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Kaida23

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Blog Entries posted by Kaida23

  1. Kaida23
    I noticed something this morning: I joined Tip.It four years ago yesterday.
     
    Four. Years. :shock:
     
    I can't believe it's really been that long. I still remember joining just so I could comment on Lady Shahdie's blog before she got 99 Mining, and I remember starting my own blog (which hits the four year mark on Friday) the day after her party.
     
    So many memories.
     
    Memories of how much fun it was, and still is, commenting on other people's blogs and responding to their posts. Of the first time I wandered into the OT section. Of wandering away for weeks, and even months, at a time and realizing how much I missed every time I came back. Of applying for the EP and how happy I was when I was accepted. Of finally getting 99 Mining and partying with everyone. Of being invited to be a mod, how helpful everyone was while I was still getting the hang of it and how much fun it's been since.
     
    Not everything has been good of course. Many friends have come and gone along the way. Some come back every so often only to disappear again (I'm looking at you Zokot ;)), and some have recently returned, full of fresh hope, hopefully to stay for a long time yet to come (what up Nerdboy! :grin:). Perhaps the saddest day for me was when Lady Shahdie retired and left us for good. We may not have been the best of friends, but she was the reason I joined TIF in the first place and was always special to me.
     
    So here's to the past four years and how awesome they have been!
     
    Innkeeper! A pint of the dark stuff please.
     

     
    Cheers!
  2. Kaida23

    Merry Christmas Tip.It!

    By Kaida23,

    I want to wish everyone and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
     

     
    (proving once again that EVERYTHING exists on the internet :lol:)
     
    2012 has been one hell of a year. There have been up and downs, loves and losses, lessons and disappointments. But, overall, I think this has been one of my best years here and I look forward to many more! :D
  3. Kaida23

    Lest we forget.

    By Kaida23,

    Today, my boys and I had our annual discussion about Remembrance Day and why it's so important to not only remember those who fought for us, but to be thankful that we truly have no idea what war is really like.
     
    The last people in my family to go to war were my grandparents, along with several their brothers and sisters (yes "several", they both had very big families), in World War II. Even though my grandparents never saw combat (my grandfather was the navigator on a plane that took advance recon photos of areas they were not yet fighting in, and my grandmother was nurse at a recovery hospital for wounded soldiers), they were never willing to speak much about it, at least not to me anyway. Although, they were always happy to share the story of how they met at a dance while there, kept in contact until they were both shipped home and were married shortly after. What little I do know of their time overseas came from my mother and uncle which came from stories they were told by their aunts and uncles.
     
    My uncle was the source of this story (my mother felt was I was too young at the time to hear it): when one of my great-uncles, who was an infantryman, came home he locked himself in his room for 6 months refusing to speak to anyone and had to have meals brought to him. When he finally came out, the first place he went was to church. He spent more and more time there and eventually became a Minister. No one in the family knows where he was deployed, or what he saw when he was over there. From all accounts, he never once spoke of the war or what occurred there. I've heard similar stories of soldiers returning, but many did not end as well as his. I'm glad the church helped him make peace with his past. Unfortunately, as he lived very far away, the only time I ever met him was when he presided over my grandfather's funeral (my grandfather died of Parkinson's when I was 11).
     
    War is something that those who have never experienced it cannot understand. Frankly, it is something I hope that my children will always remain ignorant of.
  4. Kaida23

    I'm an idiot.

    By Kaida23,

    No, this is not more of my usual self-depreciating humour. This time I really am a huge GD f'ing idiot. :wall:
     
    Two weeks ago yesterday, my girlfriend of three and a half years moved out. I came home from work to the four most horrifying words in the English language: "We need to talk." I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Nothing good comes from that sentence, and this was no different. She said she wasn't happy and hadn't been for some time, and conversations with her over this past weekend have made it very clear to me that the chance to make things right again has long since passed.
     
    Now, I'm not the greatest guy in the world, but I think I'm a pretty good guy, and she was happy with me, faults and all, and I messed it all up. Big time. The specifics of what went wrong are unimportant here, but suffice to say I broke a cardinal rule of relationships...no, not that you perverts! Get your minds out of the gutter. :shame:
     
    I took her for granted.
     
