Bye Vesta... Hello Fiserv...

I just realized that I did not do an entry for leaving Vesta. Generally, I go into a diatribe about what I learned, overall feelings, and things.. I am not going to. I am just going to leave it at that. Take it for what you will.

Well, about a month ago, I left Vesta and went to work for Fiserv. I am doing the same type of work, the same work that I have been doing for over a decade now.. But, not for IT.. I work for the various Product Development groups. This includes Engineering, Development, Integration and the QA groups. I am in charge of the Product Development Datacenter, from Architect / designing to implementation to maintaining. The overall environment is small than what I am used to, but there are a lot of good challenges to resolve. I do have to say that these people here are a lot of fun to work with and for. They really enjoy their work and it shows. Everyone is working on the same team mentality and willing to help out whenever possible. My Director is awesome and look forward in working with him for a long time.

Just... SO.. Wrong...

This is what happens when our Troops have too much time on their hands.. :)

iPhone4 vs HTC Evo

It is 3G and has the WIFIs... I need one with the bigger GBs..

Global Warming.. Fact or Fiction

I saw this and was reminded of a debate that I had with a couple of friends of mine… Okay, it was an aggressive conversation.

Hottest Decade on Record

The past decade was the hottest ever recorded and global temperatures are now rising at a rate of about one-fifth of a degree Fahrenheit every decade, according to the annual "State of the Climate" report issued by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More than 300 climate scientists in 48 countries used a wide variety of data to measure 10 indicators of warming, including air temperatures, sea temperatures, Arctic sea ice, glaciers, and spring snow cover. "These independently produced lines of evidence all point to the same conclusion: our planet is warming," said NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco. The NOAA report said every decade since the 1980s has become progressively warmer. Deke Arndt, the co-author of the NOAA report, said that although 1 degree F of warming since 1950 may seem small, "it has already altered our planet" by melting glaciers and sea ice, causing more intense heat waves, and sparking heavier rainstorms. The data showing that the 2000s were the hottest on record did not include data from 2010, which is so far the warmest year ever recorded, with extreme heat waves in the U.S., Russia, Europe, China, and the Middle East. The NOAA report said more than 90 percent of the warmth generated by burning heat-trapping fossil fuels has been absorbed by the oceans, which will radiate that heat back into the atmosphere for centuries to come.

Source: http://e360.yale.edu/content/digest.msp?id=2527

It reminds me of a movie quote - It takes a geological event to heat a million gallons of water by six degrees in 12 hours.

Nothing Is Ever Easy!

A Comcast door-to-door sales rep (Tony) came to the door last week and gave me a great deal on their services. The one deal breaker was about my (or more specifically my wife's) email has to be forwarded from Verizon to Comcast. He said that this was not a problem and they would be able to do it for one year. I asked him again and my wife even asked the same question. He reassured us that this was not a problem. So, I signed up… They came out and installed the equipment and verified everything was working. I asked about the email forwarding and the tech was not sure how to set that up. He suggested that I call tech support for help. So, I did just that. I called and the tech support guy said… sort of… Apparently, there is a website that you sign up for that acts as a forwarder. This was kind of a hassle, but I was willing to deal with it.

However, Today I canceled my Verizon account...AND THE TROUBLE BEGAN!!! Once the account was terminated, Verizon email stopped. Apparently, you have to have an active account. I called Comcast and they were little to no help. They told me to contact Verizon. So, I did. I talked to them, explained the situation and was willing to pay to keep the email alive. The Verizon tech was not even willing to hear of it. It was like.. How dare you leave and then want to keep your email. So, I am basically screwed and my wife is pissed, since we did not have anything in place to change the email address in the hundred of contacts, sites, and payment places out there.

I am not very happy with Tony and Comcast for what I feel is not being truthful.

April 2010 MSFT Patches - LOTS!

Bulletin ID	Bulletin Title and Executive Summary	Maximum Severity Rating and Vulnerability Impact	Restart Requirement	Affected Software
MS10-019	Vulnerabilities in Windows Could Allow Remote Code Execution (981210) This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Windows Authenticode Verification that could allow remote code execution. An attacker who successfully exploited either vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.	Critical Remote Code Execution	Requires restart	Microsoft Windows
MS10-020	Vulnerabilities in SMB Client Could Allow Remote Code Execution (980232) This security update resolves one publicly disclosed and several privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if an attacker sent a specially crafted SMB response to a client-initiated SMB request. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker must convince the user to initiate an SMB connection to a specially crafted SMB server.	Critical Remote Code Execution	Requires restart	Microsoft Windows
MS10-025	Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Media Services Could Allow Remote Code Execution (980858) This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Windows Media Services running on Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker sent a specially crafted transport information packet to a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server system running Windows Media Services. Firewall best practices and standard default firewall configurations can help protect networks from attacks that originate from outside the enterprise perimeter. Best practices recommend that systems that are connected to the Internet have a minimal number of ports exposed. On Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Windows Media Services is an optional component and is not installed by default.	Critical Remote Code Execution	Requires restart	Microsoft Windows
MS10-026	Vulnerability in Microsoft MPEG Layer-3 Codecs Could Allow Remote Code Execution (977816) This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft MPEG Layer-3 audio codecs. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opened a specially crafted AVI file containing an MPEG Layer-3 audio stream. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.	Critical Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Windows
MS10-027	Vulnerability in Windows Media Player Could Allow Remote Code Execution (979402) This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Windows Media Player. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if Windows Media Player opened specially crafted media content hosted on a malicious Web site. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.	Critical Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Windows
MS10-021	Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (979683) This security update resolves several privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker logged on locally and ran a specially crafted application. An attacker must have valid logon credentials and be able to log on locally to exploit these vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities could not be exploited remotely or by anonymous users.	Important Elevation of Privilege	Requires restart	Microsoft Windows
MS10-022	Vulnerability in VBScript Could Allow Remote Code Execution (981169) This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in VBScript on Microsoft Windows that could allow remote code execution. This security update is rated Important for Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. On Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2, the vulnerable code is not exploitable, however, as the code is present, this update is provided as a defense-in-depth measure and has no severity rating. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a malicious Web site displayed a specially crafted dialog box on a Web page and a user pressed the F1 key, causing the Windows Help System to be started with a Windows Help File provided by the attacker. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system.	Important Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Windows
MS10-023	Vulnerability in Microsoft Office Publisher Could Allow Remote Code Execution (981160) This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Office Publisher that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Publisher file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.	Important Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Office
MS10-024	Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange and Windows SMTP Service Could Allow Denial of Service (981832) This security update resolves one publicly disclosed vulnerability and one privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange and Windows SMTP Service. The more severe of these vulnerabilities could allow denial of service if an attacker sent a specially crafted DNS response to a computer running the SMTP service. By default, the SMTP component is not installed on Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.	Important Denial of Service	Requires restart	Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Exchange
MS10-028	Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Visio Could Allow Remote Code Execution (980094) This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Visio. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Visio file. An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.	Important Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Office
MS10-029	Vulnerabilities in Windows ISATAP Component Could Allow Spoofing (978338) This security update resolves one privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. This security update is rated Moderate for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are not vulnerable because these operating systems include the feature deployed by this security update. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to spoof an IPv4 address so that it may bypass filtering devices that rely on the source IPv4 address. The security update addresses the vulnerability by changing the manner in which the Windows TCP/IP stack checks the source IPv6 address in a tunneled ISATAP packet.	Moderate Spoofing	Requires Restart	Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for March 2010

