Profits Over Wages: August 2009

As most of you know, Windows 7 comes out on October 22^nd to the general public. MSDN, Technet, and Volume Licensing members are allowed to have it now though. On top of the other great features of Windows 7 (very stable, quick and responsive, intuitive window controls, improved graphics shell…etc) they included access to XP Mode for Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Professional editions. This allows enterprises to use a virtual copy of XP to run software that may not be compatible with anything other than XP. It seems like Microsoft's way of saying "why wait for compatibility testing to finish when you can run Windows 7 now?" Will it be sufficient? We shall see…

Here is a rundown of how to get XP Mode installed on a machine running Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, or Enterprise.

As of 8/12/09, the Microsoft instructions and files can be found here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

Verifying Virtualization Support

First you have to verify that your computer can handle the virtualization. The E6500 definitely supports it but I'm not sure about other models.

Here's the Intel software that will tell you if your processor is sufficient.
Run Intel Processor Check from here:
http://www.intel.com/support/processors/tools/piu/

Install and run the Intel software and then navigate to the CPU Technologies tab.
If the value says "Yes" in the "Intel Virtualization Technology" field, then the computer supports hardware virtualization.

Configuring BIOS for Virtualization Support

Shutdown the computer and go into the BIOS. Configuration for each BIOS will be different and instructions can be found here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/support/configure-bios.aspx

For Dell machines, do the following:
Navigate to:

Virtualization Support
1. Click virtualization
2. Checkmark "Enable Intel Virtual Technology"

Save the BIOS and exit.

Install the Virtual PC Software

Install Windows_VPC_RC from:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

This installs the Windows Virtual PC software and allows the Windows XP Mode RC to run.

The machine will probably ask for a reboot.

Run WindowsXPMode_RC from:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

Change Virtual PC Settings

Go into your User folder and there should be a selection for Virtual Machines:

Open the folder, right-click on Windows XP Mode and select Settings.

From this screen you can change several options, like increasing the RAM to 512 MB and changing COM port behavior.

Select "Networking" from the left column:

Change Adapter 1 to the computer's on-board network hardware (it may be defaulted to "Shared Networking (NAT)". This allows the computer to join our domain when configured from XP Mode.

Also, if you chose to save logon credentials during the XP Mode install go into "Logon Credentials" and click "Delete saved credentials". This will stop the computer from automatically logging in when trying to join the VPC to a domain.

Running Windows 7 XP Mode

Click and type "XP".

You should see the following icon come up in the search:

Click on that to run in XP Mode

That's all there is to it. Inside the Virtual XP "My Computer" was connected to all the network drives my Windows 7 machine is running. VPC can be joined to a domain or workgroup as it normally would.

This weekend Dominick, Rico, and myself had the pleasure of competing in the Colorado Alliance of Martial Arts tournament. The event was sponsored by four different schools, including our school, Family Martial Arts Center (FMAC), and there were a good number of competitors in all events. The three of us competed in board-breaking, traditional forms, and of course our favorite event – point sparring. We are on the FMAC competition team and we train specifically for sparring events, so we all were super amped for sparring.

Each one of us was placed in a division based on age group and we all placed very well within our divisions. In my division there were 7 competitors including me, my best friend Esco (also on the competition team), and Jeremiah, another student from our school. I felt really confident for all events but my main goal was to get the gold in sparring. By far I thought my biggest threat in this area would be Esco. I train with him about 97% of the time and I know his style very well, I mean I've witnessed it evolve from day one. He also knows my style very well so that could be a problem, but when it comes down to it, having to go through him for a W in the finals for sparring would be the way it was supposed to be, and my ideal scenario.

Here's Esco Dinero, me, and Jeremiah. FMAC Represent!!

Traditional Forms

The first event was traditional forms, a judged competition. If you don't know what a form is, it's basically a series of moves linked together in a traditional sequence. Forms demonstrate technique and the artistry of martial arts…some people like them, other's hate 'em. I personally like them a lot. Here's a demonstration of the form I did: It's called Taeguek Yuk Jang which basically means 6th Form (Taeguek = red and blue symbol on the Korean Flag, Yuk = 6th, Jang = page/chapter). Mine was more exciting, and had deeper stances than the video example. I executed all my motions with fierce power as well (video coming soon). I took first place in the event.

Here I am in action (that's my master, Master Natzke, sitting back there in the black. His son Jason Natzke is right there in the foreground, also wearing black)

First Gold of the day. Ba-da-BING!:

RMAC also got gold in forms and he had the judges very entertained. His introduction to the judges was hilarious and the way he finished the form was great. He showed a lot of charisma, skill, form, and creativity. They loved it.

Board-Breaking

The second event was board–breaking. The competitors started out with a score from 1-10 depending on the difficulty of kick and strength of board. I chose to do a Jump-spinning hook-kick so I started with 10 points because I chose the hardest board (black 6pts) and a kick in the most difficult 'jump-spin' category (4 pts.). Points would be deducted for things such as missing a kick and not breaking the board. I snapped mine on the first try, landing a total of 10 points. Big Esco also went for a 10 point break, but he missed the first kick.

Here is the result of the 2nd kick though (great action shot taken by Brandon the young'un!):

SNAP!!!!

