meter,your battery is good and you shouldn’t get any shocks anytime soon!

Quick piece of advice though- IF you keep getting a quickly discharging battery warning (ie battery life for a battery at 100% to be <50mins the problem might actually be with the battery and not in the meter. In that case ACT NOW and go to your authorized tech center and get an replacement. The good thing is that if the machine is younger than 12 months you should be eligible for a free replacement battery.

bk109 out

Happy now?! HAPPY NOW?!

2010-02-27T19:24:00.001Z

Well,Folks,apparently some people actually read my blog which says some really bad things about the future of mankind,but this is not the reason for today’s little rant…

FOR FUCK’s Sake! I know the background was not ideal,but I promised to change it eventually, but after some prodding by the brave “Anonymous” whomever he/she/it(no labeling, everyone has the right to choose the fuzzy area between the sexes)/they is/are, I finally changed my blog’s background and color palette! Seriously, I said I was going to change it Mañana (find a dictionary if you want, I don’t give a fuck!)!! And to the last brave Anonymous, No I don’t really expect you to read my blog,Mr. Bond,I expect you to die! <insert evil laughter here>

But seriously now, As this is a new ‘look’ for Shits And Giggles, I’d like to humbly ask my nonexistent readers to comment on the ‘new and improved,cancer-curing look’ of the S&G.

Till next time,Or if I have some wisdom to share with y’all,

bk109 out to get said Anonymous and make him scream,MWAHAHAHA

CHORUS-Ntl Internet Woes with the EPC2425 Router/Modem

2010-02-25T12:25:00.001Z

Hey Folks,Here’s a quick fix to all of us tenants in NTHell suffering with the Cisco 2425 Router/Modem…

First, The annoyingly slow internet at times – Quite by chance, I discovered that the biggest problem is that the “Firewall” that is supposed to “protect us” from all the nasty buggers in the interwebz is actually protecting them from us! Seriously, try to use a Peer-To-Peer program with UPC and poof,you can’t open even google!! The fix is to,well,disable the firewall. I know it runs contrary to all the cautionary tales about “unprotected computers,fire and brimstone” circulating around,but frankly you’d be better off with just the Windows Firewall,than relying on the EPC2425 + Windows to protect you. YES! IT SUCKS THAT MUCH! Therefore, type http://192.168.1.1/ in your browser of choice,then setup (The user and passwords fields should be blank – there’s an explanation to this in boards.ie for those who don’t believe me), then navigate to Firewall/Options and DESELECT EVERYTHING. Then proceed to open a bittorrent client for example(we just need something to generate multiple IP connections at the same time, and proceed to d/l something big from the internet – I recommend ubuntu 9.10 and try opening www.msn.com for example just to confirm that it WORKS.

Second woe – Dropping of the WLAN connection. Half of the problem,sadly,is that the EPC2425 is buggy as fuck,so not much help there,but a thing to mitigate the problem is to change channels, which is Especially true if you see multiple UPCxxxxxx named networks around you. The best bet is to scan for the available networks to see on which channels they dwell,but if you don’t know how to do it,just use Channel 11/12, BUT if you see multiple EIRCOM AND UPC branded networks, try channels 1 and 3. This is available by using the /Wireless/Basic option from the Setup tab. Don’t be scared if the network disconnects for a bit,that’s because the modem is restarting,but it should reconnect automatically.

Final woe – DNS bitchin’ and moanin’ during high-traffic times. If you experience this kind of problem,first go with the first woe, because usually it’s the real culprit, but if you get the same error AFTER you do steps one and two, just go to Setup-Basic Settings - Network Configuration ---> and in the DNS tab enter for example the addresses of OpenDns -

208.67.222.222 (resolver1.opendns.com)

208.67.220.220 (resolver2.opendns.com)

The router will then proceed to restart and will probably will show the previous settings post restart. IGNORE THIS,IT’S A BUG! If you want to confirm the settings are changed, just (for windows vista or 7 at least) click the wireless icon, then right click over your home network name and select first status then Details and check the values for both DNS servers.

If anyone has some questons or anything similar… Just give me a shout!!!

PS. This is my network speedtest after i did steps one and two, that’s on the 20mb package and tested at midday (therefore,High-traffic on the UPC network)

bk109 out snipin’ lagless !!!

The Quick and Dirty Guide to Windows WEP cracking with Windows 7

2009-12-09T14:56:00.001Z

Well, let’s not kid ourselves that we’re going to try doing this just for the fun of it or the thrill of the “hunt” for the right password. Now,first a little basics – WEP or Wired Equivalent Protection – is an old, but still widely used WLAN encryption system, which is well-known for its vulnerability – depending on the decryption system, you can crack it open in under a minute. In our case, we’re going to go with the slower and legal (up to a point) passive hacking way.

First, you’ll need to google and download the following two programming packages – Commview for WiFi (available as a very useful for our purposes demo/trial version) and aircrack-ng for win with which will be doing the actual decryption of the WEP password. After you’ve downloaded and installed both programs, I’d recommend to tweak the CommView by going to Options\Memory Usage and select the maximum amount of packets to be retained in the buffer – 20000. Now, after we’ve finished setting up the stage for the first part of the WEP hack – the recon.

