I got to see Kenickie's reaction to my vacuum cleaner for the first time today. As Kenickie joined the household last November this is something I probably shouldn't admit.
He didn't like it much.
A few months back I was having trouble with UKFSN, my hosting provider at the time. Part of the trouble was not being billed for my hosting account, which, along with other problems, pushed me to move my hosting package to Memset instead. I sent a couple of e-mails to the UKFSN support address asking to be billed but, despite getting an automated response, they seemed to fall in to a bit bucket and were ignored. I wasn't sure how long my service would continue if I couldn't pay, hence seeking a different company.
I got an e-mail yesterday informing me that payment for hosting services was due, with the payment dated back to the middle of March. I'm curious as to what will happen next, considering that I've moved all my services elsewhere. I could e-mail to inform them of this, but as I had a chunk of e-mails ignored pleading them to let me pay them some money I'm not particularly inclined to do so.
There have also been a couple of support mailing list e-mails sent in the past week that have told of new functionality within the control panel for hosting users, offering complete control over subdomains and DNS records. Considering that these two areas concern the other problems I was having, and all correspondence I sent wasn't replied to, I am wondering if there has been a period within UKFSN where they were short-staffed or their technical expertise was unexpectedly unavailable, and now that period is over.
Perhaps if I were having the same problems now as I was then and e-mailed support they would get resolved as promptly as any other issue I had over the few years I happily hosted my sites with them. I would like to think so.
One issue that I still have is that any e-mail sent to my domains from a UKFSN server goes to my old, inactive account with them, rather than to the Memset servers. As far as I can tell, only mail from within UKFSN does this, which leads me to believe, with my limited knowledge on this subject, that they have something misconfigured. Maybe if they deactivate my account through non-payment this issue will go away and I won't have to monitor a defunct mail server address for e-mail from friends.
Switching from the EU server to the US server in City of Villains meant I had to fiddle with my game installation a little bit. At least, it would have meant a bit of fiddling had I been running Windows. Instead, as I am running Crossover Games on my Mac, I ended up reinstalling the game from scratch. As is usual, I got myself a little confused and although I ended up with a working installation I ran in to a couple of problems.
I applied the fixes detailed in the Crossover forum for City of Heroes along with another hint to set the flag '-renderthread 1' that supposedly improves performance on a multi-core system. I found that the game then failed to load, so I deleted the saved command and tried to save a new command without the additional '-renderthread 1' flag. However, this new saved command was not appearing in the Crossover menu. This was a little inconvenient, because even though I was able to continue playing by running the game from the CohUpdater.exe file directly instead of the saved command I didn't know why the new saved command wasn't appearing.
It turns out that deleting a saved command is a little buggy and requires a few more steps to be performed before a replacement command can then be saved and displayed in its place. Crossover staff member Ken Thomases recently detailed these steps in a forum post:
First, you open a command-line shell configured to work with CrossOver. You can do this with the Open Shell button in the Debug Options of the Run Command dialog. Make sure you pick the proper bottle that you want to work with.
Next, you use the "cxmenu" command to query the menus to identify the "path" for the menu that needs to be deleted. It would be inside square brackets. The command is:
cxmenu --querySuppose you saved the "notepad" command to the Programs menu. You might see an entry in the output of the above cxmenu command that looked like:
[StartMenu/Programs/notepad]
IDs=CXMenuMacOSX/In this case the menu's path is "StartMenu/Programs/notepad".
Then, you issue a command to delete the menu you no longer want:
cxmenu --filter "StartMenu/Programs/notepad" --uninstall --deleteAfter that, you should be able to save a new command in place of the one you just deleted.
Sorry that this is such a hassle. We have improvements to this interface in mind, but it's pretty far down the list of priorities. (The whole "Save Command ..." feature was originally sort of a throw-away...)
I found this procedure to be fairly straightforward and that I was then able to save a new command again. As well as letting me apply the original fixes, although I find the '-usetexenvcombine' flag to be superfluous, it also lets me drop the saved command in to the dock next to other applications, rather than having the CohUpdater.exe sitting in the document partition of the dock.
