I'm up at 6:00 on the second morning, packing up my bags and getting ready to leave. I'm checked out and downstairs with all my stuff by 7:00 - ready to leave to head to the office for another day of training. The rest of the crew is a little late but we still get there just as the trainers are arriving.
The training is less relevant to what I need to learn, but I took plenty of notes and tried my best. I checked my email a few times since we were online and we took a short break early on for some breakfast. The rest of the morning went slowly and we broke for lunch a little after noon. The trainers drove us over in two cars and our car got a little lost. Lunch was burgers - served outdoors right on the bay. It was really beautiful there - but my table spent most of the time talking shop. I finally said, "Look! The ocean!" - but they didn't really get it.
Lunch dragged on a bit and though I didn't really want to go back into the training room - I also thought we had wasted a bit of time. My co-worker and I had to leave to catch a flight at 6:41 and we got ready to go a little after 4:00. The driver was supposed to pick us up at the training center, but we got word that they were at our hotel - ironic considering we had to drag our bags from there at 7:00 AM that morning. One of the trainers agreed to drive us and our bags back to the hotel - but when we arrived, no driver. The trainer made some calls and a driver finally arrived - in a stretch limo. Calling himself 'the rescuer', the driver loaded up our bags and we got into the back of this well appointed, but not terribly well maintained, limo.
The delay got us on the road a bit later, and we were in traffic in a residential neighborhood. Suddenly, a gate at a house was opened and a dog ran out into traffic - right in front of the limo. We heard a thump and when I looked back, the dog was running in traffic and ran back to the house and the gate. The driver stopped the car and one of the residents came up. The driver apologized and said he would come back, but that he had to drop us off. The resident started yelling about the driver getting out or the cops would be called. The driver decided that the situation would only get worse and drove off. We managed to get to the airport in time, but it was a little close. I took my bag with me on the plane and we got assigned new seats as we boarded - giving us more room on the undersold flight.
In Atlanta we ate near the re-assigned gate - fortunately, since they started boarding early. We were packed in there for the final leg of the flight and got a bit delayed in leaving. The plane was small and there was only one flight attendant. She did a good job, but I could tell she was tired. Finally arrived at Akron/Canton airport and got our stuff together. My co-worker dropped me off at home and I took a quick shower and went to bed. Long freaking couple of days. I liked the weather - what I saw of it down there - but I was still glad to be home.
I'll have some more notes later - but it's time to get back to work...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
the trip - day one.
So, I'm up at about 4:45 AM on Monday morning - on the internet, checking on my flight. It's still on, so I wake up my room-mate to drive me to the airport. I get there without any trouble, then get checked in. I also check my bag - which turned out to be a mistake - but head on down to the security checkpoint. I'd also like to point out that the clerk at the counter told me that I would have to recheck my bag in Atlanta as I was on standby there. While in line, but still not that far along, I realize that I have my co-workers boarding pass as well as my own. Not sure if that will be a problem for him, I head back to the check-in area, find a phone, and leave a message for him. And wait for him until too much time passed and I got nervous. Back to security and through the checkpoint - then waiting at the gate area. My co-worker arrives and we chat for a bit before boarding.
The plane at the akron canton airport was kind small and we were packed in there pretty well. Everyone was trying to make the best of the situation - but then we found out that we couldn't move - the ground was too slippery and the buggy couldn't pull us to the de-icing station. Plan B was to bring the de-icing truck to us, but that didn't work either. So, eventually, the captain decided on Plan C - pull the gates away from the plane and use the engines to make the plan do essentially a 180 at the gate area and power on down to the de-icing station. Which was a little weird, but it worked. Plan de-iced and finally on the runway - 3rd in line. Finally in the air - and my co-worker and I are pretty sure we're going to miss our connecting flight.
I couldn't get to my paper stash - so I re-folded my 14 piece emergency stash over and over until we landed.
When we land in Atlanta, I go to claim my bag while my co-worker checks on the next flight - since there's no way we'll make ours. He comes back to me at the baggage area in a hurry and says the clerk will get us on a plane - but that my bag has already gone on to Miami. Great.
We get some over-priced Arby's and get to the plane on time. I'm better prepared on paper and give leave a complex module behind for the flight attendants. We meet our driver and go to pick up my bag. My baggage claim ticket is ignored and they lady tells me to just pick up my bag if I see it. Which I do and we're on the road.
In route to the hotel, we get a call from the company and ask the driver to re-route and take us to the office instead. We finally arrive and head right into training for 3 hours. Finally take a break at 6 and walk to the hotel. Our directions are bad, but we finally get there - to find that the rest of the crew that was flying in for the second part of the training has just arrived at the hotel. I'm reminded of the Home Alone scene where the mother drives cross country with a polka band to get to her son - and the rest of the family arrives moments later from a standby plane trip.
