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.

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

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!!!

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?

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.

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.

Behold! The mighty Tux!

Linux comes in lots and lots of distros. Creepyghost wanted something professional as well as not entirely command-line dependent. Although creepyghost has tried Linux without GUIs, Linux with GUIs is quite a new experience for him. So, after haunting the internet for a long time, he decided to use an old version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. “This should be easy”, was what creepyghost wailed.

His journal entries follow:-

Day 1:-

Wow! Linux is great! Ready to work in 15 minutes. Linux is fast! It does not match the looks of Vista but it gives XP tough competition.  The only glitch faced by now is that it couldn’t find some stupid driver and just refused to install unless I did something about this issue! Just before the day ended, the required driver was found and everything chugged along. Installation was a real pain. This may be due to the fact that it isn’t supported too much. Moreover, this is an old version and cannot be compared to Vista. It’s really painful even if I compare it to XP.

Day 3:-

Whoa! This thing has more bugs than the no. of fleas on my dog ( I haven’t counted, seriously!). Two days into it and I’ve faced 5 unsuccessful startups. Gotta find some good games to play on this. This is not going to be easy! Even though I’ve worked on CLI based OSes before, this seems weird, alien and definitely spooky. And how the hell do you get the equivalent of the task manager?!? Hell hath no fury like this thing if it ever hangs.

As the “research” progresses, further weblog entries will mark it.

I’ve been writing this guide ever since I started playing America’s Army. That’s when v2.2 or 2.3 was the latest version. This contains the basic know-how of playing wisely in AA and should help out most new players. I got no place to post it, so, it goes into my blog. Note that these tips are meant for AA but may also be applicable for other games.

1>Choose the most basic weapon! It is not good to start with the M249 SAW and go blasting around. For all you know, you’ll end up dead after you find out that you’re not able to control the recoil. Work up your way to the specialist weapons slowly. If you’re playing a map you’ve never played before, select the M16/M4. In general, it is the best all-round weapon.

2>Once you get to the specialist weapons, play your role only. Don’t be the rambo at the start of the round if you get a Machine gun, go pick a nest and help your team by providing covering fire. If you get a sniper, go to some well hidden spot and try to clear your line of sight. Later in the game, try using your scope to scout for the team.

3>In AA, always spot enemies with the ‘Z’ button. It informs the team about any danger even if you get killed by that danger. It is also wise to type the location of the enemy in the ingame team chat.

4>Everyone in AA says the game doesn’t have ballistics i.e. when you fire a bullet, it has instant effect, and you should not lead your bullet by firing it ahead of your target. If you have a bad ping, this statement can mean your death. In case you’ve got lag or a big ping, lead your bullets slightly ahead of the target because that big ping or lag will result in your target being actually ahead of where he appears to be now.

5>Aim for the upper body, but if you’re new, never aim for the head unless you’re hidden. If the taget decides to crouch while in a firefight with you, you’ll miss his head and he will get the split second advantage required. But, if you’re aiming for the torso, you’ll chalk up another headshot.

6>In AA, NEVER go prone in close-quarter combat without cover. It will slow you down, make you headshot-fodder, AND prohibit you from shooting while you’re moving.

7>When the administrator forceclasses a sniper and you are on a close quarter combat map, never camp! Instead, go do the tango! Don’t use the scope in CQB. Jump around to dodge bullets. Keep moving in circles with your opponent. Just don’t stay put because a shot from the sniper, means you’re dead.

8>Aim down the sights whenever you can. It increases your accuracy and makes the recoil manageable.

9>Use the recoil to your advantage! If your aim gets displaced to a position where the enemy is, you can continue firing. This is good to deal with a bunch of enemies sticking together closely.

10>When you have an automatic weapon, fire in bursts of 3-4 bullets. When you have a burst fire weapon, USE the burst firemode. Single
fire mode causes pain in the index finger. >:-(

11>Learn to compensate for the recoil of automatic or burst fire weapons by moving your mouse in the opposite direction while the shots are being fired.

12>In AA, on the map bridge, always try to camp on the pillars on the left and right sides of the bridge. Lean while you’re standing behind the pillars to make you even harder to hit. Also, never smoke your side of the bridge early on in the game.

13>In AA, on the map pipeline, do something unique each time. On this map, being unpredictable means life.

14>If the sniper moves wildly while you’re trying to aim with the scope, try to go prone, get the bipods down and fire between the
movements. Also, note that as soon as you hit the scope, there are a couple of seconds when the scope is very still. Use these seconds wisely to get kills. Just get out of scope mode and get in again to aim better if you are in scope mode and can’t aim.

15>If your teammates are present somewhere close to the enemy and you see it, do not fire at the enemy unless you’re doubly sure you won’t hit your teammate! In this case, it is best to spot that enemy or inform your teammate of it using the ingame team chat and then, ignoring the enemy untill he kills you teammate or dies.

Any (polite) comments are welcome.

P.S.:Please note that this is entry is also present in my previous blog at xfire. I’m just too lazy to shift it. I assure, though, that I am the creepyghost who posted there.

Please don’t mind the other ghost visitors, their visits are not logged anyway! Within, you’ll find the master of the shack, creepyghost, writing things mysteriously on the walls of this shack (blog). Don’t get confused, he isn’t interested in scaring people! In fact, he likes the latest gadgets, games, programming,  Batman comics, Japanese Manga, and also, ghost-related things. So, it is predicted that he will write on subjects related to the above.

Now, usually, ghosts write anything using blood as ink or scrape it on any surface. As that would be disgusting and carpet-spoiling, expect a more human approach, even though that would result in loss of prestige for creepyghost among other ghosts.

Wait, creepyghost wants to wail something… He says that he is the ghost of a teenager called Anurag Kishore, a great soul who had a golden ring floating over his head all the time. The body of this soul still lies in India. Now that he has introduced himself, he would like to welcome all constructive criticism and polite comments. And he warns with a chilling and scary laugh that spam comments will be dealt with in a ghostlike manner. So, don’t spam here ever if you don’t want a ghost to haunt your mortal self for eternity!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…,

Creepyghost