Whatafreak – The Blog

I haven’t updated in a while, I know.

Here’s the scoop…

Alright, so there’s no scoop. I lied, but I had your best interests at heart when I began writing this post, honest. It’s just that so little happens to me that it’s hard to come up with meaningful things to write about. I know some have expressed potential interest in the mundane, but I feel bad subjecting people to excitement for a new post with a quick follow-up of disappointment when it turns out I only wrote about the thick layer of dust that currently covers a large portion of my desk (ew, I should wipe that up).

Well, I am still half-heartedly saving money for school. I have $3000 officially saved as cash in a savings account. I have another $3000 or so in 2 different market-based accounts. My goal is to have $8000 or greater saved before I leave which should be possible at my current income level. My biggest problem is going out to eat when I am working. I spend around $8 a day on that alone (x5 days a week, x4 weeks a month = ~$160, yikes!).

Speaking of saving money, I now have 1.5TB of external HDD storage, thank you very much. I filled the first 750GB drive up a few weeks ago. I wanted the same kind of HDD, but they are no longer being manufactured. Ebay to the rescue! I was able to find an exact specimen in BNIB condition, which I much preferred over the other offerings. After a shipping mixup I was a bit wary, but the seller came through with excellent communication and it was resolved within a few days.

What dysphoric details these are…

Let me bore you no further. For want of a decent blog post, I make my valediction.

Farewell.

Well, it’s time now for my annual update to the worlds most boring blog. I am your host, Whatafreak, and I will be taking you on a riveting and stunning (not really) journey through mediocrity.

Yes folks, put down your crack pipes and beer bongs and pay attention. It’s Robot Party Week.

First off, a quick automobile update. The Hachi is doing fine. The same problems still exist including the gauge lights in the dash not working when the headlights are turned on. I attribute this to a faulty switch or connection inside the dash, but I have neither the tools nor the time to attempt a repair job on my own. At first, I could smack the dash a few times and the gauge lights would come back on, however now the problem seems permanent. I haven’t been able to get the gauge cluster to light up in weeks. I still can’t down-shift into second gear without the car having been warmed up for about 10 minutes first. Apart from a myriad of cosmetic challenges, the car is in remarkably good shape considering the circumstances. She is still mechanically sound. I have few doubts about the performance of the car itself, it just looks like the ultimate rice-mobile going down the road. At least, that’s how it feels when I drive it. I have created a user on Craigslist, haven’t used it yet. I have thought extensively about comments made by SlowTEC in the past. I may put the car up for sale with a starting price of $7000 and see if anyone bites. I bought the car for $5000, so there must be some other crazy fools out there that would do the same thing for a car that physically isn’t worth $500. I have poured over $2000 into it just to get it running well and legally, so I think the price jump is justified.

On to computer stuff. This computer I have built is straight from Hell. I am currently awaiting the fourth RMA replacement board. Yes folks, the 680i boards have flimsy memory controllers, and apparently I run them straight into the ground. It’s nice that EVGA has been pretty good about it, but I am getting tired of repeatedly rebuilding my entire computer from the ground up every few weeks. If it happens again, I will be demanding a board upgrade. There is no reason why I should be continually punished for using the board and listed compatible memory to its fullest.

Job stuff next. I went to Sacramento on Comcast’s dime last week. Unfortunately, it was because a big storm had rolled through and they had massive amounts of trouble calls building up. I was sent along with 8 other techs from the south valley to assist for 3 days. We were put up in hotels, each person with their own room, which was nice. All the food during the trip that I bought will be reimbursed to me with the issuance of my next paycheck. Honestly, it was some of the easiest work I’ve had while working for Comcast. I ended up locking out (customer was not home) or canceling well over half the jobs I got every day. After that, I just ran around helping the other techs from south valley. I haven’t been trained for internet trouble calls, but I was given only those type of jobs for the entire 3 days. Someone messed up somewhere, haha.

