Sunday, December 09, 2007
Science FTW
I bought a North Face hydration pack (link) last month for the long distance runs Megan and I have been doing to train for the Los Angeles marathon in March. I wish I had done some research on the internet, though, about how and, more importantly, how often, you are supposed to clean them. We missed our run last weekend for whatever reason, so I haven't used the hydration pack in two weeks. When I pulled it out this morning prior to running, I discovered an elementary school science project growing in the water pack and hydration tube. There's no way I can get the colony of creatures out of the tube without the official snake/brush thing, so it looks like I am off to Sports Authority to see if they have a cleaning kit.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Duty Calls
[bleep] the Gamestop in Van Nuys. Those [bleep]ers lost a customer (me) yesterday because one of their [bleep]head employees lied to me.
The story:
I pre-ordered COD4 at that store a few months ago because 1.) The store is close to my apartment and 2.) Gamestop is well-known for not selling you games because you didn't pre-order. Whatever. I put my 5 bucks down, no problem.
I call the store yesterday at 11:45 a.m., 15 minutes before my lunch break, to find out if they had received their shipment of the game. Ryan (name not changed because he [bleep]ing lied) tells me that yes, they have received their shipment of COD4 for the 360. I say thanks and prepare to head down to the store during my lunch break.
I arrive at the store around 12:25. There's a long line of people, which is odd considering it was the middle of the day, but whatever, I take it as a good sign since they're all probably waiting for their copy of the game. As I'm waiting in line, the guy behind me asks Ryan, the same guy I talked to on the phone, if they had received their COD4 shipment. Ryan says, "No, we haven't received it because there are weather delays. We hope to get it tonight, but it might not be until tomorrow."
My jaw hit the floor.
I turned around and walked out the door without saying a word. The good news is that the Toys R Us on my way back to work received their shipment and had no problem selling me the game without a pre-order. Needless to say, I am never going to that Gamestop again.
The story:
I pre-ordered COD4 at that store a few months ago because 1.) The store is close to my apartment and 2.) Gamestop is well-known for not selling you games because you didn't pre-order. Whatever. I put my 5 bucks down, no problem.
I call the store yesterday at 11:45 a.m., 15 minutes before my lunch break, to find out if they had received their shipment of the game. Ryan (name not changed because he [bleep]ing lied) tells me that yes, they have received their shipment of COD4 for the 360. I say thanks and prepare to head down to the store during my lunch break.
I arrive at the store around 12:25. There's a long line of people, which is odd considering it was the middle of the day, but whatever, I take it as a good sign since they're all probably waiting for their copy of the game. As I'm waiting in line, the guy behind me asks Ryan, the same guy I talked to on the phone, if they had received their COD4 shipment. Ryan says, "No, we haven't received it because there are weather delays. We hope to get it tonight, but it might not be until tomorrow."
My jaw hit the floor.
I turned around and walked out the door without saying a word. The good news is that the Toys R Us on my way back to work received their shipment and had no problem selling me the game without a pre-order. Needless to say, I am never going to that Gamestop again.
Friday, October 26, 2007
California is on fire
After getting 27 random texts/emails/phone calls/etc from friends and family wondering if I have survived the southern California fires, I realized I might want to broadcast to the world that I am indeed "okay." Megan and I live in the safe confines of the San Fernando Valley, pretty much the only place in the LA area that was unaffected by the fires.
The worst thing to happen to us was that Megan didn't have to go to school all week because Pepperdine closed on Monday and Tuesday and access to the school for the rest of the week was limited. So really, nothing bad has happened to us. I should probably knock on some wood or something right now, but the likelihood of the entire valley burning to the ground is rather slim.
The worst thing to happen to us was that Megan didn't have to go to school all week because Pepperdine closed on Monday and Tuesday and access to the school for the rest of the week was limited. So really, nothing bad has happened to us. I should probably knock on some wood or something right now, but the likelihood of the entire valley burning to the ground is rather slim.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Boomer Sooner
Yesterday was pure awesome. Jeremy, Kelly, Michael, and Paul came over to watch the 102nd annual Red River Shootout with me. OU beat Texas 28-21; not quite the curb stomping I had hoped for, but a win is a win. The game was good, despite the low score. Both teams played really well, it's just that Oklahoma played better.
On a side note, I have seen every Oklahoma game this season, 5 on TV and 1 live. I suppose the TV networks don't have a problem showing Oklahoma games out here as long as they keep winning. Last season I only saw 4ish games and one of them was the bowl game.
Also, USC lost to Stanford, so now maybe all these USC people will shut up about how great Pete Carroll is and how USC is a dynasty despite the fact that they have only won 1 national title.
On a side note, I have seen every Oklahoma game this season, 5 on TV and 1 live. I suppose the TV networks don't have a problem showing Oklahoma games out here as long as they keep winning. Last season I only saw 4ish games and one of them was the bowl game.
Also, USC lost to Stanford, so now maybe all these USC people will shut up about how great Pete Carroll is and how USC is a dynasty despite the fact that they have only won 1 national title.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Cagey Bees 9 - Sticklebacks 2
The undefeated Cagey Bees (3-0-1) bested the ridiculously named Sticklebacks to the tune of 9 to 2 on Thursday. We went up 2-0 in the first, but the Sticklebacks fought back to tie the game. We turned it on in the fourth, though, so score 7 unanswered runs between the fourth and fifth innings. I went 1-2 at the plate, a line drive being caught in the first and a bunt in the fifth. I made one out as catcher in the second inning and had some great pitching in the fifth. Also, Megan was co-captain this week and she did a great job not only at making a great line up/fielding order, but also made a great double play in the fifth to completely demoralize the other team (and also winning her the Sickle award for best female player).
We also tried something new after the game by going bowling instead of going to the bar. Not only was it more fun than the bar, but also much cheaper. I think we should do this every week.
The first place Bees have a bye next week.
We also tried something new after the game by going bowling instead of going to the bar. Not only was it more fun than the bar, but also much cheaper. I think we should do this every week.
The first place Bees have a bye next week.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Colorado Upsets Oklahoma (4)
I'm not even sure this warrants discussion. The Sooners played like poo poo and the refs screwed us on a video review at the end of the game (sound familiar?). A very disappointing game for the (former) number four team in the nation.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Cagey Bees 9 - Blunder Thighs 4
The undefeated Cagey Bees move to first place in the division with a 9-4 win over the ridiculously named Thunder Thighs. I went 1-2 at the plate, kicking away for an out and getting on base with a bunt. I also managed to make my first retarded (non game losing) mistake by not chasing down the ball at home when we attempted to peg a runner going home. My not chasing down the ball allowed another run to score. It was dumb, for sure, especially since the Blunder Thighs are a newbie team that aren't any good. I don't know what my deal was; I never really got in to the game, so I really just wasn't paying attention during that play.
The 2-0-1 Bees take on the ridiculously named Sticklebacks next Thursday.
The 2-0-1 Bees take on the ridiculously named Sticklebacks next Thursday.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
No Halo For Me
I should be more excited that today is the day Halo 3 is released to the general public. I should have been in line last night, waiting to get my copy at midnight. I also should have stayed up until 4 in the morning playing said game.
Well, I did pick up my copy after work today and I immediately brought it home... and put it on the shelf. You see, my Xbox 360 broke last week, so now I own a game that I have been waiting for for three years... and I can't play it for another few weeks.
In other words, I will not be finishing the fight any time soon. Thank you, Microsoft, for building a console that doesn't even last a year. I was so looking forward to sending off my Xbox for 4-6 weeks. No, really, it was at the top of my priority list this month.
The only bright side of this is that Megan felt so bad for me that she bought us a Nintendo Wii last week. I knew I was marrying her for a reason.
Well, I did pick up my copy after work today and I immediately brought it home... and put it on the shelf. You see, my Xbox 360 broke last week, so now I own a game that I have been waiting for for three years... and I can't play it for another few weeks.
In other words, I will not be finishing the fight any time soon. Thank you, Microsoft, for building a console that doesn't even last a year. I was so looking forward to sending off my Xbox for 4-6 weeks. No, really, it was at the top of my priority list this month.
The only bright side of this is that Megan felt so bad for me that she bought us a Nintendo Wii last week. I knew I was marrying her for a reason.
