05:20pm
Sep26, 2003 |
Happy
Rosh Hashanah to our Jewish friends out there...
The weekend’s here and BTM41 is packed more than a
GO Train leaving Union Station at rush hour (...and
can smell just as bad...) It’s going to be an
“elbows in” BTM for sure. We have a couple more
newbies that will be joining us on November 1st, so
just to get them and everyone else up to speed on
what’s going to be happening, we’ve finally put together
our BTM
Portal to guide you, check it out!
Just
a short time ago, Isis
and I were at the hospital for our first peek at the
“MiniMeat” spawn... Ultrasounds rather crack
me up, and if you’ve been around anyone who’s pregnant
for the first time, you know they’re the first to
stick one of these images in your face and start pointing
out body parts on a little image that looks like VHF
static snapshots of a tadpole with an oversized head...
The best part is when they comment on how ‘cute’ it
is. I must say though, for me this was photographic
proof that she’s not faking it and using this whole
pregnancy thing as a ruse to get me to do even more
housework while she eats tubs of Vanilla Ripple Chocolate
Fudge Banana Pizza Salmon Ice Cream. They "don't
print the ultrasound images for you" we were told
after asking; I was going to clarify that we're not
after an 8"x10" colour glossy, just the image on the
screen for my Mother... She said it's hospital
policy that at this early stage in the pregnancy,
they don't give out images in case there's a miscarriage
-- so as soon as she turned around, I pulled out the
Digital Camera in my pocket (...already on and set
for Macro...) and snapped a picture; yeah, I know...
He/she's a little fuzzy looking, but consider the
Father; don't tell me I can't do my spawns first Portrait
(...eat your heart out Sears...) We did notice
the little critter has mobile arms that continuously
punch her bladder; isn’t it cute!?
We’ve
been hard at work around the Abattoir throwing out
treasured items like 300 Baud Atari Pocket Modems
and the like in an attempt to defrag LAN Central in
preparation for the Server Room that’s going in...
Just this morning I caught ten Commodore 64 owners
routing through my garbage bags out back. It’s
a big job, but it’ll all be worth it when the dust
clears. CorpsE
and Infinity
have just about finished the new Portal Server, so
it won’t be long until the Abattoir has a proper Web
Server in place; you know we’re going to have fun
with that!
This
may be premature (...no pun intended...) but I do
believe that a certain someone out there may be a
Father as of today! We heard from HitMan
yesterday, it would seem his wife was busy in the
background having contractions; let us know how it
all came out Mike (...no pun intended, yet again...)
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03:00pm
Sep19, 2003 |
Good
grief, this is a lot of rain and wind! Nothing
here in Toronto compares to the hammering Carolina’s
getting, but the giant, low level swirling clouds
sure look like something Lucas Film would have fun
recreating… Hurricane Isabel sure knows how
to blow! We popped back up to cottage country
and pulled the boat from the river and secured everything
tight for the big storm, which by the time it reached
Toronto this morning had already been downgraded to
a tropical storm and now just a tropical depression.
The Abattoir’s LLAMA Tent (Little.Local.Area.MeatMans.Abattoir)
was left up in a bid to see if it’s still standing
when I get home or if it decides to make a trip to
Kansas… Time will tell.
Seems
there’s a lot of people who were a little slow on
the trigger finger when the date for BTM41 was announced,
it’s still not too late to get your name on the Waiting
List in hopes of cancellations… If the LLAMA
is still up, perhaps we’ll run a cable trunk out to
it and six lucky Abattoids can battle from the backyard.
We’re
getting a little email around the Abattoir from people
asking why they can’t get on the SuperFTP Server…
It’s because the server’s full. Members can
always get on, but public accounts will have to wait
for an opening, so remember, when you’re on, log off
when you’re done, there’s others awaiting file goodness
behind you (…or you can become a supporting member
;)…)
The
Abattoir Server Room is now under construction!
The storage area under the stairs in LAN Central has
been cleared out and we’ll be moving the farm into
there (…now the Abattoir can claim it has people under
the stairs...) It won’t be anything too fancy
just yet (…the Halon system’s on back order…) but
it’ll be a great spot to keep them all, nice and cool
year round, they can all make as much fan noise as
they want, plus we’ll now be able to keep the Abattoir
Lab cool in the summer without several thousand watts
of extra heat being generated. We’ll keep you
posted as we move forward. Have a safe weekend,
drive careful and don’t forget to pump out your basement.
|
06:66pm
Sep15, 2003 |
Well
there you have it, guess there’s no more waiting on
what the date will be for BTM41 “R.I.P.” Edition!
(“Really.Intense.Party”) This BTM will see major
tournament action which is still in the planning stage
– Infinity
has put together a tournament schedule that’ll make
your head spin, so get your spooky game face on and
don’t miss this one! We’re taking Reservations
starting now!
