Onesimos's Blog - 2old2play

New Job

Been a while since I've had time to sit down and blog a bit. Recently I started a new job in a processing and bottling facility. So far (3 weeks) it has been awesome. I'm loving work again. So far the coolest thing about my new job is the free product that we occasionaly get. Did I mention that we bottle booze? Mostly Hiram Walker Schnapps, Wild Turky whiskey, Seagram's Gin, and Kahlua.

Yesterday, they had an activity called Tasty Tuesday. The had a "sample" of Redbreast Irish Whiskey, just had to go to the QC lab. They pour about a shot worth for you to taste. It was pretty good for whiskey(I don't really care for whiskey myself) smooth without the burning sensation I usually get with whiskey. So far I've tried Kahlua Especial, Rootbeer schnapps, and Wild Turkey American Honey. The American Honey was pretty good, it is mostly just honey and bourbon. The honey left a sweet after taste which was pretty good.

Anyways, just thought I'd drop a line to those people I haven't been able to play with recently.

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Champs 3 years running

Recently, my volleyball team won the little community league we have. Not really due to any outstanding plays or players, but just because we sucked less than all the other teams. So far 3 years, and no losses in play. Winning always seems to make playing worth it.

As a side note, I will now have more time to play video games.

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A court decision that makes sense

In this day and age, most court decisions I see usually leave me scratching my head. This one makes me think that there may be hope for common sense left in our court system even the it wasn't a unanimous decision.

To summarize the courts decision: Hey stupid keep your eyes on the ice.

cbs.sportsline.com/nhl/story/10771685/cbsnews

[quote]

NEWARK, N.J. -- A divided New Jersey Supreme Court declined to break legal ice on Thursday, dismissing a lawsuit by a woman who was injured by a puck during warmups at a minor league hockey game in Trenton.

The 4-3 ruling by the state's highest court was a defeat for Denise M. Sciarrotta, who said she suffered permanent brain damage from an incident she maintains could have been prevented. She noted that warmups use dozens of pucks, compared to just one during a game.

The hockey team maintained it took appropriate safety measures, and that having different standards for warmups and games was impractical.

The majority agreed, finding that the team complied with state law, which requires screening in certain areas.

"Simply said, to demand separate and distinct duties of care in respect of the same peril in the same area based solely on the temporary goings-on on the field of play is impractical and not grounded in reason," Justice Roberto A. Rivera-Soto wrote the majority. He was joined by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and Justices Jaynee LaVecchia and Helen E. Hoens.

The dissent, written by Justice Virginia Long, said Sciarrotta was right that she should have been warned about the risks of flying pucks, and suggested a sign could have been posted.

"In essence, we recognize a duty where foreseeable events that pose a risk of harm require palliative action by those able to prevent the harm. Included within the scope of that duty is the obligation to warn of known or apparent dangers," wrote Long, joined by Justices Barry T. Albin and John E. Wallace Jr.

Sciarrotta's lawyer, Lara R. Lovett, said they were disappointed in the decision, which cannot be appealed.

Sciarrotta, of Lawrenceville, has memory problems but is able to work at times at the restaurant she owns with her husband, Lovett said.

A lawyer for the team, Scott D. Samansky, had no immediate comment.

The decision largely preserves the status of the law in New Jersey, where, as in many states, sports spectators take a chance when they enter an arena or stadium, said Joe Capobianco, a New York lawyer who is not involved in the New Jersey case.

No federal law governs spectator injuries due to action on the field, and states generally mandate that fans assume some risk when they go to a game, Capobianco said.

Sciarrotta had gone to the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton on Jan. 4, 2003, to watch her daughter, Ashley, and her school choir sing the national anthem before a game featuring the Trenton Titans, which are now called the Trenton Devils.

