OK, so I’m getting pretty involved with World of Warcraft. I know I won’t have a lot of time to devote to the game, though, so I’m probably only going to do 1 character (2 if I have to change servers for some reason). It looks like my Tauren Druid was a pretty good (lucky) choice.
I want my character to mesh well with other people’s in raids/parties/etc. So here’s my plan for talent growth:
- Max Mark of the Wild in Restoration tree: I'm told it's the best buff in the game, and I can start upgrading it immediately at level 10.
- Max entire feral combat tree: From there, I'll turn my attention solely to feral combat, with these goals:
- Boost my bear's threat level, to hold the attention of monsters so I can serve as a tank.
- Boost my cat's stealth, for quick kills while soloing.
- Get cat's travel speed bonus, which is available 10 levels before the travel form, to get around the world faster (it'll be a long time before I get a mount).
- Eventually earn Leader of the Pack, which will boost the entire party's stats.
- Alchemist/herbalist: I've already gotten quite a few useful leather items from "jdredd5150" and "mr_mooph", so I'm hoping this will let me create some useful potions instead.
I hope I understand the pros/cons of these abilities right, ‘cause it’s gonna take a long time to earn ‘em…
Read more...Diana left the garage door cracked last night, and both she and her mom were pretty sure no one could have squeezed under it. But this morning I found it standing wide open, and her car door ajar.
Looks like all they took were her music CDs; her stereo was still in place, as were all the other contents of the garage. Musta been some kid, because a junkie would’ve then gone into the house (through the unlocked inner door) and taken purses/electronics/lives/etc.
I told Diana not to bother with a police report. But hopefully she’ll start locking her car even when it’s in the garage, as I’ve been doing.
Read more...You know, if I had never gotten into ROM hacking, I might have made a good genetic researcher…
> MIT World » : DNA Mutation, Repair and the Environment
> Samson wants to figure out how to protect cells against > carcinogenic effects in the environment, and whether a > tumor cell will be susceptible to treatment. She has been > painstakingly studying the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast > organism, trying to identify all the factors that determine > whether or not DNA damaging agents kill or mutate cells. > She interrogated each of this organism’s 5,800 genes, > “asking one by one, which of you is making a product that’s > important to helping a cell recover from damage.” In what > was a “huge surprise,” Samson learned that there are more > than 2,000 gene products involved in helping a yeast cell > repair itself, “from areas of the cell never suspected > before for being important” in this way.
http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/387/
Read more...Those of you who like gangster flicks should definitely Netflix yourself a copy of City of God. It’s the next Goodfellas, only in Portugese.
Read more...> From: hr_drone@mycompany.com > To: All Mail Users > > Did you know September is National Fruit and Vegetable > Month? To reinforce the importance of these food groups we > encourage you to eat at least five servings of fruits and > vegetables each day throughout September. > > Each Friday, for the rest of the month, we will be > providing plates full of your favorite fruits. Feel free > to enjoy them and pick up a flyer that outlines some of the > many benefits.
Wow… (sniff…) I’ve never worked for a company that actually cared whether I got enough fiber.
Read more...Got this message via Flickr today…
> I am writing to let you know that five of your photos with > a creative commons license have been short-listed for > inclusion in the second edition of our Schmap Kauai Guide, > to be published mid-October 2006.
I published my stuff under the Creative Commons license because, while it’s good enough to circulate, it’s not professional enough to charge for.
They look completely legit, partly because the license I agreed to in the final submission has these key terms:
> (c) Schmap shall, to the extent reasonably practicable, > provide Internet link(s) to your Photos. > … > (f) Schmap shall continue to make its destination/local > guides available at no cost to end users.
That’s right; not only do I get credited and linked to, but in the event they start to charge end users for these guides, my license to them to use my photos is automatically revoked. I assume they’ll be making some profit from ad revenues, but doesn’t Flickr as well? I’m just happy to have people looking at the product of my hobby.
I’m also excited from the standpoint that I hope to one day be an entrepeneur like these guys. Using this Creative Commons content means they don’t have to employ an army of photographers, unlike traditional travel guides. Maybe when it’s time for me to start my business, I’ll be able to do it all by myself.
Read more...Found a new emulator called pSX last night. It’s the first PlayStation emulator to bring quality and compatibility on par with those available for older systems. Anyway, it inspired me to break out a few old games…
Anyone else remember Battle Area Toshinden? That was actually one of the main reasons I first purchased a Playstation. Well, I went back and played it last night, and it’s a lot worse than I remember. I mean, it’s REALLY bad. And yet great at the same time. I cracked up all over again as Fo Fei fell out of the ring during his win pose.
Read more...:::whimper:::
HotelDescriptiveContent hotelContent = factory.createOTAHotelDescriptiveContentNotifRQHotelDescriptiveContentsHotelDescriptiveContent()
I hate code generators. Hate them!
Read more...My official return to atheism...
For a while there I was telling people I was an agnostic. This was out of a desire to avoid arguments at parties, and a desire to avoid people thinking I was trying to convert them as they would convert me. No more.
I do not believe in God, or any sort of supernatural beings. My statement that they do not exist is not an act of faith; it is due to the complete lack of any reliable evidence to the contrary.
It was actually an interview with Douglas Adams published in The Salmon of Doubt that first inspired me to take another look at the issue:
> An Interview with Douglas Adams, Winter 1998-1999 > “I don’t accept the currently fashionable assertion that > any view is automatically as worthy of respect as any equal > and opposite view. My view is that the moon is made of > rock. If someone says to me “Well, you haven’t been there, > have you? You haven’t seen it for yourself, so my view that > it is made of Norwegian Beaver Cheese is equally valid” - > then I can’t even be bothered to argue. There is such a > thing as the burden of proof, and in the case of god, as in > the case of the composition of the moon, this has shifted > radically. God used to be the best explanation we’d got, > and we’ve now got vastly better ones.” http://www.americanatheist.org/win98-99/T2/silverman.html
Since then, I’ve found countless writings that put into words the thoughts that were already tumbling around at the back of my mind:
16 Common Myths About Atheists http://wayofthemind.dehumanizer.com/2006/08/15/16-common-myths-about-atheists/
Understanding Delusion http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/your-delusion.htm
IT Conversations: Sam Harris http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail785.html
So from now on, I will wear my badge proudly. I am an atheist.
Read more...Yaaay! iTunes 7 has “skip count” and “last skipped”! This could render ratings obsolete.
Too bad I lost our iPod Shuffle a week or so ago. I may have to order another. (Damn loose slacks pockets… In fact, damn slacks altogether; I wanna wear jeans to work!)
Read more...