It seems you and I play similar games. Recently I found a combination of older games from gametap.com & gog.com and new sleepers from steam hits the sweet spot for locating good solid story driven games. Mind that some old ones (like the elder scrolls, might and magic or wizardry series) are not represented but there is a lot of new blood hidden away especially on steam.
Recently I've found Wizard101.com to be allot of fun and sans the usual mmorg drama. The buy is quite reasonable - about US$9.99 for the subscription (or they have a pay as you go plan that sounds complex but is less expensive then the monthly fee when taken over a whole year and bought while their sale is in effect). Other sources I've used are: http://www.adventuregamers.com/ http://www.freemmogamer.com/2008/09/best-free-mmos-list.html (yes this is an old list -- if the game is still working then it's not likely to be a fly by night operation).
You should know that pure story driven games are dying; if they don't include some serious fps or don't get very casual they are not likely to make it financially outside the indy crowd. Steam seems have a good representative of the newer games, but they are poorly marketed thus well hidden away in page 4-10 ^_^.
You left a critical piece of the puzzle out -- what state are you in? Some states (like new york) have soem form of state sponsored insurance. Here is an example:
While not every state is so forward thinking with luck you live in a state that has decided to enter some form of collective bargaining on behalf of it's uninsured citizens. Without this form of collective bargaining you will have few options that are not financially damming - especially if you get sick.
Note: Make your choice BEFORE you give notice as you will only have 60 days before your HIPAA waiver for preexisting conditions makes you uninsured for pre existing conditions .
I'm a disabled person. I'm also very well qualified for the work I do (Software QA, Network R&D, and Systems Administration). Whenever I look for a job I always run into a problem: HR folks never read the resume. So I'll get a call, and go through the interview, and then broach the topic of mobility restrictions. Usually I will discover that the job is not one I could ever perform as part of the job is just beyond what I am physically capable of. The HR drone would have known that had they READ my resume. I find it really annoying. Then I run into the problem of locating the jobs that I can perform the work of. I also know that there are jobs out there that are very disabled friendly, and that are looking for employees to hire.
Usually, this inequity is just the facts of life. However, the federal government is now actively tasking it's agencies to locate and employ disabled workers. The problem of locating those "phantom workers" is very difficult for each agency and for recruiters looking to fill those jobs. I recently took a blind call from a recruiter who became ecstatic when he learned that I work from home and am disabled (and thus have a "Track record"). He expressed real frustration in finding those of us who are not on disability, are employable, and who fit their positions that are open.
So I envision something like a series of check boxes on a job form and or candidate form:
1) Job cannot/cannot be performed by someone in a wheelchair 2) Job requires bending, lifting and twisting | job does not require physical work at all | Job rquires lifting etc. 3) Job requires hearing (e.g. there is some reason why someone who is deaf and cannot use a hearing aid cannot perform the job function say a traffic cop) 4) Job requires sighted individual (Cable pulling technician, as an example) 5) Job is looking for disabled persons and is disabled accessible (e.g. no bumps that trap wheel chairs and doors that are wide enough to get through) 6) Job permits 100% teleworking for disabled workers | Job Rquires weekly/montlhy physical vistits but Telework otherwise okay | Job requires ability to be in office; no telework.
you know stuff like that. It's a touchy subject and would need help from legal to proeprly frame into words. However it would amaze those of you who are not disabled and are not exposed to disabled people just how many of us folks exist who are fully employed but dread looking for a new job because of the non obvious hurdles that exist to finding a job. Those same individuals can often bring a skilled employee to a job that has gone unfilled for too long.
Just a sanity check: I live in Baltimore. The area getting camera are neither safe from crime nor safe from an abusive police force. I think it's a good idea that needs some careful checks and balances. But it's an idea the area needs. Badly.
Hmm. Perhaps some fortune 500 lawyer reasoned as follows:
1) IF SCO is right then said companies risks are covered and an infrastructure change is not needed. The Cost is probably a "Cost of Doing Business" as far as accounting and tax goes. 2) If SCO is proven wrong, then said company could sue SCO for it's money (and interest back) for selling the company false goods (or words to the effect).
