Friday, November 2, 2012

My Team Fortress story: Man Vs Nightmare!

    I play TF2... I play it way more than I should. This Halloween, they added a Man vs Man map at NIGHTMARE level. It's basically a long mob that you have to continually fight off again and again and again. I played many times and averaged about 10% of the level completed, max maybe 15%. Then, the root cause of my irritation.

    A normal group of guys and we all take the vital roles, should be good. Well, we coast through about 20% then spend the next 70% at goal, escaping failure by split seconds. Near the end, we're getting the upper hand, upgraded, full canteens and pushing them back. We're in the zone when the pyro, standing at the goal while defending what must be the last bot push, decides to say, let me air blast him. In the moment, it seemed right, they've been at the goal for a good minute, nearly ending our hour long effort...

  YOU HAVE FAILED, the announcer said! What happened? Nothing... In that split second of seemingly universal approval, we stop our barrage and watch as the pyro stands in front and ... does nothing. Air blast didn't work. Oh yea, air blast does have issues. Oh yea. Oh shit...


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Awkward

I had a particularly interesting morning the other day...
I was one of them, you know, the person who stops a group of people so they can also get on the elevator. Once on the elevator, I heard something... It sounded.. SHIT! It's my iPhone (yes I own one but not by choice(work phone)) and it's playing some unsavory music from Pandora. Very uncomfortable as I struggle to take the phone out of my pocket and make a failed initial attempt to stop the music. Once I slow down and let the app load, I stop it. The elevator is full of awkwardness and i'm the source. Ding! The doors open and I'm first out. Wait... This doesn't look right, wrong floor. I jump back into the elevator only to gain temporary telepathy! The awkwardness I sense is overbearing.
Just another day at the office.

When it rains in Seattle.

It does not simply rain in Seattle, it is an event. Days perhaps weeks long with a break including a half day of partial sunshine. Besides the gray skies and lack of vitamin D, Seattle looses so much more. It's sanity.

People forget how to drive. The left lane is the new right lane as you have to pass the overly cautious drivers who acknowledge nothing other than themselves. New reports wear too much rain gear while on location somewhere with a puddle or 2 and lets not forget the lovely B-roll of rain drops.

Good-bye sun, we'll see you in a few months.