A quick change of clothes and we head out to dinner. I'm dressed to try and blend in - everyone else still looks like they are from Ohio. Dinner was at Los Rancheos and it was good - I had the red snapper, beans and rice, and plantains. As expected with a bunch of geeky guys on a trip - the humor warped and the stories are un-repeatable.
After dinner we walk around for a bit until we quickly get to a bad section of town and turn around. One co-worker stops to buy a sandwich for a homeless guy so we wait for that to be prepared. It's after 10 before we get to the hotel and I call it a night while the rest of the crew heads to the bar. The shower is hot, the bed is king-sized, the pillows inviting. I set a wake up call for an early morning of more training and go to bed.
The plane at the akron canton airport was kind small and we were packed in there pretty well. Everyone was trying to make the best of the situation - but then we found out that we couldn't move - the ground was too slippery and the buggy couldn't pull us to the de-icing station. Plan B was to bring the de-icing truck to us, but that didn't work either. So, eventually, the captain decided on Plan C - pull the gates away from the plane and use the engines to make the plan do essentially a 180 at the gate area and power on down to the de-icing station. Which was a little weird, but it worked. Plan de-iced and finally on the runway - 3rd in line. Finally in the air - and my co-worker and I are pretty sure we're going to miss our connecting flight.
I couldn't get to my paper stash - so I re-folded my 14 piece emergency stash over and over until we landed.
When we land in Atlanta, I go to claim my bag while my co-worker checks on the next flight - since there's no way we'll make ours. He comes back to me at the baggage area in a hurry and says the clerk will get us on a plane - but that my bag has already gone on to Miami. Great.
We get some over-priced Arby's and get to the plane on time. I'm better prepared on paper and give leave a complex module behind for the flight attendants. We meet our driver and go to pick up my bag. My baggage claim ticket is ignored and they lady tells me to just pick up my bag if I see it. Which I do and we're on the road.
In route to the hotel, we get a call from the company and ask the driver to re-route and take us to the office instead. We finally arrive and head right into training for 3 hours. Finally take a break at 6 and walk to the hotel. Our directions are bad, but we finally get there - to find that the rest of the crew that was flying in for the second part of the training has just arrived at the hotel. I'm reminded of the Home Alone scene where the mother drives cross country with a polka band to get to her son - and the rest of the family arrives moments later from a standby plane trip.
A quick change of clothes and we head out to dinner. I'm dressed to try and blend in - everyone else still looks like they are from Ohio. Dinner was at Los Rancheos and it was good - I had the red snapper, beans and rice, and plantains. As expected with a bunch of geeky guys on a trip - the humor warped and the stories are un-repeatable.
After dinner we walk around for a bit until we quickly get to a bad section of town and turn around. One co-worker stops to buy a sandwich for a homeless guy so we wait for that to be prepared. It's after 10 before we get to the hotel and I call it a night while the rest of the crew heads to the bar. The shower is hot, the bed is king-sized, the pillows inviting. I set a wake up call for an early morning of more training and go to bed.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
plan-effing-B
Gotta go out of town on some training with one of my co-workers - heading to Miami. We've been planning this for a few weeks and while I don't really mind flying, there's a lot of variables to consider. My room-mate has been trying to help, but he sorta ended up making me feel a bit more apprehensive. Plus, the 20/20 story on lost/stolen luggage didn't help.
So, this morning at about 10 minutes to 10 o'clock, I'm in the bathroom taking care of some last minute business when my room-mate knocks on the door and says my boss is on the phone. A few moments later I'm on the phone and the news is not good.
The flight, supposed to leave at 12:00 today - has been canceled.
So, he and I shared some intel with my co-worker about the next step. My co-worker has talked to Delta and managed to get us rescheduled. The soonest flight is tomorrow morning at 7:15 AM - meaning that even if everything goes exactly right - we'll still be at minimum 4 hours late to the training. Which sucks since we are only going to be there through noon on Tuesday anyway.
Strangely enough, the airport website listed the flight as on-time. Apparently, they suck.
I've got all my stuff re-printed out and I guess I'm ready to go for tomorrow. So, I'll be up at 4:00 AM - on the computer, checking the airline website to see if my flight is still on.
later...
So, this morning at about 10 minutes to 10 o'clock, I'm in the bathroom taking care of some last minute business when my room-mate knocks on the door and says my boss is on the phone. A few moments later I'm on the phone and the news is not good.
The flight, supposed to leave at 12:00 today - has been canceled.
So, he and I shared some intel with my co-worker about the next step. My co-worker has talked to Delta and managed to get us rescheduled. The soonest flight is tomorrow morning at 7:15 AM - meaning that even if everything goes exactly right - we'll still be at minimum 4 hours late to the training. Which sucks since we are only going to be there through noon on Tuesday anyway.
