Restrict shutdown but not restart

Users at my company like to shut their systems down when they leave. That's all well and good, but it prevents late-night virus scanning and windows update... updates. So, I found a good way to stop this nonsense.

1. Using a User GPO, set the "Add Logoff to the Start Menu" and "Remove and prevent access to the Shut Down command" to "enabled". This is under User, Admin templates, Start menu and taskbar.

2. Using a Computer GPO, set the "Shutdown: Force shutdown from a remote system" and "Shutdown: Shut down the system" user right assignments to "INTERACTIVE". That's in Computer, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies/User Rights Assignment".

3. Make a shortcut to "%WINDIR%\System32\Shutdown.EXE -r -t 00". Make a startup script that will copy that shortcut to "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu".

4. Add the startup script to the Computer GPO and put the files in that GPO's startup script directory. The syntax of the file path for the shortcut that the script should reference is something like "\\mydomain.local\sysvol\mydomain.local\Policies\{GUID-OF-POLICY}\Machine\Scripts\Startup"



The vital piece was adding the "Shutdown: Force shutdown from a remote system" entry. Apparently this is a bug. I found the answer at Aaron Margosis's blog. Link

Good lord...

For the last few days I've been struggling to get a user's Moto Q working with the ActiveSYNC over SSL. 0x80072F17, 0x80072f7d, 0x85010014, etc. Many error codes. As it turns out, the first stupid post I read about this was the answer, but it didn't fit my understanding of the situation so I didn't implement it.

Essentially, Microsoft says that ActiveSYNC won't work with ssl, so you have to disable it. Not a good solution, right? I need that data to be encrypted, not having it ssl is just not an option. Besides, the phone itself has an option in the account settings, "This server requires SSL", so it must be implemented, right?

Well, the activesync virtual directory doesn't like to communicate with the exchange virtual directory over SSL, that is, INSIDE THE FRIGGIN' SERVER. You can enable SSL on the activesync directory and the default website, but not the exchange virtual directory itself. ARGH. Three days to figure that out.

Also, you have to import the root cert into the phone if you're not using a "public" root cert, and the activesync virtual directory has to be in the exchange application pool, or you'll get "the shared memory heap could not be created" errors in the application log.

I've acquired the data that I need for this project. I have hour-by-hour data for EURUSD for the last nine years. Now I need to find a way to display it in the needed way.

I think I'm going to look for glasstrons.

The Neurex Project

I think I've got a live one here. I'm tired of playing ball. I'm going to use this brain of mine to make money so I don't have to trade my labor for it all the time. I've begun work on something I'm calling "The Neurex Project". The following is some of my thoughts on it so far.

Warning: If you think hypnosis is bullshit, don't bother reading.


Neural Forex

The basis of this project is the ability of a neural network to solve problems.

In this instance, the challenge is to be able to predict with a reasonable degree of accuracy the movement of international currency exchange markets. This happens already, in the form of the "hunches" of seasoned traders. Digital processors also perform these calculations in the form of algorithms, however they are almost always taken with a grain of salt (read: inaccurate).

I suggest that the neural network found between one's ears can be, under the right conditions, trained to perform pattern-analysis on a set of data to the end of predicting future fluctuations. This happens daily, but the subconscious calculations happen as a side-effect of long-term exposure to the data during conscious attempts to do the same work resulting in the aforementioned "hunch".

I believe that it is possible to get a faster and more accurate "hunch generator" by doing away with conscious attempts to interpret the data and exposing the subconscious directly to the data in question - in such a way as to facilitate the analysis and prediction process.

So far I've come up with a few points that need to be addressed:

Raw Data

The neural net will require massive amounts of raw data from which to extract the "black box" algorithm necessary for accuracy. This data must be presented in such a way as to be easily assimilatable and also to facilitate the output of prediction data. This is complicated somewhat by the specific qualities of forex data, such as timescale, trade volume, and currency pair.

Historical data will not only need to be obtained, but also processed. At the present time the interface of choice seems to be the retinas, and the form of choice seems to be a line graph. Other formats may work just as well. Perhaps for the sight-impaired, the forex data could be translated into sounds. For the time being let us focus on the sight-enabled.

Similar to the technology displayed in the film "lawnmower man", I think that the end result may be a device or program that scrolls through a visual display of historical data. The scale and rate of speed will need to be tweaked for greatest accuracy, however.

I think a possible display would consist of a tiered graph of varying resolutions. Perhaps a double graph, the top layer an hour-by-hour for a 24 hour period, the bottom perhaps a 3 day period.


Output

This project is predicated on the ability of a person to allow their subconscious mind to directly control or influence some external, measurable variable to the end of outputting pattern-analysis results. Making this process as simple and easy as possible may be paramount to getting best results in the shortest amount of time.

I found this cool video of a japanese chick covering "Wayward Son" on an expensive organ.
Watch it.

Japanese chick playing "Wayward Son"

Never get within the monkey's reach.

Learn that whatever the situation is, never heckle a monkey. They have feelings and get irritated, and they are very instinctive. So if you anger or annoy a monkey it will bite, scratch or inflict other bodily harm upon you.

Take proper precautions, depending on the situation. Look around and think to yourself, "Is the monkey in a secure enclosure?" If not, "Is there a place where I can secure myself if the monkey were to attack?" Avoid operations where monkeys are on leashes or tied to trees.

[Link]