RAVENLOONATIK.COM

Greetings from the Peach capital of the USA…
Anyone that knows me, knows I hate that Southern drawl accent. I’m surrounded by a city of frickin’ Forest Gumps (seriously! That’s what they sound like!)

Observations:
Food Courts - NOBODY loos you in the eye! When you order you have to yell it out even if they ask you “What you want sir?” and immediatley turn their back to you and walk away.

AirPort recorded announcements - Did you know that Homeland Security is presently at Defcon 3 (Orange alert) where increased security and vigilance are constantly needed.
Now… tell me that every 2 minutes… I think I have it memorized now.

Thanks to the Goddess I’m only here for 4 hours…

Off to Sao Paulo, Brazil next. See you on the other side Muchachos

Hola all,

My flights got re-routed and now I’m going to arrive Sun Jan 28th late at night instead of late morning that was booked a month ahead.

I’m currently in Denver (in a bar on the internet…LOL) waiting for my next flight to Atlanta, Georgia… (at 1am) then I fly to Sao Paulo from there…

Joy! I feel a rant coming…

Leaving tomorrow afternoon on business to Sao Paulo, Brazil… for a cuppa Java… Land o’ the mudder of Timmies.

Should be interesting… pity there’s no beaches in Sao Paulo… I DO know however I’m gonna die there (not literally). Average temperature there right now is 29 degrees celcius with an average of 70-80% humidity.

Probably gonna lose 10 lbs just from the airport to the hotel. The bright side, it’s a very posh hotel (25 floors high) along Av Paulista, and I’m thinking this Raven’s gonna fry.

Well, looking forward to the 3-4 hours to Chicago (one hour connection time) and then another 11 hours to Sao Paulo. Hmmm leave Saturday afternoon, arrive in Brazil on Sunday late morning… yeah, the joys of flying.

This is going to be a difficult 7 days. I have fairly good understanding of Spanish… but Brazil is predominately Portueguese… *Sigh*

I’m sure I’ll be ranting next week about something… (Airlines, Security, Customs) you get the picture.

Keep checkin the Galleries… I’ll post pics under Travel photos!

Hasta Luego Muchachos!

Well MicroShock… got owned today at work with a practical joke and has enlisted the help of the “LoonatiK” to redeem him amongst his peers…

Read about it here at MicroShock’s Site!

Anyone who knows this Raven… Micro’s come to right man for the right revenge!

Beware pickin’ on the LoonatiK’s friends!  LOL

Thanks to everyone who has been sending me emails and numerous IM’s commenting on the “New Look” of the site. I’m REALLY glad you like it.

The overwhelming positive response has been great and I have LISTENED to you all before implementing the changes you suggested.
(Well most of you… Morpheus, you are a genius when it comes to programming… but I think you’re seriously graphically challenged)

PLEASE! Register as a user, then add your comments here… publicly if you’d like… OR, EMAIL ME HERE
Let me know what you DO like or dislike about the site etc.

There are some new plans coming down the pipe here within the next month:

• The new website banner(s) are on the way…xMuX is designing one or two for me… I’m doing a few others as well.
• I’m hoping I will be able to randomize the banners so it’s different everytime you load the page… gotta figure that script out.
• The ability for YOU the registered Subscriber will be able to have a page dedicated to you, with the ability to Blog on your own, free of charge, on my website.

PLEASE SEND ME EMAIL: ( im@ravenloonatik.com ) Let me know what you think… that includes what you DON’T like and especially what you DO like about the site.

Merry Meet and Blessed Be!

Blessed be… Imbolic is just around the corner (February 2nd)
For you non-Pagans out there… here is your Ed-you-Ma-Ca-Shun on Imbolic.

Imbolic is commonly known as “Candlemas”.
Candlemas involves celebrations of banishing the winter and welcoming the spring. At the time of Candlemas, the newborn Sun God is seen as a small child nursing from his Mother.
At this phase of the cycle, winter is swept away and new beginnings are nurtured. Some Pagan groups favor this time of year for initiations into their particular Craft.

It is traditional at Candlemas to light every lamp in the house for a few minutes in honor of the Sun’s rebirth.

Almost has similarities to “Christmas” huh? (Lights on a tree, house, etc)

Merry Meet and Blessed Be!

Dear End User,

While YOU may think it is ok to call a person, that works in the computer industry, at home for help, it drives us crazy. Let me try to put it in terms you might understand.

Try out this scenario and see what happens:

1) Call your friend who is a mechanic at home, at dinner time.

2) Tell them your car is not running right, or it won’t even start.

3) Tell them you saw an important looking sign while driving that said your car wasn’t running right, but if you install these magical and wonderful parts, you’ll never have difficulties with your car again! So you pulled in and let these total strangers install:

• Fuel Helper
• Pot hole blockers
• Wheel assistants
• A special radio station
• An engine watcher

4) Ask them if they mind talking you through figuring out why your car won’t run. Optional: Laugh really loud and say “I know nothing about these complicated machines.”, because they love to hear that!

5) Tell him you have no tools.

6) When he asks you to open the hood and have a look, ask him “Where is the hood?”  Optional: Tell them your cousin tried doing “something” to fix it, but you don’t know what it was, and the problem is worse now.

