Ben's Blog

SupaChat Server/Lobby Server Update 1/27/2012

2012-01-27T18:21:00.000-06:00

I have finally fixed the problem that made SupaChat Server's connection to the SCLobby unstable. I had forgotten to set the write/read timeout to a more apropriate level on the same order of magnitude as the WaitRead() function timeout. The SCLobby connection has stayed up for at least an hour after this modification (before, it had only survived 2 checks, each of which is 10 seconds). Most servers will have to communicate with the SCLS for much longer periods than this, but the fact that it survived 80 checks (a "magic number" which indicates a complete 10-read/1-ping cycle) is good. SupaChat could probably be safely distributed now, but I want to do a few more modifications to make sure the user interface never freezes even under stress from the backend connections.

SMTP

2012-01-26T20:50:00.001-06:00

SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is the way to send email from a program. Mail servers use various different protocols to talk to each other, but SMTP is the .NET way to send email. I read a little bit online and found out that you need to modify the app.config file in a .NET project to be able to sign into a mail server and send mail. The app.config file is totally absent unless some important setting has been changed (I always change it's ClickOnce security settings, which generated an app.config file). Add the correct tag structure (I'm pretty sure it is system.net or system.mail or something like that), create a System.Net.Mail.StmpClient, a System.Net.Mail.MailMessage, edit the properties of the MailMessage, and use the Send(MailMessage) function of the StmpClient. I was able to sign into one of my email accounts and send a message to another of my accounts. Make sure to set the port to 25 for most normal mail servers.

Glary Utilities

2012-01-25T19:35:00.000-06:00

A company called Glary made a little utility pack called Glary Utilities. I downloaded the Pro version today (great site here) and installed it. It contains all kinds of things for monitoring processes, RAM, and services. A 1-Click Maintenance center allows the computer to be cleaned of invalid Registry entries and old temporary files in two clicks. The Modules section houses all kinds of file system managers, quick fixes for common problems, and encryption/decryption. All running applications show a "trustworthiness" rating based on the reports of the Glary developers and various community members. This is a very useful program.

January Multisession Chess Tournament Part 4/5

2012-01-24T22:03:00.000-06:00

Tonight, I was paired with a player rated 1115 (I am rated 1335). This is a large difference, so I was expected to win. We started with the Sicilian opening, 1. e4 c5. I got a lot of control over the center and got a huge lead in development. I won a pawn in a bishop exchange, capturing his c pawn. My knights controlled a lot of the edge squares, making it difficult for him to mount an attack. On the eighth move, he made a blunder and gave me his queen. He resigned after I took it. After I recorded the official result, we rewound the blunder and proceeded with the game. I won anyway, probably because of my pawn advantage.

After finishing that, I went to teach a smaller child who had come to the club tonight. I played a game with him and helped in a bit of tactics. Afterwards, I showed him how to write moves down in algebraic notation. He seemed to understand and we left after my dad finished his game.

More Memory

2012-01-23T20:30:00.000-06:00

I got some more memory for my computer today. I had been planning to add 1GB to it for a long time. It previously had only two 256MB memory sticks in it. When I put in the new stick, it registered 256MB. I had installed it incorrectly (not pushing it in all the way). After it was corrected, the computer showed 1GB. Since I had left the two old sticks in, this was puzzling. It should have totaled 1GB 512MB. My dad tried different orders of the sticks, as that makes a difference is some older computers. No matter what we did, it always showed 1GB. I figured that it might be incompatible with the other sticks, and suggested removing one 256MB. When we did that, it showed .75GB. That was really puzzling! We tried a few orders of these, but always showed 256MB less than a GB. I recommended removing the other stick, leaving only the new stick. The computer showed 512MB! Finally, we realized that the package in which we got the stick was not the original packaging of the stick. It was actually a 512MB stick and the order of sticks didn't matter.

South Carolina Voted!

2012-01-22T19:31:00.000-06:00

The South Carolina primary happened last night! Newt Gingrich won it by a huge margin (>10%). I looked at CNN's breakdown of the votes. People who had huge incomes generally voted for Romney, with the lower and middle class people going for Gingrich. A thing I found funny was the people who said that "character isn't a factor" voted for Romney, with others generally going for Gingrich. Paul got almost all of the people who thought that national security was important.

SupaChat Server Update 1/21/2012

2012-01-21T19:57:00.001-06:00

I have selected some fun sound effects from http://www.soundbible.com/ to use in SupaChat Server. They are played upon certain server events, but can be muted with the Mute check. Here is a list of the events that play sounds:

SCLobby connection succeded
SCLobby connection failed or was lost
Server crashed
Lockdown mode enabled
Started listening
Shut down server
User connected
DropUser() was called

I also corrected a small mistake in the logical flow of the lobby reconnection check.

The Light Limitation

2012-01-20T20:30:00.002-06:00

I've been wondering why things can't go faster than light, and while practicing my Living Biography speech, I figured out the answer. Here is Einstein's equation for velocity-corrected mass:

W = m * (1 / sqr(1 - (v ^ 2 / c ^ 2)) - 1)
where W is the velocity-corrected relative mass,
m is the original mass,
v is the velocity at which the object is moving (in miles per second),
c is the constant speed of light (186282.4 miles per second),
and sqr is a function that returns the square root of its input.

If an object with a mass of 274 is moving at 186292.4 miles per second, just a little faster than light...

W = 274 * (1 / sqr(1 - (186292.4 ^ 2 / 186282.4 ^ 2)) - 1)
W = 274 * (1 / sqr(1 - (34704858297.76 / 34701132549.76)) - 1)
W = 274 * (1 / sqr(1 - 1.0001073667550953108019300907397) - 1)
W = 274 * (1 / sqr(-0.000107366755095310801930090739)

"ERR: NONREAL ANS" is generated upon attempting to simplify the last line. It is impossible to get a real answer for the square root of a negative number, hence an object moving at this speed cannot be sustained in this universe. If you attempted to move at exactly the speed of light, you would end up dividing by zero (creating a theoretically infinite mass).

And there you have it! The equation at the top of this post is a great thing to know and share with others at opportune moments.

OpBase X Update 1/19/2012

2012-01-19T20:31:00.000-06:00

If anyone remembers my old program OpBase X, it was designed to make creating command-line applications easy. I decided to open it up again today and look at some code. I found some really poor coding that depended on a state of a user interface control. I started moving most of the processing code (which had been copied/pasted into many locations) to use an Items() array and checking to see if it has an entry in the ItemEnabled() array instead of checking if it Is Nothing. Momentarily, I broke the user interface, but I'm pretty sure it's working on the inside. All I have to do before I can start making real progress is finish coding the UpdateList method which will refresh the user interface.

Living Biography Speech

2012-01-18T20:03:00.001-06:00

For my Living Biography project (a research project which all 7th graders have to do), we are now working on the speech component. Since I am doing Albert Einstein, I plan on getting a wig and fake moustache for the performance. I read in a book that Einstein had an abrasive personality, so I have put some clever things into my text. I think that my teacher will like the speech. I plan on writing some of the equations from relativity theory onto a blackboard behind myself.

January Mutlisession Chess Tournament Part 3/4

2012-01-17T21:36:00.001-06:00

This week, the local chess club gave awards for the previous month's tournament. I received a total of $20 for the upset prize (beating an opponent rated higher than I) and for winning the reserve section. I was paired with a player rated 1553 (about 200 over my rating). He started the game with an eccentric opening, 1. f4. I wasn't able to exploit any positional weaknesses, and the game continued normally. There were some trades in the middlegame, wrecking my pawn structure and leaving each of us with two rooks each. I made him decide from losing a pawn or trading a set of rooks. He traded, and I got my rook into the center. I couldn't really do anything useful because of my doubled pawns. We repeated the same position three times, making the result a draw. After the game, we looked at the end, made a few moves, and determined the result to be a draw anyway due to a locked position.

Learning C#

2012-01-16T19:56:00.001-06:00

I found a site that seems great for learning C#. C# is the most widely-used .NET language. I have been using VB.NET for a long time. Since I don't know any other languages well (except some arcane dialects of QBasic, which only generate 16-bit apps), I started researching. This great site is located here. So far, it seems to give an excellent introduction to the language. I recommend you first learn a language with fewer weird characters (like the brackets and semicolons) first, just to get a good grasp of how the .NET framework works.

