| Amazingly, an update. |
[26 Mar 2004|05:38pm] |
I'm at an internet cafe, so I can actually access Blurty. For money.
Anyhow, it looks like I'll be stuck with a crappy firewall until I leave, which is the last day in May. Everyone be good, and I'm over at LJ if you wanna hop over.
-Patrick
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| Wheee. |
[29 Feb 2004|06:17pm] |
(crossposted to  diablogamers)
So, after months of slowly building up my single-player Necro, I blew away Diablo and am in Act V Hell difficulty on the 1.10 patch.
Needless to say, this is my best character ever. He's halfway between lv. 79 and lv. 80, has monstrously good equips (which I'll get to in a later post), and he's got an incredibly powerful Bone Spear.
My online necro hasn't done much recently, but I think I'm going to start a new one and let the old one hold on to my items for me. Synergies are delicious.
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| Yo! |
[28 Feb 2004|01:54pm] |
My client is working better now, so posting isn't outside the realm of possibility like it once was.
Who still reads my journal?
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| Miss Thursday! |
[18 Jan 2004|05:58pm] |
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I'm so sorry I couldn't drop by today: I lost my voice and was sneezing and sniffling, and thought you might not want to catch whatever I have. I hope the flight went well!
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| Woah! |
[05 Jan 2004|05:47pm] |
It's HERE!!!!
I got back from a dull productive day at Harvard to find that my brand-new, spiffy (and technically free!) 1 GHz Powerbook G4 had made it here!!! So I did what any dignified academic would do. I ran downstairs, ripped the box open, and ignored everyone else for the next couple of hours. I set up just about everything I was using before, but since I'm now running Panther (Mac OS 10.3), a couple programs don't work quite right. I'll update them as soon as I can.
Anyhow, on to the IMPORTANT parts. It's so much better than my old one. They fixed about a dozen little annoyances that the old G4 had, especially the former lack of venting. The little feet that keep the screen away from the keys are now on the top portion, rather than where arms and palms rub them into oblivion. The speakers are bigger, the trackpad is set back slightly, the keyboard is more responsive, the ports are split on each side, the screen has better resolution, and the hardware in general is superior. Apple is going to get a VERY NICE letter from me, naming specific names.
Let no one impugn Apple for any reason whatsoever. They realized they dropped the ball and, rather than just repair the two-and-a-half-year-old computer and make me buy a new one, they gave me a (much better) new one for my trouble. They didn't have to do that.
So, I'm back, but I'll be leaving here on Friday (going to Ireland). I hope they've fixed the networking issues there.
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| Where I've been. |
[30 Dec 2003|11:44am] |
Mostly here, but since my dad's compy is dying (literally and figuratively: the modem's disconnect time is winding down from 1 hour before a disconnect to about 45 minutes), I've been constrained mostly to offline tasks. I've been doing a lot of Medieval History reading and stuff, and posting in my LJ ("padraiceen") when I can. Ryan and I also got a PS2, so I've been playing a hell of a lot of FFX-2, which is nice, because I won't have any gaming consoles when I'm over in Ireland until May.
I'm sorry for my relative absence, but it's incredibly frustrating to write entries and have the compy disconnect before I can post. My new compy is supposed to be here this week, though, so that's a good thing. Once I get that, I'll be able to resume a lot of my duties.
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| On my way back! |
[15 Dec 2003|08:35am] |
Headin' home today!
Arrival in MA should be 3:45 local time. Will go through customs and such and meet my dad and (hopefully!) TEH E. Then I will go home and fall asleep on a normal bed after putting my clothes in a normal washer and taking a normal shower with normal hot water. Zzz.
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| Enormous Survey |
[08 Dec 2003|06:07am] |
| [ |
mood |
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 sleepy |
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I did this survey back when I got an LJ. I redid it today because E bought me a paid account, and I thought it was time (almost two years have passed since I first did it, but I'm only about 100 feet from where I did it. Odd).
( Here we go again. )
Wheeeee. My brain hurts, now.
