I've returned from Wildwood! Yay! ^_^ It was a good vacation: I got a tan, I realized that Wildwood is not only 3x as far from my house, but also 3x the size (5 piers v. 2 piers at Seaside, ~ 1/2 mile wide beach, at least 3x the size of Seaside's beach), and, most importanly, I had fun. That, and I got hit on. She'd been drinking, but she was still fascinated by me. Nothing happened, though... once again, foiled by my naive chivalry. >_<() Anyways, this week I saw Live Free or Die Hard and Ratatouille. Die Hard was a fun action movie and pretty much met my expectations. Ratatouille was phenomenal! Just as great as most of Pixar's other works... I highly recommend it. ^_^
I still haven't actually finished Flight 62. It's my fault really... every opportunity I have, I keep putting it off. I want to give it a shot today, though... if I can finish, I can give the rough draft to Dan to start beta reading for me tomorrow while we're in Pennsylvania. With that out of the way, I can start focusing on some of my other projects and (maybe, possibly, hopefully) getting something actually published.
By the way, every so often I get mailed something that misspells my last name (Cwiakala, the spelling of which has been described as the result of "sneezing letters onto a page") in a VERY amusing way. Recently, I received some junk mail that spelled my name:
"Paul Cuialcola"
O_o XD
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
ARRGH! >_<#
Sometimes, my job REALLY pisses me off.
Apparently, I'm the most valuable person in the company. Why? I don't know. Maybe because I can type, and something like 90% of the people there can't. I'm okay with that though. I'm being unclear, let me explain better:
For a lot of my 6 years at this company, I've worked in Quality Control. Not exclusively, and its never been my main position, but there have been long periods where I was working there. I don't like it. I don't like working in that department because the work they give me makes me feel absolutely RETARDED. I put files away. I make photocopies. I stamp papers and copy down numbers. I connect wires to these plastic boards so OTHER people can test them. I cut tie wraps and run menial errands. RARELY do they ask me to actually inspect a part.
Last year, the QC Manager begged my father (the Assembly dept. Manager) to convince me to start work THREE WEEKS earlier than I had planned, because she "desperately needed me there". Seeing to reason not to believe what she said, my Dad talked to me and I reluctantly agreed, for the same reasons. I started work at 7 a.m. on the Monday after my last final. They ran out of work for me before 10 a.m.
-_-#
It wasn't until two WEEKS later (during which time I ended up splitting my time between my father's department and Stock Room) that they came back to me with more work. What was this job that was so important? An Internal Audit, which sounded so important... I'm not going to go into the details of what actually happened there, for certain reasons.
Earlier this week, the QC Manager went to the Engineering Manager and told him that one of her employees was going to be out for most of the week. She wanted me as a temporary replacement. That's where I've been for the last week, which is okay... except that the person who was out came back today and QC seems entirely uninterested in letting me go back and do my ACTUAL JOB in upstairs. In fact, they laugh and tell me to "forget all about that".
>= (
I don't appreciate being dragged away from what I'm doing, especially when I consider that fairly important, to do meaningless busywork. How exactly am I replacing someone by doing stuff that I know FOR A FACT that they DO NOT DO? I'm flattered that they want me so bad that they conjure up ways to pull me away from new assignments, but there's a reason I haven't made any effort to go back: I DON'T WANT TO. I would rather remain upstairs doing what I've been doing for TWO MONTHS.
Luckily, I think I've found an out: next week, I'm going to be gone for the first few days on vacation down the shore (YAY! ^_^). When I come back on Thursday, I'm going to go back upstairs and get started on a BIG project. This way, I'll say: "well, I didn't think you still needed me, so I went back up. I can't go by you now, I'm very busy." Unfortunately, I suspect QC plans to give me a very big job right before the end of the day tomorrow, something they know I can't finish by the time I leave... and then, they'll let it sit there until Thursday and make me go back and finish it then, just in time for a bunch of new meaningless busywork.
I need to get out of that department.
