How to Make Windows Vista Faster March 31, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Computer Goodies.Tags: candy, dumb, effects, eye, faster, microsoft, slow, startup, tweak, vista, visual, windows
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When I just recieved my new Lenovo/IBM ThinkPad T400, I was pretty darn excited. I’ve been working on a 5-year old T42 for a long time now, and I’ve been waiting for an upgrade for a long, long time. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to start working on my new laptop.
Well, that excitement wore off pretty quickly, and it’s all because of one thing: Windows Vista. I think my troubles all started when it took me over 2 mintues to log on after the initial setup was all done, and then another minute for all those startup operations to finish booting up.
Now I can’t even imagine what people who’ve had Vista computers for a while have to go through every day, so I’ve decided to share what I did to get Vista loading and running quicker.
Results From Woodward March 30, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Debate.Tags: 2009, academy, atlanta, georgia, nationals, novice, woodward
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So I came back from the Woodward Academy Novice Nationals yesterday…
While I didn’t break into outrounds, I still at least kept a 3-3 record, which for me is pretty decent, especially since I’ve only been debating half the year. We were 3-1 going into the 5th round, and then we lost to a pretty decent team and then 6th round we got utterly crushed. It’s kinda funny how we hit 4th seed 5th round and then 5th seed 6th round, yet the round we had against 4th seed was considerably harder.
Overall, I thought it was a pretty cool experience. Hopefully I’ll be able to go next year.
4 Injured After Killer Bee Attack March 26, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Stuff in the News.Tags: attack, bee, condition, hospital, injured, killer, las, nevada, stable, vegas
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A 76 year old woman, an 82 year old man, a 36 year woman, and a 5 year old child in Las Vegas are all in the hospital after a killer bee attack.
Killer bees are an extremely aggressive variety of bees (hence the name) that attack in large swarms to kill whatever threat they detect. In large swarms, they can be deadly to anything.
The attack is being called one of the worst cases ever in Las Vegas, but all four victims are currently in stable condition.
Earlier this week a 53 year old man was hospitalized after being stun thousands of times by killer bees as overturned a boulder while working on a backhoe.
F-22 Crashes in California March 25, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Stuff in the News.Tags: air, california, crash, expensive, f-22, f22, force, news
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An F-22 crashed near Edwards AFB earlier today while it was on a test mission. Unfortunately, the fate of the pilot is still unknown. Little else is known at this point, but CNN writes:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — An Air Force F-22A fighter jet crashed Wednesday near Edwards Air Force Base in California, Air Force officials said.
An F-22A fighter jet similar to this one crashed Wednesday during a test mission in California.
The single-seater crashed about 10:30 a.m. for unknown reasons, the officials said.
The status of the pilot was unknown.
At $150 million apiece, the F-22A is the most expensive Air Force fighter.
The fighter was on a test mission when it crashed about 35 miles northeast of Edwards AFB, where it was stationed, the Air Force said in a news release.
In 2004, an F-22 Raptor crashed on a training mission in the Nevada desert. The pilot ejected and was not hurt, though the jet was destroyed.
The plane was designed in the 1980s to provide a stealthy method to enter Soviet air space and strike Soviet bombers if the USSR attempted a nuclear strike.
Once the Cold War ended, the Air Force found a new mission for the F-22 as a long-range fighter with a sophisticated stealth design and state-of-the-art equipment that no other plane could rival.
However, the rising cost of the plane and numerous design and software problems threatened the program, which was almost killed by Congress.
In the end, the aircraft survived, and most of the problems were fixed, except for the price tag, which forced the Air Force to buy fewer aircraft
I always thought that the F-22 program was unnecessary and unsafe. The plane is hardly ready for combat yet, and even if it was, the philosophy behind it is way out of date. The F-22 was originally meant to be a fighter to intercept Soviet forces during a nuclear strike. Now that there’s nobody with 1) an air force to even threaten our current air force and 2) there is no threat of a long-range nuclear attack using conventional bombers, there’s really no point in continuing the program. The plane is too expensive and it won’t serve a significant purpose in today’s world. Now’s the time to cut it and make way for more efficient programs.
China Blocks YouTube March 25, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Stuff in the News.Tags: block, censor, china, chinese, dalai, government, internet, lama, news, protest, tibet, tibetan, youtube
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Aaah, yes, more news of the Chinese government censoring the internet because they don’t like it.
The Chinese government recently blocked YouTube because of videos that showed Tibetan protesters getting beaten by police. Not only has the Chinese government blocked YouTube, they’ve gone so far as to say that the video itself was completely made up.
“The Dalai Lama group is used to fabricating lies to deceive the international community and the aim of this video is to hide the truth of the March 14th riot,”
That’s just going a little too far. I think most of the people in China can actually see through this lie and figure out that, hey, maybe the government has more of an incentive to lie to us than these Tibetan protesters.
What I really hope the Chinese government discovers soon is that you can fool some of the people all the time, all the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time. They need to get out of their little sterile bubble and realize that they have to take responsibility for all the bad shit they do.
Israel’s Phosphorus Bombs March 25, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Stuff in the News.Tags: bad, bomb, burns, crime, gaza, israel, news, offensive, phosphorus, smoke, un, very, war
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A report submitted by the Human Rights Watch alleges that Israel used phosphorus bombs against civilian targets, as a “smokescreen” for troops. HRW alleges that in most of the areas that were affected, the majority of the population consisted on civilians, which according to them could be “evidence of war crimes.”