    Maybe I simply didn't see the warning signs, or maybe I didn't want to, and now she's gone. I thought she would always be there, that there would always be time to do this or do that, to fix the things that were bothering her...but I was wrong and now I'm alone with little to do but reflect on what went wrong and why I let it happen.
     
    And let me tell you, it's not a good place to be in. I've spent the last two weeks sleeping poorly and eating worse. It's all I can do to get out of bed in the morning to go to work, where I have no focus and nearly punched a customer who was yelling at me today. I spend half my day wanting to cry and the other half wanting to throw up. I can't even bring myself to get done the one thing that I had been putting off and bothered her the most. It just seems like there's no point anymore.
     
    I'm not telling you all this for sympathy or condolences. I'm not so far gone that I need that from people on a gaming forum that I've never met in real life (awesome though you all are). No, I'm telling you all this as a warning, in hopes that some of you may avoid my fate. That those of you who have found happiness will be able to hang onto it.
     
    Don't take your loved ones for granted.
     
    It seems like a simple thing to do, but it can be a surprisingly easy trap to fall into between work and school and life in general. Cherish the time you spend together, and be glad that you are together. Now, I don't mean that you have to pack every second together with dates and surprises and dancing clowns and all that. No, sometimes simply sitting on the couch watching a movie or your favorite TV show can be good. Just some time to yourselves where you can forget about the bills and the mortgage the fact that the tires on the car are going bald. Those were some of the happiest moments she and I spent together.
     
    If things are bothering her (or him), even if they seem small and insignificant, try and fix them. Don't let them pile up and fester until they're like a dead raccoon under the porch that just can't be ignored anymore, because by then it's too late. Even if it can't be fixed easily and quickly, make the effort. Let her see you're making the effort. Don't ignore it or continually put it off, or it will seem like she's not important to you. The worst thing you can do is make her think she's not important to you.
     
    Now, this may seem strange, relationship advice coming from someone who obviously got it all wrong, but sometimes you can't see what you've done wrong until it all blows up in your face.
     
    Don't let it blow up in yours.
  5. Kaida23
    So today I was working at a site, cursing up and down at a software update that wouldn't (and ultimately didn't <_<) go through when an orange Lamorghini, I think it was a Gallardo, came roaring in. No, it wasn't going fast. Lambos just kind of roar no matter what speed they're going.
     
    It's not a common site in Ottawa, so I was walking over to take a closer look when this happened. Possibly one of the most awesome things I've ever seen, and proof positive that absolutely everybody needs to buy gas once in a while.
     

     
    :shock:
     
    He was very cool and posed by the car for about 10 minutes while everyone took picutres. I kind of messed up on the lighting and this was the only one that came out.
     
    Sometimes when you're having a bad day and everythings seems to be going wrong, the universe sends you Batman in an orange Lambo to make the day seem a little brighter. :grin:
  6. Kaida23
    Last week ended on a sad note for me. On Friday, I dropped off my service truck at the garage for the last time. After 7 years, 8 months and almost 474000 kilometers our journeys together have finally come to an end. :cry:
     



     
    "So what, Kaida? It's just a truck" I hear you say. Spoken like someone who has never had a vehicle for any length of time. And I have had this one for a very long time. It sometimes almost feels like forever. I think I've spent more time in this truck than I have in my own house. :lol:
     
    I have driven this truck nearly every day since I got it. Through blinding snow and freezing rain so bad the heater couldn't keep up causing half the windshield to ice over. Through fog so thick I literally couldn't see past the end of the hood. Through hailstorms that caused even transport trucks to take shelter under overpasses on the highway. Through electrical storms and blackouts and the 38 hour day to fix all the problems they caused. To a job so far away I had to buy gas three times in one day (you don't know a long day until you've driven a 1200km round trip for 30 minutes worth of work <_< ).
     
    Through it all she brought me home safe and sound every single time. No matter what the weather, how bad the traffic, how late the day ran or how tired I was I always made it.
     



     
    I will miss my truck, but out of the sadness comes joy as I should be receiving my new truck later this week. Will the new one be as good? Only time will tell.
     
    Goodbye old girl, enjoy your retirement. You've earned it. <3:
  7. Kaida23

    LMFAO in Ottawa

    By Kaida23,

    So this evening I've been working at a site directly across the intersection from Scotiabank Place, where LMFAO is playing tonight. You would not believe the parade of people coming through here the last three hours.
     
