So I signed up over at Diarist.Net to have my humble site listed in their Registry. Doing this goes against my personal beliefs. For one (and don’t tell anyone) I hate (like really hate) having my site being refereed to as a Journal, a Diary or a Blog. So it’s odd that I would have myself listed at this place. Of course in the end it is another hit or two.

And on that topic of hate. I also hate the places that pander to these people that find the need to run that kind of thing. Diaryland, Live Journal, and Blogger to name a few. These “hosts” deal the same bland and stereotypical look and feel to the internet like a guy who sells coke to a drug addict.

And I know a few people that use these services. So I know it’s not all bad what these places offer. But I wonder why they use these places? And I expect a reply to this because it’s something I’ve always wanted to know. How hard is it to setup and run your own website? It’s not that expensive, so that can’t be an issue. Find yourself a nice content management script (and not that fucking Movable Type) and get to it. Sure it’s not as easy as that. But at least try.

Because if I can do it anyone can. And I know my site is far from perfect. My html is crude and ugly. I don’t even properly use css. In fact I don’t even really know html (ok a little). But who needs to with such products like Microsoft Frontpage (not trying to pimp the evil empire, it’s the only one I know of)? So I say to you diarist’s, you journalist’s and you bloggist’s be creative and be original (or at least steal someone else’s hard work). Again if I can do it so can you.

I picked up a copy of Horizons: Empire of Istaria today. It’s a game I had the “pleasure” of beta testing. Not that the beta was as bad as Shadowbane or anything. Horizons does have a very cool trade skill system. But that is really it.

I install and patch. When the game loads it tells you your in que for authorization. I was 150 something in line. Finally the game loads. All I see is sky and fog, and a few buttons for character creation that don’t do anything when clicked on. I decide to go look at the support page over at the games site. These two paragraphs were in red:

3/10/04 Following today’s maintenance, players are reporting that when they login the only thing they see is the sky and fog. Our development team is aware of this issue and we are currently working on a resolution for this. Please do not open a case regarding this since it is an issue that we are already looking into.

3/10/04 (3PM PST) There is currently an issue with players logging into the website and into the game. We are aware of the current situation and we are limiting the number of players that can login at once, lessening the load on the web and game servers. If you are having difficultly logging in, please do not submit a support case. Instead please wait 15 minutes and then try logging in again.

So I’m supposed to wait? I can’t open a support case. I can’t do dick with this game I wasted 50 bucks on? But I did do something. I uninstalled the game and canceled my free 30 days for this piece of shit. It’s now my back drink coaster, just in case my Shadowbane disk fails in that job.

This is just another event that makes me really happy with Mythic and their game Dark Age of Camelot. Some of these game developers should quit before they have to inflict this shit on the people that play these games.

So in summary. If you see this game on the shelves in your local software retailer just walk away. It’s not worth the trouble. Play Camelot or even that god damned EQ if you have to.

There is a mandatory meeting I have to attend at work. It covers the new “handbook”, insurance, and whatever else is important that deems the meeting mandatory. Standard stuff really. It’s what I’ve heard already that makes me chuckle.

It’s the no games and no internet part of the handbook that I’ve heard about from others. Which is cool. I don’t mind that at all. There are no games anymore on the work pc I use. After they failed at removing the games themselves, I got rid of the rest of the games myself. I don’t need computer games to make it through the night at work.

I do need the use of the internet. Otherwise I’m just going to be twiddling my dick for seven hours. And that is the sad thing. What I do for my job takes me no longer than one hour. So what is it I’m supposed to do for the other seven? I don’t go to any sites one shouldn’t be viewing from work. In fact I haven’t had anything to say bad about this place for a long while.

And that’s because I’m happy with my job. I’m getting forty hours a week and that’s all I want. The only thing else I could ask for was vacation pay, and it seems that is coming back. So you won’t see anything bad written by me about my place of employment. I got no reason to say anything bad. Except for this no internet shit.

Well I missed the mandatory meeting. But I did get my hands on a copy of the “Company Handbook” and wanted to comment on one section in particular. That would be the “Use of Computers and Electronic Equipment” section of this handbook. It starts out reminding me that:

The Company prohibits employees from using the company’s equipment for personal use.

No shit sherlock. That’s a given. But it happens anyway. But it’s kinda like the fact I’m breathing “their” oxygen while I’m at work, which I’m sure is against Company policy as well. It then goes on to say:

Playing computer games at any time is prohibited… Employees will not bring discs, CDs, tapes, or any other electronic data storage device from outside into the workplace.

Boy they sure got all their bases covered. I like the last part about electronic data storage devices. That wording eliminates a lot of things. Next we have this bit that echo’s the opening:

Online (Internet and World Wide Web) access is limited to employees who have a business related need.

