Ramblings of a Researcher

Not my usual post

2009-05-12T21:41:19Z

This post is entirely intended, at the request of nordicladyfi, to 'troll' mr_six

I hereby ruin Let It Be:

And for the thought that merely tones of voice can be unnerving:

Ars Pascha

2009-03-06T23:12:29Z

Salve Sodales!

If folks want, Ars Magica: Loncastre to Dunelm (Lancaster to Durham) will be run over three Mondays in Easter (not on the Monday after Easter Sunday). 7pm as usual, venue TBA.

Who is in?

Additionally to my usual quad of players, I have slots for one or two more if anyone wants in.

Electoral Results

2008-11-06T23:51:00Z

Right, two days post election and things are still not final. That said, I can this evening give you the results on most of my predictions.

1) Obama will win 340 +/- 5 Electoral Votes

With one EV still outstanding, Obama beat my prediction by by 24 EVs. I'm happy with this result, and happy about where I went wrong. I thought that suburban-blue collars in IN, NC et al just wouldn't vote Democrat. They did... in their droves.

2) Obama will win the popular vote by 6%

On the nose! 52.4% vs 46.3% with 2% independent.

3) Indiana will not be called for either candidate for over 24 hours after polls close

Indiana was called much earlier than I expected. NC, MO and NE-2 held out the 24 hours.

4) Obama will take PA, VA, FL, OH, NV

5 for 5

5) McCain will take WV, MO, MT, GA

4 for 4 (MO was the squeeker though)

6) NH will be closer than OH, too many unhappy Clintonites

Wrong... the Clintonites came out to vote.

7) NC will be close, but McCain will squeek out a win (Fox News will call it early)

Partly wrong. NC was a squeeker (still officially is), but Obama is ahead by about 20k votes (of over 4 million).

8) Democrat Begich will beat sitting Republican Stevens in the Alaska-AL Senate race (7 convictions for Fraud will kill even a Repub in the VP-Candidate's state)

Ugh... this is still running and may end up in the courts. The vote is practically tied. Democrats stayed at home to party, rather than vote.

9) Dem will control 58 Senate seats (including the two Independents)

Cannot call this... 3 outstanding races. AK (see above), Minnesota is down to 300 votes in favour of the Republican, and Georgia will be a run off in December.

10) NE's EVs will be split for the first time, with Obama carrying the 2nd Congressional District (Omaha), whilst losing the state at large.

Not called yet either, but looking good.

11) Turn out will be incredibly high, ~70%

Not so good 64%

Edit: 12) CA Prop 8 (banning gay marriage) will fail by less than 3%, roughly the amount of voters that think that voting No will ban the practice.

Right percentage, wrong direction... boo

US Election Predictions

2008-11-03T23:40:47Z

Predictions for tomorrow night... mostly written down so I can wriggle out of them later...

1) Obama will win 340 +/- 5 Electoral Votes

2) Obama will win the popular vote by 6%

3) Indiana will not be called for either candidate for over 24 hours after polls close

4) Obama will take PA, VA, FL, OH, NV

5) McCain will take WV, MO, MT, GA

6) NH will be closer than OH, too many unhappy Clintonites

7) NC will be close, but McCain will squeek out a win (Fox News will call it early)

8) Democrat Begich will beat sitting Republican Stevens in the Alaska-AL Senate race (7 convictions for Fraud will kill even a Repub in the VP-Candidate's state)

9) Dem will control 58 Senate seats (including the two Independents)

10) NE's EVs will be split for the first time, with Obama carrying the 2nd Congressional District (Omaha), whilst losing the state at large.

11) Turn out will be incredibly high, ~70%

Edit: 12) CA Prop 8 (banning gay marriage) will fail by less than 3%, roughly the amount of voters that think that voting No will ban the practice.
In short... I predict watching the world change tomorrow night.

Meme

2008-10-19T00:45:33Z

"Things Need Not Have Happened to be True" - Neil Gaiman

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now (even if we don't speak often or ever) please post a comment with a completely made up, fictional memory of you and me.

It can be anything you want - good or bad - but it has to be fake.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph in your LJ and see what your friends come up with.