AHN 1 - Guy Fawkes Conservatory 4
The 4-4 Ninjas dropped out of the post season tournament in the first round with a 4-1 loss to the Guy Fawkes Conservatory. I couldn't buy a hit to save my life last night and I didn't do anything on defense because I was put in right field two of the three times I got to play.
Congrats to the GFC, though, they played a good game. Too bad that they're going to be destroyed by the Valley Girls next week...
Congrats to the GFC, though, they played a good game. Too bad that they're going to be destroyed by the Valley Girls next week...
Saturday, September 22, 2007
California Rain
It has actually been raining in southern California since last night, something that does not happen here all that often. We have not had rain for a very long time, so actually getting some real rain and not just the “spit rain” that we normally get has been a real treat. There was even some thunder and lightning last night, which was especially cool since that *really* does not happen here… like ever.
Of course, the rain freaked everyone out, so Time Warner had to interrupt all of its programming last night for unnecessary “OMG SEVERE WEATHER WARNINGS!!!!” every 15 minutes. Really folks, it is just rain. The world is not going to end because water falls from the sky every now and then.
Of course, I am the one that is terrified of earthquakes and no one here can seem to understand that it is scary when the ground shakes everything to smithereens, so I guess I cannot say too much about the always freaky “sky water.”
Of course, the rain freaked everyone out, so Time Warner had to interrupt all of its programming last night for unnecessary “OMG SEVERE WEATHER WARNINGS!!!!” every 15 minutes. Really folks, it is just rain. The world is not going to end because water falls from the sky every now and then.
Of course, I am the one that is terrified of earthquakes and no one here can seem to understand that it is scary when the ground shakes everything to smithereens, so I guess I cannot say too much about the always freaky “sky water.”
Friday, September 21, 2007
Cagey Bees 6 - Bunts of Steel 3
The Cagey Bees remain undefeated in a win against the ridiculously named Bunts of Steel, overcoming their rivals 6 to 3 in Thursday night's game. The Bees' offense and defensive lines performed well, especially in light of several botched calls made by the umpiring staff*.
My statistics on the night were 1 out at catcher and 1 run scored off of a kick to the outfield. I can't remember who kicked it, but their kick allowed me to run from second to home, nearly breaking the catcher's ankles in the process from my last second slide at the plate.
The undefeated Bees face the ridiculously named Thunder Thighs next Thursday.
* Pro-Tip: WAKA representatives cannot change the rules to their team's advantage, despite what our representative seems to think. If a player on your team turns the corner on first base last season and is called safe upon being tagged out, the same should apply to our player who did it during this game.
My statistics on the night were 1 out at catcher and 1 run scored off of a kick to the outfield. I can't remember who kicked it, but their kick allowed me to run from second to home, nearly breaking the catcher's ankles in the process from my last second slide at the plate.
The undefeated Bees face the ridiculously named Thunder Thighs next Thursday.
* Pro-Tip: WAKA representatives cannot change the rules to their team's advantage, despite what our representative seems to think. If a player on your team turns the corner on first base last season and is called safe upon being tagged out, the same should apply to our player who did it during this game.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
AHN 1 - Uno Mas 4
The Awesome Helicopter Ninjas fell to 4-4 during regular season play with a season ending loss to Uno Mas. We were only able to scrape one run in five innings off of a base hit allowing me to run home from second base in the forth inning
Our defense was even less impressive, allowing Uno Mas to score three runs off of two ridiculous defensive errors.
The Ninjas face the Guy Fawkes Conservatory in the first round of playoffs next Monday.
Our defense was even less impressive, allowing Uno Mas to score three runs off of two ridiculous defensive errors.
The Ninjas face the Guy Fawkes Conservatory in the first round of playoffs next Monday.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Highway to Hell
I never pull out the old lappy in airports or on airplanes, especially after sitting in a “Screen Hacking/Social Engineering” session at DEFCON, but there are always exceptions that need to be made to the rules.
I am sitting in row 20, seat F right now, and let me tell you, American Airlines really skimps on the seat space. This is probably the smallest airplane seat I have ever sat in; a bold statement to make considering how skinny my ass is. I will admit that my complaint spawns from my hatred of flying in general; sitting in a cramped cabin is not my idea of fun, so it is probably best to take this comment with a grain of salt.
I just spent my Rosh Hashanah holiday in Norman with my friends and family. Not being Jewish, I decided to spend my break having some fun rather than repenting for my sins against mankind, since that is what I understand the High Holy Days/Jewish New Year are all about. I flew in to Oklahoma City on Wednesday and was greeted by my mom at the OKC airport. She took me to the soon-to-be parents’ in law house to pick up their spare car which they graciously lent to me for the weekend. A couple of drinks with Daniel at Louie’s, a steak dinner with the family, and the Call of Duty 4 beta until 2 in the morning later and it was like I had never left my hometown a year ago.
Thursday was my “do everything related to the wedding” day. I met with Reverend Spain in the morning -he is the man in charge of presiding over the wedding in December- to work out some of the details of the ceremony. I had not met him before Thursday, so spending an hour with him was a treat; he is a good man and I quickly saw why Megan was set on having him marry us. After the meeting I drove out to Thunderbird chapel to check out the actual location of the ceremony. My mom suggested it as the site after Megan and I became engaged, but I had not actually seen the building until Thursday (you might notice a trend here).
The chapel is just past 108th street on east highway 9, so it is a bit of a drive if you are not accustomed to heading out that way. I thought the drive was really enjoyable for two reasons: the first being that the car I was driving was a really nice Camaro and the second was that driving in and around Norman is relaxing when compared to driving in Los Angeles. The chapel was locked when I got there, but a quick inspection of the side doors revealed that someone was careless enough to not check every door before he left. I welcomed myself in to the building, had a quick look around so as to not get “caught” wandering around unescorted, and made haste to get out there after I saw all of the facilities. Even though the place was kind of trashed due to what I can only suspect was another wedding over the weekend, I am really happy with the location. The pictures do it justice and I think Megan and I will have a beautiful wedding there in December.
Brian, Daniel, dad, mom, and I went to Al’s Formal Wear at 6 p.m. to get measured and reserve our tuxedos for December. Overall I am very happy with how this process went. With the help of the guy working (sorry guy working, I didn’t catch your name), we picked out a two button jacket with notched lapels, a black satin vest, a red tie and pocket hankie, a dress shirt with a standard collar (none of this “folded corner” crap), and shiny shoes because Daniel already has a pair because of his Army dress uniform. I think the ensemble will be sharp, especially for my dad since I do not think mom has ever seen him in a tuxedo.
I spent most of Friday driving around doing errands and enjoying my vacation. After I rolled out of bed at one in the afternoon, I went to Atomic Pop to pick up the first issue of the Halo: Uprising comic and Amazing Spider-Man #544. Both books were a good read, although Spider-Man has taken a rather angsty/constantly bitching about something swing that I am hoping the writers will pull out of in the next issue. After buying the books, I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find a new OU ballcap and a t-shirt for Megan. After coming up with nothing at two stores, I decided to pay the premium and go to the OU bookstore on campus since I knew they would have what I wanted.
Being back on campus as an alumnus was weird since I am now an old guy that used to go to school there back in the day. Despite the self-induced awkwardness, seeing the campus again was fun since I think OU has a prettier campus than most colleges. After picking up my gear, I headed over to Megan’s parents’ house to eat dinner and hang out for a bit. They have really lightened up over the last couple of years, so hanging out with them now is pretty fun. While I was at their house, I fixed their cable and worked on their computer since they do not really have anyone to do it for them now that Megan and I live in California. I spent the rest of the night with Brian, Daniel, and Call of Duty 4 (another trend here).
Daniel came down sick on gameday, but was still nice enough to let me use the other ticket even though he was not going to the game anymore. Through a weird set of happenings, I wound up going to the game with Josh, his girlfriend Jana, and Jana’s brother Jason. Jason’s wife decided not to go to the game, so while I was at Josh’s house offering him a ticket (I didn’t know if he was going at that point), he said I could just use their spare and go with them.
Going to the game is definitely in the top three of awesome things I have done this year. Being with 85,000 of my closest friends/Sooner fans is an incredible experience after being stuck in Los Angeles with X million people that only give a crap about themselves. The Sooners destroyed Utah State to the tune of 54-3, just 1 point off of beating the spread. As much fun as it was, I was upset by the fact that some things never really change, no matter how long I am gone. I still maintain that Sooner fans are some of the worst in the nation when it comes to criticising the team. I cannot tell you how many times I heard people around me bitching about a broken play, missed tackle, or dropped pass, despite the fact that they would never be able to do a quarter of the things the guys on the field do in a 60 minute game.