For our recon, we’re using the CommView for WiFi package as a packet sniffer and monitor. Now, this is the slower, passive method to go, but it can be argued that it’s legal up to the point of using the retrieved password, whereas an active hack is considered a crime from the beginning. Now, first start the program and select “Start capture” or Ctrl+S and you should get this prompt:

First, select start scanning to “meet the neighbors”. In our case, we have people on channels 6,7 and 11. Although we see a guy on 11 with a decent signal strength we’ll have to ignore him, because he’s using WPA. Our only victim is channel 7. so we select under Capturing: Channel 7 and “Capture”. Now we have to wait, which depending on the network we’re going after might take anything between 5 minutes and days. The good thing is that the program is lightweight enough,that you could freely play Modern Warfare 2 while you wait without any performance SNAFU’s. The bad thing , however, is that this program takes over your WLAN card, so if you don’t have an additional one and/or a wired ethernet connection … Well, you’re screwed and you’d have to forget about twitter and facebook.Now, when the entries in the packet buffer get near to 20000 please highlight them all and then right click + save packets as. IMPORTANT – save them as *.cap files. Also, to avoid unnecessary memory usage and false positives, select only “capture data packets”. After you’ve captured at least 20000 packets from a single source (I’d recommend more), we should be ready to try and get the password for the network.

For this part, we’ll need the Aircrack-NG suite for windows (don’t download the Linux version) and for the sake of usability I’d recommend we use the Aircrack-NG GUI.exe (in \Bin). Now, we start the program and we’re greated with this:

As you probably see, I’ve already selected the encryption, Key size (try first for 64bits then 128) and a PTW attack. The first two are self-explanatory, but the latter one is the real peach. When we’re using it, it’ll cut drastically the amount of captured packets needed to crack a WEP encryption down to around 20000-30000 (usually) packets for 64bits, which is the more common one in my experience, (from an original 250 000 minimum) and ca. 80-100000 packets for the 128bit version (down from 1000 000+ ). I’ve also selected the previously saved captured packets files, so we just press launch so we get this prompt:

Index number of attack network: 1 (afterall, we’ve got more than enough captured packets to go for at least the 64bit key, so we press 1 and then the enter key. If we’re successful, we’ll get this:

So, now, we know the password and the network name (the deleted ESSID) so you could “borrow” some bandwidth from you’re crusty neighbor. Now,as this is illegal, I recommend that you don’t do it, because it’s wrong and worse, punishable by law (if they catch you). So don’t do it( near your home or workplace at least).

Well, that’s how you do a passive WEP hack thru Windows 7, so go nuts! Sometime in the near-future will try to do the same, but with a WPA encrypted network which is a whole different strory.

bk109 out “warwalking” the mean streets of suburbia… No one is safe! (Except everyone,’cause I ain’t doin’ illegalz stuffz an’ shitz!

Microsoft Virtual WiFi on HP laptops howto

2009-11-25T01:41:00.001Z

Well,here’s the quick and dirty guide to getting MS Virtual WiFi on most HP-series laptops. First, I sincerely recommend using the marvelous HP SoftPaq download to do the heavy lifting in this little exercise.

Now,the Quick and dirty guide to getting the whole thing working! First download the current SoftPaq manager (I’ve linked to the newest available one – 3.0.0.0 – contained in driver pack sp42858. After you download it, follow the onscreen prompts for the program to show updates only for your current hardware and windows version. In my case It successfully recognized my Compaq615 and that I’m running a Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and it showed the available current drivers and system enhancements for your hardware:

I’d recommend to install everything listed in here IF you have a clean windows installation or if you’ve used only the drivers which your computer autodetected and/or downloaded from windows update. If however you’ve done some driver downloading from the HP website I’d recommend to select the check for update tab, which’ll sort out the clutter and will only leave you the updates… Now, in our case we’re interested in the highlighted two drivers ( At least for the x64 Windows 7, BUT for the other W7’s and maybe Vistas(untested) it’ll be a similar pair of results (in my case i’ve already downloaded and istalled ‘em, but you catch my drift:

As we see, one is the newest available WLAN driver, whereas the other contains the Extensions to the basic package. ( By the way, the same extension set is useful for most CISCO users). After the needed download/install procedure (fully automated by the way), you should be ready to party with a second available WLAN connection without actually forking out some cash to get a second W_Card:

In my case, I used the third-party program Connectify (Beta) to create a Wireless hotspot, which “shares” my home WLAN connection to a second WLAN network via the same card.

If this information was in any way helpful to you, please feel free to support me by clicking a random ad on my page!

bk109 out

Broadcom Wireless Cards On Ubuntu 9.10 – How to do it offline!

2009-11-20T08:01:00.001Z

First things first, I am not the guy who first suggested it, nor am I attempting to take credit for popularizing it. I only thing that a lot of Ubuntu newbies are a bit apprehensive of the whole Linux experience and tend to avoid it after the first snag in of using it. So here is the most painless way to get the Broadcom wireless card working in 9.10 without resorting to wired connections to the nearest Internet point to get the new one or fooling around with the various system folders in /etc . So here’s what you have to do, on a sheet of paper(low tech,eh?) write down the following module names – dkms, fakeroot, patch,(found in CD(USB) install source\pool'\ main each in a folder denoted by the first letter of the package) and b43-fwcutter (should be either in main or restricted).

