Thursday 25 June 2009

Mapwow still exists!! Hoorah

WoW - I found out last night that veteran WoW map site, aptly named mapwow.com is alive and well and has the map of Northrend on it - w00t! A complete set, Northrend, Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, and Outland.

This takes me back to my earliest memories of WoW, when I only had Gatherer, and a pick and a dream (The same dream all other miners had, that being 'Fill your immense and will-never-need-replacing 14 slots bags with ore')

I would peruse the wonderful map on mapwow and select the next area to pillage in my search for engineering excellence. Then Wrath came out, and I discovered Carbonite, then they rendered my subscription obsolete and I used the full carbonite addon's minimap (Which is great BTW)

However, due to wanting to print a giant wall mounted map of Azeroth, I stumbled across mapwow once again, and Hoorah, they have a new section, with a new map. It's still brilliant!! I highly endorse mapwow (Apart from the goldfarmer adverts, ofc)

Talking of endorsements, I'd like to thank the ZAM wow websites (Thottbot & Wowhead) and wow.com (Formerly wowinsider.com) cheers guys and girls, keep it up.

BTW, Team Bubblehearth Inc. on Moonglade EU are recruiting, I'm informed by a reliable source. They're looking for officers and class leaders, and lots of druids/ pallies/ shammies.

IRL - The lawyers to the people we're buying the house from have been SO busy hurrying us along that they forgot their search was about to expire. So after being chivvied along by the rest of the chain, we're ready first. However, there is good news, the hapless legal team one step up the chain from us have managed to get an indemnity signed and we should exchange contracts any day. It'll be nice to get a whole night's sleep. This whole fiasco has caused sleep loss, back ache, headaches, the works. My poor boy is teething, the Mrs and I are stressed due to the house, and I'm knackered due to overtime. My boss has been brilliant and given me a shedload of opportunities to make some extra money. Cheers chief :) However, I could use a day off soon.

How do you have an actual day off if you have a girlfriend and a child? I suppose I could take two days off, send the Mrs and Junior away for the day, then Junior and I have the next day letting the Mrs have a well earned rest. Is that fair?

It does mean we'd get the evenings and mornings together, which would be refreshing as opposed to our current setup - I run around like a loon getting ready for work, she makes my lunch, I go. :(

Work is going well, but still afraid of the axeman. In these hard times, no one is indispensible.

Advice to all, keep your head down.

Saturday 20 June 2009

OMFG - I run the guild

WoW - The guild is now mine

Oh. dear. god.

The guildmaster has left. He's made me chief, so it was time to bring out the big guns. I've moved my main out of my old and beloved guild, and I'm toughing it out as the guild master now. It's weird.

We're going on a recruitment drive. I'm not sure it's a brilliant idea, but I figure sod it, now I'm in charge, I'll see if I can do some good.

I got both my WoW T-Shirt and my new PC today. The first being an 'Ironforge Anvils' shirt, and the other is an HP xw6200 3.2GHz Xeon. Just waiting for a decent graphics card.

IRL - We had people come round to look at the house, so we had to iron the cat and hoover the lawn. The house looks lovely, but it's still odd.

Have a lovely Saturday night

Friday 19 June 2009

Two Posts today - You lucky Peeps PtII

WoW - Yes, the beast we all fear has reared his ugly head, and that beast has a name - Guild Drama

I'm in a great guild. After the initial issue of 'Digital Laryngitis' (No one responds when you ask a question to guild chat, esp. one for help) things have been fairly settled of late, however, the last week has been nightmarish. We've had at least 3 good officers leave. One citing joining a friends guild, another couldn't handle the pressure of being an officer, and others just /gquit on us for no apparent reason.

The first two were such top blokes I won't sling mud, but I do wish they'd come back. The guild master has taken a leave of absence to get his head straight away from the guild, and put myself and another guildee in charge for a couple of weeks. Slightly scary, but I figure we'll soldier on.

