The Corps is finally committed to memory. I finished Book IX (yes, that’s 9, for those of you who’re not Roman numeral savvy), which was the latest installment from W. E. B. Griffin. It was, by far, the most awesome novel of the series, which pretty much means to me that this is a far better series than The Brotherhood of War ever was. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading Brotherhood, but The Corps was far more interesting, paced correctly (which is a good thing), had the proper balance of dialogue and action.. and in some cases, sex. Now before I get hit by the pr0n police, he’s not explicit by any means, but he just gives you enough to let you know how the character perceives attraction and just fades to black appropriately. There’s no need to be explicit and he’s mastered sexiness without having to describe sex. I wish I could master that part of writing, because any time I try, it turns out looking like some piece of shit fic off of alt.sex.stories.

Now that I’m done with The Corps, I turned my attention back to the latest offerings in the Trek universe, courtesy of Pocket Books. This weekend, I tore through the two Stargazer series books by Michael Jan Fredman. This new book series chronicles the first command of Captain Picard of the USS Stargazer with his former chief of security-turned-first officer Commander Gilaad Ben Zoma. All of the characters from his way earlier book Reunion are here, including Vigo.. but Jack Crusher has yet to make an appearance. I do have some problems with the portrayal of the technical aspects of the story, but barring the technical mistakes, Michael Jan Friedman weaves a wonderful set of event/character stories. He’s humorous when he needs to be and the story moves decently. Both were page turners, though the first story moreso than the second… except I’m lying. I turned pages faster on the second story (Progenitor) than the first (Gauntlet), but not for the right reasons. The first story deals with a very young twenty-eight year old Captain Picard, a week after having assumed permanent command of the Stargazer. The story centers around an Admiral who doesn’t think Picard is good enough for command, and throws him to the wolves… literally. Picard has to hunt down a pirate named the White Wolf. Point is, the story was great. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I think I enjoyed this story much better than Peter David’s Excalibur series. The second story… centered around the chief engineer and some major cultural tryst that Picard and Ben Zoma and the chief med had to go with him to do, leaving this Lieutenant Commander Wu (second officer) in charge. While Picard et al were out of contact, Wuu was charged to rescue a science vessel… and you know what? I loved the Wu story so much more than the shitty Picard side of the book, that I just skipped the Picard side entirely. Once he left the ship, I could have cared less about what happened to him on the planet, because it meant absolutely nothing to me. It was fucking boring. The Wu story was interesting, action-filled, and character-driven and I liked it a lot.

What’s next? I’m not sure. I just ordered the rest of the Eagle series from Amazon, and I’m hoping it’ll arrive today. Eagle is a political intrigue story that I picked up the first book to and I read it in an hour, it was that good. So, I’m hoping to sink my literary teeth into the rest of the series this week.

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I’ve actually been holding off on my opinions about the invasion of Iraq and the bombing of Baghdad, mostly because I’ve been having such strong feelings about the precipitation of such an action as well as the consequences. What with all the discussion and the twenty-four hour media blitz-like coverage, it’s utterly impossible to avoid talking about this thing. Sorry , but you might as well just build a bunker with a huge screen TV, a dvd player, and no cable feed whatsoever. Bring along all available seasons of Stargate SG-1 and Farscape, and I think you’ll be happy. But if you poke your nose outside that bunker, be expected to debate about this war, because opinion are like assholes. Everyone has one. (I forgot who said that first)

Prior to the onset of war, I was against it. But now that we’re in it, let’s win big. We’ve already put our men and women in harm’s way and there’s no turning back on this one. You can go out in the streets and protest all you like, but we’ve shed blood over this. There’s no turning back. My support resides behind every man and woman who’s in a uniform, putting their lives on the line for victory. I’m backing them, because they’re doing the one thing I cannot. And I can’t help but admire the courage and bravery they exhibit, just for showing up over there. Yes, they follow orders, and they’re probably furthing the political agenda of a retard, but they decided to serve America. I have family and friends in the armed forces; they joined before Bush was even elected. It’s not their fault they have to follow those orders, but they do it anyway. So that’s why I’m supporting this war, and our troops. Because I certainly don’t want them to come home and be rejected like Vietnam veterans were. That was bullshit, and still is.

