Arduino

Got my Arduino starter pack today! Bought on Sunday. They mail it on Monday and received it today(Tuesday). Very efficient. RM 139.90.
The problem, albeit minor is a small the poslaju tracking system. It seems that the only put it into their system after they delivered it. Maybe I'm expecting too much.
Like wondering where the package was at the moment..

Now where do I start?

Here is a good place to start.
http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Windows

New Year

Today is the new year. Did not do much except for a small gathering at aunt Ida's house with my parents and Unc Vincent and Ivan. Chatted over lots of things, catching up on our lives.

It was nice to be able to meet old acquaintance, reminiscing about the old days.
Plans to blog more but somehow getting busier and lazier.

But it is a start. :)

Happy New Year everyone! May all your wishes come true. On second thought, I don't want to wish that. Let me put something to show what I mean.
The title is:

I ask God.

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.”

Under supervision

Never thought that air stewardess would be under supervision too. On my Airasia flight back from KL to Sibu just now, saw a pretty young stewardess, Nita. I think she must be new. Cos there was this lady kept asking questions and the she was like a bit unsure, laughing and smiling when answering questions. Reminded me of my students.
And those under supervision. Anyway wish all of them best of luck.

Should have taken her photo and post it here. :p

Formating mail merge in Word

Taken from http://wordprocessing.about.com/od/usingmailmerge/qt/NPFSwitch.htm

When using Excel spreadsheets in a mail merge process, many users frequently run into difficulty formatting the fields that contain number values. To ensure the data contained in the fields is inserted correctly, one must format the field, not the data in the source file; unfortunately, Word does not provide a way for you to change how many decimal places are displayed when working with numbers. While there are ways to work around this limitation, the best solution is to include a switch in the merge field.

To specify how many decimal places to display in your Word mail merge, you can use the Numeric Picture Field Switch (\#):


1. With the mail merge main document open, press Alt + F9 to view the field codes

2. The field code will look something like {MERGEFIELD “fieldname” }

3. Directly after the end quote around the field name type \# -- do not add spaces or quotes

4. Directly after the field switch you just entered, type 0.0x if you want to round the number to two decimal places, 0.00x if you want to round the number to three decimal places and so forth

5. Once you have added your field switch, press Alt + F9 to display the fields instead of the field codes


Your number will appear rounded to the decimal place you specify; if it does not display immediately, refresh the document by minimizing it to the toolbar and reopening. If the field value still does not display correctly, you may need to refresh the document again or close and re-open your document.

Jovana

Haven't blogged for a very long time. Guess I was too busy. And because of the change of environment this year.

Infected by a virus last week. Not sure how it happened. But it came from a handy drive. Called it the Jovana virus.
Because it creates a recycler folder called Jovana in each drive.

C:\documents and settings\administrator\application data\yjty.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\csrss.exe

I tried to delete these file but the the process was still running. Killing it Process Explorer was also fruitless.
Then I tried Unlocker. Only then I was able to delete the file. Need to find the program.


Here is the content of the autorun file.
"sêË×ÄÑÀÊÄêÎ׊ÄÌäêëàñ×ÄÊËŒŠ×ÄÊËœš÷L?DAdlq?dw?nmkslakdl?l?wqdw?ÝÆÂÁôûÄâëáÝÆÖÁÂüëàñäæôûñüáìäæüæËÄÌÜÎÄÙÆËÛÂÕÙÖËâàëâôäæüñûôäÆÑüáûôäÆÑÜÁÔÛÄÑËÁÇÂÖÆÜâÖÆÄÉüáâæâÆÄËÎÛÔÆâëÆÔÜÛÄÆüáñÄÆëáâ÷ÙÂËÖÆüâÖÄÆëâëáÔÛÄÆìüáäæÛÔÌÁÔÛÄÆÁ×üëôÙÖÌÜÎÖÆÌÒÔÖÙÂËÔÆôûüÄÆÌÀÔÛËÂÝÆËÄÖÉÂÖÒÉàîÀÆö
open=JOVANA/pojatar.exe
action=Open folder to view files using Windows Explorer
icon=JOVANA/pojatar.exe
Shell\open\command=JOVANA/pojatar.exe
shell\open\command=JOVANA/pojatar.exe
USEAUTOPLAY=1

