New design: Green.

Green. Among my favorite colors. Not really…except with green in nature..clothing, cars, shoes, houses not so much. Green means more now with the environmentalists and overall growing ideals of ‘saving’ our planet. I’m not one way into saving. I don’t save money…so what makes me think I can save a planet? *chuckle* I know this isn’t a WOW topic but who cares. (?) I DO watch what I litter– I will throw out gum, food particles and such from my car. I don’t recycle anything at home ever since someone stole our “GREEN” tub for recyclables. I DO give my assistant unused or used paper that she recycles and I go through alot of paper. I also re-use paper for my printer at home. I DID shut off lights during that hour last month and hung with newly found friend Logtar/John last year at his place for the same event. Hmmm seems that I do ‘do’ stuff that helps…albeit in a very minor way. I just don’t go out of my way doing so, that’s the cynical in me…or is it me being mean. (?)

Anyways, I saw that WordPress released this new Theme and it looked good. I may have to spice it up with a banner or maybe update the subtitle with my favorite movie quotes. Fuck, I don’t know. I have a headache. This weather in Kansas wreaks havoc on my immune system, one day it’s 80 and sunny..few hours later a Tornado is down the street, next I have to turn on the furnace. 

Could be the Swine Flu. I really do think the media (blogs, newspapers, CNN, AP) can only think of doomsday talking points. One scenario put out (posted) is from the Associated Press saying if a pandemic did happen 2 million of us would die (2%) in the U.S. I just hope those 2 million people would be rapists, murderers and evil people in general. Leave the innocent alone…k? k.

Well last night we did an impromptu run in OS. Full 100% Guild run. We had: Me (AutumnKnight), Ygraane, Starforce, Moon, Sokym, Smidgeon, Gonzo, Froto, Logtar and Honjuder. We cleared the mobs after a couple wipes here and there then the boss fight was also fun. We tried 5 times and got the mofo down to 600k HP.  Froto did an excellent job leading the group and the advice Gonzo gave also helped. We are going for it again tonight and after, if we have enough 10m Naxx. Our DPS has certainly made some progress, heals are great and the tanks simply need to do some homework on boss fights- as well as our OWN homework for boss fights. It’s a live/die and learn experience which is AOK with me since we are doing this as a guild. IF we had a pugger last night he/she would have left early on…we stuck to it and got it nearly done. 

Great work guildies!

4000

I hit 4000 points this weekend — I thought I would top it off with killing Turkeys in under 3 minutes. The irony being supposed wasted time. Is it? Not for me. =) Talking with McTeague he just hit 4010 with the completion of the new late event ingame Gardner. I also finished it up within 4 hours of starting it yesterday morning. I have the new title “AutumnKnight the Noble” …indeed.  WoW also has the orphan event starting this weekend as well – which I need to finish ASAP! My goal is 1000 points a month. Or 500. Whichever comes first.

I had a wonderful relaxing weekend and the weather was perfect. My time ingame was spent doing misc. things (besides the points) and I also scheduled Tuesday night for Naxx 10 Man run. Every Tuesday will be Naxx 10 MAN. I posted the sign up/invites on the calendar so If you need an invite let me know–( I did a mass invite of all 80s’ plus some friends of mine & yours). I hope to get us on a regular schedule for these type of raids, I can only do this with your help. 

My next focus is leveling up Wootbeer- I just sent 1000g for her to purchase the ability to dual spec- shes only 72 but 73 is 1.5 bubbles away, she was my favorite toon for awhile =)…   If anyone ever needs a low 70’s tank- hook me up. 

We added a few new faces this week– please check out the pages above for rules and rank and our history. I can sum up most of it with: rank is based on participation – you will remain a “new recruit” for at the most 2 weeks. This is to see if there is a ‘fit’ for all concerned. New recruits can only deposit items into the bank, if you want something from the bank just ASK an OFFICER and they can get it for you– remember to deposit 10g.  Rules are simple too– mutual respect.  Raid rules- be prepared, do your own homework on boss fights, have the correct and updated add-ons and BE patient.

I had to.

If video doesn’t upload click HERE.

My Ass is even more big and hairy: Mount Drop

The WoW gods were smiling at me last night. I log in around 10 pm and get asked to heal a 10m Vault. I was told the off tank and main healer left them high and dry after only the trash pulls… the rest of the make up was pure 100% Old Schoolers. I join up, summoned and quickly have to redo my talents….I did it half assed due to peer pressure.   We were only missing a tank so I got a hold of Chiiby (former DK tank of OS). We clear the rest of trash with ease….sorta…I was still placing my spells in the toolbar when Chiiby pulled. LOL……lol…….