    I haven't seen this much neon animal print spandex since the early 90's! :lol:
    (yes, I'm that old)
     
    I have to say, as far as music inspired fashion trends, this one is pretty tame. There's far worse things than looking like you're in an 80's hair band video. A few years ago I was downtown when Marilyn Manson came to town. *shudder* That guy in the dress still haunts my nightmares. :ohnoes:
     
    The only real complaint I have is about the girls dressed up not in the all-for-fun, need-earplugs-to-look-at outfits, those are fine, but the ones dressed like hookers in miniskirts and stiletto heels. Now, normally I'm all for these things, but I swear most of these girls can't be more than 14. :blink:
     
    If I ever have a daughter, I certainly won't be letting her dress that way. At least until she's old enough to get a job and buy her own damn clothes. Then I probably won't have much say in the matter. :P
  8. Kaida23
    So, once again I'm being paid to sit on a site waiting for Ultramar to get their act together. <_<
     
    For those who don't know, I do gas station repairs and installs. My job when starting up a new station is to program and test the pumps and monitoring equipment. I'm on day 4 of this particular startup, and I've only done about a day and a half of actual work. With 2 hours of travel. Each way. Each day.
     
    Here's a breakdown of how I've spent my days of "work":
    Day 1 - Nothing was ready. Spent over half the day telling the electrician how to do things he should have already known. Spent the other half actually doing part of what I was there to do.
    Time onsite: 8 hours.
    Time doing actual work: 3 hours.
     
    Day 2 - Again, spent part of the day explaining things to people who should have already known how to do them. Spent the rest of the day finishing what I would have gotten done on Day 1 if the electrician had been ready.
    Time onsite: 7.5 hours.
    Time doing actual work: 5 hours.
     
    Day 3 - Waited for the inspector to arrive so he could sign off on the operation of the equipment I set up on Day 1 and tested on Day 2, then stood around while he glad handed with everyone. He signed off on the approval without testing a thing or even really looking around. :blink: Once he left, I hooked the monitoring system into the phone line because Bell can't seem to comprehend what we're asking them to do and since I've gotten tired of trying to explain it to them I just it myself now.
    Time onsite: 7.5 hours.
    Time doing actual work: 1.5 hours.
     
    Day 4 - So here I am today, the day the station is supposed to open. I've been here for over 4 hours and haven't done anything yet except stand around with the other people who were here at 9am for the "opening". It's not going to be happening anytime soon either; they're still paving one of the entrances and haven't finished testing the fire hydrants yet. :wall:
     
    If you're not keeping score, that's three 11+ hour days (and counting) for less than 10 hours of actually doing something. Did I mention I get paid by the hour? :grin:
     
    Is this the greatest job in the world, or the worst? Sometimes it's hard to tell. :wink:
  9. Kaida23

    Bye bye Lady. :'(

    By Kaida23,

    I've begun lurking around TIF again after a couple of months off, and while going through my favorite topic/blogs I came across a most distressing entry by my favorite Miner/Smither, Lady Shahdie: Tiara girl signing out.
     
    The revelation that she had retired from RS was both sad and unexpected. It just goes to show that real life can get in the way of even the brightest online stars.
     
    I realize that I'm over a month late now, but she was my inspiration, as I'm sure she was for others as well, to go for 99 Mining and her videos were a source of much entertainment.
     

    We'll all miss you Lady. Come back to us soon.


  10. Kaida23
    Yesterday, we got a new member of the family!
     

    [spoiler=Everyone, say hello to Maggie]
     


    Isn't she adorable? <3: My girlfriend, Jen, grew up with a Bichon Frise (which is French for "curly white lap dog". Appropriate, no? :^_^: ). She's been wanting another one since he died a few years ago; Maggie was her birthday present.
     

    [spoiler=She's so tiny]
     
    ...or I'm just really big. :lol:


    We had to wait a couple of weeks to get her because she wasn't ready to leave her mom, and Jen literally counted down the days until we could pick her up. She bonded with Jen almost immediately, giving her lots of puppy kisses on her face. Maggie spent the whole car ride home snuggling up to her and even fell asleep for a little while. It's amazing how much joy a tiny ball of fluff can bring. Everybody just loves her, even my shepherd/husky Kali. They didn't seem too sure about each other at first, but they've been getting along much better today.
     

