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Lt. James Cater

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Posts posted by Lt. James Cater

  5. Posted

    Thanks all.

     

    The one good thing to come out of all this is that to younger co-workers that are in their early 20s, i use my screwups as a cautionary tale and advise them to get things and not to make the same mistakes i did. Anyways, i'm about to start something new in WOE and should be posting it in DiD sometime tomorrow morning.

  7. Posted

    Figured i'd start hanging out around here again now that i'm back on rather level ground.

     

    Life is quite a bit different sober after 23 years of rather solid drinking. I now find it pretty funny in a way to think back and realize the only time i skipped drinking for at least a week was when i was in jail and in a hospital secure ward! Even then, on both occasions i stopped at the liquor store on my way home after they cut me loose. Alcohol withdrawal was easily the most miserable experience of my life. Three months made worse when combined with homelessness makes for something i sure don't want to go through again. Anyways, i got things going earlier this year and got a job in yet another national park. So relocated once again and putting life back together again for the x time. Unlike the prior times in the sticks, this go around i managed to avoid the usual screwed up scenarios that can be found in these job places and am a little over a month from completing this contract and back to the real world as this place closes for the winter.

     

    Going to stay with family for the holidays and then back out west as the northeast is way too expensive and also i've got things to work on back in Nevada. 

     

    Am only recently getting back into these sims regularly. Did a number of short campaigns which i should have posted in the DiD section but  held back on. WOE seems a lot more difficult than i remembered but WOV (gold) which i had installed for about a week or so before deleting over some silly issue was a familiar feeling. Still doing gen1 as i'm as usual using second rate comp gear. Oh well, looks like the more things change the more they stay the same.  

     

    Been thinking a lot about music again. Going to pick up my gear where i have it stored with relatives and can't wait to see if i can translate what i mentally picture to the fretboard. I mentally practiced a lot when i was homeless as a way of maintaining some sort of sanity and i think i got it to the point that i'm sure that my picking technique has changed even if i haven't played an instrument in almost 3 years.Really tempted to form a band but one has to face the facts. You get too old to jump in a van touring endlessly from coast to coast for little to no money. Besides, the modern music scene pretty much sucks.    

     

    This my favorite tune of the moment.      

     

    Another band that should have gone further than they did.

  10. Posted

    Hey all,

     

    picked up WOE off of Amazon a lillte bit ago as well as a "new" laptop to run it on. Anyways, i noticed something different when i loaded up NF1-4...

     

    In the 1962 campaign, the F-102, MirageIII, and RF84 squadrons are set for AI. Is there something i forgot to do? Been a while since i looked through various bits in the game files and all but i do remember the FIS squadrons being available for use.

     

    Nice being back in action. Checked out the Voodoo and will be using it soon. Currently having a rather miserable experience in 444 Squadron flying Sabres. How i hate those Iron Beagles! :mad:

  11. Posted

    Remembered a way better laptop than the current one from a few years back...Dell Latitude D620..

     

    Basic specs...

     
    •Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz
    •1GB 533MHz DDR2 RAM (2 x 512MB config)
    •80GB 5400RPM HD
    •14.1-inch WXGA screen
    •Integrated graphics (Intel Media Accelerator 950)
    •24X CDRW / DVD Combo
    •Windows XP Pro

     

    I can pick this one off Amazon or less than $150. My main rig for years was a E-Machines T3120 which did way more than one would expect but couldn't really handle going downtown in WOV Gold as it would be noticibly "chugging". Hence why i spent a lot of time in the Steel tiger campaign flying Spads and A26s. Even then heavy CBU use would almost stop it completely at times.  WOE had virtually no problems at all, the only thing that it lacked was top graphic detail. Looking back at some screenshots they seem awfully crude at times. 

     

    As long as it is even marginally better performance than the T3120, i'll be satisfied.

  13. Posted

    To be honest, the best storylines in WOE/WOV are in my head. Imagination tends to be better than what some writers come up with when it comes to gaming scripts. 

     

    Read enough memoirs, fiction such as Tom Wilson's trilogy, "Flight Of The Intruder", "Ghostrider One" etc and you can let yourself be carried away with what you are doing.

    • Like 2

  14. Posted · Edited by Lt. James Cater

    Thanks for the info. I'm having to pick up the gear via Amazon and IIRC WOV is Thirdwire original. Since the HD is going on this one i think i might just replace the drive and just use it for casual use. after all, i picked it up over a year ago for $99 and it's been through some hard use. I'll have a look around and see about another decent laptop that i can pick up with either XP on it, or see if i can figure out a way to run stuff smooth on Windows 7/8.

