Wow

I haven't posted in forever.

In WoW I made 60 easy, got MC attuned and pretty much stopped with a few hundred gold and whatnot because I can't not have a life.

In CSS I played the entire season with 3XB and finished 7-3-0 where I got cut for getting a job where I worked 40 hours a week. Apparently scheduling around me can't be done, but it can for others. That's why 3XB loses half their roster every season and will probably be in Open again soon enough. I joined some CAL-O team called #exempt but I have fears if they are able to be mature enough to stick together after the first match, even though they have a high skill level compared to most of Open.

I started school again (Business Admin) and it is going quite well. I need to look into information for my potential business plan due to government regulations that may rape the hell out of the idea.

I am looking at buying a car that is under $6,000 CAD and preferably RWD, 5-speed, and fast as hell or able to be. Mustangs really appeal in the 94+ flavour and I might look at an 87 RX-7 Turbo in 2 days. They can make 400hp rather easy.

Lastly, I am finally going to buy a new computer some time before Christmas with the top of the line everything and a new case to go with it. This is going to be fucking great.

Shrug

Nothing much new lately. Started botting in WoW and made some very good progress. Currently at 56 with my Hunter and working on making some good bling before I transfer over to a different server with some friends once it's possible.

CSS is going well with 3XB and a current 3-1 record, which will keep going as strong in the future.

A New Update

Now that school is over (has been since the end of April), I've been getting a lot done. Ok I'm being sarcastic. I'm searching for a job currently at basically any place that will hire me. It's not been too fun so far. I try again tommorow at the mall as I've applied at about 4 different places thus far.

As for gaming, I started Diablo 2 but finished it in about a month or so. I know why I quit it in the first place. It doesn't take very long to start. Once you have a cheap MF Sorc you can get NM Meph killed in just a few minutes (using maphack of course) and this is basically your starting point. Then you level up again in the Baal runs and start MFing Hell Meph. Seeing as he can drop almost anything in the game when it comes to usefulness (Shako and Stormshield, I'm looking at you), he is a prime choice.

Then comes the botting. D2JSP is of course, still around. It is "detectable" in the sense that Blizzard can detect you're using it, but won't ban you. Using the bot to MF Meph, Pindle, and Andariel primarily you can find almost anything in the game. At this point, you can afford to make fun PvP characters or what have you. Due to 1.10+ changing the game around, syngeries made the Hammerdin a viable build again. So viable, in fact, that he is the strongest rushing character in the game. 3k+ hp, 75 block and teleport makes him everything the Sorc is and more. However, he is more of a killing character, whereas a Sorc would be going for huge MF (500+ easily) while still retaining some killing power.

Anyhow, as I stated I actually quit the game. However, I still run 2 bots (Sorc and Hammerdin) regularly just for fun. My new vice? WoW. Yes I started WoW again. I played from about Dec 05->mid-Jan 06. Quit because having no friends in the game makes it rather pointless. I started again, this time on a server with Devon as an Orc Hunter. It's rather fun as I've gotten to 24 in 4 days (1 day, 14 hours played). Hopefully I can make 60 in a month or two.

Life Lessons

Throughout life we learn many things. Some of these things are taught in places of institution, but the vital skills that humans learn are learnt over the course of life.

Independence is something we do not learn until later in life. Independence usually comes for most around the age of 18, but it can happen earlier or later, depending on circumstances. Independence is the ability to utilise what skills and knowledge you have learnt and use them in life. Independence also goes hand-in-hand with confidence. In nature, without independence death will ensue once the supporter inevitably dies.

Mistakes are something many think they could do without. This is clearly not the truth. Many of us haven’t made that big of mistakes yet, but we are still young, and clearly mistakes can be made. Mistakes aren’t bad, they are lessons. However, making the same mistakes repeatedly is probably a sign of something wrong, because even a dog can learn from mistakes. Cats are another story.

The most important thing in life is to do something you like. Nobody wants to be forced to attend a prestigious university to learn how to do something they hate. A man I know went to law school for years before deciding it wasn’t what he wanted. He decided to go an entirely different route and became a certified prosthetician and orthotist. He loves his new job, although it took him a few years longer than it would have if he knew what he wanted right away. But then again, who does?

These are some of the things I have learnt in life. They have helped me in life and will continue to do so.

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Email Professionalism: Basic Rules

Email can be an extremely useful tool for communications when done properly. Email, like any other form of writing, has rules that are designed to keep up a certain level of professionalism. Listed throughout are some guidelines to follow.