((Before anyone asks... in my responses, as of 01:46AM on Sunday, there are 9 parts to the story))

Jobs

2008-08-06T10:14:52Z

Gah!

I got neither job. Apparently for the Developer job it was a 50/50 split, and I got edged out. I didn't expect to get the admin post, I am way too rusty.

Right, I better get finding other jobs to apply for.

Stonehenge Covenants

2008-06-28T12:35:03Z

Salve Sodales!

The following is a quick summary of Covenants in the Stonehenge Tribunal in 1220:

Blackthorn - This covenant was the leading light in Tribunal politics, and until 1200 practically controlled Tribunal rulings. Tribunal meetings are held in its extensive halls deep in the Welsh mountains. Talion of Flambeau (tribunal Praeco) and Iudicium of Guernicus (tribunal chief Quaesitor) are both resident here, solidifying power further. The covenant appears to be ruled by Goliard of Tremere. Now Blackthorn finds itself challenged by younger covenants, and recently has been outvoted on a number of minor issues.

Voluntas - A covenant founded by Norman Magi shortly after the invasion, and was a primary target of the short-lived Harold's Vengeance Covenant. Based in a large manorial complex in Yorkshire, this covenant has an ongoing feud with the Horsingas covenant in the Loch Leglan Tribunal. It remains Blackthorn's major rival for political power, and has been growing in strength as the Scottish threat increases. Voluntas has an extensive arcane library which they are happy to negotiate access to. Corvus of Bjornaer leads the covenant in all matters.

Burnham - A small and secretive covenant located in Northumbria, Burnham, has tried to remain perfectly neutral in the cross border feud between Voluntas and Horsingas. On the rare occasions it has attended at Tribunal it has abstained on all votes. Caitlin Ex Miscellanea leads the covenant, and Truina of Guernicus (the other Tribunal Quaesitor) is resident here.

Cad Gadu - Situated in a multilevel regio in north west Wales, Cad Gadu is the Domus Magna of House Ex Miscellanea. Under the previous Prima, Cad Gadu withdrew from Tribunal politics after Blackthorn wrested the Office of Praeco from Immanola. The new Primus Ebroin has re-engaged with local politics and effectively broken Blackthorn's control.

Libellus - Libellus is the newest and largest covenant in the Tribunal. Its collection of buildings are surrounded by a stone wall turning it into a minor fortification. It is lead by Stephen Eruditus of Jerbiton from the Rhine Tribunal, and the only other older maga is Torva of Bjornaer. The rest are young magi.

Schola Phytagoranis - Masquerading as 'The School of Pythagoras' in the University of Cambridge, this covenant only accepts Magi with the Gentle Gift. The covenant does not have a single site, and is instead spread around the town, with a laboratory situated outside town on the edge of a faerie forest. Edward of Milton Ex Jerbiton leads the covenant, with Michael of Jerbiton acting as his right-hand man. Astrolabe of Jerbiton (a brilliant magus who could possibly unite hermetic theory and natural philosophy if only he could stop getting distracted by mundane matters) and Lumen of Jerbiton (an obsessive bibliophile who has built one of the largest collections of mundane books in the Order) both reside here.

Semitae - Semitae is a group of wagons that travel in a seemingly random pattern around the Tribunal. Meetings with Redcaps are arranged a year in advance at strange and bizarre locations. The covenant contains three Magi: Gerfallon of Criamon, Vanasalus of Criamon and Junius of Verditius.

Status of the Order - Internal

2008-06-20T19:33:38Z

Salve Sodales!

The following is a quick summary of the state of the Order of Hermes in 1220. I will start by listing the current Houses and a brief bit of recent news about them. All Magi (even those uninterested in Hermetic politics) and covenfolk will know at least the basics.

House Bonisagus - Domus Magna: Durenmar (Rhine Tribunal) - Primus: Murion

House Bonisagus has been focussing on acquiring a number of ancient and misplaced magical artefacts. The Archmagus Murion is particularly interested in artefacts from the Founders era, and the Cult of Mercury. The latest Folio from the Colentes Arcanorum has been assembled detailing the latest magical research in the Order, it will be distributed by the Redcap network over the coming year.

