More Unreal Tournament

I have completed the second-stage install utility, but at present it is no more reliable than the Loki installer, so it can remain on my hard drive for the time being until I can tweak it to a higher standard. However, I have modified a script I wrote that the installer depends on. This script alone can make the task of installing Unreal Tournament on Linux a lot simpler. See the new Linux section of LoweyPages for more information.

In a fit of procrastination I also updated the navigation bar in LoweyPage and tidied it up a bit. Various updates for both the blog and LoweyPages are planned, as is a move to a different server where I'm not going to have an axe hanging over my head every time I speak out about the University in some way.

Liz pointed out that putting the real name of the woman from the Accommodation Office in my previous blog was a bad idea, Burt pointed out that having a link to the disclaimer on the blog as well as LoweyPages was a good idea, so I've also implemented both of those ideas. However I still feel that my right to free speach is being hindered somewhat by using the Aberystwyth servers. A move to my nic-nac-project webspace may be in order, except that I am worried it will be slow. What I will likely do is set up some kind of automatic-mirroring system where-by I will continue to make updates on this server and they will propogate to the other server (or servers, if I try more) in order to allow a trial period before I finally make a choice and move to one server or another.

One of the llamasofties emailed me and asked if I have any plans on making links in my blog open in a new window... Apparently it can be confusing as most blogs, presumably, open links in new windows. My personal view on links that open in a new window is that they are extremely irritating, as there is never a choice involved. If I wanted them to open in a new window then I would right-click and select "Open in new window". However my decision is undermined when the designers force this upon me as a user. That is why links on the blog do NOT open in new windows.

However, that said, I aim to please. When I get a chance I will implement some sort of handy dandy feature that will you, the user, to choose whether you want your links to open in the same window or a new window. When I get a chance.

Drunken Frivolities

Off to see Burt and nermal for some drinks in a bit, which should offer me some photo opportunities. A good chance to get comfortable with the camera and its many features.

I've made some dinner as I was getting very shaky earlier, but I just don't seem to want to eat. I'm not sure what's going on with me at the moment, I've been eating very erratically for the last few days. I'll eat nothing for half the day and then suddenly realise I need to eat SOMETHING, and so will then cram far too much food down my throat and leave myself feeling sick for the rest of the day.

Ah well, it must be the weather or something.

Unreal Tournament

Once again I forgot to mention that I have, in fact, fixed Unreal Tournament. I eventually found out that the Loki install utility for the Game Of The Year Edition is utterly shit and only decompresses a random subset of the maps on the CD. When I first installed it I got lucky and it decompressed a lot of them. The second time around I was less lucky.

I've now decided to write a few scripts that act as a second-stage installer for after the Loki installer has ran. The scripts will fix the mess Loki makes of installing the first CD and then provide the option of installing the second CD (which the standard installer DOESN'T do). The whole thing will be going onto a new section on my website for download.

Oh And Another Thing

My camera arrived today! \o/ WOO! I've not had call to try it out yet, I need something to photograph. Tomorrow's frivolities should provide scope for some snaps. I've been sat faffing with it since I got it. I've never had a camera with a zoom lense on it before, it's great fun to play with and makes cool noises at the same time.

The Things People Do...

I signed into MSN a few moments ago and was confronted with some random person adding me to their "Buddy" list. I approved it to see who they were, here is the transcript of the conversation that followed:

Truly bizarre. They wanted me to log in with my Athens password, get the book and pass it over to them. Honestly, who do they think I am? My Athens account isn't active so I couldn't do it anyway, but even if it had been I doubt I'd have done it - I'd have been putting myself at risk of copyright infringement penalties if I had!

Liz pointed out that I really shouldn't have used the name of the woman from the Accommodation office, so I've used here initials instead. If you know anything about the office then you will almost certainly know who I am talking about.

The Fucking Obnoxious Rude Bitch

I just got back from the Accommodation Office. I'm settling down again now, but I was shaking I was that angry when I left. I now take back everything positive I said about them in my previous blog or rather I take back anything positive I have ever said about EW [name deleted for my own protection]. She is a rude, vicious bitch. From the very moment I walked in she started being rude. Here's what happened, as best as I can remember it (it went on for quite a long time):

I walked into EW's office and she asked how she could help. "Well, I don't know if you remember but you found me some accommodation about a month ago-" I began.

"No I do not remember, I thought that was quite obvious from the phone call earlier." I let that rather cutting remark slide, everyone can come across a little sharp without meaning to from time to time.

"Well, you found me accommodation in Ty Gwerin about a month ago. It's great down there I've really settled in, but when I was here last I explained that I needed accommodation through the summer too-" Again she interrupted me.

"Well you should have filled in the booking form." Ah yes, the fabled booking form that everyone keeps telling me about, but that I've never seen.

"Yes, so I am told. When I was last here I explained that I needed Summer accommodation but nobody told me I needed to fill out a form, I was only told that I would probably have to move." I only speak the truth.