The other aggravation thing was that at least half of the student section cleared out at half time and at least 50,000 people left the stadium before 4th quarter. I never understood why people throw their money away by leaving early; you should be happy that your team is up by 50, not pissed off that it is a blow out. I guess it comes with being a Sooner fan since it has been this way since the beginning of time and nothing is going to change these fair-weather fans’ behavior; does not mean I cannot find it frustrating, though.
Josh, Jana, and I hung out at Josh’s parents’ house after the game and watched the USC/Nebraska game (stupid Nebraska). Again, it did not take long to fall in to the old life: Josh and I used to be attached at the hip, so much so that Josh’s parents treated me like another son, even to the point of grounding me when the two of us did something less than brilliant. Sometime during the evening, I asked if Josh would be one of my groomsmen; he was surprised but immediately accepted. I have been deliberating over this decision for a while now, but after being with him all day, I realized that he needed to be up there with me and not just sitting with everyone else.
Mom made me grandma’s pancakes this morning and I had lunch with Brian, Daniel, and Mike. The trip was over before I knew it and not a few hours ago I was saying bye to my parents in front of the OKC airport. This was only the second time I have been home since moving to Los Angeles, but I swear it was harder to leave today than it was last Christmas. I had not been home for 9 months before this trip; it is easy to forget how homesick you are when you stay busy, but being back in Norman really solidified how much I miss my home. I think Albuquerque is off to my right right now, meaning I am well on my way back to LA. I know I am going to be back in Norman in a few months for the wedding, but it already feels like it is forever away. I feel kind of silly for wanting to get out of Oklahoma as bad as I did before the move. There are things I like about California, but the good of Oklahoma far outweighs the good in LA. We are not moving back any time soon, so really all there is for me to do now is make the most of any opportunity I have to get home. Knowing that, I would say I definitely accomplished that plus some this time around. Thanks for making my trip home a good one, guys.
I am sitting in row 20, seat F right now, and let me tell you, American Airlines really skimps on the seat space. This is probably the smallest airplane seat I have ever sat in; a bold statement to make considering how skinny my ass is. I will admit that my complaint spawns from my hatred of flying in general; sitting in a cramped cabin is not my idea of fun, so it is probably best to take this comment with a grain of salt.
I just spent my Rosh Hashanah holiday in Norman with my friends and family. Not being Jewish, I decided to spend my break having some fun rather than repenting for my sins against mankind, since that is what I understand the High Holy Days/Jewish New Year are all about. I flew in to Oklahoma City on Wednesday and was greeted by my mom at the OKC airport. She took me to the soon-to-be parents’ in law house to pick up their spare car which they graciously lent to me for the weekend. A couple of drinks with Daniel at Louie’s, a steak dinner with the family, and the Call of Duty 4 beta until 2 in the morning later and it was like I had never left my hometown a year ago.
Thursday was my “do everything related to the wedding” day. I met with Reverend Spain in the morning -he is the man in charge of presiding over the wedding in December- to work out some of the details of the ceremony. I had not met him before Thursday, so spending an hour with him was a treat; he is a good man and I quickly saw why Megan was set on having him marry us. After the meeting I drove out to Thunderbird chapel to check out the actual location of the ceremony. My mom suggested it as the site after Megan and I became engaged, but I had not actually seen the building until Thursday (you might notice a trend here).
The chapel is just past 108th street on east highway 9, so it is a bit of a drive if you are not accustomed to heading out that way. I thought the drive was really enjoyable for two reasons: the first being that the car I was driving was a really nice Camaro and the second was that driving in and around Norman is relaxing when compared to driving in Los Angeles. The chapel was locked when I got there, but a quick inspection of the side doors revealed that someone was careless enough to not check every door before he left. I welcomed myself in to the building, had a quick look around so as to not get “caught” wandering around unescorted, and made haste to get out there after I saw all of the facilities. Even though the place was kind of trashed due to what I can only suspect was another wedding over the weekend, I am really happy with the location. The pictures do it justice and I think Megan and I will have a beautiful wedding there in December.
Brian, Daniel, dad, mom, and I went to Al’s Formal Wear at 6 p.m. to get measured and reserve our tuxedos for December. Overall I am very happy with how this process went. With the help of the guy working (sorry guy working, I didn’t catch your name), we picked out a two button jacket with notched lapels, a black satin vest, a red tie and pocket hankie, a dress shirt with a standard collar (none of this “folded corner” crap), and shiny shoes because Daniel already has a pair because of his Army dress uniform. I think the ensemble will be sharp, especially for my dad since I do not think mom has ever seen him in a tuxedo.
I spent most of Friday driving around doing errands and enjoying my vacation. After I rolled out of bed at one in the afternoon, I went to Atomic Pop to pick up the first issue of the Halo: Uprising comic and Amazing Spider-Man #544. Both books were a good read, although Spider-Man has taken a rather angsty/constantly bitching about something swing that I am hoping the writers will pull out of in the next issue. After buying the books, I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find a new OU ballcap and a t-shirt for Megan. After coming up with nothing at two stores, I decided to pay the premium and go to the OU bookstore on campus since I knew they would have what I wanted.
Being back on campus as an alumnus was weird since I am now an old guy that used to go to school there back in the day. Despite the self-induced awkwardness, seeing the campus again was fun since I think OU has a prettier campus than most colleges. After picking up my gear, I headed over to Megan’s parents’ house to eat dinner and hang out for a bit. They have really lightened up over the last couple of years, so hanging out with them now is pretty fun. While I was at their house, I fixed their cable and worked on their computer since they do not really have anyone to do it for them now that Megan and I live in California. I spent the rest of the night with Brian, Daniel, and Call of Duty 4 (another trend here).
Daniel came down sick on gameday, but was still nice enough to let me use the other ticket even though he was not going to the game anymore. Through a weird set of happenings, I wound up going to the game with Josh, his girlfriend Jana, and Jana’s brother Jason. Jason’s wife decided not to go to the game, so while I was at Josh’s house offering him a ticket (I didn’t know if he was going at that point), he said I could just use their spare and go with them.
Going to the game is definitely in the top three of awesome things I have done this year. Being with 85,000 of my closest friends/Sooner fans is an incredible experience after being stuck in Los Angeles with X million people that only give a crap about themselves. The Sooners destroyed Utah State to the tune of 54-3, just 1 point off of beating the spread. As much fun as it was, I was upset by the fact that some things never really change, no matter how long I am gone. I still maintain that Sooner fans are some of the worst in the nation when it comes to criticising the team. I cannot tell you how many times I heard people around me bitching about a broken play, missed tackle, or dropped pass, despite the fact that they would never be able to do a quarter of the things the guys on the field do in a 60 minute game.
The other aggravation thing was that at least half of the student section cleared out at half time and at least 50,000 people left the stadium before 4th quarter. I never understood why people throw their money away by leaving early; you should be happy that your team is up by 50, not pissed off that it is a blow out. I guess it comes with being a Sooner fan since it has been this way since the beginning of time and nothing is going to change these fair-weather fans’ behavior; does not mean I cannot find it frustrating, though.
Josh, Jana, and I hung out at Josh’s parents’ house after the game and watched the USC/Nebraska game (stupid Nebraska). Again, it did not take long to fall in to the old life: Josh and I used to be attached at the hip, so much so that Josh’s parents treated me like another son, even to the point of grounding me when the two of us did something less than brilliant. Sometime during the evening, I asked if Josh would be one of my groomsmen; he was surprised but immediately accepted. I have been deliberating over this decision for a while now, but after being with him all day, I realized that he needed to be up there with me and not just sitting with everyone else.
