Don't Back Down

Microsoft, in their infinite wisdom, offers a new Shut Down option in Windows Server 2003. I think it's available in newer versions of Windows XP as well, but don't quote me on that part.

Anyway, this option is a nice one - apply the updates that are pending and shut down the computer. It makes perfect sense. But what if you are a remote administrator and would instead prefer to Apply Updates and Restart? Then you're out of luck.

While they do have some occasional good ideas, you have to wonder if they actually test them in real-world situations. Why would I ever want to shut down a remote computer?

I'm in the process of updating the individual archives to dynamic publishing. This is a bit of a challenge since they are a tad more complex than the other archives, so for the time being, you may notice some oddities - comments missing, things like that. Please be patient. I'll have things working as soon as I can.

Update: I think that everything is fixed other than the function that allows you to leave a comment. I'm working on a couple new ideas for that, but it should be restored tomorrow. In the meantime, if you have something pressing to say and can't leave your comment, drop me a note and I'll post it manually for you.

Not long ago, I mentioned that I was in the process of switching cell phone carriers. More specifically, I said that I had yet to see a change (which is nice, what with all the complaints I've received about my carrier-to-be).

Read "Round One with Suncom" »

So it seems that the world is afire with news of the new Google homepage. While that's just wonderful and all, I have to ask - do many people actually use portals? The closest I get is Bloglines, but I use it to aggregate information - bring it all to me. I don't use it to start each day. Well, that's not entirely true - I do start most days with Bloglines, but it's a whole lot easier than trying to read everything on different sites.

While the new Google initiative (as well as My Yahoo!) is supposed to integrate feed reading, I simply can't imagine it working as well as Bloglines. There is no archive to it and the data is limited. Of course, you have Google - there isn't much need for an archive. But much like the aforementioned Newsgator Online service, it's designed for quick viewing. I don't do that.

I like to go in, and read the couple hundred items. No, I don't read all of them - but I could. Whether I'm using Google, Newsgator or Yahoo!, that's a bit of a chore - you get the visual equivalent of sound bites, which just isn't my style.

As for a "launching pad", I use Firefox Keyword Searches. Sorry, Google, but it is so much faster. I'm sure you understand that it's nothing personal, but I don't know how much I'll be making use of this new service of yours.

As I mentioned earlier in the week, categorizing information is difficult. It's not getting any easier. Of course that doesn't stop me from trying. Yesterday I went through and updated a bunch of entries to try and better categorize them (yes, again).

The Sites & Sounds category, as it was, no longer exists. It has been renamed to Diversions, and will handle anything that you might be interested in for passing the time - notably things like shows, movies or music, but there may be other events or entertaining links thrown in there from time to time.

Read "Whole Lotta Shaking Going On" »

Not even a month after catching my second email harvester, I've snagged another one. Three down, a billion or so to go. Woohoo!

Beth points us to Puzzle Japan, a reasonably-priced service for puzzles, with over 600 puzzles on their site. Probably a lot more - I've just seen that number more than once.

Read "Puzzling Behavior" »

While I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds this articulated hard-shell backpack to be pretty sweet (after all, what is cooler than a mongo-sized roly-poly bug?), am I the only one who also sees it as a ready-made terrorist dream come true? I mean come on - rip out the inner lining, pack it with explosives of some sort or another, then chain the thing to a post of some kind and let it rip.

They even give a (presumably unintentional) example of such a use on their web site, with the pack wrapped securely around a column of some kind!

I have no idea just how hard the shell is, but it seems that anything designed as "anti-theft" would use a hard enough material to prevent casual removal. And if that is the case, how will well-intentioned lifesavers remove the thing? Bring in the jaws of life, so that they can dig into a wad of explosives wrapped around a telephone pole?

Not too long ago, McDonald's introduced sweet tea in their restaurants (at least here in Charlotte). I haven't had a chance to try it. Chick-Fil-A has had sweet tea for at least a few years, and it's pretty good - though as I recall it's rather pricey. Today, I found out that Aldi has started carrying sweet tea as well. I just had a glass, and it's pretty good. At $1.39 per gallon jug, the price is right too.

Read "Sweet Tea by the Gallon" »

In fighting a particularly nasty trojan, dubbed something like TROJ_DLOADER in a number of instances, I came across the need for two utilities.

The first is called StartupList, and gives you a list of everything that happens during startup. In this case, the startup of Explorer (and by extension, Internet Explorer) was the winner where an "enumerating helper object" loaded a suspicious DLL everytime a window was opened.

Once the file was found, I needed a copy of MoveOnBoot, which allows the copy/move/rename/delete of a file that is used by Windows at boot time - before the object is in use. Simply select the object found in the prior step, select to move it and/or delete it, and restart. Problem solved.

StartupList actually provides a GUID as well, which you can use to search your registry if you'd like to get rid of all traces of the Trojan. Anti-spyware software, such as that from Webroot can also help with this - though it cannot actually remove the file, so you need to have that done first.

Now this is a really cool application of Google Maps - a database of Chicago crimes mapped out visually. Whether you're looking for places to avoid, or places to hang out if you're in the market for a particular service, it's a very nice implementation.

Almost every day I see someone effectively run a stop sign. Just today I would have seen it again if the person didn't realize that there was actually a car coming from another direction. Even if these drivers don't blow through it completely, they generally don't slow enough to make much of a difference. Today's example, for instance, was nearly halfway across the intersection before they stopped because of the other car.

Read "Ignoring the Signs" »