House Guernicus - Domus Magna: Magvillus (Rome Tribunal) - Prima: Bilera

House Guernicus has had very few Order wide issues to deal with in recent years, with most troubles being handled on a Tribunal-by-Tribunal basis. Archmaga Bilera supports the 'Two Pounds of Silver' law from Stonehenge's Tribunal rules becoming a permanent part of the Peripheral Code. This law prohibits Magi from utilising more than two pounds of magically created silver per year to combat blatant inflationary issues.

House Mercere - Domus Magna: Harco (Rome Tribunal) - Prima: Insatella

House Mercere has asked that every Magi in the Order make contact with a Mercere House in the coming decade so that the formal invitations to the Grand Tribunal in 1233 can be sent in a timely and efficient matter. Contacts can be made through Covenants, Tribunal Seats, and House Domus Magnii and need not be made in person. Insatella, a non-Gifted Redcap, currently runs the House with an iron but highly profitable grip.

House Tremere - Domus Magna: Coeris (Transylvania Tribunal) - Prima: Poena

House Tremere has been solidifying its control over the Eastern European and Balkan nations within the Transylanian Tribunal borders. This has lead some to accuse the House with interfering with mundanes. Since the House's control, whilst nearly absolute, seems to be at arms-length, the Quaesitores are taking no action. Archmaga Poena has turned the House towards research and may be cooperating with Archmagus Murion's current hunt for artefacts.

House Bjornaer - Domus Magna: Crintera (Rhine Tribunal) - Prima: Falke

House Bjornaer are as secretive as ever, and this has caused some recent muttering of mistrust by more Latin Magi. Archmaga Falke, who recently assumed the station of Primus, is as secretive and reclusive as the previous Primus Urgen. Rumours of Bjornaer Magi slaughtering entire villages of people to preserve the wild areas are received by a mix of disgust or delight in different parts of the Order.

House Criamon - Domus Magna: Cave of Twisting Shadows (Greater Alps Tribunal) - Prima: Muscaria

House Criamon mostly follow the philosophy of Empedocles, an ancient Greek magus-philosopher, and in the mind of the rest of the Order are totally potty. Maga Muscaria is a young Maga who has yet to follow her Housemates into deeper understanding of The Enigma (or madness depending on how you look at it) and effectively keeps the drudgery of Order politics from disturbing their research. She also appears to be fourteen.

House Merinita - Domus Magna: Irencillia (Rhine Tribunal) - Primus: Handri

House Merinita has been suffering the problems of weak leadership over the past century. Currently the House appears to be a collection of subgroups with either Fae or Nature study at their core. Prima Vinaria handed control of the House to Handri and promptly disappeared in 1202 much like previous Primii. Mystifyingly she reappeared in 1209 but has made no attempt to regain control of the House.

House Ex Miscellanea – Domus Magna: Cad Gadu (Stonehenge Tribunal) – Primus: Ebroin

House Ex Miscellanea continues to remain both the largest and fastest growing House in the Order. It is, however, the least cohesive and organised. Archmagus Ebroin recently was voted as the new Primus after the previous holder entered Final Twilight. He is both young and idealistic, trying to knit the disparate traditions into a cohesive whole.

House Tytalus – Domus Magna: Fudarus (Normandy Tribunal) – Primus: Buliste or Harpax

House Tytalus is currently at War with itself. There are two contenders to the position of Primus each with seemingly equal ability to claim the seat. This struggle takes the form of plots and schemes between the two camps, but little or no outright hostility. The fight has gone on for the past two decades and has no sign of stopping soon. This is due to the fact that House Tytalus is enjoying itself too much.

House Flambeau – Domus Magna: Castra Solis (Provencal Tribunal) – Primus: Garus

House Flambeau maintains its watch as protectors of the Order from threats both internal and external. Many Hoplites from the House are subtly involved in the ongoing struggle between Christianity and Moors in Iberia. Archmagus Garus has announced a tournament for Magi and knightly champions, to be held at Castra Solis on the Summer Solstice in 1220.

