*headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk*
I SO should not be looking at the prices of Video Capture devices and Hard Drives. 69 for a decent vc device, 80 for a 1TB hard drive... *sigh* I'm NEVER gonna get to archive my old videos, and they'll sit there until they're completely demagnetized. =/
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
I pose a question: If I were a Villian...
If I were a villain, what kind of a villain would I be?
The concept is so foreign to me, I'm trying to wrap my brain around it. Sith lord? Man who kidnaps fair maidens and locks them in a tower?
Whenever I play games like Fable, or Might and Magic, or Knights of the Old Republic... the games that let you choose a good or evil path, I almost ALWAYS play the good-guy first, then have to go back and play as an evil character just to see how it would have turned out. I don't know HOW to be evil. Okay, I DO, and I've done some pretty rat-bastard things, but I've grown and learnt since then. I put away the last of my deviancies when I got engaged, and I really think I life of crime would just be an unattractive lifestyle for me... I can't imagine hiding who I really am and what I'm really all about... What would you all say? Corporate shark? Serial scalper? ...Supreme burglar? Radio talk show host?
Wait, check that, It just came to me. Cyber-terrorist.
The concept is so foreign to me, I'm trying to wrap my brain around it. Sith lord? Man who kidnaps fair maidens and locks them in a tower?
Whenever I play games like Fable, or Might and Magic, or Knights of the Old Republic... the games that let you choose a good or evil path, I almost ALWAYS play the good-guy first, then have to go back and play as an evil character just to see how it would have turned out. I don't know HOW to be evil. Okay, I DO, and I've done some pretty rat-bastard things, but I've grown and learnt since then. I put away the last of my deviancies when I got engaged, and I really think I life of crime would just be an unattractive lifestyle for me... I can't imagine hiding who I really am and what I'm really all about... What would you all say? Corporate shark? Serial scalper? ...Supreme burglar? Radio talk show host?
Wait, check that, It just came to me. Cyber-terrorist.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
well, twitter's blocked at work now...
Well, Twitter's now blocked here at the office, and silly things I used to be able to tweet are now for naught. But I couldn't let all you star wars fans go without, so I'm creating a blog just for this link. Enjoy.
http://io9.com/5323912/what-if-greedo-really-shot-first
http://io9.com/5323912/what-if-greedo-really-shot-first
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Workplace turned upside down
I'm LIVID. No, seriously livid. Everything I knew about the company I worked for has totally been turned upside down.
There have always been 2 constants at 2wire. Through mass layoffs of Agents or team leads or Loosing a night manager, After loosing our ENTIRE level 3 department, there have continued been these 2 constants. Frustrated customers, and Robin McCull.
This guy used to ran the training classes before he became a supervisor. He's got more knowledge about the way things work at the company in his pinky, his LEFT pinky, than all of management. The guy everyone went to if they had a question that no one could answer.
You've gotta be Sh*tting me. "Performance issues"???!!! What a f***ing way to say "we don't want to keep paying you what you're making", especially when the important numbers are through the roof!
No I'm Pissed. This is the supervisor that fought Blood, tooth, and Nail for me to get promoted after a year and a half on the job. Whose team I almost didn't leave to join Southeast. I likely wouldn't WORK in IT today if it wasn't for this guy. And my company let this man GO?
Maybe I'm taking this personally. So what. God knows lately I've been frustrated with some of the "brighter" decisions forced on us by our clients recently. WE ARE NOT OUR CLIENTS. But we're starting to act like it.
Rob, I've never known anyone to fight like you for the people who've worked for you. Don't let this take the wind out from under you, Don't stop fighting for yourself. You're too damned good a man to let this affect you like most of us might. You keep fighting Damnit, and get the job you deserve. You DO deserve that much.
There have always been 2 constants at 2wire. Through mass layoffs of Agents or team leads or Loosing a night manager, After loosing our ENTIRE level 3 department, there have continued been these 2 constants. Frustrated customers, and Robin McCull.
This guy used to ran the training classes before he became a supervisor. He's got more knowledge about the way things work at the company in his pinky, his LEFT pinky, than all of management. The guy everyone went to if they had a question that no one could answer.
You've gotta be Sh*tting me. "Performance issues"???!!! What a f***ing way to say "we don't want to keep paying you what you're making", especially when the important numbers are through the roof!
No I'm Pissed. This is the supervisor that fought Blood, tooth, and Nail for me to get promoted after a year and a half on the job. Whose team I almost didn't leave to join Southeast. I likely wouldn't WORK in IT today if it wasn't for this guy. And my company let this man GO?
