Psychotomy

So, during a meeting today, there was a huge long discussion that went on. About how this or that would be easier for group A if group B did X differently.

Now, in and of itself, it’s not that bad. Except that Group A keeps harping on it. And spent half an hour hammering at it today again. And it really boils down to the fact that Group B doesn’t have the resources to implement the scale of changes needed.

And so A kept going on and on and on about how this would allow such and such to happen that someone else wants. How this would solve a problem with catastrophic failover. Etc etc.

And what they didn’t seem to be understanding was that it doesn’t matter how good the RoI is if you can’t do it. I will gladly give you 10$ tomorrow for 5$ today. But if I don’t HAVE 5$, this 200% RoI doesn’t matter.

If B can’t put forth the investment, then the improvements and enhancements it allows simply don’t matter.

A then went on to suggest “well, do this workaround Y, if you don’t want to do X.” And Y is, really, since I understood everything involved, a poor-man’s version of X. It’s what people did when X wasn’t available. Or when X won’t work, now, for whatever reason. And it takes more effort to set it up, more space to house it, and more manpower to maintain. And it’s more complicated for less return.

Why A thought B had the opportunity to do Y when they couldn’t do the lesser X … But damn did they keep harping on it.

Why do groups always do this, making their own lives difficult by antagonizing the groups they work with???

*sigh*

Posted in: work by attriel /
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Yeah not what you think

DK would’t go down for his nap this afternoon, so we went out to Best Buy to get the wireless usb dongle for kiir’s computer, since after moving it upstairs we came to the sudden realization that this left it a smidge short on network connection and thus limited her online access :o

First off, while there, he picked up lego indy for hte wii. I’d been planning to get it, and had been thinking about the wii version since the X is upstairs. But the controls sounded like i actually had to motion the whip and such and eff that, no way. i’m looking for something i can play sitting down with a baby across my lap, people! then he picked up the X and DS versions to take with him. I guess in case I wasn’t sure yet. I took those away too, and he grabbed two more copies of the X …

Fine I can take a hint, we’ll buy Lego Indy today :o

On the way home he fell asleep (OK, so we took a somewhat circuitous route, to make sure). So I’m sitting in the car with him. But after 2 hours of DS Crosswords sunday, I decided I wanted something different. So Kiir brought out my laptop for me :)

Posted in: DK, general by attriel /
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Whilst working on the computer stuff (under the desk, that is), Kiir went upstairs with DK to start getting him ready for bed. Apparently while she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, he wandered out and pushed open the gate. It doesn’t latch quite securely, unfortunately.

Then he proceeded to play around the gate for a bit, we think. We’re not sure what happened in between, really. He was upstairs with her, then there was thumping and bouncing. He fell down the stairs, landing (LUCKILY) on the pile of shoes and baby slings and my office bag, which is just a padded laptop case filled with papers instead of laptops.

He started screaming and took a little bit to calm down, then started going up and down the stairs again like nothing happened. Thank god for the crap and clutter at the foot of the stairs, or this could have been a MUCH less pleasant trip to the ER :/

Posted in: DK by attriel /
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So, we were moving Kiir’s computer upstairs to hook it up to the TV, since it takes a VGA input an all that jazz.

I unhooked the system and pulled it out, then I needed to get the cables and assorted miscellany. The power cable. The video cable (which didn’t matter, since it was DVI and the tv has VGA, oops), and the two cables for the wireless keyboard and mouse. Two, because the mouse that came with the keyboard didn’t work very well, so there’s a separate wireless mouse hookup now. I have the same kind of config, actually.

Doing all that, the cables were wound and wrapped with the network devices. We have the modem, a wired hub, and two wireless ones. WHEEE. Got it untangled and took stuff up. Come back down to go online and … and …

And my computer can’t talk to the internet anymore, wtf? Poking, prodding, rebooted. Nothing. Can’t talk to anything. Fine, I’ll go try her other computer, see if its still up. Yes. OK, check the server, yes. Great, so the internet is working, the server is working, and the wireless is working. So why can’t my computer, which is plugged in to the wireless hub via cable, talk to the internet???