Long story short– we take boss down one shot, no deaths. 3 Purples drop: Druid Chest, Warrior Chest and……..drum roll please…………REINS of the GRAND BLACK WAR MOUNT! but wait…let’s rewind…

There I was– reeling from a long days work and after work: clients, customers and co-workers….then going to my son’s track meet where he threw 31 feet and three quarter inch Shot Put…..40 something feet worth of Discus in the blazing heat. Driving back from the meet I was greeted with the sound of a dying engine that may go to FORD heaven any day now…we get home at 6:15 and I grab a Bud Light to lessen the days worth of ugh-ness. My son quickly goes to his room and is frantically arranging a date with his new girlfriend. My wife calls and will be running late– State is in town at her work which means she’s going to be put to the test of stress levels much like those in the NASA programs.

Last night was my daughters year end Concert (she plays the Clarinet) with the other 5th grade through 12th grade Shawnee Mission West High Schoolers. We arrive 7 mins late after 7 mins of looking for a parking space….why do handicapped people have the best spots??!?? Let alone all the police cruisers having their own parking lot…anways…   I search for her in the 800 students sitting in SMWest’s gym and need to go to the other side to find her…took awhile for my Jedi powers to kick in for her to see me in her side vision..but she did and we made ‘faces’ for the next 20 mins off and on. The concert ends just over an hour later and I give her kisses and words of encouragement to stay away from boys and then we (alo and ash) head back home but make a sidetrack to Chick-Fil-A for some good eats….long day.

OK– back to the vault..my eyes go wide and I smile and am wanting my wife to be near me when I roll but JUST before I hear her daughter yelling alllllll the fooook waaaay down in the basement for her mother. The ‘MOOooOOOOooooOOmmmm!!!’  kept repeating….and repeating….and repeating…. (did I mention I’m in vent?)- Alo is on the phone with her boss…. so my frustration ended with me YELLING “SHES ON THE PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!” — I hear a “OK!”  but soon realized my pinky finger was on the PUSH TO TALK button for vent while I yelled……….sigh………I apologize to everyone in vent for yelling like that, I turned a few shades of red when I realized it. hehe…. so my wife goes down to see what she wants.

I slowly type /roll   each character taking at least 5 seconds each….I close my eyes before I hit ‘return’ key…. I rolled a 78. I blinked. I was 3rd to roll (I usually like to roll last)…I see a 74….I blink again….I see a 2…a 1 (Chiiby)….then I hear the worlds most calmest voice over vent- Patrick…his words bumbling out (He is master looter)….”Oh….should I umm….roll?” “Hmm…ummm….ummm yeah……I guess I should huh?”……”Hmm…..” by this time I am not blinking, I’m staring…..staring at the numbers…seeing a 74 and my 78…….the background of Patrick formulating complete sentences and fluidity failing…..he is last to roll……..

He rolls a 2.

I win. Did I? Wait…did I?  I won a 1%-2% ULTRA rare drop mount?  Really? Really??

Yes I did.

She’s a beauty!

Thanks for the timely invite everyone!

Slow and Low that is the Tempo

WoTLK has been out since Obama has been elected 100+ days. In that time I have only made one level 80 toon: AutumnKnight. In that time I only just last night made the cap on Fishing, Cooking and Jewel Crafting…granted I could have finished it earlier. I could have done this and that but I wanted to do it at my own pace, if there was something I needed and it was a few skill points away then I would go for it- asking guildies for mats, farming them myself and in other cases buying them from the auction house. Usually I hit the AH when I’m very close and don’t want to waste time (irony) farming/asking/coordinating. I gave myself my usual pat on the back and 2 fist pumps in the air with my Alo looking over at me smiling and congratulating me as well as my guild giving me the ‘grats!’ or ‘grass’. Accomplishing goals in WoW is what makes it addictive. I’ve said before that this game is the best game for anyone with any levels of obsessive compulsion disorders OR any form of ‘ives…it will happily give you many things to do. You just have to want to do them. 

The only thing I’ve left to do MAIN profession wise is acquire the Heavy Bandage and Tailoring (447/450)- the tailoring one is simply me committing to doing the cool down cloth (3 days) in the Northrend areas. I’ll get there. 

