The Lost Realm

Lowlight of my day:

• Realising that the bug I spent half the day tracking is not so much a bug as the debug build itself

Highlights of my day:

• Fresh doughnut holes
• A nice, warm shower
• Toodly-Poo

Once upon a time, I thought Pokemon was a silly game for silly kids; it’s just a bunch of cute things spitting water at each other’s heads while their tails are on fire, right? I once said that I’d never play such a silly game to “catch `em all”, but now I have to come clean. Not only am I playing it, but Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is actually a really good game.

Now, don’t get me wrong; I still enjoy playing games like Assassin’s Creed (stabbing roof-top guards in the throat is very cathartic), Gears of War (who could go wrong with a gun with a chainsaw bayonet?), Guitar Hero (rock out!), and, er, Super Mario Galaxy. OK, they’re not all loud or violent.

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is, much to my surprise, quite a deep and addictive game. The turn-based style and pace of gameplay makes it relaxing, and especially easy to play with others. You can pause at hold conversations with people while playing, so it really is social gaming at it’s best.

This infection appears to be spreading. I have it; Ely has it; my brothers both have it. In fact, we spent three of four hours of Saturday battling (I believe quite loudly) together. Romilly also enjoys “playing” (barracking for the cutest pokemon to win), but can’t quite manage all the reading on her own. I’m sure it won’t be too long, though (for now, Mario Kart shall remain her poison of choice).

Hello, my name is Lionfire; it has been 10 minutes since I last checked on my berries.

So, working from home.

Yes, I work from home now. No, it wasn’t really my decision. Yes, it’s permanent. No, I’m not going to say anything further, as I have no desire to get myself dooced.

I have, however, been keeping some notes on what it’s been like working at home for the last few weeks. I thought I’d post them here for others to consider. Or for me to consider.

Advantages:

• No more peak hour traffic.
• Thanks to no traffic, I can sleep in until 9:30 and still finish work in time for dinner.
• I get to wear whatever I want all day.
• When I want to, I get to listen to the loudest, most obnoxious music at full volume.
• When I want to, I get absolute quiet.
• I can stop in the middle of the afternoon to take a nice, warm shower.
• My environment is less stressful.
• I get to spend more time with my family.

Disadvantages:

• School holidays are just a little loud.
• My toes, unused to the cold floor, got chilblains.
• The dog barks a lot (though that’s hard to hear over the school-holiday noise).
• Did I mention that school holidays are loud?
• Er… that’s it.

The really sad part is that in a few days, when the school holidays are over, my disadvantages list is going to be pretty empty. That’s not to say it’s perfect here, but with the addition of some nice warm socks, I’m finding that working from home is a bit of a break; a holiday without having to stop working.

Thanks to my swearing cat’s fateful stumble this evening, I am now stuck pondering a question that could shake one of the most important industries of our time to its very foundations: what percentage of Google ad clicks are caused by bumbling felines?

I never click on ads, and neither does Carolyn, so I believe this makes the click-through rate for my household 100% cat induced. Someone, somewhere paid for my grumpy cat to sit on this keyboard. Someone, somewhere just received a share of payment that they did not truly deserve (as I do not believe that Arwen bears any true interest in a degree from the University of Phoenix).

Does Google take this number into account? Is this something they have researched? Or have I perhaps stumbled on the cats’ sinister plans to bring about the downfall of our corrupt and heathen (non cat-worshipping) society?

Today is Mario Kart Day! (Yay!)

But none of the stores here have it! (Wha?)

Because the delivery truck is stuck somewhere in South Australia! (OMG!)

So there will be no long-weekend Mario Kart party! (*sigh*)

Just Super Mario Galaxy and Guitar Hero. (Yay!)

PS: Contrary to my concern, I did not overflow. (but there appear to be minor side-effects)

Tomorrow I will be pow(2, 5).

I’m hoping I don’t overflow.