Mom made me grandma’s pancakes this morning and I had lunch with Brian, Daniel, and Mike. The trip was over before I knew it and not a few hours ago I was saying bye to my parents in front of the OKC airport. This was only the second time I have been home since moving to Los Angeles, but I swear it was harder to leave today than it was last Christmas. I had not been home for 9 months before this trip; it is easy to forget how homesick you are when you stay busy, but being back in Norman really solidified how much I miss my home. I think Albuquerque is off to my right right now, meaning I am well on my way back to LA. I know I am going to be back in Norman in a few months for the wedding, but it already feels like it is forever away. I feel kind of silly for wanting to get out of Oklahoma as bad as I did before the move. There are things I like about California, but the good of Oklahoma far outweighs the good in LA. We are not moving back any time soon, so really all there is for me to do now is make the most of any opportunity I have to get home. Knowing that, I would say I definitely accomplished that plus some this time around. Thanks for making my trip home a good one, guys.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
AHN 20 - Pandamonium 1
The Awesome Helicopter Ninjas smashed Pandamonium last night to the count of 20-1. Eleven of the Ninjas' runs came in a top of the first during a two out rally. The Pandas managed to cross the plate once in the bottom of the first, but that is the last they would see of it for the rest of the game.
The Ninjas move up to 4-3 heading in to their regular season finale against Uno Mas.
The Ninjas move up to 4-3 heading in to their regular season finale against Uno Mas.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Cagey Bees 1 - Robotic Viking Uprising 1
The Cagey Bees opened their Junction campaign with a 1-1 tie against the ridiculously named Robotic Viking Uprising. The Bees looked good on defense but could not muster up enough offensive momentum to bring down the Vikings. I scored the only Bees run off of a base hit from Ashley early in the first inning.
The undefeated Bees take on the ridiculously named Bunts of Steel in two weeks.
The undefeated Bees take on the ridiculously named Bunts of Steel in two weeks.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta Review
The Halo 3 beta has been out for about a week now, so I feel compelled to write up a review of sorts, detailing my adventures in the wonderful world of online multiplayer gaming. I briefly mentioned the delay in pushing out the software to Crackdown users on opening day last week; that problem was resolved, for me at least, around 8 p.m. PST. I was playing a co-op game of Crackdown with Daniel when Xbox Live inexplicably booted me out of our game to start downloading updates. I had prior knowledge that there would be a downloadable update that would release the beta, and sure enough, when I rebooted Crackdown, the beta was available for download. I thought that the download would take at least 30 minutes because every Crackdown gamer in the world would be downloading it at the same time as me, but surprisingly, the software was downloaded and installed in about 15 minutes.
Customization and Matchmaking
The beta is exactly that: a beta. The software is simple and there isn’t much to the game. You can customize the color scheme and logo of your avatar, plus a new addition of choosing your own Spartan number. Beyond those features and the option to change your control scheme, you cannot do much else with the beta other than play the game.
Bungie utilized, more or less, the same match making interface for Halo 3 as they did Halo 2. I thought the system was great for Halo 2, so I have no problem with them using it again for the third game in the series. The system has undergone a few new tweaks this time around. For starters, you can view the service record and gamer profile of anyone in your lobby by selecting their gamer tag and pressing the A button. They have also added in the ability to veto a map and game type. If the majority of players in the lobby do not want to play the game type selected from the rotation, they can veto it and a new game type will be loaded. I have not seen a map get voted down yet, but Andy tells me that it only takes 5-10 seconds for a new one to be selected. The last tweak to the system is that you are now given the option at the end of a game to join the group of people you just played with. Now, instead of having to send everyone a friend request, you can just join up with them to create a new party. All three of these changes are welcome and hopefully they will stay in the final product.
Maps
There are only three maps in the beta: Snow Bound, High Ground, and Valhalla.
Snow Bound is a small map with a structure in the middle of the map and under ground tunnels snaking out of it to other locations on the board. The map is surrounded by outward facing turrets, so if you try to leave the playing field, the turrets will gun you down. I would have to say that this is my least favorite map out of the three. The lighting is way too bright, which it should be because of the snow, but I find it to be a bit much. Also, most fire fights seem to take place in the openings of the tunnels. The map seems to be cramped because of this, since you will generally be under fire right after you spawn.
High Ground is the new Zanzibar in that one team starts on a beach and the other team starts in a base. Starting on the beach presents a problem because the base has a perfect firelane down on to your starting position. The only way to avoid being blasted immediately is to run to the sides of the maps where there are tunnels cut in to the walls of the cliffs. It takes longer to snake your way through the tunnels, but at least you will not be gunned down by the turret that overlooks the open field leading up to the main base. This is a good map for capture the flag and territories.
Valhalla is the remake of Halo 2’s Coagulation: a symmetrical map with one base on each end. Valhalla incorporates the severely hyped “man cannon” in to each base. The man cannon is a glorified grav lift, something we have seen already. The only difference about the man cannon is that you can throw weapons in to it and you can even drive vehicles in to it to have them quickly fly away. I do not find the cannons to be nearly as exciting as they were hyped up to be. Valhalla is obviously going to be great for capture the flag and sniper games. I can also see a lot of custom Spartan laser slayer matches being played on this map.
Weapons
I am only going to discuss some of the more obvious weapons in this review since there are too many to write about and quite frankly, I really don’t want to spend the time analyzing every change that has been made to the available weapons in the Beta.
Clearly the most exciting new weapon is the Spartan laser. A one shot, one kill weapon that if put in the right hands, can create a lot of problems for the opposing team. I think the weapon is far too powerful and it is easy to camp in one spot and snipe people with it.
The missile pod and the chain gun are cool as novelties, but they slow you down too much and it is easy for other players to pick you off from behind since you can’t turn around very fast. The Brute pistols are good for close range battles and not much else; it is basically the Convenent SMG. The Assault Rifle is a great starting weapon and I am glad that Bungie brought it back to the franchise. The Bubble Shield is an interesting addition to the weapons and gadgets of Halo. When deployed, the shield creates a giant bubble around you that can’t be destroyed. Players are free to move in and out of the shield, but shots fired from outside the shield stay outside and shots fired from the inside stay inside the shield.
The rest of the weapons have changed to some degree, whether it is rate of fire, strength, or even just the way it sounds. The SMG comes to mind here: nothing has changed with the weapon except for the way it sounds, which happens to sound like an actual machine gun now instead of a popcorn making machine.
Criticisms
The problem with criticizing the game is that it is a beta. It is not finished software and Bungie still has until September to tighten it up. That said, the game looks good for a beta, but in actuality, it does not look that much better than Halo 2. We are definitely not at “Halo 3” graphics yet; this is more reflective of Halo 2.5 or just Halo 2 in HD. I am sure the graphics will improve with the final product, but for now, they really are not that impressive for a next-gen console game. I have also had a hard time finding matches to join. I have sat for 30-45 minutes at a time waiting to join a match. This is a problem because there are generally 30,000 people playing at any given time, meaning I should have found a match within 15 seconds of starting the search.
My other gripe really has nothing to do with Bungie, but I feel it needs to be addressed. It took about 3.5 seconds for someone to call me a faggot or some horrible racist name. The Halo community has not changed, at all, and it is really disappointing to find out that only 12 year olds and bigots are playing the beta.
Overall, the beta has been fun. I am glad that Bungie decided to give us the opportunity to play the game before its official release. They have a lot of work to do before September, but I think that if this is just the beta of the game, the finished product has a real chance to be great.
Customization and Matchmaking
The beta is exactly that: a beta. The software is simple and there isn’t much to the game. You can customize the color scheme and logo of your avatar, plus a new addition of choosing your own Spartan number. Beyond those features and the option to change your control scheme, you cannot do much else with the beta other than play the game.
Bungie utilized, more or less, the same match making interface for Halo 3 as they did Halo 2. I thought the system was great for Halo 2, so I have no problem with them using it again for the third game in the series. The system has undergone a few new tweaks this time around. For starters, you can view the service record and gamer profile of anyone in your lobby by selecting their gamer tag and pressing the A button. They have also added in the ability to veto a map and game type. If the majority of players in the lobby do not want to play the game type selected from the rotation, they can veto it and a new game type will be loaded. I have not seen a map get voted down yet, but Andy tells me that it only takes 5-10 seconds for a new one to be selected. The last tweak to the system is that you are now given the option at the end of a game to join the group of people you just played with. Now, instead of having to send everyone a friend request, you can just join up with them to create a new party. All three of these changes are welcome and hopefully they will stay in the final product.
Maps
There are only three maps in the beta: Snow Bound, High Ground, and Valhalla.