Strangely enough, the airport website listed the flight as on-time. Apparently, they suck.
I've got all my stuff re-printed out and I guess I'm ready to go for tomorrow. So, I'll be up at 4:00 AM - on the computer, checking the airline website to see if my flight is still on.
later...
Friday, December 14, 2007
address labels, computer part, traffic cop, reaping
My room-mate wanted some address labels printed up and he had several sheets of unmarked blank labels. So, I measured the labels, fired up the internet and figured out the size/style - Avery 5160. I next fired up word and looked for a template. Ummm... there weren't any. So, I checked the help area and tried to find a place to download the correct set up. Poorly organized and missing, you know, the standard ones. Everything was holiday or jelly jar labels. I finally downloaded a christmas one that I figured I could hack to make functional and plain - but then I noticed a label setting in word 2007. In a few minutes I had selected the correct size and added in the address. Hit the print button and it asked me to save the file in an .xps format. Which isn't one I was familiar with, but oh well. And then nothing happened. I closed word and then tried to reopen the file I just created. It wasn't recognized. Wait, what? Word forces me to save a file in a format that even it doesn't recognize? That hardly seems fair. And it had also set up an .xps printer for me that wouldn't work either.
I ended up using delete and then copy and paste to turn the holiday one into something more plain. It works, but the formatting is messed up on the first label in the batch. So, the best we can get from one sheet is 29 labels. So, a sort of success, but more work than it needed to be.
In other news... I checked a local computer parts/cable store at lunch yesterday for the part I needed. Once I finally got someone's attention, they didn't have a clue. They checked with someone better stocked in clues and determined they didn't have anything even close to what I needed.
In a way, I feel a little better that the "experts" are clueless - I was thinking I was behind the times on my tech stuff. I did find the part on-line and got it ordered - though even that was weird. After I got my order confirmation, they suggested I could avoid delays by giving them the last four digits of my social security number in order to verify. Instead, I gave them some harsh comments on their feedback form.
My drive back from Chipotle yesterday at lunch time was interrupted by a traffic cop. He was in the middle of the street and I was unfortunately the first car in the group he stopped. Accident? Construction? Visiting dignitary? Nope. He stopped a bunch of cars on Market street (one of the busiest in all of akron) so that people could leave a restaurant parking lot.
Now, your first thought may be - "are you shitting me?" And I can reply that no, I'm not. It really happened. I'm sitting there in my car, my burrito slowly cooling in the seat next to me - full of crankiness.
Based on what I could see in the opposing lanes, they must have been around 40-50 cars stopped so that the lunchtime restaurant crowd could leave their parking lot. Ummm... nobody stopped traffic so I could pull out of Chipotle. Or the parking lot at work. Or my driveway at home. Or the gas station. Or the bank. It felt like I was there for 600 years, but eventually the cop let the rest of the traffic go. If memory serves, my car was home to some harsh language on my way back to work.
Watched a movie last night - The Reaping. The premise wasn't bad - but the movie was full of plot holes and sub-par acting. The "big twist" was amazingly obvious and trite - but even with all that against it, the movie was kinda fun. And the special effects really ramped up at the end, as though they knew it was bad and were trying to make up for it.
That's it for now... later...
I ended up using delete and then copy and paste to turn the holiday one into something more plain. It works, but the formatting is messed up on the first label in the batch. So, the best we can get from one sheet is 29 labels. So, a sort of success, but more work than it needed to be.
In other news... I checked a local computer parts/cable store at lunch yesterday for the part I needed. Once I finally got someone's attention, they didn't have a clue. They checked with someone better stocked in clues and determined they didn't have anything even close to what I needed.
In a way, I feel a little better that the "experts" are clueless - I was thinking I was behind the times on my tech stuff. I did find the part on-line and got it ordered - though even that was weird. After I got my order confirmation, they suggested I could avoid delays by giving them the last four digits of my social security number in order to verify. Instead, I gave them some harsh comments on their feedback form.
My drive back from Chipotle yesterday at lunch time was interrupted by a traffic cop. He was in the middle of the street and I was unfortunately the first car in the group he stopped. Accident? Construction? Visiting dignitary? Nope. He stopped a bunch of cars on Market street (one of the busiest in all of akron) so that people could leave a restaurant parking lot.
Now, your first thought may be - "are you shitting me?" And I can reply that no, I'm not. It really happened. I'm sitting there in my car, my burrito slowly cooling in the seat next to me - full of crankiness.
Based on what I could see in the opposing lanes, they must have been around 40-50 cars stopped so that the lunchtime restaurant crowd could leave their parking lot. Ummm... nobody stopped traffic so I could pull out of Chipotle. Or the parking lot at work. Or my driveway at home. Or the gas station. Or the bank. It felt like I was there for 600 years, but eventually the cop let the rest of the traffic go. If memory serves, my car was home to some harsh language on my way back to work.
