John try right clicking this link and do a Save As and see if that works . . .

http://www.arackas.com/images/video/SticksandStonesFINAL.mpg

I’ve been out of town more then I’ve been in town . . . usually in Alabama somewhere . . . that’s where I’ve been.

I’ve been getting home later and later in the day . . . later and later in the week . . . and I’ve had less and less time to do much of anything, much less keep my blog up to date.

I have been updating my twitter feed (@dxendar) however.  Twitter reduced my blog posts to just a few game reviews here and there anyways . . . and now the complete lack free time has killed it all together. 

So soon, when I get a bit of free time, I’ll be rearranging the site and updating it with a little more dynamic content . . . but this will probably be in the new year sometime. 

In the mean time I’m still working out of town all the time . . .

But I’m also working on a solution to this. 

More on that later.

Follow me on twitter if you want to keep up with me !

Since starting my new job I’ve been just as busy as ever, but even more tired than ever.  I’m spending less time at work then I use to, but a lot of my work now is much more difficult then it use to be (physically and mentally) . . .  but it’s also more rewarding they it use to be as I’m learning a lot.  There’s a lot to get used to though.   

For instance, the last few weeks have seen me out of town more then all of last year combined . . . and that’s taken some getting used to.  I’ve been out on construction sites in various stages of completion, from ‘we’re getting patients into rooms a few hours after you leave’ to ‘when it rains, the water flows down the hall ways’.  All of them have been ridiculously hot, as in temps 99 to 101 (37C to 38C) with a heat index of 105 to 110 (40.5C to 43C).  Working in that brutal heat is tiring at the time, but even when I get back home it takes me a full day or two to recover (I’m just exhausted for at least 24 hours).  That’s new for me.  On the upside . . . I’m sweating off some weight ! 

I’m also learning a lot as I go.  Not just about cable management and building codes as we pull cable through construction sites and install security cameras in nursing homes, but about where the limit of my patience is.  I’m working with a lot of different people . . . some are fun to work with and some have found the limits of my patience.  All of which makes for a lot of welcome learning experiences . . . even if it’s learning  that I cant work with some people.  But it also leaves me with very little free time.  And what free time I do get . . . I’m usually recovering from the 10 hour days from earlier in the week or trying to learn Final Cut Pro 6. 

After having been out of town for several weeks, last week I was in the office learning to do quotes.  It’s slow going but a welcome change of pace from the blistering hot construction sites.  I’m learning as I go (which involves me asking my supivisor a question every 2 minutes), so it’s very slow going. I spent a week doing just one quote.  Now, this quote I got is a bit of a problem space as they want a medium cost video solution and have a LOT of ambient light  . . . so trying to find equipment that we sell and learn how to do the quote in the database and learn how to figure how much labor and cable we’re going to need is a lot to learn as I go . . . I’m a little frustrated at how slow this is going.  But I’m getting it bit by bit and I’ll get faster as I go.

This week I’m in Crestron training class, but that is for another post.

Just wanted to let everyone know I’m alive . . . just AFK a lot lately.

Well my 4^th week with Hiscall is rapidly approaching and I wanted to (finally) do a bit of an update on the ol blog.  Things have been so busy lately . . . I always end up saying that in every post but this is a whole new LEVEL of crazy.  Hiscall is very busy as a copany and trying to get up to speed with a new job position while you’re in the thick of things has been as exciting as it has been draining.  Every day I learn something new about the way Hiscall works, a new code or law about Security or A-V, or something new about a piece of technology that we’re offering.    

Last week I was in London Kentucky working on St. Josephs Hospital (a brand spankin’ new hospital that Hiscall did all the data network, phones, and security for . . . 6 floors worth !).  I took a few pictures and video on my cell and though that it would be the best way to do something approaching a 12 of 12 . . . and yes, I know it’s only the 9^th.  I get to fudge things when I want to !  8- )

And here we have the main entrance to St Josephs Hospital.  Very pretty !

