Mood: FRIDAY!
Music: Still Loving You, Scorpions
Game: World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Guild Wars
Book: America, Daily Show with John Stewart
Muffin: Raspberry-Peach
Punchline: Yarr!
Been pretty productive at work today so far. Working on processes and some status spreadsheets. I like working with spreadsheets, really.
I know that sounds odd...but I actually really like manipulating data and presenting it in clear formats. Excel is a pretty cool program...has more functionality than you probably really need for just about anything. But it is flexible, if nothing else.
Going to go see Hitchhikers' tonight...it's getting better reviews than I originally read, including reviewers with whom I generally agree.
Guild Wars was a lot of fun last night. I think, in general, any RPG worth anything is fun for the first 10 levels or so. If it's not fun then, it ain't getting better. The excitement of seeing new abilities or spells or whatever for the first time is always good. Learning how to combine your abilities into tactics becomes fun. Learning the inter-relationship between the classes to create generic strategies is largely the most fun of any game. And of course, the new loot. Goes without saying.
Is World of Warcraft in trouble? Mmm...no, probably not. Right now, World of Warcraft is fun...but requires more thinking/overhead than Guild Wars seems to. And of course, there's the politics and such in being a senior guild member in an ongoing gaming environment that adds stress that isn't strictly necessary. I'm certainly not going to quit playing WoW any time soon...as far as I can tell. There's still a lot I want to do in game...but right now, a little mindless gaming like Call of Duty and Guild Wars is gonna go a long way, I can tell.
Now, off to order some food for the weekend. I'm down to emergency rations in the mess...time to get some resupply from Fresh Direct.
From me (via Maria, via Landry, via Dan...)
glenn is still larger
glenn is cool
glenn is a whodunnit mystery game set in a haunted english
glenn is a hunkmobile
glenn is something to rave about
glenn is a pirates fan
glenn is not dead
glenn is missing a photo
glenn is commencement speaker
glenn is a pimp
glenn is engaged to be married
glenn is training salud
glenn is on gramophone's cover
glenn is fitted in his space suit during preflight
glenn is fitted with space suit gloves during
glenn is politicsnj loser
glenn is again politicsnj loser
glenn is selected texas girls golf coach
glenn is still larger than life
glenn is abwa woman of the year
glenn is a joke
glenn is abwa woman of the year 2002 april 26
glenn is the first american to orbit the earth in the frienship 7 capsule
glenn is something to rave about the ability of researchers to become completely immersed in an exploration of their data or to
glenn is going into space
glenn is not from eu???
glenn is part of the seven
glenn is a life
glenn is very happy and wanted to share this special moment with all of you
glenn is personally overseeing most of the content here
glenn is developing new energy storage technologies such as advanced nickel
glenn is working to make aircraft engines quieter
glenn is an antidote to cynicism about public service
glenn is an adventurer
glenn is jesus' brother
glenn is presently a student in the colt
glenn is on the left side of the road
glenn is a real estate agent that is known in the community of fergus for their dedicated client service
glenn is one of only 75 management thinkers recognized in the recent book
glenn is fitted in his space suit during preflight training astronaut john h
glenn is fitted with space suit gloves during preflight view of astronaut john h
glenn is fading
glenn is something to rave about april 12
glenn is making final preparations to be blasted back
glenn is very outgoing and enjoys a variety of activities
glenn is no ordinary rocking
glenn is no longer a part of the game plan
glenn is a darling
glenn is off today to be with george bush
glenn is on vacation for a new show
glenn is scheduled to launch aboard space shuttle discovery with six other astronauts for a nine
glenn is on the horizon
glenn is in for a good year
glenn is still alive right now and lives with his wife
glenn is mike sherman's best and boldest move yet
glenn is a graduate of cal poly at san luis obispo and has over 20 years of sales and management experience
glenn is an example of heroism and service
glenn is also a blues harp player
glenn is facing domestic abuse charges
glenn is not the onlyone doing experiments
glenn is counting on coast guard c
glenn is currently a consulting instructor with the enterprise and storage curriculum of ibm learning services
glenn is a popular speaker at large systems conferences throughout the world
glenn is the state resource for sheep
glenn is the 117th most popular male first name in the united states; frequency is 0
glenn is designated the nasa lead center in aeropropulsion and the center of excellence in turbomachinery
glenn is a diplomate and board certified specialist of the american board of psychiatry and neurology
glenn is committed to make the new city work
glenn is of
glenn is experimenting with plants grown in the near
glenn is going to climb atop a thousand pounds of volatile fuel for one more trip to
glenn is the co
glenn is a recognized expert in the areas of training
glenn is responsible for developing and implementing raytheon australia's strategy for growth and leadership in australia
glenn is an elected director of the canadian owners and pilots association
glenn is also a publicist and heads his own firm
glenn is also active in many civic and community organizations
glenn is asked about his the status of his landing bag switch for the first time by capcom gordon cooper
glenn is focused on filling her book as well
glenn is a punk of a loser of a cancer
glenn is happy with the activities of the new personnel committee
glenn is announced
glenn is in de zomer van 1997 ontstaan
glenn is backed by his own guitar playing
glenn is a hero
glenn is particularly skilled in areas of analysis and design
glenn is the driving force
glenn is a young knight in the service of lord viper of viper manor/termina
glenn is an extraordinary individual
glenn is leading by example
glenn is taking on the project of launching a gerbil into the unknown
glenn is selected texas girls golf coach of the year by mark wilson reporter
glenn is indeed the heir apparent to stevie wonder's powerful tonalities
glenn is getting better and better with each attempt
glenn is the symbol of the great american hero; he is a striver in spirit
glenn is
glenn is the stabilizing veteran presence your young receiving corps needs
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glenn is professor and chairman of administration
glenn is currently involved with bmg recording artist gino vannelli on gino's latest project
glenn is now establishing a new
Pure comedy.