Watched a movie last night - The Reaping. The premise wasn't bad - but the movie was full of plot holes and sub-par acting. The "big twist" was amazingly obvious and trite - but even with all that against it, the movie was kinda fun. And the special effects really ramped up at the end, as though they knew it was bad and were trying to make up for it.
That's it for now... later...
Thursday, December 13, 2007
jaw, radio shack, babies, work
My jaw is still bothering me this morning. I'm still thinking it's stress and it will get better once things settle down a bit. Of course, I've got some traveling to do in a few days - so, I'm guessing that I'm not quite done with the stress. Fortunatly, most of the whole process is out of my control so that should help a bit.
In my travels last evening, I went into Radio Shack - looking for a computer cable. The sales dude looked at me liked a grown a second head when I described what I was looking for. Needless to say, they didn't have it - but at least he was able to recommend another place to try.
Also went to target and Babies R Us for the baby showers coming up. I'm glad there were gift registry's for both events as I was totally out of my element. Target's was better - the aisles were labeled and the item codes were clearly marked. I got everything wrapped and I'm going to make some origami ducks for the packages. Might even be able to skip the cards as the origami will make it very clear who they are from.
The computer issues yesterday slowed me down a bit and the afternoon was a mess. Oh, and I'd like to go on the record about something. We've been trying to hire a student assistant for our group and had a discussion yesterday in out meeting about the two candidates. My colleagues? Totally worthless in this area. I could not believe some of the comments - and I started to get a little cranky with them. I'd be better off rolling some dice. Not that I'm going to do that - I'm going to do this the right way. But still, for the record, totally worthless.
Guess that's about it for now... time to get moving... later
In my travels last evening, I went into Radio Shack - looking for a computer cable. The sales dude looked at me liked a grown a second head when I described what I was looking for. Needless to say, they didn't have it - but at least he was able to recommend another place to try.
Also went to target and Babies R Us for the baby showers coming up. I'm glad there were gift registry's for both events as I was totally out of my element. Target's was better - the aisles were labeled and the item codes were clearly marked. I got everything wrapped and I'm going to make some origami ducks for the packages. Might even be able to skip the cards as the origami will make it very clear who they are from.
The computer issues yesterday slowed me down a bit and the afternoon was a mess. Oh, and I'd like to go on the record about something. We've been trying to hire a student assistant for our group and had a discussion yesterday in out meeting about the two candidates. My colleagues? Totally worthless in this area. I could not believe some of the comments - and I started to get a little cranky with them. I'd be better off rolling some dice. Not that I'm going to do that - I'm going to do this the right way. But still, for the record, totally worthless.
Guess that's about it for now... time to get moving... later
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
computer, tech support, game, baby, jaw
Computer woes. I'm only going to write this to down to preserve it for the ages. And the biggest problem was that I was trying to be clever - which has never, EVER, worked for me.
1. Remove hard-drive from non-working home Gateway
2. Remove HD from old working work Dell
3. Install HD from home to work Dell.
4. Boot
5. Error - you must activate windows. Which didn't work. Apparently, microsoft locks the software to the hardware configuration - which totally sucks. I even tried calling them and got nowhere.
6. Can't add the home HD as a slave since I've only got one port in the machine.
So, I'm going to try and use a SATA/IDE cable to connect the old hard-drive to my new work machine as a drive, the get the data off of there. And then I'm going to delete everything else on there and melt it down with the sheer force of my burning will. Should be fun.
My uncle called last night - he asked for the help desk. Apparently my cousin was working on a paper for school and the computer didn't have enough memory to print the pictures. I gave him some suggestions and they said they would call back if they had trouble. They didn't call back so I guess my status as a first level geek is still okay.
Played Final Fantasy again last night - took on two more big-ass monsters. The dinosaur I set on fire a bunch of times until he killed off some of my characters - them I took him out with some specialized super cool partially automated combat moves that drained all the characters magic - but did the job. The big winged dragon was tougher and I had to follow the stragety I found on-line - which was this:
1. Hide behind a rock so he can't reach you
2. Reflect his magic back at you
3. Throw lighting bolts at him until he dies.
Which was fine until my characters ran out of magic. They were reduced to throwing money at the dragon - which seems kinda lame, but worked.
In other news... I've got two baby showers to buy for. Not that I'm going to attend as I think those things are almost painfully boring, but babies need stuff and I'm happy to help out with that part.
And lastly - my jaw hurts. Like a TMJ kinda hurt. Must be stress.
Well, busy day - gotta get back to it... later...
