From the Birthday Department
May 3, 2008 at 12:16 am | In Computing, Emergency Department, General, Internet, Nemtex Radio, Personal, Website | Leave a CommentOkay, I celebrated my Birthday in true style this year. My party was at Lucy’s Two on Friday Night and yes I did go overboard, by going in Drag. but it was fun and good time was had by all.
On Saturday, I took myself to Blackpool’s ”Brightest and Gayist Club”: Madi-Gras, which was fun. Stella wasn’t singing sadly, but there was some adult entertainment, which I got roped into and was a real laugh. Also, Capt. Ginger had all these dance tracks on and i felt compelled to get up and dance. There are a couple I want to have, so I am going to ask hm for the names of the tracks.
However, I did pop into Pepe’s, for a quick drink and had an even bigger laugh, but that’s another story….
Thankyou for all the birthday emails and IM’s, they were greatfully received. Hmmm…. I am no longer 24!
Finally, I would like to announce that Nemtex Radio is back! We have a new domain: www.nemtexradio.com and a new website underway. You can tune into my show (Nice ‘n’ Easy) from 11pm BST every day! You can also find out more about Nemtex on the website. www.nemtexradio.com is the URL.
From the Blackout Department
April 20, 2008 at 1:36 am | In Annoyances, Computing, Internet, National and Local News, Personal, The Duke of York | Leave a CommentOkay, picture this, walking home from the Duke of York, in the Sainsbury’s covered carpark, walking slowly, the cold air hitting your face, when….. There is a blackout and the carpark goes pitch black. 2 seconds later, the Emergency Lights kick in and you continue walking. Is it a power cut, or was it just the lights?
Walking out of Sainsbury’s carpark, you can hear the sound of alarms, and you can see the passage at the side of the Library is pitch black. You walk through, keeping your hand in your pocket, incase anyone tries anything funny and walk onto Blue Boar Street to see the full extent of the chaos.
When I did walk onto Blue Boar St, all the traffic lights were out and Winchester Street was pitch black. I heard someone say that it was scary to use the 24 hour toilet, as it was so dark, you couldn’t even see the door. The roads were chaos, there was no order and police everywhere. Everyone had been booted from the pubs and clubs, due to there being no power and everywhere you looked, burgular alarms were sounding.
I called home to ask if the power was out, and guess what…. It was! I made it home, to have the torch shined in my face. I rang Southern Electricity and listened to the emergency bullitin message, which said that the entire city centre had suffered a major electrical fault and the city would be back online in 2 hours. So we lit candles, got torches and used the camper stove to make hot drinks. I jumped on MSN via my phone (which has now been sorted, but the Internet still doesn’t work very well) and finally the power was restored, after 45 minutes. I put the PC back on and bought it out of Hibernate, got back online and then we had a 2nd power outage, which lasted 30 seconds or so. (However, we blew all the candles out when the power was restored, so we had a rather big flap when we couldn’t see a thing) So once again, I put the PC back on and the power was fine ever since.
The area affected by the City Centre Blackout
In other news, Tuesday is my operation and I thank you for all your good luck messages and those of you that say you will be thinking of me when I am on the table. I don’t like Anaesthetic, (Always gives me a fould taste in my mouth and the needles scare me) but I am sure I will be fine. I will take Ted for good luck, as he always brings me good luck! (He is sitting next to me, giving me the “Evils” at the moment! Bad Teddy!!!)
Finally, remember that it is Karaoke down the Duke tommrow night. If you misserd the live band tonight, you missed a really good night, as I am sure the girls will be there tommrow night singing some really great tracks. I shall be singing as always, so it aint to be missed! Karaoke is at 8.30 sharp, so come down and join Flaming Mary QUEEN of Scotts and of course the loverly Paul and Damian behind the bar! 
Anyway, I am off to bed, I can’t be sitting here typing all night, so I will say goodnight for now 
From the Steadystate Windows Department
April 13, 2008 at 4:06 pm | In Computing, Software, Tutorials, Tweaks, Windows | Leave a CommentOkay, I thought I would add another tutorial quickly. Thios one is for those people who have shared computers and want to make sure that others do not screw the PC’s up when using them. For this we use a tool called Steadystate, which can be downloaded from Microsoft. Steadystate is the best security tool yet, and is great for standalone PC’s not on a Domain Network or covered by Group Policy. Steadystate also works nicely with Group Policy as well.
