Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Lighting the Night 2013

light_the_night_logoI want to start off by expressing that I work for a wonderful company. Every year my company participates in a charity event called Light the Night. Its a 2 mile walk that raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society which conducts research for treatments and cures of blood diseases and cancers.

As some of you may know, I recently lost my wonderful sister-in-law to her battle with a rare form of lymphoma. Therefore, not only will I be walking in her memory, but my company’s team has also asked to walk in her memory. It is a great and touching honor that Cardinal Solutions would make such an offer.

The sad and unfortunate passing of Natalie has given me new vigor to raise money for lymphoma research and as such I hope that you will make a donation to our team. On the right hand side of the page you will see a widget that shows my fundraising progress. If you click on the Donate Now button it will take you to my fundraising page where you can make a donation. Any amount can help make a difference in the lives of those battling leukemia and lymphoma.

The walk in Cincinnati is scheduled for October 10th. I’m looking forward to meeting up with all the other folks who are supporters, survivors and those, like me, walking in memory of having lost someone. It is merely a 2 mile walk, so while it won’t be physically arduous, it has the potential to be emotional.

I hope you will be willing to make a donation and if you have any questions, please visit the Light the Night website.

So I Saw A Chiropractor

My back has been bothering me for a while now. It usually happened when I’ve been moving around a lot for instance after having completed my exercises and I start doing some housework. I would start to feel a sharp pinch in the middle of my back. I had never seen a Chiropractor before and I know there are some folks that don’t really buy into professional as medicinal. Considering how much my back was bothering me, I decided to keep an open mind.

I set up an appointment with a chiropractor just up the street per a suggestion by a co-worker. I wasn’t sure what to expect but after two visits my back is already feeling amazing. I had a muscle that was so tense it had pulled one of my vertebrae out of alignment with my spine. The doctor that I visited explained to me what was happening, what he would do to fix it and what kind of exercises I can do to help keep that muscle from tensing up again.

I have to say, based on how I’m feeling I don’t think there is any doubt as to the legitimacy of a chiropractor’s medical ability to diagnose and fix back issues.

If you live in the Cincinnati area and want to know the chiropractor I used, his name is Dr. Allan Byrne and he is located on the corner of Salem and Sutton in Anderson/Mt Washington.

The MMO Times: There’s A QuakeCon??

Issue 85Issue 85: Apparently there is a convention called QuakeCon which is considered the largest LAN party in North America! Awesome name, perfect for this type of convention. It was held in Dallas, Texas at the Hilton Anatole. I’d be curious if anyone has attended it because it sounds like a lot of fun. Also in the news is Blizzard’s decision to move away from subscription based MMOs with its new Titan game, whenever that is released. I’m sure removing the payment model was part of the redesign of the game.

There are quite a few videos available in this issue associated with updates for Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. There are also some new Aion updates as a result of a player design contest. Capcom has a treat for PS4 folks. Enjoy!

Book Review: A Dance With Dragons

A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

My [rating: 4]
Click here to read my review on Goodreads.

Book 3 was my favorite and this one would probably come second. There were many times while reading this book that I became completely lost in the story. Anxious to read what will happen during the more thrilling and exciting parts.

The important thing to keep in mind when reading book five, as GRRM pointed out at the end of book 4, is that about 60% of this book takes place along the same timeline as all of book 4. One of the things that kept going through my mind when reading this book is thinking back to books 1 and 2 and how the lives of some of the characters have changed so dramatically. You will learn that some characters are barely even a shadow of their former selves.

I think the most difficult thing about finishing this book is knowing that I now have to wait until book 6 is published before I discover the fates of some key characters. GRRM is probably the master of cliffhangers and there are several cliffhangers left for you to ponder (perhaps obsessively?) while we wait in brutal anticipation for the story to continue.

View all my reviews

Learning Opportunities

IMG_0633If you didn’t know, I work for a consulting firm as a software developer. I’ve never consulted prior to starting at Cardinal and I have to say that I do really enjoy it. It is kind of weird when you switch clients because it feels like you are always starting a new job but you get use to it after five years. Granted I have only had three clients, all of which were always extending my contract until I was no longer needed. I have to say, when you are at a client for a year+, its almost like leaving a full time job. I often try to ingrain myself into their office culture because it becomes easier to work with all the folks when you feel like you’re part of the team. I think that’s really the kind of thing Cardinal likes to encourage. We don’t want to be staff augmentation, we want to be a solutions provider.

All of that aside, the really rewarding thing about consulting and changing clients is it really does create a great environment for new learning opportunities. Obviously my primary goal at every assignment is to maintain a good rapport between Cardinal and the client. However, what I really enjoy taking away from all my clients are learning new skills and improving my skills. My bookmarks grow quite a bit as I’m always adding new tools and tips that folks from my clients share with me. You really start to develop quite an arsenal to take with you from client to client and its a great way not only to share what you have learned but really helps to build that positive rapport.

Today is my last day at my third client and while it is a little sad to be leaving these great folks I’ve been working with for 16 months, it is exciting to look forward to the next opportunity. The common cause of turnover at my firm are consultants leaving to work for a client, but I find that might be a difficult thing for me to do. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t because my clients are bad places to work, its because Cardinal Solutions is such an extraordinary place to work! I’m not saying that it could never happen, but Cardinal has raised the bar pretty high!

/cheers

The MMO Times: I Can Haz Tauntaun??!

mmotimesheaderIIIssue 84: Yes, I want a Tauntaun! Gives me tauntaun, now! I mean, what better way to travel around any planet. Yea, I know they smell bad, but think of the versatility. You don’t have to pay for gas, they’ll probably just eat whatever they can find laying around, and if you find yourself freezing to death in the tundra, just cut them open and you’ve got yourself a nice, warm carcass!

Tauntaun disembowelment aside, we have a few headlines to read up on, including the inspiration for the title of this issue (and the rather grotesque introduction). We are between conferences right now as SDCC has ended and Gamescom is next week but there are still some tidbits popping up from both conferences. Aion has some new content to share, SWTOR (obviously!), news about the World of Warcraft movie, and more! So curl up inside your favorite tauntaun (or just buy one of these) and enjoy!

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