0v3r473d's Blog of Things

DPoSED Experiment: Hiatus

2011-07-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that this hasn't been updated in a while (in a mass update or otherwise). This is due to a number of reasons, the most prominent of which being that I simply find myself without the time to write out DPoSED entries as I'd like to. This doesn't mean that I've stopped the experiment; on the contrary, I'm still at it, and I continue to take pictures for my blog. Then I stop and realise my schedule for the week looks like: School, work, sleep, repeat. This doesn't leave a lot of time for writing how my day went.

I'll do a rushed mass-update for the couple of weeks I've gotten behind eventually, for now... have fun re-reading everything to the point of misery.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Seventeen

2011-06-14T22:56:00.001-07:00

It just occurred to me, but I'm seventeen days into this thing... it's going by faster than I'd thought it would. This is probably compounded by the fact that I keep doing four or five of these things at a time; much like my Logic homework, it keeps adding up.

Due to my internet failing me for some reason last night, I ended up starting a new game of Fable III, and that caused me to stay up until close to four in the morning again. I woke up around eleven-twenty, and that would have caused me to be about ten minutes late for class, had I ended up going (I'm sure I'm going to hear it from Ash tomorrow when she reads that I skipped class again; I had the homework for today completed already, however). Instead, I went to lunch at Max and Erma's with Nixie, which was nice in that I got to eat outside, but not so nice in that Nixie has pretty much convinced herself that I'm not the same person that I used to be, and she's desperate to get me to go back to that person. It's troubling, and it makes it difficult when I think that she might be right; maybe I'm not so sure of myself any more. It didn't particularly help with my detachment issue, at any rate.

Work was... well, work. Floor wasn't especially hard today, though I did have a lot more breaks to give, and Mario also decided he wanted me to flame treat and paint 741's today in between breaks. I only got the flame treating done, though, as we both hauled ass through two racks of them before I had to start the lunch breaks, and at that point my day kinda got away from me. I suppose I should be pleased that it went by quickly, anyway.

Continuing with my boot theme, I went with a pair of No Boundaries combat boots today which, while similar to the ones I wore yesterday, are of decidedly lower quality, and so I didn't really worry about messing them up. Also, wearing boots with a slight heel while working an eight hour shift has started to kill my feet... thank goodness I'm wearing normal shoes for work tomorrow.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Sixteen

2011-06-14T22:40:00.001-07:00

Ah, another Monday, though it didn't really feel like it. I guess having a short weekend kinda does that to you. I actually woke up early today, possibly on account of sleeping for ten hours yesterday (though I did get my errands run and so forth, so that's good), and walked to Robert's diner for some breakfast. This is the same diner that I had to pick my parents up from on account of rain last time; there was no chance of rain today, so I figured a walk would be a safe bet.

I'd been wanting to check out the new bike trail that they built up in a nearby park, as well as the bridge that they put in over the Clinton River in the same park. It's a shame they didn't have the path and bridge put in when I was younger; it would have served for a nice place to spend my childhood, rather than the decidedly blah park that I got to go to as a child. Something about a river running through a park makes it more... pleasant.

Breakfast was a nice change, as I haven't eaten breakfast in god knows how long. After I walked back home, I went back to sleep for a few hours (I got back home at ten thirty, and I didn't really have anything I really wanted to do today), then I was off to work.

I've got class again tomorrow, so I didn't stay over today; I suspect I'm not going to pull another sixty-hour week this week, as I got a bit too cranky last week. It was sorta the same deal as I'd mentioned earlier; there was a lot running, but nothing really needed anything after I got it all stocked up in the first hour, and then several machines ended up going down, so I didn't really have a lot of breaks to give. All in all a pretty boring day.

There are three new people on third shift now, one of which I've met in my staying over last week, the other two just started today. None of them really strike me as people who are likely to stick around long, though you never can tell. Maybe we'll get lucky; third shift desperately needs as many operators as they can get.

I decided to make this a boots week, and so I went with my clunky combat boots today. Ash was definitely showing signs of sleep deprivation today, so I didn't get any commentary (she texted me later to let me know that she'd forgotten to look at all), but I don't know that I was really in the mood for any today. I've been feeling kind of disconnected from people lately; probably something to do with all the time I've been spending by myself lately.

On a semi-related note, Nixie came home from Ludington today, and asked me to stop by and say hello after work. It was bittersweet at best, but I'm supposed to have lunch with her tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Fifteen

2011-06-14T22:22:00.001-07:00

Yeah, workin' Saturday. What a rush. Woo. That aside, I'm kind of starting to miss my weekends; maybe tomorrow I'll get to spend some "me" time, but for now, back to workin' for the man.

As seems to be the theme for these days working over, I slept in until a ridiculous hour in the afternoon (I suspect it has a bit to do with staying up until six in the morning when I get home, rather than just going straight to bed). I also think it's starting to take its toll on me, as I was getting a bit more irritated today. Oh well, only one more day, then I can sleep and not have to worry about going in for twelve hours.

Work was relatively the same as it has been today; nothing was running particularly great, so despite my initial assessment that there were going to be a lot of breaks to give, a lot of machines ended up going down, which kind of dwindled my breaks-giving down to nothing. This isn't always a great thing, when there's so little for me to do to begin with, and then all of a sudden I don't have breaks to eat up the time, either. The day was decidedly dragging, so much so that I ended up trying to certify a skid of parts in my down time (this ended in me just not caring enough to finish, and so it was left for someone else to finish).

As midnight rolled around, I was starting to look forward to running a press, and I suspected it might be twenty-one again, as they'd been working to get it running all day. Then it turned out that the dryer had been left on too high, and as such they were stuck with a massive chunk of unusable material that had to be chiseled out before they could hope to run it, so I was left to clean out a grinder so that the scrap that was coming off the machine when they finally did get it running could be ground up. Not particularly fond of doing material-handler work, and I think my irritation that had been caused initially by me staying over two days in a row was just increased due to that.

I spent the rest of the night running twenty-two, as I was cranky, and stubbornly decided that I had done the floor work for my shift already, I had no interest in doing it for third shift, especially since they have their own floor person. I really need sleep.

Since Ash had said that she wasn't going to be here on Monday, and that I should wear something that required me to change shoes for work, I opted to wear my Volatile sneakers, since they're comfortable and good for being on my feet at work all day. That way I'd have a pair out of the way that I could use for work (since I'm allowed to wear a pair that I've previously worn on days that my shoes just aren't practical for work).

Too bad Ash decided she's coming in on Monday anyway...

DPoSED Experiment: Day Fourteen

2011-06-14T22:07:00.001-07:00

Today was definitely a lazy friday. I think I dragged myself out of bed at the crack of two (working over an extra four hours will do that to ya), with just enough time to shower and get off to work. I was originally planning to go to work as a raver today, but as I lacked the sufficient time to get ready, I just went as the usual Ryan.

I planned to stay over for the next two days, since I had nothing planned for the following days, and, hey, a little overtime never hurt anyone. My floor duties went pretty much as they have been lately, though I got to drive the trailer across the street to pick up packing supplies for the job that was planned to run on twenty-one today. It was a sort of fun experience, I suppose; wouldn't protest if they asked me to do it again, though I suspect it's just because it's different from what I've been used to doing as an operator. I'm contemplating asking Mac, the shipping guy, if he'll teach me how to operate a hi-lo if I come into work early. He's been staying over pretty late after his shift, mostly do to being busy, so I suspect he won't have time, but it never really hurts to ask.

Staying over's been giving me the opportunity to keep my edge as an operator, as I get to be one for four hours out of the day. I actually kind of look forward to the end of the day when I get to just sit at a machine and do one job without having to worry about making sure everyone has what they need. It's not the same kind of looking forward to that I get when I know I get to go home after my shift, but it's a bright spot, despite the twelve-hour day.

Today I wore a pair of my Skechers that I'd gotten bored with one morning and decided to sew on various pieces from a pair of old Tripp pants I had laying around, as well as installing some screws so I could screw on a pair of metal plates I had made for the fronts. Granted, I have no idea where the plates have gone now.

The fronts used to be painted black, but it's since worn off, prompting Ash to ask, "are they supposed to be dirty?"

DPoSED Experiment: Day Thirteen

2011-06-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

Let me begin by explaining (at least a little) why it took me so long to update this. By this point in the week, I was volunteering to stay over an extra four hours every night to help third shift keep up production, and as such, the time I would normally spend writing out a DPoSED update was instead spent at work, and then, directly after, sleeping. Thus, I've kind of backlogged a lot of entries. Hopefully, I can catch up on the weekends a little better now, but we'll see...

So, today was my last day of class for the week. Kind of a quiet day, by usual standards, I suppose, but I guess I learned a bit. Today we covered emotive statements and emotive value, which, in short, means that emotionally-charged arguments are usually so because they don't hold any real backing, and use the emotion they convey to make the one on the receiving end go along with the emotion, rather than the statement itself, thus concluding an argument. It's an interesting concept, really, and one that I hope I can use to gain a better understanding of things around me. If I can learn how to weed out the emotive statements and get to the base of an argument, maybe I can apply some logic to my situations.

On the topic of things that need logic applied to them, I really do need to figure out how I'm going to get myself caught back up on my assignments, because I don't think my weekend is going to cover it...

Today, I was requested by Ash to either "wear something exciting, or wear my purple TNBC shoes" Since I wasn't feeling especially exciting today, I ended up going with my TNBC shoes. For the first half of my day (going to class and the subsequent errands I ran on the way home), I wore my older pair, which I've admittedly kinda worn into oblivion, and as such, decided I'd be nicer on my feet and wear my newer pair to work.

Work today was pretty cut and dry, honestly. Not really a lot to do, aside from having to run press twenty-one when I stayed over, a press that had, originally, been run by two operators; I was a little peeved that I was running it by myself. However, it ended up getting shut down at four, due to a lack of operators to run it, and so I was allowed to catch up all the tasks I was otherwise unable to complete while I was originally running it.

I think I'm going to stay on as floor person for a while longer; I'm definitely starting to get a routine down, despite it seeming like I can never get everything I need to get done done before I have to start breaks. I'll get there eventually.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Twelve

2011-06-08T23:59:00.001-07:00

(I've really gotta start doing these on the days they occur >.<). I tried going in early for class today, to try and get some of my homework assignments from last week finished up, but I was apparently not early enough, because I barely put a dent in them. I'm starting to think I might have to withdraw from this and try it again next semester; I don't want to, but I might have to. Ash would say I brought this on myself (in fact, she did say that, when I mentioned how behind I was).

Tomorrow's the last day of class for the week, and also the start of me being able to stay over for an extra four hours at work; not really sure when I'm going to find time to work on the homework I have to work on, but I'll hopefully figure it out. It was another hot day today, though it felt like it was more of a dry heat; I was really hoping what Mario had said was true, and that they had fixed the air conditioning at work. Then I remembered that I work at Hicks Plastics.

I feel like I'm starting to definitely get the hang of the floor now; I know where to find a lot of the totes and packing materials, I'm getting along pretty good with Mack, the shipping guy, and he's been really helpful when it comes to where to put what and where to find things. I'm a little frustrated at the other jobs I'm required to do from time to time: running to get material from across the street, certifying parts that need to be shipped out ASAP because no one else can be trusted to do it right, and so forth. it seems like just when I think I have everything set and can go on my break so I can start giving breaks, someone comes up and asks for something, so I get a late start on things. I don't think I've taken an entire break since I've started on the floor.

I also learned that the metalizer reels get very hot when it's hot in the factory, a fact I learned the hard way when I had to change one of the doors today (this I don't mind doing, since I used to do it when I ran the metalizer anyway), and consequently ended up burning my palms pretty good. It'll be all better by tomorrow, and the lesson will have been learned... hopefully.

Today I wore a pair of shoes that were a bit more "me" than the ones I've been wearing for the past several days. While they're still Skechers, they're a little less subdued, and I think I felt a little more myself in them. Also helps that they aren't a style that looks suspiciously similar to the pair that our quality control, Rose, wears (somewhat thankfully, I don't have a pair of the particular style that she has in my collection). I stenciled on the Skullcandy logo a while ago, as well as some crossbones on the tongues, and I laced them up all complicated.