I was the only one that landed my 10 pt kick and got all 10 points, putting me in first. Then there was a crazy battle for 3rd place with a 4-way tie! Eddie and three others had to battle it out for 3rd which was done by having each person do their break again but with 2 boards together, one black board and one easy board. If the break did not happen on the first kick, then that person was eliminated. If multiple people broke the 2 boards on the first break, they would increase the 2nd board level. 2 of the guys went through all the boards until they got to 2 black boards – which they both broke on the first try again!! The judges were forced to call it a tie as these two could have gone all day long!

Now, I understand what they were trying to do here, but I think my buddy Esco got robbed. His kick was way more difficult than the other 3 people's and I really feel like difficulty should have been factored in to the tie breaker. Otherwise Eddie should have just done a simple kick like the other guys were doing. Meh…Dinero, you won that tiebreaker in my book!

DJ did a very impressive board-break with a flying side kick on a black board. He got the max points for breaking on the first try, but another kid landed his board break with a more difficult kick. DJ still ended up with 2nd place in board breaking. Rico also went for a 10 pt break with a jump-spinning axe-kick. He nailed it and won the gold!

Here's Rico about to smash that board right here (another great action shot taken by BMAC):

Gold!

Taekwondo Style Point-Sparring

OK…so after all the other events we move on to the main competition – TKD Point Sparring!

The rules are simple; you get one point for a hit to the body, 2 points for a kick to the head and 3 points for a jumping-kick to the head. No punches to the head are allowed at our belt level, which is strange for Esco and me because we punch each other in the dome all the time when sparring at the school. After a point is scored the judges stop the action and reset the fighters. Matches go to 5 points or 2 minutes, whatever comes first. You already know what it is with the competition team – sparring is what we do best and definitely what we all wanted to win at the most.

DJ took home the gold in sparring for his age group. He moves so gracefully and his kicks are on point. The other kids didn't even know what to do against him. He's light years ahead of the competition in his age group. Rico also took home the gold. Not only that, he won all his matches by a score of 5-0. In his final match his opponent was so intimidated that he couldn't even score a point when Rico was trying to give one away. Rico is a beast when it comes to sparring. His footwork is amazing and his charisma and energy during a match definitely add to his mental strategy.

In my group I somehow ended up with a bye in the first round. Esco won his 1st round match pretty demandingly and Jeremiah also won his 1st round match, moving them both into the second round. Jeremiah ended up meeting me in the 2nd round, and Dinero man had to face some other guy. Esco D. won his 2nd match…not such a good outcome for Jeremiah though (lol). In all seriousness, Jeremiah took it to the limit with me. The final score was 4-3 and I scored point #4 a second before time expired. Had I been a second later with my attack, we would have gone to overtime. Fortunately I pulled it off and made it to the 3rd and final round against big Esco.

Picture perfect ending here – Eddie and me fighting for 1st and 2nd place – I know Stan (our comp team coach) had to be proud of us.

The match was very competitive with Eddie getting out 2-0 on me early. I brought it back to 2-2 though after this turning back-kick:

Eddie scored a third point, making it 2-3. I knew time was running out and I had to do something quick or I would be taking home 2nd place. Unacceptable. I was able to land a sloppy desperation technique and by the grace of God I scored a point from it – once again, at the very last second – to send the match into sudden death.

Here is the call for my last point:

Here is a half-second later. The red towel on the floor is the signal for time expired:

That was very close!

Here Jason Natzke is telling us we're going into sudden death. He said to keep it clean, and show control…so away we go!

During the sudden death round I must have either launched an attack a split-second earlier or just moved a split-second quicker than Esco and landed the final point! I was very excited but held my composure out of the respect I have for Eddie. It was a very fun day and I can't wait to meet Mr. Dinero again in the finals at our next tournament.

Throughout the day FMAC took a lot of the top prizes. Pretty much all competition team members got top finishes in their divisions and the general consensus seems to be that the Purple, Green, and Blue division (our division) was the most competitive and best group of the day. I think FMAC may have left the event with a reputation as one of the best schools.

So what were the final results?

Here's Dominick's division. With 1st place in sparring and 2nd place in board-breaking, he ended up 2nd overall in his division (Master Natzke on the right):

With a 1st place finish in forms, 1st in board-breaking, and 1st in sparring, Rico easily pulled 1st place in his division:

And here with 1st in forms, 1st in board-breaking and 1st in sparring is me taking 1st overall in my division. There's my boy Eddie who didn't do forms and didn't place in board-breaking but still earned 3rd overall by taking a 2nd place finish in sparring:

They took all the scores from every division champion and compared them to come up with the winner of Grand Champion for the belt rank. As the only people with a 1st place finish in all events, Rico and I were tied for the honor. The tiebreaker was determined by the score earned in forms.

And the winner is............Rico!!

I tell you one thing for certain, when they announced the winner it didn't matter to me who got it, I knew I would be ecstatic either way. To share the 1st and 2nd place spots with my oldest son was one of the best feelings I've experienced in any competition ever in my life. Rico truly deserved the top spot. He works hard at Taekwondo and has a growing passion for it. His technique is very impressive and he soaks up instruction. By the time he gets a black belt its game over for us "regular" people!

So at the end of the day, the tournament was off the chain! We all experienced victory of some kind and its times like this that really ignites a flame and burning desire to continue getting better and better. For another perspective on the tournament, check out Esco's blog on the subject at his Evolution of a Country Boy blog.

Thank you for reading this far, I know I've written a lot and I hope you enjoyed reading this post as it is the most personal blog post I've written to date. I leave you with pictures of the celebration in the parking lot:

FMAC Competition Team!