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Cerebrum-Synapse: Halo Custom Edition Game Tracking |
Jun 29, 2009 - klange #81 |
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I still do a lot of work outside of the FOSS world, and one of my hobbies is Halo CE, an old, unsupported version of Halo PC with extensive modding tools. The community has held strong for 9 years and we still have at least 5000 people playing the game. At one of the forums I frequently visit, we're looking to improve those numbers by advancing the game a little further with a number of projects. One such project is something I've been part of since its inception: Cerebrum and Synapse - a server and client that communicate rather detailed game stats and then total them up, much like bungie does with Halo 3 and Halo 2. This project basically makes up the bulk of my activities this summer. So far, Cerebrum (the server and web application) is doing quite well. More progress will be made in the coming weeks.
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Aperture Science Early-Morning Semi-Toroidal Food Device |
Jun 19, 2009 - klange #80 |
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Modacity has started a "Post Your Recipes" thread, which I felt I had to contribute to.
As such, I've created a Portal / Aperture Science breakfast bagel. That's right, a bagel with the Aperture Science logo!
Aperture Science Early-Morning Semi-Toroidal Food Device
Materials Required:
One (1) Generic Toroidal Food Device
One (1) Jar of Aperture Science Semi-Liquid Edible Fruit Gel (Blue in color)
One (1) Jar of Aperture Science Semi-Liquid Edible White Dairy Paste
One (1) Aperture Science Automated Electronic Food Heating Device
One (1) Aperture Science Semi-Lethal Food Preparation Blade
To prepare your Aperture Science Early-Morning Semi-Toroidal Food Device, begin by slicing the Generic Toroidal Food Device to create two Semi-Toroidal Food Devices. The second device may be discarded or used to create a second Aperture Science Early-Morning Semi-Toroidal Food Device, but instructions will be provided only for the first device.
Optionally, use the Aperture Science Automated Electronic Food Heating Device to heat the Semi-Toroidal Food Device.
Place the Semi-Toroidal Food Device with the cut side facing opposite the direction of g, unless in a zero-gravity environment in which case you should refer to the Aperture Science Zero-Gravity Food Preparation Guide, chapter three, section five, paragraph two.
The following requires visualization before action may be taken.
You will apply the Aperture Science Semi-Liquid Fruit Gel in a pattern as described by the following steps:
1. First, divide up the area of the Semi-Toroidal Food Device into four quadrants.
2. Divide this area further into a total of eight segments.
3. Again, divide this area to form 16 segments.
4. Visualize the lines as shown in the diagram below.
5. Begin filling these segments with Aperture Science Semi-Liquid Fruit Gel.
6. Continue to fill the segments.
7. Until you have filled all segments.
8. When you are done, stop visualizing the guiding lines.
You may now apply the Aperture Science Semi-Liquid White Dairy Paste to the remaining area on the Semi-Toroidal Food Device.
Congratulations! You have completed your Aperture Science Early-Morning Semi-Toroidal Food Device!
Digg It |
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And the misguided college contact of the month is... |
Jun 2, 2009 - klange #79 |
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Right, so, I've had my fair share of college contacts - admissions counselors, etc. - that just do not seem to know what they're doing. A few months ago it was my interviewer for MIT (I can see why I didn't get in...), this month it's my admissions counselor at UIUC. While the guy did manage to withstand my mother's persistence in getting me their standard outside scholarship for which I was possibly even overqualified (which I did get, but only after the entire financial aid system was re-reviewed), my main source of issue comes from an email he sent me back today after I sent him the following:
Mr. Name removed,
I have a few questions about transfer credit and other things related to my course selections at UIUC. To get right to the point: while in high school, I attended two advanced math classes at Cleveland State University: Multivariable Calculus (their "MTH 281" with course material that matches Calculus III here) and Linear Algebra (MTH 288, with course material matching Applied Linear Algebra (listed as the next course in my major's math requirements after Calc III). Specifically, my question is if this credit will be accepted at UIUC so that I can be better informed at my orientation and registration day later this month.
I also have a few questions about making my "SSH" course decisions, which I am prompted to do for my "college homework" for Engineering. This is my final step to complete before orientation, and I guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed by it. Any general help in that regard would would be welcomed.
Thank you for your time.
Kevin Lange
Incoming Freshman
Class of 2013 [College of Engineering]
Seems pretty simple, right? I have a few extremely advanced math classes (for a high schooler) that I want to get transferred.