    [spoiler=One big, one small.]



    In fact, they're both asleep on the floor at my feet right now. I've never had a puppy before (Kali was almost two when I got her) and it's an interesting experience. Maggie follows me and my gf everywhere, and I've almost stepped on her a couple of times. She doesn't run, so much as she bounds every where, which is really funny when she tries to stop on the hardwood floors.
     
    I wuvs my new puppy. <3:
  11. Kaida23
    It is with a heavy heart I bring sad news to you all this cold, winter morn. At 4:30am EST this morning an Ottawa Police officer was stabbed while sitting in his cruiser outside of the Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital. While there are few details being released at this time, it has been reported that he was simply sitting there writing up a report when he was approached by the suspect and was stabbed without warning. Despite the proximity to the hospital, he died an hour later. The attacker was subdued and held by two nearby paramedics and a couple of bystanders until other officers could arrive. It has since been reported that the slain officer was the father of three children.
     
    While I realize that being a police officer comes with certain inherent risks, and, tragically, there are officers killed every day in the line of duty, this is the first time an Ottawa Police officer has been killed while on duty since 1983. This is a horrible tragedy to occur at any time, but to have such a random act of violence happen during the holiday season simply makes it that much worse.
     
    As a person with great respect for our officers (I even applied to the OPP when I was younger, but while had sufficient intellectual aptitude I lack the necessary physical qualifications) I feel a great sense of loss today. This man dedicated his life to making my city safer, and was rewarded by being cruelly cut down with no chance to defend himself.
     
    Appreciate your families everyone. You just never know if, or when, a tragedy will befall them. I'm going to hug my children that much harder tonight, thankful that I am able to go home and do so.
     
    Ottawa police officer killed outside hospital
  12. Kaida23

    Duct tape and zip ties

    By Kaida23,

    Last night I discovered that Red Green was only partially right; duct tape may be the handyman's secret weapon, but zip ties definitely come in a close second.
     
    Yesterday while I was shoveling the rest of my driveway/walkway so that my mom wasn't going to slip and fall while visiting, my gf was doing some laundry and suddenly the washing machine stopped working. So last night, after my mom left of course, I took a look at it. It turned out that she had overloaded it, and when the spin cycle started it shook back and forth so much that the switch that tells when the lid is closed broke off of the frame. :wall: It wouldn't continue the spin cycle because it thought the lid was open all the time. Fortunately, while the part of the switch housing that mounts to the frame was broken, the switch itself was sill working. :grin: This led to the question of how to remount it so that it wouldn't fall off again while in use. :-k While my first thought was indeed duct tape, I felt that it wouldn't be secure enough. Then it hit me: zip ties! Two holes drilled into the frame and a large gauge tie later, the switch was held securely in place and the washer is operating properly again. :thumbsup:
     
    That's right, I fixed a washing machine with nothing more that a freakin' zip tie! :twss: I don't mean to brag, but even I'm pretty impressed with that. I can only imagine how much it would have cost if had called a repairman, but knowing what I have to charge my customers it makes me shiver just to think about it. :ohnoes:
     
    I guess all that time I spent as a kid building Lego sets and taking apart the vacuum (yes, I really did that :lol: ) finally came in handy.
     
    Goodness I used a lot of emoticons today, didn't I? :blink:
    Until next time, blog fanatics! Cheers.
     
     
    **Kaida23, Tip.It, and anyone else you might think to blame assume no responsibility for damages, lost sanity or angry spouses should you be foolish enough to attempt anything described in today's blog. Remember: I'm not a trained professional, and neither are you.**
  13. Kaida23
    I stayed home sick from work today. :( And wouldn't you know it, the forum was down most of the day! :wall: At least RS was up and running.
     
    I really hate this time of year. I always get sick a couple of times right at the start of the season when it's cold and snowing. Oh well, that's what I get for having a job where I work outside all day long I guess. Unfortunately, because I'm sick I haven't had time, or energy, to shovel my driveway and it's been snowing for two freakin' days! If it hadn't been for my neighbor using his snow blower to remove the plow block from the end of my driveway, without being asked I might add, I wouldn't have been able to go to the store this afternoon and I would have had nothing to eat for dinner but three hot dogs and a couple of slices of cheese. :?
     