This experiment has started me noticing some things about the shoes I wear and how I feel while I do so. I think constantly wearing a different pair of shoes, some of which I haven't really worn all that often, has made me more conscious of what's on my feet and what my thought process is when I walk out the door in something every day. In much the same way as Ash has a pair of shoes that she wears when she just doesn't care and wants to be comfortable, I'm currently forcing myself outside of my comfort zone. Instead of wearing the same two or three pairs of shoes every day, I'm in a constant state of fluctuation, and I think I'm starting to learn something from it. I'm not really sure what, yet, but I'll be sure to post it when I figure it out.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Eleven

2011-06-08T23:43:00.001-07:00

Hurray for going to Logic after three days of not going; I'm so far behind on my homework it's not even funny. I'm going to see if I can't get some extra study time in for about an hour or so before I go to class; something to at least get me somewhere managable. I suppose it didn't occur to me that every class missed is two lessons, and that adds up fast when there are close to a hundred questions for each lesson assignment. Oh well, I need to practice getting up earlier anyway, right?

Today was hotter than yesterday, and it was kinda muggy on top of that. They've started work repairing the brickwork on our house today, and I have to say, not a great day to be doing manual labor outside. I was overheating just watching them.

That said, I wasn't really looking forward to working today. Apparently, a few other people weren't either; we were short two people, and I ended up having to run the metalizer on top of trying to keep everyone stocked with their stuff and give breaks. It was a little stressful, since giving everyone a break takes a while, and people get impatient. It didn't help that things weren't really breaking down, either, meaning that it took me two hours to finish up the lunches, and it seemed like as soon as I finished one break, it was time to go on to the next one. Kinda how I remember it being across the street, actually. On the plus side, Mac showed me how to scan items out of the warehouse inventory so I can put them on the floor without having to wait for him to scan them for me.

Today I wore my last pair of Skechers in this particular style, and so brings to a close what some might consider a low point in this experiment. I think these are actually the first pair of these that I bought, and I ended up removing the heel bubbles so I could make a mold of them so I could make several others in different styles that could be interchanged. I've yet to put the originals back in (if I can even still find them >.<), or finish any of the custom ones I was going to make. Hurray for not finishing things.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Ten

2011-06-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Monday. This is the first time in a while I've started a week on a Monday. Last week it was Memorial Day, the week before I was coming home from Chicago, and the week before that... I think I actually worked that Monday before departing for Chicago for the entire week. So, two weeks since I've started the week with a Monday. It felt normal, I guess. A little lazy, but normal; I think I slept in until around noon-ish, did very little, and then was off to work.

I put a bit more of myself into running the floor today. I think last week I got so pre-occupied with not being there that I just sort of shrugged it off as something I didn't want to do, but in all honesty, it's not so bad once you start to get the hang of things. I still don't much care for the lack of material handler to get skids and so forth taken care of, but it keeps me busy, and that's really the only important part.

It's getting hotter, and as such, things are running worse. Machines keep going up and then down, and it seems like it all starts going wrong when we get there. This makes for some odd break arrangements, as some people are available to help give breaks during one break period, and then they all need to get breaks the next. Hopefully they get the A/C fixed soon, but I'm not going to bet on it any time soon.

Today I wore my black SKX Skechers, the same shoes I wore for probably the first five months I started working at Hicks. They felt familiar, and maybe that's why I felt like I was starting to get the hang of things with the floor stuff. Ash commented that she thinks she just doesn't like white shoes, since, while these are still kind of plain, she likes them a lot better than the ones I've been wearing. I suspect it has to do with my lack of white attire to balance out the overwhelming white-ness of some of my other shoes.

Tomorrow begins school again; let's hope I'm not horribly far behind.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Nine

2011-06-05T03:12:00.001-07:00

While it's true that today was Saturday, and shouldn't, technically, be counted as a DPoSED day, one must take into account that I was sick yesterday, and we had work today anyway. And so I've finally managed to get myself caught back up to the present (there's only one person who is going to care xP). I was feeling remarkably better today, and actually managed to get out of bed at a reasonable hour. Nixie is up in Ludington for the weekend with some of the Chicago group, and I'm sure they're enjoying themselves. I wanted to go, but work kind of prevented that.

On that note, we had three people not show up today (I lied, Ash, I said only two, but I forgot about the new guy), and so by default I was on the metalizer, since we had no one else to run it. The whole day seemed kind of out of whack, though. I'm not sure if it was the lack of people, me not being used to working on Saturdays anymore, Ash coming in four hours early, or a combination of them, but it just seemed really off. I started with my usual floor routine; got boxes and such ready, trained Mitco on a job that I'd never run before myself (thankfully he learns quick and has the ability to figure things out as needed), and then ended up running the metalizer once we realized we were, indeed, three people short (and even with them, we were still three people short for all the jobs they wanted running). I also volunteered to stay over again today, since I missed yesterday completely and I wanted to make up for it.

Interestingly, I ended up on a job I've never run before, and there were only three of us for third shift; two of which spent more time sweeping and tidying than running their machine on account of the heat being so much that it starts screwin' with our technology. I was not one of those two. Also, a note on the heat: it was bad. The fan in the breakroom was all you had to look forward to.

Today I decided to keep to my theme and wore another pair of my Skechers, this time ones I assumed were suitably themed to the gawdy surf-shop t-shirt I was wearing. Ash remarked that they, also, were kind of plain, and that they were also kinda girly (not really sure what I'd do without Ash's daily commentary). I think she put it as "Are you sure you got those in the guy's section" to which I my only response was "honestly, I don't think most of my shoes have come from the guy's section. I go with what I like, not with what gender its meant for." It felt good, sticking to my convictions like that. I only hope I can keep that in mind while I attempt to work out this whole deal with Nixie. I have a feeling the end result is going to be considerably less pleasing than I want it to be.

DPoSED Experiment: Sick Day

2011-06-05T02:57:00.001-07:00

Some Friday this turned out to be. Things started on a bit of a sour note with Ash texting me, and me being asleep at Nixie's house due to being so tired from the night before's work. This, I'm told, led to a huge text argument between Ash, Gloria, Stef and Nixie. All of this before I woke up, in fact. I had some hint of it, as I was half-awake, and Nixie said something like, "why is she still texting you?" and I maybe mumbled something and went back to sleep.

I woke up later to her acting very strangely, and found that both Ash and Stef's numbers had been deleted out of my phone, along with any of the texts she may have sent, and that I'd recieved. I didn't much feel like dealing with her prying, as I was undeniably sicker than I had been the night before, so I went home, and proceeded to try to get some rest, while still talking to her via text message.

Truth be told, I'm sick of her blowing up on Ash every time she talks to me; I've made remarkable progress as a result of talking to Ash (and Sean, also, but I think at this point that's just a given). And so I pretty much just told her that I was choosing Sean and Ash's friendship over our "relationship". She didn't take it especially well, but seemed to get over it towards the end of the day, though I suspect I'm not out of the woods yet.

I called in sick to work today, on account of my throwing up repeatedly this morning, and pretty much stayed in bed all day, so I didn't really count this as a day for the experiment. Instead, for the half hour in which I actually went out and did anything (mostly just went out and fetched my computer, which I had let Nixie use on account of both hers being fried), I decided to test out some of the repair work I had done on Ash's shoes, as I'd finally gotten around to installing the second heel-patch on them today. I figured it was also good symbolism for my decision today, even if me wandering around in some girl's shoes does sorta seem a little weird. Mostly, they reminded me that I have people in my life right now that I can count on to be there.

Woo, we work Saturday this week.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Eight

2011-06-05T02:42:00.001-07:00

For the third day in a row this week, I didn't go to class. I was too tired, and just couldn't find the motivation to drag myself to class. It's not that I couldn't wake up; I got up with plenty of time, and I left the house well before I had to be there, but for some reason I just couldn't convince myself to go. Maybe it's just been an off week; we'll see next week.

Day three of me on the floor began with the painful realization that the job that had been acting up on the metalizer was, once again, running on the metalizer. Ah, and something I forgot yesterday, but we also have a new guy: Anthony. He initially struck me as someone who would be pretty self-sufficient; he's a little older, and looks like he's got some experience (maybe). Now, he strikes me as someone who is a little out of it. He kind of has this "surfer-dude" way of going about things, which kind of throws me off. He's also a pain to train, as he gets angry if people keep telling him to not do something that his insists on doing. We'll see how long he lasts...

I also started having doubts about my ability to perform my job as Floor Person today. Everyone expects me to just knows things now, and I'm getting material work thrown at me, too. it's a bit stressful, especially when I need to stage things, someone has left a hi-lo in the middle of the aisle I need to get through, and Mario is too busy fighting with a machine that refuses to cooperate to even fix another machine that was running, let alone move a hi-lo ten feet so I can get through. I'll give it another week, and see how I feel about it; I feel I'm meant more to just do the jobs, not show other people how to.

Today I also volunteered to stay over an additional four hours, despite my early warning to never do that. I was to be running M2 again, and after the eight hours of working the floor, I needed something easy to calm my nerves. It felt good to be doing one thing for four hours.

In keeping with my initial plan, I opted for another pair of my Skechers, this time the very first version that they came out with. Despite my colourful choice of laces, Ash said they were just too plain and she didn't like them, which is fine, since I don't really want to get rid of these.

Also had a, as Sean put it, "much needed talk" with Ash during her lunch, and after I'd completed my twelve hour shift. Got some things out in the open and probably came out with a better understanding of each other as a result.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Seven

2011-06-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

Day two as Floor Person at Hicks; it's getting hot in the plant, the A/C doesn't work, and the machines are starting to protest. Due to the job on the metalizer acting up so much yesterday, and, consequently, today, we are now way behind schedule on these hellish parts and I had to run the parts myself for a little while today, as we were also short a few good men. After a while, Mario shut one of the presses down, and told Alecks to come over and run the machine for me so I could do my job (giving breaks and so forth). Alecks is the old Albanian who is definitely reputable as being one of the slower operators (though, given our current stock on operators, you take what you can get), and so I found myself wondering if I might lose my promotion due to necessity (I went past Nick and said, "So, you miss me being on this thing yet?" and he sorta smirked, and rolled his eyes at Alecks).

As I've got a lot of similar pairs of Skechers, I figured I'd get them out of the way early on, so I can get into some of my more interesting pairs. The ones I chose for today are actually the last version they did in this style, and it occurred to me a bit later in the day that our quality control lady wears a pair that are very similar (luckily I don't own that particular pair). if I think of it, I'll see about getting a picture for comparison.

Also, due to the heat starting to get to me, I decided to rid myself of my pesky leg hair. It honestly didn't make a huge difference, though Ash seems to think it's "adorable" that I do it. Not so sure about that...

DPoSED Experiment: Day Six

2011-06-05T02:20:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day as Floor Person on second shift. Today I also decided not to go to class because I was still a bit tired from the barbecue. Hopefully I can get myself caught up on my homework, and figure out what to do about the "shmest" we were supposed to have today. I guess I'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Being that it was my first day working in a position I worked pretty hard to get, I decided I'd wear the shoes that I worked pretty hard to modify for use as my work shoes (I hardly ever wear them to work anymore >.<). As I suspected, training people as the floor person is a difficult and time-consuming process, one that usually isn't finished when you say, "So, you think you've got it? Okay, I'll check back in about ten minutes and make sure you're still doing alright."

This is usually followed by going back, and them having parts strewn about everywhere. We'll see if my patience can take it. I also found out that Nick and everyone else expects me to just know what I'm doing now that I've got this position; if I was still in Plant One, sure, I'd know what jobs require what, and where all the totes and packaging are. In Plant Two, however... it's new to me. I also know far fewer of the jobs here than I think Nick thought I did, as I spent a good amount of time having the operators train me so I could break them and not screw their jobs up entirely.