That’s my personal opinion. Having one is a right I’ve been privileged with by birth. Being able to write here exactly how I feel without fear of governmental reprisal is something we’ve all taken for granted at times. In the past, we’ve sent our forces abroad to fight to protect those freedoms. Sure, we opposed US involvement in World War II, but not after Pearl Harbor. Holy shit, all isolationistic movements were brought to an abrupt halt when Pearl was bombed and we lost a lot of sailors and soliders. There was some asshole in Germany and an Emperor in Japan who was revered like a God by his people. One threatened world domination, the other just wanted room to grow.. and wanted it badly. My grandfather lied about his age to join up when Pearl was bombed. He ended up serving in the Army Air Corps and attached to the B-24 corps that flew from England. He flew twenty-five missions, which he obviously survived. And then, nearly foolishly, went backto fly twenty-five more. When he came back, he stayed in as an Air Force reservist and then went off to fight in Korea, when the North Koreans decided they wanted to attack and move against the United Nations. His actions inspired my sisters to join up, and both of them have served the Air Force with distinction. Like my grandfather, they signed up to protect me, my family, and the American way of life. They’re far braver than I am. My opinion on this way is that our armed forces have sacrificed a great deal of life and blood to this country, and I’ll not let those sacrifices go by, just because I’ve no faith in their commander-in-chief. Presidents come and go, but we have people who’ve served their entire lives for America. That’s where my loyalty is, and always shall be.

Freedom of speech and opinion seems to be a walking casualty these days. Those of us who have opinions contrary to those of the majority in America are subject to public ridicule and I often sit back and wonder about that. Aaron Sorkin once wrote, “I don’t understand how people can say they love America, but clearly can’t stand other Americans.” I can’t think of a better phrase to suit how I feel about this whole perspective on people speaking against their government. When has it been wrong to have an opinion? Do all Americans have to agree with one another in order to have harmony? Perhaps, but then what the hell kind of existance is that? America prided itself in the past as bein a diverse nation, but I think my Canadian friends have it right when they say America isn’t about diversity, it’s about assimilation. I’ve been a proponent for diversity in opinion and perspective, but the close-minded nature of the majority of citizens is alarming. Has it always been so? I’m so eager for the next generation to hurry up and mature, because after watching MTV for the past couple of days, I’m convinced they appear to be of a more open personality than their parents. I’ve heard enough of the ‘turn the Middle East into a giant parking lot’ opinions to last me for a while. Though I just nod and smile, inside I feel like reaching over and shaking them violently. You’re talking about nuclear holocaust like it’s the right thing to do. Would you allow that sort of thing to happn on American soil, you self-centered arrogant bastard? But, he’s entitled to his opinion, just like everyone else.

Or so we’re led to beleive by the First Amendment.

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Okay, so my roommate went to Target and brought home the dreaded scale, for which we now use to track our individual weight. Now, I’ve been pretty dead set that my weight has hovered around or above thre hundred pounds, and today, I kind of got a major shock. Not only am I not above three hundred, but I’ve managed to lose twenty pounds. I’m 280 pounds, now. Which means that this DDR regimen is definitely having some impact on my body, and I have not altered my diet in any way shape or form. I continue to gorge on pizza, ice cream, and other nasty unhealthy items like fast and junk foods.

Like , I’m going to list my list of fics:

Completed fics:
Twice Upon a Time (Star Trek)*
The Latest Rage (Star Trek)*
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice (Star Trek)*
Fate, Destiny, and the Starfleet Officer (Star Trek)*
Family Matters (Star Trek)*
Footprints in the Sand (Star Trek)*
In a Rush to Grow Up (Star Trek)*
In Memoriam (Star Trek)*
On the Wings of Hope (Hope Station)
Hope’s Mutiny (Hope Station) — destroyed
Communiques (Star Trek)
The Face of the Smiling Vulcan (Stark Trek)
The Misadventures of January McKenna (Star Trek)
The Taking of the USS Venture (Star Trek)
The Quarterdeck Breed: Agamemnon (Star Trek)
The Quarterdeck Breed: Bellerophon (Star Trek)
The Quarterdeck Breed: Constitution (Star Trek)
The Quarterdeck Breed: Dallas (Star Trek)

* indicates that these are hardcopy only, and I haven’t had a chance to transcribe them from hard to softcopy.

In progress:
The Quarterdeck Breed: Excelsior (Star Trek)
The Quarterdeck Breed: Fearless (Star Trek)
The Quartredeck Breed: Gallant (Star Trek)
Knight Commissioned (Hope Station), fka Untitled #12
Knight Commander (Hope Station), fka Untitled #17
The Second Star Freight Company (Hope Station), fka Untitled #18

Future/Planned Projects:
Knight Lieutenant (Hope Station)
A Knight’s Dilemma (Hope Station)
The Quarterdeck Breed: Hood (Star Trek)
The Quarterdeck Breed: Indefatigable (Star Trek)
Untitled #19 (Star Trek)

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I really love my job. I spoke with my boss tonight, and he was incredibly sympathetic to my concerns about working at eBay, saying that he would do whatever was necessary to help me out if I should need it. And without firing me, which is a major plus. That kind of support you just don’t find very often in a workplace. If this were Acer, I would hear the crack of the whip and then feel it as they told me to shut the fuck up and get back to work. It’s kind of nice to know that people actually give a damn from time to time, with the offers of consoling and stuff. Even my co-workers were concerned about that, wanting to know if I was going to be all right. Not to mention the support I got from my friends in both the real world as well as on LJ and WNOHGB. Thanks muchly to everyone who showed concern. I was very touched by the responses I read and received.

