My new iPhone arrived today!!!
A full week before I expected it.
SQUEE!!!!
Ok so first lets start with the hell that is AT&T....
So I decide to upgrade to the 3Gs from my old school 2G iPhone for various reasons...
I call the apple store to make sure they have them in stock cause why drive all the way out there and wait to be told "Sorry, sold out of the one you want" While on the phone the guy says they have "hundreds" (this is important remember this), and that I should go to the apple store and work out the upgrade there and that way my time in store will be much faster. He was very polite about it and I said I would do that. I hung up. Went to the site. Went through the process and wham... brick wall... "you have a business number we can't do this on the site... ooooooookay....
So I call the store back and luckily got the same person. "Hi I just spoke to you a few minutes ago and you asked me to go to the website and I did and it told me it couldn't help me because I'm on a business account." There is a pause and an audible sigh and then "I'm sorry to tell you this but if you are on a business account you will have to get your upgrade from AT&T and not from us directly." Pause " And none of the AT&T stores in the Pa metro area have any."
Long pause and then I speak...
"Wait,, seriously? But I got the phone I have now directly from an apple store."
"You have an original 2g don't you?"

"uhm... yeah"

"Yeah AT&T decided when they 3G went out that they wanted to keep all the business sales for themselves. So we can't sell them or upgrade them because we can't sell it to you without turning it on and we can't access business accounts."

after some flustered wtf commentary from me I get out...
"So basically AT&T is screwing me in the ass?"

"Pretty much yeah. And thats one of many reasons we all hope they lose the contract next year."

"Well, that sucks but thanks for the help. I do not look forward to dealing with an AT&T store."

And he actually says... wait for it

Wait for it...

"Try not to kill anyone. It will be tempting I assure you."

Ok so I get off the phone and rant for a bit about AT&T and their dumbassery....
and I call my local AT&T store. To be told that they do not have them. They only got a handful of them and they were gone in under 3 hours and he has no idea when they will get more. I ask him about this business plan measure AT&T put in place and he says that it was Apple that insisted on it. oh really??? Apple said no thank you we do not want to sell phones? REALLY?

Do the guy at the store tells me that I have to come in to put in a "pre-order" for a phone that is already out and I might get in in about 2 weeks, but not to hold my breath. I ask if I can put the order in over the phone and he says no he needs the CC in hand to run it. I ask if he is kidding because telephone CC ordering has been around since oh the stone age. He says they can't take CC's over the phone on Business accounts because it would cut into the business of their "premier site". I ask what he is talking about and he explains there is a website for business accounts to buy stuff remotely.
I say ok thank you and hang up....

I immediately use my google-fu and find said site and go through the process of using that...
I will save you the drama of how much of a horrorshow that was but suffice it to say I eventually just called their help desk. Was told again that this was all Apples fault because AT&T had nothing to gain by not letting apple sell me the phone... to which I said something to the effect of "You mean other than the sale?" They didn't get it... I moved on.
While doing the upgrade I decided I should up my minutes seeing I was getting very close on a regular basis and went over big time this month. This started a whole new series of problems.
This made me notice that the new data plan was more money and had less service than what I had currently. I pointed this out. They said well sir the 3G data plan costs more. To which I said well yes I believe that was my complaint. Why should this data plan cost more and come with less? They asked what I meant and I explained that my current plan is 20 dollars for unlimited data and 200 texts... this plan is 30 dollars for "unlimited data" but not really and no texts.
they said but sir the 3G costs more.... long sigh.... deep breath... Yes no shit! WHY?
"Why would I pay you money to upgrade to less service? That really isn't an upgrade now is it?"

"Well sir the new plans are set up this way I have no way of altering them.."

"Really? Even if I tell you that this gives me a pretty solid reason to change all 10 lines on this plan over to the Pre... which you don't sell?"

"Oh well sir I don't think we need to go that route Let me see what I can do please hold..."

2 min later...
"Sorry sir I can't change the plan but what I can do is credit the account the amount that you would be billed for the text plan and give you an additional 500 rollover minutes each year."

