Breaking Eggs

Today’s D word is dependant

Main Entry: 2dependent
Variant(s): also de·pen·dant /-d&nt/
Function: noun
1 archaic : DEPENDENCY
2 : one that is dependent; especially : a person who relies on another for support

One thing running [MC] & [CP] (ß hence forth to mean The Cheat Police) has taught me is that no matter how hard you try, you are always dependant on others. This is not always a bad thing but neither is it always a good thing either. Take [MC] for instance. Each squad has two leaders; each game has an HQ group made up of the squad leaders, two battalion commanders and a Deputy clan leader. The entire clan itself has a Clan Council made up of all the Battalion Commanders and Deputy Clan Leaders. They are my eyes and ears within the clan and help to make sure everything runs as it should. That’s a good thing.

The flip side is one of my Linux Admins. Most of our gaming servers run off of Linux boxes. Back when we first started getting our own boxes Tomcat, being the only Linux Admin set up the security on them as tight as he could. As he was the only one logging into the boxes via SSH he didn’t mind the strict security settings. As we’ve grown we now have additional people that need access and they are having a bit of a problem with the current security settings.

Having been dependant on Tomcat for so long it is like pulling teeth (something I know a great deal about) to get him to change things. He is a bit anal about security you see. Add into that that he lives over in the UK and there is a large time difference and perhaps you can begin to understand my frustration. It’s never easy to get someone you are dependant on to do what you want them to when it goes against what they want to do. Because we are dependant on him it is rather like walking on egg shells.

Last night I broke all the egg shells I think. I told him the way I wanted it set up and that it needed to be done that way. Surprisingly enough he did it with a only a small amount of complaining. Maybe he’s dependant on us just as we are on him? Then again it could just be a European thing.

I guess it is ok to be dependant on others. I know with [MC] it took me forever to relinquish control and delegate responsibility to others. I still have a hard time with in fact. I guess when making an omelet you have to break a few eggs…with running a clan I guess you have to step on a few toes now and then. Then again, if I could do it all myself I wouldn’t have to worry about that would I? Maybe it’s time to go buy “Linux for Dummies”

Hair Today...gone tomorrow

Main Entry: 1de·sire
Pronunciation: di-'zIr, dE-
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): de·sired; de·sir·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French desirer, from Latin desiderare, from de- + sider-, sidus heavenly body
transitive senses
1 : to long or hope for : exhibit or feel desire for
2 a : to express a wish for : REQUEST b archaic : to express a wish to : ASK
3 obsolete : INVITE
4 archaic : to feel the loss of

Todays posting will deal with definitions 2 & 4:

From the trials of teenage hood to the pit falls of parenthood. My little Princess has, for the past 6 months (at least) desired a haircut. Not just any haircut mind you, she specifically wants her hair to be as short as her brothers. Her brothers all have haircuts that leave the average length of their hair about a half inch long. Trying to explain to a 7 years old that she can not have a boys haircut is like trying to explain to a wall the meaning of life. That is assuming you even knew what the meaning of life was in the first place.

Call me old fashioned but I have always loved my daughter’s long hair. It’s a rich golden color with highlights of blonde and darker shades of brown. Her hair, while not curly like my own does have an excessive waviness to it that when brushed looks so very cute. Little girls should have long hair. Granted that is just my personal preference but as she is my daughter, it’s my preferences that matter. There’ll be plenty of time when she’s older that she’ll be able to cut her hair however she wants to. Now it’s my time…or so I thought.

As you can well imagine, when Princess first asked for the short haircut, I wrote it off to the fancy of a 6 year old. Short attention span and all I assumed that the matter was done. I suspect she’s had coaching from her mother in regards to this matter as the topic kept coming up. Each time Princess was equally adamant about the shortness of her hair.

While the logical side of me can understand this wish for shorter hair the other side of me wants nothing to do with it. Her mother does not take care of her hair and hence it is often full of tangles and such. Sitting down for two hours while I comb out all the tangles is not Princesses idea of fun…mine either for that matter. That and the constant need to remove hair from eyes and mouth all the time are all the logical reasons which I understand.

Well, Saturday, after more than 6 months I finally gave in and allowed her to get her hair cut short. It was almost physically painful watch the long strands hit the floor at the salon. In case you’re wondering, I have the remains of her very first haircut as a baby safely tucked away in a zip-lock bag. So, now my Princess is sporting a very, very short bob hair cut. I have to admit, she does look very cute with it. Still, I miss her long hair. One of these days I’ll learn to say no to her.

What to do?

Today's D word is Due Diligence

Main Entry: due diligence
Function: noun: the care that a reasonable person exercises under the circumstances to avoid harm to other persons or their property

Going by the definition above I can only surmise that my oldest child, D jr. is neither reasonable nor does he care…about anything. For those that do not know him, he is at that wonderful age of “14 going on grounded for life”. In the space or three days he has managed to get himself grounded from the following things;

Computer
Nintendo
Cell Phone
Playing Outside
Watching TV

He’s also managed to add an additional 12 chores to his tasks every weekend for the next month. All this in the space of three days. Now before you start to think I’m a mean parent, only the cell phone was my doing. His mother did the rest. I’m usually the nice one as I’m one of the easiest going people I know and that’s not tooting my own horn, but he’s even managed to push me to the edge.

