Grumblings of the Almighty Tottec

I just took a glance at my friends page. Seems that while I have never posted very often, my reading of the friends page has fallen off quite a bit. Not that I don't want to hear from my friends or worry about them and their lives, because I do. I think it has to do with being busier than I really should be. In the time I have been on LJ, I've gotten married, helped conceive 3 daughters, finished college, started a second BS degree (which fizzled due to tuition issues) in game design, started (with others) a game design company (which is very much a work in progress) and have been expanding my repertoire of computer skills that go unused in the dreary life of tech support in the hopes of having a clue what I am doing when it comes time to get the game company off the drawing boards.

Other, more social avenues have also taken the place of LJ such as Facebook. I never really did anything with MySpace, seemed much more geared towards kids to me.

I'll still stop by once in a while to see what people have posted. So if you get a comment from me for a post from last month, now you'll know why. :)

Geek week turned out rather well. It is good to have Doc participate in the Geek hedonism. We missed having Bruce and Randy, we'll have to make sure they have transport next time.
Couple of new faces this time. Johnny, Jason's Brother- in- law, and his cousin Melanie. They had fun and we may see then again.
Jamin should be on his way home by the time most of you read this. Hopefully his flights are going/went well and the time passes quickly before he is out here again.

Just so I have a head count, I would like everyone to post/msg/txt/email a RSVP for this Saturday along with what you are gonna bring. That way we know what is needed.

I just realized it's been 3 weeks since I posted...

So, nothing much has been going on around here except work and game design. Took the girls to Disney on Ice for Breanna's birthday on the 15th. They enjoyed themselves immensely. Had lunch yesterday with Jamin where good conversation was had along with good food. Otherwise, life has been... quiet... which can be good given that things are about to get crazy busy for the holidays.

Or not so much...
It was announced yesterday that the Union ratified the Contract. This is a mixed bag. On one hand, we have a Contract. On the other, it will cost a lot more to use the health insurance and because of the reduced tuition program I can't continue the game program at DeVry.

$500 later, LHM is a bit richer and my van is all better. was a bit more than originally quoted but given the $1600 total price tag for all the work, I got off pretty light.

Just checked my email... the contract ratification vote that was supposed to be counted tomorrow and announced Friday has been moved back a week. The reason for this? Political mail (which we all hate anyways) is clogging the USPS so the union members aren't receiving their ballots. So now I have another week of not knowing if I will be going on strike and it brings any potential strikes that much closer to Christmas and Breanna's birthday...


In addition to that, the van wouldn't start yesterday. I cleaned the terminals and still no go. From the way it was acting it seemed to be a problem with the starter motor. Had it towed to the dealer and turns out the battery is just dead. While we have it there, we are getting a bunch of warranty work done (airbags sensors aren't working, power lock on one door isn't working, power steering leaks, one sliding door makes noise when it closes) so even though the battery isn't covered, the rest of it is and almost totals more than what I paid for the warranty.

Every year, Cassie's school has 2 Classic Skating nights. One in the fall and one in the spring. Tonight is the Fall time. Of course we didn't find out about it until about 4:30. Seems the school forgot to send out the notice. They have wifi but won't let me on And the phone can't break in. So here I sit, surrounded by running and screaming elementary and Jr High kids, bored out of my mind...

Funny quote from today... customer complaining that her internet is broken but actually suffering from a browser hijacking when asked if she had any security software says "I had that Live OneCare you install but it kept telling me I had infected files so I uninstalled it..."

It's been awhile since I last posted. I've decided I should do something about that. Not that my life is terribly exciting or that I have anything profound to say, but I figure it is a simple way to let people know what is going on in my life. And now that I can post from my phone while laying bed at night, I might actually do it more.

So moving right along... Dawn and I are doing good. Cassie is in the 4th grade now and Breanna started pre-school. Zoe is walking and starting to talk, saying no and more and thanks. She seems to understand a lot of what is said and can usually answer simple yes/no questions.

Work has been more stressful than usual. The Union contract ran out in August, was extended to the end of September when a tentative agreement was reached then extend again when that TA was rejected. The new TA is worse than the first and stands a good chance being rejected unless a lot of people that didn't vote last time vote yes on it. Otherwise a week from today I will be on strike. The biggest issue is the health insurance. The short story on that is 135% increase in monthly payments and 10% decrease in coverage that means I end up paying 10 times more than I do now for health care. The raise they are offering doesn't come close to covering that or even the increase to cost of living this year (calculated to be around 8.5%). So yeah, not good times there...

