Hello Goblin Pathfinder, my name is Mophia!

Website/New Blog

2009-02-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I have already gotten the new blog linked up with my website. While doing so, I did see what looks like new options to export/import from blogs, so I will look into pulling all my history into the new one.

But, as of now, my new blog is over at www.crazyivanstudios.com/blog/, so check out my new site, as I keep adding to it. :)

Blog Move

2009-02-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

I will be setting up a new blog (I know, it will be my 3rd move), and it will be tied to my website at http://www.crazyivanstudios.com/. This new blog will actually be somewhat publicized as I'm actually giving out my website address to friends and family, so there will be more than just a random reader once in a great while. I'll post again when I do the update.

50

2009-01-01T23:06:00.000-08:00

It only took 4.5 years... Level 50 Warrior!

In celebration, this is a picture after Riykere ate me.

Long Time

2008-12-13T08:32:00.001-08:00

Although I am making this post from school, the router issue has been fixed. I've just been a bit busy, and I had gotten out of the habit of posting (if I could ever have been said to be IN that habit).

I started a new job the first week of November, doing support for people using a complicated website-based contract management and quoting tool. I was pulled immediately after the classroom training to go to a more specialized team on the same project, so it's been a lot of learning.

Last quarter I had:
Audio Visual Techniques (A)
Instructional Design (A)
Written Analysis (C)

AV Tech took a big chunk of time, but... I made a movie. I have not uploaded it to youtube yet, but I will do so sooner or later (probably on Christmas break).

This quarter I have:
Managing Game Development (which is more or less Flash 101)
Web Scripting and Authoring I (html, css and dreamweaver)
Ethics

I have also come back to FFXI as I am doing better monetarily to where I can pay some money for something even if there will be times I won't have time to play at all. I've still got the DarkAssassins pearl and Riykere is still on a lot. Shinjo joined the Army apparently.

I am still living in WI, where I have lived all of my life. We've been getting hit with Blizzaga IIIs pretty consistently already this year.

Besides that I am working on making a game with a team of fellow students/friends. When I can share more about that, I will.

The Brewers made the playoffs this year, if I didn't mention that before.

Well... Hello!

2008-10-07T17:34:00.001-07:00

The new router that my sister got blocks most blogs for some strange reason, therefore I have been posting even less than normal. I've also been busy. Tonight I am just posting a hello from my parent's house, and how you doin' to whomever may be looking.

Project

2008-08-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am about to embark on my second 'crunch' time. I've got to get an animation project done for Animation I (the final project that is half the grade in the class). I've spent several hours on it already, but am not near as far along as I'd like... I have about 10 days to finish it. I'll be putting in some long evenings while working my 45+ hours a week. (I'm really not complaining... much).

Here's my schedule:

This Week
Tue: 4 hours in the evening.
Wed: Church/Work on homework for other class (Research Methods, I'm getting clawed up to hopefully C+/B level after being quite behind the whole quarter).
Thu: The actual class, 4 hours.
Fri: I think I can do 4 hours on friday, I have to check for sure to make sure I'm not forgetting something.
Sat: Softball tournament in the AM, I don't expect to play more than 3 games, and probably only 2. Then will spend some time with my 'Little Brother'. Since I think the school will be closed by then, I will work on finishing up Research Methods a week early.
Sun: If research methods is done, then I basically have this day off, unless I find out the school is open. I think I remember my instructor saying he would be there on sunday so I might be able to put some time in.

Next Week
Mon: 4 hours
Tue: 4 hours
Wed: Off (Church)
Thu: will be taking the day off of work. I'll sleep in a little bit, get up at 8, get up to school between 9 and 10, and will have until 6 pm to put finishing touches on it...

Basically, although I really didn't need to post this schedule online, I needed to put it on 'paper' to see if I could get the time in that I need to fulfill the project. With about 10 hours in so far, that schedule puts me at about 40 hours. To be totally frank, that won't be enough to do the job that I want to do on it. I guess I should've started on it early instead of on time... I'll have to check on the saturday and sunday possibliities, because if I can get 50 hours in on it, I'd start feeling more comfortable.

My Life - Update

2008-07-07T19:44:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a long long time (3 months almost) since I posted anything here, so I figure I better give a little update. Just in case anyone is checking in.

Still going to school. Didn't get 4.0 last quarter again, cuz I slacked too much in Economics. But, I'm regrouping and hoping to come back strong this quarter. Only taking 2 classes, Animation I, and Research Methods. Starting next quarter, I'll be switching into the 2 year Multimedia program, so I can get that associates on my way to my bachelors. I'm hoping the 2 year degree will help me get a job that pays more than $9/hr by mid next year, so I can have all my credit card debt gone before I get out of school and have to start paying back school loans. Egads, this is a do or die kind of situation for me. If I don't get a pretty decent paying job out of school, it's going to be a long long road... But, can't think about that right now. Just gotta focus and take care of the business at hand and have faith that the rest of it will work out alright.