Setting up a chess client

2012-01-15T20:33:00.000-06:00

Today, I went to a person's house to help them set up BabasChes and teach some tactics. I set up the chess client in about a half-hour and spend another half-hour showing them how to use it. They preferred the default BabasChess options and formula. After showing them how to use BabasChess, I introduced them to Jin, an online interface that works with Mac. It worked well, and we completed the setting-up of the interfaces. After that, I had my dad play a game with them. I helped them with tactics and position. They seemed to learn a lot. After two hours had elapsed from my arrival, I left after collecting $45 ($25 for the first hour plus $20 per additional hour). I paid the driver (my dad) for the ride home and came out with a profit of $40.

SupaChat Server Update 1/14/2012

2012-01-14T20:37:00.001-06:00

I have continued to work on the SupaChat Server help file. I have finished writing the setup instructions, the basic concepts, the user interface documentation, and started working on the documentation of the More Commands list. I realized that an invitation could get messed up if an invited user changed his/her name. I wrote a quick block of code that iterates through all groups and checks whether the user is invited. If so, it changes the invitation to the user's new name.

A New TV!

2012-01-13T20:50:00.000-06:00

My family got a new TV! It's really huge, measuring 40" across the diagonal. It has a resolution of 1920x1020 and a refresh rate of 60 hz. When we started the computer that was attached to it, the TV complained that the resolution was "not support." It took a while to go into Safe Mode and get a supported resolution (800x600) on so we could boot normally and set the resolution to something more visible. When we got it fixed, it worked perfectly and now is set at a huge resolution/

Snow!

2012-01-12T19:32:00.001-06:00

For the first time this winter, we got a mesurable amount of snow! It's blowing around in drifts and swirls everywhere. In front of the house we have this:

MS Expression

2012-01-11T21:02:00.000-06:00

Microsoft created a program called Expressions that can easily create WPF applications. I've been experimenting with XAML and all it can do. I've found that the shape of basically everything can be changed. Buttons can be circular, text boxes can be arced, and check boxes can be inside of buttons! WPF's big idea is that containers hold any type of content, even WindowsFormsHost instances which can encompass other windows. I've made a silly "Create a Button" program that lets a user type text into a text box encompassed by a button.

January Multisession Chess Tournament Part 2/4

2012-01-10T21:21:00.000-06:00

Tonight, I was paired with a player rated about 1000 (I am rated 1335). In the opening, I gained a pawn. The game continued evenly until the middlegame. He got his queen, bishop, and rook attacking my castled position. I repelled the attack by trading the queens. This left us with a rook and pawn ending (plus bishops). I don't like these kind of endings, but I was up a pawn and looked good. He exchanged his bishop for two of my pawns, but I got one of his pawns. He used his king to attack both my rook and bishop. I made a mistake and exchanged my bishop for his pawn, also trading the rooks. This left me with a choice: run my king to take his isolated pawn and promote, or stay by the more complex structures and (hopefully) break through. I ran my king across the board while he took all the pawns in my complex structure. I promoted before he did, but he still had two pawns. It was very difficult to find the right combination of moves to separate the pawns from each other and the king, but I did it and mated him. It was much tougher than I had expected.

Geography Project

2012-01-09T21:18:00.001-06:00

In geography, we created imaginary nations. We sometimes run little simulations of them in class. The simulation tomorrow is on the government and decision-making processes of the nations. My group's country has a dictatorship for the government type. I wrote all the papers about it and one other person in my group is making a PowerPoint on our country. Since she wanted pictures of us to make it more realistic, I set up some shots.

SupaChat Server Update 1/8/2012

2012-01-08T19:22:00.001-06:00

I found a misspelling in the user interface of SupaChat. On the More Commands list, one choice was Reinitialise SCLobby Connection. It should be spelled Reinitialize SCLobby Connection. I fixed it. I also completed the setup help file. It is a six-step process, though it is also a crash course in the operation of the Internet and networking concepts. It shows how to find both your IP on the network and public IP. I have started the section on the user interface.

SupaChat Server Update 1/7/2012

2012-01-07T19:16:00.000-06:00

I have finished commenting the main module of SupaChat Server's code. I am commenting the code in case of anyone requesting to see it or create split-off versions of it. The last major sections that need commenting are the lobby configuration class and the miscellaneous-functions module. There are a few small forms (Mask Builder, Text Editor, SCLobby Settings) that still need commenting. I have also began writing the help file for the Server. I plan on having three help files: one for operation of the Server, a general SupaChat help file containing commands, and one help file for the Client. I might create a SupaChat SupaClient (S2C2) that is a lot more graphical and easy-to-use.

SupaChat Server Update 1/6/2012

2012-01-06T20:47:00.000-06:00

While demonstrating SupaChat Server to a few people at school, I discovered a small problem in the function of the setgmode command. It would say that a clearly-online user was not online unless his name was typed in ALL CAPS. This was caused by case-insensitivity in the username dictionary. I added a UCase() wrapper around the UserData reference and it worked perfectly. I have also continued adding comments to the code.

SupaChat Server Update 1/5/2011

2012-01-05T20:06:00.002-06:00

While testing SupaChat Server, I found a pretty obvious mistake in the leaveall command. It used something like this:

For x = 1 To s.Length / 2
...and later, in the same sub...
l = l & s(x - 1, 0)

The "1 to" part was meant to skip the first index (0), which always contained 98765 (a placeholder put into effect while I was trying to fix the mysterious array problems of a few months ago). Dividing a Length by 2 (it was a multidimensional array) to find the upper bound was a kludge and doing x - 1 didn't simplify matters. I still don't know exactly which array index it was accessing. I replaced it with:

For x = 1 to s.GetUpperBound(0)
l = l & s(x, 0)

This worked perfectly. I have started adding comments to the whole code. In case the code is ever distributed, it would be very good for other people to be able to understand it. I have gotten to the command processing algorithms in the commenting process. There are about seven modules, only two of which are large.

WPF?

2012-01-04T21:17:00.000-06:00

WPF stands for Windows Presentation Foundation. It's Microsoft's relatively new approach to the user interface. It allows mixing of content, such as placing video files in the content of a button. Every user interface control is made up of more basic controls. It's SDK uses XAML, a format somewhat similar to XML/HTML, using things like:

<Grid>
<StackPanel>
<Button Name="btnSplosion">
<TextBlock>Splosions.</TextBlock>
<Image Source=".\boom.jpg"></Image>
</Button>
<TextBlock FontSize="9000">MEGAFONT</TextBlock>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>

It is meant to separate the roles of designer and developer. Control events are programmed in whatever .NET language the developer uses. I think this sounds like an interesting foundation and will begin testing some "visually stunning applications."

January Multisession Chess Tournament Part 1/4

2012-01-03T21:02:00.001-06:00

Tonight started a new multisession tournament at the local chess club. I was paired with a player rated about 400 over me. He also happened to be the chess teacher at my school. I did really well at the beginning, staying even after I traded two minor pieces for a rook and pawn. The pawns were really locked up, especially in the middle of the board. He played a tricky move that sacrificed a bishop for a pawn and checked me. When I moved away, he checked me with a rook and mated me next move. Except for having been mated, I was even in material.

Wind Storm

2012-01-02T18:07:00.000-06:00

There was a big wind storm yesterday that made one of our pine trees almost tip over. The ground by its roots bulged to hold it in. I went out and stood on the heaving ground to see what it would feel like.

It was very strange to feel the ground moving under me.

SupaChat Lobby Client Update 1/1/2012

2012-01-01T19:25:00.000-06:00

I have completed filling out the Connect() function for SupaChat Lobby Client. I have also implemented its reading of the private array. There is also a function that converts a string into my custom enumeration of server statuses (ON, STOP, LOCK). It successfully compiles to a DLL extension. I have tried plugging this into another application. It's namespace integrates perfectly (SupaChat.Lobby.Client) and it's classes are accessible. I haven't found a good way to test its data array yet, but I'm pretty sure it works.

SupaChat Lobby Server/Lobby Client Update 12/31/2011

2011-12-31T19:53:00.000-06:00

I have fixed the strange problem in the Lobby Server that caused nothing to be written to a Client program. It was caused by the asynchronous method returning too quickly. It returned before the other thread had time to finish writing and flushingt the stream. I added some Threading.Sleep(10) calls to take a little longer. The wasted time only totals 0.03 seconds for each Client connection. I have started working on a small class library to enable any application to download and use the output from the Lobby Server. I have started defining the Refresh(LobbyIP) function, which returns the welcome message from the Lobby Server. I've set up all the arrays and enumerations necessary for the connection and storage of data.