I've dinged my druid to 75, so I can finally use that mercurial thingamyjig I made in Alchemy. After doing so many dailies I had a bit of a splash out and bought some nice new armour bits. Does anyone actually make the entire iceborne leather set? Doesn't look like it on Moonglade - EU. Talking of leather, got my original main out of mothballs to go skin Northrend. I should start seeing better leatherworking through dint of hard work within the month - Yay!!

I suppose I should move my 80 DK across so I can raid with the guid a bit, make her chief cheese. Shame she's not the best DPS ever, need to find what to do about that, but I suppose the secret is just to keep raiding and pick up nicer bits. It'll be nice to play her again, I find my Druid is a little frail as he's a boomkin. Hmm, what to do?

Two posts today! You lucky peeps - Pt 1

IRL - The move is depressing me, we were supposed to exchange contracts Monday, but the lawyers are taking their own sweet time. Ours are great, but the other people on the chain appear to have employed very slow legal-eagles, sort of legal-pidgeons, I suppose.

OK, one thing you need to know, I have a list of things I want to do before I die. I've a lot of them, I'm a father to a brilliant son, I've got engaged with a lovely girl with a proper diamond ring, I used to own a British Sports Car, I've achieved Apple certification, and other stuff. But the list includes getting married (Yes, I call her the Mrs, but you get the idea, she's currently the Mrs in heart, thought and word, but not deed.) and owning my own house on it's own land (Esquire) That last one is actually quite important to me, especially as it is SO close to becoming a reality

Wednesday 17 June 2009

Mounts nerfed

WoW mounts are getting nerfed again. This is brilliant. Well, kinda. The only downside is that all of my alts are 60 or above now. The only positive change for me is earlier flying. It'll be nice as a rogue skinner/leatherworker to swoop down on piles of bodies to harvest their hides.

Shame they can't make 60% flying in Northrend. Tired of being stuck to the floor :(

wow.com are running this as their breakfast topic here. Worth a look in, methinks.

As for the Mountain Dew Battlebots, One is not amused....

Tuesday 16 June 2009

Spinning my wheels

Sorry I abandoned you all, it's been a busy weekend. Grinding rep with RL mates in WoW, finally doing Sethekk Halls on Heroic, more rep etc, kodohide set pieces blah blah blah - I know that it's a bit below me as a 74 Druid, but I want Swift Flight form and Lower City Honoured is required, so it's all gravy, baby.

As for RL, house progresses further, signed off the paperwork, after some issues with Witham Library staff being damnably difficult, and posted it. My advice to Braintree district council, defrag those PCs once in a blue moon - they blow.

Antec 900 case! W00t! Building a new slinky system, based on decent quality second hand parts (Come on, I'm a Dad, I don't have the money to go see AlienWare for a new system) Been spinning my wheels slightly in WoW, not sure what to do, obviously levelling is a priority, but been kind of twiddling my thumbs, WoW-wise.

I think I will focus on Valiance rep, I can Daily my way to higher levels, while I wait for guildees' invites for instances.

Live long and prosper, or something

Friday 12 June 2009

Run, short-arse, run!

I have just had something in WoW I haven't had for a while, a 'I could die, keep running!!' moment.

I haven't done a corpse-run* for a long time. My dwarf priest ran (rode, but same thing) from Orebar Harborage in Zangarmarsh to Area 52 in Netherstorm. No amazing achievement, but no mean feat either, as I didn't actually die. I carried on and made it to Stormspire, just for sh*ts and g*ggles.

'Twas quite exhilerating - Oddly enough the first two reference suggestions in dictionary.com are accelerating and excreting, which fairly well sums up the experience.

Friday night is nearly upon us, so I shall be at my trusty desk for one of my last Friday night runs in this house. New house/ttable/ISP beckons. Hopefully the internet connection will be better as the current one blows recently. Go Team Bubblehearth Inc!

