Bressler.org Forum - Blogs http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php Bressler.org, a site about nothing. en Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:28:14 GMT vBulletin 60 http://bressler.org/forum/images/andromeda/misc/rss.jpg Bressler.org Forum - Blogs http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php China 2008 - Dali #1 (October 20 - 21) http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=64 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:47:26 GMT China 2008 moves on to Dali, Yunnan... logs & pics ]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=64 China 2008 - Guangzhou #2 (October 18 - 19) http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=63 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:31:48 GMT Finally getting around to posting the rest of the photos and logs from China 2008. The second installment from Guangzhou... logs & pics ]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=63 <![CDATA[Gaming: Second NWN2 expansion & New hope for Master of Orion]]> http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=62 Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:54:30 GMT NWN2 releases a second expansion: Storm of Zehir.

It seemed to me that this new release was done in a really low key fashion. Not that I was watching all that carefully, but I tend to notice NWN news. I had made a post some time ago about an 'Adventure Pack' that didn't seem like it was ever coming out and then this one sneaked through. The 'Adventure Pack' is still being delayed.

Storm of Zehir is not a continuation from Mask of the Betrayer. It's a brand new campaign and players will start new characters. I haven't seen any reviews of this and it hasn't even merited an entry on metacritic yet, but apparently it's an attempt to be more open-ended (ala Fallout). You're also supposed to be able to build your own parties (ala Icewind Dale) and merchant business. So, there you go...

Stardock CEO Wants to Update Classic PC Games, Dislikes 'Artistic Vision' for Sequels

The Stardock CEO is actively searching for old game franchises to buy out and reinvigorate... but not innovate on the original concepts. There couldn't be a better company to do so as, in my view, Stardock is a 'get it done' gaming publisher/developer that actually listens to users (many posts on Stardock around here).

One of the games on his radar.. Master of Orion, probably my favorite game of all time.

Quote:
Wardell had a similar idea for the Master of Orion turn-based strategy series, another 90s cult classic owned by Atari. "We'd like to do a Master of Orion 4," he explained. "It would be an updated Master of Orion 2."
Thank you for ignoring MOO3.

Old and Older Games

I had mentioned in another posting that Good Old Games (gog.com) had started testing an online distribution of oldies but goodies PC games. It's no longer in beta and many of the classic PC games from many moons ago are now being sold for $6-$10.

If you like your games even older... try abandonia.com. Abandonia makes available some of the first PC games ever made... for free. There is no guarantee that they'll work with today's operating systems, but they also make available work around applications to deal with that. Pick up your old favorites now, as some of them with respectable fan bases have been removed, rights purchased by GOG.com to be repackaged and sold. ]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=62 Why am I worried? http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=61 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:34:01 GMT Well, when they moved my office from one location to another, the group of us were told that if we didn't show up at work at least 10 times a month, we would lose our cube space.

This is the third time this week I've came into the office to work. Why? What do I care if I have a damn cube? Someone here suggested its the looming idea of layoffs that could be coming. That possibly we feel safer having an office cube rather than just a home office. That really shouldn't play into whether or not we are let go.

In years past, it didn't matter. So, why am I coming into work so often? I really don't know for sure. I just know that I feel the need to make it in here at least 10 times a month. And that is just silly.

I get a lot more work done when I work from home. I spent from 7:30 till 9am bullshitting with coworkers this morning. That was real productive. Had I been at home, I would have been working away. Right now, only three of us are in this area of the office. So, out of the 20 cubes here, 3 are occupied and 17 are empty. Even the manager row of actual offices has only one manager in today. So 1 out of 4 manager offices are occupied.

Why am I worried? I don't understand my psyche at this point. I am well liked and respected. I am told all the time how valuable I am to the company. And yet, here I sit in this quiet office wondering what the hell I am doing here.

Oh well. There are free sodas here. Time to actually do some work I guess. ]]> austinlacey http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=61 China 2008 - Guangzhou #1 (October 16 - 17) http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=60 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:05:00 GMT China 2008 continues with a train ride to Guangzhou... log & pics ]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=60 China 2008 - Beijing (October 13 -15) http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=59 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 02:16:00 GMT The rather tame and uninspiring record of the first leg (Beijing) of this year's China trip.. here. ]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=59 <![CDATA[China's new slave empire, Branagh to direct Thor, and other bits]]> http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=58 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:39:12 GMT Shows you how focused I am... from Chinese Imperialism to the next superhero movie... meh... Great article out from Peter Hitchens that adds to the slowly building sense that China may wear out its welcome in Africa. Looks like they learned a few things from the Western Powers occupation of their... Shows you how focused I am... from Chinese Imperialism to the next superhero movie... meh...

