Monday, August 29, 2011

IT office pranks




Takeaway: An office without practical jokes would be a mighty dull place to work. Luckily, legions of IT pranksters have kept things lively over the years.
During the 20 years I have worked in IT, I’ve had the privilege of working with some exceptionally creative people. And sometimes, that creativity has been channeled toward devising elaborate office pranks. So I thought it might be fun to write about some of the best office pranks I’ve seen. Some of these are a bit dated, but they were so amusing I had to include them anyway.

1: The infamous BSOD screensaver



One classic gag that never gets old is the Blue Screen of Death screensaver. Sysinternals offers a free screensaver that simulates the Blue Screen of Death and a system reboot. The effect is quite convincing, and you can cause panic in unsuspecting victims by installing this harmless screensaver onto their computer when they aren’t looking.

2: The Dvorak keyboard


Microsoft offers accessibility features to help those with physical difficulties take advantage of its operating systems. One of these accessibility features also has the makings of a great prank.
Although keyboards typically use the QWERTY layout, Microsoft provides alternate keyboard arrangements for those who have difficulties typing. One such layout, known as Dvorak, replaces QWERTY with some rather bizarre key arrangements. Loading a Dvorak driver onto a computer with a normal keyboard remaps all the keys, resulting in confusion and frustration for the unlucky soul who has to type on it. For more information about three Dvorak layouts (and how to implement them), see Microsoft’s article Alternative Keyboard Layouts.

3: Carbon Copy


One of the first remote assistance applications to really work well was called Carbon Copy LAN. This utility worked similarly to many of the remote assistance utilities available today, except that it allowed the helpdesk to connect to someone’s computer without their knowledge or consent.
When this utility was first made available, the company I worked for decided to do a pilot deployment to find out whether it would be practical for use by the helpdesk. But we didn’t bother to tell anyone that we had installed the software on their computers.
As you might expect, a few friends received this utility. The IT staff had loads of fun connecting to those people’s computers at random times and causing general pandemonium. Sometimes, we would connect and just begin hitting random keys. Other times, we’d backspace over what the person had just typed. And on a few occasions, we even went so far as to compose an email message on the victim’s behalf. You have to remember that back then, nobody had seen remote assistance software before, so the victims had no idea what was going on. Most assumed they had a virus.

4: Styrofoam peanuts

At one company I used to work for, we routinely ordered computers and various parts from a local supplier. On one occasion, we had to order hard drives and upgrade components for nearly 1,000 PCs. All the components we ordered shipped in large boxes filled with Styrofoam peanuts.
After we had unpacked all the boxes, we were left with thousands and thousands of Styrofoam peanuts. One of the guys who worked for me decided to have a little fun with one of his buddies. It was a hot day, so his friend had left the windows open on his truck. My friend rolled up the passenger side window, but left the driver side window open. He then began funneling peanuts into the truck until the cab was filled all the way to the bottom of the driver’s side window. At that point, he began shoving the Styrofoam peanuts over to the passenger side until that portion of the cab was filled to the ceiling. He then reached in and rolled up the driver’s side window as far as he could from the outside of the truck and used the remaining gap to pack in as many more Styrofoam peanuts as he possibly could.
Needless to say, the victim was more than a little bit late going home that day. Three years later, when he decided to trade in his truck, he gave it a good vacuuming and found several leftover Styrofoam peanuts.

5: The leaning tower


I once worked with a guy who had an extreme addiction to Mountain Dew. During the course of a shift, he would routinely drink the better part of a case. So of course there were always lots of empties in the recycle bin.
Another friend of mine decided to take advantage of the situation one day while the Mountain Dew addict was in a meeting. He fished all the empties out of the recycle bin and constructed a giant tower of Mountain Dew cans on his friend’s desk. Next, he took some fishing line and tied it to some of the cans on the bottom row of the tower and then used the fishing line and a few thumbtacks to make a trip wire. That afternoon when the guy came back to his desk, he tripped over the tripwire, which set off an avalanche of Mountain Dew cans. The falling cans made so much noise that everyone in the office came to see what had happened.
Simlar Tactics:

6: Winders 95

When I first got my start with technical writing, I was working for a company called The Cobb Group writing a journal about Windows 95. I wrote all the content using Microsoft Word, and that made me the victim of an IT prank.
Word contains an AutoCorrect feature that automatically corrects commonly misspelled words. A coworker snuck into my office while I was away from my desk and added a few extra entries to Word’s AutoCorrect list. Every time I typed the phrase Windows 95, Word automatically changed it to Winders 95. My friend made several other changes to the AutoCorrect feature and even went so far as to add misspelled words to my spell checker.
At the time, I was up against a deadline and in a rush to get an article to my editor, so I didn’t read over it as well as I should have. About 15 minutes after I turned the article in, I got a call from my editor asking me why I was suddenly writing like a hillbilly.