Then it created a lot of processes in the temp folder.
It also modifies the registry by creating a few startup entries.
Here is one of the entry created:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\
"Shell"="explorer.exe,C:\\Documents"
The rest I forgot cause I deleted them as soon as it came out.
If the process is still alive, it will create all the entries into the registry. Only after I killed it that I was able to fully stop it from modifying the registry.



This is taken from ThreatExpert.com
JOVANA.EXE has been seen to perform the following behavior:

Writes to another Process's Virtual Memory (Process Hijacking)
Adds a Registry Key (RUN) to auto start Programs on system start up
This process creates other processes on disk
Executes Processes stored in Temporary Folders
This Process Deletes Other Processes From Disk
Executes a Process
Injects code into other processes
Copies files
JOVANA.EXE has been the subject of the following behavior:

Created as a process on disk
Executed from Temporary Folders
Has code inserted into its Virtual Memory space by other programs
Added as a Registry auto start to load Program on Boot up
Deleted as a process from disk
Terminated as a Process
Executed as a Process
Copied to multiple locations on the system

I'll be this Husband. I promise...

A nice video I saw in Facebook.

RTC reunion

Went to a RTC reunion just now at Auntie Ida's house. Actually it is my parent's reunion rather than mine. Guess they are in a closly knitted society when after all this time, they still keep in contact with each other. Today there are Vincent Sia and wife, George and Angela, and Auntie Ida as the host. They officially declare the house as the HQ for the RTC alumni with Ida as the president. They talked about old times especially Mr Agas and who's where at the moment.

The next meeting will be a year from now which is on the 26th Dec at 4 pm.

People First?

This morning I was checking my students' exercises when I saw one of the books is damp. I was about to tick my student off for not taking care of his books when I caught a whiff of kerosene. I immediately guessed what had happpened but I asked him anyway.

He told me that his mom had spilled over the oil lamp while he was doing his homework. Luckily the book did not catch fire. I was horrified.

Most kids, even adults nowadays had never even seen or used an oil lamp and here is my 10-year-old student, using it every day to study.

Would any of the young parents now allow thier children to use matches? Or even use an oil lamp with a very flammable liquid inside?

Here we are, forwarding email about the dangers of handphone while filling up gas for our cars and this kid is using it in front of him every day in order to study.

Where is he? Why is he not using an electric lamp?

I can easily answer the first question. He is in Kanowit. The second question is much harder to answer. We don't have electricity here. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. The nearest electrical pole is about 10 km away.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/22/nation/4953964&sec=nation

Windows XP Login then Logoff! (Solved)

Remember my last post about Windows XP login and immediately logged off?

Finally I solved it after 2 weeks of troubleshooting. *Sigh*
The solution is simple, just finding it was the hard part.

I've done all the advice given in most pages I've found.
That is creating/copying a new set of userinit.exe from the recovery CD to windows\system32\ folder.
Most people manage to solve their login/logout problem after doing this.

But I can't. I need an extra step which is editing my registry.
Caution!!!
Registry editing is dangerous. Make sure you backup first before doing any editing.

I used BartPE to boot and there I can edit the registry.
This site has a good explanation and screenshots on each step needed to be taken to edit the registry.

