Hi! You've reached the home of Scribblette and the birdies. Feel free to browse, but be advised that as you read back in time (far, far back!), you go through my recovery from life in reverse. That means you will be reading it as a spiral into melodramatic teenagehood instead of out. For the sake of your own sanity - don't!


I'm an ex-Pandora user. Nowadays I mostly tune in to Demoscene or Final Fantasy Radio to stay pixelated.

I hear a buzzing in the bathroom for two days. Eventually I see an insect is trapped in the vent next to the heat lamp.

By this point it is exhausted.

I take it down and take it outside but it is unable to fly. I surround it with flowers full of pollen, flecks of sugar water and a tiny mote of banana. I figure at least, this is better than dying stuck in a dusty bathroom vent.

It tears up a flower, but by evening, still can't fly. I take it back inside where it is warm.

I take it outside again today. Still can't fly. It finally dawns on me that the heat lamp must have dried out its wings. Using the stem of a daisy, I very lightly coat its wings with the tiniest bit of water. It buzzes and I wonder if I am annoying it, but its wings look a little wider. I wonder if I just didn't notice it before.

I watch it in the sun, giving it a while... and decide to try wetting its wings again. This time when it buzzes, there is a spray of water everywhere and its wings open fully.

It lifts up into the air and flies into the sky.

All life is precious.

Cross posted from Facebook. I should probably post about our mishaps in Europe some time. :)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...!!!

The ancient but fantastic Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joystick has trouble with the return to center feature in several games, such as X2, X3, Terran Conflict, Albion Prelude, Microsoft Flight and others. These games support force feedback, but the force feedback drivers for the joystick are unsupported and outdated, so the joystick sacrifices return to center for the ability to have some vibration.

i.e. you get a floppy joystick.

A limp joystick that constantly requires re-centering is really irritating. Also irritating are numerous dead links to patches that would presumably fix this problem.

Turns out it's easy to do by marking your joystick as NOT supporting force feedback. You disable Direct Input from detecting that the joystick is capable of force feedback. This will work on both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Start > Run > Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/System/CurrentControlSet/Control/MediaProperties/PrivateProperties/Joystick/OEM/VID_045E&PID_001B/OEMForceFeedback

Right click on the OEMForceFeedback key and change the keys permission to:
EVERYONE - {"Full Control","Read"} - DENY

If you ran DXDiag before and after, you'd find the value for the force feedback driver changes to "n/a".

This solution was found at http://www.vistax64.com/vista-hardware-devices/188123-possible-fix-microsoft-force-feedback-2-joystick-self-center-force-disabling.html

I spent a while searching for this before being fortunate enough to find the above post. Hopefully this will help spread the information out there so folk don't have to sell of a fantastic joystick.

I'm terrified of going completely blank at the altar and feeling like I'm not all there - or not being able to feel anything at all! Facebook posts:

> Designing wedding bonbonniere-thankyou-photo-cards is worse than designing wedding invites. I vote someone else figures out my wedding speech (I'm still tempted to go with the sock puppet musical I wrote out a couple years back) and I sleep all Friday.

> Took me THIS long to realize why people really have honeymoons - it's so that everyone else can get a break from the bride and groom and all their wedding prep crap, and so that the bride and groom can have a couple of weeks to tell themselves "It's oooookay. We're not that bad all the time. Now let us promise to never divorce each other, just so that we never have to go through all that wedding nonsense again!!!"

> Had a wonderful dream last night where I was completely naked, swinging away across the treetops, leaping from branch to branch like the world was made of one giant leaf-filled series of monkey bars.

> This foot heater isn't hot enough. The 42 degree hot springs down the peninsula last night were just about right.

> I'm figuring out that the most important thing for anyone involved in the wedding is: Get enough sleep to not be cranky!

> Laser tag is absolutely incredible fun. Adrenaline pumping, belly heaving, lungs aching, lights flashing in your eyes - I tried turning a corner only to discover it was a full blown wall. BAM. Got a dang good score for my first time, too. :D

...I'm still not getting enough sleep, so I'm going to bed now.

There are many other adventures that I have shared only on Facebook, but this tragic epic I shall share with you here. It is a tale of the little carrot that everybody thought couldn't, and the little carrot who did, until the evil effing tards came along and destroyed his hopes and dreams just because they were bored. :'(

====

I can't pretend like this isn't real any more - like this doesn't affect me, like I can imagine this is normal, like this is how it's supposed to be.

Because, dear lord, I HAVE A CARROT TREE!!

