Intel and Digital Blue QX3 Microsopes and Windows 7

Download and install qx3plus.exe and Codec Installer [QCODINSTL.EXE]

Download the new driver

Plug in the microscope, in device manager update driver to the new one

This will now work if you only have 1 cpu core. For multiple cores create a bat file

cd "C:\Program Files\Intel Play\QX3 Microscope"

start /affinity 1 QX3Micro.exe

More than 256GB disks with ESXi 4.1 step by step

This will reformat your datastore, deleting all your VMs. You'll end up with larger block size, thus larger max virtual harddisk size.

Enable ssh (VSphere, Configuration, Software, Security Profile, Properties, Remote Tech Support (ssh), Options, Start, Start Automatically)

Find ID of device to reformat (VSphere, Summary, Datastore, select datastore, right click, Properties, resize extents, should be something like (naa.somerandomnumbers):3

SSH to ESXi.

cd /vmfs/devices/disks/

ls -l

Oh look, you can copy and paste it now

vmkfstools -C vmfs3 -b 8m -S YourDataStorename naa.somerandomnumbers:3

Done.

A Few Good Apps

You want the root? You can't handle the root!

Son, we live in a world that has apps, and those apps have to be guarded by men with app review jobs, who's going to do it? You?

They have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathon, you weep for google voice, you curse apple, you have that luxury.

You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Google Voice's rejection, whilst tragic, probably saved at&t.

And our app store's rules, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, gets us money.

You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want an app store, you need an app store.

We use words like security, stopping porn, and not having content people find offensive,

We use these words as the backbone of a life spent making money,

You use them as a punchline.

I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom, err, security, that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it.

I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, otherwise, I suggest you pick up a app review login, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

-- Did you order Google Voice's rejection?

-- I did the job

-- Did you order Google Voice's rejection?

-- You're goddamned right I did!

Promissor Administrator MSI deployment

Extract the MSI by running the installer and looking in temp

Install ORCA

Load the MSI in read only mode

Transform>New Transform

Property Table, New Row, Property = DATAPATH, Value = \\myserver\myshare

Transform>Generate Transform

That sets the data path, but I also wanted to change the permissions to add a ESM group which I add exam users to, much more complex, new transform, then follow http://www.capainstaller.com/upload/scriptingtips/msisecurity.html

Use http://createguid.com

I ended up with a

Component: Component = LockFolders, ComponentId = {guid} (ie like {D3541-23423-24DA}), Directory = LockFolders, Attributes = 0

Directory: Directory = LockFolders, Parent = blank, DefaultDir = SourceDir

Add a LockPermissions table, Lock Object = ADMINISTRATOR, Table = CreateFolder, Domain = blank, User = ESMGroup, Permission = 268435456

And that line repeated for each group, so add BUILTIN Administrators at least

Not actually tested this with a real test yet, but it installed correctly

Using Group Policy and MSIs to copy files to computers with WiX

For some reason, unknown to the public, Microsoft doesn't make it simple to copy files to computers. You can write a script to run on startup, but it runs on every startup, and seems to cause the fast logon to be bypassed.

WiX creates MSI files from XML, and isn't too complex to get started with, although at the other end of the spectrum it's used to make the Office 2007 installer.

We'll need some GUIDs, I used http://createguid.com/

I've only spent 2 hours on this, so it's probably all wrong, please correct in the comments:

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<Wix xmlns='http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi'>
<Product Id='guid 1' Name='product name' Language='1033'
         Version='1.0.0.0' Manufacturer='company' UpgradeCode='guid 2'>
   <Package Id='*'
             Description='description'
             Comments='copies file to all users app data'
             Manufacturer='company' InstallerVersion='200' Compressed='yes' />

   <Media Id='1' Cabinet='product.cab' EmbedCab='yes' />


   <Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">
     <Directory Id="CommonAppDataFolder">
       <Directory Id="INSTALLDIR" Name="dirname">
          <Component Id='component name' Guid='guid 3'>
            <File Id='idname' Name='filename' DiskId='1' Source='filename' />
          </Component>
       </Directory>
     </Directory>
   </Directory>

   <Feature Id='MyFeature' Title='My 1st Feature' Level='1'>
      <ComponentRef Id='component name' />
   </Feature>
</Product>
</Wix>

Save that as something.wxs

Notes: Package Id='*' makes WiX generate a GUID each time, not sure if the same would work with guid 3. No idea if Feature or Media are needed. CommonAppDataFolder can be changed, there's a list at http://www.nateperry.org/w/index.php?title=Wix:Examples#Directories

Put 'filename' in the same dir as the above.

Download WiX, install. From command line run:

"\Program Files\Windows Installer XML v3\bin\candle.exe" something.wxs

"\Program Files\Windows Installer XML v3\bin\light.exe" something.wixobj

And you should end up with an msi file in the same dir to add to your GPO

Thanks to http://www.dalun.com/wix/02.03.2005.htm among others

The Evolution of Religion

In the beginning any religion worked out, if you predicted anything right you were worshiped. Then we began to record things, keep track of predictions. The religions that got more things right won out, survival of the fittest. Religions merged, mutated, created new offshoots.

Over time we learned more science, now the religion that predicted that not paying the sarcrifice to the god to make the sun rise ended up with no followers, gradually religions predicted less and less, signs that god existed were explained away as natural phenonemn.

Today the only religions that haven't been abandoned are ones that predict nothing, have no proof that god exists, in fact make a point that no proof is needed. The only god left is the one that isn't falsifiable

No one will own cars

The future is based on economics, things aren't popular until they're cheap. We could do almost everything we do on the internet without computers, just phoning up humans who would read, search, and write information, but it would be too expensive.

Things are invented, and then automated. The pump, water/power distribution, information storage and retrieval, today audio/visual entertainment is usually played back via a machine. RFID will allow supermarket shopping to remove that last human part, the checkout.
Eventually cars will drive themselves. Therefore the cost of using a taxi will drop to approximately the same price per mile as having your own car. As you're not using your car most of the day it will be inefficient to own a car.

Once everyone uses public transport the system will become much more efficient, when you book your journey the system will find other people taking a similar journey, and bundle them together, 4 people will share the taxi, bring costs down even more, if 10 people are taking the trip a minibus will be used, 50, a coach or bus. If longer journeys are required, or more people are travelling the smaller vehicles will travel to the train station, or airport. Journeys can be timed to the minute when there's predictable traffic flows, and if you're rich you can travel alone and pay for the pollution you're creating to be removed.