my Moving Targets

I don't know what I'm doing.

2010-03-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

In almost every aspect of my life right now.

How did things ever end up this way?

Fact:

2010-02-14T21:48:00.000-08:00

How sad that the number one thing most said to me today was, "Hope this year you find a girlfriend!"

-_-v

Where I Work

2010-01-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

There's a picture of the plant I'm currently working at as seen when driving in. Of course the day that I bring my camera, it's snowing, grey and dreary. Regardless, she's a beaut, eh? Not the largest, but definitely not the smallest.

Today was probably the most interesting day out here yet. For one thing, my day started off with getting into work late. My ride's alarm clock didn't go off, thus making four young professionals late for work. At least none of us had meetings. Anyways, after another boring drive out to the plant, I am immediately told upon arriving that they're opening up one of the steam boilers. And that I'm supposed to get in there! Woo hoo! So my morning consisted of crawling inside a giant fired boiler vessel and looking at the internals. I got to see the fire tubes, burners and also this amazingly high heat retaining material called refractory. It was the first vessel I've ever crawled into, hopefully not the last.

Work in general is actually starting to pick up as well. Exchanger testing, CO2 process troubleshooting, all things that I am NOT familiar with. Hopefully I don't disappoint too much!

No pictures....yet.

2010-01-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

While I'm just sitting in my hotel room, I might as well write something.

I'm bored.

Blogging while watching hockey

2009-12-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been quite a whirlwind of activity. Christmas morning, driving back to Edmonton, more Christmas dinners and brunches and meals and of course, boxing day shopping.

Nothing too exciting for me this year, just some games - Uncharted 2, Fable II, Dead Space Extraction. One game for each of my systems, spreading the love. I would have loved to get a new camera lens or HD camcorder but alas, nothing this year.

Not too much else to really blog about other than the fact that I won't be going snowboarding anytime soon. Although shinny is always a possibility =D

Kindle Get!

2009-12-09T17:36:00.000-08:00

Less than 24 hours later...

Co-erced, I say!

2009-12-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

So I come home from my quick trip back to Edmonton and my brother-in-law says, "Oh, I couldn't wait and gave the Kindle to your sister already." Shocked, all I can really say is, "LET ME SEE!" As soon as I got it in my hands it pretty much solidified the fact that I'd be getting one. Hefty, smooth and very gadgety, I knew I was going to get one soon. Sure enough, I placed my order today (at no little expense :S ).

I've been pretty hyped about the Kindle since it was first announced (yes, all the way back to the ugly as sin Kindle 1).

Left: Kindle 1 Right: Kindle 2

The concept of shopping for books wirelessly and carrying around an entire library at one time is very appealing. Granted, I don't read more than one book at a time, but it's still pretty neat. I honestly don't read as much as I should. Back when I was little(r) I used to read voraciously. Nowadays though I can barely plow through a little paperback in a month's time. It always seems that prime reading time (ie: commute) I'm unfortunately napping. Hopefully with the Kindle I'll force myself to be a little more "intellectual".

Oh, I took some wicked pics of Samuel today :) Here is one of many.

High-Larious

2009-11-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

Re-re-re-re-reeeeeeeeeemix!!

"it's like J'ing O, D after D!"

LOL

edit: Bonus clip!

a little comfort...

2009-11-19T22:01:00.001-08:00

...knowing that some of the people I call friends actually act accordingly. It's sad I can't say the same about all of them.

On a less depressing note, I had a training course today on maintaining a "Respectful Workplace". It went through the ins and outs of various types of harassment, discrimination and what I as an employee can do about it. It was not bad, ran a little on the long side (3 whole hours) but other than that it contained some good information.

I also was able to get out for lunch with Stacey and Ann. Finally went to the "Spice Lounge/Cafe". Highly enjoyable, they make a mean Tom Yum noodle soup. That was the start of a very -lax afternoon of work. Managed to prepare an AFE for a $135,000 project. Good stuff!

I'm a little worried about tomorrow though. Friday is going to be really rough around the edges.

TGIF

2009-11-07T00:47:00.000-08:00

Only a few more weeks left here in Operations Support and Projects. I have to say, it's been quite a roller coaster ride. Sometimes I hate it, sometimes I love it, most of the time I'm just hella busy. I also had quite an interesting coaching session today with my supervisor and I have to admit, as nice as it is to receive some compliments about my work ethic, I am just so terrible at taking compliments. I don't really know what to say, I'm secretly hoping that they're not actually being insincere; it's just an awkward moment.

