Dannic, The Prince of Cats

Posted by Dannic on January 5th, 2008 in General

All of the gifts were given out. Glad that is over with. Probably my most expensive Christmas ever. Hopefully it won’t take me too long to pay down my credit cards. Bleh.

Ended up with a windfall on my income last month. Made for a great Christmas.

Bought myself a few toys I have been wanting for quite some time. Got a 42 inch LCD from Best Buy. Great screen. Also got a Bluray DVD player to go along with it. Also figured it was time to upgrade my game console and really wanted to play Halo 3 so I had to get a Xbox 360 as well. That was the extent of my Christmas.

The kids made out quite a bit as well. They ended up with games out their eyeballs. Of course, since they didn’t have to go to school they have already finished one or two.

I hope your Holidays were just as good as mine.

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Posted by Dannic on December 22nd, 2007 in Online Role Playing Games(ORPGS.com)

I have a couple of goals that I want to get done for the coming year. I haven’t gotten them done this year. Hopefully everything will work right next year and I can actually get those goals done. I should be able to if trends continue.

First goal for the new year is to come up with a good looking site. The programming isn’t a problem. I can handle the programming. But I need some help with the graphics and look of the website. Something with a fantasy base.

I can have it professionally done for about $1500. And I may end up going that route. I’ve tried DeviantArt.com but none of the ones that responded will respond a second time. Not very reliable.

Second goal is to purchase a server. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Right now we are on a dedicated server that I have rented. It has cost about $4000 since I started renting it. I think I can probably reduce my cost but coming up with what is needed is a bit difficult at times. I don’t need $4000 to get the new server but I do need about $2400 for a good server plus the software I use.

Once I get that then I can reduce my monthly costs almost in half. I’d be really happy about that. Less worried about making it on donations.

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Posted by Dannic on December 11th, 2007 in General

Tried to go to Yosemite once again this weekend. Unfortunately, the passes we could use that were close to where we are staying were all closed. The only way to get to Yosemite was to travel all the way to Bakersfield or Reno. This would have caused our trip to be probably six hours each way. Just wasn’t acceptable for a day trip.

We ended up going to Mammoth Lake Resort instead. It was well worth the trip. It has been a long time since I have been to a ski resort. Made me wish I had enough time to go skiing. But we didn’t.

On our way to the resort the roads were showing signs of having snow. At one point we had signs recommending(or requiring) snow chains. We kind of worried that we wouldn’t even be able to make it to the resort. By the time we got to Mammoth Lake the roads were spotty. Sometimes they had snow and sometimes they were just wet with water of melted snow or ice. Quite a bit of gravel was on the road.

After getting some directions and giving a rid to the main lodge, we finally made it to the ski slope and gondola that would take us to the summit. When we arrived the ski was clear and it was not snowing. The gondola was only able to go mid way up the mountain. Not long after we purchased our tickets, we learned that the top was open.

Waited around for the initial rush to the gondola to subside. Though I think we should have just gone once we found out.

The ride up to the summit was great. It was a little over 2k feet of vertical climb from the main lodge to the summit. It started snowing when we arrived and it was still quite overcast so we weren’t able to actually see much. Just getting to go to the summit was great. Got a few pictures and had lunch.

By the time we came down to go home it was snowing quite heavily. The worry we had that we wouldn’t be able to get off the mountain was starting to come into play. But it didn’t seem to keep us from safe travel.

Overall, the trip was great. Really enjoyed the time we were able to spend there. It was a long day but not nearly as long as it would have been had we gone to Yosemite.

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Posted by Dannic on December 6th, 2007 in Online Role Playing Games(ORPGS.com)

Yep, It happened. The website was hacked and used to spam or hack other websites.

Why did this happen? Well it was apparently due to some faulty code. All of which I never wrote. Phpnuke was the worst culprit on this for it’s security really is awful.

There are tools out and about the web which make it easy to find vunreable websites and test them for exploits. The biggest problem is securing your website if you have one this is very dynamic from these exploits.

