Vladlander Weekender

Farewell Vox!

This is my last entry on Vox.

The past few 4 years here did not deserve to end this way. No matter what the reason 6 Apart had in closing this, they couldn't pick a worse way to announce it.

So i'm moving to longeyesamurai.wordpress.com. If you're used to me, expect much of the same, except with French!

Onwards to the very last entry, it is one for the ages...

 

White Dwarf_195_2010_07

The week-end has been relatively bountiful. While Cloud-9 issues are creeping up, it has been a relatively worry-free few days.

Even took time to catch up on all the latest Warhammer talk with the news of a new mass-combat version of Warhammer Battle coming out. Not a player, per se, but that dooesn't mean I cannot enjoy thinking of the concept of basically having the equivalent of WWI played with figurines.

Work is a bit distressing, lots of projects on hold but it's like that old Perfection game, the timer is winding down as I try to put my pieces in the right holes. Multiply this by 3 or 4 and this what works looks like. I don't mind the ticking, it's when it stops that I worry...

Ok«y, maybe not epic, but you have to remember I lead a very dull life 98% of the time

 

8_Wands

How does the Fates look on my leaving of this place.

Eight of Wands (Swiftness): A sudden release of raw power, cutting through confusion and indecision, and setting things in motion. Rapid progress towards a desired goal, brought about by immediate and decisive action. Boldness and daring in love, business, travel, or spiritual growth.

I dont know about sudden, but cutting through indecision is definitely the theme of the day

 

Be seeing you!

The Management

NB I have set up a longeyesamurai account also on TypePad, but to be honest, I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing

La grande course

Cela a commencé par un message du commandant ennemi. "Pourquoi continuer une guerre qui n'assurera seulement que notre destruction mutuelle. Règlons cela une fois pour toute!"

On aurait pu pensé qu'il allait parlé d'un combat entre champions respectifs, mais en lieu et place, il proposa une course entre nos deux capitales, chacun démarrant de sa capitale respectuive et la première personne complétant le trajet gagne la guerre pour sa nation.

Au début, l'état-major avait ses doutes sur la bonne foi des intentions de l'Ennemi, mais compte tenu du carnage continuel sans probabilité d'une victoire décisive et surtout rapide, nous avons accepté.

C'est pour cela, que je me retrouve sur le meilleur cheval de bataille de mon régiment, avec tout juste assez de rations pour franchir la ligne d'arrivée et rien d'autre. Le soir, on m'avise de l'état d'avancement de mon adversaire.

Je me demande si on va se croiser?

The end is near

As Vox is coming to a close, I'd like to borrow a page from my employer,

End of time

The company has decided to deploy a stealth tv campaign in 2 parts to announce their new 3G offerings. The problem with the type of campaign is how to maintain the balance between teasing and content...

 

Bigmediaco_3g_ad_1

To be honest, I was not aware of the campaign until I saw the ad on the tube last week. Nevertherless, by recognizing the visual signature, it was evident (at least for me) that it referred to our company, although I could understand how ambiguous it would seem to the layman.

Here's the ad that played AFTER they announced their offer:

 

Bigmediaco_3g_ad_2

 

I have to admit that I liked the reveal, a nice way to downplay whatever apocalyptic overtones that some people saw in the first ad.

 

Nexus_one

Milestone

As to what model, I will pick, I have to admit that I am torn between the geeky choice, the Nexus One (left) and the high-end selectionMotorola Milestone (right).

As they sayin French "Entre les deux, mon coeur balance..."

 

 

 

 

All this excitement is just fuel to the fire of my next few data gatherings. With the upcoming NHL season on hand, I have decided to take out Marian Gaborik out of the proverbial doghouse, since he seem, at least for last season, to s for what I need to improve, I'll see what I can do with Castle Ravenloft, which could be a nice stand to a Dracula-like setting for this mundane world... Or the seat of power for Stephen Harper?

 

Gaea's Bounty

Today's MtG Tarot draw is GAEA'S BOUNTY, an odd selection given the circumstances, although the promise of a return on investment, as it were, must be linked to the prospects of BigMediaCo's last venture, which makes me happy to no end!