    Hopefully I won't get sick again until after New Year's. My work is closed for 6 out of 10 days the last two weeks of this month, and I need all the hours beforehand I can get. On a positive note, this means that my boys are going to be staying with me for both of those weeks and my gf is going to watch them while I'm at work. I love having them around. <3: Two days a week really isn't enough (although I do talk to them every night before bed). I don't know how my dad went two weeks without seeing, or speaking to, my brother and I when we were younger. I really think that's a big part of the reason I don't really talk to him anymore.
     
    Okay, enough sappy remembrances an absentee father. I'm feeling much better than I was this morning and hopefully I'll be able to go to work tomorrow. Wait...did I just say I wanted to go to work? I must be sicker than I thought... :lol:
     
    Oh, I also added a couple of new blocks to the blog and rearranged the existing ones. What does everyone think? Is it too crowded? Not crowded enough? Opinions? Comments? Dirty jokes? French toast? (I know a wonderful recipe ;) )
     
    Cheers.
  14. Kaida23
    It seems like a dream, but I'm actually being paid to make today's blog entry!
     
    As some of you may, or may not, know I fix gasoline pumps for a living. (No, really. I have a license and everything.) I'm currently upgrading pump software on a site and there's a lot of downtime where I do nothing but watch my laptop upload the new versions. The whole job will take about 3-4 hours and I get paid for the whole thing! :grin: So here I am bragging to rest of you ( :lol: ) and I'm going to go on RS and continue with my, and I'm sure your, favorite skill: Mining!
     
    This almost makes up for the crappy, snowy day it's been. Now I like snow as much as the next person, but when you work outside in it all day it starts to wear on you. Oh well, I get to sit in my nice, warm truck for the next few hours and let the laptop do all the work.
     
    Oh, I also updated my avatar for Christmas.

    da Vinci I ain't. :lol: Just a little Christmas cheer courtesy of MS Paint.
     
    Cheers.
  15. Kaida23

    ZOMG! First entry!

    By Kaida23,

    Welcome blog addicts, to the first entry in my new blog! Pull up a chair and get comfortable. Can I offer you some milk and cookies? This will be much more day-to-day than my RS blog, full of the pointless happenings in my life that I'm sure all of you love reading about.
     
    For instance: today I worked on creating a new blog in the Tip.It forums. Betcha didn't see that coming, eh? :lol:
     
    I also spent a great deal of time getting the wonderful animated .gif to the left working properly. A big thanks to Toast647 and his awesome guide (found here). <3: Now I just need to find a recording program that uses up less RAM than Camtasia. It took several tries to make it as every time I activated the recorder, RS slowed to a crawl and I was only seeing/recording half the animations. And of course, the first few tries I practically one-hit the addy so I had to jump worlds and try again... :wall:
     
    But now I must go, faithful reader. The duties of hearth and home call me forth once more (read: if I don't get off the computer right now, my girlfriend is going to throw something at me). Ah, the excitement in my life just never ends.
     
    Cheers.
  16. Kaida23
    The Tragically Hip. Is there another band that personifies Canada more completely than the boys from Kingston? Not that I've ever found. Almost every album certified platinum (1,000,000 sales), many of those multi-platinum, and two albums, 1989's Up To Here and 1992's Fully Completely, certified diamond (10,000,000 sales). They've sold more albums than there are people in this country and were it not for a tragic illness we might have have the chance to buy many, many more.
     
    In May of this year it was announced that lead singer, Gord Downie, has terminal brain cancer. If you're not a Canadian it's hard to truly understand how hard that news hit us. This was quickly followed by the announcement of a final Canadian tour to, yes, say goodbye but also to say thank you. To thank the fans, the people, the places, the very country that has supported them for the past 30 years. Those three decades have not been idly spent either. Ask anyone who's ever met them, worked with them, toured them and you'll hear stories of good 'ol boys who never bought into the rock star lifestyle and did their best to stay true to their roots. Who still live in their hometown of Kingston, less than two hours down Highway 401 from Ottawa, and regularly not only give back to the community by lending support to events and charities but also having raised their own families there have been regulars at school and sporting events just chatting and hanging out with other parents like everybody else.
     