After digging at it a little while longer, I came to the conclusion that it’s not getting the DHCP from the server. I’m kindof wondering if tugging cables free and such, this cable didn’t get wrapped somewhere and break a wire. Not all of them, because it still knows when it’s unplugged vs not working (go figure), but an important one since it can’t seem to get the PROPER signals through :/

So I’m on my laptop right now. Running AV and bot scans on the desktop, since it’s also suddenly piss slow. Really wish I knew WTF was going on with it. Bleah.

Posted in: general by attriel /
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So, there’s been a few things that I haven’t posted about. Either too small for their own post, or I forgot when it was timely and amusing and now it’s just old, or whatever …

***

At Kiir’s brother’s graduation, the night we drove up we went out to japanese. First off — DK does NOT appear to like the noise and general ruckus of the hibachi time. While they were cooking the food, instead of participating in “catch the block of whatever out of the air like a good seal, youk youk” i took DK on a walk around the restaurant. twice. It was quite the tedious :o

Also that night, her brother insisted on Saki Bombs. Which, look like a variation on a boiler maker. I’m told it’s like a japanese irish car bomb (wow, this won’t get me weird google hits at ALL). You drop a shot of Saki into a glass of Sapporo (which might just be a japanese brand rather than type, i think). Except you’re supposed to balance the shot on a pair of crossed chopsticks, and then bang the table to jar it loose. Or something. DK stole my chopsticks, and the hard stone table was set into the floor, so it wasn’t working for anyone else that way they had to manually move the chopsticks :o Anyway, then you chug it. My and the guy sitting next to me were “amateurs” b/c we neither of us knew wtf a Saki Bomb was. So we got full glasses of beer with our shot. The “hardcore pros” (brother in law) got barely enough beer to submerge the shotglass :o

***

A few weeks ago, after the hospital trip, it came out that DK likes Black Olives. My mom got a slice of olive and sausage pizza for dinner ,and gave him an olive. And when she went to give him another one a little bit later, she almost lost a finger because she held on too long :o he’s had 3 cans of olives in the last 2 weeks. Maybe more.

***

Kiir and I are trying out D&D4e with the Keep on the Shadowfell, the prebuilt adventure that release with skimmed rules for people to try out the new ruleset before full release. (PVP and Penny Arcade gave it a shot and are podcasting the 8-hr session in chunks at WotC ; Kiir — don’t listen to it until I tell you we’ve gotten ahead of it !!!) Of course, we’re doing it on a forum, and it’s built for 5 PCs and a GM. I’m GM and 2, she’s the other 3 PCs … yeah, there might be a few flaws in the plan.

Posted in: general by attriel /
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So, each night DK’s been getting a snack around 9:30, and it’s moved up to 8:30 the last few days. The reasoning being that he needs a bit of a snack after dinner to let him sleep through to a reasonable time. Like 4am instead of 2 :o

Tonight, however, he seems to have decided that he just wasn’t TIRED after his snack. B/c he came back downstairs after going up for bed. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t give him any cheese tonight, which he usually gets although he doesn’t always eat it. Or maybe it’s because we had quesadillas for dinner and it wasn’t as filling as other nights. Or maybe he just slept late this morning and isn’t tired yet.

But I do know that he came down, we played some Word Coach on the Wii (I’m still vague on why we didn’t return that, as it’s not really a “game”, per se, and there’ll be other educational things, or heck Word Coach III, on the Revolution r2 by the time DK’s really looking at it), then K and I took DK on a walk (or DK and I took K on a walk, or something). Now he’s been wandering around the living room for another half hour. He still doesn’t seem tired.

I’d play Culdcept Saga, or Lost Odyssey, or work on my Lego Star Wars achievements, or something. But the X is upstairs in the bedroom. Has been since Monday evening.

OTOH, he’s currently eating a box of books … I may need a new box for those before I donate them. I definitely need something to replace them in the corner, since I use them to keep him out of the cables and wires with my computer and the server and a mess of crap that’s convenient to toss in that corner :o

Posted in: DK by attriel /
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This weekend we worked on cleaning the house.

