Another world

Right now it seems like WoW, City of Heroes, and Guildwars are the big MMOs with DDO looming in the near future. I might play DDO (emphasis on might - my graphics card might need upgrading for better detail/refresh rate). I was never a Warcraft fan, though, nor a big superhero guy. And by the time Guildwars came out I was already hooked into Ragnarok, a quirky little anime MMO that's lo-tech and all kinds of fun. While it doesn't have a lot of the eye candy, it's definitely another world, and a very large and detailed one at that. You can even get married, if that's your thing (don't get weirded out - there are gameplay reasons to do this), and even go on a honeymoon! A buddy of mine did this once and the wedding presents he got were sick...they received almost 100M worth of gear (a good, moderately upgraded and customized weapon would cost 500k-1M)!

Right now I'm building a monk, but to do so you have to be a little healing guy first so it's rough/slow goings to start out. The cool thing is that by the time I get finished I'll be beatstick that can heal and buff itself severely with access to every type of attack. The bad thing is that until that time I can't hardly wear armor and I have to heal myself after each monster I beat. I can solo, but if I get aggro'd (or if a f'n newb runs a swarm to me) then I have to warp away. That's neet.

One day I'll post screenshots of my monk. Until then, if any of you have a spare Whisper card, can I have it? ;-)

Hodgepodge

-90 degrees is too damn hot for an American November day. I don't necessarily want 36 inches of fresh powder, either, but forgive me if I long for fall temperatures that actually feel like fall temperatures.

-There are certain buzzwords that seem to capture the minds and hearts of business professionals. People in the IT industry seem to like the words "robust" and "solution" quite a bit recently; generaly speaking, I don't want these words to be remotely associated with the software I use. For one, when a company markets its software as a "solution," often times it ends up becoming the "problem." Either the business becomes entirely dependant upon it so that if it goes down then work grinds to a halt OR they can't get it to work in the first place. As for robust...well, the only thing "robust" software seems to do is cost the buyer ten times as much. Screw that. I don't need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to be pissed of at my software. Bill Gates already saw to that.

-It looks like Thursday night is gonna be poker night. Not a guarantee yet, but if I go then it would be a bunch of people from work drinking beer and attempting to play cards. If their drunken poker skill resembles their sober fantasy drafting skills in the least then I *should* finish no lower than second. That being said, someone will probably go heads up with me on a jackass call and win on the river. That'd be fitting.

-I'm so glad hockey is back! Go Coyotes! They haven't won a playoff series for around twenty years now but I don't much care at the moment. Just being able to see the players throw around the puck again is refreshing.

-I'll never again take a full night's sleep for granted after last week. Not being able to sleep through the night for 7 out of 8 nights just sucks. Knowing that parents of newborns go through similar streaks for months makes me somewhat surprised that any of us are even lived through infancy.

Charlie Brown's revenge

If you've read much of the Peanuts strip at all, you know that Chuck's a fan of sports. He plays baseball quite regularly...maybe not very well, but he still plays. But I think his secret passion is football, or at least getting revenge on that bitch-of-a-Lucy character. Lucy asks if Charlie wants to kick the football, Charlie says yes, she holds it, and he runs up to kick it only to have it yanked away at the last second yield terrible results and inevitably landing on his back, or if he really put his leg into it, his head. In fact it's a wonder Charlie Brown didn't end up in a wheelchair from all the falls he took, but I guess bones and organs are remarkably durable in the cartoon world. In any case, seeing that happen over and over as a child really made me angry. I mean REALLY angry!!! All he wanted to do was kick the ball, and that lying sack-o-crap Lucy would continually yank it away. Now, let's not overlook Charlie Brown's part in this...you figure after not more than 4 bad falls he'd have learned to find another holder (man, can you imagine what would happen to a holder in the NFL if he yanked the ball away like that?). He has a certain responsibility to himself to ensure he's not suckered repeatedly. Nonetheless, I still blame Lucy the Liar. If she doesn't yank that ball away...if she lets him kick it even ONCE, who knows how different Charlie's life might have turned out! I swore until weeks after Charles Schultz's death that he had a comic strip already written hidden away in some safe where Charlie finally kicked the ball, only to be printed upon his death. Damn you, Charles! You proved me wrong!

