Ahh same here! It's getting more fall-ish by the day. I know the fall-colors here will never match those of Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, but the trees here are getting pretty colorful by now.

I love snow, and I really hope we'll get a lot of it this coming winter. Last winter I missed the snow, because when the landscape was white where I live I was working in the very south of the country and there it was merely raining and stormy. So when I got back for x-mas the snow was gone!

crap!

Anyway work is killing me at the time being, even got to work on sunday...without even being paid for it! Ah well I'm doing it to help a couple of colleagues...they need some day off so...

I've spent most of today ranting. And I intend to spend most of next week ranting.

The agency that lets our flat came to inspect it today and found it... ILLEGAL!

What terrible offenses were we committing? Only the most heinious of crimes: having a sofa in the hall. Yes thats right, for some unknowable reason it is illegal for me to put my sofa in my hall in my flat.

I have every intention not to move it.

But really what sort of law is that?

Reminds me of the statement that if a city/state/other governmental entity REALLY wants to give someone grief, they can ALWAYS find violations to charge and prosecute. Don't know that that is what is happening to you, but I do know that overzealous enforcers of THE RULES are a danger everywhere. You just know they were hall monitors when they were kids....

Like our across-the-street neighbor who really hates our (lack of) yard-maintenance. He frequently mows the grassy strip in front of our house (because I don't do it often enough to suit him) and once had the county come and absolutely butcher the trees at the front of our lot. My feelings is that the silly wanker needs to get a life. If our trees bother him so much, he should quit looking at them.

Its illegal to block or constrict a stairway or hall (even partially) because of fire safety and easy access during medical emergencies. Fire needs fuel to burn, having a couch in the hall can help fires spread between rooms much more quickly. Also, if for some reason paramedics need to get to you, they need plenty of space if they have to carry you out.

This post has been edited by Kiln: Oct 24 2008, 07:07 PM

To be honest its just wierd, if they really wanted to do us for something (and I don't see any reason why they would) there are a whole host of (a least arguably more real) things they could do us for if they tried. I think they're just trying to be annoying because they can. I should imagine a healthy dose of common sense and scorn will sort them out if they complian again, and if that doesn't suggesting that we might be as tardy with the rent as they are with repairs will

I could see their argument if the sofa was in a common stairwell but it isn't and the remaining width of the hall is wider than the door by a long shot.

They just need to grow up.

@Olen

I believe you will find that for every rule, there are 10 bureaucrat's who make it their life's goal to enforce them in the strictest, most inconvenient manner possible. And all of us ants have more chance to lift the Empire State building than to change their mind, or even fight their obvious power over us. Yes, it sucks, but apparently society breeds power-hungry pencil pushers.

@Treydog

Somehow, I never perceived you as the type to call people names, especially in a public forum. Perhaps my great admiration for your superb writing has caused me to put you on an inhuman pedestal. I know my parents have had some strong words to say about local officials and their over-zealous tree-trimming practices, so I do have to say I understand your reaction completely. Your neighbor sounds like he needs a more satisfying hobby that will allow him to ignore things that are not his concern.

I think I may be getting increasingly grumpy in my old age.... Still, I find merit in what you say. I think some of it stems from the fact that I had the good fortune to grow up running through the woods and along the lake. Even 20 years in, I have never adjusted to living in a development, where I can hear the neighbor shouting at his kids, or the one on the other side who (no kidding) mows his lawn 3 times a week- even in November.

Nevertheless, I should probably speak (and write) in a way that better reflects my age and upbringing.

Shifting gears- the older grandson has become interested in war-games (he is 7). Anyone got any suggestions for appropriate board-games that he might enjoy? Probably something a bit less involved than Risk, but more stimulating than Battleship.... I was kind of remembering Stratego and a whole bunch of other old Milton-Bradley games.

It wasn't my intention to imply you weren't acting your age; I'm certainly one to believe that people should not be limited to someone else's perception of how they should act. My father has to be just about the youngest 60 year-old I know, although he can "act his age" if absolutely necessary. My only intention was to observe that your comment didn't fit with my experience of you, that's all.

I have to say I never really played wargames other than Battleship, so I'm afraid I don't have any useful suggestions for you. I hope someone else can help you out with that.

