My Corner of the Interweb

The Death of Customer Service

Mood: A bit tired, but OK.
Music: Alech Taadi, Khaled.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Auto Assault Beta, Dungeon Siege II.
Book: The Battle of Mogadishu, Eds. Eversmann and Schilling.
Muffin: Raspberry-Sweet Plum.
Punchline: Nope.

This all started yesterday. Not the actual death...which has been happening for years and years. But the final straw which made me realize that we, as a country, are doomed.

Yesterday, my mother called me (as she does every night or so...because she's my mom, and my mom does that.) She felt the need to explain how she'd had a bad day on the phone.

My mom is recently retired. Like about a week and a half ago, she retired. She is now in the process of moving down to Florida.

She is trying to get insurance for the new apartment she's moving into.

She called an insurance company that's across the street from where she's moving, and since her current insurance carrier was carried by that company, she figured it'd all be OK. So she calls them up and says that she needs a policy, and she's already got a policy for her current apartment with the carrier, so could they take care of it?

The lady goes on with all these crazy questions about whether or not my mother's been convicted of arson, and proceeds to get a list and value of EVERYTHING my mother owns. My mother asks if they could just get all that information from her current policy with her carrier. The lady says that the company has to ask these questions. My mother sighs and continues for 20 minutes. Then, she asks, "Is your new apartment within 10 miles of a fire station?" My mother pauses. "When you look out your window, you see my apartment, right?" "Yes." "Am I within 10 miles of a fire station?" "Well, yes." "If you KNOW where my new apartment is, and you know the area better than me, why would you ask me this question?" "Well, I have to ask you."

This was the point where my mother pretty much decided to find another insurance company.

Her day continued with the people from the cable company coming in to change her cable box from analog to digital, because now, apparently in Manhattan in her building, you need to be digital.

The cable guy came, disconnected her analog box, for some reason could not complete the conversion, and left her a new digital box which is not hooked up. So, in effect, the guy came, removed her working analog box, replaced it with a non-working digital box, then, unceremoniously he left. No cable service for my mom.

She promptly called the cable company, and told them what happened, and the lady on the other end of the phone said that they could schedule someone for Saturday. My mother just about lost it, and instead asked for the name of the President of the company, to which the lady replied that she didn't know. My mother said something to the effect of "You work for a company, and you have no idea who the president is? I'll wait here while you find out. It shouldn't be hard." The lady goes away and comes back and gives my mother the name of the President, and follows it with a snarky "but I don't have a phone number for him." My mother responds that it couldn't be that hard to find that out, seeing as Time-Warner is a fairly large company.

My mother calls the administrative offices of Time-Warner, gets an automated attendant, and enters the President's name. She gets right through to the President's assistant, and proceeds to tell her what happened. The assistant understands, and routes the call to a woman. It's about 4:30pm at this point. The lady listens to the problem, does some following up, and finally says "Well, I've left some messages, but it's 4:30pm, and I leave at 5pm, so I don't expect to get back to you tonight, but I'll call you tomorrow to follow up."

This entire process has taken hours at this point, my mother is without cable when she had perfectly working cable that morning, which some cable guy came in and managed to screw that up, then left, leaving my mother to figure out how to somehow get that rectified. After all that, even after speaking to someone who may, or may not, be able to help her, presumably someone fairly senior at that, that person can't fix a problem her company caused, because it's almost 5pm.

As of right now, I haven't spoken to my mom to see what the outcome has been...but I'm guessing things were probably equally as frustrating this morning...if she even called back.

Then, this morning, my homie 'Phyxie blogged that even though Moto GP 3 came out yesterday, he does not yet have a copy. Knowing 'Phyxie, this is about as insane a statement that could be made. Aside from the wife, I'd say nothing more impacts 'Phyxie's life than his motorcycle, going very fast on said motorcycle, and when he's not doing that, simulating being on said motorcycle.

He doesn't have a copy, you see, because when he went to EBGames, the lady behind the counter said that she was the only one in the store, and so she couldn't unpack them. The game was IN the store. 'Phyxie was in the store. The lady, presumably, was taking money for merchandise, because that's what stores like that do. But she couldn't take the time to walk in the back, make a quick note, and sell him a copy of the game he's been lusting after for weeks. Then she topped it off by saying "Come back tomorrow, or better yet, Thursday."

THURSDAY? Is this lady aware of the fact that videogamers don't wait two days after release for a game? That he COULD just go home, order it online, and get it next day? No, of course she's not aware. She has no idea. She's working in a job she knows nothing about, and she couldn't care less about whether or not 'Phyxie will ever come back to that store.

