Dysfunctionaliblog 1.5

The Answer

2009-05-20T00:51:00.002-03:00

I see some comments in the shoutbox asking if Webfroot Shoutbox has been updated at some point.

Answer: I really don't know. Fact is, I don't even use Webfroot anymore. Not for some time, actually. I'm using TimePiece, which is my own creation, and haven't updated in a long, long time. XD It doesn't even have an administration backend, so I can't really distribute it at all.

Just posting this answer today. I should really get to posting another entry soon...

The Downfall

2009-01-26T14:58:00.003-04:00

Hm, so what might this be a downfall of? Did I get hours cut? Did I get laid off? Did I not get laid at all?

The answer, my friends, is the latter. :P The layoff scare was just a scare. Nobody got sent home, and very few people lost hours, myself not included. I'm still working the same hours on the same rotation.

Right now, I'm referring to that girl I was interested in. I tried asking her out a few times, but she kept right on refusing. I finally asked her why the hell she won't go out with me. As friends, she told me she's constantly busy. That I find hard to believe, as she does go out with her girl friends *specifically* on days that we both have off. As more, and as I expected, she played the "age" card (for the fact that she's ten years older than me...bah), and also said that she just doesn't feel anything. Well, she could've given it *one* try. >:/

So here I am, still single, still with a stressful job. Which is apparently getting on people's nerves in my guild in Mabinogi. My guild leader recently told me that I "exude depression". That's nice, isn't it? He doesn't seem to think anyone but a choice few are good enough. Seriously, when he started this guild, he was a cool guy. I don't know what's come over him. Hopefully, it's just SAD and it'll go away when spring comes around. If not, I might want to take a look at other games x.x

Anyway, it's nearly time for work, so I gotta go.

"Drosselmeier had unwittingly exposed himself to an overdose of reality, and it had destroyed his reason." -- Angela Carter

The Panic Button

2008-12-09T00:21:00.003-04:00

Oh my dear my soul my poor little man, Kewlio's posting to his blog again. I bet you all thought I was lost in space or something. Well, fact is, between the time that I last posted and the time I'm posting now, very little happened that was of enough interest to post about. Quick recap:

In May, I took another vacation in Halifax, and hung out with my friends Sally, Robin, and Gina. Saw some places that I hadn't seen before. Went to the casino, and lost $20 on Blackjack. I cut my losses at that point. XD

Around July, they merged everyone at work into the same room. Since then, I've increasingly gained interest in a fellow coworker, and at this point, I have a huge crush on her. I've been trying to ask her out recently, but the holidays aren't the best time; way too busy.

During all this time, I've built myself a new computer...and built some for others as well! It's quite fun to customize your own system, and have it look and act like you want it to, rather than be stuck with the same case and logo on it as everyone else.

Now...oy. I don't want to be working at that stupid call centre at all. Way too stressful. However, the prospect of being forced to leave is way *more* stressful. Because of the fact that the call centre I work at is based out of the US, and because of GWB and all that, they're facing a huge economic depression, there are going to be some layoffs. D:

This is phase one of the cutback plan. People are being asked if they *want* a decrease in hours, or to receive a layoff. I refused, as did almost everyone...but the aforementioned girl I like accepted it. *sigh* Starting to seem like I'm not meant to have a girlfriend or something.

Needless to say, everybody is worried about everything. My main worry is whether I'll be keeping my 40 hours, and whether or not I'll be keeping my precious second-shift position (3:30 PM to midnight), or be thrown onto a day-night rotation, which would *seriously* screw me up. So yeah, really nervous about what happens next...

From the looks of it, one way or another, there's gonna be some reason to post for a while. I'll let you all know what's going on, then.

"My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." -- Charles F. Kettering

The Call for Attention

2008-08-02T06:00:00.001-03:00

Why doesn't anyone poke me to update this thing?! XD

Someone remind me to update my blog. Can't right now, as I'm going to bed. :P

The Long-Overdue Update

2008-01-17T03:33:00.000-04:00

Hello there, ladies and gentlemen. I am Kewlio, and I will be your Kewlio for this evening. *checks his watch* Morning. *checks it again* Erm, whatever.

Anyway, I suppose I owe everyone who bothers to check on me an update. So all two of you, gather 'round.

First and foremost, unfortunately, the relationship you see below didn't go so well. Suffice it to say, sometimes, different mentalities and mindsets just don't sync up all the time, and may end up having a bit of a crash and burn effect.

