Category Archives: Technology

09Oct 2010

We’re All in a Sandbox and Not Playing Nicely

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At work I’ve witnessed several moments where people “lost it,” this week. I don’t know what it was about this week that did it, but it was from all the different corners of my work life. Seriously. I’ve appropriated my supervisor’s analogy that we’re all in a sandbox, and no one is behaving nicely. Pails are being tossed about and shovels used to hit each other.

I was running through entries on my blog and I had one post right before I started at my current digs. I was apprehensive and unsure whether I made the right choice. There are several snags, you see, such as whether you will like the work culture, coworkers, etc… Then there are other sacrifices you make, such as, changing health insurances, downgrading insurances, or maybe even a pay cut. Stuff like that make the process really nerve wracking and you’re most of the time unable to see whether your leap of faith will work out.

This is all to say that things have gotten much rockier at my previous job and I feel relieved to not be there anymore. I’ve been meeting with old coworkers for the past couple of weeks and I’ve been getting a lot of the dirt. They tell me that I’m lucky to have gotten out when I did, which was a combination of luck, timing, and connections. Either way, this is a rare thing, where in hindsight you are proven right and glad that you made the choice you did.

So what if I pay more now for my dentist (that brought out that bling-ed piece of tooth). I made the wrong choice there in opting in for a DMO plan, rather than a PPO that they accept (although since they used to accept the DMO, they are still listed on the DMO website – what the hell is up with that?). Clearly, wrong choice, but I had no way of knowing either way. (Also when I had to make my choice my dentist’s office was closed)

You know choices…

So here’s another one to think about. I am content enough right now with my current job. It challenges me sometimes, but I am confident that I can do whatever they ask me. My skill set is sort of perfect for this job… in that the only anxiety comes from finishing multiple things in a timely manner and not that I can’t do something. Sure I want to be paid more, appreciated by upper management more and all that… stuff normal people want… So here’s the thing. My field right now has an influx of openings. I get calls from head hunters ALL THE TIME. Like, at least 1-3 a week, either by phone or email. I got someone actually calling my work phone the other day and that sort of creeped me out.

So my instincts tell me that I should contact them just to see what they have and to keep my people skills sharp. I always encourage friends that are looking for jobs to apply for everything and talk to everyone. You want choices. You should have the choice to turn them down. It’s hard for me to keep to this adage, you know? Even if I am not looking for another job, if they come looking for me, I should always keep my options open. I should, right?

21Jun 2009

iPhone

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I downloaded the new software after playing with my coworker’s new iphone. It isn’t the same as getting a new and shiny one, but it is close enough. For the most part, it looks pretty nifty. They allow for more apps, voice recorder, etc… However, I am getting really annoyed at how the WordPress app is not allowing me to upload pictures to my server.

REALLY ANNOYING! It’s been my application of choice, being the lazy blogger that I am.

12Mar 2009

Fable 2, The Ending…

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I could talk about food, work, and crazy people on the subways, but instead I am going to talk about a video game… an RPG for the XBOX360. After long hours of various hijinks and cultivating multiple families, I finally got around to picking it up again yesterday (I stopped once I got a job). I didn’t realize how near the ending I was.

< spoilers > (highlight the following)
WHAT WAS UP WITH THE ENDING? It was all sort of a mind fuck. After all that questing, I don’t even get to kick Lucien’s ass. Where was the final boss battle? I didn’t know WHAT was going on. The final battle was with the spire; I get that, but I feel a little ripped off.
< / spoilers >

What’s interesting is that we are all used to the typical RPG template, via Final Fantasy, Lufia, Dragon Quest, etc… We are ALL used to the same rules that stem back to original non family-computer Nintendo and Sega systems. You build your character and they get stronger. You get awesome weapons. There is some semblance of a story. And then a huge boss fight. Oftentimes, now, there are multiple colorful boss fights (like Final Fantasy VI/3 and Chrono Trigger).

We had some games that bent and expanded on those rules, a la Chrono Trigger and the wonky Chrono Cross. Chrono Trigger featured the “bad guy” that we were chasing in the beginning of the game and eventually turned him into a sympathetic character. We had choices of who to have in our party and the ability to experience different ends. AND THIS WAS STILL FOR SUPER NES. Chrono Cross had HUNDREDS of freakin characters, which I believe weakened the personal investment of the player for the game. Still, these games still followed the “questing path” with “smaller side quests” along with “different endings and characters” and STILL wrapped up with a huge ass boss fight. The ending was the ending… and questions posed at the beginning of the game were answered.

You know, most of it follows a literary model.