"I can't be expected to know what every student who comes here wants, Matthew. If you needed summer accommodation then you should have made that clear when you spoke to me last."

"I did, I explained I needed accommodation up to and through the Summer. Nobody told me how I had to go about getting Summer accommodation though, I thought you were sorting it out or something."

"You have certain responsibilities and you can't hold me accountable for them. Now we have 9 places left in Summer Accommodation. You need to fill out a form, which I will get for you in a minute, and then you will be put on a waiting list. There have been notices inside the halls telling you when you had to move out by and how to get summer accommodation, and you've obviously been walking past them every day and not reading them. If you'd have read your contract-"

"I haven't SEEN the contract."

"Well if that is the case then I need to have words with someone..." She picked up the phone and spoke to AL [initials again, to protect the innocent this time]. I know that name, he responded to one of my emails when I asked for information about getting summer accommodation. The phone call happened right in front of me and she spoke at exactly the same semi-shouting volume she used when she spoke to me so Iit would have been impossible for me to not overhear her...

"Yes hello AL ... yes ... I've got a student here who claims [she drew that out to emphasise the word] that he wasn't given a contract when he moved into residence. Yes I know it should have been handed to him. Yes, yes. Yes well if this is the case then I will need to speak to Jennifer because we can't have that. Right, yes, well I think it's more likely that Matthew just doesn't read the information we give him."

THAT was it, I lost my cool. I'd been getting more and more angry up to this point, but now I was livid. How I didn't punch her I do not know. I looked her in the eye and said in a very level voice "I think you're being very rude."

"You think I'm being rude?! Well you have every right to say that but I can not accept people offloading their responsibility onto me. You've got to take responsibility for yourself."

"I DID take responsibility for myself, which is why I came to see you a month ago to ask about Summer accommodation."

"Well I don't remember you saying that. I can't remember everything that every student says to me. I think I remember you now, you're the one who works on Llanbadarn campus?"

"Yes."

"Well you should have made it clear that you wanted summer accommodation when you came to see me." I lost count of the number of times the conversation went full circle like this.

"When I came to see you I explained that I wanted accommodation up to and through the summer."

"Well I don't remember that. When do you need this accommodation until? Where are you going next year?" Now I was knocked back a little. I'd wanted, as I had explained over a month ago, that I wanted to go into student halls and stay there until the end of my course; if possible.

"I... I want to stay in halls, as I explained!" She paused and looked at me.

"Matthew, we have certain procedures for these kinds of things. You should have filled out a form ages ago. There is a procedure for booking Summer Accommodation, the details have been on the web since may."

"I can't be expected to read your website every day just in case you make a change that is relevant to me. Besides which I've been to the website and I didn't see anything relating to Summer accommodation." I've just been back now and eventually found the link on their "noticeboard" - the last place I would think to look for information for that sort of thing. The place I would expect to see it is on the front page or under "Undergraduate", maybe "Questions" or perhaps even under "Residences > Sea-front residences". Noticeboard, to me, means nothing. I've never seen a "noticeboard" on any website or in any software I have ever seen in my entire life.

"You assured me when I saw you last that it would be possible to find me somewhere to stay."

This carried on for a little longer with her constantly moaning on about my responsibilities until she eventually found me a booking form for Summer accommodation and took me through to the main reception area to fill it out.

"What year are you in, how many years have you been here?"

"I'm in my year out. I've done my first and second year, and I'm coming to the end of my year out."

"3 years and you still don't know our policies!" In all fairness policies didn't enter into it, I had already explained that my circumstances had changed a lot over the last year and that had caused problems, but I was too angry to go through it all again so I simply muttered,

"Well with all respect if those policies aren't explained..."

"Respect works both ways Matthew." I let it go, I had other things to worry about. After I had filled the form out I had to wait for EW to return, as she had started talking to another student while I was filling the form out. Again she was on the phone to someone about the contract.

"Yes, could you tell me about his contract? Yes, 4D. Yes I thought it was towards the end of April, yes... It hasn't been returned? Right."

"Of course it hasn't been returned, I haven't seen it!"

"Sent on the [can't remember the date] right."

"How was it sent? By mail?"

"How was it sent? Yes, it was sent to you by royal mail."

"To what address? Ty Gwerin?"

"Which address? Yes. Ty Gwerin. Yes I thought so. Then it wasn't returned, and a note sent with the porters." I didn't argue this, I don't know why I didn't because I've not seen a porter since I was shown around the flat. She put the phone down and said, "I don't dislike you Matthew, but I can not have people burdening their responsibilities on me like this." Because, as we all know, asking an accommodation officer to find you accommodation is burdening them with your responsibility. She went on a bit longer then I left slamming the door behind me. I am told that I will have accommodation over the summer and I need to ring her again at the end of June to discuss accommodation for next year.

