Yeah. I couldn't think of a snappy title today. Oh well.
The running is going fairly well, although its kind of ironic how many things are getting in the way. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it and I want to continue doing it, but it seems like unavoidable things keep popping up. For example, I ended up straining my knee a bit. Nothing serious, no massive damage, just a bit of soreness. So, I downgraded to the stationary bike, at least to keep moving and work on the cardio. I'm thankful I bought one of those "magnetic resistance" bikes, since its absolutely whisper quiet, and you can easily hear the TV or whatever over the bike. However, at the proper height, the seat, for some reason, slants backwards slightly, and thus the support that should be supporting your tailbone is uncomfortably getting "in the way". Yeah, you know what I mean.. lol. I'm going to have to shim the seat somehow to rotate it forward slightly. So, I stick to the bike for a while, and my knee improves. Then the smoke rolls in. Awesome. Thanks Poz for lighting your province on fire. :D But seriously, the air quality has been the worse that I've ever seen or heard of here due to the smoke from forest fires wafting in from a province over. I managed to find some NASA pictures of the smoke plume, and its kind of amazing. I'm just waiting for Greenpeace to blame the tarsands for that one. I mean, they blame everything else on the tarsands, why not forest fires? So yeah, no running, annoying. Grr.
Progress has been made with work, but, as usual, random annoying things keep popping up. Making some experimental progress, although, as per usual, bureaucratic issues keep popping up. I am not a fan of the bureaucracy involved in the University research community. I've always thought of it as a necessary evil, something you dealt with as it came up. Another bureucratic panic has ensued due to a lack of foresight (partly mine, partly others). I'm currently done the paperwork on my end, and again, I find myself in a "HURRY UP AND WAIT" situation. Luckily, I've had random computer help @ the parents place to keep me relatively distracted while I check my email every 20 minutes waiting for a reply that probably won't happen until the usual 2:30am Monday email. That's fine. I'm enjoying hanging out at my parents place.
Unfortunately, I'm starting to get a bit of cabin fever in terms of my gaming. Its part getting bored with what I have and part not having anyone to play the really interesting games with. Its the usual summer issues with everyone having too much to do, all at the same time. I'm enjoying a renaissance of sorts with my 360. I spent the money to get a VGA connection for it, so I could hook it up to my newer wide screen PC monitor that does 1080 HD. Best 50 bucks spent ever. I've been replaying all those games that I eventually got tired of playing on a non HD screen, with text too small to read, and images too fuzzy to figure out what was going on. Its been great, but now I've played/finished everything that is really worthwhile playing. Been looking at Starcraft 2, but yeah, can't really afford to pick that up right now with the move in sight.
Oh yes, the move. That's coming up shortly. Much excitement. Yay!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Rule 1 of Zombieland: Cardio.
Yup, I'm preparing for the imminent Zombie Invasion. The goal is to run faster than someone, and by gum, I'll do it.
But seriously, I've started running again. I used to run a bit back in the day, before my locker was broken into at the University, and everything got pinched, including my New Balance shoes. Oh Poz, I owe you a set of shelves.. lol! But yeah, running is fun, it gets me some much needed exercise. Working in a research lab for so long kind of ruined my fitness, oh well, something to work towards.
3.2 km down, thousands to go. >.>
But seriously, I've started running again. I used to run a bit back in the day, before my locker was broken into at the University, and everything got pinched, including my New Balance shoes. Oh Poz, I owe you a set of shelves.. lol! But yeah, running is fun, it gets me some much needed exercise. Working in a research lab for so long kind of ruined my fitness, oh well, something to work towards.
3.2 km down, thousands to go. >.>
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Eskimos Season Tickets For Sale.
Yeah, I'm seriously considering it.
I'm getting really, really tired of the consistent "shitting of the bed". That's the only thing that's consistent with the current Eskimos, that and the excuse making. I haven't seen the Eskies play a full 60 minute game in about a year.
I'm tired of the constant talk about "something" has to change - but they never change anything.
Fuck it.
