Greetings & Salutations Dear Readers.
We here at the ninja temple with you a very happy “International Pillow Fight Day”
No seriously this is a real day. People all around the world will be heading to massive pillow fights held in city’s all over the place. You still don’t believe us? then go have a look here and see if there’s a city near you having a fight you could take your pillow along to.
And keep an eye out you may see one of us there joining in the fun.
Its been a while since I have vented my spleen on here about the things that go on at the Asylum. So I thought I would take some time out and have a little “Vent“.
I was originally hired at the Asylum as a Developer, and advanced my way up the ranks to Head of Development, then after an asylum wide reshuffle I relocated to the Systems Department as a Linux Sys.Admin.
Now I occasionally get thrown small development jobs are are complicated or in a rush, which is fine as we all like to help each other out. Only now its getting a bit silly.
I’m thrown Dev job after Dev job and told theres more coming in (am I a dev again?)
Then “Oh can you just make some android apps for layar?” (I know nothing about phone dev, and not done any programing in many many years)
Followed by “I’ve ordered a Mac Mini, so you can start on making some layar based iPhone apps now” (Ignoring the facts 1)I’ve never used a mac 2)I know nothing about using mac’s or mac software & 3) I know nothing about programing iPhones)
Now I’ve been asked to take part in a conference call to deal with a customer who’s website is bringing down the windows server its hosted on to discuss best ways of resolving these issues. (err I barley use Windows as a user unless I really have to, and that’s normal windows, I know nothing about Windows servers. I think our Windows Server guy would have been a better choice for this call)
And that’s just this week.
So here I am, your friendly neighbourhood Swiss-army CodeNinja
Modern Warfare2 (MW2) is the sixth instalment in the Call of Duty (COD) Series. And its a game I’ve been playing a bit of recently, since it is the lowest common denominator among the group of :- PlanetPete, CampyPhil, MIAdave, StabbyJason & Myself. And since we’ve been playing private matches a lot, I’ve been plying TDM online to unlock better weapons/perks.
Playing online I have noticed the voice channel is now mostly filled with insults, threats, and abuse (a lot more than it ever used to be). And its all aimed in the same direction. Against anyone staying in one spot (Camping) or using sniper rifles, or scopes, thermal, claymores, or any tactic or action that is not just running around with a high unlocked gun and shooting (Run N’ Gun)
Now the main contention seems to be, that if you do anything other than Run N’ Gun you are 1)Cheating, 2)Not playing the Game correctly, 3)Scum, 4)A noob, 5)INSERT ANY DEROGATORY TERM, 6)Not worth playing with, 7)etc. And you should just quit playing the game since your cheating is ruining it for everyone else.All this with more filth and swear words than I ever heard working on building sites.
This abuse has got me thinking. If snipers, scopes, thermal, are cheating and are not to be used then why does the game have these weapons, accessories, & perks? Why in the default class list you are given is there a sniper? since you can not Run N’ Gun with a sniper rifle?
Also why is anyone not doing the Run N’ Gun wrong? the game is set up to handle multiple types of game play. Some people like running about and shooting when they see people mindlessly, where as other people prefer the more stealthy killing of snipers, knives, etc. Why is either one wrong? the games Modern Warfare, and warfare has many ways?
So can we please just accept everyone plays games in different ways, and just get along, If you keep getting killed by a Camper when you run into one building, stop running in, try throwing a grenade, or run about another part of the map.
The one that gets me is I’ve seen some of these people who verbally abuse campers until they quit the game, hide in a corner and shoot people then a bit later run to a different corner and hide to shoot people, well is that not “Camping“?
So people, we are all gamers, lets learn to play nice together, and if it really bugs you people using the weapons, perks, & tactics the game providers, then maybe you should find a different FPS that does not have those weapons and go play there, and let those of us who don’t mind what tactics people use to be able to play the game without listening to the abuse.
I’m adding this out of fairness, I do like the sniper in COD, I like sneaky, stealthy, clever kills. I like using my brain, and I remember my ACF training, “see without being seen, kill without being killed“. But saying that, I have 1of5 classes set up as a sniper, the other 4 are run n’ gun classes, so I play both, and I don’t mind what other people do.
Hell, maybe we should start accusing those with huge HD TV’s as cheating as they can see better than those with small old TV’s?
The latest toy useful tool at the Ninja Temple is a nice little 7inch Android tablet. Now, being new to the Android OS, it was not long before the question was raised. “Is it as easy to Root a ‘Droid as it is to Jailbreak an iPhone?”
It was not long after this question was asked that we put life & limb on the line (well we risked bricking the new toy tool) to find out the answer. For those of you interested its Stupidly easy.
This is a walk-through of how we rooted out 7inch scroll tablet (and unlike the iPhone Walk-through no beer was involved).
Blacklands is the début novel by Belinda Bauer, and as first books go you cant do better then having it become an International Bestseller, and winning the The Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger award for Best Crime Novel of the Year.
But what about the story itself? (more…)
Well it’s Saint Patrick’s day. Otherwise known as the international day of over-drinking with the Irish. So I shall raise a glass or two of Guinness today to help the Irish celebrate, after all they are cousins to the Welsh.
So Happy Saint Mick’s Day!!!!