All in all, a tiring, but somewhat eventful day. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Five

2011-06-05T02:06:00.001-07:00

So, just as I suspected (a bit too late to question), today was Memorial Day, and as such, no work. Also no school; a week that doesn't begin with Monday is sure to be a good week, no? Due to the holiday, and the fact that i never plan anything more than an hour or two in advance, I was invited to a Barbecue at Ash's dad's house out in Capac today. This I accepted with some enthusiasm, as I was told I'd get the opportunity to meet the cousin's of hers who Sean and I volunteered to be marrow donors for (should I even turn out to be an elligible donor). And so we headed out at around twelve-thirty, stopped a couple times to re-fill Ash's power-steering fluid, and made it there stupidly early.

As this was also an opportunity to meet Ash's father, who had apparently stubbornly argued the fact that I was gay due entirely to the pair of Converse I loaned Ash while I work on her's, it was decided that I wear those very same shoes to prove that I did, in fact, wear them, and hopefully present myself as someone of non-homosexual nature (not that there's anything wrong with it). I'm pretty sure the first part of that went according to plan; I did in fact show up wearing them, and proceeded to do so for some time afterward. The second part, well... I know I came off as different, and I suppose if you're hard-pressed to slap a label on it, I guess the easiest route would be to assume I was gay. Or peculiar. Or both. I think Her dad best summed it up for everyone, though, "You're like a cross between Lady Gaga and John Lennon."

The barbecue itself was quite enjoyable, and my biggest regret is not taking more pictures, as I'd brought my camera with me (hell, I didn't even take any of me wearing the shoes... I guess that stays between me and the people that were there). I found out that I don't have near the energy I did when I was younger, and that Nerf wars tend to die down when everyone's guns are jamming and we'd all rather just swing on the swings. There were a few moments where I started to feel like I didn't really know the people around me as well as I wanted, but not nearly as many as I had in Chicago; overall, the people I met were good people, and despite them not really getting me, I still felt like I was welcome there.

The day ended out with me being slightly sunburned (a couple days later and you couldn't even tell), Ash's dad being slightly intoxicated and insisting he could fix her leaking high pressure line, and me getting home around one. All in all... fun times.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Four

2011-06-05T01:56:00.000-07:00

Today was Friday. Right now I kind of hate myself for saying that. Today was also my last official day as an operator at Hicks Plastics Company, Inc. As of next week, I finally get my promotion to floor person. I'll have to remember to tell Sara... only took a little over a year and two transfers to get it back.

I slept a lot today, probably due to the strain of starting my class back up and due to the fact that I actually didn't have class today. I'm curious how this class is going to go for me, seeing as how I've been out of school for what seems like ages. Adjusting is gonna take some work.

In keeping with the laid-back theme of Friday, I chose to wear my Heelys today. For those "not in the know", Heelys are roller-shoes that have a single wheel in the heel of them that, in theory, allows the wearer to sort of scoot around without having to walk. This is somewhat the case, as I've managed to learn the method, though I have fallen a time or two. At work, however, such frivolous activity seems a bit hazardous (much to Ash's dismay). Nevermind Mario rolling around on rollerblades.

Nick tells me I'm to begin my floor position on Monday; Monday is a holiday. Hmm...

DPoSED Experiment: Day Three

2011-05-26T22:03:00.001-07:00

Today was the last day of Logic class for the week, and today's class was a bit less unnerving than yesterday's was (first class jitters might be a factor, despite it being the second day). I made the decision today that I'm going to sit in a different seat every class; a very simple exercise to help oneself adjust to paradigm shifts. This is actually not an original idea, to be perfectly honest, as the concept was originally proposed by my eleventh grade hippy English teacher. I have to say, despite the holes in her brain from the LSD, she was actually pretty good at getting us to think outside the norm. And so I'll see if I can manage with sitting somewhere new every day. Who knows? Maybe I'll learn something from it.

The lesson itself was a simple one, though I'm beginning to delve deeper into arguments and their form; this weekend requires me to pick apart arguments and diagram them in terms of what premises relate to which sub-conclusions and how the whole picture whittles down to the main conclusion. I'm a tad nervous about it, as it does not look easy in the least, but I'm sure I'll be fine. In the end, it's really just math, right?

In an effort to step away from the decidedly blah feeling that gets imposed by abnormal-lower-garments Wednesday, I went the opposite direction and wore my Dereon Royale Strap sneakers, possibly some of the most obnoxious shoes in my closet. Given that I don't really have a lot that goes with neon green, I opted for my Green Lantern shirt and hoped for the best. Former-raver James was the first to comment on them, pretty much saying "I like your style." Next up was Plant Two's head of Quality, Anita, who stopped mid-sentence to say, "Those are pretty wild.", next was Fred, who didn't say so much about the shoes as the whole ensemble, "You look like the real Green Lantern! Or like someone who plays for the Boston Celtics..." and, lastly, was of course Ash, "Why?"

The work day ended with me being the One Break Wonder, as I was somehow forgotten for two of the three breaks today... yeesh.

DPoSED Experiment: Day Two

2011-05-25T22:01:00.001-07:00

Today was my first [second] day of Logic class. I had originally told my dad to make sure I was out of bed at seven in the morning, as I was positive I had to be to class by eight (much in the same way I was positive that today was my first day of class). Upon returning home from work last night and reviewing my schedule, however, I came to the realization that I didn't have to be to class until noon. Hurray for sleep.

I scribbled an explanatory note stating I would wake up at ten-thirty and taped it to my door at eye level, figuring it would keep me having to wake up at such an un-godly hour. Unfortunately, my dad has trouble reading billboards from two feet away, so my text wasn't large enough and I ended up getting woken up anyway. Upon returning to sleep, I was once again woken up by my mother calling to ask if I could come and drive them home, as they had decided to walk a mile or so to breakfast, neglected to bring umbrellas, and it was currently pouring rain. All in all, an eventful morning.

On getting ready for class, I found myself still reeling from Ash's outright rejection of the pair of shoes I had chosen to begin my experiment with, so I opted for something that catered more to her interests: The Nightmare Before Christmas. These shoes were sold at Hot Topic circa 2003 or so (the style should be a bit of a hint, I'm trying to recall when this style was popular). I had initially intended to do a whole red-and-black theme for today, but then I recalled that it was abnormal-lower-garments Wednesday, and that it was cool enough outside to comply with it, and so I wore jeans. I suspect I looked drably normal entering class today.

My Logic professor is quite the character; he's got a huge mess of hair that he keeps tied up in a sort of pony-tail (though it's really too big a mass to count as such), and he's definitely got some strong opinions on certain subjects. I also found out that I had already missed my first homework assignment, so I have that added on top of the double-section homework assignment we were assigned today. Yippee.

I found myself feeling kind of detached from the rest of the class, as the majority of them seem very on top of current events and politics, and I've been admittedly out of touch with these things lately. Hopefully this feeling will subside as the class goes on, as the study of logic does very much intrigue me, and I would love to be able to contribute something to the class; time will tell.

Class got out a bit later than it was supposed to, so I didn't leave campus until around 2:50, just enough time to go straight to work. M2 was running 757s today, which, despite the mind-numbing amount of time you spend standing idle, actually seem to make the day go by pretty quickly. I suspect it has something to do with each door being between ten-and-a-half and eleven minutes long. Area Manager Nick came and asked me if I had decided to be the floor person or not shortly before he was scheduled to leave, to which the head of Plant Two quality objected, saying "He can't do that! Who else is going to certify my parts?!"

And so the offer to become second shift quality got put on the table. I think I'm going to stick with floor person for now; Erin went straight to quality, and she ended up messed up beyond comprehension. I'm not much for making the same mistake.

DPoSED Experiment: Day One

2011-05-25T21:45:00.001-07:00

Let me start by saying that this is actually a day late. The experiment actually started yesterday, but I forgot to take pictures/post an entry for the beginning. Off to a good start, no? But, for now, let's pretend I posted this yesterday, and switch tenses to the present.

Today was a bit of a lazy day; I stayed in bed relatively late, as I was still pretty exhausted from my trip to Chicago the week before. I got a call from work, which went to voicemail (I was asleep when they called). They wanted to know if I could come in early; I considered calling back and telling them that I had class until 2:40, which would prevent me coming in early, which wasn't really the case, but I was tired. Ironically enough, I later found out, upon checking my schedule, that today was my first day of school, not the twenty-fifth like I had thought.

Due to my sleeping in, I ended up running a bit later than I had intended for work, and so in my dash to leave, rather than picking something cool to wear for my first day of the experiment, I grabbed a my pair of previously un-worn Airwalk Kicks Highs. These are pretty much generic Converse All-Star knock-offs, and are the second version of these that has been produced (the originals had a different pattern on the rubber strip on the front of them, and had a different sole pattern).

Work was relatively boring; we were running 900's, and the paint line was screwing up somethin' fierce, so much so that it had to be shut down twice (not that it did any good; the parts were still running like crap, long into third shift I'm told). I also learned that some changes had occurred while I had been away: Martina transferred to first shift across the street, Jeff (the originator of the infamous Jeff-bomb) and our floor-person Nick both quit, and the remaining foremen have been switching around like crazy. I was also asked by Area Manager Nick if I was interested in becoming the floor person for second shift. I'm considering doing it (we'll see how well it goes this time around).

My day ended with Ash, who was enthusiastic about my starting this experiment when I first described it to her, coming over to the metalizer and stating, quite matter-of-factly, "Those are horrible shoes! They're an abomination! You should just burn them."

Ash is so tolerant of knock-offs of her beloved All-Stars.

The Different-Pair-of-Shoes-Every-Day Experiment: Prologue

2011-05-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

For those that know me, you know that I have a bit of a problem when it comes to collecting shoes, and that I have amassed quite a collection. A few weeks ago, I decided that I would try to see how long I could go without wearing the same pair of shoes twice, and I plan to start this project this week. I'll be documenting each day in this blog, so as to prove my findings, and I'll also probably give a brief description of my day and whatever happens to pop into my head. Upon completion of my experiment, I plan to do a mass clear-out of all my shoes, since I've got too many that I have simply for the sake of having.

And so, let the experiment commence...

The HPC Third -Shift Problem Song

2010-12-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

For those not in the know, this won't make a whole lot of sense, aside from clearly being about a job at a plastics factory. The plant two midnight crew at Hicks Plastics Company seems to experience a lot of problems during our shift, and so yesterday I started thinking up lyrics for a simple song, mostly to amuse myself.

ANd so I present the verses I came up with here; they are meant to be set to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it" (irony, I know):

If they're bad and you know it,

Yell for Chris

If they're Bad and you know it,

Yell for Chris

If they're bad and you know it,

And you really shouldn't stow it,

If they're bad and you know it,

Yell for Chris

If your parts are full of splay,

Go tell Chris

If your parts are full of splay,

Go tell Chris

If your parts are full of splay,

Oh, just think what Jeff will say,

If your parts are full of splay,

Go tell Chris

If your parts are gettin' shorts,

Yell for Chris

If your parts are gettin' shorts,

Yell for Chris

If your parts are gettin' shorts,

And its screwin' your reports,

If your parts are gettin' shorts,

Yell for Chris

Is it scrap? You can't decide

Go find Rose

Is it scrap? You can't decide

Go find Rose

Is it scrap? You can't decide

You better set that shit aside

Is it scrap? You can't decide

Go find Rose

If you can't get no decent parts,

Best find Chris

If you can't get no decent parts,

Best find Chris

If you can't get no decent parts,

And scrap is goin' off the charts,

If you can't get no decent parts,

Best find Chris

If your parts all look like shit,

You work for Hicks

If your parts all look like shit.

You work for Hicks

If your parts all look like shit,

And everyone's just sick of it,

If your parts all look like shit,

You work for Hicks

And now the couple verses that I was a little unsure of:

If Doofie's bein' crass,

Talk to Chris

If Doofie's bein' crass,

Talk to Chris

If Doofie's bein' crass,

And you just want to kick his ass,

If Doofie's bein' crass,

Talk to Chris

If your totes are different sizes,

Shout for Chris

If your totes are different sizes,

Shout for Chris

If your totes are different sizes,

Find the guy who supervises,

If your totes are different sizes,

Shout for Chris

... I need to occupy my time better.

