Tuesday April 12th
(jump earlier)
Oh yes again it is a hit and run reply...
Figured, what better to add to the journal than the newest edition to my family:
»Congratulations Paul and Robin!
TIA |
posted Tuesday April 12th, @12:34AM
Tuesday October 28th
(jump earlier later)
Hockey has started again, and the Devils are not getting off to a good start. Not a single win at home yet. But its ok, many games left.
Eagles seem to be at the same place they were past couple years. We'll see how that develops.
BUT... Can you believe game 6 of the baseball series?
On another note, stopping in to say hello. Have you folks been following the topic of IPv6 testing being conducted by the government, the IPv6 task force, and other companies like Cisco? That'll be a nice transition in the future to come.
I've also been playing around with a Vonage phone account. Very nice indeed. Just like a regular landline.
And oh to boot... I've met someone special. More details to follow, as she might be reading this (I Love You). |
posted Tuesday October 28th, @08:19PM
Friday July 11th
(jump earlier later)
posted Friday July 11th, @11:19PM
Sunday June 8th
(jump earlier later)
I don't talk much about sports or politics publicly, but I just have to say that this Stanley Cup finals is really getting me on edge as most folks are who follow the games.
Game 7 left over, who do you desire victory for?
My wishes are with the Devils, and since they are 11-1 at home this year, its in their favor for game 7.
Then, it would be really special to have not only them take it the cup, but to have the Nets win as well.
Let is rain folks, let it rain. Seems to be giving life to New Jersey in all aspects lately. |
posted Sunday June 8th, @02:32AM
Wednesday March 19th
(jump earlier later)
Zhen-Xjell Dreams of PHP-Nuke with Commentary
This is a story about PHP-Nuke as I have known it. It shall highlight events from the first time I heard the name "PHP-Nuke" to the newest release build 6.5 final. Overall my desire is for you to go away with a positive outlook, as I currently have.
PHP-Nuke has been a tour de force in the Open Source Web Development community, there is no doubt in that. Some information that I intend to share should be considered humurous, while some others should be taken maturely. One thing is certain, PHP-Nuke is more than just a vision or a person, it is a global unifying architecture not only in content management software [CMS], but in human participation and knowledge sharing. The best part of it all for me, to build on the last statement, is the fact that I've met so many wonderful people like the author of PHP-Nuke itself: Francisco Burzi (AKA nukelite).
Since I have been "online" for many years now I began searching for a content management system a couple years ago. The first one I found and took to right away is proprietary today but was borne from a free UBB implementation. The site (Broadbandreports.com [BBR]) attracted me because of the camaraderie it had to offer back in 2000/2001. Certainly I found that the ease of use and proficient layout/design of the management system lended itself to growth of a quality community. Such a gathering introduced a tremendous amount of knowledge and well being from folks around the globe. Shortly after I was promoted to the level of Moderator and still hold it today. During my tenure there I participated in many projects and tasks, not to mention meeting new folks and holding up long friendships. But at around the eve of 2002 I desired to create a community of my own. Since this platform is proprietary I wanted to find something that would fit my requirements. One of which was "Open Source".
I went on a quest and didn't take long to find CMS and forum software. They included PHP-Nuke, Slashcode, and PostNuke. For forums, they were YaBB, phpBB, vBulletin, UBB, and Ikonboard. At that time, I took quickly to PHP-Nuke and YaBB (both the Perl and PHP {SE} implementations). Soon afterwards I became involved in the PHP-Nuke community. Once I saw that regular folks like myself can actually contribute to such a nice system like PHP-Nuke, I became sort of addicted to helping others out.
Ever since then I have seen many wonderful tools come out. But one of the nicest aspects about this is the security fixes and patches that are placed into the software. Even nicer than that is the constantly up-to-date web installer that helps folks get PHP-Nuke running even faster.
Just take a look at how many new sites there are. And that list is just for those who take time to announce!
What other advances have been made in terms of privacy and bandwidth saving?
Well there is a great "bad bods banish code" available, and now there exists tools to turn PHP-Nuke lengthy URLs into shorter Google indexable links. And you know, this all came from global participation. This is true progress.
Personally, I know that PHP-Nuke has come very far both in maturity and renown by proof of intellectual discussions such as this one. This to me signifies that personal pride is taken into consideration when building software, but in the interests of the global community as friends and family. Now that is a real success. PHP-Nuke brings folks together for intelligent conversations. That is the best of all worlds.
Even in the face of malicious hackers the PHP-Nuke community banded together to overcome and prosper. Global communication and information dissemination at its best. And you know something, its all for free!
What else would you need, perhaps some documentation?