Bulletin ID		Bulletin Title and Executive Summary			Maximum Severity Rating and Vulnerability Impact	Restart Requirement	Affected Software
MS10-016		Vulnerability in Windows Movie Maker Could Allow Remote Code Execution (975561) This security update addresses a privately reported vulnerability in Windows Movie Maker and Microsoft Producer 2003. Windows Live Movie Maker, which is available for Windows Vista and Windows 7, is not affected by this vulnerability. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker sent a specially crafted Movie Maker or Microsoft Producer project file and convinced the user to open the specially crafted file. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.			Important Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office
MS10-017		Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution (980150) This security update resolves seven privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Excel. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Excel file. An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.			Important Remote Code Execution	May require restart	Microsoft Office

Mass Effect 2 Review

I have gone through Mass Effect 2 twice now. Once with a ME1 Male Vanguard (20th) and now with my ME1 Female Adapt (60th). Let me begin by saying that you do not start with any of your abilities, level, or stuff from the first game. The opening sequence will tell you why.. Bioware did a fantastic job on this game and it is huge. Much larger than the first game, at least it feels that way. The combat system, inventory, and even travel is completely different. You can command each member of your squad individually. There is no inventory system, like the previous game. You have to buy or research (or both) to get more abilities for your weapons, armor, and abilities. This means that you need to mine planets, not just scan them.. But, you have to probe areas to extract the needed materials. This is cool, but very time consuming. You can easily spend several hours running around to the different solar systems to mine ore. This brings us to travel. There are still Mass Relays.. However, you actually fly your ship. Say you jump from the local system (our solar system) to somewhere on the edge, there may be 2 or even 3 other systems you can visit outside the jump system’s ring. This means that you will have to make sure that you are carrying fuel (yes, you burn fuel to go from one system to another) and probes. Both of which you can upgrade, with enough ore…

Combat is still point and shoot, but if you are bionic, you will be able to use powers, similar to those in the first game. However, you can use your abilities to arch around corners or walls. This is very handy when you are ducking behind a box and launching powers against someone’s shields.

With all of this said, I only have a couple of criticisms.
1. Max level is 30, which I achieved about half way through the game.
2. The Citadel level is really small. I would have really loved to be able to walk around more the old haunts, even if there was construction going on.
3. Can’t believe that Ash or Liara will not join your team.. I mean.. come on...

Overall, LOVE IT!!! I have played it more than Dragon Age (another Bioware product)

Oh.. Yes, there is romance and some sexual themes, after all it is a Bioware Game! I will now have to try it without importing a character to see what the differences are.

Mass Effect 2 - Review

I just realized that I have not posted a review of Mass Effect 2. I guess it is because I have not stopped playing Mass Effect 2. The graphics and game play is absolutely unbelievable, down to control panels on the ship. The cinematic cut-scenes are “almost” as good as the actual game play. This tells you how well done the actual game play is inside the game. The character development and dialog is great, at times, downright funny. There is a lot of depth to each of the characters in the game, each with a sub-mission to gain loyalty. Most aspects of the original game, Mass Effect, are different. There is no inventory, you now have to mine a planet for resources, and perform research for special abilities. With all of that said, I cannot speak highly enough and have a hard time putting the game down.

Don’t believe me.. Here is a link to a professional review.

It has my vote for GAME OF THE YEAR!

Out of Band Patch - Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-002 - Critical

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-002 - Critical

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (978207)

Published: January 21, 2010

Version: 1.0

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves seven privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The more severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Critical for all supported releases of Internet Explorer: Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8 (except Internet Explorer 6 for supported editions of Windows Server 2003). For Internet Explorer 6 for supported editions of Windows Server 2003 as listed, this update is rated Moderate. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses these vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Internet Explorer handles objects in memory, validates input parameters, and filters HTML attributes. For more information about the vulnerabilities, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-002.mspx