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Well, it’s more of a chewing gum solution then a perfect fix… But I think I’ve got a small app to deal with the TG#3 problem. As soon as it is deployed it’ll kick start her whenever she goes offline.

At least, assuming that it follows a single common assumption but the game server should. At least one of the development teams that worked on SWAT4/SWAT4:TSS seem to have had some background in C++ for better or worse.

I don’t expect any problems though, it’s not like it’s a Ubi product haha. Oh man, Raven Shield is some crazy shit. I don’t know if it’s just an Unreal 2.x thing, the people Ubi get to write this stuff, or the rushed development but that’s one game I’d say has “ghosts in the machine”. It’s like, you could install the same game, into identical systems, do the same exact things to them. And then watch both system develop their own unique quirks and anomalies.

It’s like, no two installs of RvS are the same (especially servers) even through it’s the same bloody program!

The little funkieness yesterday that we had with the Rvs servers, ain’t even supposed to be possible rofl. But like most Windows crap, restart it and it’ll fix most problems until the next thing pops up :

DOS drools, NT sucks, but UNIX rules forever,

A light bulb moment as I wake up:

create new tables within a private namespace

use old tables to populate them with data

use new tables in reworking the mighty page

when complete, port other scripts to new db tables

when that is done, delete old tables, rename new tables ubto the production name space.

And the have a root beer 😉

Been working on rewriting the mighty page… (ugh)

Personally, I think the entire website would be a hell of a lot faster if we reorganized the entire private database into some thing more consistent, stripped out some of the (abused) use of <table> tags, and moved more presentation issues into per-unit style sheets… But thanks to our original designer(s), whoever he/she/they may be coupled with my family, that would take months instead of hours to do without breaking everything.

Although I’ve always felt database normalization eventually just “goes to far” when done well, I’m beginning to think it is a pretty dang good idea just for the sake of flexibility.

The big problem is when you have code in use, that’s so old no body remembers who the heck wrote it, and whoever wrote it assumed they were the GOD of a database that would never change it’s structure in the slightest, less the entire thing need fixing in every sub system.

And I’m the one without the college education here? WTF.

Working on the mighty page is a bit prickly since, we’ve got disorganized data to suck in, organize into some thing we can actually use, iteratively display the data, and sadly I’m not interested in leaving code behind that’ll break if the next guy so much as sneezes at it loool.

Well, at lest all of the _big_ problems were fixed two weeks ago…

Trapped in hell

Another day, home from the long toils of the field

Only to be beaten down, pounded into dust

Yet another season gone, never to return

Spent all for the sake of my torment

At the pleasure of those who should care

That a tiny bit of me passes away into nothingness

Day by day, never to return.

Another day, wasted and trashed before me

Spent all on the monsters whims.

Never again to grace the sky,

That free spirit, flying so high.

Soaring on the airs of its discoveries

To face that same fate….

To be dragged, drowned, stomped into the ground

All for the tormentors pleasure — and my souls destruction.

It’s just another day in hell,

Trapped in that pit so deep, without an escape.

Watching my existence being ripped away,

Thrown into the flames, forever more

To burn in agony.

Oh why, oh why didn’t I flee this place while I had the chance.

Woot woot !!!

*does the happy crazy coder dance*

This thing freaking works !!!!

Oh man, this opens up sooooo many possibilities, xD

I wish I had time to take a picture of the ear to ear, shitting eatingest, tha Grinch style grin on my face >_>

Hooah !

Crashed and burned last night… Woke up, put Dune on, fell asleep during the prologue, woke up >4 hours later, turned it off, fell asleep, woke up some time after 0900.

To get dragged out on a shopping trip, multiple stores during an expedition that was planned for Monday.

To get stuck running ragged most of the day with this and thats.

To end up setting up new lamps and doing everything else under the sun when I was just about to hit code, 6 hours late.

To have a cheapo General Electric 60 watt light bulb ‘pop’ in one of the new lamps

To have said light bulb break off the base ‘cup’ that screws into the socket — a first for me.

