How to deal with Wrist pain (Mouse Injury)

NOTE: This is not a substitute for medical help! In fact, in case you notice a regular nagging pain in your wrist, creepyghost recommends that you’d better go seek some professional medical help.

Ever felt that your wrist is gonna tear itself if you continue to use that mouse any longer but still, felt the need to go on for some more time just to finish off that important project? The ghost understands you!

Fear not, creepyghost has compiled a list of tips to make that arm feel better. Here they are:-

1>> First and foremost, you must try to keep your wrist straight (yet relaxed). I mean to say that you must keep your arms in such a position that your wrist is completely straight and not bent. Adjust the height of the keyboard/chair if you need to.

2>> Make sure that the mouse and the keyboard are kept at the same level. If not, make sure that you keep the one you’re using right now nearest to you and at the above said height to ensure that the wrist is straight.

3>> If you have time, try to straighten your arm and stretch it upwards. If that feels too uncomfortable, try to bend the elbow and give the arm some support using your head.

4>> DO NOT play any more games for some time, especially those genres that require constant clicking or button mashing.

5>> Use Keyboard Shortcuts and run commands a lot! You’ll be able to do tasks quicker than when your wrist wasn’t nagging you! A list of basic run commands can be found on this very Haunted Shack here:http://hauntedshack.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/basic-run-commands-windows/

6>> Have you got a speech recognition software and a microphone? Use them. They are the best tools and help a lot in dealing with wrist pain. (They allow you to lounge in your chair for crying out loud!!!)

7>> Try to type using one or two fingers only and move the whole lower arm. Don’t move the fingers individually. Imitate a child trying to type something for the first time without using the 10-finger touch typing technique. Use the other thumb for the space bar.

8>> Try to take a 1 minute break every time you feel like it and repeat step 3 in that minute.

9>> Last but not the least, DO NOT go on for more than half an hour (Zero if the Doctor has told you to). Take a break and lie down and keep your arm reeeeal straight.

Basic Run Commands [Windows]

Creepyghost quite often finds the mouse to be a sloooow mode of input. For example, if he wants to open up add hardware wizard, he finds it much easier to simply press [Windows] +R and type in “hdwwiz.cpl” and hit enter. Pardon him for being so lazy, ghosts often are! He feels all should practice this stuff. So, here is a basic list of commands arranged in alphabetical order for the welfare of all humans! (This ought to get creepyghost, a ticket to heaven!). This list has been compiled from a lot of sources but mostly, the thinkdigit forum.

NOTE: The shortcut to open the run box is: {Windows key] + R.

List of commands used in the “Run” box:-
–>  [Function]             >>       [Command]
–> Add Hardware Wizard >> hdwwiz.cpl
–> Add/Remove Programs >> appwiz.cpl
–> Administrative Tools >> control admintools
–> Calculator >> calc
–> Character Map >> charmap
–> Check Disk Utility >> chkdsk
–> Clipboard Viewer >> clipbrd
–> Command Prompt >> cmd
–> Component Services >> dcomcnfg
–> Computer Management >> compmgmt.msc
–> Date and Time Properties >> timedate.cpl
–> Device Manager >> devmgmt.msc
–> Direct X Control Panel >> directx.cpl
–> Direct X Troubleshooter >> dxdiag
–> Disk Cleanup Utility >> cleanmgr
–> Disk Defragment >> dfrg.msc
–> Disk Management >> diskmgmt.msc
–> Disk Partition Manager >> diskpart
–> Display Properties >> desk.cpl
–> Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility >> drwtsn32
–> Driver Verifier Utility >> verifier
–> Event Viewer >> eventvwr.msc
–> File Signature Verification Tool >> sigverif
–> Folders Properties >> control folders
–> Fonts >> control fonts
–> Game Controllers >> joy.cpl
–> Group Policy Editor >> gpedit.msc
–> Indexing Service >> ciadv.msc
–> Internet Properties >> inetcpl.cpl
–> IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) >> ipconfig /all
–> IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) >> ipconfig /displaydns
–> IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) >> ipconfig /flushdns
–> Java Control Panel >> jpicpl32.cpl
–> Keyboard Properties >> control keyboard
–> Local Security Settings >> secpol.msc
–> Local Users and Groups >> lusrmgr.msc
–> Log Out Of Windows >> logoff
–> Mouse Properties >> control mouse / main.cpl
–> Network Connections >> control netconnections /ncpa.cpl
–> Notepad >> notepad
–> Password Properties >> password.cpl
–> Performance Monitor >> perfmon
–> Phone and Modem Options >> telephon.cpl
–> Power Configuration >> powercfg.cpl
–> Printers & Faxes >> control printers
–> Registry Editor >> regedit / regedit32
–> Removable Storage >> ntmsmgr.msc
–> Scanners and Cameras >> sticpl.cpl
–> Scheduled Tasks >> control schedtasks
–> Security Centre >> wscui.cpl
–> Services >> services.msc
–> Shut Down Windows >> shutdown
–> Sounds and Audio >> mmsys.cpl
–> System Configuration Editor >> sysedit
–> System Configuration Utility >> msconfig
–> System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately) >> sfc /scannow
–> System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot) >> sfc /scanonce
–> System File Checker Utility (Scan On Booting) >> sfc /scanboot
–> System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting) >> sfc /revert
–> System Properties >> sysdm.cpl
–> Task Manager >> taskmgr
–> User Account Management >> nusrmgr.cpl
–> Utility Manager >> utilman
–> Windows Firewall >> firewall.cpl
–> Windows Accounts Database Security >> syskey
–> WordPad >> write