Maybe I'm taking this personally. So what. God knows lately I've been frustrated with some of the "brighter" decisions forced on us by our clients recently. WE ARE NOT OUR CLIENTS. But we're starting to act like it.
Rob, I've never known anyone to fight like you for the people who've worked for you. Don't let this take the wind out from under you, Don't stop fighting for yourself. You're too damned good a man to let this affect you like most of us might. You keep fighting Damnit, and get the job you deserve. You DO deserve that much.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Berating the troops
There's a practice in modern day business that has been borrowed from the military, a very ineffective practice often used by inexperienced leaders and supervisors. Berating the troops.
Explaining to your most senior troops all the ills they are performing, and rather than offering to help them achieve higher standards, telling them you don't believe their level of surprise or concern over their current level of achievement, is a telltale sign of someone trying to achieve a leadership role with absolutely no idea of how to go about it. This is especially common with Sergeants given a new command; those that have not had much interaction with their troops.
Rather than trying to get to know their troops, they decide that barrier needs to come up. That's fine. A level of division is not necessarily an unhealthy thing. Still, many senior troops watch as sergeant after sergeant flies by, making the same mistakes. Many a Private-First-Class goes through a slew of sergeants before themselves being made a corporal under a new command.
Any Lieutenant will tell you in these situations, the sergeant, oblivious to the situation, is under as much scrutiny and under as watchful an eye as the privates... more so, in fact. What most fail to realize is they will not accomplish the goals to improve themselves if they are adverse to the differences in personality of their troops.
Some of us in this world outlast many sergeants. And if we are content in our position, we will be joyous in times of plenty, and patient in times of tests. Hopefully, both Private-first-class and Sergeant come out improved. If not... well, Fortunately, the military isn't the only path to self-improvement.
Explaining to your most senior troops all the ills they are performing, and rather than offering to help them achieve higher standards, telling them you don't believe their level of surprise or concern over their current level of achievement, is a telltale sign of someone trying to achieve a leadership role with absolutely no idea of how to go about it. This is especially common with Sergeants given a new command; those that have not had much interaction with their troops.
Rather than trying to get to know their troops, they decide that barrier needs to come up. That's fine. A level of division is not necessarily an unhealthy thing. Still, many senior troops watch as sergeant after sergeant flies by, making the same mistakes. Many a Private-First-Class goes through a slew of sergeants before themselves being made a corporal under a new command.
Any Lieutenant will tell you in these situations, the sergeant, oblivious to the situation, is under as much scrutiny and under as watchful an eye as the privates... more so, in fact. What most fail to realize is they will not accomplish the goals to improve themselves if they are adverse to the differences in personality of their troops.
Some of us in this world outlast many sergeants. And if we are content in our position, we will be joyous in times of plenty, and patient in times of tests. Hopefully, both Private-first-class and Sergeant come out improved. If not... well, Fortunately, the military isn't the only path to self-improvement.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Ode to ER
Release me from the shackles of my weeklong prison
Wing my flight into the celestial realms of relaxation and comfort
Ebb the tide of my strain and discomfort
Wash away the weariness and turmoil
Make hasten the refreshing spring of reunion with my beloved
let soar the joyous song of exhiliration and praise
Nestle me in the bosom of comfort,
And if thou canst not, at least let me ride the winds of change.
Change from a struggle day in, and day out
Until at last, the pattern has come full circle,
and I must needs return to the toil of my labours
But until then, O sweet release, come early,
And send me home from this weeklong commission
For of a certainty, it is friday,
And the longing for home is upon me
--------------------------------------
ER is the Early release system at work that allows us to leave work early. Apparently, my ER button's broke, because there are no calls coming in, and I haven't received my e-mail yet. =p
Wing my flight into the celestial realms of relaxation and comfort
Ebb the tide of my strain and discomfort
Wash away the weariness and turmoil
Make hasten the refreshing spring of reunion with my beloved
let soar the joyous song of exhiliration and praise
Nestle me in the bosom of comfort,
And if thou canst not, at least let me ride the winds of change.
Change from a struggle day in, and day out
Until at last, the pattern has come full circle,
and I must needs return to the toil of my labours
But until then, O sweet release, come early,
And send me home from this weeklong commission
For of a certainty, it is friday,
And the longing for home is upon me
--------------------------------------
ER is the Early release system at work that allows us to leave work early. Apparently, my ER button's broke, because there are no calls coming in, and I haven't received my e-mail yet. =p
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Thoughts of the day
I just read a very touching blog from Rachel's dad about 20 minutes ago. It's the 20 year mark of the passing of his father. I'd comment further, but nothing I say here will change or do justice to the solemness of the occasion, so I'm just going to move on.
