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Author: NiteMayr

Before:

Kevin was born on the mossy hills of Scotland and lived for a while in West Lothian before the mores of pre-Thatcher and REALLY pre-Oasis Great Britain sent his family across the ocean to North America. They moved here and there and Kevin did the same when he was old enough. Now he lives in London with his family and a Dog.

Kevin Wardrop is an amateur writer, amateur photographer and professional pain in the ass. He has worked in the PC support business for most of his adult life and has been accustomed to simply answering technical questions as a matter of fiat, it was his career choice after all. Now he herds cats and puppies for a living as well as babysitting the web enterprises at the heart of western industry.

On Vox: Job search 2008 – Search Over

Published by NiteMayr on February 6, 2008

Well, Not Yet.

Not Yet.

Here is our New Place

Jenny Looks around the neighbourhood

Jenny Looks around the neighbourhood

It is a three bedroom 3 story unit, the master bedroom opens onto the balcony you see above the garage.  I think it faces North and South, which makes for dim mornings and hot afternoons.  It has a nice finished basement which means I can hid my TV and sound system down there.  Good stuff.

I took a few pictures when we toured it, but I'll take better ones when we do the move-in inspection.  I think I will document the whole deal here so that we can be sure that no one forgets it the way it was.

This also mean that yes, I will be living and working in London Ontario.  Starting February 11, I will be working in London for a software firm.  As I don't want to run afoul of any bad luck, I won't spill anything about it.

The Office is about 15-20 minutes from the house, the house is next to a nice school.  Bonus.

There are some stores nearby, I wonder if the nearest Walmart is 24/7?  The best sign I saw was that they had about 20 Rock Band units for the 360 there.  I could have my Family band together by mid-March.  Lol.

I'll be moving in tomorrow and in the unit to LIVE as of Sunday night. 

Oh yeah, if you are in Canada and not aware, the weekend of the 18th is a long weekend.  Also Bonus.

I expect to move this PC that I'm tapping away on to the new house on Sunday, which puts me out of reach for the Internets for about 3 to 5 days.

This also sucks.

I'm gonna call my potential new ISP today and ask if I can have the service setup before my phone arrives.  Should be a fun conversation.

Originally posted on nitemayr.vox.com

On Vox: Some Short Notes on Film I have seen

Published by NiteMayr on February 3, 2008

Evening Monster

Evening Monster

So, the Cloverfield monster is not Godzilla.  It's not Mothra, nor is it the monster from that episode of Patlabor that "The Host" cribbed from.  It's something in between, I think.

I finally got to see Cloverfield and enjoyed the ride, I think that another version of it from the third person perspective might have been better though as the jackassery got a bit thick there.

The Monster was scary and the final fate of the Camera was given right up front so the ending wasn't really a surprise.  Which kind of sucks.

Speedy Ride

Speedy Ride

When I rode in this cab, the driver was Russian.  I enjoy many things Eastern European.  I imagine it is my Slavic (?) heritage (being part Polish on my Mother's Side)  that leads me to enjoy borscht and cabbage soups and Russian Mobster Movies.

Eastern Promise was awesome and I highly recommend it to people who like to watch a movie and just enjoy the acting, without comprehension of the dialogue.  There were whole swaths were I was getting by on the facial expressions alone.  Sometimes I picked up a word or phrase here or there that I recognized in contexts, but otherwise they could have been saying gabba gabba in inflected, serious tones and I would have still been transfixed.

I sussed the plot fairly early, so the big reveal later on in the movie was more of "for those of you who have not figured out this movie yet, here you go"

Vampire Willow

Vampire Willow


I was a big Buffy fan, seriously.  Still am, I guess.  I also loved "30 Days of Night" by Steve Niles.  I snagged a bunch of the books and even the "Vampire Tales" TPB.  So I was semi-excited about the movie.

Leave it to another Comic Adaption to suck the life from a good Vampire Tale (if you will excuse the pun). 

I liked Josh Hartnet.  I liked the actress who played Stella (Melissa George).  I liked the sets, I liked the setup.   Where did it all go wrong?  The Vampires, of course.

Spouting Gibberish and screaming like animals, they were scary but they were not creepy. The only Vampire that was "right" was the one that was ripped off from Stephen King.  If you rip off a Stephen King adaption for your movie Adaption, you should have your pen revoked.  Simple an plain.

Touching Memorial

Touching Memorial

Finally, I saw John Rambo.  This is not a film.  This is a long-form Gunfight with some dialogue in between.  There is little I can say about this movie to recommend it, and I would find it too easy to look at the simplistic violence and say "pooh"

If one wants to see BAD BAD BAD guys get killed in a number of graphic ways, John Rambo is for you.   If you'd like some form of cinematic Justice meted out with Reason.  Umm, go watch "Witches of Eastwick" or something.

He turns one guy into a big wet stain in about 2 seconds.  OMG.

Originally posted on nitemayr.vox.com

On Vox: What Corporations sometimes are like

Published by NiteMayr on February 3, 2008

Our Robot Overlord

Our Robot Overlord

Please indulge a short flight of fancy whereupon I delight you with a tale of Olde Giants and Vassals to the Lord.