I'm probably a little too passive for my own good some of the time, perhaps even excusing it as tolerance on occasion. The aggressive air conditioning in this stupid open-plan office is one area that I have tolerated through lack of action for ages. The temperature in here is occasionally comfortable, but mostly chilly, and I am nearly always feeling cold.
Today I found I had had enough. It is the start of June, and I am wearing one of my warmest winter jumpers and have goosebumps. I'm a degree away from physically shivering and I don't think it's reasonable to wear a coat in an office environment. I called the site facilities helpdesk and reported that it is freezing here.
I will continue to report when it is too cold, because I am getting tired of this hostile environment and the temperature is something I can hope to change. My new headphones are doing a good job of reducing noise, which is another condition I can affect.
Sadly I don't think there is anything I can do about the two stinky people who refuse to wash, or the floor that shakes like a freight train is passing nearby whenever someone walks past my desk or at the other end of the office, or anywhere in-between.
When I created Magnet Magnetson, Mastermind, I rushed through character creation. This was partly because I was keen to get in to the game with my friends, partly because I didn't have much of a style in mind for the character, and partly because one can spend hours tweaking costume settings in the City of Villains character creator. I ended up hitting the 'random' button a couple of dozen times, which produced something I quite liked in general, but was unsurprisingly a bit random.
The chaps from Kiasa, as well as the game after I had progressed a dozen levels or so, pointed me towards the facemaker, who could make costume changes for a fee. Luckily, a free tailoring session was offered to all heroes and villains at the end of last week and yesterday, after upgrading my trial account to the full game, I took advantage of the tailor to get some more appropriate clothing.
My makeover started really well, finding a most suitable helmet that instilled in me a sense of a character controlling robots, and then it all went a bit downhill from there. I was hoping for a metallic or armoured character, human in appearance but possibly an automaton. Unfortunately, all the armoured options didn't really appeal to me. I think this is because the texture maps don't look terribly convincing on the larger-than-normal avatar in the outfit creation screen, particulary when combined with the general colour textures overlaid on them.
It also didn't help that the game crashed when I was half-way through creating the new costume such that I had to start again from scratch after reloading, although the free tailoring session wouldn't be used until I had accepted the changes. The crash may have helped a little though, forcing me to review what I had done and enabled me to find different options and colours. I eventually found a costume that I liked the look of, including the various colour and style options, and even managed to include more of a theme.
Note the appearance of my third robot, Buttercup.
I have the helmet for a more automaton look, as well as having the aerials for communicating directly with my 'bots. I found some appropriate gloves that could be used for punching in other commands to my robots, and work well when I first summon them. I was also lucky in that the robotic parts of my wardrobe match the colour of my robots, as I only picked it because I liked the colour. Even though I still didn't find an identifiable theme for the character I have a much more coherent outfit and one that I feel more comfortable in. My notoriety as a super-villain can continue now that I have the right costume!
I again mentioned recently that, in City of Villains, the relative power of the Mastermind archetype comes from strength in numbers, but what I failed to point out was that this also translates in to being a weakness, because without my robots I am quite puny. Because of my lack of survivability by myself I tend to summon or recall my robots whenever I zone or enter an instance, getting them to my side ready for whatever danger lies ahead. When I went on my latest bank heist I realised that this can cause problems.
I was happy to find out that my robot henchman are happy to follow me even when flying, so I had no problem summoning them to my side when I turned up in Atlas Park before flying off to the bank. I realised that maybe this was a mistake when I got some bonus time awarded for 'resisting arrest'. Rather, realisation dawned when I touched down in front of the bank and my 'bot buddies raced towards me, followed by a swarm of mobs that they had led right to my position. It seems that mobs don't lose focus in instances in City of Villains either, and I was facing rather too many. The good news was that I gained a bit more bonus time by blowing up the prison door, although it took rather longer than the time gained to get through it in the first place, what with having to summon my robots and equip them again.
