I keep trying to fight the seemingly inevitable getting TVL's internet service and my school to work together. I have nearly 99% given up on them. One last attempt at getting the fly box if not I will ask to switch over to Digicel.
When my internet at home Digicel runs slowly as i download things like Escape Velocity Nova or http://www.avira.com/en/free-antivirus-mac#start-download-mac I just use Lynxlet... A lynx port
version the original browser:
Lynx:
What I like about this goofy browser is it reminds me of the 80's when nothing worked right but we were happy we had something.. The Atari 2600 is a good example of that. It still works too this browser and since sometimes my connection speed is so painfully slow this browser ignore image data, javascript and everything else that requires more bits of useless bandwidth that does not change the content of the site I want too much... it's great... 80's ugly and yet useful Lynx.
And this little Silly game I am playing: Escape Velocity is a gem that Bryan got me into...
...again this is very dated software (2003ish), but still fun. Not ultra high end graphics but its very playable.. and with an old school look. This company that makes this game also wrote Defcon... which is what one of my favorite nerd movies is based on WarGames... which is the reason one of the reasons I loved computers and writing code... the main character (played by Matthew Broderick) David (movies with David Characters also a weakness of mine, yes because my name is David) at one early point in the movie Changes a girl he likes D in Math to an A by hacking into the schools computer... and She kind of falls in love with him.... This is pretty much every nerds dream, doing something with a computer and a girl likes you for the end result, and yet this is pretty much never the case.
This game makes me think while playing it "One day I will conquer this world." Oh you can see one of my ships, I upgraded to a fighter it's hovering above the saturn like planet watching some capital ship duke it out.
5:00pm
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Waited all day for anything with my principle making a decision about the internet nothing. So I played a lot of video games.
Then I got word from the paycheck gods... and Hunter sent his usual we got paid text... so I ran into town and bought a ton of great groceries... I will eat like a king for the next week or so. The golden items, cereal, potatoes, a big Bailey's, mini hotdogs, some ham, eggs... and bread. I am in food nirvana for now. Tomorrow we have a mexican night with the Whippits (it's their real name and yes I always think to myself, whip it good) the Missionary family... Thank god they live here and are so nice to us.
Back to more video gaming and an Irish coffee. :)
8:48pm
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Hung out with Jes and Mike Hawkins, I guess I spelled his name wrong probably once... he reads this blog... if you see a Hawkings... that is a typo. Sorry Tumas.
Thomas as hung out he is a G22 Vol that stayed and got married and has to two kids here in Santo/Luganville. It was a good time... albeit a little chilly. We were at my favorite Nokemal... HQ. They have good burgers for 250-350 VT, so like 2.50-2.50 usd.
Now I am back home and ready to launch back into my space adventure of EV Nova.
(23) Tuesday
I did not sleep much again but watched a pretty amazing sunrise. I think waking up at 3am. That is normal for me though. Good time to think and or read... and not many people running around yelling like they do here so often during the day. It's wearing off (it driving me nuts) it used to bother me a lot, all the Ni-van whoops and hollering... I guess everything is just so shocking or funny to them that they need to make weird noises. But at 3am, thankfully there is none... so I can read without being distracted.
If anyone knows me that know that I LOVE coffee. I drink pots of it some times in a single day. But this Tanna Coffee they sell here is so powerful that I have to add milk to it. I am used to drinking black coffee nothing added all the time in the states, but this coffee is so raw its like sucking on the tit of the cow for milk... it just overwhelms my taste buds.
But today I am looking forward to the Missionary party... and my folks did some serious digging around to get my prescription so I can order some sunglasses.
Something like these:
But if it does not happen its ok. I just want something that is polarized and protects me from this harsh sun. I really like the ran ban look too and all the new colors are nice.
3:00pm
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TVL promised ot bring over a new modem the Flybox that I wanted 3 weeks ago. If that happens I think the connection problem goes away. Finger crossed.
9:00pm
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TVL never came of course but dinner at the Whipits was amazing as usual. They had make your own tacos, tons of chips and dip, lemon aide, and after cakes, and Rich and I bought ice cream and root beer for root beer floats. Best dinner I have had in ages. I starved myself all day so I could bing at this event.
(24) Wednesday
Midnight. Woke up my normal midnight time and started writing. Finished Asimov book and now am sad I have only one left to read.