Now,after the Great Leap Linuxward, you’ll notice that the WLAN card that used to work great in LiveCD mode suddenly is not even showing as “connected”. Now, you could try to activate the Driver from Hardware (Also useful for getting ATI or NVIDIA cards to start dishing out the eyecandy) and press activate. If it works,you should get a confirmation for a restart . Do it! If you’re one of the few lucky Ubuntu users who get their WLAN back by doing this, CONGRATS! If you’re one of the 99% of people who are experiencing problems, just start your ubuntu, navigate to the installation media and navigate to the previously mentioned .deb packages. Do a right click each of them and select the GDEBI option (should be second or third from the top) and install the first group in whatever order you wish, but the b43-fwcutter should be installed last! Now, restart the computer and you should be able to quickly check if the wireless card works just by A) pressing the on/off switch for the card , which should change its state ONLY if you did a successful installation or B) do a left click on the network icon in the upper right part of the the desktop and it should give you the list of detected wireless networks, enjoy!

On the plus side, Ubuntu 9.10 doesn’t have the same graphics problems as its predecessor! Also of note is that the audio for all those DELL’s, HP’s et all using the IDT sound card should work straight out of the installation as opposed to the 9.04 mega-tweak experience.

bk109 out helping the Linux newbies avoid the mistakes a certain someone did the last time Ubuntu, Fatigue and Whiskey came together ! :D

Basic Power saving techniques for Notebooks and especially the COMPAQ 615 and the MSI EX630

2009-11-19T23:02:00.001Z

Well,here are the basic tips to improve the battery life of your laptop:

1- Predetermine what you’ll want to do with the laptop in battery mode. --- This will help you determine how aggressive can you be in your pursuit to extend your battery life.

2- Keep your display dimmed as much as possible, because it’s one of the biggest power-hogs in you laptop. For example,you can get up to 2:30 hrs of DVD playback on the Compaq 615 and up to 2hrs on the MSI EX630 by keeping your display to the 30% Brightness setting.

3- Forget using most Linux distributions as an alternative OS, which will help you “open that one facebook page” more on battery. It is true that some Linux distributions could last out a bit more than Windows or MacOs, but to be able to reach that level of efficiency, you’ve got to have quite a bit knowledge how to debug your Linux.

4- Keep your WLAN card off when running on DC unless you need it! This way you could get some 20-30 minutes more in Ms Word or 15 mins of the new House MD eppy.

4.5- When you are using it, check in Power Options that it’s running in Maximum Powersaving mode. HOWEVER, if you are experiencing connectivity issues, use the next highest powersaving method until you get one that will keep you online,while still skimping on the battery usage

5- If you are able to do so, don’t leave both the WLAN and the Bluetooth module working at the same time (valid for at least the Compaq and the MSI)

6- Remove any idle accessories from the ‘book when' you’re using it on DC. Whenever possible, remove USB dongles,Hubs, Memory cards, Keyboards or Mice. Everything uses a bit of the battery, especially the firewire and USB accessories!

7- For the love of God, throttle your CPU if you’re just using you ‘book for web browsing or Standard Definition video watching on DC power. In the power options menu choose 5% minimum processor state and 50% maximum (ON BATTERY)!

8- Always use the latest drivers and BIOS available for your system. A nice touch would be to tweak the time to stand-by on battery for the sound card – around 30-60 seconds is a nice idea, because it will save you some 20-30 minutes of battery time on the MSI.

9- Avoid using a floppy(if you own one) or DVD/CD/BR when on DC power whenever possible!

10- Whenever applicable leave the ‘book in sleep mode or at least with a turned-down screen (like when you’re using it to listen to music)

11- Respect your battery – Don’t let it get too cold or too cold. Try not overusing it( Valid mostly for NiCd and NiMH, but also of some consideration for the Lithium ones)

12- And finally, try not overworking you lappy on DC, because 4hrs of Internet are equal to only about 90-120mins of World In Conflict or Modern Warfare 2.

bk109 out to finally flush it down the can! :D

The Compaq 615 Fan Noise Problem-o

2009-11-19T21:29:00.001Z

Well, judging by the HP’s hardware forums, the Compaq 615 is suffering a bit with a case of the BANSHEE cooling fan. I’ve noticed the same problem with it at first, but there are some ways to alleviate the worst signs of the problem.

FIRST!- Check your Bios settings and confirm that you’ve got always run fan on AC. It might sound strange,to keep down the noise by running the fan continuously, but it has some merit. The main problem most users seems to be that they are running it in the normal off-on-off mode, which means that it is off until the CPU heat sensors pass a certain threshold (around 60 degrees I think) and force it to run at high speed to bring the temp down to a more normal 45ish and then proceed to shut down again. By forcing the fan to run constantly on AC it will run in the near silence and will keep the temp a bit more steady and it will rarely kick into high gear.

SECOND!- For the love of FRAGS, you’re using a notebook, so using “Performance” as a power plan is a BAD IDEA. It will force the CPU to run on idle at the full frequency/voltage, so it will generate more heat and it will cause the fan to work more to keep up with it! The best thing you could do is to select either HP-Optimized or if you don’t have it as an option, use Balanced and tweak it a bit to further suit it to your needs. In my case, I keep the minimum processor state at 5% and a max of 100 when running on ac and 50% on DC. Another good idea might be to set the “Ati Powerplay” option to Maximize battery life on both AC and DC if you’re not using you notebook to the fullest of its potential – In other words, if you use it for twitter,facebook and YouTube, it means you!