Great article out from Peter Hitchens that adds to the slowly building sense that China may wear out its welcome in Africa. Looks like they learned a few things from the Western Powers occupation of their ports in the 19th Century... namely, how to improve on the process. Hey, credit where credit is due though, they haven't occupied any capitols yet.

PETER HITCHENS: How China has created a new slave empire in Africa

Quote:
The diggers feared - and their evil, sinister bosses had worked hard on that fear - that if people like me publicized their filthy way of life, then the mine might be closed and the $3 a day might be taken away.

I can give you no better explanation in miniature of the wicked thing that I believe is now happening in Africa.

Out of desperation, much of the continent is selling itself into a new era of corruption and virtual slavery as China seeks to buy up all the metals, minerals and oil she can lay her hands on: copper for electric and telephone cables, cobalt for mobile phones and jet engines - the basic raw materials of modern life.

It is crude rapacity, but to Africans and many of their leaders it is better than the alternative, which is slow starvation.
One of my favorite directors, whose directing career has been on a really rotten streak over the last few years (or am I wrong?) may be taking on one of the few remaining Avengers not to have his own movie yet. I like the point that Thor's somewhat archaic diction may make the perfect fit for the Shakespearean cred of Branagh.

Branagh in talks to direct 'Thor'

Quote:
Kenneth Branagh is negotiating to direct "Thor," the next Marvel Comics property that will be turned into a live-action film by Marvel Studios. Pic will be released in 2010.
It's almost FALLOUT time!!! - Preorder

Any Witcher players out there? There's an enhanced edition out and it's free to owners of the premier version.

Quote:
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition takes the gameplay that made the original the 2007 PC RPG of the Year to new heights with a wide range of technical updates and gameplay improvements. Some of the most noticeable changes include greatly reduced loading times, re-done English script (5000 lines modified) and completely new German voiceovers, improved game stability, greater NPC variety, an easier-to-use inventory with a separate alchemy sack and more than 200 new gesture animations that make dialogue scenes much more natural and dynamic.
]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=58 a mothers pain http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=57 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:59:42 GMT i have given birth... it feels like someone is setting you on fire from the inside out... it feels like your being stabbed with a telephone pole...
i have had broken ribs... you can't breathe...
i have had pleurisy... again, you can't take a breath without feeling like you will collapse... and sometimes it will bring you to your knees...
i've lost loved ones... that's a deep pain that only heals with time..
i've had surgeries...
i've had headaches that make you vomit..
but nothing... NOTHING is as painful as watching one of your children being abused by someone they love....listening to such harsh words being said to them that each syllable kills their soul one heartbeat at a time....watching the hurt in their eyes as they try to understand why... listening to their tears as they lay on your pillow... hearing the sobs that only sleep when it comes, will subside...
the worst pain in the world is a mother who can't help a child... it kills me a little each day...
God please help them.
and kill him. ]]> sissy http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=57 A tough decision http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=56 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:29:13 GMT I have been fostering dogs for a few years now. I have never had to put one down. I had one that I couldn't foster because of my other dogs, but one of the other ladies took him. Now I have a very difficult decision to make.

I started fostering Maverick last summer. One of the co-directors had been fostering him for a month or so, but he was too rowdy for her, and since she had 9 fosters, I agreed to take Mav on. I fostered him for 4 months at that time. During that time, he was pretty rowdy, but he was only about a year old. And cute as all get out.

During that 4 months, he bit me once. He did something wrong ( I no longer remember what) and when I went to correct him, he bit me. It was a nasty bite, but I chalked it up to my handling of the situation. When I get pissed, I get loud, and I took the blame for that one.

Anyway, just before this past Christmas, Maverick got adopted by a family with two little girls, 9 and 10. They only had Mav for a few weeks, when they told us, he bit one of their girls. We of course offered to take him back, but they wanted to try and work through it. They put him through two different obediance classes, and worked with a dog behaviorist. He continued to bite the little girls. We kept telling them to bring him back.

In my mind, (and they said, the girls dressed him up in doll clothes, etc) I was blaming the family. The end of this past May, they brought him back. The two little girls cried and cried when the left him at my house. I didn't think he was a bad dog even after all that.

