Unknown processes in WinXP Task Manager

My computer slows down to a halt shortly after I connect to the Internet. This is too irritating for me. Tinkering about, I found these processes running:

• 4.exe
• bltb.exe
• dooai.exe
• nvsvc32.exe
• nzgxtxtl.exe
• ogqpoxm.exe
• rkiggyl.exe
• trvy.exe
• vedstt.exe

Too bad I can't research on this now. My PC is just too damn slow. I'll work on this tomorrow in the office; the laptop is connected to a T1 line so it should be a lot faster than this one.

Windows XP

Home Alone again. Off to HK again!

I just took my wife to the airport earlier today as she was sent there by her company for two weeks. It was quite sad for us both, but honestly, it is actually getting easier to bear. I remember the first time she went to HK a few months ago, right after she went past the gate where only the passengers are allowed, I stood there paralyzed, and I can't stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. (Ahh shucks... Che will go crazy when she reads this!)

Anyway, my sweet wife took it upon herself to surprise me with three cheese mamons (we bought yesterday from Max's Sucat) topped with Super Mario characters. I first thought that they were plastic pencil toppers, but as it turns out, they are just plastic figures of the super mario characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Toad, Yoshi, Bowser/Koopa, Donkey Kong, the ghost character from Super Mario 3 usually found in castles (sorry forgot the name), Wario, WaLuigi (I think), and another princess (brunette, don't know the name). She said she asked one of her officemates to buy them. I think it was either Gnet or Snow.

O well... More toys for the big boy (me)... God I love that woman! loveyou be! :-)

Anyway, she gave me a list of things-to-do while she's away. Just before I arrived home today, I was able to do a couple of them:

• My NBI clearance. well, at least step 1 to 3. As always the case for me, I was advised (again) by the NBI clearance guys in ParkSquare 1 Makati (BTW, in case you didn't know, they've moved their kiosk from near the restroom to the one near the tiangge area.) that I should go to NBI Main Office in Carriedo for steps 4 to 6. I plan going there tomorrow and the day after that after my shift. I've been doing this several times already. As far as I know, my name has a "HIT" in their records so I had to go there. Then since, I'm going there in the afternoon, I will only be able to go to step 6 (release) the following morning. Ahh well... Too much hassle.
• Power Saver thingy. I went to Landmark to buy the power saver thingy "As Seen on TV". Since buying that new 1.5Horsepower Aircon, I need all the energy saving techniques I can get.

Things I still need to do:

• Install blinds for the kitchen (since the window is directly facing the refrigerator, I have to close that one as soon as possible.
• Remove unused stuff in the kitchen (since the kitchen is quite small compared to the number of kitchen stuff that we have, we need to free up some space.)
• Pay the cable TV (thank you, there's an LBC in Shopwise Sucat :-))
• Document Pag-Ibig letters (BTW, if anyone is interested in renting a home in Cavite, let us know!)

I'm pretty sure I missed a few things. Hope to hear from Che soon. I think she has the complete list.

That's all for now.

Onslaught Reborn...

Marvel revisited the Onslaught Saga with a new mini-series, Onslaught Reborn.

What bothers me is the art. After getting the first issue, I was disappointed with the artwork, so I immediately sold it to my Marvel fan colleagues here at half the price. I just wanted to get rid of it.

Too many small lines in the artwork, giving a somewhat "dirty" feel.

Aside from the artwork, the story, AFAIK, is okay.

More information and scans from this link:

http://popcultureshock.com/?p=40183

Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness

The Marvel Zombies mini-series is one of the better Marvel mini-series that I enjoyed reading. And now, the Marvel Zombies are back! And now Ash Williams, aka the Chosen One of the Army of Darkness series, gets in the fray!

FYI, Marvel Zombies is 2006 Scream Awards Best Comic Book. Probably triggered by the popularity and success of the original Marvel Zombies Series, Marvel then printed the Marvel Zombies Dead Days (One-shot) and the five-part Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness. As of this writing, the latest issue that I have is Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness Part 4.

Here's one of the spreads of the original Marvel Zombies #1


If you want a copy of the whole series, download at http://www.demonoid.com/. I'm currently seeding the series; please help me improve my ratio :-)

However, if you like the comic, please buy it. Support the comics industry!

Knights and Vampires

Okay, I'm back from the dead! :-)

Been busy for the past few months. The only online activity I have is KnightFight and MonstersGame.

So let's see... My KnightFight character is a one-hander (sword-and-shield) Knight of Light. If I only knew, I would have gone for the two-handed-sword-wielders. Grrr... Lower-level two-handed characters dish out more damage than my character. The only choice I have is to transfer more points to my Armor skill so I can soak up more damage.