SupaChat Server/Lobby Server Update 12/30/2011

2011-12-30T18:54:00.000-06:00

I have begun doing Server-Lobby Server connection tests. I found that I needed to clone the LobbyInfo instance after disposing the Net and Client controls. This gives me a new set of network controls with the same connection information. It can successfully request and maintain a connection to the SupaChat Lobby Server. The only problems occur when it tries to hold the connection for more than a few seconds (a good thing to do). It invariably caused a ping timeout, resulting in the Lobby Server forcibly closing the link. I had to fine-tune the read and ping timeout timer values, settling on a decision of the Server sending "PONG" every 10 seconds, the Lobby Server sending "PING" every 10 seconds, the Lobby Server reading from the stream every 1.5 seconds, and the Server checking for messages every 2 seconds. This setup works well, almost never dropping the connection. There is a weird problem with the Lobby Server: it accepts Client connections but then totally ignores them if there are any Server clients.

SupaChat Server/Lobby Server Update 12/29/2011

2011-12-29T20:10:00.001-06:00

I have been working on the LobbyInfo class in SupaChat Server. It can (usually) create a connection to the Lobby Server and upload its data. I have made the Lobby Server successfully implement the SData(,) array and put Server data into it. There is one problem with this setup: the Net component in the LobbyInfo class must dispose when it closes the socket. This causes a problem when reopening the link. It is impossible to access or modify a disposed object, and disposing it is the only way to close the socket. I don't yet know how to resolve this. Fortunately, the Lobby Server is basically done. It is a console application with an output that looks like this:

Got Server connection: #0
Field update from 0: Name: NUL → Splosionfree SC
Field update from 0: Description: NUL → The original SC server
Field update from 0: IP: main.supanet-bwacg
etc
0 is now broadcasting info
0 added info line: We are the official SupaChat network
0 added info line: If there are updates to the Server or to the services, we'll be the first to know!
0 added info line: Have a great time!
0 finished updating info

SupaChat Server/Lobby Update 12/28/2011

2011-12-28T20:05:00.001-06:00

I have created many new subroutines for the SupaChat Lobby Server. It can accept an incoming Client connection successfully. When it does, it sets up the TCP/IP components, spews a ream of data to the Writer(x) control, sends a CLOSINGLINK message, and promptly severs the connection. This is done to make possible only supporting one client at a time. (I will probably change this to make the components local instead of global, making any number of connections possible without a pesky array.) It probably can accept Server connections, but I haven't tested it yet. There are seven fields which a Server instance must provide. I have already programmed the Server to send these upon a Reinitialise Lobby Connection.

Status: can be ON, STOP, or LOCK. Sets the current status of the Server, showing whether it accepts new Clients.
Users: a positive integer. Shows how many users are currently connected to the Server.
Description: a string. Gives a short description of the Server.
Name: a string. Gives the name of the Server.
Info: a long string. Gives a large piece of information about the Server.
IP: a quad-dot IP adress. Shows the connection string of the Server.
Port: an integer from 0 to 65535. Shows the port on which the Server is listening.
Version: a version number. Gives the version of the Server's software.

December Multisession Chess Tournament Part 4/4

2011-12-27T21:20:00.000-06:00

This week, I was paired with a player rated a little over 1600. Since I am only rated 1300, this pairing makes it very difficult for me to win. The opening started well, and we were even until about move 20. He made a move which forced me to move my knight to the edge of the board. We did an elaborate trade, and I ended up with a doubled pawn set on the edge. He used his remaining knight to attack my pawn in a way which guaranteed that I would lose it. His knight continued to take up useful squares, restricting the movement of my rooks. He gained more pawns. One of these was a passed pawn, which soon began advancing toward the back rank. He promoted and shortly mated me.

SupaChat Server Update 12/26/2011

2011-12-26T19:55:00.002-06:00

Today, I began writing a new class declaration for SupaChat Server. It defines the LobbyInfo class, which defines methods for interacting with a yet-to-exist SupaChat Lobby server. This server will only exist in one instance. Instances of SupaChat Client will connect to it to find existing Servers and the Lobby will give then the apropriate connection details. I have programmed the Connect() method, which sets up all the Net, Client, Writer, and Reader objects and establishes a connection to the Lobby. I have finished designing the SCLobby settings window, which defines the description of Servers in the Lobby. When I finish, the SupaChat suite will have four components: SupaChat Server, SupaChat Client (and a possible new version known so far as QuantumLeap), SupaChat Lobby, and SupaChat Services. The Services program will connect three robots to a Server, each of which perform extra functions. GroupKit will have options and commands for group registration, which eliminates the extinction of administrative GModes. NameKit allows registration of usernames protected by a password. Finally, MessageKit will allow users to send messages to other users who are offline when the message is sent.

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T19:36:00.001-06:00

Today, I went up to Wisconsin to visit my [maternal] grandparents. A lot of my relatives were there. Everyone brought some sort of food and ate a lot. We heard all about what everybody had been doing, then began to eat. There was a plate containing all kinds of chocolates. There was a bowl of shrimp and lemon. There was also a bowl of fruit salad, which we brought. I played a game of chess with one of my uncles. We both made a lot of bad moves, but I won. More people came in and brought food for dinner. There was ham, potato casserole, cruncy green bean stuff, and more. Everybody ate way too much because all the food was so good.

SupaChat Server Update 12/24/2011

2011-12-24T21:30:00.000-06:00

I have plans for SupaChat Server to play sounds upon server events. For example, it might play a fanfare upon launching it's TCPIP searcher. I have added a few more commands to the More Commands list. I finished the Mask Builder, which supports insertion of ranges (like A-E, translating into [!A-E] if XRange is specified). I have added a Freeze Configuration button, which outputs a .SCS file that contains the Server's current configuration. The Thaw Configuration button restores configuration from such a file.

New Computer Setup!

2011-12-23T21:09:00.000-06:00

For my birthday, I got a new computer! My old computer is going to become an unattended server for IRC or some other network. The new tower has support for two monitors, so I can use two screens. For example, I could be typing a report on one monitor while watching a live chess match on the other. I have established a full protected network share between my old computer and the new one to easily transfer files. I have installed and migrated Visual Basic, Game Maker, Skype, avast!, and Dropbox. I now have three monitors operating on my desk! Currently, I have only used 11.5 GB of my new hard drive. This move will free up space on the old computer as well. I will uninstall "fun" programs from the server so it can be fully dedicated to serving. Another excellent feature of the new computer is its dual core processor. The processors can be both working on one thread or I could have one split off and concentrate on one task.

Friend Visiting

2011-12-22T20:27:00.000-06:00

One person in my class visited my house today. When he arrived in the morning, I showed him the house and where all important areas are. Then, I did something very funny which I had been plotting for a long time. I pulled out a bottle of sparkling grape juice and, much to his appall, asked him "Care for a drink?" He was slightly shocked that I had such stuff in my house. I said, "We can't drink all day if we don't start in the morning", a funny saying I heard at the local chess club (the USCF description of which is "A club featuring occasional heavy drinking and frequent brawls.") As I poured myself a drink, my mom revealed that it was nonalchoholic. After that, I showed him some stuff on my computer and in the woods. He seemed to really enjoy his visit.

SupaChat Server Update 12/22/2011

2011-12-21T20:11:00.001-06:00

I have added lots of new commands to SupaChat Server! I added the rules, disband, setginfo, ginfo, setinvite, clearinvite, and as commands. I also modified a lot of the net-writing code to use "letter responses". Every server message (previously ***) now is identified by a letter enclosed in *s. An acknowledgement line may look like *K* AutoSever added with ASID 2. I also added the SERV group/protocol. Whenever a server event occurs, it notifies all service-class clients with a message beginning in [SERV]. Also new are the invention of More Commands. These are all contained in a menu in the GUI of the Server program. I have added so far the ability to edit the major text files (IntroMOTD, ExitMOTD, and Rules) and enable Lockdown Mode. Lockdown Mode is intended to stop DDos attacks by maintaining standard function for users already connected, but blocking any new connections. I have started work on a mask builder, but it needs a little help. SupaChat Server is certainly the most professional but easy-to-use server program in existence.

December Multisession Chess Tournament Part 3/4

2011-12-20T21:58:00.000-06:00

This week, I was paired with a player rated about 900 (about 350 points lower than I). Today is also my 13th birthday. I brought along a chocolate cake and some ice cream to the chess club. Before the games started, everybody enjoyed some cake. In my game, I started with a strong center. He dropped a pawn in the middlegame, allowing me to mount a large attack in his back area. He eventually repelled it, sacrificing a knight for two of the strong pawns. We traded both sets of rooks, leaving me a bishop up and a pawn down. It was a very locked position. I mounted a plan to crash through a seemingly perfect structure. This structure contained the only pawns which could move ahead. I got through, and took some pawns with my king. He got my bishop, but I promoted to a queen. I was a few moves from mate when he ran out of time.

