Owlbebak’s Blog

Visits By Operating System

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:47:53 -0400

Here is an updated chart showing the type of operating systems users have when they visit my blog. Since I have postings about Linux, that surely is something that would attract other Linux users, but I am impressed to see it ranking so high.

OPstats

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MojoPac May Be What You Need

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:24:18 -0400

Today I plan to reconfigure my portable usb hard drive so I have an encrypted volume using truecrypt. Before I do that I have decided to convert the existing file format of fat32 to NTFS format, since I plan on using it 100% of the time on a windows machine. Once I convert the files, create the encrypted volume, I will reinstall my MojoPac program on the encrypted volume.
MojoPac is a software program that allows you to attach your usb drive, ipod, or flash drive to another windows machine and run the attached drive just like a separate computer, utilizing the resources of the "host" computer while maintaining independence. As they say on their web site, " What happens on MojoPac, stays in MojoPac". I have used MojoPac off and on as an experimental test and it functions pretty well. My objective here will be to install my business Quickbooks Pro software program, office suite with templates and documents, email client and any other window programs I need to utilize in my business. This will allow me to carry "in my pocket" my entire business system as a encrypted backup and with the ability to run on any windows xp system( as long as it gives administrative rights).

Check out MojoPac and see if it fills a need you may have.

Update: It seems, at this current time, that MojoPac will not work with a truecrypt partition. After creating a separate partition on my usb hard drive and encrypting the entire partition, my attempt to install MojoPac results in an error message that the usb does not meet 2.0 standards, which it definitely does. So, at this point I will just encrypt a file container inside MojoPac, once I figure out how to do that since I keep getting a truecrypt message about truecrypt conflicting with an already installed version.

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Twitter

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:53:10 -0400

I have read about twitter for sometime... seems to be at least a year or more. I have never understood why anyone would use it. On impulse yesterday, I registered with twitter. I decided to do one with my internet nickname, owlbebak and one with my real name. So far I have posted only on my real name twitter account. I really can't imagine any of my "real life" friends using twitter or even my "internet" friends. It seems to me, it would require a person with an addictive personality to constantly post trivial comments. There are so many social networks. Too many I think. Fragmentation.

Maybe I need some friends added to twitter. Perhaps that makes all the difference.

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The Blue Screen of Death Goes for GOLD!

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:00:56 -0400

My Mepis Linux system is solid as a rock.

clipped from www.smh.com.au

CTRL+ALT+DEL: software malfunction at the opening ceremony

Turns out that Bill Gates was not the only famous Microsoft identity to be spotted at the Olympic opening ceremony.

Numerous bloggers also observed the cameo played by the so-called Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) - the Windows error screen that flashes up on your computer, signifying that it's time to reboot.

The screen was projected onto the roof of the National Stadium during the grand finale to the four-hour spectacular as veteran Chinese gymnast Li Ning, suspended 70 metres above the stadium floor, "jogged" towards the Olympic torch.

The BSoD message begins with the following sentence: "A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer."

Usually, the only way to remove the BSoD is to restart your computer pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Delete buttons at the same time.

it was decided to not use the the more recent operating system. "If it's not stable, it could have some problems,"

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Wall Arch Gone, Gone

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:15:39 -0400

Too bad this fell. I never got to see it in person and I know I never will.

clipped from www.nationalparkstraveler.com

Collapse of "Wall Arch" Proves Gravity Does Work at Arches National Park

One minute it was there, the next it was gone.

The collapse of "Wall Arch" at Arches National Park proves once again that gravity does work, even though you might wonder after gazing at the "rockitecture" of this dazzling Utah park.

Wall Arch, long a key attraction along the park's Devils Garden Trail, collapsed sometime overnight August 4. And since rock has continued to peel off of the collapsed arch, officials have been forced to temporarily close the popular trail just beyond Landscape Arch.

First reported and named by Lewis T. McKinney in 1948, Wall Arch was a free-standing arch in the Slickrock member of the Entrada sandstone. The opening beneath the span was 71-feet wide and 33-1/2 feet high. It ranked 12th in size among the over 2,000 known arches in the park.

No one has reported observing the arch collapse and there were no visitor injuries.

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The Killers - All These Things That I've Done

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 09:44:18 -0400

One of my favorite Killer songs

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Free Soloing Death

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:10:35 -0400

Watching this type of climbing just freaks me out. I won't ever comprehend their mindset because I'm afraid of height. Just one mishap and it is certain death.

However, if we consider other risks in our lives, such as passing a semi truck going 70 mph with only 8' or so between us, people taking some drug for kicks provided by some unknown pusher, walking down the side of the road with the traffic flow, your back to the traffic, maybe this is not as risky as it seems. I remember years ago when I was in pest control, as I was talking to the customer, she express serious concern about the chemical I was about to spray - as she took long deep drags on her cigarette.
We are often blind to the everyday risks we take.

Watch the video and see if your hands sweat a little.

Sad to hear of this man's death.

clipped from www.nationalparkstraveler.com

Did Gusty Winds Cause a Fatal Climbing Accident at Grand Teton National Park?

Investigators may never know for sure why 58-year old George Gardner, a climbing guide with nearly three decades of experience, fell to his death while free soloing a route in Grand Teton National Park that was well within his capabilities. The only thing they know for sure is that the free solo climbing like George Gardner was doing leaves no appreciable margin for error or misfortune.

In its pure form, free soloing requires that a climber go it alone and forego the normal protective measures. He or she relies only on physical strength, climbing skill, and mental discipline to prevent a lethal fall. This leaves no appreciable room for error or misfortune.

investigators have shown a keen interest in records obtained from a weather station installed at the Lower Saddle base camp.

These records reveal that a “substantial and atypical” wind gust of 60 mph occurred at 6:00 pm on the day of the accident

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The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be and She Moves In Her Own Way

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:18:06 -0400

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Spit Heals!

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:44:22 -0400

Start licking your wounds and HEAL!

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com

Licking Your Wounds: Scientists Isolate Compound In Human Saliva That Speeds Wound Healing

ScienceDaily (July 24, 2008) — A report by scientists from The Netherlands identifies a compound in human saliva that greatly speeds wound healing. This research may offer hope to people suffering from chronic wounds related to diabetes and other disorders, as well as traumatic injuries and burns. In addition, because the compounds can be mass produced, they have the potential to become as common as antibiotic creams and rubbing alcohol.

Specifically, scientists found that histatin, a small protein in saliva previously only believed to kill bacteria was responsible for the healing.

Then they made an artificial wound in the cell layer in each dish, by scratching a small piece of the cells away.

After 16 hours the scientists noticed that the saliva treated "wound" was almost completely closed.

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Dvorak's Interesting Column

nobody@vox.com(Owlbebak) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:40:01 -0400

John Dvorak's recent column about ROM boot up and other musings is worth the read.

clipped from www.pcmag.com

ASUS' Big Development

by John C. Dvorak

The ASUS sneak attack. The most interesting story the media is downplaying is the ASUS announcement that it will have a ROM boot chip on all its motherboards, which will boot Linux instantly on start-up. When you flick the switch the machine is instantly on. (It's about time.) Of course, you will have to press another button for the machine to load Windows.

This development is important, since 90 percent of the time all a user wants to do is surf the Web. Often when leaving for a trip, I forget to check the weather. To do so, I would have to start up my computer, wait forever for it to boot, then go online. This way, I just flip it on, and boom—I get a browser and the info and I'm done.

It's an extremely subversive ploy for a number of reasons. First of all, it gets people used to Linux, gives them a pain-free experience, and provides quick rewards. Second, it shows users that—most of the time—this is all they need.

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