Here's my problem. The entirety of the United States has moved to a service economy. The problem with that is that it implies that everyone works in service. Naturally, not everyone is suited to work in service. Some people would be better off making cars. Or growing wheat. Or digging ditches. Or rebuilding New Orleans. But since many of those jobs are no longer available, they're instead sitting on phones in insurance companies, doing complaints at a cable company, or working behind a register at a game shop. They're not suited to the task, they never wanted to do the job, but they need to work.

They have no desire to be there, and have no pride in their job. They don't care if you're happy, or satisfied. They don't care if their company does well...it doesn't relate to their success. These people do their job every day, not caring whether or not they're doing a good job. When you stop caring about doing a good job, in a service industry, or any industry, probably, you're guaranteed to fail.

And we deal with these people every day.

America has no concept of service. And Americans are generally not gracious enough to accept good service, because they feel it's owed to them, and never expect it. Then, because they treat people so poorly, service people get annoyed, just reinforcing their completely ambivalent attitude towards their job. If they can't make anyone happy anyway, why try?

This is only getting worse.

Today, try to be as positive as you can while you work. Focus on doing a good job, and CARE about whether or not your customer, be they internal or external, is satisfied with your performance.

It won't change the world...but it might change your outlook.

Busy busy.

Mood: Pretty good.
Music: Nothing.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Auto Assault Beta, Dungeon Siege II.
Book: None.
Muffin: Peach-Mango Bran.
Punchline: Nope.

Truthfully, I'm not much in the mood for writing, as I've been running around all day just doing general day-to-day operations stuff, like getting computers fixed, upgrading network capabilities, getting panels built, and working on processes and documentation for project that are going on here.

My gaming has been fun, but non-descript, for the most part. That is, nothing really to rant about. I've been less inclined to deal with drama, instead, just playing my game and going my way. Which I think is probably a good thing.

I think I'll play some WoW tonight, then jump in DSII...although I almost certainly just get some Planetside in tonight....

I'll write something better tomorrow, when I'm more in the mood.

That does it.

Mood: Pretty good.
Music: Life's What You Make It, Talk Talk.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Auto Assault Beta, Dungeon Siege II.
Book: None.
Muffin: Strawberry-Peach
Punchline: Nope.

Last night, I and the fellas from ijsmp had a CoD match for TWL.

I, who was having some mightily tasty sushi at Blue Ribbon Sushi with my friend Jenai, ended up heading home early so that I could make match time with a little time beforehand to warm up.

Got on our server and started warming up. By five minutes to matchtime, we were short two players.

At matchtime, one more guy showed up, but his voice comms were fucked and he had to reinstall. One guy never showed up, but through scrambling and such, we managed to get another guy to agree to play last minute.

It was exactly then that I decided I was done with this game, and playing it competitively.

When I sign up for something, I agree to be there, at the given time, ready to do what I say I'm going to. I don't make excuses. I've made a committment to friends that they can rely on me, and I would be insulted if they ever said to me "We can't trust that you'll be there for us." But for some reason, my mentality in regards to this doesn't seem to be filtering down to the rest of the guys.

Maybe it's because we're an online clan, most of whom have never met in person. Maybe it's because it's summer, and frankly, playing video games in the summer is much harder than in the winter. Maybe it's because "it's just a game" so they don't feel pressed upon to actually deliver on their game committments.

I have no idea. I do know that online or not, these guys are my friends...and when I commit that I'll be somewhere to help with something, I'm there. I know that I've bailed on dinner plans before, or going out on a weekend or something. But no one's ever said "I'm relying on you to be somewhere" and I've not shown up.

In any case, I'm not interested in competing any more. If it's so unimportant to them, I'm certainly not going to give up my already limited gaming time to waste it sitting around hoping people show up, then throw myself into a game with a bunch of guys who weren't ready to play. Not talking about practice...just talking about mentally being ready to compete.

I'm not bitter about it...it's just what it is. But I'm certainly not going to be the guy who forces us to keep our committments to each other. No time to be a babysitter. And I'm not going to pick up the slack.

Just picked up Dungeon Siege II, though. The first game I've purchased in a VERY long time. I'm looking forward to getting home and installing it. On Sunday, I'm supposed to be playing with Smitty, Jeho, and Firethorn...we'll see if that happens...but I sure would like it to.

Entry 200.

Mood: Tired.
Music: How Soon Is Now, Love Spit Love.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: None.
Muffin: I had a croissant. They were out of muffins(!?).
Punchline: Nope.

This is my 200th entry into my blog. That's a lot of writing.

OK...the migration went pretty well overall. I can state that I know how to migrate an NT4 Domain to a W2003 Domain for the most part.