Mood: Not bad.
Music: None. I left my iPod at home. Kill me now....
Game: World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Guild Wars
Book: America, Daily Show with John Stewart
Muffin: No muffin, went with an orange instead this morning.
Punchline: Nothing. Someone send me jokes.
This is my 150th blog entry. Pretty impressive. I've been blogging for just over a year, so it means I'm averaging an entry every other day or so. Pretty neat, really.
Anyway, aside from forgetting my iPod, it's been an OK morning, if a bit quiet. The 2 train was delayed for about 30 minutes while I was on it. Kinda annoying, but I had a seat, and I got to finish Fever Pitch while I waited, so that was OK.
ijsmp won their first ladder match last night in resounding fashion. The other guys weren't bad, exactly...but we were nothing short of ninjas. One of theirs turned a corner, two of ours were there. They tried to capture our radio, a grenade was waiting for them. They fired a shot, a hail of bullets responded. I think we just did a good job of keeping communication up, and maintaining mutual support. They got separated a lot, ended up attacking in fits and starts, and ended up getting killed one at a time, usually.
I played Guild Wars last night...it's gorgeous. Nothing short of gorgeous. I strongly recommend it...it's a nice blend of Diablo and MMORPG, with a little depth, some strategy, and gorgeous graphics. Open to the public today. Go pick it up.
I was gonna go all RPG geek on you all again...but for some reason, once I started writing, it got all skewed and wandery. I'm going to rethink my rant, and put it down on blog when I've got it all sorted in my head.
Mood: Lethargic.
Music: Perfect Day, Lou Reed.
Game: World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Jade Empires
Book: Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby
Muffin: Blackberry-Peach.
Punchline: "It's in binary."
I just haven't felt very motivated to write. Sometimes I felt like I was, then I'd start, and realize that I didn't have much to say. It happens sometimes.
I took Monday off as a mental health day. I just couldn't motivate myself to go to work. It helped a lot.
I played some Jade Empires this weekend. It's typical Bioware junk, which I could have guessed. Minmaxing abilities, choosing "styles" that in reality only have to do with how fast you press buttons, rather than any major game effect, heavyhanded quest hints, and so on. Don't get me wrong, it's still very pretty, and thematically darker than I would have thought. It's entertaining in medium bursts, and was relaxing to sit on the couch and game for a change.
It's raining today, which only deepened my mood...I haven't been sleeping well, and I couldn't tell you why. I woke up with my head at the foot end of my bed, and my blankets and pillows strewn about me, tangling me up. Seeing as I went to bed alone, and woke up alone, I can only guess that I didn't sleep well.
I got my new flat panel monitor last night...it's fabulous. It was on sale for less than half price, and I jumped on it. World of Warcraft at 1600x1200 is nothing short of breathtaking...and the monitor is sharp enough to cut myself on. Amazing piece of technology.
Guild Wars finally shipped, and I have a copy...except that the servers aren't available until today/tomorrow...so I'm installed and ready to go...and can't play. Fabulous. Still looking forward to it.
Hitchhikers Guide is out on Friday...I am...apprehensive. Originally, I thought I was excited to see it...but the reviews have been nothing less than underwhelming. Tragedy to maul such fabulous work...but I suppose we'll just see.
CoD Match with the fellas tonight. First match after a long time out period. I think we're pretty excited about it overall...we know we're good...but it's always nice to see it in action.
I really was going to blog today about my theory of class balance in RPGs in general. I had it worked out in my head...and instead I ended up with generic housekeeping details. I suppose that's how my life goes sometimes...every intention of doing something, but then something happens, and I'm off on a tangent again.
Mood: Just tired.
Music: How You Remind Me, Nickleback.
Game: World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Wipeout Pure, Lumines
Book: High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
Muffin: Raspberry-Peach.
Punchline: Nothing.
If you don't live in New York, you're probably unaware of the huge battle going on in regards to the plans to put a new stadium on the West Side for the Jets.
The stadium would be going over the West Side Yards...effectively a several acre plot of land owned by the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) that hasn't really been used for anything for the last 40 years, and probably more. In short, it was an enormous asset lying there gathering dust, dirt, homeless, and discarded train cars, etc.
Now, here's where things get interesting. The NY Jets, along with the Mayor of NY (Mike Bloomberg...yes...that Bloomberg) put together a plan to get a stadium over the West Side Yards. I say "over" because the plan is to put what they call a "deck" over the entire property to place the stadium on. The land itself will be used for other things, such as transportation, parking, mechanical stuff, and so on.
Because no one was using the land, and haven't been for umpteen years, the Jets came up with a land figure of about $100 million bucks, just for the rights to put the platform up and build on top of it.
Things were going great, the MTA was happy, the city was happy, the Jets were happy. The city placed the new stadium as a key component of the NYC2012 Olympic Bid. The Jets started planning, and sent out plans.
Then someone, some moron of a city councilman, Gifford Miller, decided to say "Hey...wait...the MTA wants to raise fares! Why are you selling this land for only $100 million bucks? It should be worth far more than that!" Whereupon comedy really hit the fan. The Dolans, owner of Cablevision, and curiously enough, Madison Square Garden, offered about $300 million dollars cash for the land.
Naturally, they did this a few short weeks before the IOC was coming to New York to visit to determine the suitability of the city as a venue for the Olympic Games.
The Dolans proceed to pick up on the straphanger's plight. How could you raise fares when you didn't even put this property up for open bid? We want to revitalize the city, and we think the best way to do that is to put housing on that land instead! The city doesn't need a stadium. All this coming from the owners of Madison Square Garden, the city's only sports venue in Manhattan...which happens to be less than 10 blocks away from the proposed venue of the new Stadium.
