Thursday, December 29, 2011

Blognari Sex

I had a spare minute today between brunch and taking the car in for maintenance and decided to check out the blog stats, since I've been away (holidays/Star Wars -- sorry). What I found was surprising and maybe a little flattering? Verdict is still out on that one. What the hell, guys?

Really?
Can you see which search term I'm boggling over here? It's not the random people Google searching my real name, or the people searching for me in states I've been to. It's that fifth one down there. Yeah, that one. I'm not sure what to make of that or the fact that as many people have searched for that as have searched for clover honey.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

RE: Happy Holidays


I drew you a cat. His name is Bowie because he has a blown pupil.
Based off actual cat.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Happy Holidays!

It's 75 degrees today and beautiful in Southern California, where I'm spending my vacation. I had a fabulous holiday. I hope you all did as well. I awoke to breakfast in bed, followed by gift giving, Mario Kart, wonderful company, and then Bag of Bones and a feast.

We brought Eileen a cat and all required feline amenities. Aaron received a plethora of cooking utensils (a set of pans, oven bowls, etc., etc.), Skyrim, a new leather belt, and some comfortable shirts. I received some lovely clothing, hand-crafted turquoise jewelry, a trio of sparkly stackable rings, a wooden tea chest filled with delicious teas, and my grandfather's gift to me will arrive once we're back in Sacramento.

I have tons more to say but sadly not the time to say it, so I'll keep it brief. You'll hear from me again next year, where there will undoubtedly be a blogsplosion! So stay turned for that. If I don't manage to get around to it before it's time, though I think I will, happy New Year everyone!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Caffeinari!!!

I'm not sure if this is something that happens to all narcoleptics or maybe just me, but it's something I experience several times per week if not daily. Heck, it may even happen to some of you normal folk. I don't know.

I've been prescribed what equates to top grade Speed for my condition but refuse to take it. Instead I self medicate using caffeine. Tea or coffee more often than not, all throughout the day. Sometimes however I wake up so remarkably sleepy that nothing I do seems to help at all.

Slept 8 hours. Still sleepy.

I start out slowly, hoping a cup of coffee will turn the morning around for me. Set me off to the right start I must just be shy of reaching.


Mmm, coffee.

And yet...


Not feeling it.

Not one to surrender so easily, I get another cup. Perhaps my coffee to water ratio was off today.


Surely, this will do it.

Nope.


$&#@ you sunlight.

Now I'm mad. But with nothing to direct my frustration towards, I glare out the window and seethe in the general direction of the sun for making it daytime. Then I drink four or five more cups of coffee as fast as I can.


What was that sound?!

Not even this wakes me up. Instead I just get paranoid. Every noise I hear is a burglar. Maybe I can work with this though. Maybe I can frighten myself into feeling less sleepy.


Maybe not.

So I get another cup of coffee and sip at it longingly. Forsaken by the sun and early birds everywhere.


Whatever. Why not?

Then all of a sudden without any warning at all, something happens. Something finally happens.


Oh my! What a nice day.

Suddenly I'm way more awake than I had been moments earlier. I'm also chipper. Even so, I somehow don't realize the caffeine is catching up to me, so I continue drinking my coffee until this happens:


OMG EVERYTHING!!!

Now everything ever is the best and I am able to do anything. Whatever I needed to do gets done in record time. Even things I didn't need to do get done anyway, because doing things seems like the greatest idea I've ever had. The harshness of reality melts away and suddenly the world is composed of rainbows, cupcakes, and purring kittens. It could be the caffeine Armageddon and I was the only one to be raptured but it doesn't matter because it's fantastic.

Then I crash and wind up laying on the floor of the computer room curled up beside the bookshelf. Immune to the effects of caffeine for at least six hours.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Sweden

Oh, hey Sweden. How's it going?

Recently Sweden has appeared on my audience summary and has already almost caught up with Malaysia in the way of number of viewers. Good job Sweden -- appear out of no where and take over. I like your style.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Have You Heard?

B-b-b--

The West Coast has a lot of interesting birds. Back East I could name every bird that flew by without a pause but here I'm clueless. Forced to scour the internet for answers. Many of you probably don't realize just how varied the wildlife is in different places around the country, so I decided to give you a little peek. While these might be common sights to those of us living in California and nearby states, back East all of this is totally foreign.

There are these giant black and white birds with long tails and yellow eyes that  are just really impressive to behold. My best guess is some kind of Magpie, but I actually have no idea.