Things to keep in mind:

- NETBIOS must be activated on the 2003 box.
- You need to create a trust relationship between the two domains (at least during migration.)
- The DHCP server(s) must point to the 2003 box's DNS to resolve the Domain routing, then recursively hunt further upstream for other DNS resolution.
- The ADMT 2.0 tool is invaluable. Migrate the users, and all attached groups by using the User Migration Wizard. Prune the groups you no longer need. Useful tip: Adjust the password settings policy BEFORE migrating the users...or you might find yourself with a whole bunch of random passwords on the new domain. Oops.
- Each machine needs to now be joined to the new domain. Each machine must have the domain admin account added to their users/groups. Check that the internal firewall of each machine is shut off, or it will prevent the RPC ninjas from migrating the machine properly. Lastly, ensure that you know the name of the machine.
- Use the Computer Migration Wizard to move the machine over from the old domain to the new one, copying all security settings to the new domain. It should move the machine into the AD immediately, and take anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes for the Migration Agents to move the data from the old profiles to the new profiles. The wizard will tell you when the machine is migrated. If all went well, the machine will reboot on its own.
- Log in under the new Domain with the logon and password as specified. It should take a moment or two, then log on as if you were connected to the old domain.
- Note: Mail passwords, saved web passwords, and cookie/session data seems to not get migrated. You'll need to launch outlook and re-enter the mail passwords of the individuals. Nothing you can do about the web stuff. It DOES move bookmarks. Not cookies.

That's pretty much it. Once all the machines are moved from the old Domain, you can take down the old server, remove the trust relationship, and remove any DNS pointers you added. You SHOULD be able to shut off NETBIOS at this point if you want, and if you aren't running any machines with OSs older than W2000. Of course, there's no harm it leaving it on, I don't think.

So, I have two machines left, and I can take down the old server. And then...the Bastard Operator from Hell lives again....

Tomorrow's the day.

Mood: Focused. And nervous.
Music: Sabotage, Beastie Boys.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: None.
Muffin: None.
Punchline: Nope.

I am working from home right now.

I am doing that because I am reading and searching for any hints, tips, steps, or words of advice on migrating an NT4.0 domain to a Windows Server 2003 AD domain.

Tomorrow at 2pm, I will be taking down the servers, and running dcpromo on the Windows 2003 Server.

I expect to have to create DNS entries in my DNS server, recreate all user accounts, and recreate the security model IF things don't go well.

If I am not careful, I could, in theory, lock myself out of every server in the network. This would be the worst case scenario. Rebuilding both servers from backups does not appeal to me.

If everything goes well, I will create a new domain in a new forest, migrate over the user names and passwords and security model, and take down the old server. This has a very small chance of working the way I expect it.

The way I EXPECT things to go is:
- I run dcpromo, create the AD on the 2003 server, configure some DNS goodies, and the new domain will exist. At this time, no one will be able to log in to the file server.
- I will recreate groups and a few accounts on the 2003 server.
- I will attempt to migrate my laptop to the new domain, and note the process that allows me to be a part of the new domain, yet lets me keep my machine local profile intact.
- If and when this works, I will recreate the security hierarchy on the 2003 server.
- I will then recreate all the user accounts (using a new name structure...NT only allowed 8 character logons....)
- Then I will spend the rest of the night creating the trust relationship between the new server and the client machines, of which there are about 50 of them.

If all goes well, I will probably NOT have to work this weekend. If things go poorly, I could very well be spending my entire weekend in a server room.

The problem, as you probably could guess, is that there is absolutely no information on doing this migration safely or properly. The reason for this is, aside from the fact that it's Microsoft, that I suspect that Microsoft prevents putting any really detailed documentation on the web because they want you to shell out thousands of bucks for the MCSE courses, and/or buy hundred-dollar step by step books.

You might make the argument that IF this is so important, Glenn, buy the fucking books, and/or take the course. To which I can only reply: I don't have time for that. The PDC is definitely on its last legs, I am constantly rebooting it just to get it to do the simplest of tasks. Hardware-wise, the machine is SIX years old, and hasn't been turned off for more than 10 minutes since it was built. (Aside from the blackout....) Software-wise, the machine hasn't been properly cleaned and patched for years...since before I got there. (As a rule, I don't go patching servers I didn't build. Who the fuck KNOWS what they've got running in there.) And since the entire office was running off that server up until a few weeks ago, there was no good way to check it out.

So I'm basically pretending I've had a catastrophic failure, and need to rebuild from scratch.

All the data is moved, including the accounting database and virus servers. All that's left is the user/security database....

So I'm home scouring the web looking for any small bit of advice that will save me tens of hours of recovery. Because if I were at work, I'd never be able to sit still for more than twenty minutes without being interrupted.

So wish me luck tomorrow.

Or I'll see you in a week.

Nope.

