Milage may vary...

Vacation

im on ur island, drinkin ur booze...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7851480@N02/sets/72157600098699776/

posted by Dave @ 1:16 PM 0 comments

We interupt this broadcast...

OK, so that took a little longer than expected...

Anyway, here we are, April 1, 2007. Man, I swear that time must have started moving faster at some point without me really realizing it. It was probably about the time I bought a house, joined the Ad Fed, and started playing WoW. There just never, and I've complained out this before, seems to be enough time anymore to get everything done.

Well, let's get into what's been going on lately with me...

1. Work.

Work is well... work. We're still as busy as ever and there's no signs of any let up any time soon. I'm still fighting against people who seem to have too much time on their hands and I wonder why I do it sometimes. I'm told I should just sit back and let these people screw everything up. However, ultimately, I'll be the one who'll have to fix it. To me, I'd rather stop people from doing something stupid, rather than have to waste the time cleaning it up later. There's going to come a point, and it's probably going to happen sooner rather than later that I'm going to move on. As much as I can see the opportunity where I'm at, the hassle and stress overrides that to a great deal. Well, I'm not going to worry about it now, as you'll see in the next few.

2. World of Warcraft.

Blizzard released the Burning Crusade expansion in the middle of January and I don't think it's really sunk in yet to alot of people just how much that changed the foundation of the game. All and all, I'm very pleased with the new content. There are a few annoying things here and there, but all and all it's really good. Dysharra, my mage, made level 70 within I think two weeks of the expansion coming out. As of me writing this, I have my Karazhan key and 3 of the 5 heroic dungeon keys and I'm pretty close on the 4th. It looks like we stand to start going into Karazhan this week and I can't wait. My hope is that we'll make our way through it quickly and can move on. There's still alot left to see. At some point I need to do a review of it and post it here.



Follow The Dots...


I Feel Odd...


You Guys Kinda Screwed Everything Up, Maybe We Should Kill You Now...


Something's Missing...


Even Naaru Need a Coffee Break... What? Oh Yeah, He's Dead. Thanks Warfare...

3. Real Life.

My life outside of work and WoW is pretty much the same. Being on the Board of Directors for the OKC Ad Club takes a bit of my time. However, I'm really glad to be involved as much as I am. I stand for re-election on Weds so I need to get busy on finishing out my campaign posters (lol).

In exactly three weeks from tomorrow (Monday) I leave for Ireland for two weeks of much need vacation. Lord I can't wait. It's been about 6 years since my last vacation and I don't think I've taken more than a week off since. Well, at least I hope I get to leave. As of this point, my passport paperwork has seemed to fallen into the black hole known as the National Passport Service Center. I get the joy of starting to call tomorrow to find out where it is and if they've lost it what I need to do. Leave it to the government to possibly screw up my vacation.

On another note, and something I want to rant about, is that apparently I'm a bad person...

Recently, a former friend got married. While I received an invitation, I declined to go. Part of this is due to another issue between us that I've spoken about earlier, and another part is that I knew I really wasn't wanted there. I'll be the first to admit that I'm guilty of holding grudges till they die of old age and then mount them on my mantle, I still feel I'm in the right here. Said person has had plenty of time to come to me between the time everything went down till now to try and work this out.

Yeah, still waiting on that one...

I was told that people were quite disappointed that I decided not show up and try to mend fences. Well, all I can say to that is life is full of disappointments. I didn't ask for what happened and I don't feel it should be me that fixes it. I really think at this point no one really cares and the only reason I got an invitation in the first place was to save face to the rest of our staff at work. I could be reading more into that than is really there, but that's how I see it until something else changes. I don't wish anyone any ill will, but I'm not going to lose any sleep on what they think at the moment.

Ok, that was a little more ranty that I wanted to be, but I guess that's what this is there for.

Other than that, things are fairly good. Been hanging with the crew on and off when we're not playing WoW. Talking on IRC during the day to the Anahog (irc quakenet #anahog) group and the hosts of Analog Hole Gaming has been interesting. Some of the things we talk about go a little... odd... but it's fun and a nice way to move the day along.