3534: Metalizer of Plant 2

2010-08-28T09:42:00.001-07:00

You'll note, not plant one anymore. My transfer went through pretty much without a hitch (debatably, as there was some butting of heads amongst the foremen and personnel and so forth), and I've been working happily at the primarily metalizer-based plant two for the past couple months (has it really been that long...?). Other than that? I'm alive, I guess.
It may occur to many people who haven't read my blog since my last post that... well, it's been quite a while since I decided to write anything in here at all. And when I sat down to write this, it occurs to me that I had quite a bit more to write about than I can really think of right now. I may come back and edit this post later, but for right now I think I'm going to scurry back to my room for a while or something.

A Short Word on Shorts

2010-03-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

It occurs to me that I haven't really updated this much, and now seemed the appropriate time to do so. It also occurs to me that this keyboard is still really frakkin' LOUD. Ralph's gonna beat me with the keyboard if I keep on like this too long. However, that's just how things are here. Or maybe it's simply loud to me because I'm worried it's going to be too loud. Either way... loud.

So last night was a pretty lazy work shift. Had a problem with shorts, which are, as we all know.
Anyhow, that was that (I did say it was a short word on them), and so I await my task on the metalizer tonight. Whee.

I'm going to use the restroom now. And go get more pizza... Tuesday is pizza day.

Satisfaction REV-6: Progress

2010-02-03T08:29:00.001-08:00

So, it's been a while since I last updated this, and I decided it was high time I do so. I also decided it was high time I stopped musing aimlessly on how to improve on the modifications I did to my last Nerf Maverick, and just start doing it. And, so, here I present my progress on the Satisfaction REV-6:
As you can tell, I've done loads of modification to this gun.

xP

The current list of modifications is as follows:
-Locked the slipper-clutch on the rotation mechanism and relocated the trigger spring for a stronger return (Those familiar with the Maverick should know that this modification corrects several flaws in the initial design; most noticibly the reduction or elimination of misfires (that depressing "piffff" with lack of dart shootage is pretty much gone)):

-Removed the air restrictors, springs and posts, then filled the dead space left with lengths of 1/4" aluminum pipe and hot glue, employing use of a vaseline-coated marble to create a semi-spherical indentation (the purpose of which is to allow more air to build up uniformly behind the dart, thus making it travel straighter and farther; I've noticed some improvement over simply removing the air restrictors):

-Added one of the springs taken from the air restrictors to the space between the turret and the front hinge housing in order to improve the plunger/turret seal (Along with the slipper-clutch lock/trigger spring relocation, another mod which is worth performing to even stock Mavs):

-Lastly, I reinforced the spring back-plate with a short length of styrene tubing and hot glue:

This is mostly in preparation for a stronger spring, which I will be adding when I find one suitable. I'm currently considering one that came from the old shocks on my HPI Savage .21 (since replaced with those from a Team Losi LST):

Obviously it will need to be cut down, and thus my reason for not adding it just yet.

So, what still needs to be done? Plenty.

-Fill the dead space inside the inner plunger tube with a straw and a funnel of epoxy
-Add a rubber-band gasket to the plunger opening to further improve the seal with the turret
-Reinforce the metal rod inside the cocking slide, as the addition of a stronger spring is sure to cause what is already an inevitable headache even with the stock spring; cocking slide bracket breakage.
-Do either the Russian Roulette or the CS drop-clip mod to the barrel assembly for easier loading
-Seal up the turret
-Paint

Also, completely off topic, but I ended up not getting that floor job... they trained me for a day at it, and one of the employees that's been there longer than I have went on a bitch fit about it... so now she's got the job and I'm damned to the metalizer for a while. On the bright side, she's started complaining about the job and it's getting on the other floor person's nerves... we'll see what happens.

Floor Staff?

2010-01-19T05:19:00.000-08:00

So, last night was a bit of a short shift (I left at six this morning, and my god is this keyboard LOUD), but I was surprised to hear that I'm a candidate to be trained on as floor staff should one of the current floor people, Rob, move to quality. This is all well and good, but as it so happens... I'm the only candidate, which is odd as I'm, like, the second newest person there, and I don't even have my ninety days in yet.
However, let this be a warning to Khira: I'll probably be the one training you now, and with my position opening up, as well as Derrick possibly being fired, you'll probably get your chance at operator.

That's all for now, this keyboard is awful... I hate PCs for that reason.

I am 100% regrind

2010-01-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

... and I don't often run without a shot or two of splay.

If the barrel temperature is too high, the resin absorbs an excessive amount of heat and will decompose and/or carbonize. The charred molecules that are created will not bond with the surrounding material and will float to the surface during injection. This results in a spray of charred particles on the surface of the molded part, which are usually fanned out in direction emanating from the gate location.

Ryan is tired...

The Joy REV-6

2009-12-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

So, a long, long time ago I drew a picture of me holding two guns, one with the word "Joy" written on it, the other with "Satisfaction". At the time, I only had one Nerf Maverick REV-6, and realised that it would work good for the two gun setup. Now, a year and a half later, I've finally completed Joy:

Satisfaction is going to be the finalized version of the mods I've done to this gun (I've learned some stuff along the way), and it's going to be silver. I'll probably also make a Joy mk. 2 should the improvements I have in mind for Satisfaction work as I think they will.
Now, for the fun stuff; modifications include shaving the restrictor posts off of the swing-out mechanism to allow for easier loading of the turret, removing the air-restrictors, narrowing the plunger tube for increased pressure, stretching the plunger spring, locking the rotating mechanism slipper-clutch, relocating the trigger spring, and filling the AR space with foam and straws to further improve pressure. The range doesn't appear to have been greatly affected, at least not on all barrels (there are a couple that really launch the sonic darts far, though), but the power behind them is definitely greater and the accuracy has been improved.

'Primavera' Means Peas.

2009-12-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

I know this to be true, because no matter how appetizing that pasta primavera dish on the menu looks, it always comes to you with loads upon loads of unmentioned, often times hidden, peas. Little green balls of vegetable yicky that you were not expecting when you ordered that dish that looked so good not more than fifteen minutes prior (if it takes longer, then it's a busy day, and as such you should tip accordingly). Of course, I know this now, but I still make the mistake of ordering the primavera from time to time just because nothing else on the menu looks all that good and so I end up with peas. I don't like peas (of course, if the place is clearly not busy and the order still takes over fifteen minutes, you should also tip accordingly, and inspect your food for stray bits of stuff that oughtn't be in there (peas not included)).
Also, they put peas in fried rice; you can see them if you look hard enough and you're getting it at the mall. If you're getting it at a hole in the wall, though, you may have to ask to inspect the fried rice before you order it, otherwise you've committed yourself to a whole chinese takeout box thingy of rice with hidden peas that are darker than those found in the previously mentioned primavera, and this is not a good thing to do. Of course, if you like peas, then I hate you and you should probably stop reading all my carefully thought-out tips on how to avoid eating the hidden peas of life.

Also, I got to work at plant two last night.

Sometimes, on cold days, I stand on the roof and fish for cattle; once in a great while I eat a head of cabbage for no reason in particular.

HaHA! Crackers.

2009-12-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

... have absolutely nothing to do with this post. I did, however, snag the last pack of cheese n' peanut butter crackers from the vendin' moe-sheen a couple nights ago... though I don't think anyone was too broken up about it. Jackie and Rob have also decided to "accidentally-on-purpose" forget to give me breaks as of late, due to having accidentally done so twice this past week. Now they just wait until I start to look a touch worried that I've been forgotten about about, and then Rob comes up and says "No breaks today, Ryan. Jackie said to work you like a dog." and so I says, "'kayy..." and Rob looks dismayed that his clever tactic didn't work so well.
But, since I seem to always blog about what I did at work, I'm not gonna today... mostly because everything I could say I've probably said already (though it's pretty much confirmed that I get two weeks off for Christmas this year, starting December 23rd). I'm still employed is I guess the important part, anyway (also, Khira has applied, so maybe she'll get to join in the fun soon, anyway). I've also got to go out and get my mother a license plate frame for Christmas today... not sure why she wants one, but that's what my dad said, so I might as well get it (and it's a lot cheaper than the steam cleaner I was considering getting her... especially since she'd probably use it twice and then put it in storage). So that'll be one other Christmas present I actually buy for someone this year.
It's gotten increasingly harder for me to formulate lists for people as the holidays approach each year, I've noticed... and now I've got not only my own family asking for a list from me, but also Nixie's mom asking. The heck is the deal here? My own family (not including relatives) pretty much got two things to work with: the three volume set on the Grand Unified Field Theory of Classical Quantum Mechanics, and a T-mobile phone card. Nixie's mom might get a short list including lots of goofy fun things that I don't have and probably don't need, but I'd be better off with in the long run. The rest of the family, well... I'm sure I'm going to get two bags of microwave popcorn and a sun-visor CD-holder from my Aunt (same thing I've gotten the past three years from her... nevermind that I don't have a CD player in my car), and probably money or something from the grandparents. I'm not eligible for presents on my mom's side of the family because I'm over eighteen, and according to my aunt (mom's younger sister), once a kid reaches age eighteen, they don't count any more. My mom's side of the family is full of bitchy-types, I tell ya...
Anyhow, that's about all I can think of to yammer about for now... aside from my nose feeling like it's been cemented shut with mucus... lovely.

3534 of Plant 1

2009-12-04T05:44:00.000-08:00

So, it seems it's been a while since I've updated this... and I feel I probably should. Just got home from the factory (got paid fifteen minutes overtime... holy smokes!), and I'm not really tired, but not really awake either. I slept for a good part of yesterday before scurrying off to school, and then I got a little more sleep over at Nixie's before she had to run off to work at Timmy Horton's, so I'm fairly rested at this point.
I got to run two machines consecutively last night; number four and number five. Number four is a machine that makes lenses for some sort of doo-dad that they make on number six (I was talking to the woman who operates that machine, and she has no idea what the thing is, either), and number five works hard spittin' out a shit-ton of puddle lamps for me to sort into lefts and rights. I'm always uneasy when it comes to running two machines at once, as I don't do it very often (though it pretty much guarantees my machine won't break down and send me off to the grinders for the fourth night in a row), so I was understandably frustrated when it seemed like number five kept getting backed up while I was attempting to keep number four going steady.
Neither of the machines can really be run on their own by separate operators, however. Number four moves wayyy too slow and you can get way ahead of it in a matter of minutes, and while number five is considerably faster, the amount of work involved with inspecting the parts is considerably less, and so you'll just end up waiting for parts to build up. To a person who hasn't run them before, however, they don't seem to compliment each other very well; too slow to run separate, but too fast to be together unless the person knows how to time things.
So, by this morning I had them both pretty well caught up and was waiting for parts on both of them. I've also determined that none of the "specialty" cutting tools designed to cleanly cut clear plastic are worth the material they're made of. The press on number two cuts about once every ninety tries, and the heated clippers on four take forever to melt through the plastic (though they are damned hot... I'd know), so I dunno why they haven't replaced them with something better (probably the same reason the grinder drawers are repaired with packing tape and not welded).
I've also been informed by just about every material handler there is that a person does not want to be a material handler. I've also learned that it's possible to add "fsckin'" to the beginning of pretty much every word in a sentence, as evidenced by a co-worker doing so during lunch break.
Lastly, Khira's looking into getting a job as an operator on the same shift as me... lookie what you get to look forward to.

xD

My Mind's Gettin' Away From Me

2009-11-23T04:43:00.000-08:00

Not that this is news to anyone aside from me, but, ehh, that's life. I just downloaded about every version of the song "Save It For Later" I could find, and not all of them are the same song, but it's a good exploratory exercise that generally broadens my musical horizons. Right now it's the version by Splender... good song. Also, I'm about to go to bed for today... a little odd how I'm suddenly getting hungry at around four-thirty at night and am wide awake until about eight-thirty-ish, but I suppose I shouldn't be overly surprised by this; I do work midnights, after all.
On that note, Larry the foreman got fired on Wednesday, so now we've got Shawn the foreman, who is probably younger and a lot less experienced, but he's being better received than Larry was (found out he was "probably German" and "likely a nazi" from the gossiping of my fellow operators, so apparently he was pretty bad). Long story short, I've been trained on machine M3, which is the metalizer (and the only one in plant one, though they have three in plant two). This means that now that I've been trained on it, I'm likely doomed to operate it for a long while. This may not be the case if employees keep dropping out like they are, though... three people fired and four on the verge of it in the past week. Fun stuff, considering one of the "on the edge" ones just started two days ago.
Nixie and myself went to The Rainforest Cafe for dinner today, as per my promise that we'd go there upon my receiving my first paycheque from Hick's. It was a little strange, as the last time I ate there it was with my parents; never realised how expensive that place was. We also went and saw the final performance of the Romeo Theater Company's production of "Alice in Wonderland", which wasn't bad (and they had a cast of a hundred and forty-six people, plus the crew... I've never seen a high school production that big before). Other than that, I don't really remember much of the day... went on the Orion drive at around three-ish.
Also, as Khira mentioned something about getting lost in the fog, it was rather spectacular. I believe it was Friday night, but when I pulled onto Industrial (the road where the factory is situated), it was so thick that I couldn't see more than two or three feet in any direction around me; we need more foggy days like that. Fog is the best for drivin' (maybe not for driving, but definitely for drivin').