7: The Windows lock screen

One of the companies I used to work for had a policy that stated that everyone in IT had to use a password-protected screensaver that would lock their computer after a certain length of time. One of the developers in the company decided to exploit this policy to have a little fun.
He developed a small application that looked like the Windows lock screen. When his cube mate stepped away for a smoke break, the developer quickly installed the application onto his friend’s computer before the screensaver could engage. He then disabled the screensaver and executed the application he had just written. When his friend returned, he thought that he was looking at a legitimate Windows password prompt. But when he entered his logon credentials, they were emailed to his cube mate — who later used them to log on to his friend’s computer after hours and redecorate his desktop.

8: Custom Error Messages:


Back in the days of DOS, a friend and I discovered that you could use a hex editor to modify any of the messages that were displayed by the operating system. For example, it was possible to change error messages to say anything that you wanted, so long as you used the same number of characters as were included in the original message. (You could insert spaces at the end of the new message to fill in any gaps.)
We used our newfound knowledge to create our own custom system disk, which included a lot of rude error messages. We planted copies of the disk in a few unsuspecting people’s computers, sat back, and waited for the phone calls from people wondering why their computers were suddenly insulting them.

9: Hard drive transplant

I used to work at a place in which all the users had been instructed to store their data on their local PCs. Of course, almost nobody ever backed up their data. One of the guys in the IT department decided to teach one of the users of lesson by removing his hard drive and replacing it with a drive that had gone bad. The next morning, the user went to boot the PC and received an error message. He frantically called the helpdesk assuming that all his data was lost. When the helpdesk technician went to the user’s desk, he reinstalled the user’s original hard drive and pretended to recover all the data. It was kind of a cruel trick, but the user ended up backing up his stuff after that.

10: Unauthorized upgrade

Without a doubt, the greatest IT prank I have ever been witness to occurred shortly after Windows 95 was released. The guy who was in charge of IT operations was adamant that Windows 95 would never be used. He made it clear that we would continue using Windows 3.1 indefinitely.
A good friend of mine (who did not work in IT) made a screen capture of a Windows 95 desktop and then configured every PC in his department to use the screen capture as the Windows wallpaper. When the IT director walked through the department he saw what he thought were about 50 desktops running Windows 95. Rather than taking the time to check things out, he angrily stormed off to HR to try to get everyone in the department fired. Not surprisingly, he ended up looking really silly once it was revealed that he’d gotten all worked up over harmless wallpaper.

Other crazy stunts?

What are the best pranks you’ve ever seen, perpetrated, or fallen prey to?
















Wednesday, August 17, 2011

How to Drink All Night and Stay (Halfway) Sober

A raucous barhop is good for the soul. But how does a man survive a night of cocktail 

swilling without compromising his dignity or feeling completely craptastic the next day? A team of GQ boozehounds hit the streets of New York—and eight bars in ten hours—to learn the right way to go on a bender



Read More http://www.gq.com/how-to/eat-and-drink/200904/drink-all-night#ixzz1VJQPZaFw










  • 6 P.M.

    The team assembles at the bar at ALLEN & DELANCEY, a plush, dark, and at this hour completely empty restaurant on the Lower East Side. Meehan scans the menu and orders light: a FRENCH 75 (gin, champagne, lemon juice, sugar), an APEROL SPRITZ (Aperol, an Italian aperitif; prosecco; soda), and an ABSINTHE DRIP (absinthe, sugar, water).




  • RULE #1
    Start Out Light
    In the beginning, you're not going to have a full stomach. Meehan prescribes a drink that contains bittersweet herbal wines or spirit-based aperitifs—bitters like Campari and Cynar: "They're appetite-whetters, and the low proof ensures you don't fall off your stool after your first drinks."
    6:20 P.M.
    Sarah sips her French 75. Sachs drains the absinthe drip as quickly as one would a glass of orange juice and boldly, perhaps stupidly, follows it with a NEGRONI (gin, Campari, sweet vermouth).
    7:24 P.M.
    Oysters are ordered and slurped, but Meehan suspects that won't be enough sustenance for the long night ahead. "Do you still have those bacon-flavored dinner rolls?" he asks the bartender. "We need a bunch of those and some butter."




