Dawn of the Geeks

I decided to start up a Team Fortress 2 dedicated server at tf2.dawnofthegeeks.com. That’s hardly unique. What is unique is that it is running a very verbose stat generating plugin.

The plug in is a modified version of the N1G-TF2-RANK plugin which out of the box as given is pretty much trash. The plugin is supposed to generate the MySQL tables automatically which it does but incorrectly. So no stats get logged until you manually add default values for everything in the table structures. The biggest problem is that it only does cummulative stats and doesn’t tell you player v player stats. What that means is that you can’t see how well players fare against each other and you can’t view improvement (or lack thereof) over time.

So what I did is whip up an “action_log” table which collects raw data from the modified plugin. The modified version simply feeds the action log with things like “bob killed steve” and even tells me what weapon was used.

The result is that eventually the above listed web-site will be displaying some pretty interesting charts.

The one good thing about the given plugin is that it supplies a very good skeleton for plugging your own database queries into. So if you want to run a Team Fortress 2 server and have some good stats get the source for the above plugin and edit it to generate the stats you want. It took me only about two hours to get it generating more useful stats. With some more time I could clean up the code even more. There are some places where I think the code could be simplified.

The original plugin also allows you to see the top 10 players in game. I broke that with my modifications. Future feature, once data is being collected and charts being generated, is to put that back in. Although I don’t see the point of having that in game. What might be useful is telling the player who to avoid and who to go after based on previous encounters.

The possibilities are endless but I think I’ll give it at least a month of getting the basic stat collections taken care of before jumping in too far.

The Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry is a great way to show your support for the troops. Donations will be used to buy gift cards for all the families registered. This holiday season many troops won’t be home for the holidays. This is a way to show you’re thinking of them and appreciate everything they do for the country. Our service men and women do not make a lot of money. Just like many families, they can find it financially difficult to provide for their families. By donating you can give them the extra money they need to give their family a little something extra this year.

At the Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry you will be able to read the stories of military families and see what types of gifts they would like to receive this year. You can also leave a thank you message to let the troops know how you feel about their work personally. We hear about their work and see the results on the news but it’s rare that we take the time out to see our military in a more personal light. Sears is making it possible to get to know the people who are risking their lives for our country to make your life better and giving you an opportunity to make their life a little better.

Christmas is approaching fast and you probably still have some gifts to buy. Kmart makes it easy to get the gifts you want without blowing your budget. With over 25,000 gifts priced at $25 or less you’re bound to find something for everyone. There is a wide assortment of video games for under $25 for any system your friends and family may have.

One of the fun things to do with the family when everyone is together for the holidays is to play board games. Kmart has a large selection of games under $25. Hungry Hungry Hippos is a great classic game that’s only $16.99. Little kids love to slam down on the hippos to try to grab as many marbles as they can. The older kids will have a lot of fun with Monopoly; the game that can be as friendly or conniving as you want. The classic edition is only $11.99.

Mom is always working hard and could use something to help relax. The HoMedics Atom Massager is a great little gadget for only $8.99 that will help massage those aches and pains away.

Handyman Dad could really use some new tools. That knife of his is probably getting dull with all the use it has gotten over the years. For only $19.99 he could have a brand new Leatherman Micra Multi-Tool. It contains a nice sharp knife for cutting, spring action scissors and other personal care tools.

Kmart makes it easy to shop for everyone in the family and for your friends without having to spend a lot of money. With layaway and no interest, no payment financing for 6 months it’s even easier to shop this Christmas.

Before you get engaged you need to plan. Not just for how you’re going to live your lives together but also what ring you’re going to get her. I realize that you probably have no idea when you’re going to get married but I’m pretty sure you expect to some day. So you should be saving up for that ring well in advance. Maybe even before you meet the girl you end up marrying. When you get to the store you don’t want to be looking at price tags. You want to be looking at the smile on her face as she’s looking for the perfect ring; a ring that will hold its value and its sparkle for a lifetime.

Platinum is a harder metal than gold which means it will hold onto that diamond more securely. You don’t want to lose that diamond because the ring lost its hold. Gold quickly loses its luster with everyday wear. Platinum retains its brilliant white luster. Because Platinum is far more rare than gold it is also more valuable than gold.

A platinum engagemet ring will make your ring even more unique. Not everyone had to foresight to save up and invest in a quality platinum ring for the woman of their dreams. But now that you know the value of platinum you can.