On the gaming side, I just finished up ODST and am enjoying the new Halo Waypoint area of the 360 dashboard. DJ Hero has been quiet for a little bit, and that's all due to the game I'm currently hooked on (and I really mean hooked). Borderlands. Essentially a shooter with Diablo like progression, this game looks phenomenal, sounds great and has a very addicting quality about it. I would have to say that it's pared down and refined the basic shooter mechanics into a superb single and multi-player experience. I am indeed, a lootwhore.

PS: I hope to start uploading some of my Japan pics...finally. Yes, after almost 6 months...they are coming.

DJ Hero...

2009-10-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

...is awesome.

Now just to find time to play it....!

I'm having a rough time lately. Work has been so busy lately that I barely have time to breathe. In between supporting the new engineer, to getting my own work done, I'm working late everyday and not getting paid any more than I usually do. I'm not getting the support I need either it seems which is more than a little unfortunate. People at work always ask me, "why do you do this to yourself?"

The simple truth? I hate doing a shitty job. And if not doing a shitty job entails making myself crazy...so be it.

multiple grays

2009-10-07T23:30:00.001-07:00

the good:

-i enjoy the company of my friends

-hockey is BACK

-it's a long weekend

-ODST and NHL10 still rock

the bad:

-work is sometimes frustrating

-people are always frustrating

-it's starting to get really cold in the mornings

-i hate when I'm in a bad mood

Total Geek Out

2009-09-25T21:25:00.001-07:00

Feel free to "unfriend" me after this post. Over the past couple days, I've been completely engaged with what possibly may be my 'geekiest' find yet. Yes, I've finally discovered, the Rubik's Cube.

At first I brought it into work just to have something fun on my desk. It was fun to tool around with it, trying to get a couple of the colours to match up. But then I started googling strategies. Algorithms. Solutions. And now I think I'm hooked. The first time I learned and performed an "algorithm" was exhilarating. Eight quick turns and suddenly the colours start to match up. I'm currently playing with a "key-chain" size cube, but would love to upgrade to a full sizer.

I've become quite proficient now at sorting the top two layers, but I can't get the bottom layer to sort itself out. I still have yet to restore the cube even once! I don't know why, but there is something incredibly addictive about twisting and turning the little thing. And the best part about it?

It doesn't need batteries.

2nd week of September?

2009-09-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

Holy moley where in the world did September go??? Just seems like yesterday that I was cruising around the Seattle Convention Centre at PAX. What a seriously, great time I had there. Great food, great people and LOTS of good memories. Was a little pricier than I would have liked but I can already say that I'm planning on going again next year.

Seattle is seriously such an awesome city. There are just so many cool things to see and do there. Not to mention the OCEAN. Unfortunately it does suffer from constant rain, super hilly roads and being in....the States.

The good thing about mid-months? PAYDAY! ;)

Man deleting redundant pictures is tedious. About 1000 pics into my Japan trip. Yay!

Oh yeah, if you haven't seen this, it's AWESOME!

Video Games | Halo 3: ODST | Full-Length Exclusive Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Dissapointed.

2009-09-10T23:36:00.001-07:00

I didn't get to hang with the crew in Calgary this past weekend.

Stressful week...

2009-08-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure what happened in the last week. All I can really remember is focusing on one task/subject at hand. Three days spent out in the field, 1300 km's on a rental vehicle and way too few hours of sleep. What I'm trying to figure out for myself now is whether or not I actually contributed over the past week. Was I actually helpful? In other words, did I "earn my keep" ?

It's very strange when something big is completed yet little of the work that you've done has ended up in the final product. Oh sure they're good for reference, but they never made the grade. I suppose though when you're dealing with something that has the potential to affect thousands of dollars of revenue a day the work of an EIT might play second fiddle to the guy with "Director" in his job title.

Oh well, at least with this project done (for now) I can focus on other things this week. Two nights of playoff hockey, new Batman game coming out and Big Bike for charity at work on Thursday, should be an entertaining week.

What's everyone doing?

2009-08-16T21:47:00.001-07:00

Where did everybody go?

There's a first for everything...

2009-08-04T19:48:00.001-07:00

Samuel fell asleep in my arms today. It was awesome =)

However, after cradling him for around 20 minutes in my arms my shoulders felt awful!

Times are good.

2009-07-14T23:56:00.001-07:00

Paychecks are consistent, work is enjoyable (for the most part) and friends are still...well, friends.

First Aid training for the next two days. Added bonus is that the training is off site so I don't even need to go into the office! I've also got a dinner with friends lined up tomorrow (being today, Wednesday) as well as another potential get together lined up. We'll see how it turns out, sometimes it's just nice to do nothing.

