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Archive for November, 2010

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-11-28

Nov 28

Posted by Cayleb in Random | No Comments

  • @Rilgon Oh god. I was just prepping a follow-up post somewhat related to his prior debacle. What now? in reply to Rilgon #
  • @Rilgon Entitlement can be so ugly. in reply to Rilgon #
  • If you thrive on fear, divisiveness, and a generally pro-conservative media, there's an app for that. http://t.co/sHkPgKX #
  • I like world events and all… but dang. Why break the SW-IF tram? #
  • @Achloryn Have you seen damnyouautocorrect.com? Seems like that would be right up your alley. in reply to Achloryn #
  • @_anea Ripe, fresh pomegranate seeds always cheer me up. in reply to _anea #
  • @FeistTheRogue @Rilgon LOL. Thanks both for the reminder. Not even sure if I did the questline already. Checking now. in reply to FeistTheRogue #
  • Not a good sign: Raene has no "Cleansing" quest for me. #
  • @Brigwyn Google's news algorithm picks out keywords from titles, then uses either articles themselves or image search as the source.
    So no. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • Twitter, I need help choosing a name for my gnome priest. Ideas: Gnomgnomgnom, Zhaspar, Theognomy, Gnorezforyou. Your votes? #
  • @Brigwyn Sure but Microsoft has also recently been in the news because they pulled that very symbol from one of their games. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @_anea Oooh, that's good… Sadly it's unavailable on my server. =( in reply to _anea #
  • @_anea I suggest Moocachino in reply to _anea #
  • @Brigwyn Sure, but wanting to prevent something implies having the foresight to consider it as a possibility. Not sure that applies here. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn I honestly think it's relevant to the story, being as the story is about the symbol. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @_anea What do you think of Sublimignome? #
  • @Brigwyn I quite honestly don't see it as any more offensive than any other flag associated with genocide. Confederate, Nazi, or otherwise. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Sure. The suffering and deaths of millions of African slaves were purely incidental. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Also, the Civil War was not fought over "state's rights." It was fought out of fear of losing the "right" to own people. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @_anea In the Stormwind Keep, I thought. Behsten, I think his name is. in reply to _anea #
  • @Brigwyn See the revisionist version is the "state's rights" bullpuckey. Slavery was *the* primary reason for Confederate Secession. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Read this: http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/reasons.html in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn If you want to ascribe to the Southern, white-supremacist version, go ahead and keep parroting the "states rights" bullpuckey. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn I assume you also bought the white-supremacist crap about the Reconstruction South being ridden with corrupt carpetbaggers? in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Had you stopped to consider that the other economic issues tied in to slavery? Free laborers find it hard to compete with slavery. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn I apologize for the misunderstanding. The states rights argument is based in white supremacy. I never once said you were one. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn And now that you have it, I believe I'm owed an apology for being called biased and dogmatic. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Dude. Chill out. I never said you were racist or a white supremacist. But examine the source of your beliefs once in a while. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Wrong. Dead wrong. The South would never have seceded if it were not afraid of losing slavery. Sovereignty was an excuse. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn I'm not saying the belief in individual and state's rights is wrong or racist. I'm saying it's a poor excuse for the Confederacy. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn See now you're actually discrediting the abolitionist movement, apparently without realizing it. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Not even close. And you're wrong about the timing too. Secession began right after Lincoln was elected. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Absolutely not. Where did the "Federal Government" violate the US Constitution prior to Secession? in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn South Caroline seceded in December of 1860, following Lincoln's election to the Presidency. Before he took office, but after he won in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Furthermore, NOT ONE of SC's stated reasons for secession was unrelated to slavery. NOT ONE. State's rights were an excuse. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn SECOND LINE of the Georgia doc, "…with reference to the subject of African slavery." in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn I see "slave" or some form of the word 18 times in SC's doc, and well over twice that many times in GA's separation doc. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn The Confederacy was not founded on the principle of "state's rights" but on the "right" to own another human being. Big difference. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn The "state's rights" reasoning in those documents was for benefit of legitimizing secession, not the reason behind it. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn I'm not. You're misunderstanding me. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn If we agree, then why can you not admit that the Confederate flag is just as offensive as the Nazi flag? in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn The point we disagree on is that the Confederate flag represented a nation founded in the desire to preserve slavery. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn I'm guessing @Ungaro has a saved search for "slavery" and our related discussion prompted a reply. =) in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn I actually grew up having learned the "state's rights" version, and only came to believe it false much more recently. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Quite possibly. It's still very difficult for a Northerner to accept any positive symbolism behind the Confederate flag. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Guilty as charged. I certainly can be a literal-minded smart-ass sometimes. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Indeed. I've enjoyed most of this exchange, but I must get some rest. Big day tomorrow, isn't it? in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @foxvanallen This is how the modern world defines us: who we sleep with and who we gossip with. in reply to foxvanallen #
  • @Achloryn Probably not, no. The "Elemental Fire Sale" blue post seems to imply that yesterday was the end of it. in reply to Achloryn #
  • @marcustufano Sad, but comparing it to the Jews is very much a false equivalence, and offensive to anyone with a connection to the camps. in reply to marcustufano #
  • The Situation was in Deathwing's way and all that hair product is giving Deathwing indigestion. #whythepatchislate #shattering #
  • Deathwing's GearScore addon froze while calculating his armor slot values. #whymaintenanceisextended #
  • Deathwing broke through the world, then got distracted by Facebook. #whymaintenanceisextended #
  • @restokin @cursenetwork That was my thought as well. They gotta get this part right or major headache ensues. in reply to restokin #
  • Deathwing went on strike, protesting working conditions that are "too safe." #whymaintenanceisextended #
  • @asmor Jealous? I'm not jealous? Why ever would you say a thing like that? Unrelated: Does pickpocket work on cookies? in reply to asmor #
  • Deathwing misjudged his entrance and ended up in a bad Matthew McConaughey movie instead. #whymaintenanceisextended #
  • That's kind of redundant, isn't it? …bad Matthew McConaughey movie… #
  • @TedtheThird For Alliance, definitely the Gadgetzan portal. It's the opposite end of Kalimdor from the two easy access points, Darn & Exo. in reply to TedtheThird #
  • @asmor ROFL. I think I'll just go to the store now. May not buy cookies though. That image has put me off my appetite. Forever. in reply to asmor #
  • @Wowhead I think my head may essplode from too much good news today! in reply to Wowhead #
  • @asmor Indeed. I'm just glad I'm driving this holiday season. Flying was bad enough before you had the chance to do free porn or get groped. in reply to asmor #
  • Dark Iron-US is UP!!!! #
  • @_anea Keep yer feet on th' ground. in reply to _anea #
  • So, there's now a portal to The Exodar inside the Temple of the Moon. Right next to the portal to the Blasted Lands. #
  • And now I keep getting disconnected. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken that portal to the Blasted Lands? #
  • Disabling addons seems to have no effect on the disconnecting. #
  • @_anea So I named her Lysefizz. Lyse being Norwegian for "light." Thank you for pointing me in the right direction! =) in reply to _anea #
  • @psynister No, not until midnight on Dec. 7th. in reply to psynister #
  • Ok, so I was able to log in on my mage and make 150g in portal tips in 30 minutes. But once I ported to SW, he disco'ed just like my pally. #
  • Ok, gonna go run an errand and hopefully this disconnect bug will work itself out before I get back. #
  • Lor'danel is getting creepier by the moment. First, Ancient Protectors frozen in poses, now Ranger Nal'Shea has a clone. #
  • Darkshore… oh, Darkshore… so sad, almost unbearably so. Seeing this zone fills me with such emotional conflict. #
  • @matticus One of my guildmates did while flying through a zone on a gryphon. He escaped with 2% health, and the achievement. in reply to matticus #
  • @mikeschramm Should be. They're even open for part of tomorrow, if I recall correctly. in reply to mikeschramm #
  • @wowcynwise Just walking through the zone yesterday was enough to break my heart. in reply to wowcynwise #

