Stuff
Well, my mini-vacation has reminded me how nice it is to get away from things, though it wasn't long enough to make the most of it. It'll probably be a while before I get a chance to go somewhere-other-than-here for a week or more. Finances are a seriously limiting factor in that.
And on the topic of finances, I'm considering a bundled internet/phone/TV service. One of the local cable company's people was by recently with their pitch. At a glance, it does seem an improvement, but I'm always wary of additional stuff. Taxes. Increases after the introductory period. "Equipment" costs. It's hard to know for sure how good a deal it may or may not be. And while he pointed out I could keep my phone number, I actually find I'm far, far more attached to my email address. If I chance my phone number, there are perhaps half a dozen people to tell. Change my email and it impacts several bank/billing sites, some game accounts, several forum registrations, a fair number of contacts, and probably many things I wouldn't think of off-hand. I might be able to maintain my current email address for a minimal fee with my current provider, but that's still an additional cost, if so. I'm also a little nervous about the thought of going to a cable modem rather than DSL, even in exchange for a higher maximum speed. I don't know if I want to pursue this or not...
Work feels like one of those lulls in the storm. Monday and Tuesday were crazy busy, but things have calmed down some. There are some major projects and looming deadlines, but right now there's nothing I can do toward these until other things fall into place. It leads to a simmering, low-level anxiety. I guess that's better than full-blown stress, right?
In Guild Wars, attention seems to have shifted to trying to rack up Hall of Monuments points for stuff in GW2. I'm still unconvinced of the value of the unlocked items, so I guess I'm lagging behind in interest compared to the rest of the guild. It also didn't help that in the evening there were only three of us, and I'd been pushed into doing things in the morning when my mind was elsewhere. But I shouldn't be so grumbly about it either. I do have some interest. I do expect to at least try GW2, and unlocked items are usually a nice convenience whether they're a measurable advantage or not. I did want to pick up Elite Imperial armor at some point. It's a little upgrade in appearance. I might be more interested in the other elite armors if they actually appealed to me - I appreciate some of the styles, but I just like the Imperial best. And in pursuit of this black moa chick, I think I've only been to one of the critical locations with the wrong character so I should get on at some point and do some running around myself. What else do I want to pursue? I'm not sure how time-consuming the weapons are - probably a lot more so than it seems at first (which is probably my number one frustration with GW achievements). I would like to get some more heroes their armor so they can count, even though I don't use them often currently. I've a pet to level up, but I don't have much interest in hunting down miniatures. I'm undecided on what titles might be worthwhile. I can't say I like reputation grinds, no matter what game I'm playing. I guess we'll see about the other stuff.
WoW is settling yet from the big patch. Some people may still have cause to complain, but I think protection paladins are in a fine (if not perfect) place. The patch has marked the return of "block capping" as a strategy, which we haven't really seen since Wrath was released. Wacky. I'm okay with where my tanking capability is at the moment, though a little worried for others, still. Our druid tank is still highly concerned about threat. I've heard one of our guild members complaining about tanks' inability to hold aggro - which is a little frustrating because I try to make this person realize their DPS is so high, only the best-geared and practiced tanks will stand a chance (and you don't see them that often in random dungeons). To some extent, it's a DPS class' responsibility to manage their own threat. Saying "well, if the tank can't hold them, I'll just keep going to kill the target as fast as possible" is sort of the wrong way to go about it. In most cases these days (with current gear levels and tuning), it might actually work, but it's teaching everyone involved lessons that don't work if you're facing "at level" challenges.
I think I want to pick up Fallout: New Vegas, though the reports of bugs make me less in a hurry to do so. Granted, most of the "OMG, so buggy" reviews I've read were of the X360 version, and a patch is probably going to show up pretty quick, but it's enough that I haven't rushed out to buy it yet.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 looks all pretty in the commercials and such. I wonder if there will be a demo on PS3 again. ... Okay, so now that I look, there was one supposed to be released last week. Maybe I'll check that out. I wanted to like the first one, but the bugs and control quirks made it far too frustrating. Based on that, I'd just as soon borrow the sequel or something rather than buy it.
I really don't remember any video game making me motion sick. Until Minecraft. Turning the view bobbing off seems to have fixed that, but the first couple times I played. Ugh. It's interesting. A cute little game-in-development that's very basic in many ways. It also reminds me of Daggerfall, even though it's a very different game. The world is made of blocks of different sorts. You can destroy/harvest them and use them to build things yourself. In darkness (including at night or unlit caves), monsters can spawn. But really the high points of the game are exploring, harvesting, and building. And the world is randomly generated as you wander past what you've seen (which is where the Daggerfall comparison comes in). There are theoretical borders to the world (and I have dug down to near the lowest level), but you could wander in one direction for who knows how long without hitting a "wall." It works as an occasional simple time waster at home, slowly expanding a raised, lit bridge between mines and such.