The bank heist was successful in the end though, and I got a new temporary ability that allowed me to resuscitate myself once, avoiding XP debt too. But, again, the weakness of the Mastermind is a possible problem. Were I to be defeated, unless I was running away at the time, I would be close to my enemies and thus reviving myself would put me right back in to combat. Being defeated causes my robots to collapse in to a heap of nuts and bolts, and maybe some electronics too, so I would have to resummon them before I could be effective, but would I have time to do this whilst being attacked? I had a chance to find out, when I unexpectedly found myself attracting a second group of mobs at the wrong time. I used my resuscitate ability, quickly used my knockback attack on the first mob to attack me, then started my summoning process.
First comes Buttercup, who can shield me and the other bots as well as attack, then Fluffy and Snowflake. Buttercup gets upgraded, to enhance the shields it creates, then I shield Buttercup with my two bubbles. Then Fluffy and Snowflake take it in turns to get upgraded and shielded, with any able robot ordered to defend aggresively during any spare moments they have. In-between getting my 'bots up and running I fired off the occasional knockback either to stop myself from getting hit or to help out the 'bots. It worked well enough, with the single group being defeated without any problems, although we took a little more damage than usual. It's good to know that I can survive for long enough to get my defensive and aggressive capabilities up and running. I can fly around the Rogue Isles without a robot ground force in the confidence that when I need them I will have time to defend myself.
I still haven't learnt my lesson about headaches. I woke up Sunday morning with only a vague sense that maybe my head would start aching but stupidly resisted the urge to see about getting some paracetamol, thinking that it wasn't even a headache yet and it would be foolish to take pain tablets before I was in pain. Unfortunately, by the time I realised that I really needed to be taking a couple of pills I was on a train and some time away from being able to seek any. When I was able to get some pain relief I wanted to do nothing more afterwards but curl up on the sofa quietly and wait for my head to stop pounding. I need to recognise better the beginnings of a headache and take the paracetamol early, as a preventative measure, otherwise eventually I become effectively incapacitated for an hour or two.
I had noticed at the end of last week that the gaffer tape holding the tiger ears on to my crash helmet was lifting slightly on the right ear. It was not enough to cause immediate concern, as it was the central part of the tape that was lifting, not the edges, but I noted that I ought to replace the tape to prevent the ear from flying off as previous ones have. I got around to retaping the ear to the helmet last night, having forgotten about it for most of the weekend, not having worn my biking gear. The old tape was still quite secure, which is encouraging for the continued wearing of tiger ears as I ride my motorbike as it indicates that as long as I inspect the tape occasionally I should get plenty of time for any preventative maintenance.
I must have little ears. Or, at least, ear-holes. Nearly all the in-ear headphones I've bought myself for years have never fit properly and kept on falling out. I suppose I should have taken the hint and stopped buying in-ear headphones, but that one pair I bought years ago that were snug kept me optimistic that I just needed to find the right pair again. I had come close recently, when a pair I bought came with foam covers that effectively worked as velcro against my voluminous ear-hair. But the foam covers were subject to impromptu removal when pulling the headphones out of my ear, such was the velcro resemblance, and this just happened to occur one day when out and about. I didn't realise immediately that one of the foam covers had dropped off, and by the time I had noticed it could have been anywhere on the pavement or in the road and was lost. I thought about trying to buy some more foam covers for the headphones but decided to try the Apple headphones I got when I bought my iPod Touch.
The headphones I got with my third-generation iPod were the original and far-too-large variety, and I never used them. The headphones I got with the Touch were the newer, smaller buds, although I had to check because they still seemed rather large for my freakishly small ear-holes. I persevered though, and the sound quality seemed okay, but they refused to stay secure in my ears. It was frustrating, and I kept on telling myself to get some new headphones, but I never knew what to get. All the headphones seemed much the same, and I didn't want to waste money just to get another set that wouldn't stay in my ears either. So I kept on tolerating the ever-shifting Apple headphones, taking time every few seconds to readjust them so that I could hear my music.
