DSL ’08 is less than a month away.  I can’t seem to wrap my head around that figure… less than one month.  Are we ready?

…

Are we ever?

Thanks to some incoming assistance from some friends, a lot of stress has been taken off our shoulders, allowing us to focus on other parts of the event, as well as the dozen or four other projects that all suddenly popped up.

Umm… yay?

So, we’ve gone to see a few movies since my last post.  Indiana Jones And The Crystal Skull, Hancock, and Wall-E (which we caught last night in Abby).  Thoughts?  I was actually impressed, for the most part.  I’ll explain a bit here, without spoiling the movies.

Indy.  Well, other than the weird-ish ending, it was a fairly well-done movie, I thought.  Yeah, they deterred from their usual topics of chasing after Xtian relics, and into a mythical outlook (or a different mythical outlook *wink*), and it’s sad to find out that the actual real life Crystal Skull(s) were found to be fake, but overall it was pretty good.  Shia LaBeouf could very easily take on Indiana’s legacy as a treasure hunter, and I think that the movie may have actually left that option open.  I guess it’s whether Lucas and Spielberg are in need of a new gold-plated Mercedes or not.
Speaking of gold plated… HOLY CRAP HANCOCK!!  I have heard a lot of bad reviews about this movie, but honestly, I came out of it happy.  Why?  Other than the fact that everything that Will Smith touches on a July long weekend turns to solid gold, it was like Superman with actual human traits… primarily the flaws.  Sure, one of the flaws was the ability to put back a 40 pounder of any hard alcohol like we drink water… then take out a sign or two while flying drunk… but it brings up the question “If you had the power to save people over and over and over… would you still do it when they stopped thanking you?”.  Throughout the movie, it also moves (somewhat slowly in points) towards the idea of one person being able to change the world.  Yeah, in this movie, part of that seems to involve destroying buildings, cars, trains, streets, people… you know, change the world one piece at a time.  Great ending though (no, I will not spoil it).  Some of it was disgustingly predictable, but overall, I enjoyed it enough that I would seriously like to see it again when it comes out on DVD.
Wall-E.  Great animation, although a bit more “cartoonish” than a lot of the Pixar movies we’ve seen lately, and a strong storyline that remains consistent throughout the movie.  The downside to the storyline?  Well, while the movie was obviously done to market primarily to kids, a lot of the storyline was a bit on the mature side for them (like a lot of “cartoons” now).  It weighed heavily on the Environmental impact humanity has made on the planet, and what it takes to make it better.  Now, this may spoil part of the movie, but it (the movie) also takes a quick jab at American Lifestyle… as people depend more on junkfood and machines, and less on such strenuous tasks as walking, what happens to their bodies?  Hover chairs, though… gotta get me one of those.  The movie touches peoples hearts a few times, like when Wall-E (obviously the main character) starts to… wait, can’t tell that without spoiling things.  Just be ready to tell the kiddies that everything will be alright… Pixar wouldn’t hurt their pocketbooks… I mean, their characters like that.  they did a nice touch of using live action “movie reels” inside the cartoon to give that feel of looking back on “old Earth”… something that, so far as I am aware of anyway, Pixar had not done for any of their other movies.
Oh, and you adults will also get to see a few mini-references to 2001-A Space Odyssey in the movie, so be watching (like you could miss these).

So what’s up in my personal life, other than DSL?  Well, some of the things, I can’t… actually… say.  Well, I can, but I would probably get in trouble and be moved to the couch until after the things are over… that’s a long time, and I’m not THAT into our new couch.  One of the things that I can talk about though, is how creeped out I was the other day at a customer that came into work… she was, I kid you not, airport security’s worst nightmare.  I mean, piercings in moderation is one thing (though not really MY thing), but DAMN, she probably breaks a sweat whenever she’s within 15 feet of a magnet.  She had, and I am not making this up, like 3 in her eyebrow, two in her lower lip, and two in her upper lip, she had both sides of her nose pierced, the center ring (why?  Well, why the hell not.. she’s already going for a 50/50 flesh to metal ratio), she of course had her ears turned into a pin cushion, and the trademark tongue piercing… and that was only what we could see (without asking, which I certainly had no intention of checking into).  Why would someone trash their body like that?  I mean, fine, pierce your ears… but know where to draw the line.  Maybe I’m just alone in thinking that when I look at someones face, I don’t want to be looking at shiny crap ON the face.  Plus, and I mentioned this earlier… imagine what damage could be done if they were to be near one of those big car magnets… or an older microwave.  So, how much do you want to bet that she screams and yells when she gets a paper cut or a sliver? 