    I've heard these stories for as long as I can remember. Personally, my love affair with The Hip started the summer before I started high school. Road Apples had just been released and I was blown away by "Little Bones". I can still hear that opening riff blaring from the speakers of the arcade/pool hall/general store by my aunt and uncle's trailer. The following summer I had my first part time job and one of the first things I bought was a CD player and my very own copies of Road Apples and Up To Here. Later that year Fully Completely was released and I convinced the program director of our school radio station to add "Locked in the Truck of a Car" to the rotation. The Hip were a big part of the soundtrack of my teenage years and have been a favourite of mine ever since.
     
    Fifteen years ago on the day I brought my son Liam home from the hospital "Little Bones" was playing on the radio when I picked up him and his mother at the front of the hospital, and two days ago I got to take him to see them play here in Ottawa for the second last stop on their Man Machine Poem tour. It was awesome and moving and heartfelt and sad and funny and one of the best emotional roller coasters I've ever been on. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Gord said his final farewell of the night and don't think I'll ever hear "Courage" the same way ever again. It was the first song of the first encore and they hit the first note so hard and the lights came up so bright and it was just such a perfect song to play at that point that I nearly cried again. When they followed it up with "Wheat Kings", all 20,000 of us singing along, I actually did. My son has heard their music literally his entire life and I think he now finally understands why I love them so much.
     
    Tonight our country comes together to bid farewell to some of its favourite sons. Kingston is abuzz with excitement and understandably so. This is a concert series that sold out in record time, even for a group that has a history of selling out Canadian shows faster than many bigger acts in the 90's and early 2000's. Extra shows were added and the CBC is even interrupting their Olympic coverage to broadcast the show live. Earlier today I was in Kingston for a job and I'm glad I wore my Hip cap. I've never had so many people come up and talk to me while I was working. Fans, people they went to school with, even one of their neighbours (if a random person at a gas station can be believed lol). If Thursday's show was any indication then this will be one for the history books. Gord has given us his all this summer and we have given him and the rest of the boys every bit of it back with love and support helping to make this tour absolutely legendary.
     
    I know they'll never see this, but I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to The Tragically Hip for 30 years of music that has been such a big part of my life, for one last tour that gave us a chance to say goodbye, for a special night of memories with my son, for never forgetting who you are and where you came from, and for reminding everyone that Canadians can rock with the best of them.
     
    Finally, I want to say a special thank you to Christa, my ex-wife, who got me the tickets to Thursday's show. Words will never do justice to how much being there with Liam meant to me.
  17. Kaida23
    The lock creaks as the bolt is turned back and the door squeals in its frame with each push. A shoulder slams into it and the door is thrown open with a bang, small gold lettering now visible on the frosted glass: "Kaida23". Dust hangs in the light from the hallway as a hand gropes blindly along the wall. With a loud click a switch is flipped and fluorescent bulbs flicker reluctantly to life bathing the small office in their harsh light. Various plaques and pictures adorn the walls, some barely visible through dust covered glass, and the various pieces of furniture that take up the room are covered with sheets. As the cover is pulled off of the largest one, more dust is tossed into the air revealing a desk with burn marks along its edges and a typewriter flanked by ashtray, pencils and coffee cup exactly as they were left, along with various other sundries and detritus strewn about. Everything is just as it was so long ago.
     
    A look around the room reveals random papers of half-started blog posts and bookcases strewn with books, training guides, and long forgotten submissions. An old Times publishing schedule hangs from a clipboard. A hand gently wipes a layer of dust from the Moderator commissioning scroll on the wall behind the desk. The chair creaks and groans as it is sat in, its wheels amazingly still smooth as they roll along the floor. A cabinet door is slid open to reveal several empty bottles, most long since dried out but with one still guarding a splash of liquid promise at the bottom.
     
    "Guess I'll have to restock the bar", is muttered to no one in particular. The bottle is raised, and "To starting over!" is declared as its last gulp is quickly drained. Fresh ribbon and paper are put in the typewriter, a cigarette is lit, and a familiar tap-a-tap-tap-ding fills the room.
     
    There are many stories left to tell, and this will be the place that they are told.
     

    Greetings once again real life blog lovers. :)
     
    I hope you all enjoyed my little into piece. I did something similar when I returned to my RS blog, but I think I better captured the atmosphere I was going for with this one. This was also the first time I've tried writing something in this style of narration. It's harder than you'd think. Still, it was a neat little project and I think worked out really well.
     