When I left I felt sick and I was shaking I was so angry. My plan had been to make a formal complaint about the way she spoke to me and the incompetence she exhibited, but now that I've calmed down I've decided not to bother. Firstly because she was actually very helpful the first time I went to see her, and also because I guess everybody can have an "off" day where you treat people like shit. That doesn't excuse her, I am merely trying to be emphatic of her situation, perhaps she is going through some shit at home or something - I don't know. What I might do instead is email her and tell her that I am very angry about the way she spoke to me etc etc, but then that'll either get deleted and forgotten about (thus wasting my time) or she will simply continue her tirade about responsibilities and how all the information was on the website since may and blah blah blah (thus wasting my time). So I don't think I will.

Instead I'll just bore all my blog readers with it.

Sorry to put you lot through this, I just really needed to get it off my chest. Feel free to ignore this rant. I try not to rant in my blog, but sometimes it's just neccessary.

EW: If you're reading this (which you're probably not, but if you are) I think you are extremely rude, obnoxious, unsympathetic of other people's situations, unhelpful and condescending. I have portrayed you in a better light in this transcript than you portrayed yourself in that office and all I have done here is tell the world how you behaved. I am not showing the University in a bad light, I am merely showing the University. If it was raining when I took the picture that's not my fault.

The END.

The Car Doth Returneth

I've got it back and it feels a lot nicer to drive now. It doesn't swing out on corners like it used to, the steering is far lighter than it was, I don't seem to be getting the brake judder I used to get and there doesn't seem to be any steering shake anymore either.

Bastard bastard bastard car

I'm having to shell out nearly another £100 on the car. I just got the call from Kwik Fit. They can't repair the puncture as my tyres are just below the legal tread-depth. So I now have to buy 2 new tyres for the front of the car. The balance comes with the fitting (about 60 something quid) but the tracking is another 20 odd. I know for a fact from the way the car feels that the tracking is wrong, and the scuff marks on the tyre suggest the tracking is wrong, so I'm left with no choice but to pay for it.

I've got no problem with the fact that the work needs doing, I had a sneaky feeling they were going to say exactly that when I took it in. The problem I have with the whole affair is that my Mum assured me that the car would be in good working order when she gave it to me. She promised that there would be no problems, yet when I tried to drive it away one of the back wheels had seized completely, it was a fine art starting the engine, the driver's side window was screwed, the brakes then died along with the water pump, and now it turns out the tracking is screwed and so are the tyres. I've forked out over £300 on the car itself, plus over £100 on road tax and god knows how much on insurance. All this because my Mum couldn't take "no" for an answer.

The car is going at the end of July, no two ways about it.

One for Liz

Awwwww! Isn't that the cutest thing ever?! :-D

Erk

It would seem I just had a mild fit of Eppalepsy and bought a new camera. My digital camera is, basically, fucked ...no it's not the second coming of Jesus, that's me glowing in that rather disturbing electric way. The camera was never much good, and things have gone from bad to worse with it. Things are so bad that I've decided to get a simple cheap point'n'shoot camera to last me until I leave Uni (so that I can at least take photos on nights out and what-not) and I mentioned this in #llamasoft.

One of the llamasofties mentioned that they had a Canon Ixus II (APS) that they wanted rid of. They didn't rate it very highly, but they assured me it gave better quality pictures than my current camera and the battery life is good. So I bought it. £20 with a fresh roll of film in it, charged batteries, manual, leather carry case and all. And there it is I am told that it will be in the post first thing tomorrow, so I can expect to see it in the next 1-3 days. Woo!

It sounds quite nice to me, even if the picture quality isn't anything special. The APS system means that it can store the date of your pictures on the film in a way that doesn't affect your pictures, and that date can then be printed on the back of your prints. There's no faffing when inserting films, they just slot straight in. If you want to put a different film in halfway through a roll (say you need a different speed film) you can pop the current cartridge out and put the new one in, even midway through a roll. Then you can put the half-used one back in and the camera winds itself back on to where you left off, all automagically.

Yes I know it's sad that I'm getting excited over a camera, but it's been a long time since I had a working camera and I'm looking forward to being able to take some interesting photos. If I could afford a decent digital camera then I'd get one. If I could afford a decent SLR camera then I'd get one. But I can't. So £20 for a camera that does all I need it to do is a bargain in my opinion :)

In other news I've managed to break Unreal Tournament and it doesn't want to reinstall. Bastard thing.

Oh yeah, and in other other news my car is in Kwik Fit at the moment. I dropped it off after work to get the front-right tyre sorted out, but they weren't able to do anything with it until the morning so I left it there. I left the keys and started wandering down the road. My minds was flittering all over the place, mainly wondering what to do when I got back. In my mind's eye I could see myself at the front door, unlocking it...walking in...going to the kitchen to get food... Then it jumped back to the front door...unlocking it...going in... Back to the front door...unlocking it...unlocking it...unlocking...key... FUCK!

I legged it back to the garage to take my house key OFF my car keys and then left. This time I was lucky, they hadn't yet closed. Close call though.