*A corpse-run is where you run into or hopefully through an area above your level, taking hits and keeping going to get somewhere you need to go. The corpse part is due to the high incidence of death/ressurect/run/repeat depending how out of your league you are.

I am so tired

I shouldn't be this knackered. Getting slightly less sleep this week, but feel like I stayed out last night and walked straight to work. I have lots of fruit juice to drink to perk me up some, let's hope it works.

Berocca, here I come :)

Thursday 11 June 2009

I'm a commuter, get me out of here

The Jubilee Line works!

There is a strike in London by the RMT union, for various reasons, which has made travelling on the tube very difficult. I'd just like to say thank you to those who use and run the Jubilee line today. It's been very civilised in spite of being absolutely rammed.

For those in the RMT on strike today, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Wednesday 10 June 2009

I am....The Potion Master!!

Master of Potions!!

At last, my brilliant guild leaader and a stalwart of the guild, who I will recommend for a guild commission, took my druid to Botanica. I got the book, made the potions, and now I am a potion master!!

Next up, save for my 300 riding skill and do the Switft Flight Form quest. I heard rumblings that this was trainable if you have bought the riding skill, not sure whether to go for the full achievement and bump up my Lower City faction (Which is increasingly irrelevant as I approach 75) or just get it from the trainer. Decisions, decisions. I got my pally mount the hard way, so I might do this that way just because I like the challenge.

My thanks to my guildees, without whom this would not be possible (in spite of my previous anger at others guildees for going silent on me)

As you may also have guessed, I've finally got the hang of putting links in. And yes, I love Thottbot

Monday 8 June 2009

At last, the week is here!

Well, at last the week is here.
Yeah, I know that seems wrong, but after such a fraught weekend, the week is practically a holiday by comparison. We had a short Friday night due to getting back late. Saturday was a washout due to the vendors of the house not coming back to us about visiting to measure up for carpets, take pictures for a paint job and so forth, this caused bickering over the silliest thing. I hope they didn;t get back to us because they weren't actually there. Otherwise, it's just a complete lack of courtesy. After that it was my least favourite activity involved in moving, the packing. At least there was an Indian takeaway, and that was delicious. Sunday was overtime, and a very busy one too.

Thanks to the staff at Stratford Station, the journey home was a nightmare. Their definition of 'Flooding' to the stairs at platform 10 was a puddle the size of a hardback book, and about as deep as an omelette. Sheesh! This meant they tied one end of the platform off, no signs further up or any announcements. There was no information when the trains were heading out my way. (Here's an idea, stop making train stations out of the marble-esque material that gets really slippery when it gets rain on it. We're in Britain, it rains alot. Who designs a station that becomes an ice rink the second it rains, and yet knows it's in Britain. Dur! Bill Hicks would have a field day with you.)

After all that, I got home to a promise from our guild leader to help out with a trip to the Botanica in Netherstorm to get the potions book from High Botanist Freywinn. I had dinner and I logged back on and most of the guild was suddenly silent when I asked for help. The guild leader wasn't on. I'm getting the book to make more potions for the guild, and only two guildees even bothered to respond and they were busy. I was disgusted. In the end only my mate Vinny helped out, but it wasn't enough. We needed the numbers or it was wipe-o-rama all the way. Two precious WoW hours completely wasted. I was livid, and hurt. When people need help, I'm there, when I need it, they're all staring at thier shoes and looking sheepish.

Considering a raiding guild that has regular runs at set times.

Friday 5 June 2009

The slow burn

I am knackered. I've pulled two late shifts (Only two extra hours each) this week, and I've got a short shift Sunday. Throw in a few late nights and I'm not firing on all four. I suspect I shall have to go to bed earlier for a few days, or nap a little Saturday. I used to burn the candle both ends, up 'til 2, work at 8, work 'til 8 rinse and repeat. Now I'm totally useless at staying up late. I have to prop my eyelids open at midnight!

