east1427

[	Tags	|	musings	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	pissed off	]

I’m running into severe problems with my router. Short of taking a hammer to it (A temptation that’s burning strongly) I can’t think of what else I can do. I keep getting “Windows System Error. There is an IP address conflict with another system on the network.”. Keep in mind, the network consists of myself. The problem has only happened in the last few weeks, nothing has been added, nothing taken away. It’s only happening in the evenings.

Please help. For fucks sake, this is driving me to my wit’s end.

east1427

[	Tags	|	musings, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	tired	]

And I went back to work. I really wish I hadn’t.

It’s bloody cold out there. I don’t care for it. It’s so cold, that even in my fleece, it’s still cold in the office. Usually it’s like a blast furnace in there when you’re just in your shirt, so I’m buggered whatever way you slice it.

Got Gitfinda to do a spot of exploration, exploring the Eastern Kingdoms from Quel’Danas Island to Elwyn Forest. Still got the rest of the continent south of Elwyn to explore, as well as most of Kalimdor, Outland, and Northrend.

Stewart Lee is also a very haunting man.

east1427

[	Tags	|	gaming, musings, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	blah	]

I got nothing.

TF2 happened, and a bit of the old flavour returned. I got a bit of the magic back with the Huntsman and managed to clock up one “ALL YOUR TEAM IS DEAD” moment, which made me very happy. In my trousers.

WoW happened also. Gitfinda killed things, and made money. Exciting stuff.

Because Whittard’s seems to have evacuated Essex and have left only two branches, I visited one of them in the Braintree “Village” designer outlet shithole. I’d avoid it. A lot of expensive wank aimed at morons, and tiny, tiny coffee shops. There was a shade of interest at the Cadburys Factory Shop, which sold all sorts of interesting and odd chocolates, at sadly obscene prices. Avoid the whole complex, for it is terrible and made of significant amounts of Fail.

east1427

[	Tags	|	musings, review, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	bored	]

Well, I did bugger all today. Surprise surprise. I did give Whiplash an airing after leaving him in storage for so long, same with Goldtooth. After clearing out the Wee Free Men guild bank and auctioning most of the contents off, I bought Whiplash a few more mounts, taking his total to a jaw-dropping fifty. I then received the achievement reward for it, yet another mount (The Albino Drake). Turns out there’s one for one hundred mounts. Just another forty-nine to go.

I also watched Far Cry. Now, I have spoken before of terrible films. Far Cry isn’t so bad it’s funny, or so bad it’s good, or even so bad it’s horrible. It’s boring. Boring and bland and artless. It apparently cost a grand total of £5 to make, with the wardrobe department shopping at either Matalan, Asda, or a military surplus stall at a Saturday market. The only moment of true humour in it is the annoying woman bleating about whaaales. Not even worth renting just to mock.

east1427

[	Tags	|	musings, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	depressed	]

Balls to this. I’m tired, and I did bugger all today.

Went out for a short drive, and found myself lost in the middle of nowhere. On the upside though, I found out that Essex really does only have three comic shops. Slightly annoying, but at least I have been enlightened.

Nabbed Cold Weather Flying, the most obvious goldsink in the entire game, for Gitfinda, now I just need to pay 4500G for the Swift Flying skill, so I can travel faster than a bloody crawl.

east1427

[	Tags	|	geekery, musings	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	blah	]

So, I watched the first episode of Gurren Lagann. It was… well, it was incredibly enjoyable. Which, coming from me to a piece of Japanese animation, is some of the highest praise possible. The fact I watched it subbed may have helped. I’m not one of these snobs who insist on everything in the original Japanese, but something that’s akin to a toiletry product advert in terms of quality (“I want to do a poo at Paul’s!”) doesn’t improve the experience.

Got myself a new dressing gown out of Sainsburys. Odd thing is, it’s just as good as the one out of Marks and Sparks, but a third of the price. Woo.

Haven’t done much else, truth be told.

east1427

[	Tags	|	industrial-grade geekery, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	bored	]

Well, another day spent behind the keys, murdering fictional creatures for inconsequential achievement points. Such as finally hitting Exalted with the Timbermaw Hold (One the earliest rep grinds, and at the time, one of the most mind-numbing), getting Gitfinda a new cape, and pondering what next.
I’m also pondering getting Gitfinda a personal guild for the guild-bank. I’m stuck for a name, though. Either Monkeys With Spud Guns, Sports Watch Sports Action, or The Gents Club. No, you can’t have anything but alphabet characters.

And then Blizzard started selling cosmetic non-combat pets. For £9 each. Now, on one hand, this is them just nickel-and-diming us. After all, they already rake in the millions every month, so why do they need to charge us for these?
But let’s be honest. They’re purely aesthetic items. They’re akin to the CCG loot items like the Rocket Chicken, only the middle-man has been hacked away brutally, so the price is far more reasonable. You can claim that it’s wrong and terrible until the proverbial cows come home, but £9 for a guaranteed pet as opposed to spending triple that on eBay and having to gamble to make sure the seller is legit is a bargain.
When they start selling items that have an actual effect on the game, such as weapons, or even (Heaven forbid) gold, then you can moan. And I’ll join in. But if they’re selling pets, or tabards, or even access to mounts, there’s no harm. When you can buy Tier 10, then there’s a problem.

