World of Warcraft char, Fatweh

Here's a picture of my 'main' World of Warcraft char, Fatweh.

Now support a Facebook app updating the status of your chosen chars.

Tried it this morning and it didn't work.

This does work. It's a flash ani of my main an Allaince Warlock called Fatweh.

Flash and XML

This is done using XML.
Flash allows you to complete the loop providing specified data on the fly updated directly from the XML feed based on my character. So, for example if the image relating to my cloak changed, the XML Namespace containing the image data and dependancies for that particular piece of kit would be changed dynamically through Flash. All done throught the XML publishing platform.

Wild.

Google made me homeless

I case your wondering why my site has gone down, for the past 6 months I have been homeless in France.

'The powers that be...'

Following the removal of my web-site Lonelyplanetexchange.com, I've found it impossible to make money. On returning here to the UK, I'm finding it like before, i.e. no chance of getting a job whatever I do.

I did however keep a diary whilst I was homeless. This records my movements, the places and conditions I slept in.

How and where I got food.

I now have to declare myself bankrupt or just hang around on the dole till kingdom come or something turns up.

In the meantime...

Starting Kit

1 x Steel toe-cap Boots

3 x Socks

3 x Boxer shorts

1 x Tent

1 x Sleeping bag

1 x Foam matress

1 x Sprayway cagule

 1 x Fleece jacket

 1 x Fleece top

2 x T-shirt

1 x Cargo shorts/trouser

1 x Jeans

I did find stuff as I went along, and where this is the case, it's flagged up in each individual post.

I had much more but binned the lot when I realised I was going to have to continue without money.

Initially, I believed the people who sanctioned my sites' removal from Google might help me out. This was not the case.

Vive la France

Survival was made up of a combination of scavenging and Ribary.

Ribary is an ancient French right to live on the land.
Unlike stealing, not for profit, it allows you to take advantage of the fruit and agriculture that French countryside is packed with.
Basically, you stay out of the way and pop up for the occasional corn on the cob or apple or peach or pear or whatever is available in which region at any particular time. No trespassing, no stocking up or stealing, living life simply on a daily basis.

Ribary the French call it.

Here is a Ribary map of France. The places where I stopped and the places where I ate.

View Ribary France in a larger map

Ad Lib stuff

Soles

Made a pair of soles from sewing up two corregated plastic cut outs with foam padding to make insoles.
Did this twice as the journey went on, once for the steel toe-capped boots and second time for the pair of heavy workers boots I found in the barn. Each worn out by walking.

Sewing Kit

Sewing kit darned on a Sunday when I had nothing better to do until the nights drew in, then it became impossible and my socks developed large holes in the heals and toes.

Needle I found and combined with strands of bailing twine both picked up as I went along. The twine chaffed against the skin and left blisters so it was debatable whether it was worth doing at all.

Washing kit

To wash up was really important. When you stop washing, you lose contact with humanity.
I made sure I washed every day with this washing kit.

1 x Flannel

1 x Bar of Soap

1 x Large Jamming Saucepan

With this I could wash my kit as it became dirty, I could dry them out as on Sunday, my day of rest I did nothing.

This kept me clean, and kept me feeling human.

Back home now

Spoke with Kerri on the phone, she blamed the medication.

Back @ home now..

Kerri update

Kerri feinted today and was taken back to hospital.

Kerri has a heart attack

My little sister, Kerri, had a heart attack 2 days ago and was rushed to hospital.

She's the same age as me.

Small arteries

This was pretty unexpected. She has a unique condition which has led to one of the smaller arteries feeding her heart becoming inflamed and starting a nervous reaction leading to pain and pressure in her chest and arms. Commonly known as a 'heart attack'.

She pointed out exactly where the problem lied.

Here's a diagram.

As far as I know, one of the arteries, as pictured in the diagram has become damaged. Not Blocked. But damaged.
Whether her heart sustains damage remains to be seen.

Little Sis
Here's a picture of sis for those that have never seen her.

Let's hope she gets well soon...

Trapped cat

lulz

Improving World Of Warcraft Disconnect (WOW DC) problems

For many people Disconnect is a major problem in Warcraft. DC interrupts at random, and often crucial moments of play.
'Oh I DC'ed' being is a common, lame, excuse for players who die in inexcusable circumstances.

Don't be a lamer!
Up until 2008 I used Norton Antivirus. A product I had used since my first computer in 1997. A ten year stint which came to an abrupt end following the 2008 suite.

To reduce in-game DC in Warcraft
I suggest removing your Norton product and replacing it with a comprehensive, industry respected firewall product. This will reduce your levels of DC by ensuring your ports are accessed by services only sanctioned by yourself.

Unwanted Access
Here's a list of the programs that instantly jumped to access my connection when I installed the latest version of Warcraft WoTLK (10/12/2008).

I used the IP addresses supplied by the software to reverse trace the following companies:-

-Netherlands Amsterdam Versatel Nederland B.v
-Slovenia Ljubljana T-2 Access Network
-NTLI Network Management Centre
-INVITEL IP NETWORK COORDINATION CENTER
-Sweden Kungsbacka Telia Network Services
-eircom Group plc
-United Kingdom London Bt-central-plus
-Denmark Roskilde Cybercity A/s Xdsl Users
-Denmark Kolding Tdc Bredbaand Professional Users

These are large national telecommunications companies, contributing an additional 8 connections through MY broadband wire.
Placing that additional strain on my games' connection won't be contributing to play in a positive way, and it's not something I've asked for..

I rarely suffer from DC
I'm glad my software blocked these access attempts.

I rarely suffer from DC and would point you in the direction of Zone Alarm, the best gaming firewall at an affordable price.

May the Force by with You

Could The Force be with you? A toy due in stores this fall will let you test and hone your Jedi-like abilities.

The Force Trainer (expected to be priced at $90 to $100) comes with a headset that uses brain waves to allow players to manipulate a sphere within a clear 10-inch-tall training tower, analogous to Yoda and Luke Skywalker's abilities in the Star Wars films.

No, you're not tapping into some "all-powerful force controlling everything," as Han Solo said in the movies. But you are reaching out with mind power via one of the first mass-market brain-to-computer products. "It's been a fantasy everyone has had, using The Force," says Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing.

Mind-control games may be the coming thing: Mattel plans to demonstrate a Mind Flex game (also due this fall), which uses brain-wave activity to move a ball through a tabletop obstacle course, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Thursday.

In the Force Trainer, a wireless headset reads your brain activity, in a simplified version of EEG medical tests, and the circuitry translates it to physical action. If you focus well enough, the training sphere, which looks like a ping-pong ball, will rise in the tower.

A state of deep concentration is needed to achieve a Force-full effect. "When you concentrate, it activates the training remote," says Frank Adler of toymaker Uncle Milton Industries, which is creating the Trainer. "There is a flow of air that will move the (ball). You can actually feel like you are in a zone."

Star Wars sound effects and audio clips emitted from the base unit "cue you in to progress to the next level (from Padawan to Jedi) or when to move the sphere up or down to keep challenging yourself," Adler says.

"Until today, EEG technology has been designed for rigorous medical and clinical applications with little regard to price (and) ease of use," says Greg Hyver of NeuroSky, which developed the brain-wave technology for both games. "We are putting this exciting technology into everyone's living room."

taken from USA Today