Saturday, November 22, 2008

Why Doesn't MapStat Update..?

As you may have noticed, or not, I finally switched over to the "NEW" Blogger look but it has come some at a "functionality" price. It seems the "Latest Nomads" visitors box, on the front page, is not updating.

They have been the SAME "Latest Nomads" before I switched over to the "NEW" look. One thing is that if you click on them it does take you to the BlogFlux Map page with the correct and current stats and map.

Visually, it used to have the "Last Nomads" visitors updated live on the home page before. If any of you guys use this service AND it is working correctly for you please give me a holler..as the team at BlogFlux doesn't seem to want to respond.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Malwarebytes' takes a bite out of spyware.

Although a good anti-virus program is effective it will not block out or "catch" the numerous "malware" programs out there lurking around the corner at every page you visit.

I currently have McAfee AND Windows Defender running simultaneously and both those programs have failed in catching spyware/ad-ware (malware) that can significantly slow down or harm your computer overall.

I've been using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware for a few months and it has detected and instantly removed various malwares below (actual log):

Files Infected:C:\Windows\System32\wextract.exe (Adware.Buzus) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.

Registry Values Infected:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\windowswelcomecenter (Trojan.Agent) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.

Registry Keys Infected:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{1d4db7d2-6ec9-47a3-bd87-1e41684e07bb} (Adware.MyWebSearch) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.

Registry Data Items Infected:HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\scrfile\shell\open\command\ (Broken.OpenCommand) -> Bad: ("%1" %*) Good: ("%1" /S) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.

The best part is is that this highly rated anti-malware program is FREE. It is also very "light", meaning it uses very little system resources to run and doesn't inundate you with numerous doo-dads, bells, whistles, blah..blah..blah. It's simple and to the point. You download it and do a quick scan and you'll see for yourself what kind of stuff maybe "crawling around" inside your computer. I use it religiously (daily) and the Malwarebytes' database updates numerous times a day..these guys at Malwarebytes' MEAN BUSINESS! Check 'em out.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Russell Houston



Russell Houston creates by far some of the coolest and funniest golf paintings/drawings I've seen. I love the Norman Rockwell-esque story each picture conveys of the famous cowboy golfers. The stoic nature of the cowboy trying to maintain composure in a "oh-so" humbling a game. I'm not going to describe each one..check them out for yourself. (Click on the picture to get a much better image!)




This one below is my favorite..I love how the swing is broken down..the "Ben Hogan" swing for the cowboys.

Here's their site, The Art of Russell Houston, if you're interested in checking out the other pictures. I've placed an order for the calendar and a print of the cowboy swing.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

World Golf Tour..the video game!

I used to play video golf with the "Links" series on my old Xbox. It was actually quite awesome with the ability to manipulate so many things as far as the actual play was concerned. You could alter the way your player looked and as far as how much spin you were going to put on the golf ball. The images were also pretty awesome to boot. Well, I just had the opportunity to play a similar game but online at World Golf Tour.

I'm not a fan of downloading complex game files and never go beyond this when it asks me to..so no worries here..NO DOWNLOADING NEEDED..you play it straight from their site. They must have some kick-ass servers/connections as everytime I've played it's been perfect and without a hitch.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty. The presentation of the site is awesome and extremely fast. The pictures of the game below are exactly the way they look when you play..as I have played it numerous times today.

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You can create a player profile and also compete with others around the world. I have only played the "closest to pin" skills challenge and it is uber-fun. The controls are very easy. You basically click-drag your mouse up to load your player's power and then click when the power marker gets to the middle..or at least try to..obviously the closer you get to the center the more "perfect" your shot will be.

It seems the game is in the "beta" stage, but a few things I'd like to see them incorporate in the future would be:

-Ability to manipulate spin on all facets of the ball, not just vertically as it is right now.
-Ability to manipulate swing path.
-Closer zoom angles on the green surface, with possible grid lines.

Either way, World Golf Tour is extremely enjoyable and keeps you coming back for more. I can't wait to see what courses and functions they'll add later. Hit 'em straight and out of the thick stuff!