Charlie Brown, if you're out there, I hope you kick that ball some day, and when you do, I hope you drive it so far up Lucy's ass that it pops out her mouth.

My new mission in life

Searching for the world's best-tasting pie.

This is the men's restroom, right?

It's no secret that women frequently go to the restroom in pairs, packs, and various other-sized groupings. Goodness knows what goes on in there...chatting about their boyfriends/dates, discussing the latest fashion trends, arguing over Brad vs. Orlando vs. whoever else happens to be the Hollywood flavor of the month...frankly, I don't give a damn what they do in there. I can confidently guess, though, that whatever it is, guys don't do it. Bathrooms were created for a reason. Guys use them for that reason. They're not gathering places. They're restrooms. We use them and leave....most of us, at least. I've come to find out that there's at least two guys at work that don't necessarily adhere to this philosophy as they've each repeatedly tried to start up conversations with me while I'm in the restroom. I've gotta say that I'm not really comfortable with this. I can think of nothing so important at work that can't wait to be said until I'm out of the restroom and available for a meeting, email, brainstorming session, phone call, or really anything other than a impromptu bathroom chat. I mean, can't you wait to ask me about reversing that fee or reviewing an account closure procedure until I'm done zipping up my pants? WTF? How 'bout you be a guy, leave me alone, and leave me a post-it note or message instead.

Library cards and Lattes

A friend of mine began to wax eloquently on bookstores, books, and the universe of knowledge out there which got me thinking (danger, will robinson, danger!!!)...

I enjoy bookstores because they are humbling...they remind me of just how much I don't know. You would think I would like libraries for the same reason but there's two major differences. One, libraries have the stigma (and often reality) of work associated with them...you go there for research/because you have to when you're younger and that pattern continues for decades. Bah. New books that I can flip through w/o buying anything give me a far more joy than flipping through old books that I don't have to buy. It's like I get to learn something that I want to learn and stick it to the man all the while. And the other reason? Bookstores sell coffee inside, whereas libraries tend to discourage bringing in drinks. Note to libraries - I can read a hell of a lot more when I'm awake!!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

commercial American X-mas. And I can't stand it

I mean it. I can't hardly tolerate going into a big box right now.

Part of the reason I can't stand it is because stores selling X-mas stuff starting Oct. 1 are simply taking the focus away from the fun holiday of Halloween. I mean, you've got Halloween at the end of October, Thanksgiving at the end of November, and Christmas at the end of December...and yet the last holiday of them all gets the most shelf-time at the ol' big box, competing w/the first one? Sad.

But that's really the least of it. Why don't stores put Halloween merchandise on the shelves 10 weeks prior to the holiday? Because it won't sell. Ah, but X-mas stuff apparently does (which means I'm also not a big fan of the people buying the merchandise that early, either). So yes...duh! It comes down to the almighty dollar! Nevermind the fact that I've seen nativity scenes on sale in the same isle as demon masks and statues at the same time. So long as they both bring in the Ben's, right?

From a purely business standpoint I can't say that I blame the companies doing it. If it sells well and the consumers are happy there's really little motivation for them *not* to sell it. Nonetheless, it frustrates me that companies refuse to hold off to sell X-mas gear until at least November, and it frustrates me a little more that people feel they need X-mas gear SOOOO much that they can't possibly buy enough of it from 11/1-12/24 so they have to start a full month earlier.

I realize not everyone does this. I know there's a vast body of people out there that still celebrate Christmas in it's traditional sense and remember the events that the holiday was intended to honor. I just get frustrated by the fact that $$$ has bastardized something wonderful and turned it into X.

*end rant...maybe*

My kryptonite

You put me against a smart, cute woman and I'm powerless to fight.

*sigh*

It's almost here!

Fall and cooler temperatures.

Yes, I know I live in Arizona. But it does actually get cooler here. Not cold. Just cooler. Right now things are very comfortable...beautiful days and somewhat chilly nights. It's what I imagine spring ought to be like. Before the last three days of October we're gonna get blasted with a heat wave again when people will be pissy, then after that it's cooler temps until the end of February (then things suck again, but we won't think about that right now)!

I love being able to wear jackets comfortably! Long sleeves, campfires (hypothetically speaking), hot coffees, blankets...I love it.

