Category: Manhood

It’s a man world

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When things get really bad….run away

It’s important to realise when you’ve lost the game. I’m falling through parts of my life that are simply not working or where I have absolutely no control. One thing for sure it that I’m no good at managing my own personal crisis.

Managing others, no problem.

When there’s that much poison in your blood, the only thing left to do — is shoot yourself. 

(SAW 2004)

For me, running away sometimes means diving into my favourite second life.  Some people drink, some people smoke, I play games.

Most females I know pretty much see video games as something for children or men with nothing better to do.

In reality, it’s a place I run to escape my realities, it stops me from going “postal’  and wiping out everything and everyone near me.

Life escape routes – gaming or watching

Type PS4 time Life traits
Occasional gaming Less than 1 hour a day Away from home base
Casual gaming up to 3 hours a day At the end of the work day
Serious gaming More than 3 hours a day During times of high anxiety or crisis
Pro gaming More than 6 hours a day During times of intense isolation

The brutal honesty of gaming is essentially a middle finger to your physical life as well as serving as a single solution to feeling bad about yourself.

Some of the emotional drivers

Escapism – a place to safely vent or get rid of destructive emotions
Fantasy – a place to feel successful or good about yourself
Love – a place to feel appreciated and needed

According to a recent survey, only 11% of IT Security Professionals are women, goodness knows what the statistics are like for female gamers. download full report

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Consequences schmonsequences, as long as I’m Rich!!!

Massive work-life conflict is on the rampage with me, even eating an Apple is complicated nowadays.  I really wish my actions would not have such deep long lasting impact all the time.  It’s like I can’t afford to make a single strategic error in work or play.

Holidays are hard work
Work is hard work
Love is hard work

Working long hours hardly makes me better it just gives me more alone time.

So in under 15 years, I’ll be retired…but what does that look like?

Too young to retire, too old to start again

Will I have to depend on someone to care for me physically and financially?

 

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Gore and Guts

Horizon Zero Dawn is an absolutely beautiful game and so far I’m enjoying it hands down. But something is missing.

Beautiful game but I miss gore and guts

It’s an ERSB rating Teen that means no blood and guts.

Now I’m on the hunt for something to fill the gap.

A survival horror may be too much right now….I need something where I’m the aggressor. Actually, just something high octane will be good enough.

Here’s what to look for before letting your kid play a game.

Teen rating:

Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Themes, Violence.

Big People rating:

Content suitable only for adults ages 18 and up.

May include prolonged scenes of intense violence, graphic sexual content and gambling with real currency with a focus on depictions of blood and the realistic mutilation of body parts.

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Instant Happiness – From Clementina Road

Can a Technologist be a Romantic?

Why write a personal letter when you can email it?

Why print a photo when you can F***Book it?

The waiting represents the work, effort and thought that went into delivering something to someone you care about. So I’ll keep using the postal services and photo printing booths for now.

Those who receive my letters often see the act as quite quirky especially considering my accidental profession but it feels wonderful and tells me lots about the recipient.

Will they write back?

Will they even acknowledge the letter?

…or will they simply ignore it and move on?
Love Letters from Clementina Road, Leyton, London E10
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It’s NOT you, it’s me

I’ve decided to go with single player Horizon Zero Dawn™ over the co-op title Ghost Recon® Wildlands.

Despite experiencing absolutely no playing time, the simple fact is that I don’t have enough dedicated time to run with a squad.

Sometimes, running solo is the best and most enjoyable option.

I’m always in awe of the “10-hours a day” gamers who have the actual talent and resources to push a game to its limits.

Got an alert today that made me pay attention.

End-user exploitation: £100 to set up a stand-alone printer….WTF

I have no choice but to step in.

Phase One > ISO27001 Audit

Phase Two > Small Office LAN re-design

Phase Three > Reconfigure and documentation

Phase Four > maintenance and alerts

Probably take me 2-5 hours to sort it all out.

Home Office owners are easy targets

Female Small Office Home Office (SoHo) users are easy targets for ethically blind IT Pros as well as miscreants.

Why? Typically the SoHo user is

  1. Seriously busy with other stuff
  2. Less technical
  3. Overly trusting of any bloke that speaks tech
  4. Just wants “stuff” to work
  5. Not interested in the detail

….well they messed with the wrong CISSP today.

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Love is not Free

Today Ghost Recon® Wildlands Open Beta goes Live to the general public for 120 hours.

It’s a standard strategic move to grow the community before the game goes on sale and for the most part an excellent experience for all types of players.

You can tame her but careful, she bites

Open Beta’s is a boost of Oxytocin or a School Boy Crush 10 times the normal levels.

The downer comes pretty fast as you realise you haven’t got the resources to play the game for any extended period of time.

No dedicated time

No enough money to buy the game in the first place

….and no one to play with.

It sucks and you wonder,  why play the Beta in the first place?

Well, like Love, better to have a neurotransmitter dopamine rush for a short time than nothing at all.

Dopamine is commonly associated with the ‘pleasure system’ of the brain