Fable - cool game... really cool.

So a while back I had a hard group of students to teach.  So I tried all sorts of ways to try to connect with them.  One of them was a hardcore gamer.  Seriously played for hours on end on different systems.  So I figured I'd try to connect with that kid by talking about the games that I've played.  It was a pretty good conversation, and we would talk most days about how I played it, and did this part.  Kinda connected... kid still failed.

 

Point of the story is that at one point when I finished one of the games I said I was done for a while.  He asked me what game was next, and I said I rightly didn't know.  I'm not one to be 'up on things'.  So he went through a whole series of checklist type questions of games I've played in past, and what types I like etc... eventually he came up with FABLE:  the Lost Chapters.  I must say I totally dismissed it for a while.  I was busy.

 

So recently I bought a new video card from Jarron as he decomposed his older computers to pay for his new Mac Pro.  I started to think about what game I'd give it a go on.  I've played everything in my little case probably 2-3x each.  So I scoured the boards to see what I could download ... and there's Fable.  So I give it a shot.

 

WOW

 

Very cool game.  Kinda like taking SIMS and WORLD OF WARCRAFT type of game, but still make the combat real time like LEGACY OF KAIN all mashed together.  Very neat how your character can develop differently, with being good or evil, reknown, titled, physical characteristics, tattoos... mine has a scar across his face.  Hurting his attractiveness.  Guess I should learn to block or something.  Stupid Balverines.

 

Well, i'll see if I can remember to photo all the good ops in the game for ya.  In the mean time I'll attach a couple that I've taken thus far.

R.I.P. Nancy LeBrun

I've been quiet on here for a while now.  8 days.  Not that there really was much going on lately... there was a good shag (still have the bruise, thanks Brandy).  But still it's been hard to try to get energetic about something enough to write.

 

Last tuesday I got a call from Lindsay saying she needed to get a hold of Robin.  Turns out her mom had just passed away.  Very sad.  She was only 52.  She had gone through a bad bout of illness.  I still don't think people really understood what the problem was today.  She died in the end of a heart attack from some infection that had caused fluid on the lungs (or something like it... I haven't really mustered up the courage to really ask).

 

Just sad that Lindsay will have to miss her at her wedding in a few more months.  garth won't be able to enjoy retirement with his wife.  It brings a lot of self reflection ... It's hard not to in times like these.  At church the other day they sang "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" and that has long been my dad's song that he wants sung at his funeral.  Just thinking of what that would be like is hard enough.  I can't possibly imagine what the LeBrun family is going through right now.  Last death I've had to deal with in the family was papa, but i was pretty young that it was hard to connect with anything.

 

The other reason has been I've been trying to figure out what has to be put together for the funeral on Wednesday.  Lindsay has asked me to play for it, and because of Nancy's involvement in both our band and the Police band we've wanted to put together something.  I'm sure it will work out in the end and give her the proper respect she deserves.

 

Rest in Peace Nancy - May the creator shelter you in the palm of his hand.

What a boring day...

Okay, so I missed out on the Mudmen concert due to some personal concerns.  But irregardless, today I woke up late...

 

Nothing at all to do today.  I wanna go bike riding, but it's raining, so that also rules out going blading.  It's Sunday so any stores that are open are closing early today, so tehre's no places to go hang out.  The only thing that was fun so far was there is a new Dr. Who episode I can watch.

 

That done, what else there... a friend recommended I work on some of my projects... unfortunately because I don't have a real class this semester I have nothign in terms of projects... I'm absolutely lazy at home. 

 

Argh...  I can't even take my camera out today and try that out for size (it's been so long).

 

I need to get out for a coffee or something.

Mudmen... sushi... bikeride

So, it's March 31st, and this is when the MUDMEN are in town.  This is going to be a wicked show!  I've totally forgotten about these guys, and i've never been to one of their shows before.

 

SO in preparation for it, we decided to go out for lunch (Brandy, E and I) to WASABI.  MMMmm... Rory and I went the other day and I was stoked to have some more unagi, or the sake rolls.  But, as fate decided they aren't open for lunch on Saturdays.  So we had to drive across town to get to Sushi Bowl.

 

So, a salmon roll, 6 pieces of nigiri and a few of Brandy's sushi later we're all VERY FULL... and seeing as we were going to go to Gargoyle's first, and that it is now like 3 hours away... we are going to die.

 

So I decide to do something about it, I go for a bike ride... just a nice jaunt seeing as I haven't had a chance to use it much since I got it out in teh first place.  I suddenly got a large influx of calls for supply this week... and next week same thing.  As much as I want to go bike riding... I also like to make money to pay off my ever-increasing debt.  So I need to find more time to go blading with Brandy or biking when I get the opportunity.

 

See you tonigth at Jack's!!

My bike is now out... and it gets cold

So, I finally puffed up enough courage to call the Landlady and ask about keeping my bike under the stairs.  A little of befuddling went on, but after some communication corrections we agreed I could keep it under the inside eastern stairs of the building.

