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Just needed to distract myself a little, I'm going through these PE prep questions, and realizing I don't remember a damn thing. I can work my way through it with a little guidance, and by the time I'm done a problem, I understand it. The issue is the amount of time it takes to finish them, I only have 8 hours for the exam. Sheesh, I never thought I'd think of it as only 8 hours...
I'm at least thankful that I'm allowed to sit here at work and do this. Originally I was going to take an in-class course, but that was canceled. Turns out to be a good thing, as the class would have been 2 nights a week for something like 10 weeks. Instead, I am doing an online course, which means I can sit here at work and do it, leaving my evenings free(ish). It's also meant that my days are busyish, as opposed to the slowness that is the current Xanadu slump. Granted, things are picking up on that end, so we'll see.
But I am currently going through electrical circuit theory. Not the stuff I do here at work, mind you, but garbage like Kirchoff's laws, and node analysis, and all that entails. I'll have to admit I've had my brain asplode a few times - it's been a long time since I've done any of this!
But I'll consider myself successfully distracted for a bit, so I guess it's time to get back to work.Current Mood:  working Current Music: Beck |
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Just have to get a bit of frustration out - I'm getting tired of all the stupid right wing shit that people are spewing. I've learned better than to argue with them about it - I'd have better luck convincing the pug that he doesn't want to eat something!!!
I guess what really sent me off this time is something on Facebook - an old friend of Ceri's posted a link about health care and taxes, and how there is a good probability that taxes will go up for health care spending. I guess what really pisses me off isn't the link, it's the comments. People with there "see, I told you a democrat would raise taxes!", even using the term 'sheeple', as if we were all livestock that will do anything as long as Obama says it (never mind that they can act like livestock to whatever the Rush Limbaughs say) - it really pisses me off! I fully know that people have different opinions, and I can get behind that. But the lack of respect really gets me. I voted for Obama because I think he has a better idea for where the country needs to go. Not because he is black, or because he is a democrat, or any other stupid reason people come up with.
But someone always throws out that eventual "tax and spend liberal" shit, and it really sends me through the roof. The data for the US deficit isn't hard to find, and the FACTS clearly show that the democrats tend to reduce the national deficit, and the republicans tend to increase it. OH NOES - TEH TAX AND SPENDERS ARE COMING!!! It's better than the fucking spend and spenders! But for some reason the fact that Republicans are increasingly selling this country and it's assets to China is okay with them. FUCKING IDIOTS!!!!
Here, take a look: Wiki's deficit page
They even have a convenient table and graph, which clearly shows that for the past 40 FUCKING YEARS that every Republican has left office leaving A GREATER FUCKING DEFICIT, and that every Democrat has LOWERED IT. Now I'm not saying that Obama is going to be the next messiah, and I have no idea what actual effect his current fiscal policies will have in the long run. But the fact still remains, all you people bitch about "tax and spend liberals", even thought "tax and spend" is actually "fiscal responsibility". So please, SHUT UP.Current Mood:  frustrated Current Music: ipod mix |
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I know, I do tend to like the memes. Borrowed from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) deathquaker
Pick ONE artist and answer the questions using their song titles, trying to describe yourself as best you can.
I am using Pink Floyd. Maybe it's cheating, since they do have an extensive song library (I've been listening to it for the past three days straight, no repeats), but I'm going to go with the "I have an anime chick wearing a Dark Side of the Moon shirt tattooed on my arm" and use it anyway. :P
( Cut to avoid mega-long post )Current Mood:  easily distractable Current Music: I give you one guess... |
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So I officially HATE UMBC. They were supposed to be doing a PE prep course this fall, one that would be conveniently located, would run twice a week, and would help me ace my exam. Well, they apparently decided against, and when I called to find out what the deal was, I got a "sorry, well run it in the spring". Never mind the cock suckers said last spring "we'll run it in the fall". But taking it in the spring is a bit too late for my October exam date!
