My One And Only Post For 2019!

Hey all... So I haven't posted to my blog since 2018.

Why? I have been rather busy dealing with life, and kinda/sorta lost interest in keeping this blog updated with my goings-on.

From major life changes regarding family life and giving support where it was needed, to working as an on-site IT Support Engineer for two of Australia's largest ICT firms (contracted to different companies), and also stepping in as a Manager for a retail business and getting that business back-on-track (and succeeding) due to previous mismanagement, as well as doing freelance graphic design for a signage/print company part time... and throw in custom web design too (html and css with graphics)... and yup things were (still are) a little busy for me.

I am still around on the interwebs (mainly discord when online), and on my down-time still game, play Arma 3 MilSim on a weekly basis (try to) with two different groups... and for the most part am really enjoying it. Good team mates really make a difference with MilSim special operations.

I still script/code in Arma 3 too, and have pushed some of my new scripts/code to my github as well as a custom MilSim mission I created on the map of Takistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). I have only played it once with a group, and it took us 3 hours to complete... and every aspect of the mission was successfully completed (to my surprise). I have since created another MilSim mission on the map of Livonia (Operation Deception Rescue) and have played it once with a group. It flowed well but were a few glitches at the time (they are all now fixed), although I have since tweaked the mission with more elements and aspects for better game play. I will upload this to my github at some stage also (soon).

I also help out the groups I am associated with with script/code for Arma 3, as well as support others where I can. I still like to script/code Arma 3... I greatly enjoy all aspects of the game whether I am playing casually (I&A), or in a MilSim mission, or creating/scripting/coding... for me, it's still enjoyable (and addictive).

Outside of my family, work, online life... I try to get out and about as much as I can (provided my on-going health issues are minimal... it's very hard to deal with at times).

I own a high performance vehicle (Japanese) and go to car meets/cruises with the club(s) I associate with, I still own a high performance motorcycle (Japanese)... but will probably sell that soon due to my health issues, and My V8 ski boat needs to get back on the water for some well needed fun... being out on the water on warm/hot days is refreshing (fresh water, not sea water).

Soon I may be (probably will be) delving in to a proper server rack (networking) system/solution for my home, as I intend to run multiple servers for storage, hosting (and private game hosting), proper centralized networking with all the bells and whistles (switches, patches, firewall, etc etc)... which will also help me learn and develop more hands-on skills (both hardware and software) which will also help me progress with my ICT employer(s) and career as I will be able to deploy virtual servers, then load and learn the required software (both linux and windows environments) and security practices.

I think this post has been the most personal yet... but I am a rather private person, so don't expect much more :P

None the less, if you read all of this post, hello, and thanks... and see you around in 2020.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year... make 2020 a great year, and make it the start of great decade!

Goodbye 2019, Hello 2020.

Until next time...

-soul.

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Hi... Life Has Been Extremely Busy!

Hi there to all that check out my blog and are now reading this post... I just thought I'd do a quick update to briefly explain why there hasn't been any posts since July 2018.

The gist of it is that things in/around my life have changed in a rather big way (I won't elaborate at this time), so work life and family life have taken priority.

My scripting/coding has ceased since July 2018, and the projects I that was involved in have ceased to have any development done by myself (specifically RELOADED and A3Wasteland for ArmA 3).

I now work 3 separate part-time jobs (which pretty much make up full-time work), as an ICT Engineer for a big firm, a Graphic Designer for a print/signage business and a Co-Manager of a retail store. It's hectic to say the least and I feel mentally warn out most days dealing with (juggling) everything... but it just needs to be done at this point in time... hence my absence in and around this blog (and being on-line).

You'll still find me around Steam/Discord from time to time when I get the chance to (for those that take notice), or you may catch me online playing my go-to game... ArmA 3 whilst I run around shooting-all-the-things! Although I do not currently use my main gaming handle whilst in-game, but those that know of me should know the gaming handle anyway (and blackSheep).

As for graphic design requests that people have made since July 2018... I have kindly declined any requests... as I just don't have the time. There are plenty of other decent graphic designers out there... you just have to find them (and yes... you get what you pay for!).


Among all the life changes, I still battle with my health (and mental health) due to issues stemming from a severe accident I had over a decade ago now... and to this day it's still draining, and also mentally draining, but I keep on keeping on... taking it day by day and week to week.

November is just about half-way through, and the festive season is creeping up also... this year has certainly gone a lot faster than I expected it to... but I guess that's part to being extremely busy.

If I don't do any blog posts before next year... a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Anyways... thanks for taking the time to read... until next time.

-soul.

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I'm Still Here...

So you may be wondering where I have been, why no updates for a while, etc.

Well the gist of is real life took over, and my will to code temporarily diminished. My spare time is spent doing various things other than sitting at the computer coding (scripting/whatever you want to call it).

I have also recently updated my entire computer system, which was well overdue. My PC specs are now as follows.

• CPU: Intel i7 4770K
• CPU COOLER: NOCTUA NH-U9B
• MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte Z87 G1 Sniper
• GPU: Gigabyte R9 290 OC 4GB
• MEMORY: 32GB G.Skill RipJaw (4x 8GB)
• SSD: 1x 500GB Samsung Evo
• HDD: 1x 1TB WD Black, 1x 1TB WD GREEN, 4x 2TB WD RED
• PSU: Antec 750W TruePower Classic
• CASE: ANTEC P193 (Antec 3 speed and Thermaltake 120mm fans)
• MONITORS: 2x DELL 2208WFP 22" 1680x1050 (Will add a 3rd soon enough)
• SPEAKERS: Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker System
• And various other "goodies"

System specs as per Speccy

My new PC... decent cable management

I still have the intention of continuing my coding on my own "Last Man Standing" mod for Arma 3, albeit it will still be slow goings, as I am working solo and learning things as I go... as for now you will still have to play (and put up with) the clunky version (BR) that is still available. Hell, I even had a few rounds of it lately... yup, still the same frustrating things to deal with. Sloppy coding FTL. Error check, error check, error check.... wait what?

I have also been involving myself in a couple of Arma 3 groups/clans to which I enjoy being a part of, playing Arma 3 in a team environment, as well as still "lurking" in various twitch.tv channels... watching, not chatting.

Don't expect too many updates over the next 3 months... but do expect something. I still "tinker" in the background although keeping it hush to the public, as it's mainly script code enhancements, bug fixing, etc... to make sure everything is correct before I move on to the next scope of my mission/mod.

Patience is the key.

-soul.

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