 

With that I went out, got my coil lock, and then went for a walk to my parent's house to pick up my bike.  Then I biked home... man, I'm outta shape.  It took me a little bit, but I got there.  A little out of breath, but nonetheless I'm ok.

 

So, onto today where I decide I would bike on to work instead of driving.  The past few days it's been amazing for weather.  It got to +22C the other day.  With that in mind, I figured I'd be ok.  The tricky part was trying to calculate how long it would take me, so I knew when I would have to leave the apartment by.

Morning comes and it's about 8, and I'm geared up to go.  I have my t-shirt on, with my work shirt in my backpack (didn't want to sweat it up).  I put an extra pit-stick so I can rid myself of any funk that builds up while I'm biking.  I've got my palm loaded with tunes and headphones going.  I'm off and BIKING... I'M REALLY DOING IT!  I hope this works, I really need to get into shape.

 

I get about a few blocks away when I realize that it's not entirely as warm as I thought, and wearing only the t-shirt has been a bad mistake.  Also, wearing gloves would have been a good idea.  My hands are getting pretty chilly, I'm starting wear out by the halfway mark... I'm thinking the whole thing has been a mistake.  But I persevere... nothing comes without a cost.

 

By the time I get to work, I've down-shifted my gears pretty low as my thighs are getting pretty sore pumping away... I'm debating on new routes to work so I don't have to dodge traffic (but then it's farther... ugh)... I'm out of breath, and I probably smell.

 

But the plus side is that I've made it about 10minutes.  So not bad.  Should I do this tomorrow?  Do I want to?  Well, physically I don't want to, mentally I'm drained already... but physically I know I need to.  So... on the days I can bike to work (where I don't supply) I will...

 

wish me luck!

[maybe i should get myself a picture... maybe i'll wait until i get a helmet]

 

Mandy's new fish.

So, the other day Mandy came home and said "I've made a decision".  Apparently she had been talking for the past while about getting a pet (it's becoming a trend in the Knauff family).  So she went out and bought a mini tank for it.  Now she hadn't decided on actually getting the fish yet, she could return the tank kit.  But still it's a step forward.

 

So today after she got off work, she asked if we could go to Super Pet to look at the fish.  I must admit I wasn't entirely enthused.  Don't know why we NEED a fish.  But it was pretty cool looking.  Ferret's are cool... there was some neat snakes and geckos.  They even had a "FINDING NEMO" tank with 2 clown fish, a purple fish and a blue fish.  Pretty neat.

So Mandy picked up her pink fish.  I looked at the birds. 

Now we have a new pet... it sits on the china hutch where we had some dishes (don't know where those are going yet) and there now floats a yet-unnamed fish.  It's pink... it's apparently a he (female Betta / Fighting Fish are apparently ugly), and Mandy's got some ideas on what to call it and is taking a poll.  Let her know what you think.   I like Chris' "hypoallergenic pet" idea

[check out the pics in the photo section]

Done "Simply" Accounting / new Office 2007

Yay... a solid week of typing away to get the walkthrough for the software Simply Accounting is finished.  I took about a week to read they book and doing some research.  Maybe I was set against it as during my research I found that it was sort of a dead program. Nobody was really using it anymore.  I even went so far as to download some stuff on Quickbooks to decide if I was going to do a walkthrough for that instead.

 

So, the book we've had for this program apparently wasn't so good, so we got another, and got conflicting reports on it.  So I looked at the book and it was pretty .. well not indepth, but there definitely was a lot to the book, and nothing really coherent.  Maybe if you knew something about Accounting it would probably help.  But alot fo the excercises didn't seem to make sense.  Maybe it's my teaching but I expect a learning experience to have practical meaning.  So I set about my task of simplifying Simply Accounting.

 

So, I read through the book and picked out what was important to learn.  I took the perspective of a person who would be just entering in the information.  So I concentrated on the main transaction of business (and not the accounting stuff).

 

Took me a while, but it was pretty fun.  Just a lot of typing of minor instructions (you really have to build these walkthroughs for idiots).  But by the end, the 40 page walkthrough I think was done just right.

 

What was neat was near the end I switched from using Office 2003, to Office 2007.  I didn't think I'd like the new Office because of the BIG icons (what's called the ribbon now).  But When they said they did it to help minimize confusion by reducing the 7 different ways to do 1 thing, they meant it.  It actually was pretty streamlined.  Where a power user like me would go ahead and customize the toolbar all  the time, with the new 2007 you don't have to anymore.  No confusing menus to cycle through, or try to figure out where it is...

 

Now that I've got my hands on it, and I understand most of it, looks like I should redo my walkthroughs for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.  [tho' I was quite impressed with my Access walkthrough... I hope not much has changed on it]

 

There wasn't a new version of FrontPage... wonder where it went (apparently integrated with the Exchange server thingie...).

 

Anyways, my major project at PTC has been finished... I can't remember what Rain said I should do next... It was some more software stuff.  To think since I've been there in the summer, I've done the computers program twice over now, a ton of small lessons, picked out new books for the math numeracy learning and many other IT type jobs... I wonder if it's time for a raise?  heh