SupaChat Server Update 12/19/2011

2011-12-19T21:34:00.000-06:00

I have added a lot of new commands to SupaChat Server. Many of them deal with server-wide bans (the AutoSever list).

sever name [reason]Closes name's connection to the Server. If reason is specified, it will be used as the quitting message in all the user's groups. Only server admins, owners, and services may use this command.
chname newnameChanges the user's name. If newname is in use, it will be modified according to various rules.
he groupid messageDoes the equivalent of an IRC /me command. It makes the user appear to do an action as a third party. For example, if SPL0S1VE typed he 0 splodes, it would look like [00000] ~ SPL0S1VE(x) splodes. This command follows the same rules as the gtalk command.
yell messageBroadcasts message to all connected users. Only server admins, owners, and services may use this command.
ban+ mask [reason]Adds an AutoSever entry for the given mask. If reason is specified, it will be displayed to a banned user upon his faliure to connect. If it is not given, the banner's name will be used as a message. Restricted to server admins, owners, and services.
ban- asidRemoves the AutoSever entry with the given ASID. Only server admins, owners, and services may use this command.
bans
Lists all AutoSever entries.

*** BEGIN BAN LIST
*** [0] MLAB02\*:* (Flood/spam [BlockServ])
*** [1] *\*:*fun* (No fun allowed here. [Scr00ge])
*** END BAN LIST

SupaChat Server Update 12/18/2011

2011-12-18T19:53:00.000-06:00

I have only added two new SupaChat Server commands today. I also made the Delete and Clear buttons in the AutoMode interface work. One new command is the leaveall command. When executed, the sending user will leave all groups he is in the the message Left: Left all groups. The other command is the sever command. It is restricted to server admins, owners, and services. It's syntax is sever name message. Name is the name of the user whose connection will be forcibly closed. The message is optional. If supplied, it will be used as the departing message for the user. If a user called NoAbuse severed FloodSplosion, it would look something like this:

[00000] FloodSplosion quit (Severed by NoAbuse: WARNING 1/3 - Please do not flood the server with rapidfire messages.)

SupaChat Server Update 12/17/2011

2011-12-17T20:29:00.001-06:00

I have added a TON of commands to SupaChat Server today. They mostly deal with eligibility for new modes, claiming said modes, and server uptime operations. Here is a list of all the new commands:

CLAIM id password
If there is an AutoMode entry matching the user's mask, the user can use this command to gain it's privileges. For example, if the user was eligible for and knew the password to AutoMode 3, he could type claim 3 lePassword (assuming the password is lePassword). AutoMode R entries (restricted) are automatically set.
REBOOTStops and then starts the Server's Listen object. This command also closes all client connections (making them quit with the message Error: Server closing all connections) and clears all high-level data. After doing so, it immediately brings the Server back online. Clients can reconnect and continue talking as if nothing happened. This command is restricted to the server owner.
STOPStops the Server's Listen object and closes all client connections. Will not bring the Server back online, so the physical owner of the server computer must press the Start button on the user interface to begin operation again.
REVERT
Removes any extra privileges gained from a claim command. Only users with an a, o, or s server mode may use this command.
MYELIG
Lists the user's eligibility array. Each entry shows what mask made them eligible, the mode they could get if properly identified, and the ID to be used in the claim command.
ELIG+ computer\username:name mode passwordAdds an eligibility (AutoMode) entry for the specified c\u:n mask. The mode property sets which mode will be bestowed upon authentication. If mode is r, password must be omitted. Otherwise, password sets the password which must be entered to activate the entry. Only server admins, owners, and services may use this command.
ELIG- idDeletes an AutoMode entry with the id of id. This is only available to admins, owners, and services. Admins may not remove an eligibility entry of an owner or a service.
ELIG
This command simply lists all AutoMode entries for the server. It displays them in a format similar to this:

*** +---+----+---->
*** | ID|Mode|Mask
*** +---+----+---->
*** |000| a |epic1\epulchur_*:*
*** |001| r |*\irritate*:*
*** +---+----+---->

The stop and reboot commands both send a yell when used. This message is broadcast to all users upon a user by the name of sploder using the reboot command:

[YELL] <SCS> sploder is rebooting the server. Closing all connections.

After this message, a flood of messages like these arrive:

[00000] unsuspectingCivilian quit (Error: Server closing all connections)
[00000] NextVICTIM quit (Error: Server closing all connections)

SupaChat Server Update 12/16/2011

2011-12-16T19:58:00.001-06:00

I have started programming the claim command for SupaChat Server. For it to be of any use, the Server needs to be able to create an AutoMode eligibility entry. I made the Add Mode dialog box. It can successfully add a new AutoMode entry. I also corrected a few mistakes in dealing with restricted users.

If a user has a usermask matching an AutoMode entry, they will be given the opportunity to use the claim command. In the example above, a person connecting from a computer named niceppl with a local username of smize and a Windows 32-bit OS, they could use the command claim 0 SUPA_5|>1051\/3 to become a server admin.

SupaChat Server Update 12/15/2011

2011-12-15T19:42:00.001-06:00

I have added to SupaChat Server the code for notifying users of modes they could recieve. Before a user becomes a server-wide admin or owner, they must connect with an acceptable matching an eligibility mask and supply a password for the server mode entry. When a user with a matching ID connects, they will be displayed something like this:

*** NAME = Splosive
*** USER = plode_Win32NT
*** HOST = Splode_5C
*** You are eligible to become ADMIN (Splode_5C\*_Win32NT:*) [0]
*** To claim your mode, use the CLAIM <id> <pass> command
*** Welcome, Splosive! Authentication complete.

To get the server mode a, Splosive might type claim 0 splspl293. The ID of the mode eligibility is the number in brackets. The mask in parentheses shows what mask allowed the user to see the message. The password is set in the graphical interface of the Server or in a command to add an eligibility entry.

Math Final Exams Tomorrow

2011-12-14T20:29:00.000-06:00

Since I am taking a high-school-level math class, I have to take the semester exam tomorrow. We have covered all sorts of subjects from reviewing basic arithmetic to absolute-value inequalities. The teacher gave us an opportunity for a large amount of extra credit. If we complete, check, and turn in a packet consisting of 500 problems from various chapter reviews, 5% will be added on to our final exam score. If, for example, I scored a 92% on the exam and turned in my FERP (final exam review packet), my score would be recorded as 97%. I have done the packet, and I hope to do better than a 92%.

December Multisession Chess Tournament Part 2/4

2011-12-13T21:08:00.001-06:00

Tonight, I was paired with the highest-rated player in the club. He had been known to work on crossword puzzles while playing, so (just for fun) I brought a crossword. When he took a while to think, I pulled out the crossword and began filling it out. I got into a tough position and dropped a bit of material. As the game progessed, he lined up a rook and queen to take out my castle position. I was two moves away from mate when I executed my plan. I whispered to him, "What's a four-letter word that means to depict?" He said, "Draw!" I immidiately said, "I accept!" The people on the table next to me both laughed. I resigned after we finished laughing.

SupaChat Server Update 12/12/2011

2011-12-12T21:21:00.000-06:00

Today, I added the check in SupaChat Server that makes sure a user is not banned from a group before entering. I also created the gbans command to list all the bans set in a group. If a user performed gbans 9001, it might look something like this:

*** BEGIN BANLIST FOR 09001
*** Ban set on trollSpawn\*_Win32NT:*
*** Ban set on *\*:IrritationBot
*** Ban set on *\jaxb_*:*
*** END BANLIST

When setting bans, the Server won't automatically remove users matching the ban mask, but if the users are ejected and then try to rejoin, they will not be permitted reentry.

[09001] IrritationBot joined
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <panoRAMic(a)> oh noes i see irritation bot
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] IrritationBot left (Ejected by panoRAMic: is annoying)
[09001] IrritationBot joined
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] panoRAMic set ban on *\*:IrritationBot
[09001] <IrritationBot(x)> OLOLOLOL
[09001] IrritationBot left (Ejected by panoRAMic: BANNED (yay!))
[09001] <Normality(v)> Thanks pan!

SupaChat Server Update 12/11/2011

2011-12-11T21:31:00.001-06:00

I have added capabilities to keep a group banlist to SupaChat Server. A group admin or owner can use the gban+ or gban- commands to add or remove bans.

[09001] jklol set ban on abuserSpawn\*_Win32NT:*
[09001] ep1cn3ss unset ban on abuserSpawn\*_Win32NT:*
[09001] <jklol(a)> sorry

I have also adjusted the group joining code to minimize annoyance to allowed users if a disallowed user tries to enter. Instead of

[09001] troll joined
<09001> Current info: Blah [Set by ep1cn3ss]
<09001> Present users: ep1cn3ss(o) splode(a) jklol(a) prsonz(x)
[09001] troll left (Ejected by SCS: No restricted users allowed.)