King of dead grass!
There are also these large blue, gray, and white birds that I see from time to time that I recently discovered were called Scrub-Jays. I'm not sure where they got their name from, but they're quite beautiful birds with a color I'd compare to a clear sky.

King of benches!
I have yet to see any Condors, but here's hoping that one day I will have the opportunity. They aren't very pretty to look at, actually bordering on hideous, but I find them magnificent. As I do most birds of prey. I've seen several Hawk varieties, though we had those back East too. I hear there is a significant population of Golden Eagles and even some Bald Eagles out here, but like the Condor I've yet to witness any myself. There are a good number of Peregrine Falcons though, usually seen on our drives down to L.A. perched on fence posts.

King of fences!
Also, there are lots and lots of Hummingbirds! Such as Anna's Hummingbirds which look a lot like Ruby-throated Hummingbirds back East only the color encompasses their entire head. I see a lot of these around Burbank, sometimes three or four at a time all swarming around a patch of freshly opened flowers.

King of blurry images!
And Calliope Hummingbirds who, again, share a similarity to Ruby-throated Hummingbirds only their throat feathers are much longer giving the appearance of a beard.

King of beards!
Even a couple of Black-chinned Hummingbirds, which have a misleading name. The color is far more purple than it ever is black. Unlike a lot of other Hummingbirds the rest of the plumage is kind of dull rather than the vibrant greens you see on both male and female alike of other types.

King of purple!
One of the things that surprised me was the amount of Swallows in the cities. When I think of Swallows, I imagine Barn Swallows out in the country somewhere away from the busy streets. However, in Sacramento particularly there are flocks of them along the river. Of several varieties.

King of trees!
Of course there are also more common sights, such as Sparrows and Pigeons which can be found everywhere. Same as they are back East. I haven't seen any Chickadees here though. I guess maybe they prefer the colder weather? I also haven't noticed anything such as the Red-Winged Blackbird or Golden Finch either. Though I have seen plenty of Crows and even a massive Raven. Back East you see mostly Blackbirds and Starlings rather than Crows, so it's kind of interesting to see an entire murder of them just hanging out.

Even the Gulls here are more diverse, ranging from sleek aerodynamic birds I've never seen before to the basic Seagull you spot everywhere. I haven't seen any Canadian Geese here, not even flying overhead which is hugely shocking to me. Canadian Geese rule the skies where I'm from and you'd often see numbers upwards of twelve or more at any given time in any given season. Instead they have weird things like the Coot.

Yes, those are its feet.
Disclaimer: I did not take any of these photographs. They are the result of Google Search. While they are fantastic, I claim no rights to them, etc., etc.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Star Wars: The Old Republic III

I'll say.
This is my third entry regarding SWTOR. Part one can be found here and part two is located right there. Seems to be that my original suspicion regarding the pre-launch guild system has been confirmed. Maybe I should be a gaming prophet rather than a simple reviewer.

Originally Posted by DavidBass
RP-PvP – Players are encouraged to roleplay and act ‘in-character’ while playing on an RP-PvP server. Players are automatically flagged for PvP outside of the designated 'safe' areas (such as Origin Worlds, Capital Worlds, and the Republic/Imperial Fleets; see below for more info).


The pre-launch Guild Headquarters currently allows you to select between three different server types for your guild: PvE, PvP, and RP, which will determine your server placement during Phase 3: Deployment. During Deployment, we will be placing all eligible guilds that select 'RP' onto RP-PvE servers by default. If a guild wishes to exist on an RP-PvP server, they will need to create their guild manually on a new server once they reach their Capital World (Dromund Kaas or Coruscant) and create their guild.


The decision to make RP-PvP servers an option for players was made recently, which is why the choice was not available in the Guild Headquarters to start with. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes, but we hope you are as excited as we are to be able to choose this option for your guild in the game at launch.

This means that even if your guild has been per-registered for months now, you will still have to choose your server manually, race to get off your Origin World, pay the fee, and create your guild before someone else claims the name. Which is, more than a little disappointing. Though obviously I can't claim to be shocked.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Popcorn Ninja

We made an attempt to watch the new version of The Thing this weekend, which was so boring that it put Aaron to sleep. We didn't make it beyond the beginning before deciding to switch movies for, well, anything else. Sean popped some kettle corn and brought the bowl over to where Aaron and I were seated. Well, where I was seated. Aaron was sort of lounging across the love seat with his leg propped up on my shoulder. Effectively rendering me unable to move. He was more central than I was so Sean decided to place the bowl on sleeping Aaron's stomach.