In December, I finally got my first work vacation (hopefully, won't have many of these...the more I have, the more time I've wasted at that hellhole workplace), wherein I went down to Halifax to visit my friend Sally down there. She and her fiancé Robin seem to be doing well. Their apartment, though rather messy, was quite cozy, and its residents, highly hospitable. Most of my stay, we ended up watching anime and playing video games and stuff until the sun came up, and a little beyond. It kind of busted up my sleep schedule, but I got that all fixed up within a week of getting back to reality. A breath of fresh air, anyway...though some other friends felt left out, which I kind of regretted :(

Read on (New game experiences)

In all the time I haven't been updating, I've loaded up with a whole new arsenal of video and computer games:

Picross DS: Picross returns to North America for the first time since the original Mario's Picross, with about 350 puzzles of all sizes to bust your brain, and some fun little minigames to pass the time and potentially drive you batty.

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night (DS): In the beginning, the Spyro series was all about exploring large worlds, finding secrets, collecting every single gem and everything along the way. That said, I'm ashamed at how fast this series has gone south since it left the hands of Insomniac Games. Blech.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (WII): Just like its Sega Saturn predecessor, this game is a masterpiece for the eyeballs and eardrums. Also just like its predecessor, this game is frickin' hard. You'll find this game to be your best dream and your worst nightmare all at once.

Within a Deep Forest (PC): An innovative type of freeware platformer; you play as a ball who is the result of an attempt to create a bomb that will freeze the entire world. Said ball is venturing forth to disarm said bomb. This is a non-confrontational game; no fighting enemies, just avoiding them. Try it!

Knytt Stories (PC): From the makers of Within a Deep Forest comes another non-confrontational platformer. It comes with one story, in which Juni the knytt ventures forth to disable a machine which drains the life energy of the planet. A level editor is included, and a large fanbase ensures new Knytt Stories keep on coming.

Regnum Online (PC): This is an MMO which places you in the middle of a war between three kingdoms. You begin by gaining experience off monsters, like any other MMO, then head off into the Warzone for an intense PvP experience. Make sure your computer can handle it before you try it, though. Nearly exploded mine. x.x (Unfortunately, not playing anymore.)

The Caverns of Hammerfest (WEB): This Flash-based game takes Bubble Bobble and Snow Bros. and pulls them into the 21st century. Anthropomorphic fruits and veggies are taken captive and brainwashed by Tuber the Sorcerer, and it's up to Igor the Snowman to descend the Caverns of Hammerfest and save them.

Incidentally, if you're interested in trying the Caverns of Hammerfest, tell 'em KewlioMZX sent ya...apparently, I get some sorta bonus X3

In any case, that's about all I got for now. If I can think of anything else, I'll let you all know.

"Whaddaya mean, 'invalid parameters'?! 9,000 gigs of RAM and it can't answer a simple question!" -- Earthworm Jim

The Fox

2007-10-11T00:19:00.000-03:00

What d'you mean, I haven't posted since June?

...oh, yeah. I guess I haven't. Well, not much has happened since then, except recently: I'm in LOOOOOOVE! (again. :P)

Her name is Katie, and she's a fox. Like...really, a fur. A good start, I must say. And darned if she's not playful, too. We've spent pretty much every night for a good while playing various games, both with others and just between each other. Mostly WarCraft 3 and Battle of Wesnoth, but I did teach her how to play Uno.

I guess that one of the biggest issues is that, once again, she's in the US, while I'm up here in Canada. She does intend to move up here, funds ever permitting, and I hope to be able to help her out in that endeavour. But she's lots of fun, very affectionate, and just generally very warm. I'm definitely happy with her, and I make her happy as well, so that makes it even better. So, "LETS TRY FOR LONG RUN !!"

Now, she also pointed out that my blog is fairly riddled with large gaps. I guess I didn't really write it in a way for it to be read from start to end. :P So, if anyone has any questions about the outcome or continuation of any of my posts, do feel free to comment and ask about it. ^^

"Love isn't blind; it just only sees what matters." -- William Curry

The Price

2007-06-20T23:35:00.000-03:00

The time has come for us to meet: A new host on The Price is Right...come on down!

So, unfortunately, Bob Barker has retired from TPiR, having hosted for the last 35 years without fail, and previously, Truth or Consequences for 15 there. We might see him again for a while this September if they can't find a new host by then, but there will invariably be a new host. So, here are the current options.

George Hamilton. Well, it would fit in with the host of TPiR single-handedly increasing the average game show hosts' age. But after watching him get "toasted" with Ritz Chips, I grow annoyed of him. :P

Mark Steines. Current host of Entertainment Tonight, he's already received a fair amount of exposure on TV. However, there are different breeds of TV hosts; I think Steines should keep to infotainment.

Todd Newton. My favourite so far. He's hosted Hollywood Showdown as well as Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck on GSN, and he's proven to the world that he can be a wonderful host. Newton, for TPiR, will ensure a bright future.