I do have a friendly motivator besides my ego, and that’s Nyghtkill/mare has been on an achievement run for the past few weeks and is in the 3400’s and the kicker is he’s running on a Deathknight. That’s impressive (besides DK’s were/are overpowered…) =)  We made a tentative deal to work together and move up the AP ladder. I would love to get 5000 before summer ramps up.

I hit 3805 last night– so I have a ways to go!  This weekend is another Festival/Holiday– I may need to read up on that. See everyone online!

Patch 3.1 and Vent = Bannings!!! WOOOT

I got hung at 98% and couldn’t get further, tried a few times and said fuck it. Talked to Sam and Colleen lastnight so I was able to get some skinny on the vault run (lol), as well as the smell and toxicity of Sams computer burning up with his wife rolling her eyes at him. I can picture it. I did. 

Instead I contributed to our 4 feet X 5 feet canvas we bought last week and drew (draw) my wifes eyes and eyebrow with slashes of her vibrant red hair in my minds eye. Using colored pencil and pastels on canvas take more work and strokes than normal and the residuals are waiting to be smudged or blown off by a breath of non-saliva air. It’s going to be an interesting piece when it’s all done and hope we can finish it up soon (4-6 weeks) since I’ve already noticed it gets wear and tear, smudges and more smudges as we work on it. Finishing it off with some fixative will be key to keeping it fresh…and so clean clean.

I read up on the new specs/talents and it looks promising sans some things I will miss in being a Priest, -40% mana…..yikes…but I will play and see before making my all-mighty and important judgement post. I hope to be able to log in tonight. 

YOU KNOW YOU’VE BEEN BANNED WHEN—

• If you abuse our vent you will be banned to the depths of the frozen hell of North Dakota working as a pig farmer with only one leg.
• If someone logs in on your I.P. and it’s not you and they get stinking drunk and recite excerpts from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE in pig latin you will be banned, even though I love A CLOCKWORK ORANGE others may not.
• If you log in to our vent under some strange name no one recognizes like “DirkDigglerDidYourDog” or “WookieLube” or “Logtarded” then you will be banned! (Use your screen name or reals, it’s real easy to change it…)
• If your 12, 13, 14 or 15 and come in cussing up a storm to random members for no apparent reason other than your parent failing to do his/her job as a parent by keeping tabs on you or that your single parent is too busy blowing the mailman or woman to notice you yelling at strangers in vent…then you will be banned. I will be your parent in that moment…if not right then….then…later when I log in ..after your mom just blew me.

If you are in a bad mood, drunk, buzzed, angry, pissed off DO stay in vent if you are in the guild…we are here to help you in your time of need. Need to talk to others in private? There are rooms you and others can talk in private, use them.  You won’t be banned for having real life. We are friends, albeit online…we are all still friends.

Wootbeer Part 1

She’s 3 feet and 5 inches tall. She has black hair with 2 very peppy pony tails. She is a gnome. Not a lawn gnome or a travelocity gnome but a gnome of war. She grew up in Lawrence Kansas which happens to be the birth place of the worlds most illustrious collegiate NCAA Division 1A Basketball team the Kansas Jayhawks. Wootbeer was given her birth name by sheer luck. Who cannot deny the pure beauty of combining “Woot” which is among the few choice words of the gods when they are in joyous celebrations with “Beer” to which these gods drink, drank drunk for eons. Combined they made the perfect combo for this little one named “Wootbeer”. 

Brought up during the Clinton Years (Hillary…not Bill) and going to public schools, Woot quickly realized her potential for being a Tank. The streets of Lawrence aren’t always being marched upon down Mass St. with the Rainbow Coalition or Gay Rights crowd. No…the mean streets of Lawrence are filled with drunken 6th year college students filled with as much angst and entitlement as any illegal alien crossing the border into the U.S.A.  Woot was picked on for her pint size… constantly. Challenged by height she overcame these obstacles of ridicule by using it to her advantage. Ever see a Jack Russell on Red Bull? I have and it ain’t pretty. Wootbeer was soo quick and agile she was able to Dodge anyone’s attacks. She was a blur and still is, depending on what food she eats. Once she established the reputation of being someone…a gnome-someone not to be messed with things went smoothly…for awhile.

She grew up spiritually with full support from her parents to read, discuss, research and attend all religions, her parents thought it best to be open minded when it comes to one’s soul. In the end she followed the path of science. Agnostic. She believes in a higher being but needs some type of proof…she believes in the soul but not damnation or any terms of ‘hell’. She believes in people and herself, seems good enough to Wootbeer which is good enough for me, the author.