1. Insert the BartPE CD into the drive, and boot the system from the CD.

2. Type Regedit.exe in the prompt, and press Enter. Select the HKEY_USERS hive

3. From the File menu, choose the Load Hive option. Browse to your Windows installation drive, for example the following location:

C:\Windows\System32\Config\

4. Select the file named SOFTWARE (the file without any extensions), and click Open
5. Type a name for the hive that you've loaded now. (Example: MyXPHive)
6. Now the SOFTWARE hive is loaded, and present under the HKEY_USERS base hive.
7. In order to fix the Userinit value in the loaded hive, navigate to the following location:

HKEY_USERS \ MyXPHive \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon

8. Double-click Userinit and set it's value correctly. Example: Set it's data as follows:

C:\Windows\System32\Userinit.exe,

(Include the trailing comma also. The above assumes that Windows is installed in C:\Windows, and Userinit.exe file is actually present in the System32 folder. You may want to verify that as well.)

9. After entering the correct data, you MUST unload the Hive. To do so, select MyXPHive branch, and then in the File menu, choose Unload Hive. It's important to note that you'll need to select the MyXPHive branch first, before unloading it.

10. Quit BartPE and restart Windows. See if you're able to logon to your profile.

My problem was that somehow my registry got corrupted. The value for the userinit is:
C:\windowsstem32\userinit.exe,\s So I changed it to the value given above.

Sibu in the Blue Ocean

I think I did post something about a speaker, Mr Tan Kee Hian quite some time ago. Well he is back and now he is going to have a public lecture in Kingwood Hotel next month. Usually I don't like speeches or lectures but this is an exception. He is a Senior Global Expert in Blue Ocean Strategy and you would learn a lot from him.

Actually it is better if the target audience is those involved in decision making or policy makers. For us normal day to day person, I'm not sure what we can do. Maybe he'll tell us.

Details are as follows:

Date: 2 Nov 2009
Time: 7.00 pm
Venue: Kingwood Hotel

Please drop a comment if you are going.

Autochk not found

It was quite some time I had problem with my computer. Now it is solved.
Only after I added a line in the registry.

Yes!!!
Now I can defragment my drive.
Now I can scan my drive.
All after doing the autochk in the registry.
before that it was ???. ???

Here was the post that I found.

>I am running win2k sp3 and when I boot the computer I
>receive:
>
> \SystemRoot\Windows\System32\Autochk.exe program not
>found - skipping Autocheck
>
>This lasts for about 2 seconds and then the system boots
>normally and seems to run fine. I have tried chkdsk /r/f
>and it doesn't help. I have located the file autochk.exe
>in C:\winnt\system32 and have tried replacing the file
>from another similar machine with no change. If I rename
>the file it recreates itself. If I delete the file it
>recreates itself. I am not sure what else to try, any
>suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>
What is in the registry at the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\BootExecute

It should be a REG_MULTI_SZ data type set to
autocheck autochk *

If not, set it to
autocheck autochk *

Windows XP Login then Logoff!

Have the problem stated in the title. Damn frustating when you can't get into windows to do some fixing. Found a few web pages. Here are some of the tips.
But it doesn't work for me. Need to find other ways!!!

Anyone has any idea????

http://www.logicnest.com/archives/90
- http://www.winxptutor.com/wsaremove.htm
http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-22087-xp-auto-log-off

Basically what they advice is that we need to have a Windows Setup CD.
Enter the Recovery Console

Boot the system using the Windows XP CD-ROM. In the first screen when the Setup begins, read the instructions press "R" (in the first screen) enter the Recovery Console. Type-in the built-in Administrator password to enter the Console. You'll see the prompt reading C:\Windows (Or any other drive-letter where you've installed XP)

Type the following command and press Enter.

CD SYSTEM32
(If that does not work, try CHDIR SYSTEM32)

COPY USERINIT.EXE WSAUPDATER.EXE

Quit Recovery Console by typing EXIT and restart Windows.

You'll be able to login successfully as you've created the wsaupdater.exe file (now, a copy of userinit.exe)

Now, change the USERINIT value in the registry (see Phase II in this page) and change it accordingly.

Grand Blue Wave Hotel

Went to Shah Alam for KMK. Stayed at Grand Blue Wave Hotel. Supposedly to be a 5 star hotel but personally, I think the 3 star hotels in Sibu are better than it.