Rosie O'Donnell. Oh, God no. Now, I have nothing against her personally, but fact is, she's just not serious enough to host the show. She acts too ridiculously on TV, and I also find she's too loud to be a game show host. (Never thought I'd say *that*.) I think O'Donnell would be TPiR's bane, sorry to say.

Auditions for new hosts are still running, so it might not be any of these four. Too bad I can't be the host. I think I'd do it fairly well.

Well, may as well update on myself while I'm at it. So, I'm still working at the call centre. They've switched me from hotels to roadside assistance and gift cards, which I hate even more than hotels. I'm hoping to find a way out of this place *very* soon. I'm pretty sure this place is having an adverse effect on my health.

Recently picked up a game called "Super Paper Mario"...perhaps some of you have heard of it. It's the third installment of the Paper Mario series; however, this one is not an RPG. It is a 2D platformer which is a 3D platformer. Yes, you heard me. For the most part, you play in 2D; however, sometimes you are required to "flip" into 3D using Mario's special ability to do so in this game. Talk about adding a new dimension to platformer games.

I've also taken up playing Puzzle Pirates. I've racked up a fair amount of experience in the games contained therein, including a very scary experience last night, involving the largest threat in the entire game, which shows up when you pick on ships weaker than yours too much. That was unpleasant. But the rest of the game is fun. Check it out; my name is Kewkew and you can find me most nights on Viridian ocean.

So, that's about it for now.

"HERE IT COMES! From the Bob Barker studio at CBS in Hollywood, television's most exciting hour of fantasic prizes; the fabulous sixty-minute Price Is Right!" -- Rod Roddy (until 2003), Rich Fields (since 2004)

The Eerie Fog

2007-05-26T13:25:00.000-03:00

The world has gone sepia.

Seriously, everything is yellow outside. I don't know what's going on. I can smell smoke on the air; perhaps it's a forest fire nearby? Well, I hope it's nothing serious... It's quite weird, though... x.x

No news from Alberta yet. I'm still stuck here. I hope it won't be for much longer; I'm quite sick of this call centre job. Not that it doesn't have its good moments... The last call I got yesterday was probably one of the best I've had at this job. The guy was super-friendly, and I was smiling for most of that call. He was also quite happy about the fact that he wasn't going to pay a deposit, as opposed to Priceline, which was going to charge the whole stay. He also saved all of $4. :P

I've been playing a lot of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance lately. (Mostly at work; nobody seems to care. :P) As a result, I've also started a game of Final Fantasy Tactics (the PSX original). I'm at the final battle in the GBA one; most of the way through Chapter 2 on the PSX one. I find the game quite enjoyable, mostly for the fact that you don't need to be on the game all the time, which is good when playing at work.

I've grown excited about a few new games that are scheduled to come out: A new NiGHTS game for Wii, a new "Puzzle League" (read: Tetris Attack) game for DS, and according to GameFAQs, there might be a new Final Fantasy Tactics for DS coming along as well. I'm also hoping to get Super Paper Mario pretty soon. There's also been the now-famous announcement for StarCraft 2 a week ago, which looks REALLY cool. As the cinematic trailer says: "Hell, it's about time."

I recently went on eBay to buy some additional RAM for my computer. I now have 512 MB of RAM, and my computer is running smoother than it ever has. Maybe someday, I'll be able to afford an all-new computer...

Anyway, that's about it for today.

"It is not how old you are, but how you are old." -- Jules Renard

The Un-wasted Day

2007-05-02T17:06:00.001-03:00

I woke up at 3 PM today. I was quite sure my day had been wasted. I didn't know what was going to be happening, though.

So, I was just about to start washing my stuff to make food when the landlady came knocking at the door, asking for the rent. 'Course, I didn't have that on me, so I went over to the bank to withdraw it, and since I was in that area, also to the post office, hoping to see my new RAM in my box. ('Course, that wasn't there, and I knew it wouldn't be, but sometimes, you never know.)

Anyway, coming back, I saw this lady poking out of her side door entrance. Didn't really know what was going on, but she was saying, "Come here! Come here! He's dead!" Well, who would I be to ignore something like that? I went into the house, and lo and behold, this old guy was sitting in his chair; though not quite dead, he was definitely headed in that direction.

Naturally, I asked where the telephone was, and called 911. I talked to those guys as best as I could (I didn't know these people, so I had to answer most everything they asked on the fly.) They eventually asked to talk to the lady, who would have a much better idea of what's going on. I ended up sticking around until the lady's daughter came around, and also waited outside until the ambulance to lead them to the side door where I came in from.

...So, yeah. Although I lost an hour of daytime more than usual (three hours more than I'd want to), the day has been rescued. (And so did that old guy.)