Living Room: Picked up ALL of DK’s toys and put them in the ‘storage’ bins we have on teh shelves. I think we need to go further and look through the bins, decide which toys to keep out and box up the rest for storage or donation or something. Because he has 6 or 7 1′ cubes filled with toys. And I’m not saying we should keep the three he plays with most or anything. Maybe we just need to rotate them out more often, I dunno. But some of them have been in the cabinets for months, which seems like either a waste or a shame. Vacuumed the carpet and mopped the hardwood, too, during naptime

Laundry: Did a load of diaper-related things. A day’s worth of diapers and then the rest of the load full of diapers wipes and burp cloths that were scattered around the floor gathering dust and food and such. Decided to just wash them and thus get them back in the circulation properly. Also did a load of towels, one of sheets, one of DK’s clothes, 4 of ours, and have another load of sheets to do when I strip the guest bed. Ran out of time, so leaving that for next week, since it’s just one load now. Plus the two sets of new sheets we have, but since one of those goes to DK’s new full bed, which we haven’t bought yet, I figure I’ve got time. And I don’t think we need our new flannel sheetset JUST yet.

K’s Room: Broke down the daybed in the room. I’ve tried to leave K’s room alone, so it wasn’t being taken over by the baby too, but …. First off, K spends most of his time in the living room, with the gate closed. So he doesn’t even get out to eat and drink whenever he chooses like he used to. Then upstairs there’s a gate on his door, to keep DK out of the room, since I didn’t sanitize it for a baby. I’m positive K can go over the gate if he chose. At least into the room. Not sure about out, since there’s only a couple feet between the door and the opposing wall, he might not be comfortable with out, but in he CAN do. He simply doesn’t. So he hasn’t used his room much in a year and a half, and not at all for 4-6 months now. So I suppose starting to change it over isn’t that big a problem to him, but it feels wrong to me :/

DK’s Room: Went through the dresser and boxed up all the heavier winterweight clothes. Also packed away most of his jackets. The number of times he’s going to need a sweat shirt or a wool coat in summer in MD … limited :o

Our Room: Cleaned out all the junk under the bed. Put away the two baskets of laundry from a couple weeks ago (Just in time to reuse the baskets for new laundry!) Cleared off the tops of the bookshelves and put up Kiir’s new TV (See other post). Took the bed off the rails so the boxspring sits directly on the floor. That part’s so DK can get off easier. Now he can actually almost look over the edge of the bed from a standign position, so when he slides off it’s not near as far a drop. Especially important when he’s not paying attention and tries to go off face first instead of feet.

Now I have two beds frames and a couple large boxes of clothes to take to the attic. Plus whatever’s still in the basement. Plus whatever we pick out next week :o

Posted in: general, house by attriel /
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So, I had something else I was going to post about, but I’ve spent two days now and I can only remember it in the middle of my trainride or a meeting or somewhere equally inaccessible.

Instead, I’m going to kvetch about the fact that Kiir has stolen the XBox 360!!!

For her birthday, she got her mom to agree to buy a tv for the bedroom. So she could play games or watch a movie or SOMETHING after DK falls asleep. Since she’s stll nursing him at night, she has to go up with him. And since he still wakes up if he’s left alone in the bed, she has to stay with him. And after the first year or so, it started getting a touch TEDIOUS. Don’t get me wrong, she likes reading her romance novels. And she boots up one or the other of the laptops and pokes around online. But the laptops aren’t great for games, and even though she likes to read it’s nice to do something different occasionally.

This weekend we picked up a tv at best buy yesterday we set it up. And when they went up last night, I took DK up, she took the X. Now it lives in the bedroom. Which may make it quite tedious when he wakes up and wants me to play games for an hour or two before we go to bed again. And weekend mornings when he frequently gets up noticeably before her and we play games.

Because, frankly? Mario Kart he swipes my wheel and that gets boring to watch me sit in the middle of the course. Even if he is learning how to control the Karts. Wii Sports? It’s gotten old and tired. I’m at the point now where I either get trounced, and down a slot of difficulty, or I kick ass, and go up the same slot. And I can only play so many frames of Bowling. Mario Party? Group, and DK don’t count yet. Kabookii? Same. Boom Blox — well, it’s still new and playable at least. But there’s still the fundamental problem that Wii games don’t lend themselves to sitting peacefully on the floor whilst a toddler naps across you.

Blue Dragon. Lost Odyssey. Assassin’s Creed. Mass Effect. These all lent themselves to it nicely. Even Lego Star Wars worked.

I may need to check Craigs or Ebay for used X’s :o

Posted in: games, general by attriel /
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So, today was the first day that the Pick Your Own (Larriland Farms) was open for picking. Strawberries are starting to come into season, and they had about an acre of ripe ones.