I’m trying to put a nice optimistic face on this. We were friends well before we even though about each other in the romantic sense. We made each othe rlaugh and she even played some practical jokes on me (grr) at times, that when I look back, make me laugh pretty hard. It would be nice to go back to that, without any sort of expectations. But I wonder if I’m able to do that without bringing up the past. I should be able to, but I’d have to be pretty fake and hold back stuff all the time. After all, you don’t necessarily go to work to make someone else’s life a living hell, it just wouldn’t be professional (unless you’re the BOFH, which I’m not). As I said before, she’s not the type of person to go out of her way to do that to someone, and so I’m very sure we can get along if I give it my best try. My last report puts us at possibly thirty days before we move, but I’ll be sure to rant here if that changes.

In other news: I’m having some problems with the car lease people. Toyota called me up last week, and then I called them up and the gist of the conversation pretty much goes down two ways. Either I a) pay them $14,600 to buy out the car or b) I turn the car back in to them. I went to my credit union and applied for a loan, which I’ll find out about later today. If I get the loan through my credit union, then I’ll just refinance through them and do the automagic payment/deduction from my bank account every month for thirty months. Then the car will be mine and I’ll be very happy. If not, then I’ll see if I can’t refinance through Toyota (which is the silent third option that the second guy talked about). In all honesty, I would rather owe my credit union, who’re just really cool people to deal with, than have to deal with Toyota anymore.

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As with The Brotherhood of War, W. E. B. Griffin has written a multi-novel saga set in the backdrop of World War II simply known as “The Corps,” with the members of the United States Marine Corps as the focus of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed Brotherhood, because it was a very detailed account and the character development was just brilliant. I really got to know the characters (all fifty of them) and I geniunely cared about what happened to them over the course of their careers in the United States Army. In The Corps, Griffin has done it again, endearing his readers to another set of characters and how they deal with the ravages of war in the Pacific. Unlike the Brotherhood, which covers the final year of WW2 and on into Korea and Vietnam (sort of), The Corps appears to start in early 1941 and so far (I’ve just finished the fourth book) has barely finished with 1942. By the time I was on the fourth book (The Colonels), they were already dealing with Cuba in the early 1960s. Brotherhood jumps around in time, but The Corps seems more linear.

I’m really enjoying this story and thought I would share

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Maybe sometimes it’s a bad thing to have a block of Dance Dance Revolution music in the middle of the night…

All this last week, it’s been something of a major DDR fest. Every day, with the exception of Friday, I’ve been going to the local Golflands to play Dance Dance Revolution until I just couldn’t dance anymore. I’ve been a little more experimental with my dancing; trying to do spins and more freestyle additions to getting some of the steps correct while also displaying just a little more creativity than doing what’s on the screen, scrolling up from the bottom. Though, lately, I’ve been noticing that I’ve been able to do a few more songs than I normally do before I just wear myself out completely and have that whole wish to keel over and die from complete leg failure.

All I can do is keep going every day and hopefully build up my old stamina where I could play for hours without feeling it too much.

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As the sounds of The Seatbelts assaults my senses… I actually have this one turned all the way up right here at my workstation in the middle of the night. One of the many blessings of working solo for twelve hour stretches is the simple fact that I can play whatever I want whenever I want and I don’t bother anyone. As some of you have come to know, I’ve switched back to nights over the weekend, and so far so good. I think that my body has given up the fight and will now allow me to pretty much sleep whenever I tell it to sleep, as opposed to the other method of just feeling zonked all the time.

When I did the shift turnover to my co-worker yesterday morning, we got into a little conversation about the immediate future of our little happy-go-lucky network operations center here at PayPal, and it would seem that within the next three or four weeks, we might be closing up shop here at Mountain View and moving over to work at eBay HQ in Campbell. So, I had something of a little anxiety attack about that. Let’s revisit the whole source of why that happened, just so I’ll be perfectly clear later when it happens again of why we keep certain things buried down deep and under heavy security lockouts. Now, I’d mentioned this as a possible course of action for upper management already. As we’re seeing more and more eBay infestation over here, we’re also running out of room to house them all. All of IT recently got marching orders to pack up and move down to the first floor, and we’re losing all but one of the conference rooms in order to accomodate the moving of two teams from the third floor. I think they’ve even torn down both of the former CEO/CTO offices up there and have converted the space to more cubicles. Another idea was to redesign the cubicles to Acer America size, which was roughly the same amount of space found in a foyer closet, like back in the old days when elbow room was a luxury and you could fit six people in the space one of our normal cubes takes up. Of course, even then, you would still run into the whole space limitation anyway, plus the angering of the IT people, who’re pretty well-adjusted to having to give up the large cubes we had over at Palo Alto.