And this is my ‘Sam Fisher’ hard hat . . . for working hands free in the ceiling . . . and for sniping people !

And here is where they trap the zombies for decontamination and incineration . . . once the Zombie Apocalypse arrives you understand. 
Or . . . this is where they wash the gurneys . . . but I like the first explanation better !

One of the Networking Closets for, I think, the 4^th floor.  This one was across the hall from the Pharmacy, which was cool because we needed to run to a couple of wires to motions sensors in the Pharmacy from the security panel . . . which is in the Networking Closet.

A ‘Glow Rod’ with wires attaches to pull through the ceiling of the Pharmacy back to the Networking Closet.

Nice cable management there.  No, I didn’t do it . . . that’s why it looks so nice !

The upper part of a Power over Ethernet Security Camera mounted in a drop ceiling.  Just cool looking up here.

Running cable up some cable up a conduit in an outside lighting pole to a Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) camera in the parking lot.  The taped electrical connections there are 440 volts.  My job was to reach into the pole and fish out the networking wire and run it up the conduit.

The weather called for a chance of rain that day (as we were working with 440 volts in the parking lot).

10 minutes later, the clouds were spinning above the hospital !  We took cover right about now.

We waited inside for about 45 minutes for the storm(s) to pass.  Then, back to work !

Upon arriving back at the office Thursday afternoon, this was setup on my desk !  WOOT !

Chris, Brian and I in the Discovery Lab (at Hiscall) doing a quote for an upcomming project.  The Discovery lab is SUPER cool.

That’s about it.  This comming week (and the week after in fact) I’ll be in Memphis working with Chris and then with Brian . . . in August I have Crestron training in Atlanta . . . and after that who knows ! 

Now I must go learn more about Final Cut Pro 6 . . . which I’m not too keen on so far as it appears to be VERY finickey as to what it likes to edit and just how you go about doing it. 

So it was finally announced today in Sunday morning service that I am leaving my fulltime position at DFA and going to work for Hiscall.  I am as excited for the new opportunity as I am sad to be leaving, a strange mix of emotions. 

A few months ago I began to feel that I needed to get a little more training and certification under my belt, as I have 15 years experience running A-V and 8 years running IT equipment . . . but absolutely nothing on paper as far as classes or certification go.  To that end, I began looking for a new job where I could get some training.  That’s where Hiscall comes in.

Hiscall specializes in telecommunication and data networks but has recently expanded into security and A-V for businesses, churches and schools . . . which is where I come in.  I recently was offered the opportunity to interview at Hiscall to be a part of the fairly new A-V department.  Right now the A-V department is specializing in A-V systems integration in conference rooms and classrooms and the like (press one button and all the A-V tech comes on and is plug-and-play ready, automatically sensing what is plugged in and switching inputs accordingly . . . and not just A-V stuff either, see www.crestron.com) and digital signage (basically super-duper power point on high def screens in several locations throughout a company run by a central server.  Info in lobbies of banks, outside the door of a conference room telling when meetings are today, etc.  See www.trms.com) as well as a few other things.  But we are going to expand into new areas as soon as we can, meaning as soon as we all learn how to install them ! 

To that end, I’ll be getting not only a lot of certification in codes and practices . . . but training on how to install and program all kinds of cool A-V stuff !  Tomorrow, Monday the 21st of June, will be my last day at DFA.  I will start at Hiscall on Tuesday the 22nd. Yah, no rest . . . no vacation . . . just hitting the ground running.  There are several reasons for the fast transition . . . but basically the timing worked out that I either needed to start Tuesday or wait a couple of weeks and then start.  And while the prospect of a few weeks of vacation sounded very good . . . the budget is tight enough that financially that would leave me with no emergency fund.  So . . . it’s hit the ground running and rest later !

