Empty Cage

Originally posted on my Facebook:

Perhaps I’m not the only the only one feeling her steadfast apathy towards the SFUO migrating into mild irritation? I mean, let’s not overstate things, I still don’t give much of a damn what my ‘student federation’ does. However they are actually becoming hard to ignore, which is something I don’t want in my student government. In fact, if someone ran on the platform of leaving me the hell alone it might actually shake me out of my disdain for the SFUO long enough get me voting on something.

I guess I should start by pointing out that all I know about the UOttawa ‘Shitstorm’ (as the Fulcrum so eloquently put) it is hearsay and a brief skimming of the article written by our two-dimensional student newspaper, (which, to be honest, I probably only picked up to hack my way through the sudoku from hell, and ridicule the paper’s “comic artist” for having the sense of humour of a $2.99 joke book from the bargain bin at Chapters). That is to say, this is based purely on half-truths and what I think is amusing, because I am a sick sad person with nothing better to do.

For those who either don’t go to UOttawa or are blessed with the ability to never know what is going on at school I’ll give a brief synopsis of what happened from how I see it. I painstakingly avoided voting in the SFUO elections and somehow they are back and more annoying than ever, as failed presidential candidate “RPG” decides to accuse the winner of cheating (running on a slate — for shame!), using some obscure passage from a document no one cares enough about to read. Then there was some sort of investigation — people had signs at said investigation that mentioned racism, and slander, but to be honest I was too busy not giving a shit to read them too carefully. To be fair, though far be it from me to actually give a damn about who is “right” in this particular situation, the “Face it, you lost” signs really spoke to me.

But there’s nothing like walking past the newspaper stand in residence and seeing Seamus Wolf’s best politician snarl go down in mortal combat against the tented fingers of the batshit insane RPG. A moment of contemplation before you draw a curly mustache on both of them, chortling at how clever you are. You can hardly tell which one you’d rather ignore as student body president. Mr. Wolf running on a campaign of “I was on the SFUO last year and so my awesomeness now blinds you to the fact that I have no real platform” and Mr. uhm… RPG running on a platform of “I believe in RPG” which just proves that everyone is going to cash in on Heath Ledger’s death this school year. I’m not even going to comment on the Harvey Dent parallels that can be drawn because that’s just mean spirited.

Of course, maybe it’s just because the Almighty RPG intimidates me with his intelligence, clearly I need to be talked down to and given his initials because my mortal brain cannot comprehend his full name. (I’m looking at you, YHWH).

Perhaps the reason for my agitation about this whole thing is really a deep seeded one stemming from waking up for some 8:30AM class and finding myself staring through several equally pretentious candidates for half an hour wondering simultaneously if vegetarians do eat animal crackers and why I am watching infomercials when I pay $5,322.98 a year in tuition to these people. Oh, that’s right, the SFUO is important to me, and… impacts me on a daily basis. Seriously. Every day. Even Thursdays.

In conclusion, once this epic ‘Storm of Shit’ quiets I urge whoever is made SFUO president to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, whatever his name is.

I meant to comment that I have fixed the problem since my last entry but got caught up in other things. So, the problem ended. Basically what happened was the the “kernel” or version of my Fedora upgraded but not my video card drivers. To fix the problem (until updated drivers were avalaible — which are at the time of writing) I had to boot from an older kernel. To do this I simply hit ‘I’ at the boot and picked the second option on the boot list. When the video card driver was avalaible all I did was let it boot normally. Thanks to the guys at Fedora Forum for all their help. I seem to have posed the question properly as they got back to me and were fairly nice about it.

In other news, school, blargh. Well, sort of blargh, maybe like, half blargh. Because I decided to make my minor Computer Science I have to take Math. Which was one of those really terrible ideas I once had. The course is soundly kicking my ass into next month. And the final for it is on the last possible day, that would be April 30th! Which is pretty sucky. The worst part being that I have no idea what is going on in this class. I can only assume it is something appallingly difficult and leave it at that. For fear of my sanity.

I have more to say I think, but I should really be doing some school readings. Later.