Ghost town

Yesterday on the train back to La Cité, I was reding this month's Wired and came upon an article about Picher, OK, a town with so many environmental problems stemming from the toxicity of the mining operations and sinkholes threatening the houses.

Of course, even with all these hazards, the government offering to pay relocation, they are some diehards who have decided to remain overthere no matter what.

Given the current situation here at Vox, I might understand the feeling. The merge of my 2 Voxes and my old Livejournal accounts goes relatively well. The thing that takes the most time is making sure I can still remain access to any audio and video files I had embedded in my posts.

Add the fact that almost half the YouTube links I used have gone dead, I have to find some alternates.

Busy week ahead with the 3+G Network offer finally unveiled at BigMediaCo, A little Cloud-9 activity on the side, but there's no sign of me having to work some OT, as of yet...

 

Sowelu_jade

Casting the runes, I get SOWELU is a strong symbol, for it represents the sun. Unlike equatorial cultures that may see the sun as a harsh and imperial force capable of causing droughts, in the cold north the sun is a purely feminine force that gives life and allows crops to grow. In dark times, this rune represents clarity of sight and the victory of good over evil. Sowelu is irreversible, as the cycles of the sun and seasons are perpetual.

Interesting take on the Sun symbol, I wonder if it could taken for a warning of changes ahead? As good an omen for the next step in my blogging adventures...

Bytown Follies

In choosing Ottawa, I might made a "slight" tactical miscalculation by making my need to select a destination with easy to access to data as my sole criteria was not optimal...

Had I done my due diligence, I would have found out that this week-end there was the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival, which meant that lodging was a highly sought-after commodity, and putting in a bind with a crappy room which cost me more than my usual selection, putting a leak in my week-end budget.

It's a good thing I'm not the stay-at-home type as the room I finally managed to get had a bathroom that I wasn't able to stretch my arms at full length! So, the regimen I had set up for my stay was thus:

• Get up at 8 (quite a feat as I'm used to get up at 5)
• Quick breakfast (a banana, orange juice and a Starbucks' Ginger and Molasses cookie)
• Go and spend the morning hiking in the nearby park
• Off to Ottawa for the afternoon to pick a seat and read (brought Chandler's The Big Sleep and Toffler's Future Shock).
  
• A Doppio Long with a slice of Banana bread
• Rinse, Lather, and Repeat

It's almost a monastic routine, but it did worked wonders to bleed out any stress I had building over the past weeks. I mean, 3 days out and I feel as if it was 3 months!!!

Seekers of the Ashen Crown

Well, at least I was right data wise, as I managed to pick up and take a look at "Seekers of the Ashen Crown", the first Eberron adventure for the 4th Edition D&D.

I have to admit that every 4th ed adventure I come across as this MMORPG quality. The kill-loot-cycle that was a caricature in RPGs but feels like the accepted model for this RPG. At least, this adventure doesn't feel so straightforward,  but it's not without faults.

Role-playing always feel like an add-on with as much significance as the ads in a TV show. Still, one thing I like and which is probably the only reason why I keep reading this stuff is looking at all instances of new content be it magic items or monsters.

Kruthik_hatchling

Take the False Blood Amulet, just a little doodad that helps out disguise and take aspects of other races. Just a little zing that could be thrown into a mundane setting. But reptilian baby monsters, not so much!

.

Stirring Wildwood

As for the Fates' taking on my sojourn, well I drew STIRRING WILDWOOD. Not entirely appropriate for the City of Ottawa but hey...

As for Quebec City? There's a chance I have another 4-day weekend before the end of the month, making this the perfect occasion to drop by.

And still working on my plans to transfer both my Voxes to WordPress. Still cutting through the clutter but everything will be ready when 6Apart pulls the plug!

Get off my lawn!!! (or how I feel about the Vox closure)

I have to admit I was caught by surprise by how fast the end of Vox is coming after all these months of having this hanging over our heads...

Funny that I should read this just a couple of days after I decided to set a blog at Wordpress (although its purpose was strictly for my own amusement). Will I use this as my new abode, return to my old LJ account, or set up something new. At this time, I only ruled out Typepad and Blogger as I was underwhelmed by me experiences over there.