:-)

Insert Primal Grunts

This weekend was man weekend.

It started with finishing a hard day at work, then coming home to eat double-pepperoni pizza. Meat. Meat is good. I like pepperoni pizza. The next morning started much how the previous night ended - with pizza for breakfast.

We then move on to football (worst weekend so far...my teams went 1-7 [OU was my serrogate team this weekend - I wanted them to beat Texas since Tx beat Ohio State earlier]). My teams lose, but I'm doing nothing but sitting in my shorts, watching football, and being lazy. Football is good. I like football.

I then go and pick up an old roommate of mine to go see Serenity. For those that don't know what Serenity is, click on the link then go see the movie. For those that know what it is and haven't seen it yet, WTF are you waiting for??? As for it fitting into the man weekend, what's not to like about explosions, assasins, hot chicks that kick ass and openly admit that they enjoy a physical relationship, and deep blue space cowboy story? It's like John Wayne meets Matrix meets Star Trek. Fun stuff. Space Cowboy movies are good. I like space cowboy movies.

From there, I travel to poker night where we have wings, chips, beer, and other people's money. Needless to say (well, it *should* go without saying, but just in case you don't know me well enough to figure it out), I took them all, particularly during one hand of 7 card stud where I had four natural queens with an 8 kicker (yeah, kicker...like I could even use it). Wings, chips, beer, and other people's money are good. I like wings, chips, and beer. I REALLY like other people's money!

I woke up today and turned out the telly to watch some NFL action in HD on the big screen. Good times. After the early games were over I went to play some cards with another friend in the area, then returned home for barbequed meat...some burgers and salmon fillet. Barbequed beef is good. I like barbequed beef.

This was a good weekend! Nothing to complain about, lots of fun. Hope yours was just as enjoyable!

The results are in!

Probably the best football weekend so far...

Ohio State won
Michigan Lost
Notre Dame won
ASU won
Peoria won
My fantasy teams won 2 and lost 1

6-2 overall this weekend.

Ohio State and Arizona State each had the ballgames won in the first half - impressive! And the Badgers of Wisconsin became my new favorite team by beating Michigan and knocking them out of the polls for the first time in quite a while (may the Wolverines rot and die).

Hey Taz, I've got an idea for OU's QB situation - American Quarterback, where the audience decides! :-)

And for the record, it's raining in Arizona right now. Good times!

A good day (the 72-hour kind)

I arrived at work yesterday to find caution tape and crepe paper (the pink kind) wrapping my office and gifts lining my desk. I figure it's a good sign when your employees think enough of you to tease you on your birthday weekend, although the caution tape may have been a legitimate warning to any passers-by that happened through the department. A princess then stole me away for a few minutes to sing me a song and present me with cake and candles (of which only a few were lit, but I didn't care...it was cool, and they were the only cakes and candles I got).

Today I watched college football (a great day, might I add - but more on that tomorrow) and went bowling with a lot of old acquaintences. I got to talk with Sue-in-a-bottle, a dear former coworker of mine, and did something I haven't done in my entire life - converted a 6-7-10 split. It was quite the exciting moment, and the only one converted all day to the knowledge of the employees. After that I came home to watch more football before venturing off to the other side of the valley to have barbequed meat served to me at the local churrasco. If you enjoy meat and you've never been to one, you should be ashamed of yourself. My first experience with one was a 2.5 hour long sitting at Samba in the Mirage Las Vegas - probably the best first churrasco experience one could possibly have. The local one here had great food, just was missing the ambience. Anyway the list was incredible...tilapia, salmon, chicken breast, chicken legs, lamb, sausage, ham, filet mignon, top sirloin, prime rib, bacon-wrapped turkey...mmmmm. Meat, fire, and an incredibly cute hostess - quite possibly the most physically-attractive woman I've ever seen in my life. Greg, if you're reading this, she beats all the cute PF Chang's hostesses we've seen COMBINED. And then I had their chocolate mousse...sweet mercy, so good!

I'm gonna watch a movie now, then pass out, sleep in tomorrow, maybe have some margaritas at Applebees, maybe buy something electronic, watch more football...birthdays don't get too much better! All that's missing is a good woman and I'm golden! :-)

Bliss in a chair

I tend to do a lot of work at my computer. I work at home sometimes. I talk to you all. I write articles. I do research. I sleep (there's been more than one night with QWERTY across my face). With all that, you want a comfortable chair.