Also, I believe my torso just went upstairs without me. That could prove problematic.

A note to myself...

2009-11-18T07:33:00.000-08:00

The next time Larry comes up to you in the middle of making your three-hundred-and-fifty-third steering wheel and asks in an almost overly friendly manner, "Ryan, are you staying over?" the answer is most decidedly NOT "Sure, why not?"

... twelve hours on machine nine is hell. Maybe if you're on seven.

Also, to those two people who were trying quite diligently to get a hold of me yesterday (you know who you are), you now know why you didn't.

And a very good day to the rest of you.

I'm Still In Existence

2009-11-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

Though it's definitely not a typical one (not to mention the forty-eight hour week I just worked at the factory... and the fact that I get paid for a fifty-two hour one xD). I slept most of yesterday, from about ten in the morning to about ten-thirty at night, and then I spent the majority of the night with Nixie, since there was a Venture Bros. premiere last night. It occurs to me that I haven't really had much human contact outside of my fellow factory workers this past week, so for those who I'm in contact with on a fairly regular basis, you may find that I'm slightly more withdrawn than usual. It's all rather surreal, actually... feels like I've finally managed to reach the backstage of humanity.
Firstly, on the topic of the Venture Bros, I require some decent reference pictures of Triana Orpheus' friend Kim, as I'm having trouble discerning her outfit. I'd ask Doc Hammer, as he posted a rather useful D.I.Y. guide for Triana's outfit, but I suspect Kim is a little bit less based on anyone in real life. Regardless, if I'm to pull off the look for ACen, I'm going to need something to go off of in designing my costume; I can only get so much from Hank:
"Holy cow! look at my date, she's a super-villain! Possibly a Medusa. Dean, I am not kidding, she has ropes for hair and a shiny costume. Oh, no fair! She's wearing goggles! Told you she woulda dug my Batman costume, but no..."
SO, if any of yous guys has good reference (or just a sick fascination with seeing me dressed up as a hot cyber chick), let me know.
On the topic of being withdrawn, I visited the local mall recently after having avoided it for the past several months due to it going downhill back when Nixie was still working there (and I was unemployed still). It was an experience, to be sure, and not a very good one; aside from it being the same building, it's nothing at all how I remember it from my high school days. Hot Topic is just a shell of a store now, and it's full of people who wouldn't have been caught dead in it three years ago. It almost feels like a part of me died going in there... left me feeling awfully depressed, despite all my jeering at folks who looked like they'd bought the place out trying to be as goth as possible. Well, whatever... I've washed my hands of the place as of late, and I'm looking into getting more authentic goth/punk attire from the original companies in England and so forth (DogPile bondage pants are first on that list). Hopefully I'll be further withdrawn from society as a whole next time I go back there... it's kinda neat feeling like you're no longer expected to be a part of what's around you.
In the meantime, I've got work again tonight, which means I'll probably either be put on one of the seven machines I've been trained on, or they'll try me on two or three new ones that are sure to end up shut down at some point and I'll end up sweeping the rest of the night. Ah, factory life is fun...

First Day as a Factory Worker

2009-11-10T05:28:00.001-08:00

So, I've just gotten home from my first night working at Hick's Plastics, and I'm feeling pretty tired, but I figured I'd do a blog about this now before I forget and go to sleep and then later get involved with other things until work. Firstly, I enjoyed it thoroughly; yes, it's eight hours of doing the exact same thing over and over, but once you get a sort of rhythm going, it just kinda flows and the hours go by pretty quick (unlike retail where you're staring at the clock every thirty seconds).
I only had two things irk me, the first being the break-replacement who lets you take your break, and then when you come back, you realise you were gone just long enough for them to mess up everything you did. Steering wheels are all facing the wrong way, the clippers are on the wrong side, the towels are a mess, the weights are all out of wack... generally unpleasant, and you have to wait until you can cycle back through all your things before it goes back how it ought to be. The second wasn't so much an irk as it was an almost panicky feeling: quality inspection. There are two quality inspectors, one was pretty much training me today (as the person assigned to train me kinda disappeared), the other was just walking around doing her job. The guy who was training me was cool... he'd refill whatever needed refilling and make sure I wasn't having issues with the machines. The lady, however, was a nightmare. She didn't talk, she just kinda walked up, inspected the parts I'd made, kinda looked like she was pondering something, and then proceeded to walk off with one of my parts... I have no idea what happened to it. So, a little unnerving.
The only other thing was the awkwardness of the breaks; it's ten minutes of not working, so what do you do? Well, I sat there and stared at the ceiling for exactly ten minutes. Maybe I'll find something better to do tonight, but for now... it's difficult to figure out what to do with yourself.

Musings from English Class

2009-11-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Not that today's English class was particularly thought-provoking, but I did get a chance to let my mind wander for a bit while the rest of the class (all ten of them) sat and did pretty much nothing, effectively making our professor re-think her strategy of not calling on anyone. There were several short stories that were assigned to be read (as I wasn't there, I didn't get them, though they sounded interesting), and I would have loved to have commented, but I had no idea what was going on, and so I sat and doodled counting machines with the number 01134 printed out an infinite amount of times on very long ribbons of paper. This is, of course, something for the first page of Shade, but it seemed applicable here.
For the most part, the class seems to be a great environment for me to temporarily escape into Shade's world, if only for a brief moment; a little nonsense is good when you're being forced to analyze other people. I know they say you're analyzing their writing; their thought process, but it's a sham. You're delving into whatever it is that they've written, and you're picking that person apart bit by bit until you know exactly what makes them tick, and then you've got your right answer. This is similar to taking apart a beetle (in my head it is, anyway). You start with the obvious parts: the outer shell, the wings, the legs, thus assuring that your unwilling subject won't be able to even attempt escape. Then you begin picking it apart with whatever you have handy: toothpicks, pushpins, screwdrivers, twigs... anything that can effectively poke a hole in the thing. And after you've managed to slowly torture the thing to death, made a large mess, and overly grossed out any onlookers not intrigued by this sort of thing, you realise that you have no idea what it is that you're looking for. Amidst all that grey and pus-coloured mess is the answer you seek, but you've no idea what it is; you haven't the slightest idea what made that beetle tick, and you never will, because you exhausted its life before you could reach what it was that was allowing it to be in the first place. I view over-analyzing literature in much the same fashion; I understand that the premise of the class is to give us a better understanding of the English language as a whole, but how do analytical and argumentative essays play into this? Is the English language only here to pick things apart and prove your point? Who the hell gives a damn why they decided to make the characters jacket blue instead of orange and green plaid? Words are a beautiful thing, and yet they get trampled on and made into something unpleasant in the name of education.
This is not, however, one of my musings from English class. As I sat there, amidst the mostly disinterested looking ranks of fellow students, my mind off somewhere where teeth can fly and what you perceive something as means nothing at all, the droning of the professor brought me back into attention long enough to get some people observing in. People observing is not the same as people watching; I'm not really sure of all the differences, suffice to say that they are there, and I'm sure they're darned effective when they're known. My English professor has a rather sing-song way of talking, a kind of up and down and up and down that makes it difficult to really want to grasp the gist of what she's saying. This is often neutralized by the incredibly monotone voice of a girl who (for reasons far too obvious to even mention here) sits by herself at a desk towards the front of the class. This girl has the uncanny ability to recall, verbatim, almost any useless fact on anything the professor says; today it was birds, and I felt as though some very, very boring computer voice was reading some book on the care of birds to me. And then she switches it up and talks about something else that she really doesn't need to be talking about. You wonder how long this has gone on in her life. This is apparently what having a military family that constantly moves around does to you. At some point in her life, mindless recitation will prove to be enough of a hindrance that she'll actually only say one sentence, and maybe in varying tones, until then, I'm probably going to wish I had the ability to yank people's eyeballs out of their sockets with my mind every time she opens her mouth.
In other, more pleasant news, I begin my new job tonight (there will undoubtably be a blog about how it went after I wake up tomorrow), and I'm rather enthusiastic to start. Nervous, yes, but still enthusiastic. Now, I'm off to nap before headin' out for the first night of the rest of my life.

"It means they've changed something..."

2009-10-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

I was reminded of The Matrix this morning whilst I was at work, namely the part in which they describe how "deja vu" is a hiccup in the system that hints that some portion of the program had been altered. In 7-Eleven's case, however, you don't give a sense that you've done or seen something before but, instead, you suddenly get an odd blue bar across your register screen that says "PLU Updated". It doesn't really seem very important when it pops up, but then you go to ring someone up for something a couple minutes later, and all of a sudden you've got two prices to choose from for damned near every item. Upon inquiring about it later (had to wait until seven this morning before there was anyone working there besides me), I learned that it doesn't just apply to cigarettes, but to any item that can have a price change (or may have a coupon available). So, if I all of a sudden start seeing "PLU Updated" hovering in the air somewhere... I'm gonna know that something's probably different... or that they've cut the hard line.
I also got to experience my first truly unruly convenience store customer (and a good thing, too, I've only got a few days left). I found out later that she was drunk, but that was after she forgot to ask me for lottery scratch-off tickets, asked if she could pay with her card, and upon doing so demanded to know why she didn't have her scratch off tickets. There was a bit bit more confusion (I still have no idea what she actually wanted), and I just about backhanded her out of the store about twice, but at least I can say I've dealt with an angry drunk now. M' a little disappointed that the coppers didn't check in on me last night... woulda been fun to re-iterate that'n to them.

