Category: LiveJournal Archives

Yay! My backpack website is back!

http://www.outdoorproducts.com/

Well, Classroom Orientation numero uno is done and I only have two more today.

Unfortunately one is at 6:00 tonight so I won’t be able to go to the rec center this afternoon. I feel like I need it though, my back is a bit achy and I need the movement of the torso rotation machine. I never realized how good the workouts would feel after I’d gotten into them though. I mean it’s still really easy to skip, I’m not like uber dedicated to that way of life yet, but I feel better for going and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I’m done. I find that I stand taller and straighter now than I did before, even though I can see any physical changes. I’ve been going for, I think, almost two months now, but I’ve lost track. I need to make a note as to when I started so I can keep track, but for the most part I’ve gone pretty regularly. there was the week that it was closed and I actually took 14 days off (mostly because of days I normally wouldn’t go bookending the days the rec center was closed). For the most part though, I’ve been pretty consistent. The same is true of my cycling, even though I’m really only riding about 4.5 miles, two days a week, it’s still refreshing and a positive experience…

oops, gotta go.

Last night I rode home with my new hydration backpack for the first time. I could actually fit all my clothes, shoes and crap I carry with me every day in it, and it holds 2 liters of water. It wasn’t uncomfortable at all (not that I expected it to be, but it was more weight than I’ve carried while riding before) and was actually quite comfortable. Like any new bag though, I have to learn where everything goes. The only thing that bugged me even a little, was that the water bag (or bladder as it’s called) sweats a little since I put ice in it. That made some of the things I put in the larger compartment a little damp, but not so much that it was bad by any means. I went online to see if there were any accessories for the pack, but the web site seems to be suspiciously missing. I hope I didn’t get a really good deal on it because the company has gone out of business, not that I wouldn’t be able to replace the bladder and tube with any other hydration system since it’s not exceptionally custom to the backpack itself. Now if the backpack has problems, well, then I’m kinda screwed.

Anyway, the rec center was HELLA crowded yesterday. I’m hoping it’s still just all the people who just realized they have this free membership, but will realize next week, they don’t really want to work out. I saw a bunch of people kind of messing around, trying to figure out what everything was. I’m really counting on those being the people that realize that it’s called “working out” for a reason. Amazingly enough, I still got in and out in a pretty short amount of time. The ride home was fantastic. It was about 89° yesterday so it wasn’t the least bit sweltering and the breeze was really cool the whole time. I got to the last turn on my ride and turned the wrong way. Probably added about .25 to .5 miles to the trip. Drove by a faculty member’s house to see if I coudl catch him out in the yard. Wanted to talk to him about some stuff, but he wasn’t around. I got to talk to him this morning though, about his computer and his trip last week.

Last night we watched some TV and I got on City of Heroes. Played around with Furious Badger a bit, hadn’t played him in a while. He’s getting much stronger, but still pretty vulerable if things turn down the wrong road. Ran around with Tennessee Slim for a bit and when we finished a couple of missions, he logged off and I switched over to Mick Mannock, my fire blaster. I need to get him up to 14th so he can upgrade his hover to fly. Hover is just too damn slow, and after playing Furious Badger with his Fitness and his Soooooooooooper Leap, all modes of transportation are impatiently slow.

I’m looking forward to playing some more tonight, but after this loooong day, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to pry myself off the couch.

LUAU!!!

For a Livejournal feed of my PhotoBlog, add pelmoblog3 to your friends list!

Well, I had a bunch of Gmail invites, but I gave them all away suckas!

well, it’s the first day of the new semester and so far things aren’t horrible. Only had to sit in the lab for about an hour this morning until a lab attendant walked up looking for work. The down side was that the lab was insufferably hot, as was the entire building. It’s finally gotten down to a tolerable 78 here in the office, but that’s because we’ve got a fan blocking off the entire doorway, blowing in the cool air from the hall. I still have some scary gaps in the schedule right now, but I’m sure, as it does every semester, things will work out. I will, however, have to hire at least two people. I”ve got three good resumes on my desk, but I should still post a sign in the lab. I think I’ll just post up my old sign that I used years ago, it’s still current, for the most part.

Hmmm, as I look at it, it could probably do with a couple little changes… I should still have the file.

Anyway, so I started reading the WoD book this weekend after finishing up Homeland – Book I of the Dark Elf Trilogy. Derek hit the nail on the head with his description. He said it was kind of a combination of Call of Cthulu and Hunter: The Reckoning, with a bit of X-Files thrown in for good measure. All good sources, all good moods, all good in one book.

So yeah.. uh, gotta do some work.

It’s the last day before the semester starts and of course this is when things inevitablly go wrong. We’ve had a really good track record the last three semesters running, so it’s only fate that brings this semester to our knees.

