Second call was from a manager from Road Runner, inquiring about my current network status. I informed him that the situation is unchanged, I'm still getting crappy service. He then proposed to send one of his "elite" technicians to help resolve this matter. Shortly after 11AM, the technician arrived, and proceeded to be pretty much unhelpful for the 30+ minutes he was here. He checked my signal strength, and made sure that I was not losing any packets. He then confirmed that the "hub problem" they had at the Riverside nexus was fixed sometime last week. However, upon trying to download SP3 for Win2k, the file arrived corrupted as expected. He then threw up his hands denying any knowledge on how to fix this, and proposed to call the only person he knows in the company that might have a clue on how to fix this. Both Evil Twin and I agreed that he had no clue what he was doing, and we questioned how he gained "elite" status in the company. While I was in class his supervisor called the apt as a follow-up to the visit this morning. He asked me to return his call soonest (he gets out of his office at 4PM) to resolve this issue. Hopefully I might get some sort of workable solution tomorrow.

As a part of my Linux training, I've decided to use Quincy IX to the fullest. It is currently sporting 4 different operating systems spread across two hard drives: Windows 2000 Professional, Mandrake Linux, RedHat Linux, and I'm finishing the install of Slackware Linux even as I type this. Now I get to experiment how well they work, and maybe even set up Samba for inter-OS file-sharing. . . *evil grin*

I did pick up a new toy while I was up there. I'm proud to announce that CCCCC.net now has wireless capabilities. The new Linksys Wireless 4-port Router is a highly welcomed addition to the network. Now I can surf the web on Quincy VIII while I'm lying in bed. And there was much joy throughout the land.

Spent the afternoon in class, learning more things about Linux. Like I've been saying, I've learned more about Linux in the last three days than I've learned in the last four years in college. I've been in the wrong educational institution. . .

Other than that, drove Bonnie home in the morning (she was stranded at OC3 due to the major hailstorm last night), and it appears that we have departed in relatively good terms. Things that needed to be said, were said. Gestures that needed to be made, were made. There are lots more work to be done in this area before things get better, but the outlook seems to be promising. Besides, she did buy me a 120GB 7200RPM HDD as a gesture of good-will. :)

Class today was on a slow start. Arrived at the training area realizing that I had somehow lost my driver's license somewhere, and spent the first hour wondering where my license went instead of paying attention to the importance of mounting and unmounting resources in Linux. Also managed to fall asleep as well. Not exactly what I paid $3000 for. . . :( I eventually remembered that I had left the license at the towing yard, and sped there after class to retrieve it. I'm still planning on taking them to court for their insulting Agamemnon.

The Linux certification training began today, and things went along fairly smoothly. . . the instructor himself only had completed his training in April, and that was only because the SOHO he owned lost all but one of its customer base on one particular day in September. Here's a hint, the majority of his customers were based in New York City.

Trip down to San Antonio to visit Bridgette went pretty smoothly. Got the quick tour of "A Day in the Life of. . ." from her point of view, and it seems she's keeping herself busy. She's currently fretting about getting into Physical Therapy School, but I'm sure she'll do fine.

Bonnie's plane arrived without much hassle, and we spent all day Saturday getting reacquainted. This involved some face-to-face talk, some DDRing with the ACMers down in Taylor-MAX, some dinner with Ryan, and some other activities that wrapped up the evening. We managed to work out some of the major issues between us, I think, so this may open up some possibilities in the future. Maybe. . .

Made some impulsive purchases today. . . got the NGE D&R DVD as well as a couple of hardcover books (Dune and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls). Also got Dragon Half DVD because Bonnie was interested, and the XHTML/XML/Java2 technical reference book so I can make future websites XHTML compliant.

Other than that, I'm about to head out the door for a inspection of the prototype of the Agamemnon at a nearby shipyard. And then tonight there's a CQB simulation I'm running for some ACMers. And then tomorrow a day trip down to San Antonio to visit Bridgette. And then Saturday Bonnie is coming in for a few days worth of vacation.

Spent the afternoon of Monday at the Outlet Mall in San Marcos with Shashank. Remind me never to go down there again. I spent way too much money down there, and have therefore banned myself from going there again for the next six months. $230 for clothes, shoes, and a drill kit for my power tool. WAY TOO MUCH money. . . :(

Now I am recuperating at the ACM house from spending too much money. Dinner is being planned out, and I will probably spend the rest of the night rebuilding Quincy VII. Somehow.

Spent the late afternoon and early evening helping out at the ACM Programming Contest. Was the standby judge, and derived some pleasure in marking "DENIED" on various incorrect submissions. All in the name of improving aspiring computer programmers.

Swung by Anshin shortly after that to turn in my tuition and talk with the new representative that replaced our initial contact. Apparently there has been a slight change, and the salary has been increased to $47k / year (from the original $42k / year). Frankly, I am not one to complain if this works out.