If you want to watch a team fold consistently in the 4th quarter of the game, with the lead, with a predictable QB sack on 2nd down, with 10 to go with the Eskimos last touch of the ball in the game, let me know.
I'm getting really, really tired of the consistent "shitting of the bed". That's the only thing that's consistent with the current Eskimos, that and the excuse making. I haven't seen the Eskies play a full 60 minute game in about a year.
I'm tired of the constant talk about "something" has to change - but they never change anything.
Fuck it.
If you want to watch a team fold consistently in the 4th quarter of the game, with the lead, with a predictable QB sack on 2nd down, with 10 to go with the Eskimos last touch of the ball in the game, let me know.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Oh so angry...
Fairly upset about something that happened at work today, so yeah, I'm going to talk about something fun to distract me for awhile. lol.
One of the major things I've been trying to figure out for a long time (and I still have some time to think about it) is whether or not to get involved with either Cataclysm or SWtOR when either come out.
At this point, getting SWtOR is a foregone conclusion. I'll be getting that. There would have to be something serious to prevent me from getting that one, like the game not being printed.. lol. The gameplay looks somewhat new and innovative, although, it still looks fairly similar to the average MMO. They unfortunately braught the "Holy Trinity" into the game, however, from what I can tell, its thankfully not a WoW-clone. Alot of what I saw made sense from a lore and gameplay standpoint (Soldier doing ranged tanking instead of the Jedi, etc). It would be interesting to know how the endgame will play out in this game, specifically because its really where the "meat" of an MMO is. STO really failed here in my opinion, since it seemed like they just rushed it out the door without the back end being complete. Whether or not I actually play SWtOR seriously, I dunno. I can't say where I'm going to be personally/professionally by then (roughly Summer 2011 when the end game is going to be the focus). I suppose it really depends if people I know and want to play with go that way. Who am I kidding, I just want to force-strangle someone in PvP. :D
As for Cataclysm, I'm really interested at the new changes. On the surface, it seems like they're going to reducing the spec and gear optimization coefficients of the "How good are you"-equation. I wouldn't mind that, personally. I miss the days where skill and ability was more important than gear. In Wrath, if you had the gear, you could do the "A million monkeys at a million keyboards" approach and win with most encounters. I miss the days of Vanilla, where good players were rewarded, and idiots were kicked from the raid. Actually, to be more honest, I'm pining for the days of pre-nerf Karazhan. Yes, Karazhan. I really enjoyed that place before they nerfed the shit of out it. I'm hoping that it goes that way for the endgame. The only problems I foresee right now with being able to play are the following:
1. Will I have the time? - I'm not sure, I'd like to say that I will, but I guess that depends on where I am with my work. Things are looking fairly positive, but we'll see. Who knows, I might be a father by then. O.o
2. Where to go? - I have about three different places where I could probably play and be fairly comfortable, or at least have a place to hang my hat. Question is, what's going to work out the best?
We'll see. Unfortunately, I'm speculating on speculation.. woot. We'll see what happens in the long run, I guess. I suppose in the mean time, I'll just keep playing 360 when I get a chance, as well as being the Evil DM, tormenting my 4E group.
OH!
That reminds me, I have to inform my 4E group that they got TPK'd for mostly ditching out on the game at the last minute. Amazing how that happens. >.>
One of the major things I've been trying to figure out for a long time (and I still have some time to think about it) is whether or not to get involved with either Cataclysm or SWtOR when either come out.