So yes, less a discussion on WoW, and more my thoughts on the nature of micro-transactions in MMOs.

east1427

[	Tags	|	musings, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	tired	]

So, I went out today, to Bluewater. It’s a nice place, although the selection of shops does seem to be shrinking. Same with Lakeside on the Essex side of the river, if I’m honest. At least Bluewater has stuff you can’t find in the average high street, like the Lego shop, where I got myself a Lego Pirates Advent Calendar. As in, you open a door, and there’s Pirate-themed Lego within.
There’s a wonderful little stall there that sells fresh pretzels. And one of their fine products is something called a “pretzel dog”. It’s a… well, a sausage (For want of a better word) wrapped in pretzel dough like some sort of hot dog. What makes it notable is that I wasn’t offered a variety of sausage, but flavour. Sadly, that was between chicken and pork. Best not to think of what went into it, to be honest, I thought it was best not to even look at it whilst eating it. Filled a hole, though.

Came home, and found myself playing WoW, Exalted with Kalu’ak, netting the prestigious Mastercraft Fishing Pole. Not as good as the one I netted on Sunday, and what happened when I did the Fishing Daily? I received a Jewelled Fishing Pole, which has the same Fishing bonus, although you can’t breathe underwater with it.
I also systematically began a campaign of murder against bearmen. Woo.

east1427

[	Tags	|	musings, warcraft, writings	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	irate	]

And so, I begin my week off. Go me.

Had a gander at the Cliffs Pavilion website to see if they were taking bookings for Ross Noble’s 2010 show, and found they’ll be hosting Armstrong and Miller Live, Rhod Gilbert and the Cat That Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst, Simon Amstell and Frankie Boyle with his final show, I Would Happily Punch Every One Of You In The Face. Strongly tempting.

At the risk of listening to Pix bitch again about updating the three people who read this about my WoW shenanigans, I power-levelled Gitfinda’s cooking skill. If only to make even more fictional money. And then blew it on overpriced containers so my fishing expeditions can last longer. To make more fictional money.

And I could do something for NaNoWriMo. But frankly, fuck it. I just don’t want the sense of crushing failure to envelop me again.

east1427

[	Tags	|	geekery, musings, stop moaning pix, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	full	]

So, despite Pix’s protests at how boring my updates have become (Apparently they were interesting, at some point. He was amazingly vague on the when), I’ll begin with a shot of WoW news. Gitfinda won the Stranglethorn Fishing Contest, one of the most difficult achievements to get in the game as it only occurs once a week, and you’re fighting against the rest of the server. This is the second time I’ve won, the first way back when before the first expansion came out. And both times, I elected for the best rod in the game. So, yay.

Started following Ross Noble on Twitter. He’s just as hilarious in text form. “pumpkins not as scary in soup form - werewolves also not as scary in soup form”. Why his new DVD isn’t out yet, I don’t know, but it’s a real crime.

Dined out at the Outback Steakhouse. It was good, albeit a shade busy. The steak was delicious. It’s a rarity when I can enjoy genuinely good bits of dead cow.

I spent the majority of the day inside. The weather conspired against me, hence the marathon session of WoW and listening to Ross Noble all damned day.

east1427

[	Tags	|	gaming, musings, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	tired	]

Screw it, tired.

The TF2 server is working! After a fashion, and a complete reinstall. Still, a few of us had a whirl on the updated Harvest and bag the Halloween achievements. Now I just have to spend time adding new maps. Boo-urns.

I failed to get all of the Hallow’s End achievements on WoW, but what can you do? I got a Squashling, so I like to think I’m ahead of the game. Also, Grand Master Fishing on Gitfinda. Woo.

Stephen Fry has also pondered leaving Twitter after a dash of eDrama. Which is entirely his choice, if he feels that Twitter is being colonised by the same mouth-breathing louts that infect the rest of the internets. It isn’t, despite what the BBC may think, front page, headline news. Berks.

east1427

[	Tags	|	gaming, musings, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	irritated	]

Ding 75, and Gitfinda achieved that partially by murdering quest targets that made Whiplash cry at Eighty. I may have a proper go at more of the alleged “group” quests, if only for the money.

That parcel turned out to be a DIY Jarate Kit, from Pix. This shows the true dangers of internet withdrawl. It’s a jar with detailed instructions.

And despite working for all of five minutes, the Gentlemen’s Club server is broken again. Looks like I’ll be doing a full reinstall. Fun times.

east1427

[	Tags	|	gaming, musings, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	tired	]

Well, in terms of gaming, today was very nice. I bagged myself a Sinister Squashling, after about three years of trying. They’re entirely random drops over the Halloween-esque holiday on WoW, and rarer than hens teeth. So Gitfinda got one, which was nice. I then found the psychotic killer penguin rare mob King Ping, bagged him for 20G, and he dropped a very nice DPS caster robe that I may get around 150G for.
And to make things better, turns out I get a very special hat in TF2.

Also, it seems I’ve received a parcel. That’s odd because I haven’t ordered anything.

east1427

[	Tags	|	musings, warcraft	]
[	what i'm high on now	|	tired	]

So, Midsomer Murders. I solved it! It was the crazy lady! Which doesn’t whittle it down, really, as finding a sane person who wasn’t a regular character was rather hard. There was a few laughes, such as the two Generic Background People having sex to sea shanties. In time to sea shanties.

The first disc of Gurren Lagann arrived from LoveFilm. Yes, I may or may not have acquired in an entirely legitimate fashion the entire run via the internets, but I felt like getting the DVD as at the time I had no clue what else to order. The package also enlightened me to the existence of a new Michael Caine film, Harry Brown. Michael Caine beats up chavs. Yes please.

WoW happened. I had a laugh hunting Hulking Jormungar. Elite buggers, but go down like bitches, and I got some more Arctic Fur out of the deal.

spiffynerd

• Revise Regulus App
• Embroider orange emoticon clips
• Finish Brave New World questions
• Draft Brave New World/1984 essay