Snow Bound is a small map with a structure in the middle of the map and under ground tunnels snaking out of it to other locations on the board. The map is surrounded by outward facing turrets, so if you try to leave the playing field, the turrets will gun you down. I would have to say that this is my least favorite map out of the three. The lighting is way too bright, which it should be because of the snow, but I find it to be a bit much. Also, most fire fights seem to take place in the openings of the tunnels. The map seems to be cramped because of this, since you will generally be under fire right after you spawn.
High Ground is the new Zanzibar in that one team starts on a beach and the other team starts in a base. Starting on the beach presents a problem because the base has a perfect firelane down on to your starting position. The only way to avoid being blasted immediately is to run to the sides of the maps where there are tunnels cut in to the walls of the cliffs. It takes longer to snake your way through the tunnels, but at least you will not be gunned down by the turret that overlooks the open field leading up to the main base. This is a good map for capture the flag and territories.
Valhalla is the remake of Halo 2’s Coagulation: a symmetrical map with one base on each end. Valhalla incorporates the severely hyped “man cannon” in to each base. The man cannon is a glorified grav lift, something we have seen already. The only difference about the man cannon is that you can throw weapons in to it and you can even drive vehicles in to it to have them quickly fly away. I do not find the cannons to be nearly as exciting as they were hyped up to be. Valhalla is obviously going to be great for capture the flag and sniper games. I can also see a lot of custom Spartan laser slayer matches being played on this map.
Weapons
I am only going to discuss some of the more obvious weapons in this review since there are too many to write about and quite frankly, I really don’t want to spend the time analyzing every change that has been made to the available weapons in the Beta.
Clearly the most exciting new weapon is the Spartan laser. A one shot, one kill weapon that if put in the right hands, can create a lot of problems for the opposing team. I think the weapon is far too powerful and it is easy to camp in one spot and snipe people with it.
The missile pod and the chain gun are cool as novelties, but they slow you down too much and it is easy for other players to pick you off from behind since you can’t turn around very fast. The Brute pistols are good for close range battles and not much else; it is basically the Convenent SMG. The Assault Rifle is a great starting weapon and I am glad that Bungie brought it back to the franchise. The Bubble Shield is an interesting addition to the weapons and gadgets of Halo. When deployed, the shield creates a giant bubble around you that can’t be destroyed. Players are free to move in and out of the shield, but shots fired from outside the shield stay outside and shots fired from the inside stay inside the shield.
The rest of the weapons have changed to some degree, whether it is rate of fire, strength, or even just the way it sounds. The SMG comes to mind here: nothing has changed with the weapon except for the way it sounds, which happens to sound like an actual machine gun now instead of a popcorn making machine.
Criticisms
The problem with criticizing the game is that it is a beta. It is not finished software and Bungie still has until September to tighten it up. That said, the game looks good for a beta, but in actuality, it does not look that much better than Halo 2. We are definitely not at “Halo 3” graphics yet; this is more reflective of Halo 2.5 or just Halo 2 in HD. I am sure the graphics will improve with the final product, but for now, they really are not that impressive for a next-gen console game. I have also had a hard time finding matches to join. I have sat for 30-45 minutes at a time waiting to join a match. This is a problem because there are generally 30,000 people playing at any given time, meaning I should have found a match within 15 seconds of starting the search.
My other gripe really has nothing to do with Bungie, but I feel it needs to be addressed. It took about 3.5 seconds for someone to call me a faggot or some horrible racist name. The Halo community has not changed, at all, and it is really disappointing to find out that only 12 year olds and bigots are playing the beta.
Overall, the beta has been fun. I am glad that Bungie decided to give us the opportunity to play the game before its official release. They have a lot of work to do before September, but I think that if this is just the beta of the game, the finished product has a real chance to be great.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Halo 3 Beta Delayed
I got myself all hyped up for the beta and then when it's finally here, I discover that someone messed up and forgot to turn on the download in Crackdown.
I'm starting to think that this is a massive joke against the people who are using Crackdown to get in to the beta. First the broken update that deletes your saved game and won't let you connect to live and now a download that isn't activated because some code monkey at Live put a decimal in the wrong place.
I think I'm more mad about getting up at 5 a.m. for nothing than anything else.
I'm starting to think that this is a massive joke against the people who are using Crackdown to get in to the beta. First the broken update that deletes your saved game and won't let you connect to live and now a download that isn't activated because some code monkey at Live put a decimal in the wrong place.
I think I'm more mad about getting up at 5 a.m. for nothing than anything else.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Ninjas Take 3rd Studio Championship
The kickball league championship was last night and we beat the crap out of the Valley Girls to the tune of 6-1. My team, the Awesome Helicopter Ninjas, are now the 3 time champions of the Studio division with a playoff record of 13 wins and 2 losses.
I'll post a full game report later this week.
I'll post a full game report later this week.
Friday, April 27, 2007
The Anniversary of My Glorious Birth
I celebrated by twenty-fifth birthday last week. I wish I could say that the partying was kept to a minimum, but I figure I only live once and I do not exactly have a lot of time left before the big three zero, so I had better take advantage of my ability to recover from hangovers in record time. I spent Friday, my actual birthday, in Burbank with my closest Ninja friends. Just dinner and a few drinks; nothing huge. Saturday, however, was much more college-esque.
We started the Adam Joseph Amazing Super Fun Pub Crawl of Doom at 4:30 sharp Saturday afternoon and did not finish until well after midnight. The AJASFPCoD consisted of riding the Los Angeles Metro to downtown and drinking our way back to North Hollywood. While I have ridden on a subway before, I have not had the privilege of riding the rails of this fine city. Three bucks is all it cost to hitch a ride to whatever destination our hearts desired; a deal that cannot be matched with conventional automotive traveling.
We stopped at several bars, none of which I know the name or location, but rest assured, they were awesome and no one was stabbed while walking from the train station to each bar. There were two parts of the trip that stand out:
1. Our second stop dropped us right in the middle of downtown Los Angeles; skyscrapers, grid system, and all. I have been in large cities surrounded by tall buildings before, but something about this downtown was mesmerizing. I quickly decided that I want to live in a city like New York; one where I can live in the so-called "urban jungle." I am tired of suburban life. The San Fernando valley is nice, but frankly I find it to be incredibly underwhelming with its 345 square miles of never ending streets lined with houses that look exactly the same. Just once in my life, I would like to live in a real city, not some boring clump of ticky tacky.
2. The second (or third, not really sure) bar we went to was some hole in the wall, regulars only type establishment. We kicked the doors in turned the place upside down, something I do not think the locals appreciated, but since there were 15 of us, I do not think it much mattered. The memorable part of this stop was the birthday cake and song I received from the bar staff. I was completely surprised; I do not know why, since it was my birthday, but I did not think anyone would really go out of their way to do something that nice. I appreciate all the drinks my friends bought for me, but the cake was really nice. So, thanks to the bar staff at that bar for the awesome birthday party; I really appreciate it.
I did not think that any birthday could trump my twenty-fourth, but my new friends came through in ways I could only imagine. Four times now has my birthday been preceded by a tragic event - this year was the Virginia Tech shooting, and four times have I never been happier that I got to celebrate another birthday. In no way am I upset that someone decided to "ruin" my birthday by murdering innocent Americans; rather, these events help me see my own mortality and be grateful for the things I have. My birthdays have become less about celebrating my birth, but a day I can be thankful for having the opportunity to make the most of my time here.
It may not mean much, but I would rather think about the students at Virginia Tech, the employees at the federal building in Oklahoma City, the students at Columbine, and the families of the folks in Waco rather than myself.
We started the Adam Joseph Amazing Super Fun Pub Crawl of Doom at 4:30 sharp Saturday afternoon and did not finish until well after midnight. The AJASFPCoD consisted of riding the Los Angeles Metro to downtown and drinking our way back to North Hollywood. While I have ridden on a subway before, I have not had the privilege of riding the rails of this fine city. Three bucks is all it cost to hitch a ride to whatever destination our hearts desired; a deal that cannot be matched with conventional automotive traveling.
We stopped at several bars, none of which I know the name or location, but rest assured, they were awesome and no one was stabbed while walking from the train station to each bar. There were two parts of the trip that stand out:
1. Our second stop dropped us right in the middle of downtown Los Angeles; skyscrapers, grid system, and all. I have been in large cities surrounded by tall buildings before, but something about this downtown was mesmerizing. I quickly decided that I want to live in a city like New York; one where I can live in the so-called "urban jungle." I am tired of suburban life. The San Fernando valley is nice, but frankly I find it to be incredibly underwhelming with its 345 square miles of never ending streets lined with houses that look exactly the same. Just once in my life, I would like to live in a real city, not some boring clump of ticky tacky.