Apparently, I'm the most valuable person in the company. Why? I don't know. Maybe because I can type, and something like 90% of the people there can't. I'm okay with that though. I'm being unclear, let me explain better:
For a lot of my 6 years at this company, I've worked in Quality Control. Not exclusively, and its never been my main position, but there have been long periods where I was working there. I don't like it. I don't like working in that department because the work they give me makes me feel absolutely RETARDED. I put files away. I make photocopies. I stamp papers and copy down numbers. I connect wires to these plastic boards so OTHER people can test them. I cut tie wraps and run menial errands. RARELY do they ask me to actually inspect a part.
Last year, the QC Manager begged my father (the Assembly dept. Manager) to convince me to start work THREE WEEKS earlier than I had planned, because she "desperately needed me there". Seeing to reason not to believe what she said, my Dad talked to me and I reluctantly agreed, for the same reasons. I started work at 7 a.m. on the Monday after my last final. They ran out of work for me before 10 a.m.
-_-#
It wasn't until two WEEKS later (during which time I ended up splitting my time between my father's department and Stock Room) that they came back to me with more work. What was this job that was so important? An Internal Audit, which sounded so important... I'm not going to go into the details of what actually happened there, for certain reasons.
Earlier this week, the QC Manager went to the Engineering Manager and told him that one of her employees was going to be out for most of the week. She wanted me as a temporary replacement. That's where I've been for the last week, which is okay... except that the person who was out came back today and QC seems entirely uninterested in letting me go back and do my ACTUAL JOB in upstairs. In fact, they laugh and tell me to "forget all about that".
>= (
I don't appreciate being dragged away from what I'm doing, especially when I consider that fairly important, to do meaningless busywork. How exactly am I replacing someone by doing stuff that I know FOR A FACT that they DO NOT DO? I'm flattered that they want me so bad that they conjure up ways to pull me away from new assignments, but there's a reason I haven't made any effort to go back: I DON'T WANT TO. I would rather remain upstairs doing what I've been doing for TWO MONTHS.
Luckily, I think I've found an out: next week, I'm going to be gone for the first few days on vacation down the shore (YAY! ^_^). When I come back on Thursday, I'm going to go back upstairs and get started on a BIG project. This way, I'll say: "well, I didn't think you still needed me, so I went back up. I can't go by you now, I'm very busy." Unfortunately, I suspect QC plans to give me a very big job right before the end of the day tomorrow, something they know I can't finish by the time I leave... and then, they'll let it sit there until Thursday and make me go back and finish it then, just in time for a bunch of new meaningless busywork.
I need to get out of that department.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Father's Day + MORE Gliese 581
Well, today's Father's day and everybody's coming over again. I'd rather not go into yesterday... it was generally fun, with a few short bouts of idiocy from a certain relative. But, that's not really what I want to talk about.
Here's a thought I had:
In 1977, the Big Ear radio telescope picked up a signal of unknown origin on a frequency that is not used by any country or organization on Earth, nor does it match any other common signal that could be mistaken for extraterrestrial. As far as anyone can tell, this signal originates from outside the solar system. Also, no one has been able to pick up the signal again, making it a unique event.
Read more about it at the Wikipedia page, which has a link to a MUCH more detailed report on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow_signal
Now, the thought: what if this IS an alien broadcast? If so, where was the point of origin? As it stands, since we don't assume it's alien, we have no idea where. BUT, if it IS alien, I have an idea: let's assume that this signal is a response to Earth's space signals, the earliest I believe was a TV broadcast of the 1936 Olympics.
If our neighbors got the broadcast of the Olympics as soon as it reached them, simple math can deduce distance from Earth:
1977 - 1936 = 41 years
41 / 2 = 20.5 lightyears
Again, a quick Google search brings up a list of stars that are about that far. Guess which happens to top the list?
GLIESE 581!!