Cheerio!

Creepyghost

Apologies!

Creepyghost apologizes for not being able to post any content over the half of this month. The cause was a faulty ISP’s server. Creepyghost wants to make it a known fact that he hates BSNL (Bharatiya Sanchar Nigam Limited) due to their bad broadband service. Things seem OK now and should continue without obstruction. Let the Haunting recommence!

Naruto: The Setting Dawn (PC Game)

That's Naruto! Believe it!!

Quite frankly, only few games exists for people who like the popular anime/manga series Naruto and own a PC only! While Naruto fans worldwide were busy trying to lay their paws on a console, a few people decided to take matters in their own hands. Creepyghost found out a little known game which is actually a total conversion of the great game Little Fighter II.

The game is called Naruto: The setting dawn. While the name fails to impress and looks melodramatic, the gameplay is nothing but sharp. JUST like LF2, this game is not that good at graphics (Not too bad either). Nevertheless, just like LF2, NTSD has got a veeery sharp and responsive gameplay with lots of options, moves, techniques, transformations and a lot more!

A good news is that this game breaks the tradition that LF2 started by making the characters actually look like their manga or anime counterparts! The characters actually look scaled decently enough.

The current version (2.4 test 3) is of 33MBs. It is completely free to download.

Here’s a link to the forum that is the official site for the game that also contains the download section: http://ntsd.open-board.com/.

Creepyghost has officially awarded this game the title of ‘Order of Spookishness’ and recommends this game to all Naruto fans.

Believe it!!!

Ten Days With Linux – Days 8, 10 (Finale)

Depression, smoke, depression, PSUs, depression, calls to mechanics and, (you guessed it!) more depression. Later, the PSU’s condenser was replaced (It was out of warranty period) after two days!!! “Why me?!?” wailed creepyghost when he found the time period out. Whenever you’re pleading time to pass quickly, it has the disobliging habit of speeding up as if it were making fun of you in your face!

Slowly, sluggishly, stuff happened and creepyghost’s PSU was repaired. Creepyghost is planning to put his efforts into trying to learn some hardware repairing too so that next time, he can put all restraint aside and scare all mechanics away.

Continuation of this research ensued. As this research nears its end, creepyghost feels that he is beginning to like his Linux. Now, he has finished finding out all the alternatives he required for his brief switch (being veeery practical). The research will now continue as he tries to pass lazy normal days on his PC using RHEL 5.

So, Day 8’s Journal entry:-

Day 8:-

Hokay! Everything is fixed! Ahh, the hard drive is still okay. So is the OS! May the SMPS protect ye parts. Now whatever the hell was the linux equivalent of chkdsk?!? Wasn’t it df ….? Yep, Google agrees with me too!