7) While looking at the engine, read them the very long serial numbers of the parts. You know, because mechanics have them all memorized for all cars.

Always keep asking if you should turn things, “Left or Right?”

9) Ask them if they see the part near the other “Doo-Hickey”. You know, because one of the prerequisites you need to be to be a mechanic is the ability to see through the phone.

10) Ask then if the problem has anything to do with the new garage door you installed last week.

11) After they patiently talk you through checking for “Fuel and Fire“, and it still doesn’t work, make sure to ask them if they can drive 30+ minutes across the city to your home on their day off and come fix it. Optional: Whine about how much you need your car.

12) Have them do all this for just a “Thank you.”

13) PRETEND to understand when they say not to believe fancy schmancy looking signs that say your car isn’t running right. Just smile and wave when they say you need to regularly schedule maintenance on your car, and to use only well known mechanics.

14) Repeat the whole process every 60-90 days.

Optional: Call from your family members house because you tried to fix theirs and you messed up their cars now.

Optional: Tell all your friends about the “Real Handy” Mechanic and have them call you to have their car problems fixed as well.

Does THAT help you understand what tech people go through?   NO???

Okay… Okay, Let’s try some slightly different situationals.

Would you:

• Call a plumber to talk you through installing a water heater (your first time) at 10PM?
• Call a lawyer to talk you thru defending yourself on a murder charge on a Saturday morning?
• Call a doctor to help you get rid of that itchy “burning feeling” during dinner?

Understand YET???    NO???

While we Geeks and Nerds LOVE technology, we do however, HATE phone support. Nothing aggravates a techie person more then trying to solve a problem over the phone.

Tech people have lives as well. There are things we would like to do after working on computer problems all day then to come home and do phone support during some of the very little time we have to ourselves or our own family.

We are NOT tech whores. If we help, buy us something small, a video game, a bottle of wine, or dinner. Hell if you’re a mechanic, fix our car!

I’m sorry Dude & Dude-ettes, but you NEED to learn what you are doing isn’t right.

Think before you pick up that phone.

This has been a Public Service Announcement from RavenLoonTiK.Com

Thank you.

Hover Mouse over Pic

Just went snowboarding for the first time in my life at the ripe old age of $) well, old.
Hated it… and then loved it, once I started to get a wee bit of the hang of it.

At my age, and having never even gone snowboarding before, that would be foolish indeed. Just the idea of me strapping a board onto my feet for the first time as I approach my forth decade on this planet had many thinking that this was some sort of mid-life crisis. Or nuts. There was no crisis. This was just an awakening. A RUDE ONE.

There was no room for fear in my plan. Of course that was before I got a good look at the chairlift . . . but I am getting ahead of myself.
Decked out in rented equipment, the 15 or 16 year old instructor quickly put us through the drills. How to stop and start, how to distinguish the front end of the board from the back, determining whether I was “goofy” or not.

(**NOTE** This is not a derogatory term. A goofy-foot rider is one who is most comfortable with their right foot forward. Alas, I am not goofy!)

I had seen snowboarders on television and on film. I had this image of zipping down the hill in wild abandon, the wind in my face. (Okay… mildly delusional !)

Well the couple hours of drills was painful, and the only thing I felt in my face was terra firma as I hit the deck more times than Bambi on ice. My toes were constantly trying to grab the board like a parrot on a perch - a parrot who’s afraid of heights.

The first run down the hill at Canada Olympic Park (COP) was a 30-minute prolonged embarrassment in front of my son. Probably about 5-10 metres between falls, on average. That gets really irritating!
The rest of the runs went better and better. And on each fall (well most) I was rewarded with a gorgeous day time chinookin’ sky. Some of the face plants I did knocked the livin wind out of me too. Don’t eat dirty snow!

But oh, the feeling of starting to “get it” … love that, as well as all that outdoorsy goodness. Slightly cold, but very invigorating.

Perhaps the most difficult art to master on a snowboard is balance. Yet, to ride the chairlift, a snowboarder must have the board attached to one foot and be prepared to dismount from a moving throne. Surely you see the problem.
(I didn’t wipe out my first lift btw)

Later that day I started to feel the aching in every part of my body, especially in my ass and knees. For some reason also the muscles in my neck were hurting, not to mention my fingers. I guess it’s not good to slide down the hill on your stomach for 20 metres. (in a row)

A definite great day spent with my oldest “ankle-biter”… although, he’s taller than me now. Great fun, despite the pain.
By the end of the first day we were very wet, very bruised, and mildly disenchanted with the whole process. I did manage to have fun though. It must have been the company.

Given the way my muscles and tendons feel now, I’m expecting hellfire and damnation from my sensory neurons tomorrow.

———————————————————————————
UPDATE:
Felt really crappy when I woke… listened to my body and went to the Doctor to get Xrays of Ye ‘Ol tailbone (Fist sized bruise) and arms.

Tailbone is fine, 5 micro compression fractures to the left hand, wrist and forearm and 4 micro compression fractures to the right hand, wrist and forearm.

Nice to know the ol’ body has validated the pain…