This disturbed and roused Aaron, confused and hungry for kettle corn (apparently). He almost spills the contents by flopping a groggy hand at the bowl, unaware that it is full of food. But even in his half-awake state he expertly manages to determine what is in the bowl and decides that he wants some. Right then. I guess he figured by our reaction to his swatting that he had knocked some out of the bowl and onto himself when he tried to 'defend himself,' so he grabbed what he thought to be a piece of kettle corn and proceeded to toss it into his mouth. Oblivious to the weight and color being all wrong.

I know right away that it is not a piece of kettle corn and want to interject before he puts it into his mouth. However in my fervor all I can get out of my yapper is, "That's not kettle corn! It's a ninja!" Which, looking back, only further makes it seem like we're screwing with him. He puts it into his mouth regardless of my well-intentioned warning then gets a weird look on his face and spits it out. Because it is a ninja.

Popcorn Ninja!
Earlier in the evening Aaron had found the ninja on the end table beside the sofa and proceeded to use its tiny knife to poke me. Repeatedly. Shortly thereafter is when he dozed off, clutching the ninja in his hand while the rest of us made a valiant effort to get through the beginning of The Thing. As he slept however, his grip loosened and the ninja was abandoned on his chest. Forgotten by all.

I don't know if the rest of the room caught what was going on right away, because Sean and I were laughing so hard and Aaron just looked really tired and confused. Also? The movie was not that funny. I'm not certain which struck me more ridiculous, that Aaron had attempted to eat a ninja, or that I was so very concerned about it. As if the ninja would actually murder him from the inside, it would have easier access to all his vital organs after all.

There you have it, the night my fiance almost accidentally a whole ninja. Aaron: Ninja Devourer.

P.S. Yes, Sean, that is your ninja. It was a stow-away on my sweater.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Emil's Birthday

Aaron and I went down to San Jose for our friend's birthday this past weekend; had a lot of fun. Carpooled to Sean's with our other pals Josh and Will. The first night we had some drinks and watched several episodes of the new animated X-Men series. It was bad but at least in a way you could enjoy by making fun of. Beast is a weird cat-man (yet sometimes a dog-man thanks to inconsistent animation), Cyclops is a whiny emo with whiny emo hair, Wolverine compulsively explains his powers every time he uses them, and for some reason Storm can't do anything without exhausting herself like an elderly old man.

Later we tried to watch the new animated Wolverine series but that was just bad in all of the wrong ways. Wolverine starring The Fonz -- I'm not sure how else to describe all of the wrong. I know he's supposed to be a cool guy, but he's also supposed to be a dark, gritty guy. In my opinion, debonair is not ever a word you should be using to describe Wolverine.

We finally turned in around 3:00 AM, only to wake up sometimes just before 9:00 AM. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't groggy or at all despite only having gotten six hours of sleep. Sean served up some big fluffy pancakes with bacon and we laid around playing the 360. For lunch we strolled down to the BBQ where Aaron made tasty burgers for us all.

Ryan came down at some point during lunch and mentioned that he had downloaded a rather comedic documentary about Sex Robots, and the pitiful people who don't simply have a fetish for robots, but are so afraid of actual human women that they won't have anything to do with them. So naturally we headed back up to watch it and sure enough it was as entertaining as we'd suspected it would be. There are a lot of really, really sad people in this world, let me tell you that. Also? Sex Robots are hideous looking.

We spent the rest of the evening watching movies. Commando (you know the one) and Krull which has a young padawan-looking Liam Neeson in it. Braids and all. I think both movies would've made prime candidates for a drinking game, but we needed to head home that night and I'm pretty sure we would've gotten completely sloshed. Instead we had a Kettle Corn feast, then packed it up and headed back at around 10:00 PM.

Our journey was made difficult by the entrance ramp to the freeway being closed. We had to get on going the opposite direction we needed to be going, then get off and back on going the right way. This was further complicated by all of the other off ramps being poorly lit, convoluted labyrinths. Even so, it only took us two tries and then we were on our way.