The user will just not be allowed to enter:

*** Can't join 09001 - no restricted users allowed

It will not send all the join/leave messages in case of a constant rejoin flood. Only the entering user will see the message and the allowed group users will see nothing unusual happen.

Chess Tournament Today

2011-12-10T20:50:00.001-06:00

Today, I went with three people from the local chess club to a day-long tournament. We talked about random subjects on the long car ride. When we got there, we were all put into an over-1000 open section. In the first round, I was paired with a player rated about 1500. It was a very tough game. Both of us offered numerous draws, but for various reasons declined. Eventually, it got into an explosive position where one small mistake could bring everything crashing down. We agreed to a draw. In the second game, I played an 1800-rated player. Unsuprisingly, I lost. In the third round, I played a player rated about 1300 (a little over my rating). I made a few positional mistakes and lost. The fourth-round pairings had some problems due to the TDs not having computers, but eventually they got done. I played one of the people from the local chess club. I won, even after dropping my queen. On the ride home, we had lemon drops. I really enjoyed the tournament and rides to and from it.

December Multisession Chess Tournament Part 1/4

2011-12-09T21:18:00.001-06:00

Since my opponent was not present last week, I was scheduled to play him tonight at my dad's office. He was rated 1692 (I am rated 1266). He took a while to move, but had plenty of time. The game was very even until about the 20th move. My queen was in an unfavorable position (against the wall and having to keep defending a weak pawn). I offered a draw, but he didn't accept. The attack was eventually driven away, and the game continued on evenly. He got down to 20 minutes (we started with 95 minutes) and got a little nervous. I was eventually able to gain a pawn. When he got down to 10 minutes, he was down three pawns. It took a long time, but eventually I promoted and mated in the middle of the board. He certainly had not been expecting to lose the game.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | |Q|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | |R|K| | |R| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | |K| | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Christmas Concert

2011-12-08T21:07:00.001-06:00

My school put on a Christmas concert in which all music classes perform. I am in the vocal section and sang White Christmas and then a medley of Let It Snow!, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bell Rock, Silver Bells, and Frosty the Snowman. The shoes I had to wear hurt my feet, but I think all the performers did well.

SupaChat Server Update 12/7/2011

2011-12-07T20:28:00.001-06:00

I have added two more lists to the user interface of SupaChat Server. It now has five main areas: Listening, Users, Groups, AutoSever, and AutoMode. Here is an explanation of all the areas:

Listening contains three items for controlling the Server's Listen object which monitors for new client connections and takes the apropriate actions.

Port selects the port on which the Listen object is active. The deafault is 1337.
Start activates the Listen object.
Stop deactivates the Listen object and clears all client connections.

Users shows all the users currently connected to the Server at the current time. It displays various information fields about each one.

ID# shows the internal handling ID for that user.
Name shows the name the user is currently using.
Username shows the static name of the user, including end account name and OS.
Hostname shows the user's IP address or originating host.
Groups shows the group membership string for the user. It is shown as group IDs and the user's GMode separated by spaces e.g. 00000v 34169a 65535x.

Groups shows all the active groups on the server, along with some information about them.

ID# displays the five-digit group ID.
Info displays the current group topic and who set it.
GOptions shows the current GOptions active in the group.
Bans shows the group banlist in host\user:name format separated by spaces e.g. TrollVille\Epic_*:* *\*:*l?l*.

AutoSever shows the list of masks whose connecting users will automatically be severed by SCS.

ID# shows the entry ID of the mask.
Mask shows the mask in host\user:name format e.g. splode\*_Win32NT:*.
Message shows the message a connecting user will see when severed.

AutoMode manages the list of server modes that will be assigned to users.

Mask shows the mask in host\user:name format which is eligible for the mode change.
Mode shows the server mode character that will be assigned upon authentication (r, a, o, or s)
Password shows the password the user must enter before the new mode is assigned. If the mode to be set is r (restricted), it will be set automatically without password.

December Multisession Chess Tournament Part 1/4

2011-12-06T21:11:00.001-06:00

A new multisession chess tournament is starting along with the new month! Tonight, I was paired with a very strong player who was absent. I will play the game sometime during the week. A new person with two very young children showed up. He wanted his kids to learn chess, so I showed them how the pieces moved and their relative values. One played exceptionally well for her age. The other was very young and shy, and therefore didn't talk much. I played a practice game, showing the concepts of relative values, attacking, capturing, defence, check, and checkmate. She seemed to grasp the concepts very well. My dad taught them some mating patters while I went to play an unofficial game with a high-rated player. I beat him the first time (he blundered multiple times), but lost the second time. It was a very interesting session.

SupaChat Server Update 12/5/2011

2011-12-05T19:24:00.001-06:00

I have started adding some more event triggers to SCS (SupaChat Service). SCS is the robot that monitors for events (like a user creating a group) and does stuff (like making said user the group owner). A new event I added is recognizing when a user loses his high server mode. If that user is in a group that has GOption a (restricted to admins) and loses his server admin status, SCS will recognize this and kick the user. It might look something like this:

[01010] <supadmin(x)> woooo adminonly group
[01010] <headAddy(o)> wat you aren't supposed to be a server admin - when did that happen?
[01010] <supadmin(x)> haxx0rz
*** You are now server user (demoted from admin)
[01010] <supadmin(x)> oh noes - don't get me SCS!!! noooo
[01010] supadmin left (Ejected by SCS: No longer allowed (Lost admin mode)
[01010] <headAddy(o)> much better =D

A similar thing will happen if a user becomes restricted.

[01010] abusertroll left (Ejected by SCS: No longer allowed (Became restricted)

SupaChat Server Update 12/4/2011

2011-12-04T17:48:00.001-06:00

I have added a goptions command to SupaChat Server. It takes a group id as a parameter. A user could type goptions 34169 into the console and get a message something like *** Group 34169 has GOptions: ra. I have implemented the r (open to restricted users) and a (restricted to server admins) GOptions to do what they are supposed to. If a GOption change suddenly invalidates the membership of a user, they will see something like this:

[09001] Intruder joined
<09001> Current info: The secret admin group [Set by SADmin]
<09001> Present users: SADmin(o) helpme(a) splode(a) Intruder(x)
[09001] <Intruder(x)> oman secret group
[09001] <helpme(a)> You're not supposed to be here!
[09001] helpme set option a
[09001] Intruder left (Ejected by SCS: Server admins only.)

If Intruder tries to rejoin, he will just be auto-ejected. If a user who is marked as restricted tries to enter a channel that does not have GOption r set, he will be ejected.

[01010] allpwr joined
<01010> Current info: normal people > all [Set by 63n3r1c]
<01010> Present users: allpwr(x) othEr(a) l0l0l(v) avgUsr(x)
[01010] <l0l0l(v)> hey, aren't you abuser/restricted?
[01010] <allpwr(x)> ja so...
[01010] <othEr(a)> What's going on?
[01010] <othEr(a)> Ah, OK (scrollbars are useful)
[01010] <avgUsr(x)> indiddly :P
*** Group 01010 has GOptions: r
[01010] <allpwr(x)> i <3 +r
[01010] othEr unset option r
[01010] <allpwr(x)> noooooo!
[01010] allpwr left (Ejected by SCS: No restricted users allowed)

I have made some modification to the graphical user interface of the Server. I completed the Groups list, which keeps a list of all active groups. It has columns for group ID, group info, GOptions, and bans. The banlist contains entries separated by spaces in the form Computer\UserID:Name. The mask BWACG-MAIN\*:* would ban all users using my computer. Setting a ban on *\*:* is a very bad idea, as it bans everyone, including the sending user.

Chess Tournament Today!

2011-12-03T20:18:00.001-06:00

I played in an unrated chess tournament today at a school in Clinton. One of the chess coaches from the local chess club brought a few of his students. There were so many people that it had to be split into three sections. I was in the middle/high school section. Many of the games I played were pretty easy for me, but in one or two I dropped a pawn in the opening. I was able to recover and won all of my tournament games. After those, some of the top players from other sections challenged me. I played and beat two of them. One forked my queen and rook, but later blundered. Just for fun, I opened a simultaneous exhibition (simul) in which I move around tables to play many opponents at the same time. Four people accepted. On one board, the player had to go play a tournament game. He was replaced, but the new player had to leave. Finally, the father of one of the players came in. One game I won pretty easily. On the board where a player's father played, he dropped the queen. I won that game as well. The other two games took longer, but most of the time was spent trying to maneuver into a mating position. After the simul, trophies were distributed. Some of the students of the other chess coach wanted to see me play him. We both made horrible blunders, but I won with a back-rank mate.