Rooms are small and looks old. Paints are flaking off the walls. And NO WIFI!!!!!
Not even in the lobby!!!

And try guessing how much they charge for the broadband service from the room???
Look and the screen capture below.



Anyway here is the setting from the hotel.


http://vbn.inter-touch.net/UI/UM/template1/usermanager/GuestPortal.php?loginflag=-1&PHPSESSID=fp5ahdpjirjl6bmbpkt1bm636tce38u5


Error Number [25] : This port is locked. Kindly use another port, or contact the interTouch helpdesk for further assistance. Error code 25.
Toll-free interTouch Helpdesk number: 1800801372
Please close this window


IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 210.19.67.144

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.192

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 210.19.67.129

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 202.75.242.254

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 202.75.242.254

203.121.72.76

Seneka Rootkit

Just discovered that I have a rootkit installed in my system. Don't know how long it has been there. All I know is while I was watching my process in my system when suddenly I saw explorer.exe was trying to access seneka in the registry. I know what I installed in my computer and seneka was not one of them. I searched in my registry for the key but it couldnt be seen.

I scanned my pc for virus using NOD32 and there was none found. Searched in the net for seneka and there were not much info at all. Then I found out that seneka is a root kit. No wonder my AV cannot detect it. And no wonder lately I have a lot of problem with BSOD when I was shutting down my pc. Especially after using Media Player Classic.

The site ThreatExpert have the best explanation of what it does. But it is not enough.

I found this site that have a list of rootkits remover. http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/networking/?p=736

I tried a few of them.
i)Trend cant detect at all.
ii)Sophos quite good.
iii)Gmer- yes.
iv) Ice-sword- dunno how to use.

I found that there are a few files in my system folder with seneka as the file name but I could not see them. I have enabled show hidden and system files but it was useless. Doesn't even show that it exists.

Only when I tried to name a file with the name seneka*, that I know that the file exists. Anyway any files that I named starting with seneka* will soon be hidden/deleted/moved/ or anything at all!!!

After I had used the rootkit remover only then my AV can detect the seneka files in the system folder and identify it as a trojan.

Sibu-Kuching Car Trip

Went to Kuching last Wednesday. Want to renew my grandama's maid's passport. So have to go during workdays. Wednesday was the 3rd day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri but the consulate was still on holiday. So we, my parents, maid and me went there on Wednesday.
At first mom wants to take the bus, but I wanted to drive. So we finally used the car.
We started of at around 9.30 am. Stopped at Debak(6 km from main road) for lunch. Then continued to Betong using the Layar/Bebangai shortcut (8 km from main road). Visited Azizah then persuaded to go to Rashidah and finally to Johan's house for raya. Then visited my former teacher, now a Pemancha.

Finally we left Betong at 4 pm. Before that have a look around town. Then went back to my old school. Everything changed. There are no more ponds in my old school. What a pity. Some of my best memories are from there.

Stopped at Lachau for a break. Then continue our way to Kuching. Reach my aunts house around 8 and have dinner there.

Blind Spot

Felt a sudden blind spot when playing badminton last Friday. I thought it was tiredness so I can't see things properly but when I reached home, the problem still persists.

Only found out that I have blind spot when I was on my computer. The cursor keeps missing on a specific area on the screen while both of my eyes were open. Not blindess. The problem persists for roughly an hour. Not really sure. Definately more than half an hour and less than 3 hours. And a bit of headache.

Consulted a doctor and he adviced me to see an opthamologist. Just in case it was caused by a blood clot and something about transient ischemic attack. I.e it is something like a mini stroke, which I hope is not.

I also asked my cousin, and he said maybe scotoma.

Anyway found a website http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/
For diagnosing symptons. Cuz.. Maybe you could check it out and tell me whether it is ok or not.

Face to face with a cobra!