The Trip...and Fall

2007-04-01T18:39:00.000-03:00

Now might be a good time to mention that I'll be going to Japan in a couple of weeks.

I'm posting from work...so more on that later.

*Now* might be a good time to mention that this post was made April 1st. :3

I don't have so much as a passport or the money to visit any part of the Orient. So yeah, none of this was true. I'm stuck in New Brunswick yet. Happy April Fools'.

The Lost Plan

2007-03-27T23:58:00.000-03:00

The first post said that I was keeping a post-naming convention like the episodes in Seinfeld were... Well, nobody said that it was only one word after "The". Several eps from Seinfeld had more than "The" and one word. So, there we go.

I realize it's been a while since I last posted... As per the rules of Bestest Blog, I'm probably out of rotation now... Blah...

So I've been working at that call centre... Hating it... And I've also been planning a way out. This included my friend Gina.

On my "0th" day of work (the day before the first), my dad decided to tell me that, should I lose or quit my job for any reason, he would be throwing me out. I immediately decided to come up with a contingency plan for this. I talked to Gina, and she said I'd have a place to stay in Nova Scotia. I then started planning to go down there anyway, as I am sick of living here and dealing with this man.

Eventually, I was told that Gina would be moving to Alberta sooner than expected. (She was originally leaving in June or July, after Anthrocon '07, and now, after deciding for financial reasons against going, is moving out in April.) I was told that arrangements would be made so that I'd have somewhere to stay if I wanted to come along. I eventually decided that I would.

However, it would seem that no arrangements were made. We (Gina and I) talked to the guy at the place we'd be staying, who *today* told us that there is no room for me, and probably wouldn't be for as much as three months. So not only am I stuck here, but THEY (my parents) are making me move to St-Louis so I would be closer to my work and not need a drive as much, or at least as far.

This apartment is completely unfurnished. Not even so much as a frickin' bed. And I'm supposed to live in it. And pay rent. Waste money on a place I don't want to be in in the least. There's nothing I can do in the meantime, other than apply at other places, and probably have to pay rent there, too. I'm tired of living a life that's being governed by everyone *but* me. All I can do is wait for an opportunity that keeps flying away.

Minor Template Update

2007-02-24T04:07:00.000-04:00

It appears as though Uptime-Project is CLOSING FOREVER!!1!oneZOMG at the end of the month. Therefore, I've taken down the Uptime-Project image (which wasn't being updated anyway).

Quite a shame, really... In the past five years, U-P has logged over 10,000 years' worth of computer activity. I'll try to visit the site once more just before it closes, to get an exact number.

This being a minor update, it has no quote. Therefore, there is no spoon. (Wait, that's a quote from The Matrix. Dang it.)

The Twili

2007-02-24T03:33:00.000-04:00

Short update first: That whole thing about my friend and Twokinds? Really blown out of proportion, especially on my end. I caught up with the storyline, and everything resumed just fine. (For what I can see.)

So... I've finished Twilight Princess. Beautiful game. Scenic environments. Dramatic story. Climactic end sequence. Cinematic final battle.

Surprisingly gorgeous Princess of Twilight. (Play and finish the game (or just check out the article), you'll see. :3)

Yet again do I feel the sad (yet temporary) emptiness of finishing such a deep game as Twilight Princess. However, it's good to know that there's still much to do; from my last save point, I can easily backtrack to the full game world, and search for missing bugs, Poes, and Heart Pieces, as well as upgrade all of my equipment to the maximum capacity, and face the deadly Cave of Ordeals. (If you've played Paper Mario 2, it is comparable to the Pit of 100 Trials.) I'll probably do these once I get my own place and TV again, though.

So lately, I've been bugged to find jobs. (Nothing new here.) So far, I'm pending with Virtual-Agent Services in St.-Louis (blarg), noticed by Rogers in Moncton (for Internet customer service or tech support...meh), and sent off a resume to Spielo, through Dave (somewhat closer to my degree). Likely, *one* of these will pick me up.

However, interestingly, I've been invited over to Gina's in Dartmouth; mostly because she wishes to see me once more before moving to Alberta, but also to point out a few jobs in the area, and to introduce me to the two people she lives with at the moment, and see if I would be "able" to live with them. This, I would like; I could use the time away from this place, that's for sure. Main problem, of course, would be transportation, but this may be arranged if the plans follow through.

Here at home, I'm currently writing code to play the French card game of Mille Bornes...again. This is my third rewrite of the game; however, I keep coming up with freaky new ideas to make the code more readable and manageable. My Games Bot currently supports Mille Bornes v.2, Uno, and my dice game, Zero-D. Once I get this rewrite done, finish adding Uno variants, and add the ability to configure the bot, it shall be released as 1.0 on The Show.

