My Summer Bucket List

By the end of Summer '09:
1) Go Paintballing. This MUST happen. Otherwise heads will roll, and cleaving heads from shoulders just isn't the same as engaging your target out at 30 yards.

2) Bowl something higher than a 200. Heck, an even 200 would be fine :)

3) Gain 6 lbs. Muscle or fat, it makes no difference to me, so long as my pant size stays ~30 :D.

4) Exercise at least every other day... maybe run. (loosely related to 3)

5) Smear my glorious victory in Michelle's face. (definitely related to 3)

6) Improve my archery, so that I can hold my own against Trench.

By the end of College:
7) Shoot a gun. Small-caliber is fine. Anything bolt-action, not so much.

Before 30:
8) Fly a plane. Like one of those combat simulation gigs. Skydiving is a close second.

9) Get a pet and name him/her "Creature."

And... I'm not thinking past then right now. *done being bored*

I can now say I'm a victim of DRM...

Submitted:
"I've installed Red Alert 3 only on two PCs. However, because I've reinstalled Windows on both computers multiple times (and even installed the game on two different partitions of the same computer) the game is telling me that I've reached my license limit. I never thought to "De-Authorize" the game before I formatted my computer(s) each time because I'd never come across such obnoxious DRM in a game before. Is there any way I can have my license limit reset? Because if you keep *any* sort of logs, you can tell that this game has only been used from one IP address at a time so it's not like you're license limit stopped pirating at all or anything...

Sincerely,
Frustrated, Legit Customer"

---

Response:
"Greetings,

Thank you for contacting EA games support.

Please be informed that, I have increased your license limit. You should be able to install/activate your game one more time. I would suggest that you first verify that the system meets the game's minimum requirements before trying to launch it once again."


It should be noted that I have two computers that require an installation of the game, and none of the previous installations exist anymore.
This is why a limit of installing games "5 times" and approving more installs on a "case by case basis" sucks (and is stupid). And why I now wholeheartedly sympathize with the pirating scene...

It should be noted that I do approve of management systems like iTunes, the latter of which lets you manually reset your authorizations in the case of copy-protected music (even though it's now also DRM-free).

Paper Hack.

There often comes a time where an obsession so insignificant collides with a compulsion so random and absurd that it just has to be done. Given how bored I've been lately, I have encountered just such an issue and conquered it with basic common sense (of the thermodynamic kind). Today's issue of geeky OCD is brought to you by a noisy computer.

Ever since I got a new heatsink for my computer (flashy metal thing with a fan that keeps your CPU from burning up) I've noticed that the noise my computer generated was nearly double that of its unmodified self. It turns out that sometihng or other in my computer was defective and the heatsink's fan just ran at full speed no matter what. A) That's ineffecient, noisy, and wasteful of a few volts of electricity. B) My fancy new (now old) heatsink (ZeroTherm BFT-90) not only wicked away heat super-effeciently, but resonated super-loudly when the fan revved up. It's kind of like a guitar. If you pluck a wire, you don't hear much. But if you pluck a wire strung across a hollow wooden frame, you get a loud, rich sound because the guitar body amplifies the acoustics. My big copper heatsink was amplifying the vibrations of the fan attached to it.



What I decided to do was to remove the heatsink fan, and use the exhaust fan of my computer case to cool the entire contraption. I would use a duct to channel the airflow through the fins of my heatsink and out the back of the case. The ambitious case-hacker/modder might break out sheet metal, and welding gear to do this. I pulled out paper and scotch tape.

The entire setup does work, albeit at a reduced effeciency, since the airflow isn't as strong, but it is *MUCH* quieter, which is what I'd been aiming for. I didn't do any of this blindly either, I ran a set of 'before and after' benchmarks to make sure I hadn't compromised the cooling capacity of my computer. The before and after temperatures showed a 5 degree difference in cooling ability, but still within safe limits.

I also took the time to tape up empty 3.5" drive bays, since my computer case has a small fan in the front to cool my hard drives. This forces most of the air to flow over my hard drives instead of dissipating uselessly.