LAN-SAKES!

You look at this picture and see a ballroom converted into a LAN party... Well, I was there and it was really more of a WAN party. Let me explain. While some people were playing locally against each other, there was also a strong contingency of people playing games like Warcraft. I don't see anything wrong with that, but I hadn't been to a true LAN party since around 2001, so things have changed a lot!

I actually really enjoyed being around a large group of people who were all so caught up in gaming. There was a definite sense of camaraderie and good natured joking. It was also refreshing to see so many girls there kicking ass at games and taking breaks to watch Invader Zim.


The gaming towers did not disappoint. My own equipment has suffered many setbacks this semester, which had cut down on my posting and internet use. Due to age some of my computer tech died, but it burned out with glory, believe me. It was nice to see some computers with cool lights glowing around the room. Meanwhile, I brought my netbook to the party and it tried its hardest to let me play League of Legends.

There was also plenty of console gaming, including a lounge with Xbox 360's and even some older systems. Some of my cohorts were also playing Pokemon on DS against each other.

All in all it was an excellent night! The event raised money for charity and everyone seemed to have a great time. I felt recharged being around all those fellow gamers. Oh, and hey! I also got some vegan take out sushi, so huzzah! With all the pizza being consumed I had to find some deliciously gluten free to nosh on.

Tell me about your favorite or least favorite LAN party experiences in the comments!

Go Team ...Very Girly Smarties!

I am not the girliest person out there, but I have my moments. I don't know how to use a curling iron, put on eye-liner (still!) and I don't often wear make-up. I wear jeans, carry a wallet, and prefer dark colors with the splash of purple or teal every now and then.

For years and years I rejected girl culture as irrelevant and problematic for women and men because strict gender roles are cultural constructs that unfairly restrict people, both men and women.

I still don't have a lot of female friends, but I have learned over the years to not stereotype or reject other women based on their girliness.

Some women like very feminine things and using the American cultural standard of what is "male" to define things like science, gaming, comic books, etc hurts all parties involved. Why can't a calculator be pink or a textbook have cute drawings in it? Making the Western concept of "male" as the default or even neutral is unfair. For women like me it makes us feel that we should be masculine if we like certain pursuits that are "manly" and cut us off from other women. In fact, the things we are into are not just for men, but are MARKETED to men, and men spread their love for those things to other men. That's the problem.

We need to market these things to all flavors of men and women. By doing so we increase by 50% the number of people reached, meaning increased sales and meaning a larger pool of intelligent people to step forward and become innovators.

To that end I am happy to see things like Computer Engineer Barbie and I plan to buy one.

I am also happy to see things like this video of a group of Cheerleaders who are also scientists.



Things like this let those little girls who are actually girly see that they can retain who they are and want to be and still go into the math and sciences. A lot of little girls like me got into math and science because we were "tomboyish" and attracted to the spaces and things that were stereotypically male. It wasn't because we were inherently masculine, but just that we liked those things.

Dethklok's IT Dept is a bunch of Ladies

Everyone always wonders where the women are at in the tech fields. Well, I discovered the answer to this question as I was catching up to the new season of Metalocalypse on adultswim.com. Apparently, the infamous band Dethklok has many of them working as Klokateers in their web division...


If you haven't watched the show let me tell you a bit about it. The basic premise is that Dethklok is the most amazing metal band in the world. Using dark comedy and the perfect amount of gore Brendon Small gives the viewer an animated show that perfectly captures metal culture, while parodying it at the same time. If you love metal, have been in a band or go to a lot of shows you immediately get the humor. You also get the feeling you know some of the people in show...

I've been watching Dethklok since it premiered and count it among my all time favorite television shows. When Brendon Small first put a band together to represent Dethklok and went on tour to college campuses I was lucky enough to be attending one of the few colleges that they visited. Small sounded incredible live and the drumming by Gene Hoglan rivaled anything out of a drum machine on the show. It was a glorious night with Small and the band in darkness while a screen overhead showed extended cuts from the show and scenes with Face Bones.

Ok, back to the IT thing. Murderface (the bassist) is in the middle of a very dirty bet with Skwisgaar (lead guitarist) and heads off to find some ladies. This results ultimately in a sexual harassment lawsuit. Yuck! These women are just trying to keep the web side of the band's business going!

IT Crowd v. 1.2

Java programming is my new best friend. I remember really enjoying the basic programming that I used to do and now that I am taking courses in IT the thrill has returned.

This past week I took apart a computer in the repairs class, did some basic network stuff, discussed systems analysis, and of course spilled plenty of code across the screen.

The work is not without its physical limitations. For one thing I'm a very petite person. In most of the labs the bench with the computer and, or monitor is pretty high and forgot about the shelf that holds the router. Much like a lot of things in this world the setting is optimized for someone at least 5' 8" or taller. I'm not worried about this though. It means I have reduced leverage, but I am going to track down a stool. This reality is part of the reason why I'm glad I'm not going into EST or hardware repair. I can imagine having difficulties at some places because of my hobbity size. Of course, I'm partially joking, but you never know...

Aside from this 'small' issue the work is a perfect fit. Here's part of the old computer that I will be repairing as the semester progresses and our professor plays tricks on us:

Still, a vast improvement over the computer I built in 1996 with a friend. We ran out of screws and tied the hard drive in with a shoelace. Yes, it ran fine.

Joining the IT Crowd

Well this title clearly does not refer to me becoming an actor on one of my favorite television shows (too bad, Moss needs an arch-nemesis!). No, what this title means is that as of last week I became a student in an Information Science program.

"But, CG didn't you just finish a Master's Degree in Literature!?", you may not be asking. "Yes" I answer, despite your clear lack of having actually ever asked the question in the first place.

Whew. (Oh and this graphic is my interpretation of the fear other people have of their systems. I hate it when people tell me how much they despise computers. Ergh.)

When I originally graduated with my Bachelor's I initially worked in the IT department of a global corporation located out in the Wild West. I loved the job. I was part of a very small team within the larger IT department. Our team was responsible for setting security access levels on the dozens of programs that the corporation needed employees to use. When someone quit or was fired we had to respond immediately and for new hires or for those who were promoted it was the same case. In one month I completed thousands of such tickets, which tells you how big the company was and still is.

That's not the only computer related job I've held, but it was the one that I remember the most fondly. On Halloween we spent all day working in the dark while a marathon of horror movies played at the front of the room. In the break room the channel was always turned to G4.

So why go back to IT; why now?

I grew up and watched the advancement of computers from the first Apple machines I used in 1986 to the first PC I helped a friend build in 1996. I've been a computer junkie for a long time.
While I was teaching college English courses what I loved the most was using technology to reach the students and creating web-based assignments.

So here I am. I have a lot of reasons for going back to IT, but I don't want to make this post any longer. Instead, I hope to write-up occasional reports from the trenches of IT study.

As usual these reports will have a mix of enthusiastic critique and negative critique. If you've been reading my blog for very long you will notice that I tend to look on the positive side of life. There is a deep set reason for that involving some very bad things life has dished out at me. I tend to be enthusiastic about things that most others might find neutral or inconsequential because I need to latch on to the positive after what I've been through and to enjoy the small things whenever I can because the big things have often been very hard on me.

That said I will close with this. IT ROCKS!
(see what I did there)

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