THIRD!-Stick a book or a couple of erasers beneath it to keep the back end of the ‘book a couple of santimeters above the front end, which will improve the air circulation, while saving you the money for a notebook stand!

So, these are the basic ways to solve your noisy fan issues with the Compaq 615 (and frankly most other notebooks out there) without resorting to either the warranty or to a warranty-voiding expedition beneath the back panel of the ‘book.

bk109 out … not… cause the weather sucks this week here in Dublin

A little test of MS Live Writer

2009-11-03T17:48:00.001Z

The Best Divorce letter ever

Dear Connie,
I know the counsellor said we shouldn’t contact each other during our “cooling off” period but I couldn’t wait anymore
The day you left I swore I’d never talk to you again but that was just the wounded little boy in me talking. Still, I never wanted to be the first one to make contact. In my fantasies, it was always you who would come back to me. I guess my pride needed that. But, now I see that my pride’s cost me a lot of things. I’m tired of pretending I don’t miss you. I don’t care about looking bad anymore. I don’t care who makes the first move as long as one of us does. Maybe it’s time we let our hearts speak as loudly as our hurt.
This is what my heart says “There’s no one like you, Connie. I look in the eyes and at the breasts of every woman I see, but they’re not you. They’re not even close.”
Two weeks ago I met this girl at Flamingos and brought her home with me. I don’t say this to hurt you, but just to illustrate the depth of my desperation. She was young, maybe 19, with one of those perfect bodies that only youth and maybe a childhood spent ice skating can give you. Tits like you wouldn’t believe and an *** that just wouldn’t quit. Every man’s dream, right?
As I sat on the couch being blown by this stunner, I thought, look at the stuff we’ve made important in our lives. It’s all so superficial. What does a perfect body mean? Does it make her a better in bed? Well, in this case, yes, but you can see what I’m getting at. Does this make her a better person? Does she have a better heart than my moderately attractive Connie? I doubt it. And I’d never thought of that before. I don’t know maybe I’m just growing up a little.
Later, after I’d tossed her about a half a pint of throat yogurt, I found myself thinking, “Why do I feel so drained and empty” It wasn’t just her flawless technique or her slutty shameless hunger but something else. Some nagging feeling of loss? Why did it feel so incomplete? And then it hit me. It didn’t feel the same because you weren’t there to watch. Do you know what I mean? Nothing feels the same without you. Jesus, Connie, I’m going crazy without you. And everything I do just reminds me of you.
Do you remember Carol, that single Mum we met at the Holiday Inn lounge last year? Well, she dropped by last week with a pan of lasagne. She said she figured I wasn’t eating right without a woman around. I didn’t know what she meant till later. But that’s not the real story. Anyway, we had a few glasses of wine and the next thing you know, we’re banging away in our old bedroom. And this tart’s a total monster in the sack. She’s giving me everything, you know, like a real women does when she’s not hung up about her weight or her career and whether the kids can hear us. All fo a sudden, she spots that tilting mirror on your grandmother’s old vanity. She puts it on the floor and we straddle it, right so we can watch ourselves. And it’s totally hot, but it makes me sad too because I can’t help thinking, “Why didn’t Connie ever put the mirror on the floor? ”We’ve had this old vanity for what? 14 years? And we never used it as a sex toy.”
Saturday, your sister drops by with my copy of the restraining order. I mean, Vicki’s just a kid and all. But she’s got pretty good head on her shoulders and she’s been a real friend to me during this painful time. She’s given me lots of good advice about you and about women in general. She’s pulling for us to get back together. Connie, she really is.
So, we’re doing jell-o shots in a hot bubble bath and talking about happier times. Here’s this teenage girl with the same DNA as you and all I can do is think of how much she looked like you when you were 18. And that just about makes me cry. And then it turns out Vicky’s really into the whole anal thing, that gets me to thinking about how many times I pressured you about trying it and how that probably fuelled some of the bitterness between us. But do you see how even then, when I’m thrusting inside your baby sister’s cinnamon ring , all I can do is think of you. It’s true, Connie. In your heart you must know it. Don’t you think we could start over? Just wipe out all the grievances away and start fresh? I think we can. If you feel the same, please, please, please let me know.
Otherwise, can you let me know where the f**king remote is
Love
Dan

If this shit is real,daaaaaaaang ! Dan has some real issues!!!

