Tom Vrnak

Iran Elections

Tom Vrnak — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:49:39 +0000

Yeah, I have not posted in a long long time. I was busy with twitter and Facebook, but NOW I’M BACK! and I have an iPhone now BTW.

Iranian Elections:

-State run Iranian websites are posting pictures of those who are protesting election results. (If you are unaware as to what is going on in Iran currently, Basically, those who are questioning authority). Politically active Internet experts are posting instructions on how to bring these websites down.

Link here

Engage in cyber warfare, in the Comfort of your own home! No purchase necessary!

Tom Vrnak — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:55:13 +0000

I read an article recently about the Georgian-Russian war, and the underground cyber-wars that are going on. Cyber-soldiers from each country attack the other country’s websites to render the websites useless. Classic DOS attacks have proven to be costly and harmful. A Denial-of-service attack is all about organization and strategy. The “soldiers” follow relatively basic commands, such as ”pinging” or “hitting” a certain list of websites or IP addresses. A distributed, controlled sequence of “hits” can slow down a website or make it useless. So basically, anyone who knows how to access a website can engage in cyber-warfare.

Article Here: An Army of Ones and Zeroes

Pearl Jam at Virginia Beach…

Tom Vrnak — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:50:11 +0000

Pros: Perfect weather, nice cool breeze and a full moon, which Eddie felt the need to point out on numerous occasions. They did play Better Man

Cons: They DIDN’T play Black, Corduroy or Lass Kiss.

*I need to credit Beth Ketterman with these awesome pics:

Eddie gettin’ crazy on the mic…

A shower of liquid-hot plasma rains down on the band as they perform Better Man

ok guysz, im getting hot, time take take off the obligatory “grunge” lumberjack shirt, circa 1990…

There, that feels quite better, now where is the mic stand?

thats right, these are fucking tambourines i’m holding…

im gonna throw this fuckin mic in the air

why are you staring at me?

“I love you all……….”

Home Networked Vista Media Center complete with Media Extenders

Tom Vrnak — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:24:04 +0000

so, I finally set up my complete vista-based media center. Everything works surprisingly well.

Below you will find a detailed diagram of my network infrastructure.

Cost effective solution for Vista Media Center extender??

Tom Vrnak — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:22:59 +0000

I have a hand-built media center that I use as my primary TV tuner and DVR box. What is the most cost effective way to use the media center on the other TVs in my house? So far, the best solution I can think of is to buy a used 360. Having Vista Ultimate is a constraint because most of the older media extenders will not support vista-grade media centers. Currently, there are no inexpensive Vista Media Center extenders on the market. How come? Does MS want us to buy XBOX360s for each of our TVs? For $300, I could build a low end but fully functional media center. MS points out that many media center extenders were developed to work with XP. I am assuming this has to do with HD functionality or something like that. Granted, I could shift to cable company DVR boxers, but I would feel better if I had a ROI on my home built media tower. As far as digital/HD service, I have not kept up with the cable-card fiasco.

In defense of MS, I truly enjoy my media center. Functionality, easy of use, unlimited storage space. I have about a terabyte and a half going strong on my media center. I grab movies and tv shows.

Jail for Chinese rights activist

Tom Vrnak — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:36:09 +0000

-from the BBC, Thursday, 3 April 2008 07:59 UK

A prominent activist who publicised human rights abuses across China has been convicted of subversion and jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Hu Jia, 34, was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power and the socialist system”, his lawyer said. He has long campaigned for the environment, religious freedom and for the rights of people with HIV and Aids. His sentence comes a day after a rights group accused China of a campaign to silence dissent ahead of the Olympics. The US was “dismayed” by the verdict, a spokeswoman for the US embassy in Beijing said, while the European Union called for Mr Hu’s immediate release.”We said very clearly before the trial that he should not have been detained in the first place and that he should be released and this remains our position,” Beijing spokesman William Fingleton told the French news agency AFP.Internet articles

Hu Jia’s case has attracted a great deal of international attention, both from rights groups and Western diplomats.Before his arrest late last year, he had been an outspoken critic of China’s record on a variety of human rights issues.

Correspondents say he had become a kind of one-man clearing house for information, passing it on to journalists, organisations and foreign embassies.

Evidence presented against Mr Hu in court included interviews he gave to foreign media and political articles that he wrote for the internet, lawyer Li Fangping said. “As lawyers we propose that Hu Jia appeal this sentence but it is up to him and we will wait for his decision,” Mr Li said.

“We have not had a chance to exchange ideas with him so far.”

Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the court had been lenient with Mr Hu because he had admitted his crimes. “Hu spread malicious rumours, libel and instigation in an attempt to subvert the state’s political and socialist systems,” Xinhua said, quoting the court ruling.

Olympic claims

Mr Hu’s conviction comes only two weeks after another activist, Yang Chunlin, was jailed on similar charges. On Wednesday, UK-based rights group Amnesty International accused Beijing of carrying out a “wave of repression” ahead of the Olympic Games.

The authorities were targeting those who criticised the government in a bid to present a stable and harmonious image when the Games began in August, the group said.

In response, the China Society for Human Rights Studies accused Amnesty of bias and of ignoring positive developments in the country’s human rights record.

Last month, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was asked about Hu Jia’s case. He said it should be handled according to the law. “As for critics’ view that China is trying to increase its efforts to arrest dissidents ahead the Olympic Games, I think all these accusations are unfounded,” he said.

The Wire, pt 2

Tom Vrnak — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:36:27 +0000

Quite a lot of critics call this one of the best TV shows ever. I would most definitly call it one of the most addictive TV shows I’ve seen.

The Wire

Tom Vrnak — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:25:29 +0000

Based on recommendations from friend, I finally found some time to sit down and watch “The Wire”. After the first 3 episodes from the first season, I find myself scouring local Blockbuster Stores trying to locate the rest of season 1.

UNC vs DUKE

Tom Vrnak — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:24:50 +0000

*note to self, don’t make outrageous bets with drinking buddies on this game EVER again. –Tom

Ode to Sinead O’Connor

Tom Vrnak — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:47:02 +0000

My favorite all-time Sinead O’Connor songs:

10. Nothing Compares to You

9. Nothing Compares to You

8. Nothing Compares to You

7. Nothing Compares to You

6. Nothing Compares to You

5. Nothing Compares to You

4. Nothing Compares to You

3. Nothing Compares to You

2. Nothing Compares to You

and finally, my favorite Sinead O’Connor song of all time:

1. Nothing Compares to You