At this point, getting SWtOR is a foregone conclusion. I'll be getting that. There would have to be something serious to prevent me from getting that one, like the game not being printed.. lol. The gameplay looks somewhat new and innovative, although, it still looks fairly similar to the average MMO. They unfortunately braught the "Holy Trinity" into the game, however, from what I can tell, its thankfully not a WoW-clone. Alot of what I saw made sense from a lore and gameplay standpoint (Soldier doing ranged tanking instead of the Jedi, etc). It would be interesting to know how the endgame will play out in this game, specifically because its really where the "meat" of an MMO is. STO really failed here in my opinion, since it seemed like they just rushed it out the door without the back end being complete. Whether or not I actually play SWtOR seriously, I dunno. I can't say where I'm going to be personally/professionally by then (roughly Summer 2011 when the end game is going to be the focus). I suppose it really depends if people I know and want to play with go that way. Who am I kidding, I just want to force-strangle someone in PvP. :D
As for Cataclysm, I'm really interested at the new changes. On the surface, it seems like they're going to reducing the spec and gear optimization coefficients of the "How good are you"-equation. I wouldn't mind that, personally. I miss the days where skill and ability was more important than gear. In Wrath, if you had the gear, you could do the "A million monkeys at a million keyboards" approach and win with most encounters. I miss the days of Vanilla, where good players were rewarded, and idiots were kicked from the raid. Actually, to be more honest, I'm pining for the days of pre-nerf Karazhan. Yes, Karazhan. I really enjoyed that place before they nerfed the shit of out it. I'm hoping that it goes that way for the endgame. The only problems I foresee right now with being able to play are the following:
1. Will I have the time? - I'm not sure, I'd like to say that I will, but I guess that depends on where I am with my work. Things are looking fairly positive, but we'll see. Who knows, I might be a father by then. O.o
2. Where to go? - I have about three different places where I could probably play and be fairly comfortable, or at least have a place to hang my hat. Question is, what's going to work out the best?
We'll see. Unfortunately, I'm speculating on speculation.. woot. We'll see what happens in the long run, I guess. I suppose in the mean time, I'll just keep playing 360 when I get a chance, as well as being the Evil DM, tormenting my 4E group.
OH!
That reminds me, I have to inform my 4E group that they got TPK'd for mostly ditching out on the game at the last minute. Amazing how that happens. >.>
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Culture of Losing.
So, another football season, another poor start for the Eskimos.
I feel like I'm watching the same season as last year. Same mistakes, same problems. Nothing ever changes. The problem with the Eskies, again, is the fact that Ricky Ray is the "Sacred Cow" again.
I have no problem with Ricky Ray in terms of a quarterback, he's good at moving the ball, and when he has enough time and protection he performs. However, he's constantly plagued with "inconsistency". I guess if you can call falling apart each and every time a play gets broken, a pass gets dropped, or a big call goes against him being inconsistent. I'd rather say he lacks mental toughness. The sad thing, at least here in Edmonton, is that he's a "feel-good" story. A chip truck driver turned QB. Awesome. That means he's apparently untouchable, well, at least according to the "expert" commentary on 630 CHED.. lol.
Last night, listening to 630 CHED on the way home, the call in show host seemed to think that the only way to fix the Eskimos was to change the play calling in the Red Zone, while leaving Ricky in the mix. I guess if you want more predictable "Truck Routes to the corner" (the nickname we gave to the corner routes that Ricky always throws in the Red Zone) leave Ricky in. Go ahead. We may get lucky if Ricky keeps his head and pulls off a completion. We may win on luck. You know your offense is in trouble if my wife can call the play before the snap.
Ricky moves the ball very well when he's got room at the end of the field for long stretch passes. Awesome. If he doesn't have the skill set to score in the Red Zone, GET HIM OUT in the Red Zone. You have another QB on the sideline that's more than capable of scoring. Even if you don't like Maas, you can't deny that swapping out the QB in the Red Zone would at least confuse the defense enough to make the score easy.
Oh well. I can quote the guy on 630 CHED on saying that Ricky is doing his best.
Heh.. that reminds me of my favorite movie quote:
"Your best? Losers whine about doing their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen."
I wonder how many games we'll lose this year because the management is scared of hurting Ricky's fragile ego.
Anyone want some tickets?
I feel like I'm watching the same season as last year. Same mistakes, same problems. Nothing ever changes. The problem with the Eskies, again, is the fact that Ricky Ray is the "Sacred Cow" again.