At least I did find another option, an online class. Only problem is that it started yesterday, and it'll probably be a week before the course material gets to me. So, thanks again UMBC, for completely FUCKING me! Yay!
Not that it'll be too big a deal in the end. It's a mostly self-paced course, so if I am a week behind, I'll be able to make that up. It's more of a nuisance than anything, if UMBC had canceled their class sooner, I would have been able to start this class on time, rather than spending next week trying to play catch up. But, I guess it is what it is.
So dinner at Pie Day is in order, where I can at least have a nice dinner and a beverage with my honey tonight. I'll take it.Current Mood: pissed off Current Music: Pink Floyd |
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As an avid video gamer, I HATE every person that loves to get up and tell us how violent video games are making us all into psycho killers. Never mind that whole personal responsibility thing...
Either way, Penn and Teller, via their show "Bullshit!", decided to tackle the violence in video games argument. Here is an article about it on shacknews.com, along with links to the Youtube videos of the episode. Penn and Teller Take on Violent Video Games. Worth a watch.Current Mood: annoyed |
| » The times they are a-changin... in Iran? |
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So I've been listening to NPR in the morning on the way to work, and one thing has been high on the news lists - the election in Iran.
Let's face it, we aren't exactly cozy with their current president Ahmadinejad. Between his disdain for Israel, his assertions the holocaust wasn't real, and his nuclear intentions (never mind the oil), Iran's interests and the US's interests generally aren't in the same ball park. So when I heard about the elections, and the fact that there was a moderate contender that actually had a chance, I was interested to hear more. Mousavi, the other candidate, was prime minister of Iran (before that post was eliminated) and is apparently very well considered among the Iranian people. His leadership (while not total, due to the way Iran's government is set up) is supposed to steer Iran back to center, and not towards the extremist views of Ahmadinejad.
The elections were last Friday. Ahmadinejad won with about 66% of the vote. Tehran has been shut down with protests ever since.
Apparently voter turn out was the highest it's been in a long time, and a lot of people feel there was election rigging and vote fraud. The news today was saying that there are maybe a quarter of a million people in the streets protesting, despite calls to stop (and shots fired!). The Supreme Leader has even called for a recount, and an investigation into voter fraud. I'll be interested to see what comes of it - I have a feeling that even if the vote stands, the protests won't just go away. Apparently the same thing happened about 30 years ago - when protests forced the reigning shah of Iran to back down, which created the current government. So Iran seems to have a history of protests working... I hope it continues.
I'm not really sure why I am so focused on Iran's elections. I think part of it has to do with our own elections - that saw Obama elected. I think of them as signs that things are progressing away from the hostile ways of administrations past, and while it may not lead to world peace, it might at least move closer to world not-at-war. Certainly something I'd like to see happen as we move forward with adopting - I'd like our kids to have something better to grow up to.
Jun. 16th, 2009 @ 08:30 am
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| » the weekender |
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I think I need to start writing as some sort of regular feature. I always seem to hit the LJ after the weekend (I guess weeks aren't that exciting), so I might as well just come up with some form of regular feature. But then again, that might take effort. :)
But 'twas another decent weekend, starting with FND at K&K's. Big Gay D was in visiting B&K, which was mucho fun. He really needs to move up this way from Norfolk! But it was a fun combination of hooch, dinner, games, and general noisiness that comes with an FND. I laugh - sometimes I'm not feeling the noisiness, and I find a quiet little corner to sit and watch. This time I was fully feeling the social, so I made a point of sitting at the table with the majority of the group, and keeping myself in on the large group games and the conversation, no matter how weird it may get.