At any rate… yeah, piercings and tattoos have never really appealed to me, and this example just made me… ick.  Other than that, it’s mostly SSDD syndrome in the NightStorm way of life.  Things are going well, and they’re of course going to just get better as time progresses.  Check back over the next few weeks, because there’s going to be some awesome announcements coming.  I wish I could make them now… but, well… couch.

Also, check out Tami’s blog (or villagegamer.net), as she’s reviewed a couple of great books on there in the last week or two (well, a lot more than a few, in a much greater length of time, but a couple stand out in my recent memory of 7 days… that’s about all I’m good for right now) that I suggest people check out.  Especially people who like, play, or live within 100 miles of someone who plays, video games.  That’s all of you, for the record.  Just in case you missed that.

On this date in 2008, an outcome to years of hard work and effort is finally reached.  Greg King, who launched dozens of attacks against killanet, decided today to finally admit to his wrongdoing, and entered a guilty plea before the United States Court.

Below is the official press release sent out by the United States Department Of Justice.  I’d just like to take a second to thank everyone who helped on this case, as well as Tami (of course) for riding this out to the end.

I think it’s time to breath a heavy sigh of relief.  One less headache. 
 

Department of Justice

Eastern District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           CONTACT: Lauren Horwood

Tuesday, June 10, 2008                          PHONE: (916) 554-2706

www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae                          lauren.horwood@usdoj.gov

Docket #: 07-cr-442-LKK

COMPUTER HACKER PLEADS GUILTY AND AGREES TO TWO YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today that GREGORY KING, 21, of Fairfield, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton to two counts of transmitting code to cause damage to a protected computer. As part of the plea agreement KING agreed to a two-year prison sentence.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the FBI, whose agents analyzed Internet logs, executed search warrants, performed forensic analysis of KING’s computers, and took KING’s confession. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew D. Segal, a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Unit, prosecuted the case.

According to Segal, KING admitted to using a “botnet” to conduct distributed-denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against two different Web sites: Killanet and Castlecops. A botnet is a network of malware-infected, zombie computers (bots) that can be used to conduct DDOS attacks, send spam, and commit fraud over the Internet. Bots are also used to infect other computers and thus propagate the botnet. The owners of the infected computers do not know that their computers have been infected with “botware,” but their computers can nonetheless be secretly directed by the “bot herder,” the person in control of the botnet. In a DDOS attack, a bot herder directs the bots to flood a victim computer with information and thereby disable the target computer.

Known online as Silenz, Silenz420, sZ, GregK, and Gregk707, KING admitted to controlling about 7,000 bots and using them to DDOS attack Killanet and Castlecops. Killanet, an interactive forum where members share advice on graphic design, Web design, photography, and gaming was DDOS-attacked in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Castlecops is an Internet security community specializing in anti-phishing, malware analysis, and combating spam; it was DDOS-attacked in 2007.

On October 1, 2007, FBI agents went to KING’s residence to arrest him. After agents knocked on the front door, KING exited the back door, hid a laptop computer in the backyard, and then returned to answer the front door. Pursuant to a search warrant, the laptop was seized and searched. It contained, among other things, botnet software and references to KING’s various Internet monikers.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Karlton on September 3, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for this violation is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables and any applicable statutory sentencing factors.

    I am sad.  So very very sad.

    Why?

    I went out to the bar last week with Tami to celebrate her birthday, and experienced first-hand, that which is to be the future of mankind… the hope for our species as a whole.

    …

    We’re doomed.