I move along


After two days on the phone with AT&T to order the phone, Get our premier account set up correctly and get my account updated correctly (which looking a the site while I type this STILL isn't right... GRRRRR), I am told that the order is placed and it will take two weeks to get the phone......

wait... But Apple told me they have hundreds sitting there... HUNDREDS!
Sooo being a business account means I get less service at higher fees with more roadblocks between me and what I want/need?

Uhg... And its the newspaper industries that are going under? The mind boggles.

Ok so today I go downstairs to find a box... It's addressed to my company not me... odd I think.
I open the box and viola spiffy new iPhone for me in only a matter of days.

There were some set up difficulties but nothing that I couldn't work around (iTunes was being persnikety)and now I have a new 32 gig 3Gs iPhone with the coolest feature EVAR!! Voice control!!

YAY...

the moral?

AT&T is the devil but a fast devil they be!

There was a new show this last year called Legend of the Seeker...
This show appears to be based on a series of books by Terry Goodkind called the Sword of Truth.

Has anyone one been watching it?
Is it any good?
Will I be grossly disappointed?

Your results:
You are Will Riker

Will Riker 80% Worf 70% James T. Kirk (Captain) 65% Deanna Troi 60% Mr. Sulu 55% Jean-Luc Picard 50% Spock 49% Geordi LaForge 45% Chekov 40% Uhura 40% Data 38% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 35% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 35% Mr. Scott 30% Beverly Crusher 5%

At times you are self-centered but you have many friends. You love many women, but the right woman could get you to settle down.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

So my computer has been having issues with games of late.
Randomly locking up in the middle of games to the point where I have to hard boot the thing.
Suffice to say I am less than thrilled with this...

I'm not even playing super high end graphic intensive games. The two Primary culprits are WoW and an FPS called Combat Arms.

All I can think of at this point is that the Vid card is going bad.
It might be something else, but who can tell...
Other small symptoms that may or may not be related.
Occasionally now certain open IM windows will fall off my task bar but act like they are open. So I can't open them again but I can't access them either. I have to close Trillian and reopen it to fix it.

I see a flicker in my monitor from time to time in certain things... the most often is my ventrilo window when I am not connected. Also if I hit Ctrl alt Del the info there seems to flicker as well.

So....
Any thoughts as to what to try and do?

I have updated all my drivers.... scanned the thing 8 ways from sunday for viruses and Malware..
updated Windows XP and run some memory tests that seem to come out fine.

I am thinking of ust getting a new vid card and seeing if that does it.

If I do I am considering the new NVidia 295 GTX and if anyone has any good advice ont hat card or what company to go with I'd love to hear that as well.
My last card was an XFX my current is an EVGA and I have had a BFG in the past. I am comfortable with any of these brands and open to new ones.

The Sex Pistols dear.

Event Announcement behind the cut

( The Details )

14. Chopsticks (need I say more?)

15. Brushing my hair seems to be a two handed activity (ow)

16. climbing stairs without my arm for support is apparently not knee friendly

17. my arm is heavy.... my neck is starting to disapprove.

This will be an ongoing post of the things I encounter that are more difficult with ones right arm in a sling.

these are being in the order in which they occurred

1. Realizing that one can not put on ones own jacket.

2. realizing after having a nurse help drape the jacket on you that you need her to reach into your right pocket to get your car keys for you.

3. getting into ones truck and realizing that you have to lean way over to the right to get the key in the ignition and turn it. (and then again later when you turn off the truck and get out)

4. After getting the truck started realizing that you need to do it again to put it in gear.

5. getting to ones desk and sitting down and realizing... oh hell... how am I supposed to get work done.. hmm left hand the mouse and one hand typing yay me!

6. Zippers on pants are left handed! And apparently peeing is a right handed activity.

7. (message redacted)

8. Realizing that when the nurse told you that you are strong enough to snap the cast at the elbow she meant it and you really hope that wasn't a crack you heard. (it wasn't btw)

9. Picking peas out of a pot pie is apparently also a right handed activity.

10. Arranging ones desk to be able to play wow for a raid while in said sling is difficult but doable.

11. Sleeping with an arm in said cast is neither comfortable or restful.

12. Pouring tea is oddly a left handed activity.

13. using ones iPhone is apparently a two handed activity until you are set up and then its really a no hand activity.

