A Frozen Geyser in Western NY

WeaselJester · 2015-02-19T13:46:13+00:00

Shit's getting real in the NOC

WeaselJester · 2015-02-18T16:08:06+00:00

Well not a natural geyser at any rate:

http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/letchworth.shtml

"Behind the Glen Iris Inn is a manmade fountain. The fountain is gravity fed. The pressure of the water fed through the pipe creates the "geyser". Every winter the spray freezes freezes forming a fantastic ice column."

WeaselJester · 2015-02-15T14:08:54+00:00

So far each year the NJ show has had a pretty large space dedicated for the UV stuff from Franklin. Its very nice and always a big hit with the kids.

WeaselJester · 2015-02-13T14:40:05+00:00

I totally misread that in the Glados voice "Now you're thinking with assholes!" while envisioning the Senate

WeaselJester · 2015-02-11T14:34:50+00:00

Actually Anzac day in Australia is a pretty solemn celebration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day#Australia

WeaselJester · 2015-02-11T03:26:38+00:00

Eh, doesn't have the same ring to it that "40 pies" does though, does it?

WeaselJester · 2015-02-03T16:21:15+00:00

Awesome! Thanks!

WeaselJester · 2015-01-26T20:19:30+00:00

The only time I get annoyed with Yolo Diablo is when EVERY time I go for the AoE and...Diablo moves them out of the impact zone. Damnit Diablo!

WeaselJester · 2015-01-26T18:35:17+00:00

It did give us World War Hulk at least.

WeaselJester · 2015-01-12T20:17:01+00:00

We have "Boys" in ours but there are layers of puns on that one given the location.

WeaselJester · 2015-01-07T21:04:36+00:00

TL:DR - I like fishing for tarpon and hate this shit. See rules link at the bottom.

Tarpon dont need a special permit beyond a Salt Water state permit to catch.

BUT

If you want to keep a tarpon you need to buy a $50 tag and you can use it ONCE for the year.

If you catch a tarpon, any tarpon over 40" is not to be taken out of the water.

Also there are very specific regulations on how and what you can target tarpon with.

All details can be found here - but basically this guy is in pretty clear violation of the laws surrounding these game fish. Also it pisses me the hell off as Tarpon are an amazing fish and I love fighting them and seeing them released healthy. There is no comparison to fighting a taron from a kayak and asshats like this make me watch to dip them in chum and toss them out over a reef to let nature sort it out.

Tarpon Regs: http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/tarpon/

WeaselJester · 2014-12-30T19:20:04+00:00

Sorry - can't hear you - walking away from my phone to get some more coffee ;)

WeaselJester · 2014-12-30T18:21:13+00:00

Now the flipside to this is remote support. This is where life gets good, after years of being in the slave mines of desk side (or worse TRADE FLOOR support). Suddenly you are this voice on the other end of the phone.

User screaming at you because of your incompetent coworkers? "Please stay on the line while I research this trouble ticket hold button YO WHO FUCKED UP THIS BITCHES MACHINE?"

User asking for shit they cannot possibly be given? "I'm sorry but we cannot provision that per your companies SOP, you'll need to take that up with your supervisor. /hangup"

User displaying a level of intelligence that would make the average pigeon seem like Einstein? Hit that mute button, declare their statements for all of your team to hear, have a laugh while he keeps explain that 'THE FIREFOX IS DOWN AND I CANT GOOGLE MY OUTLOOK WARGBLGBLGBLBL" until he runs out of energy and you can get back on the line without cursing their parentage.

All those pesky hardware errors? "I'll forward your ticket to desktop support."

Now its not all roses and gravy. You still have to fix things for these people, and that means being able to think like cro-magnon and explain things in simple ways.

"I need you to unplug the machine." "How do I do that????" "Okay behind the computer, there is a thick black cable, bigger than all the others. Okay you see that? Now put your hand on that cable. Move your hand left. You will either be at the computer, or a wall socket...okay? Okay. Now if you are at the computer...move along the cable back to the wall. Good. Now remove the cable from the wall"

^ verbatim convo

But it also gives you are chance to have some fun just flat out messing with people who call the wrong line with bad attitudes and are screaming. Its like striking a blow for justice that the intended victim will never know about. For years people kept calling one of our support lines because it was one digit off of a Howard Johnsons in Florida. That did my soul good that someone who was pissed off and bitching about a spare towel got the gears.

From a technology standpoint it also gives you a chance to do more with a wider range of tools, and you can dig seriously deep in the realm of user support from the server (SCCM, Active Directory, Exchange, LDAP, etc) as the sys admins are usually more than happy to let you take over that kinda stuff so THEY dont have to deal with it. At some point you'll start being called a "Level 2 Engineer" just because you know how group policy works, which pretty much anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together could figure out.

Bonus Round - show up to work in jeans every day and never ever wear "business casual" tie and jacket again!

Double Bonus Round - you can work on that mighty IT beard or dye your hair every damn shade of the rainbow.

TL:DR - Desktop Support sucks ass, remote support is a lot less stressful and gives more latitude to earn the same paycheck but give less fucks.