Saturday was also decent, but it was decidedly odd. A bunch of us met at Miss Shirley's for lunch, which was fantastic as always. As we were clearing out and heading back to our cars, we saw that someone backed into (with quite an impact) into E&D's car. The hood was smooshed some, the license plate was on the ground, the bumper was barely attached. We called the cops and got a report, which I think was a miracle seeing as we got Officer I Don't Give a Rat's Ass. We had some witnesses that knew that the people had come out of Miss Shirley's, so it might have been possible to go and get a name from a waiter that might have recognized a description. But all Officer IDGARA was interested in was if anyone had a tag number. Clearly, she thought that this was a clear hit and run, no one was hurt, so she did her report and was more than happy to call it there and leave it up to the insurance company. E was less than thrilled with that, and Ceri and I thought that there were a couple of times where she was going to open her mouth and get herself thrown in jail. Officer IDGARA was not going to do any more, and E berating her wasn't going to change that.
After that, heading home to get some painting done before E's birthday shindig, we had more odd. Heading down Moravia Road, there was this little white dog running down the middle of the road. There were three people following it. Moravia Road isn't exactly a place for dogs to hang out, so I stop the car and throw on the flashers so I can get out and try and chase it down. I quickly realize that I'll never catch him, so I opt to flank him and try and chase him back. It was actually really funny, maybe a half dozen cars stopped, with people opening doors and getting out to try and catch the dog. We did eventually scare him off Moravia, presumably back towards home. I talked with one of the original people, and she was laughing, saying it wasn't her dog, but she didn't want it to get hurt, but she was really touched by the number of people that stopped to help. What can I say, I can't let a dog get hit!
Sunday, seeing as it refused to be a good sunny bike riding day, was instead very low key. It was still rather productive, as we got another coat of paint up in the dog's room, and did some shopping at Ikea and Home Depot that netted some excellent finds for the dog's room. One more coat of brown on the accent wall and new base molding, and we are ready to move the dogs back in. The dogs room has certainly taken longer than we expected, but the end result should be really nice. Rather than just painting it with something that 'will do', we opted to take advantage of the space and play around with it. But once the dogs room is done, that will allow us to really focus on the nursery. That will take a bit more work, as we are also putting in chair rail, and we still have the closet to finish. But we don't have the time concern like we do with the dogs room - it isn't like a baby is going to show up tomorrow.
But either way, the weekend is coming to a close. This week should see the dogs room done, and also includes at least one trip to Jersey. So that means it should move pretty quickly. Time will tell.
Mar. 15th, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
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| » So it begins... |
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Yeah, like Ceri, I really need to be working. But I also can't just get back to work as if today is any other day, for it clearly isn't.
Obama is officially president, has been for about an hour and a half, and I find myself sitting here knowing that this is a historical moment, one that signifies (hopefully) a new direction for our country.
I've really tried to put my finger on what it is that really gets me fired up and hopeful. One douche I work with insists that the only reason people are excited is because he is black. I'd be a fool to deny that it is a reason. I think of my mom's stories of the race riots in Baltimore when she was in high school. I think of the riots in LA after the Rodney King incident. I think of my cousin being called a 'stupid cracker' at the ATM. I think of the areas of town that I lock my car doors. I think of my uncle chasing off the young black kid selling things for his school from his neighborhood. Race is still a big divider in this country. For all the people that saw Martin Luther King shot, or the people that had to use a different water fountain, bathroom, or section of the bus, I'm sure they never thought this day would come. Frankly, I'm not sure I thought it would happen. There are plenty of decent people out there, that judge a man by his merit and not the color of his skin. But there are plenty that don't.
But personally, that isn't what excites me. I would have voted for him no matter what his color and heritage. I was voting for his ideals. I was voting for a man that was going to restore my faith in the leadership of this country. I was voting for a president that won't abuse his strength and power, that will do what is best for the country, whether we like it or not. And I guess that's really it, I like his ideas of what is best for the country. Clearly, Bush thought he was doing what was right. I have a hard time painting him as some minion of evil, hell bent on destruction. But I also know that his vision of what was right do not jive with me. He wanted these wars. He wanted to end the threats of terrorism by pure brute strength. He wanted to force American superiority. He wasn't a leader, as much as he was a bully. Obama is not. He represents a change from a lot of bad Bush policies, but he isn't backing off on national strength. In fact, he is pushing a stronger America. And for some reason I believe him. Maybe he really is just a fantastic speaker that has hoodwinked us all. But I doubt that. He is looking to make America #1 not through brute force, but by leading. By investing in America and it's abilities and people. By rebuilding us for a future that has been leaving us behind. I feel that our nation is merely a shell of what it once was, and I think Obama has the foresight to rebuild our foundations.
