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Just a quick note, for anyone having trouble playing games that have Punkbuster integrated with it. If you’re getting an “Invalid O/S Error” when you try to join a server, this is related to the game not having enough permissions to  open/alter certain files. There have been several fixes suggested, and some work for some people… some work for others. The one that seems to solve most people’s problem is running the game as an administrator. Simply being logged in as an administrator isn’t enough because your programs are still executed with limited privileges. You just have to confirm it when they’re needed(if you have UAC enabled).

To run as administrator you have a couple of options.. if you’re running a home version of Vista, you might not have some of them:

1. Right-click on the Shortcut or game executable and click Run as Administrator
2. Right-click on the game executable and Click Properties->Compatibility->Check the “Run as Administrator” box, Apply
3. Right-click on the Shortcut, Click the “Shortcut” tab->Advanced, Check the “Run as Administrator” box, Apply

Now, with that said, none of these would work properly for me. The only solution I could find that would work is downloading this update from PunkBuster, adding my game, and hitting Update. Once updated the game ran fine without giving it extra privileges.

Good luck!

I’d like to say Happy Holidays to you and yours this season. No matter your religion, race, nationality, whatever… I wish you the best in the new year.

PHP.net’s holiday logo was finally updated this year. The previous one was a bit dated.

Today, on my birthday of all days, I got hit while driving (back)to work. I was coasting along, doing the speed limit, and a lady pulled out from a crossroad just soon enough to hit my back-right side and spin me about 150 degrees. Neither of us was hurt, and the immediately obvious damage to my vehicle was negligible. Her vehicle, on the other hand, is going to need a new bumper, front end, and a paint job. The nice police officer issued her a citation for “Failure to yield right of way”. It has been pointed out by two people already that “at least it was a memorable birthday”, and that it was.

Also, thanks to my awesome friends who made it out for my birthday dinner(you know who you are =]).

So I came across a picture taken recently by a reporter in a helicopter over Galveston. Apparently this house was just recently built, and was built to withstand a category 5 hurricane. The rest of the houses in the area… not so much:

This second one is an overhead view from a satellite:

Images courtesy of the internets and NOAA.

We’ve been pretty lucky so far this hurricane season. We’ve only had one direct hit, and one or two near misses. Hanna veered further out to sea and made landfall around New York, while Gustav curved into the Gulf and hit Lousiana, and Ike had a similar track but hit Texas head on. I’ll attach a picture I came across on the internets of some minor storm damage(certainly not the worst) from Ike.

Hurricane Hanna’s current projected track takes it right up the eastern seaboard, which means it will sideswipe us here in Florida. The current speed is rather slow, like Fay, so we can expect some decent rain. The ground is still soggy from Fay, a week and a half ago. Creeks will flood, bridges will close, people will lose power. Many will worry far more than is necessary. Welcome to Florida! =]

Also, something that people tend to forget is that meteorology is anything but an exact science. We(as a race) can say with some level of certainty that a storm will head NW until it hits the US(then NE usually), but the smallest change in course amounts to a huge difference of where/when/if it hits us. So just keep that in mind, you worry-warts.

Attached is an image of the current track courtesy of StormPulse.com:

Soon(roughly 8AM Wednesday in the image) it will strengthen to a Category 2 hurricane. When it gets back into open water it will probably speed up a little, too.

Here are some pics taken by me, Jessica, and Adam, of the aftermath of the endless days of rain brought by Tropical Storm Fay. It’s a slideshow, so wait about 10 seconds to see another image.