After 15 years running A-V at DFA, after 10 years heading up the A-V department, after 8 years of being a full time employee of DFA and taking on not only the A-V, but the Media creation and IT roles . . . it’s difficult leaving.  I was training my replacement last week, Chip Johnson (a super awesome guy who is, quite honestly, going to be better at my job then I ever was), and it started to sink in that I was leaving. Then I was cleaning out my office and it finally hit me . . . it’s not my office any more.  After 15 years, it was like handing over a child to someone else’s care.  Very strange.

But I am excited about the future !  I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to tweet or write about at first, as some of what we’re doing isn’t officially announced yet . . . but as I get certified and trained on the new products, I’ll finally be able to write about them on the blog as an expert . . . or at least as someone who has professional training on the products ! 

So, here’s to the future !

Now I must continue reading up on Tight Rope Media Systems Carousel digital signage system.

There was a time in my life, my Junior and Senior years in High School (and also in my early College years) that . . . I was just free. 

Do you remember that feeling of being unburdened by life ? 

Like you could take on anything ? 

That childlike excitement for the future . . . before adulthood came in and made things bleak and oppressed with responsibility ?

When your sense of freedom was almost overwhelming as you began to choose your destiny in life.

I, being a lighting and sound nerd even in High School, did the lighting and sound for all the plays that the School did.  It wasn’t just me, most of my friends were in the Drama Club and stayed after school for months at a time getting ready for whatever the next play was. 

I remember that me and Michael West, who would later be my college roommate, were just becoming good friends as we both worked on the lights for this play.  Most of the lights were above, or just in front of, the stage.  But about 1/3 of them were above the concrete ceiling plates in the auditorium (above the audience seating).  Our High School didn’t have a catwalk to get to the lights . . . we had an aluminum scaffolding. 

When it was time to adjust these lights, much to the chagrin to the Theatre teacher Mr. Sullivan, we would play music while we worked.  We would play what we called ‘Climbing Music’ . . . which was usually the soundtrack to Star Trek Generations.  We would start the CD on an intense track, playing it loudly over the sound system, set the new CD player to repeat that one track, and then roll the scaffolding all the way to the edge of the stage (near the audience).

We would then lock the wheels . . . get extra ladder rungs . . . build it up all the way to the ceiling (two stories up) and then add one more rung on the side facing the audience . . . this is where the ceiling plates over the audience began . . . where the lights were.  This was the only way to get above the ceiling over the audience seating in the auditorium.  But even though the tallest scaffolding rung was five feet or so above the ceiling plates, meaning when you climbed all the way up, your feet were level with where you needed to step off to . . . there was a gap of about three feet between the scaffolding and the ceiling plate.

This meant that you had to first reach across and grab one of the support cables holding the concrete ceiling slabs up while also holding onto the scaffolding.  Then, all at once, you had to let go of the scaffolding and shift your weight and step over the gap to the ceiling . . . all the while this intense music playing.  There was a moment, with one foot on the ceiling plate and one on the scaffolding, where you were spanning the gap with your body two stories in the air.  So you had to shift your weight fast, once you started to step off the ceiling plate you couldn’t stop moving forward or you’d fall . . . you had to make the step to the ceiling.  I’m not explaining it very well, but you get the idea.  That feeling of knowing that if you stopped, you’d fall two stories to concrete and plastic seating, I remember very clearly. 

I hated it . . . and I loved it. 

This is also why Michael and I were the only ones who set those lights . . . we were the only ones who would do it !

Looking back I don’t know how we got away with it . . . it was so dangerous . . . but those were different times I guess.  Anyways, the music only ramped up the intense feeling as I leaned out over the gap and stepped to the ceiling.

It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time . . . but it needed to be done.  Well, that’s the way we thought in High School.  Someone has to set these lights !

I remember that feeling of stepping from the scaffolding to the ceiling plate, that moment of pure danger where . . . if you fell . . . you’d either die or wish you had. 