Okay, I’m not going to lie, I’ve been off school a few days now… blissfully done my first semester exams and such. But for some reason I’m having trouble getting myself modivated to do anything website related. Which is bad, because I owe three third parties websites right now and I just can’t bring myself to spend time on webwork. Not so good considering I want to have my whole domain cleaned out and freshened up for the new year, and try to get all the websites I owe out and to the people who are owed. Christmas can take some of the blame, by the way, as it’s technically Christmas now — Happy Christmas, loves!

It’s funny because really, I don’t want to do anything, even writing this blog feels more like a moral obligation than something I want to do. It’s weird, occasionally I’ve been knows to get a bit listless in the colder months, but not this bad. I don’t know, I’ll try shoving myself around a bit.

After tomorrow I have probably got more time to write and I have two fanlistings to build, which should round out the ones I have and not lead to my applying for more unless something I would kill for hits the floor.

P.S.

Love Amber more for my layout, it is sexy as hell. Plus, give her a congrats on all the awesomeness that had been going on in Amberland of late.

Who’s stressed?

Woo! Kae’s stressed!

Whose websites all (like every single one, baby) need serious attention and redesign so they don’t look like ass.

You’re looking at it baby!

… Yea, it’ll happen. I have been working on EC, but I really need to get my act together and dooo it. I have just been very uninspired.

P.S.

Now hosting Josephine <3

I have been an absolutely terrible webmistress lately, and for that I apologise to the un-viewers that I have. Normally I’m an addictive website owner, but lately I haven’t been feeling it. Not that anything will be happening to Empty Cage, I love this little domain too much for that. But sluggishness in everything should be expected.

Despite the well meant advice from Amber (I really do listen to everything you say and take all of your advice) I will be hosting some people on here. There is way more space then I could ever possibly use. I won’t have a whole page and applications and stuff, but people like Josephine and Vanessa (as well as anyone I know in life) are more than welcome to ask me for some room. Strangers can too, I suppose, but I’ll be kind of picky.

For current web projects, I’m working on a website for the UPSA (my University’s Undergraduate Philosophy Association) and Shadow RO, a Ragnarok Server I’m on. Likely these two layouts will be very similar. Then of course the Magical Mystery Tour Fanlisting. I just need to work out the details. From there it’s all about Cursed and Empty Cage.

Check out my new Linux guide though.

My posting frequency has indeed been found wanting!

I’m just still getting into the whole school game. After all, this is my first time in school for a year!

I have a lot of ‘real life’ sort of updates today (including some web ones, but let’s focus on me haha) and, despite the fact that Syd, my laptop is not yet back from the shop, I can type fairly well on this IBM, even though it sounds positively terrible. It’s on it’s last legs for sure. So, let us begin!

I have finally started school first of all, which is tons of fun in and of itself. I am officially a Philosophy student at the University of Ottawa! A grand school in our nations capital the campus is beautiful, and I’m still a bit haggard from ’101 week’ which is what they call frosh week. I’m still a non-drinker (I hate the taste, though I have had a few drinks to keep the peace with some rambunctious drunk people), but it is so much motion, and so much meeting, that for someone like me it gets exhausting! I went to maybe half of the events.

Because I’m forcing myself not to be a social recluse here, as I usually am, my goal has been to find venues that I’m comfortable in and meet people, as well as trying to get to know people in my classes in an effort to if not find a ‘best friend’ have people that I could hang out with should I feel so inclined. So far I’ve had some moderate success in this — there’s a pretty nice looking guy in my Latin class who I talk to all the time, and a nice, albeit hyperish girl in my English class who has me in stitches the entire class.

I also try to go to the Thursday night Philosophy Discussion Groups, allowing me to observe people and their theories — this being the only venue that I drink at (if even this!) as we do hold it in the basement of a pub, and I get offered about thirty drinks a night, usually I pull what Andrew would call a ‘Sue Saunderson’ and accept one drink and nurse it all night. Normally I’d be all ‘fierce I don’t drink’ but I’m legal, and I find people get very standoffish and defensive if you just don’t drink, as if because you don’t drink you expect them to not drink. To be honest, I don’t really care too much, but it’s a subconscious thing, and I’d rather not have people be chilly towards me because of my choice. One beer over the course of about four hours once a week doesn’t really concern me too much. As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t even really count, I find I still have about half a glass by the time I leave, which someone else is more than happy to relieve me of.