To trying to remove the dang thing from the socket, no luck

To try dismantling it in an attempt to get a better method, no dice

To trying to twist it out by the piece that the filaments feed through, nice glass fragments gone airborne…

To people trying to pilers out the thing and setting glass zig-zagging in front of my face

To using every tool within hands reach to work on solving the problem, including a nutpick

To having to ‘ride along’ to the store to exchange it.

To getting a refund because they were out of them.

To having to change all of the light bulbs in remaining lamps to another brand of cheap 40 watt’ers because the others were to bright.

To it being a quarter after minute and still having nothing the fuck done, that was supposed to be finished two days ago.

To writing the blog post and wondering if I’ve got the engery to work on things tonight, let along the probability that one would have to out-pace a hacker to have a snowballs chance in hell of finishing the workload before Monday; switch over date to the ‘next’ project. Never mind the fact that I’m about ready to crash as far as being able to concentrate on digging into poorly written and undocumented amount of code. And we are talking > 6,000 lines of code with less then a 100 containing comments, mostly reminders who to send the bill for a catscan to when your done sorting out there crap and the network protocol used.

To thinking, maybe a great night of actually sleeping for once was ill-timed, or perfectly timed but that’s a matter of opinion.

And my mothers got the nerve to say she’s not been able to breath all day… When ~15 hours later I’ve not even been allowed to start on what I was supposed to have FINISHED long ago.

*shakes head*

Some times life here really pisses me off. I think, if I didn’t love my family… I’d tell’em to go to hell and fuck themselves along the way, but unfortunately I love them… So I’m fucked lol.

I just keep marching forward, till I can’t see the trail of foot steps behind me. And I wonder here as I keep on going like a jet costing on flumes, how much longer before things get done?

It really would be wonderful, if people could respect the fact that I might actually have something important to do, or that thins I need to get done might actually have value… Although I’d probably settle on not being treated like a sub-human or an ignoramus around here :

I hope Sunday, will at least be a day where stuff can get done… If not, I think I’m sitting my ass down and refusing to lift a finger unless it involves

C_O_D_E

Oh… Fell asleep after dinner, woke uo around 2200 local and went to bed, just got up about 0100 local. Dang I needed that !!! I slept like a stone. I think an atom bomb could’ve gone off and I don’t think I would’ve noticed :

Ended up dreaming about being knee deep in World War II with a Thompson and a captured Lee Enfield, bit odd but.. Whatever. To being stuck in a bad bat man movie, to being stuck on a space station, to being in the middle of a F.E.A.R. part III about to happen, when I decided enough of this crud time to wake up >_>

That’s one thing that’s kind of strange, I usually know that I’m dreaming when I dream, maybe because my dreams are almost always crazy. And when they are not, usually startle me in different ways…

I’ve basically been working since Saturday night straight, breaking to go to work, the bathroom, sleep, and eat lol. Haven’t had much time for the usual forums lately … so may as well take a moment to catch up now.

The advantage of all of this? It might be a bit of working oneself into the ground… But it’s getting things done in a week rather then by next year lol. And if I get done early… I get to relax on the weekend hehe.

Ahh… Almost got everything done for the week.

I need to finish some adjustments to the test bed module and one library module to match changes made tonight and get things that are working back ported to the main. The test bed module will be a cakewalk to adjust, probably will have that done tonight.

I’m itching to move onto my next primary objective… But it will have to wait for another day 🙁

With a wee bit of luck I should have all of my web matters done before Thursday, so I can kick back in TG#3 and PG#1 for a little R&R before moving onto ‘off duty’ week No.2 -> working on the SOP Rewrites.

You know, that is one good part about making like a workaholic with piled up stuff — if you get done early, you get to do something else for awhile xD

/*
 * head hits keyboard, begins to snore loudly
 */

Oy…

Was to tired to get back to work on the website last night. Went straight to bed but willow wouldn’t let me sleep, as usual.

My original plan was to lay down for a few and theng et back to work, so much for that idea +S

I’ve gotten most of the coding end done, just need to setup the test case for the database, proof the changes and get it scripted and transfered after hours.

Now if my sound would stop shorting out… The F’ing wintel machine is the only PC here that has problems with damn near everything :. I’ve changed headphones to the best pair I have left, and it’s still screwing up so that means it’s not the headphones >_>

Executed the clothes shopping raid today, took longer then planned 🙁 but I got everything that I wanted (according to plan), got more of it, and while my original budget was $150 I spent a little more then $120 xD

*does the victory dance*

4 jeans, 14 briefs, 8 pocketed T-Shirts, and I hate socks enough to start with that the ones i have can stay lol.