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| And this is why we keep kiddies off Blurty. |
[07 Dec 2003|11:45pm] |
Something Awful reports on kiddies on messageboards, etc.
I'm certain I wasn't that stupid when I was younger.
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| Holy fucking awesome. |
[05 Dec 2003|01:21am] |
Manny for A-Rod?
It just might happen. And A-Rod said he'd be willing to take a pay cut to ensure a championship when he was with TX, so the Sox might ask him to do so when he got to Boston. Bye-bye, Manny! Don't let the door hit your ass as you leave! Assuming you can FUCKING GET THAT FAR!
Manny's just infuriating. Now. As I said to Sirencio on LJ, you can move A-Rod to second (he'd do just fine, and Nomar's got better range in the SS position), move Jackson to the OF, where he's got some defensive skills, and they've got a hell of a lineup with a good defensive outfield. Sign Foulke, and grab a good bench coach, and the team is set. The Yankees won't know what hit 'em.
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| Ugh. |
[04 Dec 2003|04:23pm] |
I keep having network issues here. And Blurty STILL doesn't load right. What the hell is wrong with IT in this country? O_o
My brother,  kingofhearts13, finally posted something after months of nothing. I'm hoping to get him to write more: it'd be fairly rad. It's hard to keep in touch when you're thousands of miles away and busy. :-P
Today was the last day of the term for me, though that's kind of a dateless thing, since I don't really have any classes: just appointments with Dr. Simms. The Medieval History Department had its Christmas party tonight, and drinks were on the house. I must say, Bulmer's is delicious cider. It's the only alcoholic beverage I've ever had that actually makes you NOT feel thirsty.
E is busy working on her CS homework right now, and more power to her. I begged the help of a friend in the IT department here, and he said, simply, "Holy fuck." Basically, BU forces its students to do two terms' worth of work in one. Stupid.
And the US News and World Report rankings have Dartmouth tied for #9. It's down a bit from when I got there (#7), but it's much better than our low of 15. Of course, when you get up to the top, a difference of a fraction of a point means a few places. Wah-hoo-wah!
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| Ughhhh. |
[28 Nov 2003|08:10pm] |
I have been so groggy all day. I don't know what the deal is.
The Northern Ireland Assembly elections have finished: the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party - generally anti-Good Friday Agreement, radical unionists) made some very strong gains at the expense of the smaller parties and the UUP (Ulster Unionist Party - generally pro-agreement, moderate unionists), while Sinn Fein (the primary nationalist party, generally radical and pro-agreement, often accused of being the IRA's political arm) made strong gains at the expense of the SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party - moderate nationalists, generally pro-agreement with some exceptions) and the fairly small Alliance Party (a bridge between the unionist and nationalist sides). This spells gridlock unless the UUP, Sinn Fein, and the SDLP can all get together and work on the peace process together. The DUP (the party of Ian Paisley - about whom I will not rant here) is absolutely dead-set on dispatching with the original accords altogether and starting anew. While I admit that the issues regarding transparency on weapons are disturbing, the rhetoric delivered by the party maintains Rev. Paisley's view: that since Sinn Fein is the political manifestation of the IRA, they're not worthy of negotiations, and will therefore not have any part in a deal. This is hard to stomach, since Sinn Fein actually came second in total first-preference votes: it's impossible to dismiss them when they were only 15,000 votes behind the DUP. Also, their position is counter to that of the government in Britain: they have already affirmed the constitutionality of Sinn Fein as a valid party in the Northern Ireland elections, so the DUP is effectively running at cross purposes with Her Majesty's government.
In summary, the UUP is in a precarious position. I believe that unity in both nationalist and unionist camps is necessary for progress, and while the nationalist camp has become vastly more unified, the unionists need to address the split that's been created. To that end, the UUP must choose whether to throw their lot in with the DUP or keep working with the nationalists on the major issues at hand.
Anyhow. My brain hurts for some reason. Maybe it's all the acronyms. O_o
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| Thanksgimeh. |
[27 Nov 2003|05:58pm] |
It's just *not* the same.