Chess Tournament Tomorrow

2011-12-02T21:31:00.001-06:00

There is an unrated chess tournament tomorrow. Usually at this place, I win the whole tournament with only one or two game losses. I haven't ever gone undefeated (except once in which only one other person showed up) and I hope to do that this time.

Geography Presentation Tomorrow

2011-12-01T21:27:00.001-06:00

I have been assigned to present a slideshow on Belgium tomorrow. It uses the same country presentation template as all my other geography slideshows, but it has one different element. Scattered throughout the presentation are edited images of all eight republican presidential candidates. I have edited the images to make them fit more with the surrounding color. For example, Rick Santorum was made light blue to be hidden in a pie chart. Each slide uses some of my VBA coding to display a message box informing the user that You found HERMAN CAIN. At the end, a large command button displays a list of how many candidates were found. I think the teacher will find it funny.

SupaChat Server Update 11/30/2011

2011-11-30T21:29:00.001-06:00

Today, I changed the code of SupaChat Server to save usernames in all-uppercase instead of mixed-case. This makes for easier access when dealing with things like users typing another user's name with different capitalization when executing a setgmode command. If the capitalization differed, strange permissions could be assigned. When everything is stored as capitals (and accessed as capitals), everything works perfectly. I have slightly changed the authentication conditionals for the setgmode command to ensure that an admin can't demote an owner. Admins can set gmodes x and v, but not gmodes a and o. Owners can modify all gmodes. A chat console could look something like this:

[09001] panorama joined
[09001] SCS has promoted panorama from user to owner
[09001] <panorama(o)> thanks scs
[09001] Spl0der joined
[09001] <Spl0der(x)> sup panorama
[09001] <panorama(o)> hi! :)
[09001] panorama has promoted Spl0der from user to admin
[09001] <Spl0der(a)> thank you
[09001] <panorama(o)> no problem
[09001] DANGERBAY joined
[09001] Spl0der has promoted DANGERBAY from user to speaker
[09001] <DANGERBAY(v)> OLOLOLOLOL.....!!!!
[09001] <panorama(o)> sploder, he's kinda irritating :P
[09001] panorama has demoted DANGERBAY from speaker to user

DANGERBAY attempts to do setgmode 9001 DANGERBAY o and receives the message *** Can't change GMode - access denied!

[09001] <DANGERBAY(x)> awwww
[09001] <Spl0der(a)> sorry
[09001] DANGERBAY quit (Quit: *boom*)
[09001] <panorama(o)> its ok sploder
[09001] panorama left (Left: gtg... keep it clean while i'm gone)

Fifth Tuesday Chess Tournament

2011-11-29T22:07:00.001-06:00

When there are five Tuesdays in a month, the local chess club sometimes runs a small, quick tournament of three or four rounds. This tournament tonight was four rounds. Each game was played with 20 minutes on each player's clock to use during the whole game. In the first round, I played a player rated about 400 points below me and won. Next, I was paired with a player rated over 500 points above me and (unsuprisingly) lost. In the third round, I played a player rated 300 points below me and won. The end was difficult because we were even in material until he abandoned a pawn and allowed me to promote. In the final round, I played the highest-rated player in the club and lost. My rating will probably stay about the same after this, probably going up 5-10 points.

SupaChat Client Update 11/28/2011

2011-11-28T19:43:00.001-06:00

I have converted the SupaChat Client interface from a standard TextBox control to a special RichTextBox control. It will use this new control to colorize special events coming in via the network stream. For example, I had it turn the .LOCAL> messages bold in the console and turn internet chess seeks green. (This chess highlight will be removed and was only put in for testing purposes.)

SupaChat Server Update 11/27/2011

2011-11-27T20:09:00.001-06:00

I have started writing a response to a user's setgmode command. It's syntax is:

setgmode groupid name newmode

The groupid specifies which group in which the gmode change will take place. name specifies the username of the person whose gmode will be modified. newmode is one character long and specifies the new gmode that will be set. It can be only one of four options: x (normal user/listener if group has goption l), v (normal user/speaker even if group has goption l), a (administrator), or o (group owner). It checks all the various conditions to make sure people can't do insane things (like a normal using making himself owner). There is one problem: it has problems identifying the user if the name is spelled with alternate capitalization. It tends to give wild permissions, usually duplicating the access of the sending user.

SupaChat Server Update 11/26/2011

2011-11-26T22:02:00.001-06:00

While testing SupaChat Server with people online, I discovered two errors. When the server operator told the Server to begin listening on a specified port, it used the hardcoded value of 1337 instead of the operator's choice. I also found that I had reversed the recipient and sender names in a ptalk command. I fixed these, and made another command: userinfo. It takes a name as an option, and displays the information about that user. If a user did a userinfo command on me, it might look something like this:

*** USERINFO FOR Fleexy
*** Fleexy is BWACG-MAIN\BEN_Win32NT:Fleexy
*** Fleexy's global status is user
*** Fleexy is in 00000(o) 34169(x)
*** END USERINFO

SupaChat Server Update 11/23/2011

2011-11-25T19:44:00.001-06:00

I have finally added the feature that makes SupaChat actually useful: talking. There are (so far) two commands for communication. One command, gtalk, sends a string of text to a group. The users specifies the group and message. Another command, ptalk, sends a string of text to one specific user. It would be useful for private conversations. I fixed some errors that caused the Server to not properly disconnect a user who voluntarily drops the connection.

Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:35:00.001-06:00

And Thanksgiving has arrived! We ate roast beef, sweet potatoes, and fruit salad. Our Christmas tree will probably be set up some time this weekend. Our new hoophouse to grow plants and vegetables will arrive sometime next week and we can set it up. We've seen the hoophouse and it looks really cool!

SupaChat Server Update 11/23/2011

2011-11-23T21:15:00.001-06:00

I have finally found the error that was causing all kinds of errors in SupaChat Server. It had been accessing array index x, where x is a number from 0 to 65535. There was another variable, w, that keeps track of how many array indices are taken. I should have been accessing index w instead of x. After replacing that, it works perfectly. I have started some other features like giving a "User lost connection to server" message as the quit message if that's what happened. I have completed making the server private-message a joining user with information about the group's information string and present members. When a user connects, it looks like this:

*** SUPACHAT SERVER V1.0
*** You have 15 seconds to reply with NAME, USER, and HOST
*** NAME = PersonA
*** USER = GenericBob_GenericOS
*** HOST = GenericTech
*** Welcome, PersonA! Authentication complete.
*** Joining default group (00000)...
[00000] PersonA joined
[00000] SCS has promoted PersonA from user to owner
<00000> Present users: PersonA(o)

And when PersonA leaves...

[00000] PersonA quit (Quit: doing generic tasks)
*** SUPACHAT SERVER V1.0
*** Link closed

November Multisession Chess Tournament Part 4/4

2011-11-22T20:25:00.000-06:00

This week, I was paired against a player rated a LOT lower than I. I should have been able to win fairly easily, but I dropped a piece in the opening. I was able to get a few pawns, making material equal. He had a knight for three of my pawns. It was difficult getting his knight away from my pawns, but I eventually traded by bishop for one. When I analyzed the game, I saw he could have mated me with a knight sacrifice. He didn't see it, and exchanged a knight for a passed pawn. I was able to trade off the rooks and promote. It was tough, but I won.

Festival of Trees

2011-11-21T21:09:00.001-06:00

My school had its four performance groups go to the Festival of Trees today. The chorus group (of which I am a member) sang first, followed by the show choir. Then the band and string groups played. The band played six very long songs, so the other students were free to look at all the decorated trees or go upstairs to the art exhibit. I browsed the art exhibit for a while, then wandered aimlessly until it was time for the groups to combine for the song "White Christmas". Due to the band being many times louder than anything else nearby, I don't think anyone heard either of the singing groups.

SupaChat Server Update 11/20/2011

2011-11-20T19:09:00.001-06:00

The SupaChat Server is still having problems managing groups. The first user to connect to the server can join and leave as he pleases, but any subsequent users may have issues joining or leaving groups. The Server never auto-promotes these users if they are the first user in the group. Sometimes the Server won't relay the entry message for these users. The Server application sometimes fails to update the userlist properly. Hopefully I can fix all these problems. I have already fixed a small problem that makes the Server hang when a secondary user leaves a group. Occasionally a secondary user will find himself disconnected with a "Ping timeout" message. I'm pretty sure all these problems have some root in the function that gets all the users in one particular group.