    …

    The band that played are old friends of Tami’s, and go by the name of "Cease and Desist".  They also put on a show, where they dress up as the singers of the songs they cover (for example, they do an amazing cover of "Maggie May" by Rod Steward, while the lead singer dons the wig and clothes to match) as "Atlantic Crossing", but they didn’t do that for this show.  So yeah, they’re a cover band… but a GREAT cover band.  The part that left me with an empty feeling for society?  The kiddies that were in the bar at the time.  While many of them really got into the music, some were just… sad.  Not "boo hoo" sad, but "what the fuck" sad.  Some of them were damn near breeding right on the dance floor (when, given their general overall look, they shouldn’t even be breeding in the privacy of their own dorm rooms).  The paper towel dispenser in the bathroom ran out of towel, okay?  No big deal, just tell one of the staff and it’ll get looked after, right?  Nuh uh… some dumbass actually tore it off the wall and left it sitting on the floor.  Yeah, that’s a good way to get it refilled.  I hope the person went in there later, pissed all over themselves, and then couldn’t dry their hands when they were done because there was NO FREAKIN’ TOWEL DISPENSER ANYMORE!!  Morons.

    Some of the kids in this bar were outright obnoxious.  Of course, it was obvious that it wasn’t a true bar, but more of a college bar, given the crap that was being played over the radio during breaks in the live show.  Just the same though, we got some networking in, and may have a great announcement coming up soon.  It’s in the works… like everything else… damn, we have a lot of things "in the works" right now.  Oh well, it’s all good.

    Anyway, now that I’ve managed to get over the childish antics of a bar full of apparently prepubescent teenage boys and barely-dressed barely-legal streetwalkers, I can move on to some great news.

    DSL 2008 is going to have a live concert!  That’s right, Mendella has been confirmed to play at DSL 2008.  I’m really psyched about this, and once we have figured out the final details (we have a date, and location, but need to sort out the small details), a massive announcement about it will go up on the DSL site, as well as on Village Gamer.  I will of course echo it here, for the 3 readers I have.  *cough*

    Great things are coming… just as long as those kiddies from the bar aren’t a part of it.  And as long as our datacenter doesn’t try to explode again.  Yeah, wishful thinking.

Is job dissatisfaction truly a necessary part to any employment? The past few weeks, I have (for the first time, since entering this type of work when I was a teen) been starting to really dislike my job. Its seeming like every time something happens in a negative fashion, I am the one who egts lectured about it (whether I played a part or not), yet when things go well, there are few who actually notice or say anything in regards to it. The typical "negative is loudest" way of life at work, to sum it up.

I don’t want to be a "job hopper"… you know the type, who will work at one place just long enough to become annoyed with it, then suddenly quit and start looking for employment somewhere else. I have a good work history, and I want to keep it that way. Besides, with DSL coming, money will of course be welcome… and it flows a little better when you actually show up at your job in order to obtain the paycheck. I guess I’m just… annoyed.

Anyway, rants aside, this hasn’t been that bad of a… damn, its been a few weeks, hasn’t it.. all things considered. We went out last Friday night to an Industry Mixer, and ended up hanging out with a few of the guys from RockStar games (unfortunately, I can’t namedrop this time, due to the secrecy that the company operates under, and the fact that in doing so, I may end up with a hit out on me *cough*). We discussed to some extent the enjoyment that Mike has been getting out of GTA 4, and they tipped us off to a Rockband competition taking place in Vancouver that we should check out… so we did. You can read about that over at
http://www.villagegamer.net.  We actually attended the finals today, and got a chance to see an amazing up-and-coming band from the UK play live. There are some amazing announcements regarding them, but I’ll save that for later. In the meantime though, check them out. The name is "Mendella".
http://www.myspace.com/mendellaband

Went shopping with Tami yesterday (yeah, I’m jumping all over the calendar), and among the many things we picked up was a brand new Nintendo Wii for the house. It was technically an investment for Killanet and DSL, but just the same… I didn’t initially think it would be that fun of a system when it first came out, but I am the first to admit in this case that I was wrong, and I
apologize to Nintendo (who will be visiting us at DSL 2008). I beg your forgiveness in hopes that you do not dispatch a short pudgy plumber to deal with me. *cough*

We’ve launched a brand new site, focused on the Vancouver Gaming Industry.
http://www.villagegamer.net.  The site also has a good idea on what I’ve been up to over the past few weeks. Check it out.

Anyway, things are rocking hard here, and I predict an amazing Summer ahead. Keep tuned to
http://www.bladeradio.com for Mendella, and keep tuned to this site for personal updates.

Take care everyone.