Ok, lots have happened over the past year. I've met many wonderful folks and this list will undoubtedly be a short one for purposes of article space: Francisco Burzi (nukelite), Tom Nitzschner, Chatserv, ArtificialIntel, Bob Marion, MikeM, sixonetonoffun, Allevon, Tank863, Dezina, Humpa, et al. For a more appropriate full list of what "et al" means, please go here or here.
So what has come of this community with the newest release of 6.5 final? I believe great strides have been made vis-a-vis earlier versions. phpBB2 forums have been integrated and this was the wish of this survey. Clearly this was the biggest improvement to PHP-Nuke.
What about the future? I for one would love to see Trackback implemented to take global participation to the next level. And I certainly hope to see the continuance of such a great and fun loving community that supports each other and stands behind Francisco's vision. He's done so much for us, and for that I am grateful. I also would like to thank everyone who has helped me to learn about this great "tradition" and to all the folks that develop and release new add-ons, many kudos to you all. Keep up the great work, I for one love being here.
Zhen-Xjell over and out. The bunny has left the building.
Copy exists:
Zhen-Xjell.com |
posted Wednesday March 19th, @05:11PM
Tuesday February 18th
(jump earlier later)
Been over a month now since my last reply. Ok so I've been somewhat busy working on online ventures. The most recent of which is a website for my name:
»www.zhen-xjell.com
That's right, I just had to launch it a couple days ago. This time I went the way of the blog: MovableType 2.6 with the latest CGI patch.
Since I have two dedicated Linux servers I figured I might as well start putting the second one to good use.
Another friend of mine, a member here, also runs his new site on my second box:
»cjsmith.us
Yes, it is named after his username here onsite: cjsmith.
What else would the box be doing? Might as well get use out of it.
So what else has happened during this absence from my journal?
Unfortunately the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed. I placed up tributes at these locations:
»nukecops.com/modules.php?name=Columbia
»computercops.biz/modules.php?name=Columbia
They went up the same day as the disaster. Such a tragic loss.
I also started up another PHP-Nuke website found at »nukecops.com . This time the motivation is based around PHP-Nuke entirely. And some wonderful products have been delivered based on GNU/GPL licensing (free).
What are they?
Well, phpBB2 standalone forums are now at version 2.0.4. There was a ported version for Nuke but it was at 2.0.3. This lower version was susceptible to a SQL injection attack. So at Nuke Cops we upgraded the port to 2.0.4 and released it yesterday.
In addition new software like Google Tap and Analyzer both help the community-at-large.
Google Tap makes use of Apache mod_rewrite and turns the PHP-Nuke links into Google indexable pages. This means that all PHP-Nuke sites can have their entire news, sections, downloads, weblinks, and forums indexed and displayed in Google search results.
Analyzer is a great took because it checks for PHP and MySQL exploits. If any are found it reports them immediately to you. It also is focused around PHP-Nuke such that it checks database connectivity, recordsets, datasets, php.ini values, and MySQL Status.
Been busy? Yes I have... And it isn't over.
What about the outside world? Well the Northeast Region took a heavy snowfall dump this weekend, and it continues to fall right now.
Over two feet accumulated in my area. I've seen so many folks out there with boxes shoveling the snow from their cars.
Rest assured my truck is very capable of plowing thru the white mass.
Took great pictures of it too... perhaps I'll include that later.
But back to Zhen-Xjell.com. What do you think of the colored ASCII image of my avatar above the calendar? All generated by PHP's image function.
So I keep myself busy with PHP, MySQL, Apache, and Perl thanks to PHP-Nuke and MovableType.
Nothing beats forward progress.
Now go make snow angels if you are around here, but stay away from anything yellow. As if that should even be mentioned right? |
posted Tuesday February 18th, @02:05PM
Monday January 6th
(jump earlier later)
posted Monday January 6th, @02:32PM
Sunday December 15th
(jump earlier later)
Seasons Greetings to everyone. Enjoy the holidays and make them a safe one.
Hope all those Google links gave you some extra surfing to do. If that didn't fill your need, try these extra Google links:
Google Labs:
•Google Viewer
•Google Webquotes
•Google Glossary
•Google Sets
•Voice Search
•Keyboard Shortcuts
I think that about does it for Google links. What I'd like to add now is that online security port scanning tool Nmap has now been added with a full list of features on the site:
»www.computercops.biz/modules.php?name=nmap
You can run any of these as of now, with more options to come:
•TCP Connect() Scan
•SYN Stealth Scan
•Ping Sweep
•UDP Port Scan
•FIN Scan
•XMAS Scan
•NULL Scan
•ACK Scan
•Host Identification
•Fragmented IP Packets
•IP Protocol Scan
•Window Scan
Hey, if you want to know what crackers out there see when they scan you, then run the nmap online scanner. You'll see some pretty interesting results.