Access Project

2011-11-19T19:50:00.001-06:00

The school's computer class is now teaching Access databases. We are supposed to make a list of something with a few attributes that we can use for fields. I plan to use linked fields to have data have a relationship to other types of entries in other tables.

Computer Club Planning

2011-11-18T22:36:00.001-06:00

My school's computer club has planned an optimization night where people can bring in slow computers and we fix them, removing junk and upgrading old programs. The week after next, we are going to test our optimization abilities on some of the older school computers.

SupaChat Server Update 11/17/2011

2011-11-17T22:17:00.001-06:00

I really was not able to find what caused the SupaChat Server to act strangely after receiving a LEAVE command, but I figured out a sort-of-solution. The Server would ignore any incoming messages from a user that had tried to leave all groups. It worked fine if every user was part of at least one group, but if they leave the default group (and all the others), it will act strangely. I made the Server append a false "98765x" group to every user's data entry to avoid Nothing being assigned to the user's group variable. Having fixed that problem, I discovered another. With this solution, the Server sometimes stops sending correctly to groups. Hopefully I can repair this as well.

SupaChat Server Update 11/16/2011

2011-11-16T21:15:00.001-06:00

I have written some extra code modules for SupaChat Server. It now has functions to convert a special group option to a user-readable character, make a user leave a group, and check a user's status in a group. Unfortunately, I have done something that causes the Server to bounce every user message after an incorrectly formed LEAVE command is received. It usually goes something like this:

*** SUPACHAT SERVER V1.0
*** You have 15 seconds to reply with NAME, USER, and HOST
*** NAME = x7378
*** USER = BEN_Win32NT
*** HOST = BWACG-MAIN
*** Welcome, x7378! Authentication complete.
*** Joining default group (00000)...
[00000] x7378 joined
[00000] SCS has promoted x7378 from user to owner
[00000] x7378 left (Left)
*** Syntax error!
*** Ping timeout! Closing link.

It simply doesn't read properly after the user sends a suboptimally-formed LEAVE command. I have traced this to an error in the many interlocked user/group functions. It seems to pass a variable of type Nothing instead of the string "". Hopefully it will work properly after I fix this.

November Multisession Chess Tournament Part 3/4

2011-11-15T21:30:00.001-06:00

This week, I was paired with a player rated about 1800 (about 500 points over me). I did well in the opening, but he doubled two sets of my pawns and gained a strong center. I was able to repel a queenside attack, but lost a pawn in doing so. I had no pawns in the center files, so he was able to bring his two pawns down for an attack on my back rank. I lost a bishop for a pawn in that exchange. He had a knight and a few pawns, and I had a few pawns. He was able to promote, and I was checkmated on move 50.

Making Krumkakes

2011-11-14T21:15:00.001-06:00

My geography teacher said I could bring in some Scandinavian food because we are studying Central Europe. I went to the store to get some herring and sardines. When I got home, I assisted my mom in making some krumkakes on her very new krumkake iron. We made a few burnt, small, uncooked, torn, or otherwise deformed ones, but we got at least 20 good krumkakes.

SupaChat Server Update 11/13/2011

2011-11-13T20:06:00.001-06:00

I have made considerable progress on SupaChat's Server component. It now allows users to join any group, provided it is a valid group ID. If a group is empty, the Server's false user will join the group, promote the joiner, and promptly leave. It will appear as:

[00000] Person joined
[00000] SCS has promoted Person from user to owner

In writing the code for the group joining, I have managed to write the most cryptic piece of code ever:

I have written some functions to convert a mode character into a role string ("user") or into a special data type that the server can use to determine permissions.c = c + g(z, 0) + g(z, 1) + " "

SupaChat Server Update 11/12/2011

2011-11-12T18:26:00.001-06:00

I have now figured out why the SupaChat Server drops client connections as soon as they connect. It had been continually checking an unsupported propery (TcpClient.Connected). It always returned False, and so it assumed the connection had been aborted. I have fixed another problem in my NextCon function. It went up by 2 instead of 1 to find the next connection. This resulted in nonexistant array indices being referenced. I removed the extra incrementer. I have implemented a ping/pong system to duplicate the functionality of the Connected property. The Server generates a 10-digit PING code and calculates the correct PONG response. The Client also calculates the PONG response and sends it back. If the Client's response does not match the Server's calculation (or if the Server finds no or a malformed reply), it severs the connection, erasing the user's index in memory and freeing a connection ID for a new user.

SupaChat Server 11/11/11

2011-11-11T20:03:00.001-06:00

I have run into a problem in SupaChat Server. It seems to drop the connection after only a few seconds of being connected. I have fixed the problems in the group functions that return arrays. They now actually return a String() array instead of Nothing. It does automatically join a new user to the default group (group 00000) upon connection. Hopefully I can resolve the dropping issue and proceed with other functions,

Republican Debate (Again!)

2011-11-10T20:28:00.001-06:00

Since CNBC was having trouble streaming the Republican debate last night, we are going to watch it recorded tonight. I am looking forward to seeing what Cain says about his 9-9-9 plan.

SupaChat Server Update 11/9/2011

2011-11-09T18:36:00.001-06:00

I have written a few functions for the SupaChat Server that will be useful when dealing with groups. One function returns an array of all the users in a particular group. Another gets whether a user is in a group. There is also one function that pads a group ID with enough zeros to avoid disrupting the user information array.

November Multisession Chess Tournament Part 2/4

2011-11-08T18:29:00.000-06:00

This week, I was paired against a player rated about 1400 (about 120 over me). I was originally up in the opening, gaining a pawn, but he got a hard attack against my castle structure. I was able to repel it, exchanging my queen for two rooks. This gained another material point, but he was able to check me a lot and got most of my center pawns. I now had two rooks and two pawns. He had a queen and four pawns. I made some pretty bad moves, and he was able to get both my rooks and promote a pawn. I was checkmated very easily.

SupaChat Server Update 11/7/2011

2011-11-07T20:41:00.000-06:00

I have finally found the error in the SupaChat Server's authentication procedure. It had been coded to look for any errors and exit the loop with an "Authentication timeout! Closing link." message if there was one. I had guessed the only possible error type was a purposefully thrown error from the custom delay-read function. But I had made a mistake in coding the delay-read function! It would always throw a InvalidCastException, no matter what revision I made to the date-checking code. When I finally removed the error-trapping statements, I found the breakpoint on a particularly embarrasing mistake: "If (Timeout + ts1 >) ts2 Then". Attempting to convert a Nothing object into a System.TimeSpan would certainly mess it up! I corrected the error, and now the function works fine. Users can connect to the server and establish their credentials.

SupaChat Client/Server Update 11/6/2011

2011-11-06T18:46:00.001-06:00

Today, I have finished the Client for SupaChat. It simply sends and receives data from a Server instance running on a remote host computer. I found that I had made a pretty large mistake in writing the original I/O code. I forgot to add a Writer.Flush() to actually send the data after a Writer.Write(Data) call. I also fixed the WaitRead(Connection, Timeout) function to use the correct timespan data type. The Server can now accept an incoming connection and run it through the first connection stages (establishing the timeout periods and saving the user into the main user table). Here is the Client's output when connecting (and failing to authenticate in time). The Server's messages are prefixed with "***".

.LOCAL> Connecting to localhost on port 1337...
.LOCAL> TCP/IP client established, waiting for stream I/O...
.LOCAL> Stream I/O established. Connection ready. Sending authentication data...
*** SUPACHAT SERVER V1.0
*** You have 15 seconds to reply with NAME, USER, and HOST
*** Authentication timeout! Closing link.

SupaChat Server/Client Update 11/5/2011

2011-11-05T21:57:00.000-05:00

I have done some work on both the SupaChat Server and SupaChat Client today. The Client now has the actual connection code and can read/write to the stream. Since the Client needs to do basically nothing (besides just outputting and sending data), it could be considered done now. The Server now has the ability to open connections to over 60000 clients. It also can validate a nickname supplied by a user and modify it if necessary.

MathQuiz Done

2011-11-04T20:43:00.002-05:00

I have finished the assignment to "do something with variables" by making a math-quiz program. It allows the user to choose what types of problems to do and how many. It picks random questions fitting the type from a selected QuizDB (.quiz) file. After all the questions, the user is presented with a screen detailing their results (percent correct, number of problems correct, etc.). Since it does use temporary arrays (only to split strings), it may also count for the next assignment. However, the SupaChat server daemon will probably use arrays for more interesting purposes.