Just A Few Thoughts

2009-10-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I have to record down another odd dream I had last night (more like unpleasant, though not necessarily bad). Seems like the dreams I have involving my room swarming with insects are usually the most vivid, leaving me to wake up in a cold sweat, eyes darting all over the room trying to find all the bugs crawling all over the walls that had been then moments before. Yech.
I don't recall how it started, save to say that I was working on some sort of MegaMan-powersuit-type figure and I needed to add directional exhaust vents to the chest and back. I didn't feel like using epoxy-putty, so I was looking for stuff that looked close that I could just glue on. This led me to a "nature collecting kit" that was probably around eight years old. It contained samples of leaves and roots and insects, all sealed in small plastic containers, and meant to be inspected or whatever. The kit also contained some grey plastic pieces (I assume they were meant to aid in displaying the containers) that had the basic shape I'd been looking for (I was going to have to paint them yellow before gluing them on). I grabbed a handful of them, and in doing so, managed to bump one of the insect containers, and what looked like a cross between a cockroach and a very large winged ant crawled out and onto the floor, followed shortly after by a big centipede, and then all sorts of bugs started crawling out all over, so I slammed the lid shut and taped the box closed so no more could get out. At this point, the majority of the bugs were the same as the first that had crawled out (no spiders this time... thank goodness), and I pretty much just saw them as cockroaches. They were crawling all over the ceiling, sticking towards the edges where it met the wall and the corners of the room. There was also a large black mouse or rat crawling around on the walls as well, which didn't really strike me as odd at the time.
After a period of unsuccessfully trying to smash some of the insects, a girl who I don't remember very well (knew her perfectly well in the dream, but m' drawing a blank on the face now), came in and started helping me get rid of them. I believe she was joined by a younger boy and they were both standing in front of a door that would have replaced one of the windows in my room, and lead out to a balcony. They were either squashing them on the windows, or using a spray... or both. After killing a few, several birds that looked similar to pigeons flew up and started throwing up on the opposite side of the window. The last thing I remember is an elderly gentleman slumped over in a plastic deck chair on the balcony, with the pink bird vomit running down his face (this, too, was a familiar face, though I've no clue who it was now).
That being said, the rest of my day went quite well; attended to my physical, which was the final step in my new employment, and the entire process probably took about eight minutes tops. I then proceeded to turn in all of my necessary paperwork at Hick's Plastics, took my operations and procedures quiz, and was told I start November 9th (as my employment at 7-Eleven goes until the seventh). I'm quite excited to start, as this seems much more up my alley than the convenience store clerk business; kinda wish I could start sooner. But, alas, two more weeks of mumbling cigarette customers, unpleasant regulars, odd lottery tickets, morning coffee rushes and The mad dash to make sure the taquitos aren't burnin'. Oh, and my older sister wants a picture of me in my smock... yippideedoo.
The only other item of the slightest bit of importance was that I had my first walk-out class in my college educational history; English professor never showed up, so all eleven or so of us that had actually turned up signed a sheet of paper for attendance, dropped it in her mailbox, and that was that. It's an awkward feeling, I must say.

First Day of English

2009-10-21T11:04:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, I started my English course today (just got back from it, in fact), and it turns out my professor is a bit of a nutter. The class as a whole is probably going to be pretty much the same as that corner you got assigned to your first day in math class back in high school; surrounded by people you don't really know, but you know the whole lot of you are going to be good friends by mid-semester. The class is pretty much the same deal... I think. There are fifteen of us in all, and we all had to pipe up at some point in the class, so the immediately social ones were brought to our attention straight away. There are a few of them that I suspect I'm not going to like much, but that's the way these things go.
As for the professor, well, she's a little on the loopy side. She's apparently half Irish, half Japanese, and her Irish heritage definitely shows through (whenever describing something one might do in their down time, the words "Having a Guiness" or "Having a beer" always seemed to come up). She's also very fidgety, which probably just comes from first-class jitters, but it was undoubtably somewhat distracting. She also has a llama that she takes great pride in, and takes every opportunity to dazzle us with their exploits (she drove down the freeway with it sticking its head through a car moon roof... I chuckled at the mental picture). Shortly after introducing herself, she proceeded to have the rest of the class say a little something about themselves; 'cept she didn't do it down the rows or however one might do that orderly-like. No, she's got a firm "never just call on someone" policy, because she apparently disliked that tactic back in school. Instead, she employs the ever popular "stare at people until they feel awkward" tactic, which pretty much leaves everyone to glance about with nervous amusement trying to surmise who will crack under the pressure and put a temporary halt to her psychological game of musical chairs. This whole process took up a great deal of the class period, but eventually everyone broke (or just spoke up to get it over with), and then we dove right into poetry.

God I hate poetry.

The Upside-Down Golden Arches?

2009-10-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I last updated this, and with my new found wireless connectivity, I can now sit lazily on my bed and type out a blog, so here we go. Let me start by saying that I've been awake since about one this morning, and have spent the majority of that time watching anime (finished both Texhnolyze and Eat-Man '98 in that time frame, as well as getting a fair amount into Ranma 1/2). Now, as I've my first English class for the semester at five, I figured I ought to get to the gettin' on whatever it is I need to do to get prepared for class. During my anime watching, however, I began to notice that the McDonald's arches are probably the most frequent thing used to represent a fast food restaurant on screen (this goes for more than just anime, also; I noticed the golden arches towards the beginning of The Fifth Element as well). However, every anime I've ever seen use the arches always uses represents them as a W rather than an M, which I'm assuming has a lot to do with not wanting to pay McDonald's any licensing fees because they're richer than all git due to America's chronic obesity issue anyway. I guess all I'm really driving at here is that I had no idea how influential American fast food was on the Japanese culture.
As I can't seem to think up anything else really worth yammering about, I'll cut this short with a factoid I learned a little while back: People have driven on the right-hand side of their vehicles in Europe since the Roman Empire, when it was necessary to be able to strike an opponent from your chariot with a sword held in the right hand, whereas people in America drive on the left-hand side since that was where the brake was located on the covered wagons.

What Day is it Again?

2009-10-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Three days in a row of working the graveyard shift at 7-Eleven has taught me a lot about the concepts of sleep and time-shift. Firstly, after that third day, sleep starts to seem like it's the best thing ever; I've probably gotten about fifteen hours of shut-eye over the past day, and those who know me know that this is quite an accomplishment, to be sure. Secondly, my insistence that the day doesn't officially "start" until eight in the morning isn't widely accepted during the night shift; night becomes morning at around three-thirty now (though I still have the habit of telling people "good morning" when they come in, and then turning around and saying "have a good evening" when they leave). Lastly, it gets damned boring until about five in the morning; I need to figure out how to make my fingers respond faster than my brain if I'm going to ever be able to handle the morning coffee rush, because these people get damned impatient; if the line gets over four people long, people with papers just start throwing money at you, apparently. On the plus side, not a lot of cigarette sales. Unless the bar just got out, then you get a few people looking for wine-flavoured cigarellos (and a curious fellow with bloodshot eyes asking Nixie "where the trees at?")
In other news, Taco bell has finally decided to recognise the goth plight and come out with a suitably themed taco (and for only eighty-nine cents!):
Behold, the BlackJack Taco. The only thing that makes it different from a normal taco is that it has mozarella cheese along with I think cheddar and colby, and there's a pepperjack sauce on there. Oh, and the shell is friggin' black... almost forgot that bit. Nixie's not a huge fan of the sauce, but the fact that there's a black taco is pretty awesome.
Lastly, I've started playing an online MM RPG, mostly due to seeing the advertisement for it too many times whilst watching anime. Adventure Quest Worlds is a browser-based Flash RPG, and is by the same people who created Adventure Quest and Mech Quest. It's also cheesy as all git, has really lacking animation, and the attacks are pretty monotonous, but at least it's not FarmVille. Whether or not I'll really ever make it past level four and be able to do some serious damage (without paying the twenty bucks to make my account "cool" and allow me to have cool-looking weapons) remains to be seen, but it's keeping me out of trouble for now. Let's just hope there's no pizza delivery place in this one... though that seems to be their thing with these games.

Apple: Not as cool as I thought it was.

2009-10-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

Back in days of yore, I hated Apple products. Schools got 'em cheap, they ran OS9, and they were prone to crashes, program errors, and just seemed to add misery to an already miserable experience. Later came the iBooks and iMacs, designer colours, mice that you could remove the panels from and switch them around to annoy the library staff, and laptops that had built-in carrying handles and looked strangely like a toilet seat. This is where I think the Mac craze first started; once the iMacs released, they took the clear plastic with silver backing and some sort of clear, bright colour and applied it to anything electronic. But they still sucked. In fact, the only amusement I remember getting from them was using the "snapshot" function and leaving the notice that the image had been saved to the clipboard up until the computer got impatient and started talking to you in its clunky, vaguely-female voice.
And this dislike of them continued throughout high school, until my senior year. I was talked into taking a Visual Technologies class (which is just a fancy way of saying "graphic design") by my art teacher, whose husband just happened to teach the class. I spent the majority of my first semester at odds with the teacher due to the fact that I disliked Apple products (at this point, white earbuds were everywhere, whether they had an iPod or not, and that only added to it), and he was definitely a big supporter of them. After a while, I'd found that OSX was ideal for graphics work (after nearly losing a huge Photoshop file while saving on my PC), and decided to get one. And, lo and behold, I received my awesome new PowerBook G4 sometime later, and had the privilege of showing off the top of the line in Apple laptops (at the time). It's obviously an antique by current Mac standards, but it does its job (and I had it before they were cool xP).
And so began my quest to turn others over to Mac computers (probably influenced, at least in some part, by Hawk from Applegeeks). First my friend Alex got onto the bandwagon, then several other people. However, this was after they decided to go from this:

The PowerPC G5 processor, to this:

The Intel Core 2 Duo processor. With this atrocity came the built-in webcam and a lowered price, making Apple computers much more affordable than they'd been in the past. This served as a foundation for the popularity that Macs have achieved today. And now, not only are they powered by the same shit that a regular PC is, but they all come in the shiny aluminum finish. Add to that the lack of anti-glare screens and the promise of being "made of all recycled materials", and I'm starting to see that they aren't a niche market anymore. I can get a PC that can do graphics work just as well as any Mac can, and it won't get viruses if I just leave it disconnected from the internet. So, they're not that great anymore; as soon as I get the money, I'm gettin' one of these bad boys:

The HP with Voodoo DNA Blackbird 002. Seems my like of Apple products is a cyclic thing... maybe one day I'll think highly of them again, but as long as they keep putting out this sort of crap:

Doesn't everyone's digital camera already do digital video anyway? What the hell is the point? It's a friggin' mp3 player; play mp3's on it.

Well, whatever... I've still got these:

And I don't see Apple gettin' into the iGoth scene any time soon.

"Mopping is a battle you'll never win."

2009-10-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

And I have to say, truer words probably haven't been spoken. Now, this isn't true of every store, I'm sure (not sure how many stores out there require you to mop the floors several times a day), but it about hits the nail right on the head for 7-Eleven. It doesn't matter how empty the store and parking lot are when you start mopping (and, in all honesty, it's a pretty small store, so it should only take about twenty minutes, if not less). As soon as two aisles get finished, like clockwork, two people walk in that decide they want something right in that aisle that you just mopped, so now there are footprints that you'll have to go back to later and RE-mop. So, after you've mopped the entire floor about three times over, I've found that it's wise to wait until the people die down again, and then do some spot-check work. Granted, the floor gets a helluva lot more dirty before it gets clean, but it does get there.
Keeping with the theme, I've also noticed that people who want a pack of cigarettes mumble. I'm going to go ahead and say that cigarettes must cause your internal volume to go way down, because these people do not project. They walk forward (and it's pretty obvious what they're after... they've got this sort of "smoker-vibe"), they set their money on the counter, and then... nothing. Maybe a short breath, but that's all you get. Their mouth is clearly moving, and they want cigarettes, but you'll have to use that telekinesis if you want to figure out what kind of cylindrical death they want without them getting an extremely annoyed look on their face. Or, you may get the masters who have perfected the art of setting the money down and gesturing towards the wall with their heads; all the while talking on a cell phone. According to my co-worker, this is pretty much normal.
All in all, however, I think I've been out of work for far too long, as these past three days have kinda burned me out (though that could have to do with my hours getting progressively earlier and earlier), but I start my official midnights position on Saturday. Hopefully the ability to get free coffee whenever I want isn't going to be too crucial.

Excuse me, 7-Eleven...?

2009-10-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

... Yeah, I need to go to the bathroom again.

That pretty much sums up my first day of work at the 7-Eleven convenience store. You see, they have this thing where employees get free slushies and fountain drinks, so I just kept refilling my cup with Mt. Dew whenever it got empty. Well, Mt. Dew, like most other sodas, goes right through you, so you're pretty much doomed to be peeing out your eyes for the following six hours. I think I've learned my lesson, though. No more over-doing the free soda; this I can not say will be true for Nixie, as she's learned she is also elligible to receive free slushies and soda (and coffee, but she doesn't like it). So, no matter how many days I go without a free drink, she'll more than make up for (and possibly bankrupt the store on soda charges in the process.)
Also, let it be known to Nixie (and to anyone else), that I am not going to have an update on this if I've been at your house for the past day and a half. It just doesn't happen. If I could figure out a way to write blogs with just my mind, then things would be different, but as it is... No keyboard, no update. Besides, why would you need to read what I've been doing if you've been around me all day?
In closing, I'm going to go take a nap, so here's a picture of Shredder in the bathtub that I obtained off of The Rubber Chicken:

Almost Forgot I Had This...