House Jerbiton – Domus Magna: Valnastium (Greater Alps Tribunal) – Primus: Andru

House Jerbiton has been recently searching for lost iconography from the sacking of many iconophilic monasteries in the 8th and 10th centuries. Archmagus Andru has pledged his continued support for the embattled covenants within Constantinople and The Levant. How much his support will count for anything remains to be seen.

House Verditius – Domus Magna: Verdi (Rome Tribunal) – Primus: Stouritus

House Verditius has been selling less magical items to members of the Order and to mundanes than in previous years. Archmagus Stouritus is currently fighting to move the Domus Magna (and its warehouses of powerful items) from Verdi to Ingasia in the Tribunal of Thebes. Most of the rest of the House bitterly opposes this move.

Ars Magica: Rosa Rubrum

2008-06-12T22:03:35Z

Salve Sodales!

The Stonehenge Tribunal needs you!

We at Schola Phytagoranis here in Cambridge are looking for a number of bright young students of the Art to found a new exploration covenant in North England. This covenant will be supported by Schola Phytagoranis in its efforts to locate new Vis resources in the hill ranges north and east of Morecambe Bay.

The Loch Leglan tribunal has been raiding across the border, following crude clansmen and reavers pillaging the resources that belong by right to Stonehenge, and soon to you. By founding a covenant in the area, there can be no doubt to our claim on Westmoreland, Cumberland and the Isle of Mann.

We are looking for five young Magi to found the covenant. You must be no more than two years out of apprenticeship and able to join us on the Spring Equinox 1220 in Cambridge, England, here at Schola Phytagoranis.

Michael Ex Jerbiton

---

I have three players (Ann, Craig B., and Craig S.) and am looking for two more to join us in a game of high magic, low cunning, dragons, fae, and poltics based around 13th Century Mythic Europe.

Ars novices and veterans alike most welcome.

Much more info coming.

When: Thursday Nights(?) (starting after LURPS breaks up)
Where: TBA

Past 10 days+

2008-04-16T21:46:47Z

I caught something nasty... it went to my chest, you know the one that 5 years ago was so fucked they gave me 6 months to live? Yes, there...

I'm still alive, but coughing and on the mend.

Sorry, I dropped off the radar, hope everyone understands it may still be a while before I'm back online.

darius_of_lancs @ 2008-04-02T16:46:00

2008-04-02T15:49:08Z

Hummm... what to write when you cannot seem to write anything?

What do you write when you have so much inside you to get down before it departs your head, and yet cannot write a single word?

What do you do when you cannot begin?

Proper authory-writery people help? Please?

Normal Service...

2008-03-19T22:31:39Z

... will be resumed soon.

Insomnia and stress sucks.

Chair

2008-03-13T18:45:38Z

Rest in Pieces...

My computer chair has finally begun to give up under the daily torture I put it through. Surgery with glue and a hammer has provided a temporary solution, but the inevitable collapse will come soon.

This had delayed my writing somewhat... so I am behind my self-imposed schedule. I started to write longer pieces to knock off a lot of rust, and hopefully improve my style. I'm not really aiming to 'be a published author' or anything quite so lofty, but I do hope folks will read and enjoy what I have to say.

Anyway, I'm on the hunt for another 'Paul friendly' chair... a rare find indeed.

Sakura (non-)Picnic

2008-03-09T22:33:54Z

Thanks to luvlymish for a wonderful non-Picnic in her front room. Plenty of good company, good food and green tea... what more could I wish for. It felt good to get out and about to socialise more again. I hate being ill and depressed with it. Illness means I cannot move far for long, and that brings some isolation... which breeds depression.

Long post about PolyAm will be tomorrow. I'm finding it hard to express myself well... but practicing is what this exercise is about.

Horde Lvl 70: Does it suck?

2008-03-08T17:03:44Z

Level 70 is seemingly the goal of anyone starting a character in World of Warcraft. Seventy levels of questing, grinding and general killing fun before dinging for that magical final time. And then what? And was it worth it?

