Salimander

Its been a rather heavy 2 weeks. A bit of depression has been kinda kicking me around rather badly. But i'll be kewl.


Job still rocks. Now if only I could get the rest of my life situated around. Been playing mage allot lately. My storyteller is a guy named Deoin. I haven't played in games this insanely addicting in quite awhile.

Haven't really had the warcraft bug lately. This happened when Burning Crusade was announced too. I kinda just slump into a lull.

Silly MMOs.

Too much is a good thing

Its been awhile since i've updated my blog. I wonder if these things have a subscription service?

I'm working on a prototype las vegas local gamer site. Unlike meetups this site will cater more to actually posting ideas, plus it will encompass MMOs, card games, miniatures, and rpgs. If anyone has a decent hand at web programming and is up for the challenge of helping me make this..feel free to email me or comment and let me know. I could use all the help I can get.

Oh yes..by the way..I am broke, so the work would need to be free for now. =P

I've been working at Cox for a month and a week or so. I got served a root beer float today, and yesterday I got to dunk one of the managers into a giant bowl of water. Um...this place is amazing. The work is challenging, but the managers/supervisors are great, the teams are awesome, and the company treats us like human beings.

Nightwish is playing in the USA finally since they fired their previous lead singer. The new one is a hottie. I just hope she sounds better than Tarja. She doesn't seem as arrogant, so that is a plus for the rest of the band.

MMO map history

One of my biggest complaints about MMOs is finding my way around. They aren't linear like console or single player games. You can roam anywhere, and the only thing to stop you are mobs too powerful for you to defeat.

Lord of the Rings Online has taken a unique approach to mapping:
http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Lorebook_home


Introducing LOTRO Google Maps!
We’re pleased to bring you a brand new LOTRO Lorebook feature – LOTRO Google maps! Use this feature to add detailed maps, plot quest paths, and mark locations in your Lorebook entries, or just explore the game from a bird’s eye perspective.

What do you guys think?

Kittens are evil

South Carolina Health officials are still trying to track down anyone who might have been exposed to a rabid kitten at a softball tournament -- and 11 people have already begun post-exposure inoculations.

Ten people in North Carolina are being treated for possible rabies exposure. A child in Spartanburg County, S.C., is also being treated.
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control officials are warning girls from four states who participated in a softball tournament of possible exposure to rabies. The exposure happened at the South Atlantic Summer Showdown softball tournament in Spartanburg County on July 14.

Officials said that Marie Watson, a coach from Buncombe County, N.C., found a gray kitten in a barrel-type Dumpster behind the dugout at the Boiling Springs Recreational Facility. Watson decided to make the kitten a tournament mascot. Watson carried the kitten around in a box for the duration of the tournament.
The games were played at the Boiling Springs recreational facility and the North Spartanburg recreational facility.

Health officials said that after the coach took the kitten home, it began acting strangely. The kitten was euthanized on July 15, and tests performed at the North Carolina State Public Health Laboratory confirmed that the kitten had rabies.
The health department has not been able to reach everyone who may have been exposed, so department officials are asking anyone who may have been licked, scratched or bitten by the kitten to call them at 864-282-4144.

Buncombe County Public Health spokeswoman Sue Ellen Morrison said, "The virus is in saliva, so if they had a bite or what we call a mucus membrane contact -- the saliva rubbed in their eyes or (if) it got in their mouth."

The Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also would like to talk with the person who put the kitten in the Dumpster because of their possible exposure to the disease.
Wednesday, Watson told WYFF News 4, "If I had it to do again, I don't know if I would leave it. But I would definitely be more careful of who was around it and that kind of thing."

IT IS FINISHED

(no title link)

I finished the book at midnight sunday evening (monday morning). I am pleased to have sacrificed a weekend for that. I completely enjoyed the book.

Every lose end was tied up nicely, and I can't think of anything left for question.

I won't post a blog with any spoilers. If you want to know what happened, pick up the book and read it (from the beginning).

One of my roomies read the last chapter (supposedly) and then threatened to spoil it for me if I ticked him off.

I made sure he was happy

Harry Potter: And the Deathly Hallows

I went to Barnes & Noble with a buddy of mine (he had a preorder ticket that allowed him to purchase up to 5 copies).

I feel so much better about myself. I was surrounded by people I would never dream of hanging out with. In fact i'd say its pretty safe to assume that i'd never be caught anywhere else in their vacinity. Make-up, capes, wands, brooms, and lots of fat chicks.