Faced a cobra on my way back last night. Around 11.10 p.m. I was walking back when I suddenly saw a snake in the middle of the road. Almost stepped on it. At first I thought it was a normal snake, so I went closer. When I was less than a meter away, it suddenly raised it head. At that time I'm not sure that it is a cobra. All I know is that it is a black snake, about 2 feet long and as big as a thumb.

As I went closer, it raises up its head and flatten its head/open its hood. By then I was sure it was a cobra. I went closer and suddenly it hisses loudly! Automatically I stepped back 3 steps. And it followed me! Oh s***! I thought to myself. Wanted to run away but afraid that it will chase me.

Keeping my eyes on the cobra, I slowly stepped back and move further from the snake. On the way back I walked loudly back. I.e I stepped loudly to the ground, more like a stomp because usually snakes will feel the vibrations of the ground and run away. I was hoping there was no more snakes lurking in the bushes nearby.

The Crocodiles of Rajang River

Living by the river has its own perks. We could see the wildlife in its natural habitat. Recently 3 crocodiles would wait for food near the riverbank everyday. This happens to our neighbouring school, about 10 minutes from our place. The kitchen there always have leftover food eg: fish heads that are always discarded into the river.
The crocs will then wait patiently by the river for the food to come.


They are scavangers now. I just hope that when the holidays are here, the crocs will know how to look for their own food. If not then the students here will be in danger.

1Malaysia? Blah!!!

Wanted to open a 1Malaysia account today. Went to RHB bank to open, but they were out of form, so they asked me to get the form from ASNB. So I went to ASNB to request for a form. When I was at the counter, they told me that they could not give it out as they only have limited copy of the form.

So I asked them if I could open an accouont there. They said yes, but the minimum amount is RM 100.00. Then they asked me to go to the bank and get a bank draft for them to open an account with them.

It was such a hassle for me to go back to the bank so I asked if I could open an account there and then. They said yes but must have a bank draft.

Told them again that I just want to open an account with RM 100.00. They kept on telling me to make a bank draft. They said that thier priority is for those who have bank draft.

Then I asked them again, "Since your priority is for those with bank draft, and nobody is here, I think I can open an account now right?"
Their reply? NO.

This time I asked them, "So your priority means ONLY FOR those with bank draft?"
Their reply: Yes, something like that la.

I was really angry at that time. They have 3 staff, 2 female and a male, 1 was reading a newspaper and they don't want to open an account for me? And priority is for those with bank draft. Their excuses is they have limited forms. What the hell? I want to open an account there and then, not that I want to bring the form home.

I was pissed off!!! This is discrimination! Those with no money will be discriminated. Only those with lots of money will need to go to the bank to get a bank draft. People like me who wanted to open a minimal amount in our account is not allowed to do it!!

And this is 1Malaysia???? For all MALAYSIANS????
This is only for rich Malaysians!!!
A discrimination between the rich and the poor...



Damn... If

Setting up dvd

Spent the whole day trying to setup the new dvd writer. Got a
Samsung Super-Writemaster DVD writer. Before that went to buy a set of blank dvds. It was only then I know there is a difference between DVD+R and DVD-R. Though I still don't know the difference.

Anyway when I was trying to set up the dvd drive as secondary master, my computer would not start up. I made sure the jumper is set as master but to no avail. Tried changing the jumper here and there but it was futile. So at the end I just put two optical drives together. The CD-ROM is the master and the DVD-writer I put it as slave. It solves the problem of computer not starting up. Haven't try backing up my data files yet. Hope it is ok.

Then bought a Chinese writing pad which costs RM29. Compared to the 1 I bought a few years back which costs more than a hundred.
Still have problems writing. Cause when I open notepad to write, only garbage characters appears. For eg: 你好吗？is written as ÄãºÃÂ𣿠. I can type in the pinyin, the only problem is I can't write it... Anyone has any idea?

Btw, the brand is Usin.