His response:
Kevin,
Dual credit courses must go above and beyond our high school pattern requirements before we are able to consider them for college credit. For instance, we require 4 years of high school English. If the semester-long, college level course is being used to supplement for the 4th year, then we will view it as high school English and no credit will be awarded. If it is your 5th high school English course, you may receive college credit, provided the credits are transferable to the University of Illinois.
To see how credits may transfer, please review the u.select transferability web site, www.transfer.org to see if those courses have previously transferred to U of I. You can also review our web site at http://www.admissions.illinois.edu/apply/requirements_freshman.html for the high school pattern requirements.
As far as questions about your college homework, you can direct those to New Student Programs at orient@uiuc.edu or (217) 333-9571, and they should be able to help you.
- Name Removed
English? What? He spends a full paragraph going on and on about English and then talks about a website I've already checked (and while, yes, he may not have known that because I didn't say it in the first email, I will say that had he checked his own sources, he'd find that there is zero information on the courses I'm looking at). Then he gives me one line about asking New Student Programs for help with the rest. Excuse me? Your an admissions counselor, you're supposed to counsel me on topics of admission, not redirect me. On a side note, what I have to do for my "college homework" isn't homework in any sense of the term. I have to pick out classes. This isn't about doing the "homework", this is about picking out the ****ing classes - New Student Programs can't help me decided whether to take Western History or something else, that's your job - and I specifically mentioned that in the email.
But maybe he's just another misguided college contact - someone who's trying to help but doesn't understand the situation. I've sent him a reply with emphasis on certain points, we'll see how he responds (or if he responds...):
Mr. name removed,
I'm not sure you're helping me at all here... These are math courses, specifically Multivariate Calculus and Linear Algebra - far beyond a high school curriculum. transfer.org has no information on the possiblity of transfering this credit, hence why I am asking you as my only personal contact at U of I. In any case, I will be bringing my notes to Registration to see if I can get any more information there.
- Kevin Lange, Incoming Freshman, Class of 2013
e: He eventually got back to me in a way that made sense and told me to send my transcripts and syllabuses to the admissions office directly. |
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Guest Comments Back Up |
May 27, 2009 - klange #77 |
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Alright, finally implemented a CAPTCHA on guest posting. You can not post from the forum (as I don't provide the CAPTCHA on the forum).
So, enjoy, you can post now.
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High School... |
May 26, 2009 - klange #76 |
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... is almost over. Just three days remain.
I'd like to take this time to blatantly brag about my accomplishments! It's like a resume, in blog post form!
- Top 5% of class (32 people in that "top 5")
- Summa cum laude (4.0+ a tour particular establishment)
- Various math-related achievements
- Got $1000 from my local PTA (they even specifically noted me as someone who "really loved computers" when describing the range of those receiving the award)
Fun stuff.
Now I have to finish ripping Mall Cop so my brother can watch it on his iPod (don't worry, we own the DVD, which is what I'm ripping), then I really need to sleep. Tomorrow I'm giving a lecture on Linux and FOSS in preparation for my school's adoption of Linux as a secondary OS on some of our computers. :awesome:
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Finally secured my CUPS... |
May 19, 2009 - klange #75 |
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Took me a bit too long to do this, surprised no one has tried to print to my printer and waste my paper, considering the number of people I've told about my remotely accessible IPP print server!
It took a bit of time to figure out everything I needed to do to get remote authentication to work with local "no authentication". I needed to have machines on the local network be able to make it in easily because I have a number of Windows machines on the network (okay, one is a permanent fixture: my parents' desktop, the others are my mother's and brother's laptops, as well as some times my father's, though he doesn't print much from his own machine, meh). The problem here is that Windows doesn't work with the simple HTTP login system that CUPS uses, so the printer just appears to not be there. I also couldn't abandon remote printing as I use it quite often while I'm away for various different things (I've even used it to FAX myself). Eventually figured out how to use "Satisfy any" properly, fixed up some issues with my server proxying the web administration (and therefore, allowing easy, unrestricted remote access - not good), and it's all back up and running.
So, with one challenge down I look forward to the next few things to work on with my network. Most importantly, I need to get this server to be less dependent on the oasis-games.com and ogunderground.com domains, as the former is still up in the air (hopefully I'll gain ownership of it soon, and if that happens, it'll be up for as long as possible) and the latter I just don't want to continue using (though it will be quite difficult to get rid of). I'll be off to college (UIUC) this fall and that brings another set of challenges: what am I bringing, what stays behind? Let's have a look, shall we?