Thankfully I got my copy quickly, and we left. Of course as we were walking out the door, Gilbert (otherwise known as the "man with the ticket") yells out,"I can't believe he's his father!" Several people grimaced at us, until his girlfriend started giggling. Then they gave us that look of "you bastards!"

It was quite amusing.

I'm about half way through the book at this point, and should be finished with it by this evening.

First Week Complete

So i've completed my first week of training. Some of it was like riding a bike again. The rest of it was pretty interesting.

Nothing was boring...maybe long and drawn out, but it was all pertinent to what i'll be doing. As opposed to normal training that bombards me with things like "The first satellite utilized for Cable TV was put at 23,000 feet in orbit, and broadcasted HBO." Which i'll never need to know.

Instead the training got directly to the meat of the account and billing system.

It may not be computer tech support, but its still a decently technical job. Lots of process of elimination. I like that. Not too mention the que here is decent so i'll be busy. =)

How to be in a great mood while sick...

So today I had my orientation at my new job. I can hardly speak with how sore my throat is, and even when i'm not trying to speak, it still sucks. No amount of liquid can seem to keep my throat from feeling like dry mummified crap.

I steeled myself though, and just made my way into my first day at Cox.

(a healthy supply of cough drops helped with this)

Needless today, for a monday being sick...going to Cox made the day unsuck. (yes..that's a word in my world)

The benefits are teh awesome. I won't (probably shouldn't) go into specifics. It has the standard "we own you and everything you do while you are on the clock" routine. Then its also got "you are insured as of your start time this morning". Great PTO policies, and one of the most interstingly unique medical insurance processes. I'm not sure if the insurance is good or bad, but it gives me warm fuzzy feelings in areas i've had problems with before. I like the warm fuzzies.

Now i'm at home, and one of my roomies is having a birthday party. He's barbequing a rediculous amount of meat. Mmmm....meat.

Grand Symphony...

I had an interview last week with Cox Communications. Things went well from what I can tell. Now i'm just waiting on the background check to go through.

Everyone that i've met at Cox has been just awesome. There is a large difference in people that work for a career company versus a "job". My current "job" has no growth or room for promotion. It pays rather well, but there is no hope for future anything unless a supervisor leaves, or you move out of state.

Cox on the other hand is a HUGE company. There are plenty of opportunities for growth. Once i'm in the door i'll get to see how the "intercompany communication" lines work. Its always neat to see how the flow of information moves through large companies. It appeals to my OCD to learn the intricacies of these things.

I'll probably post more later today...food is calling to me and I must obey....

Surfin Safari

So I installed the Safari browser on my work computer. (debating still on tainting my home machine with this apple products)

Ever listen to Steve Jobs? He's quite the talker. Kinda reminds me of John Kerry, but he can actually answer the questions he's asked. (He just usually responds with something like,"Our products are better than yours, and bring all the geeks to the yard.")

He's arrogantly confident. I'd say borderline Narcisistic. Just look at the iPhone. It screams "Your phones just aren't a good as me". You know what though? I'm not satisfied. I like the direction apple and google are going in. Both of them have this "We want our products to do EVERYTHING" mentality. 

I want a phone that starts my car, unlocks my front door, buys me a soda from a vending machine, farms for gold on my MMOs, zaps my dog through her shock collar, and changes channels on the television. If I have a phone that can't do something, well then..it needs to be redesigned to do it!!!

Google is taking the same approach with the internet. They are the "reverse AOL". Where AOL tried to create its own version of the "internet" as a content provider, google has attacked the internet directly to slowly assimilate aspects of the internet, plus some more. Like books...nobody wants to scan every book in every library in the world. But Google's like "We have an army of scanners....get scannin". So soon, the library will be on the internets. 

What's funny is all the people that have been screaming for "Information Freedom" are also the same ones now nagging,"What about my personal info?" ..but that is a topic for another time.

Point being is I want an iPhone, i'm using safari, oh god...first I become mormon and now i'm using apple products. What is going on with me? I don't feel so well....

Path to Redemption

This week has been pretty decent. Its nice to not have an overly harrowing week for once (in about the last six months). Mind you, i've had fantastic days, but never a great week. I missed church last sunday, but i'll not be making that mistake this time.