A scan later, the hard disk appears to be all right. Oh well, life moves on!

I’m finding one odd bug, though. Whenever I try to post something anywhere, I just can’t post anything more than two lines. I have to double post on forums. This is irritating as my posts look weird! Hoping its not the same when I switch back because I just can’t find a fix for this!

Another problem is that whenever I try to stream windows media content, obviously, it fails. Why? Because I don’t have a windows media player on Linux! Now how does one fix that? Or do people live on with it?!?

Before switching over as day 10 died, creepyghost crafted a heartwarming summary of a goodbye speech for his Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. The contents follow:-

Day 10 and Summary:-

HAHA! Time to format! Bye bye, Linux! Good Riddance! Now I can go back to a normal life with windows. I can’t say how happy I am! While I install Windows Vista, here’s the summary for this research:-

A switch to open source is a trend being followed by a lot of people these days. In fact, I’ve seen idiots who don’t even know the meaning of open source, trying out Linux just because it is open source. the sheer professional quality and polish of the Windows OS cannot be matched by a Linux distro. Nevertheless, considering that it costs less (It’s free for heaven’s sake!) it scores one against Mac and Windows here. I’ll recommend this: If you are not a leet, the best option for you is to go for paid options like Windows and Macintosh. If you still want to go free and open source, do make sure that your internet connection works and that Google is your friend.

That might not have been the most touching one, of farewells but then, that’s how creepyghost is! Really, the ghosts these days…. Anyway, this concludes the ten-day experiment. What’s next?

Ten Days With Linux – Days 6, 7

Not only does Linux fear the spooky creepyghost enough to hate it, but also the weird thing called fate. Here are the journal entries on days 6 and Day 7 which shall enlighten the reader about the evil doings of fate.

Day 6 follows creepyghost as he searches for various alternatives for the software commonly used on Windows to ensure a smooth transition in a Windows to Linux switch. For the newcomers, the Linux in question is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL5)

Day 6 (9the March)

Way to go! Gottta try some nice torrent software. Let’s see! A google search shows q torrent on top. Go firefox! Download it!

<After a few minutes>

Done! Installation underway… … .. Waiittaminute, this thing is giving me trouble. Installation using the rpm command keeps failing. Trying “yum install <package name>” Ah heres the error. I don’t have the packages on which qtorrent depends. Let’s try installing the lot.

Aftermath: I had to break my back installing loads and loads of packages before I could make this thing work. Curse this wretched thing.

Day 7 shows how evil fate is….

Day 7 (10th March)

As soon as I switched the PC on, a high voltage spike showed up. It is not common in these parts of India but not unheard of. So, this damned government sends high voltage electricity under the pretext of some fault. My PSU emits puffs of white smoke accompanied by a smell of wax and a popping sound. This is going to take loooooong.

Ten Days with Linux – Day 5

And Tux scores!!!

The fifth day (8th March) of creepyghost’s venture into the GUI Linux graveyard (although he is not too mcuh experienced with CLI based Linux either) had him sweating around trying to find some good games to play on Red Hat Linux 5 and which could act as alternatives to the ones commonly used in Windows. Here’s his  take on day 5:-

Day 5:-

Just spent half the time trying to find some good ones. He settled on Flight Gear and Urban Terror. While none of these games have top notch graphics right now, they appeared to be the best alternatives. For one who has become quite familiar with America’s Army, it is hard to adapt to an environment where players re spawn. Nevertheless, in no time at all, creepyghost was creeping around the map spooking the blue team and fragging them to hell (This might be an overstatement).

Similarly, while Flightgear is a nice flight simulator, it’s graphics compare the ground with an artificial carpet of grass used on cricket pitches with alien designs burnt into them. The control panel of most of the planes were similar. Nevertheless, that game being the only free alternative, creepyghost had to put up with it.

Anyhow, creepyghost soon got bored after crashing his plane while trying to land for the umpteenth time! Just how the hell do ya land this thing???

Anyway, its time to try Tux Racer… and some RPG games too…

As a summary, gaming on Linux still requires more attention, nevertheless, for the casual gamer, the switch to open source should pose no trouble at all on this front! The penguin scores here.