I got it the first time. This just hammers the topic home. I’ll know better the next time I want to use their computers and internet for my own personal use. Now we get to the stuff that’s supposed to make you really afraid:

…employees have no right to privacy and will not expect privacy. The Employer reserves the right to monitor the employee’s equipment at any time, with or without warning.

Someone hold me. No wait, this doesn’t frighten me. These inept people are going to monitor me? When they couldn’t even delete some games I had installed and hidden? But it goes on:

The Company reserves the right to inspect and monitor any incoming and outgoing correspondence received or sent by an employee to or from the Employer’s premises, or received or sent using Employer equipment, or that is received or sent via a messenger or service that is paid for or subsidized by the Employer. This right extends to all internal and external mail, messages, electronic correspondence, electronic bulletin board accounts, national electronic messaging service accounts and any other correspondence service that is paid for or subsidized by the Employer.

One word for you people: Encryption. I use PGP and I would like to see you genius’s crack their encryption protocol. In fact all of this is a very bad bluff. There isn’t a single one of them in management that would even begin to have even a glimmer of any idea what this above paragraph even means. Let alone actually having the know how to monitor someone on the work computers. So the next paragraph doesn’t even have to be quoted as this is just an attempt to scare us ignorant employee’s.

In fact this kind of thing really irks me. They can’t even track the websites one visits unless they request a log from the Parent Company that provides the isp we have. One just has to make sure that the history is deleted after using the browser. And if your really paranoid just use something like Ad-aware to find out if the computer is being monitored.

As long as this kind of mentality is in effect my workplace can also start looking else where when it comes to anything regarding computers and websites. Any hope of me helping on these kinds of things just disappeared.

And keep in mind I have yet to sign any written agreement to not discuss these kinds of things with anyone. So there isn’t much you can do about it. It is unfortunate that there has to be this level of distrust between an employee and employer. Trust is followed by respect. And as long as you lack the one, you won’t get the other.

If your superstitious watch out for today. Today is the Ides of March. I’m not one to worry about days like this but it doesn’t hurt to be paying attention. Maybe if old Julius had been he may have lasted a little bit longer.

I hate lawyers. I believe my man Bill said it best, “First thing we do, let?s kill all the lawyers.” I have to go get deposed for my Grandma dying during a surgery. Now I’m not really wanting to go at all. And when first told that I had to call the lawyer my mom and her sister hired I put it off for months. The lawyers finally said they would subpoena me if I didn’t come talk to them.

So I called them. I was given a number of dates that I had to go talk to them. At least that’s how I understood it. They sent me a video to watch to prepare me for my questioning. I didn’t even open up the package when I got it. I chucked it on the floor and let it sit. I finally opened it up now that the dates for me to go are here. In the package was a letter that said I was to see them on the 19th.

But now I’m told that the 19th is no longer good for the lawyers. My dad took all these calls as I have a (and don’t need or want) phone at home. So my dad arranged for me to on the 26th. The day before my birthday. I’m not excited about that. If the lawyers cancel on me again they will have to subpoena me.

The video is in the garbage by the way. Thanks to the dog I don’t have a working vcr. The piss soaked one I have won’t play the video and I’m not all that disappointed by that. I don’t need a video to prepare me for talking to weaselly lawyers. I have a good bullshit detector and won’t be easily swayed by their weaselly questions.

In a way I’m looking forward to my integration. I’m always looking forward to meeting new people and pissing them off. And if I don’t walk out of the lawyer office with them thinking it was a mistake to call me, I’ll be really disappointed.

The beta for World of Warcraft is live. People are playing the game and probably having a shit load of fun. Dirty rotten bastards, every single one of them! Now I’m not bitter or anything. I’m not mad I didn’t get in the beta. This is just the first phase of the beta. So I could get in it later.

But it’s a good thing I’m not in the beta. I would have (and eventually will) spent to much time playing the game. In fact I see myself becoming one of those people. You know the kind of people I’m talking about. The ones that do nothing but play the game. And I’m not saying that is a bad thing. I’m that way with Dark Age of Camelot, in controlled short bursts.

Life will go on. Staying on the subject of mmorpg’s, I do need to cancel my Horizons account before I’m billed. I wrote earlier that I had canceled already. I wrote that under the impression I could cancel via a web based form of some kind at the games site. But no that’s not how it works. You have to call them to cancel. Which makes me think they are glutton for punishment.

“Why are you canceling your account with us?” The Horizon support guy asks.

“Well frankly your game sucks and so do you.” I say to him. You hearing crying on the other end of the phone.

It just doesn’t seem the way to go. But then I’m not very knowledgeable about these kinds of customer related issues. Wait yes I am. And let me tell you I love getting people to tell me I fucking suck (happened just once). So maybe these Horizon support guys are all sadistic evil fucks who get off on it. Just seems that must be the case. Seeing how they are making it hard on their customers to cancel the game. What can you do?