Usually church gives me a sense of renewed spirit that helps me deal with the first day of the week (aka...monday). I didn't have that, and monday was kind of a bummer (hence some of my venting), but I did end up being rather productive online. Several blogs, and the beginning of my Star Wars Blog.

In recent news:
Yesterday there was a shooting at Tropicana and Eastern (in Las Vegas) at a WellsFargo. A security guard was shot in the head, and the bank robber got away. The police are still looking for him, but he's in sad shape. They have him on video camera.

Everyone knows banks have cameras all over the place. If you are going to be dumb enough to rob the bank...wear a stocking or something. Jeez. (not that I condone robbing a bank) And don't shoot the rent-a-cops in the head. Kneecap them or something less fatal. They don't get paid enough to endanger their lives that much.

Also in recent news:
It seems Stanton Lavey has been on the outs with his wife Szandora. If you click the subject link on my post you'll be redirected to his blog about this. This is really sucky. They were an amazing couple to see.

I'm not a satanist, but I don't disagree with many of his philosophical view points. Most of them are about taking accountability for your own actions. In this world the only one responsible for what you do..is you. We are what we make ourselves to be. If you read his post you'll see that he deeply follows this. Truly an amazing person.

My Sinister Mind pt.2

Okay I don't understand myself (yes..its as bad as it sounds). Most of you who know me, know that I tend to overcomplicate my life.

To deal with this, i'd often talk to myself (you all do it to..don't go there). Years and years and years of doing this have not been beneficial to my mental health. I never really thought about it, until someone actually overheard me talking to myself. Turns out I was in a rather heated argument.

So now, i'm being accused of being completely nuts.

I'm not crazy, and I wasn't arguing with some alternate personality. I have this weird knack for trying to view things from alternate points of view. It helps me try to figure things out (but makes it really difficult to put some things to words). Yes, I can even argue with myself rather heatedly. This helps me vent frustration so I don't end up going all postal stupid when I talk to people that happen to be the source of my frustration.

Could this mean i'm crazy? It's possible. But the question should be, does it matter? I don't think so. Its how I use deductive reasoning. Honestly if more people would think things out as deeply as I do (not necessarily using the same method as me) there would probably allot less stupidity in the world.

Just watch Idiocracy (its a movie), and you'll see where our world is going to. My little slice of crazy is nothing compared to what most people consider sane.

My Sinister Mind

Now that my few days of venting are done with, i'm feeling better. The roommate situation has improved and so far has remained improved. It seems so easy for me to get frustrated with people I live with. Mind you, when you consider your house your sanctuary, its easy to get upset when that feeling is "disrupted".

I often look back at the times i've been a horrible roomie though, and I tend to lighten up a bit. (yes this post is mostly me just rambling)

The new layout for my website is nice. I'm enjoying it.

Oh, and for those of you that are curious. I scored 39.2%.

I'm thinking of getting a starcraft networking game together. If anyone is interested, let me know. I figure a bunch of us playing SC could be fun (as we wait for over a year before SC2 comes out).

OMG ITS DIFFERENT!!!

So I've started working on a blog for my tabletop starwars game. Needless to say my current theme fit it really well. So I changed my current theme (as to not seem monotonous).

For those of you that play rpgs, check out my new blog for my SW game (its in my links). Give me feedback.

I hope you all like the new theme. I dig it.

Mad World

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very
Mad World
Mad world


Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very
Mad World
Mad World
Enlarging your world
Mad World.

Something Random

Its Monday. You know...first day of the week, forever cursed to be the worst day ever.

Suprisingly enough, its not too bad (and just for saying that I should get hit by a bus).

I'm watching "Idiocracy". A really funny but frighteningly accurate movie. If you haven't seen it, then goto youtube.com and check it out. The opening sequence is hilarious.

It surrounds us, and penetrates us, and binds the universe together

If you thought that you couldn't get any worse with your StarWars fandom, and need to feel better about yourself, just click the subject of this post and you'll immediately either feel really good about yourself, or you'll find something new to drag you further into dementia. Either way i'm sure you'll like it.

Wizards of the Coast released a new edition of the Star Wars RPG called the Saga Edition. Its still D20, but has a whole slew of new rules and systems. It looks like Wizards has taken all their latest ideas for the d20 system and implemented them here.

Is this a taste of things to come for Dungeons & Dragons? Who knows.

I actually really like the new rules. Which balances the fact that I can't use any of my old materials from previous star wars suppliments. The information in them can still be used, but anything utilizing stats, systems, or numbers has to be completely converted.