Or, if you want to just run some PHP socket scans, you can always try these:
•UDP Port Scanner
•TCP Port Scanner
•Trojan TCP Scanner
This is all broadband related. Do you really want to have your system owned and used as a zombie in a DDoS?
Hmm.. I don't think so.
At any rate, I have published my public key signatures here: »www.computercops.biz/modules.php?name=PGP . It contains my preferred method of signing and encryption, as well as all other choices I have available. They include:
•PGP
•GPG
•X.509
Naturally, the first two are the same. The latter is a different technology. So whatever floats your boat I can support. Me? I like PGP.
Now onto something different... Curious as to what the number 1 result is for "god" in a google search is? That's right, PHPNuke.org comes up first. You can check out the article here: »phpnuke.org/modules.php?name=New···sid=5189 .
Don't let me forget, someone recently asked me for help but I couldn't respond back to them. So I made the response public in the hopes it finds the person in need. Is this meant for you?
»www.computercops.biz/modules.php···sid=1886
Insofar as my site is concerned, it is doing rather well. Very happy with the results. Even the stats are something to be proud of:
»www.computercops.biz/modules.php···op=Stats
Saving the best for last, check out my friend's site here:
»www.nukescripts.net
Wonderful free public service to the PHPNuke community. Also a big thanks to rockotman  for the banner help found here: »www.computercops.biz/modules.php···sid=1885
Many great folks on the Internet. Its my pleasure to know you all. 
So ends this friendly textual piece. |
posted Sunday December 15th, @09:01PM
Wednesday December 4th
(jump earlier later)
posted Wednesday December 4th, @11:55AM
Monday December 2nd
(jump earlier later)
Post-Thanksgiving Holiday and I realize my journal needs a little help in the update department. But I'm lacking somewhat in time as usual, so I'll lend you a link:
»Stars, Points and such
To check up on my latest rant and rave concerning time management at BBR and in the real world. So, what do you think? Not that I would find the time to actually read it. I'm just taking a quick break during work.
Adios. Bundle up, its winter outside. |
posted Monday December 2nd, @11:35AM
Sunday October 13th
(jump earlier later)
Good morning to a nice wet morning on the roads... And an even brighter surprise is the announcement of the Team Z bio pages. That was in the works for a while now, and it is nice to see it up finally.
Yet even sweeter than that, is the amazing one million hits my site has gotten in just several months with over 630 registered members.
But, what is said is that a friend's site might be going down too.
Hrumph. All these good and bad things thrown into the mesh together. What'cha gonna do with a klondike bar? 
At any rate, I have to move all my stuff out today because closing is this week. Wish me luck and hope that closing *does* happen this week. I'd much rather finish this off sooner rather than later.
But in the meantime, I must dry out my bed somehow for the boxes that will be fitted onto there in a few moments. I'll have a couple rounds to do today.
And um, don't glue yourself to the chair today ok? It *is* a great day -- so go celebrate it with someone you love. You might never have another day like this again. |
posted Sunday October 13th, @10:22AM
Tuesday October 8th
(jump earlier later)
S'pose I should at least make a comment in my journal since it has been *a while*. I pick right now because today is after all my *terrible two year* anniversary with BBR/DSLR.
And what do you think started my whole membership here? You'd think my first post was *monumental*, or *ground shaking*, earth shattering??
Judge for yourselves, but I do think it may have been the *best* and more *interesting* post ever made:
»Can I break into the top 100?
Upwards and onwards with my terrible twos.
|
posted Tuesday October 8th, @01:09PM
Monday September 30th
(jump earlier later)
Finally the site has been migrated over from the old Aletia turned JaguarPC shared servers to the new CI Host Dedicated Linux servers.
And to boot, I have a new security tool online for free. You can now use nmap to scan your ports.
One caveat though... I believe in offering tools for free, however this one requires you to register for free.
»www.computercops.biz/modules.php?name=nmap
Now I'll spend time to upgrade from PHP-Nuke 5.5 to PHP-Nuke 5.6. And then make the final upgrade to the newest 6.0 release.
More of an informational topic than anything else: click me.
Enough of that site... on to more important things. I've sold my home and closing is coming up quick. Moving in with family, so that'll be a nice change. Of course they'll know when I leave or come home thanks to my diesel.
There is one type of auto I would like to drive... want to check it out?
V12 Vanquish
Hopefully that link will come up for you. Just in case, I clicked "Preview again" and tested it in a new browser window. Just ensure you enable Flash. 
Hey, don't forget to check out this place. I haven't seen it being used much... so I figure maybe it'll get some more exposure now.
As for the weekend, beautiful sunny weather indeed. Today is like that too. I know many of us would rather be out today than inside. Hmm... on second thought... |
posted Monday September 30th, @02:51PM
Tuesday September 24th
(jump earlier later)
One of my fears in purchasing the F-350 Powerstroke dealt with the fears of mileage the diesel got on the highway. I was told...