The flipside I suppose is now my bank balance is healthier and I can keep a job down, and I don't bite everyone's heads off all the time. I still do sometimes, and that's due to having a little petty mean streak, but hey, leopards and spots and all that.

WoW - Barely got a look in this week. It's been about the cooking awards for my mage, although I realised last night she's got honoured with Cenarion Expedition, and Hono(u)r Hold so I went and got the lvl 70 pieces from the quartermasters. The trousers are better, but the shoulders are competing with Frostwoven Shoulders. Although I should level the mage enough soon to mean I can use other parts of the Frostwoven set and still use the 70 set too. Swings and roundabouts abound.

I read a brilliant book by Iain M. Banks called 'Consider Phlebas' where the ship's captain had a modification to his brain to allow him to use one half of his brain for 24 hours, then the other, negating the need for sleep. Although I do love sleep, I could get more work done, have more family time and level my chars faster if I didn't need to sleep. Right now, I could use a little shuteye.

Have a good weekend :)

Thursday 4 June 2009

No word yet.....

It's been a few days, and a certain German-owned telecomms company haven't answered my question about the patchiness of the wireless broadband connection.

I could really use a beer, but it's off to the Osteopath for another round of crunch-manip-pop-ula-graunch-tion. After that, I'd like some quality WoW time, but with the move it's not exactly likely I'll get a decent session.

Still, I could murder a cold beer. Maybe I'll get a VH in tonight.

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Moving home is hard to do

That's right folks, we have boxes, lots of 'ems. Frikkin fahsands of them. (Actually not thousands, just seems like that) I need to start organising packing, and I'm not really feeling a lot of enthusiasm for the subject.

On a lighter note: My mage is storming up the cooking skills charts, having doen an Outland and a northrend cooking quest. Quite satisfying. Not sure what to do next, considering levelling my priest so I can make a flying carpet, also, everyone loves an Irish-comedy-theme-named holy priest.

New guild is shaping nicely, and tried to join my Mage in, but they've moved the rights to add anyone by anyone to officers of the guild only. Typically, when you need an officer, they're not about, doubly annoying as my Druid is one of them, and I can't add myself - lol

Here I am, at work, doing the late shift for a few extra quid, such is life. 3 minutes to go, then BK for fries and home.

W00t!

I have a mage, and boy can she cook. Much like the IRL cute lady in my life 'The Mrs' my gnome mage can whip up delicacies and delights to please the palate.

Yeah, a mage. I know, I know. But that's the char that got the 'skillz' so that one progressed with cooking. Anyway....


Got my 4th Dalaran cooking award, so I went for 'Critter Bites' http://thottbot.com/i43004

I'm pleased and yes, I know it's sad. remember, dear reader it keeps me off the streets ;)

"He can do the work, but he's so annoying"

I'm sat on the train on the way in to work, overhearing this shrew from an HR department talk to her underling about how to get rid of a member of staff because he's annoying, although, she admits it'll be tough as he does "a fairly good job." She instructed her HR skivvy to find anything they can get on him (On the phone, so can't be traced in paperwork, of course)

Are these people even vaguely human?

Word to the wise out there: In these tough times, watch your back! Your HR department already is, with a (metaphorical) knife in hand.

Talking of knife in hand, considering moving my rogue to another server, but he does have a one man guild complete with bank and tabs. What to do? I need to be able to focus on my chars, but I have the full compliment on Moonglade, just not sure. I definitely don't want to kill him off.