Other than that, I don’t know if I mentioned on here, but I bought myself an electric guitar this summer! It’s a Seafoam Green Fender Squier, a good solid beginner’s instrument I hear, and I got it really cheap. Andrew provided an amp, and after getting some picks, a patch cord, and a headphone adaptor I find I can kill hours with it. I’m not really following a course or tutorial or taking lessons. In fact, usually I just dig up a tab, and try playing it until it sounds right. Mostly, though, I love to just sit, close my eyes and pluck the strings randomly and see what sort of sounds the thing can make, trying to come up with words for the sounds. If I didn’t have headphones I’m sure my room mate would commit suicide while I did this. Because it isn’t really music, just sound. So far my only accomplishment was finding a way to play power chords comfortably. While Dan showed me how to play them ages ago it was always a painful hyper extension for me, and I was worried my hands were simply too small for the instrument. Did I need a children’s guitar? God I would have lost it, after all, Andrew and Daniel always laugh, because I had to hold a PS2 controller with one hand hooked over the top to hit all the right buttons! Fortunately, after playing with the angle I held the instrument at, I managed to find a comfortable way to play power chords. All-in-all, I’ve really been enjoying learning to play the guitar, I’m absolute rubbish, and can only play things like ‘the intro to Daytripper, Smoke on the Water, and Smells like teen Spirit’ but it’s relaxing for me, and helping me with my goal of not always being on the internet.

My classes are all great except English. English is ‘essay writing’ and we’re currently reviewing nouns and verbs. Yes, seriously! In a University course I am learning that an adjective describes a noun. Other than that I have Philosophy Critical Thinking and Reasoning, History 1500s-1900s, Latin I, and Technical Theatre I. I’ll write more on my courses later, suffice to say, I’m in them, I enjoy them, and only two are big enough to be in lecture halls.

In my little web kingdom, I have (obviously) successfully moved hosts. My next steps involve filling the domain (still!) and changing the entry classification system (use a mix of tags and categories), moving Cursed onto a CMS so I’ll actually be inclined to update. It is my hope to get Cursed completely up-to-date with the finishing of the manga. I want it perfectly comprehensive so I can leave it alone. As well as a new layout. Next I want Loyalties to be a proper shrine, so it will likely also move onto a CMS. I’m looking at Chyrp, if anyone has any input on that. As Amber mentioned WordPress is pretty heavy duty. Finally, Wonderland, and Enigma are my last two on my immediate to-do list.

Anyways, I do have more to add, like my need to get a job, my trials getting into a computer course, my deepest desire to take driving lessons, and how badly studying for my A+ Technician exam is going, but I need to get ready for Latin. Cheerio.

I haven’t written a ‘heartfelt’ blog since I returned from the UK, so I guess, here’s one. It should be brief because I have things I need to get done today and a whole pile of documentation to write for my mother with regards to her website.

I guess the title of this entry should say it all — or most of it at least. I’m standing on the edge of a number of things right now, and I’m still not sure how comfortable I am with the whole situation. School is obviously the biggest one, as I’m watching the frantic days flutter by I wonder what the hell is going to happen to me come August 30th.

And there’s been nothing but hassles getting into school, it is absolutely mental all the stuff I’ve had to do — you’d think after paying several thousand dollars they’d be able to hire enough people to not make this a nightmare. Currently I’m in two random courses just so I’m “billed properly” which, I have to admit scares me. They’re more concerned about my billing than me actually being in courses I want to be in. Soo… Ancient Greek civilisation and… Chinese… here I come. And for the record, I don’t know a word of Chinese, so, this should be fun. The Greek course, despite my love of history, doesn’t really hold my intrigue at all. So there you have it, good thing I’m being billed properly.

Motherdear also insists I take an essay writing course, which makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little. Despite my major I’m taking two Philosophy courses and three English ones.

Bah.

I have more to say, but work to do.

But Andrew came over and I had to fix Cathy Goldberg’s computer! How was I supposed to update, huh? By magic? Eh? Eh?!