Mood: OK.
Music: Nothing.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: None.
Muffin: Raspberry-Peach.
Punchline: Nope.

Just don't feel like writing today.

I DO feel like going home, flipping on the air conditioner, and playing some World of Warcraft...get that Priest rollin'....

Maybe I'll write something pithy tomorrow. In the meantime, I've attached an article I wrote years ago for an online gaming site that's now largely defunct.

-----

I got a letter the other day, from someone complaining that they didn't agree with my last rant. I won't get into the point, but suffice it to say that I think the writer misunderstood MY point, and I was going to address it, because HIS point was perfectly valid, if misdirected...and worthy of another article. So I was going to write that article.

Then, Microsoft patched the dashboard...and frankly, I was all set to write that rant, too. Because 12 year olds with MS Paint should not be permitted to design interfaces.

Then, today, RAM2600 sent the GTDB team a (http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/docs/remotedelete.html) to an article/open letter to Microsoft that made me laugh with derision so loudly, that I knew I found my calling this week.

For the benefit of those who are click-challenged, the net of this article/letter is that when Microsoft patched the dashboard, they overwrote some OS directories. In so doing, folks who were using the MechAssault bug as a bootloader for Linux found that some of their data, which was placed in those directories, lost data. The author of this letter is explicit about the fact that he didn't agree to the EULA, never signed anything, and was ignorant of the terms and conditions of Live! And never even subscribed to Live! He is demanding that Microsoft help him get his data back, and that they stop deleting data from Xbox hard drives.

I don't even know where to begin on this one.

Let's start with the fact that he "never signed the EULA." As Gamertag says "You don't need to sign anything." Use of the system constitutes agreement. If you don't agree, you are instructed to return the system. He didn't. This in and of itself doesn't end the discussion, because, as my buddy Adam Wasserman says "Just because you write a EULA doesn't mean it's legal." Adam has a point. Sony's EULA for Everquest was struck down hard because it had in it a clause that specified that Sony had a right to invade your privacy to search your machine for certain things it deemed inappropriate or in violation of their terms and conditions.

Further, he's an EU citizen, German, I believe. It isn't clear that EULAs such as Microsoft's are legal in Germany without a signature, EU law being as it is. However, seeing as he purchased the Xbox in April, 2002 (his words...), he owns either a US Xbox, or a Japanese Xbox. The European Xboxes weren't released until March 14, 2003. So he owns a black/grey market Xbox which, at the very least, is questionable in regards to his rights and support.

He bought MechAssault (again, a US version, probably) which patched his Xbox with Live! He wasn't asked whether or not he wanted to patch his system. That the manual for MechAssault says it's Live! Enabled, and will patch your system must have been ignored. That it only patches your system if you actually attempt to use Live! To download new content must have been ignored, as well. He now had a Live! Option on his dashboard. Like anyone who doesn't read the manual, he immediately selected it, then entered in all his IP information and connected to the internet.

He claimed he didn't subscribe to Live! (And probably didn't...seeing as he was in Germany, and Microsoft wasn't accepting non-US credit cards at that time....) so what possessed him to enter in his IP information, and actually leave his Xbox hooked to the internet? No idea.

Next, he admits to having used the MechAssault bug as a bootloader to run Linux on his Xbox. This is a clear violation of Microsoft's terms and conditions, and they caution you that you should not use this Xbox for anything other than playing licensed games, and that any modification of the system or software is done at your own risk. He installed Linux (or had it installed for him...), which requires that he place files in Xbox OS directories. They aren't necessarily clearly labelled, but if you're messing around with operating systems, you should know what you're doing. Especially Linux. And he shouldn't be pretending that he thought Microsoft would allow him to install Linux on this thing.

Sometime later, he selects the Live! Tab again (accidentally, he claims) and it proceeds to update his system with that horrific Live! Dashboard update. Again, it doesn't ask him...it just does it.

When the patch is done, he checks the directories, and, surprise surprise, the OS directories have been overwritten, deleting any data that he had stored there. He is now demanding that Microsoft help him recover his data, that they stop patching systems without people's permission, and stop deleting data without permission.

I have a newsflash for Mr. Michael Steil of Germany: You need to grow up and take some responsibility.

You've modified a black-market Xbox using a bug in a piece of grey-market software, actually connected the thing to the internet for no reason, left it connected even though you don't use Live! in spite of the fact that you know what it does, ignored all the written warnings in THREE different manuals, ignored the terms and conditions on the Xbox itself, didn't bother to read any of the bulletin boards that state that using Live! once you've loaded Linux on it will result in data loss...you've decided that somehow, it isn't YOU that's at fault, it's MICROSOFT that's at fault for your data loss, and should help you now.