The Dolans had no plans. They just figured it was worth $300 million to completely lock up the last possible location for a sports venue in the city to ensure that they had the only place for sporting in Manhattan for at least a very very long time. They claimed to be fighting for the subway riders, and the people who needed housing...but it was all thinly veiled bullshit to protect their interests.
But all the nonsense had its effect. The MTA was pretty much forced to stop the sale of the land to the Jets, and reopened bidding on the Yards. Bloomberg was furious. One does not lightly make NYC's mayor and self-made billionaire furious. Gifford Miller, the speaker, is talking about how it was a great victory for the subway riders...more money for the MTA in this deal will enable the MTA to prevent fare hikes.
Cablevision scrambles to put together a real plan for the West Side Yards...residential, shopping, parks...but it's all thin...because no developers are willing to side with the Dolans. Why? Because pissing off Mike Bloomberg in his major focus of getting the Olympic Games in NYC in 2012 is a bad, bad idea. The Olympic Games will result in billions upon billions of dollars of construction...and if you go with the Dolans on this, Mayor Mike will make damned sure you don't see a penny of it. No developers that crazy, you see.
Couple that with the fact that the land has already been zoned for a stadium (Looks like the governor wants that stadium built...) and all of a sudden, the Cablevision bid requires rezoning, other factors and whatever. Bloomberg laughs.
On the other hand, the Jets up their bid by a factor of four, put together a package that includes 6 name NY land developers, put the whole bid in silver cases, and have them hand delivered by past and current Jets players. Their bid requires minor rezoning to accomodate all the new developers, but it's largely the same idea with more plans for the remaining land use.
When the dust cleared, the MTA board decided that the Jets had the best bid, even though it was 10 million less than Cablevision...because it was a solid plan.
During all this, the construction unions come out in force for the Stadium. The NFL gives the city the Superbowl...if the stadium is built. The IOC agrees that the Stadium is a big part of the bid. Local politicians are complaining about the stadium. How it'll mean traffic nightmares, crowding, crime, fare hikes...blah blah blah.
The man on the street thinks that the stadium is a bad idea because they think the city will be overcrowded, that fares will increase, and because they think they'll be paying for the stadium.
How short-sighted is all this?
The MTA deficit is over $300 million dollars a YEAR. Great. So you bought a year with the added money...that the Jets now agree to pick up. Then your fares go up anyway. And the MTA no longer has the influx of cash. The deficit isn't going away whether they sell that land or not, or for how much.
The addition of a stadium, a trillion dollar construction project, will keep thousands of construction workers busy for years. The added renovations to the surrounding area will increase the subway infrastructure in the area, and connect a huge space to the Convention Center, only making it more attractive as a venue for large events.
The Superbowl, a given, will provide NYC with a shot of energy and more jobs. The Olympics, not a foregone conclusion, can only be helped by the addition of a brand new stadium.
The Dolans are now suing the MTA for choosing, in their eyes, a worse bid. The Dolans just want to lock sports out of Manhattan for the foreseeable future. The proof of that is that they own the Knicks and Rangers. What more proof do you need than that?
The Straphangers Coalition is siding with the Dolans, because they get to sue with the Dolans' money...which is not insubstantial.
In the meantime, anyone with half a brain is staying out of it. Getting between Bloomberg and James Dolan is a great way to get pounded into paste.
The city council, which has no say in this matter, has been jumping up and down, trying to stomp all over each other, in hopes of being the Democratic Mayoral Candidate. (Side Note: In spite of being the last bastion of Urban Democracy in the US, NY's last two mayors have been Conservative/Republicans. Just not in a social sense. It makes perfect sense. Think about it.) They have no chance of being Mayor, of course...mainly because they're morons who think that preventing a fare hike by selling MTA assets this year is a long-term plan, whereas a stadium, which will generate millions in taxes, revenues, tourism, and jobs, is a bad idea.
When it comes to financial understanding, am I going to listen to some city councilman, who's been in politics his whole life, or am I going to listen to a multi-billionaire who built his own business and turned it into a hugely profitable industry? Right.
And for people who think that the Olympic Games in NYC is a bad idea because of the crowding, and so on? Guess what? The Olympic Games are two weeks long. The construction is 7 years of jobs and construction before, and huge improvements in infrastructure and condition of facilities, police, fire, emergency, and so on that last forever. Look at what happened to Atlanta after the Games. They renovated huge areas of Atlanta, and now the city is growing in a huge way. New rapidrail system, infrastructural improvements, new parks, sporting arenas...and Atlanta is now up and coming.
New York is the right choice. If the morons would just get out of the way of its rejuvenation.
ESPN's MLB Power Rankings had this in it:
"7. New York Yankees (5-9). Yes, it's true, the pitching has sputtered, the offense has been inconsistent and the Womack has reverted to Version 2003. But it's also true that the players stood on the dugout steps and applauded the Red Sox, that Alex Rodriguez pulled a kid out of the path of an oncoming car and that Gary Sheffield took the high road when someone took a swipe at him. This club isn't settling for hits, runs and wins. The Yankees are stockpiling karma."
This, my friends, is high-class comedy.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog entry.
Mood: Really grumpy.
Music: The Battle of Who Should Care Less, Ben Folds Five.
Game: World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Wipeout Pure, Lumines
Book: High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
Muffin: Blueberry-Mango.
Punchline: Nothing.
OK...so I got in, walked over to the server room to change the backup tapes, and as I got closer, I started hearing an alarm beep. This is NEVER a good sound. Opened the door, did a quick check of servers, UPSs...coming from the Webserver.
Yup. Webserver lost a drive in the RAID array. Of course, given our architecture, we lost our webserver...but also lost our DNS Server, which resides on the same box. Lovely. No mail, no internet access. I'm jury-rigged right now as I write this, and as my machine attempts to rebuild the failed drive. If it works, it buys me time to replace the drives on my own schedule. If it fails, we have a more complicated problem.