The main problem with emails is that they’re extremely fast, and therefore, tend to be extremely informal. Most think of emails as passing notes in the classroom. While this may be fine for friends, it is grossly inappropriate in a professional setting where you are representing a business and dealing with customers.

In writing an email, it should be done professionally in all aspects. Writing is for your reader. You write to give them something, and when your writing is poor it reflects poorly on yourself. Remember to use a proper tone and formality throughout your emails, whether it’s the first email or the 8th in a series of replies.

Just because emails are fast doesn’t mean that the normal rules of grammar and spelling can be overlooked. Spell-check your work and re-read it multiple times to ensure that it is coherent, professional, and uses the right tone. Incoherent emails from a professional business are not what you want.

Salutations and closing should always appear in an email in a professional manner. Keep it professional and make sure your email signature is in an eligible font.

Keep emails short. We aren’t writing a novel and the person receiving these doesn’t have a day to read it. Short paragraphs get read. You are using paragraphs aren’t you?

Humour and sarcasm are not good in professional emails. In today’s world of sue now ask questions later, it is always best to avoid offending your readers.

Proper punctuation should be used in emails. DO NOT YELL AT YOUR READERS!!!!!!!!!!!! And question marks should be used to ask questions, not periods.

Lastly, make sure that the font you choose is appropriate. Use a black, size 12 Times New Roman/Verdana/Tahoma font that is clear, simple to read, and black. Nobody wants to translate wingdings.

Email is one of the most used types of communication today for a business. Keeping a certain level of professionalism is extremely important and knowing how to write a proper email is a part of that.
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Key Problem Email

To: Global Message
From: OC Security Services
Date: February 8, 2006
Subject: Key Problems

There is a problem with keys not being issued correctly. This e-mails details on how we plan to deal with it.

The current key tracking system is out of date due to recent OC renovations. Campus development has decided the solution will be to update the system of record keeping for tracking keys. The college will be developing a new system that can handle changes better.

We are working hard to make sure all issues are resolved in a timely manner and will inform you of any future developments.

Sincerely,

Arch Doody

Firing Letter

January 24, 2006

Dr. Timothy Jacobs
Department of Communication
Okanagan College
1000 KLO RD
Kelowna BC V1Y 4X8

Dear Dr. Jacobs:

We are very glad that you’ve been an excellent and dedicated instructor with Okanagan College for so many years. With you, we’ve managed to come a long ways. Your determined efforts to expand minds in writing and formal communications are well noted.


As you know, due to the recent election of a new government, the provincial education budget has been slashed by 40%. This is regrettable and out of our control. We are also having problems will low levels in enrollment at the college.


Due to financial pressures bearing on all departments we are forced to lay off many members of the staff. We are sorry to inform you that you have been included among the hundreds of educators and professors having to be let go of.

We thank you for your years of excellent partnership with Okanagan College and wish you luck in your future endeavours. If at any time the situation were to improve we will inform you immediately and invite you back.


Best wishes,



Dr. Robert Huxtably
Dean of Arts

Hope For Future Lawyers

Alberto Gonzales spoke before law students at Georgetown today, justifying illegal, unauthorized surveilance of US citizens, but during the course of his speech the students in class did something pretty ballsy and brave. They got up from their seats and turned their backs to him.

To make matters worse for Gonzales, additional students came into the room, wearing black cowls and carrying a simple banner, written on a sheet.



Fortunately for him, it was a brief speech... followed by a panel discussion that basically ripped his argument a new asshole.

And, as one of the people on the panel said,

"When you're a law student, they tell you if say that if you can't argue the law, argue the facts. They also tell you if you can't argue the facts, argue the law. If you can't argue either, apparently, the solution is to go on a public relations offensive and make it a political issue... to say over and over again "it's lawful", and to think that the American people will somehow come to believe this if we say it often enough.

In light of this, I'm proud of the very civil civil disobedience that was shown here today." - David Cole, Georgetown University Law Professor

Too bad that this act of civil disobedience will do nothing. I didn’t even notice it on any news networks other than CNN online. Not sure if it aired on CBC or Global either.

The irony is in the fact that George W. Bush ran on a platform of “restoring ethics and dignity”. Instead, we got wiretapping, which may or may not be legal, may or may not be constitutional, but which was denied to have been done, and then, when it was shown to be happening, the response was, "Hey, Clinton did it."

Where is the ethics and dignity in that?