You can get Steadystate from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D077A52D-93E9-4B02-BD95-9D770CCDB431&displaylang=en
Once installed, you need to create a new user. I have only 1 other user on my systems, apart from Administrator, as all users are Domain Users. (Guest User)
Now, click the user you have created, it’s time to get restrictive!
I enable time restrictions on the PC and enable the logoff timer, so that my users can see how long they have left. It is also a good idea to lock the profile of the user, so that thay cannot make any changes. (This is called a Manitory Profile)
Now click the Windows Restrictions Tab
It is up to you how lenient you are with your restrictions. For this Guest user, I have been seriouslly restrictive and have locked off many features and also have locked off the C:\ Drive and the E:\ Drive for security, only allowing access to the DVD RW Drive. Users can only save to Drive I: and to Floppy \ DVDRW or CDRW. To apply a restriction, just check the relivent box.
OK lets move on to Feature Restrictions
Again, check the boxes for the features you want disabling. This tab allows you to block various features in Internet Explorer, Office and other software. You can also set the homepage for Internet Explorer or allow a certtain page to be accessed from the user account. (great for Children, using the PC)
Finally, we move to the Blocked Programs Tab
This allows you to block various programs, such as Internet Explorer or Card Games. To block a program, click it’s name and click the Blocked button to move it to the blocked list.
When you are ready, click OK to apply all restrictions.
Finally, if you want Steadystate to manage your Computer Updates, select the option on the main screen. You can also protect the hard drive from changes (Not Recommended unless you are on a Domain Network) and set global restrictions.
Now all that is left to do is click Start > logoff and login as your new user and enjoy Steadystate Protection for your family and your PC!
Next week’s tutorial: Hacking MSGina.DLL to customise your Windows Classic Logon Screen.
From the Securing Windows XP Department
April 13, 2008 at 3:06 pm | In Computing, Internet, Software, Tutorials, Tweaks, Windows | Leave a CommentOkay, this post is going to give you a few tricks on how to secure your XP Workstation and make it run a alot better. This should not take longer than a hour to make all the changes needed, to secure your pc, but if you are on a slow PC or dialup, it make take a bit longer.
1st, make sure your version of windows has Service Pack 2 installed. If your version of XP is quite recent, you will likly have SP2 allready installed. If not, you can installl it from Windows Update.
Next, configure Automatic Updates for your Computer
Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Automatic Updates
Select Automaticlly Update My Computer (Recommended)
Select the time you wish to download the updates
Click Appy and OK
Next, enable the Windows Firewall from Control Panel. If you are using a router with a hardware firewall, it is still a good idea to enable this firewall as 2nd defence. You may need to configure your programs to run via the software firewall, by clicking advanced, clicking the checkbox by the program you wish to enable and clicking apply. Othwerwise, you can browse for the program you wish to make a rule for.
Handy Hint: If you are on a Network, remember to enable File and Printer Sharing, or your Network Resources will not work!
Download a Antivirus program on your PC. I suggest AVG, as that gets rid of 99% of all heebie Jeebies.
Download AVG Free from http://free.avg.com
Next, install Antispy. I suggest Adaware Free, which deep scans the registry and removes all spyware.
Download Adaware SE from www.adaware.com
Next, run your Virus and Spyware scanners. I suggest either pulling out your Ethernet cable or disabling the connecttion while you do this. I usually run this in Safe Mode, by tapping F8 as Windows starts, which is another option.
Disable Windows Messenger, is something you should all do. You don’t need it, now you can download and install Windows Live Messenger.
Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add Remove Programs
Click the Add Remove Windows Componants Tab
Select Windows Messenger and uncheck the box
Click Apply then OK
Go to: http://messenger.msn.com
Select the software you wish to install (I choose none on the 1st page)
Click Download
Select Run when prompted
Follow the Setup Wizard
Backup your System Registry
Click Start > Run
Type “REGEDIT” without the quotes and hit OK
Click File
Export
Put a floppy in your A:\ drive and save the backup as Registry.reg
Put the floppy in a safe place
Disable Auto Login on your Computer
Click Start > Run
Type control userpasswords2 and click Ok
Check the box that says Users Must Logon to this Computer with a Username and Password
Click Apply but not OK as we will be coming back to this in a minute
Put a password on your Windows Account to stop unauthorised access
In the dialog box friom a minute ago, choose your user and click Reset Password
Type your new password and the type it again and click OK. Do not close User Accounts yet! We still have work to do!