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Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-11-21

Nov 21

Posted by Cayleb in Random | No Comments

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Racing To The Level Cap: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Nov 19

Posted by Cayleb in Achievements, Cataclysm | No Comments

As long as there are Realm Firsts to be had, the hype and excitement around them seems unavoidable. Cataclysm has its share of firsts to achieve early on in the expansion, just as Wrath did.  Already, players are asking questions:  Will heirlooms work until level 85?  (No.)  Will they stop working as soon as you hit 80 or right before you hit 81?  (As soon as you hit 80.)  Can we stock up on completed dailies to turn in right after midnight on December 7?  (Yes.)  How long will the leveling from 80-85 take?  (Depends.)

The question that really hasn’t been asked is this:  What are the pros and cons of trying to get a Realm First! Level 85 Feat of Strength?  That’s the question I’ll attempt to answer here.  In truth, the answer is highly subjective and may vary greatly from person-to-person, but this post will at the very least provide a comprehensive review of the potential costs and benefits of trying for this acheivement, along with my take on the matter. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Ethical Alt Livecast: Episode 1

Nov 17

Posted by Cayleb in Altoholism | 3 Comments

Episode 1 of the Ethical Alt Livecast, starring Ayenwatha the Tauren Druid and with a special guest appearance by Sriya, the Tauren Shaman. Quest breakdown post to follow tomorrow soon.

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The Ethical Alt: Character Selection

Nov 16

Posted by Cayleb in Altoholism | No Comments

Before all of this begins, of course, the character must be rolled.

First Things First

First choice: which server?  My gut reaction was to roll a toon on Proudmoore-US, a PvE server.  Proudmoore, for those not in the know, has a vibrant and accepting LGBT community.  The frequency of homophobic comments in trade chat there is markedly lower than on other servers, in my experience.  It also is a PvE server, which would limit ganking.  But this comes with a downside that was brought to my attention in a Vent conversation just the other day.  The fact that Proudmoore is a PvE server, as well as something of a social anomaly, means there are less opportunities to make ethical (or unethical) decisions.  This is not ideal.  In other words, as a guild-mate pointed out, in real life you constantly “…have to choose whether or not to punch the ignorant *****bag in the face.”  Also, I’m bringing my real-world ethics into the game.  I would not choose to ghettoize myself in the real world; I will not in the game world.  A server is a community, and while there is nothing wrong with the Proudmoore community, I do not live in West Hollywood or San Francisco’s Castro or any other predominantly gay neighborhood.  I’m content living as a minority, outside of the ghetto.

So this character will not be born on Proudmoore, but that still leaves a lot of other options.  PvP or PvE?  RP or not?  My very first server was an RP server.  I lived on Feathermoon as a lowbie for quite a while, so I do have a soft spot for such places.  Nonetheless, the in-game RP component of this experiment is nearly non-existent.  From time-to-time you may hear directly from the Ethical Alt or read snippets of his journal here, but in-game RP will likely be limited for a couple reasons.  First, this is not an RP project and I don’t want to disappoint anyone who was hoping for a fully fleshed out character biography or storyline for the Ethical Alt.  Second, I can get easily distracted, and so avoiding the potentially pleasant diversions of RP will help this project to stay on task.  Finally, the ethical dilemmas that I truly wish to explore are not the ones that player storylines create via RP.  They’re the ones that Blizzard has introduced via the game itself.

But that still leaves me with the Big Decision:  PvP or PvE?  Part of the Ethical Alt’s purpose is to explore the ethical dimensions of the game and its players and how the game world reflects and reacts to the real world.  Since I moved off of Feathermoon, world PvP (also known as ganking, corpse-camping, auction house griefing, etc.) has been a big part of my experience in game.   While sticking to a PvE server would make it easier to suss out the ethical fabric of questing without interruption, the real world isn’t like that.  Life is full of interruptions and sometimes violent ones.  External annoyances raise our blood pressure and sometimes nudge us towards a course of action we otherwise would not have—or should not have—taken.  While I don’t plan to suddenly become a raging asshat during this project because someone decided to camp me for three hours while in Zangarmarsh, I do think that world PvP still involves scores of ethical decisions, some of which can be influenced by one’s current temper.  So PvP it is.  Stormscale-US, to be precise.

Other Minor Details

Oh, but now I have to name him.  And what will his race and class be?  Obviously Death Knights, Rogues, and Warlocks have huge ethical issues surrounding their skillsets.  Inflicting very painful diseases, ventilating other players, or cursing them and corrupting their very souls… these do not seem to me to be particularly pleasant ways to go.  Reflective of my own ethics, I don’t feel that torturing my foes is a necessary action.  This also rules out several Priest abilities of the Shadow school and the entire Fire school for Mages.  Indeed, even the Shaman’s mastery over Lightning could be considered unethical.  (Emperor Palpatine, anyone?)  Indeed, just about every class has abilities that would constitute clear violations of the Geneva Conventions, let alone my personal ethics.  Perhaps, then, it’s best to focus on a name or race selection first.

From the standpoint of selecting a faction that is reflective of my personal ethics, this may not be quite so easy as I thought.  Humans are out, as are Dwarves.  Both tend to focus a bit too much on all that glitters and too little on how their mining and archaeology negatively impact the ecology  of their world.  Also, if ever there was a faction that promoted the killing of small, basically defenseless, proto-sentient tribes… it would be the Humans of Stormwind.  The Gnomes are problematic for the fairly obvious reason that their unconstrained lust for technology has managed to render their original home uninhabitable.  The only truly eco-conscious factions in the Alliance are the Draenei and the Night Elves.  But one crashed their stolen spaceship into a remote island, causing (unintended) ecological catastrophe, and the other seems to have a problematic relationship with large invasive tree species.  (The fact that the planting of Teldrassil was opposed by Nozdormu is not insignificant.)  And the Worgen?  Too savage to even contemplate seriously.