2009-10-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Actually, that's a lie; I'm still a full-blown blog-junkie and I'm constantly saying "I should blog about this" when something remotely interesting comes up. Fact of the matter, however, is that I'm lazy and haven't really been pushing myself to make new posts lately. This is a bad habit to fall into, however.
So, top news this entry: Nixie is now officially a model. I accompanied her to a photo shoot maybe a week or so ago, and when she received the photos from the photographer, she submitted them to a site called "Model Mayhem". She mentioned that it's a difficult site to get accepted into (I can't say one way or the other on that), and so congratulations are in order as she's finally getting some exposure. Let's hope it doesn't go to her head too much... heh.
Also this entry, zombies:

Went and saw Zombieland for the midnight showing on Friday (Thursday night, technically), and despite having to go to AMC to see it (moronic MJR doesn't bother with these things unless it's incredibly mainstream and guaranteed to be popular), it was friggin' amazing. Nixie also enjoyed it quite a bit, and we'll likely be seeing it again next week some time. Also learned that the extra two dollars and fifty cents extra you pay for AMC buys you more piece of mind. When the new twilight movie trailer came on (yes, I know it's a title, but the capitalisation is meant as a sign of respect... bahahahaha), Nixie responded with her usual extremely loud "boo", which at MJR is usually overpowered by the cheering of brain-dead, spoiled high school girls. At AMC, however, there was a very nice booing reverb that followed, and in one of the rows behind me was quite a memorable quote:
"I don't see why people hate that movie so much; it was truly one of the great comedies of 2009. That, and I managed to remind the entire theatre I was an asshole by laughing through the entire thing."
And so I learned that geeks who truly appreciate zombie movies go to AMC, and don't bother with MJR and their "clap along" theme song.

Nuclear Explodey.

2009-09-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

Last night, as it seems has become my evening ritual, I was watching the History channel. At some point, a program came on detailing the steps that would be taken by the American government should a nuclear device of at least ten kilotons be detonated in a major American city (in the case of the show, Washington D.C.). It detailed all that it could on the DEFCON and COGCON systems that have been enacted in order to keep the government from falling into anarchy, and to preserve as much life as is possible. While that's all fine and good, I couldn't help be compare the COG (Continuity of Government) system to the system used to preserve humanity in the anime Blue Gender; consider those not of governmental importance to already be dead, and shoot through them if it means accomplishing your goals.
It's rather sickening how the elected officials get top priority over the people who actually elect them. Kinda makes you wonder if people who vote realise that basically all they're doing is deciding which people's lives take priority over their own. This is not, however, the reason why I bring this particular program up. From the very beginning of this (and other History Channel specials on relatively awful things that could befall the human race), I couldn't help but wish that it actually would happen. Call me insensitive, but I think a massive catastrophe such as a nuclear detonation would add some interest to this otherwise mundane world in which the government wallows in their own paranoia that something disastrous might happen that would prevent them from being the high and mighty power they are. If anything else, at least a nuclear weapon would actually be getting some use; as they are currently, a nuclear arsenal is merely a way that a country can proclaim that their dick is bigger than some other country. They're not being used, there are no plans for them to ever be used, and human "morality" has otherwise proclaimed their use to be taboo. There is no conceivable reason for any military force to have them, other than to provide extra leverage when they feel like waving their stick at another nation.
So, in my opinion, either blow some city to kingdom come with them (because, lets face it, that's all they're really good for), or dismantle them and get off your high horse already. As they are currently, sitting in silos gathering dust until the alleged governmental equivalent of the Easy Button is pushed, the only thing coming of them is paranoia that another nation that isn't the United States is going to acquire them. And why would they want to do that? Because they don't like the idea that people can sit there and point an atomic bomb at them, and all they've got to fight back with are a few outdated guns and maybe a stinger missile or two. And people wonder why America is hated...
So, I will sit, and I will wait for the "inevitable" point in which America gets attacked with a nuclear weapon. At least then we'll finally get to see our fears realised.

And now, I leave you with some words from Jack the Ripper as heard in the movie From Hell:

"No man amongst you is fit to judge the mighty art that I have wrought. Your rituals are empty oaths you neither understand nor live by. The Great Architect speaks to me. He is the balance where my deeds are weighed and judged... not you."

Gravitational Field Equation, Near Light Speed, and the G.U.T.

2009-09-25T12:20:00.001-07:00

Astronomy this semester, coupled with several nights spent watching doomsday scenarios on The History Channel, have started to get me interested in the physics behind it all. This is not to say that I want to run off and take a physics course (in fact, I failed physics in high school, but that was due to lack of effort), but I would like to start getting a better handle on it.
My astronomy instructor mentioned that Einstein's notes for his Grand Unification Theory (G.U.T.) are available in book form at most book stores, so I figured while I was online, I might see if I can see how much such a piece of literature would cost. Seeing as how even Einstein couldn't figure out what his notes were telling him, I don't expect to understand it in the slightest, but I'd still like to see what he came up with before he died. But, I digress; while my initial search didn't really turn up what I was looking for, I did stumble across an article published back in 2006 that mentions a new exact solution for Einstein's Gravitational Field Equation (something I also don't know in the slightest), and the possibility of near-light-speed travel by the end of the century. While I realise that "the end of the century" is beyond my lifetime, it's hardly the millenia I would've figured it would take to get anywhere close to light speed.
The physicist who came up with this solution also mentioned something about changing our perception of exploring the "far reaches of our universe". This I don't quite believe, as something travelling the speed of light would take something like a hundred-million years to even get from one side of our galaxy to the other, so something going near light speed isn't showing too much promise of getting very far in that aspect, but it may allow people to see new solar systems, which is in and of itself pretty cool.
Anyhow just thought I'd mention something about this because I found it interesting. Now back to my hunt for the published version of the G.U.T.

edit: I found it... s' in three volumes and is one-hundred and sixty shmuckers... maybe for Christmas xD

If The World Were Black and Grey...

2009-09-22T11:15:00.001-07:00

So, I was in the middle of editing Nixie's History paper, and I was listening to the song "Day After Day" by Inward Eye, and there's a part towards the beginning that sounds like it says "what's black and grey" (I've since learned that all the lyrics websites put it down as "what's black and gay"). I found it to be a bit inspirational, as most of the time the world is viewed as largely black and white, with a grey area for middle ground. And so I thought to myself, how would the world be if it were only black and grey?
- Bright white printer paper would be a figment of your imagination
- There wouldn't be a spectrum of colour that you could reveal by passing white light through a prism
- White supremacy would seem rather foolish
- Children wouldn't get their PB & J on white bread
- There wouldn't be a whole lot positive, what with only the negative and middle ground covered
- Sin City would be a non-fiction documentary ('cept for the coloured bits)
- Oz would look the same as Kansas, just lots more overly-dressed little people
- Colour television sets would make about as much difference as whether a burned out light bulb is turned on or off
- All photography would be what is considered "artistic" nowadays (even though "artistic" photography is just how people who can't draw it justify themselves as being artists)
- Rainbow Brite would've never come to save the Color Kids
- For that matter, Murky and Lurky would still be terrorizing the countryside in the Grunge Buggy
- I'd probably be too miserable to come up with all this crap

Until next I get inspired while I'm supposed to be doing something else...

I have no idea.

2009-09-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

I was in the middle of watching an episode of Heat Guy J when a peculiar advertisement thingy caught my attention:

With something like this, you're bound to be curious what the right answer is, so I did a Google image search and came back with this as the result:

Seeing as how there's a "Worth 1000" watermark in the lower corner, I can only assume that this is a photomanipulation and not an actual living animal. That being the case, I think it's safe to say that MOST Americans have been had.

Cedar Point and Some Good News in Gaming

2009-09-21T10:46:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday I got to go to Cedar Point (again... this is like the third time in three months), except I think I only went on about five rides the entire time. This was due to two circumstances; we got there late, and it was a Halloweekends weekend. Getting there late isn't so much a reason why we didn't get to ride on much, though, as the line lengths kinda prevented getting on any of the good rides with any sort of haste (hell, the Mean Streak had a half-hour line, and that's rare). We were also there to experience the haunted houses that are only open a few times a year, also; what with Halloween not being a year-round thing and all. I went in one of the haunted houses years ago when I went with my family, and I remember being outright terrified by them, so I was a little bit skittish about going in them again, but I figured that I knew well enough that it was going to just be a bunch of people in costumes that I wouldn't really have too much to worry about.
Turns out they're a lot cheesier than I remembered; most of the people are right out in plain sight, and don't make much effort to scare you, and the ones that do are usually conveniently hidden by a strobe light or a wall and jump out shaking a can of beans or something; Nixie wasn't much impressed. Of the four we went in, the one that was themed like a toy factory was probably the best (and not just because it had a long hallway of dolls urinating that you had to avoid). I also learned that Nixie makes it a point to try and best all the people in the houses; this gets annoying after she stops to have a conversation with one of the people in costume for about the umpteenth time, and you're really not in the mood for her antics.
So, after a day of that, I was sitting around yesterday having a look at the new Game Informer, and I noticed two previews that caught my eye. The first was a short glimpse at the upcoming Fable III (frak yeah, Fable III), which is once again set in the future of the past game, and looks like you'll have to be a king this time (not really my thing, but the Fable series has been good for me, so I'll get it for the sole reason that it's Fable). The second is one that I didn't expect to come out at all, let alone for the 360: Magnacarta 2:

Which had originally come out for the PC eons ago. It doesn't look like Calintz is going to be in this one, but as I didn't really expect a new one to come out, I'm just glad to see that the franchise isn't dead. There's also a pretty innovative battle system contained in it, so I'm all in all quite pleased with these few future offerings.
And, as I won't generally voice any enthusiasm for upcoming gaming releases, this is big news.

Lotta Weird Dreams Lately...

2009-09-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

So, it seems like ever since I posted about having a dream a while back, I've actually been having dreams I can remember, it's a little odd. Not sure if something in my head just clicked into "save mode" once I decided I should record my dreams, or if I just never noticed before, but for the past two nights, I've remembered my dreams.
The previous night was another school-based dream, once again probably high school, and my math teacher was Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes. There wasn't really much to it other than I couldn't get this one math problem (in fact, seemed no one in the class could), but I was the only one who had copied the problem right, so the fact that I got it wrong still made me feel like an idiot when I reflected on it later. Anyhow, the problem was explained to me, I got it, and then I woke up.
Last night was a little different; this one was more of a movie-based dream (a space-horror movie, to be exact), and I'm pretty sure it was a recent film, because I knew that something bad was going to happen if they did certain things, so I was doing my best to try and prevent it. I think it had Jodie Foster in it (though the actual movie probably didn't) and maybe Morgan Freeman... Some big name actor, anyway. Anyhow, they found this cassette-looking thing on this abandoned space ship in the cargo hold, I think, and I knew that if they tried to force it into the player, it would break and all hell would break loose, so I kept trying to keep them from putting it in the player. I knew that the tension over the whole thing was building, but it didn't seem like a dire situation, and I finally snatched the cassette away and threw it someplace where I figured they wouldn't be able to find it, which was probably a lousy idea in retrospect, because I think that ended up breaking it, and now I couldn't get to it to use it to solve any problems.
Luckily, right then I woke up and didn't have to worry about any weird alien things or whatever was going to come out of it. Oh, and I think Jodie Foster was running around video-taping ghosts before the whole thing happened... doing her usual "I'm obsessed over something to a fault" routine.
I'm starting to hope I forget my dreams again soon, otherwise I might actually believe Khira when she tells me I'm losing touch with reality...
In the meantime, Lego bricks for eyes:

French Toast!!