I have no problem with Ricky Ray in terms of a quarterback, he's good at moving the ball, and when he has enough time and protection he performs. However, he's constantly plagued with "inconsistency". I guess if you can call falling apart each and every time a play gets broken, a pass gets dropped, or a big call goes against him being inconsistent. I'd rather say he lacks mental toughness. The sad thing, at least here in Edmonton, is that he's a "feel-good" story. A chip truck driver turned QB. Awesome. That means he's apparently untouchable, well, at least according to the "expert" commentary on 630 CHED.. lol.
Last night, listening to 630 CHED on the way home, the call in show host seemed to think that the only way to fix the Eskimos was to change the play calling in the Red Zone, while leaving Ricky in the mix. I guess if you want more predictable "Truck Routes to the corner" (the nickname we gave to the corner routes that Ricky always throws in the Red Zone) leave Ricky in. Go ahead. We may get lucky if Ricky keeps his head and pulls off a completion. We may win on luck. You know your offense is in trouble if my wife can call the play before the snap.
Ricky moves the ball very well when he's got room at the end of the field for long stretch passes. Awesome. If he doesn't have the skill set to score in the Red Zone, GET HIM OUT in the Red Zone. You have another QB on the sideline that's more than capable of scoring. Even if you don't like Maas, you can't deny that swapping out the QB in the Red Zone would at least confuse the defense enough to make the score easy.
Oh well. I can quote the guy on 630 CHED on saying that Ricky is doing his best.
Heh.. that reminds me of my favorite movie quote:
"Your best? Losers whine about doing their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen."
I wonder how many games we'll lose this year because the management is scared of hurting Ricky's fragile ego.
Anyone want some tickets?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Stuck in a community college in Lethbridge...
At least there aren't any zombies. At least not yet.
So, Lethbridge seems like a nice place. Reasonably big, a few things to do, but not really much in terms of big attractions. The only issue really is trying to keep busy, especially today, since I don't have a hotel room to hang out in and work on documentation while I watch the World Cup. Today, unfortunately, I'm sitting in a random common area in Lethbridge College, trying to be useful. To be honest, I'm actually just trying to stay awake. Nothing like getting up at 6 AM to be at a dealership when it opens, so that you have the smallest chance of fixing a potentially catastrophic engine problem with a 6 hour drive ahead of you later in the day.
*sigh*
After waiting about an hour in the waiting room at the dealership, I got the news: the air filter assembly was not bolted down, and was flopping around inside the engine compartment. I immediately rolled my eyes, because I instantly knew what caused the problem. It wasn't no mechanical failure or lack of servicing on my part. No. It was the stupid high school kid working at the Mr. Lube. Yeah. Against probably better judgment, I got an oil change at Mr. Lube, since I was busy with research, and didn't really have the time to muck about with an oil change with Dodge. So, I took the car to Mr. Lube last Saturday, so that we'd be traveling on fresh oil.
So, while my young friend is working on the air filter, his coworker starts telling the story (rather loudly) of how he deflowered a (by his account) a smoking hot chick the previous night at a grad party. The story must have gotten to my young friend, and instead of re-installing my air filter assembly correctly, one bolt made it back in, not tightened, even hand tightened.
Last night, my friends handiwork came undone at an intersection on 3rd Ave S in Lethbridge. Awesome. It sounded like we were either losing a belt or our lifters were beating the crap out of the camshaft. Our pleasure drive turned into questioning if we're actually going to be making it home. Unfortunately, at this point, everything was closed, and we'd have to wait till morning to get it fixed. So, neither of us slept much, if at all, and got up at 6 am, choked down a quick breakfast, hurriedly packed the van, and went to the dealership.
Nicole got a ride to her class here at the college. I stayed in the waiting room listening to the god-awful news on Global Calgary. An hour later, the service manager came up to me and gave me the good news: that the air filter unit was loose.
So yeah, I'll be going to Mr. Lube Thursday, and showing them the bill for this kid's stupidity. I frankly don't care if they cover the cost, or even apologize. I'm going to do what so very few consumers actually do: speak with my money, rather than complain on deaf ears.