Within a few weeks of his coming back, I cornered him to correct him about something, and he bit the crap out of me. I then thought, well, if he was doing this to those little girls, he certainly can't be adopted by a family with any children. I still thought he was adoptable. Things went well around here for quite a while. When I need to correct him, I would grab a leash, loop one end through the handle, and put it over his head. He was fine with that, and would gladly go with me to his crate. I thought I had a handle on his behavior.

A couple of weeks ago, I was getting ready to leave the house for a bit, and he wanted to go. He got into the garage, and I cornered him to scoop him up and carry him out. He bit me. I blamed myself for not going to get the leash. I still didn't see it as that big a problem, but I knew that only experienced dog people should be allowed to adopt him. Then comes last night.

Maverick was sitting in my easy chair with me. I wanted to snuggle him closer, and he is usually fine with that. I reached under him to pick him up, and he tried to jump down. I tried to stop him from jumping down, and he turned around and tore the shit out of my hand. He was vicious. I nearly went into shock. The pain was horrible, but I got up, got my hand into some ice, walked to the bedroom where Mavs crate is, and called him. He came to me with his head hanging down, and went right into his crate and laid down. He knew he had done wrong.

I took some advil, cried some due to pain, and my shock that the little sweetie would do that, and got super sad. I emailed the cocker rescue folks and told them what happened. I let Mav out of his crate after about 30 minutes, and he went to kitchen. He wouldn't look at me. He wouldn't come in and be with the rest of us. I realize I am attributing human feelings to a dog, but it felt like he was very sorry. I went back to my office to get back online and he followed me in there and went to sleep on my feet. I went back out to the living room and he laid down on the floor by my chair but he wouldn't look at me. I finally got down, and tried to tell him it was ok, but he still wouldn't look at me.

Today, he is acting fine again. Cocker rescue responded and said he needed to be put down. Their reasoning is, that if I am getting bit, when I am so very patient, and experienced, how would a normal person be able to deal with him. All three co-directors agreed, that he needed to be put down.

I have spent all day long today, going back and forth in my mind about Maverick. I have cried most of the day. He is so sweet, but he bites. My options are to adopt him myself, or have him put down. If I adopt him myself, what if he bites someone at my house. :( He did go after a friend of mine several weeks ago, but I felt (at the time) that she cornered him. Even though she wasn't trying to do anything except walk across my deck. He got nasty with her and started barking and growling and showing his teeth. I got a leash at that time and crated him.

He also has two of my dogs intimidated. I have been telling myself all along, that when he gets adopted, Sandy can rejoin the family. :( That won't happen if he stays. I had just made the decision that maybe I did need to put him to sleep, and called my vet to talk to them. They won't do it. They think he should be tried on some medication and see if that makes a difference. I did not come to the decision to put him to sleep easily.

Now I am back in my quandary of what do I do. What kind of medications are we talking about? How am I going to know if they have done any good? Its going to be a hard night. My hand is still hurting from the bites too. :( ]]> austinlacey http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=56 batter up http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=55 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:23:03 GMT Image: http://i35.tinypic.com/vwq0sy.jpg ]]> DMS http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=55 The weekend is here http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=54 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:33:16 GMT The management of the place I work is getting together this weekend for a big old drunkfest. My attendance is required. Wish me luck. :p The management of the place I work is getting together this weekend for a big old drunkfest. My attendance is required.

Wish me luck. :p ]]> shotglass http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=54 How about those Olympics? http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=53 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:51:58 GMT Beyond political issues, there's a huge difference in attitude with China hosting the Olympics. I remember the last time the Olympics were in Los Angeles, my first thought was "Oh, that's just great. As if there isn't already enough traffic, now I gotta deal with this BS." It seems to me that having the Olympics in the U.S. is only a big deal to selected folks in the host city (businesses, elected officials and such) and folks who follow specific events. Other than that, "Meh, good for them. Where's the remote?".

For China, hosting the Olympics is probably the biggest thing since Mao's troops marched into Beijing. IT IS an event of national import and the target of intensive government effort. Not only is the government shipping in hundreds of thousands of volunteers from all over the country to cheer on the athletes, but they've spent the last several years in a nationwide effort to identify kids with potential talent in any Olympic event, bring them into government ran training centers and gradually winnow down the field to its Olympic Team.

Quite a contrast to the mostly individual motivation and training of Western athletes.

Their goal, to beat the U.S. in medals and, more or less, symbolically usher in our era of decline. If they don't win the medal count, it will be a psychological failure of immense degree for the country. I don't see how they could possibly lose with such a collective effort and a talent pool 1.3 billion people deep.