On a final note, I notice I have a few more readers for Dysfunctionaliblog. Now, I don't know if there are people (other than friends) who check this blog regularly for updates, but I do know that people now look at my blog almost every day, now. Oddly enough, this also has proven to be a pageview booster for The Show; why this is, I don't know, as I don't update the darn thing that often anymore. I really should...but I guess it's not quite as easy as posting to a blog, when you're coding the entire page yourself.

Houba, what a long post. So, until next time, live long and...uh...stuff.

"Well? ...Say something! Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?" -- Midna, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Comic

2007-02-03T04:05:00.000-04:00

First, I'd like to mention, I've opened *another* new blog, "'Cause I Thought So". Not only is it on the sidebar, but the five last posts all have direct links to them, way down at the bottom there. This new blog will be for musings and stuff.

Anyway... I'm pretty much feeling bad about today... In IRC today, the webcomic Twokinds was mentioned. Soon after, an important plot point about the lead female character was spoiled to me unintentionally. Now, at this point in time, I've since been told that this point is still in "rumour" phase. Regardless, this is a supposition I would've liked to develop by myself.

I immediately left the channel in question and went for a walk to try to calm myself down. (Quite balmy weather; looks like Shubenacadie Sam says "Early Spring" this year.) Regardless, upon my return, all I could do is ask (rudely) if they were done talking about this storyline.

I later learned that I had (though inadvertently) hurt this person's feelings, which is the last thing I ever want to do to someone I care about. It happened with Amy, and now it's happening again. When will it end?

So, yeah... I'm feeling mighty low.

Oh, and...before you click on that link to Wiki's Twokinds article... It has spoilers, too. I managed to avoid those, however. I'll make an exception to the new Wiki Policy this once.

No quote. (Yes, again. I'll start finding some when things pick up.)

The Hole

2007-01-31T19:02:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so, sorry about not posting the second part of The Yesteryear... Never got around to writing it, and most of those events are pretty faded from memory at this point... I've been having other problems.

First thing was, a few weeks ago, I received the dreaded "When can we expect payment" call from Visa Desjardins... I told them two weeks... And I did manage that...after borrowing $60 from Daniel, and $40 from JP. At least they don't charge interest, have a due date, nor can they force me into bankruptcy.

Now, today, I've received a letter from Aliant Mobility stating that if I don't give them $164 and some cents today, they're taking away my service, and tacking on $25 for reconnection, should I ever become able to pay any of this. I can't possibly ask for this money from my friends again... That's way too much... And I doubt if social services would be willing to help at all; they sure didn't help when I tried to apply for it back when I was in the Chi.

Biggest problem is that most of the resumes I've sent out in Moncton only have my cell number on it. Obviously, they'll be completely useless now. I just wish I knew *why* nobody has bothered to hire me yet. Am I doing something wrong? Do they just not care about where I am now? I need money, here, and I need it now... I don't wanna have to go bankrupt, or go to court or anything.

I don't know anymore...

(Do feel free to comment on any post.)

This just in: The Show reaches 1,000 hits; Dysfunctionaliblog reaches 1,600. Bestest Blog really knows how to boost traffic, I guess.

No quote.

The Welcoming

2007-01-07T23:01:00.000-04:00

At this point, I would like to welcome everyone from the Bestest Blog of All Time blog randomizer. I hope you'll find my blog interesting, and also direct your attention to the almighty sidebar on the right, hub to all things Kewlio. :P

Part 2 of The Yesteryear will be coming up soon.

The Yesteryear

2007-01-05T04:42:00.000-04:00

Chu-chu-churu chu-chu-chu-chuuuuru chu-chu-churu chu-chuuuuru-chu-chu...

erm... Yes. I believe I may have Katamari on the Rock stuck in my head. And just having gotten the track is not helping. ^^; I normally clear songs from my head by learning them...but it's proving difficult to learn a Japanese song. Oh well, we'll keep trying.

I know that the links I said were on the sidebar last time ended up not being there. That was an issue with Blogger's new template editor within Firefox 2.0, and has been fixed. Links now show.

My oh my, so much to recount. Shouldn't have waited so long to post it all. Oh well, we're gonna make this a Javascript Popdown post again. :P

Guess we can start with the 18th of December, my last visit to JP's place until the new year. It was a pretty standard visit over there. Hung out, joked around, and I got to play Trickster some. (I've a level 22 Cat now.) The big difference would be that I got to watch the test-run premiere of Identity. I found it quite interesting, and I think Penn Jillette (akf Penn and Teller) did a great job. I find it interesting how NBC is finding all the showbiz people that we've heard nothing about for a while and giving them game show hosting jobs. :P

The 19th...same ol' boring kinda day. Let's keep going.