I'm playing softball again this year. Our church has two teams this year, and since I wasn't able to make the first game or two this year, and I noticed that Team 2 somehow got 'loaded' with all of the kids, etc. I asked to play for them to help the team out. Although we still haven't won a game, and have only had one even close (against our Team 1 associates), I like to think I've helped keep everyone positive (as well as providing a solid offensive and defensive player to go with all the kids we have). Don't get me wrong, the kids are going to be good, but when you have over half your players having only played one or two years, as well as being half the age of a bunch of grown men on most of the other teams, it's a bit hard to compete. But, I predict more close games by the end of the year, and since we have at least 8 games left including the tournament, I feel farily confident that we will win a game before the end of the year as well. If not, I still hope we can keep the team together, cuz with one more year under our belts, we should start being pretty good I think.

As for church, I've started playing drums again. I played twice last month, and both times went alright. This month, I get to look forward to playing with the nemesis of the Music Department... The Pastor's Wife's Mother. I'm not one to complain too much about people, but she is just not a good fit on keyboard for our church. She's not too good a fit on organ either, but, at least there, if she's not fitting in, it can be covered up more by the sound department (which I am also a member of). The lady, god bless her soul, just refuses to blend in with the rest of our very talented musicians (no, I'm not talking about myself), and it's been causing more and more dissension in the department. Hopefully things get taken into hand pretty soon. Other than that, wish me luck in a couple weeks, when I get to face the trial by fire...

Also, on a musical note, I've started to jam with a co-worker who is a guitar player, and he's darned good. We've jammed... don't remember if it's 3 or 4 times now in the past 2-3 months. It's been fun, and it's helped get me back in the 'swing' (bad pun), of things, as I really haven't been drumming regularly at all since I stopped playing drums for the spanish church a year and a half ago or so after helping them out for about 5 years.

Well, I guess that's about all the news I have for the time being. I'll 'try' to be a bit more regular with my posting once again.

~Mophia

Quiz - Birthdate

2008-04-02T12:43:00.001-07:00

Your Birthdate: September 23

You're not good at any one thing, and that's the problem.

You're good at so much - you never know what to do.

Change is in your blood, and you don't stick to much for long.

You are destined for a life of travel and fun.

Your strength: Your likeability

Your weakness: You never feel satisfied

Your power color: Bright yellow

Your power symbol: Asterisk

Your power month: May

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I'm constantly surprised by some of the accuracies of some of these quizzes. But, hey, if you say enough generic things about people you're bound to get several of them right, eh?

First Place Video

2008-03-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

I got first place in the Animated Short category of the Midwest Regional Game Design Contest and Fair hosted at my school with this video. I won a keyboard! A gaming keyboard actually, so it has extra buttons and everything is customizable. Nice... Reeaal nice. I'll even open it up sometime and see if I can make it work through my KVM switch, hehe.

A Couple New Model Pics

2008-03-03T17:57:00.001-08:00

Two Weeks

2008-02-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

Seventeen days ago: My pastor went into the hospital with pneumonia. That was a bad sign... Nine years ago, he nearly died because of pneumonia and ended up with a lung condition from that. He had had ups and downs with that situation since then.

Within the next day, the doctors had to put him on a ventilator. Because of how he had been struggling with his everyday life, he said that he would not stay on the ventilator longer than a week.

Nine days ago, my pastor died. Thankfully he doesn't have to struggle just to breath anymore. However, he has left behind his wife and two young girls. Any prayers or even positive thoughts anyone cares to send their way would be much appreciated.

Church Website for more information, link for donation to help family with medical costs from the past nine years.

Another Short Video and Picture(s)

2008-02-02T07:31:00.000-08:00

Finally got my fighter model complete. Just have to skin the darn thing now... I better go find a couple photoshop for dummies books I guess! Pictures follow:

Mars pics

2008-01-25T19:13:00.000-08:00

Which one is real?

2008-01-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Link

Link to a thread that I have more screenies on. (Didn't feel like uploading the 5 pics a second time)

Really Short Videos From Modeling Class

2008-01-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

3D Modeling Class

2007-12-16T17:39:00.001-08:00

3D modeling is a very in depth subject. We're using 3DS Max, which is made by Autodesk, and you can do incredible things with it. It seems like it's all going over my head, but I'm plugging away, and I've done a couple of cool things so far. Here's one:

Make sure your domains are private!

2007-11-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

http://joystickrequired.com/forums/f3/drama-2951.html#post28987

Later on in the thread, he goes on to say that he found that his domain was not private, meaning his contact information could be gotten by looking at the registration information somehow. So, those of you who own any domains, make sure you have private ones! (Or at least don't have personal contact information attached.)

Time Flies

2007-11-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

One nice thing about quarter systems is how fast they go by... Of course, that leads to some feelings of non-stop on the go action type things, but so far it's helping me keep my focus more than it's creating stress.

I managed to "squeak" out A's again this quarter, so I have my 4.0 still rocking through 20 credits. 99.7 or so in Math II, and somewhere around 95-97 I believe in Intro to Programming.