I'm in a good place right now :)

Oh yeah...Mass Effect is still such a kick ass game...

Stampede 2009 over...

2009-07-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

And damn did it end with a bang.

Stampede grounds --> Pre Drinking --> Dinner --> Drum and Monkey--> Whiskey --> Street Meat Stand

I wish I brought my camera and tweeted the event. I can honestly say I really enjoyed hanging out with everybody.

Hmmm...

2009-07-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

Tell me what I should do.

I'm afraid that it's too late.

Is this what I really want?

It's so rainy...

2009-07-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

It's been extremely rainy lately, but it seems to only come in the evening. Is this a good thing? YES. It means I don't need to walk home in the rain =D

Work has been going great. My enthusiasm levels have only slightly dipped since the first day and I've actually got some work to do. Nothing that I really wish I had to do, but something that keeps me busy and is beneficial to the company. Plus, having paydays again is not too shabby :)

I've started to go through my trip pictures so hopefully I can get another batch uploaded!

AND OMG I WANT THIS NOW:

I hate the bus.

2009-06-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

So right now I'm sitting on the Red Arrow motorcoach bound for Calgary. There is a super annoying lady sitting behind me who has been jabbering in some foreign language on her cell phone for the past 45 minutes. AND they're showing "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" as the movie on their TV's. FML =P

At least they have free Wifi which is actually pretty damn awesome. I can follow the US Open live, torrent some games to play and also just surf the web. Oh, I guess I can also blog too. Unfortunately I forgot my headphones in Calgary so I'm SOL on music to tune out the kids yelling behind me.

At least in these next three hours I'll have time to mentally prepare myself for this next phase in my life. Work, a career, and responsibilities for the first time in a few months. Technically you could call today the last day where I truly am "my own boss." Starting tomorrow I'll just be another underling in a big company, trying to make the world a little better.

Now once I get to Calgary, I'll be spending an evening with some clothes, and iron and matching board and Family Guy: Volume 7. Then a quick sleep and off to work.

Oh man...

Makin' the move

2009-06-18T22:47:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update:

I am partially moved to Calgary right now and have to make a couple more runs between Edmonton and Calgary before all my stuff is here. I really didn't realize just how much "stuff" one accumulates over 22 years. Regardless, my parents are trying to force my old furniture onto me but to be honest, I really don't want them. Why do I want my chair that is probably close to almost 10 years old, cart it down the highway over 300 km's and then use it again? I went out and bought a chair today actually but it's not open yet because my mom is still throwing a fit about it.

I also went back into the office today for some PPE sizing and a quick meet and greet. Met some more HR people as well as my new supervisor for the first rotation. He seems like a very open, smart and friendly guy so I hope to learn lots from him (and his iron ring is so smooth...).

Work starts in 3 days. Starting to get a little nervous...excited...but very nervous.

Oh, I will eventually get around to organizing my Japan trip pics too!

Well, that was uneventful...

2009-06-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

...in terms of blogging and phot posts at least. Truth is I was always so tired every evening I never really felt like writing or uploading anything.

It's my last night here in Japan (sitting in the lobby of the hostel in Tokyo). I fly out in the evening tomorrow, arriving back in Edmonton in the evening. Yup, I leave here at 7:00 PM and arrive in Edmonton at 4:19 PM the same day.

Thinking back to the beginning of this trip and what has transpired since then, I actually feel bad about not writing down everything. I'm sure that because I was lazy there are things that I have already forgotten. Also, if anyone actually reads this thing, there was never any updates to follow along with. I've followed a couple friends' trips and it was always nice to see what people are experiencing and I regret not being able to do the same. Ten pictures this trip, maybe I'll try for twenty next trip.

BONUS ONLY IN JAPAN MOVIE:

Live from Kyoto!

2009-05-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

First week in Japan is finished! The entire time was spent in Tokyo and to put it gently, it was a CRAZY time. I haven't walked around this much in a long time. Here's a quick summary of each of the various areas I was able to explore.

Ikebukuro: Visited the Sunshine City Observatory on the 60th floor! It was a pretty awesome way to view the city (which really seemed to never end).

Shibuya: Hot girls. Lots, and lots, and lots of hot girls. Oh and there were lots of people (mostly hot girls).

Akihabara: Electronics paradise! Although I still can't find my arcade stick Sanwa parts which is very dissapointing. The girls dressed up in all of their maid uniforms trying to lure you in are mega cute.

Shinjuku: Lots of awesome skyscrapers in this district. The Metropolitan Buildings, Cacoon Building and some NTT Docomo tower really stood out. Kabukicho (red light district) was a little dissapointing but that was probably because I was there during the day.