Dinner tonight was very nearly disastrous, due to lack of cooking equipment, utensils, and proper ingredients. I've come to the conclusion that, if one wants to make a real Thanksgiving dinner here, one must import the materials for it directly from the States. Everything but the turkey was mediocre at best, and I will never buy turkey here again, as the price is too much to bear. I couldn't even make roasted potatoes, because the roasting pan was too small to accommodate them, and when I tried to roast them, they didn't cook. On my best days, I'm easily upset by mishaps in the kitchen: this was sort of like throwing a match on gasoline.
I must say that this is the first Thanksgiving where I've had a Swiss cake roll as dessert, because no one here knows what the hell pumpkin pie is. I'm only a little upset by that.
The only good part was the turkey, really. The Canadian couple was very happy to be part of this (they're very nice), and Alissa made yams (which I don't like, so I didn't have any), but it wasn't the same. I don't like having Thanksgiving without my family (as dysfunctional as some elements of it may be) and without my wonderful E. It's for them that I'm giving thanks, after all. Being here is temporary. They're permanent.
{sighs} Come hell or high water, I am NOT spending another Thanksgiving here. I don't care how much it costs me: I'm going home for Thanksgiving. The end.
I go home in... two and a half weeks. I can't wait.
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| 45 minutes of BIZZARE. |
[26 Nov 2003|11:47am] |
Okay, so after a week of fruitless searching, I decide to hit the one butcher's shop I haven't tried to find a turkey. And on the way, I got waylaid by the guy from whom I buy my fresh vegetables (he was packing up from the market today), who told me he knew a guy in Tipperary who might be able to get me one by tomorrow. In a freaky twist of fate, the guy from Tipperary was actually fifty yards down the street, having a cup of coffee in Insomnia. Unfortunately, as I've come to be reminded in the past week, I am one month early for turkey. People over here have turkey for Christmas, so there's no point in selling it early, really.
As I was talking with the guy about the turkey, a VERY effeminate man, in what appeared to be the garments one would wear when attending the opera in 19th-century London, who had possibly the worst teeth I've ever seen in my life, came over and interjected that he knew a few good organic butcher's shops, etc. He was nice, and he had good advice, but I couldn't get over the costume. Because that's what it was. No one, and I mean no one, voluntarily dresses in a top-hat anymore, no one wears a cravat, and above all, no one carries a monocle for ANY reason other than selling me some choice property on Baltic Avenue.
So I tore myself away and ended up buying the *very last* turkey in the butcher's shop. Of course, I think that 25 euro for a 5-kg. turkey is pushing it, but it comes with the scarcity, I'd imagine. That, and 'tis the season to shaft Americans desperate for even a simulated trip home.
Anyhow, on the way back, a man (different man) passed me, apparently dressed as Sherlock Holmes. Same typical hat, sweeping brown overcoat, and pipe all included.
That's all for now. I think I'll try to throw together a post later.
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| Yaaaaaay. |
[26 Nov 2003|06:31am] |
Internet is working again.
I'm sick, though. :-P
And I haven't been able to find anything less than the most titanic of turkeys. I was thinking of maybe getting together with this Canadian couple of my acquaintance, who missed their own Thanksgiving, and throwing something together, but I can't seem to find a good turkey. Blah. I've called them, though, and they'll try to think of something. It's sad, though, this is the first Thanksgiving in a few years that I haven't spent with TEH E. She always adored every little bit of my food (except the chunky stuffing), which was endlessly cute.
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| Huh. |
[25 Nov 2003|09:16pm] |
Good lord, my journal turned one year old over a week ago. Of course, I wasn't online much, so I couldn't mention it, and then I forgot. Oh, well.
Not a single person posted a comment at my last entry, which leads me to believe that you either dislike the concept of anonymous commentary, think I'll be able to figure out who you are with my Super-Abuse Powers, don't have anything to say, or don't care enough. All of those are unfortunate.
E and I have been together for 44 months today. It's neat. :-D
Edit - Oh, and my internet is dead. Again. I don't know why. I feel like I'm going to shoot somebody.
And Empy, I'd be glad to help you out. Email me the data and all the relevant facts.
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