Not the way I like to start my day. Pretty much guarantees that instead of all the things I had planned for the day, I'll be working on this crap instead. Did I mention that I loved my job? No? There's a reason for it. I don't.
And my cousin Chris broke up with his girlfriend last night. Kinda sucks for him. I know he's really serious about her...although they seemed to have been together and broken up several times at this point. I'm no expert on the whole relationship thing, as proven by my track record...but I know what he's going through, so I definitely feel for him. Normally, this wouldn't impact my life all that much...save for the fact that Chris is the guy who maintains my servers. I can only imagine his mindstate.
On the way to work, I was thinking about the nomination of the new Pope. Last night, I was pretty unhappy about it, and made a comment about it on Ventrilo while I was playing CoD with the fellas. One of 'em said "Why do you care? You're not catholic."
I responded "Because he's anti-gay, anti-women's rights, anti-birth control, anti-women in the church...and he now speaks for a quarter of the world's population, including a nice big chunk of the US." The more I thought about it, the more I realized that he doesn't speak for those people...but he does define their morality "by the book" I guess...and many catholics in NY are kind of disappointed by the selection of this guy. They were hoping for a more liberal pope, one who would bring the church into the new century with more tolerance and less conservative views.
I wonder if the selection of this Pope is an indication of the world morality. I wonder if, in a world in crisis, a very real feeling of needing to get back to conservative views is needed for comfort. That people feel like they're losing control of the world, and want to start tying things down.
The election in the US showed that the views espoused by the new Pope are certainly more prevalent than one might be led to believe. Truthfully, living in New York gives you the inability to understand intolerance in others. I honestly just don't GET racism. Someone's a different color so they're inherently bad? Homosexuals love people of the same sex, so God doesn't approve of them? I am utterly baffled by that viewpoint.
Often, I can put myself in an opposing view's shoes...but not here. I just don't understand it at all. Upbringing, environment...who knows. But I don't get it at all....
Which is why I don't understand why this new Pope was selected, with the Cardinals all knowing full well that this guy was a hardline conservative. There was no way that this guy was going to allow discussion on women priests, birth control, homosexuality...why choose him? Because the church believes that those are the values that need to come back to the world? Hard message...especially since you've got priests and senior church officials getting popped for abusing young boys...don't see any mention of that by the Pope.
Curiously, the fact that the guy served with the German Army in the late 40s doesn't really bother me that much. You'd think, with my vehement anti-Nazi beliefs, that that would make me furious. Frankly, I think the guy was 14 or so, had no choice, and was forced to work, or he'd have been killed. I DO differentiate between people forced to fight for Germany in WWII and Nazis.
Anyway, the guy is plenty old...and perhaps he won't be around long enough to make any sort of serious decrees or statements. I would imagine that we'll feel some of his impact here...but I'm not at all sure that the guy isn't a result of world beliefs, a reflection, rather than someone to bring about change in that direction. A reinforcing force towards conservatism...sorta like our President.
The pendulum always swings back. Right now, it just feels like it's still headed in the wrong direction.
Mood: Grumpy.
Music: Trainspotting, Primal Scream.
Game: World of Warcraft, Wipeout Pure, Lumines
Book: Nothing. Got any suggestions?
Muffin: Strawberry-Peach.
Punchline: Nothing.
I've been looking forward to my tax refund because I could use an influx of cash to smooth out some bumps in my cashflow.
Of course, when I got home last night, a letter informed me that they've decided to keep my entire refund against a balance owed to the government from a previous year, in spite of the fact that I'm paying them back already.
I suppose it's not the end of the world. But it never ceases to amaze me how bad my finances are. I got too used to having far more expendable income than was healthy. I should have saved almost all of it. If I had lived like I'm living now when I was living in London and Hong Kong, I'd be just about retired. That, by the way, is not an exaggeration.
Anyway, I woke up yesterday morning with a headache so bad, I could hardly see. I think it was a combination dehydration/allergy/sinus headache. When I woke up, I immediately decided I couldn't work like that, so I called in sick. I downed a pair of sinus tabs, closed the window, turned on the humidifier, and drank two glasses of water. Then I went back to bed for two hours. When I woke up, I felt a bit better...at least I could think. My sinuses still felt heavy, but I could see. So I showered, got dressed, and went to work.
About halfway through the day, I started feeling really low energy again...drank some tea and grabbed a pair of decongestant tabs from Colin...and in an hour or so, I started to feel OK. Not great...but OK.
Good enough to fabricate a panel at work last night, anyway. Nothing out of control. Just a couple of controllers, a power supply, and so on. But it was really theraputic working with my hands. I like working with my hands far more than working with computers. I think I'd be much happier doing a trade. I don't know why I feel that way. Maybe my father had something to do with it. But I think I'm pretty good at it, and maybe I'll consider that for my next job, whenever that happens.
By the time I got home, my head felt better, mostly. And that's when I got the letter from the IRS.
It wasn't all bad. I got two games in the mail yesterday. Lumines, and Jade Empires. I was playing World of Warcraft and Call of Duty, scattered in with Lumines...I didn't even get a chance to slot Jade Empires. I think I'm gonna hold off on that until the weekend...really get a tasty day of couch gaming in. Should be fun.
Today's another day, though. Finished the panel I started last night, dealt with the computer room AC unit which decided to freeze up, and did my normal morning routine. And that's when I spilled a full cup of tea on my desk, soaking my desk calendar, phone, and assorted junk on my desk. Nothing like a morning beverage incident to really set the tone for a day, huh?
Considering lunch now....
Mood: Bleh.
Music: Unfinished Sympathy, Massive Attack.
Game: World of Warcraft, Wipeout Pure, Metal Gear Acid
Book: America's Longest War, The US & Vietnam 1950-1975, George C. Herring.
Muffin: Raspberry-Peach.