Asakusa: This is the area I stayed in. The "older" part of Tokyo, there were lots of street markets and the entire area has a kind of older city vibe to it.

Roppongi: WIERD. The entire area seems to not only be full of night clubs and bars, it's also filled with hundreds of black guys trying to get you to go to their clubs. Seriously. They will walk blocks with you and hold a conversation to get you to come to see the "Titties and Beers".

Shimbashi: Didn't really get to explore this area but I did go to the Fish Market in this district. Pretty awesome to see everyone hard at work preparing the fish for the stores just a block away. I had the frest sushi I've ever had. The one that stood out the most was a raw shrimp one that I had. Typically in NA all you get are the cooked cocktail shrimp. But this thing was uncooked and delicious! Oh, and the warm sake to go with it was also pretty amazing too :D

I think those are the major ones I got to get around too. Other than that there was a lot of trains, a day trip to Matsumoto and Nagano and a short jaunt to Shinagawa-ku (which was pretty awesome). I will eventually get to summarizing some of my thoughts that I've written in the little notebook I've brought.

Japan is a crazy amazing place. I love the trains, the people, the GIRLS, the culture, ack! It's going to be difficult to going back to not having cute girls yelling at me to come to their stores and tipping poor service. Funny how in a place where bad service doesn't even exist you don't have to tip 1 yen.

This week is Kyoto and then next week Hiroshima and a few free days. Hopefully my feet will not be as sore in the next little while as I'm going to rent a bike to get around Kyoto!

Goin' on a trip!

2009-05-16T23:05:00.001-07:00

It's the night before my trip to Japan and I'm pretty excited. 3 weeks of pictures, tours, good times and FOOD.

I'll be trying to blog semi-frequently as every hostel I am staying at does have free Wi-fi. Hopefully their connection speed is also good for uploading some pictures! I've brought along thirty-two (32!) GB's worth of memory so hopefully I get some cool shots and videos.

YEAH!!!!

things i hope to accomplish in the next 2 weeks

2009-05-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

Acquire a vehicle
Clean up
Sell stuff
Play games
Save money
Give things away
Go for a walk
Make a real blog post

finally done...finally free....uh oh.

2009-04-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

This past week has been somewhat of a crazy time. On Monday, I recieved word that I'll be getting an offer for a job in Calgary which by itself is pretty damn exciting. That same day we recieved our marks back on our design project. We got an unbelieveable A+.

On Wednesday, I took my last final exam of my undergraduate degree (522, oil sands upgrading). That test didn't actually go very well I think, hopefully enough to pass. The other interesting thing is that I also took my first trip ever to a gun range with some engineering pals. It was an interesting experience to say the least but one I won't soon forget. There's something very visceral (and LOUD) about firing a rifle. I was a little dissapointed that I didn't get to fire a pistol but hey, rifles are pretty neat too. What was especially neat about them is that they were old school (think World War 2 style) rifles.

Thursday consisted of getting a LONG overdue haircut. In the evening I went to a little engineering BBQ send off which was a lot of fun. Celebrating "the end" is pretty interesting and, I will admit, a little scary. What will the future hold for all of us and where will we all end up? When's the next time I'll see these people? Well, that last one is pretty easy because that would be tomorrow, but still. After that, it may be months before I see the people I'm used to seeing on a daily basis.

Truly, it's an exciting time. I just have to make sure I keep myself grounded and not overwhelmed with all the possibilities ahead.

everything's comin' up Alex.

2009-04-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

Quick recap of my day today (in this particular order):

Hooray!

2009-04-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

Check it out! The new guy joined the family safe and sound. I can't wait to meet him next week!

Last week was also exciting because I managed to finish half (one) of my exams. Second last exam ever? FIN! Today (Saturday) I also had a planning session for my trip to Japan. Who knew that looking for a suitable hostel and trying to organize a trip take so long. We spend about 4 or 5 hours on it but it doesn't seem like we have anything to show for it. Oh well, at least we now know where'll we'll be in the country during what weeks!

This week will be a little different than the last few. No classes, just time to study for my last (ever!) final on Wednesday (522, Oil Sands Upgrading) so I'll get cracking on it sometime this morning. I kinda flubbed the midterm pretty bad so I better get my ass in gear for this test.

I may also have some big news on Monday. Hopefully it's all good.

nothing due...

2009-04-14T18:09:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it. No labs, assignments or projects due. I can finally study.

It's a miracle.

Tweenbots

2009-04-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

I like this. I'm suprised no one called in a bomb threat on this thing.

Be sure to watch for the douche at 2:30!

busy busy busy. busy.