I'm bringing:
- My Xbox (I can't really rely on it as a network node, so might as well use it as a game system)
- My Xbox 360 (which I should be getting back today if my dad actually picks it up on his way home)
- Both netbooks and my laptop (one will probably be a mini server in my dorm, the other will be carried everywhere and my laptop will be my main work machine)
- One of my 22" LCDs (for use with my laptop)
What I'm not bringing? Everything else: Server, desktops, etc. I may get a new router for personal use, though.
The plan is to turn my desktop into another network node, probably for MySQL or mail handling. The GeForce FX 5200 in it will probably just stay there or get trashed: either way, I need to get the machine to boot, probably with a PS/2 "watchdog" to press F1 at startup. The server will remain up and on my parents' broadband for the next four years with little worry: I'll be patching in some extended access methods to the network (through the usual means) and I'll be working on a status reporting system this summer (complete with all sorts of goodies like txting me if something goes wrong - all with redundancy).
PHPwnage... yeah, have to work on that. Hopefully I get the new admin panel and the converted forum finished in... two months? Sounds like a good time frame to me.
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I think I'm getting the hang of this... |
May 12, 2009 - klange #74 |
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Got some more iPod-Python development going, still working on the DRoute GUI:
 
I figured out how to do the grouped settings with the UIPreferencesTable (etc.), and worked up a pretty good interface. I'm not quite up to speed on how to get animations when switching views, though, so the Settings page just appears. The next step is to implement some pure Python things like saving the configuration and then it'll be time to link the interface to the backend pytun and droute.py and make a working app.
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More Python iPhone / iPod Touch Hacking |
May 11, 2009 - klange #73 |
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I'm getting into messing with UIKit from Python. So far I have a usable development environment set up and I know how to deal with actions and things. My next step is to figure out how to make a properly laid out window, which should take nothing more than read through of the MobileTerminal source code and some conversion to Python.
My first app will be a control panel for droute, which I've (very un-originally) named DRoute. I already have a few things working on the GUI side, and the backend will simply consist of starting and ending pytun (my droute helper script) and storing some passphrases.
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Droute ported to the iPhone / iPod Touch! |
May 5, 2009 - klange #72 |
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droute is one of those "not-mine" things that I love to use. It routes traffic - specifically, SSH connections - over DNS packets to "nomde.pl". droute was originally written in Perl, and while I have plenty of issues with Perl as a language, none of them had anything to do with my porting it to Python. You see, of all the things you can do on a jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch, running Perl is not on the list; running Python is. I felt that it was quite unfortunate that I didn't have a brute-force way to tunnel over DNS on an iPod, so I had to get droute running myself: so today I ported it to Python, crudely. The modules I used for the port presented some limitations: I couldn't send 110 bytes of input in one stream - only 39, but hey, whatever works. This means you'll get cut short a lot more often. Beyond this, my port won't switch between nameservers to route through: just a minor issue I'll fix later. A major issue on my target platform is that the usual methods to get the nameservers to use doesn't work: You keep getting 127.0.0.1 as the server to resolve through - not good! So I have one of the OpenDNS servers hard-coded. I'll inestigate this later. In general, just getting connected is a total crap shoot: But it's always been like this, your chances are just worse with this one.
So, here's the first few lines of my regular SSH connection:
Code: [mobile klange-s-iTouch 05/05 6:47] ~$ ./pytun
Resolving through [208.67.222.222]
Linux oasis-games.com 2.6.24-21-generic #1 SMP Tue Oct 21 23:43:45 UTC 2008 i686
------ Welcome to Oasis-Games.com. --------
Next step? Get things running over the SOCKSv5 proxy SSH gives me with the -D option. There are no facilities for this existing in the iPhone/iPod to my knowledge, so it'll take time and effort. In the meantime, at least you can administer your server from your iPod at an airport in Chicago or Honolulu.
Note: See my previous posts on the subject, where I link to the original scripts.
e: I found out what the problem is with both the lack of proper DNS server to lookup against and why I could only send so much data: I missed an important step in the encoding. Now it's up to speed, and working quite reliably. I've also added options, particularly to allow easier changes in the DNS server (so that it's usable) or to change the tunnel to connect to. Thread is here. |
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