Next quarter will be a challenge, as I have my nemesis, Comp II (I have psychological issues with that class, I think I'll Call it Flower Arrangement 102 from now on). However, I'm taking it online, and I'm on a mission! I've also been improving each quarter so far on my procrastinating habits (at least in regards to school, my room/desk/etc. is still very disorganized and I haven't written on I:NJAC at all), so I have high hopes for this go round. I'm also excited about two classes, 3D Modeling and Rapid Visualization (which is a drawing class), though, like I felt with programming at the beginning of the quarter, I'm not quite sure what to expect. I'm kind of mentally preparing myself for the possibility of losing the straight 4.0, however, keeping that 4.0 is definitely the target.

I will be cutting back on the second job after the holidays, and there is a two week break right up around christmas and through the new year, so that will help me rest up and hopefully get a lil ahead on some of my work. (Run on sentence night tonight). This week and next week are a bit of a vacation as well, since I finished my finals asap. Working only 40 hours this week makes it easy in spite of having to work 'Black Friday' at the local mall at my retail job. Of course that's compared to working 70 last week, and averaging about 55/week since I started my FT job.

Well, I've pretty much said all that to say this. Everything's going pretty well, which I'm thankful for. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

FF7: Advent Children

2007-11-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a movie I must recommend. It may be 100% CGI, but, like it's predecessor, Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within, it is visually stunning to the point that you really don't think about it. The action is incredible and fast paced. The plot is full of classic Final Fantasy twists, turns, and intriguing tidbits. And, like all FFs, the music is stellar. I can't think of anything else a person could want from a movie. Watch it. It's better than Harry Potter.

What Kind of Monster?

2007-10-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

You Are an Alien

You're so strange, people occasionally wonder if you're from another world.You don't try to be different, but you see most things from a very unique, very offbeat perspective.Brilliant to the point of genius, you definitely have some advanced intelligence going on.No matter what circles you travel in, you always feel like a stranger. And it's a feeling you've learned to like.
Your greatest power: Your superhuman brain
Your greatest weakness: Your lack of empathy - you just don't get humans
You play well with: Zombies

What Kind of Monster Are You?

Half Done

2007-10-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, one nice thing about quarters... they go by really fast! Still holding my 4.0 so far, though the programming will start getting more complex now I'm pretty sure! So, wish me luck! Math II still going fine, although I finally got a point off... /sigh. Such is life. Also, worked 60 hours this week, so I'm glad that the midterm from programming turned out to be amazingly easy and we got done 2 hours earlier than normal!

I:NJAC Updated!

2007-10-09T18:11:00.001-07:00

Just like the title says, I finally posted another episode of I:NJAC over on joystickrequired.com. Speaking of that, check out Jumpgate: Evolution and get signed up for the beta! Methinks the newest up and coming rendition of Jumpgate will rock! They even said that they're making it easier to be a mouser for those who don't want to buy a JS. :)

I know, I don't post but once a month for a long time, then suddenly I post 3 in one day! Could it mean that I won't post again until after Christmas? Heaven forbid! XD

A Picture II

2007-10-09T18:05:00.001-07:00

I colored another picture after many moons. (Last one was colored about 2.5 years ago). This one got posted a lot sooner though. :) Hope ya like it! (BTW, it's for a little girls birthday, lest anyone get any ideas about my manliness, since I just colored a picture of a faerie).

One Third

2007-10-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

One third of the way through my third quarter. Intro to Programming and Math II are going well! 97% and 100%. I haven't written, done anything particularly interesting to post up here other than that I write out my math homework in prose (at least a lot of it), which my teacher finds entertaining. Thank goodness it's online so I don't have to do the ole "Problems 1-1085109, Odd" business.

I haven't been late to work yet, in spite of the horrific earliness in the morning of it. (6-2, *Shudders*). I've been working about 50 hours between the two jobs, which is good. I'm slowly making headway with my bills. :) Also, I am insured again for the first time in a long time, but, I'd still prefer to not break my leg or anything!

I read the novelization of that new movie that's coming out, Beowulf, which is obviously about the epic, Beowulf. I can't say I loved some of the 'interperetation' of it, but it looks like it would be a decent movie. Probably won't watch it though since it horribly ruins my image of Beowulf. ;) If the movie is anything like the novel of the movie, then I commend them on their portrayal of the culture of that time period. They did an excellent job of incorporating the conversion to Christianity that was just beginning at that point in time.

New News

2007-08-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

It's getting nigh the end (as in it's the last week) of the quarter. One class totally finished, Intro to PCs and locked down with a 100% (99.95 approximately). Now I need to buckle down and finish my paper for comp I tomorrow so that I have some time before sunday to edit it and get a minimum of an 85% on it. If I lock that down with an 85+, I think I'm guaranteed at least a 90%. Then Math I I'm currently shooting a 98%, which I should maintain with this weeks quiz/homework. The final is only 5% of the grade so that's pretty much a lock for an A as well. So, I just need to finish a paper in such a fashion that it doesn't totally suck and I should be through 20 credits with a 4.0!

Next Quarter I'm cutting back to 2 classes, Math II (Trigonometry), which I'll be taking online with my sister, as well as... Intro to Programming. That second one is kinda making me nervous, as I have not done any programming ever, unless you count some really basic html (which I don't). Well, it shouldn't be TOO hard I guess, so long as I make sure to keep up with everything. Then I'll get to help my sister when it's her turn to take it... yay...

