Paradise trophies in a galaxy far, far away

I spent pretty much the entire day yesterday playing Burnout Paradise from the beginning to earn trophies. I felt MUCH better about having to do this once I realized that I could just copy my save game to a memory card, start over, get the trophies, then reload my original save file and be right back where I started. Also, you don’t need to get a full 100% to get all the trophies, you pretty much just need to get your Burnout License and do a few random things and you’re good. I already have about 3/4 of them and should have the rest soon. The only part that sucks though is that one of the trophies is for sending a mugshot with a Playstation Eye, effectively forcing me to buy the damn thing if I want the platinum trophy. That is totally lame. The screwed up thing is, they don’t force you to get the extra content trophies for the platinum, but they force you to spend the money to get a camera for it. Lame as hell. It just means I’ll have all the trophies but 1 until I can buy a camera.

I am liking The Force Unleashed, but there are a number of things that are disappointingly frustrating about it, keeping it from being as good as it could be. First the camera isn’t very good. You have to move it around completely on your own, and as a result I have never appreciated auto-camera systems more. So many times I am in the midst of a heated battle and suddenly can’t see anything because the action gets to close to something that obstructs the camera and forces me to move it myself instead of concentrating on cutting up some storm troopers. Also, the targeting system is horrible. The only way to target something is to make sure Starkiller is facing exactly the thing you want to target, which is very unwieldy in practice. Even when I seem to have a lock on something, too often I lose the target before it registers my force grab. Part of that may be my own reflexes, but it still seems a little clunky. In Lucasarts’ defense, I don’t know how else they could’ve done this. Targeting force powers is something that’s extremely hard to do simply due to the supposed limitlessness of the act. Lastly, the platforming is sometimes a bit sloppy. I racked up quite a large amount of accidental deaths because I fell off a ledge while fighting or jumping around. Not cool.

That being said, there are definately parts of Force Unleashed that are totally awesome! The story is one of the best to come out of Lucasarts in a LONG time, with plot twists and surprises that make it all worthwhile. It’s so cool to see how this story lays the foundation for Episode IV, and I haven’t even seen the ending yet. I’ve gotten to what can only be the last boss and should beat it soon. This is absolutely a game where I would be willing to just sit there after I finish it and watch all the cutscenes over again on their own. I was a little disappointed though to find out that Starkiller himself seems like a surprisingly likeable guy. I can’t say too much without treading into spoiler territory, but for being raised and trained in secret by Darth Vader himself for the sole purpose of being a Jedi hunting, force unleashing apprentice, he doesn’t seem very heartless. Oh well, he’s still a very cool character to build a game around, and once you come to terms with the gameplay its extremely fun to repeadly hurl boxes, droids, and anything else you can find at enemies. When you get the timing and controls right and are able to just let loose on a bunch of storm troopers or force-crush an AT-ST, its very cool and satisfying. And dude, you get to force-pull a fucking Star Destroyer out of the sky!!!!! Let’s see Kratos pull that off!

The drama is over (at least with work)

DFAS threw me two huge curve balls this week. Turns out that if they review your security/background check form and don’t see any immediate red flags, they can give you a waiver of some kind so you can start working right away and they will finish the background check while you’re working. That’s what they told me when they called me on wednesday, and they wanted me to start in mid October. It seemed I wouldn’t have a month or two to decide after all.

After internally debating over it greatly for a couple days and explaining the need for more immediate employment to her yesterday, she calls me back 15 mins later saying that they can start me this monday. This made it even more difficult. What ended up tipping the scales though was something far less analytical than I anticipated. I chose to stay with Progressive due to the solidity of the option.

First of all, my wife REALLY wanted me to take Progressive. Ultimately though, I decided that as much as I would really really love to have a government job, the amount of sacrifice and the unknowns were just too much. I did NOT want to burn a bridge with Progressive, and even though I knew the benefits and retirement would be second to none at DFAS, there was too much I didn’t know. Specifically, quality of work environment at my specific dept and the ability to move up in my career. I don’t want to be on the phones until I retire and I don’t know what it takes to move up in the government. Basically I realized I was trying too hard to make DFAS work, and if there’s one thing I have learned in my life through experience its that if you have to try that hard to make something happen on such short notice, then it probably shouldn’t.

Once I figured this out, it was pretty easy for me to feel confident in my decision. My dad was a little bummed, but he’s worked for NASA for close to 25 years so he’s probably a little biased. The way I see it, I was in a win/win situation and there really was no wrong choice. I know for a fact that Progressive is secure, there is the opportunity to move up, and I hear that they treat their employees well, so I can now get past this whole escapade and get on with things. And the important thing is, I didnt burn a bridge so I can always apply for another government position. The timing wasn’t right or it simply wasn’t in the cards this time, but who knows what will happen in 5, 10, 20 years. If DFAS had offered me more money, I might have made a different choice, but they didn’t, so as of monday I will be a Progressive employee.