I may be seeing something that isn't there, but don't you think it's an amazing coincidence that the first potentially habitable system we've found (which apparently has TWO potentially habitable planets... according to Wiki, there's a thus-far unconfirmed Gliese 581 d which would be on the far end of the habitable zone) also happens to be at the right distance to receive our 1936 broadcast and then respond by 1977?
On another note, I'm participating at a DBWI (Double Blind What If) at alternatehistory.com where civil war has broken out in the "Christian Socialist States of America". The premise is simple: people are attempting to overthrow the theocratic government and restore the old United States. I like the idea a lot, and I've been presenting myself as, well, myself... only I've joined a pro-US militia and, after helping kick the socialists out of New Jersey, I've crossed over into Delaware to continue the fight. If you want to check it out, its over here.
Finally, I think I'm going to get a chance to play test Hard Power again today (my Mom convinced me not to bring it with me to PA yesterday. Of course, everybody wanted to play. ><#), but at the same time I know my cousin John is bringing over a bootleg of 28 Weeks Later to watch... gah. Well, we'll see what happens.
Here's a thought I had:
In 1977, the Big Ear radio telescope picked up a signal of unknown origin on a frequency that is not used by any country or organization on Earth, nor does it match any other common signal that could be mistaken for extraterrestrial. As far as anyone can tell, this signal originates from outside the solar system. Also, no one has been able to pick up the signal again, making it a unique event.
Read more about it at the Wikipedia page, which has a link to a MUCH more detailed report on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow_signal
Now, the thought: what if this IS an alien broadcast? If so, where was the point of origin? As it stands, since we don't assume it's alien, we have no idea where. BUT, if it IS alien, I have an idea: let's assume that this signal is a response to Earth's space signals, the earliest I believe was a TV broadcast of the 1936 Olympics.
If our neighbors got the broadcast of the Olympics as soon as it reached them, simple math can deduce distance from Earth:
1977 - 1936 = 41 years
41 / 2 = 20.5 lightyears
Again, a quick Google search brings up a list of stars that are about that far. Guess which happens to top the list?
GLIESE 581!!
I may be seeing something that isn't there, but don't you think it's an amazing coincidence that the first potentially habitable system we've found (which apparently has TWO potentially habitable planets... according to Wiki, there's a thus-far unconfirmed Gliese 581 d which would be on the far end of the habitable zone) also happens to be at the right distance to receive our 1936 broadcast and then respond by 1977?
On another note, I'm participating at a DBWI (Double Blind What If) at alternatehistory.com where civil war has broken out in the "Christian Socialist States of America". The premise is simple: people are attempting to overthrow the theocratic government and restore the old United States. I like the idea a lot, and I've been presenting myself as, well, myself... only I've joined a pro-US militia and, after helping kick the socialists out of New Jersey, I've crossed over into Delaware to continue the fight. If you want to check it out, its over here.
Finally, I think I'm going to get a chance to play test Hard Power again today (my Mom convinced me not to bring it with me to PA yesterday. Of course, everybody wanted to play. ><#), but at the same time I know my cousin John is bringing over a bootleg of 28 Weeks Later to watch... gah. Well, we'll see what happens.
Friday, June 15, 2007
I got a raise!
Yep! I'm now on salary and making $314 a week! ^_^ I just got my first new check today, so I'm all kinda giddy. I'm also really happy that my second play test of Hard Power went so well. It was a three player game: Ed (Peru-Bolivia) v. Rob (Angola) v. Me (Northern United States). Ed won (again), but it was really fun to play and exciting to see play out so PERFECTLY. The only snag I really noticed was Ed gaining such a tremendous advantage from successfully attacking my Home territory, so that'll have to be addressed. I'm going to attempt to put together a 4 player game this weekend while in Pennsylvania... I don't know how successful that'll be but, at least I can try. Either way, I still want to play a 4 player game with Ed, Rob, and Jose (if only because I'm sure the combined might of TWO Hispanic men can overpower ungodly force that is Emperor Turner).
On another note: OMIGODTHISJALAPENOPIZZAISHOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!! O.O
On another note: OMIGODTHISJALAPENOPIZZAISHOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!! O.O
Monday, June 11, 2007
Making Flags is Fun!