That’s where I am now in my life.  I have that excitement for the future, just pure childlike excitement and awe that came with High School.  And I have that feeling, that I’m moving from the scaffolding to the ceiling, knowing that I’ve started the move and I cant stop . . . or I’ll fall.  I’ve shifted my weight and,  from now until Monday afternoon, I’m in mid air. 

I hear the Climbing Music playing in the back of my head . . . and I’m exhilarated and terrified at the same time.  It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this . . . and I love it.

No, really . . . I got bit by a stray dog at 2 in the morning.

How in the world did this happen ?  Well I’m glad you asked.

Just before 2 this morning Bailey (my dog) started vomiting on the carpet.  I quickly got out of bed and took him outside so he could finish doing his business out there.  I didn’t have my contacts in so when I looked around before letting him out, I didn’t see anything out there.  I turned around and walked back inside to start cleaning the vomit up and 30 seconds later I hear dogs fighting.

I run back out to find some stray dog has Bailey pined on his back not 4 feet from my front door.  And with out thinking first, I ran out there, bent over, and grabbed the stray by the back of the neck to pull it off of Bailey.  That’s when the stray, as a reflex, turned and bit me in the face . . . specifically in my lower lip.  I know that was like the most stupid thing I could have done in a dog fight, bend over and put my face near their mouths and teeth . . . but it was 2 in the morning, I wasn’t fully awake . . . what can I say ?

I then kicked the stray off of Bailey, grabbed Bailey and went back in the house to check out my lip . . . which was of course pouring blood at this point.  There were 4 teeth holes near my lip and one that just split my lower lip wide open in the middle.  Obviously I was going to need stitches, not to mention a tetanus or rabies shot, so I got dressed and went to the ER.

Three hours later I was home again with a stitched lip, tetanus shot (they don’t think rabies was present and none has been detected in our area for years), strong antibiotics, and some pain meds.

As dog bites go, I got off pretty easy.  It didn’t get my eye or ears and it didn’t try to ‘shake’ my lip off . . . it was just a nip as it were.  But I can tell you, it is crazy difficult to drink anything (even with a straw) not to mention eating.  All in all though, I am blessed that it’s not worse.  I’m just very sore and a little sleep deprived. 

But on the plus side . . . I got to take a sick day and am going to play some video games . . . between napping that is.

Hopefully I can add a few things about the game that others have not allready.

Well I have completed the game and though I should finish up my thoughts on my play through. 

If you do a little research on the internet(s) you’ll find that the game is actually based on a book of the same title.  The Russian author, Dmitry Glukhovsky, apparently first started writing the book online as an interactive experiment in 2002.  He would write a chapter, post it online and people would comment on it, he would read the comments and then write the next chapter.  It was eventually published in print form and, apparently, is something of a phenomena in Russia. 

However, just as many movies based on video games have trouble jumping from one form of media to another . . . Metro 2033 the game looks to have lost something ‘in translation’ as it were.   But before I tell you what I didn’t like, let’s go over what I loved about this game.   

The developers, Ukraine based 4A games, did a wonderful job of bringing a rich lush world to life.  The detail in the levels is amazing . . . I wont go back and re-hash stuff from my First Impressions . . . but it was a pleasant surprise to find myself, level after level, stopping and just looking around and taking it all in.  I truly got the feeling of being in the game. 

The game mechanics that I talked about in my First Impressions:

-  the fact that you have to periodically recharge your head lamp and night vision goggles,
- you have to put away your gun to bring out your ‘journal’ to see your goals,
- you have to pump your pneumatic weapons,
- you have to change out your gas mask filter from time to time, etc.)
I still love.  I love them !  This brought me into the world so much more.  You constantly have to think going into a situation, is my air going to run out ? . . . is my head lamp going to go out in the middle of this fight ? . . . where is the nearest place I can hide and check my compass or recharge my lamp or change my air filter ?   This built the suspense all the more in a game already full of suspense. 