Read on (Dec 20, Dec 22, Dec 24-Xmas)

Next would be the 20th, when I went to my friend Mike's place, in Moncton. I got to get back together with him and Aimé, and also meet Mike's girlfriend, AJ. (Honestly, I didn't really know what to expect, but that's a girl who has wits sharper than a diamond-cut sword.) This also gave me the chance to check out his living arrangements, computer setup (guy has TWO monitors, dang it >.<) and Wii. At this point, I thought for sure I would not be getting one for Christmas, so it was nice to try it out while I had the chance. Only really played the bundled Wii Sports game, though.

Later that night, we had to see Aimé go, as his friend had come to pick him up. (He was staying in Campbellton, three hours away, for Christmas.) It gave us a chance to step into EB Games for a while...where, of course, I saw Kirby: Squeak Squad...and couldn't afford it :( Aimé generously offered to pay about half of it if Mike were to pay the other half, but he didn't have any money on him for it. Blah. (I later asked my cousin Marcel, who's back in town from Afghanistan, to go get it when he heads up to Moncton, having passed him a $25 Walmart gift card and a Christmas $20 bill to get it.)

We headed over to this neat little pizza place named Zio's, situated somewhere not quite in the middle of Moncton, but nearer to it than I've ever been. We ordered two all-meat pizzas, chipping in a few bucks each. While waiting for them, we were treated to a free dessert, which was quite tasty. I forget exactly what was in it, but it definitely was nice of them to offer these. I guess we were at the right place and at the right time.

Upon return, we ended the night mostly by playing Nintendo Puzzle Collection's rendition of Panel de Pon. It has the most insane four-player mode I've seen; it's possible (though accidentally) to attack your own self with garbage blocks in this mode. Soon after, Blaster Master was mentioned, and we watched as Mike ventured into said game for a while. But people started falling asleep; that's about when I was sent back home after the funnest day I'd had in a while.

Read on (Dec 22, Dec 24-Xmas)

The 21st...was pretty much barren. Moving on.

The 22nd was the day of the family on my mom's side dinner. We used to do this directly on Christmas, but this is no longer possible, as my grandmother on that side died recently, leaving us with nowhere in particular to assemble as we did. So, it was our family, most of aunt Raymonde's, and my uncle Alvin's, at the latter's place, in Moncton. However, the first part of the day was browsing around stores. Not much fun when you're broke, anyway. Again saw K:SS on the shelves, slightly cheaper than at EB. I didn't have that gift card or $20 yet, though. Pass.

At dinner (where I was unwillingly made to eat turkey...feh), we engaged in conversation...well, more like listening. Alvin had much to say, leaving little time for anyone else. But it was all quite interesting, I'd say. He had much about how, since my grandmother died, there were many weird coincidences happening around him involving her in some way. After dinner, we received a couple of gifts; I got said gift card at this time, as well as a chocolate first letter of my name, and a picture of my grandmother and grandfather from many years ago, definitely the most meaningful gift I've had this year.

Read on (Dec 20, Dec 22, Dec 24-Xmas)

This post brought to you by Wikipedia. :P (I've decided to refer to it more, as it gives a neutral point of view, wherein originating sites would always be a direct invitation to the product.)

"Happy Fun Ball: Accept No Substitutes!" -- SNL sketch

The Emptiness

2006-12-19T01:46:00.000-04:00

I finally got back to MapleStory... I knew that it had changed... I knew that my guild was no more... But I didn't know how much it changed...

I was hoping a grand welcome from all my Buddies... Instead, I got nothing... Not a single buddy online... Watched my cash equipment disappear... I basically had nothing. It wasn't the same at all...

I don't know whether I'm gonna bother playing... I wanted to pick up my lottery again, but I wonder what's the point...

No quote, don't feel like finding one...

The Return

2006-12-16T23:44:00.000-04:00

I'm back, baby. :P

Turns out that it wasn't the RAM, it was the motherboard. The capacitors on it were pretty much burnt, and I probably couldn't have used that board much longer before it would've either completely burnt out, or the capacitors would've given way completely, shocking all my other hardware to death. I now have a shiny new ASRock board. And here's a tip for anyone who wants to build their own machine: DO NOT BUY AOPEN. Thank you. Moving along...

So, the last two months, I've been "adventuring" within Ubuntu Linux. I've gotta say, it's way more organized than Windows... Though it's true that I'm back in Windows now, (mostly because I want to get back to MapleStory and Linux's Windows emulator "Wine" doesn't support it), I quite liked Ubuntu. 98% of the software you'll ever think to download (as well as updates to them all) can be found in what is called "repositories". Think of it as Windows Update on steroids.