I've always had an interest in flags. I don't know why, they've just always been cool to me. Just like game making and sketching, every so often I'll design a bunch of flags. Usually, they suck. This time, though, I decided to go in with a specific goal/theme: to create a flag to represent my family. The original plan went along the lines of:
"Wouldn't it be cool if I could find my family's coat of arms and then put it on a flag?"
Since it's proved more or less impossible to find the Cwiakala coat of arms (short of spending a whole lot of money), I decided to just play with the idea until I came up with something. Up until today, the basic design I was going with was this:
Yeah. It sucked.
Today, though, I had a stroke of genius: why not use the PRADO coat of arms? For those who don't know, my mother's maiden name is Prado... which is a HUGE family in Spain that's had hundreds of famous/noble members. Now, I've come up with three designs I like a lot:
Yay! ^_^ Now I'm trying to decide which I'll put down the money to actually get made. I might end up making more designs (I have three more that I just didn't like much) in order to try accommodating my cousins Danny and Steven, who are the OTHER Cwiakalas... but are, rather than Dominican, Irish. If I could just figure out how to add some orange...
"Wouldn't it be cool if I could find my family's coat of arms and then put it on a flag?"
Since it's proved more or less impossible to find the Cwiakala coat of arms (short of spending a whole lot of money), I decided to just play with the idea until I came up with something. Up until today, the basic design I was going with was this:
Yeah. It sucked.
Today, though, I had a stroke of genius: why not use the PRADO coat of arms? For those who don't know, my mother's maiden name is Prado... which is a HUGE family in Spain that's had hundreds of famous/noble members. Now, I've come up with three designs I like a lot:
Yay! ^_^ Now I'm trying to decide which I'll put down the money to actually get made. I might end up making more designs (I have three more that I just didn't like much) in order to try accommodating my cousins Danny and Steven, who are the OTHER Cwiakalas... but are, rather than Dominican, Irish. If I could just figure out how to add some orange...
Friday, June 8, 2007
2001: An Odyssey of Nostalgia
You know, the Internet is a lot different now than it was when I first started logging on back in 2001. Back then, when I wanted to look for anime MP3s, it only took a quick search before I found what I wanted, usually on the front page. Today, it feels as if it's next to impossible to find MP3s just on some guy's fan site... instead, everybody's uploaded all of the worthwhile stuff onto Limewire or Bit torrent. It's just a little frustrating for somebody like me, who never got into the whole file-sharing thing.
I also notice that the Internet looks a lot different than it used to. Back then, it was a gargantuan jungle... a vast unknown. Today, it feels... I dunno, it's lost that exotic mystique it once had. Maybe it's because of my time at Iona, with me developing a life away from my computer, that did it... but... I dunno. Nothing on the Internet feels like it did back at the beginning.
I've managed to recapture a few things. I play Counterstrike again, which is awesome. I've found a relatively stable message board I can be a regular member of. For a while, Digimon was back and I watched that, and in the fall Gundam will be back for me to enjoy. Despite all of that, though, it's not the same and my life feels distinctly different from what it felt like back then. I don't know why I'm having nostalgia for 2001... early high school was not the best time of my life. But, when it came to my existence on the Internet... there was just something special about that time that, somehow, I've managed to lose over the years.
Maybe it's partly because, now that I'm 21 and nearing the end of college, it's slowly donning on me that my childhood really is over. I'm an adult now. I have a job, I (sorta) pay taxes. I've even starting thinking about when I should start seriously looking for a place of my own. And then there's my wholly unspectacular love life, which I'd really like to breathe SOME life into at some point (preferably before 25, at which point I assume my lack of any real romance will start to become a serious problem -- assuming it hasn't already).
2001 and early 2002 was a golden period for me... I felt like I belonged to a real community and I was expressing myself in ways I'd never considered before. I dunno. Just nostalgia, I guess.