Rename the Administrator’s Account. I do this for security reasons.
In User Accounts, Double click Administrator
Under the field Username, choose a new value ( I call Administrator Net Admin on my PC’s)
Click Apply and Ok
Do not close User Accounts yet, thwere is 1 more job to do!
Make sure Users need to use CTRL +ALT + DEL if using Classic Logon
If you have changed your login settings in Control Panel . User Accounts to Classic Login, which I recommend, you need to enable CAD on Login.
Click the Advanced Tab and check the box next to Require users to press CTRL +ALT + DEL to login
Click Appy and OK
Finally, as you have been messing about with various settings, restart the PC
Click Start > Shut Down > Restart
Remember to press CTRL +ALT +DEL at the login screen to login. Also press the Windows Key and L when you walk away from your PC, as this locks the workstation.
Download a drive cleaning program to clean your hard drive of tempory files.
I suggest CC Cleaner (Freeweare) http://www.ccleaner.com/ or Webroot Window Washer (Shareware) www.webroot.com
Download, install and run one of these programs. It will clear your tempory files, cache, cookies and various other tempory files that cake up your hard disk
Finally, Defragment your hard drive
Click Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Defragment
Click Defragment, as this will analize and defragment the volumes on your PC. I don’t bother clicking analize as it is not that acurite.
Coming Later…. How to secure your PC using Steadystate.
From the Good Guys Finish Last Department
April 13, 2008 at 1:47 pm | In Annoyances, Computing, General, Personal | Leave a CommentOkay, this is another of my rants, this time about work.
It started on Thursday, when I asked Management if I could purchase a Screen Filter, as the UV Rays from the VDU’s give me a headache and as a result of this, I can only bear to look at the VDU for 10 minutes, before I get a headache. My Line Manager said he would ask the General Manager, and see which budget the VDU Screen Filters would come out of. However, I was told it would have to come out of central budget and that I should just take regular breaks from the PC, which I did. I started to do other things, such as filing and tidying up of the office, which always needs doing.
30 minutes later, and I was pulled into the General Office by my Line Manager and was told that area office have to buy the VDU filters and until then, I am suspended. I went AWOL, as you would if this happened to you.
I said:
“There are plenty of other things I could be doing, apart from sitting at a PC, tidying, another department maybe?”
However, the response I got didn’t thrill me:
“I’m sorry, we’ll call you when we get the filters”
I was very upset and walked out of work feeling very hurt.
I mean, this is stupid, someone else went and got rechargable batteries earlier that day, which cost about £8 a pack, so why couldn’t they spend £10 and get a screen filter for me? This is just unfair. It seems to me, that there is a issue with my sexuality, which they do not like. I mean, just cos I am “Queer” does it make me any different to anyone else? I have the same rights as any “Straight” person, so why do I get castrised for being gay? I mean I get funny looks all the time from some people, and they are always gossiping, because me and another lad who work there, who is also gay are very “friendly.” Why should I suffer?
In today’s society, no matter what your ethnic background, gender, religion, gender or sexuality, we should all be treated the same way. This is called Diversity. The world is more diverse now, because of these factors and we should all be treated equally. Why should I be the “Black Sheep” at work, “just because I don’t fancy Woman but Men instead?” It is homophobic.
I got the job through a Agency, and so I am going to speak with my Agency tommrow and get my job reinstated, that or I am going to get another job through them. Also, don’t think work are getting out of it that easily, I will be making a foamal complaint to the powers that be, as some people do not know how to treat others properly. I was always taught:
“If you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t say it at all!”
and
“Always treat others the way you would wish to be treated yourself!”
Maybe they have forgotton this at work? Who knows! All I know is, that I am in the right and they are in the wrong. I have done nothing wrong, so that’s all that matters.