Also, 99% of software you'll ever need in Linux is free, most of which are under the GNU General Public License. Just think of it this way: For every piece of software that may cost tens, hundreds, some even thousands of dollars, there's always something you can find for free. Even on Windows. You just need to know where to look for it. For starters, try here.

As for the interface...well, you have so many to choose from. You've got your basic text-mode console (in fact, six of them are available to you by default). Then, where graphic interfaces are concerned, you have GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and a slew of others. Take your pick. (I recommend KDE myself.)

At this time, I would like to thank Thomas Fjellstrom, Vincent Povrik, and Kevin Stange for making my new motherboard a reality. Having no money of my own, I couldn't be back in Windows without you guys.

As for me...well, not much happening. I've just been living my everyday life as always... Hoping to get employment somewhere, but it ain't working >.< Been through Prison Break, Survivor, and the Amazing Race... No big thrills.

As for good news, it appears that my cousin Marcel will be back from Afghanistan soon to visit... Though not in time for Christmas, he'll be around somewhere between then and New Year's. It will be good to see him again. The last chance I had to do so was last summer, but my obsession with finding a job while I was still in Miramchi prevented that from happening. Truly, that time was, in no way, a good thing.

Finally, I add a new friend's blog to my sidebar, "Tomathan". He's new at blogging, but I'm sure he'll get the trick soon. I think his first post (after the "obligatory" introductory one) was pretty well detailed. As I always say... Check it out, it's on the sidebar. And so is Thomas's development site, StrangeSoft.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." -- Seneca

The Trouble

2006-11-04T04:58:00.000-04:00

Quick post, just to let everyone know what's going on.

Basically, my computer is screwed. I think the RAM is in bad shape or something. Windows will not boot up on this computer at all. So I've turned to Ubuntu Linux.

It's quite good so far... The important thing, it boots. Second important thing, I can use the Internet (though what an adventure it was to get *that* running...). Only real problem is that my applications keep crashing randomly. Sometimes, I can run apps for hours with no trouble, and other times, I can't keep my things open for more than five seconds.

I need a new computer, but immediately, I need RAM. So consider clicking on one of those nice, free ads on the sidebar of each of my blogs, switching to Firefox using the link on The Show, or donating by PayPal, also through The Show.

Anyway... 5:04 AM, time for bed. I can tell you more about myself later.

The Beta

2006-10-21T05:07:00.000-03:00

And now, I am also participating in the new Blogger beta. You may notice that the sidebar looks slightly different now. That's a result of the new template manager offered by Blogger. Sophisticated stuff!

I am also now tagging my posts. I may not always, as the Performancing Firefox extension doesn't have a tag thing on it. But I'll try to use the Blogger thing so as I can tag stuff.

Oh, and speaking of betas, the new Gaim beta is out. I recommend you guys all check it out an' stuff.

That's it...time for sleep. I'm using thing and stuff too much, anyway. :)

The Shoutbox

2006-10-21T00:53:00.001-03:00

To keep from going insane in this house, I've been a bit busy.

The old "Webfroot Shoutbox" PHP code was needlessly messy, and it was hard to style it right at all. As well, it originally only came with the ability to have one shoutbox for one set of code. That's a feature I had to add myself.

So, now that I have a lot more experience with PHP, I went ahead and created a brand new shoutbox. It is entirely customizable, not overly hard to use, and looks way better. I've implemented it so far on The Show and the Lil' Meso official site, and shall soon be implementing it on my other two blogs.

In other news, I've been off Maple for a few days... I really miss it, and wish I could go play it again, but not only do I need a new modem that won't disconnect me every five minutes when I try to play, I need to redownload the entire game because of the last patch. It sucks.

However, 1 Vs. 100 doesn't. It's quite exciting. I've watched two episodes so far. It's definitely the best new game show in quite a while. I hope I get to watch it often.

Well, for now, that's about all I have to say.

"Don't live for what others think you are; live for what you know you are." -- Kewlio (Yeah, me...is that a problem, pal? :P)

The E-mail

2006-10-13T23:38:00.000-03:00

Well, I realize that I haven't been posting anything here lately. And by "I realize," I mean "a certain birthday-girl told me that". So let's post something.

Opening for today, I've sent Strong Bad an e-mail today. It goes:

Strong Bad,

You must avenge my death. You are the last hope.

Alex

No, I'm not dying. :P I just thought of that, and decided to send it. I can't imagine what Strong Bad will do if he actually replies to this e-mail!

In other news, the Lil' Meso Lottery is starting to barely get noticed. Don't be sad for me, that's a good thing; it wasn't getting noticed at all before. :P The current draw has, I believe, 9 tickets sold, which is (sadly) a record. I expect to end up with 10-12 tickets for this draw. Soon enough, I'll have it set up so that people can buy multiple tickets. (I hope...)