Punchline: "Don't forget to turn off the lights before you leave."
Today pretty much ended up being annoying.
First, I had to move from my office out into a cubicle. Now, it wasn't my office...it was the corner of a partner's office, that gave me the space I needed, a fairly large table to use as a desk, a cupboard to store stuff in, and so on...and now I'm in a cubicle with half the space.
Since they stole my IT guy to do service, I have basically inherited the IT cubicle...which means that not only am I actually doing the job of an IT guy, now, I am sitting in the IT cubicle with all the gear and junk that entails...along with all the junk I have. In short, twice as much crap in half the space. And it's pretty demoralizing to move into a small cubicle...it feels like a deprioritization of what I'm trying to accomplish.
The truth is that I don't really care where I sit, really. I AM ticked off about the IT thing. I've spent a good half of my week building systems for people and fixing shit. I really want to get these processes and tracking implemented, so maybe they'll believe that I actually earn my paycheck. Instead, they keep telling me to just deal with the systems, and now, move on in to that IT cubicle.
Whatever. I just want to do my job and call it a day. I promised I'd bring a level of efficiency to this organization. I feel I have, but I need it to be obvious. More than it is now.
I hate having to prove myself over and over and over again. I don't mind paying dues, so to speak...but it gets tired when I have to do it every week. And it gets especially tired when I ask for a pay raise, and they hem and haw and say that they're not sure what I do to justify it. It's just bullshit.
I've never gone three years without a pay raise. It's insulting, I'm finding.
Like I said, whatever. I'll get this done, and see what happens from there.
Mood: Good.
Music: Chant, Black Hawk Down, OST.
Game: World of Warcraft, Wipeout Pure, Metal Gear Acid
Book: America's Longest War, The US & Vietnam 1950-1975, George C. Herring.
Muffin: Blackberry-Peach.
Punchline: SP2.
This one's kinda all over the place this morning, because my thoughts are scattered. You'll all deal...you're experts at this sort of thing by now.
This is probably the coolest thing I've seen this year. Enter in your street address, city, state...and don't forget to click on 'Satellite' afterwards.
I'm doing a virgin install on a Dell Laptop...new OS, drivers, everything...I'm up to 4 hours of installation so far, and I haven't even started on anything other than OS, functional drivers, and patches. How ludicrous is that? It takes FOUR hours to install just basic OS and patches at this point? It's no wonder that a system needs overhauling once a year or so...with all the patches, replacements, installs, reinstalls, uninstalls that software undergoes these days, it's a wonder that it works at all.
Last night, me and a mess of Horde held off a concerted assault on the Royal Quarter in Undercity. About 50 level 60 Alliance charged through the sewers, dropped down, ran straight for the Royal Quarter. We held for a bit, then they charged into the Royal Chamber...where Varimathras showed them what a pissed off demon can do in eight seconds. Area effect, a dozen summoned elite guards, and there was a huge pile of corpses stacked in a single location.
They rezzed twice, in concert, but by that time, Horde defense had been organized, and they didn't even get into the Royal Chambers. My kill count last night was 10 vs. 1 death. Admittedly, I was cherry picking my targets, looking for weakened characters, fleeing characters, hiding characters...in short, folks who thought they were safe. Doesn't matter. Consider me a cleaning service.
I'm now awaiting delivery of Lumines, which seems to have garnered the puzzle gamers' attention for the PSP. I ordered it with the gift certificate my fookus got me. I'm also awaiting Jade Empire, which is the first XBox game I've gotten in over 4 months. Guess that indicates that the XBox has pretty much left the coffee table.
Unfortunate. I really like the XBox...the live component isn't as ... compelling as Ventrilo. There's something about gaming from your couch...but the games just aren't holding my attention. I'm done with FPSs on consoles. They just suck. I'm not interested in a debate with Halo 2 fanboys, so you can take your vehemence elsewhere. The game itself is a weak ripoff of Unreal Tournament on the PC...and it lags, has no accuracy, and has been done to death. Glad people like it. I'm not one of 'em.
Is this indicative of the end of my infatuation with gaming? Doubtful. It's probably more indicative of my level of experience. I've seen so much, played so much, done so much with these things, that it really requires something out of the ordinary to garner my attention. It's true that the company you keep definitely impacts the experience...but even that won't save a mediocre game. The level of games on the PC exceed the gaming experience on consoles at this point. Yes, the console still does a lot of things better than a PC...but a PC is so much more powerful, expandable, and flexible, that the games have the capability of being that much better. I still wouldn't play a sports game or a fighting game on a PC, but I'm now dead set on never playing an FPS on the console again. I keep saying that...but now that "the best FPS for a console ever" has been released, and I find it lacking, there's no point in discussing it.
Curious how single player RPGs seem more fun on a console, whereas MMOs play nicer on PCs. On the other hand, it sort of makes sense. If you can flop on a couch and RPG your face off, why not? The PCs inherent networkability along with external support mechanisms make for a deeper world. I don't think it HAS to be that way...but there are far more PCs than consoles out there...and you have to develop for someone.
Maybe it's time to start writing those books after all....
Mood: Good.
Music: Rock House Jail, The Rock OST.
Game: World of Warcraft, Wipeout Pure, Untold Legends, Metal Gear Acid
Book: America's Longest War, The US & Vietnam 1950-1975, George C. Herring.
Muffin: Strawberry-Sweet Plum.
Punchline: Spoiler for SWIII
So we were supposed to run Scholomance last night. What ended up happening is something more along the lines of "We repeatedly smashed ourselves into tiny bits, and racked up a huge repair bill in a matter of an hour."
Scholomance is a no-nonsense, do not fuck around kind of instance. It has zero tolerance for error, where each small mistake is repaid with instant death. In short, would probably be fun once we learn how to play together.