I don't see any carrots growing on the branches yet, but I can hope. After all, it's over 110cm tall! And it's all from a carrot intended for a juicer. A carrot that was too 'wonky' shaped to be sold with all the 'normal' carrots. Meanwhile, all the other carrots are 'normal' heights of around 10 inches.

--

Moral of the story: Don't be afraid to be wonky. Not only does it stop you from getting eaten, but you get to grow up big and strong.

-- a fortnight later:

Fruitcake-brained cockatoos, to put it politely. THEY ATE MY CARROT TREE. *cries* I don't know why. They didn't do it for the seeds - the thing is nowhere near done flowering. They didn't do it for food - there are other apple scraps and seeds out there. They didn't do it for water - I have a fresh bowl out there.

They just did it because they're MEANIES!

MY CARROT TREE!!

*cries some more*

It was almost as tall as me, and now it's... well, it's as tall as it was when I first posted about it. It's not completely gone. I've got it hanging off a stake that is pointing far away from the porch so a bored cockatoo would have to sit in the mud to destroy it now - and given how white they are, I'm guessing that's deterrent enought.

*sadface*

--

And it's such a sad, sad tale.

It's the story of the wonky little carrot who couldn't (according to everybody else), the story of the carrot who did, and then he was randomly destroyed by random tards who just did it because they were bored and mean. ITS JUST LIKE REAL LIFE BUT WITH CARROT TREES!!

*sad sad sad*

I tried putting him back together with duct tape but he was GOOOOOOONE

*wail*

So now I have half a carrot tree. It will be the tail of the carrot tree who tried and failed and tried and failed and tried and SOMETHING MAGICAL MUST HAPPEN NEXT TO FINISH THIS STORY - maybe his remaining flowers give seed, and for the rest of the carrot trees days he gets to watch his carrot babies get planted and eaten by humans.

Wait, that's a terrible story. It really IS like real life!!! NOOO!!

Been busy with wedding plannings and university. Haven't had time to post on here - or rather, what brief moments I've had to post were spent instead posting updates to Facebook. Should get my Facebook updates merged and posted here somehow.

Anyway.

Currently seriously pissed...

...as I just found out we were scammed by IPG Paintball at the Bridal Expo earlier this year. Salesperson lied about paintballs included in price, small print on contract says they can't change the T&C - now they're claiming they're "bound" by T&C and can't give us a refund.

Turns out this happens all the time.

I'm tempted to catch a few videos of their salespeople lying about the value of the tickets and how they react when they're caught out - and passing it on to one of those local trashy 6pm news shows.

And the ACC.

My instinct at the time was to disbelieve them, but I kept asking and asking about it - was told to believe them - and sure enough, they lied.

I even insisted any communication be done via email, not by phone, yet they still insisted on looking up my number and calling me.

Fucking sales people.

Ha, I forgot the reason I hopped back to LJ to start with - writing practice.

I've been giving Baldur's Gate another shot.

As I always found it hard to get motivated into playing, I sat down and rewrote the prologue for a character I could be interested in. After all, the prologue in Candlekeep is quite dull the 17th time you do it and I wanted motivation to do the little quests - something more in the way of narration that'd keep me going through the hard times, i.e. 4hp & 1 spell vs a horde of gibberlings...

Besides, I could use a spot of writing practice where I write for 'fun', for myself, as opposed to struggling for perfection. Just draft stages. I've taken some liberties obvious to anyone who's played the game, and rather than resolving quests lacking a background, my actions were often enough the problems that created the quests to begin with.

Thus began the adventures of Sirobin, multiclassed mage/thief unextraordinaire, as scribed at the back of Vecna's Ineffable Variorum - and the most motivation I've had to play Baldur's Gate through, let alone fun I've had in a game, for a long time. Haven't yet included screenies.

Note: In the process, I discovered two particularly memorable notes for RL - one, that the birds KNOW when I'm halfway through constructing a good sentence, and that is when they choose to fight, jump & drop on me. Therefore I must build an outdoor aviary to make real progress in studies. Two, that there was any such thing as a sneeze fetish, let alone that people charge anywhere ~$10 for a clip of one sneeze!

Hour 15, 16th Tarsakh 1369 (23/4/1369)
Shploof. Exploding ink. That's the rest of my chronicled life, right here. And here. And there, behind my ear. And, well, pretty much all over me. No, they're not tattoos. No, I didn't swat some exotic bug on my face. And for the last time, NO, I haven't been 'intimate' with an imp! Why does everyone think that's so funny?

