Okay, I've got a little problem that's been annoyingly persistent.  As the folks who went through my "Rise of the Shadow Circle" arc will recall, there was a fade-in collection item representing the placement of an unfriendly little gizmo in the villain's lair.  It was located in the "end zone", which was basically just the final room -- and because completing it activated a destroyable object, the players could actually see the destroyable object spawn, along with its guards.
The problem here (other than the aesthetic one) is that I didn't set the collection item's location to "back" -- I set it to "middle".  But it insists on spawning in the end room.  Setting it to "front" makes it appear in the front, no problem.  And with the right map I might well do that if I can find no better solution.  That, or set it to random, but that would be a less satisfactory solution.  Oh, and I've made sure I don't have too many other things located in the middle zone, which I suspect would bump it to one of the other zones.
Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone's seen this behavior before, and if it's a bug, if anyone knows a better workaround than the ones I've come up with on my own.
Thanks.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

So, not inspired by but coinciding with the discussion involving WiFi security over in Politics, I've acquired a netbook and have started looking into seriously securing the communications, both for use at home and for use elsewhere. So, that pretty much means a VPN.

I have an OpenVPN server set up on a system I have running PuppyLinux, with configuration that's supposed to make all the traffic go through the VPN. With *that* going, the client couldn't get to the internet at all, actually a good sign. Then I got the firewall set up with rules I'm pretty sure are supposed to cause the PuppyLinux machine to do NAT for the client system. Now I can get to the internet from the client.

The problem is, I'm still not absolutely certain that the wireless communication is all going through the vpn encryption. I was under the impression that when the gateway redirection was working, traceroute was supposed to show a path that goes through the vpn server somewhere, and it isn't. Based on a forum post from someone else trying to do a similar setup, I tried installing Wireshark on both the client and the server. Which showed me that *something* is definately going on. When I go to a website on the client, there's activity on the server machine, and on the client it shows all sorts of stuff involving SSL exchanges that doesn't happen normally. But that post suggested that all the traffic leaving the wireless interface on the client should be in the form of UDP packets, since I have it configured for UDP. It shows a lot more stuff. But I'm not sure that this isn't it also showing the traffic to the virtual interface formed by the VPN software. I'd have expected *that* to appear when I have it set to capture on the virtual interface, but when I do that... it shows absolutely nothing. Since I don't actually know what I'm *doing* with this program, maybe I don't have the right configuration for what I'm looking for.

So, basically. Anyone have any idea how I can tell for certain that my traffic is getting encrypted the way it's supposed to be?

-Morgan.

Okay, so pretty much anyone that writes/reads fanfic on the web knows about Fanfiction.net... but are there others out there?
I already know of one: http://archiveofourown.org/
How is this group?  How well kept is their site and servers?  From what little I've seen their site is reasonably fast and clean, but I think that's mostly due to a lack of adservices.    So what else is known about them?
And are their any other similar sites out there?

I haven't forgotten about this, either.  And now that I have finally finished watching MSLGN: Strikers, I can now say that Matteus raring to go.
I just wanna do more work on DSKS first...  *Sighs*  The times I wish I had a writing partner to work with over here...

I know there has been chatter fairly recently about Mass Effect and ME2.

I just figured I'd pass along the news that steam is having a ME Day (07/20), offer ends 10am Pacific time tomorrow:

Mass Effect is $4.99

Mass Effect 2 is $23.99

So if you haven't gotten Mass Effect, or ME2 (and haven't run into problems installing steam) now might be a good time.

Edit: ok, I somehow caught the tail end of this, as it is now over :/
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

One of the occupational hazards of having a meganekko-fan website is being asked who a particular character is - and not knowing. When this happens, I ask for help, so... Anybody recognize her?


--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

While sticking Mal's "Infinities" list of Senshi rules onto http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?titl ... Millennium]the Senshi Talk page, I noticed this paragraph on http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?titl ... Millennium]the Senshi main page:

Quote:Senshi use the same kinds of weapons as everyone else in Fenspace. Some Senshi keep trying to create magical wands for fighting evil, but so far have had less than success. The cognitive disconnect of seeing short-skirted girls wielding firearms can be jarring at first.

...and, apparently, they were listening to the wi-fi signals they picked up.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/17 ... print.html]Register editorial

I'm not a big fan of wardriving - if I wanted someone to know about my wi-fi router, I would have posted a sign - but that's just my opinion. Listening in on the communications detected while wardriving crosses the line to "illegal actions".

Why is Google allowed to do things like this?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Tis come time again for that eternal villian question...  which patron is right for me.
in this case the me is a tech Bots/Traps MM
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

It's hot and muggy here in lower Michigan -- 88 Fahrenheit according to one source -- and stepping out my door feels almost literally like walking into a sauna. Yet here in my apartment, although the air conditioner is not, I say again, not running, the temperature is in the low seventies (which is why it's not running). As I say, I'm not complaining, but I am perplexed.
The only notion that seems to make sense is that cool air from my upstairs neighbors' a.c. is leaking down here.
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.