Tag: programming

A Little About Me – Programming

On By mikeykjrIn Personal1 Comment

I got the programming bug before the Internet existed. Then the Internet was born with a platform I could understand. It’s stuck with me ever since. Eventually, I attended college to get my Associate’s Degree in Computer Science. A lot of money for nothing and still paying on it. Today, I continue to dabble in HTML, CSS, MySQL, and PHP. This works out great for the game I play, Achaea – Dreams of Divine Lands.

In the early 1980’s, a friend of mine, Andy, had an Apple I computer. He taught me how to program in BASIC. We didn’t do much, but we tinkered around with some silly stuff. For some reason, I got the bug for programming.

My father bought a computer with Windows 1, the first operating system from Microsoft. Not sure why he bought one, perhaps it was just a ‘thing’ to have at the time. I spent more time on that computer than my father. Then the Internet was born; the world as we know it changed. We signed up with America Online (AOL). It was the only trusted provider available at the time. Building you’re own website became the thing. It wasn’t hard to do at all and I had lots of fun at it while learning HTML.

Eventually, I had a chance to attend college. I immediately chose a path to study for an Associate’s in Computer Science. Tech was taking off in all directions, so I thought that would be my best road to my future. Unfortunately, the degree wasn’t worth the paper it was written on, nor the amount of money I paid in student loans. Despite this, I continued to learn various computer programs over the years on my own, not really becoming proficient in any.

Now the present…

I have been playing Achaea – Dream of Divine Lands since its inception in 1997. It is a free text-character-based game with no graphics and is completely free to play, even today. Over the years, I have had various characters (due to my alcoholic life) and always wanted to bring new players to the game. There was one obstacle. The producers forbid releasing information on a public level. While this still stands true to a sense, it doesn’t mean I can’t create my own website and content with certain restrictions.

Over the years, I gained a lot of knowledge dabbling in HTML, CSS, MySQL, and PHP (websites and databases). So, with all the time on my hands, due to current circumstances, I’m creating a website and database with all the information I have gathered from the game. It’s quite extensive. Since I’m not an expert in current languages like HTML, CSS, MySQL, and PHP, there are many things I have to learn. This takes time because many websites aren’t current with new versions of these languages.

After months of trial and error, I finally found something I understand and can work with. While there is still a learning curve on all fronts, it is possible. Therefore, I look forward to getting what I have dreamed of for ages up and running, even if it can’t be used publicly.

In short, just call me a computer programming nerd! Now you know me a little better….

Challenging Weekend Ahead

On By mikeykjrIn Achaea, Personal2 Comments

Starting a new life of recovery is always difficult with a whole host of challenges. While most of the World is sleeping, I’m awake purposely because I work the night shift (overnights). It’s Winter where I live and it’s unexpectedly brutal outside, so I have to find other things to do. Despite these challenges and others, I am committed to stay sober and will be grateful when all is said and done.

When one starts recovery, they go through withdrawal from the substance. This experience can range from mild to severe depending on the person and length of how long the person has been addicted to the substance. I just started a recovery journey after a two to three year alcoholic bender. At the end I was drinking anywhere from four to six beers a night on workdays to more than 48 beers (a thirty pack and 15 pack plus) on weekends. I was expecting the worst. Thankfully, I have not had a rough road at all during my “detox” period. However, there are cases where withdrawal can appear again in ones future without them noticing it. So I must be persistent and vigilant in my observations. For now, I’m actually doing quite well.

As mentioned in other posts on this blog, I work for a major retailer on the night shift (overnights). For the last couple of decades I have also worked this shift with other employers. I have a set schedule when I go to bed and when I wake up. Weekends are on Monday and Tuesdays. Despite the loneliness, I surround myself with a list of projects from playing games, genealogy and learning programming. It just depends on my mood what I dabble into. The point here is that when I drink, nothing gets accomplished because I just from one project to another and back again. Then I forget what I did and do it all over again and again and again.

Winter doesn’t help. For the next three to four months temperatures here will drop enough where it is not comfortable to go outside. What does one do when nothing is open? Either I just walk around the block or I take long trip playing Pokemon Go. I haven’t done that since my last sobriety, thus I need to find other things to do going back to my project list.

I play a game I’ve been involved in since 2006, Achaea – Dreams of Divine Lands. It is not, at all, a kind of game people play today with all graphics and popular games kids play today. Back then it was a time of no graphics, dial in modems and Telenet which was played around the World. It’s all old school..text character based, role playing, guilds, cities, questing, combat, etc set in a medieval type time period. The game evolves based on how we (the adventurers) interact with other. The Gods (admin) throw in some other things to get other things going too. This game has brought my experience of programming to a whole new level (however, it is NOT needed to play the game..it just enhances the experience).

This is not an actual screenshot of my screen but
a random image off the internet of what I use to play the game.

Anywho, I could talk for HOURS about this game. Moving on..

Where was I? Oh, a passion of mine – programming. I have an Associates degree in Computer Science. Unfortunately, I have never been able to use it in the real world. But I still enjoy programming when I get the chance. I have learned HTML, PHP, MYSQL on my own, thus attempted to incorporate it when playing the game (to keep track of things for myself). Again, over the years, I start it, scrap it, start it over and never ending cycle continues. Today, I hope, to stop that cycle. “Rome wasn’t build in day” and neither will this for what I have planned.

Alright, I think I have a plan for this weekend and need to get to it. Honestly, at the present moment, I have no desire to drink. Have I thought about it? Yes, there are moments it has occurred but either I have said the Serenity Prayer or searched for something to read about sobriety to help abate the feeling. Honestly, saying it out loud makes me nervous for some reason (taking deep breaths).