2009-04-09T07:19:00.001-07:00

Quick breakdown of the last week:

Became an obligated engineer

Went to my grad banquet at the Petroleum Club

Attended my last official lecture of my undergrad degree

Didn't go home on Tuesday (which also means I didn't SLEEP), making my "last day at university" officially 32 hours
I just got up after sleeping for 16 hours.
I now have to write a literature review and finish an assignment for 4:00 PM

I still have a full lab report and assignment due next Tuesday. Then finals. And finding a job. >_<

The day that could change my life.

2009-03-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

I had an interview today for a position that I really wanted, with a company that I think is great, in the city where I want to end up. I had to skip out group work at school and miss a class. In all the interviews I've had (which is actually quite a few considering work terms), I have never prepared or been more nervous than I was for this one. I've spent the past two nights going over behavioural questions, situational questions and working through my past three years experiences and how they've made me a better candidate. Why all the intense-ness? Because this opprotunity determines the direction of my life (at least that's what I believe). I know that after I graduate I'll be going on my trip to Japan (flight booked, bye bye $1300) but after that, I have no idea what time will hold. If I don't have a job I will truly be the classical "bum". Never once during my 5 years at university did I believe I would be in this situation and I'm sure a lot of other students felt the same way. But things change fast. Even today, sitting in the lobby of the company I hope to work for I open the Calgary Herald to the second page to see a huge article focused on out of work, middle aged engineers. That's right, not even just middle-aged men, middle-aged engineers. So I'm sitting there on the couch thinking to myself, "Shit." If experienced engineers can't hold down their jobs what chance do I, as a fresh, green, engineer have?

The interview itself went alright I think, but that's also what I said about my last interview and I didn't get that position. I think I was definately nervous but the vibes I got from the two interviewers was generally positive. Every question that I was asked I had read the night before. I didn't freeze on any question except one ("What frustrates you?"). I didn't get very many suggestive/prodding questions where I had to elaborate on something I was talking about but I didn't get any "excellents" or "greats". Thinking about the interview now there are so many questions I could have answered better. I could have emphasized my enthusiasm for the company, my desire to learn and increase my skills. But I didn't. And I hope that these mistakes don't come back to haunt me. I guess I'll only know after they get back to me in the next 2-3 weeks. These will be the longest 2-3 weeks of my life. But hey, at least I looked good for a few hours.

Getting to come back to Calgary was also nice because I got to see my little nephew again. It also happened to be my sisters birthday so being here for the get-together dinner with my other sister as well. Back to Caden though, I really miss him sometimes. Everytime I drive down here from Edmonton I can't wait to ring the door bell and (hopefully) see him run to the door. He still can't talk yet but he does know a few words though. Unfortunately he still can't call me (Cow fu) but he definately can point me out.

I am entering a very scary part of my life in the next couple weeks. I'll become an obligated engineer next weekend, a graduated engineer within a month. Unfortunately I'm also unemployed, single and not optimistic about my chances of finding work. Scary times indeed. If get this job there are very few people who will truly realize how happy it would make me.

edit: Just realized I royally fucked up on another question, "What do you bring to a team?" How the hell do I mess up such a simple question? I said some BS about curiosity or some shit like that. I'm just getting teared up inside right now.

Couple of things.

2009-03-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

Last week the local EB Games finally got my Street Fighter IV SE Fight Stick in stock. After a few months of waiting I can finally give my thumb blister a break. After using it for the weekend I'm pretty happy with it so far. While there have been widespread talk about how the thing is very prone to break, I'm hoping that mine will avoid those problems. To remedy this, I hope to mash on this thing as much as possible this week. =) We can call it "scientific testing". I'm still getting used to using an arcade stick. It's a little harder for me to pull off Hadoukens but playing the charge characters (ie: Guile, Chun-Li, etc) is a LOT easier. And with my fight stick I finally won my first online match! My record now stands at 1-13. If you're considering getting this game, I'd highly recommend getting a fight stick of some kind whether it be the Hori HRAP or a Mad Catz Fight Stick.

Hmm..what else has happened in the past couple weeks? Went out for a friends birthday at Lucky 13 Dance Club and had a blast there. Unfortunately I opted not to bring my camera so the only ones around are on Facebook. Possibly the best part of the night was my introduction to SteelWheels. Basically a crazy after-hours pizza place run by a Korean cowboy, SteelWheels serves up some of the most eclectic food I've ever tasted. Bulgoki(sp?) and kimchee pizza, stir fried kimchee and tofu, this stuff is just so awesome.