Whatever, not all that important. Would like to say that it was fun, but it really wasn't all that fun...although I did scoop a bit of good loot.
Also didn't help that I was an hour late to kickoff because I had to stay late at work to get some quotes for ruggedized laptops.
Anyway, the weather's getting better. I spent last Sunday throwing away boxes full of old computer gear...only to discover that 15 minutes after I put it all out there, a mess of people scavenged the hell out of it until there was literally 1 box left of 5, and that one box had about 10 outdated manuals in it. The working case and rolling chair also disappeared in about 2 seconds.
In between cleaning runs, I sat outside on the stairs and just generally chilled in the warm sun. I can't wait until it's like that all the time...maybe I can work something out so that I can barbecue a few times this summer. I'd like that. I love barbecuing.
Anyway, gonna go make some Vanilla Almond tea, and work on the Hearst Fit-Out project plan.
Have a good day, people.
Mood: Pretty good, really.
Music: Since I've Been Loving You, Led Zeppelin.
Game: World of Warcraft, Wipeout Pure, Untold Legends, Metal Gear Acid
Book: America's Longest War, The US & Vietnam 1950-1975, George C. Herring.
Muffin: Raspberry-Peach.
Punchline: "Take me deep."
*WARNING* The following blog entry has potentially toxic levels of World of Warcraft geekdom.
On Saturday, the fellas from CE raided Black Rock Depths with the primary intent of getting Brutious his Repair Bot Plan. Secondarily was scooping some loot, and last, if we could, we would finish up some quests.
Before I continue, I should point out that, by the time we called it quits, Brutious got his plans (and a pimp breastplate to boot) and we all got a little something from the run. (Even if it was just a headache.)
We ended up with 7, which is kind of the worst number to have for a raid, because it's not really that much more firepower than 5, it forces you to run two groups, and it prevents you from finishing quests.
Two warlocks, two shamen, a rogue, and two hunters. About 2 minutes in, one of our hunters needed to take off to take care of his baby. No issue there, of course. Baby > Gaming. That took us down to 6, and that's when the fun began.
The following is an objective an assessment as I can provide, without getting personal. If you were one of the people involved, and you recognize your own behavior, and you feel I'm speaking negatively about you, chances are that I am trying to provide some insight on how to better increase our enjoyment and success the next time we run.
We had two shamen. You'd think that this would mean that there would be totems and healing galore, and everyone would be hardpressed to take any real damage for an extended period. This would be incorrect, as one of our shamen didn't heal all that much, and when he did, it was often too late. The other shaman did a good job of keeping the heals coming, and attempted to communicate often...especially when he was taking damage. The net effect is that we had one healer, and the false sense that we had two.
We had two warlocks. You'd figure this would mean that we had elemental control all over, a pair of pets, and excellent debuffs and general crowd control. Well, one of our warlocks was doing a pretty damned good job of mezzing, holding, slowing runners, and when necessary, laying down the AoE...all the things I hope my warlock is doing. The other one decided that it was more important to blast the hell out of whatever target he wanted as hard as he could. Absolutely no restraint at all. This inevitably resulted in whatever the tank was attacking turning around and charging straight at the warlock, forcing the healers to change targets often, and making the rogue, me, chase my targets all over the map, because the warlock doing the blasting would run in circles. If that weren't enough, said warlock often ended up breaking the mezz/stun/sap of one of the targets we were holding off. This simply added to the confusion. Since one of our shamen wasn't really healing, the other shaman was frantically trying to keep himself, the warlock, and the primary tank (myself) alive. Since I was chasing critters all over the place, I couldn't concentrate firepower, and because I couldn't do that, I couldn't keep the healer clear. This, of course, resulted in many miscues and rezzes.
The hunter, who is still trying to find his role in a mixed group did a pretty good job, overall...but still needs to work on his pet control. Especially in regards to making sure that it isn't attacking stunned/mezzed/sapped targets.
About a third of the way through, both myself and the warlock started snapping over voice chat that folks needed to /assist. Realizing that people might not know what that meant, I started to explain, whereupon one of the warlocks just disappeared, like he went linkdead or something. We waiting about 5-7 minutes, then decided he wasn't coming back. Now, we had a bullshit scenario. In raid mode, which meant we couldn't complete quests, but only had 5 people. We decided to back out, then reattack with 5, so we could complete some quests.
We detoured to try to get to Bael'Gar, but now, with two shamen, a warlock, a hunter, and myself, we were hard pressed to handle 5 elites at the same time...especially since one of the shamen wasn't really healing, and wasn't all that effective combatwise. We weren't concentrating firepower, and things got bad quickly. After getting wiped or close three times, I said screw it, and headed back into the city proper.
Once we did that, everything went VERY smoothly. We managed to kill the Golem Lord, get past the two triple elemental pulls to get into the tavern, and all the pulls went exactly as it was supposed to. By this time, nerves were a bit frayed, but everyone listened, communicated, and every fight went off the way it was supposed to...until the vault...but that vault is TOUGH. We wiped a few times, but finished the encounter, got Brutious a pimp breastplate, and left to go repair our gear.
It should be pointed out that in spite of several people mentioning that everyone should have been collecting BRD quests, not everyone did, and so we'll be doing that run again. No complaints...I actually think we're getting pretty good at BRD, and next time will go more smoothly, I'd think.
Takeaways:
Our fighter-shaman could use some training from our healer-specced shaman as to what he does and when. If one of them is primary healer, the other should be throwing down totems and making sure that the healer is clear and healed. Nothing else. The amount of damage the shaman provides combatwise is nothing compared to the defense and healing he can provide. I suppose we should look into using him as a tank...not sure how that would work.
It doesn't help that the fighter-shaman is also a tauren. While it doesn't make a bit of difference from a player's perspective, from a melee perspective, when the tauren is standing right behind me, I can't see a thing. His back blocks my entire camera. I'm constantly shifting to be able to see.