2009-09-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

It would taste a lie to say that I haven't had The Toast Song stuck in my head all day. I also learned that, according to my sister, people need to have a valid reason for taking a picture of their food. I was not aware of this; I figured that chocolate milk was a valid reason for doing anything.

A Dream I'm Likely to Forget Unless I Write It Down

2009-09-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

It's rare that I have dreams that I actually remember, so when I do have one, I'll probably stick it in here so I can remember it later.
It started out with me taking some sort of a skateboarding class that was likely being taught at my high school. I say this because it was taught by one of my high school gym teachers, and it seemed too small to be a college course (the fact that skateboarding generally isn't taught in school at all is irrelevant, as this was a dream). Anyhow, the goal of this class seemed to be to come up with four different skating runs (I think that's what they're called, I'm not much of a skater in reality), which were demonstrated to us at the beginning of each class, and then everyone in the class took turns trying the run on the course (which, oddly enough, was just a straight line with ramps and rails). If I remember correctly, this took place within the span of four days, which really didn't seem that short while I was dreaming it, but it seems kind of weird now that I think about it. I was able to do each run perfectly the first time through, so the class itself was sort of an "easy A".
After the conclusion of the class, there was a time lapse of sorts (don't you love when your dream skips over the unimportant parts?), and suddenly it was the next semester and I was taking the class again for whatever reason. I'd done the first two runs fine, and I could remember the fourth, but I was at current required to do my third run (which was referred to as "run 29" in the dream), but I couldn't remember what it was for the life of me, and I actually started to realise I knew nothing about skating. So, for some reason, I was able to stall to try and remember while my instructor proceeded to explain that your level of skill on a skateboard was directly proportional to how well you skated on the Golden Gate Bridge. According to him, a beginner can skate across the side railing over the entire bridge, intermediate can go up one of the cables, experienced can go up and over one of the support towers, and advanced could do the whole thing and then grind a cloud. That's some hardcore skating, if you ask me, and I'm kinda glad my alarm went off just then so I wouldn't have to prove that I was of beginner level.
Upon half-consciously oozing out of bed and turning my alarm off, I promptly returned to bed (which I always do), and fell back asleep. The dream continued, only I was now in some sort of martial arts class and the instructor and all the other students were all anime-styled animals. The current lesson was to punch a punching bag (which was really just a big cylindrical bag filled with what looked like the juices that come in shrink-wrapped steak, only blue), and then to let the bag come back and hit you. The punch itself was actually more of a side-chop with a padded hand-guard, and I think the actual point of the lesson was to get pissed off at the punching bag. I was standing in line waiting (I really wanted to do this for some reason... I guess I wanted to get pissed off at a punching bag), but the class was coming to an end and it looked like I wasn't going to be able to take my turn.
Suddenly, some sort of villain burst into the room and did something unfavourable and then dashed off, leaving the instructor (who was some sort of a bear or raccoon or something) to tell us to calm down and not do anything rash. Seeing as how this was me, I immediately flew off after him and was suddenly dressed like a Shinigami from Bleach, though I don't think I had a sword. Several other students followed me and we began trying to shoot the villain out of the air. After some time, the very unhappy instructor came flying after us yelling to calm down and get back to class, but I was too focused on shooting this guy down, so I kept right on going. That is, until the instructor did some sort of attack in which a big green energy wall shot up between me and the villain, in which case I was reluctantly forced back to the ground. This did not, however, deter Uryuu Ishida (the Quincy, for those not familiar with Bleach) from using some sort of spirit-particle bladed weapon to smash through said wall and continue the pursuit.
At this point I woke up, and realised I should probably watch less anime before I go to bed.

... nah.

Some Reasons Why Guidos Would Make Good Zombies

2009-09-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

I actually came up with this idea last night whilst talking to Nixie. She brought up one of the trailers for the movie "Zombieland" (which looks amazing), and then mentioned that if there was a midnight premier, that we ought to go dressed as zombies. This is nothing new, of course, because to Nixie, a midnight premier is just yet another excuse to get all gussied up as someone else and try to act in character (she's more enthusiastic about that sort of thing than I am). Regardless, I was adamant about the idea because the last two midnight premiers we attended at the theatre that's closest that offers a student discount is, unfortunately, overrun by rich high-school-age kids who probably don't understand what "work" is. A large portion of these are Guidos, which I said I didn't feel like dealing with after the Harry Potter premier, to which she said "Yeah, but we'll be zombies, we can eat their brains."
"Maybe," I said in reply, "But I highly doubt your teeth are sharp enough and your jaw strong enough to gnaw through a skull that thick."
And thus I began to realise how similar a zombie and a Guido are, and so, here are some reasons why Guidos would make good zombies:
1. As stated, the skull of a Guido is quite a bit thicker than that of your everyday citizen. This means that they're less likely to just be killed by zombies, because no zombie is going to want to go through that much work to get so little brains as a result.
2. Guidos travel in groups, anyway, so the need to form a seething mass comes naturally.
3. Guidos like to "juice" themselves up, which makes for a relatively fit zombie; and fast, strong zombies are scarier.
4. Those spray-on tans would probably have a temporary preservational effect on their decaying skin, making them last longer (not to mention their heads are harder to blow off due to the thick skull).
5. Guidos are mindless, blathering idiots to begin with, so becoming a zombie isn't much of a stretch for them; they'll adapt right away.
6. A Guido has a need to see himself as superior to others, and as such will likely become a zombie pack leader, allowing the other zombies to kill and assimilate more effectively.
7. Because all those trashy, brainless girl zombies need to have someone around that they can relate to.

That's about all I can come up with for now, but as I think up more, I'll definitely add them.

In Other Harry Potter Related News...

2009-09-13T00:12:00.000-07:00

So, Nixie wanted me to go to Wal-Mart after we left Meijer this evening, and I said I wasn't going to because it was out of the way and I didn't have enough fuel to be wasting on a trip to that god-awful place. So, with an "aww", we pulled out of Meijer and started heading back to her house.
Now here's where things become unfortunate: I somehow managed to pull out behind a minivan (not an SUV, Nixie) which had the ominous glow that can only come from a vehicle with flip-down movie screens. Whoever designed those things should have gone a step further and either a) thought to frost or otherwise tint the back window so as to not announce to other vehicles that you're watching a movie, or b) made the thing project directly on the back window, complete with a station other people can tune into so they, also, can enjoy this movie. The second one has been taught to us since grammar school: "Did you bring enough to share with the rest of the class?"
That being said, I'm always drawn to pull closer to try and identify what movie they're watching. This is unfortunate, as these vehicles are usually family vehicles, and they don't need a glorified go-cart seemingly riding their ass like any other obnoxious driver. Regardless, I pulled closer, and soon saw what looked to be a Harry Potter movie. Upon mention of this observation, Nixie's curiosity shot through the roof and it was suddenly "Get closer! Get closer! A red light! Stop close behind! I want to see! Dammit, get CLOSER!!!" and so it continued, with some poor family probably mortified that they were about to be gunned down by some drunken, adrenaline-crazed teenagers.
Long story short, we followed that van all the way to Wal-Mart... funny how these things just happen sometimes.

Pop Rocks and chocolate milk taste horrible together.

2009-09-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

Also, there's a troll in the dungeon.

Thought you ought to know.

Four hours of Algebra is bound to take its toll

2009-09-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

It's not like me having four straight hours of Algebra is an unusual thing; the class is scheduled from 6:00 to 9:55. However, our professor usually gets the lessons done pretty quickly and lets us go early (because I don't care what I paid, four hours of math is friggin' long). Anyhow, we had four sections to cover tonight (all on graphing equations... yippideedoo), and by the time we got around to the final lesson, the numbers on the paper made less sense than the doorknob mounted on one of the cieling tiles. Here are my notes:

And, in case you missed it, my own little contribution to mathematics:

Note to self: You should probably eat something at some point in the day before a four hour math class, and sleep might be useful, too.

The Nixian - English Dictionary: Word of the Day

2009-09-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Today's word: derk
Meaning: a combination of the root words "dork" and "jerk", this word is used when neither sufficiently describes an individual's behaviour on their own, and there's no time to say them both.

Lookie What I Finally Got Around to Getting...

2009-09-08T23:55:00.001-07:00

Oh yes, that's the Collector's Edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum for the xBox 360. Now, I wish I could say that it was all mine, but Nixie has decided she's paying for half of it, so I guess I have to share...
Ah well, not much that can overcome this sort of majesty.

Nixian - English Dictionary: Word of the Day

2009-09-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today's word: oxagonalish
Meaning: 1. something vaguely eight-sided i.e., "The main part of that building is kinda oxagonalish.
2. a somewhat off-the-wall middle name when giving a stray cat a full name i.e., "Tumbles Oxagonalish Galazka

The Nixian-English Dictionary: Word of the Day

2009-09-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend sometimes slips up when she's talking and from that we get new words that I like to call "Nixian".

Today's word: Speakle
Meaning: used when referring to a language being spoken by a group of people i.e., "Americans speakle English."

Brickshelf Updated [finally]

2009-09-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

I uploaded two new exos to my Brickshelf gallery this morning, first was the Blue Lightening HM, a mass-produced high-mobility exo:
The second one I haven't really come up with a good name for yet (I've been bouncing back and forth between Banshee and Wasp), but it's meant to be a highly modified obsolete lifting-oriented industrial exo, with more points of movement, and the modified fork-lifter arms have been converted to swing up and down and can be used as melee weapons. I also tried to make it look like it had a SHO (super high output) fusion reactor added to its back to increase mobility:

More pictures can, of course, be found at my Brickshelf gallery, which can be found here. I don't update it as often as I probably should, and I've got two other exos that I haven't taken pictures of yet, but I'll be getting those up eventually.

A Little Out of the Blue, But...

2009-09-06T00:38:00.000-07:00

At about 1:30 this morning I got pulled over for the first time in my four years of driving, and I made a few very interesting observations that I probably never would have if I were still able to say that I'd never been pulled over. Before I go into these, let me just state that I am not going to complain about the police system, being pulled over, ticket prices (I didn't get one anyway), or any of the other things that normally make people roll their eyes or sigh heavily when the topic of being pulled over is brought up.
Firstly, I always thought I'd be extremely panicky and maybe even be shaking slightly when I got pulled over for the first time (I also hoped that I'd be able to go my entire life without having to go through this, but that's not really possible, as far as I know); this turned out to not be the case. I guess I've read and heard enough tips on what to do when pulled over that I knew what to do by instinct, and so things went smoothly and overall it wasn't an entirely bad experience, overlooking the fact that I was, indeed, pulled over.
Secondly, you get this undeniable feeling that your proverbial driving "wings" have been clipped after the officer drives off and you slowly pull out of the church parking lot you decided was the best place to be stopped in. I'm not sure how long this feeling of paranoia is going to last, but I hope it's not for very long, because driving is a lot more enjoyable when I don't have the unfortunate feeling that my every move is now being watched. It's a heck of a lot less fun when you realise that driving isn't meant to be fun anymore.
And so, at least for the next few nights, I won't be darting around the usual winding back streets clearing my head and improving my driving skills (something I think everyone should really do; the majority of drivers are horrible), but will instead be sitting at the computer sulking because I'm afraid I'll get pulled over again.
... I don't expect this slump to last for more than a week, though xP

Never Blogged Before

2009-09-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

As it clearly states, I've never written a blog before, and I don't suspect anyone will follow it, but the concept has been around forever, and this seems much more productive than creating a MySpace or a Twitter account, so here we go.
As this is my first posting, there's not going to be a whole lot interesting until I get the basic hang of things, and actually have things I feel like posting. Instead, this is more or less an introductory thing in order to say that I've actually begun this thing. Anything else about me that is needed to be known can be found in my profile (it should also shed some light on what I intend to post here... maybe).
So, until my muse strikes me with something awe-inspiring, or I have something I'm proud enough of to post, this will be my farewell... for now.