The funniest thing that happened there was when I was inadvertantly doused with half the contents of a water bottle. Now to be clear, I'm not one to be confrontational and get "pissed off" when something like this happens. I tend to just laugh it off and HOPE that it was an accident. In this case it was. Some drunk girl was apparently having a water fight with her sister and I was just caught in the crossfire. The scary part of all this was when she came back about 15 minutes later to apologize. With her dirty, soaked sleeve she started to wipe my face. All I could do was sit there while my friends were busy laughing their asses off. Haha, all in good fun and hey, it makes for a good time spent with friends.

This past weekend has been an interesting experience. Friday was spent at the Talib Kweli concert at Ed's. The main draw for myself though was to support The Greater Good. Check out their site to download the FREE sampler CD!

I spent Saturday continuing to plan my trip to Japan. Even booked my ticket (wallet says ouch). With that key piece bought, I'm pretty darn excited about going and am spending a lot of time looking up cool places to visit. Any ideas? Drop me a comment. One of my decisions will have to be whether or not I'm taking my laptop. It'd be nice to have access to blogs, emails and photo dumps but it'd be another 4-5 lb's I will have to constantly worry about.

Also made my decision to place an order for a new Nikon D90 and the Nikkor 18-200 DX VR Lens. Pretty psyched to be finally upgrading to a full DSLR! Although this is another huge blow to the pocketbook I can't wait to snap some great pictures of Japan!

Final note: I'll be in Calgary this Friday for an Interview that I'm pretty excited about. The opprotunity is pretty much my only "bite" that I've had in a couple months and it's for one of the jobs that I was quite interested in. Please wish me luck as if I don't get this job, I really have no idea what I'm going to do with myself.

So that about sums up my past 2 weeks, sorry for the extreme abruptness and terrible flow of this post but I've been pretty busy! Hopefully I'll get back to regular sized blog posts pretty soon.

PS: Valkyria Chronicles is AWESOME.

I am never allowed to take a break ever again.

It's a very, very.....MAD WORLD.

2009-03-13T07:34:00.001-07:00

Finally, reason to turn on the Wii. For about the first time in almost a year I played a Wii game last night. This game may just be the most ridiculous, crude, hilarious, violent and EXTREME game I have ever played. It also may one of my favourite games of the year.

Imagine, if you will, a purely black and white world, where the only splashes of colour are from the red fountains that erupt from the holes you've managed to stab in the various street goons scattered around the area. Where you have a chainsaw attached to your bionic right fist that can slice said goons either sideways or lengthwise from head to toe. Add in the ability to pick up a dude repeatedly smash him against a meathook hung up on the wall and you've got MadWorld.

Everything about this game is unique. The art style for sure, but also the gameplay, the liberal use of spikes as rectal probes, the hilarious sports-style commentary that is constantly narrating the brutal action on screen. Platinum Games has done an amazing job building and crafting a game that truly fits the Wii platform and takes advantage of its unique features. It's super intuitive as well. Oh, you've got your chainsaw buried up to the hilt in some dude's chest? Just give the wii remote a quick jerk up to "free" your arm and take out the guys heart in the process.

Now I realize that all of this sounds totally gruesome and it is. This is definately not a game that you want to show your ultra-conservative parents. But if you've seen the game in action, you'll realize that this is truly comic violence. Think of it as a new age Roadrunner and Wile Coyote cartoon. Super violent, humourous, but clearly not realistic. If you've got a Wii, you owe it to yourself to pick this bad-boy up.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

2009-03-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Just had the worst pre-screening interview EVER. Why do they do this? Just phone you up and ask for 20 minutes of your time ON THE SPOT. This was for a position that I applied to at the end of JANUARY. That's over a month that I have given it no thought!

So I flubbed a couple of the questions I think...I've never done well in phone interviews and they make me really uncomfortable. Talking to someone's face is so much easier. Not to mention the fact that I haven't really been in interview mode for a few weeks now, my answers to her questions were pretty weak...And to top it off my cell phone died as she was leaving me her contact info. How embarassing! The position was actually pretty interesting to me too and I think would be a good fit. Unfortunately I know that this will be the thing that stops me from getting a full on interview. #$^%#.

Ah well, at least the fact that someone is interested in my resume/cover letter must mean that I'm doing something right.

Despite the fact it's just after midnight...

2009-03-04T23:12:00.001-08:00

I'll write something.