Far too many people think that saving a buck is worth the headache of bad customer service. If consumers, in general, actually did more than complain about bad services or products and stopped paying for mediocrity. The only way that the quality of retail services will improve is if you choke out the bad by not using them. Its that simple. Consumers need get out of the rut of "cheapest at any cost" and start looking for value in customer service and quality of product.
Too bad that Japanese Garden didn't have wifi. I'd probably just hang out there today to destress. Oh well. I'll just drink coffee, listen to Pearl Jam, and write.
So, Lethbridge seems like a nice place. Reasonably big, a few things to do, but not really much in terms of big attractions. The only issue really is trying to keep busy, especially today, since I don't have a hotel room to hang out in and work on documentation while I watch the World Cup. Today, unfortunately, I'm sitting in a random common area in Lethbridge College, trying to be useful. To be honest, I'm actually just trying to stay awake. Nothing like getting up at 6 AM to be at a dealership when it opens, so that you have the smallest chance of fixing a potentially catastrophic engine problem with a 6 hour drive ahead of you later in the day.
*sigh*
After waiting about an hour in the waiting room at the dealership, I got the news: the air filter assembly was not bolted down, and was flopping around inside the engine compartment. I immediately rolled my eyes, because I instantly knew what caused the problem. It wasn't no mechanical failure or lack of servicing on my part. No. It was the stupid high school kid working at the Mr. Lube. Yeah. Against probably better judgment, I got an oil change at Mr. Lube, since I was busy with research, and didn't really have the time to muck about with an oil change with Dodge. So, I took the car to Mr. Lube last Saturday, so that we'd be traveling on fresh oil.
So, while my young friend is working on the air filter, his coworker starts telling the story (rather loudly) of how he deflowered a (by his account) a smoking hot chick the previous night at a grad party. The story must have gotten to my young friend, and instead of re-installing my air filter assembly correctly, one bolt made it back in, not tightened, even hand tightened.
Last night, my friends handiwork came undone at an intersection on 3rd Ave S in Lethbridge. Awesome. It sounded like we were either losing a belt or our lifters were beating the crap out of the camshaft. Our pleasure drive turned into questioning if we're actually going to be making it home. Unfortunately, at this point, everything was closed, and we'd have to wait till morning to get it fixed. So, neither of us slept much, if at all, and got up at 6 am, choked down a quick breakfast, hurriedly packed the van, and went to the dealership.
Nicole got a ride to her class here at the college. I stayed in the waiting room listening to the god-awful news on Global Calgary. An hour later, the service manager came up to me and gave me the good news: that the air filter unit was loose.
So yeah, I'll be going to Mr. Lube Thursday, and showing them the bill for this kid's stupidity. I frankly don't care if they cover the cost, or even apologize. I'm going to do what so very few consumers actually do: speak with my money, rather than complain on deaf ears.
Far too many people think that saving a buck is worth the headache of bad customer service. If consumers, in general, actually did more than complain about bad services or products and stopped paying for mediocrity. The only way that the quality of retail services will improve is if you choke out the bad by not using them. Its that simple. Consumers need get out of the rut of "cheapest at any cost" and start looking for value in customer service and quality of product.
Too bad that Japanese Garden didn't have wifi. I'd probably just hang out there today to destress. Oh well. I'll just drink coffee, listen to Pearl Jam, and write.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Opinions. I like them.
Anyone that's really been involved with serious research on any topic has been exposed to the differences between fact and opinion. I'm not even talking about being a grad student, or even going to a post-secondary institution. This is the type of skill that most people learn at a rudimentary level in high school.
For example:
Gravity = a fact.
Blogs = an opinion.
This should be clear to anyone. However, here comes the problem. Even if people can distinguish between fact and opinion, the attitude of "I'm right at all costs" is so unbelievably prevalent in today's society. Don't get me wrong, I like opinions, I like when people express opinions, since it leads to dialogue and discussion, which usually leads to understanding. On the other hand, the segment of society that cannot either take the time, or are unable to interpret an opinion dumbfounds me.