I must confess that NordicLady and I are both quest junkies, we try to do as many quests as possible. This includes quests that are neither efficient to leveling and even the odd 'grey' quest that yeilds no XP and little or no useful reputation. We simply do quests for quests sake.

My main is a L70 Tauren Hunter (Raiding BM-spec), and NordicLady's is a L70 Tauren Shaman (Raiding Resto-spec) both currently on the EU-Draenor server. We also have experience of the EU-Khadgar Server both Horde and Alliance side.

So what is there to do at Level 70?

Raiding: The pinacle of PvE content is the 10 and 25-man raids. Here the elite of Guilds pit their strength against raid bosses that require a certain amount of coordination, persistence and occasionally luck to defeat. Access to this sort of content requires a raiding guild. We are both part of Requirem Sanctus on Draenor, a guild which is currently beating its head against Lady Vashj, the last boss of Serpentshrine Cavern.

Heroics: Heroic dungeons are 5-man instanced content that can be done by any level 70 group that has the required keys. These keys are earned by reaching Honored reputation with specific factions. For most of these factions this isn't difficult, the exception being The Consortium for reasons which will be discussed later. Loot from Heroics includes 'Badges of Justice' which enable characters to get gear designed for their specific class and spec. Most of this gear is equivalent and occasionally superior to loot from early raids.

Reputation Grinding: A few reputations contain a way, albeit often slow, to achieve Exalted status by solo means. This can be in the form of reputation for certain mob kills, token turn in, and daily quests. Quicker methods include completeing certain 5-man normal and heroic dungeons. At Exalted certain pieces of Epic gear become available, along with specialised mounts and tabards.

Arenas: Arenas are the high level PvP content in Warcraft. Arenas come in 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 flavours. Successful teams earn arena points based off their rating each week. The raiting is similar to the chess rating system, victories against highly rated teams will earn your team more rating than victories against bad teams. Arena points allows characters to acquire PvP-centric epic gear.

So plenty to do, but what are the problems?

Gear. It all comes down to gear. Both Karazhan and Heroic dungeons require a certain amount of good equipment to be able to defeat their content. Healers require depth of mana pool and enough +Healing, DPS are required to be able to put out enough damage for long enough, and Tanks need a deep enough health pool and enough mitigation to hold the mobs.

The trouble is that the newly level 70 typically has mostly greens and a smattering of blues if they were lucky enough to get groups together for group quests and five man dungeons. This isn't good enough for either Heroics or Raiding. To get those needed blue items normal dungeon runs are required. These give reputation, quest rewards and drop the needed blues. Getting these runs is the difficult thing. There is a vast shortage of Tanks on Horde-side
(worse than Alliance). Protection-spec Warriors, Protection-spec Paladins, and Bear Feral Druids are in short supply. One tank is required for a party to run these dungeons, Enchancement Shamans and Pet-tanking isn't going to cut it. (We've tried, it sucks). Often you can wait for a few hours trying to attract a tank by spamming in City - Trade or LookingForGroup, and it can be futile.

Most Tanks don't want to run the normal dungeons any more (they got their runs when they needed them) as there is no gear left to get, and reputation is no longer rewarded. So, unless you have a very willing guild stacked with Tanks, you are spending hours looking for a tank, any tank to offer to accompany your party to that needed instance.

Getting a group for Heroic dungeons is not an issue, most are willing to run a Heroic for the Badges, and finding a raiding guild isn't hard either. But getting the gear to do those things is very hard.

So, how did it get into this state? Once upon a time Revered reputation was required to get the keys to access Heroic dungeons. This meant that there was a much longer period of runnin normal dungeons to get the rep to acquire the key. More parties got geared up easier, so by the time they got the key, they already had enough kit to survive. Blizzard reduced the requirement to make Heroics 'easier to access'. Alas, for some it had the opposite effect.

If you reached level 70 when folks were running normal dungeons, then there was no real issue. Hitting level 70 today with your first character means that you often have hit trouble.

Luckily NordicLady and I are part of a great Raiding Guild. They were happy to help run us (and other fresh 70s) through Karazhan to get a few raiding epics. They used their T4/5 geared characters that no longer needed anything from Kara to help us over the hump. So we now have a bizarre mix of shitty greens, great purples, and the odd blue.

