There are 2 ways to find the Mac address in a Windows XP computer. The easiest way is to use the command shell and another option is available through the control panel.

Command Line Mac Address

1. Open the command shell (click on Start, select Run, type cmd and press OK).
2. When the command shell opens, type

       ipconfig /all

You can find the Mac address by finding your network adapter (typically its Local Area Connection) where it will be displayed as the Physical Address (see image below).

Find Mac Address in the Control Panel

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Open Network Connections.
3. Right click on network adapter used, which is probably Local Area Connections.
4. Select Status, which will open a dialog box.
5. Select the Support tab.
6. Press the Details button.

The Network Connection Details dialog box will open and the Mac address is shown as the Physical Address (see image below).

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When the VNC server on a Mac crashes, you can restart it by rebooting the computer or possibly by restarting it from the Sharing menu in System Preferences by clicking the checkbox on and off. To restart it remotely, you need to have the Remote Login enabled (see below).

After you login by SSH to the Mac, run the following command to restart the VNC server:

sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Resources/kickstart -restart -agent

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There are increasing number of visitors arriving in Vancouver for the Olympics. I’m hearing more and more different language and the police have a very strong presence around the Olympic sites and major transportation sites. The feeling of excitement over the Olympics are growing among the people here, in spite of the lack of snow which is causing problems on the sites near Vancouver.

The Olympic Village in Vancouver

These are some of the buildings where the many athletes will be staying. After the games are over, they will be offered to prospective buyers.

The Richmond O Zone

The Richmond O Zone was an overnight stop for the Olympic Torch on February 9. 25,000 people came here for the celebration and it was very difficult moving around. It took my daughter and myself about one hour to get close to the stage. The interesting thing is that many people were giving up trying to get closer and while walking out of the venue, they were trying to convince others to leave with them. Being the persistent person that I am, I decided to keep moving forward and as the photos show, it was worth the effort.

The Olympic Torch at the Richmond O Zone

Finishing the Celebration with Fireworks

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I have a problem. I like almond butter, but I don’t like paying for almond butter. The reason is that its too expensive compared to peanut butter. After some research and experimenting, I have an algorithm (or recipe for the non-techies) to create it yourself.

The first thing you need is a food processor, preferably a good one. I bought a small one for around $50 that is powerful enough to liquefy food. You can buy a food processor which costs hundreds of dollars, but a lower cost one will be sufficient for this task.

The next thing you need is almonds. The best ones are raw, unprocessed, and organic. Put the almonds in the food processor and blend in the highest setting. A powerful food processor will eventually extract the oil from the almonds and you’ll have a buttery spread. My $50 processor can’t do this, and can only crush the almonds into a course powder.

If your food processor isn’t powerful enough, you can add coconut oil and blend it. The almonds will stick together and you’ll have a crunchy almond butter. You can improve the taste by blending it with a sweetener such as Xylitol. This is a natural sweetener which looks and tastes like sugar, but doesn’t have the problems associated with it.

Adding organic and unsweetened cocoa powder will make a chocolate spread. All of these should be added with oil since the almond butter becomes difficult to mix after the oil is used. You need to experiment with quantities depending on your taste. The more oil you use, the less dry the butter will be.

The final product is a sweet, chocolate almond butter. Leave it in a container at room temperature to keep it soft, or store it in the refrigerator to make it hard for snacking like a fudge treat.

If you use organic ingredients and avoid processed sugars, the almond butter will be a health snack on its own or on a gluten free biscuit.

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