Len one of the Admin IT people from the Peace Corps, is going to visit my school next week on Friday. And I am trying to figure out what I will do in November, as things totally die during break. I might try and visit Vila for a conference and then with counterpart fly to Tanna and visit the volcano since he has family there. Something to consider.
noon
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Worked on finishing my long talked about murphy bed. Yeah... it works. It was looking kind of iffy for a moment there putting in these large steel brackets and mounting them with 1/2 bolts is not easy. They are a little bit off but I think they will last a few years. It was a pretty ambitious project I think.
2:30pm
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Met with TVL again... and they are going to give us a flybox modem, as promised the 5th time now this time they say they will give it to us on Friday. I am as you can guess, holding my breath. But if we do get it which somehow I doubt we will, this will be a great demo to see if the satellite connection solves our school woes.
7:oopm
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Well... all day I have been fighting a small cold. And now I am trying to think of a short story to write for the next van am. I skipped the last one because I did not have any great ideas and I was trying to write comedy which is the hardest things to do I think... unless you have an animated TV show and you have time to create a following and characters. But writing a one time stand alone story with less than 1000 words... that is really hard.
The kind of comedy I like is not like a whiny or like crude... the comedy central show broad city is pretty great or Rick and Morty is great but I don't want to copy them either even though R&M is basically my internal voice on life.
Might be better off skipping comedy. I went down a sci-fi path for a bit too... that is because I was reading Asimov books. Those too are pretty tough to write (sci-fi) in less than 1000 words and I was again trying in my head to be funny and it backfired horribly. I like the idea of a mystery and we had one sort of in our town... the egg conspiracy, I coined that phrase here for the 3 week disappearance of any eggs in the stores. It was not really a shortage either it was well... might write a story about it... however the that title "The Egg conspiracy" sounds more like a reproductive thing than food shortage, right?
I was up and down all night as usual. Just could not sleep plus the cold makes it worse. Started on a new short story.
(25) Thursday
7am... and I think I will try and work on a couple things, gate for short exit from house, and a cabinet face for my large locker so I can lock the cabinet up.
Also trying to get a list of pen pal names from the school next door. It is part of the world wide school program. I have a 4th grade teacher : Greensboro Day School 5401 Lawndale Drive Greensboro, NC 27455
Looking forward to getting this started.
Should be a busy day.
2:oopm
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I am sick just don't feel like moving but I went into town checked on parts to make a new cabinet door and lock for the locker in my bedroom. Ordered a couple peice of wood to be cut. Then checked on my friends internet they are working again fine. Wish the same was true at my school. Ate a bit then slept for a few hours. Not very interesting I know but that is life. Watching Taxi Driver to cheer me up.
Rich and Bryan are at my beach practicing for the triathlon swimming bit at the beach by my house. I would join them but I can't I have a fever and am coughing too much to be outside doing stuff.
That's it... oh and I found a guy that will try and use a blow torch to cut this Mug bottom into a circle:
so that Molly Geisern can make a necklace or something out of this. Not sure how this will turn out. If I had used a hammer it would just shattered, I looked a grinder that would take about 6 years. Then tried a saw again not designed for ceramics more for metals... so that did not work. But a blow torch.. that has a shot. Or it could melt the whole thing.
(26) Friday
I have been really sick all day. Went into town got a few partd to build a cabinet door. Spoke with TVL they have me the run around again... as expected No FlyBox. I almost don't care anymore.
Now I am going to hack my brains out, sweat bullets and not sleep for 15 hours. Maybe tomorrow I will feel better.
(27) Saturday
I feel terrible. Probably will do next to nothing and such today except sleep and hurt. I am working on short story... was think in of going to Vila for a conference in November... I think I will pass. I really hate going to Vila. Maybe January I will go instead.
10am and I am just dripping in sweat. I feel half crazy. Love being sick in this country. It's just great.
(28) Sunday
Had a short skype session with my mom and dad and Mila... they are fun to talk with. Trying to figure out a way to get some sun prescription ray ban wayfarer glasses to me... very tricky business. I would order this one pair I found here: http://www.selectspecs.com/prescription/confirm/
But they are 300 bucks... and if I goof up I am trying to figure out with they will let me return them.
Wow another day. I still feel like death warmed over but soon maybe I will be feeling better... Got to skype with my friend Julia... I love her, have known her for almost a decade now. Seen her through a million changes and we are still in my tight as ever. She said she might visit me here... I doubt it will happen but I don't doubt her desire to visit. It is just expensive flying to the middle of nowhere. She told me some stuff I never really think about, such as I am the kind of guy that never lets people go.
It's raining and the music festival is not going so great no that this bothers me... 90% of the music is so terrible it should be barred from being pumped through speakers. I wonder how the triathlon is going... Rich and Bryan are in it... with the rain and all it might make it worse or cool them off... not sure which would be worse.