In conclusion, L70 opens up an entirely new game which is well worth the effort. However, there is currently an unintended hump between one set of content and the next.

In Nomine

2008-03-06T00:31:23Z

Methusael's PoV on last night's event... (written third person, because that is the way I write)

The vision of what was to be faded as Methusael pulled his hand away from Cain. The vision of blood and sacrifice sang in Methusael's essence, sending his soul soaring to the heavens. He straightened up and looked at his colleague. Icosiel, for his part, looked thoughtful and suprised as he moved away from Abel.

"What did you see?" Methusael whispered so not to disturb the sleeping sons of Adam.

"I saw Abel sacrificing Cain." Icosiel replied.

"I saw similar... Cain killing Abel."

"Interesting."

Methusael wandered down the hill towards Adam's house leaving the other angel to ponder the impenetrable knot of two conflicting Destinies. Methusael had a debt to repay, and an opportunity to repay it had sprung up much earlier than he expected.

-*-

Methusael tried to slip inside the mud building as quietly as possible, hoping to catch Adam unawares. But as he turned a corner he was met by Adam's cold stare.

"What do you want?"

Methusael smiled his warmest smile and replied, "I need to ask you a question. Which is your favourite son?"

Adam looked confused for a moment, "Eve prefered Abel. But Cain is so much like her..." he sighed.

"I understand." Methusael said and turned away.

-*-

Methusael returned to the hill, his soul resolved to doing it's purpose. He was an Malachite of Yves, an Angel of Destiny, and he would push Cain towards the Divine will. Quietly he tapped a sleeping Cain on the shoulder.

Cain opened a bleary eye, and a look of understanding passed between the human and the Angel. Methusael whispered, "I would do it soon if I were you..." and walked away.

Death walked that hill that night, wearing a happy smile, and his name was Methusael...

Yeah... he is a sick puppy... sorry folks... can't help it.

EDIT: Stupid boo-boo fixed

Car

2008-03-04T13:46:05Z

Car went *splutter* *splutter* *kaput* this morning. £90 for a new battery, I just hope the bloody thing passes its MOT now. We will be there tonight, I hope there will be pizza

Kudos to Supervisor #2 for offering to take my classes till Monday... that helps greatly.

Now, I *must* get more research done... Angband will not consume my life.... </mantra>

http://angband.oook.cz/

Cars, Teaching, and a laughing wife

2008-03-03T22:32:23Z

Car:

Ours is possibly fucked. Took a lot to start it again today... :( Battery is gone I think, so we'll need to get it fixed before its MOT shortly. I'm not sure it'll pass. So we may be on the look out for another klunker... certainly cannot afford anything more pricey.

Teaching:

Car issues don't help me going to teach Business Management to MSc students. Each year we try to pick a slighly ludicrous sector for students to practice writing a Business plan for a start up (before setting them a more sane sector for the marked piece).

We use 'bottled water' as the market. First few years we used 'Organic Water' as the product we wanted them to launch. We thought it was nuts, how can water be organic?

http://www.lifepurewater.com (amongst others)

So... we moved on to more ludicrous, 'GM-free water'. We heard last year through reliable channels than someone (*cough*Danone*cough*) was preping to launch such a product under a localised name. So far, it seems sanity has prevailed on that, but somehow I doubt it'll be long...

So... we moved on to 'Carbon neutral water' this year...

http://www.watercoolersdirect.com/about_us/neutral.html

Too late.

So, suggestions for next year? The more insane the better...

Laughing Wife:

I present to you Darths'n'Droids which has made my lovely wife laugh out the loudest I've heard in ages: http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/darthsanddroids/archive.html

Band meme

2007-12-10T15:22:51Z

Ladies and rockers!

I present to you the greatest 80's AustroGerman Punk revivalists of the modern era!