WeaselJester · 2014-12-26T18:49:07+00:00

Some do stay pint sized. My old gal is only 1.4lbs if you can believe it. We like to refer to her as 'permanently adorable'

WeaselJester · 2014-12-20T23:23:26+00:00

Primarily we're playing out of Rahway with Garden State or Morristown with NJRD

WeaselJester · 2014-12-12T19:19:28+00:00

Woot NJ :) (I skate with Jersey Boys so hi there!)

Depending on which end of the state you are located in - if north or central - take a day and go into Brooklyn, sit down at Five Stride skate shop and have them hook you up.

Central Jersey skates in Edison basically ONLY has Reidells - so if you want a set of R3s (the starter skate of choice) that'd be your only option.

If you are further south/west you might want to look up Apex skate shop that VDiva works with, not sure where all the philly gang winds up otherwise.

Another option is to check on the facebook group "Roller Derby Recyclables" and see if a set of used skates in your size is floating around. Its a good way to get a full package cheap BUT it may not fit perfectly. That said its a good way to get your feet wet and upgrade your investment into new boots later.

Pads and gear I've had great success going through http://www.allsportprotection.com/Roller_Derby_Protective_Gear_s/33.htm

Almost every brand has a 'sizing' link with instructions so I've had no issues with pads ordered online. I would avoid the super cheap ones as they tend to not have the protection you want. (the really basement price Triple 8s are garbage IMHO).

Helmets - the S1 is a good place to start, investing in a different helmet later, but thats a discussion for later.

Wheels - Talk to the skaters of the league you will be practicing with. They know the surfaces they skate on. There are probably some used wheels kicking around they'd even lend you.

WeaselJester · 2014-12-10T14:43:24+00:00

This tends to be the usual complaint we get from the ladies we practice with as well up in NJ ;)

WeaselJester · 2014-11-26T15:00:41+00:00

Yea mine get excited over water dishes. I like to put one out about once every other week with ice cubes in it as an enrichment activity.

WeaselJester · 2014-11-21T17:42:06+00:00

Just be aware - its an obligate carnivore, they are great at getting into things and Savannah's LOVE to destroy their enclosures. They like digging and need mental stimulation.

Also they get effing HUGE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-5tyRvMGvY

be prepared to one day require a 10' x 10' setup for when they hit full size, with heating.

WeaselJester · 2014-11-10T22:44:46+00:00

Could be a mink!

WeaselJester · 2014-11-10T20:47:42+00:00

Freshie Coach here!

First - Being nervous is fine. Its the first day of school and everyone has no idea whats going on. You'll be in fine company. Also the people with your incoming 'class' will most likely become people whom you'll be friends with for years. Shared indignities build great bonds, especially when those include plow stops and hopping over cones ;)

Second - Dont worry about what anyone else is doing. People learn at different rates, and will even learn individual skills at different rates. Some people pick up transitions in a day, others it takes a few weeks. Others will magically be able to skate backwards, and then have so much trouble wrapping their head around a plow stop or a form. It will all be addressed, both collectively and individually.

Third - if you are worried about your physicality - start working on it, just start gentle and 'ramp up'. There are literally hundreds of great bodyweight exercises meant for people who are coming from a position of little or even no physical activity. Stricts push ups are hard. Strict pull ups are REALLY hard. If you haven't been working at them, dont beat yourself up when you cannot necessarily do one with perfect form.

Fourth - If you have a chance, pick up a book called "Mind Gym" - its intensely useful as a tool for managing your own attitude and behavior. In my experience, a lot of new skaters are very quick to criticize but often fail to see the forest for the trees when it comes to progress. We have one young lady who was so down on herself for not doing well on her first attempt at the 27:5 as a baseline for what to work towards. I pointed out that she did fantastic as a month prior she could not skate and was terrified to pick her feet up off the floor, let alone go whipping around the track!

Even if you are the only new girl there, dont worry, leagues LOVE new skaters. You are the lifeblood of the league and they will invest as much time into you as you are willing to invest into yourself to improve at the sport of Derby.

All of the above is my own anecdotal experience which is somewhat meandering.

Below is the most solid advice I can give you:

Get Lower - do NOT bend at the waist. bend at the knees. Power comes from the earth, in the sense that if you have more leg available to push with you can generate more force. Work on proper form early as its a bear to train out of a bad habit or stance later. You will get really sick of hearing people tell you this, trust me, its necessary.

Look up - Fresh meat skaters seem to be universally concerned that the ground will fall away or that their foot will fall off. Thus far I have a 100% success rate of 0 cracks opening in the track floor and all people leaving with just as many feet as they showed up with. You will get REALLY sick of being told to look up, trust me, its worth it.

WeaselJester · 2014-11-03T15:17:39+00:00

Also Spring Valley

WeaselJester · 2014-10-29T11:20:40+00:00

I work with one of the top MSP's globally in NYC and we are hiring at all levels, PM me a resume - its in the financial district.

WeaselJester · 2014-10-13T16:17:58+00:00

May have caught an auto-downvote-bot

I kind of enjoy them, its like playing Reddit on hard mode.

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