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Of Modern Man

Man has been defined in various ways. He has been called a social animal. But a simple description could be that man is a complex of physical and emotional needs.

All living animals have needs such as shelter, food, water, sex, and protection from th environment. When man existed at a primitive level all of his needs were very easily fulfilled. Primitive man would appear to have been a much happier and more contented person than modern man, perhaps for the very simple reason that there was no confusion in his appraisal of his needs, and therefore his approach to their satisfaction could be direct and immediate. Certainly primitive man did not have all the traumas, stresses, and psychological illnesses that appear to accompany human life throughout the span of its existence today.

How has it come about that primitive man could be happy in such adverse environmental conditions, while facing extreme conditions of life where every moment of survival was a victory over his environment and his foes, whereas modern man, with all the conveniences of life, a life which has been made so easy to live that very often the minimum of physical activity is all that is needed, and where almost everything that he needs is at hand, or can be easily acquired without much personal effort or danger is it that in such an existence we find man unable to live in peace either with himself or with his surroundings.

Probably the reason is that in the past, modern men have required something to define their lives. Normally this would be their job.

"Our generation has had no Great Depression, no Great War. Our war is spiritual. Our depression is our lives."

In the past, men have been able to define their lives easily. They were the warrior. The hunter-gatherer. They went to war, their fathers went to war, and their sons will go to war. The reasons for going to war in the past were obvious. It was to protect your way of life.

Modern man is making a regression into an animal. There is no place in society as nature dictates for a man that cooks, cleans, and watches the children. They are bred around the premise of the hunter-gatherer instinct and that is where they will thrive.

"How can I get married? I'm a 30-year-old boy."

Not only this, but we are a generation of men familiar with the idea that our father left us and our father never went to college. Our fathers were failures. How can we define ourselves with nothing to model in a world where nothing is how the male psyche would allow it. We are not able to grow in a traditional sense because of this.

"We are a generation of men raised by women."

We are a generation of men raised by women. A generation of men defined by our job, and a generation of men in which our life is our great depression.


Note: I drew most of my quotes from Fight Club, a movie that helps illustrate my point and from which I drew my inspiration.

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A Race That Doesn't Evolve

From the beginning of time, it has been legal and ethical to kill your enemies, including civilians, during the duration of a war. Other than simply being killed, many were tortured, raped, brutalized, and made slaves. In today’s society, it is being questioned if killing civilians during a war is morally just, especially when the war is purportedly for liberating them from a totalitarian government.

Statistically speaking, the problem seems to be getting worse in times when it should be the opposite. Logically, human beings should become more compassionate as we mature and evolve, whereas the opposite is the truth. Using statistics from wars in modern times it can be see that civilian body counts for WW1 were about 5%, WW2 50%, rising steadily until the recent Iraq War in which over 95% of all casualties can be calculated to be civilians.

War was never intended to be just and peaceful and modern media has sheltered us into thinking it isn't so bad. Civilians will be lost to war, especially in an age where nuclear missiles and atomic bombs pose a common threat.

After the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) the idea was brought up that war should be between a state’s armed forces, and not including the civilians residing in the state. This idea, again brought up again in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 resulted in it being illegal to kill civilians or punish whole populations. This is very significant when it comes to today’s issues. As a result of the illegitimacy of killing civilians, terrorists, in the Middle East and all around the world, hide among neighborhoods of civilians- where it is impossible for the armed forces to invade, by law. In combination with this, even though a community may not be involved in war attacks, they may or may not be supporting it; supplying such things as munitions, food or shelter. In these cases, is it not just to kill civilians? Civilians who give aid to those who would wreak havoc upon our lives and society?

Another issue in wars today is the forced conscription of men, women, and children. All usually end up being brutally raped by the enemy. Children as young as 10 and even younger, quite often end up being forced into warfare. In a world where an AK-47 can be purchased for the price of a chicken and put into the hands of a child, or a child can be forcibly married off to a soldier at the age of 10, we have to ask ourselves, "Why are we not stopping this from happening?"


In wartime, whole populations suffer famine, or disease, and a poverty that will affect the nation for decades to come. Psychological damage can last for the remainder of lives. 110 million mines litter the earth- waiting for an unfortunate soul to stumble upon them. Up to 30 percent of landmine victims are under the age of 15. “Ethnic Cleansing” and racial supremacy isn’t that uncommon in our society.

As stated, there is a much bigger issue here. Civilians die at war not because of nuclear missiles, or even indecisive governments. Civilians die at war, because there is war in the first place. The killing of innocent people during times of war is inevitable.