Now, there's a bit of a spectrum to this group:
1. The people that agree to disagree. Generally, I really don't have a problem with these people, because they're defending an opinion. If they defend their opinion logically, with evidence, precedent, analogy, or otherwise, that's great! However, the people that decide to defend their opinion with no evidence, or better yet, unsubstantiated "facts" and rumors that are completely wrong/misplaced are hillarious. These are the people that I give up on having any sort of discussion with, and just avoid and then laugh at when their opinion's blow up in their faces. Good fun.
2. The people that fly off the handle the nanosecond their opinion is challenged. These are the fun people. This tends to be more internet-related, found on forums, leaving comments on news stories, etc, that absolutely (and audibly) snap when someone has an opposing opinion. Now, there's a bit of latitude in these people, the people ranging from having a hissy fit, yelling, screaming, going all the way to violence and hate. Usually these are the type of people I bait into flame wars on forums as a past time. I know, I'm a jackass. However, this group is also the scary portion of society that you can see somewhat in an international connotation (ie, Israel and everyone else).
So, why the social commentary? The University I'm a part of is experiencing financial troubles. The issues are specifically caused by a reversal of policy on the government's part (this University is partially publicly funded) which ended up in a unexpected funding cut during the fiscal year. Of course, like the other cuts by the government, (significant cuts in health and education) this cut was carefully hidden by press releases and reorganization. Anyone not involved with the University now sees the financial problem as the University's fault, not that the government cut nearly $100 million in funding. The University is now the bad guy, not the government that can't manage its own books. The public backlash is overwhelming, and anyone trying to defend the University or provide factual counter-evidence to this opinion get destroyed.
Anyways. I'll just go write a Wikipedia post explaining the situation. Then it will be "fact". *shakes his head slowly*
For example:
Gravity = a fact.
Blogs = an opinion.
This should be clear to anyone. However, here comes the problem. Even if people can distinguish between fact and opinion, the attitude of "I'm right at all costs" is so unbelievably prevalent in today's society. Don't get me wrong, I like opinions, I like when people express opinions, since it leads to dialogue and discussion, which usually leads to understanding. On the other hand, the segment of society that cannot either take the time, or are unable to interpret an opinion dumbfounds me.
Now, there's a bit of a spectrum to this group:
1. The people that agree to disagree. Generally, I really don't have a problem with these people, because they're defending an opinion. If they defend their opinion logically, with evidence, precedent, analogy, or otherwise, that's great! However, the people that decide to defend their opinion with no evidence, or better yet, unsubstantiated "facts" and rumors that are completely wrong/misplaced are hillarious. These are the people that I give up on having any sort of discussion with, and just avoid and then laugh at when their opinion's blow up in their faces. Good fun.
2. The people that fly off the handle the nanosecond their opinion is challenged. These are the fun people. This tends to be more internet-related, found on forums, leaving comments on news stories, etc, that absolutely (and audibly) snap when someone has an opposing opinion. Now, there's a bit of latitude in these people, the people ranging from having a hissy fit, yelling, screaming, going all the way to violence and hate. Usually these are the type of people I bait into flame wars on forums as a past time. I know, I'm a jackass. However, this group is also the scary portion of society that you can see somewhat in an international connotation (ie, Israel and everyone else).
So, why the social commentary? The University I'm a part of is experiencing financial troubles. The issues are specifically caused by a reversal of policy on the government's part (this University is partially publicly funded) which ended up in a unexpected funding cut during the fiscal year. Of course, like the other cuts by the government, (significant cuts in health and education) this cut was carefully hidden by press releases and reorganization. Anyone not involved with the University now sees the financial problem as the University's fault, not that the government cut nearly $100 million in funding. The University is now the bad guy, not the government that can't manage its own books. The public backlash is overwhelming, and anyone trying to defend the University or provide factual counter-evidence to this opinion get destroyed.
Anyways. I'll just go write a Wikipedia post explaining the situation. Then it will be "fact". *shakes his head slowly*
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