General Comings and Goings

GuyPerfect · June 15, 2009, 03:50:14 AM

Coming out here to Washington, I brought with me a little Novatell Wireless USB internet dongle thing that I use through the Verizon network. It's very handy, as it's portable broadband that doesn't cost too much a month and I don't have to be near a wireless access point or what have you in order to use it.

But today... it was wonky! Turns out it was actually because of that little 3-inch USB extension cord that's useful for A) connecting USB flash drives that are shaped so obnoxiously you can't fit them into the spot where the USB port is and B) keeping delicate devices that normally just stick out of the computer from getting accidentally knocked and damaged. I used one such cord for purpose B, and the cord is going bad due to constant flailing every time I move my laptop around.

The short-lived anti-internet scare led me to realize something, though. How long have I been using the internet? Years. Several years. How many days have I gone without internet, on purpose? I'd say the number is probably less than 25, at least from the point when the internet became commonplace and not just that special time you take out of your day to dial up for a half hour. But yeah, internet's like a blood filter these days! An extension of the psyche!

I realized that whenever I'm not working or sleeping, I tend to be right here in front of the screen, clicking various links or checking to see if any new posts have been made or any new articles have gone up. There's so much I could be doing, but I'm not doing it! Well, since I have no particular obligations online, I have decided to do the unthinkable: I will go for a week with no internet! On purpose!

Fret not: this is not merely a whim; I've been considering such a fast for a while. But I figured now was a good opportunity to do so, so I will. At 0:00 Eastern tonight (which is when the calendar flips over to June 15), I'll be offline for a week. If I need emergency directions or if I need to place an order for something, I may use the internet for those purposes, but otherwise... nothing. And I have no reason to believe that I'll use the internet at all for the next week.

Instead, I'll have to find other things to do with my time. Pull out old video games? Work on something? Go outside and... socialize!? Such unfathomable opportunities will be presented to me. Well, guess I have an hour left. Leave your comments here in the mean time!

*Waits for the obligatory "See you tomorrow!" post*

Dullstar · June 15, 2009, 05:18:37 AM

Did you ever succeed at doing that?

Clam · August 06, 2009, 10:41:09 PM

Y'know, ever since this idea came up, I've been considering doing something like it sometime.

That time is now.

Unlike our esteemed colleague who originated this concept (well, he probably stole it from somewhere else, but anyway) I can't just cut myself off from the internet since I need it for my course work. So instead I'll do the next best thing: I'll give up Lemmings. This afternoon, I'm going to remove every trace of this accursed game from my sight and hide it all in a dark cupboard (or electronic equivalent).

Why am I doing this? Well, I need to. For my own sake. I've been spending my afternoons frantically checking these forums for updates, and trawling through the levels looking for something to add to the wave of challenge threads that has swept through this place. My enthusiasm for challenges is gone, my level designing side has fallen away, and whatever good intentions I've had - like (*gasp*) doing something other than Lemmings - just haven't been followed through. The quality of my posts on this forum is slipping, and worse, thinking about this game has kept me awake at nights. It's clear to me that I need a "Lemming holiday".

I'm going to stick around for the rest of today, but after that I'll be gone until next Saturday. (That's New Zealand time - for most of you it will still be Friday). When I get back, I'm going to try to be a more rounded Lemmings fan - and that means going back to work on my own levels instead of just tearing through challenge threads. And maybe, just maybe, I'll learn to enjoy this game in moderation.

Wish me luck

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Yawg · August 07, 2009, 06:17:39 AM

Wow, its going to be a quiet week here

http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/embarrassed.gif" alt=":-[" title="Embarrassed" class="smiley" />

Regardless, good luck with your lemmings vacation!

Clam · August 07, 2009, 09:37:59 AM

Thanks.

http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/smiley.gif" alt=":)" title="Smiley" class="smiley" />

Only a couple of hours of today left, then I'm outta here. I'm sure you'll barely even notice my absence.

By the way, has anyone seen http://www.perfectkiosk.net/" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">GuyPerfect's blog lately? I just noticed he's been offline for some time, and this might go some way towards explaining it.

Clam · August 07, 2009, 11:04:56 AM

Just one last thing to get rid of - the bookmark for this site.

See you in a week. *waves*

Dullstar · August 08, 2009, 12:53:26 AM

Did GuyPerfect ever return anyways?

Dullstar · August 15, 2009, 02:16:35 AM

I see Clam Spammer came back!

Clam · August 15, 2009, 03:21:51 AM

Yep, I'm back. For what it's worth

http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/winktounge.gif" alt=";P" title="Wink-Tongue" class="smiley" />

So that's what a week feels like. How interesting...

Minim · August 15, 2009, 08:03:58 AM

Good to see you Clam Spammer, although I haven't seen you on Friday (I live in the UK so the time is slightly ahead in Britain than in America). I think you were posting during my sleep.

Minim · September 02, 2009, 07:32:40 PM

Anyway, just to let you know I've got my first day of school today and I think the 2009-2010 season (My last year at school) will be the most hectic. I may carry on posting in the lemmings forums, but this could be my "breaking point" and I'll be off site between 7:45am and 3:35pm* BST (Those are my working hours) as well as my night time hours (Look at the stats). I'll also be trying to hide all my lemmings games, because sometimes I get a little too distracted by this thing while I concentrate on my schoolwork. I won't do any more lemmings challenges until the weekend, but just bear in mind that I'll be back at school for about 7 more weeks until my next half term holiday.

*EDIT: I am permitted to come home an hour earlier on Wednesdays an Thursdays.

Dullstar · September 02, 2009, 10:38:59 PM

I am back in school, but I've got *some* time remaining, even on weekdays! Meh, I resumed about 2 weeks ago from this time.

Clam · September 03, 2009, 12:06:09 AM

I'm going back to school next week too... big school, that is (i.e. university). I'll keep posting here, but I'm afraid you won't see much progress on my custom levels.

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ccexplore · September 03, 2009, 12:46:55 AM

Well good luck to all of you with school coming up, I hope you'll have a successful and rewarding year!

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Clam · September 03, 2009, 12:49:45 AM

Oh, haha, forgot to mention. I've only got one term left of the year (about 2 months), then I'm off for the summer.

As for the rest of you... good luck.

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