1. Remove hard-drive from non-working home Gateway
2. Remove HD from old working work Dell
3. Install HD from home to work Dell.
4. Boot
5. Error - you must activate windows. Which didn't work. Apparently, microsoft locks the software to the hardware configuration - which totally sucks. I even tried calling them and got nowhere.
6. Can't add the home HD as a slave since I've only got one port in the machine.
So, I'm going to try and use a SATA/IDE cable to connect the old hard-drive to my new work machine as a drive, the get the data off of there. And then I'm going to delete everything else on there and melt it down with the sheer force of my burning will. Should be fun.
My uncle called last night - he asked for the help desk. Apparently my cousin was working on a paper for school and the computer didn't have enough memory to print the pictures. I gave him some suggestions and they said they would call back if they had trouble. They didn't call back so I guess my status as a first level geek is still okay.
Played Final Fantasy again last night - took on two more big-ass monsters. The dinosaur I set on fire a bunch of times until he killed off some of my characters - them I took him out with some specialized super cool partially automated combat moves that drained all the characters magic - but did the job. The big winged dragon was tougher and I had to follow the stragety I found on-line - which was this:
1. Hide behind a rock so he can't reach you
2. Reflect his magic back at you
3. Throw lighting bolts at him until he dies.
Which was fine until my characters ran out of magic. They were reduced to throwing money at the dragon - which seems kinda lame, but worked.
In other news... I've got two baby showers to buy for. Not that I'm going to attend as I think those things are almost painfully boring, but babies need stuff and I'm happy to help out with that part.
And lastly - my jaw hurts. Like a TMJ kinda hurt. Must be stress.
Well, busy day - gotta get back to it... later...
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
computer, mask, throw "gil"
Got my new computer yesterday - a kick ass Dell. It came with Vista, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Had a little trouble with the internet connection until I finally found the right tool to convince it to go fix the problem. Turns out I needed to set it to "public" - and Hello, firewall.
Step 2 will be to install the old hard-drive and get the information off there that we need. Maybe I'll work on that this evening.
My attempts at mask-making have failed again. I tried much hotter water for a much longer time - still no luck. I think the piece of leather that I have is just too think. Gotta come up with a Plan B for that one.
Finally, I fired up Final Fantasy again and tried to take on the the "attack-limiting" monster. Here's how it went down.
1. I cast berserk on one character to see if he would mindlessly attack - and then I cast decoy on him to draw the monster's fire and reverse so it would heal him. Well, he just stood there until the reverse wore off and then died in a few moments.
2. I brought him back and tried some area effect spells to hit the monster and his minions. It was working, but slowly. And the bad dudes kept casting Silence on my group so that we couldn't do magic. I'd just barely get them talking again and another silence wave would hit.
3. Finally killed all the minions, but the main one wasn't going down quickly enough. So, I took a look at the Techniques - other options that aren't attacks or magic, sorta "something else". One of those was "throw Gil", with Gil being the coin money in this game. And I've got a pile of it from selling loot. So, I had one of the silenced characters use the "throw Gil" technique and got this message:
"A pile of gil flies through the air. 9999 damage"
And the big monster's health takes a huge hit. So, for the next couple of minutes, I used that skill over and over until he was defeated.
So, let's sum this up:
1. Gil = money
2. Throw Gil is a skill that throws money
3. The monster was a problem
4. I used the Throw Gil technique to defeat the monster
5. I threw money at a problem until it went away.
HA!
later...
Step 2 will be to install the old hard-drive and get the information off there that we need. Maybe I'll work on that this evening.
My attempts at mask-making have failed again. I tried much hotter water for a much longer time - still no luck. I think the piece of leather that I have is just too think. Gotta come up with a Plan B for that one.
Finally, I fired up Final Fantasy again and tried to take on the the "attack-limiting" monster. Here's how it went down.
1. I cast berserk on one character to see if he would mindlessly attack - and then I cast decoy on him to draw the monster's fire and reverse so it would heal him. Well, he just stood there until the reverse wore off and then died in a few moments.
2. I brought him back and tried some area effect spells to hit the monster and his minions. It was working, but slowly. And the bad dudes kept casting Silence on my group so that we couldn't do magic. I'd just barely get them talking again and another silence wave would hit.
3. Finally killed all the minions, but the main one wasn't going down quickly enough. So, I took a look at the Techniques - other options that aren't attacks or magic, sorta "something else". One of those was "throw Gil", with Gil being the coin money in this game. And I've got a pile of it from selling loot. So, I had one of the silenced characters use the "throw Gil" technique and got this message:
"A pile of gil flies through the air. 9999 damage"
And the big monster's health takes a huge hit. So, for the next couple of minutes, I used that skill over and over until he was defeated.
So, let's sum this up:
1. Gil = money
2. Throw Gil is a skill that throws money
3. The monster was a problem
4. I used the Throw Gil technique to defeat the monster
5. I threw money at a problem until it went away.
HA!
later...