Imagine for a moment that there are Giants that live amongst us, some small giants that are barely larger than a house and some massive giants who can step from continent to continent and their very breath alters the weather as they go.  Now imagine that these Giants crap gifts.  They excrete money and gifts.

Mmmm.

Now, to make a living people can choose to live ON the Giants.  In fact, without armies of people on the Giants to tend to their health and protect them from other Giants, our Giants would actually die.  As long as they have their little armies though, they keep on living, immortal and fairly unaware of anyone but other Giants, their armies (whom they sometimes swipe off to assuage their vanity) and their food.  They stride from place to place pooping out prizes and eating whatever strikes their fancy. 

The Kings of the Lands realize that they can't fight the Giants, but can employ Giants to fight on their behalf.  Whole human armies are supplied by the poop of a given Giant and it's own army of helpers.  Some Giants employ smaller Giants to act on their behalf, but most Giants exist by eating stuff they find lying around or other Giants. 

The Vassals all need to live off of the crap the Giants poop out, because the Lords and Kings have all given the Giants free reign to roam over the lands and people as long as they keep crapping out prizes for the ones that aren't crushed or eaten. 

So Vassals and Lords alike are held in thrall by Immortal Giants who crap prizes and eat up all the land.  Too bad.

Originally posted on nitemayr.vox.com

On Vox: Joe Quesada is disconnected

Published by NiteMayr on January 31, 2008

Joe Quesada on Howard Stern

Joe Quesada on Howard Stern

Joe tells us that the fans don't want Peter and ary Jane to be married.

Good stuff.

Excepting that the fans would have been happier that Aunt May was dead.  Seriously.  He speaks about how they don't want to damage the "cast" but then he wipes out the status quo.

The "geek makes good" story is what keeps the fans in the mix.  If someone doesn't want their spider-man to be married, they can stick with The Ultimate Spider-Man comics.

Oh Well.

Originally posted on nitemayr.vox.com

Kilts are not for you

Published by NiteMayr on January 29, 2008

Utilikilt’s irreverent “license agreement” – Boing Boing

CJ from Utilikilts writes: “I am responsible for receiving and cataloging all the images customers send in to our web site. We use the images on our web site, in our marketing literature, etc, so we need to inform our customers about this and get a release from them. So I wrote a release they would WANT to sign! I

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  These pleated affairs are not Kilts, they are skirts.  If you want to wear a skirt, then say so.  Don’t hide behind Scottish Culture’s wrapped tartan midriff to pretend otherwise. 

Basic rules of Kilt Wearing:

No Sporran = Not a  Kilt 
Pleats = Not a Kilt 
Shaved or less than shaggy legs = Not a Kilt

There you go, basic rules for Kilts.  Also, if you can’t roll your Rs, then you are banned from ever evening thinking of wearing a Kilt.  Unless you are a girl, then Sally Forth!

On Vox: Thorny Decisions & A Drive Through the Snow

Published by NiteMayr on January 23, 2008

I was in London today for an Interview (I go the Job!)  I've got another job interview with the Local Nuke Plant and one with an Automotive Firm up on Manitoulin Island in the next week or so so I'm kind of in a bind on the Job thing.  One one hand I have a generous offer from the Firm I interviewed with today  and on the other I have tried to get into the Local Power Concern for years and finally have an Interview for a decent job with them.

The Culture at the firm today seemed really awesome, however I really want to make sure that I give these other two firms a go.  It has been six months since I left Symantec and I want to ensure I make the best possible decision.

Driving through the snow

Driving through the snow

Please enjoy this short video presentation about my drive home.  It's one long shot and demonstrates the kind of weather we get up here in Bruce County.  The Song is "Midnight Cowboy"

Originally posted on nitemayr.vox.com

coldcut ft saul williams – mr nichols

Published by NiteMayr on January 17, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNWJNS89Rek
Hmm,

Coldcut and Saul Williams deliver another memorable sermon.

If you haven’t heard from these artists I heartily endorse their music and encourage you to check them out.

I listened to this today while I was reading “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” which has been ruined for me by the Movie of the Same name. I always enjoy reading Hunter Thompson, he’s the kind of writer that turns the banal into a freak-trip. Even the darkest of trips becomes a delight through his freakish muse.

Where was I? Saul Williams, failed musical experiments aside, you should at least look into his work, especially the drum and bass collaborations he has been involved in.

On Vox: Job Search 2008

Published by NiteMayr on January 8, 2008

    Reworked my resume, removed a great deal of verbage, slimmed down job to point form notes.

Monster.ca

Kelly Services – IT Specialist
Silicon Knights – IT Administrator
Center for International Governance – Junior IT Administrator
Halogen Software – Network Administrator
Brogan Inc – Network Administrator

DevBistro

Nothing New

Workopolis

Nothing Today

itjob.ca

Nothing New

My Sister has a line on a job with the police.  Will find out later today.

Originally posted on nitemayr.vox.com