Random//Insomnia Town

2009-10-07T05:05:00.002+01:00

Welcome to Insomnia Town,population me! Here I am basking in the soft nurturing glow of the computer screen waiting for the sun to start its lazy stroll across the Irish skies. It's strange,though, being awake at 5AM (for a 3rd or 4th time in a row no less). One can't help but wonder what the countless people are dreaming of in this time of night. If you take a walk down the streets of Dublin you'll be struck with the utter sense of loneliness ... There's no traffic,no pedestrians, no one to disturb the quiet dance of the moon and the stars.
And yet there are subtle signs of the approaching day - a window alight here, a distant echo of footsteps, the receding stars. And yet it's 5 AM, the world is asleep. There's no one to talk to, nothing on the TV, because this early even the news sleep. Who knows what will they be when the good people of the world awake in a couple of hours - will it be a slow news day? Hmm,slow news...
Unfortunately in this day and age the news we're bombarded with are either fluff pieces, with which to lull the people's senses into a false feeling of content or worse - a story of pain, destruction or maybe betrayal. Will the news be mercifully slow today, as to see a story of a soldier reunited with his family? Or maybe the story of a historic show of solidarity between the nations of the world? Or will they be like yesterday's ones - a life lost here, a life taken there, a life ruined ... ?
It's 5AM and there's still time to believe in the comming day, may it be one of the good ones.

bk109 out into the silent night

Compaq 615 Review

2009-08-14T21:55:00.004+01:00

Well,after my old 'book was stollen in Romania(in an almost impossible theft from a vehicle in motion) I found myself in a dire need for a new computer,so I set out to replace it...
At first I thought about buying a new MSI from the same class(EX) like my old one,but it turned out that there was a new contender for the title "Mah Laptop"... The COMPAQ 615.
At first I was a bit apprehensive,because I'm not used to buying a "brand name" computer, so when I saw this baby http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/bg/bg/sm/WF06b/321957-321957-64295-3955548-3955548-3958411-3958447.html?jumpid=oc_R1002_BGBGC-001_Compaq%20615%20Notebook%20PC&lang=bg&cc=bg priced at 919 BGN (or about 460Euro) I thought that there seemed to be either a catch,or it was just a typo... Well It wasn't, so now I'm writing this on my new Laptop and so far I'm pleased by its performance, so now I want to bring this little consumer review to the masses, because I couldn't find a comprehensible one when I bought it,so here are the basics:
Usability:
This notebook comes with a versatile TurionX2 Ultra RM-74 (the 65nm Lion Core) with 2x512 cache clocked at ~2.2 GHz, which I found sufficient to handle most tasks with ease. This coupled with the integrated HD3200 videocard make the 615 a jack of all trades in the world of computing, but although it'll be able to run most modern games,you'll have to forget about the
HighDef experience found on most Desktops and High-performance laptops like the Dell/Alienware rigs or the GT/GX series from MSI,but at least it's HD ready,especially if you get your hands on a addon expresscard or usb tuner, which'll utilise the 15.6'' Widescreen(in the classic 16:9 Aspect ratio) to the fullest. Also of note is the AMD M780G Chipset which'll let you pump the RAM at 400mhz and according to some sites it'll handle a twin 4gb DDR2-800 SO-DIMM config. And now the most important thing for a 'book - the battery. The most power-efficient config lives up to the 4hr mark,but at the cost of a turned-off WLAN card,SoundCard and etc. In the "Crap,I'm on a LowCost airline and I'm getting really bored" test - it managed to get me either 2:47 hrs of movies or 2:12mins of Mass Effect at a tweaked Performance power plan and a somewhat dimmed screen.
So here's the summary:
Pro's - Value,"Name/Pedigree", Looks(Stylish minimalistic black), Performance
Con's - Lack of a S-video out, A serious lack of x64 driver support for now from HP(but can be resolved by some googling and tinkering), A single underpowered speaker, Lack of a HD-in-use light,lack of a separate numpad
Result- A good balance between performance, looks and price, which'll get even higher marks after HP resolves the x64 issue and I get an usb Numpad,but still It's a good investment in a good machine.
Here's the stats from CPU-Z and the built in Windows 7 x64 WinExperienceTest for your consideration:

AMD Turion X2 RM-74

Windows 7 (6.1) Ultimate Edition (Build 7600)

CPU Arch : 1 CPU - 2 Cores - 2 Threads
CPU PSN : AMD TurionX2 Dual Core Mobile RM-74
CPU EXT : MMX(+) 3DNow!(+) SSE SSE2 SSE3 x86-64
CPUID : F.3.1 / Extended : 11.3
CPU Cache : L1 : 2 x 64 / 2 x 64 KB - L2 : 2 x 512 KB
Core : Griffin (65 nm) / Stepping : LG-B1

Freq : 2200.21 MHz (200.02 * 11)

MB Brand : Hewlett-Packard
MB Model : 308C
NB : AMD 780G rev 00
SB : ATI SB700 rev 00

GPU Type : ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics
DirectX Version : 10.0

RAM : 4096 MB DDR2
RAM Speed : 400 MHz (1:2) @ 5-5-5-18
Slot 1 : 2048MB (6400)
Slot 1 Manufacturer : Kingston
Slot 2 : 2048MB (6400)
Slot 2 Manufacturer : Kingston
If you found the review helpful,please vote bellow this post. And if you've got questions... Feel free to leave a comment.

And it's wireless!!!

2009-06-05T20:50:00.001+01:00

OY!

OY!Be jealous!

2009-05-19T13:31:00.003+01:00

Oh and FYI, It's a Notebook!