I haven't been using a comfortable chair for quite some time. My butt and back have hurt a lot. I'm sure you wanted to know that.

A couple months ago I was leaning back in my perfectly comfortable chair and heard something of a crack - never a welcomed sound. In my mind, I knew that sound meant certain doom if I leaned back in my chair one more time, yet the laws of idiocracy compelled me to throw my weight backwards as I have so many times before, half expecting to lean back as normal, the other half expecting to be impaled by the steel that connects the back to the cushion.

The latter half won, sans the impaling (whew). It was a good chair... *tear* Only $50, but it lasted me years, had a great cushion, good back support, and great lean. I lean back in my chair, so that's quite important. I lean. It's what I do.

Since that fabulously awkward moment I've been using some leftover piece of crap chair that mom brought home from her old job. Barely any cushion, squeaky, strangely shaped back, and NO LEAN! I'm surprised I didn't just chuck it out the window. Just the other day I saw my chair on sale for $50 again, so I went out and snagged it. Thank goodness for machine parts! It feels just like the old one...a little firmer cushion, a little stiffer lean, but it's definitely the same chair. Who knew $50 could buy you bliss?

That's all for now. I have to get back to work. I'm leaning.

Bloody Pooh Bear, and another bummer weekend

There's someone at work...well, a couple of someone's, actually...that are going to challenge my workplace cunning. Or so they say. Evidently they think it'd just be the bees knees to mess with my desk and such at work, as my desk is too organized for their liking. Yes, I'm organized. No, I'm definitely not OCD. I told them that they don't frighten me, which is entirely true. I've gone up against far worse than them and come out unscathed. Not even Princess Pino and her unruly gang of knaves could scar me! They asked what made me so confident, at which point I relayed my Pooh Bear incident.

Pino and her lackey Michele stole my smiley figurines and Daunte Culpepper. I said we'd get them back, they said we wouldn't. So I resorted back to an old addage - kill them with kindness. That night I went out and purchase a pooh bear stuffed animal, a large Disney gift bag, and a smaller white box with some tissue paper. Michele was a big Disney fan, so I figured she'd never suspect anything unseemly. I then went home and ripped pooh's head off, painted the stuffing red, jammed it on a pike, and wrapped it in tissue paper for Michele. I then painted the top of the body red and put it in the box to be delivered to the Princess later the same day.

It worked to perfection - Michele saw the bag, was delighted, and opened it with glee only to find Pooh's head on a pike, holding up the stick for all to see. It was great! Then the body was delievered to complete the day. Good times! Everyone in the department knew I was weird, but then they thought I was a psycho. Nobody messed w/me again. :-)

And for the record...

OSU won...
Michigan didn't lose...
Notre Dame lost...
ASU won...
Peoria lost (0-3 for the first time ever...sad, sad days)...
All my fantasy teams lost...

2-6 for the weekend. *sigh* Shameful and saddening.

Fan 2, Idiots 0

A couple of years ago I went to help my friend install a new ceiling fan in his house (he was remodeling before they actually moved in). Allow me to set the stage somewhat...

- My dad is disabled and wasn't able to show me how to work on anything, so all my building/mechanical skill comes from reading directions, trial, and error. I can change my oil in my car, change belts, and change tires. I can also put together complete home gyms and such. Not much else beyond that. I absolutely abhore yardwork, but I know how to install sprinkler systems (hell, I helped installed a small city's entire water system - not a lie). I'm not electrically inclined, but I know enough that red goes to red, black goes to black, green goes to ground, and blue goes to I have no idea.

- My friend likes power tools. A lot. And likes to use them whenever he can. He acts similar to Tim the Toolman Taylor, but he has maybe 1/3rd the know-how. So combine mechanical power with ignorance, and...yeah.

So anyway, we go to install this fan. He takes is Ryobi power drill and some screws and starts going to town. I look at the directions, then look up at what he's doing; I immediately see that there's *no* way we're going to be able to install this fan. He doesn't have the installation box installed to the frame, instead electing to try to mount the fan straight to the drywall/ceiling. I try to tell him this won't work. He drills another hole so as to say, "This just worked." I think about trying to explain to him that a 15-20 pound fan won't stay secured to dry wall by two screws, but instead I just climb the ladder and drill a hole - may as well join in the fun, right? Then he goes to start working with the electrical connections, and I notice the switch is still on.