BTW: If you haven't seen Farce of the Penguins... go rent it.

All for now, catch everyone later.

posted by Dave @ 1:27 PM 0 comments

Vegas, old school...

So, here I am in Las Vegas for my dad's 65 birthday. I haven't been out here for probably 20 years. I actually think the last time I was here was with Dad when I was 10. So long ago...

Anyway, Vegas is a trip for those who haven't been here for awhile. To me, it's really interesting now because there's a intersection of worlds occurring. When you head down the Strip, there's tons of new hotels and even more being built. Seems like there's construction everywhere you look. However, at the end of the strip, there's the old school Vegas. Hotels like the Frontier, Stardust, Rivera, and Circus Circus. These are the hotels of my memory and what vegas to me was.

Dad put the trip together and we're staying down at the Riviera. And after walking around today, I'm stunned by the difference between the new and the old. The Rivera just feels old, like time hasn't moved in 20 years. I'm kind of stunned by the rundown, out of date feel that seems to permeate everything inside the hotel. Even the cocktail waitresses seem like they've aged with the hotel. It's all around just a very odd feeling.

I ended up walking down the strip some and the newer hotels are just amazing. Everything seems so modern and up to date. The flash and flair that was the picture of Vegas in my mind is anywhere you care to look. It was after walking through these new hotels that I wonder if I'm witness to the end of an era. Is the old Vegas of our youth giving way the next generation? Are the grand hotels like the Rivera and Circus Circus on their last great hurrah before the curtain comes down?

In a word, yes...

Today's younger generation of traveler is more demanding that any of the previous generations. The need for more, richer content, more luxury, more everything is creating hotels that the other, vintage Vegas can't compete with. It's really stunning the difference one block of travel can make. When you're down by Treasure Island, the Wynn, New York, New York, and all the others, you feel like you're in this travel paradise. Down by the Riviera, it seems older, more seedy, more rundown and darker. It's quite a shock...

Another big shock is the amount of high-rise condos that are being built right here on the strip. I know a lot about the condo market from the industry I work in. However, it's quite another thing to see all of it first hand. I counted no less than 8 new towers being built and at least 7 fully completed. It still surprises me that people will pay anywhere from $325K to $2 million for one of these, however looking at the housing market, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise.

Well, I guess I'll go hit the slots a little before dinner. I'm not much for gamboling because my luck is usually pretty poor. We're doing Dad's birthday dinner this evening at the steak house here in the hotel. Oh, and speaking of that... remember all the cheap food and booze that Vegas used to be famous for? Gone... The buffet here in the hotel is $11 for breakfast, $12 for lunch, and $14 for dinner. A 10oz beer is $4 if you want anything good, and a large coke is almost $3. After going to a couple of conventions earlier in the year, I was surprised by how much stuff cost at those, but here in Vegas, it borders on the ridiculous. I'm dreading dinner this evening because the cheapest thing on the menu is $30. By the time 6 of us eat, drink and relax, I bet it costs me over $200 to get out of there. Blah...

posted by Dave @ 4:23 PM 1 comments

So it begins... So it ends...

Some may remember a couple of months ago I spoke of a project that was dumped on me at the last second. I'm now proud to say the that project is finished (on time) and here are the results.





























































All 6 books were complete right when they were needed. Not to brag too much, I'm even cooler than I thought.

I'm really pleased with how everything came out. The design worked out perfect, the printing was excellent (as always) and everyone has been really jazzed at work with the new material. These books represent a huge increase in material and look over any of our previous offerings. I'm looking forward to finishing the line out this fall and then, finally, we will have a coordinated commercial and residential literature package to go to market with.

Oh, and for those who didn't read the post where I talked about this before...

All six books were designed in two weeks time. Yes, in 14 days I went from a blank document to handing a disk off to the printer. Add to that, a great deal of the material was created on the spot and many of the data tables had to be completely reformatted. When I was first asked, I didn't think I could do it. But I did, and I think it was well worth it.

posted by Dave @ 4:12 PM 0 comments