To Ends,Beginnings and InBetweens

2009-05-19T09:41:00.000+01:00

These couple of weeks have been momentous - the end of my freshman year here in Dublin via the dreaded FinalsPush and also has been perhaps the end of a friendship. On one side it's sad to know that a person you've shared pretty much everything for a year with you can so easily leave your life is a bit depressing, but on the other I'm glad for him once for getting reunited with his girlfriend and twice for escaping the mortyfiing Irish climate! Well, I hope buddy that you're having fun down there in Barcelona, but please refrain from taunting your girlfriend while she's going through her own finals push... You'll regret it dearly!
And 'bout the end of the Freshman year... Big Fucking Deal! The only tangible difference between the end of the first semester and now is that there are quite more drunken Irish students roaming the streets during the kinda short nights(although the actual extent of the day/night ratios here is debatable since most of the time is cloudy so we're living in a perpetual twilight) doing retarded stuff like yoghurt fights! Other than that I don't feel different... I don't think I'm wiser or cooler or the like,but there are still 2-3 years to go...Bollocks...
In other news, Fringe,Chuck,TBBT,Bones,House,HIMYM and Dollhouse are all getting renewed for next year,which's good since only my TV shows and senseless videogames saved my sanity during year one-ish... Also in the news, I'm gettin' plastered bitchez, so don't come a knockin' around before the 24th ...Mwahaha...
Sanity is overrated. As is the liver.
bk109 out cold an' dreading the DAY AFTER!

It's Midway,BITCH!

2009-05-10T00:56:00.002+01:00

Oookay,So we're midway through SpringFinals '09 and ohboy,how fucked up we're already,and the storm begins anew on Monday! So,I've survived 1 exam(MATH!GRRRR),aced 1(Comp.Politics) and took a piece of a probable (C in CompSci10060)... So,Econ10030 isn't that unexpected with my track record in math (you did your best,Mrs.Simeonova,but alas,I'm a Dumpkopf), but the other two should be fairly solid. So,what happened else during the week? Well,Arsenal got mauled by Man.UTD,so I kinda lost the will to live(especially with the back-to-back exams on Wednesday) which unfortunately infected my Vista, so the only way to preserve all my lecture notes( and the SAVEGAMES man!) I had to upgrade to Windows7.7100 . Surprisingly,all my settings save for the Graphics driver made the transition smoothly,but it's just not the same. There are some useful changes, but at least for now W7 is inferior to Vista in 2 crucial areas - power efficiency and display drivers. For now,I've had to make do with an 2year-old custom tailored OpenGL driver + a semi-recent D3D driver and the newest Catalyst to have at least some of the performance of the my RadeonMobility card, because apparently the DNa-ATi drivers suffer from the same teething problems as the Original Catalyst ( namely, the disabled stretching of the Desktop to fill the Notebook LCDpanel in less than full resolutions, which leaves horrid black lines on the unused portion of the Screen). So, for the time being I'll stick to the 7, but come the 14th I'll be doing some creative formatting and reinstalling, but at least I'll have the free time, seeing that I'll be off to Bulgaristan on the 23rd, so I'll have time to burn...
Other stuff in the news? Weeeeeeeell, the swine(Mexican for our Israeli friends,because pork is not cosher ( I KID YOU NOT!)) flu hasn't yet killed us all, so it's CNN/FOX/RTE/MassHysteria 0 : 1 Common sense/BBC/TDSwJS.
And now a special Bulgarian PSA to a mate of mine in Rousse : Пич,Стегни се най-накрая! Мина година, а ти още пищиш по балове, кучки и прочие... Пич,на 20 стана,пък се държиш все едно тепърва почваш пубертета! И не забравяй,ние мъжете не пищим, НИЕ ТРОШИМЕ! Като толкова все още се нервиш, отмъсти! Хвани си някоя по-добра и просто и забии това в лицето,че има от Нея(Имена не споменавам,че пак ще почнеш) има и по-добри и по-умни и по-сърдечни... Не забравяй,че ако едно нещо хората по принцип не харесват е чуждото щастие, а за обременените с XX хромозоми дори още повече!
This ends our scheduled broadcast, tune in next time,and we'll be giving away 40 Virgins and a truckload of Viagra... for now
bk109 out and testdriving those virgins

Random thoughts and Fanboyz

2009-04-25T04:52:00.002+01:00

Well,It's been a while,eh? Anyway,It's now that time of the season folks - ze Finalz push - In just 10 days,the great Studentling Rush of Spring '09 will begin in earnest for us all! And to celebrate it, my esteemed co-students here in beautiful(when the weather permits) Southern Dublin started it with a nice,albeit TURBO noisy, Ball. The only problem is that it entailed a temporary DeathCamp(NaziPatent number J-539234663)-like Security and the overall sense of impending doom (think 15k drunk Irish in a single campus). I'm all for gettin' plastered an' all, but I think it might be better to get under the table and kneeling on the toiletseat after the end of the Exam period,eh? It's just that the whole experience is like doing it in a casket(nope,haven't done it and unwilling to try) - it's nice and fun, but it leaves a taste of creeeeeeeeeeepyness... Owwwkaaaayyy, this didn't turn out the way I thought,but still,hey... it boosts the ratings!
Also,I'm now on twitter,so cool!
Oh,An' a nice round of applause for all the VistaBashers that are currently embracing W7 as the new'n'improved XP - Guys,It's Vista to the bone,It's just with different EyeCandy! You're just jealous,that your 20year-old 486'ers can't run anything more modern than W95,eh?
bk109 out killin' rebellionistas

You're not alone(-ish)

2009-03-30T19:00:00.002+01:00

Just a small thank-you to the tireless Boys and Girls fighting for the right of "Free Fees" of the Student Unions Of Ireland and especially of the UCD-SU! Go get 'em, we all believe you can make 'em find to save the program!
bk109 out on the barricades
Ps. Someone give me a heads-up if you want some help for a bloody(or bloodless) coup/revolution - I'm available and I'm not morally "inhibited"

Whoa,It turns out I'm Ted Bundy Jr.!