  • RULE #2
    Eat Snacks, Not Dinner
    There are brilliant mixologists who totally disagree with me on this," Meehan says, "but I don't recommend trying to pair cocktails with dinner. On a night out drinking, food is merely the fuel."
    8:39 P.M.
    At the bar at FREEMANS, a boisterous nearby restaurant decorated with taxidermy and hipsters, Sachs orders the appley NEW YORK TRADING COMPANY cocktail and the artichoke dip. Sarah veers off-path with a glass of ROSÉ. Meehan requests an artisanal French beer and is served a PORKSLAP PALE ALE instead. Sometimes it's best just to play the card you're dealt, he advises.
    9:05 P.M.
    After a quick taxi ride west, the group shuffles down a flight of stairs to B FLAT, a Japanese cocktail bar in Tribeca, where the drinks are sweet and the stereo plays jazz. "We've laid down a base at the other places," Meehan says. "Now we're stepping up to the masters." The meticulous Japanese bartenders deliver two variations on the FRENCH 75, one with bourbon, another with Cognac; a JACK ROSE; a MINT JULEP; and a standard OLD-FASHIONED. The delayed Dr. Michael finally joins the group and catches up by ordering a SAZERAC.




  • RULE #3
    Think of It as a Menu
    Plan a night of drinking like a dinner menu. The logic is white to red with wine, light to dark with beer, white spirits before brown, dry to sweet, low alcohol to high. But logic, says Meehan, can get in the way of fun, so don't overthink it.
    9:43 P.M.
    "The state of the nation is strong," Meehan declares. "We've made the shift to brown spirits seamlessly, I think. Let's Breathalyze!" (Note: New York, like all other states, considers a person legally intoxicated if his blood-alcohol level is .08 percent or higher.) Meehan blows a .05 ("I had some '91 Lagavulin with lunch"). Sarah clocks in at .06; Sachs and the doctor are at a modest .04.
    10 P.M.
    Standing outside B Flat on Church Street in Tribeca, Dr. Michael administers the evening's first Romberg test (like the one drunk drivers take roadside). Sarah stands with her eyes closed, arms stretched in front of her, palms up. "A positive Romberg is when they fall over to one side," the doctor says. Sarah's arms flail a bit, but she remains upright. Pass.




  • RULE #4
    Always Be Hydrating
    "Having a glass of water per cocktail all night long is instrumental in staying sober." Meehan adds: "It's also a reminder that you've finished a drink, which helps you keep track of how many you've had."
    10:20 P.M.
    We make our way up the narrow staircase of PEGU CLUB, a revered retro cocktail bar in SoHo. Chief barman Kenta Goto serves up a modified MANHATTAN, a lighter version made with Grand Marnier that will allow the group to keep its pace.
    11:17 P.M.
    Outside Pegu, Meehan takes the Romberg. Dr. Michael: "That's pretty good. That's a negative Romberg!" Sachs passes, too; Dr. Feelgood heads home to his nine-months-pregnant wife.
    11:22 P.M.
    In a taxi on the way to LITTLE BRANCH, a speakeasy-style bar in the West Village, Meehan makes a good point: "After five hours and twenty-two minutes of steady drinking, I'm sensing an alarming level of sobriety. At Little Branch, we'll order a RED HOOK [Punt e Mes, maraschino, rye], a GREENPOINT [rye, yellow Chartreuse, sweet vermouth, Angostura and orange bitters], and a GOLD RUSH (bourbon, lemon juice, honey)."
    11:42 P.M.
    Sarah: "It's like we're on a triple blind date, but I feel more comfortable with strangers after a lot of cocktails than I would otherwise." Meehan: "Please note that at eleven forty-two we were just called 'strangers.'"




  • RULE #5
    Stay Socially Engaged
    "If you're just sitting there drinking, you'll get drunk and peak too early," Meehan says. "Talking to a bartender helps. Tell him what you've had, what you like, and leave your next drink up to him."
    11:59 P.M.
    The drinks are great, but the mellowness of Little Branch is causing the collective energy to flag. "We need a reviving beer!" Meehan commands. The group heads across the street to DADDY-O, a street-level non-speakeasy, where bad Black Crowes is blaring. After a round of PINTS and some shots of MEZCAL, all are reenergized.