The gauntlet has been cast down. Challenge accepted. We shall prevail!

A Few Things About Me

On By mikeykjrIn PersonalLeave a comment

This morning I was reviewing new posts by those that I follow on WordPress. I especially like Just Ruminating (Rob).  He, like me, tends to write a lot about sobriety. So, let’s change it up.

A Few Things About Me

“Well, dear readers, today I thought I would just have a little fun and share ten facts about me. Just as a way of sharing a different side of things. My entire life is not about recovery, nor does it have to be.” – Rob.

NOTE:  I only did five because of reasons noted below . . .

So here you go:

1. I’m a computer geek at heart.

Since I was a young child, I have always loved computers. Systems such as the Commodore 64, Apple I and II, Atari 2600 game system were all introduced to the public during my youth. Then there was “The World Wide Web” or “The Internet” as we know it today. I remember protocols like Gopher, FTP, or browsers like Netscape (eventually Mozilla). Web page design was quite easy and everyone was doing it! The Apple and the IBM PC were the first computers I actually “programmed” using the BASIC programming language. I tinkered with computers until the ripe age of 40 when I actually got my degree. My first degree in college was an Associates of Applied Science in Computer Science Information Technology. Technology has jumped leaps and bounds since the beginning days of Microsoft and Apple. Today I have a had time keeping up withe my own network of six computers running with different projects running on them all at once. I love Free Open Source Software (FOSS), as it enables people like me to view the code behind the program and help build the current version by fixing problems. My current programming project is reviving an old project called Blue Smiley Organizer – Bookmark Manager.

2. Nature and My Spirituality

As disclosed previously, I am a Witch. Again, I don’t talk about it much because of the stigmas of modern society. During the 1980’S there was a revival in the practice of Witchcraft, many of us became Wiccans. During my youth I was always pulled to Nature (the ocean, mountains, sun, moon, stars, astrology, etc.) I was very opposed to mainstream religion (the dogma of them all). I always wondered who our ancestors, those before the mainstream religions, looked to for answers in their lives. I was intrigued with mythology but always had a hard time remember who was who. To me They were all the same (as They are). Over the years I have removed myself from the dogma of Wicca, now practicing Modern Traditional Witchcraft. I not an old hag, with a wort on my nose, a pointy hat and howling at the full moon casting hexes on people. Nor am I a Warlock (for other reasons). I am a normal human being, jeans t-shirt guy with a normal life who believes that there is more in the Universe than the dogmas of modern religions. Today, I use them as my Higher Power in sobriety, as I believe it was Their intervention that saved my life.

2. Dragons and Wolves

My ideal house would be decorated with Dragons on one side and Wolves on the other. There is just something with both species that intrigues me. Are Dragons just mythological creatures? Personally, as strange as it may seem to many, I believe they did exist at one time and now are found on another Plan of Existence. With that, I will end. Wolves, on the other hand, are just magical creatures in themselves. What draws me to them are their behaviors/personalities (I can’t think of the correct word). One minute they can be communal, hunting in packs, tending to their young, kind and gentle. On the other hand, they can be ferocious striking fear in their prey or to keep potential predators away. In the Native American culture, the wolf is considered a medicine being associated with courage, strength, loyalty, and success at hunting. There is a story about wolves I can share later.

3. I’m gay.

Those who know me tend to be surprised by this fact when deep down its quite obvious. At some point in my friendships they will ask, “Mike are you gay?”. For a very long time, I was ashamed of who I was but knew that I couldn’t change who I was – it was something biological, not a choice. I lived in an era when the stigma of the LGBT community reached a climax at the discovery of HIV/AIDS. I would say that stigma has diminished over the decades and I can only hope that it continues. I tend to keep this part of me private because do I ask my straight friends, “Hey, who are you sleeping with, man or woman?” We are all human, just biologically we have different sexual organs by we all experience the same emotions. So why can’t a man love another man, a woman love another woman? Save the argument, I’ve heard it all before.

4. I’m an avid reader

I tend to enjoy fictional literature more than non-fiction. Obviously anything with Dragons or wolves is an automatic read for me. For instance, The Loop by Nicholas Evans is one of my favorites. There are a couple series that I own for obvious reasons, like the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisinger, etc. ) series. I love series like The Vampire Chronicles (Interview with a Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, etc.), the Dune Novels by Frank Herbert, and The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. I try to keep all the books I read using Goodreads. Check out my Goodreads profile here.

5. Love – It’s Complicated

I had very few romantic relationships in my life for various reasons. Honestly, about five (Yes, 5!) total. Today, I’m involved in a relationship (I hope) with someone that I met a few years back. He’s serving a 3 to 7 year sentence for a petite larceny charge. It’s hard to describe the relationship because I’m not sure if what he is telling me is truthful. I won’t know until he gets released. I know, I know, I’ve heard it from everyone, especially my Sponsor (who also spent a majority of his life in prison) – he’s manipulating you. But I argue that there is a different side to him, when he is sober, that NO ONE knows but me. I’ve seen both sides; he’s completely different sober. However, I have to keep two things in mind. One, he is an addict and will always be an addict. Therefore, he may be manipulating me. Second, I could be infatuated (blinded by love) with him, thus I’m not thinking straight. Right now, prison walls separate us as he serves time four hours away in a Northern New York State prison. But I do talk to him on the phone on a regular basis. I don’t know – it’s complicated.

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With that I will end. Obviously, I can write and write and write for you to read until your blue in the face. Many times I think I write to much and it’s all unorganized, thus no one really reads it. Personally, I don’t care. Blogging is more for me, so I can get thoughts down and clear my mind.