Beyond medal counts, my guess is that the Olympics will be perceived to be a success. Key word... perceived. Have you ever gone to a movie expecting it to be bad, and then actually liked it. It's all about expectations.

Even before they've started, these Olympics seem very troubled from a Western perspective. The host has reneged on promises made to get the games in the first place, the smog is going to be unbearable and/or it's going to be raining (some venues have typhoon potential), reporters and athletes will be censored, anyone involved is forbidden from saying anything hurtful about those tender-hearted softies in the politburo, many Beijing nightspots have been closed for the duration, and security forces have locked Beijing down as tight as the Iraqi green zone. There really hasn't been much in the way of good news other than local reporters who've traveled over there to provide 'color' commentary (as if they have a choice)... and a plethora of Travel channel reruns.

So... as long as the games come off with something less than the casualties expected in your typical conventional war, people will sit back and say, "phew, this was better than I expected".

Win-win.

Some stuff..

China’s Olympic Crossroads: Author Ma Jian on Beijing, Spectacle and Reality (NY Times)
Quote:
The Beijing Olympics represent China’s grand entrance onto the world stage and confirmation of its new superpower status. The Games are crucially important, not for the Chinese people (who now seem weary of the whole charade), but for the Chinese government. Behind its arrogant swagger, the Communist Party is insecure and afraid. It bristles at any criticism from abroad and is terrified of internal dissent. The Olympics will give it the international recognition it craves, and will legitimize its dictatorial rule.
A Long Wait at the Gate to Greatness (Washington Post)
Quote:
Too many constraints are built into the country's social, economic and political systems. For four big reasons -- dire demographics, an overrated economy, an environment under siege and an ideology that doesn't travel well -- China is more likely to remain the muscle-bound adolescent of the international system than to become the master of the world.

China dumps gold medallists from Olympics 'for political reasons' (Telegraph)
Quote:
More than half of China's gold medallists from the Athens Olympics have been purged from the country's current team, some allegedly for political reasons.
Beijing Today, Beijing One Week Ago; The Olympification of the Capital City (Ben's Blog)
Quote:
Just yesterday I returned from a brief trip to Dongbei to find the Beijing of today vastly different from the one I left only one week ago. China’s capital city is currently in the home stretch of its extensive eight-year Olympic preparation plan. The goal is to transform a city, once severely lagging in public infrastructure, into a worldwide metropolis capable of being a host to the global stage. As the final pull towards preparation, a new onslaught of rules and regulations went into effect on July 20. The aim of the regulations have been to ensure a positive Olympic experience for the record numbers of visitors expected to flock to Beijing in the coming weeks. Here’s a rundown of some of the changes.
Lost in the new Beijing: The old neighborhood (Int'l Herald Tribune)
Quote:
Now, as they labor to protect what remains, Chinese preservationists are facing a new, equally insidious threat: gentrification. The few ancient courtyard houses that survived destruction have become coveted status symbols for the country's growing upper class and for wealthy foreign investors. As more and more money is poured into elaborate renovations, the phenomenon is not only draining these neighborhoods of their character but also threatening to erase an entire way of life.
]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=53 The next great conflict, Beijing dogs go underground, and Future English http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=52 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:52:06 GMT OH, IT IS SO ON!! In what's sure to be the next great conflict of mankind, Cambodia and Thailand are threatening to go mano-a-mano over an ancient temple in the middle of nowhere. This will no doubt make recent great struggles like Canada vs. Denmark and Spain vs. Morocco seem like child's play.

Talks fail to end Thai-Cambodia temple row
Quote:
Talks between Thailand and Cambodia failed on Monday to end a week-long military stand-off over an ancient temple on their border, which regional neighbours feared could turn violent. Hundreds of troops at the temple will hold their positions, negotiators said after eight hours of talks on an issue that has whipped up nationalist fervour in both southeast Asian nations.

It's tough being a big dog in Beijing.

Dog owners maddened by Beijing canine restrictions
Quote:
As darkness falls over Beijing, dog owners such as Deng Xiaozhi nervously leave their homes with pets in tow for a walk or run in parks safe with the knowledge that city dog catchers have already clocked off.

A Beijing law making it illegal to keep dogs taller than 35 centimeters (1.1 foot) means that dogs such as Deng's placid Golden Retriever are outlaws and can be locked up and put down if they are intercepted by the authorities in the Olympic city.