And I shall share this recounting of a trip to Dublin that was originality posted on “National Nostalgia Week”
I was drinking at the bar in a pub with a friend when this young attractive girl came over and sat in my lap, apparently it was a quicker way to get to the crowded bar. So we started talking while she was getting server, well she started telling me about her collection of studded collars and such she had at home, and it started from there. During the conversation she pointed around the room and said “look at them all getting drunk on a Saturday night, its silly really as we have to confess it all in the morning, it makes you wonder why we do it!” to which I answer without thinking “I don’t know. I’m not a catholic!“. Have you ever seen a horror film when the people walk into a Inn on a moor and the whole place goes silent and stare at them? Its what happened, everything went silent, people stared, and I’m sure a group of men in the shadows started to put hands under jackets as if reaching for something. Remember the Catholic-Protestant issues they have over there. Luckily I had the sense of mind to follow it up with “I’m Welsh!” at which the noise returned to the pub, and several blokes came over to greet me and point out the Welsh hate the English as much as they do so I was all right. I then had several hours of drinks and anti-english jokes.
The girl you just called fat? She’s been starving herself and has lost 15kgs.
The boy you just called stupid? He has a learning disability and studies 4 hours a night.
The girl you just called ugly? She spends hours putting makeup on hoping you’ll like her.
The boy you just tripped over? He is already abused enough at home.
There’s more to people than you think.
Reblog this if you’re against bullying
(Reblogged from :-> Adorkably Me)
This morning I had a “Quick” 9am appointment at the local hospital for a cursory check that my recent Vampiric eye illness was fully cleared and all doing ok.
That was the plan, but we all know what they say of the best laid plans, and how they often “Gang aft agley,”
So here I sit, drained dry of blood, with a bruised arm, after hours of tests. I believe they have decided to run every test they could think off, including some I think they made up on the spot to try and track down the actual cause of my Vampiric Eye Syndrome.
Ah, your probably now sitting there thinking . o {Come on? drained of blood? Don’t be so melodramatic!}. Well I was sat in the blood letting chair for quite a while, and every other time in my life I have had blood tests they have taken two tubes of blood. Today they took what looked to be a dozen, Even the blood letter was shocked at the amount of tests being run. Put it this way, when they finally found a vein and started the blood collecting it was squirting quite strongly into the tube, by the time they got to the last tube it was barley a trickle coming out, and she had to keep forcing needle in deeper, and moving it about.
After I was drained of blood I was passed on to the X-ray department, Which was an interesting experience since my last xray was on my knee when I was about nine months old. I’m not sure I will be allowed back after I caused slight upset amongst the staff by suggesting they use the machines to peak into Xmas gifts to see what they are. There was also a case of roving hands, but I was polite and endured it.
So now, I get two weeks to recover from these tests before going back and getting the results.
How often do you drive past roadworks and wave a thanks, or even acknowledge the StopGo Man? You know the poor guy who stands there all the time the roadworks are going on, in rain, snow, hail, etc. changing his sign form Stop to Go and back again?
Well I would like to doff a virtual pint to the StopGo man in respect for the good work he does. “What? why am I doing this?” Well this morning on my commute to the Insane Asylum I hit a long set of roadworks, and as I approached I spotted the sign was on STOP. Now I must have just missed it since I could see cars way ahead of me heading in the direction I was. I slowed down, and sighed as I knew I would be stuck here now for a good ten minutes. As I slowed the StopGo man looked at my car, looked at the retreating cars in the distance, and waved me through. So I floored it til I caught up with the rest of the traffic. So the common sense of a StopGo man saved me a ten minute wait I would have had if there had been traffic lights there.
So to all StopGo men out there, I raise a pint to your good work.
Does anyone remember the old TV series (Or the book it was based on) called “Logan’s Run?” You know the one set in the future where every person has a small jewel in the palm of their hands that starts flashing when they reach a set age. I think we need something similar today, not to “put to sleep” those who reach thirty, but have a cut off age when people are no longer allowed to get new technology.
Let me tell you know why I have decided that this is the course we should follow. This morning before going to work, I popped over to see my parents as I’m looking after their dog for the weekend. Now my Mother has just got herself a new mobile phone, and decided to go for a “smart phone“. So just as I was leaving she asks me “I’ve got a weird shape thing on my phone, what’s it mean?“, I enquire to what it looks like “its a sort of thing, with a bit, and another thing” *turns phone at different angle* “It kinda looks like old video tapes”
I took the phone off her to check and informed her she had a voicemail, and if she clicked on it she could hear the message. So she clicked on it and started listening to the first time use recording, you know the one that tells you how to set a pin, and use the voicemail system. Only my mother removed the phone from her ear as the recording explained what to do “There’s a woman talking about pin’s and hash and stuff, I don’t know what she’s on about”
I sighed and explained you had to listen to the whole message to understand what she was saying, but not to worry as I’ll set it all up later for her. It was then that the voicemail started playing. I know this from my Mothers half of the conversation. “Oh HI, I was just going to call you.” “hello?”, “oh, you’ll be arriving then, do you need a lift” I interjected here “Its a voicemail” I was shusshed with “The woman said I had a message“. “right see you there then“. For my sanity I tried again “Its a voicemail, a recording!”
I then left the house laughing my head off as my mother was saying goodbye to the recording. Old people should not be allowed technology!
http://xkcd.com/627/