Jfrag said it best: What is it with people who take zero accountability for their actions these days?

OK, Microsoft should provide the OPTION to update the software, and indicate that you will not be able to play online until you do. That'd be better user relations, and better interface design. No argument there...but they don't work that way right now. They never have, and they warn you that they don't...in writing.

TristanSim says: "He should have just been more careful. It takes a lot of effort to do what he did...why not protect it? Especially if you have your box connected to the internet. I doubt MS has Live set to "screw linux users" mode...the update was probably just standard procedure, whatever Live! does to make sure everything's running correctly. I would fault MS for going after linux users, and trying to delete their data. I wouldn't fault them for accidently deleting data that they didn't expect to be there, and that was put there using a bug in the system, while they were running routine updates."

Lastly, Mr. Steil writes: "I might remind you that in Germany, the "Zweites Gesetz zur Bekaempfung der Wirtschaftskriminalitaet" (15.5.1986) states in § 303a that unauthorized altering and deleting of data can lead to prison sentence."

I'm wondering if that includes alteration and deletion of sections of the Xbox OS to run Linux.

Just curious.

Justicar

Why should those economies make any more sense than ours?

Mood: Just blah.
Music: Paint It Black, Rolling Stones
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: None.
Muffin: Raspberry-Mango.
Punchline: None...frankly, I probably should remove this line. I mean, no one tells any jokes any more.

On the way to work this morning, in the stupor-haze that is my morning commute, seeing as I wasn't able to pick up my free morning paper, I ended up sitting there with my eyes closed, thinking about MMO economies.

Yes, I know. Some people just sleep, or think about vacations, or people-watch, or read. I think about games. So I'm a bit pre-occupied with games. You'll get over it.

Anyway, to jump right into it, the fundamental reason why the economies in MMOs suck boils down to just one thing: An infinite influx of cash and goods without a forced outflow of cash and goods.

This probably seems pretty obvious...and game designers throw a nod in that direction by providing something affectionately known as "cash-sinks" in to drain cash from the economy. These sinks, such as item repair, travel fees, training fees, all help to remove cash from the economy, and slow inevitable inflation.

For ease of discussion, we should name the pieces and sides. Any cash or item belonging to a player is considered "player-side." Any cash or item in the world (including with vendors, "mobs" (or monsters), or on the ground/in chests to be found, for example) are considered "world-side."

"Cash" is raw currency, whether it be gold, credits, bills, or small rocks used to purchase goods and/or services. "Items" are persistent objects. They can be weapons, armor, clothing, mounts, food, or any other object that remains in world indefinitely.

If you've played an MMO for any length of time, you know the problem. You can go out into the world for an indefinite period of time, and kill the same group of monsters indefinitely, and the monsters will keep "respawning" and, of course, each monster you kill has more cash and items. Doesn't matter how many you kill, there's always more.

When the government prints more money and just puts it into the economy, inflation occurs. The same thing happens here. The more cash that enters the economy, the higher prices run...until starting characters end up being priced out of any reasonable market.

So, to combat that, game designers make it so that NPC vendors will always sell base goods for a given amount...making it so that players cannot set a price ridiculously high...which they will if an NPC vendor cannot undercut them. Then you have the other factor...items are in such plentiful supply, they sell for ridiculously low numbers. So now, cash is worthless, and there's a million things to buy...you've effectively made it so cash management is pointless. You've reduced the game to a level-grind.

Yes, there will always be rare items that are ludicrously expensive...because there isn't a huge number of them, and because NPCs can't acquire or sell them. So those items are priced according to the inflationary cash unit.

When you throw trade skills in the mix, players can create items, adding still more items into that pool, and further devaluing the price of items...often to the point of making it such that it actually costs more to make the item than you could get by selling it. As added comedy value, the items used to create player-made items often increase in value, as levelling in crafting is often valued by players, so that you can make more money by selling raw materials (dropped or found in the world) than you can from the fabricated items.

Again, this is merely a function of an infinite influx of items/resources into the game world without sufficient drain.

Now, this is a game. Players require constant reward in order to keep playing...even if they have to work for that reward. They need better weapons, armor, spells, goodies to keep them playing. So you can't just limit the drop of everything...they need rewards.

So how do you balance the economy such that the influx of cash matches the outflow? Cash sinks are ALWAYS seen for what they are. They're cash sinks...which only forces players to grind cash to deal with them, which accelerates the decline of the economy. Even if they're painted to look like part of the game world, they still smack of a game mechanic.

I have a solution to this. I'll explain it some time...but hopefully I can take this idea and turn it into a white paper, a talk at a conference, or perhaps even a beta game system to sell to an MMO....

And THAT would be a good job.

No help.