It's been two long cold, wet and miserable weeks now since my journal turned into so much splatter. ( Read more... )

Hour 13, 18th Tarsakh 1369
Winthrop's an ass. ( Read more... )

Hour 11, 21st Tarsakh 1369
According to ( Read more... )

Hour 19, 22nd Tarsakh 1369
I blame Gorion. I wouldn't have even ( Read more... )

Hour 17, 25th Tarsakh 1369
The library is about to get locked down. Rumor has it ( Read more... )

Hour 18, 27th Tarsakh 1369
Next time I'm tempted to ( Read more... )

Hour 21, 29th Tarsakh 1369
As I now know, churners ( Read more... )

Day 1, Hour 8, 1st Mirtul 1369 (1/5/1369)
I... I've never ( Read more... )

Day 1, Hour 17, 1st Mirtul 1369 (1/5/1369)
The muddied walk didn't ( Read more... )

Wow, I've been neglecting this. Haven't even been throwing up my Facebook updates. A shame FB doesn't give you an option to view just your own updates - it lets you do that on some group pages, after all.

It'll be long, but it's overdue and I haven't clogged up your friends pages in a while people (except for those of you on facebook), so here you go, with newest entries at the end. I'm probably skipping a couple of months, though.

- finds it incredibly easy to slip into a lady's pants. Comfy, too.
(after frustration at being told that jeans are SUPPOSED to be worn half way down your butt in order to stop your bits being crushed, I was shown how half the men in the store were either wearing or trying on womens jeans)

- Meh. Too hot to be NYE. Think I'll delay 2011 until it's cooler and just nap til then.

- is watching partner defeat and horribly murder Perseus, Theseus, numerous other famous names and escape numerous death traps as she seeks to destroy Olympus...

- watching partner battle her way out of Hades for the third time. That place is like a revolving door!

- Doctor Who fail. The melody from the haunting song with a lady singing "ha hoo baaa deh hoooo ba hoo" sounds like it was ripped right out of God of War 3.

- Watching Sue woo Aphrodite. Teehee.

- Has juicer. Has fruits. Needs more recipes. And if you say celery, carrot & ginger I will poke you - that was terrible!

- Wonders if clovers would make for a more sensible lawn cover, since they don't ever seem to grow as high. Or something else, native, perhaps. Grass is a weed anyway, and a mowed lawn supports less wild birds for bugs & grains. Meh @ grass.

- apparently I'm back to not needing glasses, though I'll keep mine for the sharp edges and contrast they give to stars, clouds, traffic lights & movies.

- Aw, disappointed by the end of God of War 3. Was expecting there to be something about the Three Wise Men, a guiding star and, well, something about the birth of the modern God or some such.

- doesn't really comprehend how dinner could be an aphrodesiac. Inevitably any such romantic plans are sideswiped by extended debates on the universe, sugar crashes, bloated bellies & the urge to contemplate upon one's porcelain throne.

Perhaps it would be more sensible to follow passion's whim first & enjoy the subsequent appetite, rather than excuse the calories with the vague hope of burning them later.

- has magic super psychic powers. Within minutes of my phoning family, my niece took her first steps. Hmm... I neglected to ask in which direction she was headed.

- figures sneering at recipes in cook books for lack of flavor might just mean he's graduated from cooking bachelor chow.

- No, human, I'm howling for your blood.

- is continually shocked and appalled by the ineptitude of HR.

- NO, I do NOT want to hand wash every single new item of clothing. It's just a shirt! Just like all my other shirts. It shouldn't have instructions demanding it be handwashed! I ask you, WHO wants to handwash their clothes after spending so much on a washing machine, let alone has time to? What is wrong with clothing manufacturers these days?

- Just had a near-death experience. I really, truly, honestly, thought I was going to die laughing and crying all at once.

- Here I was looking forward to the return of Smallville, Supernatural & Dexter... but instead we have back to back Diagnosis Murder, Mork & Mindy and Touched By An Angel. And Willow's having a baby. My skin is crawling without the moisturization of kryptonite tinged demon tainted blood spatter. @_@

- Clever Mr Abbott. "Dump the National Broadband Network to pay for Queensland flood relief!"

How about "Dump military funding to pay for Queensland flood relief - China would pwn us anyway!" At least the NBN would be marginally more useful - and cheaper. Australia spends 20 billion annually on the military.

- is already on alien wavelengths - can't figure out silly human communication. Accidentally started an interstellar war by cutting the rubber band on a coriander bunch. Really didn't see that one coming!