America, I'm proud of you.
Jan. 20th, 2009 @ 01:46 pm
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| » Public Service Announcement |
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Okay, for everyone out there that may not know this, 1 gig does not always mean 1 gig. Hard drive manufacturers follow the convention that 1 gigabyte is 1x10^9, or 1,000,000,000 bytes. The prefix 'giga' means x10^9, so it stands to reason. The problem is that software uses binary, and 1 gigabyte is 2^30, or 1,073,741,824 bytes. So when you are shopping for a hard drive, your 500 GB hard drive is 500,000,000,000 bytes, which when divided by the 2^30 convention your operating system uses, comes up as about 465 GB. It DOES NOT mean that you are 'missing' 35 GB. It is merely a convenience error magnified. When computing was in it's infancy, 2^10 bytes is 1024, which was deemed a kilobyte, even though it is more than 1000 bytes. It was a convenience, and a fairly small amount of data. But as things have gotten significantly larger, all of those 24s are adding up. But it does not mean that someone is lying to you, or that something is missing. IT'S JUST THE FREAKING NOMENCLATURE!!!!!
Sorry about this to everyone that already knows this, but I had to do it. I've been shopping for an external hard drive to back stuff up on, and for the number of times someone would leave a bad review because of 'missing hard drive space' or 'false advertising', it was very clear that there are a lot of people that don't realize that one GB is not always the same. There is actually a push to use a different nomenclature, one kibibyte is 1024, and one gibibyte is 1,073,741,824 bytes, in an effort to clear up the confusion. For some reason, I don't think it will work too well. I know I don't want to be the guy at Best Buy or Circuit City explaining to someone what a gibibyte is.
Jan. 13th, 2009 @ 09:18 am
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| » Something that might be of interest |
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I was on teh intarwebs, and I saw a link to an interview that I thought some people might find worth reading - it's with Neil Gaiman on the 20th anniversary of the Sandman. Interview behind the ( cut )
Nov. 14th, 2008 @ 09:18 am
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| » Wow..... |
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Uh, wow....
So Obama is going to be our new president! Holy crap!
After a great evening last night of dinner at Pie Day, desert at a little gelato place in Fell's, and a night of reading in bed and generally avoiding the election results, we had to turn it on before we went to sleep. So I pulled out the remote, popped on WBAL, and we watched. It was mostly a lot of people talking, filling in space. Ceri and I had to laugh, because we still don't know how they figure out when to call a state. The networks had given Vermont to Obama with 0% of the polls reporting. Huh? How do you even do that?
But we watched the numbers climb, cheering when states like Pennsylvania and Ohio were called for Obama. He had reached 207 of the prerequisite 270, and as it got closer to 11:00, they started saying they'd have some big state announcements then. So WBAL started flipping back and forth between local news groups and the national NBC group. Then, in the middle of one of the local segments, everything stopped, and a large 'Obama elected president' graphic popped up on the screen. WHAT?!?! How? What? He only had 207! I know they said they had some big announcements at 11:00, but I didn't think that was what they meant! I honestly didn't believe it. It was so sudden, almost like it was an accident. Ceri and I kept waiting for them to pop up the map to show what had changed to go from 207 to a very sudden 270+.
But it wasn't that long that McCain conceded. I still don't think it had really sunk in. But they just kept showing the numbers, and showing the Obama rally about to happen, showing the numbers again - it was real alright!