The group still needs to learn how to deal with a hunter. At one point, the healer snapped at the hunter because the hunter, completely surrounded by bad guys, feigned death, throwing off all his aggro, and dumping it onto the healer. While I am not sure as to what the right thing to do in that case, I do know that the situation itself indicates a breakdown in the group. The hunter shouldn't be in that situation. I believe that if the hunter /assists the main tank, that aggro won't build up that fast. Additionally, I think that the hunter's AoE isn't worth it, unless everyone goes AoE to balance the aggro. Hunters DO churn a lot of aggro fast, and the trick to any class in a group is to manage your own aggro relative to the group you're with. Our healer takes his job seriously, and when he can't heal, or someone dies, he gets edgy. Maybe not wrongly so, but snapping at the hunter, who is still finding his role, probably isn't constructive.
Our crowd-controlling warlock listens, knows what to do in a tough spot, and enjoys his support role. I'd like to find something to complain about...but I can't. It's easy to see why he keeps getting invited to join other Guilds. Glad he keeps saying no.
Our blaster warlock, as it turns out, felt like he was being yelled at, and walked out on us without a word. As of this writing, he still hasn't said a word to me. I can tolerate abuse, yelling, complaining. What I won't tolerate is someone walking out on a group of guildmates because they want to throw a tantrum...especially when we're trying to get everyone on the same page. I debated kicking him out of the guild...but decided that instead, I simply wasn't going to group with him again. He doesn't know how to play his own character, he jeopardizes whatever party he's in, and has no desire to learn how to play with others. When someone tries, he walks off. Consequently, he can play the way he likes...but not near me.
As for myself: I need to remember that just because I know something, doesn't mean that it translates to everyone else knowing it. It's hard to explain stuff to a group of people who have vary levels of experience...you don't want to annoy the people who know, you don't want to forget to tell the folks who don't, and you don't want to make the inexperienced players feel like they're stupid or make them afraid to ask questions.
Additionally, when I'm leading a group, I do have the mindset that people should listen to what I'm saying. They can disagree, they can suggest alternatives, they can provide insight as to how they can best help the situation. I am no expert on playing a warlock, or a shaman, or hunter...or any class, really. I'm learning the strengths and weaknesses of each class, and trying to provide some tactics.
I have been wrong before, and will be again. I expect feedback from the group I'm with...what I don't expect, however, is people randomly doing whatever they feel without speaking up. And, if the group decides to do something, we do the something...without deviation, if we can help it. If I say "Look, please don't blast like that...you're making it hard for me to keep things off you and the healer" I don't expect excuses. When I ask someone to keep healing, it means keep healing...not fight, and occasionally throw a heal. When someone mezzes a critter to break a group, I expect people NOT to target the mezzed critter.
Accidents happen, and in the middle of a rough fight, targetting gets dicey. No complaints. We all make mistakes. But using an AoE when we've held two things off of a group of four is just stupid. Expect to get snapped at when that happens. If people insist on doing whatever they feel like when they feel like it without thought of what that means to the rest of the group, expect people to not want to group with you.
I have to remember to be more specific with my direction, not snap so much when I'm jumping around, and remember that hunters edge past me to plant traps...not because they're not listening. :)
At the end of the day, we completed our stated mission, completed a few quests, got some loot, and learned a bit more about each other as characters. The big lesson was the whole /assist thing (as I found out that most of us didn't know about it...and it makes a huge difference.)
Being a group/guild leader is a lot of work. There's a bunch of egos to deal with...and a lot of us have been together for a long time. Once the group settled into a routine, got everyone on the same page, and went about it, things went VERY well. It took us a few hours to get to that point, and I blame myself for not getting folks there quicker...because by that time, folks were edgy. If we had started off that way, we'd have had a better time. Don't get me wrong...I had a really good time...and I'm really excited to see the repair bots that Brutious can now make.
Scholomance on Tuesday night should be amusing to say the least. I think I'll let someone else lead....
Mood: Headachy.
Music: Pulling Mussels from the Shell, Squeeze.
Game: World of Warcraft, Wipeout Pure, Untold Legends
Book: America's Longest War, The US & Vietnam 1950-1975, George C. Herring, and Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson
Muffin: Raspberry-Mango.
Punchline: Far too foul-mouthed to repeat here. Take my word for it. It was funny.
Recently, Yankee Group published a report that basically said that, for companies, the total cost of ownership for Linux servers was roughly the same as Windows servers.
Anyone who runs a server farm knows that this is fundamentally true. Whether a box runs Windows, Linux, or any other OS, the feeding and watering of the box is the same, the cost of the box is about the same, and the cost of the IT guy is the same. The difference is in the initial outlay for software...and Windows is a couple hundred dollars more than Linux. So in a corporate environment, when you have a few dozen servers, whether you run Windows or Linux, you're spending about the same amount of money.
I don't see the problem with the statement.
However, the radical Linux userbase have treated the report as if it were packed full of the most horrific lies every told.
The woman responsible for the assembling of the report at Yankee Group has been threatened electronically and verbally, they have been calling her at home at 11pm or later, they've been slandering her in every forum from Slashdot to the New York Times, screaming bias and lies.
As an admin, I respect Linux' capabilities...but I also know its limitations. While Linux may be inexpensive, and capable of being run on relative inexpensive machines, it doesn't require less maintenance than the Windows servers I run alongside them. Largely, once set up, the servers do what they're supposed to do. I need to be slightly more diligent about virus protection on my windows servers. Other than that? There's no difference. The windows servers I have don't crash or lock up any more than my Linux servers fall over.
I understand that there's a strong anti-Microsoft sentiment...and always will be...but what's with the virulent hatred just because Linux is as expensive as Windows for a corporation? It doesn't change Linux' strengths. If you bought Linux only because it was cheaper than Windows, not because it was the right tool for the job, you're not doing your job as an IT manager.