I do have to save that I like the Chrono-like protagonist in Fable 2. I like the throw back to older RPGs they seem to do. I like the world and that is highly interactive. You can change the economy in certain towns if you do enough business there. I also like that the main characters don’t say much and there is no f-ing emo shit like the later Final Fantasy series. (I just couldn’t stomach anything after 7. I liked 8 for a bit, but 9 just bored me… although the pictures were pretty. I didn’t touch 10.)

I’m kind of torn about what I think about this ending. On one hand, I think breaking the traditional rules is good. It’s making me evaluate the game on a different scale. I also think this adds to the reality of the world. I mean… if we were in a magical fantasy realm on the track of a massive bad guy… maybe there is no climactic last battle?

< spoilers > (highlight the following)
However, if I am going to dedicate hours of my life to a game, I want some satisfaction in terms of information. I’m not talking about happy or sad endings. I am talking about answering some questions.

The main motivation of my character to continue on this quest is that Lucien killed her sister. However, as the player, my motivation is because the beginning posed questions. I am going through all these hoops to expand on the story, for entertainment, and also because I feel an attachment to my character. HOWEVER, the main point is that I WANT ANSWERS.

This ending didn’t answer the main questions and merely pose more. It basically answered no questions, confuses you further, and JUST ENDS. ABRUPTLY.

What is up with that? I choose the choice of “Sacrafice” in the end, so my family, sister, and dog didn’t come back.
< / spoilers >

Oh well. So, I guess this isn’t “the end.” I have a Halo now. Ry’s character has horns (he is corrupted). Now, I kinda want to buy out a lot of property and make some money. Then again, I don’t really have any other motivation to continue in this world. A lot of the hardcore fans are adamant that Microsoft is going to release a DLC to right this and supplement the game. So far, the Knothole Island seems like a lame side quest with the only awesome thing being new costumes. However… my point is that I shouldn’t have to get additional software to get an actual ending to the game. I think the original $60 entitles me to something.

Anyway. So I did what any good Fable 2 citizen would do… I went and got a lesbian wife.

: P

16Feb 2009

30 hours online

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This article seems alarmist about teenagers spending 30+ hours online. However, the truth of the matter is is that functioning adults spend 40+ hours online, I bet.

I know just from my own job, I’m always connected to the net. Everyone is plugged into their email, of course, and a lot of people in my department use Instant Messengers to ping each other. It’s a fact of the work environment.

Otherwise, given my job, I am always refreshing my browser, checking sites I work on, and generally cannot fathom not spending time connected to the internet. Things I do that doesn’t require me to be plugged in, might be when I can test a site locally, which usually only happens with emails constructed in HTML or I am tweaking a graphic in photoshop. Oh yeah, also when I am in blasted meetings… I’m nursing on a cup of coffee and taking notes. In conclusion, I highly suspect I am wired to the net 40+ hours on a regular week.

Although I work as a web editor, I suspect other white collar workers to spend just as much time online.

In my last job at an LCD company, I did a fair amount of leaving the office for sales pitches, checking the stock room, trouble shooting RMA screens, and moving inventory around…

Ok ok… I guess the point is that realizing I spend 40+ hours online should mean that on my day off I should spend it outside. I get it. And I usually do, which explains why I neglect my email on the weekend and website most of the time.

Heh.

15Feb 2009

twittering my way

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After reading an entry about customizing twitter layouts at Viget Labs, I thought she made a good point about why people want to personalize their page.

I wanted it to tell people where else they could find me. I’m not a marketer trying to get 1,000 followers so I can spam them with crap and get more site traffic… I just want the small group I do have to be able to follow me elsewhere…

Whether you just add a tiled background or delve deeper and get super creative with it, customizing your Twitter background makes you look more legit. So as more and more spammers show up on Twitter, it makes sense to spend a few minutes distinguishing yourself from the crowd.

Which is a very good point. Twitter has tons of spammers now, so I thought “why not?”

Like I mentioned yesterday, my 12″ powerbook doesn’t allow for much room on the screen. This gets in the way of any customization the article described. Look at how this looks:

AND this is after maximizing the browser. The article’s author’s twitter page also appears broken on my screen. I do realize that other people have larger screens. Still, it doesn’t look very good to me. I’ll reserve judgment until I see it at work.

Anyway, I have way too many twitter accounts. I haven’t figured out exactly what I want it all to do. I have the same issue with domain names – I buy too many than I know what to do with. I think I have the bag lady hoarding instincts.

In other news, my boss twitters and I recently added him. I’ve been reluctant, because his twitter account is more related to our job than mine. Oh well. It’s all good. He’s the marketing guru at our job and is really getting into the social networking phenomena.

