I spent much of the day looking forward to playing WAR with Lisa tonight. I gladly and patiently waited, while spending time with our daughter, eating dinner, and having fun in the early evening. I turned on my computer once we were ready to log in and fired up Warhammer. Since Lisa wasn’t ready to log in quite yet, I figured I would create an item article on HammerWiki for the new epic 2-handed axe I got for my Slayer from a Land of the Dead public quest. As I was looking to Lisa’s laptop at the HammerWiki Item Template, I saw my monitor go blank. My computer shut itself off.
W…T…F…
Turns out, my video card was overheating. Why? The fan decided to no longer spin. This is the exact same goddamn problem Lisa’s computer had not long ago, and we had to spend $50 to get a new aftermarket cooling fan for it (the OEM fan was going to take up to two months to replace, the aftermarket took a week). I fully intend to take this computer back to the small shop I bought it from and try to demand a video card replacement, since it’s a little ridiculous to have the same problem twice, with each computer bought from them.
Never trust the computer salesman that tells you he can give you a good deal on a slightly used video card that was only swapped out after a week because the original customer insisted on nVidia.
It’s a trap.
~MikeR.
Posted on 30 June '09 by mike, under Computers, Sigh.... 1 Comment.
… Teacher let the monkeys out!
Another school year is over, and the children are allowed to run free. Here’s hoping that this summer will be far better weather-wise than last.
Nikkole and I went to Ryerson Elementary School last week for their “Steppin’ Up” program, that allows the children to spend the day in their class for next year; this lets them meet their classmates and new teacher. We had a great time, and Nikkole became fast friends with at least one other girl from her class. She’s moving into the Grade 2/3 split too, which isn’t too surprising given how amazing her report card was (she even went so far as to say she wishes she could go to school every day of the week). Matthew had his Grade 6 graduation last week as well. Each of the kids were allowed to make a small speech when accepting their pin and scroll, and a great deal made jokes about the bus crash. I’m very proud to say that Matt’s a straight A student, so here’s hoping it continues on into Junior High School. Austen is glad to be done for the year, and has enrolled at Acadia Junior High for his last Junior High year. This was supposed to be his last, as John Gunn Middle School only goes to Grade 8, then High School begins at 9. I hope that things go well for him with going into a new school; I know it can be a time of anxiety, particularly since the current students there have had 2 years to evolve into groups.
I just checked Amazon.ca for the status of my Fallout 3 Game Guide. Status: Delivered! I’m sorry Gotrek, but you may have to wait a bit before I continue my adventures with you. I may be very tired tomorrow, and I hope the flashlight under the covers doesn’t bug Lisa too much tonight. 
I’d like to post a bit about Land of the Dead and my experiences with it thus far. I’ll do that later however, since I’m at work and would rather get my thoughts on it together a bit better, and talk with Lisa to incorporate her thoughts as well.
~MikeR.
Posted on 29 June '09 by mike, under Books, Fallout, Family, School. 2 Comments.
So for the first time in 2 weeks I took a drive past our new home. From the outside I can’t say that it looks like they have gotten much done. Other than that all the shingles are up now, the door still doesn’t match the windows, and the house is too high to look in and spy on the progress inside. Although on the bright side we did hear from Qualico last week and they will replace the door for free with one that has a window that will match the windows on the rest of the front of the house, but it will take a month or so to come in. I think that soon it might be time to schedule another walk through with Joe so we can see what’s going on. I have to admit that it drives me a little crazy not knowing how far along the progress is inside. I hope to take a camera with us next time and have some new and updated photos to post.
I can’t wait to go home….
Posted on 29 June '09 by lisa, under Family, House. 1 Comment.
1. ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Software, has acquired id Software.
2. Mythic and BioWare have been merged by EA into a new RPG/MMO group.
3. Mark Jacobs has left EA/Mythic.
While it’s interesting to think what the first item means, particularly in how id Software and BethSoft will play together, and speculations will fly about the partnership between Mythic and BioWare, it’s number three that has me worried the most.
I took special note when Sanya Weathers left Mythic right after being acquired by EA (and other issues such as dropping classes and cities from WAR). I am now taking special note that Mark Jacobs, having been quite silent in the community of late, is gone as well. Obviously we’ll never know if he was fired or left of his own volition. We’ll never truly know how much influence the EA suits forced upon Mythic in the direction WAR took. All I know is that I wish Mark Jacobs the best in his future endeavours, and it just feels sort of sad that “the” guy from DAoC and WAR is no longer involved with either.
My mind is still reeling.
~MikeR.
Posted on 24 June '09 by mike, under Video Games, Warhammer. 1 Comment.
I ordered Gotrek & Felix: The First Omnibus from Amazon at the beginning of the month, and just got notification that it’s been shipped; hopefully I’ll have it by Friday.
I finished Nagash the Sorceror some time ago, and due to lack of personal spending funds have been “forced” into reading old books that I’ve already read. I’ve since consumed both The Jewel of Turmish and The City of Splendors in the Forgotten Realms The Cities series (for the third time each I believe), so it was time for me to get something new. Not that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy each, but I think I’ve read most of my Forgotten Realms novels twice at least. Since my interest in WAR currently lies in Baelgur, my Dwarf Slayer, I thought Gotrek & Felix would be a good choice. If it’s mentally absorbed as readily as my FR novels, I’ll certainly be purchasing the Second and Third Omnibus’ (Omnibi?) in the near future.
I also placed an order for both the Fallout 3: Prima Official Game Guide and the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year: Prima Official Game Guide. I saw them while at Chapters this weekend, but didn’t buy them because of the price. Lisa convinced me to consider getting them though, and since the price on Amazon was considerably less (and free shipping to boot!) I went for it. I realize any information in these guides is readily available on the Internet at the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages and FalloutWiki, there’s something to be said about sitting down on the couch or in bed with a book and devouring the information within. A laptop just doesn’t provide the same experience, which is also probably why I don’t bother reading much news on the Internet either (barring Slashdot, but I read that for the comments).
~MikeR.