We re-image all the machines every semester. This is so that they are clean and uncontaminated, and so that they have the latest greatest software. This semester was going great on the rebuild until Wednesday. I got the image for the PCs all updated and functional and pushed it out to the systems. When it finished, 12 didn’t boot. We determined they were all from the same lot and must have a hardware conflict. For four hours, we tried to repair the problem, but finally resorted to installing Windows back onto one and updating with SP2 and windows update. Things are good with that one now. We pulled the image and pushed it out to the other 11 and of those, 4 didn’t boot. They are from the same batch, but have a different video card, so there’s a driver issue and we couldn’t even get into safe mode or anything to reinstall it. So I’m now reinstalling windows on those 4. Next semester I’m at least going to insist that we buy all matching video cards for our lab machines.

Anyway, so while we’re in the middle of all that, we have a second batch of lab computers that get a slightly different image that includes some special software, software that needs to be configured special after the re-imaging. We started to push out that image, to all 22 machines at once, and, of course, it stops half way through. We end up having to cancel the push and start it all over, only this time the machines won’t connect to the network in order to recieve the image. We try all kinds of things to get them to connect and then I run into Steve who comments that a system downstairs is not talking to the network. We run some other tests and it seems we’re not connecting at all. I try to call HelpDesk, who manages the campus networking (where we manage our own school’s networking) and the phone won’t even connect. WTF? So I call them on the cell and tell them we’re landlocked from campus.

Shortly after, connectivity seems to come back and we’re now back on track with our imaging. Nick and Steve are off eating right now and I’m typing this with crossed fingers hoping the cast will complete.

Oh, and to top it all off, I need to congratualte and berate Nick for getting a new job and leaving me right when I need him the most. He’s moving across campus and I’ll be without a lab tech right at the most critical week of the year. Oh well, congratulations you bastard.

another one of those “I haven’t posted in forever so here’s a quiz” days.

Fuck it’s been a long time. I’ve been playing Shit-Tons of City of Heroes and every time I sat down at the computer, I thought, I could load up Livejournal and read tons of back posts, or I could play CoH. Needless to say, CoH won every time. I’m building a new PC lab image so I’m almost too distracted to play right now. That’s why I’m here, I can safely take a break from reading or writing to work on the image, without fear of dying.

So anyway, my parents came in to town Saturday morning around 10:30. picked them up at the airport no problem and then just sat around chatting all afternoon and evening. There was a bit of a debate as to whether we were cooking for them (which we hadn’t planned to do for the 4 nights they were going to be with us), or if we were going out to dinner (which we expected we’d do for all 4 nights). Apparently we were under different assumptions. So anyway, we ended up going to the Greenhouse (even though we headed out to go to Giuseppe’s). It was really good and we had a good time. Though I made the mistake of having pork-chops even though I daid I’d grill for them the following night and the thing I enjoy grilling the most is Pork Chops. We (Heather and I) decided to do Swordfish instead, and though it was expensive, mom surprised us and payed for it at the store. She griped at me for closing the grill while I was cooking the fish, even though I was using direct heat, she said it should cook with the grill open. Then when I asked her how it tasted, she said it’d taste better if I left the grill open the whole time. Sheesh, is it so hard to get a compliment out of her without sarcasm? My dad said it was really good and looked genuine in his statement.

While they were here, we puttered around the house some, doing things that I could have done if dad wasn’t there, but he was the impetus to get up and do them. We trimmed the trees that had branches dragging on the roof, we pulled some old cable and telephone wires off the side of the house that are no longer in use. Stuff like that. We made a huge mess of the patio when we swept the pine needles off the roof, and when Heather, mom, and I went to Recycled Books, dad took it upon himself to hose down the patio, and did so with more enthusiasm that I had done before they came. Sheesh. Bored much dad?

They left for Memphis, Monday morning and I had already decided to take a few days off this week. Well, my throat was decidedly sore when I woke up Monday morning as well, and I had apparenlty come down with some kind of cold. I don’t know how or why, but it certainly changed the reasons I stayed home Monday and Tuesday. I played a fair ammount of City of Heroes while I was home, but there were a couple times I was not in a state of mind to do so because I felt ill. Kind of a waste of a day off if you ask me.

So, yeah, I’m at work today and will probably be at work tomorrow to try and get the new lab image up to date for next semester. Don’t know if it will be done, but then again, our images have become secure enough, we don’t have to have them rebuilt for the first day of the semester anymore. I’m debating coming in tomorrow too. I had already planned to not come in on Friday, since my parents are supposed to get back in town, but the more I sit here, the less I want to be. And since I’m not really sick anymore, I could actually enjoy my day off tomorrow.

But for now, I need to go to the bathroom, so I’ll end this rather than trying to contine writing in there.

what crap, I don’t read or post for almost a week and this is all I have to show for myself…

Your parents’ murder drives your overwhelming need to impose justice on an insane world. With no super powers, you rely on your sharpness and intense training — and when all else fails, your amazing gadgets. You’re a loner except for the sidekick who keeps you sane.