My computer's being a pain... again. That's what I get for keeping windows on it regardless of my knowledge of the reasons not to... but there are some things I just want to keep it around for. Mainly DVD shrink and gaming / video drivers.
Speaking of Gaming: I've decided I want to, at some point, make a game based on the world I'm creating for the Phoenixmage novels. It may not have to be very big, but I've got a great Idea for a system for it.
Did you ever play the old Might and Magic games? Not the Heroes of Might and Magic strategy games, but the Role-playing ones for the windows 95/98 machines? It was a turn-based Role Play system, one of the first of its kind, though the graphics were behind. It was all in First person view in a 3d world, your Four characters would all be able to fire in turn of one another while you were running or jumping or whatever as a group.
Well, that wouldn't necessarily fly today. But what I was thinking, was a turn based, 1st/3rd person view (can switch between), where you can switch between four characters. Much as with the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic engine, (which had 3 characters), you could freeze the action and enter a turn-based mode, where you program what your characters are going to do for their next few moves. Only, What I want to create is the ability to stay (and I reccomend 1st person for this, though you may want to glance at 3rd to get a better Idea of the situation) in one view frozen, perform an action, and have the engine perform your action until the next person's initiative hits, where you are switched to THEIR perspective and the action is frozen again. Of course, NPC's will have their turn in the initiative, and all that fun stuff. If this system doesn't tickle your fancy, I suggest a trigger for an auto-program ability or AI for the characters you don't want to use. Therefore, in this engine there would be 3 methods of combat: 1.) Standard FPS (your characters are in AI mode, Much as with the Star Wars: Republic Commando games), 2.) KOTOR-style Turn based, and 3.) Might-and-Magic style turn based, where you are auto-switched between characters per-move.
Of course, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to these things, So I imagine this system with Oblivion style Graphics, and an Oblivion style map and/or Campaign.
The game would not be complete unless you had the ability to choose midway through the game whether your characters want to become Good or Evil. I suppose it's not UNHEARD OF for a Necromancer to fight with a Paladin, but... okay who am I kidding yes it is. Perhaps Good/Evil decided characters won't be able to play in the same group... or perhaps once the "party" has made a decion... hmm, we'll see.
=)
I would so love to make this game.
My computer's being a pain... again. That's what I get for keeping windows on it regardless of my knowledge of the reasons not to... but there are some things I just want to keep it around for. Mainly DVD shrink and gaming / video drivers.
Speaking of Gaming: I've decided I want to, at some point, make a game based on the world I'm creating for the Phoenixmage novels. It may not have to be very big, but I've got a great Idea for a system for it.
Did you ever play the old Might and Magic games? Not the Heroes of Might and Magic strategy games, but the Role-playing ones for the windows 95/98 machines? It was a turn-based Role Play system, one of the first of its kind, though the graphics were behind. It was all in First person view in a 3d world, your Four characters would all be able to fire in turn of one another while you were running or jumping or whatever as a group.
Well, that wouldn't necessarily fly today. But what I was thinking, was a turn based, 1st/3rd person view (can switch between), where you can switch between four characters. Much as with the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic engine, (which had 3 characters), you could freeze the action and enter a turn-based mode, where you program what your characters are going to do for their next few moves. Only, What I want to create is the ability to stay (and I reccomend 1st person for this, though you may want to glance at 3rd to get a better Idea of the situation) in one view frozen, perform an action, and have the engine perform your action until the next person's initiative hits, where you are switched to THEIR perspective and the action is frozen again. Of course, NPC's will have their turn in the initiative, and all that fun stuff. If this system doesn't tickle your fancy, I suggest a trigger for an auto-program ability or AI for the characters you don't want to use. Therefore, in this engine there would be 3 methods of combat: 1.) Standard FPS (your characters are in AI mode, Much as with the Star Wars: Republic Commando games), 2.) KOTOR-style Turn based, and 3.) Might-and-Magic style turn based, where you are auto-switched between characters per-move.
Of course, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to these things, So I imagine this system with Oblivion style Graphics, and an Oblivion style map and/or Campaign.
The game would not be complete unless you had the ability to choose midway through the game whether your characters want to become Good or Evil. I suppose it's not UNHEARD OF for a Necromancer to fight with a Paladin, but... okay who am I kidding yes it is. Perhaps Good/Evil decided characters won't be able to play in the same group... or perhaps once the "party" has made a decion... hmm, we'll see.
=)
I would so love to make this game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)