I had a lot of hope for this election. I thought Obama had a good chance of winning, the polls had been very favorable up to this point. But I try not to put too much stock into polls, they can be wrong. But in my heart, I thought he would win. But I never thought it would happen like it did. Polls had only been closed on the west coast for about 10 minutes when McCain conceded.
I still don't entirely believe it.
P.S. I meant to mention how short the lines were last night. Ceri and I got to the polls, and there were literally three people in front of us. And with four people getting people ready to go, it was literally a minute or two and we were voting.
Nov. 5th, 2008 @ 08:13 am
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| » You know what day it is. |
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My initial intention was to come on here with a 'get out the vote' type of post. But frankly, I think there is enough of that out there without me adding my name to the list. It's been a bit of an overload (I'm sure even worse in states like Ohio), but it seems like everytime you turn on the radio, tv, or internet you are getting some form of election coverage. Don't get me wrong, it's beyond important, but there is so much speculation it's making me nuts. Even our beloved football was election-themed last night. First, there was the whole 'if the Redskins win' barometer on the election (which if it's right means Obama wins). And there was also the unnecessary state-by-state poll mapping of their usual call-in questions. And of course, we had Obama and McCain at half time. Enough already!
So Ceri and I are planning on having a non-election night. Once we get home we're going to go vote, head on down to Pie Day for some beer and dinner, and then spend most of the evening avoiding election coverage. We'll certainly check the news before we go to bed, but I just don't think I have the stamina to sit and listen to it all night. Maybe some reading, maybe some painting, maybe some guitar. I don't really know what I'll end up doing, but I know what it won't be - watching the polls.
But I feel I have to at least make a point of saying it before I go - make sure you vote!
Nov. 4th, 2008 @ 02:53 pm
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| » For all of my fellow voters out there |
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I saw this, and thought it was pretty funny.
Obama video
Oct. 29th, 2008 @ 01:57 pm
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| » Happy Birthday |
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'Weird' Al Yankovic turns 49 today - so happy birthday!
I heard that on the way in on NPR this morning, and found myself thinking - 49? Is that it? So he was only 24 when he released his first album in '83. Who knew? Well, I'm sure someone did, but that wasn't me.
Anyway. I think I'm going to crank up the Weird Al after this. Happy B'day Al!
Oct. 23rd, 2008 @ 08:42 am
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| » You're my moon... |
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I dunno, I just had one of those 'wow' moments last night. I was taking the trash out, and happened to look up at a just-past-full moon shining brightly in the sky. I stopped, and just looked up at it a bit. It's really quite beautiful. I found myself in awe of it actually, to think that this piece of space is close enough (and big enough) for us to just look up, and actually see some form of detail on it.
Granted, the Baltimore night time sky is nothing compared to others I've seen, be it Connecticut, rural Pennsylvania, or up in Ithaca, where on a cloudless night the whole sky shines with the amount of pin-prick stars you can see, and things like the Milky Way are just up there easy to see. But I think that's part of what made me really stop and look at the moon last night. It was just so bright, so visible. It was really quite stunning.
And then I stepped on a slug. I HATE that.
Oct. 17th, 2008 @ 07:59 am
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| » Gaaaahh - I'm an idiot |
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Have you ever had one of those days where you go through the whole day, swearing it's one day, only to find out that it's not? I've had one of those. Up until this point, I'd have sworn that today was Wednesday. I've had stuff at work I've been stressing about to make sure I'd have it done by Thursday, I even brought stuff home tonight, and had resigned myself to an evening in front of drawings. Well I go to give the pups their medicine, and notice that the 'TU' chamber still has drugs in it. My first thought - 'oh, I must have just put them in a day off when I last refilled it'. But no. It's only TUESDAY. Which means that my days worth of 'I need to get this done by tomorrow' was completely wasted. I still have ANOTHER FREAKING DAY.