Today at work I had kind of an interesting experience. A guy called in to get static ip addresses for his business. While talking to him he asked how the computer knew where to send everything. I spent that next hour explaining, in very basic terms, how the internet worked. I finally remebered a video that one of my networking teachers showed in a class. I figured I'd share it. It is cool video even if you know how the internet works.
http://www.warriorsofthe.net
It is on the download page and is a 75MB mpeg.

Lastly, the picture. It is the view out the window 20 feet from my desk. I snapped it on my way out one day. Figured I'd share.

In response to the rant from dougals, I submit the following....

Part 1
Part 2

Testing to see if I can post from browser on my phone. Seems to be working.

Happy Holidays everyone.

I know it's been 5 months since I last posted but I have been pretty busy. Been running the fantasy game, which is working out nicely. I also decided since there are apparently no IT jobs in SLC that pay decent and don't require 3 decades of experience I would go back to school for a second BS. Qwest is paying for it so I figured why not. This time going to Devry to get a BS in Game and Simulation programming. Gonna try to finish that asap and make myself a nice little internet game that will make me self employed and independently wealthy (not likely but it is a nice thought). It gives me something to look forward to while I drone away on the phones. So I just finished my first finals for that. I'd forgotten how much time math takes for me and why I went with the non-math degree the first time around.

Zoe is getting big. She eats all the time and it growing like a weed. Already has 4 teeth and is cutting a couple of more. Cassie is in the 3rd grade and is doing good. Breanna is now 4 and is a bundle of energy, running around the house as much as she can. She also likes to paint and draw.

OK. The time has come for an (mostly) open invitation.

I have been wanting to run a fantasy game in GURPS 4th edition for a past several months. Now that Zoe is here, I can concentrate on getting that going. I have it set for 5-6 players. 3 slots are already filled. This leaves 2-3 slots to fill.

There will be 1 or 2 session per month about 4-5 hours each as scheduling allows. We are all adults and have responsibilities and obligations. I don't want this ti interfere with those. If you have children, you are welcome to bring them. I have 3 of my own but only 2 that can play with others. Swing set and yard to run around in as well as movies and GameCube if weather is inclement, not to mention a ton of toys.

So, if you ware wanting to play, drop a comment and I will let you know where you can find more information.


P.S. Due to known personality conflicts, I reserve the right to un-invite anyone that can't play nice with others that are already in the game group. If you are curious if it might include you, I will be more than wiling to discuss that out of public view.

Here are the pictures of Zoe I promised... before forgetting the camera at the hospital... doh!

Zoe Gayle Totten
05/16/2007 4:13pm
7 lbs. 13 ozs.
19 in. tall

Pictures will be posted as soon as I can get them on my server. IHC's public wireless is blocking every port but 80 and 423... annoying...

I am posting via the IHC wireless at Alta View Hospital. That's right folks. Dawn is being induced as we... err... type.

I plan on updating this as things progress and will be giving people a call when the baby arrives. Which should be any time now, things are progressing much faster than with her sisters.

Watch this space closely...

I left work for a few hours to take care of some family stuff. On the return trip to work, I saw a couple of rather interesting sights. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me so I will have to relate... you will not be getting a thousand words for each so you'll have to fill in the gaps yourselves...

Scene one: Buddhist monk driving a Dodge Grand Caravan talking on a cell phone. How do I know it was a Buddhist monk you might ask. Well, how many non-monk persons of Asian descent do you know that run around in orange togas with shaved heads?

Scene two: Teenage girl dancing to VNV Nation emanating from my Pathfinder while waiting for a bus. It was interesting...

Well, I figured you all would be interested...

I had to ask Stellar to move out on Saturday. The reasons behind it are varied (and disgusting) but the short version is he requires more "care" than Dawn and I are willing to give and he was unwilling to perform simple items that were requested of him. If you want details, I can provide them offline. After living with us for nearly 10 years, he has moved back in with his parents. Not sure if any of you still have any contact with him, but his book has been published and is available through Amazon.