    I'm trying to make initial purchases up front since the season here runs until December and so i want to save every possible cent for some thing i have going next year.

    I've put a lot of thought into various aircraft, roles, and tactics since ithe last flight and i'm firmly convinced that things will be wildly different this time around.

    Thanks again!

     

    Edit-As it turns out after taking a good hard look online, i might just pick up a (relativelycheap) Windows 7/8 laptop and strip the OS out and put in XP after finding and saving the applicable drivers.

  16. Posted

    Hey everyone,

     

    have recently got things going again after relocating and am getting ready to get back into action. Basically i'd like to know if  my ancient refurbished laptop will run WOV/WOE.

     

    It's a HP ze5500. Here's the specs...

     

    Microprocessor Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor 2.3 GHz 
    Microprocessor cache 512 KB (L2) 
    Memory 256 MB DDR SDRAM (1 x 256 MB) at 266 MHz
    Memory max 1024 MB DDR SDRAM (2 x 512 MB)
    Video graphics ATI MOBILITY RADEON 4X AGP and 3D architecture
    Video memory 64 MB DDR SDRAM (shared)
    Hard drive 40 GB enhanced-IDE hard disk drive.

     

    The hard drive is dying but i've tracked down a replacement and plan clone and replace it.

     

    Any clues?

  17. Posted · Edited by Lt. James Cater

    Figured i'd add a bit to this.

     

    A few days ago i went to the friend i mentioned above's place. He hadn't answered multiple calls so i figured i'd check up on him after i settled my gear at my camp. I had a talk with security and they let me in the building, knocked and called at his door but no joy. Tried the door handle and it was unlocked. Stepped in and called a few more times, then went in further and saw him on the couch. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness (the only light from the TV) i saw from his posture that things weren't right. As i got closer, i knew he was dead.  

     

    Turned on the lights, took a look around and went to inform security.  

     

    So it goes

     

    Have to find out if police got in contact with his next of kin. If not he'll be Potter's field bound.

     

    Found out beyond a doubt earlier today that there is not a single agency or shelter around skid row that where one can receive mail. Only place i can think of is about 10 miles away.

     

    One thing i know for sure, once i get out of here and am set up i intend to continuously @%$^ with the so called "Helpers of the Homeless" around here. They don't do #^%$ in the long run but make money off of donations and the government.  

     

    PS-Another recent killing around here. Some idiot got stabbed to death.      

  18. Posted

    Hey all,

     

    figured i'd give an update of my doings.

     

    For starters,i'm broke right down to the last dollar and still unemployed but i'm not worried much. I've let my union membership lapse again as i've come to the conclusion that i'm never going to work fulltime in a hotel again. Damn lucrative work but it's never going to be so i don't even bother thinking about it anymore. Lately' i've heard of a warehouse job that is 12 hours a day at $8 an hour. That is pretty good all things considered but i've lost my ID and am in the process of getting a new one.

    Funny thing about the ID. I was having it sent to a friends place but basically he is slowly dying from a lung affliction and he's gotten so bad lately that he lost the keys to his place and mailbox and isn't in the most lucid state so he's completely indifferent to my situation. Besides, he's so far gone that he's going to be in a nursing him very soon and so is losing the apartment anyway. Now i have to find another place to get the mail as without ID in Nevada you are not a human being. I used to use his place to wash up on the weekends and do laundry also so now that is out of the question as well. Can't do anything about it.

     

    Found out about work at oil camps in North Dakota and West Texas. 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, 6 weeks on 2 weeks off in conditions that some have likened to being in prison. This looks really promising though. If i can find a steady supply of painkillers i'm seriously thinking of applying. They have a steady turnover but i figure i can last twelve weeks of work i can pay the rent for a year easily.

    Still at my usual camp site. Pretty safe and secure place but who knows? Around skid row in recent times we've had two murders, a guy get worked over with a pipe, same guy a week or so earlier was beaten to a bloody pulp (at my camp, i knew something was coming so i bailed), some guy beat the absolute hell out of his wife (Both had warrants and are going away for about 10 years each) i witnessed an attempted murder and in general know of about a bunch of other fights, assaults, robberies, etc. Par for the course around here. Also heard of some #%$&head i hated who got killed stealing a case of beer from a 7/11 and details about a former supervisor of mine who commited suicide a few months back. We thought it was a simple heart attack but it turns out that he drank about a quart of antifreeze. He was a sometime skid row dweller as well.