MathQuiz

2011-11-03T20:24:00.000-05:00

My computer teacher has given us an assignment to "do something with variables". This is a very broad assignment, so I chose to go a bit overboard. I am going to make a math-quizzing program. The user would select the QuizDB file, what types of problems, and how many questions in the quiz. It would go through the quiz, one question on a window, untill the set number of questions has elapsed.

SupaChat

2011-11-02T20:54:00.000-05:00

My computer teacher seemed pretty amazed with my RVMTIRC project, but he said it would be cool if it could go over the internet. RVMTIRC handles all security and actions at the client, so it is not secure at all. I have plans for a program called SupaChat. It will have 2 parts: a client and a server. The server will transfer all the data between users and handle permissions and disconnections. The server will keep various arrays of network controls and user tables. The server operator will be able to control whether the server is accepting new connections. He/she will see a table of users that are on the server and their metadata. I have finished the code for finding new connections, but no other work has been done. I think the computer teacher will find this amazing.

November Multisession Chess Tournanent Part 1/4

2011-11-01T21:25:00.002-05:00

The local chess club is having another multisession tournament this months (one long game per week). I was paired against a player rated a little bit under me. He gained a small advantage in position, but the material was equal. We got into a position in which I could move my knight to attack a difficult-to-defend pawn. His rook moved in to defend, but I moved the knight back to attack the rook. Doing this multiple times forced a draw by repitition.

Defrag

2011-10-31T20:10:00.001-05:00

As my computer's filesystem is extremely fragmented and slow, I have run a full defrag on one drive and started a defrag on the other. The first drive is not my system drive, but I use it to store all kinds of data. It is totally defragmented. The system drive is considerably larger. It already took a few hours and it is only 11% done. After this process, my computer will be much faster. I use Piriform Defraggler.

Gems of Light Update 10/30/2011

2011-10-30T21:30:00.000-05:00

I have fixed a problem in Gems of Light that could cause a player to get in a stuck position. The last level, which is composed of six colored zones. I have made the first (red) zone. Its hazards are only spikes.

RVMTIRC Adjustments

2011-10-29T22:09:00.000-05:00

I have made three small adjustments to RVMTIRC today. The /PING user command now accepts a wildcard mask as the user argument. So, by typing /PING *, the sending user would get a list of PONGs from all the connected users. One new command has been added. It is accessible only to the owner. /CLEAR will erase the log file (but leave the connection data) to free up space. When performing file I/O, a little box with a progress bar and a cancel button will appear to let the user know what is happening in case of an infinite loop.

RVMT IRC Finished!

2011-10-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

I have totally finished programming my imitation IRC client called RVMTIRC. It can talk to other users if it has a transfer file on a network location. Here is the full list of commands:

/WHOAMI gives a user his identifier (name!id@computer) notation and the client version. Accessible to all users.
/DISCON message disconnects a user, giving an exit message. Accessible to all users.
/ME action makes a little text making the user appear as a third party performing an action. Accessible to all users. Example: ~ Fleexy is eating lunch now
/GETADMIN password gives the user administrative priviliges if the correct password is supplied. The user's name will be prefixed with + if successful. Accessible to all users.
/GETOWNER password gives the user owner privileges if the correct password is supplied. The user's name will be prefixed with % if successful. Accessible to all users.
/GETUSER removes all admin/owner priviliges for the current session, taking the + or % flag. Accessible to admins and owners.
/KILL user message disconnects the specified user with a message. Only works on people lower than the sending user in rank. Accessible to admins and owners. Example: --- Troll!nogiwbnogiewbio@TROLLCENTRAL was killed by +Fleexy [Don't drink and drive.]
/DROPALL drops everybody's connection to the server to free up the file for maintenance. Accessible to owners.
/GIVEADMIN user gives a user temporary admin privileges and a + prefix. Accessible to owners.
/TAKEADMIN user takes a user's temporary admin privileges. Accessible to owners.
/ANONYMOUS message sends a message without a username attached to it. Accessible to admins and owners.
/PING user gets the name!id@computer notation and current authentication level of a specified user. Accessible to all users. Example: *** PONG from Person8430!iobnaeiobniso@GenericVille (authenticated as ADMIN)

I have also made a small application to make a server file. It has only two options: one for each server password. It generates a formatted, but devoid of users, .IRC file.

Creating a server

From the view of Fleexy

From the view of Allygirl

From the view of IrritatingPerson

RVMT IRC Basic I/O Complete

2011-10-27T20:48:00.000-05:00

I have finished writing the basic input/output systems for RVMTIRC. A person can connect to a valid IRC file, authenticate by sending a password, and get to the console window. From there, the program establishes the connection that is visible to users. So far, only three special commands have been programmed.

/WHOAMI produces two lines detailing the username, connection ID, client computer, and program version and author (*** You are Fleexy!jfapoeingopiafenf@BWACG-MAIN)
/DISCON disconnects the user, allowing the sending user to give a little message on the way out (--- Fleexy (jfapoeingopiafenf@BWACG-MAIN) disconnected [BYE!])
/ME sends a text making the sending user appear as a third-party performing an action (~ Fleexy is eating lunch now)

The starting option dialog is fully functional.

RVMT IRC

2011-10-26T20:52:00.001-05:00

At my school, we are starting a quarter-long computer class. The teacher has us experiment with a program called Scratch. This program is very limited and I find it annoying. So, while the other students experiment with Scratch, I am allowed to make a program in Visual Basic. I have decided to make a chat program somewhat similar to an IRC server/client.

So far, it displays a window allowing the user to specify their username, password, whether to attemt registration or login, connection identifier, and transfer file. The transfer file is what links all the clients together, sending and recieving commands and text.

When a user first connects, the program sends a !PING <conID> command (where <conID> is the connection ID) to see if any other clients are connected with the same username. Any other user receiving the ping would send a !PONG <conID> in response. Upon receiving the pong, the duplicate user's program would disconnect.

Some other useful commands are:

!WHOAMI gets the username/connection ID of the sending user, as well as the program's name, author, and version
!QUIT <message> disconnects the sending user, sending the message in parentheses
!GETADMIN <password> will allow the sending user to become an admin on the file (prefixed username with a +) only if the sent password matches the file's admin password
!GETOWNER <password> will allow the sending user to become an owner on the file (prefixed username with %) only if the sent password matches the file's owner password
!MAKEADMIN <user> makes a user a temporary admin (until they disconnect). This will only work if the sending user is the owner
!ACT <action> sends a special message that looks like Fleexy is hungry, looking like a third party said it, but not having an explicit signature
!DISCON <user> <message> will disconnect a user with the specified message. This command only works if the sending user is an admin or owner
!UPING <user> allows a normal user to see the status of another user

G/20 Chess Tournament

2011-10-25T22:35:00.000-05:00

The local chess club had a G/20 (each player gets 20 minutes for each game) tournament tonight. There were three rounds. The first round, I played a played rated about 200 points lower than I. I won after about 5 minutes. In the second round, I was losing by two pawns. One of his pawns was about to promote, but he made a mistake and I checkmated him along the edge. In the third round, I played a player rated about the same as I. It was a really tough game. I was up two pawns, but there was a large attack going on my kingside. I managed to trade off the queens, and I promoted a pawn. He resigned after the promotion. Since I won all of my games, my rating will probably go up.

Gems of Light Screenshots

2011-10-24T20:07:00.001-05:00

Here are a few screenshots of Gems of Light:

Gems Of Light 29/30

2011-10-23T20:19:00.000-05:00

I have now finished making the 29th level for Gems Of Light. It includes a new type of block. Purple blocks gradually turn pink and disappear for a while. They reappear after a few seconds, and keep cycling through this appear/disappear schedule. This can be used by me to only allow enemy shots through a narrow opening only sometimes. Tricky positions can force a player to jump at a wall that's just about to disintegrate, carefully landing on a platform right behind it.

Visiting Friend's House

2011-10-22T20:13:00.001-05:00

I went to visit a friend at my school today. He lives on a farm, but a farm smaller than my family's. They raise animals and tons of field corn. We do mostly vegetables and gardening. He plays some chess, but not very much. When I first got there, we took a pretty long walk in the woods (about 3 hours). I also found out how to fire a BB-gun. After walking in the woods, we played a variety of video games. For a long while after that, we just talked. I hope I can visit again sometime.

Sunflower Harvest

2011-10-21T20:54:00.001-05:00

We are now harvesting our sort of small sunflower crop. The heads are very large. Some are more than 10" in diameter! Most are still in good condition, but a few are rotten.

MKDB Update 10/20/2011

2011-10-20T20:12:00.000-05:00

I have finished the validation module for the MKDB match submission page. It can now recognize and pass a valid match to the records module. So far, it can compile all 16 match fields into about a 30-character string. This string can be easily displayed to users in a display module.