Monday 1 June 2009

Sunday, a day of rest (Not bloody likely)

Sunday: Holy crap, we're moving. Messages fro Saturday while we were out. Everyone wants to move in June, our notice on the house is end of July - eeeek!
The Mrs saves the day (Like she always does, bringing a brain to the proceedings and all that) and speaks to the landlady. The landlady is a star and says helps me and I'll help you. Furious lawnmowing and hedge trimming ensues (I'm both a bit crap and a lot lazy at garden maintenance)

'This isn't going to buy baby new shoes' - Off to a local factory outlet with a Clarks in it to get my boy some new shoes, his last pair of sandles chafed his ankles, so sod the expense, decent shoes time. We drive off, the boy and I (Mummy at home getting some well deserved sleep) and 5 minutes later, he's sparko (deeply asleep) in the back seat. I go to 'a certain restaurant' drive through for deep fried cheesy thingies and a strawberry milkshake to let him sleep some more and kill some time. He starts to stir so off we go again, 5 more minutes we've parked and are out. Halfords for red spray (I'm spraying a Dell 1600SC Rover Nightfire Red just for sh*ts and giggles, pictures to follow) then off to Clarks for ickle shoes. He gets measured, runs around like a lunatic, and starts eyeing up pretty girls in the shoe shop (Thassmaboyee!) we come back and order is restored, the queen is once more happy and the sun is blazing, lunch outside and all is well with the world.

Sunday PtII: Violet HoldAnother trip into what I see as a bit of a non-event. Some nice loot, but a bit of a conveyor belt of blue dragonkin and so on. I like Nexus, it's pretty good, and I need to do more instances, I miss instances like sunken temple, proper windy 'You might get lost' type places. Also, what happened to the mountains of grey crap you used to get to pay for your repairs? Odd. I should have a look at Naxx, my 80 DK isn;t that well geared, but that guild has a load of 80s that would just do it for fun, fully loaded with their Naxx and above gear.

Guilds, they're odd things. You have a combination of real people being unreal people and behaving like both. This is just in the nice guilds I am a part of - lol. I've been in guilds with men pretending to be girls as chars (I have some female chars, easier to watch, for longer gaming - see Tombraider developers nots, I'm sure) and some actually pretending to be girl players. Some doing it to disrupt and potentially worse. Some doing it as a roleplay exercise. I suggest if you have a female player come on to you as a char, imagine they're a 20 stone male truck driver. If that floats your boat, then good luck to you. Personally, I always put my shortened name 'Jim' in my guild notes, saves a lot of explaining later.

Saturday, in review, and traffic

Saturday: My sort-of-brother-in-law's birthday bash.

Awful wakeup to the strains of 'Have we got everything, can you do this, where's my... etc, argue a bit because she always get nervous before a trip anywhere. Throw in no sleep and (bless her cottons) she gets fractious. Throw in my lack of sleep and pig-headedness and you've got a recipe for disaster, then of course mix in one mother in law, with opinions.

So we bundled our gorgeous little boy, my gorgeous but stressed girlfriend and my verbose mother in law into a Ford Ka and began the journey down the A12 to the M25.
So, after a hellish journey to the beautiful weald of Kent... (Traffic for the bridge was a nightmare and what pratt made that stretch of the A21 two lanes into one?) I have SO got to get another car, the Ka is weeny, great to park, but a total bastard to fill with 3 adults, 1 child and all the paraphenalia that goes with the latter. Station wagon/People carrier here we come!.. anyway back on track. I get dropped off at the quadbiking place, and proceed to have a brilliant time. 4 trips out for us all, a little canter, then a bit of bumpy ground, then the long run, then a mad dash through the woods. My SOBIL and his mates are such a nice bunch, and SOBIL didn't know there was a little party afterwards. We all troupe back to his place to see his eyes pop out when he spots that everyone's there. His Dad came down from the north, we brought his mum, My lot (His sister and nephew) his mates from college, work, neighbours etc. A really lovely crowd. I was left in charge of fire, so an epic construction (That had everyone going 'It won't light') was erected and burnt (Ha, it did light!) but not without the help of a lot of blowing and fanning though.
Lots of party food consumed, nice people to chat to, small person to chaperone away from spiky/ electrical/ poisonous things and towards 'Boons!' (Balloons)
Eventually it came time to toddle off home, so we did. A very nice drive back, still cramped, but relaxed and far quicker. *Some* good sleep followed.

More to follow