Continuity

Posted on 7/29/2010 by Trev at 12:41 pm

Sitting here in my car on lunch I usually just let my mind wander. While talking with Jerry on Twitter I realized something funny. Our Twitter names are the same names we used to use when we both first started on AOL back in the 90s. I have been going by the online handle ‘Twev1701′ since late 1994. I’m not when Jerry got onto AOL, but for as long as I can remember he’s been ‘Jerrwe’.

In a day and age where people are tending to stray away from online handles and go by their real names, it’s interesting that we still use our old handles from 17 years ago. I find that fascinating.

Welcome To 1997

Posted on 7/27/2010 by Trev at 11:43 pm

Last night was one of those nights where something totally out of nowhere comes and throws your world on end. This was a good thing.

Jess and Jackson went to bed early last night and I was left by myself. Not being tired, I decided to go someplace I haven’t been in a while — my PC. It’s been off for a good 2 months now, and only recently was turned back on. Before I could do anything, Jerry and I started talking to each other on Twitter all over a post I made about having some ‘me time’. This lead to a conversation about how we used to play games all the time and how we really missed those times. This graduated into a conversation about how the old games we used to play are superior to what is out there today. Next thing I know, Jerry is talking to me about a mod for Doom he saw called ‘Aeons of Death’. I honestly wasn’t intrigued until he told me it combined the weapons and enemies from all of our favorite old games into one awesome mod. Now I was more than interested. Twenty minutes of downloading and some command line work later and was playing the coolest mod I have ever seen in my life. How cool is this mod? Cool like I was up playing until 4am cool. Not only that, but Jess and Jack both took a nap this afternoon and guess what I did? Yep! I played ‘Aeons of Death’ for a good 90 minutes. I am totally hooked.

Another positive outcome of this mod was that Jerry and I did nothing but talk about games all day. This is something I can honestly say hasn’t happened in almost 8 years. I miss that. we’ve even planned a get together for a nice gaming day/night with some good retro titles.

I’m so immersed in the retro gaming again, I downloaded a build editor tonight and am going to start designing maps again for our Deathmatches.

I know iCal says it 2010, but it feels like 1997 all over again.

Staying Safe

Posted on 7/22/2010 by Trev at 2:33 pm

Someone asked me the other day why I don’t update my Facebook page as much as I update my Twitter feed. The reason is because I treat the 2 social services completely differently.

For me, Facebook is my public life. This is where I connect with old schoolmates, long lost friends, work colleagues, and friends of friends I may have met once or twice. Twitter is my private life. I keep my Twitter feed protected so that only my friends can read it. No one who is not my friend can read my feed.

Why do I do this? I had a wake up call one day. I used to link all of my accounts and I believed this was the easiest way to keep in touch with everyone. Everything I posted automatically went to my Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, my blog sidebar, Tumblr, and Posterous. Then one day something happened. I had a falling out with someone, and really wanted to vent about it. Without thinking twice, I made a post blasting this person. A few minutes after making it, I realized it was a mistake. They did not follow me on Twitter, but they were friends with me on Facebook and could easily read what I said there, my blog, Tumblr, or Posterous. It was then that I realized that everything I said or did was totally public. This of course, brought back another painful memory.

A few years ago my wife and I were vacationing in Gettysburg. We had planned a 3 day trip if I remember correctly. We had plans for people to watch out animals and keep an eye on the house. Then, on the day we were to come home, we decided to stay an extra night. I was excited about staying so I made a tweet about it. When we came home, we had been robbed. After talking with the person who was watching the house, everything was there the evening before. In other words, we were robbed on that extra day we decided to stay. If we had come home on time time, it never would have happened. More importantly, if I had not tweeted it and sent that tweet everywhere, no one would have known that we would not have been home when we were supposed to be. Could this have been a weird coincidence? Sure. But I couldn’t help but think afterwards that I basically broadcasted to the entire world that no one was home.

It’s the same reason why I stopped using Four Square and Bright Kite. Sure, its’ fun to show everyone where you are and what you’re doing. But, you’re also telling every nefarious person out there, “Hey! I’m not home right now and I’m about 60 minutes away. Feel free to drop by and take whatever you want!”. If you want to keep your stuff, it just didn’t make sense to broadcast that you’re not guarding it.

So, here is what I do now. I still talk about going out and not being home, but that ONLY goes on my Twitter feed. My feed is not accessible to the public and only to my friends. I also have it setup that I have to personally approve any new friend requests. I’m keeping a very tight leash on who knows where I am.

Every other service is my public face. I have a personal rule that I do not post any information about where I am or where I am going until after the fact. I am going away for a few days this summer, but you won’t know about it until I make a post about where I went to and what we did. Am I being a little paranoid? Possibly. I do however have a reason to be. I have been burned in the past and I’ll be damned if I will be the architect of my own destruction again.