Now I can focus on our water heater. It’s leaking. Fucking awesome. I swear this crap never ends.

The monkey wrench I was afraid of

This is a late post but whatever.

Well, I was afraid of this. I received an email today (Sept 15th) from DFAS with a tentative job offer, pending a “security investigation.”

Here’s the problem; the email included a salary and the pay would be less than what I would get at Progressive. My shift would be 10am-6:30pm and the email did not specify if any shift differential would be included. I don’t even know if I will be able to negotiate a salary with the government. They requested that I reply back by Wednesday with weather or not I accept the tentative job offer. I did so and also asked if there would be a shift diff, we’ll see if I even get a response.

It will probably be good month or two before I hear back about the security investigation. The guy I interviewed with said they check stuff like credit as well. My question is, what should I do? I’m going for a ride on the bike to think. I don’t think I should turn down a government job. Please help!

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

So guess what everybody? Burnout Paradise trophies are NOT retroactive! After months of promising us that they would be. I’m simply crushed and speechless. I’ve put 150 hours into that game, plus another 20 hrs into Burnout Bikes. And now I have to delete my entire save game and start all over if I want to get any trophies out of Paradise City. I’m am not pleased. I am less than happy. I am devastated. I am at a positive loss for words.

What makes it even worse is the fact that up to this point, the dudes at Criterion have been some of the most customer focused, awesome, on top of it dudes in the whole industry! So when they made the claim that trophies would be retroactive, I believed them because they had more than delivered on every promise before. Apparently, once they entered the testing phase of the trophy patch, they discovered that “this is not possible.” Couldn’t they have done something to check this out before setting us up for heartbreak???

And so, dejected and upset, I will delete my save. I have to do it. I need to have trophies in one of my favorite games of all time. The only thing that makes it possible for me to start all over again is the fact that Burnout Paradise is such an amazing game. If it were not so fun to play, it would not be worth the effort. I will still enjoy playing it, but until I reach 101% again, there will be bitterness. It looks like this is what is going to seperate the regular Burnout fans from the truly fiendish ones. Call me fiendish.

Short gaming update

Not much new right now.  I am enjoying The Force Unleashed but I got distracted this weekend with Burnout Bikes and the double XP event on PS3 Call of Duty 4.

I really like playing COD4 online but I’m really not that good at it.  There are some stages where I can do pretty well, but others I just get my ass handed to me.  I don’t think I play it enough to develop real good skills at it.  There are just too many games I want to play to stay with it.  I’m glad though because I was able to jump up a few levels this weekend.  Had a fun time.

Also, I really enjoy Burnout Bikes.  These are the best motorcycles I have ever played in a racing game.  Just the right mix of arcadey and sim style handling to make them immensely fun.  I’ve already completed all the Burning and Midnight Rides for my 100% license.  I’ve completed about 45 out of 70 online bike challenges, and now I just need to work on the Road Rules.

I decided to cancel my Force Unleashed reservation at GameStop and get the game at Toys R Us instead once I found out they were giving out $20 gift cards with the purchase.  I used the gift card to pick up Disgaea 3 with it.  I am looking forward to Mega Man 9 and Wipeout HD this week but I don’t know if I will be able to afford them both this week.  We’ll have to wait and see how the money goes.

That’s about it right now.  My progress on Condemned 2 and The Simpsons Game has been slow this weekend with Burnout and COD4.  I’ll probably play some more Force Unleashed and Condemed 2 this week and hopefully finish them both so I can start on either Mega Man or Wipeout.  Oh, and I’m pretty excited now that we can buy PSN gift cards at Blockbuster now!  I’m still boycotting Blockbuster but I can’t imagine they make much money on them; at least not directly.  And I’d still rather shop there than GameStop.

lol bunny!

more animals

THIS is intense!

Found this on Giant Bomb. Jeff Gerstmann’s right, just watching this makes you feel like you’re in danger!

Downhill skateboarding

A too-true story called: The Husband Store

A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband.

Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 – These men Have Jobs.

She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads: Floor 2 – These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

‘That’s nice,’ she thinks, ‘but I want more.’

So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.

‘Wow,’ she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads: Floor 4 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework.

‘Oh, mercy me!’ she exclaims, ‘I can hardly stand it!’

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads: Floor 5 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads: Floor 6 – You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

To avoid gender bias charges, the store’s owner opened a New Wives store just across the street.

The first floor has wives that love sex.

The second floor has wives that love sex, and have money.

The third floor has wives that love sex, have money and like beer.

The fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.

The monkey wrench I was afraid of

Well, I was afraid of this. I received an email today from DFAS with a tentative job offer, pending a “security investigation.”

Here’s the problem; the email included a salary and the pay would be less than what I would get at Progressive. My shift would be 10am-6:30pm and the email did not specify if any shift differential would be included. I don’t even know if I will be able to negotiate a salary with the government. They requested that I reply back by Wednesday with weather or not I accept the tentative job offer. I did so and also asked if there would be a shift diff, we’ll see if I even get a response.