"Joe, you turn off the circuit?"

"No. Switch is off."

"Joe, don't touch that wire."

"Why? The switch is off."

"Uh, the other switch is on."

A few watts and a tingling sensation in his fingertips later, we turned off the circuit.

And the fan didn't stay up (duh).

Fan 1, Idiots 0.

So yesterday he moved out of the house he spent three months remodeling and lived in for a little over a year to a different house on four days' notice. One of the new tasks was none other than installing a ceiling fan. By this time he's seen his father-in-law - a *highly* industrially-inclined individual - install a few ceiling fans and figures he knows what he's doing now. And for some reason I figure he knows what he's doing now, too. Turns out I'm right. This time we turn off the circuit, he matches the wires right, installs into the right area...things go well. Until we notice that the mouting plate is mangled. The welded one mounting bolt at an angle so we have to bang that over with a hammer. Not a problem. They melted a second mounting bold so the tip is 1/8th inch to wide and stripped/warped. Problem. We tried to install it anyway, figuring two bolts might be enough. We figured wrong. Fan blades scraped. Project blown, time wasted. Fan wins again.

Fan 2, Idiots 0.

I'm gonna destroy the next ceiling fan I see that isn't attached to a ceiling.

My kids were needy today

I manage a group of about 23 people for a major credit union here in Arizona. And they're kinda like kids. I get them when they're young, build them up, teach them how they should do things, and inevitably they run off in their own directions to succeed or fail as they will.

Right now, 2/3 of my staff are what I could consider newborns-toddlers. And they were needy.

I have no children of my own (not complaining...there's time enough for them later), but I assume that my experience today was something like that of a parent chasing aroudn a room full of 2-4 year olds. Seperating those that aren't getting along. Helping people see what they did wrong and teaching them a better way. Apologizing to those parents of others that were wronged. Feeding them. And pleading for just a moment of silence to yourself in between putting out fires and trying to clean things up around the house.

Yeah. These are adults I'm talking about. And I'm in charge of them...wow...weird.

In spite of the tiring/stressful day, I enjoy what I do and I pretty much always have. Only once have I had a job that I couldn't figure out how to leave it at work and illicited swearing; when I noticed myself reacting like that, I knew it was time to go. But in pretty much everything I've done, the common thread has been growing up a group of people to be successful...teaching, coaching, youth work, managing, squad/fire team leader...I enjoy that. Taking a group of people and training them so they can be successful. My job isn't glorious, nor is it the best job in the world. But I like what I do, and in that regard I count myself blessed.

Even if it does mean cleaning up after 24 year old toddlers.

A rough weekend

Well, lets see.

Peoria (my old h/s football team) lost in the fourth.
Arizona State lost in the fourth.
Ohio State lost in the fourth.
The Arizona Cardinals lost all day long.

The only team that lost that I *wanted* to lose was Michigan, which always brings a smile to my face. Ohio University beat Pitt, too; while I don't really care about Ohio U so much, it was a heck of a game. The ASU/LSU game was incredible, too. I was there in section 208 on the 35 yard line...much fun. I just wish whoever was calling the plays for ASU that game wasn't a certifiable moron. Larry Fitzgerald got popped somethin' fierce in the Cards game this afternoon. In fact, he got hit so hard that his helmet flew off...I'm just glad his head wasn't in it when the helmet came off.

I'm glad that football is back in full swing, make no mistake. Wish a few more of the games would have gone my way, though.

I'll just take it out on my employees tomorrow :-)

Cheers to the gamerfolk

I recently found out that another friend of mine was laid off by a game/accessory company. Shortly thereafter I read that another high-profile volunteer resigned from my old corps. As one friend had his destiny handed to him and another chose it, I just wanted to honor those that I've met and worked with over the past couple of years in the industry...a "thank you" to those who have fed my addiction, so to speak.

Decipher - They gave me my first experiences in the industry. Some incredible people working incredibly hard.

Rook - They make the best damn deck boxes around!