  • RULE #6
    Take a Beer Break
    Sometimes you need a break from the formalities of cocktail bars. A run to a bar like Daddy-O is the perfect solution. Our options were simplified. And beer is good. Beer is refreshing."
    12:33 A.M.
    Sarah: "I want a hot dog!" The group takes a taxi across town to Meehan's home base, PDT.
    12:50 A.M.
    To enter PDT, you pick up the receiver in a telephone booth just outside the bar and speak to the host on the other side of a door leading from a brightly lit hot-dog joint to a dark cocktail lounge. Here the group is given what might be called the FULL MEEHAN: many rounds of excellent cocktails plus Tater Tots plus several hot dogs.
    1:18 A.M.
    Sarah points at the bottle on the table: "Is that the worm?" Meehan: "No, that's the chicken breast. That's the fucking cash-me-out right there." A bottle of DEL MAGUEY PECHUGA, which is indeed distilled with a chicken breast, is passed around.
    2:10 A.M.
    Sachs blows a .09.
    2:27 A.M.
    Sachs to Sarah: "What have you learned?" Sarah: "Eat a lot. Without food I'd be dead."
    3:01 A.M.
    The group stumbles into PUCK FAIR. Meehan orders a GUINNESS, and Sachs asks him, "What have you learned?" Meehan answers, "I learned I can drink all night." To which Sachs replies, "Without joking, I think we could go for another ten hours."




  • RULE #7
    Order Defensively

    "If I'm on the fifth cocktail, I've lost the will to be logical," Meehan says. "This is the time to go boilermaker: a beer and a whiskey. It's actually a great move. When you've got two drinks in front of you, no one can buy you a third."
    3:10 A.M.
    Sarah surrenders and departs. Sachs and Meehan get another Guinness.
    4 A.M.
    Hailing a cab home, Meehan sums it up for Sachs: "I want you to write that this can be done. This isn't some Navy Seal mission where you usually die. This can be done."




  • THE BAR CRAWLER'S DON'TS

    1. Don't Make a Martini Your First—or Second—Order
    If you're embarking on what you know is going to be a long night, don't start with an all-spirits cocktail. "A martini can knock you on your ass," Meehan says, "especially on an empty stomach." If you want to begin with a classic drink, you're better off with a top-shelf gin-and-tonic.
    2. Skip "Pick-Me-Ups" Like Coffee and Energy Drinks
    "When you combine caffeine and alcohol on a long night of drinking, the effects of the alcohol are masked and you tend to drink more than you should," Meehan says. "Your company should be your stimulant. If you're that drunk and/or tired, it's time to go home."
    3. Duck When the Round of Shots Comes Around
    "I don't do shots unless I absolutely have to," Meehan says. To deflect the night-ender (and morning-ruiner), he advises ordering the above-mentioned boilermaker. "You can usually get away with turning down a shot because you've got a bowl of booze in front of you."





  • Read More http://www.gq.com/how-to/eat-and-drink/200904/drink-all-night#ixzz1VJMVC0ii








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    Sunday, August 14, 2011

    Smoking Kills - kourení zabíjí


    Smoking Kills - kourení zabíjí


    Rise of the planet of the apes - Monkey with a gun


    New Trailer for the: Rise of the planet of the apes.
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt13?18514/

    Sugarland Stage Collapse Indiana State Fair



    Sugarland Concert stage collapse, 
    Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis, IN, USA.



    Fan video of August 13, 2011

    " The victim was drinking a beer on some steps on Huger Street "


    !So Huuuge



    Charleston police are looking for three men they say robbed a man while he was drinking a beer early Tuesday morning.
    According to a Charleston Police Department incident report, the victim was drinking a beer on some steps on Huger Street around 6:48 a.m. when two unknown men and 44-year-old Stephen Douglas Hawkins came up and robbed him.
    The victim told police that the two unknown men held him down while Hawkins grabbed him by the neck and took $20 from his right front pocket.
    The two suspects are described as black males who appear to be in their late 30's or early 40's standing about 5'8" and weighing around 150 to 175 pounds. Police say Hawkins is known to frequent the area of King and Huger streets during the early-morning hours.
    If you have any information regarding this crime, call 720-3036.
    Copyright WCSC 2011.  All rights reserved.


    == == ==

    Works to block mobile card readers and ID scanners