Sciarrotta, who was 38 at the time, was seated along the side of the rink, higher than the clear, plastic barrier that encircles the ice. The sides of hockey rinks are not protected by the netting that shields spectators behind the goals. The NHL and other leagues mandated the nets after an Ohio girl was killed by a puck in 2002.

During warmups, a puck ricocheted off a goal post and hit Sciarrotta's head. Blood poured from a gash above her left temple. More than five years later, Sciarrotta said she has a 2 1/2-inch scar and permanent brain damage.

"I never saw it coming toward me. I felt like I was shot in the head," she told the Associated Press last year.

Alleging negligence in allowing a dangerous condition and failing to provide proper safeguards, Sciarrotta sued the team, the East Coast Hockey League, and the arena. She and her lawyers don't know which player shot the puck.

Superior Court Judge Paul Innes in Mercer County dismissed the lawsuit, but it was revived in April 2007 by a three-judge appellate panel.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service[/quote]

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Motorcycles

As a certain clan member is looking to purchase a bike, I thought this was interesting.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/02/ap/strange/main3988165.shtml?source=RSS&attr=_3988165

[quote](AP) Mount Carmel police say a Kingsport man clocked driving a motorcycle 156 miles per hour may have been testing the town's new speed enforcement cameras. Authorities said 23-year-old Loda Eugene Ward Jr. has been charged with reckless driving.

Police say the cameras were not activated last week, but an officer on patrol clocked him at the high speed. Police did not pursue but an arrest warrant was issued and they detained Ward on Sunday.

Mount Carmel police said Monday they suspect Ward was testing the cameras because he had removed his license plate to avoid detection.

Police say the camera's maker has assured the department they will capture the image of a vehicle speeding up to 200 mph.
[/quote]

Wonder when someone in a supercar will try the "up to 200MPH" statement

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Frontlines: Fuel of War

A simplistic review.

I enjoy this game.

The slightly longer version.

Negatives:
Quite frankly, this game has some glaring issues at release(similar to the COD4).

Hit detection is severely hampered by any little hiccup of lag, although it hit detection (or lack thereof) is also present to some extent in the single player campaign. This is especially noticeable if you are sniping, some times I one shot the target like a pro, the next time they may not even realize that some is shooting at them until their friend in a chopper sees me and gives me a rocket bath.

There have also been some issues with joining Kaos's dedicated servers, even though the server shows a zero population. However, I've noticed that this has gotten better since the release, so it is not as prevalent. I'm not sure if this is due to more servers being brought online, or fewer people trying to join them.

Finally, lag. This game does not handle lag well, i.e. at all. This is mostly apparent when joining a regular player hosted game, and Lord help you if more than one person is unleashing with the AA Tanks.

Positives:
This game is serious fun, when my internet and the games server are properly aligned. Usually my iSPmanages to screw this up somehow.

Some people have complained about the squad chat component(myself included), but I have come to appreciate the fact that I don't have to listen to timmies, EVAR. I haven't noticed too many problems in bigger games when only 4 people are in each squad. I've been in games where the independent squads worked quite well, even without inter-squad chat.

The vehicles are obviously a major selling point of the game, and they are a blast. They range from jets(and the steep learning curve) to main battle tanks. My personal favorites are the Anti-Air tanks, flak cannons and homing missiles are fun for knocking little timmy and his friends out of the sky. Even when the sucker jumps out of his chopper, the flak will usually kill them before they have a chance to deploy their parachutes.

The roles loadout were a wild card to me when I first started. I have come to love them, while they lack the complete personalization of COD4's perks, it is easy to switch to different loads between lives. The goodies range the gamut from RC toys that go boom to EMP rockets that nerf vehicles for a time to air/gunship strikes to, my personal favorite, the sentry turret (the great lag equalizer for me). So far all of the loads have places where they are extremely useful, and places where they can be utterly uesless, providing a good chance to mix things up.

