Returning to Blogger.

Currently seeking work, I've decided to properly build a portfolio of my projects online to condense/supplement my resume.

For the time-being I've settled on using Blogger, since it integrates very easily with Google Domains, although I'd prefer to have everything on Google Sites.

Looking through the posts panel, I see the last time I published a post here was in 2012, and the last post drafted was 2014 (when my main site went offline.)

I have not intentionally removed any of the published posts to date.

Disable Quick-Find in Firefox 10.0

docs.google.com meow_omni.zip for Firefox 10.0's omni.ja(r) (found in the application's installation directory)

Copying the files meow_omni.zip over those in omni.ja(r) will permanantly disable Fast-Find/Quick-Find/FAYT.

I could make this fully about:config controllable, by only inserting the following into the beginning of findbar.xml's "_shouldFastFind" method.

var meow_pref = Components.classes["@mozilla.org/preferences-service;1"].
getService(Components.interfaces.nsIPrefBranch);
return prefs.getBoolPref("accessibility.typeaheadfind.shouldFastFind");
if (!meow_pref)
return false;

However, I want nothing to do with that interrupting cow, Quick-Find, so I instead made the following changes:
It contains the following changes:

• findbar.xml
• method "_shouldFastFind" now always returns false.
• method "_onBrowserKeypress" assigns null instead of "'" and "/" for TAF keys
• method "_onBrowserKeypress" now has manualstartFAYT and other logihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifc checks for TAF keys forced to false
• platformHTMLBindings.xml
• binding "browser" now has "shift,control" ("VF_23" and "VF_24") instead of "shift any" ("'" and "/") handl[ing] ("cmd_findTypeText" and "cmd_findTypeLinks")
• tabbrowser.xml
• method "_handleKeyEvent" nolonger has "FAYT watching" hardcoded into it.

I used 7Zip.org to open my omni.ja file, though any jar/zip archiver should work, but your miliage may vary.

Minecraft

I've not been particularly active lately.

Visited some servers but didn't find the people that asked me to join them online.

minecraft.dtrtech.com - 1.5_01

Whitelist- email to join.
Became a ghost town soon as 1.6_01 rolled around. Relatively new map. Friendly people (when they are around).
This server replaces newcanada.dtrtech.com . Few of the players returned to this and an update to 1.7.2 seems unlikely.

Kfperin's SMP Server [KSMP]

Whitelist- in game chat to join.
Incremental backups every half-hour. Good moderators. Large, active and friendly player base. Forums. Steam group. While waiting for modifications to be updated a temporary map is used. mc1.xegup.com
This was one of the first servers I visited when I got Minecraft, and I have maintained a presence here, though the terrible performance of my machine limits how much I can enjoy the built up areas.
I point to this as an example of Minecraft hosting/administration done right.

minelife.tk

Blacklist.
Seems to suffer from under moderation. Tried joining their forums, but didn't even get a rejection mail. Player base appears to be very active and growing.

Others

Been asked to join many other servers. Will visit occasionally, but I do not have the time to be active on more than two.

Laptop Hard Drive Crash

Another hard drive has crashed in my laptop.

While I am unable to recover my data, and will have to scrounge for replacement parts, I did come across a website with an interesting variety of Datacent.comFailing hard drive sounds.

Back log

I have over the last few months accumuliated quite a back log of projects and articles:

• Rubrix cube keyboard
  1. Design log (needs editing)
  2. Theory of operation (to do)
  3. construction (to do)
• ZX80 PCB etching (needs editing)
• Solid State Drive ROM
  1. disassembly of ROM (needs editing)
  2. rewriting from scratch (to do)
  3. redesign (to do)
• Sega SMS/GameGear development
  1. Library research summary (incomplete, 'new' information keeps surfacing)
  2. Papercraft components (to do)
  3. 1M dev cart clone (incomplete)
  4. 4M dev cart (to do)
• Keyboard decoding (needs editing)
• Trash documentary series (to do)
• Minecraft (to do)

I'll see about clearing these up.

New Canada Server

I have recieved comments and emails asking about the Status of the NewCanada.dtrtech.com Minecraft server.

Due to a combination of real-world demands on our host's time and the stunning gap in support for the server modifications this server went off line unexpectedly for a prolonged period of time. And then after some debate whether to risk another firestorm and go without protection or have lag eat the server alive, the forum and all other web accessible content also disappeared.

I will not go over the details, except to say these two things.

1. I do not know when, or even if the server will return to online status.
   It has come back from worse, and even with a total restart I am certain that many players will return should it happen.


2. Great as the time we have invested in moving virtual blocks around has been, none of us expected to be able to show our grandkids our castles. What we have taken from New Canada is the experiences that we have shared;
   • The 200+ block wide crater that was old spawn, and the incorporation of moderators and modifications to stop this happening again
   • regular players banding together to build new spawn
   • the drama of the first mods going crazy from being thrust into a policing role
   • players banding together and building new territories beyond the far flung reaches of the map
   • the massive firefight that burned an area some 100K² blocks
   • How quickly we recovered from that and the incorporation of a dozen mods, whose advarsarial personalities kept us in check
   • the bug in GriefAlert that allowed any player to bypass protection the way only a moderator should be able to, and the drama from that
   • our learning from that and codifying rules to keep things working
   • The huge influx of players during a time of relative stability tor wards the end of Alpha
   These and the many other times we have come together and built something incredible that alone we could not have are what we have taken away from this.

Yes, as a moderator and an operator I was irate that the administrative and forensic tools could not be counted upon; however the strength of the community and that the server would be open to players is something I should not have taken for granted.
I guess that was three things; two general, and one specific. meow.

HP driver patches, denied?

During the time I've been neglecting this blog Fixya deleted all of my uploads (manuals and drivers) and the links I posted to where I obtained these.

My appologies to those who have left comments on this blog requesting assistance with this particular problem.

When I attempted to upload a PDF (containing instructions, the webpage that references it and authour's credit with the patch attached) to Google docs today they flagged the file, my account, and required me to do verify my identity by phone before I could continue.

I have requested a review of this file; as it is innoculous compared to the multitude of other files I have uploaded, save for the fact that it makes reference to HP's secret PCL language.

I expect that in two days I get either a "we had to make certain" -or- "your copies of properitary yet publically availble elsewhere documents and files have been removed" and I will have to find alternate hosting.

Expecting that I could direct users to do a Google search for authour's name but much to my surprise Google is refusing to search for it, substituting 'does' instead!

Well, here is a link to hardwarefetish.com's HP Ink Cartridge Expiration Patch.

Also, stash the file "HPFIX.exe" (5,632 bytes) or "HPFIX.zip" somewhere safe for us.