My Vampire is now Level 30, but still fairly weak compared to the others. I came in pretty late in the game; I was level 1 when there are already level 20+ werewolves prowling on the server. Worse still, there is a clan that has pinpointed me as a target; I get attacked around 5 times a day before.

I know there are others out there who are probably getting beaten by higher level characters. So my advice, don't make yourself a target. The reason these guys beat on lower level characters is to get more gold. I mistakenly left my character with tons of gold; each attack cost me 200+ gold. After that, the entire clan has been beating me like crazy. Don't do the same mistake. As soon as you have cash, try to buy stuff; you can sell them, though you only get half your gold. Still, it's better than losing it to others.

Homestretch to D-Day!

[Okay fine, I'm not sure why it's D-Day, but that's what I'm calling it. :-) ]

Less than a week to go before our day.. Phew! Just a few more details to check. I hope everything works out fine. Can't sleep soundly for the past few days... Wedding jitters I guess... O well...

KnightFight! New online RPG!

Wow! A brand new online RPG! :-)

The format is like MonstersGame (i.e. Vampire and Werewolves). KnightFight is to Monstersgame as KingsOfChaos is to Hellwars. That is, game interface between the two is different, but the gameplay is just the same as the old one.

Today is their first day, and I just signed up. Check it out here.

Countdown continues...

Wow! Twelve days to go before the big day! :-)

Too bad we still have so many things to do. Some souvenirs still not done, some payments still pending, song list is not finalized... Ooh wow.. Talk about stress... Can anybody volunteer to create the souvenirs for us? :-)

One good thing, though, is that we have now chosen a hotel to stay in. The package we availed with Ibarra includes one overnight stay at either Lotus Garden Hotel and City Garden Suites. We had an occular inspection at Lotus Garden Hotel, which was nearer to Ibarra's Garden. We were a bit disappointed with the rooms that were shown to us. Rooms are somewhat cramped, dark (fewer lights). After that, we canvased for other hotels then, totally ignoring City Garden Suites; I guess we were thinking that since they are sister companies, it would be more or less the same with Lotus.

Good thing for us, our friends decided to throw a party for Che there. The room we stayed in was great. The room is.. well, I don't know. Cleaner? Lighter?

Hopefully tonight, there are rooms available for occular inspection.

So far so good. I hope everything goes smoothly...

Ibarra's Garden's choco fountain from somewhere

Ibarra's Garden is a decent enough place with great ambiance and provides very delicious food -- no question about that. We had our food tasting before and, with a few exceptions, the food was excellent.

Their packages are very, very competitive which is the main reason we chose it in the first place.

The bad, somewhat frustrating part, about them is when it comes to CHANGES in the packages. You don't actually want all of the things included in the package.

Here's an example: they are offering the chocolate fountain for the event at the cost of php5,000. We -- since we are trying to minimize our expenses as much as we can for the wedding -- asked if they could lower the price. Surprisingly, they did - they now offered it at php2,000. We were so happy at the bargain we made!

Here's the downside: when we visited again, the head was not there so the "second-in-command" / assistant / whatever you want to call her attended to us. During our conversation, she revealed that they were actually offering two chocolate fountains -- the belgian chocolate fountain at php5,000 and the local chocolate fountain at php2,000! Damn! So much for the bargain!

Personally, it is okay if it was the local chocolate fountain -- it's just disappointing because I didn't know that it was not the Belgian chocolate we were availing, since that is what they have been advertising since their last wedding expo back in the Megatrade Hall earlier this year (I think it was back in June).

Oh well, lesson learned...

Jollibee's stand on the scandal....

Here's the official statement of the Jollibee management regarding the "Jollibee scandal" video:

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Dear Parents,

We regret to inform you that a video depicting our well-loved Jollibee mascots in a distasteful situation is now circulating online. The material is obviously no more than someone’s idea of a senseless amusement. Yet we cannot ignore the equally obvious risk of its effect on our children.

Jollibee created the mascot for kids, their wholesome fun and carefree innocence. We’ve worked hard and unceasingly for the mascot to earn your kids’ trust and love. It would be so sad to have all this swept away by one mindless prank.

We will not let this pass, neither will we let it happen again. Be assured we are taking all necessary steps to bring the culprits into account. One thing we know we can count on is your support in countering this threat.

Please help us spread the word that this corrupting material should not be passed on any further. This simple act of control will go a long way in protecting our children.

We apologize for any offense this incident may have caused, and thank you for your understanding and cooperation.


Sincerely,

JOHN VICTOR TENCE
VP Corporate Human Resources
Jollibee Foods Corporation

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