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October 29, 2004

o/~ FFXI is back ... back again ... Fedora's back, tell a friend o/~

I finally decided to get back into Final Fantasy XI after many many months of not playing.

Some may recall that I got out of the game for two main reasons:

1. I couldn't find my niche in the game.
2. Amanda was becoming addicted and needed to be pulled away.

Here's how I found the solutions to both of these problems.

Solution #1:
I've discovered that I've been really playing this game wrong all along. I should've never chosen an elven character and been a RDM. The combination just isn't there. However, since my Fedora character is already built up considerably, I decided that I should work on some other areas instead. I've dropped being a RDM and am now concentrating on being a WAR instead. This was the class that I should've been from the start, but I knew nothing about the game and how everything works. Now I have a better understanding and I'm doing well as a result. I started out playing last Tuesday, and I'm hoping to be able to reach level 10 before the end of the weekend.

In addition, I've decided that crafting just isn't the way to go right now. It's way too expensive to do, and I just don't have the gil for it. I would rather use the gil that I currently have to buy good weapons and armor to help me progress further into the game than what I was beforehand.

Since I'm not worrying about crafting, I've also decided to give up on gardening as well. I've been trying to figure out how in the hell to remove the damn flower pots from my Mog house, but I have only been able to successfully remove one of them thus far. It's not giving me the option to remove any of the others, even though there's absolutely nothing in the plants or anything that could be keeping me from putting them into inventory. I'm just confused.

Solution #2:
Amanda and I came to a mutual agreement that she could no longer play FFXI. She has an addictive personality, and becomes waaaay too involved with the things that she likes. To give you an idea of how bad it was ... this game almost broke up our relationship of (at the time) 4 and a half years. OVER A GAME, can you believe it? Recently, Amanda encouraged me to get back on the game and enjoy myself. She's been way too busy working and going to school to even worry about playing a video game. She still has an interest, which is OK. She stops by the computer and asks me how I'm doing every once in a while, and I tell her what I'm currently doing.

Anyhow ... Kyle had also recently encouraged me to get back into the game. I've been wanting to do so for a while, and since I got problems 1 and 2 figured out, I figured that it may be safe to venture back into Vanadel once again. Kyle sent me a bit of gil to get myself started again (thanks Kyle) and I've been working on leveling since. In addition, Kyle has been offering some good advice from time to time to help me play my game better (thanks again, Kyle).

So, here's to beginning the adventure again. Wish me luck.

Posted by ed at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)

Elections and voter registration

It's only 4 days before election time, and it can't get here soon enough.

Kyle and I have finally gotten the last pieces put in place in the studio for election night. We put in all new cabling and a new phone block. We're using our new 24-port switches that arrived this week to ensure that there will be no networking issues, in addition to putting two new laptops immediately to work entering election data.

Tests have been run. Graphics are in place. Phones are ringing. PCs are networked and ready for action. All we need are the people to use the equipment and the voters to make their choice. We're ready to go. I don't think that we can get any more prepared than what we are.

On an interesting note regarding elections, I checked out the Board of Elections Web site last Thursday only to discover that my voter registration didn't change when I updated my drivers license last year. I'm still registered to vote in Frankfort. What's really odd is that Amanda and I went to get our licenses done on the same day at the same time. I got mine done first, she followed after me. She's registered to vote in Jefferson County, and I'm not.

I sent an e-mail to the Board of Elections and got a phone call back within 10 minutes. It was a lady by the name of Susan, who appoligized for the oversight and explained what I could do to get myself registered. It seems that I will need to go to the Board of Elections on November 2nd and plead my case with some panel to get my right to vote in Jefferson County. If they deny it, I can appeal the decision with a judge.

The downside to all of this is that I'm going to be extremely busy all day on the 2nd. I've done enough of these elections to know that free time isn't something that comes in mass quantities on election days. So, I find out that I have to find time to make it down to the BoE sometime during this day and make my case. When am I going to find time to do this? Will this even be something that I will be able to do considering how important our election coverage is here at the station?

I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm going to have to make a difficult choice. I've never missed an opportunity to vote. I've always been a big believer that every single vote counts, and that only fools throw that opportunity away. However, given the cirumstances of this fucked up event, I may have to opt out of voting in the election this year unless something major happens that allows me the free time to head down to the BoE and spend a few hours waiting to make my case.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

..................

Posted by ed at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)