Now, as for the reason that I'll be cutting back to 2 classes instead of 3... you may have guessed it already. I picked up a job. I will admit to not being SUPER gung ho about it, as it involves getting up at 5ish am, and assembly work on circuit boards. But, it is full time, which after the past year and especially the past 7 months, I REALLY need, even if it isn't the highest pay rate in the world. Combining it with still working a night or two a week at the retail store I work at, I should have a minimum of 45 hours every week which will go a long way towards getting me caught up, back on my feet and out of the mental hospital. Well, I guess I've always been crazy so it may not help that last one. ;)

Last week I read the last harry potter book, as well as the full Lord of the Rings 'trilogy' (it's not really a trilogy you know) all in about 4 days, instead of working on the paper like I should have been. Bad me!

I think that's all I've got for now, since I should really stop staying up late NOW so that I can hopefully get a new sleep pattern started before crunch time. (Kind of too late for starting that today I guess... Ooops)

Approximate Midpoint

2007-07-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm approximately 1/2 done with this quarter of school, so I figure I'll give a little progress report. In Intro to Computers, I've been doing good, but we're having a debate on AMD vs. Intel next week. Current grade 99%. I'm also doing well in Math I, with a 98%. With Comp I, I should be doing better than a 91%, but I had a big 'slacker week' last week, so I still have one more assignment to catch up on yet, and also to do this weeks stuff.

In other news, I'm nearly done with The Story of Britain From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History by Rebecca Fraser. Yes, I've been reading it for about a month and a half. It's quite interesting, but not the kind of book that I read 'straight through'. Not that I skip around in it or anything. I just set it down for a few days here, a couple there, and read/do something else. That's all I've got.

True Prosperity

2007-06-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

True Prosperity- the ability to liberally apply the fluid of life on grass without thinking about it.

I:NJAC Special

2007-06-20T12:21:00.001-07:00

Well, something I just did is work up a bit of an outline finally. First I outlined what's taken place so far, then I've outlined up through Chapter 8, though I'm not going to force myself to lock in 100% to the future lineups. Here's through Chapter 6, since I'm pretty sure I'll keep it right on through there:

Prologue - Introduction
Chapter 1 - A Combat Mission
The Mission
The Plan
Patrol
Scramble
Aftermath
Chapter 2 - Hide...
Meeting
Fight
Depression
Chapter 3 - ...and Seek
Where to?
Not Alone
The Lumpy Stew
Chapter 4 - On the Lam
Fight to the Elevator
Mystery Man
Escape
Chapter 5 - Invasions and Conversations
Call
Harmony
Invasion
Surrender
Rescue
Chapter 6 - The Undercover Cover Band
The Low Down
Get the Gear
Practice?

Well, I still have to come up with some poetry or something special like that for after Chapter 4. I've written through the second episode of Chapter 5. Look for more to come!

A Picture

2007-06-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is a picture I colored. It was originally drawn by Diane of Final Fantasy Vault. I think they still have her FFXI comics and art archived there. If not, it's quite a pity.

Restructuring

2007-06-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I've reorganized the computers and paraphenalia (sp?) yet again! I now have the PC back out in the living room, sharing Keyboard, Video and Mouse with the laptop via a KVM switch. I can now perform the eqivalent of alt-tabbing while playing FFXI. (If I were playing, I'll log in with my sisters chars more often). I also broke out my USB hub that I bought awhile back, but never hooked up, so now I've got the wireless network, my JS, a printer, a scanner and a cord for a digi cam all hooked up now. Also, I have an old VCR hooked up to the monitor, cuz it's a special LCD flatpanel screen, so it has 3 AV hookups and a monitor hookup slot. So, now I can watch my old fave videotape, This Week In Baseball's Greatest Plays. Joy!

Current and Recent Reading

2007-06-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a fair amount of reading with my spare time lately.

This is what I've chopped off:

I Was A Kamikaze
Ryuji Nagatsuka

The Threadbare Buzzard
Thomas M. Tomlinson

Currently Reading, interspersed with other stuff:

The Story of Britain: From the Romans to the Present Day
Rebecca Fraser

School To Begin Again, and More

2007-06-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

Monday I start my second semester in the Digital Entertainment and Game Design program of ITT Tech. I'll be taking Comp I, Math I, and Intro to PCs. Luckily, these classes shouldn't be a huge challenge as I am concurrently seeking a final (for a couple years at least I hope) end to my job problem, and will most likely be learning a new FT job working possibly 60 hours a week (one of the jobs I got a first interview with, waiting on a possible second).

I checked out the official Jules Verne, Around the World in 80 Days. As some may recall, I have a story/novel/book idea on the back burner that I'd like to do, Around the Galaxy in 80 Days. After reading the book (which I hadn't read in sever years), I've noticed how much more liberty the producers of the movie (TV movie I think) took than I first realized. Also, I think that I'd be able to write a sci-fi version that balances the spirit of the book and the movie in an acceptable fashion, though I think I'd try to bring it in closer to Jules' original feel a bit more so than the movie. First, I gotta get I:NJAC finished. Maybe if I push really hard I can finish it in a year. I have moderate hopes of finishing the next chapter by the end of the week before school starts back up again and I have supreme business to look forward too.