I have attempted to do this with the scripts I write but there are many things I just do not know. The scripts that I do use I keep up to date. Definitely won’t be using Phpnuke anymore. Or any CMS for that matter.

What happened to the server? Well, it was shut down by the datacenter. This came at a very bad moment for me. As I had just left home for a couple weeks of a business trip and hadn’t been able to do much about it. Hotel internet connections just aren’t that great.

They shut down the server. I had to hire a management company which knew more about securing my server than I did to actually come in and do something with it. I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to get the server running again. As a result, some of the features of php that did work, no longer work. Which kinda sucks. Since I actually used those features for my photo gallery.

Who would do something like this? I have no idea. Probably some kids who think that it is cool. Or maybe some spammers who use the servers to spam people with email. Either way, I think it is stopped for now.

Hope to never have to go through that again.

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Posted by Dannic on December 3rd, 2007 in General

Took my day off and went on a trip to Yosemite.

No one else wanted to go yesterday so I ended up going by myself. That is fine. I got to do what I wanted and took lots of pictures. Ended up getting someone at a couple of locations to take pictures of me as well.

My trip through the park started at Lee Vinings. Tioga pass was something impressive to view. I am glad I went that way instead of around to the other side. Though, truthfully, I doubt I really had enough time to go around. I was very fortunate that the pass was open.

By the time I got through the pass it was nearly 1pm pst. I left at 8am. Long drive and lots of stops for sight seeing. Probably shouldn’t have taken so many stops.

First place in the park I stopped was the Tuolumne Grove. I didn’t actually hike down to the grove though. The sign suggested 2-3 hours for the trek. I had other things I wanted to do that should take less time so I skipped seeing the great trees. Maybe next time

Next stop was Bridalveil Fall. Of course getting there I ended up taking a wrong turn and had to back track. But I eventually made it back to the route I intended on taking.

The Bridalveil Falls were just awesome. Quite a bit of it was frozen. Ice would fall every 5-10 minutes. A small amount of water cascaded down the fall. I have no idea how tall the Falls are but it was just amazing. Maybe someone will know and tell me.

I ended up climbing to the base of the falls. That took me a good hour to get up there, take some pictures and get back down. Reminded me of how extremely out of shape I really am. Of course being at high altitude does that enough already.

By the time I got done I only really had time enough to do one more thing. I decided to go to Glacier Point. Kept my fingers crossed that the road was open. It was.

If you haven’t been to Yosemite, I’d highly recommend going. Glacier Point made the trip worth while. Of course I really enjoy the mountains and this just was the most amazing view.

By the time I got there and took some pictures it was time to go. I wasn’t going to get anything else done before dark.

I could probably write an entire book on this. Just the little I saw was great. And I didn’t have nearly enough time to do all of the things I wanted to do. I think that visiting during each of the seasons would be interesting as well.

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Posted by Dannic on November 12th, 2007 in General

I have been looking for a good free firewall for quite some time. Zone Alarm was the only one I actually knew about from before. I have had it on occasion but really didn’t like the way it worked and it often crashed on me. So I have been trying to avoid installing it.

Why look for a firewall other than the windows firewall? Because the windows firewall doesn’t protect you from threats that you accidentally download from the internet in the form of a Trojan. You need protection both ways. Not just from the internet. Hate it when my computer ends up with an STD.

There are very few alternatives when it comes to free firewalls but there is one that comes highly recommended. Comodo Firewall.

I installed it today. No major issues. Just the normal initial firewall complaints that something is trying to access the internet when I open up my programs. Next time I open them it won’t complain.

If you are interested, I will keep you updated on how well it works for me. Actually, I probably won’t post about it unless it screws up.

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Posted by Dannic on November 11th, 2007 in General

Not that anyone should notice a major difference in the blog but I have updated to the latest version of wordpress - 2.3.1. Supposed to have some security features that weren’t in the other. And some other admin features that were absent before. Overall, no one should notice any difference.