2009-03-24T12:05:00.002Z

Or at least that's the opinion of a Anti-Videogame nutjob in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, according to whom(while on one of the national radio stations)'Everyone who plays a game which includes violence' is a raving psycho,who's killing everything in sight with a chainsaw(Hmm,I probably will download American Psycho,heh). So,according to the 'scientist' it's proven that 'violence in videogames' will inevitably compel me to go postal and kill lots'o'stuff before being shot by a SWAT sniper.
Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaah,Like that's gonna happen. Frankly,I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the lunatic Thompsonites of the world,who vilify computer games,just to get into the liberal(yes,I'm republican,although I'm just a Bulgarian in Ireland) bleeding-heart media spotlight... Fuck you morons! Here's a fun fact - There is an estimated 250 000 000 + PC's plus countless gaming consoles in the world, whose sole purpose is to be a primary gaming platform,on which the overwhelming majority of merchandise includes violance,'graphic' scenes and/or foul or suggestive language, And yet in the last decade there've been less shooting spree victims than the annual casualties of the Americans in Iraq or on the roads of Bulgaria! Therefore,the reason behind the quest against Videogames seems to be a mite unjustified or dumbtarded to say the very(and mightyly censored) least. Afterall,by the same token more than a million people in the world leave the toilet seat up -therefore a communist revolutionaries, because for example one of the 'seaters' was Che Guevara... Illogical,Right?! Try telling this to Jack Thompson 'n' Co - I'll bet you'll be branded either as a NRA freak or a Part of the Matrix...
So fuck those n00bs and frag stuff in CS,but leave the violence for the VR world
bk109 out pwning some camping n00bz in BF2142

BOREDOM!

2009-03-13T00:25:00.002Z

So,WELCOME TO MARCH,hope you like it,'cause nobody really cares what you think... So,after I got some stupidity out of my system,I have to say I'm bored! Frankly, I'm contemplating the Invasion of the Isle Of Man just to keep my brain from going into powersaving mode...Oy!I think there's an echo in my strangely desolate cranium without the usual TURBOmode engaged!Really,I just heard an echo to this thought while I was typing it! FRAKKIN' HELL! Heard that too!Double frakK!Oh,and speaking of Frakks- TOnight-ish will be the end of an era - We'll celebrate the passing of our beloved BSG into the annals of SeasonalDVD giftpacks... May you rest in the sold-out isle!
bk109 out cold from excessive boredom

PS.A small nod to mountains_78 who redefined my definition of Dumbtarded! So everybody now give this hapless Commie-OrthodoxChristianFanatic combo a round of condescention an' hatred! Tnx!
PPS.Anybody up for a 8 hour marathon of WiC:SA?

It's not plagiarism,IF I WROTE IT,OK?

2009-02-22T23:04:00.002Z

Anyway,I've been working my ass off to finish my Essay for Comparative Politics and so it is(as a reserve storage site) here on the blog,but first a bit of news! Namely,FUCK! I forgot about Comp10060,yipes,I totally forgot about this stuff...
Anyway,here's the Essay,I know it kinda sucks,but that's a by product of quoting both Bakunin and The US Declaration Of Independence...

Outline and explain the main differences between Democratic and Authoritarian forms of regime

In the world of politics all boils down to more-or-less 2 main forms of governance – the Democratic and the Autocratic ones. Although this is just a oversimplified vision of the truth, but for the purposes of this field of study the rationalization is just a tool of the science behind Comparative Politics. These two main groups should represent the basic structure of the modern political landscape,but are they absolute in terms,or are they a matter of interpretation?

When compared both forms of governance tend to diametrically oppose each other on every point of comparison like participation, power and freedom. In reality, however, the single most evident trait that distinguishes both is actually the illusion of freedom and free choice. It might seem strange,but the reality of the situation is that every choice a citizen even in the most democratic of countries are bound to a set of rules and in most cases he can not change anything alone. Therefore it might be beneficial to break down this grand illusion in three subgroups – distribution of power, freedom and equality.

Firstly,the illusion of power in both forms of governance. In fact things are simple in a authoritarian country, where you know you don't have the right to take control of your own country. Theoretically this should not be applicable to the “democratic free world”, but the truth is that the lines between these forms of governance tend to get a bit blurry. For example a trait of an authoritarian regime like totalitarianism when a single Party controls the whole government apparatus and sometimes even the entire populace with relative impunity. However, the idea behind the single party tend to lose their contrast if for example we look at Ireland, which was mostly ruled by a single party for most of its existence^¹, Fianna Fáil,or the current political situation in Russia, where in a free and democratic environment the populace embraces an almost totalitarianesque ruler in Vladimir Putin. This brings an interesting interpretation of the situation that actually the main difference between the two systems is that in a Democratic political environment it's supposedly easier to change the status quo when the need arises,whereas in an authoritarian the ruling minority can and will use every measure conceivable to maintain their grip on society. Therefore the illusion here is that who is more powerful – the people or the rulers,but as Ken Livingstone said “If Voting Changed Anything They'd Abolish It “,seems most apt at describing the situation.