Pet ownership in China is booming and dog lovers in particular complain about Beijing's inflexible laws against large dogs which they say harks back to China's communist past when few people kept dogs as pets, and those that did were scorned as bourgeois timewasters by communist leader Mao Zedong.

The English language obviously evolves... just try reading a Shakespeare play some day and you'll get that right away. Meanings of words change, grammar changes, technology has its impact (the internet has clearly NOT improved mastery levels :rolleyes:). But what happens when a language has more non-native speakers than native ones?

How English Is Evolving Into a Language We May Not Even Understand
Quote:
Thanks to globalization, the Allied victories in World War II, and American leadership in science and technology, English has become so successful across the world that it's escaping the boundaries of what we think it should be. In part, this is because there are fewer of us: By 2020, native speakers will make up only 15 percent of the estimated 2 billion people who will be using or learning the language. Already, most conversations in English are between nonnative speakers who use it as a lingua franca.

...

In China, this sort of free-form adoption of English is helped along by a shortage of native English-speaking teachers, who are hard to keep happy in rural areas for long stretches of time. An estimated 300 million Chinese — roughly equivalent to the total US population — read and write English but don't get enough quality spoken practice. The likely consequence of all this? In the future, more and more spoken English will sound increasingly like Chinese.
]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=52 July 15th 2008 - Drama at work http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=51 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:13:53 GMT Well, I think most people would think is kinda cool like I did when it first started. Let me tell you. Its not. I have been a nervous wreck with my stomach tied in knots for the last few days. :( I have worked in service support for 30 plus years in the computer industry. My current job entails... Well, I think most people would think is kinda cool like I did when it first started. Let me tell you. Its not. I have been a nervous wreck with my stomach tied in knots for the last few days. :(

I have worked in service support for 30 plus years in the computer industry. My current job entails supporting a particular customer at my job. A big customer that makes my company a lot of money.

I have held this particular position at my company for the last 2 years. I am very good at my job. I get a lot of respect not only from my colleagues but also from my managers, and my customer. (and by customer I mean the 30 or so folks that I support, not a single person)

My long time manager at this position recently left and went to a new part of the company where he is heading up a service design group. He has 3 top notch folks working for him. A different manager (also in service design) that I have never worked for, but have worked with off and on for the last 3.5 years at this company, pinged me about applying for a job with his group.

I read the job requirements and expressed that I didn't think I had the skill set for his job. He said he knew me well, and I would be fine.

I filled out the application. I talked with my old boss who encouraged me to apply. I heard nothing for about 3 weeks. My current managers manager called me last week, and asked me to withdraw my application. He told me he needed me to stay in my position. That they would be lost without me. Then he went on to say that I wasn't the other managers first choice. I was their 5th or 6 choice. That didn't make me feel too good. He told me that if I stayed with him I would still be a big fish in a little pond, but that if I went to the design group, I would be a little fish in a big pond. And that is true. I would be starting all over. Doing something I had never done. Learning new skills and proving myself all over again.

Anyway, I went ahead and canceled my job transfer request. I thought it was over. But no. I get pinged by the other manager. He says "why did I change my mind". "didn't I want to work for my old boss in his group". I told him I hadn't heard anything from him or the other guy in almost a month. That I didn't know what the job was, and that I had canceled the request on behalf of my big boss's request to me.

He tells me to reconsider. That I need to talk to my old boss. That the transfer was almost complete, and I wouldn't be working for him, but for my old boss. Sigh. No one had said that. I sent email to everyone, saying I canceled the cancel till I could think this all through.

Of course this upset my current manager and his boss. My phone won't stop ringing. I keep getting pings. I am being fought over, and I don't really know if its because they all want me, or its some big political thing where my current manager doesn't want to lose head count. sigh. :(

The other part of all this, is the money. Being the same company, there is no money incentives. But... I currently get overtime pay. And there won't be any overtime in the new position. At least not for a long while. I also get $12k in pager pay. That will go away too. So there is a money incentive to stay in my current position. There is also the comfort of knowing that I am well liked and do my job well.

The down side is, I would be letting my old manager down by not going to the design group with him. My stomach is in knots.

This really sucks ass.
]]> austinlacey http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=51 Japan Trip 2008: Photos and Logs Posted http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=50 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:19:02 GMT I've finished posting the pictures and writing up my Travel Diary for our Trip to Kyoto, June 16-23.

The Travel Diary is here.
The 298 Photos, and more comments, are here. ]]> JBMoney http://bressler.org/forum/blog.php?b=50