- is wholly unimpressed by wedding venue per-head prices offered at the bridal expo.

- boggles at how his Suelove manages to be both the daftest & cleverest person he knows. She's giggling away at a giant pile of slushie all around a woefully undersized glass.

- Heh. The govt just called and asked me about the name... and twenty minutes later, for me to put the explanation in writing. XD

- Hooray for overseas book stores that save you 70%! Also, much to my surprise and pleasure, I now love lots of kinds of sushi - at one specific store (Sakura House, Knox) where they make them beautifully with ginger and parsley and wasabi and soy :D

- wonders how many folk running through fields of green and gold to some dream lover wind up sneezing all over them, or if they frequently pause to scratch at their legs for all the hayfever.

- dived into the ocean today. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh'd forgotten - well, rather, I just didn't know, since I didn't know how to swim - just how pleasant it can be.

[Best highlight of the lot]

- judging by interactions with Sue, my mum-abilities are improving. You know, the whole "Have you looked behind and under things yet?", "Just twist it. It's not complicated. Fiiiine, give it here. See? You can twist in two directions!", "MAKE A LIST"...

- is delighted to discover this dropping-his-surname thing turns out to be an unknown but long standing family tradition tracing back several generations. Kudos to my dad - and his dad, and his dad's dad... so noone can be insulted. :)

- is being distracted by the thought of crafting blinkers to help block out distractions.

- notes a wonderful sensation of clarity after holding his breath underwater for 1 minute and 15 seconds.

I know some folk have held their breath for over 10 minutes, but don't know what a sensible boundary would be for the average human.

- As I form a molten mass of chair and human, I wonder what dinners would be nice served cold. My limited repertoire consists of hot and heavy and just isn't right for a day like today.

- is enrolling in uni right now. :D

- car accident a couple metres in front of me today. Girl ran a red light. Axles ripped up but everyone was okay. Nowhere near as bad as the destruction I saw back in Oregon. ( Read more... )

- doesn't recommend trying to solve a dispute with a spoon holding the letters G.U.H. to hint at a satisfactory resolution, as the letters are too easily misconstrued as GCH resulting in much confusion and irritation.

Maybe it'd be better if each letter included a 'this way up' arrow.

- The future missus is trying on wedding dresses for the first time and for the first time since I've known her I'm not going to be there giving her flawless fashion advice and helping her pick the outfits that best bring out her beauty. I feel all nervous and funny inside.

- Are new blenders (the second one doing this) supposed to give off a burning rubber smell that makes you feel like throwing up, even after the umpteenth usage?

- Why is Snake smoking the entire installation of Metal Gear Solid 4? He's been through 3 cigs in 5 minutes. I expected to find an uproar about this online, but... nothing.

- Your puny earthling civilization has finally recognized my identity, kowtowing to my demands that they send out a certain rare and unique item. This 'change of name certificate' is worth squillions back back on my planet. I just might not vaporize your species today after all.

- has st-st-started stut-st-stuttering again. I d-d-don't know why. Talking too fast for thoughts to catch up, maybe.

- has his wrist all wrapped up in gauze after failed attempt #3 at making Sue her perfect cup of coffee. Anyone else make it by mashing the sugar and coffee together with few drops of water? Winds up all creamy and frothy if you pour it and stir at just right.

- Fail of the day: Sitting at your desk? Make clockwork circles with your right foot. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand...

- will spend the day looking forward to making himself a banana milkshake with the last reasonably priced bananas in Aus until the north recovers from cyclone yasi.

- anyone else feel like slapping the TV every time the US President shows up to talk about Egypts "difficult days ahead" - EVERY SINGLE NEWSCAST? Since when did Obama become Terran Overlord? As much as I like him more than Bush - go focus on your own economy!

If you're not going to update your official tutorials to match, don't release new versions which have different starting set ups. Learning how to use new software can be frustrating enough as is without trying to read between the lines! Rargh!

This is Zbrush. They've got all these lovely tutorials starting from very very simple descriptions, but their premise is wrong. I don't start with a sphere. I don't start with the ability to edit the sphere. By moving into - as far as I know how to do it - the area to add things to the sphere, upon trying to turn anything around I move and rotate the 'added' area - not the whole sphere and all on it.

Edit - once I got past that, though, the tutorials are lovely and so far any other discrepancies are mild. Have to turn my speakers up way too high to hear the chap, but that aside, I've never found 3d modelling this simple to learn.