2. The second (or third, not really sure) bar we went to was some hole in the wall, regulars only type establishment. We kicked the doors in turned the place upside down, something I do not think the locals appreciated, but since there were 15 of us, I do not think it much mattered. The memorable part of this stop was the birthday cake and song I received from the bar staff. I was completely surprised; I do not know why, since it was my birthday, but I did not think anyone would really go out of their way to do something that nice. I appreciate all the drinks my friends bought for me, but the cake was really nice. So, thanks to the bar staff at that bar for the awesome birthday party; I really appreciate it.
I did not think that any birthday could trump my twenty-fourth, but my new friends came through in ways I could only imagine. Four times now has my birthday been preceded by a tragic event - this year was the Virginia Tech shooting, and four times have I never been happier that I got to celebrate another birthday. In no way am I upset that someone decided to "ruin" my birthday by murdering innocent Americans; rather, these events help me see my own mortality and be grateful for the things I have. My birthdays have become less about celebrating my birth, but a day I can be thankful for having the opportunity to make the most of my time here.
It may not mean much, but I would rather think about the students at Virginia Tech, the employees at the federal building in Oklahoma City, the students at Columbine, and the families of the folks in Waco rather than myself.
Monday, April 02, 2007
I Hate Mac People
“I hate most Mac people” is a bold statement to make considering that I am currently typing this on a Macbook, have a Powermac G4 sitting in my office, and recommended that my fiancé get an Apple notebook because they are reliable computers, but the point remains, I hate most Mac people.
I hate that they somehow have managed to make owning a computer some sort of lifestyle. I hate their stupid artsy-fartsy, thick, black-rimmed glasses, their too tight t-shirts, and their emo women’s jeans. I hate that they drive bright yellow VW Bugs and Kias. I hate the Apple stickers they put on the back window of their vehicles to show the world that they “Think Different,” just like the other millions of people that wear women’s clothing and put Apple stickers on their yellow VH Bugs and Kias.
I hate going to the Apple store because I hate that the company has brainwashed its employees. I hate that Apple employs people who cannot think for themselves and blindly follow whatever their superiors tell them. I hate that the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field extends to every store, no matter its proximity to Cupertino, California.
I hate that most Apple computer owners are fanatical zealots. I hate that these people take owning a brand of computer too seriously and turn it into some sort of crazy, Kool-Aid drinking cult. I hate the undying brand loyalty the apologists have. I hate that no matter what happens with the company and its products, these people will not admit the company messed up or released a crappy and defective product. I hate that Apple refuses to release products that do not fail during its first revision. Being notorious for having defective products is not okay, despite what the company’s fans believe.
I hate that I cannot use my Macbook in public without a Mac person saying something to me about my computer. I hate that they make comments about how “I am using a better computer” or that “Macs are so much better than PCs” or that they are “Glad I came over from the ‘dark side.’” I hate the smugness they exude when I have to talk to them. I hate that they feel the need to randomly tell me Macs are better than PCs when I have not even said anything to them. I hate that most Mac people forget that “PC” is short for “Personal Computer,” not “Computer that runs Windows.”
I hate fixing Apple computers for Apple users. I hate how they insist that Macs are better than PCs even though their computer is broken or is not doing what they want it to do. I hate how most Mac people are personally insulted if I say anything negative about Apple computers or the company.
I hate the current ad campaign the company is running on television. I hate the lies the commercials pass off as truth. I hate that Apple has to run a smear campaign rather than showing the good stuff about its products.
I hate that I am part of this community by default because I own this particular brand of computer. I hate that I have to prove that I am not one of “those” Mac people.
I hate most Mac people.
I hate that they somehow have managed to make owning a computer some sort of lifestyle. I hate their stupid artsy-fartsy, thick, black-rimmed glasses, their too tight t-shirts, and their emo women’s jeans. I hate that they drive bright yellow VW Bugs and Kias. I hate the Apple stickers they put on the back window of their vehicles to show the world that they “Think Different,” just like the other millions of people that wear women’s clothing and put Apple stickers on their yellow VH Bugs and Kias.
I hate going to the Apple store because I hate that the company has brainwashed its employees. I hate that Apple employs people who cannot think for themselves and blindly follow whatever their superiors tell them. I hate that the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field extends to every store, no matter its proximity to Cupertino, California.
I hate that most Apple computer owners are fanatical zealots. I hate that these people take owning a brand of computer too seriously and turn it into some sort of crazy, Kool-Aid drinking cult. I hate the undying brand loyalty the apologists have. I hate that no matter what happens with the company and its products, these people will not admit the company messed up or released a crappy and defective product. I hate that Apple refuses to release products that do not fail during its first revision. Being notorious for having defective products is not okay, despite what the company’s fans believe.
I hate that I cannot use my Macbook in public without a Mac person saying something to me about my computer. I hate that they make comments about how “I am using a better computer” or that “Macs are so much better than PCs” or that they are “Glad I came over from the ‘dark side.’” I hate the smugness they exude when I have to talk to them. I hate that they feel the need to randomly tell me Macs are better than PCs when I have not even said anything to them. I hate that most Mac people forget that “PC” is short for “Personal Computer,” not “Computer that runs Windows.”
I hate fixing Apple computers for Apple users. I hate how they insist that Macs are better than PCs even though their computer is broken or is not doing what they want it to do. I hate how most Mac people are personally insulted if I say anything negative about Apple computers or the company.
I hate the current ad campaign the company is running on television. I hate the lies the commercials pass off as truth. I hate that Apple has to run a smear campaign rather than showing the good stuff about its products.
I hate that I am part of this community by default because I own this particular brand of computer. I hate that I have to prove that I am not one of “those” Mac people.
I hate most Mac people.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Weekend Report
Every now and then, some of the Ninjas and Pregnant Cheerleaders meet up on a Friday afternoon to indulge in a few adult libations during the Happy Hour period of the day. This Friday we went to BJ’s Restaurant in Burbank. BJ’s is a sports bar/brewery, much like Coach’s of Norman. Because I am a responsible adult, I only had three drinks: 2 of the Irish Red and 1 of the Stout. As a beer “kind of guy,” I am always on the look out for new beers to try. I always go in with an open mind and I try to give each beer I taste a fair chance.
BJ’s did not disappoint; both of the beers I tasted were great. The Irish Red was smooth and had a sweetish taste and the Stout was good without being as thick as motor oil. I do not want to give a meaningless score to the beers, so I will say that they were good enough for me to want to drive back to Burbank to try the rest of their brews.
I saw 300 on Saturday night with Megan. I liked the movie, probably enough to buy it when it is released on DVD. I think the critics gave poor ratings for the wrong reasons. No one ever said that 300 was supposed to be a documentary or historically accurate; after all, the movie is based on a graphic novel of the same name. Yes, it was over the top and most of the story was “improved on,” but that does not make 300 a bad movie. If one were to enjoy the movie for what it is, a popcorn action movie, one would “get” the point of the film, that being to be entertained for 2 hours. Fair enough if you did not like the movie because of personal taste, but giving 300 a bad review because it was not “realistic” or was not true to history is just dumb.
BJ’s did not disappoint; both of the beers I tasted were great. The Irish Red was smooth and had a sweetish taste and the Stout was good without being as thick as motor oil. I do not want to give a meaningless score to the beers, so I will say that they were good enough for me to want to drive back to Burbank to try the rest of their brews.
I saw 300 on Saturday night with Megan. I liked the movie, probably enough to buy it when it is released on DVD. I think the critics gave poor ratings for the wrong reasons. No one ever said that 300 was supposed to be a documentary or historically accurate; after all, the movie is based on a graphic novel of the same name. Yes, it was over the top and most of the story was “improved on,” but that does not make 300 a bad movie. If one were to enjoy the movie for what it is, a popcorn action movie, one would “get” the point of the film, that being to be entertained for 2 hours. Fair enough if you did not like the movie because of personal taste, but giving 300 a bad review because it was not “realistic” or was not true to history is just dumb.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
St. Patrick's Tiki Bar
For reasons I cannot explain because they just do not make sense, I am always surprised to find out that my work friends actually have lives outside of work. The other day I spent one of my rare breaks with someone whom I “work with” in the sense that we both work for the same company, but in different departments that have little, if any, interaction. As she told me about her weekend, I realized that I spend a lot of time at work and a lot of time thinking about work on my down time. As an IT professional, I can be called in to work at moments notice. Likewise, my schedule is not set in stone: late nights and early mornings are not uncommon for people in my field. I do not spend nearly as much time in the office as my network administrator and engineer; those guys come in early and stay late in the same day at least 4 days out of the week. I consider myself to be very fortunate because even though I am paid less, I am compensated for my time with overtime pay; those on salary can kiss the extra hours they spend at work goodbye.
