Bubble Hearth » Random

Redemption

Cayleb — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:27:53 +0000

I’ve been away from this blog for a while, and before I launch back into it, I feel like the absence deserves an explanation. Several things have happened in the interim that contributed to my time away from the blog, not all of them bad, not all of them good.

Without getting into a long-winded ramble about personal issues, over the last six months I’ve:

Found out my grandfather has Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (he’s responding well to treatment now, but it was touch-and-go for a while)
Moved halfway across the continent, from Los Angeles back to my home state of Minnesota
Found out that I may have celiac disease (an auto-immune disorder where your body attacks itself if you ingest gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats)
Experienced joblessness amidst the deepest recession I’ve ever seen in my almost 29 years of life

So, it’s been an eventful enough Winter and Spring that even playing WoW took to the sidelines for a while, but I’m happy to say that life is settling down again finally, and I’m back. I’m unsure as to what to do with The Ethical Alt for now, what with 4.2 coming out today and plenty of catching up to do. It won’t get forgotten, but there may not be many new installments for the time being. I will try to get an “Ethical Alt Does The Fire Festival” out sometime before the Fourth of July, but no promises.

For now, I thank you for indulging in this posting’s brief foray outside of WoW and hope you’ll rejoin me as I write more over the next six months.

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-12-05

Cayleb — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:15:00 +0000

Sensitive documents reveal that of the somewhat-less-than 99 problems Jay-Z actually has, a b*%^$ IS IN FACT one of them. #wikileaks #
@Rilgon The Horde on our server run a coastal sweep to distract/prevent the Alliance from winning. It often seems to work. in reply to Rilgon #

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-11-28

Cayleb — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 04:15:00 +0000

@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 #

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-11-21

Cayleb — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:15:00 +0000

@Thespius My primary concern is also safety, which is why I don't really want to come near a backscatter X-Ray machine. Grope away, TSA… in reply to Thespius #
@marcustufano So they're gassing divorcees now? in reply to marcustufano #
@Achloryn Read a book, watch a low-key movie, or put on some calming music. Those are what I do. in reply to Achloryn #
Hey twitter… there's a Warcraft site out there that I've seen that tracks hot topics on the forums, not just blues. Forgot its name. Help? #
Also, Brazil: Happy Proclamation Day! #
@_anea omw… what toon am i looking for? in reply to _anea #
@Thespius @valkyrierisen Where can I find one of these debaucherous shot glasses? (Redundant? Perhaps. Delicious? DEFINITELY!) in reply to Thespius #
The Ethical Alt will be live-streaming on UStream in a little under 2 hours! #
The Ethical Alt – Live Stream Starting in 1hr 40min (Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/qqoP) #
@valkyrierisen Oh I've been there before. I grew up in the Twin Cities. Chicago is also beautiful, in its own (very Chicago) way. =) in reply to valkyrierisen #
@_anea It was my pleasure to help out. in reply to _anea #
Ethical Alt Livestreaming begins in 1 hour. (Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/qqoP) #
@Lysaria Congrats! in reply to Lysaria #
Ethical Alt Livestream begins in 30 minutes. (Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/qqoP) #
Livestreaming in 20 minutes. (Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/qqoP) #
The Ethical Alt is Livestreaming in 4 minutes. (Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/qqoP) #
The Ethical Alt is live tonight on Ustream. Starts Now! (Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/qqoP) #
An Inconvenient Expansion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOCh4WSLlGQ&feature=player_embedded #
@kurnmogh The last time I tried a heroic-mode switch mid-raid, we ported our hunter to an entirely separate instance of ICC from ours. in reply to kurnmogh #
@_anea The blue hair is what lured me in. in reply to _anea #
@_vidyala I blame you for the lost productivity I am now experiencing. =)~ in reply to _vidyala #
RT @damnyouac Damn You Auto Correct! » The Big D http://bit.ly/am8NzG // roflmao'ed so hard I cried… #
Absolutely horrifying: BBC News – Protesters sew lips shut at Australia asylum camp http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11795786 #
Best. SMS. Breakup. Ever. http://bit.ly/bC2f7P #
@shizukera Those are always fun surprises. Happened to me once over WG recently. Haven't overflown that zone since. in reply to shizukera #
@mikeschramm Indeed. I share your concern. Drunks shouldn't be subjected to such poor flavor quality when trying to get blitzed. in reply to mikeschramm #
@_anea Pickled herring. They're great on top of Triscuits! in reply to _anea #
@_anea It's not as bad as lutefisk, so I hear. Never had any of that stuff, though. Lye-soaked fish kinda scares me. in reply to _anea #
@Achloryn This is one of those times when living in a bubble would actually be a *good* thing. in reply to Achloryn #

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-11-14

Cayleb — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:15:00 +0000

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 #

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-10-31

Cayleb — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 03:15:00 +0000

@Brigwyn They might if it helps prevent certain bits and pieces from falling off. in reply to Brigwyn #
Take a look at the latest WoW parody: I Love Raiding http://bit.ly/d7P3iK Good job on the Machinima/video by @wowmanjack in reply to wowmanjack #
@anafielle Going through my followers, I saw your guild and just realized I sat in on a BlizzChat with Katmandu and Palehoof. /wave #
Odd. None of the addons I use are borked at the moment. I must be doing something wrong. #
#thingsmenshouldstopdoing Tweeting, apparently. #

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-10-24

Cayleb — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:15:00 +0000

Serious issues tonight with ICC. Attempted a Heroic 10, but switching the difficulty ported a raid member to a different instance of ICC. #
On switching back, the ported raid member was not in our instance. #

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-09-19

Cayleb — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 03:15:00 +0000

@psynister Grats! That's the next thing I'm angling for. in reply to psynister #
@_anea Make a baby alt, of course. =) #thisiswhatyougetwhenanaltoholicgivesyouadvice in reply to _anea #
@_anea I've been fighting the urge to level a dwarf lately. The only thing that's stopping me is that dwarves can't be shaman. Yet. in reply to _anea #
@Rhidach Gratz! in reply to Rhidach #
@Rilgon I'm more bugged that I've hit year three with no Kodo. in reply to Rilgon #

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-08-01

Cayleb — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:15:00 +0000

Lame… My iMac is refusing to read the Starcraft 2 disc. It will take about 5 more hours to download the digital copy. Grrrr! #

Cayleb’s Weekly Ramblings: 2010-06-27

Cayleb — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:15:00 +0000

New Post: Cayleb's Weekly Ramblings: 2010-06-20 – http://is.gd/cX5zf #
You know, with ships being all wood and such, you'd think they'd have a stricter "No Mounted Warlocks" policy on Azeroth's transport system. #
I think I might start a new project today or tomorrow. We'll see. #
@Laneer Oh, no it won't. AT&T network congestion at Blizzcon last year was insane. I couldn't even post to twitter via SMS for most of it. in reply to Laneer #
Just walked into my room. Puppies busy pretending they had Absolutely Nothing To Do With that loud noise. Cat nowhere to be seen. #
@Laneer There was. It was also useless due to network congestion. =/ Maybe they'll fix it this time… I'm not holding my breath though. in reply to Laneer #
An inexpensive but decent Blizzcon lodging option: http://www.abbysanaheimerinn.com/ I stayed there last year. Bonus: It's walking distance. #