We made it back around 12:00 AM and then parted ways with our passengers and were greeted by cats who seemed to think we were never coming home. All in all a great weekend spent in great company.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Star Wars: The Old Republic II

This is another entry about Star Wars: The Old Republic, an up coming MMORPG set in the Star Wars Universe. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can get a summary here. That is also where the first half of this review can be found. Once again, if you aren't a geek or a gamer this post will be entirely meaningless to you. Feel free to skip it.

With the launch of SWTOR fast approaching, I just have a few more things to address. One pertaining to the game itself, the others pertaining to the website and features contained therein. After the first two paragraphs, this is going to seem like one big long complaint, but it's more like me trying desperately to comprehend the thought process behind what's going on because it makes no logical sense.

First of all, this week the launch build went live for beta testers. This means, for the most part, this is what the game will be like on launch day. While several proposed ideas seem to yet be missing (the ability to match all of your armor to your chest piece for example), one thing you will notice immediately is that many of the framerate issues have been fixed. Developers finally acknowledged the severity of the game's memory leak (mentioned in my past review) and have been working to get it patched up before December 20th.

This means that those of you with lower end computers may not have to shell out as much for upgrades as beta originally lead you to believe. Like I said before, the game is not graphically intensive at all. Aside from the impressive scenematics you should be able to run everything on medium or high just fine so long as you meet the listed minimum requirements. That said, if your computer is older than three years it's about time for an upgrade anyway.

Another thing I wanted to talk about briefly is the website's pre-launch guild management. I hadn't bothered listing my guild until just this afternoon because the system is remarkably flawed. At a glance, it's a superb idea: let players who have preordered reserve their guildname and login day one already in their guild. Friends can easily find your guild in the registry and apply for membership so that you all wind up in the same place come launch day. That sounds amazing, how convenient and considerate! But there's a catch, a rather drastic one at that... you have absolutely zero control over where your guild is placed.

What's basically going to happen is that, come launch day, your guild will be ported onto a random server loosely associated with the interests your guild selected at the time of its registration. Not so bad if you selected that you want to be on a PVP or PVE server, as you'll undoubtedly be shuffled off to one of those. Pretty bad if you want to play on an RP server because there is no option to specify whether you want to play on an RP-PVP server or an RP-PVE server. So, chances are high that your entire guild could get dumped on the wrong server type.

This is also a nightmare if you have friends in guilds other than your own that you'd like to be on the same server as. If it doesn't manage to port you to the same server, you'll have to reroll anyway and hope your guild name isn't taken on the server you actually want to be on. Basically it nulls the entire point of having a preregistration feature.

While there is an ally/adversary feature which lets you select other guilds you'd like to play with/against and attempt to put you on the same server, even that isn't guaranteed and  you can only have three total. Not even three of each. Allies have to be the same faction as you are and adversaries have to be the opposite faction that you are. If you're like me, with several dozen friends in several dozen guilds, this only further makes preregistration almost entirely useless for anything other than the possible recruitment of strangers.

The only redeeming benefit to this feature was that it bestowed upon you your own guild site and forums. Which to most people is a great boon as otherwise they have no ability to get these sorts of things up and running themselves. Even this however is pointless. Two weeks post-launch this feature is going away. Which means that essentially whatever guild community you've been fostering on your nifty swtor.com provided site is going to be gone too. You may as well have hosted your own to begin with.

Long story short: you're where you would've been had this feature never existed at all come launch. I can't complain too much, as I'm sure on paper this idea worked well, but in practice it just doesn't work at all and seems to lack any foresight whatsoever. Let's be frank, foresight is a pretty important skill in maintaining a functioning community, especially when that community is composed entirely of gamers.

Finally let's talk about account security. As I'm sure many of you have noticed over the last few months, Bioware seems freakishly obsessed with your account's security, to the point where they're ironically compromising it. Every week or so they send out a mass email telling us that our passwords have been voided and to visit their site to create a new one. Thing is, the more you have to input your account name and password, the more likely you are to have your account information compromised. Because let's face it, not many of you are creating entirely new passwords every time they prompt you to do so -- and I can't blame you. By the time the game has launched you'll have no idea what the frak your password is anymore.

Offer account authenticators, make us answer security questions upon login, submit us to email verification when we attempt to login from a foreign computer, but don't make us enter our account name and password every time we try to navigate to a new part of the website. If the keylogger you downloaded from that HOT SCHOOL GIRL WOMAN SEXY LADY link didn't snatch your info before, it will definitely have now.


SWTOR: Part One.
SWTOR: Part Three.
SWTOR: Related.