Overall

This game is a blast to play, though it lacks some of the social networking aspects that would give it real staying power, i.e. no lobbies between rounds or clan support. I would recommend this game as a rental for anyone that enjoyed the BF series. Also, the achievement points are pretty easy to grab, and the entire single player campaign only took 4~5 hrs on normal, though the multi player is where this game sometimes shines.

[2 Comments]

Book Review

Command Legacy: A Tactical Primer for Junior Leaders of Infantry Units
by Lt. Col. Raymond A Millen, U.S.A.

This review is coming from a civilian's viewpoint, though the book is marketed towards junior officers.

It basically boils down to a compilation of army field manuals seasoned with the author's experiences and historical references. If you're looking for war stories, this is not the book for you. Instead, it opened my eyes to all of the actual behind the scenes planning and preparation that must go into each mission. The author takes a very business-like (although I guess technically war is his business) approach discussing how to arrange troops for movement, attack, defense, and resupply.

Excerpt from the Preface:

I was prompted to write this book because there is no previous definitive source on small unit tactics. Existing manuals are too general, have too many doctrinal buzzwords, and are not applicable to company-level units. None addresses the details that infantrymen must consider and the tasks they must complete during any mission. Based on my own experiences in company command, I decided to write a book on tactics, techniques, and procedures that addressed the needs of junior leaders. This book represents my conclusions regarding tactical problems and missions and the link among tactical theory, doctrine, and practice. This is a single source reference for the purpose of priming junior leaders for tactical operations, instilling the concept of corporate effort, and inspiring thought. To be practical, any book on tactics must be specific, explaining in detail what needs to be done, why, when, and by whom. It must attempt to reconcile both what to think and how to think.

I believe this would be a good read for any soldier, but for a civilian, it might be a little tedious (I'm just a civilian, but I'm weird so it doesn't count).

I know, not much of a review, and I've got a stack of books I'm trying to get through at the moment, but those darn video games just keep getting in the way.

[2 Comments]

Ever met these guys?

Found the link in another forum I view. It's a list of the roughly 20 different people that you will encounter on a message board.

www.thephatphree.com/features.asp

I found it funny.

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Budgetting

Alright, so I'm currently trying to get some financial planning going in my life at the moment. I come across this website and it has all kinds of financial worksheets and calculators. Then I hit the one that converts take home pay to actual hourly wage, in a word, wow. Just found it interesting, and somewhat disappointing, but hey, life goes on.

crown.org/Tools/Calculators/Work_HourlyWage.asp

[1 Comments]

Some More Work

For those of you in the Amarillo area, a preview of the bar going into a new hotel.

This is before the interior decorator and owner get a hold of it so it's still subject to change. I thought this one turned out well, and thought I would share it.

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The reason for my previous blogs

The northerners have seen and laughed at my pics of snow, and rightly so(I guess). But 24 hrs after the picture out my back door, I now see this.

How about that for all you people with inches and feet of snow.

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The pic

And yes to those of you that live north of the Mason Dixon line, I know that it snows a lot in other places. I would imagine you might have a similar reaction if you were hitting 100 F with 90% humidity for a couple of days.

Work

Out my back door

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I think they call it snow.

It's officially snowing here, or as another gentleman here put it, "It's official, hell is freezing over"

Pic to follow once I reach the house.

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Happy B-Day

Happy Birthday Fairy

If you happen to see DragonsFairy83 online, be sure to wish her a Happy Birthday.

That is all.

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Kenya Mission Trip

I had a friend that was in Kenya when the proverbial shit hit the fan. He was in the country on a mission trip working with an orphanage, and thank God, he and his team made it out safely. In his sermon, he talks about some of the stuff that they experienced.

This link is blatantly Christian as it is a sermon given in a Christian church, and it's about 40 minutes long, but I found it interesting.

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Honor Killing?

Wow, I just don't think of things like this happening in the world, much less here in the states. The guy obviously had problems, and I'm not talking religious.

www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011008dnmetteenskilled.7ba7cc6.html

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