Let me know if you all do end up seeing something different.

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Posted by Dannic on October 14th, 2007 in General, Online Role Playing Games(ORPGS.com)

It has been quite some time since I started using the phpnuke system for my website.  It worked great for what I was trying to do.  It still does to a point.

But I have been thinking of an overhaul of the main site to take advantage of some of the new things I have learned and to better customize the pages that are served.

What does this mean?  I don’t know yet.

I have only started thinking about this recently.  I had originally thought of having the site be about all of the Mmorpg games that are out there.  Not certain that is exactly where I want to go with it though.

It is difficult for me to be everywhere at one time looking for news.  And that is what it would really take.

Oh, lots of people say they are willing to help but when it comes right down to it and I have given them the ability to add content or help out where I actually need help they don’t come through.

I am sure they mean well.  I don’t hold it against them either.  I am glad they offered.  But it is a little frustrating.

I have an idea that I am going to look at doing but it wont’ be any time soon that it gets implemented unless I get someone to do it for me.  I’ve already got lots on the plate as it is.  But I may one day have a prototype site that will do what I want and will start refining it.

I’ll let you know via this blog and the newsletter when it is ready to at least start looking at.

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Posted by Dannic on October 10th, 2007 in Pimp Script, Scripts

Yet another Pimp Script update.

Yes, it is that time. It has been a little bit since my last update on the Pimp Script.

I have completed the conversion of the old code I wrote to the new Xajaxified version of the code. Everything has been converted and bug checked to the best of my ability at the moment. I’m sure there are some things I have missed. I’ll get those as I find them with logging.

I still have a few attacks that need to be in place. And a couple of features that need to be in place. But things are going great.

There were a couple of bugs that I introduced when I changed the database a little bit. I did not realize it at the time that I did it until about half way through last month when I noticed attacks were not working properly. It was also brought to my attention about the same time that I noticed. I finally got that troubleshot and fixed this last weekend. So now everything is working and converted.

I started working on the back end of the game a little bit. I still have a couple of attacks to do but one or two of them will require some additional features that will have to be coded later on.

I plan on a couple of modules that are going to be extras and I will have to figure out how to implement them in an easy manner. I would also like to consolidate some of the templates but that may be for version 2 later on down the road.

Currently, work on the back end is priority. Round creation has always worked. But managing the rounds and awarding the winners is next on the list. Quite a bit of it is ready but a little bit still to go. Users management will be next.
The object now is to finish up the remaining couple of attacks and finish up the back end. If all goes well, the script will be available for download by the end of the year.

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Posted by Dannic on October 9th, 2007 in General, Legend of the Green Dragon, Muds, Role Playing

I remember when I first started playing online games(MUD). The first major game I played required RP or you would have been banned from playing.

The only “GOD”/Administration type person on the game was slightly finicky about praise. He really enjoyed the boost of esteem that it gave him. The power over other peoples characters. It is also one of the things that kind of turned me off about that particular game.

Most communication was “face to face” per se. At least at the character level. The admin hardly ever showed up in a public place where things could happen to him. All other communication happened through posts, mail or Channels.

The different channels is where most of this praise would be showered upon the admin for his intelligence and compassion. Mostly just a great big suck-up session usually started by one or two different players.

Personally, I found these little sessions annoying but if you weren’t tuned into the channel when this was happening you were often accused of many different things. Often resulting in a ban. I know many who were just hounded out of the game by, not only the admin, but the players because they wouldn’t show their appreciation in the form of a glorious outpouring of senseless utterances.

Now, that is not to say that I don’t care for respect. I do. I think respect should be shown if deserved.

A polite acknowledgment with a nod, wave or greeting is usually enough to be respectful without appearing to be a suck-up.

Of course, a conversation is usually preferred if there is time for such. But, often the admin of a particular game has other things in mind when they are running around. Do not get offended if they miss your attempt at being politely respectful. They may have genuinely missed the attempt. Others will notice though. And sometimes that is more important when it comes to the realm of role playing.

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