My reading of the licence seems to indicate that you only use approved clients to connect to the native NEtmeeting, Remote Desktop, etc. Service. It is under the heading " 7. DESCRIPTION OF OTHER RIGHTS AND
LIMITATIONS.
this seems to indicate that programs like rdesktop http://www.rdesktop.org http://freshmea t.net/projects/rdesktop/
are verboten. The licence seems to speek only to the those compents. Perhaps it limits the H.323 clients as well. Other than that, I do not think that the licence forbids VNC, PC Anywhere, Etc..
I've been working from home for more than a year now. Here is my home office get up:
3 8' buffet tables from staples. US$80 each. Each holds about 800lbs (per it's rating). It's not wrap around but it's cheap, has plenty of space is very sturdy. About 3-5 computer towers fit under each one.
3 rolls of anti static mat from Wal-Mart. US$35 each. These come in various sizes. I use the 10x10 size
various power strips and grounded outdoor power cords. About US$100 worth. do not forget to place the non-ground two-plug devices on a different correct from grounded appliances.
quote from electrician where each power circuit is, how much power can be safely drawn from each circuit, and a fire code review of my wiring. About US$250
one lumbar support executive chair. US$250. Do not skimp here. Your back can be hurt by the wrong chair, and you have no one to blame if this occurs;>
two four-port belkin omni desktop switches (PS/2). US$150 each, plus US$25 per connected system for the wires.
I would disagree with the portrayal of telecommuting as personally ruinous. Two years ago, I fell ill from a rare disease and lost my (local) job. A year and a half ago I got another job - telecommuting from the DC metro area to Silicon Valley. To date, I've never met my co workers (although I will in about a month). My job consist of moderating an international personal firewall mailing list, level 3 tech support and Level 3 QA.
When needed, I call my boss and contacts at the company and otherwise due my job. My own personal relationships do not suffer and I'm isolated from the office politics. It's great -- I'm not certain if I would want to return to the "old way" of working.
The key here is not to let telecommuting come between you and your personal relationships. I set limits on how and when I work and when I DO NOT work. It's those limits that are once of the keys to succeeds. Some of the other keys are proper communication with your employer and proper time use.
Just my own experiences,
Sam
P.S. Why is it such a shock that someone from Russia (or India, Norway, etc.) can use modern methods to telecommute?
Year:
2k:
Personal Copy of ME: US$89 (upgrade)
Personal Copy of Win2K: US$199 (Upgrade)
MSDN Professional Edition: US$499
(Above not licensed for home use. But you can make a "personal web site" with the server - however the licence was amended this year)
OpenBSD 2.7 and 2.8: US$40
Mandrake 7.1 : US$40
Solaris 7 Platform Intel: US$40
2k1:
Copy of XP public Beta (do not forget your MSDN Beta cannot be used as a "productivity" OS.): US$20
MSDN Professional: potential US$499
MSDN Universal: Potential US$1999
(cannot figure out which I'm buying next month)
OpenBSD 2.9: US$40
FreeBSD 4.3: US$40
Mandrake 7.2: US$40
Solaris 8 Platform Intel: US$40
Not counting the Cost of Office Suites, Anti-Virus, Personal Firewall, Decompression (Win Zip, WinRAR, Win ACE), etc. My own internal analysis of the Windows TCO Vs. Other OS TCO is that Windows costs more - by an order of magnitude or more! And YES, I own BOTH WordPerfect Professional for Linux and a CD of Star Office. Not to mention OSS for Linux and BSD. Do not forget that most development tools are free for BSD and Linux while a single Sun Forte' for Java is $500 (Win32 or Linux), Java Platform is $500 (Any platform), your favorite C++ is US$1000 to US$2000 on Win32.
HTH
P.S. Do Not forget to amortize your costs over the effective life of the OS. Most "free" BSD's and Linices had an effective life of 6 months and should be compared to Windows NT, 2K pro or XP pro (which have effective lifes of 2-4 years). If you develop, test or support professionally for Win32 then the MSDN and/or tech net tools must be factored into your calculations!
Slashdot Mirror
Hi There,
It seems you and I play similar games. Recently I found a combination of older games from gametap.com & gog.com and new sleepers from steam hits the sweet spot for locating good solid story driven games. Mind that some old ones (like the elder scrolls, might and magic or wizardry series) are not represented but there is a lot of new blood hidden away especially on steam.