Ripped apart the closet, unscrupulously chucking everything that I ain’t gonna wear, don’t want, or can’t fit in anymore. 7 bags are piled up +S, for donation or trashing it’s outgoing and good riddens !!!!

Also got some Trident gum which is worth while IMHO. Glad that the clothes shopping is over and done with… Next phase is to have an oder placed for that Sennheiser headset — it’ll be nice to be able to talka gain on TeamSpeak.

Since I was under budget I split the remainder and gave part of it to Ma to add to the LORD’s money, and refused to take no for an answer. My Grandmother always used to keep a $100 tucked away in a clip in case of emegency. And she always would end up giving it to my mom whenever things were bad, it’s her goal to someday replace it. It’s been over a decade since my Grandmother passed on but I’m not sure if she’s ever totally replaced it, every time it’s gotten close we’ve always had a financial kidney-punch :. With luck in a month or two it should be at the mark.

The LORD’s been good to me, much better then I deserve… Despite what issues I have with my life, it’s the closest I’m likely to get to tithing with the money I have.

I’ve also posted my ‘two weeks off’ on [SAS]. I figure one week to concentrate on the website, one week to concentrate on the SOP rewrites.

There is really nothing of great importance to get done with the website, anything important is already taken care of :-).The stuff I need to get done, is more the sort of it’s better that it gets done but it won’t kill anyone if it don’t get done, assuming someone remembers why it works as it does in 20 years lol. I could swear… Wiz and I are probably the greatest two morons at this stuff when compared to our predecessors (professional) educations at it. But at least we are trying to make things better, not leave a pile of kludges behind for the next poor sap.

Wiz’s great thing was securing the website, thanks to him it’s locked up tighter then a ticks ass after an all you can eat special. For me the big thing, really is leaving it better then how I found it… I’m self educated but I’m still a programmer, and I’m a lover for engineering and designing things at heart. Some of the things I see make my head hurt, it works but it’s like… If your going to do it, do it right for Pete’s sake.

One thing that I really like about my duties as Warrant Officer Class 1 on the team. Is although I’m more busy then I was as an RSM + Associate Webmaster, as WO1+Webmaster I’m able to work on things that people don’t see. I like that, most of the things I do, no one will ever get to see or know about and if they did, I’d probably have fsck’d it up anyhow. I like being able to work in the background, take care of the unseen ins and outs of keeping the clocks running. But I know, when I’m done… Whoever becomes webmaster after me (I’m not immortal) will hopefully have a well done and easy to maintain website. None of the things Wiz faced when he wound up in the boots, and none of the cruft I’ve got to deal with along with the rest of the Admin Team.

Operation Excalibur will never be what I originally dreamed it to be, but by George it is gonna be completed !

With the SOP rewrites, a lot of it is done.. But it needs to get the finalization work done,hammer it home so GCHQ can review it, hopefully approve it without shouting, and the SNCOs can train the NCOs to train the Trps/Rcts and life can continue. The SOP rewrites have been like my careers work in [SAS], I’ve tinkered with it since I was a humble LCpl… Tried to make a strong effort at it as an SSM when I was now officially allowed to help out with it. And eventually found myself as the only asshole able to oversee it and being RSM, responsible for it getting done.

It’s my goal to do my best to give my team the best set of SOPs that us guys can create… If I was the only writer the SOP Rewrites would’ve been done a year ago but with Rasa’s help these are going to be even better. It’s great that when one of us gets to far out of whack, the other knows how to deal with it lol.

Being the coder of the lot, I’m doing every thing I can to leave the SOPs in a state where it won’t become what my generation grew up with. Stale, out dated, insufficient, and nearly impossible to modify… However good they are that’s how I feel the old SOPs have scaled with the years. That’s what I fight to prevent happening again, you could say I find it comforting to know that half the clan could be hit by a shooting star and our groups tactical heritage will continue on to the younger generations.

And why do I feel so damn old, I’m only going to be 20 in June !!!