Technology is a great tool, but we have to act responsibly with these new tools. If you leave your door unlocked at night and put no curtains on your windows, don’t be surprised when something bad happens.

Into The Storm

Posted on 7/13/2010 by Trev at 1:06 am

I was off from work today (first day in the last 7) and we ended up sleeping in a lot later then we planned. Normally this would be no big deal, but JEss really wanted to do something today. By the time we all got showered, dress, fed, and I ran my quick errands, it was already 2pm. With most of the day already behind us, and Jess not knowing what she wanted to do, I was left to come up with some ideas. I needed to come up with something that was easy on the wallet, open late, and fun. What fits all of those specifications? Knoebels of course!

We loaded up the PT Cruiser and set out a night of fun and eating at Knoebels. At least, that was the plan.

When we left Wilkes-Barre the sun was beating down and I was wearing my sunglasses. By the time we entered Catawissa, I had to put my regular glasses on because it had gotten that dark. There was a storm front coming down on us.

We got the park well ahead of the storm. We walked around for a while, and ended up getting something to eat. Jess got her usual baked potato and I got a slice of pizza. Jackson enjoyed the bottle and formula he brought with him. While Jess got her potato, I took him out of his stroller and sat him up on the table. He loved seeing all the nights, the moving canopy, he music, and all the people.

After we ate, we started walking around some more. About 15 minutes later, it started to drizzle and the wind really started to pick up. I suggested we head for the log flume and hide out under the International Food pavilion. We found a nice table and ordered up some food. About 15 minutes later, this happened.

This went on for the next hour. All in all, it actually wasn’t that bad. We just kept ordering more food and actually had a great time during the storm. In fact, because of the storm, we discovered that Jackson loves cornbread muffins and honey chicken.

After the storm let up to a heavy drizzle, we walked around (and ate!) for a few more hours until we finally decided (Jackson did actually) to head home around 8:30pm. While true, I did get a little wet because I gave Jess the umbrella, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it sounds. I was never soaked thru, and my shirt was about as wet as it would have been if I had went on the log flume once or twice. The nicest thing about the evening was that the park cleared out after the storm. Not being a fan of crowds, this was fabulous!

At the end of everything, this was great impromptu trip that will go down the record books.

Getting Away

Posted on 7/9/2010 by Trev at 11:35 am

After the shift I has last night at work (it was bad) I decided that Jess and I did indeed need to get away. So while home on dinner, we put our plan into motion. She contacted her mother in New Jersey and we now not only have a babysitter for Jackson so mom and dad can sneak away to the beach, but we also have a nice jumping off point which will cut our drive time in half. And thanks to an old friend and his awesome wife, we also now have a dog sitter for Loki.

The only thing left to decide this morning was which beach to go to. Jess and I used to love to frequent Sandy Hook, but in the past couple of years, we have fallen madly in love with Ocean Grove. After doing come research on Google Earth, here is the breakdown.

From Dianne’s house to Sandy Hook — 1hr 35min
From Dianne’s house to Ocean Grove — 1hr 36min

Even though they are approximately 5.9mi apart, it only equates to an extra minute of travel time. So obviously distance is not going to be and issue. With that said, I think we are once again heading to Ocean Grove. Not only is it a nicer beach, but it’s a beach town whereas Sandy Hook is just a beach with a few snack bars. The hardest part is going to be leaving Ocean Grove only after a few hours!

As for Jackson, we have debated taking him or leaving him with his grandmother. In the end, we decided to leave him behind this year. He doesn’t do well in the heat, and with just learning to walk, I have a feeling he’ll not only be frustrated by the sand, but will be eating handful after handful. Next year he’ll be walking and talking, which means that we’ll plan a proper beach vacation with our little guy. Also, it would be nice for mommy and daddy to get away, even if it is only for a few hours!

So I am now pinching every penny and counting down every minute until this trip takes place. Is it too early to start packing??

I Need A Break

Posted on 7/8/2010 by Trev at 10:33 am

The last few months have been very daunting. From personal issues here at home, to family illnesses, to injury, to vehicle breakdowns, to financial issues…I’m beat!

Due to inter-departmental scheduling issues, I will not be taking my first full week off from work this year until mid-August. This is the latest I have ever had to hold off taking some time off in my 8 years with this company. Even last year when I saved all my time for when Jackson was being born, Jess and I still managed to get a away for a few days at the end of July.

Add to all of this the fact that they are putting more and more pressure on us at work everyday, and it’s really starting to get a point where I really do feel like I’m burning out.

I need a recharge!

How will this recharge come? I’m not sure. We don’t have any plans made for my week off in August, but we have talked about a few possibilities. If we do anything, it’ll be a short day trip. What I am really hoping to do is take my wife to the beach for a day; just the two of us. A plan was presented to us to make this happen, I just need to come up with the scratch to cover it.

I think I really just need some time away to come at things with a new perspective.

I NEED A VACATION!