My boss was flexing his marketing muscles with another co-worker and they were both talking about popping up in google searches. I try to stay on the d/l on the interwebs. I mention this and they thought I was being overly paranoid. I specifically made it so that this page wouldn’t come up when my name was googled. If you know me in real life, you probably know about this site. However, I don’t want just anyone to be able to stalk me around here. There are some things I am wary of, not because I have anything really big to hide, but because there are a lot of little things on the periphery when you have been blogging for around 10 years.

In addition, this guy HogWild is “following” me and I finally went over to his twitter account to see who he was. He has a comic strip that is pretty hilarious.

29Dec 2008

Frustrating WordPress Install

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Last week, I tried to upload wordpress 2.6.5 to 2.7. In the beginning it went fine. I made a new post and went to bed. I made a post about Kiva.Org. My friend also mentioned she saw my post when I went over to her place for Christmas dinner. Hence, I am not going crazy.

Later that night, I went on my blog and it disappeared. I didn’t notice that at first, but what I did notice was that the dashboard reverted back to 2.6.5. My database was updated. There were remnants of the 2.7 files. My wp-config file was the updated version, so I didn’t know what was wrong.

I deleted the admin and include folders and recopied 2.7 around 2… 3 times. The first time nothing changed. Then I deleted the database and installed the new 2.7 seperate, etc.

One issue that might have triggered this is that I was finally moving over my site to dreamhost, and the nameserver change could have f-ed things up. Another is that I just got hacked.

Earlier today, my site turned into the default site for wordpress with no entries. The title said, “Ahhhh.” I don’t remember doing that, but maybe I just messed with it too much. I tried to log into the admin and it didn’t take any of my passwords. I think I’ve been hacked.

In the end, today, I deleted every file. Then I deleted my database. Then I uploaded all the 2.7 files. I manually moved over my theme folders and upload folder. Then, finally I imported my database.

Voila!!

But now the question is whether this will be here in the morning when I wake up.

21Oct 2008

new toy new toy new toy!!!

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I finally received my new digital camera in the mail today.

(preparing the piano.. aka “did I leave my panties here last night?”)

Why does it seem like whenever I get an electronic device on the internet, it is bulky and huge. You know, like that brick of a phone I used to lug around.

It’s quite sensitive with tons of auto controls of every possible situation, museums (no flash, sound, etc..), snow, parties, bukkake parties… the works. I dislike that it doesn’t have many manual controls.

It’s funny. I remember with my Pentax camera, it was love at first sight. the canon Elph that I had before was quite comfortable in my hands, also. This one is taking some time. I like shooting at ISO 400 on manual for the most part. Otherwise, I haven’t found the equivalent of messing with the white balance, like I liked doing with my last one. (My poor old digital camera is held together by scotch tape. Every time I recharge the batteries, I replace the tape.)

My boyfriend has a Fujifilm camera that is cute enough and compact, but shoots at too high of an ISO. I am not impressed with the auto settings of Fuji cameras.

I need to experiment with ways of capturing indoor light better.

I am trying to incorporate an interesting “photo of the day” here. Keep a look out!

15Oct 2008

Things I Want

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So, I have a credit card. I shouldn’t, but I do. And with some promotions and regular “shopping sprees,” in the last handful of years (when did I get this, in 2004? 2003? 2005?) I accumulated crazy amount of points. I was still like 20,000 points away from a nintendo Wii, understand. (because I was snatch that shit up in a second) However, I did have enough points to acquire something. I could have gotten a 16gb ipod touch, nintendo DS lite, digital camera, and various other smaller things (like other ipod items, bedding, etc..) My dilemma was, do I get a 12mp camera? Or a lesser 7mp camera with less features AND a DS lite. In the end I decided for the camera, because I was afraid of my time wittling away on the DS lite. I am beginning to regret this choice, though.

Ryan: I would so upgrade my ipod to the touch.
Umi: BUT THE DS LITE!!
Ryan: Just saying, I would get the ipod touch.

I don’t know why I wasn’t enamored with the ipod touch. I just think of it as a ripoff, although if it did have a camera (even a lesser 2mp or so) I would have gotten that.

OH whatever! Now I have to wait… wait wait wait for another two weeks. My last digital camera, the Pentax Optio S is held together by tape. LITERALLY. The batteries are also drained, so it wasn’t worth taking it to Japan … or anywhere for that matter.

Of course I am drooling over the new macbooks and macbook pros. I have been waiting for this moment for a while… I was planning on getting a new laptop, but I can no longer afford it. If it was a few months ago before the summer, it would have been a different story. Maybe before my job.

And in an unrelated note: I think this MUJI notebook is dandy too, and I am going to go out and get one.

Oh yeah, and I bought a dress from the Old Navy children’s section. o.O No laughing. I bought a fat kid’s dress.