~Mophia Out

P.S. If I can get a FT Job that pays $10 or more, I'll be back in FFXI in a month. If not... it could be a loooooong time.

Latest Episode Availabe

2007-06-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Of Istanbul: Not Just a City. Click on the link on the right to read. :)

Dys Functions!

2007-05-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

You may or may not find this insightful.

Removing the ‘Dys’ From Function

By Philip Morey

The key to overcoming the Five Dysfunctions, whether in an online or a traditional business setting, is having the right people, especially the leadership. Here are some strategies that will help a leader succeed.

Absence of Trust is the biggest issue facing a team. If the team members don’t trust each other, it leads to a Lack of Communication, which then turns into the remaining three dysfunctions. The key to having trust between team members is to… have trustworthy, responsible team members in the first place. If you’re team is full of slothful liars, all the teambuilding exercises in the world will do nothing for you.

If you do have good team members, Lack of Communication may come down to technological difficulties in an online setting. However, with a good IT department, that should be of little concerned and it remains on the leader’s shoulders to foster good communication throughout the team. The leader does this by setting an example of open, honest communication to all the members. There should also be plenty of opportunities made for communication to take place, yet not call an over abundance of meetings or flooding the correspondence channels with ‘babble’, which impedes the progress of the actual work.

A good team leader heads off Fear of Conflict with good communication and impartial judgment of the results. The leader needs to be the front runner in paying attention to the status of the project. If the leader is paying attention to the results, the good communication ensures that the rest of the team can’t fall prey to Inattention to Results.

Following the above principles, the leader will be aware of any problems in the project and have the ability to follow through with the necessary means to keep on track. Firm, consistent follow through, as well as the leader showing personal accountability to the rest of the team, will keep the rest of the team from Avoidance of Accountability.

The thing to note through all of this, is that having the right people is really the most important factor. A good leader with bad, or just the wrong, people will be no better off than a good team with poor leadership. Sadly, most failed groups actually have bad leadership AND members. In that case you can pretty much throw all these ideas out the window and have a corporate merger.

Sigh

2007-05-18T11:36:00.001-07:00

I need to look for work still...

I need to get more than 20-25 hours a week out of 2 jobs...

I need to be able to pay my sister back... 4 months of rent she's covered so far without any of my part.

Gas is ridiculously expensive... it costs me somewhere between $16-18 to go back and forth to school once a week. $44 to fill up the tank from empty. And my car sucks. The brakes are in sorry shape, which caused me to have to really pull out some 1337 driving skills to avoid getting into an accident when a bad one happened a few cars ahead of me on my way to school last week.

But... I do have a CDL and work experience in another field... yet one more thing to put on my resume.

So... even though i'm rather depressed (considering i'm an optimist) the optimism is still there. Now to go get my homework done for my class tonight and to finish catching up in my online class that I fell a bit behind in over the last 2 weeks.

VisualDNA

2007-04-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

I saw this on MM:

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The Church of Baseball '07 I

2007-04-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

The Brewers made it through the first week 3-3. Ben Sheets had a complete game 2-hitter in the opener, but had a less than stellar game 5 days later. The offense scored as little as 1 run and as much as 9. They had games of perfect defense with amazing plays, as well as games with head scratching moves. All in all, a first week of the season type of week. So long as they keep up playing .500 baseball while they work out some of the kinks, they should stay in good position to make a run for the playoffs. I hope. In other news, the Cleveland Indians are borrowing Miller Park to play their home games in this week, due to the atrocious weather. I wish I could get down to one of them, because $10 for field level seats is a deal I'll probably never see again in my life. Pictured above is JJ Hardy, being congratulated by Prince Fielder on his home run on Wednesday.

I Passed

2007-04-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

I Passed the road test to become a school bus driver. Hide your children.

A Post

2007-03-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

My busy-ness factor has increased dramatically this week. I'm interested in doing lots of stuff, but, short of doing something like requesting a day off of work, there's no way I could say with any certainity that I'd be able to do something at a given time. That's with only working 5 hours last week too... I'm scheduled a lot of on-call shifts that I get used for just enough to not be able to plan anything during them. I've also started CDL B&C /P /S training this week, and was studying books and taking the written tests for an instruction permit last week. This is on top of starting school, 8 credits worth, just two weeks ago. I haven't even checked my chocobo since the weekend. Well, I got more long-winded than I intended, but, that's wassup. (Also had a couple music practices last week.)

-This is what I posted on the linkshell forum, saying what's goin on.

God Save the Trees

2007-03-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

The trees of the world are thankful for the online revolution. Sure, from 1995-2000, Canada doubled it’s paper production, and paper usage has been estimated to have increased by 40% since the popularization of e-mail[1], but just think of the amount of knowledge out there on the World Wide Web; tree-friendly information. A major advantage of online communication is the availability of knowledge without sacrificing our environment.