Then it'd be beneficial to see the importance of the illusion of freedom. Again at hand is not the question if there's freedom or not,but how limited is the illusion of one. According to wikipedia the definition of freedom is “Liberty, ...a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has the right to act according to his or her own will.” This however can be used to point the similarity between democracies,also dubbed “Tyrannies of Majorities”(Proudhon, Demokratie und Republik), which tend to represent not everyone,just the more numerous. Now,substitute numerous with powerful and one ends up with a textbook description of authoritarian form of government, which might seem a bit disturbing for a citizen of a “civilized” and “free” country as Ireland for example. Therefore the Illusion of freedom mainly differs in how widely its embraced by the public. Again using Ireland and its history,it becomes obvious that this principle was and still is in action here by just looking at the Geographic and Socio-demographic division of the Island,where the pro-British majority enforces its will to stay a part of the UK despite a significant and even violent opposition by the Pro-Republican minority,and the reversed situation in the “Free State”. Therefore freedom becomes an abstract term defined mostly by the current moods of society, which differs from the authoritarian regimes mostly by the simple size of the “important” part of society.

The third important feature of the Illusion is when viewed with regard to equality or a lack thereof. The ideal democracy stands on the pillar of equality-between religion,sexes or race, but that is the beauty of the final Illusion at work. In theory, “all men are created equal” with the equal right of “Life, Liberty, and [the] pursuit of Happiness” as described by the US Declaration of Independence, which in itself is a beautiful thought, except that even at the moment of its signing some of the members of Continental Congress were active slave-owners,with Thomas Jefferson and the Father of the Republic George Washington being perhaps the most prominent of them.This in itself seems to discredit the concept of equality in what was to become one of the first true beacons of Liberty,Justice and Freedom in the world. While this did eventually change, the other less known aspects of inequality are present and inherent in each and every country in the civilized world – the economic equality, but this rarely seems to come into mind when thinking about injustices, perhaps because everyone strives to be rich or perhaps because this is not the most “news-worthy – after all, since the dawn of time there were rich and there were poor... And while nominally all are nominally equal in the Democratic regimes, some people are just more “equal” than others be it in court, or in politics or whichever other aspect of modern life. And here is where the Illusion of equality divides the two forms of governance for in an authoritarian country, no one doubts where the real power lays and therefore knows that equality simply DOES NOT exist in contrast to a Democratic country, where this utopic notion of a level society and yet,some people just have better prostpects in life,because in life there are no “Slumdog Millionaires” and there are no billionaires hanging from the gallows...Perhaps Bakunin phrased the connection between freedom and equality the best - ”Political Freedom without economic equality is a pretense, a fraud, a lie; and the workers want no lying“ and herein lies the truth – the only difference between a “democracy” and an “authoritarian” form of government is that the second doesn't pretend to be something it is not.

In conclusion, the main difference between the two base groups of political systems lies squarely in the use of the Illusion be it of freedom,equality or power.

Bibliography:

Bakunin,M. 'The Red Association', The Public domain,Accessed [21.02.2009],Available on http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bakunin/works/writings/ch05.htm
Thomas Jefferson et al,'The Declaration Of Independence',The Library Of Congress, Accessed [21.02.2009], Available on http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html
Various,'Quotes on Democracy',The Wikimedia Foundation,Accessed [21.02.2009], Available on http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Democracy
Various,'Democracy',The Wikimedia Foundation, Accessed [21.02.2009],Available on http://en.wikipedia.org/Democracy
Various,'Liberty',The Wikimedia Foundation, Accessed [21.02.2009],Available on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty

1A little oversimplification again,but still correct. Page 1

Erm,yeah...,well....

2009-02-18T10:25:00.002Z

So,the idea to tweak a little the blog and/or move to wordpress is more or less stillborn...So,erm,yeah... Frankly,Wordpress seems the better visually speaking,but(and it's a big BUT) is sucks scholastically speaking... Yep,it may be really beautiful,but to actually give it its own unique style you have to pay MONEY! Yep,money,moolah,cash... and that only to tweak a little a otherwise decent theme... The fun part is that you're not really bound to pay.In fact they give away the blogging-engine away to you,but the catch is that you've got to pay someone else to post it online,to tweak it and then start blogging... Not likely...(especially with the whole spur-of-the-moment principle of blogging). So,being a economically conscientious young guy,I hereby officially want them to go fuck themselves,'cause I'm not payin' for the right to speak my mind... Which kinda saddens me,because if only a guy could honor the second amendment freely (i.e. being given a gun'n'bullets for free)... Alas,that's not the case...
Anyway,I'm off to either World War 3(WiC edition) or to do my essay for monday...
...as if .... GUNNER,TANK,12 o'clock,2200mtrs,Sabot,SHOOT!
bk109 out killin' commie bastards