We are 'List of German Type XXIII submarines', with our album 'Brandýs nad Orlicí'

Tracks:
1. Spatial query
2. Dundee Wealth Management
3. Rubber's Lover
4. Rába
5. List of Senators of the Philippines
6. Goodbye (Spice Girls cover)
7. I Dream of Jeannie (Theme tune remix)
8. Malwina Garfeinowa-Garska
9. MediaTransparency
10. The Sauce (Punk medley of the classic album)
11. Clinton Lake (Illinois)
12. Floppyfw

Band Manager: Adrian Furnham
Producer: Colin Morton

Track 5 is clearly the list mixed with static and random noises to create that unmistakable in your mind eating your sanity sound.

Diary of an EvE Capsuleer

2007-10-12T09:41:32Z

This post is to do with Eve Online a sci-fi MMORPG:

A couple of nights ago the Corporation Ops Director posted a request to put together a Combat Patrol to shake up the locals in our new sector of space. We needed to begin to make an impression if any of the big alliances were to take notice of us and allow us into the very lucrative 'unsecured' space. Eve has a very heavy PvP element... and every ship I describe below is another player somewhere in the world. Players band together to form Corporations (like WoW guilds) and Corporations band together to form Alliances which can hold territory.

Being a trader and hauler I normally shy away from such operations, instead taking care of the logistics of hauling mass quantities of ammunition, weapons and spare parts to the supply stations so that the PvP pilots can concentrate on the killing. It keeps the time consuming drudgery off their backs, and for that I've recieved plenty of thanks. Anyway, I begin to haul ammunition and supplies up to the Bei system, which will be the rally point for this op when I decide that for once I actually want to go on this one...

So I ask the squad leader what ship I should kit out, and after some discussion of skills I kit out a Blackbird class Electronic Warfare Crusier. My role will be to disrupt the target's fire control computers to reduce the return fire and provide some moderate firepower of my own... (in WoW parlance, debuffer).

Wednesday night I practiced on easy NPC mobs to get used to the systems aboard this unfamiliar craft... I get the basics down pat, but basically resign myself to the fact that I'm just likely to get torn up and lose the ship that represents about 25% of my current cash.

Last night we flew... and it was one of the most thrilling, heart pounding experiences of my life. I can now finally see why players rave about Eve.

We set off out of Bei and headed into low-sec space where the only law is that of the gun. (Empire, or hi-sec space, has uber-NPC ships that 'dissuade' non-consentual PvP). After practicing a few basic maneuvers, Nathaniel M (piloting a scout ship) goes looking for targets while Razgor (piloting a Heavy Weapons specced Cruiser) and myself loiter near gates where it is safer.

After a few jumps, and no viable prey, I'm beginning to get a touch bored, when someone in a Caldari Navy Raven (a very rare, very very expensive, Battleship) takes a look at us. If he engages, the three of us would need a prayer to survive... but we would cause him some damage while he shreds us into scrap. He has managed to get the jump on us, and it is too late to try to flee. We turn to face him, hoping a show of defiance will make us seem like we are more trouble that we are worth. My HUD goes off to show that I've been scanned, and I am very glad that I took a last minute decision to fit Caldari specific ECM module, instead of the Gallente one I was packing earlier.

You know that scene in the Firefly pilot episode where they all hold their breaths to see if the Reaver ship will pass them by? It felt just like that.

We stare at each other for a few long seconds before he warps off and jumps into another system. Obviously we weren't worth the hassle of him having to fight through my ECMs. Over Teamspeak there are the sounds of relief that this run hadn't gone horribly horribly wrong.

We decide to continue, and begin to pick our way through more low-sec systems, keeping an eye out for prey and Mr. Raven or any of his buddies. There are giants about in this sector of space tonight it seems.

Another half hour and half dozen systems later and the scout radios in that a Kestrel class Frigate from an opposition aligned Corporation has just warped in close to him at an Asteroid Belt frequented by Miners and NPC killers. The scout is cloaked, so remains invisible to poor unlucky Kestrel who is about to learn a valuable lesson about low-sec space. Sometimes Lady Luck decides it is just not your night.

We are hungry for a kill, any kill, and are ordered in, so we fall upon the lone ship like a pack of wolves. I jump to the belt, lock and jam the Kestrel who barely gets off a shot before his fire control computers give up under the assault of my ECMs. Razgor's heavy railguns, Nathaniel's combat drones, and my missiles make short work of the Frigate. It was over in a second.

YARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Once you get a kill in low-sec you become flagged for fifteen minutes. This means that you cannot run and hide in stations, or use jump gates. Getting close to either gets you shredded by their sentry guns. So we hop from planet to moon to planet, keeping on the move. The Kestrel pilot has called in a scout to try to find us, probably so that they can bring in heavy reinforcements to make us pay for our crimes. We were lucky that our scout spotted theirs before it cloaked. A game of hide and go seek follows, with each hiding space we find potentially being a death trap... but fifteen minutes passes quietly, and we sneak our way out of the system.

Over the next few systems it becomes apparent that the word has gone out that we are around. Systems are deserted of miners and large bulk transports, the usual prey... instead there are a couple of Battleships belonging to a rival Corp who seem pissed that we are muscling in their territory. One standard Battleship we can take on and win... two backed up with an Interdictor and a scout is just plain unfair ;). We are chased through two systems, but are quicker than their heavies, and far enough ahead of their Interdictor that we find a bolt-hole before it can pin us and kill our engines. We hole up in a Federal Resources NPC station in the Avegon system, which they proceed to camp... over the next half hour words are exchanged over 'local' chat, and a short discussion of chemistry, physics, and dull topics in an attempt to bore them to death ensues. They continued to camp the station so we called it a night and logged off.

I spent over three hours on the edge of my seat, hunting, running, hiding and killing. I begin to slightly understand how U-Boat crews in WWII felt at times. Hitting targets of opportunity then melting away hoping not to be caught by the big boys, moments of heart pounding action... and long periods of boredom. I could have lost that Cruiser and the investment of time it represents, but we risked it and won a small victory.

Upshot is, we stirred up the locals as we intended, and we got a small kill for the trophy cabinet. It is a start... and damn it I want to do it again soon.

meme

2007-10-03T16:44:26Z

Undead Priest

Undead are the forsaken: just like you. While it's important that you don't fall apart (physically or mentally), you might find yourself salivating in an unhealthy manner when someone comes selling cookies. Get more sleep.

As a priest, you are mostly concerned with others. You like to be sure that everyone is safe and healthy - because, if they die, you might get booted.

Find out your real-life WoW race and class at QuizGalaxy.com

Yellow Sign

2007-09-05T09:17:45Z

Good luck to the YS refs for this weekend. NordicLady and I wish we could have played, or help with running the event. I hope the plot goes off without a hitch, and the players have as much fun as possible.

Health and a Journal Paper

2007-08-30T18:20:06Z

Well, I'm officially healthy again (woohoo, back to being me!). No one wants to se me, or stuff tablets down me, so it is all as good as it ever gets.

On Sept 11th I'll be delivering my latest paper on tilt based controls in gaming in sunny Manchester (grumble, why couldn't it be Lisbon, or NY, or somewhere more exotic). More importantly, I've got a Journal Paper accepted in IJCGT (International Journal of Computer Games Technology) which finally makes me a proper(!) scientist or something... supervisors are very happy.

So I've got to get this thing editted into shape by the end of the month.

Moving House

2007-08-25T08:53:30Z

Today is moving house day... bed, shelving, storage et al. So I'm stuck in the house co-ordinating this end of things. Fun.

In the meanwhile, I've documents to create.

Good Food and Chess

2007-08-24T13:12:40Z

Had a good night last night, and good to feel like I'm finally on the upswing from my leg. Thankfully I was in a fairly stable frame of mind for the evening.

Good stir-fry was consumed with good company, thanks to Mish's culinary skills. On that subject I must thank her for a fine 'Mishgog' crumble that was a gift for my birthday.

I played against Mish twice at Chess. The second game was a good challenge, and Mish is a strong player (though, like me, rusty). I look forward to further games. Foo in the mean while introduced NordicLady to the soul consuming game of Go. Much browsing of Go sets has occured today as she coo's over pretty boards and stones. I think Foo has another convert.

Last day of tablets today I hope, I've got a District/Surgery Nurses appointment for a checkup this evening.