Recently, Zoso posted a review of his Shure E2C headphones, raving about their comfort and sound. Excellent, I thought, a positive review from someone I know and trust, I shall investigate these headphones. For a discontinued product they are satisfyingly impossible to find for sale, and I was left browsing similar headphones of the same brand but still not really knowing if they would be any good. I didn't want to rely on internet browsing for headphones, I'm not going to trust most internet strangers who write reviews on internet shops' websites, and I never really went anywhere in meatspace that would have anything but budget headphones for sale. Again, I put my search on hold and tolerated my Apple headphones.
I got thoroughly sick of continually adjusting my headphones just so that they felt somewhat in my ear and I could just about hear the music, particularly in my increasingly aggravating open-plan office area, which is rarely quiet, and I took the opportunity today, with a day off, to look for some new headphones. I found a shop that offered some relatively expensive headphones, including some from Shure. I am of the general belief that you get what you pay for, understanding that it is a generalisation and there are always exceptions, and after Zoso's assurance in his sense of worth in a decent pair of headphones I decided that I would take the plunge. With some money built up in my kitty to treat myself I ignored the cheaper options for the first time in my headphone purchasing plan.
I looked at the Shure headphones alongside a pair of Denon's. I was pretty much ignorant about both of them and had to judge them by the packaging, price, and blurb, which isn't really a good position to be in. Even so, with the Denon pair having a better frequency range and looking better I decided to opt for them, even if I didn't know how much the frequency range would matter when listening to MP4s. I headed to the cashier, who did a double-take when the price came up on the register for a pair of headphones and, taken aback, remarked that she hoped I had good hearing to buy something like this. Because of the industrial environment of the laboratory work I do I have my hearing checked every two years, and my hearing remains pretty good so far, so hopefully I can still take advantage of the sound quality the headphones are supposed to afford.
When I got home I tried out my new Denon AH-C551 headphones. I plugged them in to my iPod and, as I had been listening to Badly Drawn Boy previously, started playing My Friend Cubilas, from How Did I Get Here? Hmm, the sound was okay, but nothing special. The headphones may not have been seated properly, as they were packaged with the medium ear pads fitted. I changed the ear pads over to the small ones and gave them another try. Blimey, what a difference! The music came through wonderfully clear, with superb fidelity! I have never heard such sound quality through a pair of headphones before. There was plenty of bass, with a crispness in the higher frequencies as well.
Still playing My Friend Cubilas I played around with the iPod's equaliser settings. I have played with the equaliser in iTunes before and have settled with the 'acoustic' setting as the one that sounds best to my ears. I went through a selection, even trying out the 'bass reducer' setting, before settling back with 'acoustic' as being the best sounding for me. I then tried a different song, one that always sounds good to me. Still with Badly Drawn Boy I played The Shining, from The Hour of Bewilderbeast. When Damon Gough's vocals are first heard I was stunned by the clarity I was hearing. There was some distortion in the music, but as the vocals were clear of any distortion I reasoned it was deliberate within the recording. I picked another couple of tracks to make sure, first choosing Tender from Blur's album 13, because the album has amazing production values, and the song was beautifully reproduced. After that was Add N to (X)'s Metal Fingers in my Body, from Avant Hard, letting me revel in the squeaks, squawks, booms and beats. Throughout this not once did I feel the need to adjust the position of the headphones in my ear, although I reflexively checked them a few times.
Of course, this was a benign test, sitting in my quiet living room with no distractions, but I wanted to hear how good the headphones could be. I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, my expectations were significantly surpassed. I may be heading in to London tomorrow, where I can try the headphones out on the Tube, and next week I can test them in the harsh environment of the office. With their noise isolating effect and ability to stay in my ears I am hoping for good results, and I would be quite disappointed if I couldn't appreciate the sound quality that the headphones offer. I am quite optimistic though, and believe that I have made a good investment.
One question on gaining the power of flight on my City of Villains Mastermind was what would happen to my robots? I know they have the innate power of super-jumping, which is quite handy when they chase a villain who is keen on a cinematic railing death but misjudges how far he needs to fall, allowing them to jump back up to my position, but how would they cope when I am flying high above them, ignoring the road layout and rising over buildings?