And on the topic of finances, I'm considering a bundled internet/phone/TV service. One of the local cable company's people was by recently with their pitch. At a glance, it does seem an improvement, but I'm always wary of additional stuff. Taxes. Increases after the introductory period. "Equipment" costs. It's hard to know for sure how good a deal it may or may not be. And while he pointed out I could keep my phone number, I actually find I'm far, far more attached to my email address. If I chance my phone number, there are perhaps half a dozen people to tell. Change my email and it impacts several bank/billing sites, some game accounts, several forum registrations, a fair number of contacts, and probably many things I wouldn't think of off-hand. I might be able to maintain my current email address for a minimal fee with my current provider, but that's still an additional cost, if so. I'm also a little nervous about the thought of going to a cable modem rather than DSL, even in exchange for a higher maximum speed. I don't know if I want to pursue this or not...
Work feels like one of those lulls in the storm. Monday and Tuesday were crazy busy, but things have calmed down some. There are some major projects and looming deadlines, but right now there's nothing I can do toward these until other things fall into place. It leads to a simmering, low-level anxiety. I guess that's better than full-blown stress, right?
In Guild Wars, attention seems to have shifted to trying to rack up Hall of Monuments points for stuff in GW2. I'm still unconvinced of the value of the unlocked items, so I guess I'm lagging behind in interest compared to the rest of the guild. It also didn't help that in the evening there were only three of us, and I'd been pushed into doing things in the morning when my mind was elsewhere. But I shouldn't be so grumbly about it either. I do have some interest. I do expect to at least try GW2, and unlocked items are usually a nice convenience whether they're a measurable advantage or not. I did want to pick up Elite Imperial armor at some point. It's a little upgrade in appearance. I might be more interested in the other elite armors if they actually appealed to me - I appreciate some of the styles, but I just like the Imperial best. And in pursuit of this black moa chick, I think I've only been to one of the critical locations with the wrong character so I should get on at some point and do some running around myself. What else do I want to pursue? I'm not sure how time-consuming the weapons are - probably a lot more so than it seems at first (which is probably my number one frustration with GW achievements). I would like to get some more heroes their armor so they can count, even though I don't use them often currently. I've a pet to level up, but I don't have much interest in hunting down miniatures. I'm undecided on what titles might be worthwhile. I can't say I like reputation grinds, no matter what game I'm playing. I guess we'll see about the other stuff.
WoW is settling yet from the big patch. Some people may still have cause to complain, but I think protection paladins are in a fine (if not perfect) place. The patch has marked the return of "block capping" as a strategy, which we haven't really seen since Wrath was released. Wacky. I'm okay with where my tanking capability is at the moment, though a little worried for others, still. Our druid tank is still highly concerned about threat. I've heard one of our guild members complaining about tanks' inability to hold aggro - which is a little frustrating because I try to make this person realize their DPS is so high, only the best-geared and practiced tanks will stand a chance (and you don't see them that often in random dungeons). To some extent, it's a DPS class' responsibility to manage their own threat. Saying "well, if the tank can't hold them, I'll just keep going to kill the target as fast as possible" is sort of the wrong way to go about it. In most cases these days (with current gear levels and tuning), it might actually work, but it's teaching everyone involved lessons that don't work if you're facing "at level" challenges.
I think I want to pick up Fallout: New Vegas, though the reports of bugs make me less in a hurry to do so. Granted, most of the "OMG, so buggy" reviews I've read were of the X360 version, and a patch is probably going to show up pretty quick, but it's enough that I haven't rushed out to buy it yet.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 looks all pretty in the commercials and such. I wonder if there will be a demo on PS3 again. ... Okay, so now that I look, there was one supposed to be released last week. Maybe I'll check that out. I wanted to like the first one, but the bugs and control quirks made it far too frustrating. Based on that, I'd just as soon borrow the sequel or something rather than buy it.
I really don't remember any video game making me motion sick. Until Minecraft. Turning the view bobbing off seems to have fixed that, but the first couple times I played. Ugh. It's interesting. A cute little game-in-development that's very basic in many ways. It also reminds me of Daggerfall, even though it's a very different game. The world is made of blocks of different sorts. You can destroy/harvest them and use them to build things yourself. In darkness (including at night or unlit caves), monsters can spawn. But really the high points of the game are exploring, harvesting, and building. And the world is randomly generated as you wander past what you've seen (which is where the Daggerfall comparison comes in). There are theoretical borders to the world (and I have dug down to near the lowest level), but you could wander in one direction for who knows how long without hitting a "wall." It works as an occasional simple time waster at home, slowly expanding a raised, lit bridge between mines and such.
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