Monday, December 10, 2007
games, toys, mask
Did a little running around on Saturday, brought some used games.
1. Shifters - a strange little game that lets the main character shapeshift. Which should be fun, only there are some problems with it. a) No map - well, there's a simplified map, but it's worthless. b) Long load times - especially when going from one unmarked area to another. c) Poor camera controls - i.e. The vomit Cam d) No checkpoints - which I discovered after playing for a couple hours and then dieing - and having to start over from the beginning.
I really wanted to like the game - but it's just so bad.
2. Dragon Quarter - a turn based game. A little odd, but not too bad except - no way to heal. Other than spending "zennys" to buy healing potions. No healing spells, no healing fountains, no little old wise women. "Sure, it's great that you're trying to save all of us from the monsters, but you really need to cough up some zennys if you get hurt," Frustrating - and hard to learn the game when mistakes are so costly.
3. Soul Caliber 2 - or is that Soul Caliber 3? The box was labeled 2, but the disk inside was 3. I think they grabbed the wrong one. In any case, I got my ass kicked. From full life to an 1/8 of a bar in one cheap, unblockable kick. Nice.
Overall, disappointing -but I didn't spend much money on any of them and I got what I paid for.
I also went to a toy store - not to buy anything, but just for the experience. It was pretty crazy in there, but people were not as rude as I expected. They were deeply clueless, but that just meant they got in - and stayed in - each others way. But they weren't mad about it.
Not long ago, I found a website that teaches how to build or create things. Kinda random, but one of the items is a leather mardi-gras mask. Which sounded pretty cool to me. So, I bought a square of leather, followed the directions - and got nothing. It didn't work. I'm guessing the leather I got was too thick and the water wasn't hot enough. I'm going to try again this evening and see how it goes.
That's about it for now - later....
1. Shifters - a strange little game that lets the main character shapeshift. Which should be fun, only there are some problems with it. a) No map - well, there's a simplified map, but it's worthless. b) Long load times - especially when going from one unmarked area to another. c) Poor camera controls - i.e. The vomit Cam d) No checkpoints - which I discovered after playing for a couple hours and then dieing - and having to start over from the beginning.
I really wanted to like the game - but it's just so bad.
2. Dragon Quarter - a turn based game. A little odd, but not too bad except - no way to heal. Other than spending "zennys" to buy healing potions. No healing spells, no healing fountains, no little old wise women. "Sure, it's great that you're trying to save all of us from the monsters, but you really need to cough up some zennys if you get hurt," Frustrating - and hard to learn the game when mistakes are so costly.
3. Soul Caliber 2 - or is that Soul Caliber 3? The box was labeled 2, but the disk inside was 3. I think they grabbed the wrong one. In any case, I got my ass kicked. From full life to an 1/8 of a bar in one cheap, unblockable kick. Nice.
Overall, disappointing -but I didn't spend much money on any of them and I got what I paid for.
I also went to a toy store - not to buy anything, but just for the experience. It was pretty crazy in there, but people were not as rude as I expected. They were deeply clueless, but that just meant they got in - and stayed in - each others way. But they weren't mad about it.
Not long ago, I found a website that teaches how to build or create things. Kinda random, but one of the items is a leather mardi-gras mask. Which sounded pretty cool to me. So, I bought a square of leather, followed the directions - and got nothing. It didn't work. I'm guessing the leather I got was too thick and the water wasn't hot enough. I'm going to try again this evening and see how it goes.
That's about it for now - later....
Friday, December 07, 2007
signs, elliptical, dinosaur
The locker room at the pool has some new signs posted.
1. Sharing is not caring. This one talks about the dangers of sharing towels, brushes, tweezers, razors, etc.
Wait, what? Are you kidding? We have to have signs up to explain this to people? I can't come up with any situation where I would share anything in the locker-room.
"Hey, buddy, can I borrow your razor? I forgot mine,"
"No problem,"
"Hey, is this rust on the blade?"
"Nah, it's just dried blood,"
"Cool, I wouldn't want to get tetanus or something?"
"Ha ha,"
2. Don't spread infections - with a picture of a guys hand wrapped up in gauze. This one is about keeping wounds covered.
"Why is the water around you red?"
"Oh, I accidentally cut my face when I borrowed my buddy's razor,"
"You should cover that up - here, I found this band-aid on the bottom of the pool - that should work,"
"Great! Thanks, I feel better already,"
In other news... I used the elliptical trainer again last night for 15 minutes. Not bad, but kinda boring. I think I need a new CD in the player or maybe figure out how to tie it into the playstation.
Finally, played a little more Final Fantasy 12 last night - trying to level up a bit before I head to the last area of the game again. I had tried some side quests before and one of those was to track down a monster - except no one knew where it was. Well, last night I found it - it's a big freaking dinosaur. And it hits really hard. And it's got something like 30 billion hit points or something. I was getting close to killing it when it wiped out all my characters. I brought in the reserves and they died too. I think there's a way to destroy it, but I need a new plan. Something with Decoy and Reverse maybe. Anyway, I may try again this evening.
That's it for now... it's been a really busy week and I'm glad it's almost done...
1. Sharing is not caring. This one talks about the dangers of sharing towels, brushes, tweezers, razors, etc.
Wait, what? Are you kidding? We have to have signs up to explain this to people? I can't come up with any situation where I would share anything in the locker-room.
"Hey, buddy, can I borrow your razor? I forgot mine,"
"No problem,"
"Hey, is this rust on the blade?"
"Nah, it's just dried blood,"
"Cool, I wouldn't want to get tetanus or something?"
"Ha ha,"
2. Don't spread infections - with a picture of a guys hand wrapped up in gauze. This one is about keeping wounds covered.
"Why is the water around you red?"
"Oh, I accidentally cut my face when I borrowed my buddy's razor,"
"You should cover that up - here, I found this band-aid on the bottom of the pool - that should work,"
"Great! Thanks, I feel better already,"
In other news... I used the elliptical trainer again last night for 15 minutes. Not bad, but kinda boring. I think I need a new CD in the player or maybe figure out how to tie it into the playstation.
Finally, played a little more Final Fantasy 12 last night - trying to level up a bit before I head to the last area of the game again. I had tried some side quests before and one of those was to track down a monster - except no one knew where it was. Well, last night I found it - it's a big freaking dinosaur. And it hits really hard. And it's got something like 30 billion hit points or something. I was getting close to killing it when it wiped out all my characters. I brought in the reserves and they died too. I think there's a way to destroy it, but I need a new plan. Something with Decoy and Reverse maybe. Anyway, I may try again this evening.
That's it for now... it's been a really busy week and I'm glad it's almost done...
Thursday, December 06, 2007
3 to a swim lane, 4 in a car lane
I worked through my lunch yesterday, so I left work early and headed to the pool. Sort of a weird compulsion to go - which I guess is good. The pool in the afternoon was busy - some kind of swim meet or something. The lifeguard was talking to someone and it took me a few minutes to get his attention to find out which lane I could use. He indicated the one at the far end, a sort of not-quite-double lane at the shallow end.
So, I hopped in the pool and got started. At about 5 laps in, a woman sits down on the edge of the pool in "my" lane. When I got to where she was, I asked if she wanted to split the lane or do a rotation. Neither of which I'd done before and I was sort of hoping she'd choose rotation since I'd read about it and sounded "advanced". She picked split and we swam parallel to each other for a while. And since she was much faster than me - it worked out okay, except that I keep overcompensating and bumping into the wall on my side.
And then a guy showed up, sat down at the edge of the pool in "our" lane, and proceeded to swim with us. And that was awkward. I don't think anyone got kicked in the head, but it was a near thing a few times. After a few laps of this, the lane next to ours opened up and he moved over. I did my 30 laps and got out - tired and somewhat glad it was over.
It's funny how I think we come to rely on those floating lane dividers. We get some space defined and it creates a comfort zone. Even with three people we should have had more than enough room, but without those dividers, we were all over the place. Good fences make good neighbors and all that.
After my swim, I got in my car headed home - later than I usually would so traffic was a bit worse. And of course there was a stalled car in the middle lane, not too far away from the entrance ramp. In the lane was the car, a tow truck in front of it and 2 police cars behind it. Seemed like a waste to me. I did a lot of swearing as I tried to get around it and finally got on my way.
Did some reading last night and did a little planning on a scupley project I'd like to try. It was a busy day and I expect today will be more of the same.
later...
So, I hopped in the pool and got started. At about 5 laps in, a woman sits down on the edge of the pool in "my" lane. When I got to where she was, I asked if she wanted to split the lane or do a rotation. Neither of which I'd done before and I was sort of hoping she'd choose rotation since I'd read about it and sounded "advanced". She picked split and we swam parallel to each other for a while. And since she was much faster than me - it worked out okay, except that I keep overcompensating and bumping into the wall on my side.
And then a guy showed up, sat down at the edge of the pool in "our" lane, and proceeded to swim with us. And that was awkward. I don't think anyone got kicked in the head, but it was a near thing a few times. After a few laps of this, the lane next to ours opened up and he moved over. I did my 30 laps and got out - tired and somewhat glad it was over.
It's funny how I think we come to rely on those floating lane dividers. We get some space defined and it creates a comfort zone. Even with three people we should have had more than enough room, but without those dividers, we were all over the place. Good fences make good neighbors and all that.
After my swim, I got in my car headed home - later than I usually would so traffic was a bit worse. And of course there was a stalled car in the middle lane, not too far away from the entrance ramp. In the lane was the car, a tow truck in front of it and 2 police cars behind it. Seemed like a waste to me. I did a lot of swearing as I tried to get around it and finally got on my way.
Did some reading last night and did a little planning on a scupley project I'd like to try. It was a busy day and I expect today will be more of the same.
later...
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
computer, presents, meetings, elliptical
Well, I put in an order for a new Dell yesterday. Should be pretty kick ass - hoping to get it in soon and fire it up. I'm going to try and add the memory and hard-drive from the old computer to boost performance and get the old data off of there.
Got some more packages in the mail - and got everything wrapped. I've even been wrapping the presents my room-mate is getting for his family since I'm way better at that than he is. It's an origami thing.
I've got a total of 11 meetings this week - I think that may be a new record for me. And that's not a good thing. Having trouble finding time to actually get work done.
Worked out on the elliptical again last night - another 15 minutes. Not quite as far as on monday, but I'm trying. I may use it again tonight, we'll see how the knee is doing after the swim today.
Guess that's about it for now... time to get back to work...
Got some more packages in the mail - and got everything wrapped. I've even been wrapping the presents my room-mate is getting for his family since I'm way better at that than he is. It's an origami thing.
I've got a total of 11 meetings this week - I think that may be a new record for me. And that's not a good thing. Having trouble finding time to actually get work done.
Worked out on the elliptical again last night - another 15 minutes. Not quite as far as on monday, but I'm trying. I may use it again tonight, we'll see how the knee is doing after the swim today.
Guess that's about it for now... time to get back to work...
Saturday, December 01, 2007
elliptical trainer, shopping, computer, vain, drive
Bought an elliptical trainer over the weekend - a sort of an early gift. The sales guy at Dick's was sorta crazy - he suggested the extended warranty in case I was working out and a piece "just flies off" - and suggesting that with the warranty, I wouldn't have to pay for repairs. I politely declined.
The assembly went fairly smoothly - though there was one tricky step. No parts left over and the only thing missing was one of the screws to hold the water bottle in place. I'm going to have to position it carefully in the basement - the ceiling is a little low.
The home computer bought the farm again - this time, I think it's history. So much for the free and somewhat suspicious repairs. Ah, well, maybe I can get a good deal with a christmas sale.
Had a bit of a vain moment this weekend. I cleaned out my closets and drawers to donate some clothes to goodwill and in the organizing and re-arranging, I found an old tank top. I put that on after my shower and noticed that it no longer fit me well. I had, somehow, developed a chest. I actually checked myself out in the mirror for a few minutes until I felt silly. Still, the swimming is paying off. And that's cool.
The drive into work... (sigh). I live in Northeast Ohio. It snows here. If it snowed in July - no one should be surprised since we get all the weather types that exist. And it changes every 20 minutes or so. There were flurries in the air this morning as I pulled onto the highway - and immediately had to slam on my brakes since the cars in front of me were going - no lie - less than 25 miles per hour. Everyone else went past us at 60+ and it took a while to find a safe opening to switch lanes - since I had to not only change lanes but double my speed. When I got past those three cars I saw that the lead one was poking along for no good reason. They'll have a cold ride into work today since I blew their doors off- by going the speed limit for the highway!
So, a somewhat cranky start to the morning - but I made it here safely and it's time to get back to it. later...
The assembly went fairly smoothly - though there was one tricky step. No parts left over and the only thing missing was one of the screws to hold the water bottle in place. I'm going to have to position it carefully in the basement - the ceiling is a little low.
The home computer bought the farm again - this time, I think it's history. So much for the free and somewhat suspicious repairs. Ah, well, maybe I can get a good deal with a christmas sale.
Had a bit of a vain moment this weekend. I cleaned out my closets and drawers to donate some clothes to goodwill and in the organizing and re-arranging, I found an old tank top. I put that on after my shower and noticed that it no longer fit me well. I had, somehow, developed a chest. I actually checked myself out in the mirror for a few minutes until I felt silly. Still, the swimming is paying off. And that's cool.
The drive into work... (sigh). I live in Northeast Ohio. It snows here. If it snowed in July - no one should be surprised since we get all the weather types that exist. And it changes every 20 minutes or so. There were flurries in the air this morning as I pulled onto the highway - and immediately had to slam on my brakes since the cars in front of me were going - no lie - less than 25 miles per hour. Everyone else went past us at 60+ and it took a while to find a safe opening to switch lanes - since I had to not only change lanes but double my speed. When I got past those three cars I saw that the lead one was poking along for no good reason. They'll have a cold ride into work today since I blew their doors off- by going the speed limit for the highway!
So, a somewhat cranky start to the morning - but I made it here safely and it's time to get back to it. later...
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