Over the past week I've been pre-occupied with a few things (in no particular order):

Killzone 2
Street Fighter 4
Thoughts of Japan
Oil Sands Upgrading
Oil Sands Extraction

So of my "most thought of thoughts" over the past week, 3 are good, the rest being unfortunate responsibilities. I say unfortunate because if neither of these two courses were graded, I'd still attend them. Not only do we have some great profs, but I think understanding how the energy sector actually operates is hugely important. There is so much mis-information fed by the media about oil sands, the environment and the entire oil and gas industry that sometimes I just have to shake my head. Take for example a couple of those environmental groups (ie: Greenpeace). Do they seriously believe that their lobbying against the oil sands in the USA will help Alberta/the world? Yeah, way to try to knock down one of the pillars of the Alberta economy, unemploying thousands of people, all in the name of saving some ducks.

Oil sands are composed of bitumen, sand, clays and water.

5 days.

2009-03-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

the week after

2009-02-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

A quick post today to bullet off some things:

After I returned from Calgary last Monday I spent all but 2 of the remaining days of reading week at school. Worst reading week EVER.
I am extremely tired. Not enough sleep these past few days and the 8 hour days on campus don't help. Seriously, for the past two days all I've done is sit in the same chair from 8-5 before coming home in the dark. Hmmm...that sounds oddly familiar but I remember the last time I did something like this I was getting PAID.
My job hunt has come to a virtual stand still. I'm worried.
I broke two of my figures the moment they came out of the package and that makes me sad =(
I need a break.

Only 2 more months. Only 2 more months. Only 2 more months...

reading week aka stop-you-from-going-crazy week

2009-02-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

Well the time has finally come...READING WEEK! After what seemed like a week of forever I've finally got some time to myself. Maybe I'll even get some gaming done! My poor xbox and ps3 haven't even been powered on in almost two weeks. I'd love to try to get started on the Operation Anchorage DLC in Fallout 3 and hopefully crack open Valkyria Chronicles. VC looks like a great Advance Wars'esque game so I can't wait to see how it plays. All I've heard about it is good things and the damn game was so hard to find in the first place!

I guess I forgot to say that I am spending the long weekend in Calgary with my sister(s) and brother-in-law(s). It's been a real treat to see my nephew again as well as my sisters. I truly do miss living down here where almost everyday there's something to do. I've found that in Calgary I'm much more active which is a real problem for me.This next part comes about 2 days after I wrote that part above. It's now Sunday and I just spent the day out on the slopes at Sunshine Village. It was a really, really great day to get out. Perfect weather, short lines but as usual....slow ass skiers. Seriously, if you're on a flat piece of land, do you really need to "pizza slice" side to side, cutting me off as I'm tring to keep my speed so that I don't stall? GTFO (of the way)! Hopefully next year after I'm "free" we'll be able to get out some more, barring more injuries to certain peoples :P. I miss the good old fashioned ski trips.

Being away from Calgary makes me realize that I actually really do like it down there. I hate to say it but I miss it. I miss the family I have down there, the hockey, the golf, even the visible signs of expansion all over the city. *sigh*...

Hmm, so the week before reading week was suprisingly packed as well. I had my first of two midterms, the on on Thursday being Oil Sands Extraction. I made some ridiculous mistakes (as usual) but I don't think I failed. Provided I really didn't flop on the T/F section (marked where it's #correct - #incorrect) I will pass. It's also tough to gauge though how the curve will be as this is the first class I've taken with a mix of undergrad and graduate students. My next midterm will be in Oil Sands Upgrading, but that's not for two weeks after reading week. There was also a mad rush for us to hit some deadlines for our design and lab projects which (in my opinion) are coming along quite nicely. That's pretty much for the school front recently and aside from the long days on campus I enjoy being back in class.

I still haven't found a job yet and the job pools seem to have dried up. Understandably there are no jobs as hiring is not "in season" currently. Typically you'll see the big pushes in four month increments and the last one started in January so that's why everything has kinda stopped for now. I starting to get more than worried. Not knowing what I'm going to be doing with myself is pretty dissapointing, not to mention the intense pressure from my family to get a job.

I've also started planning my trip to Japan in May. This weekend I picked up a travel guide and hopefully I'll have some time to actually read the damn thing. First impressions though have me convinced that this book will be worth it's weight in gold once we get there. Hopefully I'm not mistaken :).

So like I said in a previous entry I've gotten some toys lately in the mail as well as my existing stockpile that I need to organize and sort. Here's part of the mess.

So I've got a nice display space that I cleared and cleaned back in January. My problem is thinking of how I want to actually set these things up. Do I want risers? Am I going to pose them in a "scene" or do I just put them onto the shelf all "rank and file"? It's going to take a night or two but at least it'll be entertaining! I ended up spending an entire PPV hockey game sitting on my floor opening packages. My fingers were crazy-raw from plying plastic while trying to fix some figures that had broken joints and such. It actually wasn't very fun!