- 20 MPG
- 16 MPG
- 18 MPG
Then the day I bought the pickup about two weeks ago, the sales manager said "16-18". That didn't really seal the deal, but it was enough for the buy. Slowly but surely over the course of a fortnight, the AVG MPG has risen from 7.9 to 17.6 miles. For the longest time (a couple days), it seemed I wouldn't break 17.3. Then it went in a span of a day to 17.5. Not bad for a 3.5 ton truck.
Insofar as the migration is concerned, I got sick over the weekend. Stomach virus or perhaps food poisoning, not really sure. Now I'm stuck with a cold. At any rate, I did begin the migration for my site over the weekend, and will hopefully finish tonight. That means locking down the site for a couple hours and then pointing visitors to the new IP while the DNS change takes place.
Will it really be that ideal tonight? We'll see.
As for the weather, it was quite chilly this morning in central New Jersey. But I swear, I'm the only one wearing any kind of jacket. Guess I'm not a big city bad city boy, but just a country bumpkin. As if the Ford didn't give that away.
----
As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm noticing in the topic preview window the phrase "Prolific Bunny". Everytime I see that, I can only recall one thing...
Wheelert
Tom, such a good guy and long time mod here at the site. Once Justin enabled that section of the avatar box, Tom suggested I use that phrase. So it stuck. Quite unique how it all came about, the bugs avatar, the prolific bunny phrase, and the name Zhen-Xjell. Perhaps that'll be better left to another post.
As for my woman, I love her. Our relationship is progressing very well. And that's enough about that.
Hmm... Kasia seems to be hooking everyone on Blogs. I'm starting to get that itch again to get one at zhen-xjell.com. But in an odd sort-O-way, this journal is a substitute until I find more free time in the future. However, I'm not so sure anytime will be the most appropriate time, it is either do or die.
Are you a doer? |
posted Tuesday September 24th, @09:32AM
Saturday September 21st
(jump earlier later)
Speaking of new trucks, I thought a picture would be appropriate. Hope you like it, but if not that is ok... all that matters is I love it. Once I got this one, I knew that the blue oval is a logo I enjoy driving.
A couple days after I got it, you know a lining had to go right in. Rhino Lining is what you see in the back.
Who all here love trucks? If I'm the only one, that's ok... you'll here me pull in with my diesel.
Ok, enough about the truck for now. Today's agenda: Start migrating over Computer Cops from 5.5 to 5.6 of PHP-Nuke onto the new servers. I know Nuke 6.0 is coming out public on Monday, so that is an upgrade for next weekend.
Also on the list, pay the bills, trim my hair at the barber, and pick up the mail.
What's on your list of things to do today?
Don't forget, tell the ones you love, that you Love Them.
--
Computer Cops | ZXList |
posted Saturday September 21st, @09:08AM
Thursday September 19th
(jump earlier later)
Lee Ho Fook's
Have to wake up in about five hours to start my new day. But before we go there, I put on about 90 miles in my new truck today. That includes about the following:
- 25 miles to work
- 34 miles to my girl friend's
- 16 miles to my mom's
- 15 miles back to my home
Once I get back on the road today, it'll be the same mileage to work and then back home. The nice thing about today is: golf league. I haven't played for the last week or two so tonight shall be a fun break with the guys from work.
But prior to that, it'll be a long busy day working in my regular 9 to 5 job. Aside from that, one item on my plate for the weekend is to migrate my website to two new dedicated servers I bought two weeks ago.
Why haven't I done that yet?
Simple... I met my future wife recently and want to spend time with her instead. Can't be faulted for that. 
The best part of the online experience is the fact that I'm using a sweet broadband connection. Have to hand it to Justin and BBR/DSLR. Its an easy thing to get hooked at this site. I'm sure we've all learned tons of broadband information (and non-broadband data) thanks to all the great contributors here.
I can't tell you how many folks I've seen learn so much and then turn right around to share that wealth of information.
I still see the old timers around like Kinguni, Klambert, 2kmaro, Mattmag... the list goes on. Heh... that's the mod squad. Ok, lets talk about the non-mod squad folks like cjsmith, or woody (time out), or jaykaykay.... and of course that list goes on too.
Then there are all the newer folks like kasia, wildcatboy, steve!!!
You know, this site has not only taught people how to interact with each other online, its given a chance for people to be friends, and meet people from all over the world.
Heck, look at all the distributed computing teams. Damn, we've come a long way. I wonder sometimes if Justin thought it'd ever reach this level, this baby of his.
Oh well... alls well that ends well. The journey is what matters most.
Til next time.
Live life!
--
Computer Cops | ZXList |
posted Thursday September 19th, @12:50AM
|
Zhen-Xjell
