XBox 360 and DOA 4

My packages from e-bay arrived yesterday. I managed to pick up DOA 4 and Perfect Dark Zero (Limited Collectors Edition) for $25 per, including shipping (Brand Spanking New). Score! When I was at Cori, there was a company Xbox, in which we had DOA 3. In which, I do have to say, I became able to hold my own against people. However, since I left Cori I have not been able to keep up my skills. I did not realize how rusty I have become when I was playing Kasumi (one of my favorites) and getting my ass kicked by everyone and their MOM! I did manage to find my groove and beat Alpha-153. This is a new character that is deadly, FAST, Hits like a truck, multiple combos, and does not have a problem with pinning you against the wall and beating the snot of you. I finally got her, but it took a few tries.. more than 1, but less than 50.

The graphics are stunning. I love the areas, characters, physics, story, and…oh…yes.. the costumes. This is very much a Daddy Game.. Liz walked in when I was getting pounded by Christy. All she said is that Christy needed to wear a shirt under that jacket and my girl needed a bra. :P I can’t wait to see all of the outfits.

So far, I am really impressed with the Xbox 360. It is fast, the graphics are fantastic, and love the fact that I can share my music from my PC. However, I would have to say that they need to work on a better cooling solution. This thing runs FREAKING HOT! I want to put a fan or something inside the entertainment center to keep it cooler. (I will have to give that some thought.)

my XBOX 360 has ARRIVED!

On Friday, the family went to Costco to pickup my new XBOX, $4 dollars cheaper than the last time I looked at it, I might add. It came with Gotham Racing, an additional wireless controller, and the plug and play power charger. When we got home, the girls and I took out the old Xbox and put in the shinny new one. We hooked up the whole thing, including network (cable strung across the floor), setup my account and off we went. I wanted to see if most of my old games works, so I put in Halo and SSX. Unfortunately, SSX Tricky is not supported on the 360. Bummer, the girls really enjoyed that game. I loaded up Zuma, Joust, and PGR3, just to see how they are. Liz really likes Zuma, which we had to rush to Target to get a 1600 point card so that she could play more than just the first level. Kind of a good deal, 1600 points for $20 bucks, Zuma costs 800 points. Now, she plays Zuma quite a bit, in fact, she has probably logged more time on the Xbox than I have. It looks like I have another convert.

The wireless NIC, DOA4, and Perfect Dark Zero are all speeding there way here to add to the fun and excitement.

Continuting to bitch, I mean Troubleshoot this Mac.

I am still having problems with this boat anchor. Thanks to a post, I was able to resolve the first error. However, I am now getting a different "Panic Error". I am ready to attach the chain and go waterskiing.


panic(cpu 0 caller 0x0003FEA8): zalloc: "kalloc.16" (20490 elements) retry fail 3 Latest stack backtrace for cpu 0:
Backtrace:
0x00095718 0x00095C30 0x0002683C 0x0003FEA8 0x0002BB0C 0x00303E80 0x00303FFC 0x003020BC
0x0030069C 0x002FF9CC 0x002EA1CC 0x0008B1A8 0x000291C0 0x000233AC 0x000AC0AC 0x00000000 Proceeding back via exception chain:
Exception state (sv=0x1B109780)
PC=0x9000B268; MSR=0x0000F030; DAR=0xF081FEC4; DSISR=0x42000000; LR=0x9000B1BC; R1=0xBFFFE3F0; XCP=0x00000030 (0xC00 - System call)

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.7.0: Fri May 26 15:20:53 PDT 2006; root:xnu-792.6.76.obj~1/RELEASE_PPCModel: PowerMac3,1, BootROM 3.2.2f1, 1 processors, PowerPC G4 (2.8), 400 MHz, 320 MB
Graphics: ATY,Rage128Pro, ATY,Rage128Pro, AGP, 16 MB Memory Module: DIMM0/J21, 64 MB, SDRAM, PC100-222S Memory Module: DIMM1/J22, 64 MB, SDRAM, PC100-222S Memory Module: DIMM2/J23, 64 MB, SDRAM, PC100-222S Memory Module: DIMM3/J24, 128 MB, SDRAM, PC100-222S
Modem: Spring, , V.90, , APPLE VERSION 0001, 4/7/1999 Network Service: Built-in Ethernet, Ethernet, en0 Parallel ATA Device: WDC WD102BA, 9.55 GB Parallel ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8585, USB Device: Hub, , Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA USB Device: Apple USB Mouse, Mitsumi, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA USB Device: M2452, Alps Electric, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA


I am thinking that this box is just a piece of crap and needs to be pushed off of the building.