I don’t support the killing of civilians, but I accept it as part of war. The issue that today’s governments must look into is the basic values we teach our children every day. To use words, not our fists. To mind our differences and to understand the reason behind actions in order to solve problems. The ideal world is one which in everyone acts peacefully and resolves their issues with each other verbally, rather than resorting to violence. The desired outcome is more easily achieved than the human perceives; it simply takes patience, cooperation, understanding, and the collective group’s wish for peace.

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Alpine In The Okanagan

The Okanagan is famous for a number of things, be it the wine, the warmth, the shopping, or the lake, it has everything anybody could want. Luckily, the winter is not a boring time at all in the Okanagan with the plentiful, prime alpine hills around the valley.

First and foremost is obviously Big White, about an hour out from the local Kelowna area and recently voted the number 7 ski resort in the world. Why is this place such a great choice?

First off, it gets about 24 feet of powder per season and the average daytime temperature is a comfortable -3 Celsius, cold enough for the snow, and warm enough for you. It's Canada's largest ski-in/out resort with hotels, townhouses, condominiums, log cabins, budget units and hostels that make up over 15,000 on-mountain beds.

Big White is also made to be as affordable as possible. Booking an accommodation will qualify you for discounts on lift tickets, rentals, and lessons. Season passes are also cheaper in advance of the skiing season.

Variety is also one of the reasons for this resort. They have 118 patrolled runs, groomed runs nightly and green runs accessed from every lift. The mountain has runs suited for skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels, from the beginner hills to the expert double black diamonds, there is sure to be a run to suit your needs.

If you haven't, be sure to check this amazing resort out. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. The season tends to run from November to April depending on conditions and the hill itself is simply amazing.

Big White is under the same ownership as the nearby Silver Star hill and packages for both can be purchased. Other things to consider would be the rapid, continual expansion plans for Big White in developing itself it's own community including a school, making it clear that investment opportunities may be found here as well.

I hope you found this informative if you did not know it already. I recently took up snowboarding after not having been to a ski hill in 6 years. Obviously it was fun since I'll be going Friday again :) I used some information from the Big White website for statistical information and helping myself along if that was okay.

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I Hate Being Sick

My life comprises (sadly?) of only a few things. School, work, girlfriend, sleep, computer, and possibly a new venture into snowboarding. This blog will follow the highlights of my escapades at school, in which I attend Okanagan College. The blog is for my PCom class.

I woke at about 10:30 due to having an intense sinus headache, normal headache, stuffy nose, etc, standard cold symptoms. Then after my normal ritual of eating a little, washing up, dressing, and poking around CNN/Castanet/AlJazeera/SA I headed off to my first class.

My Systems Analysis and Design course is rather boring at the moment. It seems we will be learning DB stuff, such as the usage of SQL.

Networking follows shortly afterwards (a mere 10 minutes after, in the same room), and is definitely an improvement since it seems to pique my interest. I am rather interested in good networking and how to create it, but a little of the pre-actually doing stuff portion of the course is rather mundane (repeating what operating systems use TCP/IP). It would also be nice in the future to get my own home network working properly which will probably involve buying a router that isn't awful. It's nice to be able to (hopefully) apply things learnt at school to real world applications at the moment, even though I laugh at the fact that Windows XP will network everything for you in a few mere mouseclicks.

I had a 2 hour break, handed in my Math homework from the class I missed this morning by sleeping in (sick), and went to see some friends before I headed off to my PCom class.

PCom is a class in which 50% of our mark is a Resume/Cover Letter and blog. Sadly enough, I already have an ok resume (which I am ok with but wouldn't mind another opinion on what could be improved on it), and I already write a blog on another website (Xanga) but it's more of a personal rant than professional(-ish) blog like this one. The class seems to focus more on the basics of writing (clarity, keeping readers enticed, etc) which is not really what I need to be working on. I quite like writing but I don't have the time for it or the imagination to do such things.

I then went to my SA+D lab which involved learning the basics of SQL*Plus. It lasted about 30 minutes including the 10 minutes that it took to get SQL working and messing around on the SA forums (http://forums.somethingawful.com). It seems to be a simple DB program but I've heard it has much, much greater usages than what we've just used it for. However, I don't know anything about the program and I hope that by the end of the semester I will have a decent idea.

This blog might be okay after all. Hopefully this semester is better and more interesting/fun than the last.

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