Phosphorus is normally used in flares and smoke bombs, and has many effects. From the AP:
(While) it is not considered a chemical weapon and is not banned per se, it ignites and burns on contact with oxygen and creates a smokescreen at night or during the day to mask the visual movement of troops.
“It also interferes with infra-red optics and weapon-tracking systems, thus protecting military forces from guided weapons such as anti-tank missiles. When WP comes into contact with people or objects, though, it creates an intense and persistent burn. It can also be used as a weapon against military targets,” the group said.
Taking that into consideration, this could be a war crime, albeit one not so serious.
The maddening thing is though, that because Israel is a nation that has relatively good standing with the world (or had in any case…), the most they’ll get is probably a slap on the wrist. Maybe a reprimand from the US or the UN, but no direct action would be taken against them. Meanwhile, North Korea is being threatened by the UN for setting up a single rocket to launch a peaceful satellite. How does that make any sense at all?
Pink Floyd Sonnet! March 24, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Cream of the Crop, School Stuff.Tags: amazing, awesome, band, better, floyd, great, iamb, iambic, Music, pentameter, pink, progressive, rock, shakespeare, sonnet, william
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There was a short project in English class where I had to write a sonnet about a topic of my choice. I was kinda stuck when it came to picking a real topic, so I decided to write one about Pink Floyd:
Pink Floyd compared to contemporaries;
hardly a fair comparison at all.
It would take me many dictionaries
to list all differences I recall.
Pink Floyd is the progressive rock Mozart;
their music is like true heavenly bliss.
All their music genuinely has heart,
So when a song is played it’s hard to miss.
Real rock greatness must have a true standard.
Setting one is the purpose of Pink Floyd.
They can then teach all those other laggards
to fix their acts before they’re unemployed.
Pink Floyd is the best progressive rock band,
and for that I have to give them a hand.
How do you guys like it?
A New Car for India March 23, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Stuff in the News.Tags: automobile, car, gallon, horsepower, india, mileage, miles, nano, only, per, small, tata, traffic
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The “Tata Nano” was recently revealed in India as a way to boost private ownership of automobiles. It’s essentially a really, really cheap SmartCar. A $2500 SmartCar.
The car’s had its critics, and for good reason: it’s got one windshield wiper, 1-foot rims, and 33 HP. But, it’s also got 47 mpg, which is more than most motorcycles get.
And think about it: one, it’s great for the slow, urban driving in India and two, it’s a lot safer than the 2-wheelers people in India usually ride. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
And seriously, for those of you laughing at the 33 horsepower, check out this video of a normal day in India:
Airplane Crashes in Montana March 22, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Stuff in the News.Tags: airplane, all, board, cemetery, crash, ironic, killed, kills, montana, on, passengers
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A small turboprop airplane crashed in a cemetery in Montana earlier today, killing 17 (actually, 14. See additional notes) passengers.
It’s almost ironic in a sad way don’t you think? An airplane crashes in a cemetery and kills everyone on board. Apparently the casualties included many children too, going on a ski trip.
Ironic in a sad way...
BUTTE, Mont. – A small plane crashed Sunday as it approached an airport in Montana, killing 17 people, including several children, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.
The single engine turboprop plane crashed about 500 feet (152 meters) from the airport in Butte while attempting to land, said spokesman Mike Fergus. The Montana Standard reported in an online story that it crashed in Butte’s Holy Cross Cemetery.
The aircraft had departed from Oroville, California, and the pilot had filed a flight plan showing a destination of Bozeman, about 85 miles (136 kilometers) southeast of Butte. But the pilot canceled his flight plan at some point and headed for Butte, Fergus said.
Preliminary reports indicate the dead include numerous children, he said. There were no known fatalities on the ground, he added.“We think that it was probably a ski trip for the kids,” Fergus said.
Eyewitness accounts
Fergus says the plane was registered to Eagle Cap Leasing Inc. in Enterprise, Oregon, but he doesn’t know who was operating the plane.Calls to local authorities were not immediately returned.
The Montana Standard reported on its Web site that the plane crashed in the Holy Cross Cemetery, just south of the airport. An eyewitness told the Standard that the plane was doing steep angle turns and then went into a nose dive.
“All of a sudden the pilot lost control and went into a nosedive,” Kenny Gulick, 14, told the news organization. “He couldn’t pull out in time and crashed into the trees of the cemetery,” Gulick said.
3/23/09 EDIT: The body count has been changed to 14 from 17, and the original page was changed (I wonder why?). According to the AP, there is little evidence available for investigators to figure out exactly what caused the crash. There were apparently 7 children and 7 adults on board.
Burn CD’s Without Installing Anything! March 22, 2009
Posted by Jacky in Computer Goodies.Tags: burn, cd, compatible, computer, dla, format, make, no downloads, pictures
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There are literally hundreds of CD-burning software apps out there, but in reality, most people don’t have to download a thing to burn data CD’s. This will require that your computer has a CD burner in it (most CD drives are now capable of burning) and you computer has DLA installed on it. You shouldn’t have to worry too much about DLA, as nearly all computers now have it, but if you don’t, you’ll need to download it. Most people won’t have to download a thing, this process takes next to no time at all, and it only takes 4 simple steps.