Pretty soon I hope to make a post about which of these figures is my fave, of which I have a few.

So this post has been in the making for a few days and is all over the place. I've got to learn how to just choose one topic, make a post and then make another post on a different topic. Ah well, who really reads this anyways?

Hello? Is this thing on?

Quickie (NSFW)

2009-02-11T15:59:00.000-08:00

Haha, this is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.

EDIT: Bonus Video!

Album Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfISlGLNU

Mass is equal to volume times density.

Dead Rising 2

2009-02-09T13:56:00.001-08:00

YES! The game that made me buy my 360 is getting a sequel. If you've never played Dead Rising, it's pretty much what every zombie fan's dream game is. You're trapped in a mall and you're tasked with saving hostages and uncovering the mystery behind the outbreak. The neat thing though is that almost everything is a weapon. See that samurai sword? Get ready for some hack n' slash. See that lawnmower? Prepare to mulch some rotting flesh. It's just a tonne of fun to take a shopping cart and barrel through hundreds of zombies as they all get knocked over.

Dead Rising 2 takes place in "Fortune City" which looks like a knock off of Las Vegas. From the first screens I guess the main character will have a permanent scowl on his face. But so would I if I were trapped with a bunch of zombies. Can't wait for this one to come out!

So I haven't done a full blog post in a while. Hopefully I'll be able to rattle one off in the next couple days. Got some stuff in the mail and a lot of work to do for school. Yeesh!

This will hurt. Alot.

semi-useless

2009-02-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

The day didn't start off good when my headphones finally decided to crap out on me. They're the Bose in-ears and I've had them for almost 2 years now. They were awesomely comfy and sounded great. However, the design engineer who decided to make the headphone jack stick out over an inch is hopefully out of a job. The little soft cup around the headphone jack has finally been stretched and torn and now I get constant cut-outs and static. I'm guessing that one of the wires inside (how cheap) is close to being cut.

I suppose I have gotten quite a bit of use out of them while they lasted. Kinda panicked because my headphones are the only protection I have from the stupidity of public transit. So after school today I went and picked up a new pair of Metro.Fi 200 headphones. They cost about half of what I paid for my Bose, but based on strong reviews. We'll see how they hold up. First impressions are that they block out the ambient noise better than the Bose but I don't think they sound as good (I prefer a bass heavy experience). So there I am on the bus listening to my crackily music, wincing the entire time. And that was only the bus ride...

This morning I had my first 534 (Oil Sands Extraction) lecture from Xu. Not too bad, although I remember the last time I had a class with this guy I ended up with a D+ (Reactors). 534 is still interesting and todays talk was about how we can use just one simple equation to model fluidized beds (basically think of a tub of sand, blowing air through it from the bottom at which point the sand becomes like water).

After we had a couple hours break which consisted of not being productive. To be honest, I'm really starting to feel bad about my contributions to both my lab and design projects. It's very frustrating when it feels like I'm helpless when it comes to some aspects of the work. I've made it a goal for myself to try to be more pro-active in the work and hopefully things will start to become a little more interesting.

Colloqium was quite good today, had talks on Beer Production, Multiple Sclerosis and Internal Combustion Engines. I finally figured out how a Wankel (rotary) engine works! Now when I can afford my RX-8 I'll understand how the damn thing moves.

Design class wasn't too bad either. I think that we've finally got our final model simulation (two stage amine system for scrubbing sour gas) down and now it's onto tuning/optimizing. Next up is the PFD and we should be in ok shape heading into reading week. I will contribute? No, I will CONTRIBUTE!

My night at home (getting home almost 12 hours after I left...) has been spent trying to theoretically crack a giant asphaltene molecule with little success. Is this really teaching me anything?

the brain, it hurts!

back in blog.

2009-02-02T23:26:00.000-08:00

I have decided that in order to organize the direction of my life I need a place to drop notes, thoughts, goals and miscellaneous facts. Hopefully with this repository of my (what I think to be at least) random musings will I be able to 'right the ship' as they say as I head off to the open seas (read: real world). I'm not one to have grand ambitions or 10 year plans, but I definately have an idea of where I'd like to be in this next phase of my life.

Life goals, rearranging as time passes, some dropping off while others rise to the forefront.

my Moving Targets.

...

Ok that was pretty cheesy. Seriously though, I'm hoping this blog will be something that will keep me level-headed for what's ahead of me.

Should you be following this space I hope that at some points you'll say, "Damn, was that ever stupid" and/or "F-yeah that's kickass".

with no context whatsoever.