Mood: Tired and hungry.
Music: She Makes My Nose Bleed, Mansun
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: 722 Miles, Clifton Hood.
Muffin: Raspberry-Nectarine.
Punchline: None.

OK...so the migration from the NT4 server to the Windows 2003 Server isn't exactly a piece of cake. For some unknown reason, there's no clear path for a small business running NT4 Server with a single PDC to migrate to a Windows 2003 without physically upgrading the OS on the existing box...which, as you could probably guess, isn't exactly an option.

Fortunately, I've decided that I could just create a new domain, and simply join all the client machines to the new domain. Not a quick exercise...but it beats the hell out of creating new boxes to promote and demote, running various BDCs in various stages, or installing NT4.0 on my new fileserver, making it a BDC, upgrading to 2003, then promoting it to PDC. It's ridiculous. How could Microsoft not see that there's probably thousands of small businesses running NT4 who just want to buy a new fileserver with 2003 on it and move all their stuff over? Whatever.

Now, I want to talk about BFRs. Battle-Frame Robotics. In other terms, Mechs, VTs, or big chicken walking tanks with huge guns. BFRs are Planetside's term of choice, and they are WAY too much fun. You can load them out with your choice of anti-armor, anti-personnel, or anti-air weaponry for the pilot position. You could also choose an anti-BFR shield drain weapon (which I'm not brave enough to use...you need to be up close and personal...) and an NTU drain device which is great for attacking bases, but not much else. For the gunner position, you have a choice of anti-armor or anti-personnel. This is the primary version of the BFR, and depending on the side you're on, the weapon loadouts change somewhat, as do the armor thicknesses.

The BFRs aren't particularly fast, but they do have wickedly powerful shields, and some serious armor. If you're any good, you can take out things from a distance, and if your gunner is any good, he can handle dishing most of the damage while you drive and do cleanup and make sure you're not getting killed.

A group of BFRs together is a laugh riot. With all that firepower, and people choosing different loadouts, you see all sorts of maneuvering tactics such as blocking or landing cover fire, or just chasing off things you can't deal with right now.

Of course, there's the big old downside. In a BFR, you are unquestionably the biggest target out there. People see that kind of a threat, and you become a bullet magnet. While the shields absorb a lot of abuse, extended concentrated firepower is pretty much a deathknell for these things...you can't run away fast, and they don't maneuver very well. If you can't get away by firing on 'em and running, you're pretty much toast. And a MAX or infantry running around under your legs is hard to get to by yourself...you can occasionally deal with 'em, but they can be real pains.

The other problem is that once you lose a BFR, you can't get another one for a set period of time. You can only spawn a BFR once every 25 minutes or so. Of course, if you have a good run in a BFR, and you've been running around for a half-hour having fun, if you get killed, you respawn, and you can get a BFR right away...but it's a rare day when you can survive serious combat for 25 minutes straight. I'm just not that good at it yet.

Anyway, the gang seem to be enjoying running in BFRs as much as I do. Maybe we'll get a few of 'em as a group, and we'll alternate gunning and driving, and just be mechanized madness. In any case, it's definitely making Planetside my game of choice the last week or so....

Mondays...

Mood: Unmotivated.
Music: California Love (Remix), 2Pac
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: 722 Miles, Clifton Hood.
Muffin: Raspberry-Blackberry.
Punchline: None.

I have a deadline of 10am on Thursday to finish a good chunk of this claim. Frankly, I'm not very motivated to finish. I think the hour-long commute in ridiculously hot weather definitely saps whatever motivation I have in the morning, which, at best, is minimal.

Truthfully, usually, I feel pretty good in the morning, if I got enough sleep, after I shower, I'm pretty happy to be walking to the subway....

Of course, by the time I actually GET to the subway this time of year, I'm drenched in sweat, my jeans are sticking to me, and all I want to do is go home and sit in air conditioned splendor. (Well, as splendiferous as my apartment gets with The Little Air Conditioner That Could.)

Of course, the subway is packed during rush hour, and although my luck generally holds, and I get a seat after a stop or two, it's not comfortable sitting with hundreds of grumpy, hot people who don't want to be going to wherever they're going, either. And the waits on the platforms at 10 to 15 degrees hotter than it is outside are no pleasure, either.

And of course, the walk from the train station to work itself is longer than the walk from my front door to the train station. Which means by the time I get to work, I'm soaking wet and miserable.

Which is where I am now. And now, I'm supposed to jump right into writing an entitlement portion for a claim for a job that's been over for more than a year. Fascinating.

So I'm not very motivated at the moment. Shocking, right?

Well, maybe if I just start writing, I'll get into it...so I'd best get started. More later/tomorrow.

Or Fridays either, it seems.