From the “Lets All Get Sloshed!” Department
April 12, 2008 at 9:57 pm | In Annoyances, Computing, General, Internet, Personal, Software, T-Mobile, The Duke of York, Windows | Leave a CommentOkay, yesterday was Dan’s birthday, so we all wound up in the Anchor and Hope Inn for a meal and a few drinks. I had coke, (Which was almost flat) Hannah and Amy had Malibu and Coke, while Gary and Dan had proper Ale. Our pizzas nearly got burnt, because the barmaid forgot to take them out the oven, but they were as tatsty and not burnt. (Would of been interesting, evacuating the pub!) Anyway, a few drinks later and we hit the pool table. Odviouslly, I am totally useless at pool, so I kept loosing the games. I decided to retire from pool and went to the beer garden for a smoke. I then started chatting to 2 wonderful ladies, (and if they are reading this, hello to Tracy and Yvonne!) 5 fags later and after being told off by the landlord for having glasses outside after 10pm, we went back in and the ladies powdered their noses and departed the pub. I was getting quite tired, so I slipped out the pub and went to bed!
This morning, I stayed in bed, as my MS started playing up and made me feel rather crappy. I got up around 1ish, after lying here in bed with the keyboard and mouse, modorating the Gay.com youth floor. I then had problems with my Internet connection, as in it came up with this annoying message:
Error 734, the PPP Link Protocol was Terminated!
So, I got on the phone to my ISP and had a go at them, as you do. However, I was passed to 2nd line support, who helped me get the issue sorted. It seemed that my ISDN modem, (Yes I know ISDN is crap, but it is all we can get in these parts!) kept changing COM Ports, so I had to uninstall it and then reinstall it for the Internet to work. What a pain in the neck!
Later, I had issues with my mobile. Every time I ring a certain number, I get this annoying beeping, and it doesn’t connect the call. BTW, please do not mistake this beeping for engaged tone, as it is only 3 beeps and my phone cuts the call off. So I rang T-Mobile, yelled at them and had the phone tested, tried calling another number and that works, etc etc… So I got to try another SIM, as it could be either my SIM, or yet again my phone, which would make it the 4th one from T-Mobile. However, I am not going to use Sony Errisson W910i’s, if they are going to act like this and I am going to suggest I get a totally different phone.
To end it all, I didn’t end up going to my friend’s, as I can’t find his house. (LOL!) He said to me that it is at the following:
“Above Bang & Olufsen oppersite the pub. We’re having a few drinks, me and some mates, you are welcome to come!”
Thing is, there are no flats above Bang & Olufsen, just the offices above the shop and next door is the British Leigon, so I don’t think he lives above it either. To make it worse, he doesn’t have his mobile on or tol me the door number! So I gave up and went to Macdonald’s and had a Big Mac Meal, Saltless Fries and a Diet Coke. Mmmmm! Not a bad weekend, if I say so!
Don’t forget to join in the fun, if you are coming down the Duke tommrow night, as usual, it’s Karaoke (Hosted by the Hostess with language that’s atrocious and if you don’t like it, she’ll tell you to P*** off!) Flaming Mary QUEEN of Scotts. As ever it promises to be a bucketful of laughs and one hell of a party!! Of course I shall sing as usual and will likly do Whitney Huston One Moment in Time. The fun starts at 8:30 sharp, so for god sakes don’t be late!
Flaming Mary Queen of Scotts, who is even more frightning than Anne Robinson!
From the Random Updates Department
April 9, 2008 at 12:27 pm | In Computing, Internet, Personal, Website | Leave a CommentOkay, some quick updates,
Firstly, I have been promoted to Network Manager at work, so I am responsible for all the IT Systems within the building and I am also the Tech Support Rep.
My Line Manager says:
You are the Internet Wizz Aaron, where would we be without you, fast dilligent and know stacks about computers!
As for the shop Manager, Mechelle, all she has to say is:
“Ello Dave, you wanna buy some pegs?”
As you can see, you don’t have to be mad to work at Oxfam, but it helps! I do love my job and the team of people I work with are fantasic, plus I work for a fantastic cause, that helps end poverty in 3rd world countries.
Also I had my pre-op questionaire, so I am one step closer to my operation. Finally, everyone at the Duke of York has said I should go for the X-Factor, as my rendition of My Way is really really good!
Finally, I have modified the site theme, as some of you have said that it is not very browser friendly. I have changed the theme, so please let me know if you have any more issues.
