Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Biggs On: Taking A Lunch

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On August 16, 2013

In Biggs On

Biggs OnThe average work day is 8-to-5 where normally people (usually on salary) will take an hour for lunch. I never take an hour for lunch. In fact, I rarely even take a lunch at all. Personally, I can finish eating in about 10-15 minutes (normally because 98% of the time I bring my lunch). If I take an actual lunch then I am sitting around doing nothing for 15-45 minutes. I find that not only excruciatingly boring but extremely unproductive (unless I have good company).

In fact, on days where I am in complete problem-solving-mode, my brain doesn’t stop coding or analyzing even when I am sitting away from the computer. It doesn’t make sense to me to deprive my brain of coding opportunities when I can be so much more productive if I remain at my desk.

I do find the occasional half-hour to hour lunch to be refreshing especially on those rough days where nothing seems to work and the world is clearly “just out to get you”. Honestly though, if I’m really on a roll, I would rather just eat my lunch while I keep coding, stopping only to take a bite or maybe nuke my food.

Honestly I think this works out great to my benefit as a consultant. Since clients pay for me by the hour then not taking a lunch, or a shortened lunch, results in a shorter day for me. Otherwise it can result in working more than 8 hours a day. I’m sure that can get expensive.

What about you? Do you always take your full allotted lunch time, or do you just work through it and try to leave a little early?

New Respect for Ashton

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On August 15, 2013

In General Cogitation, Movies

[embedplusvideo height=”388″ width=”640″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1a7QYb2″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/zuBSRC1zpHw?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=zuBSRC1zpHw&width=640&height=388&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep4098″ /]

Whether you’re a fan of Ashton Kutcher or not, the advice he gives in this video is almost as important as the audience whom he is addressing. He won a Teen Choice Award and, as you can tell from the video, he has thousands of screaming fans. You know there are teens hanging on his every word and when you have a captive audience who is easily influenced by celebrity behavior, I’m glad he took the opportunity to provide sound, practical advice instead of trying to influence teens with some hippy, celebrity political nonsense.

I think what I love most about his speech is the passion in which he delivers some of the key points. The notion that opportunities don’t always just fall in your lap, they are acquired through lots of hard work is something that I think is lost in younger generations. You learn to appreciate the things you have when you work hard to obtain them. I love his attitude toward his success as an actor and that he had to do all the shit jobs before he got his big break.

I wasn’t all that motivated to see his latest movie where he portrays Steve Jobs. I had a hard time imagining “Kelso” as one of the biggest innovators of the modern era. I even joked that Kutcher as Jobs seemed about as plausible as American Pie’s “Steve Stifler” as Bill Gates. However, after watching this video, our Kelso has grown up. He even admits that one of the points he makes in his speech was something he just learned after playing the role of Steve Jobs. It’s rare to see a rising star appear humble in front of thousands of screaming, doting girls.

It’s that humility, and his great advice, that has given me new respect for Ashton Kutcher. Now I do feel motivated to go see his new movie.

The MMO Times: Trademarks Foreshadow

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On August 14, 2013

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

The MMO Times Issue 87Issue 87: Salutations, Pwners! You can probably guess that there is an article in this issue which alludes to some announcement coming from Blizzard. I would be curious what everyone’s thoughts are regarding that article. Next week is Gamescom so we could potentially hear what it all means, plus I’m sure there will be other big announcements from other gaming companies as well. Remember this happened just before the unveiling of the latest WoW expansion when Blizzard trademarked “Mists of Pandaria”. [UPDATE: This may also be a hoax.]

So, beyond Blizzard related articles you can also read more about the next content patch for SWTOR, a new FFXIV video, and other interesting news. This post is a little early this week and with Gamescom next week, I’ll probably be posting the next issue kind of late. Which means, depending on how much newsworthy content is unveiled, the next issue could be lengthy. I’m kind of hoping for a bunch of exciting news because lately its felt like the “usual rigmarole”.

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The MMO Times: Civilizations and Heirloom Loot

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On August 9, 2013

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 86Issue 86: Hello Again, Gamers! I hope the RNG has been awarding you phat lootz this week, and if not then curse that damn RNG and the algorithm it rolled in on! Be that as it may, the news hasn’t been too bad this week. Granted we are still a week away from Gamescom but there are some expansion and patch updates for several of your favorite games (I hope, though not much FFXIV news this issue, sorry Josh).

Some of the games with expansion news include WoW and Age of Wushu. An exciting announcement for any Civilization fans out there. More info about the Elder Scrolls Online MMO and an interesting new mechanic for RIFT players. I hope these headlines meet to all of your satisfaction and if you find a headline that I may have missed then please post it in the comments.

Keep up the good Pwning!!

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Lighting the Night 2013

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On August 9, 2013

In General Cogitation

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

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On August 6, 2013

In General Cogitation

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.

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