So the Horde… this may not be much better.  The Blood Elves seem too focused on sating their magic addictions, and too careless of the consequences.  The Forsaken, it should go without saying, are out for obvious reasons, “Death to the living!” not least among them.  While Thrall seems to be a decent fellow, the Orcs of Orgrimmar in general do not always follow his creeds.  <cough>Garrosh<cough, cough>.  The Darkspear Trolls might be a good option, except I’m not keen on tusks.  Goblins would be an option, if not for basically everything about them.  Even the Tauren aren’t perfectly ideal, given their bloody reclamation of Mulgore by force from its centaur inhabitants.

Not As Easy As I Thought

Maybe if I come up with a name, that would be better.  A name that’s reflective of qualities I feel are noble, ethical, and desirable.  It should be reflective of a desire for peace and unity.  It should embody a respect for the spirit of the world and all things living in it.  It should personify ideas of liberty, diversity, and justice.

I can only think of one such name.  Ayenwatha, follower of the Great Peacemaker of the Iroquois, uniter of the League.  Had Ayenwatha not helped to bring the Five Nations together, the entire history of our planet for the last five hundred years would most likely be incomprehensibly different in ways we cannot understand.  You see, it was not from the distant and ancient Greeks or Romans that the American farmers, brewers, shipwrights, and barrel-makers took their strong concepts of individual liberty.  No, it was from their Native American neighbors next door.  It was from early and frequent contact with societies so alien to that of the hierarchical Europeans that the tired, poor, huddled masses developed their yearning to be free.  And like any good idea, this one spread like wildfire.  Not from ancient Athens in the East, but from the roots and boles of the great forests of the American Northeast, where even the lowliest Iroquoian was free.  Indentured servitude, slavery, Jim Crow, fascism… all these are not casualties of American exceptionalism, but of the unstoppable force of Native American idealism.  This seems like as good a time and place as any to commemorate that.

The following quote is taken from a translation of the Gayanashagowa, The Great Law of Peace which formed the constitution of the Iroquois.  It sums up with near precision what I believe to be the most noble qualities of a leader.

Excerpt from: The Great Law of Peace

The Lords of the Confederacy of the Five Nations shall be mentors of the people for all time. The thickness of their skin shall be seven spans — which is to say that they shall be proof against anger, offensive actions and criticism. Their hearts shall be full of peace and good will and their minds filled with a yearning for the welfare of the people of the Confederacy. With endless patience they shall carry out their duty and their firmness shall be tempered with a tenderness for their people. Neither anger nor fury shall find lodgement in their minds and all their words and actions shall be marked by calm deliberation.

So Ayenwatha it is. It seems now that a Tauren Druid is the best choice, given the name. If anyone would like to join me, Ayenwatha will be exploring his starting zone tomorrow on Stormscale-US tomorrow night at 7pm Pacific.

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Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-11-14