It will probably be good month or two before I hear back about the security investigation. The guy I interviewed with said they check stuff like credit as well. My question is, what should I do? I’m going for a ride on the bike to think. I don’t think I should turn down a government job. Please help!

The end of week 2, plus more boring contemplation

We spent the whole day at Bank of America today learning about pricing, how it works, and how to explain it to customers. I’m not sure when the last time you looked at your own credit card statement was, but if you haven’t, go ahead real quick. I’ll wait.

The only thing harder than understanding how credit card rates and finance charges are calculated is trying to explain it to the general public. There’s a big difference. I like to think of myself as an intelligent person. I already knew basically how these calculations were done, but its actually pretty fascinating to get educated on the process from the inside and be able to calculate exactly where a customer’s monthly payment comes from. I tell you, this would have been the perfect job to go into after I got laid off at Charter One. Its mostly the same job, but credit cards are so much more complicated than regular bank accounts. Working for a bank (in almost any capacity) gives you the unique opportunity to gain an insight into how the entire banking industry works and thinks. And most of it is completely invisible to the average person. I have experienced this at Charter One, Chase, and now at Bank of America. Not only do you have the mindset of providing the best service you can for a customer, but on top of that you also start to think in terms of customer risk, their past behavior, responsibility, and making sure you do the right thing for the customer AS WELL AS the company you work for. Making customers happy is our job and number one responsibility, but on the other side that coin (pun intended), banks are not non-profit companies, despite what some people like to believe. The more money you help them make, the more they will help you.

Its amazing how much information we have at our fingertips. Our computer system is lightyears ahead of what we had at Charter One or even Chase. Its relatively easy to use so far, and we can see account history, how many times and at what amounts a customer has ever made a late payment, what other accounts they have with the bank, what promotional offers they have gotten in the past, and so much more. As I have said before, I must disclose that while I cannot say if all banks are as advanced as BofA, they are basically all the same in terms of the sheer amount of information they have. Within 60 seconds of a customer calling in, we can get a very accurate idea of what kind of customer we are speaking to, what would and would not be good products to promote, and how much slack we are likely to give you based on your bank history and profile. “Painting the picture” is a phrase we use quite often to get a feel for what kind of person we are dealing with. There are many awesome things about it too. We are given a lot of freedom to use our own judgement (within reason of course) in handling touchy situations, which requires us to make much more of a judgement call than I ever had to do at Charter One. There is a LOT to learn, but once you do you have an amazing amount of tools and information to do your job well. I’m pretty impressed. My classmates and instructors have all been really great too.

Any normal person would think that I would be crazy to just up and leave BofA. However, with all the good things about this job, there is still this voice inside telling me that it is not the best move for me. That voice keeps filling my head with the hope and possibilities that I believe await me at Progressive. I guess I see Bank of America as the more safe option. Safe because its a job I know I can do well, safe because I know that when I do well, I will be able to move into different departments, and safe because I like what I see in terms of the company itself and what they offer their employees. Progressive, however, is more of an unknown. I don’t really know much about the insurance industry or how the company itself operates, I’m starting out at an entry level position, and I don’t know what it will take (other than hard work) to excel and move up.

So I guess what I’m betting on is that hope and possibility. The possibility that I will be able to learn and perform well enough to move into more higher paid positions, the hope that the insurance industry is recession proof, and the hope that as a company, Progressive is just as high-tech and employee friendly as Bank of America seems to be so far. You could say that I am more than a bit nervous, and you’d be right. But everything I hear about Progressive so far and what little I’ve seen makes me believe that I am being given a great opportunity and I feel compelled to take it. The same exact thing happened at Charter One.

I left them to go work at a mortgage broker’s office, which was a huge leap of faith. I knew I was taking a big chance, but I did it because I saw it as an opportunity. And while the job itself turned out to be a MASSIVE letdown and I was completely miserable while I was there, I got what I could out of it and used what I learned there to pave the way for my job at Chase, which turned out to be the best job I ever had. Who knows what would’ve happened if the mortgage industry hadn’t gone down the crapper. I am a big believer in making your own success, and since I don’t believe in fate, I believe you have to go out and make your fate what you want it to be. A person can do anything they want as long as they take the effort to figure out what they want (which a huge amount of people have trouble with), what it will take to get it, and then do it. I take responsibility for my shortcomings and do anything I can to make my positive qualities shine brightly enough to make me successful in the workplace. Now my personal life is a different story, but that’s another blog for another day.

But that’s the attitude with which I apologize to Bank of America and begin what will hopefully be a long career at Progressive. With three huge campuses in Mayfield that make up their world headquarters, the opportunities are huge and there for the taking. I just have to make sure that I keep my eyes open to recognize them and work my ass off to show them what a valuable employee I can be. It sucks royally to have to do that again, but I’ve done it before.