People should just deal with the fact that the vast majority of businesses revolve around Microsoft Office and their correlated tools. In such a case, maximum benefit is gained by running Windows servers, from fileserving/sharing to mail.
Would I build a firewall in Windows? No. Would I use IIS instead of Apache? Probably not. Would I build a mailserver in Windows? If the instance required Exchange, I'd use that. If it was simple POPmail, no, I'd use Linux.
I guess I just get confused by ardent fanboyism. XBox vs. PS2. Mac vs. PC. Windows vs. Linux. They're tools, people. Choose the right tool for the job, for crying out loud. If all you have is a hammer, naturally, the world becomes a nail.
You can do anything Windows can do in Linux? Really? How much time would it take you to make a full-featured spreadsheet package? As quick as picking up the phone and buying a piece of packaged spreadsheet software? I didn't think so.
You think anything you can do in Linux you can do in Windows? Really? Build me a firewall that works.
I hate fanboys. Especially rabid, irrational fanboys. But then, are there any other kind?
Mood: Just tired.
Music: Don't Dream It's Over, Crowded House.
Game: World of Warcraft, Wipeout Pure, Untold Legends
Book: America's Longest War, The US & Vietnam 1950-1975, George C. Herring, and Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson
Muffin: Blueberry-Mango.
Punchline: "No, it's no problem. I have gremlins that do all that for me when I go home at night."
I have nothing to say.
I've started this post 3 times already...and really, nothing comes to mind. Don't feel like talking about games, complaining about work, discussing my acid reflux.
I guess that's my clue that I need to get out more. Ah, whatever. At least the weather's nice today.
Mood: Aggravated.
Music: The sound of shrieking co-workers. Music to my ears.
Game: World of Warcraft, Wipeout Pure, Untold Legends
Book: America's Longest War, The US & Vietnam 1950-1975, George C. Herring, and Count Zero, William Gibson
Muffin: Strawberry-Sweet Plum.
Punchline: Daylight Savings Time.
Instead of grumbling about my day at work thus far, which has given me heartburn, I will talk about my birthday weekend and day off, seeing as they're much more enjoyable.
You'll notice I had a muffin today. I've decided that when I don't have a muffin, I'm more irritable and I end up munching on vending machine snack junk, so I'm better off just having my tasty muffin with the routine that brightens my morning with it than not. So I'll cut down the starches elsewhere. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you know.
My birthday on Sunday was pretty uneventful for half the day, then I went to see Sin City (which was pretty fabulous. Devon Aoki...tasty.) and then went to Hop Kee with friends, topping it off with the purchase of the PSP.
I gave in and got it. I was pretty much wrong about a lot of it. I really like it. It's a bit wider than I like...which causes my wrists to bend uncomfortably for long play sessions. It's not too heavy. I like the UMD format. It feels...fragile. Pretty sure I wouldn't throw it in my bag like I did with the GBA SP. Probably use it on long trips, or chilling on the couch. Probably won't use it on the subway.
The games, on the other hand, are WAY fun. Wipeout Pure is Wipeout as I remember it. The only complaints are: 1) Because of the shape/size of the PSP, my hands cramp during a tournament. 2) I want my Wipeout 2097 soundtrack instead of this new stuff.
Anyway, many many thanks to everyone who threw cash and gift certificates my way and made it possible. And I still have enough gift certificate for 3 games...pretty cool. I may buy a game and another memory card.
My day off was spent in sweats, sitting on the couch, playing with my PSP, watching movies, doing my dishes, and generally lazing off. It was well spent. The latter half of the day was spent rebuilding my computer physically. It keeps crashing due to some sound error or something. It's not the card itself. I already swapped it out. So, time to rebuild the OS. Probably do that tonight.
Also happening yesterday, I lost a 200GB drive. Kind of a drag, but what can you do? Lots of movies, music, games. Whatever. I'll see if the time out of the case will help, but last night it wasn't even spinning up. Nothing on there I can't live without.
Now, lunch, then, tonight, I'll probably rebuild a system from scratch, and play Wipeout while I wait for the stuff to install...rough life.
Mood: Calm.
Music: Love Rears Its Ugly Head (Live), Living Colour
Game: World of Warcraft
Book: America's Longest War, The US & Vietnam 1950-1975, George C. Herring, and Neuromancer, William Gibson
Muffin: Almost caved. Had a tangerine instead.
Punchline: Even when I go to bed at 10pm, I oversleep.
I bet you thought today's entry would be about how I finally caved and purchased a PSP, and I would be rationalizing the hell out of my purchase.
Nope. Will of iron, my friends. I refuse to succumb! That, and the fact that the four electronics stores I checked on the way home were sold out. So, no PSP yet.
Last night, I had dinner with jbl at a yummy Italian place around the corner from my house. Pepercino or something like that. I had an amazing seafood antipasto in a rich broth, and then a seafood risotto, that was tasty, although the rice itself wasn't cooked to the way I prefer my risotto. It was a bot more al dente than I like, but still really yummy.
Then, suffering from an Italian seafood coma, I read a bit, then passed out, rather than play World of Warcraft. Being in bed at 10pm, I naturally woke up around 4:15am, too warm due to too many blankets, and couldn't fall right back asleep. I played Warcraft for about an hour(making 16 on my Priest...), then got tired enough to fall asleep again. Naturally, I slept until 8am, forcing me to rush to work to get there by 9am.
I think I'm just not motivated to go to work. I'm not sure why...I think I'm generally unappreciated, and I don't know that I want to continue to bust my ass, trying to earn some appreciation. Tough position. I'm wondering if I haven't found myself in some downward spiral....
Anyway, on Sunday, I'm going to see Sin City with some friends, then probably head to Chinatown for some dinner. If ya wanna come along, just let me know!