In OTHER news, I'm heading over to New Rochelle tomorrow to visit Ed. If all goes according to plan, we'll have the very first play test of my board game, which is effectively finished now. I can't wait to try it out! My only serious concern at the moment is that, since I haven't really made pieces for it yet, I have to use Risk pieces... and that limits me to only 3 players due to each player having 4 unique pieces (since Risk players have 3 pieces, I have to borrow 1 from each of the other 3 in order to have enough for 3). For larger games, I'll have to come up with something else. I expect things to go well, although I honestly have no clue how it'll actually work out.
I keep my hopes high! =D
I also notice that the Internet looks a lot different than it used to. Back then, it was a gargantuan jungle... a vast unknown. Today, it feels... I dunno, it's lost that exotic mystique it once had. Maybe it's because of my time at Iona, with me developing a life away from my computer, that did it... but... I dunno. Nothing on the Internet feels like it did back at the beginning.
I've managed to recapture a few things. I play Counterstrike again, which is awesome. I've found a relatively stable message board I can be a regular member of. For a while, Digimon was back and I watched that, and in the fall Gundam will be back for me to enjoy. Despite all of that, though, it's not the same and my life feels distinctly different from what it felt like back then. I don't know why I'm having nostalgia for 2001... early high school was not the best time of my life. But, when it came to my existence on the Internet... there was just something special about that time that, somehow, I've managed to lose over the years.
Maybe it's partly because, now that I'm 21 and nearing the end of college, it's slowly donning on me that my childhood really is over. I'm an adult now. I have a job, I (sorta) pay taxes. I've even starting thinking about when I should start seriously looking for a place of my own. And then there's my wholly unspectacular love life, which I'd really like to breathe SOME life into at some point (preferably before 25, at which point I assume my lack of any real romance will start to become a serious problem -- assuming it hasn't already).
2001 and early 2002 was a golden period for me... I felt like I belonged to a real community and I was expressing myself in ways I'd never considered before. I dunno. Just nostalgia, I guess.
In OTHER news, I'm heading over to New Rochelle tomorrow to visit Ed. If all goes according to plan, we'll have the very first play test of my board game, which is effectively finished now. I can't wait to try it out! My only serious concern at the moment is that, since I haven't really made pieces for it yet, I have to use Risk pieces... and that limits me to only 3 players due to each player having 4 unique pieces (since Risk players have 3 pieces, I have to borrow 1 from each of the other 3 in order to have enough for 3). For larger games, I'll have to come up with something else. I expect things to go well, although I honestly have no clue how it'll actually work out.
I keep my hopes high! =D
Sunday, June 3, 2007
$100 a day for NO work!
I made $200 this weekend! =D I helped campaign for some Republican guy running for state senator (not an issue for me, considering he was campaigning for the Primary, which only helps determine which candidate gets the Republican nomination, not who actually gets the seat). This was mostly in the Franklin Lakes and Oakland area... which was TERRIFYING. Those houses were the size of castles, their lawns bigger than the park behind my house, and their driveways so long that I couldn't see the house or STREET when standing in the middle! We had to DRIVE to get the house next door! And this wasn't in the country side, because as soon as you left the neighborhood you were back in suburbia. It was bizarre. I just couldn't help wondering: what are these people trying to make up for by having such big houses and big pieces of property?
Also, what are these people afraid of? They live in one of the safest towns in the country, but they have crazy security doors, cameras, and call boxes. Most didn't have a normal doorbell, assuming they had one at all! And ALL of them had dogs. BIG dogs.
I've decided I will never live in a big mansion in a town like that. I'd rather live in a regular suburban area, or even an urban city type area, than in a faux rural dystopia.
Also, what are these people afraid of? They live in one of the safest towns in the country, but they have crazy security doors, cameras, and call boxes. Most didn't have a normal doorbell, assuming they had one at all! And ALL of them had dogs. BIG dogs.
I've decided I will never live in a big mansion in a town like that. I'd rather live in a regular suburban area, or even an urban city type area, than in a faux rural dystopia.
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