I'll try and make the rounds before the shop closes down but I'll start the ball by saying:

I love you guys and gals!!!

Everyone I got the chance to come across either here or on my French blog has been a new opportunity to exchnage ideas and expand my worldview and I hope to keep coming across you whereever we'll end up.

I'm off to Ottawa for the long week-end and next week, I'll begin reviewing my options.

Be seeing you!

Wooden Sphere

In less serious news, here's how the Fates seem to interpret what's going on as I drew WOODEN SPHERE as today's MtG Tarot card.

I guess the news felt like a cricket ball to the side of the head for them too!

Unless, it's a way of drawing strength from this, no matter how maudlin it makes me feel!

Get off my lawn!!! (or how I feel about the Vox closure)

I have to admit I was caught by surprise by how fast the end of Vox is coming after all these months of having this hanging over our heads...

Funny that I should read this just a couple of days after I decided to set a blog at Wordpress (although its purpose was strictly for my own amusement). Will I use this as my new abode, return to my old LJ account, or set up something new. At this time, I only ruled out Typepad and Blogger as I was underwhelmed by me experiences over there.

I'll try and make the rounds before the shop closes down but I'll start the ball by saying:

I love you guys and gals!!!

Everyone I got the chance to come across either here or on my French blog has been a new opportunity to exchnage ideas and expand my worldview and I hope to keep coming across you whereever we'll end up.

I'm off to Ottawa for the long week-end and next week, I'll begin reviewing my options.

Be seeing you!

Wooden Sphere

In less serious news, here's how the Fates seem to interpret what's going on as I drew WOODEN SPHERE as today's MtG Tarot card.

I guess the news felt like a cricket ball to the side of the head for them too!

Unless, it's a way of drawing strength from this, no matter how maudlin it makes me feel!

Vox ferme le 30 septembre!!!

Les informations en anglais sur closing.vox.com

C'est avec le coeur triste que j'ai lu ce message, À ce stade-ci, je n'ai pas encore décidé ce que je vais faire. Ironiquement, j'avais créé un compte sur Wordpress pour combiner mes 2 comptes Vox et mon Livejournal.

Je laisserai ma nouvelle adresse dans un message ultérieur, au plaisir de vous retrouver quelque part dans le Cyberspace...

Vox ferme le 30 septembre!!!

Les informations en anglais sur closing.vox.com

C'est avec le coeur triste que j'ai lu ce message, À ce stade-ci, je n'ai pas encore décidé ce que je vais faire. Ironiquement, j'avais créé un compte sur Wordpress pour combiner mes 2 comptes Vox et mon Livejournal.

Je laisserai ma nouvelle adresse dans un message ultérieur, au plaisir de vous retrouver quelque part dans le Cyberspace...

La pyramide

NDLR J'ai gribouillé ce message plus tôt dans la journée avant d'avoir lu l'annonce concernant la fermeture de Vox. En conséquence, je vais seulement transcrire les quelques rêves qui vont survenir d'ici la date fatidique.

 

Merci à tous pour vos commentaires et je vous tiens au courant pour où je vais me déplacer et transférer bien sûr le contenu de ce blog... À suivre

 

La salle est bondée, on peut voir tout de suite les habitués qui ont choisi des sièges près des extrêmités pour avoir ainsi priorité au café et pâtisseries qui sont le lot de ce genre de rencontre. Moi, j'ai décidé de me tenir un peu plus loin, mon foie supportant mal ce genre d'en-cas, surtout que je connais la raison pourquoi nous sommes ici aujourd'hui...

Le bruit des conversations s'amenuise avec qu'un Johnny Costard s'approche du micro. "Comme vous le savez probablement, la Compagnie est dans une mauvaise passe, la récession, blah, blah, blah..." 

J'ai déjà commencé a bloquer le discours et son lot de mensonges, approximations et autres tergiversations. C'est quand même drôle que les grands Pharaons du Marketing peuvent décider du sort de l'empire et nous, le petit peuple, peut seulement aspirer à avoir la "chance" d'être enterré avec eux.