It’s impossible to say exactly how many web sites there are on the World Wide Web, due to it’s dynamic nature, but, according to Thomas Boutell’s calculations based on there being over 108 million individual websites counted by the Netcraft Web Server Survey in February, there are at least 19.2 billion individual web pages[2]. A ream of paper weighs about 6 lbs, so 19.2 billion pages is the equivalent of 115,200 tons of paper just to print off every site once. That’s a lot of information available without harming a single being of deciduous or coniferous ancestry.

Granted, the accuracy of a lot of the information on the web is suspect, but, having such a huge amount of information at my fingertips, with out defoliating our world is a strong advantage of online communication. Now we just have to get people to stop printing off all of their e-mails.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] The ePaper Revolution; Geographical; Aug2005, Vol. 77 Issue 8, p36-37, 2p, 1c Ebsco Host, Acedemic Search Elite, kwd: paper usage

[2] WWW FAQs: How Many Websites Are There?. Boutell.com, 2-15-2007 Thomas Boutell. http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/misc/sizeofweb.html

That pic

2007-03-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hmm

2007-03-16T21:48:00.002-07:00

I guess I need to stretch out the image a bit to cope with these modern resolutions. But, iirc I made this graphic all by myself way back in the mid 90s (well, except for the X-Wings.) Also, now my font colors seem to be messed up. Don't worry, i'll be going back to the look right before this in a little bit.

My Career Stats

2007-03-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

As we're gearing up for the baseball season, I thought it might be fun to post my 'career' softball stats :) Unfortunately, I didn't get 2004 into my database, and I played in a different type of softball league in '05, so the stats don't really compare. Anyways..., let's see if I get this coded alright:


G  AB  H  2b 3b HR BB SO AVG  OB%  SLG   OPS  Year
6  15  9  2  1  1  4  1 .600 .684 1.067 1.751 2002
10 35  23 4  1  1  1  1 .657 .667  .914 1.581 2003
18 60  39 11 3  1  1  0 .650 .656  .983 1.639 2006
34 110 71 17 5  3  6  2 .645 .664  .991 1.655 Career

I think I hit the jackpot with the pre tag :)

It really stinks that I can't find 2004, since that was probably my best year that I can recall. Had a batting average of almost .750 in ten games that I had stats for. Didn't have tournament stats, though. Oh well. :)

While I'm At It

2007-03-12T18:47:00.001-07:00

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

The Quiz Disease

2007-03-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits.Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle.Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it.You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

I'm continually shocked at how accurate some of these quizzes are. This one only had 5 questions too.

Whadda Ya Know?

2007-03-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Mike: So, what was last month's adventure?
Lady: *moment of silence* ... I got a tattoo.
Mike: Do we know where you got your tattoo?
Lady: Milwaukee.

Michael Feldman is hilarious. The Whadda Ya Know radio show is in it's 3rd week of Whadda Ya Idol, which is 100x better than that Fox production. If you don't get it from your public radio station, you should check it out online. I'll find the link and post it later. Gotta go get our pizza!

Some RL Stuff

2007-03-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

I feel positive vibes that I will be a 'Teller' within two weeks. Failing that, I'll end up being a 'School Bus Driver' in a slightly longer period of time.

There's a 95% chance that I'll be starting at ITT Tech in June, in the Digital Entertainment and Game Design program. Expensive and challenging. Well, going to school to be a audio engineer like I was thinking about doing a couple years ago would be rather expensive too, and a lot lower of job placement and starting salary rate with that kind of degree... The nice thing about the things I'd learn with this program is that, though gaming is the central focus of it, everything could apply to a very diverse set of jobs, from boring programming, to web development or graphic arts. Basically anything to do with computers. I could probably even get into some IT positions with a degree like that.

Now... I just need to get my FT job all set so I can start getting on pace to make more than 8k this year...

A link

2007-03-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

I have been remiss in posting this link. My apologies.

LINK

Interesting News

2007-03-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

The Swiss Army is on the move!

New Color Scheme, Again

2007-02-27T20:10:00.001-08:00

Does this color scheme look better?

Coming up!

2007-02-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

Now is the time of year that I start blogging about my 2nd religion... I know that of my fans, 0/3 are also baseball fans. Well... that's too bad. Over the course of the month of March, I'm going to attempt to do some profiles of some of the Milwaukee Brewers, from players, front office personnel, to the broadcasters even. I am going to attempt to do the profiles with as much of the 'RL' side of things as possible, to hopefully give you less than interested viewers an angle that may interest you.

Sweet Myth-tery of Life

2007-02-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

The title is a hint to one of the questions on the quiz.

About that quiz... I've been told that the quiz is dreadfully unfair and other such things. Well, too bad! :) However, one of the issues brought up is that I guess it wasn't obvious that some of the questions accept and/or require multiple answers. The one person who's taken it so far, got a score of 9/20, but then I gave them the quiz in FFXI over again, then knowing about the multiple answer thing, and this person improved to 12/20.

So, let this be a fair warning: Some of the questions require more than one answer and you must have all of the correct answers marked to be correct. These are the questions with the square boxes to check instead of the round ones.