Meanwhile, NBC is starting a new game show tomorrow, named "1 Vs. 100". It pits one average Joe against 100 brainiacs, including (but not limited to) school teachers, members of Mensa, and Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings. (I *still* think he should've been restricted to 5 wins.) I think that it works something like, when the single player answers correctly, whomever in the 100 answered incorrectly gets eliminated, and the more people eliminated, the more money the player gets. Something like that, anyway. It's on after Deal or No Deal on Friday, if anyone else is interested.

I got an interview at Crystal Palace today... Wheeee. I'll tell you if something happens. If not, well, I'll do what they do and never speak of it again.

Hmm... I think that's it for now.

"A dog is okay / On a sunny day / But a cat / Is where it's at" -- Paula Scher

The Elect

2006-09-19T00:43:00.000-03:00

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Election results are in... And Shawn Graham has taken power in New Brunswick! WHOO! Take that, Lord! Thought you were sooooo great... Hah.

This should mean that the dirt road out here where I live should get paved, and the other paved roads should be getting some attention, too. He wanted to do that last election too, but he never got the chance. I don't think the roads in this small town have been repaved since the Tories took over. I'm sure Shawn will do just as good a job as his father did. (Maybe even get rid of that crazy HST and put us back on the two separate taxes. That was Lord's bright idea...)

Read on (online gaming, Ranma ½, Cardcaptor Sakura)

In other news, I'm organizing a lottery for MapleStory. Official details about it can be found here, and there's also a LiveJournal community here for updates. In case any Maplers are reading, it *is* exclusive to Broa, the first tickets will be on sale the 23rd for 50 mesos each (1 per char for this first public draw), and the top prize is 50,000 shiny new mesos. ^^

I can also now be found on Second Life...well, kinda. I'm still only on dialup, so I don't really get to play very much. But I should be on every so often once I get on a faster connection. My character's name is Tsumoko Rojyo...wonder where I got that name, huh? :P I did, in fact, model him after my MapleStory character, Tsumoko. So...yeah :P

Read on (Ranma ½, Cardcaptor Sakura)

I've watched a couple of episodes of anime that Dave (from college) burnt off for me...back in college. :P I now wish I had watched them before, because then he could burn off more episodes. I WANT MORE!

Anyway, the first one is Ranma ½. It starts with this boy (Ranma Saotome) and his father who venture off to China. They find this secluded spot to train, but it's riddled with small ponds, each with its own tragedy and its own curse. As they begin to spar, Ranma throws his father into one of the ponds...then the attendant tells him about a panda who drowned in there 2,000 years ago. Sure enough, a panda leaps out, as the attendant explains that whomever falls in it becomes a panda.

Mr. Saotome then throws Ranma into another pond. The attendant then speaks of a girl who drowned in that very pond 1,500 years ago. Sure enough... Ranma is now a girl. Now, these are just temporary forms; if touched with hot water, they regain their true form. But if touched with cold water, they're forced back into their cursed form.

To make matters worse, Mr. Saotome was bringing Ranma to this dojo in Japan, where he would marry one of three girls. Everyone is completely confused when Ranma gets there as a girl, and Mr. Saotome as a panda, due to a passing rainstorm. Things get very interesting once Ranma goes for a bath (thus retaking his original form), and one of the girls, thinking Ranma was still female, decided to go for a bath herself... And that's just the first episode.

Read on (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Well, that's all I have to say today. Peace.

"I'm Ranma Saotome...sorry 'bout this..." -- Ranma Saotome (both forms), Ranma ½

The Story

2006-08-24T05:17:00.000-03:00

You know when you've been playing too much MapleStory when -
...in chat, you hit 1, 2, 3, or 4 before typing your message. (Sad.)

My character, Tsumoko, is now a Level 29 Swordman... And tomorrow night sometime, I intend to get him up to Level 30, so I can give him his next job. I'm still wondering which job that'll be... I'll have to read up on them in Wikipedia.

And now, News From Away.

I got two job interviews today... One at the San Francisco store in Champlain Place, the other at EB Games on Plaza Blvd. I really hope I can get that one at EB... ^^

Gaim has been b0rked for a while, now... MSN decided to shake things up by making some changes to the way a client logs in. For those technical-minded folk, MSN previously returned a string when you sent your login message. However, it doesn't anymore, and Gaim got rid of this string when it was done with it. Now, Gaim is trying to delete a null pointer...which, of course, results in a crash. Darn you, MSN >.<

bbInterface r0x0rz my s0x0rz.

Still no girlfriend. Not particularly happy about it.

deviantART v5 has been live for some time. Check it out.

And that's it for tonight. Be sure to check in tomorrow night to see...that I haven't posted again yet. :P

"There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who can count binary, and those who can't." -- Origin unknown