So, with the moving of the NOC peeps over to eBay to consolidate their NOC with ours, I shall most likely be within the proximity of my ex-wife and her friends on a semi-daily basis. While this is a load of suck from where I’m sitting, something tells me that there’s a high degree/possibility that this could also be a good thing. But, will I have the same amount of creature comfort I have here at PayPal? I don’t know, really. I know they have like a tremendous amount of staff on site at any given time, as opposed to the whole lone samurai thing we have going on over here. I want to bring my sauve machines over there, because I’ve spent a good six months getting them working exactly as I like, and I pride myself on having my own space with two machines on it for those moments when having two machines is very handy. But the eBay philos and the PayPal philos don’t always mesh, so I’m totally hanging on every word my VP says with regard to this whole new arrangement.

When I heard the first time, my reaction was… time to find a new job. But, that’s insane and just the kneejerk reaction or solution to what could potentially be a major problem. I mean, I love this job. But working over there could change that to a hellhole I dread going to every weekend. Suddenly, having four days off is more awesome than three or two, right? But I don’t want it to get to a point where I’m moaning and groaning about how shitty my job is, simply because of the people I have to work with. I’ve been resisting this idea in my own way, but with the space problems, it looks like it’s just completely unavoidable. It’s not like I’m worried about my ex being malicious or turning my job into a nightmare, but when you’ve got such an emotional wound, there’s really nothing that can be said or done and knowing me and my immature self, I’m liable to react moronically just to satisfy my damaged pride… and there you have it. I’m unemployed. But then again, I’ve also been learning on when it’s proper to just keep my mouth shut and take it like a man. So we’ll see what happens. At best, everything will work out and eBay will be like a ten times better place to work at… at worse, I guess I could transfer to another department or hey… maybe with my language skills, I could move to eBay International and work out of the Japan office. That would rule…

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Myers-Briggs would say that you are an ESTJ (Extrovert, Sensor, Thinker, Judger). In Star Trek language, you share a basic personality configuration with William Riker and B’Elanna Torres.

People like you are generally quick decision makers, organized and efficient. Your personality is charismatic, friendly and energetic, but you take life seriously and can be a little opinionated on your own turf. You’re extremely outspoken when you feel you’re in the right. You have great trouble dealing with people who are dishonest and/or disorderly.

You’re highly productive, realistic and sensible. Somewhat of a traditionalist, you’re distrustful of new and untested ideas, and you’re more than a little blunt telling others how you feel about them, or about whatever other faults you see. When you give a compliment, however, you mean it.

Your primary goal in life is doing the right thing, and being in charge. Your reward is to be appreciated by others and have your opinion respected. You also enjoy having others willingly follow your orders.

Good careers for your type include being a command officer, pharmacist, teacher, and personnel manager.

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I’ve been a fan of the Command & Conquer series of games, ever since the original published in the mid-90s for MS-DOS. I remember that we all went out a bought copies, and then null modem cables so we could set up head-to-head matches in the special accounts lab, where my group also work out of during the graveyard shift. Now and I, since we both left the hellhole known as Acer, have sort of continued the tradition of real-time strategy games, though it’s not been limited to C&C. We both played Red Alert and loved it, but when it came to Tiberian Sun, I think both of us were pretty disappointed with the game. When Red Alert 2 came out, I remember the phone call and invitation to hunker down into his hovel underneath the house to watch him play the game, and I was pretty much sold as that point. I went out and bought it, and then the expansion pack. The only problem with C&C:RA2 was the stupid Westwood TCP drivers. Anytime I tried to play that game and used the internet tools that came with it to hook up with and play over the net, it would utterly destroy my TCP stack and I would have to reboot in order to get net connection back. It sucked royally.

Now, I knew Generals was coming out, but I guess my attention toward the game sort of faltered, because I forgot the street date for the game. Fate intervened apparently, because when I went over to Gamestop to see my roommate at his place of work, he mentioned that Generals was released that day and, of course, I snatched up a copy immediately. I played that game for about 4 hours, only in skirmish mode. I always start playing RTS games in the skirmish mode, because you’re not timed and there’s no objective but to defeat your enemy. Only then can I get a real feel for the building structures, unit heirarchies, what’s required to reach a certain unit that will rule all. The neat thing about Generals is that there is no uber-unit, that I’m aware of. In fact, if you don’t work your units in some kind of harmony, there’s just no way you can win with only building a mess of certain units.

I’m having a lot of fun, but the minimum requirements are insane. On spike, I have to reboot every time I play the damn game. Yikes, this game is a resource beast…

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