While I know he is a “teenager” he has really been pushing the limits. In fact he not only pushed them he tripped over the line and fell face first onto the wrong side of it. Perhaps it’s because he’s the first of my children to reach this age (only three more to go, oh JOY!)…I know I don’t recall giving my folks this much heartache…well at least not for the things I got caught for anyway. D jr has always been the easy going one, much like myself, so it is a bit unnerving to see him behave in this manner. If I didn’t know better I’d swear he was possessed at times.

I think they should have a place, say like Australia, where parents can send their kids to between the ages of 13 and 16. Some place isolated with no way off of till they out grow this “condition” called teenager! I’m sure you’ll be hearing more on this subject as he gets older. I’m already looking for a good convent to send the Princess to when she gets to this age.

D Day +1

Today's "D" word is: Donation
Main Entry: do·na·tion Pronunciation: dO-'nA-sh&nFunction: nounEtymology: Middle English donatyowne, from Latin donation-, donatio, from donare to present, from donum gift; akin to Latin dare to give -- more at DATE: the act or an instance of donating : as a : the making of a gift especially to a charity or public institution b : a free contribution : GIFT

That is according to Webster. I, however have a different definition for the word.

Do-nation: (pronounced doe-nation) [Let's work this backwards shall we?]

Nation: A community of people composed of one or more similarities
Doe: a cute animal that bears a striking resembalnce to a terrified statue a few split seconds before it is introduced to the front grill of your speeding vehicle as you fly down that country road.

By now I'm sure you're scratching your head in confusion as to just what I am talking about. Let me see if I can explain it for you without putting you to sleep.

In the gaming world we play on servers. You get anywhere from 5-64 people together on one server and have at it. It's lots of fun...unless you're the poor bloke paying for the server. [MC] currently runs about 20 servers across the different games we support. For the past 2 1/2 years we've paid for these servers through donations from our members as wellas renting servers out to other groups. Every month I send out an email to everyone telling them how much we need their donation to keep the servers up and running. Our current monthly server bill is about $1300.00. Some months are good and we get the donations. Other months are bad and I or someone else steps up to make up the difference. Well, the last 4 consectutive months have been bad. Bad enough to eat up any and all reserves.

Back on topic. I can't help but seeing the majority of our members as I described in doenation. You mention the fact that they may actually have to go without a bigmac once a month and they give you that look....like a doe caught in the headlights of an on-coming truck.

To give you a better understanding of my frustration, of nearly 700 members, fewer than 5% donated last month. I guess it's time to go water money tree in the backyard and hope it will sprout some $50's and $20's real soon.

On a different matter. Some may wonder why the letter D. Several reasons. Playing on line my "Official" name is [MC] Sgt. D`Organizer. A play on words in two senses. One, I organize everything. Two, I play shooting games and to deorganize someone with a shotgun at close range is a blast..in more ways than one. :-). Within [MC] as well as the various gaming communities I am active in, my name usually gets shortened to [MC] Sgt. D. Still, for those that know me and talk with me through email or over our voice communication server, I am simply known as D. I usually sign my emails with just the letter D. To lazy to type out the entire name I guess. You try going through 600 emails a day and see how quickly you shorten you name as well! :-P

OK, so it's time to work now. May post some more tongiht...may not. I guess you'll just have to check back and find out won't you? :-)

Where to begin?

Well, I finally made it to ....Well, HERE.....Where ever here may be or may lead me.

Let's jump in head first and tell you that I'm a huge typo King. So please pardon any typos you'll find in reading though whatever I may type here. There, you've been warned.

Today,

Well today I had a tooth extraction. Not just any tooth mind you but a front tooth. If you've never seen your dental exrays let me just tell you that the front teeth have roots that seemingly go all the way up into your brain. I seriously felt like my brain was going to be still attached to the end of the tooth when it finally came out! I've had several extractions over the years, being prone to weak teeth, and none of them hurt nearly as much as this one....Even after 4 shots of novacane. All the more reason why going to the dentistry ranks up there with going to the doctors, IRS audits and giving the speach at a funeral.

My time these days is filled mostly with on-line gaming. That statement is a little misleading as I don't actually get to play any more. My time is taken up with administrative work I should say. I run two rather large and successful groups. The first is called [MC] Gamers (hence forth referred to as [MC]) and is a clan. Don't let the word clan scare you off, it's meant more in the tribal sense of the word. Most clans are anywhere from 4-20 members...mine is currently pushing 700 world-wide. The second group also deals with on-line gaming and is one I inherited as it's creator, after 8 months was calling it quits...It's called The Cheat Police and is an organization established to combat cheating in on-line gaming. At one point it's membership was over 11,000 but we had a database crash (several actually) and lost a great deal of the registrations. So far we're close to the 4,000 mark once again.

As time progresses I'm sure I'll be writing lots about those two groups as they are a never ending source of both problems as well as joys.

Though I will make every effort to keep you all posted in this blog, I make no promises as to just how often I'll get a chance to post here.

OK, I think I've typed enough for the first post.