So has anyone else played Dead Space yet? I got it wednesday, just finished it now after 10 hours or so of playtime, and intend to replay shortly. It's an incredible survival-horror, the music and atmosphere had me constantly on edge throughout, and the enemies were really well done. The combat system... or the "strategic dismemberment" part of it, at any rate... is ridiculously gory and awesome. The little twist in the last level was definitely unexpected, and extremely well done. I'd definitely reccomend this game - for any one of age to play it (18+ rating here) - especially fans of the whole survival-horror thing.

I've seen some stuff about Dead Space but right now I'm caught up in the glory that is Fallout 3...man its good. Nothing cooler than being able to walk through ruined cities and ramshackle camps of people. You can really tell it was made by beth with how free roam it is, I'll just say that its better than anything I've played in a while and with all the great games I've bought in the last few months thats saying alot.

It is freeroam and all that, but there are still soooo many structures/buildings that you can't enter. And yeah, I know some are boarded up because they are too dangerous to enter and whatnot, but some don't even have doors to begin with. *shrug*

Oh well, the game itself is an absolute gem, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Yeah there are quite a few buildings you can't enter but there's no denying the fact that it does feel like you're actually walking through a wasteland. Raiders and mutants everywhere, people struggling to survive, they did a good job of making sure it felt like the fallout universe. You can definately tell they used the same engine as they did for Oblivion...though most of the problems have been corrected or reduced.

My laptop can't handle Fallout 3. I'm gonna wait to buy it until it gets cheaper, and then I'm going to play it on my brother's super-special-awesome future computer from space.

Got my lunchbox today, with the Vault Boy bobblehead, etc. Early Christmas for the Treydoggie!



(For those who don't know, the FO3 Collector's Edition comes in a lunchbox.)

On the happy news front, I have many friends playing Sunday morning in the national title game for club co-ed ultimate frisbee. The team is called the Mental Toss Flycoons (from a Frank Zappa song) and hails out of my adopted home of Missoula, Montana. They'll be playing against the defending champion from Seattle, Shazam Remains.

(I should also humbly report that I'm also playing in a much more modest ultimate frisbee tournament this weekend, in celebration of Halloween. Today (Saturday) my squad went 4-0 and earned the top seed going into Sunday's action. As this is a Halloween tournament, we are playing in costume--with Robin Hood: Men in Tights as our theme. Good times.)

This post has been edited by canis216: Nov 2 2008, 03:56 AM

What did you think? I loved it, the open environments, dialogue options, unique settlements, and many other things really drew me in...more than Oblivion ever did. I think Beth did a good job with this one, I dare say that in my opinion it makes up for the disappointment that was Oblivion.

Afraid my rig can't run it. P4 2.8 GHz w/ 1Gb RAM, Radeon 9800 Pro. Click "Play" and watch an hourglass for a looong time. Would upgrade the RAM, but it is RAMBus and most vendors don't even carry it anymore. May be time to build a new computer when I get my longevity bonus next year.

My friends with the Mental Toss Flycoons won the national title for co-ed ultimate frisbee! I'm thrilled--just thrilled.

My team took 2nd in the Halloween tournament. Played kind of snotty in the finals against a squad filled with young fast folks--young fast folks with a good strategy to beat my older, more experienced team.

So I almost had a heart attack in college today. Found out this morning that about a month ago people in Biology 2 (one of the modules I'm doing) were told to go to the lab and buy a lab manual, and there was a couple of projects to do that were due today. I, of course, was sick on the day we were told this, and so missed hearing about it. Because none of my friends are in the same thing, I didn't hear about it off any of them either. If there were any emails sent about it, I also received none of those.

I was understandably upset and distressed, therefore, when I found out about 5 minutes before the things were due to be handed up that they even existed. Thankfully I was able to go to the faculty office, and not only secure a lab manual for myself, but also an extension till friday. Hopefully I can get the work done in the next two days, otherwise I'm going to have to bail on a bunch of lectures to get it done.

Oh no Wolfie! I hope you get that project done soon, I've had that happen to me before. Not fun. Apparently 8th grade is much tougher on projects...

I just finished a whole chapter for my story I'm writing with a friend. I'm on the 3rd chapter and I started 4 freakin' moths ago! (This is a very big accomplishment. I just have way too much going on.) Yay!