From the Quick Updates Department
March 13, 2008 at 3:51 pm | In Asda's Place, Computing, Internet, Website | Leave a CommentJust a quick post, to say I have updated the about me page and I have added my Resume as well. Loads more content coming, including the family page and much more, so stick around
I am off down town to splash some cash so catch ya laters
From the AOL is a Bitch to Remove Department
March 13, 2008 at 1:59 pm | In Annoyances, Computing, Internet, Software, Windows | Leave a CommentOkay, my brother asked me to remove AOL from his laptop. It should of been a easy enough task, (Start – Control Panel – Add Remove Programs – AOL – Remove) but it wasn’t that simple. I managed to get it to uninstall from Add Remove Programs, but, it would not remove the actual software, so I had to go to Plan B.
I had to manually delete C:\Program Files\AOL
then C:\Program Files\AIM
then C:\Program Files\AOL Toolbar
After this I had to manually remove AOL from the registry in the following keys:
HKEY\Current_User\Software\AOL
HKEY\Local_Machine\Software\AOL
HKEY\Local_ Machine\System\ControlSet001\Services\AOL
HKEY\Local_ Machine\System\ControlSet002\Services\AOL
HKEY\Local_ Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\AOL
Then I had to empty the Recycle Bin, to get rid of AOL Perminantly
Following this, I clicked Start – Shutdown – Restart and rebooted the machine
Finally, to keep the system intact, I ran Defragment – Start – Programs – Accessories – System Tools – Defragment and click Defragment Now.
However, I could of cheated and reformatted but that means loosing data, so not a good idea. I would of proberbly got a grilling from my brother for doing that, so maybe that wasn’t such a good idea after all. The way I removed AOL was more appropiate way to remove the worst ISP software out there!
Hopefully that has got rid of AOL Perminantly from my brother’s laptop. Why can’t it be simple to remove sodding AOL from a computer? It is like they don’t want you to get rid of it! I am sure that makes AOL a type of Malware, which is not very good and would advise people not to install it, unless they are desparate and really want to use it. Anyway…. Now you know how to remove AOL from your computer and actually rid your PC of AOL for good.
Always Offline or Assholes Online? … That’s your choice of what AOL Really stands for, certainly it is not America Online! No wonder so many people hate AOL and I am one of them!
Anyone who has had AOL issues is welcome to post a comment and share their experiences on the diffuclities of removing AOL.
From the visit to Emergency Department
March 12, 2008 at 1:45 pm | In Emergency Department, Personal, Yurx.com | 2 CommentsOkay, yesterday morning I had to be rushed to E.D (Emergency Department, also known as A+E) The problem was, that my Urithral Cathiter has snapped inside of me, so I had to call 999 for a ambulance, on the advice of Out of hours Doctors. They soon got the problem sorted.
In other news, it was my grandpa’s birthday on Saturday, so we all went out for a meal. It was a good meal, shame about the bad service and the screaming brats next to us, but never mind! I decided to have steak as my dinner, while others had a varity of “Pub Grub.” We all ended up back at the house for coffee and cake. Little did Pa know, that we’d orginized a cake with candles and switched off all the lights, (Which made him jump) and sang Happy Birthday and made him blow the candles out! A good time was had by all, until duty called and the Yurx Mobile started to ring, so I had to dash to deal with an emergency.
On the Yurx side of things, things are moving, but very very slowly. Chris has managed to get us a new server configuration, after several communications issues between him, myself and Erik, which have all been taken care of now. I have installed cPanel on one of the servers and iPanel on the other, as one will be the forum server (iPanel) and the hosting server will be on thre cPanel server. My next job is to move over 1000 accounts from the very broken Yurx server to the new server, but I am awaiting Chris to sort out the cPanel licence, as our new server is not licenced to use cPanel, so I am unable to transfer, nor can I use SSH to access the old server at the moment, so it’s impossible to get members files off the server and onto our new server configuration.
We have found out that the issues with the old server were actually caused by both a Back Door Trojan Shell and also by the / partition becoming very very full, so the server became very unstable. Also there are issues with the control panel on the old server, (as in the fact that it does not work!) so that’s another reason why we have to move people. As Yurx staff are dotted about the world, it isn’t easy to get hold of someone quickly, (Sam and I in the UK, Erik in near the Swiss Alps, Chris in Austria and god knows where Ferretts is from) so I have had to email Chris to get the issues with SSH and cPanel and try to get things moving a little faster than they are at the moment.
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