Mood: Really tired.
Music: I Did It Just The Same, Eurythmics
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: Sandman Companion, Hy Bender.
Muffin: Nope.
Punchline: "I'm running late..."

OK...so last night, I've got a low-grade headache, and I know I have to get up stupid early for a 7am training class I'm teaching, so I get to bed at around 9:45pm.

At 1:30am, I wake up with a crushing headache. Now, my nose is stuffed, and my face feels all swollen, so I figure my recently discovered allergies are kicking my ass, so I chuck my feather comforter and feather pillows on the floor, drink some water, and go back to sleep.

At 3:30am, I wake up, and the headache's gotten worse. My head physically hurts wherever it touches the bed, and I can't get comfortable. So I get up, slug two Tylenol, drink a lot of water, and it starts to sink in...it's a combination dehydration-MSG headache. Too much Chinese food in the last few days, and now I'm paying for it in spades. The air conditioner is kicking it overtime, and there's no humidity in my room...couple those together, and ow. So I got up, kept hydrating myself, opened a few windows, lost the AC, and let my head slowly deflate.

By about 5am, I was feeling pretty decent, actually. So I hopped on Planetside, jumped into the BFR I recently certified in, and proceeded to teach some uppity Vanu and NC Smurfs the meaning of the word "Whoopass." I managed to team up with another BFR driver, and we alternated driving and gunning. For those of you not in the know, a BFR is Planetside's version of a Battlemech...big walking vertical tanks with huge guns. It was, for lack of a better phrase, a really good time.

At around 5:30, I jumped into a shower, got dressed, and headed out. The 5/6 was still crowded and late. Screw it...I'm not taking the greens any more. I'll stick with the slightly slower, yet more reliable and less crowded 2/3. Got to work just before 7am, when my day started.

Truthfully, I was awake enough because I'd been up for hours, and I felt pretty good overall. But about now, I'm feeling VERY sleepy. I ate some lunch around 11:30 because I was starving, and now food coma coupled with waking up way too early is kicking my ass. What I really need is a nice long nap.

I am SO glad it's Friday. And now, I'm looking forward to BFR madness this weekend. I'll talk more about why the BFR is fun next week...or this weekend if I can get pulled out of the cockpit long enough to tell you about it.

This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

Mood: Mildly annoyed.
Music: Haven't picked up my iPod yet.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: Sandman Companion, Hy Bender.
Muffin: Raspberry-Blackberry Bran.
Punchline: "Will you reschedule?"

So last night, we were supposed to play a match for TWL...which frankly is turning into a joke. We play on the 6v6 HQ Ladder.

No offense to TSR (the guys we were supposed to play last night), or anyone else, but this is straightforward. You challenge. We pick two times. You choose one. AT THE TIME YOU CHOSE YOU SHOW UP WITH SIX GUYS READY TO PLAY. We reorganize schedules, we shift plans, and we get ready an hour before match time to make sure we're not holding anyone else up. To not show up on time, or to show up with three guys and ask to reschedule is not cool in the slightest. In fact, it's downright disrespectful.

Why on earth would you choose a time to play, then NOT have guys ready at that time? Imagine if baseball worked like that? You got 50,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees are warming up, and so on...and 10 minutes after scheduled start time, the Red Sox call and say they can't get nine guys, and can we reschedule?

This whole league is filled with inconsiderate fucktards. This is something like the 3rd or 4th time we've taken a forfeit because of the other team not showing, being late, or asking to reschedule. We have some simple rules: We are ready to go at match time, we don't reschedule, and we don't start late. Getting six guys who work for a living in different time zones to show up in one place at the same time ready to play is a challenge. We don't particularly care to do it more than we have to. Starting a 10pm EST match late means I have to do without sleep if I expect to work the next day. It is not fair...so we don't accomodate. We are held to the same rules as the opposing teams. We follow them. They should too.

Billko was pissed because he was in good spirits (meaning drunk again...) was pretty much unstoppable during warmups, and was looking forward to delivering a good old-fashioned ass whoopin'. When he found out he wasn't going to be able to play, he was pissed. And I don't blame him. Billko has a life. He works hard during the day doing construction and such. He busts he ass all day, gets home, rushes through a shower and dinner, comes to warm up, and finds out that the other team just couldn't field six guys at the time they chose. I don't blame him.

On top of that...because we got challenged this week, we can't challenge anyone. So due to their inability to organize themselves, we get to sit exactly where we are for ANOTHER week while we wait for the rest of the ladder to finish their challenges.

And the capper? In spite of the fact that they failed to show up, that they acknowledged the forfeit to us, as of this time, they have completely NOT registered their forfeit. Which means we can't even challenge until they do. These teams need to be kicked already.