Recently I've found Wizard101.com to be allot of fun and sans the usual mmorg drama. The buy is quite reasonable - about US$9.99 for the subscription (or they have a pay as you go plan that sounds complex but is less expensive then the monthly fee when taken over a whole year and bought while their sale is in effect).
Other sources I've used are:
http://www.adventuregamers.com/
http://www.freemmogamer.com/2008/09/best-free-mmos-list.html (yes this is an old list -- if the game is still working then it's not likely to be a fly by night operation).
You should know that pure story driven games are dying; if they don't include some serious fps or don't get very casual they are not likely to make it financially outside the indy crowd. Steam seems have a good representative of the newer games, but they are poorly marketed thus well hidden away in page 4-10 ^_^.
hth
Sam S.
Hi,
You left a critical piece of the puzzle out -- what state are you in? Some states (like new york) have soem form of state sponsored insurance. Here is an example:
http://www.ins.state.ny.us/website2/hny/english/hny.htm
and something similar from Maryland
http://www.marylandhealthinsuranceplan.state.md.us/
While not every state is so forward thinking with luck you live in a state that has decided to enter some form of collective bargaining on behalf of it's uninsured citizens. Without this form of collective bargaining you will have few options that are not financially damming - especially if you get sick.
Note: Make your choice BEFORE you give notice as you will only have 60 days before your HIPAA waiver for preexisting conditions makes you uninsured for pre existing conditions .
Good Luck!!
All,
;>
I'm a disabled person. I'm also very well qualified for the work I do (Software QA, Network R&D, and Systems Administration). Whenever I look for a job I always run into a problem: HR folks never read the resume. So I'll get a call, and go through the interview, and then broach the topic of mobility restrictions. Usually I will discover that the job is not one I could ever perform as part of the job is just beyond what I am physically capable of. The HR drone would have known that had they READ my resume. I find it really annoying. Then I run into the problem of locating the jobs that I can perform the work of. I also know that there are jobs out there that are very disabled friendly, and that are looking for employees to hire.
Usually, this inequity is just the facts of life. However, the federal government is now actively tasking it's agencies to locate and employ disabled workers. The problem of locating those "phantom workers" is very difficult for each agency and for recruiters looking to fill those jobs. I recently took a blind call from a recruiter who became ecstatic when he learned that I work from home and am disabled (and thus have a "Track record"). He expressed real frustration in finding those of us who are not on disability, are employable, and who fit their positions that are open.
So I envision something like a series of check boxes on a job form and or candidate form:
1) Job cannot/cannot be performed by someone in a wheelchair
2) Job requires bending, lifting and twisting | job does not require physical work at all | Job rquires lifting etc.
3) Job requires hearing (e.g. there is some reason why someone who is deaf and cannot use a hearing aid cannot perform the job function say a traffic cop)
4) Job requires sighted individual (Cable pulling technician, as an example)
5) Job is looking for disabled persons and is disabled accessible (e.g. no bumps that trap wheel chairs and doors that are wide enough to get through)
6) Job permits 100% teleworking for disabled workers | Job Rquires weekly/montlhy physical vistits but Telework otherwise okay | Job requires ability to be in office; no telework.
you know stuff like that. It's a touchy subject and would need help from legal to proeprly frame into words. However it would amaze those of you who are not disabled and are not exposed to disabled people just how many of us folks exist who are fully employed but dread looking for a new job because of the non obvious hurdles that exist to finding a job. Those same individuals can often bring a skilled employee to a job that has gone unfilled for too long.
I know it will never happen but I had to vent
Just a sanity check: I live in Baltimore. The area getting camera are neither safe from crime nor safe from an abusive police force. I think it's a good idea that needs some careful checks and balances. But it's an idea the area needs. Badly.
Hmm. Perhaps some fortune 500 lawyer reasoned as follows:
1) IF SCO is right then said companies risks are covered and an infrastructure change is not needed. The Cost is probably a "Cost of Doing Business" as far as accounting and tax goes.
2) If SCO is proven wrong, then said company could sue SCO for it's money (and interest back) for selling the company false goods (or words to the effect).