Also, this quiz site does not reveal the correct answers. I'm sorry. I've you've taken the quiz and would like to go over the answers with me, join FFXI on the Unicorn server and look for Mophia. Okay... I guess that's not feasible for everyone. I also have yahoo IM over which i could go over the quiz with you. Also, you could take the quiz over and over again until you get it right... It doesn't take near as long as that other quiz site, cuz all the questions are on one page.

Another note: The questions seem to flow easiest in the beginning to hardest at the end.

Do You Know Mophia As Well As...

2007-02-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

As my many fans have clamored... I have delivered. I hope all 2 (or is it 3 now?) of you enjoy it. :)

http://www.quizilla.com/score/display.php?item_id=4385674

So much that I should do...

2007-02-17T13:03:00.000-08:00

A To Do List...

1. Clean Room - Perpetually at the top of the list.
2. Clean Rest of Apartment - Infinitely second.
3. Write More of I:NJAC - I do do this sporadically, but, really need to...
4. Type Up All That I Have Written - Writing is the hard part, I just need to be less lazy!
5. Get My Taxes Done - The sooner I do them, the sooner I get money! (I hope!)
6. Get Car's Brakes Fixed - New addition to the list, but need to get #5 done first.
7. Change Strings On Acoustic Guitar - Electric guitar all done, now this one.
8. Post More Often Here - Hmm... what's this? ^^
9. Start Posting On Crash-Riding And Make It Look Good - One of these days.
10. Post My Oodles Of FFXI Screenshots - Photobucket here I come!

TTF!

Life, the Universe, and Everything

2007-01-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

I read six Douglas Adams books this week. Give me a couple days to get my brain untwisted, but they're still great. :) I just need to learn how to fly one of these days. (The trick is to fall/throw yourself at the ground, then forget to hit it...)

Still looking for a FT job. 20 hours a week just doesn't cut it... /sigh Too bad it's not as easy to make money in RL as it is in FFXI...

Speaking of FFXI, I've opened a forum (well, made a spot in a forum that I opened then never used) for my 'main' Linkshell, Divinity. It's the MMEC board. If any of you want to say 'hey!' to any of my LS buddies or me there, feel free.

This week in FFXI has seen me get to level 17 Ninja, my 'Kazham keys' for Istanbultaye, and quite a bit of farming. My sister's new character is 20 now, with chocobo and subjob and she has Black Mage up to 11 as of last night.

Also, Alaydhien of Mischievious Muse fame, has put in a couple appearances online. yay!

I unloaded all of my screenshots (my space was used up), I'll be getting a photobucket account or something to put them all up on, so everyone can see :)

I should stop being lazy and get the next section of I:NJAC up sometime... and work on writing the next one.

I:NJAC Chapter 4, Part 1

2007-01-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

is now posted over at JSR. follow the I:NJAC link in the link column ^.^

I'm Sorry

2006-12-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

I have 2 whole sections sitting untyped and unposted of I:NJAC and no really good reason for them to not be typed other than laziness. Therefore, to all my fans (I think there might be one or two) I apologize and I'll get to work! Check the link over the next week. They'll both get typed and one posted this week. (I'll wait til next week to post to post the next one ~.^) (Unless I get fan-mail clamoring for quicker posts!)

Istanbul

Slowly Improving...

2006-12-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

Slowly getting better over the last couple days. I was able to work 4 hours wed, after calling in sick tuesday evening (the day I was finally able to get the drops). Then today i worked almost 10 hours between my two jobs. 8-3 (and 30 min break) and I got someone to close for me so I only worked 5-8 at the other one. The improvement should continue, so I'm hoping to make it through both of my shifts tomorrow w/ no problems. (10-3 and 5-10:30, 10.5 hours)

In FFXI news... I partied in Valkurm Dunes last night and got Thief up to level 18. Tonight I farmed, mined and got Dragoon up to level 10 all at the same time. My chocobo is 9 days old, and really cute. His name is JackBattle.

That's all I've got time for, since I need to go to bed.

Take care all...

Mophia

Sick...

2006-12-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

I had a nice case of swimmer's ear through christmas. Finally got to the doctor today and got eardrops. $27... *sigh* Two doses so far and some slight improvement.

Business

2006-12-22T14:24:00.000-08:00

Well, i've been quite busy, which is why I haven't said anything. I still need to type up and post a section of I:NJAC. Soon™! Really!

A lady who came into one of my workplaces gave her 13 year old son a Slingerland RadioKing™ snare drum w/ case and stand for christmas. *Jealousy*

My car is still alive!

I finished all my shopping a couple days ago, but need to wrap stuff.

Got all the christmas gear and stuff from the "Smilebringers" in FFXI. Also leveled in the Crawler's Nest today. Got war back to 36, and only 2500 from 37. Riykere attempted to kill the nin at the end, cuz he was a disgusting perv. Party disbanded shortly thereafter ;) Trying to get fame up high enough to get second mog safe expansion!

That's pretty much it. Take Care all, and Merry Christmas.

