The other day, I downloaded the patch for Maplestory and was excited to sign in. Little did I expect that when I would click any shortcut or try to open GameLauncher.exe from the Maplestory folder, than nothing would happen.
I actually had the same thing happen before and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t find the solution so I stopped playing and uninstalled it for a while. I randomly re-installed it to find that it worked a couple months later.
The problem, it seems, is that Maplestory is now Windows 7 compliant. This is actually a good thing but your game won’t launch if you’ve been running it in Compatibility Mode, which you needed to before. If the game doesn’t launch after a patch, try this:
- Open the Maplestory folder on your computer. For me, it’s located here: C:\Nexon\MapleStory
- Right-click GameLauncher and select Properties.
- Click the Compatibility tab and uncheck “Run this in compatibility mode for.” Make sure “Run as Administrator” is checked.
- Click “Ok”.
- Repeat the process for Maplestory.exe if you have been running that in Compatibility Mode.
- Relaunch your game.
- Give me all your mesos.
When I first heard that there were not one, but two!, fairy-tale inspired stories coming to night-time television last fall, I was pretty excited. I wanted to check out both Grimm and One Upon a Time and.. I did. I actually watched Grimm first and couldn’t get into it, at first. The format was more dramatic and crime procedural than I expected so I turned it off within a few minutes, despite feeling that the main character was pretty hot.
I think I forced myself to like Once Upon a Time because there was no way I was going to not like any fairy-tale television show. And I like how the plot incorporates your favorite stories into a modern day version. There’s enough of a spin to keep it interesting and some of the characters are masterfully cast. Specifically, Mr Gold/Rumpelstiltskin and the mayor. There’s some cheesy CGI and plot holes in general but nothing that will keep me from watching it. It’s a family-friendly show that requires a little bit of suspension of disbelief but it feels good and.. magical.
But I decided to give Grimm another chance the other night and now.. I have to admit that I not only like it but I like it better than I like Once Upon a Time but.. it’s not fairy-tale-esque. Although the main character is a descendent of the ancient Grimm family and, as such, is expected to hunt monsters like werewolves and such, it’s not about fairy tales. Because he’s a cop, this definitely has a dramatic, police feel to it. So it’s not magical but, that’s okay. I already have a magical show to watch.
As I described Grimm to Wendy, she asked if it was like Supernatural. It’s not quite as dark but, yes. Most of the adversaries have been were-like creatures: bears, pigs, bees and, yes, wolves. There was a stay ogre, too. Grimm isn’t necessarily any more realistic than Once Upon a Time and the focus is more on the drama and action than on the characters, like in One Upon a Time, which focuses on character development. Still, I really enjoy the main character’s werewolf buddy. He brings some great comic relief to the show and was well cast himself. Grimm also has some of the same CGI problems but it feels a little more polished than Once Upon a Time.
Anyway, they’re both good but only one of them is really about fairy tales.
Blackout your blog.
The list of plug-ins that will blackout your blog for the day and automatically return it to normal is none-too-short. I installed the SOPA Blackout Plugin to display a splash page for my visitors on the 18th. The settings allow me to decide if I want visitors to be able to view the site at all — and I do. Simple Stop SOPA will take your site offline between the ours of 8AM and 8PM on the 18th.
Redirect your blog.
If you don’t mind losing hits and possibly confusing or frustrating your visitors, consider the Stop SOPA and PIPA Plugin to redirect your visitors to the official Stop SOPA website where they can cast a vote.
Display a ribbon.
Perhaps the least obtrusive plug-in, the Stop SOPA Ribon simply displays a diagonal banner on the top corner of your blog. If you can’t afford to take your website down because of business/advertisement/financial obligations, this is the one for you. Your readers can click the ribbon to go to the American Censorship site to learn more about why SOPA sucks.
Put up a widget.
Have a little room in your sidebar or widget? Host a widget that helps to increase awareness about SOPA for the day of January 18th.
Apparently, Dez wants to read 25 books this year or did last year or whatever. I am such a horrible friend. I don’t pay enough attention. Anyway, when I saw this announcement I thought “That doesn’t seem like a lot of books” even though it’s slightly more than two per month and almost double what I read last year. I can count all the books I read, more or less, off the top of my head.
I’ve technically read 1.5 books this year so I’m on a roll. I’m finishing one that I started last month and I’ve got two more on my plate so I’m doing pretty well. Inevitably, I’ll slow down at some point as my life is taken over by MMOs or blogging but I hope to be slightly more consistent this year than last.
2011 went out with a fizzle, not a bang, and so 2012 doesn’t quite feel like it’s here. Nothing really marked the end of my year in a noticeable way so it’s hard to believe this could be the year that the world ends — ha!
I do like to have something to get me in the mindset of the new year. Perhaps I just need to make a more dedicated effort next year to end my year with loved ones and maybe even a New Year’s kiss. ;)
Part of me is sad to see 2011 end because it was the best year of my life and a small part of me is worried that 2012 will not live up to it, especially considering how much I’ve been battling my anxiety lately.
Still, I bet this year will be pretty rawrsome either way.
Things have been happening.. around me, not to me, just around me.
I enjoyed a drama-free Christmas. It wasn’t quite like when I was younger but it was nice. No fighting, no big problems. I was pleasantly surprised. We exchanged presents and enjoyed food and played games. I stayed at my uncle’s well after everyone else had left, chatting with him and his wife. There was some definite low-key awesomesauce going on.
On Christmas Eve, my sister’s grandmother was admitted to the hospital. This isn’t out of the normal as her health has been failing because of her diabetes for some time. She’s in and out of the hospital all of the time. Things weren’t looking good but I didn’t think it was any worse. Last night, my sister called me in tears about how sick her grandma was and Mom said her husband had gone to the hospital. Samantha quickly cheered up, as kids do, and I hung up.
I texted Mom a little bit later to ask her something unrelated. Her reply said her mother in law seemed to be doing better but, apparently, she died a short time later. I woke up to several texts from Samantha about her grandma dying but, by the time I woke up, they were already at the hospital with my mom who underwent a hysterectomy today. That went well, as we had reassured her and she’s spending the night.
I went up to the hospital today to see Mom and Samantha and Mom was incredibly funny because of her drugs. She was enjoying her alone time and being able to sleep, however. I took some time to talk to Samantha who seems to be doing incredibly well with this all. I don’t know how.
So, as you can see, I’m surrounded by activity that doesn’t directly affect me. I’m just trying my best to be there for everyone right now and hopefully I’m not failing.
As I was showering and planning Christmas photos for tomorrow it struck me that I may as close as it gets to the family photographer. It’s not that I’m necessarily any good (hell, I don’t even have a dedicated camera that I use) and I have friends who are much, much better but.. I am less bad than the rest of my family. I don’t take pictures where people are mid-sentence or mid-bite or doing something potentially embarrassing. Because I like to look good in photos, I assume other people do, too and, when I take a picture, I try to take one that is, at the very least, clear and well framed it not artistic.
It has always amazed me how absolutely God-awful my family is as taking pictures. They really have no sense of photos and that, I think, is part of the reason I shy away from photos. We don’t always look amazing but a bad photo just makes us look so much worse and I delete all my bad photos immediately from my phone/camera.
So, tomorrow I am hoping to take a few decent pictures and email them to the folks in the family so we can look a little less dysfunctional. I may not even be in them because, hey, I’ll be behind the camera.