    Life goes on.

    Finally sobered up for a period.

    About a week and a half ago, i figured that i had to quit soon so i had two tallys and waited. The withdrawal wasn't so bad this time around and so everything went fine. A few days went by and i absentminedly downed a six pack one evening and was tore all to hell the next morning. So i stayed away from anything and felt a hell of a lot better for a week until i had two tallys that a friend gave me. Needless, to say the morning after from two lousy cans was enough that i don't have any real desire to have a drink anytime soon. Feels funny not having alcohol in the system. Like there's a weird kind of emptiness in the part of the brain that felt the buzz. Sort of a void, like the nerves leading there have been severed. Don't have to worry about getting alcohol at camp, the guys i camp with smoke weed, crack, meth, and spice.

     

    Well, that's all for now.

     

     

     

           

  21. Posted

    Up until a decade or so ago, this would be 'Just another Day' in Northern Ireland

     

    Very true.

     

    One thing that always strikes me as rather strange is the sheer amount of public panic whenever things like this occur. Someone asked me once post 9/11 if i worried about terrorists. My answer was that i was more concerned about the guy next door. Having lived many a year in places where violence was(is) a common and accepted course of action to deal with certain situations, i can't get myself to do more than shrug and carry on at such outbreaks.

     

    One observation about the news coverage...CBS news a few hours ago had a "Breaking News" bit where they said there was someone of interest who was seen with a backpack and it went on to describe the suspect's clothing in detail. Thanks CBS, maybe next time you might want to just say, "Hey you! Time to get the hell out of dodge and lay low".

     

    Idiots.

    • Like 2

  22. Posted

    Ok so things are getting settled now. i'm back at my old camp site and it's pretty much good to go.

     

    Funny how you can get a better rest outside than in a shelter. Don't have filthy bastards coughing or hacking all around you and no lice or bedbugs to worry about. Was cold as hell a few nights ago but things calmed down yesterday and all we have to be concerned with now is rain. Maybe idiot teenagers in the near future but we all are armed to one extent or another so let them come. Only hassle is some idots screwed up where we stash our sleeping gear and so we have to figure out a new spot.Also keeping clean enough to be presentable at the union hall.

     

    Got some union work on Saturday and i should be getting W2s soon from where i had them sent so some future cash is guaranteed. However, i anticipate being in a hotel kitchen before mid May. Before that, i should be doing my new thing though. It's going to be touch and go as i'm running on a pretty thin margin but if things go as planned i should be able to get a cheap motel. Just have to stay rock hard and disciplined.

     

    I got curious as to all the different jobs and roles i've had since age 17 and it's a bit of a list. There's one or two i don't even know what to call so i didn't bother.

     

    Kitchen Utility

    Pot Washer

    Kitchen Steward

    Restaurant Runner

    Chef's Runner

    Casino Porter

    Utility Porter

    Utility Houseman

    Houseman

    Guest Room Attendant

    Convention Porter

    Construction Cleanup

    Laborer

    Carpenter's Assistant

    Wharehouseman

    Wharehouse Porter

    Security Guard

    Business Manager

    Bass Tech

    Drum Tech

    Advertisment Distributer

    Phone Salesman

    Cart Attendant

    Tire Mechanic (Foreman)

    Maintainence Man

    Vehicle Paint Prepper

    Landscaper (Foreman)

    Mechanic's Assistant

    Auto Shuttler

    Roadside Customer Assistance

    Newspaper Delivery

    Factory Cook

    Lumper

    Auction Traffic Director

    Fast Food Worker

    Pattern Cutter

    Spot Welder

     

    What idiot me should have done was gone to college, study finance, and got paid. Also missed the dotcom wave, poker boom, daytrading, the 1980s crack boom, as well as other opportunities.

     

    Might as well go for broke now, don't have anything else to lose. Failure is a not an option.

  23. Posted · Edited by Lt. James Cater

     

     

    A lot of our old favorites have changed, and seldom for the better. Remember when McDonald's apple pies were fried (instead of baked)? http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2012/04/so-you-miss-deep-fried-mcdonalds-apple-pies.html

     

    We had a regional bakery here in the Northeast, called "Drake's Cakes". They were the originators of Ring-Dings, Funny-Bones, and Devil-Dogs. They were brought out by Hostess some time ago, though Hostess kept marketing them until the end. I hope that the new owners of Hostess revive them, as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake's

     

    Drake's.....Chocolate thicker than anything Hostess had to offer! God help you if you ate their stuff without milk or a soda handy!

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