Joyride - My new pimp. Quite a fine cast they've put together, and a product to match.

Wizkids - A neat gaming company I very nearly threw my volunteer efforts to.

Bandai - I worked hand in hand with these guys at times. Another company I almost shifted to.

WOTC - They may be the Evil Empire, but where would we be without them?

So three cheers to the gamerfolk!!! Here's to good friends and new opportunities! See you at the next con...

Teams I like, Teams I don't

Like...

1. Ohio State. I'm a Buckeye, born and raised in Columbus, OH. There is no other school greater than Ohio State, and anybody who knows anything in Columbus knows this. It is an incontrivertable fact of life (unlike my spelling).
X. Arizona State. My family moved to AZ in the early 80's. Been living in the Phoenix area ever since. Go Devils!
X. Notre Dame. Fun for me to watch...I enjoy following the independent teams, and ND plays a hell of a schedule every year. That's the reason I followed Penn State, too (until they joined the Big Ten that can't count).
X. Florida State. It seems to me you have to like one of the three big Florida schools. I can't stand Miami and its cockiness and when I was forming my opinions Spurrier was coaching Florida and running up the score in the 4th which I disagree with. So FSU it is.

There's others that I like/pull for, but these are the ones at the forefront of my mind.

Those that I don't like...
1. University of Michigoboom. The name that I dare not speak. The root of all evil. The spawn of Satan. Nothing good comes from Ann Arbor (as far as I'm concerned Tom Brady jumped straight to the pros from high school). Directions to Ann Arbor from Columbus...north 'till you smell it, west 'till you step in it. I could go on and on.
2. University of Arizona. Slightly less hated than Michigan since they're ASU's rival.
Y. University of Miami. Your mascot is a hurricane, yet an Ibis (or is it a crane) represents you? And you have a giant U on your helmet. Where the filth does that come in. Oh, and they're a bunch of cocky SOBs. I know, I know, Ohio State often has had thugs coming out of there. But I'm from there, which forgives a lot (not murder...I live in Arizona, but Lauren Wade murdered my friend and fellow teammate. F that.).
Y. Tennessee. Because they owned OSU during the 90s. Then again pretty much every top 10 team owned OSU during the John Cooper era. He was a hell of a recruiter, but he couldn't motivate a team to beat a jr. high girls flag football team if they were ranked in the top 10. And their mascot is a volunteer, which strikes not a bit of fear into me whatsoever.
Y. Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, and the Big 12 in general. Because they're genrally good, and they generally end up beating my teams at the worst times. And I don't like their colors and/or mascots (or in Texas' case, both). And they usually take the TV slots when I'd rather see other teams. And I still think that Auburn would have given USC a better game last year, although I think USC would have won either game. And I still think Penn State should have been the champ back in 94/95 when Nebraska somehow bested them. But whatever.

Folks, that's part of what makes college football/sports great...passionate fans for no other reason than "Just cuz, and up yours!" I know that Ohio State isn't the best at everything, and a lot of times they're not even good or likeable, but I'll root for them until I'm in the grave, then I'll root for them some more as I kick Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr in the junk.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

FOOTBALL SEASON!!!

The college season kicked off this weekend, and a hell of a weekend of football it was. ASU kicked ass (yeah!), Ohio State kicked ass (yeah!), OU lost (yeah!), FSU won (yeah!), and Michigan won (may they all forget how to procreate). Some great plays this weekend, including NC State's double-lateral final play, even though it didn't work.

Oh, and in case you missed it, true freshman Keegan Herring, a fellow Peoria Panther, ran for over 130 yards and a TD in his first collegiate game ever, averaging over 10 yards a carry. I hear that kind of performance will win you some awards if you do it over and over again (freshman awards, not the Heisman...I don't think he's *that* good, but if he is, BONUS!).

This weekend was also draft weekend for fantasy football. I'm doing three leagues this year...two of which I have a good shot at finishing top three, the other I'll need a bit of luck as I always do. The guys in that league are all seasoned veterans, but none of them puts in the preparation like I do. Hours of calculations and formulas, hours of strategizing...it's great! Too bad the season takes 22 weeks but the draft only takes a couple hours :-(

A league can never be won in the draft, but it CAN be lost.

Ah, football! Shannon, eat your heart out!