Since
BTM41 will land smack on Halloween, it’s sure to
be a spooky event (...recall BTM35 “Ghouls with
Grenades” Edition last year?...) Come dressed in
a costume if you like, best outfit as voted by the
decaying attendees wins a little something we’re
sure will tickle your bones and rattle your skull!
Don’t be waiting for digital photos to be put up
so you can find out what you've missed again, if
you’re sitting on the tombstone wondering if you
should come, this is a great chance to join in…
Zookrabbi
sure was glad he did! (…and will probably win best
costume as Cousin It…) Tournament details
to follow shortly!
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03:15pm
Sep10, 2003 |
What
a way to bang out the summer, Folks!! Kudos
to all who attended what’s being called the “best
BTM so far…” It was without a doubt, a total
gas! Although not a full house with school starting
for most, we rocked the Abattoir till the wee-hours
with some great, intense game play. Our tournament
was delayed in starting thanks to a certain someone
who showed up with a computer filled with more virus’
than Norton knows… His machine brought the entire
network to its knees and it wasn’t before the backbone
going to LAN Central was yanked to isolate it from
the Lab and the entire LAN Party “cold-booted” that
we got back into the action. We also noticed
an extensive amount of lag during game play which
is neither welcome, nor acceptable over the Abattoir
networks, as such, from this point on, the SuperFTP
Server will be throttled during LAN Parties.
Sorry CommanderX, we’re here to play games, not leech
over 38 gigabytes in one afternoon… What the
hell were you thinking? Who could possibly watch
that much pR0n!? *terminated*
After
a couple machines were “cleaned” and another several
reloaded, another one rebuilt, everyone got into the
games… Several of you owe Infinity
a big hug, you know who you are. This brings
another point to mind, in our attempt to keep the
Abattoir BTMs running smooth; when you come to a LAN
Party, would you please make sure your computer is:
A) Up to date with all Microsoft security updates
and patches. B) Running a current and updated
virus scanner C) Works D) Does not have
a decal on the side saying “File Hoover 5000” – It’s
not too much to ask, and will help things run smooth.
Our
tournament game of choice (…as voted on the Abattoir.BBs…)
was Quake3: Classic Quake Arena. Everyone’s
names went into a hat, even the Spectators…
After round one, half continued to round two and their
names were entered yet again into the hat (…nice odds!..)
but the top player in each round won a prize!
Thanks to candie
for her very special donation to the prize pool which
SoDa
and Horus
fought for in what they thought was a random drawn
pair-up (…if you were at the BTM, you know what it
was…) Shouts to zCereal
who threw a stick of RAM into the prize kitty as well!
Skunkworks,
Cyclone
and SoDa
all won, but our big prize winner was a newbie, and
to boot, wasn’t even playing, he was a Spectator!
First time BTMer
zookrabbi won by draw the Maxtor 120gig Drive
as CommanderX
drooled over what he could fill it with. Congratulations,
zookrabbi!
You were all winners really, the only loser we could
find in this BTM was Skunkworks'
chair which will now be laid to rest beside zCereals'
chair (…both looked as though they were props in the
last Summer Slam…)
No
sooner have the lights been shutdown in LAN Central
and we’re planning hard for BTM41 – Check back soon
because we’ll be announcing its play date very shortly,
and it’s going to be very spooky! *hint* As always,
the digital pictures are up on the SuperFTP and there’s
a bunch of them! Hundreds, actually…
Other
Abattoir news now coming to the front; we now have
‘Abattoir Members’! Yes, we’re taking memberships
now, so if you want to support the network you enjoy,
become a member! If you don’t become a member,
this web site will stop working every 35 minutes and
a five minute telethon will ensue, informing you of
the benefits and privileges that come with membership.
For instance, members get non-throttled speed on the
Abattoir SuperFTP – 'Always On' privileges so you
never have to wait for CommanderX
to finish so you can get in – No caps or limits on
the SuperFTP - First notice days ahead of everyone
to sign-up for the upcoming BTMs – Last but not least,
a full yourplayname@abattoir.net email address with
no attachment limits! Plus the ever important
feeling of euphoria that will sweep and cleanse your
soul knowing that you’re contributing to keep the
drives spinning and the frags flying at Abattoir.Net
(…we could pause the deathmatches at the BTMs; “This
frag brought to you by, Zapco!”
– who happens to be our first member!..) Be
popular, be the envy of all your friends, look more
attractive to women! To become a member, bring
two of your favourite twenty dollar bills to the Abattoir
and we’ll hook you up on the spot, give you a Beer
and a hearty “thanks!” – Otherwise, you can email
us at members@abattoir.net
and promise to pay at the next BTM… We’ll take
your word on it (…or we’ll take your computer…)
Don’t forget, at the Abattoir, the Tech Support’s
free and the Wings are always hot! All that
for just $3.33/month, now that’s value!
|
09:30pm
Sep02, 2003 |
This
LAN Minutes Update is brought to you from Cottage
Country, and by the letter “U”… We decided to
split Sunday afternoon for the great north and take
Tuesday off to make it an extra long weekend.