    It's hard to believe it's been over 3 years since I posted here last. I know I never posted much in this blog having focused mostly on my RS blog before, but hopefully I can keep up with it better this time around. So join me if you will on a journey though my musings, ramblings, and rants and maybe we'll see if we can't also have a little fun along the way. ;)
     
    Until next time! |^_^|
  18. Kaida23

    What a *bleep* of a day.

    By Kaida23,

    Today was very frustrating, and I need to vent a bit. I initially went to post this in "Today..." in the Off Topic section, but it came out kind of long so here it is as a blog post you lucky readers. :)
     
    I spent the day holding another tech's hand (not literally of course :P) and trying to show him how to upgrade the software in the new payment hardware we've been installing for the last few months, but some of the first sites were installed incorrectly due to a mistake in the instructions from the manufacturer.
     
    Guess where we were at today? One of those first sites, you say? Excellent! You're not only good looking, but you're smart too. ;)
     
    For the technically minded of you, the system uses a conversion module to simulate network communication over a 2-wire run and the module has both a standard CAT5 connection and a 24VDC RS-232 connection. The instructions say to connect both to the main board, so that's what we did...only to find out a month later that just the CAT5 was supposed to be hooked up, but it was too late. :ohnoes:
     
    The engineer in charge of the upgrade assured us that the worst it would do is cause intermittent communication issues, but it appears to have done worse that that. We can load the main part of the upgrade (the OS, if you will), which has its own boot loader, but can't load the new firmware (drivers) or reenter the IP information (which gets deleted during the process), both of which use the onboard boot loader. So what happens is that instead of updating, the system just keeps rebooting over and over again without loading any of the new information. Fortunately, it still reboots and works properly if we're not connected to it. Thank God for small miracles. :pray:
     
    I also figured out a way to test if it will take the upgrades or not pretty quickly during the first one (I only ended up with two units completely offline because I couldn't put the IP information back in afterwards). It's a bit time consuming, but it leaves the units online while we wait for replacement CPU boards.
     
    Since the only way I've found to correct this problem is to replace the CPU board, I think the improper communications hookup has corrupted the file structure on them. I've brought this up to the engineer (who I'm sure is getting tired of hearing from me on this issue by now :lol:) several times but he keeps brushing me off saying that it's impossible. Personally, I think he just doesn't want to share the program for reimaging the boards so people think he's skilled and important when he gets the defective ones back and makes them work again. <_<
     
    Of course, this is the same engineer who had apparently never seen these units in operation in the field until a couple of months ago when I had him on a site to help correct another hardware issue (what is it with these people and hardware issues?) and I ended up showing him several things about them that he had never seen. Things that I run into on every new installation. Things that I had to figure out how to correct on my own because they're not addressed in the documentation. Anywhere. Things that I've actually gotten calls from other companies about because they're having the same problems. I don't know why they're calling me and not the engineer...wait, scratch that. I know EXACTLY why they're calling me and not the engineer. :P
     
    At any rate, after 8 hours onsite today we only got one of the units to take the upgrade. One. Out of six. On another unit we had to replace the CPU board (the last one we had in stock) after it looked like it was going to take the upgrade just fine and then decided to roll over and die on us when it came to reentering the IP info. :wall:
     
    So now I have to call the engineer tomorrow and explain (again) why the upgrade didn't work (again), why it took so long (again), why they need to send us new CPU boards (again), then go back to the site (again) and upgrade it (again). Can you tell I've had to do this a few times?
     
    I'm glad my boss trusts me enough to oversee this upgrade program in our area (believe it or not, he's pretty much left me to my own devices on this one), but if I don't start getting better support from the freaking people who designed and built the damn things, I might just say to hell with it.
     
    I think I'm going to go back to school and become an engineer. It seems like it's a lot less work and has fewer headaches than what I do sometimes. :lol:
  19. Kaida23
    As I write this, I'm sitting in my truck on Highway 417 parked where I've been for the last hour. Some yahoo went and caught his truck on fire and both lanes are blocked. There hasn't been an ambulance go by yet so I guess everyone's okay, and the fire's out but we're still just sitting here waiting for them to reopen the road. So my whole day is quickly going to Hell in a handbag. :angry:
     
    On the up side, I'm getting paid to sit here and make a blog entry. So it's not all bad. :thumbup:
     