I have no idea why we even subject ourselves to this. I don't mind losing...really I don't. I DO mind not playing. THAT pisses me off.

Whatever. We'll see what happens next week.

Too true.

Mood: Bored.
Music: Tears of a Clown, Beat.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: Sandman Companion, Hy Bender.
Muffin: Plain Bagel.
Punchline: "...Accept no substitutes!"

Spelling Nazi
You scored 101 Spelling smarts!

Okay so you've either cheated, or you know all the vocabulary rules by now. "I before E, except after c." bla bla bla. Great job. You know how to spell, and you might be a bit anal retentive about it too. Not a bad thing mind you, but I get picked on for it. An answer key is what you're after? http://quizanswerkey.blogspot.com/

Link: The Everyday Spelling Test written by charlifeathers on Ok Cupid

He can't be bargained with! He can't be reasoned with!

Mood: Armor on, sword drawn, muthafucka.
Music: Big Time Sensuality, Bjork.
Game: World of Warcraft, Planetside, Call of Duty, Auto Assault Beta.
Book: Working my way through assorted White Wolf Vampire rulebooks.
Muffin: Raspberry-Blackberry.
Punchline: "Is there something wrong with our connectivity?"

Where to begin?

Sunday, I went to my mother's house to help her pack up, and to wish her a happy birthday. She has no ability to handle moving. She hates and fears change, like so many other people, and she's nervous about the whole thing. By the way, she doesn't have to move until the end of September...and she's packing. She lives in under 650sq ft. I could pack her whole apartment in a relaxing weekend. But she wanted to get started early. So we packed.

Was a stressful week for my mother. The family business closed, she had a birthday, she's moving...lots of changes for her. Makes her nervous, I suppose. But she'll make it through. She always has. And anyway, I'm here to help. So there's that.

Monday, I woke up, and frankly, wasn't feeling like going to work. I called in for a personal day. I cleaned the house, worked on my resume, played some games, read chunks of the new Harry Potter book, cooked a yummy lunch and then a yummy dinner, watched Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle (which I recommend highly.)

In short, it was pretty much a mental health day. I needed one pretty badly, it seems, because I was in a pretty good mood this morning, in spite of the fact that I finished the Harry Potter book at 2:30am this morning. What can I tell you? I read fast...and I hate putting a good book down.

Rowling has definitely gotten better with her writing. It doesn't feel so forced or playful. The writing is pretty solid, and the characters are definitely fully fleshed. There are still plenty of throwaway characters and ideas and such...and plenty of gratuitous cameos by magic and people alike...but overall it was pretty good. I liked it better than the last one, for certain.

Anyway, woke up, peeled myself out of bed, got out of the shower, and immediately got a phone call. Newsflash: if my work phone is ringing just before 8am, I'm either onsite (which I'm not this month...) or there's something wrong at work.

Turns out that our T1 went down around 6am. Fabulous.

Now, we do our own DNS, hosting, and mailhosting. This means we have no web presence, and no mail in or out.

If you've ever dealt with major connectivity in NYC, you've dealt with Verizon. They're the only game in town. Yes, there are thousands of resellers and ISPs...but your circuit is undeniably owned and operated by Verizon. That means that you can have any color of car you like...but it's all the same exact model.

When the circuit fails, the ISP says "we're calling Verizon" and then you're in Verizonland. This means that they are "working on it" until it's fixed...which could be in 30 minutes...it could be tomorrow. And even the ISP can get no more than that. Occasionally, you'll get a "we're dispatching someone this afternoon..." but that's usually a lie, and sometimes they fix it before the dispatch...or well after.

Now, let's be a LITTLE fair to Verizon. They ARE the only game in town, and by and large, I've only had 4 outages of any consequence in the last 3 years and change...so it's not THAT bad. But when it's down...oh boy.

Of course, when you're the IT guy, and connectivity is down, you get questions every 5 minutes: "Is there something wrong with our mail?" "My computer can't go on the web." "Is something wrong with our internet?" (Of course, I love the last one. Yes. Our whole internet is down. Damn that Al Gore!)

Anyway, to avoid torture and pain, I posted this message all over the office:

---

Yes, our connectivity is down.

No, I don’t know when it’ll be back.

Yes, we’re working on it.

No, I have no ETA on Verizon.

Yes, I’ll let everyone know when it’s back.

---

Anyway, about 3 hours after the reported outage, it came back up. For no reason. I'm not complaining...because it's up. But when I called my ISP as to a reason (you know, to see if this is going to be a regular occurrence...) they simply replied that Verizon had provided no information, they have no idea what they did, but they're seeing my smartjack, and we have a loop again.

OK...so it's working. And I'm blogging.

Maybe I'll go take another mental health day.