The IDUG contest, The XML Challenge, is now open for registration. If you’re a student who wants something to put on their resume or a professional who wants a chance to show off your XML skills, this contest is for you. On top of the recognition there’s thousands of dollars worth of prizes from Wiis to technical conferences.

There are five contests you can participate in:

Video - Invent a creative use for XML, XQuery or DB2 and record a video of yourself doing it.
Gadget Contest - Create a downloadable gadget or widget making use of DB2
Query Content - Use XQuery to find five answers. The best queries will win the top prizes
Ported App Contest - Port or develop a new app for DB2. You can enter as an individual or as a team.
XML2 Contest - Build a useful, user-friendly XML app from scratch. You can enter as an individual or as a team.

You will earn participation points for every entry and a special prize will be given to the “XML Grand Master” - the person who earns the most points.

If you’re an aspiring developer then you should definitely take chances like this to enhance your skills in a competitive environment. It’s good practice to have your talents compared against others. This will help you learn where you excel and where you need to improve.

Sears2go is a new way to shop provided by Sears.

With the holiday season fast approaching Sears2go makes it even easier to get all your shopping done. Often times while out holiday shopping stores are on opposite ends of town. Sears2go makes it easy to shop at Sears and get that holiday shopping done no matter where you are by making it possible to purchase select products using your mobile phone. This is the first on-the-go technology offered by a US retailer.

After purchasing an item on Sears2go, you will receive a text message alert when your merchandise is ready for pick-up. With Sears’ best in class in-store pickup you’re going to experience great customer service from purchase to pick-up.

Sears2go provides many of the same great features already available at Sears.com including the ability to easily browse and search for products, view product reviews and find where stores are located. You will also be able to view the latest special offers so you won’t miss out on any great deals while out and about.

To take advantage of Sears2go on your mobile phone you must have text-messaging enabled and be registered with a text-messaging plan. Sears is offering this service at no charge to you but your carrier may charge standard SMS/data rates.

Stop running around town to get all of your shopping done. Pull out your phone and use Sears2go.

Giftster presented by CuteLittleHats.com is a website that allows you to create and share gift lists with family and friends. They can see what you want and what people have gotten for you but you can’t. Your family and friends can also leave comments to help them coordinate better.

Giftster is 100% free. There aren’t even any ads.

Stocks!?! has been reworked a bit. I updated the interface since I’m intending to add more features in the future. There’s still work to do on the interface but it’s sufficient for now.

The biggest addition is the complete historical data for over 10,000 stocks. What this means is that your portfolios can now be charted over time. Most stock portfolio sites on the web at best allow you to see what your stocks are worth now. Which is fine and dandy. However, Stocks!?! also allows you to see what you actually paid for those stocks, any fees and what not, to give you an accurate earnings statement. And shortly you’ll be able to view your portfolio’s performance from the time you bought your first stock.

The charts are being generated but I still need to work their display into the interface.

Stocks!?! is a simple portfolio management tool I use to keep track of all my real investments and fantasy investments. You can create an account for free and have as many portfolios as you want. Stock prices for all stocks are updated daily after the markets close while stocks that portfolios are tracking are updated about every 15 minutes. Yahoo’s financial tools are used to collect stock information.

There was a slight glitch in the overall gain/loss percentage calculated for the stocks. That’s fixed. It now accurately shows how much you have gained or lost percentage wise based on the amount of cash that has been put into your account. There’s a second percentage that takes into account fees and earned interest as well. This way you can see how well your stocks are doing and how much damage fees are doing.

Commission fees are included in the loss/gain calculation per stock symbol. Commission is considered added cost to buying a stock. Fees are the cost of having the account. Some types of accounts charge periodic fees. Others charge per trade commissions. Some charge both.

When I first started creating the stock portfolio site I thought it’d be simple stuff. Turns out that it’s rather complicated. There’s a lot of math involved and organizing the database properly is necessary to make sure the math comes out right. But it works great and I use it.

The Dawn of the Geeks Forum is now up and running. The registration rules are lax. There is no account verification email. As long as you remember the username and password you can log in even if the email address you supplied is bogus. There is no moderation.

I want to see what the state of the forum will be in 6 months. It’d be interesting to see what kind of content finds its way into the forum.