On top of putting in overtime on a regular basis, I wind up doing work related activities during “my time” usually on a daily basis. There is no shortage of certifications to prove your worth as a professional in the IT industry, and unfortunately, one must have as many as possible to get an interview these days, even if they are “paper certs” that were only passed, barely, due to a two week cram session before the exam. IT certifications have lost their credibility over the years because they are cheap and easy to get; the difficulty only comes from the test taker’s ability to memorize questions taken from the test verbatim. As much as I like to keep my brain stimulated, reading technical manuals in my spare time is not the way I like to relax. I cannot tell you how many times I have fallen asleep on the couch with a 5-inch thick book opened across my face. My point is that reading press books is a lot like work for me: I spend all day working on computers only to come home to have to read about fixing computers. I know it is for the best, though, so I try to make the best of it.
Fortunately, I did not think about work much this weekend. Saturday was St. Patrick’s day, a holiday that is sacred to me not because it is an excuse to drink heavily, but because it is about the fellowship of man, people coming together for a common cause: umm… drinking. Nevertheless, every post-21 birthday I have had has been spent with my friends and this year was no exception.
Saturday started out as any Saturday should: a brief 2.5 mile jog through the neighborhood, followed by a couple of hours of kickball practice. Even though our “practices” have mostly been scrimmaging against the Pregnant Cheerleaders because only 5-7 people on the team bother to show up, it is still one of my favorite days of the week. After a fun-filled hour-long scrimmage, we came back to the apartment to clean up before going out for the night.
The night, while not the same level of awesomeness that O’Connell’s is, was still a good time. We hit up Numero Uno, a pizza joint famed for it’s incredibly cheesy pizza goodness. I thought the pizza was good, not as good as Guido’s, but still damn good. Our plans deviated from normal March 17th festivities when we drove to a Tiki bar rather than an Irish pub. If you did not already know, Los Angeles is a ginormous city, full of lots of people that like to drink. Rumor has it that if we had gone to an Irish pub, we would have waited in line for 2 hours just to get in to the establishment before we spent another 2 hours waiting in line to get drinks from the bar (I later found out that O’Connell’s was just as bad this year). Waiting in line is never fun, so we decided to hit a smaller bar that had nothing to do with Ireland.
The bar was pretty much your “average” Tiki bar: they served tropical drinks in Tiki head mugs and there were Tiki head statues all over the place. The DJ was probably the raddest dude ever; his music selection was practically the top 100 greatest songs of the 80s. As cool as the bar was, though, the experience went down the crapper as the night wore on. The building was very tiny and many people had the same idea we did about avoiding the Irish hotspots in LA, so the place filled up quickly. Not only that, but it turned in to more of a disco as more Hispanic folks started showing up. I have no problem with Hispanics, but very loud “Oompah” music is not what I want to listen to when I am drinking. Megan and I left after midnight, leaving the rest of the gang to party in the dark. Overall, going out to a Tiki bar was fun, but nothing can ever beat hanging out at O’Connell’s for 6 hours with your best buds.
On top of putting in overtime on a regular basis, I wind up doing work related activities during “my time” usually on a daily basis. There is no shortage of certifications to prove your worth as a professional in the IT industry, and unfortunately, one must have as many as possible to get an interview these days, even if they are “paper certs” that were only passed, barely, due to a two week cram session before the exam. IT certifications have lost their credibility over the years because they are cheap and easy to get; the difficulty only comes from the test taker’s ability to memorize questions taken from the test verbatim. As much as I like to keep my brain stimulated, reading technical manuals in my spare time is not the way I like to relax. I cannot tell you how many times I have fallen asleep on the couch with a 5-inch thick book opened across my face. My point is that reading press books is a lot like work for me: I spend all day working on computers only to come home to have to read about fixing computers. I know it is for the best, though, so I try to make the best of it.
Fortunately, I did not think about work much this weekend. Saturday was St. Patrick’s day, a holiday that is sacred to me not because it is an excuse to drink heavily, but because it is about the fellowship of man, people coming together for a common cause: umm… drinking. Nevertheless, every post-21 birthday I have had has been spent with my friends and this year was no exception.
Saturday started out as any Saturday should: a brief 2.5 mile jog through the neighborhood, followed by a couple of hours of kickball practice. Even though our “practices” have mostly been scrimmaging against the Pregnant Cheerleaders because only 5-7 people on the team bother to show up, it is still one of my favorite days of the week. After a fun-filled hour-long scrimmage, we came back to the apartment to clean up before going out for the night.
The night, while not the same level of awesomeness that O’Connell’s is, was still a good time. We hit up Numero Uno, a pizza joint famed for it’s incredibly cheesy pizza goodness. I thought the pizza was good, not as good as Guido’s, but still damn good. Our plans deviated from normal March 17th festivities when we drove to a Tiki bar rather than an Irish pub. If you did not already know, Los Angeles is a ginormous city, full of lots of people that like to drink. Rumor has it that if we had gone to an Irish pub, we would have waited in line for 2 hours just to get in to the establishment before we spent another 2 hours waiting in line to get drinks from the bar (I later found out that O’Connell’s was just as bad this year). Waiting in line is never fun, so we decided to hit a smaller bar that had nothing to do with Ireland.
The bar was pretty much your “average” Tiki bar: they served tropical drinks in Tiki head mugs and there were Tiki head statues all over the place. The DJ was probably the raddest dude ever; his music selection was practically the top 100 greatest songs of the 80s. As cool as the bar was, though, the experience went down the crapper as the night wore on. The building was very tiny and many people had the same idea we did about avoiding the Irish hotspots in LA, so the place filled up quickly. Not only that, but it turned in to more of a disco as more Hispanic folks started showing up. I have no problem with Hispanics, but very loud “Oompah” music is not what I want to listen to when I am drinking. Megan and I left after midnight, leaving the rest of the gang to party in the dark. Overall, going out to a Tiki bar was fun, but nothing can ever beat hanging out at O’Connell’s for 6 hours with your best buds.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Gray Skies Are Blue to Me
Today's weather was awesome: cloudy, rainy, and cold. Apparently no one else shared my sentiment, seeing as that everyone I heard talking about the weather bitched about how cold it was outside. My network administrator told me that I should live in Seattle since I like the rain so much. I have always liked rain and cold; I am not sure why, but there is something comforting about a cool, rainy day.
I do not see what the problem is with not having perfect weather for one day out of the year. Californians are seriously spoiled with this one season year all year thing they have going. The rumor is that your blood thins the longer you live here; I am inclined to believe that statement since I have never in my life heard so many people complain about it being below 65 degrees during the middle of the day. Seeing soccer moms waddle around campus because they are bundled up in full winter parkas, complete with Ugs, scarf, and mittens while I walk around in a short-sleeve polo is a joke.
I think my admin is right, though: Los Angeles is definitely not the place to be if I want crappy weather on a consistent basis. Perhaps New England would better suit my barometric tastes... come to think of it, Ye Olde England would hit the spot as well.
I do not see what the problem is with not having perfect weather for one day out of the year. Californians are seriously spoiled with this one season year all year thing they have going. The rumor is that your blood thins the longer you live here; I am inclined to believe that statement since I have never in my life heard so many people complain about it being below 65 degrees during the middle of the day. Seeing soccer moms waddle around campus because they are bundled up in full winter parkas, complete with Ugs, scarf, and mittens while I walk around in a short-sleeve polo is a joke.
I think my admin is right, though: Los Angeles is definitely not the place to be if I want crappy weather on a consistent basis. Perhaps New England would better suit my barometric tastes... come to think of it, Ye Olde England would hit the spot as well.