Working on a Mac

Thanks to Anonymous!
Based on a reply to my “I hate my Mac” post, Anonymous, suggested that the problem was not with the kalloc.16 (which is what I originally Goggled to no end) but with the Thursby product. I contacted the Mac team about Thursby’s ADmitMac product and the panic error that I was getting. They stated that I have an old version of the product and that I can simply remove ADmitMac from the system. Which I did. This is kind of surprising, since I just had it rebuilt before I took ownership. However, removing the ADmitMac folder did not solve my problem. I walked in this morning and had another Panic Error. :(

I do have to say, coming from me it almost pains me to say this, working on a Mac is really simple. It does not have all of my tools that I need or use, but for running an Outlook-like Client and IE browser, it is very intuitive. I would seriously think about getting one of these for my Dad, who just uses these two functions – Get Mail and surf the Internet. Oh, and lets not forget Poker...he likes Poker.

I am not sure I would be able to sell him on it, though. I know how to fix a PC running a Microsoft product.

Panic Error - The Commercials were WRONG!!!

For all those that think that A MAC won’t crash.. Try this on for size…

I have this PowerPC G4 “Boat Anchor” in my cube, just for support of Macs Clients that are using Entourage and for OWA Issues.. Okay, so here we are, I am working away, I have Safari and Entourage open and then all of a sudden (Poof!) I get this “Panic Error”…

panic(cpu 0 caller 0x0003FEA8): zalloc: "kalloc.16" (22241 elements) retry
fail 3
Latest stack backtrace for cpu 0:
Backtrace:
0x00095718 0x00095C30 0x0002683C 0x0003FEA8 0x0002BB0C 0x00097D44
0x00140434 0x00162040
0x00160C14 0x0028FB84 0x002A3970 0x1AAB7700 0x1AAB9084 0x1AAB5754
0x000A9914
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.thursby.kext.NetBIOS(3.0)@0x1aaa2000
Proceeding back via exception chain:
Exception state (sv=0x1638D500)
PC=0x00000000; MSR=0x0000D030; DAR=0x00000000; DSISR=0x00000000;
LR=0x00000000; R1=0x00000000; XCP=0x00000000 (Unknown)

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.7.0: Fri May 26 15:20:53 PDT 2006;
root:xnu-792.6.76.obj~1/RELEASE_PPCModel: PowerMac3,1, BootROM 3.2.2f1, 1
processors, PowerPC G4 (2.8), 400 MHz, 320 MB
Graphics: ATY,Rage128Pro, ATY,Rage128Pro, AGP, 16 MB
Memory Module: DIMM0/J21, 64 MB, SDRAM, PC100-222S
Memory Module: DIMM1/J22, 64 MB, SDRAM, PC100-222S
Memory Module: DIMM2/J23, 64 MB, SDRAM, PC100-222S
Memory Module: DIMM3/J24, 128 MB, SDRAM, PC100-222S
Modem: Spring, , V.90, , APPLE VERSION 0001, 4/7/1999
Network Service: Built-in Ethernet, Ethernet, en0
Parallel ATA Device: WDC WD102BA, 9.55 GB
Parallel ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8585,
USB Device: Hub, , Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Apple USB Mouse, Mitsumi, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA
USB Device: M2452, Alps Electric, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA


This happens every F*N DAY!!! It does not seem to matter what I have open, running or if it is just sitting there.. CRASH! Every Day!


Why Mac’s SUCK!!!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6553260189868317794&q=why+macs+suck&hl=en


I hate Macs.

Now, being the person that I am, I did try to troubleshoot the problem. At first I thought it was RAM, so I did a test will all of the sticks. NOPE! Hard-Drive…NOPE!

I hate Macs.

Funny little story

This is the transcription of the ACTUAL radio conversation between the British and the Irish off the coast of Kerry, October 1998. Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations 10-10-98.

IRISH: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

BRITISH: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision.

IRISH: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

BRITISH: This is the Captain of a British Navy Ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

IRISH: Negative. I say again,! you will have to divert YOUR course.

BRITISH: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER HMS BRITIANNIA! THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE BRITISH ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. I SAY AGAIN, THAT IS 15 DEGREES NORTH OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.

IRISH: We are a lighthouse................Your Call.