Here I have lots of time to reflect on things going
on while I sit in the Great Room overlooking Burnt
River, sipping Orange Herbal tea and listening to
Isis
and her Mother not far away in the kitchen talking
Croatian and preparing breakfast… Life is fine
at this snapshot in time. Her Mother and friend
will be leaving for the city early this morning (Mon),
stranding Isis
and myself here to enjoy nature alone (…or as ‘alone’
as one can be in cottage country during the Labour
Day long weekend, I guess…) One would think
that is a good thing… Did I mention Isis
is pregnant?
For
those of you who’ve not yet had the pleasure of ‘being
one’ with a pregnant woman, allow me to emphasize
some of the benefits… For those who’ve already
experienced the fun, you can laugh along. Pregnant
woman are wonders to behold… First off, after
they discover they’re ‘with child’, nature bestows
upon them super-human powers and senses that we, as
males, have no ability to conceive. Small things,
like certain sounds bother them, sensitiveness to
everyday things which were never an issue before conception,
a body whos temperature has the unreal ability to
equal the lava pits in Q3DM7 then without warning
flash freeze the instant you cuddle them. All
this is fine and dandy, it’s the way in which they
migrate from one state to another, which is usually
sudden and without warning even to the learned eye.
It is interesting to see someone breakdown and cry
in a flash because they’re “so happy”. Ever
be standing in the kitchen that you spent three hours
cleaning while your better half is at work, to have
her come home and almost kill you because you folded
the tea towel left to right rather than the expected
(…since pregnancy…) right to left? Most interesting,
considering they have the ability to tell you your
faults in a contiguous sentence that shall last no
shorter than 20 minutes and although they now have
super hearing, this verbal onslaught will be at a
pressure no less than 80db and a frequency which will
peek and hold around the 8-12 kHz range. Finding
foods she likes has not been too difficult, if it
doesn’t run faster than her, there’s a fair chance
she’ll eat it… However, the ‘baby’ doesn’t like
certain things, and you best take note when the subtle
hint is provided, however, there’s a trick…
Make it seem as if you’re taking notes, use props,
whip out a small note pad and pretend to write the
information down… This shows you are involved
with the pregnancy and all the turmoil she’s going
through, it shows you care and that’s what’s important.
You don’t have to actually write anything down, as
a matter-o-fact, writing it down would be a waste
of time because that particular food the ‘baby’ can’t
stand will, within a short few hours, be the same
thing you’ll be dispatched to Tim Horton’s at 3:00am
attempting to find. (…as I’m typing this now,
I can hear her in the kitchen discussing the extensive
list of items that make her nauseated…) She
explains the hell of getting up several times in the
night to go to the bathroom… I’ve been doing
that for years, its called age, but don’t bother bringing
that up, because that’s about you, not the ‘baby’.
Neat thing is it’s only going to get ‘better’. Did
I mention the mood-swings? Guess it’s time to start
thinking of a name for the little critter as “Mini-Meat”
isn’t going to cut it… If it’s a guy, how about
“Gig”, that’s a cool name. His middle name could
be “Abbot” (…Gig-Abbot, get it?..) Oh well…
There's lots of time to think about that I suppose.
Just
a few days to go before BTM40 so it’s time to answer
the age old BTM question brought to front by so many,
so often; “are there prizes?” Yes, BTM40
we will be giving away a Maxtor 120 Gigabyte 7200rpm
Hard Drive! But it’s not going to be a Door
Prize this time, you’re going to have to fight for
it, and here’s how: Everyone in attendance,
be them a Spectator or Player, will have their name
put in the drum, this way, just like a Door Prize,
everyone gets a chance, even SoDa. We will be
having a tournament in a game as yet to be announced
since voting for this game of choice is still happening
on the Abattoir.BBs.
Each win for you or your team will result in your
name being entered yet again into the drum.
The better you play, the more chances you have of
taking a large amount of drive space home. Simple,
yes?
This
BTM brings us back to speed with our usual…
Early-Bird starts at 6pm, Friday. BTM Starts
at 12pm, Saturday. The Abattoir’s Coke Machine
is still ‘busted’ but with enough nagging I’m sure
we’ll have the compressor replaced in the next day
or two… We still need recruits! Let’s
get those empty spots filled for our Season Finale!
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MeatMan
Says:
"If you're new to Abattoir.Net and want to get to know what
we're all about, sit back with a cup of joe or a brew and cruise
through the ramblings of the past"
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