Graduating in the lower half of her High School class of 1989…..(to be continued…it’s a work in below amateurish writing…bubblegum for infants….)

DPS tips

DPS seems to be moving along nicely for the continual need of ‘good’ dps in the form of consistent dps. DPS has it easy in that they only really have to ROLL a good roll for upgrades when they run 10m and 25’s. DPS (Damage Per Second). Most DPS can simply do Winters Grasp (WG) or Battlegrounds (BG) and Arena to upgrade– this works great for those who aren’t too social or don’t like to pug it up. I started my WoW experience as a Hunter (WookieLuv) and currently stuck at 71. I bore easily. 

Just going to point out quick and easy ways to gear up for DPS players. Some may  seem obvious but w/e. Once I do get out of the doldrums of playing Wook I will be playing WG and BG’s and if able some Arena. Arena gear is THE BEST DPS GEAR one can get in the game as of today. If you don’t want to go that route of Arena then your next best thing is WG/BG’s (WintersGrasp and Battlegrounds) Yes, It may become monotonous, tedious but you will get the Honor, Rep and Kills you want to cash in for gear. Some call it “Welfare Gear” but I take offense to that, you DO have to spend the time to get it, you DO have to be there…fuck you all who think PvP isn’t earned. yes. fuck. you. The benefits of doing BG’s is as mentioned: Rep and Honor. If you are into achievement points like I am there are  a TON of achievements one can do in each BG. Since most players are slightly OCD these APs (Achievement Points) can be a great barometer and pride for garnering them. 100 kills, 1000 kills, 5000 kills, 10000 kills and more. Check out the AP’s for BG’s…you probably won’t run out of things to do. To ‘see’ what you can do simply log in to the Armory and click the appropriate tab. Mine are listed here– I have a way to go….

The last bastion of gearing up is doing the “duh” ones– going into raids, heroics. If you are pugging it up try and be selective especially if there are more than +1 of your spec. i.e. 6 Hunters in a 25m raid means you will have to roll against those people and your odds suck. Like navigating an asteroid field suckage. Also keep notes (I do…) of whom you have run with before and see if they are in your raid group. I mostly make notes on those players that suck, bossy, cause wipes, go afk, make excuses– if there are a majority of these types in the raid I will pass, I will apologize to the raid leader and simply tell him the truth. “Hey, I’ve ran with so and so and my past experiences have been bad, so much so I’m going to have to pass on this run, thanks for the invite”. I use this phrase with my healer AK– 9 times out of 10 if the guilty person is NOT in their guild they will kick that person and I stay. Most raid leaders understand that 1-3 bad apples in a raid means chaos dissent and people leaving the raid. Wasting everyone’s time is not my goal. =D DPS is slightly different in that you are a dime a dozen but not so much dime a dozen for sustainable high dps, sadly this is only found out while IN game. You CAN be replaced easily. If you are on the lower half of the DPS chart and your raid/grp is wiping on trash (dying) then YOU will be blamed for it…provided heals are working. lol   So with that knowledge you need to gear up. Ask your friends with high DPS what they use, similar gear, how they got up there, what specific combos they use. 90% of all players in my guesstimation use their own tried and true key combos on all mobs/pvp or pve. Ask them, it’s not a big deal to ask….DeathKnights are especially keen to their timing and combos with cooldowns- much like Mages and others….all classes. 

Asking is the other half of the battle.

Old School Instances

This weekend Rob (Froto) and Buffmama (don’t know her real name) invited me to AQ40 and we completed it with minor hiccups, since it was a pre BC raid most things (npcs) will be minor except where certain boss fights that do require some communication to downing bosses. I acquired 2 of the in-instance Mounts (red and green) which was awesome in itself but also some tier drops (not sure which tier…) but most importantly it was great to BE there even if it’s nerfed. Final boss if C’Thun or to those in the know of geekdom it is a direct reference to Cthulhu– the boss it’s self is a mirror image of Cthulhu with it’s tentacles, it’s EYE and attacks. One of the cool aspects of the fight is some people get tossed into it’s stomach and you have to get out asap before you die from it’s DOT.  It was a short but FUN run and recommend it to anyone who has never been plus you get purples, mounts and you can tell your grandkids you took down C’Thun!