Most likely there is more to come...

Well earned if I say so myself. Saturday was K&Q Fencing championships, of which I was not only the outgoing champion and Marshal in Charge but also the Event Steward (Happy Bruni?).
Being the first event I had ever run I was a little surprised at just how hectic my day was up until the fencing started. No major catastrophes but there were a few that had some real potential to be so. Thankfully I had a great staff and everything went off well.
I am sure there are people whom I forgot to thank and I hope they all know how appreciative I am of their efforts. There is one individual in specific I need to thank that I know I missed in court. The gentleman who offered up his services as herald for the day. I did not catch his name and I feel badly about that. He did a great job and I would like to let him know. If anyone knows his name and/or has contact information please let me know.

All in all I think the event went well and I HOPE it came off seamlessly to the attendees.

Day board was imo excellent.

The fencing was clean with very few issues all day long, which I am very happy about.

A man I hold a ton of respect for was named Queen's Champion (yes you wingblaze!)

I got to pick on one of my oldest and dearest friends in Baronial court (hope you like the hat :))

I took a blue belt from another man I have respected for many years, yes, it's true. I am now apprenticed to Baron Larry... I have a bird. (more on that in it's own post some day)

I then got to have my house full of people for the rest of the night (god there are a lot of you)

Thankfully the Tads and various other helpful people stayed and helped with clean up because the crew I was expecting never arrived. With the plague that was clearly being spread at the investiture last week however I am not overly surprised. Hopefully everyone feels better soon.

I will say stepping down as King's Champion is bittersweet. I will miss it, but at the same time I will not miss being on my feet that long at every event. A lot of the job is being furniture but still, It's a lot of fun being that up close and personal with what is going on in the kingdom. You learn a lot of things, have a WAY better view of court, and get to see the reward recipients expressions when they realize what is happening.

Not to mention I got to know several people better than I would have otherwise. All in all my experience as King's champion was a great one and one I hope to repeat some day.

Leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Don't send me a message. Leave a comment on here. Next, if you want to, re-post this in your notes and see how many people leave a memory about you!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=52522221502

That is all

So I sit here waiting to leave for Birka and find myself listening to iTunes to wake up and get motivated to move and stuff.

The song of the moment is by a band I have only recently discovered and I have been hawking to a few friends already.
The song is called Believe by a band called the Bravery.
If you are at all into the Killers I highly recommend them.

here is a sample :)

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 of these films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own facebook account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun!

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane

Total: 10

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
(x) Saw II
(x) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Total so far: 21

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
(x) American Pie Band Camp

Total so far: 28

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch

Total so far: 37

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( ) Robots

Total so far: 43

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG

Total so far: 52

(x) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
( )The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
(x) Flubber

Total so far: 59

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(x ) The Whole Ten Yards

Total so far: 66

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
(x) Seed of Chucky
(x) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
(x) Son Of The Mask

Total so far: 78

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
(x) Bourne Ultimatum
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
(x) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George

Total so far: 92

(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
(x) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2

Total so far: 103

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
(x) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3

Total so far: 116

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
(x) Cruel Intentions 2
(x) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2

Total so far: 131

(x) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin

Total so far: 137

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 143

(x) Baseketball
(x) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
(x) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three

Total so Far: 150

(x) The Jacket
(x) Kung Fu Hustle
(x) Shaolin Soccer
(x) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
( ) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard

Total so far:157

(x) High Tension
(x) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
(x) Orgazmo
(x) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld

Total so far: 167

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
(x) Mortal Kombat
(x) Wolf Creek
(x) Kingdom of Heaven
(x) the Hills Have Eyes
(x) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
(x) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness

Total so far: 176

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
(x) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
(x) Ewoks The Battle For Endor

Total so far: 184

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
(x) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal

Total: 194