    Update: So after sitting there for over two hours, they finally opened a lane and we were all on our way...only to discover that my exit had only been 2km up the road. :wall: It looks like a car carrier had caught fire, there were about a half dozen burnt cars on the side of the road. I hope it doesn't effect his insurance rates too much. :lol:
  20. Kaida23
    Yes, friends. In honor of his 1000th NHL game, all with the Ottawa Senators, today we, the citizens of the great city of Ottawa, celebrate our Captain, #11 himself, by declaring April 10th to be Daniel Alfredsson day! <3:
     

    I have a replica of that jersey :D


     
    For those of you who don't know him, Daniel Alfredsson is the Captain of the Senators (and if you don't know who they are, you need to watch more hockey). 5-time All-Star (including his rookie year), Calder Trophy winner, Gold Medal Olympian (2006), holder of just about every offensive record the team has (and still holds two with Frolunda HC from when he played for them during the '04-'05 lockout), the bane of everything Maple Leafs, and an all around excellent person who has spent the last 15 years making both the Senators and the city better.
     



     
    Soft spoken, humble and quick to praise his teammates, Alfie, as he is affectionately known, embodies qualities I had long thought lost in this corrupt world of ours. Through hard work, sacrifice and dedication Alfie leads by example. He trains hard, plays hard and loves this community dearly having contributied many hours, and a great many dollars, to local charities over the years.
     

    with Mike Fisher, left, who recently got engaged to singer Carrie Underwood


     
    I once met Alfie a couple of years ago. I had gone to a late showing of The Da Vinci Code and while leaving the theater saw that he was also there. This was quickly noticed by just about everyone, and he took the time to shake hands and talk to us. Now, this was at midnight, after a movie, and during a huge slump for both him and the team. It was our worst start to a season since the early 90's, and had many people calling for his head. But he still stopped and talked to anyone who wanted to, supporter and complainer alike. The man simply exudes class.
     



     
    So today we honor our Captain, our inspiration, our friend. In a world of Tiger Woods' and Michael Vick's, here is someone that can be held up as a role model. A man who has given the Senators current history to be proud of so that we no longer need to look back to the era of the Silver Seven for glory. A franchise player like no other, who I have no doubt will be the first Senator of the modern era to have his number retired. Seriously, when he finally brings us a Stanley Cup he won't be able to get arrested in this town.
     

    and yes, that's real.


     
    Not bad for a skinny kid from Sweeden, eh?
     
    Unbelieveable! I couldn't find the Ottawa Citizen article online, but I found a reprint of the Citizen's article on the Vancouver Sun page. Oh well. Enjoy, and Praise Alfie!
  21. Kaida23
    I can't believe how busy I've been the past couple of weeks. Between working 12-14 hour days, trying (and not always succeeding) to find time to buy gifts, traveling to see family, and everything else the season entails, I've had almost no time to myself (I'm actually hiding in the bathroom right now. *shhh* :-$ ). This also means I've next to no time for RS (so much for level 95 by Friday) or even Tip.It. :wall: My mining has suffered tremendously, and aside from the odd post here and there I've been much more quiet in the forum lately. I wouldn't mind it so much if I wasn't so doggone tired...
     
    Oh, and last weekend we went out of town to visit my gf's mom and dad and brothers. I accidentally left my laptop in the car (my ex has the car during the week when she has the boys and I have to take everything I want out of my work truck when I pick them up) and brought it into her mom's place for the night because I didn't want to leave it out in the cold. I went to use it for a bit and she got upset saying that we were there to visit, not to go on the internet. A reasonable statement and I felt kind of bad about it, but then she spent half the freakin' night on her Blackberry messaging people and, get this, checking messages on the forums she's a part of! :x Really?? I love her and all, but I wasn't very pleased (neither was her mom, who felt she was ignoring everyone else).
     
    Oh well. At least I was able to get the Christmas event done this afternoon. I really like doing the events and this one was fun. I really like the ghost costume, and my boys thought blowing kisses at Scourge was hilarious! :lol: I'm hoping to make a nice little animated .gif with the spinning glitch before they take it away.
     
    *sigh* Okay, back to it. There's a ton of presents to wrap and the kitchen looks like a bomb went off. I'd better get going. As this will most likely be my last blog post before Friday, MERRY CHRISTMAS TIP.IT!
     
    Cheers.
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