We decided to take DK out. I remember going strawberry, and possibly blueberry, picking with my mom at a farm up near White’s Ferry (? There’s this ferry, see, that we rode on the way to my great-grandmother’s, I think it was White’s Ferry (Yes. Yes it was, in fact, White’s Ferry)). Funny thing is? I don’t, really, like any of the berries fresh. I like them in jam, occasionally pies. But I really have no idea why I was picking fresh strawberries :o Other than I was 8 or so and it was lots of fun

So I wanted to take DK out. And he actually LIKES the berries, too! I’d like to get my mom out with him, but maybe later in the season. Or next year, when he could maybe pick some, and walk back to give them to her while she sits and holds the basket. Maybe.

Anyway, at 2$/lb for up to 20lbs (after 20 it gets some cheaper, but seriously? Like I need 20+lbs of strawberries?) we went down the row they put us in. We went today because the site suggested that they might not have any left tomorrow from opening weekend. Of course, with ~20 acres of strawberries, I imagine they’ll have plenty by next week again ;)

They were assigning rows, but a little after we started some other folks showed up and started wandering back and forth across our row. Grr. But they seemed to be trying to catch up to someone, so when they stopped to yak we jumped around them for the rest and it worked out ok.

In the end, he ate half a dozen (maybe a little more) strawberries whilst we worked. And we bought 11lbs of strawberries :o

Kiir has pics up of DK Picking, Eating, and Admiring the strarberries. And then some of him Exploring the fields, and then Mugging for the camera too :)

Posted in: DK, general by attriel /
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I’ve been trying to put something up every day, but obviously I missed this week

Partially due to DK being a little extra clingy (soon as dinner’s done I’m ending up playing video games for him, and continuing until midnight (note the time?)). Partially due to the rest of this post

—

So, about 3 weekends ago, we went to the DC Zoo, I had DK on my back in the Beco (becco? carrier/wearer). He was falling asleep, so for the Metro ride home, I hunched over so he could have a reasonable sleep surface, rather than sitting straight up. Train was ~30-45 minutes I guess.

That Tuesday, I was stretching a bit at my desk, and suddenly had a ripping searing stabbing pain in my side. A few extra strength tylenol, I managed to call the Doc’s and get a same-day appt (wow). Verdict was that it was a pulled muscle. Pulled Muscles. Apparently, according to doc, I seemed to have pulled all the muscles on my right side. Strained the entire muscle wall and ribs. Have some extra strength aspirin, some muscle relaxants, and don’t pick anything up, like the baby, for at least a week. Yeah, sure. I’ll WFH, and I’ll try to pick him up carefully, but that’s all that was getting. Well, and I took the pain med. The muscle relaxant I never really took :o

That weekend, was feeling better, so when K and I were out during DK’s nap, I went and weeded the front yard. Kinda a bad plan, but I was just sore from work, after, so I figured I was OK.

Next weekend, I drive to Connecticut. 7 hours in the car, including an hour around the GW Bridge in NYC. Stop and stop traffic has my ankle and leg half turned, kinda ow. Then he’s going all over the house and up and down the stairs, so I’m running after him, going up and down ahead of him to make sure he doesn’t fall, etc. Then 7 more hours home (the hour was NJTP accident this time oi).

By Tuesday I had a huge knot in my shoulder. It had started forming Saturday night after the first drive. Worse Monday. By Wednesday I was barely functional. Thursday I slapped an Icy Hot pad on my shoulder first thing I got to the office , and took it off 6 hours later or something. It helped. For the middle 5 hours.

Last night I went back to my chiro. Well, the practice. B/c my chiro is gone. And my replacement chiro left earlier this year. And I don’t like the guy who took over his cases. But I figured I needed the pop, and my last two were MWF guys, so I figured maybe the new one was too. And was right, got a new doc Thursday.

And my neck sounded like one of those ice trays when you crack all the ice to put it in the cooler. crrrrrrrackackack. popopopopopopop. Oh. My. God. SOOOOOO much better. I still need to go back, but *sigh* so nice now.

What I think happened is that I was still favoring my side from the first incident, since I kept aggravating it by weeding and picking up DK. Then driving will tense you up. Driving while (unconciously) tilting or twisting to alleviate (phantom?) pain …. knots up your neck like a gordian!

Posted in: general by attriel /
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