I think the easiest thing to convert are the races though.

Quick rundown of large changes:

Only 5 classes: Jedi, Soldier, Noble, Scoundrel, Scout.

Every class has talent trees to choose from like d20 modern.

Defense has been rolled into the saving throws which are now defenses. You no longer roll saving throws. They simply set the DC of effecting you with various things. So, to not get hit, your reflex defense is used (which functions just like combat defense in the previous editiosn).

Wounds and Vitality have been replaced with Hit Points. To simulate taking a wound you have a Damage threshold, and Five levels of conditions from minor wounds to being completely incapacitated.

Instead of Jedi getting more damage to their lightsabers, every class now gets half their class levels added to damage with ANY weapon they use.

Jedi powers no longer sit as seperate skills. All jedi powers now use a skill called "Use the Force" and powers must be purchased with a feat that gives you them. They are usable once per encounter, with several talents or feats that let you refresh them during some fights.

Force Points refresh to a new total every level. They function exactly like action points in d20 modern. You can get a dark side talent that allows you to add additional dice to your force rolls if you take a dark side point (but you have to use a talent that you could have used on something else).

Vehicle and Starship combat runs a ton smoother now. You can use a standard square grid to simulate starship battles, and the combat runs very similar to combat with normal human scale fights.

So to summarize, the Jedi have been scaled with the other heroic classes. Everyone is heroic now, but in their own way. Jedi are more like your typical spellcaster, or group support class in other games (but have not lost their edge at all). All the rules that used complicated number formula have been simplified, and all the options to customize your class and create a decent concept have been opened up. Over all i'm very impressed with the new system, and I think its a move in the right direction.

I like big....Lizards

So most of this week was spent unpacking things. I missed allot of work. Sadly my out of shape body cannot cope with physical labor. I need to do something about that.

I've been getting torn between games lately.

World of Warcraft...still good, and I have a great group of friends on it.

Lord of the Rings Online...the new hotness. Fun RP centered game. The instances on it are amazing.

Vanguard: SOH...Sony is doing wonderful things to this underdeveloped workhorse.

I'll write up full reviews of each of them here soon.

In other unrelated news...an old friend of mine had a baby! OMG! I'd love to have a few of those one day. Little me's running around all over the place, screaming and mooing until the world goes completely mad muahahaha!!!

Either way, CONGRATS to your being a mother Mrs. Pulley (your baby will rule the world).

Launching Kittens to their DOOM!!

I'm in the process of moving. This time i'll have a yard for my dog. It will be nice being in a house again.

I'm no longer the trainer at my job, but have been..kinda promoted of sorts to "Technical Document Writer", which is added onto "Blackberry Specialist", among other things. I just figure they should put "Supervisor's Bitch".

=/

Oh and on the topic of slightly vulgar posts refering to my old "preferences"...just don't.

I swear I can't please people. (not that it is my life's goal to please anyone for that matter, but still) I used to get harassed rather heavily about being a sexual deviant, and now that i'm trying to put my life into place properly, its like i'm "not allowed" to do that. WTF! Make up your minds people. First you can't wrap your heads around my life one way, and when I "shift" to something more normal, you can't wrap your head around why i'd switch.

Word of advice. Get over your hang ups about other people's business. If you don't want to know what someone is doing with thier lives, then don't ask them. (if they volunteer the information without your request...then feel free to be a dickhead)

Nah-nen Tungen

I've been a little lazing with my blogging. So lazy in fact that i've completely forgot that i've made 2 posts since my "Zero Sum" post.

Recently, I joined the official Camarilla Fan Club. That's right..i'm LARPing again. I had lots of fun actually being socail. its my belief that people that play MMOs (also a catagory I fall into) are worse than LARPers because at least LARPers are social enough to get laid.

I know..that wasn't a very "mormon" thing of me to say. But us mormons are humans too. We just like to make you all feel that we are better than you (because we are).

(okay..I can't keep a straight face when I say that! I'm just joking!)

Speaking of which, if you check out Mormon.org they have a new media campaign that has been done up really well. I was completely impressed when I was forced to sit through 37 minutes of some very old people talking about it. (although one of them was really funny because he kept yelling randomly about how excited he was about the new media approach).

Sometime soon i'll despoil my blog site with one of their banners. (Seriously, as far as religious websites go, this one was done really well).

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend.