Since it’s conception, this blog has run on Drupal (http://drupal.org) but while doing the design of www.bloodstainclothing.com I gave Wordpress a try and I was so impressed that I decided to switch. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to export/import posts etc… from the old one so I will be moving that stuff over as time permits. Starting with the Starcraft/Hamachi Walkthrough since it is by far the most popular.

Cheers!
–Charlie

UPDATE
This walkthough is a little dated and we haven’t played Starcraft in about 6 months but I do have a growing list of people who have contacted me, looking for people to play with. I’m thinking about making a list of Starcraft players. If you are interested please Contact Me.

p.s. sorry for the walkthrough disappearing. My bad. It’s back now. ) This is a guide to help people set up their computer to allow them to play Starcraft over the internet by using Hamachi to emulate a local area network (LAN). This is useful if you don’t want to go through the hassle of using BattleNet (Blizzard’s online game service) or if you bought Starcraft so long ago that you lost the key but want to start playing again. This guide deals specifically with setting up Hamachi and the various settings required to get it working properly but the steps listed here should be sufficient for most games. As well as the option to install Skype (for in-game voice communication).

1. Step 1: Install Starcraft on your system.

   This is fairly self-explanatory: Put the disc in, click on “Install” follow the prompts etc… If you have Broodwars (the expansion) install it too.

2. Step 2: Install the Latest Patch.

   The latest patch out at the time of this writing is 1.15.2

   • If you have Broodwars you want this one
   • If you are using Starcraft WITHOUT the expansion you want this one

3. Step 3: Install Hamachi.

   Hamachi is a zero-configuration (in name, not function) VPN appliance. This is a fancy way of saying that you shouldn’t need to change any settings and it just works. While this is mostly true (Hamachi is MUCH simpler than many of the other ways to do this) It is still not quite “zero-configuration”. Hamachi can be installed by going to the website here, choosing your operating system and language preference from the list. somewhere along the line it will ask you if you want to purchase the premium version. The basic is just fine (and free) so stick with that.

4. Step 4: Configure your Firewall.

   Since Windows Vista and XP vary slightly in the way they are configured this step will be broken down into two sections: one for each. This how-to assumes that you have Windows Firewall. If you have something else: ZoneAlarm, Norton, etc… you should go here

   • Windows XP

     1. Go to “Control Panel” (Start>>Control Panel)
     2. Open up “Network Connections”
     3. Make sure there is a connection entitled “Hamachi” (If it is not there you may need to reboot your system).
     4. Click the “Advanced” drop-down menu at the top of Network Connections
     5. click the “Advanced” tab and select “Advanced Settings…”
     6. We need to tell the system to try to use Hamachi before any other connections you may have, otherwise, Starcraft will not find any games on Hamachi because it will be looking in the wrong place. To do this make sure “Hamachi” is selected in the Connections box and then press the green up arrow until it is the topmost entry in the list.
     7. Go back to Control Panel
     8. Open “Windows Firewall” and click the “Advanced” tab.
     9. Unselect the checkmark next to Hamachi. After this you may need to reboot your computer.

   • Windows Vista

     I don’t have a Vista system at the moment and while I am confident that I could fumble through it if I needed to I could hardly make a very competent walkthrough for others to follow. The basics are the same.

     1. Disable Windows Firewall on the “Hamachi” adapter (or disable it completely if you have issues)
     2. Set adapter priority. Here is a walkthrough for how to get there in Vista. Just make sure Hamachi is first priority (on top of the list)

5. Step 5: Install Skype (optional)

   This part is optional and there are admittedly better options for voice chat such as Ventrillo but we use Skype because it works on Linux and Mac pretty seamlessly.

   1. Go to Skype’s Website
   2. Download Skype
   3. Install Skype

6. Create or Join a network

   This part is fairly straightforward. Create a network and give your friends the network name so they can log in to it. If you have issues, the Hamachi Support Website has some good info as well as the Hamachi Getting Started Guide (.pdf).

   Happy Gaming!

And here is the audio for the un-re-mixed (original) version:

I’ll be the first to say that this is fairly old news (sometime in 2006 AFAICT) but it is still pretty hilarious and worthy of a small resurrection.

Despite all its hilarity I believe there is a serious note to be struck here. Now perhaps the Senator was having a bad day, Perhaps he was hung-over, or perhaps he was simply tired from staying up all night downloading 10 movies at a time to his Seagate drive. Whatever the case, I think everyone will agree that a Senator attempting to influence public policy needs to have enough interest in the subject or at least the courtesy to understand a subject before making a personal decision, let alone, try to sway public policy toward that decision.

In this particular case, for people who understand the technology involved, this speech is completely ridiculous. The ongoing issue with BitTorrent,the RIAA, and public file-sharing is a perfect example of this: The MPAA has, since early 2006 declared war against file-sharing. Shortly thereafter they filed suit against www.isohunt.com, a BitTorrent tracker site. In this case, to the Judge’s credit, the right questions are being asked but the facts will be convoluted in court and a possibly precedent-setting ruling will be given by someone who has a cursory knowledge of the issues at stake.

Fact is: There are many, many people who don’t have the technical understanding that is necessary to make an informed decision on this sort of subject, just as I would be if the science in question were Biology (Stem-cell research comes to mind), or Socioeconomics ($3/gallon gas anyone?). And that’s fine. I (and most people) don’t make those decisions. The real problem is that if our Representatives can’t keep up with these issues and continue to oversimplify then bad decisions are going to be made. It really made me stop and wonder how many Economic, Social, Educational, Legal, Diplomatic etc… policies are shifted or even created due to this sort of half-minded dribble. The fact is, we are supposed to have checks and balances so that these sort of things don’t happen. We have 100 senators and 435 Representatives in the House. They are all learned men (and women) and quite able to make informed decisions in most cases. So, why do we have scenarios like this?

Let’s go back to 1787. The Revolutionary war was over. The US Constitution was penned and ratified. Early America was growing. At this point in time it was entirely possible for a well-educated mind to be able to make good, competent decisions on even some of the most complicated subjects. At a time like this, having a general education was sufficient.

Fast-forward to today…

The sad truth is it’s not sufficient anymore. There is such an insane volume and range of information and different areas of policy that there are areas outside the functional range of understanding for our policymakers. As a generalization, politicians of today are simply politicians. Just like my job is to diagnose, fix, and test computers, their job is to argue, get votes, and make policy. They are generally not scientists or experts, they are likable and charismatic enough to win an election, those are their real job requirements. There is a second issue that is outside the scope of this article but I feel I should mention and it is: public education. I’m not talking about our public school system necessarily, I’m speaking more literally about the education level of the public, and specifically, the general public’s attitude towards education. I hope to write more about the public education topic as the muse allows but to summarize: The public education level directly influences the way voters will vote.

In short: In a representative government, uneducated people elect uneducated representatives who make uneducated decisions.