(Oh yes, and the power supply blew on my pc, so I can't play JG at all again.) :(

Happenings

2006-12-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

Well, Thanksgiving went nicely, saw the Mom and Dad and Sister. Though, I do see them rather often anyways since they live right here in town ~.^ But, saw my Grandma (dad's side) and a pair of aunts/uncles (dad's side) and a couple of cousins.

Since then, I've been working. Not as much as I would've liked this past week, but still keeping busy. ^^ I've slowed down a bit in my writing, sadly. But, I've been back playing Jumpgate again now since Thanksgiving actually. I'd have maybe written some tonight, but, the notebook/binder is in my car.

Speaking of my car, today the exhaust system fell off. I'd known it was bad for awhile, but didn't think it was gonna fall off! Good thing I was in town, and my parent's were in town, and my sister was in town, because, all the sound gear that our church took to our banquet today (well, all that needed to go back to the church) was in my car! So, my sister came and got the gear, and my dad came and pulled the pipes off (I helped), since it was actually dragging on the ground. So, I drove across 'the bridge' (441) going 40 mph with a small piece dragging underneath to get it to the shop. My parent's are going to help pay for it since I'm still in less than desirable financial status. I love them (even if they WEREN'T helping me w/ the repair).

In other news, I'm also back playing FFXI again. I got a party today with Mophia as a SAM/WAR, and got about 4k experience. Only got KO'd 3 times! So, I'm 1k tnl 26. Funny thing is, the last death was a Gob Smithy aggro, as we were standing there at camp, discussing things, such as how i was able to mistake my tnl by a thousand exp. Naturally the gobbie attacks the lowest lvl guy (me, a 25 partying w/ 27/28 how silly of me ~.^) so I take off running. Unfortunately I ran the wrong way (the jungle is kinda confusing you know ~.^). So, we decided to disband the party, since we were about done anyways, so I home pointed. Strangely, my home point was on Qufim Island, outside that tower (Delkfutt's?). I guess things like that happen when you go away for five months! But, on the plus side, on the way back to Jeuno, by the entrance to the tunnel, I managed to get a solo exp chain! An even match and a tough Land Worm! Course, I did 2 hr the second one, but that's still quite an accomplishment i think. ^^ ended up w/ over 500 exp out of that, just about making up what I lost on the last death, thanks to my empress band effect.

Well, I think that's a long enough blabber for the moment. So, nn and take care.

Mophia

My Work

2006-11-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

For those who may not know, I have employment at EddieBauer and Kirklands in our local mall. I don't actually post about work, whether previous or current, because even when you don't have anything bad to say about places, you can still get in a bit of trouble if they find out. ~.^ But, I can at least say I work at those places and will be working a lot for the next month and a half until Christmas. It should be a fun change of pace now after sitting at a desk 40 hours a week the past three months. Just three days left of that, then hopefully I'll get something permanent, or temp-hire lined up before 2007.

I've been doing a lot of writing the past two days on I:NJAC, 8 notebook pages worth (so about half that on the computer). So, I've got a lot of typing to catch up on! Take care, I'll let you know how next friday went after it happens ^.^

Istanbul: Not Just a City

2006-11-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

Greetings pilots and adventurers! I'm sure you'd all be pleased to know that I have been working... well, diligently probably isn't the right word ~.^ Anyways, I've been working on the JumpGate fan-fiction story I've been writing for over a year. (Over a year of writing and I'm just now approaching 20 pages... I guess I need to work on it more >.>)

By way of introduction, the story is called, Istanbul: Not Just a City. The title comes from my character in JumpGate, Istanbul. People have a tendency to remember a little song by The Might Be Giants when I log on. (Which isn't any time recently. Computer and financial restraints, but this post ain't about them ^.~) Needless to say, that's not where my login name comes from. I'm actually a drummer and like Istanbul cymbals.

Well, the point of this post is really to say that, I've got the next section of the story written, though it still needs to be typed, and that I'm well under way into the section after that. I hope to have that finished and typed as well by early next week. My plan going forward is to try to have two sections finished before I post one. I.E., I finish the section I'm working on, then post the section I have done. Then write another section and post the last one and so on. Then if I hit a dry spell and don't write for any length of time, I'll have a post ready to go to keep you, my adoring public begging for more. ^.^

Ok, time to go to bed now, take care all! (Oh yes, I've added a couple linkies over there on the side).

A Bit About Me

2006-10-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Philip. I share a 2 bedroom apartment with my sister in Wisconsin. I have two wonderful parents, who happen to be my mom and dad, and they live accross town about 10 minutes away.

As a matter of fact, today I was over at their house, workin on the ole yard. I mowed, raked, and mowed again, as well as moved a large amount of dirt. It was a wonderful fun time, running the lawnmower, with my mp3 player turned up to max. Such classic songs as "To Hell With the Devil" by Stryper made my day go by nicely.

Well, that's all I have time for today. I love you all, especially the deaf!

The Beginning of the Changes

2006-10-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

This new bloggie here is the beginning of the changes! I'm going to be working on stuff on my two blogs to get things looking good and post some stuff. Here is now the home to my random babblings. ^^

Mophia