According to the U.S. Navy Office of Information, it is simply “an old joke like those found in popular magazines.” The same exchange is said to have taken place between a U.S. and Canadian ship off Newfoundland in 1995.
http://www.dcmsoft.com/rumor/story/lighthouse.htm

Stargate SG-1 "200th" and a special announcement

This Friday was the 200th episode of Stargate SG-1. I did TiVo the pre-show, which (at times) was really funny. I especially liked the outtake clip where Carter was belittling O’Neil while they were shooting the "Solitudes" Episode. In this episode, O'Neil and Carter are stranded in an Ice Cave trying to chip the ice away of the DHD, so they can "dial" home. “

- Outtake from “Solitudes”. Jack and Sam are digging out the DHD. TAPPING (as Carter): You spent seven years on MacGuyver and you can’t figure this one out? We’ve got belt buckles and shoelaces and a piece of gum – build a nuclear reactor, fer cryin’ out loud! You used to be MacGuyver, MacGadget, MacGimmick, now you’re Mr MacUseless! Dear *God* - I’m stuck on a glacier with *MacGuyver*!

http://www.zippyvideos.com/133684941450925/stargate_sg_-_outtakes_-_macgyver_gag_on_stargate/


I saw this announcement this morning and it has totally destroyed my day. 'Stargate: SG-1' Cancelled

“Ant writes "The Sci-Fi channel has announced that it will not be renewing its (very popular) original series Stargate SG-1 for another season.The spinoff series Stargate: Atlantis will get the nod, though, airing for a fourth year. SG-1 aired its 200th episode on August 18th, and the SF series is the longest-running SF show on American television." Gateworld has further details: "New episodes of both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis continue Fridays this summer starting at 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific, leading up to the mid-season finale on September 22. The second half of the season will begin in March, leading to SG-1's final bow on SCI FI in June."
http://slashdot.org/articles/06/08/22/130227.shtml

Liz and I are both great fans of both Atlantis and SG-1 and always look forward to Sci-Fi Friday. We also own all of the SG-1 DVD sets through Season 8. I do have to say that they have had a good long run and will be missed.

How to: Access Gmail using Outlook

Here is a quick way to be able to get your gmail email using your outlook client. I, personally, like the web interface of their site. But, for those who want everything in your outlook, here is a step-by-step way to do that.

Make sure that POP access is turned on for your Gmail account

Select Tools E-mail Accounts... from the menu in Outlook.

Make sure Add a new e-mail account is selected.

Click Next >

Choose POP3 as the Server Type.

Click Next >

Enter your Gmail account details in the Internet E-mail Settings (POP3) dialog:

• Type your full name under Your Name:.
• Type your Gmail email address under E-mail Address:.
• Type your full Gmail address under User Name: as well.
• Type your Gmail password under Password:.
• Type pop.gmail.com under Incoming mail server (POP3):.
• Type smtp.gmail.com under Outgoing mail server (SMTP):.

Click More Settings....

Go to the Outgoing Server tab.

Make sure My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication is checked.

Leave Use same settings as my incoming mail server selected.

Go to the Advanced tab.

Make sure This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) is checked under both Incoming server (POP3): and Outgoing server (SMTP):

Type 465 under Outgoing server (SMTP):

• If the number under Incoming server (POP3): has not been changed to 995 automatically, enter 995 there.

Click OK

Click Next >

Click Finish.

Halo 3 Release Date Announced.

March 31st, 2007

Amazon has already begun to take pre-orders for Halo 3. How can you beat that... Get your copy without standing in line, fighting for a parking place at the mall or staying up until midnight (in a line) at some retailer... It is quick (single click ordering), delivered right to your door, no fuss - no muss... I have ordered my copy.

Have you?

First Cortana letter

From: "Cortana" cortana@bungie.com
To: hamish.sinclair@tcd.ie
Subject: ClosureDate: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 10:50:20 -0600
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Priority: 3

I have walked the edge of the Abyss.

I have governed the unwilling.

I have witnessed countless empires break before me.

I have seen the most courageous soldiers fall away in fear.

[I was there with the Angel at the tomb]

I have seen your future.

And I have learned.

There will be no more Sadness. No more Anger. No more Envy.

I HAVE WON.

Oh, and your poet Eliot had it all wrong:

THIS is the way the world ends.

a friend of a friend


--------------------------
Now, go and watch the Halo 3 Trailer..
- A Friend of a Friend.

Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant

Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant v1.0

Here is a cool little tool that will programmatically executes a set of troubleshooting steps to identify the root cause of performance, mail flow, and database mounting issues. The tool automatically determines what set of data is required to troubleshoot the identified symptoms and collects configuration data, performance counters, event logs and live tracing information from an Exchange server and other appropriate sources. The tool analyzes each subsystem to determine individual bottlenecks and component failures, then aggregates the information to provide root cause analysis.

Exchange: SA will not start on a Exchange 2003 Server

Problem:
Came across this issue where after installing Exchange 2003 on a Windows 2003 SP1 Server, the System Attendant would not start. This was a new build and did not have Exchange loaded on it before. When attempting to start the SA Service, it would fail almost immediately. The event log would throw an event ID: 1005, Unexpected error Access is denied. Facility: Win32 ID no: c0070005 Microsoft Exchange System Attendant occurred. There was also an error in the ESM under the server properties where the log file directory states the location of the message tracking logs. The error was “An error occurred during a call to Windows Management Instrumentation” - ID no: 80041013 - Exchange System Manager.