My guild also partook in a gauntlet run of Heroics from the Outlands this weekend, we had a slew of instances some of us never ran or finished, we did all the ones in Coilfang (sans SSC) then went to Hellfire Penn- garnered a ton of greens, rep and AP’s! 

I was lucky to have generous friends this weekend to loan me their time to move me up the ladder of reputation of Cenarion Expedition to exalted and promptly spent 1600 gold on the most beautiful mount ingame. Thanks everyone!

Travian

A co-worker that isn’t named Logtar got me into a browser based game called “Travian”. It is on the surface a simple sim-hex war game, underneath is a complex, heavy strat game. Here are some links that can do a much better explanation. Travian.com  Wikipedia, Its OWN Wiki  or just google it. 

My experience is running now on 2 months. My friend is a semi-hardcore player and manages several accounts. (sounds familiar) It’s a FREE MMO game where you can pick 3 races and you can choose to build or raid..or you can do both. Each race (Roman, Teuton & Gaul) have their own pros and cons. Ideally the Gauls and Romans are the ‘easiest’ to play while Teutons are for more raid oriented players. What I find interesting is that there is an END to the game. I’ll get to that a little bit later. 

What is addicting is that you can play at your own pace. Have a browser? You can play. Have a goal in mind, you can get to it if you read up on the helpful tips and FAQs’, it’s amazing how much one can learn from reading a short blurb….what is NOT amazing is the information the game creators themselves tell you how to play the game. Yes there are FAQ’s and instructions but the information provided is lackluster and the gems of info are only found on user sites, forums from your “Alliance” or various places. It lacks a focus. I believe it’s on purpose. 

I was lucky to ‘know’ someone…it would be a daunting game for me if I didn’t know anyone or went solo without any guidance. I was able to get into an “Alliance” or clan, guild, team…of these alliances they do have rules like any other organization. Be sure to read what they require of you, don’t waste their time or yours.  

The basics of the game is you must register among several servers. You can easily ‘see’ how many players play as they display the numbers on each tab. You may want to do some research as mentioned above there is an ending to the game. They have ‘seasons’ usually lasting just over one year or more– in the game — it’s ends when an alliance builds a “world wonder’ or ww. It sounds simple but the WW is being attacked by other alliances and the only in game NPC’s called the “Natars”. The Natars are an NPC that will attack everyone towards the end– once the WW is built- usually by a number of Alliances cooperating the server season ends. Game over. No worries though as a ‘new season’ is brought up within days (from what I read). I am currently on 5 servers- of which one is very close to the end…on that server im only building…I love the idea that I can play for free, there is an ending and it does make me think about what I’m doing. I also love that on my main server (6) I am making headway into what would be the beginning of FUN. The initial startup for your “village” is very very slow and I think they should improve that with the next update…you start slowly building your resources; wood, iron, clay and crop. Each one of these resources helps ‘build’ your infrastructure/buildings but also builds your army. Each build will add to your villages population (it doesn’t raise population if your only building up your resources…only village buildings)- of which adds more options to your buildings. It’s almost a never ending story of ‘building’. I like that. ONCE you get a steady income of resources via your farms or raiding* you will move along faster. 

*raiding– all 3 tribes can raid. Meaning you make an army and go out and attack/raid your neighbors for their resources. Sounds mean but it’s the game in a nutshell. As mentioned before each tribe has pros and cons and this appplies to raiding. By far the fastest raiders are the Teutons and they have the ability to raid “crannies” which is like a secret storage house that holds your resources which other raiders cannot get to *unless your a teuton raider*. So, if you have a decent sized offensive army you don’t necc. have to build up your resouces, you can live off your neighbors…let them do all the work for you. This is called “Farming”. Of course if you go this route of sustenance you WILL be attacked by others doing the same thing or for retribution for stealing their hard earned resources. But damn it’s FUN!

The flip side is the “Sim” player who doesn’t raid. They build and build and build. In order to build they need defensive forces– the best equipped tribes for that are the Gauls and Romans. A strong defense will stop the raiders in their tracks as most defenders have the advantage if they have the proper troops in their village. I am siming on another server and I was being raided until I was able to build up 200-300 defensive troops which wiped out some very expensive (to make) offensive troops. Those 4 raiders never bothered me again..knock on wood. 

If you are interested in playing Travian– remember it’s free…I’m on server 6, Roman and in the 200’s/90’s area — I forget the area (NW, SW, etc.) and would happy to help you play, grow and experience the game!