My US$0.02 (FWIW and IIRM)
Hi All,
a t.net/projects/rdesktop/
First Off -- I am not a lawyer.
My reading of the licence seems to indicate that you only use approved clients to connect to the native NEtmeeting, Remote Desktop, etc. Service. It is under the heading
"
7. DESCRIPTION OF OTHER RIGHTS AND
LIMITATIONS.
* NetMeeting/Remote Assistance/Remote Desktop Features.
"
this seems to indicate that programs like rdesktop
http://www.rdesktop.org
http://freshme
are verboten. The licence seems to speek only to the those compents. Perhaps it limits the H.323 clients as well. Other than that, I do not think that the licence forbids VNC, PC Anywhere, Etc..
I could be wroung
Hi,
;>
I've been working from home for more than a year now. Here is my home office get up:
3 8' buffet tables from staples. US$80 each. Each holds about 800lbs (per it's rating). It's not wrap around but it's cheap, has plenty of space is very sturdy. About 3-5 computer towers fit under each one.
3 rolls of anti static mat from Wal-Mart. US$35 each. These come in various sizes. I use the 10x10 size
various power strips and grounded outdoor power cords. About US$100 worth. do not forget to place the non-ground two-plug devices on a different correct from grounded appliances.
quote from electrician where each power circuit is, how much power can be safely drawn from each circuit, and a fire code review of my wiring. About US$250
one lumbar support executive chair. US$250. Do not skimp here. Your back can be hurt by the wrong chair, and you have no one to blame if this occurs
two four-port belkin omni desktop switches (PS/2). US$150 each, plus US$25 per connected system for the wires.
HTH,
Sam
I would disagree with the portrayal of telecommuting as personally ruinous. Two years ago, I fell ill from a rare disease and lost my (local) job. A year and a half ago I got another job - telecommuting from the DC metro area to Silicon Valley. To date, I've never met my co workers (although I will in about a month). My job consist of moderating an international personal firewall mailing list, level 3 tech support and Level 3 QA.
When needed, I call my boss and contacts at the company and otherwise due my job. My own personal relationships do not suffer and I'm isolated from the office politics. It's great -- I'm not certain if I would want to return to the "old way" of working.
The key here is not to let telecommuting come between you and your personal relationships. I set limits on how and when I work and when I DO NOT work. It's those limits that are once of the keys to succeeds. Some of the other keys are proper communication with your employer and proper time use.
Just my own experiences,
Sam
P.S. Why is it such a shock that someone from Russia (or India, Norway, etc.) can use modern methods to telecommute?
Year:
2k:
Personal Copy of ME: US$89 (upgrade)
Personal Copy of Win2K: US$199 (Upgrade)
MSDN Professional Edition: US$499
(Above not licensed for home use. But you can make a "personal web site" with the server - however the licence was amended this year)
OpenBSD 2.7 and 2.8: US$40
Mandrake 7.1 : US$40
Solaris 7 Platform Intel: US$40
2k1:
Copy of XP public Beta (do not forget your MSDN Beta cannot be used as a "productivity" OS.): US$20
MSDN Professional: potential US$499
MSDN Universal: Potential US$1999
(cannot figure out which I'm buying next month)
OpenBSD 2.9: US$40
FreeBSD 4.3: US$40
Mandrake 7.2: US$40
Solaris 8 Platform Intel: US$40
Not counting the Cost of Office Suites, Anti-Virus, Personal Firewall, Decompression (Win Zip, WinRAR, Win ACE), etc. My own internal analysis of the Windows TCO Vs. Other OS TCO is that Windows costs more - by an order of magnitude or more! And YES, I own BOTH WordPerfect Professional for Linux and a CD of Star Office. Not to mention OSS for Linux and BSD. Do not forget that most development tools are free for BSD and Linux while a single Sun Forte' for Java is $500 (Win32 or Linux), Java Platform is $500 (Any platform), your favorite C++ is US$1000 to US$2000 on Win32.
HTH
P.S. Do Not forget to amortize your costs over the effective life of the OS. Most "free" BSD's and Linices had an effective life of 6 months and should be compared to Windows NT, 2K pro or XP pro (which have effective lifes of 2-4 years). If you develop, test or support professionally for Win32 then the MSDN and/or tech net tools must be factored into your calculations!