Solution:
After spending a lot of time with Microsoft – The solution was painfully simple. On the Domain Controller there was a registry setting to restrict anonymous access. It was set to 2, the most restrictive. The Microsoft recommended setting for this is 1. Reboot the DC and...

This resolved the issue.

Why:
The registry settings on Authenticating DC, caused access denied up on anonymous SMB connection to IPC$

Half Life 2: Episode One - Update

I finished the game last night, I guess I was farther than I originally thought. The very ending is quite difficult and ammo was becoming an issue. I will try not to spoil the game for anyone. However, I have two words for you… Keep Moving!!! I spend a little too long in one spot and paid the price for it. (Squish – Like Bug). The last clip was kinda neat, but it left you with the same type of cliffhanger that the original game had. I would have liked to seen something a bit different. Maybe in the next release.

Now that the game is over, I still have to say that it is well worth the green.

- Waiting in anticipation for the next episode.

Movie Review: V for Vendetta (2006)

"From the pages of David Lloyd and Alan Moore's groundbreaking graphic novel springs the enigmatic "V" (Hugo Weaving of The Matrix), a masked freedom fighter who's taken up arms against the totalitarian government in a futuristic Britain. Finding an unlikely ally in a young woman named Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), V urges the citizenry to fight the oppression of the state. John Hurt and Stephen Rea also co-star." - Netflix

I am of two minds about this movie. One one hand it was a great, political, rebellious film portraying what people will do when their freedoms are trampled on by a Nazi-like, fascist, dictatorship. The symbolism and visuals were enthralling. However, on the other hand, I would not say that this movie is groundbreaking or visionary. It was more of a 1984 rip off. Natalie Portman is pretty and nice to look at (with hair), but her acting was really really bad. (or maybe it was the script) If you are into a political movie of a government that has going totally dark, then you will enjoy this movie. If you are a person that likes a good drama, it is a toss up. For the rest of you... you are seriously out of luck. Rated R for language and some violence.

Half Life 2: Episode One

As you all already know or have read, I am a big Half-Life fan. (counter-strike, DOD, HL, HL2, etc) Well, more accurately, I am a big Valve fan. This past week, Liz bought me HL2: EP1 from Amazon for something like $15 bucks. Let me begin by saying how impressed I was in its ability to rekindle my emotions from Half-Life 2 game. It started out strong and has kept going strong, given that I am only about half way done. The game is only slated to be about 5 hours of game play, but if you like wandering around and checking out things, you can easily spend double that. I had to check out everything, see how far I can throw a fridge, what would happen if I shot..., If you keep shooting a combine soldier – does he eventually become just a red spot… Also, there are many hidden passages and the puzzles are a bit harder than the original game.

And, Alyx is a real bad ass. She does a real good job helping out and her comments are at times just down right funny. She follows you around covering your back and at times taking all the bad guys on by herself. This addition to the Half-Life series has the look and feel of being a multiplayer campaign, that you can play by yourself. I know that I have said this before, but this one if defiantly a BUY!! Go and Get it!

Dora! Dora! Dora!

Allie’s Birthday Party

This past Saturday, it was Allison’s 3rd Birthday. So, Liz and I set off to have the most extravagant party a 3 year old would enjoy. We had the party in the backyard of Liz’s parents house, which is twice the size of ours (huge). Allie is really into Dora right now. There was Dora decorations and balloons, everywhere, on the house, plants, chairs, tables, cake and even a Dora piñata. On a side note, the makers of the piñatas no longer open by beating the cardboard object senseless, there are pull strings that the kids grab and yank. Much safer for all involved. There were about over 30 people, including kids. We had pizza’s, chips, soda, a clear liquid that had no bubbles (water), fruit punch, juice boxes, veggies, fruit, 3 different kinds of salad, and the for mentioned Dora cake. I rented 4 tables with umbrellas, a tent to put the food under, and a helium tank. Not the small one.. that is far to small. I got the big guy that weights a good 75 pounds. The kids had a great time, played in the pool, ran around, ate, ran around some more, jumped back into the pools (some with clothes on), and then did it all over again. Allie made out like a little bandit. She got a Dora doll house, Dora sleeping bag, Dora dolls, and a Dora Bike. (yes, a two wheeled bike) But, not all presents were Dora, she also got a clothes, a fairy bear from Wisconsin, and a Nemo body pillow, as well as, other things that would be to long to list out. Both her and Zuzu had a great time and had lots of fun with the other kids.

Mommy and Daddy are still trying to recuperate from the whole experience.