Now here is where I explain the title of this post. I keep having these urges (not that kind) to do something creative, create a movie or some music, design a web page, etc. I keep trying to find ways, unconsciously, to combine my affinity for technology with my desire to create something other people will find useful, interesting, or exceptional. The problem is that I have no artistic talent, or any other talents for that matter. You know the phrase “Jack of all trades, Master of none”? Well, that’s me. Except in my case, I am neither Master nor Jack of any trades at all. I usually have just enough knowledge about something to make a total boob of myself when I bring it up in conversation or try to put it to some use. It’s irritating at the very least and I fear I may be like this the rest of my life, containing vast amounts of knowledge about absolutely nothing.

That’s about it. I don’t do anything interesting, so this blog rarely gets updated. Comment if you wish.

We now join our previously scheduled rant already in progress…

… and so I told them exactly where they could stick that freaking thing, that’s what.

But, I digress.

Every time I talk with you Brad, I get all excited about school again, damn you.

You suck.

But thanks, I need a push every now and then, even if it’s something that I already know that I want. I become complacent, just floating along, hoping my destiny comes to me. If I want something to happen, I need to make it happen or at least give it the best try I’ve got. I feel like I’m going nowhere fast.

My financial debts are slowly fading, slowed by my insatiable techno-lust. As much as I love this new monitor, I could have put the money to a more constructive use. I have a clear goal in mind about this new computer I have built, aiming for a sort of all-in-one entertainment center and schoolwork aid. I love the monitor, and it has a clear advantage with games and video, but another reason I decided to get it instead of, say, a second monitor reaching for a dual-screen setup is with CAD programs. The vastly increased pixel real-estate will be VERY helpful during the design process. And yes, I plan on using my computer at least some of the time for this purpose even though the school will most likely have computer labs expressly for engineering projects. I get a very confined feeling while in those boring, dreary labs. I need music or TV or something to keep the ADD part of my brain occupied while I wrest away what precious few CPU cycles it can spare for schoolwork. The worst way of studying I can possibly imagine is silently in a hard chair with white walls.

I have the ability to “hyper”-focus, if you will. I can only describe it as tunnel vision for the mind. I get on one track, with one goal in mind. Inevitably, this goal shifts often so it feels like I never get anywhere. I can spend hours trying to move a picture in a web page I wrote from scratch, 3 hours earlier using CSS layout techniques, 1 pixel to the left and not even notice it. I got the study materials for a recent work-related competition nearly 23 hours in advance. 40 pages of unadulterated cable trivia that no person in their sane mind would know just for fun and I had 1 night to study it all. I don’t brag (usually I prefer the humble route) but I got roughly 80% of the points for my team of 5 guys. My name was being thrown around afterwards to possibly join the winning team (not mine, we got second) for the district competition. I was the only one that was even close to the right answer on the final question, and it was only for lack of time that I didn’t get the exact answer. I answered “40 miles” since my team was pretty much a bunch of dunderheads about this question (save for one), but the correct answer was “39.28″ miles. I mean c’mon, I was close, I knew it! The other teams were throwing out trash answers like “6 kilometers” (we were supposed to convert a calculated distance in kilometers to miles) and “4.6 miles”. At another friendly cable competition, I got first place overall. I got first place in events I literally had never done before. Sure, I saw someone do it once, but come on. There were maintenance guys competing with me, they are supposed to do this every day! That competition entitles me to a trip to another city on Comcast’s dime to compete again. I get paid for that day to do nothing but have fun, how cool is that? I don’t think it quite makes up for the myriad of other issues I have with this job, but it certainly helps to break up the monotony. I don’t see why I am one of few who volunteer for things like this.

Where was I going with this? Eff, I don’t know. Point is, sometimes I feel like I have (possibly) an elevated level of intelligence, and other times, like with events of past regarding douche-bags named “Derek”, I feel like a huge, embarrassing failure. Sometimes I feel like a nut, and sometimes I don’t.

Did I mention that my monitor kicks some major ass? It’s my new TV, the last major step towards making my system the entertainment powerhouse I wanted it to be.

I’m running out of blogging steam. I’ll try to post a little more often, Brad. I know you are the only one that reads this thing anyways…