A Step Towards Professionalism

I am sure all you readers in Internet land remember from a couple posts back that I have created an electronic copy of the game Stock Ticker.  I went through a couple versions before I got one that worked properly.  It was version 1.3 that I had completed that was the first fully functioning game.  The predecessors were versions that did not include the rolling of a die and so forced the player to roll the dice manually then input the outcome.

But now version 1.4 is complete and ready to be played.  You may wonder how much could possible change.  But I started from scratch and completely rewrote everything.  Version 1.3 is comparable to a young kid jumping up and down because of the soap box car that he built, where version 1.4 is a team of engineers standing in front of the shuttle Discovery.  It’s just that much better.

I first started out using a brute force style of programming, very unsophisticated, inefficient and slow.  But it worked and built my confidence.  So I did some more reading into the Visual Basic help file in order to teach myself how to use the programming language and I realized that it is very similar to Visual Basic C++, which I learned in university.  So now I have it programmed properly and it runs lightning quick.  It is also much easier and safer to customise both visually and by adding new features.

Enough is enough.  I like to play cmp games on a Friday night.  I get nervous when talking to a person of the opposite sex.  I get more excited about a new cmp than summer holidays.  I spend my weekends writing programming code.  My name is Brian Johnson, and..I..am..A NERD.

The Real Rulers of the World

I have finally made the death defying leap into new technology.  For about a year now I have been hemming and hawing about buying a new cmp, not sure if I wanted the expense of it and looking for exactly what I wanted.  I have always only looked at the electronics stores for the pre-built systems that come loaded with all the useless software.  But, with these they always include a wackload of software that I don’t want or need and other add-ons that drive up the price and then the stuff I do want are low quality stuff that doesn’t suit me.  So then after buying a new cmp I have to shell out even more money to upgrade the specific components that require it.  Well no more.  I have been looking into building a cmp because then I can get exactly what I want the first time and the system won’t be bogged down with a whole list of useless programs and free demos that I will never use.  I have been mainly looking at Memory Express in Calgary.  Some have suggested other Internet companies that probably have some cheaper prices but for me I like to be able to go and talk to somebody in real life.  I like to do this because I am no expert and I don’t want to buy a bunch of components that will not work together.

With Memory Express you can go on-line and pick components from a list for all the different things that you need for a working cmp.  This I did at home to try and get an idea of what kind of price I would be looking at.  But even still I was unsure if the components that I selected would be compatible with each other so I went into the store for advice.  Sure enough, a few of the components I chose wouldn’t work.  They were able to quickly and easily help me choose parts that would work well together.  Also, if a part I had chose was a poor quality item they would suggest a better item at a comparable price.  All in all, I ended up with a cmp at a cheaper price that is of higher quality. 

So where does the new technology come in?  I had the choice to either buy a copy of Windows XP or Windows Vista, both for the same price.  I have looked into Vista and from what I can tell there are no earth-shattering new advances that really got my heart racing, like new technology usually does.  Most of the main upgrades were to how you search for files and other cool visual stuff.  Although, I am sure that there are some major upgrades where security is concerned.

I have been very happy with XP.  It was a major upgrade from their previous version.  I know how to use well and it is still the mainstream operating system out there, and probably will remain that way for a few years.  But when I am spending good money to upgrade a cmp that should last me five years or so I just can’t bring myself to spend money on old technology.  So I am officially part of the small group of people that have switched over away from Windows XP.

I really like Windows XP and would love to stay with it, but I just can’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on old technology. 

The Mothership Is Calling

Another year has come and gone.  Yesterday was my birthday and I am now 23.  It’s hard to believe that I have been out of university for a year and a half already.  I would say that I did alright for my birthday.  I got a 10″ sliding compound miter saw, Cities and Knights: Settlers Expansion, Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, and a head lamp.  The head lamp is basically a very bright flashlight on an elestic that you strap around your head and is extremely useful when camping and such, even if it does look a little nerdy.  But lately I have been truely getting in touch with my nerdy side. 

A couple weeks ago I spent a weekend playing on Excell.  With some creative macro’s and some Microsoft Office add-in’s I created an electronic version of the game Stock Ticker.  This is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time but never knew how to include the random rolling of the dice.  But, my inner nerd has prevailed and version 1.3 is now complete.  Now if only I could find a way to market this……

Work and Pictures

Wow, it has been a really long time since I have posted anything.  What all has happened lately?  First, Tanya had her ‘big’ ultrasound where they take all the pictures and try to see the sex of the baby.  That was exciting and wierd.

 

We also just had my parents and sister/brother-in-law here from SK.  While they were here we replaced the flooring in the two upstairs bedrooms.  They both had carpet in them and we put in laminet.  When you look at the sample flooring pieces it looks like a piece of cake.  Just snap them together.  Not quite the case.  Having t cut the pieces so that they fit around door jams and registers is a real pain.  And you have to be very careful when tapping them into place to ensure that they don’t get ‘dinged’ or you won’t have a nice smooth floor.  So after a full day we had finished both bedrooms.

We did get a bit of a surprise when we removed the carpet in the spare room though.  There hiding away was perfectly good lanolium with a thick layer of dirt.  And after closer inspection we noticed that there was a second layer of lanolium under that!  It seems as though every time the flooring got dirty they just put new flooring overtop.  So that gave us all a good laugh.  But it seems that the hard work paid off.  Both rooms look great.  I don’t think I would like to do that for a living though.

A Need For Prayer

If you have not yet seen or heard about this, hear is a news article about an accident that happened this morning in Calgary.