The survival horror aspect of the game isn’t quite as suspenseful as, say, Dead Space (where you are always wondering what is going to pop out of the vents and come after you), but the fact that you can hear the mutants coming, or much of the time see them coming, only gives you a little extra time to crap your pants before they start attacking you. 

The music is very strange, but is very moody and fits the world perfectly.  I don’t remember a game where the acoustic guitar is used in the main theme so much, but it gives a lonely (and very Russian) feel to the game.  You also have your standard orchestral themes during the suspenseful parts (not that they are bad, they are very good). 

The game also has a few disappointing aspects for me as well, many of which come from the fact that 4A Games did such a good job in crafting the world . . . only to deny you any access to it.  For instance . . . at one point in the game you are in a metro tunnel with a Ranger and you come upon an ‘Anomaly’ (we will call it).  You are taught what to do when this Anomaly comes near you, you learn some about it . . . it is presented as a game mechanic that looks like it will show up later (you know, when games take the time to ‘teach’ you about how to deal with something so that when it shows up later you’ll know what to do).  Well it shows up 60 seconds later and that’s the last time you interact with it at all (other then, perhaps, one other time).  They take the time to teach you about something in the world, peak your interest, give you some background, show you how to interact with it . . . then you never get the chance to interact with it again.  This happens several times with several things in the game and is perplexing to me.  Does this stem from the developers following the book closely or did they simply have to cut parts of the game out ?  They do such a good job of showing you a wonderfully crafted world . . . only to move on and show you something else with out ever giving you the chance to use what you learned. 

Also, a good chunk of the game is spent making your way toward Polis (the big city where you must warn people of the bad Dark Ones ramping up their attacks).  You stop in several stations before this where you can walk around and interact with the inhabitants and see the ‘city’ as it were, but when you finally arrive at Polis you roll into (what amounts to) the big city.  Being 4 metro stations closely connected, this place is huge !  There are people everywhere when you arrive.  Then you are escorted into a small room where you can buy weapons and ammo . . . and then you watch a series of cut scenes and promptly leave.  You never get the chance to look around the place you’ve been hearing so much about, that you’ve been heading toward for such a good part of the game. 

Again, I don’t know if this was the game following the book closely or the designers deciding to cut this out of the game for whatever reason.  But it feels strange because they make such a big deal of you finally making it to Polis for so much of the game . . . and then deny you more then 30 seconds of looking at it.  Literally, you get about 30 seconds of rolling into town and then . . . that’s it. 

There are other examples of this type of thing, but basically they hype up stuff or show you how to deal with certain situations . . . only to deny you ever doing so.  This was frustrating and made the game feel a little . . . disjointed and confused.  As a narrative, as a story that you experience, it’s wonderful . . . as a game it leaves a little to be desired only because they do such a good job in so much of the game, the parts that are lacking stand out all the more. 

Another issue I had was the moral choices.  This is a game mechanic that isn’t explained at all . . . you just have to pick up on it.  There are several times when you make obvious choices (not exactly ‘good or evil’, more like good or selfish).  But from time to time you hear these whispers and see a flash of light when you do stuff (sometimes when you hear the end of a conversation between people, sometimes when you just look at stuff).  Apparently, when you hear the whispers and see the subtle flash of light . . . that was a moral choice.  As I said these can just be looking at something or listening to people talk, which was a bit ambiguous to me.  Did I get the good or selfish point when I listened to these people talk ?  I still don’t know, and searching online a lot of people aren’t sure.  Your moral points affect the ending . . . that’s all I’m going to say.  But why wouldn’t you make this a little more prominent if it’s so important as to affect the ending of the game ?  Maybe it was suppose to be ‘secret’.

I enjoyed the game a lot, though I’m not sure I would have paid $60 for it knowing what I know now.  It was an immersive survival game that forces you to truly be proactive in your survival (not just kill everything, but truly find ways to stay alive).   If you can look past the flaws, and memorize a few button combos, I think you will find a wonderful story worth playing.  It’s a new spin on survival horror that I liked very much !