Nov 14

Posted by Cayleb in Random | No Comments

  • TLPD Watch, Day Three – No Vyra spottings in the last 24 hours. Coverage has been sporadic and not complete. #
  • "For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love." ~ Carl Sagan. He would have been 76 today. #
  • @KhiTree Possibly because we regularly make our political opponents into villainous caricatures these days? in reply to KhiTree #
  • @Rilgon I've ran into that bug too. Very annoying. in reply to Rilgon #
  • @matticus No. GM's should have to earn it just like everyone else. Let's the guild members know if the GM is serious or not. in reply to matticus #
  • Just saw this today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GJ7eueZ1wY
    Literally laughed so hard I cried. #
  • Starting an epic article series for the blog as a way to get back into WoW-related writing. Look for it tomorrow morning. #
  • @punkforpez I am wrought with an sudden fit of envy. Must. have. bobble-head. Yoda. =) in reply to punkforpez #
  • @punkforpez Thank you. If ever I can repay you for the tip, for example, by pulling you from a burning building, let me know! =) in reply to punkforpez #
  • @psynister Awesome job on this list, by the way! If you want to add me, main is Cayleb, Dark Iron-US, (A). Also play Enio, Eddywizzard. in reply to psynister #
  • @Palehoof A belated happy Veteran's Day to you too. Glad we got a chance to meet at the Guild Leadership Blizzchat at Blizzcon. in reply to Palehoof #
  • @anafielle Seems like twitter got on that pretty quickly. Account does not exist. in reply to anafielle #
  • Just got my first ever [Let's Get This Done!] in AB. Too bad it was on my frost mage and not my pally main. Ah well. #
  • @psynister Huzzah! Thanks =) in reply to psynister #
  • I've just finished violating the privacy of five Stormwind Citizens at the gates. It's for a good cause though, they tell me. #
  • ROFL… Ancients of wheat and water… peppered the way… glaze Stormwind… ROFL. #
  • @Brigwyn There's a place in downtown LA that does great tacos, but uses only cabbage. Surprised me the first time too. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @psynister You know… a thought occurs to me. You could set up The List as a viewable Google Spreadsheet with a form that users self-sub. in reply to psynister #
  • Three Cheese Tortellini (not from scratch) + Black Olive & Garlic Red Sauce (from scratch) = Epic Dinner Win! #
  • @Brigwyn LOL. Civic Center Station? If so, it's likely b/c it was closed for maintenance earlier today and the sign hasn't reset. in reply to Brigwyn #
  • @Brigwyn Or not. Maybe that was just the elevator. So many service alerts, so hard to remember them all. #
  • @_vidyala Just saw RED. Very good. Now deciding whether to level Eddy, my frost mage, or work on The Ethical Alt some more. in reply to _vidyala #
  • @_vidyala Indeed. I think that's what I'll go for. Frost is soooo fun these days! in reply to _vidyala #
  • @anafielle Probably Blizzcon, but it's seriously a close call. in reply to anafielle #
  • Going to be listening to the Twisted Nether podcast tonight. Starts soon: http://is.gd/fU4dy #

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Some Link Love and a Cleanup in Aisle Five

Nov 13

Posted by Cayleb in Achievements, Altoholism, Cataclysm, Community, Dungeons | No Comments

Ongoing Cleanup

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my loyal readers, both of you.  Without you, this lowly blog would fade into complete obscurity, dropping from the 1297389473rd most read of all the websites on the internet to 1297389474th.  You’re doing a good thing.  In service to you, I’m going to be cleaning up my link rolls over the next week or so, removing some dead/inactive blogs and adding others.  Not other dead blogs, though.  That would be silly.  As a favor to me, if either of you know of any great Paladin-, Alt-, or Achievement-related blogs that I’ve missed, or just some favorite WoW-related blogs of yours that I’ve missed, please let me know in the comments.

For right now, though, I’m going to share some link love (after the jump) on this fine Saturday.

Read the rest of this entry »

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The Ethical Alt

Nov 12

Posted by Cayleb in Altoholism | 6 Comments

Introduction

I’ve been tossing about an idea in my head for quite some time.  More of a question, really.  In Azeroth (and Outland) we regularly encounter quests where we are asked to assassinate some enemy, hunt down and kill rare/endangered species, extract information from our foes via torture, or mindlessly slaughter scores of sentient beings.  In our day-t0-day lives, any of these acts would land us in jail, quite possibly for a very long time.  Obviously, Azeroth is different.  But…

What if it were not?  Or, more accurately, what if I could level a toon as if it were not?  What would it be like, taking my personal, real world ethics, and bringing them into the game world?  Is it possible to level an alt to 85 without wandering into any ethical “grey areas” or beyond into doing things that, in the real world, would directly translate as wrong or unethical?  Is it going to be fun?  What insights could be had?

In discussing this idea with a few of my friends, one suggested a couple additional questions that had not initially occurred to me.  Elik, a very wise mage friend of mine, said that this series would likely be one she would follow eagerly for a couple reasons.  She suggested that this would be an incredible opportunity to gain an inside look at how the virtual world and ours intermesh.  For her, I will be making sure to try to answer a couple more questions.  How are player personalities exhibited through their playstyle?  Which traits do we bring with us into the game world, and (perhaps more importantly) which do we choose to leave behind?

Quite obviously, this has the potential to be an exhausting and grindy process.  It also has the potential to go off the rails, as it were, if there are not some clearly defined parameters at the start.  Of course, even with a set of clear ethical principles there will be dilemmas and challenges along the way.  There will be hard decisions to make.  These are part and parcel of the project.  The four simple ground rules below are not the whole of my ethical system, but merely ground rules that cover the interaction between myself and how I play as the Ethical Alt.  They’re rules established to keep the project productive and entertaining. Read the rest of this entry »

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