I love hardware repairs way more than software ones, with hardware at the end you can say ‘Yes. This is fixed. There is a taste of minor triumph.’ With software… well, now you’re dealing with the ‘ghosts in the machine.’ Which I think would be a pretty cool thing to haunt to be honest. Typing cryptic messages every few days, causing myself to implode. Other nefarious misdemeanors… I’d be worse than Y2K! (Which was a bit of a let down with regards to the collapse of the universe)

Will I update tonight? Maybe.

It’s my broski’s birthday, and I should probably be nice to him as I can’t really afford to get him anything. Oh, my dear bother… that was a typo, I did indeed mean brother. He’ll be seventeen, which I find kind of scary, he’s getting so big and grown up and totally can and will push me around at random.

I still need to pick my courses for school, but I need to call the university because according to their website all of the compulsory classes I need to take are full. Hmn. My old manager Al said he’d help hook me up with a job at Staples Ottawa, so that takes care of the fact that I have no money at all. My residence is amazing, I can hardly wait to move in with my… double bed and cable TV. BWAAHAHAHAHAH! I don’t even have that in my room at home.

I have a new chapter to upload for Whitechapel, which I will get to soon, I’ve just been so preoccupied with work and life, and have started a new (hopefully) short story about a rockstar. (It sucks less than in sounds like it should I promise) So I’ve been actively writing, a lot of my usual philosophic rants in my paper journal mostly.

In the merry land of websites, obviously my priority is fixing this place up to a serviceable level again, I finished the Sakaki Haruto Fanlisting though (and already it needs a new layout), and totally GOT APPROVED FOR THE CHESHIRE CAT FANLIST!! yey. Book and Movie Characters, not animation, which strikes me as odd that they are two separate but whatever. The small webshrine I was going to be making for the Cheshire Cat receives new furvor, in fact, I may apply for American McGee’s Alice — The Cheshire Cat too just because I am that addicted. No word on the Magical Mystery Tour yet. Albums said they would update this week though, so we’ll see. Loyalties will be getting fixed up soon. My other websites — Ruins is going to be born as I need something Angel Sanctuary, and I’m going to upload all my info on Umbreon for Enigma like I should have done months ago. Cursed also has an update coming in the near future as I prepare to get it fully up to date, as, for those who are yet unaware, the Inuyasha series has finally finished. Loyalties is also looking for an update, and Bloodlust is teetering but may be turned into a Shougo Kawada shrine before the day is out (despite my Sugimura love Shougo would be much more interesting to write about I think)

For OTHER people’s websites, Justin if you still exist, and even read my blog anymore I can make Twilight RO a new layout, last I checked your domain was down, but if you ever read it, I can redo. Blue Heron Books is going to be made less ugly and updated to use Word Press. And finally, Shards will be finished hopefully before CN Anime….

Anyone else here look back fondly on their childhood and find when ponder growing up they simply think ’Wow, if I had known this was going to happen I would never have eaten my vegetables.’ I miss the days when summer meant doing whatever struck my fancy (within vague reason) and whenever I wanted to. If I wanted to sit on a computer all day I did, and if I wanted to run wild through the streets of Uxbridge, well, that was another option.

Now, my summers are like a preview to ‘the real world’, I wake up at some heathen hour, drive an hour, work all day, drive an hour home, and have no desire to live much less do anything productive, then sleep on edge, because I know the very next day I will be jarred awake at 6:30AM. Rinse, repeat, every day, all summer. Summer is really no more special than any other season to be honest, but our society have given summer standing above all for no reason

Go, winter, go!

Anyways, apart from whining about my job, I’ve been trying to pick my courses for Uni, but it looks like all my compulsory credit courses are filled in the fall semester, making me wonder if, perhaps, I’ll have one course in Autumn, and nine in the winter, which would not be cool at all. I have to call University of Ottawa and find out what I’m supposed to do. I’m hoping to get into a Latin course, and I think I’m the only one ever that finds the idea of one cool.

In the universe of web, I’m going to recode everything… and I mean everything. As well as hopefully update layouts as well and simply make Empty Cage able to make it part of the way through validation before it says ‘funk this’ My coding is abysmal! Thank god for Amber who is my Web Guru, and has been helping me all the way along. Hopefully one day E-C.NET will look pretty.