I figured that I should probably get this post out there before it’s more or less been a month since I last posted! I swung round here to see when I last posted and I was a bit surprised that I haven’t been posting for longer than I initially thought, or perhaps it was about three weeks since I last posted… I’m not too sure on dates, but I suppose that’s besides the point now. This posting frequency is kind of a bit my sleeping patterns: can be consistant for a while, then goes all over the place. But I’ve been thinking. Seeing as I obviously can’t post regularly for too long I may as well play upon the random randomness a bit more… the random rendomness initially pertained to the fact that I could write about anything, but I may just apply it to posting frequency too; I’ll aim for at least 2 posts a month, in keeping with some consistancy, although when they will be, I’m not totally sure. Helpful, I know but considering I flopped at doing consistant updates for more than a month and a half, I figure that the consistant date thing isn’t working for me. There;s also the fact as well that I’m terrible at making note of things, so if I get a burst of inspiration for writing, I have to put it down ASAP, else I forget the initial thread, which means I have nothing to write about and being totally honest, I’d rather have a semi-consistant amount of content with random updates, as opposed to having a less consistant amount of content and regular updates.  How do you guys deal with updating regularly?  I know you’re meant to, but do you even bother to update on a pre-defined day, or do you just write whenever the mood takes you?  I’m clearly the latter, rather than the former… and I finally understand the difference between latter and former, properly so yay!

Anyway, Even though this blog is more about what I’m thinking, I figured I should at least start doing a cursory glance at what I plan to do over the next month…

First of all, I decided in the interests of putting less strain on this PC, I’m using a spare one that I have for music production and programming/development.  Of course, what I’ll be doing webserver wise is using a USB server on a stick, to make sure stuff such as Apache and MySQL don’t take up system resources, unless I need them to.  Of course, that being said, I may end up using the PC for internet radio as well seeing as it requires MySQL to run.  I guess this then means that this PC will be my PC only for entertainment and downloading.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I just realised that most likely anything involved with multimedia production and programming will be on the second PC now, with this essentially being mostly for games.  I shelled out 40 quid on a few bits for both PCs to help facilitate some of the above…

Read the rest of the entry »

I figured that I’d do something different than just talk about something to do with technology or gaming or the like.  I’m essentially just musing somewhat, but for some bizarre reason, I thought this would make a good blog post.  Granted, the life being talked about is mine, but I’m sure everyone can appriciate these.  Anyway, on with the show…

Certainties in life

• Life itself – Kinda self-explanitory.  Life, we live it…. it’s the beginning of a cycle.
• Death – We all gotta go sometime… the end of a cycle, but not the end of this post.
• Taxes – They’re everywhere and you can’t escape them… VAT, car tax, Council Tax… you’re bound to have at least one of those, if not all 3.  And there’s not just those.
• The Sun & The Rain – Sometimes together, sometimes apart, but always there.  According to Madness, it’s what life is about; they’re cycles, and life is a cycle.
• Things are always further away than you think. – Oh, I learnt this the hard way.  You think something is just up the road… then you forget how long the road actually is!
• They’re even further with a heavy load. -  Dragging something a mile up the road is not my idea of a good time…
• It is possible to get lost on a straight road – If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll never find it.
• You’ll find things when you don’t need them. – I know I have.
• You lose them again soon after. – “Oh yeah, I do actually need it… crap, where’d it go?!”
• You can’t find something you really need. – I know it’s here somewhere, I remember seeing it here yesterday!
• You can never have too many kettle leads. - You always seem to have less than you think.
• Upturned plugs are bound to be stepped on. – They’re gonna hurt like hell too!
• If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. – Something’s broken, you’re not eligable, you can’t afford it, it’s too far… and they’re just the main ones.
• They’re not out to get you. – You’re not that important, get over it.
• Computers – Yes, they’re here… yes, they’re annoying… but we need them.
• Some of the best, closest friends you have you may never have met – The internet… it’s more important than you realise.
• A really good friend is someone you can talk to again after weeks, months or even years and it was like you just talked to them yesterday. – Treasure them. (I know it’s not in the usual format, but it’s damn hard to word that right!)
• Time isn’t always that straightforward – Just because time can be measured, it doesn’t mean it can be valued.
• Days can go by as fast as hours, minutes as slow as hours. – Perception of time is different for all… days can meld together; hours can separate and feel like days… minutes and seconds can pause.
• The infinity of human stupidity – This one is kinda obvious.  Just when you think something is the height of stupidity, something raises the bar, sometimes a little but often a lot.

I plan on adding to these gradually, but if you want to suggest your own, then please do so in the comments.

I recieved a rather interesting request in my LiveJournal not too long ago:

Need to download XRumer 5.0 for free!
Huh… I want to get software pack XRumer 5.07 PALLADIUM for free. Have you any url?
I’m so need this magic program! It’s can break captchas automatically! Activate accounts via email automatically too! Absolutely great software! Help me!
And did you hear news – price for XRumer 5.0 Palladium will grow up to $540 after 15 may 2009… And XRumer 2.9 and 3.0 – too old versions, it’s cant break modern catpchas and cant break modern anti-bot protections. But XRumer 5.0 Palladium CAN!!!!
So help me for download this great soft for free! Thanks!

Whoever that person is must have assumed that I know my way around my computer, or rather more than that and to be honest, they got it right.  However, there’s no way in hell I’ll be accommodating such a request.  First of all, I don’t officially* condone not paying for software and secondly, why the hell would I accommodate someone wanting to break a captcha?  It’s bad enough that I have to use them so my sites get spammed, so why would I go and help someone break something I have to use?  For all I know, he could eventually use it on my website!  Anyway, the fact a piece of software can break captchas automatically concerns me.  Granted, not all of them are easily broken, but if this has been proven to break them, does this mean that the spammers are catching up?  It always seems to be a game of cat and mouse with spammers to be honest.

I’m very much anti-spam because it screws up things for me, and others.  My forums get spammed a lot, as do my blogs.  Either way, I won’t be responding to him, and if he sees this, my response is a big, fat NO.

*I accept the use of not paying for software for educational purposes, only if it’s hideously expensive.  If someone intends to make a profit using the software, then they should purchase it.

A friend of mine showed this request in an IRC channel I own: http://www.getacoder.com/projects/programming_c_87390.html

For those of you reading this request, and it’s no longer there, it says (emphasis his):

Description
I need someone to program me a new OS (Operasting System) that looks different than Ms Windows XP etc. but has the same style. It does not need to run on a mac but all the other PCs. It’s supposed to have a stylish look with clear edges etc. And ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE JUST A REDESIGNED WINDOWS as I’m going to sell that operating system later on.
These are some important points :

It should have ALL THE FEATURES that Windows Xp Professional has.
ALL the files that run on Windows XP ust also run on the BlueOrb OS.
It must have a very user-friendly interface (like MS WINDOWS XP)
When it gets Installed, the user needs to insert a serial number.
It HAS to be HACKER SAFE!
It must be quick and good looking.

So yeah, that’s what he’s asking for. Bad spelling aside (what’s an “Operasting System”?) $100 for developing an OS, which he plans to sell though? I could think of stronger words than “what the hell?” to describe his request. Frankly, if I could program in C++, I’d be asking for a hell of a lot more than the equivelent of £75 for a product someone is going to sell and make at least 10x the amount on (most likely more!). Additionally, what is this Blueorb OS he’s on about? Someone told me it could be the Mac OS, but isn’t that an apple? I really wonder about people sometimes… they truly worry me.