At first, I didn't believe it. I checked my cell phone - TUESDAY. I check the computer - TUESDAY. But wait! My dentist's appointment is on Thursday, and that's tomorrow. Right? WRONG! My dentist's appointment is on WEDNESDAY. Gaaaahhhhh!
Well, I guess the good news is that I can relax a little...
Oct. 7th, 2008 @ 06:11 pm
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| » Lowers hat... |
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So Pink Floyd member Richard Wright passed away today from cancer, at age 65.
Time for an all Pink Floyd tribute afternoon.
Sep. 15th, 2008 @ 01:46 pm
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| » Something funny (if you've played Half Life 2) |
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I was keeping myself occupied this morning (being the very slow morning after a company party) and found this:
Concerned: The Half-Life and Death of Gordon Frohman
It is a comic strip done about Gordon Frohman (not Freeman, a joke they happily make), and follows his life through the Half-Life world. If you haven't played HL2 , you won't get any of the references, but if you have played it, it is definitely a good read.
Jun. 27th, 2008 @ 09:17 am
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| » Video game achievements |
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So we had Dazahria's Grad Party Game-a-thon EXTREME (part 1) this weekend. A lot of fun was had by all, we had about 20 people show up for lots and lots of gaming. Video games, board games, card games, all types of games. We managed to break and show Scratchy Team Fortress 2 (if my internet was feeling okay), which was much fun, but ultimately led me to the whole concept of 'achievements' in video games, and the rant that is to follow.
For those of you that don't know, a lot of newer video games are incorporating achievement systems, as a way of comparing your stats and unlocking content. Sometimes it is simple things, like 'kill x number of people' or 'beat all songs on easy' in Rock Band. Xbox 360 has put it on a lot of their games, and Valve has started to do the same.
Some of it is fun, and gives you a secondary goal. I'm a terrible sniper in TF2, but I keep at it, looking to get that '25 headshot' achievement. Making a point of setting five people on fire as the pyro? Well, that one just falls into place. Play a complete round as every class? That one encourages you to try all of the available classes. Valve has also added the Medic achievement pack, 39 new medic-specific achievements, and every 13 unlocks a new weapon. I'm of mixed opinion of these, because while some are okay, others are counter to what a medic should be doing (healing people), and others depend on having other players cooperate with you getting your achievements. Healing 200 teammates? Sure it will take awhile, but is totally doable. Heal an enemy taking fire from four enemies? Very feasible. Taunt over the corpse of someone you just killed? Unnecessary but fun. But some of them are ridiculous. Kill 50 scouts with your syringe gun? Last I checked, the medic is supposed to heal people, not chase down scouts. Uber a heavy and assist on 2 punches? How many heavies run around punching things, when they have a perfectly good very large gun? These things just don't happen in a regular game.
So as a result, people start grinding for achievements. They join or set up servers with the explicit purpose of getting the achievement. So rather than being something cool you earn for being in the right place in the right time, or for doing your job well, the 'achievements' are now more 'things to get out of the way so I can have my ubersaw'. It defeats the purpose.
Not that I'm totally above grinding. One of the achievements, 'kill 50 medics with your bonesaw', is just the kind of thing I'm not going to do. As a medic, I heal people. I don't run around like some saw wielding looney looking for other medics to whack. Medics just aren't good at that sort of thing. Which means unless I specifically set out to do it, it'll never happen. Granted, when Shoggy and I decided to go ahead and grind for it (at around 3:00 in the morning), we did discover a new form of fun - saw fights! We both grabbed a medic in an empty server, and just went after each other. It was actually a lot of fun, especially when the trash talking starts, only to be put in your place by a critical bonesaw shot to the face. After a bit of hacking at each other, we had both earned the achievement (dubber Peer Review), and we could go on to screwing around again.
Supposedly, Valve is making changes with how they do achievements before the release of the Pyro pack. I'll be interested to see what they do differently.
Jun. 16th, 2008 @ 03:18 pm
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