Recieved a call in the early afternoon from Mark Katana, the Director of Operations at Anshin Corp. He called to explain the situation, allay my FUD, and generally tried to exercise some kind of damage control over a really messed up situation. We talked for quite a bit, but were able to compare notes and straighten certain things out. That said, it looks like my immediate plans are in place again, albeit a few weeks late (training is officially set to start on the 21st).

Tried to do some more DDR practice today, but my feet are too exhuasted to do any good. I was scrambling on the three and four footers when I should be breezing through the fives and venturing into the sixes. Bad day for DDR.

Wrapped up the night with a moderately long conversation with Bonnie on the phone. I was going to call her at eleven CT (which is ten her time), but she called me before I could pick up the phone. She has this uncanny tendency to do that. . . whether that's good or bad I'm not sure. Nonetheless we managed to get along fairly well, and things ended on a good note.

After a jam-packed company night with Deustch Bank, Eric decided he had time to check out DDR I & DDR II (the V2.0 DDR Pads). So after we helped clean up we convoyed back to OC3 and jammed on the pads for almost 2 hours straight, ending on a rude note when we finished the Paranoia Remix (6 feet - Basic), but the game insisted on failing us. It was quite rude.

On a completely unrelated note, the doctor has officially discharged me from his care. One look at me leaning on my (injured) shoulder, and one more look at the X-Ray has him convinced that the bone will not somehow disfigure itself and disable me in any way. Post-discharge care includes not pushing myself over the limit, and assume that my body knows more than I do. He predicted complete and full recovery to occur sometime around end of December.

So the day started with me hopping down to the ACM house for a late late lunch, and then immediately found myself in the middle of a DDR modificiation mission. Went to Home Depot for the necessary materials with Shashank, and we spent the next several hours upgrading the DDR pads to V2.0. The result. . . ?

DDR Konamix CD - $32

2 improved DDR pads - $25

3/4" thick 49" x 97" Fiberboard - $15

Hardwood Floor Covering - $35

Staple gun and extra staples - $25

Watching Long flip us off while we are taking pictures of him going at it on the upgraded DDR pad - PRICELESS

The evening started with a leisurely game of Settlers of Cataan (leisurely because I was playing with 3 newbies, and Shrew was playing hardcore with 3 veterans).

Then it progressed to Long's friend's drinking party. It is absolutely amazing how fast people disappear from college parties as soon as the alcohol disappears. When we arrived there were at least a hundred people there, all jam packed in the ENTIRE (inside AND outside AND the staircase) first floor of the apartment building. We managed to squeeze in into the room and get a few cups of "Jungle Juice", but after the second round the well ran dry. Five minutes after that the room was cleared of people. Absolutely amazing.

So we retired back to OC3 for a DDR Post-party. We let Sara, Long, and Ketan get a good start in their DDR careers, while Dan and I gave each other a run for our money. Shrew was happily straddling the middle ground, until Patricia showed up and whooped all of us. Man can she move on those pads. Dan and I were barely keeping up with her most of the time (by keeping up I mean making at least half the points she had by the end of the song).

Things began to wind down at around 4AMish, so we bounced down to Kerby at Kerby, and quelled our famished stomachs. It was at this time that I decided to switch my plans for Saturday, and declared that I would be going to the Ballroom Dancing class instead of playing Paintball. There was much discussion about this, but the decision was made. Everyone dispersed at shortly before 6AM, and I believe that as soon as I laid down in bed at 6AM, my entire system shutdown due to overload.

Unfortunately, system startup did not occur until well past the starting time for the Ballroom Dancing class. So I'll just have to make it to next week's class somehow. Meanwhile, I have to fix some damage to my neural pathways. . . I can't activate the hyper-heuristics process anymore since last night's outing.

Because of this, I hereby declare the creation of the Paladin's Motorcycle Repair Fund, a non-profit fund to help Paladin (me) bring his trusty steed (Enigma One) back into working condition in order to smite evil where it may appear. Donations are being accepted, although I do prefer untraceable cash donations. :)

Insurance company guy called wanting to have photographs of the bike. Made arrangements with Foohey for him to arrive onsite and do what he needs. Not sure why photos are needed, but I'll find out when he reports back to me after the photoshoot.

Due to the fact that Enigma One is grounded until repairs are complete, and that Bannockburn has reached the end of her life cycle, I have been relieved of command of the Bannockburn effective Saturday. In its place, I will be given temporary command of the battleship Agamemnon which will arrive on Saturday. Bannockburn will be returned to home port for final preparations for decommissioning. I had originally planned to relinquish her at the same time the Bismark is commissioned, but since the crash in Enigma One, my plans have been completely thrown out of whack. Nonetheless, Bannockburn was a good ship, and served me well to the end. I'm going to miss her.