Monday, March 19, 2007
A League of Their Own
I find the distinct lack of inline hockey rinks in Los Angeles to be very disturbing. Before I moved here, I figured that California, especially Los Angeles of all places, would have an inline hockey rink in every city, if not on every block. I came to a sad realization last Sunday when I found out that not only are there not hundreds of rinks in LA, but inline hockey the sport is in a steady decline.
I have been in search of a league in which to play since we moved here last August. Like any person living in 21st century would, I used the internets to conduct my search, thinking it was a reasonable way to find a place to play. Everything I found, though, was out of business, no longer had a league, or was over an hour away… and considering how much I hate driving in Los Angeles, having to drive long distances in the city really was not an option for me.
My luck turned around 2 weeks ago when I found out that my YMCA was actually going to start a summer league for men’s inline hockey. One of the reasons why we chose to buy a membership to this particular gym is that they have a functional outdoor rink for inline hockey and arena soccer. The gym staff indicated that there were regularly scheduled leagues and that the sport was healthy in the area, but in the months to follow, I never once saw an organized game for adults. When Megan and I were leaving the gym one evening, I saw a new flier for a men’s league that is to start in April plus pickup games every Sunday night until the season began. I inquired about the validity of the advertisement, obviously skeptical of what I read, but again, the staff was confident that this league would actually start. I took a flier as a reminder, but I did not want to get too excited since I had been waiting for months for this to happen with no results.
Last Sunday I packed up my gear and drove to the gym. One person beat me to the rink, a goalie, who was also skeptical about the scheduled pickup game. We talked briefly about the state of the game in Los Angeles: here is where I found out that the sport has been in decline for several years, whereas ice hockey has steadily grown in popularity. I suspect this trend has something to do with the weather –no one wants to gear up with insulating equipment in the middle of a valley summer- but without having a way to verify this, it will have to remain speculation.
I laced up and skated on the floor for 30 minutes before other players started to show up. Before long, we had enough people to actually start a game with one team shooting against a goaltender and the other having to shoot for the posts. The level of talent appears to be the same as the leagues I played in back home: there are 2 to 3 hotshots with the rest being on or around my level. Most of the guys present indicated that they knew each other, so I did my best to socialize so I could possibly find a team in need of another player.
My efforts did not disappoint, as I found a team before I left for the evening. I only met 3 of the guys on the team, but they seem nice enough, and I will be honest here, this is the same thing as a men’s softball league: it is for fun and should not be taken too seriously. I am looking forward to playing, even though the facilities are not the best; an outdoor rink is good in concept but terrible in application: dust makes getting good grip with your wheels impossible, it is hot, and games are cancelled due to rain and excessive moisture on the floor, but this is better than nothing, which is what I had before. Besides, the registration fee is only $45 for YMCA members, so even if the league turns out to be a bust, at least I got to play without shelling out any cash.
I have been in search of a league in which to play since we moved here last August. Like any person living in 21st century would, I used the internets to conduct my search, thinking it was a reasonable way to find a place to play. Everything I found, though, was out of business, no longer had a league, or was over an hour away… and considering how much I hate driving in Los Angeles, having to drive long distances in the city really was not an option for me.
My luck turned around 2 weeks ago when I found out that my YMCA was actually going to start a summer league for men’s inline hockey. One of the reasons why we chose to buy a membership to this particular gym is that they have a functional outdoor rink for inline hockey and arena soccer. The gym staff indicated that there were regularly scheduled leagues and that the sport was healthy in the area, but in the months to follow, I never once saw an organized game for adults. When Megan and I were leaving the gym one evening, I saw a new flier for a men’s league that is to start in April plus pickup games every Sunday night until the season began. I inquired about the validity of the advertisement, obviously skeptical of what I read, but again, the staff was confident that this league would actually start. I took a flier as a reminder, but I did not want to get too excited since I had been waiting for months for this to happen with no results.
Last Sunday I packed up my gear and drove to the gym. One person beat me to the rink, a goalie, who was also skeptical about the scheduled pickup game. We talked briefly about the state of the game in Los Angeles: here is where I found out that the sport has been in decline for several years, whereas ice hockey has steadily grown in popularity. I suspect this trend has something to do with the weather –no one wants to gear up with insulating equipment in the middle of a valley summer- but without having a way to verify this, it will have to remain speculation.
I laced up and skated on the floor for 30 minutes before other players started to show up. Before long, we had enough people to actually start a game with one team shooting against a goaltender and the other having to shoot for the posts. The level of talent appears to be the same as the leagues I played in back home: there are 2 to 3 hotshots with the rest being on or around my level. Most of the guys present indicated that they knew each other, so I did my best to socialize so I could possibly find a team in need of another player.
My efforts did not disappoint, as I found a team before I left for the evening. I only met 3 of the guys on the team, but they seem nice enough, and I will be honest here, this is the same thing as a men’s softball league: it is for fun and should not be taken too seriously. I am looking forward to playing, even though the facilities are not the best; an outdoor rink is good in concept but terrible in application: dust makes getting good grip with your wheels impossible, it is hot, and games are cancelled due to rain and excessive moisture on the floor, but this is better than nothing, which is what I had before. Besides, the registration fee is only $45 for YMCA members, so even if the league turns out to be a bust, at least I got to play without shelling out any cash.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Finally A Paper Californian
I broke down yesterday and finally registered my car with the state of California. Going to the DMV is probably the worst experience anyone can ever have and my third trip to the bowels of lack luster government help was no exception. Regardless of how horrible waiting in line just to get a number so I can wait in line some more is, I buckled down and got things done. It didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped, but now I can at least say that I can legally drive in California.
My biggest problem at the DMV came at the point when I was supposed to surrender my old Oklahoma plate for the new, bright and shiny (they really are bright and shiny) California plates. As it turns out, one doesn't change license plates very often, so it didn't come as a surprise to me when I couldn't remove the plate from my car because the screws holding it on were rusted completely through. After struggling with the plate for 30 minutes in the DMV parking lot, I dejectedly admitted defeat to the clerk who told me that I could just surrender my plate at a later time.
New plates in hand, I went home to work on removing the troublesome Oklahoma plate from my car. Hours later, I wound up ripping it off of my car, thus making it impossible for me to put a new plate in the same spot. Fortunately, with a little ingenuity and 2 trips to the hardware store, I was able to permanently attach the plate to my car; hopefully I won't have to remove it because I don't think I will be able to get it back on if I do.
All in all, though, I am very satisfied with myself: I completed a big-kid task without too many problems and without having to go completely of my way in order to accomplish something that needed to be done. I still don't like the idea of being a legal Californian, so I refer to my status as being a "paper Californian;" i.e. I have a state driver's license and The Man knows about my car, but other than that, I'm just someone that moved here from out of state. I'm still not a huge fan of California; I find that most Los Angeles residents are self-righteous assholes, so I am content to separate myself from the general public even if it is only through terminology. I still pay taxes to California, I vote in California, and I deal with the same crap as everyone else, but if that term is the one thing that I can use to make myself different, then by God I'm going to put it to use for as long as I can.
My biggest problem at the DMV came at the point when I was supposed to surrender my old Oklahoma plate for the new, bright and shiny (they really are bright and shiny) California plates. As it turns out, one doesn't change license plates very often, so it didn't come as a surprise to me when I couldn't remove the plate from my car because the screws holding it on were rusted completely through. After struggling with the plate for 30 minutes in the DMV parking lot, I dejectedly admitted defeat to the clerk who told me that I could just surrender my plate at a later time.
New plates in hand, I went home to work on removing the troublesome Oklahoma plate from my car. Hours later, I wound up ripping it off of my car, thus making it impossible for me to put a new plate in the same spot. Fortunately, with a little ingenuity and 2 trips to the hardware store, I was able to permanently attach the plate to my car; hopefully I won't have to remove it because I don't think I will be able to get it back on if I do.
All in all, though, I am very satisfied with myself: I completed a big-kid task without too many problems and without having to go completely of my way in order to accomplish something that needed to be done. I still don't like the idea of being a legal Californian, so I refer to my status as being a "paper Californian;" i.e. I have a state driver's license and The Man knows about my car, but other than that, I'm just someone that moved here from out of state. I'm still not a huge fan of California; I find that most Los Angeles residents are self-righteous assholes, so I am content to separate myself from the general public even if it is only through terminology. I still pay taxes to California, I vote in California, and I deal with the same crap as everyone else, but if that term is the one thing that I can use to make myself different, then by God I'm going to put it to use for as long as I can.
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