So I have spent the last 2 months being counter productive. Yes, I see this now.
- Eating small and light through the day only to heap on an extra-large portion at dinner and then snack between dinner and bedtime.
- Game (Call of Duty, WoW and even Farmville) into the early hours of the morning robbing myself of sleep.
- Working out infrequently and overtraining when I do work out.
- Consuming copious amounts of alcohol in one sitting thereby insuring a 24hr+ hangover the next day.
See the thing is, I know better. I should know better at least. All the above activities coupled with a stressful work environment have made me quite the irritable young man. It’s time to do some introspection and weed out the cancer.
The burden of the unmaintained blog can make anyone want to stop. While I am on hiatus here are some other blogs I can turn you onto that actually have content:
When I quit raiding right around the time Sunwell hit I took a 13 month break from WoW. The drive to raid never came back. With the lack of any 10 or 25 man progress on my radar I threw myself head first into the achievement system.
The biggest one I wanted? What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been. I worked diligently through all the holidays. Waking up at odd hours to get some tasks done, cursing the Valentine’s Candies, putting out & starting fires, and matting rabbits to name a few.
It was right after Brewfest last year that I decided to go for it. Something told me to gather all the clothing and I am glad I did. Being well prepared for disturbing the peace was a good move. It was arguably one of the bigger pains of Brewfest (though I read that for a short time this year you were able to buy then sell back clothes making this so easy it’s not even funny). So this year to finish off Brewmaster all it really took was getting 200 tokens for Brew of the Month and some silly drinking & eating. Some more keg runs and I was able to buy the Pint-Sized Pink Elekk and some other frivolous items (1 and 2). I had completed 100% of Brewfest, even the non-achievement items/tasks. When all totalled up I spent 870 Brewfest Prize Token’s all got by legitimate ways. That’s quite a bit of tedious work.
But when I look back it was a drop in the bucket. There were many tedious tasks along the way. I really can’t believe I got this all done as the 1st period for eligibility came up. As holidays come and go, many people will join my ranks. I was able to get it done in the 1st week. I amazed myself. Being prepared for Brewfest this year to end my long journey was a lofty, will I quit WoW after I get it, type of goal. Here I am, on the precipice.
It certainly is slick. Check it out.
Got the Evo detailed at Big A’s down in Queens, NY. The car came out great inside and out. The only bad thing now is that all the paint chips, door dents and wing cancer look that much more prominent now.
I ordered some touch up paint for both the hood and the wheels. Mitsupart’s is sending the paint touch-up. BBS does not make touch-up wheel paint so I went with a testors color “gunship grey” that I hope matches well. There are 2 curbings I am going to sand and a few chips here and there. The hood has, no joke, 40-50 little chips. It really needs a repaint and I really should have had a clear-bra installed on day one. Too late now!
After thats done its time to tackle the wing. There are 2 options. Have it taken off and sanded down and recleared. Problem is no shop wants to take the liability of sanding and possibly ruining the carbon. Add in the possible $300 cost and I balked. The other option is wingless with a full carbon trunk replacement. That would be really nice but chimes in at over $600. So I am going ghetto. I am going to use some vinyl to mask it in the meantime. I have to take some measurements and be sure before I order. Yes thats right, I am covering real carbon fiber with fake carbon fiber. It’s only temporary though.
These last few steps in getting the paint/interior/wheels/wing back into shape is giving my car a much needed fresh (albeit it stock) face. I’ll have more pictures soon.
Unit installed in middle chamber:
Collection cup off:
Skim-mate after 6hrs:
Temporary intake restriction:
Mircobubble release:
My 1st pump arrived damaged due to shipping. Kyle was kind enough to send me a replacement pump face to get the unit working. Thanks very much!
Shortly after I got this working it was time for a water change. The main pain in the ass is even being careful not to disturb the collection cup, all adjustments needed to be made once again after the water change. This includes water level, body height, collection cup height, and pump flow. Hopefully adjusting this thing will get easier over time and the microbubbles will cease. I only want to use it during the overnight and never when away cause I won’t be able to monitor top-off.
The other major problem with this skimmer is the pump is way too powerful. Left wide open the collection cup overflows in minutes. The above picture shows a binder clip I used, I have since replaced this. What I have done now is put an adjustable valve on the air intake I stole from a drip acclimator to cut the air coming into the pump by approximately 50%. I worry that this will have the pump running hotter both effecting its life and the tank temperatures. Time will tell.
So far the skimmer has needed daily adjusting and constant worry. I wonder if its really worth it on my tank with bi-weekly water changes. I really want to get into a worry free maintenance mode and coast with the tank. I don’t wish to add anything or spend any money on it. The skimmer was supposed to be the last expenditure giving me a little insurance with regards to water quality. So far it’s been headache’s. This is not indicative of the Sapphire’s build quality. It is an impressive unit but maybe my system requires too much tinkering to make its benefits worthwhile. Will check back in another week.
My recent hiatus is over, lets talk about PS3 preorders!
It’s a good time to be a PS3 owner. Top notch titles keep plugging away, PS3 slim has seen a resurgence in sales numbers, more and more classic PS1 titles are hitting the Playstation Network, Bluray sales are reaching new heights, a new PSPGO! promises further remote play interactivity and just in time! I say just in time because I need something to pull me away from the WoW grind and the PS3 is my answer.
There were plenty of distractions with the flurry of outdoor activities that summer provided over the last few months. As the school buses clog my morning route to work and nighttime temperatures force me to get up in the middle of the night and shut the windows, I know it’s time to preorder some games to keep me sane.
Top of the list that I have already preordered are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Gran Turismo 5. CoD will without a doubt be released on 11/10/09 but Gamestop’s date of 2/2/10 for Gran Turismo 5 is unconfirmed. The only real news we have on a release date is that it will launch in Japan sometime in March, 2010.
CoD will last me and others a good long while with its online component, that’s for sure. But can it hold my attention solely for 4 months? I don’t think so. I have been resisting the urge to pickup FallOut 3 till the Game of the year edition. It hit’s 10/13/2009 but there is no money in my gaming budget for it. I guess I will try to pick it up used somewhere between CoD trailing off and the launch of Gran Turismo 5.
So I am almost set for the time being. To fill in the gap(s) I’m looking for something non-RPG/racer/shooter. Any suggestions to preorder for the PS3?
18 days since a post and I don’t really know why. I got some inspiration from Raptitude’s new adventure that really forced me to do some introspection and I will have comments soon…………I promise!