In World of Warcraft pets can be quite fickle. They can wander off bored when you are unreasonable enough to jump over a simple fence, and they then need to be recalled during a spare moment, which can get tedious. However, my gnome rogue Knifey has a pet prairie chicken, and it is the best pet in the game in my experience. It has a tenacious spirit that makes it refuse to accept it has got lost and will persevere to find Knifey wherever he goes, even if it means perching on his head. This was highlighted most clearly when I was in a group in the tunnels of Maraudon but outside the instance.
Hunting for rock elemental shards we spied a potential donor below us and jumped down two or three levels to get him. Any other pet would have thrown up its wings or paws in disgust and headed to the nearest sunbeam to lie in, but not the chicken. As we stood around pondering out next move a couple of girlish squeals came over voice-comms as my chicken came hurtling down a ramp after spending a good couple of minutes hunting me down. Yes, one of the girlish squeals came from me, I get a strange sense of satisfaction from the pets.
So how would Magnet Magnetson's robots fare against the mighty chicken of Knifey the rogue?
Because the Mastermind's henchmen take a crafty break whenever their boss changes zone, and I was keeping myself busy with heists and kidnappings in instanced missions, I hadn't found myslf at large in the city with my robots at my side. But with half-a-bub of experience needed to gain a level and a boss and two minions lurking on a rooftop I landed can called forth my robots to get me that last little bit of experience needed to ding.
After the mobs were defeated I felt more powerful and headed off to seek a trainer, and this was where my robots' following prowess would be challenged. As it was just a test I decided to make it as harsh as possible. I set the 'bots to passive, so they wouldn't get waylaid with any reckless fighting, and took to the skies. I headed in a straight line to the trainer, not too far away but far enough to show any potential problems, trying not to look back.
I landed and turned around, wondering where Fluffy, Snowflake and Buttercup were, but there was no sign of them. I waited a little bit, and still nothing. Just as I was beginning to think they would get lost if I wasn't careful with my flying they jumped out of the water in the harbour and over the wall in front of me, one-by-one. Aww, it was the sweetest sight, my lovely robots! I bet the same loyalty isn't offered by ninja henchmen.
I'm not sure if my new notoriety change affects the amount of experience I gain, but I went from threat level 13 to 15 pretty quickly. I gained the power of flight as well as the title 'The Wrathful Magnet Magnetson'. Flying is great, as it allows me to bypass any mobs loitering on the streets when I am on a mission or heading to a specific building, like the University for example. With my invention salvage inventory full, as well as my stored invention salvage, and a few recipes stashed in my backpack I was keen to invent a few upgrades, which requires the University's machines. Now that I could fly there, and not have to run past and aggro every single mob on the way, I had the opportunity to create my inventions.
In some accidental twist of common sense, the salvage storage facility is opposite the University, making the process of working out what I have and what I need rather more straightforward. It wasn't too long before I had created two or three helpful enhancements, and I slotted them in to my robots. Hurrah for plug-n-play!
After this inventing I was ready to run more missions, and I now had room to pick up more salvage. I only had the one contact in Cap Au Diable, Dean John Yu. I found him on my map and, hey, he's in the building behind me. The University, in fact. Ohhh, 'Dean' is his title, not his first name. That makes sense!
I went back inside and had a quick chat with him, and he was happy to show me how the invention system worked, offering a full tutorial. Um, sure, why not? It wasn't totally wasted time, as I defeated a few mobs that were stealing inventory and got a useful damage enhancement out of the tutorial, as well as learning a couple of bits of information.
On leaving, the Janitor wanted a word with me and introduced me to the bulletin board contact. Sadly, he didn't give me a VIC-20 to connect to the board, so no B1FF alter-ego for me. Another thing he mentioned was that now I know about inventions maybe I'd like to know about costumes, and that the tailor is available to make changes to my outfit at any time for a fee, as well as there being missions at certain levels. I didn't have the heart to tell him that Zoso had informed me about the Facemaker's costume alteration service already, but maybe that's because I'm malicious.