August 23, 2006

  • Out of 200 random magic cards picked from my binders for potential decks… that I haven’t even used yet



    Random Card of the Day:

August 22, 2006

  • During-Work AP Briefs

    I’m not too sure how this works, but seeing as how I am both a member of the Daily Eastern News and therefore a member of the Associated Press, I should be able to post news bits I find interesting or funny. The bigger stories are in the paper’s national brief section.

    ——————————————————————————————————————————————-
    President Bush orders recall for 2,500 marines to active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan

    President Bush has ordered at least 2,500 marines to be recalled involuntarily to service in Iraq due to a shortage of volunteers in the Middle-East. The limit of marines ordered back to active duty has not been specified or capped, but those serving their first years and eigth years are exempt from the recall. Nearly 39,000 marines are still eligible to be picked for involuntary recall.

    ——————————————————————————————————————————————-
    Moral activists demand hotel chains stop offering guests porn

    Ultra-conservatives nationwide are petitioning and calling for government action to force hotels to stop giving hotel guests the option to view porn as a part of optional pay-per-view entertainment. Hotel representatives contend that they make hundreds of millions of dollars each year from their guests ordering porn, and thus is a business matter of choice that the government has no right to interfere in.

    “As more and more of these (hardcore) titles become available, we’re going to have sexual abuse cases coming out of the hotels,” said Phil Burress, head of Citizens for Community Values, on hotels giving guests the option to view porn as a part of pay-per-view entertainment. “Hotels are just as dangerous as environments around strip joints and porn stores.”

    ——————————————————————————————————————————————-

    That’s all for now. The major news you can see on the news and in your local newspapers.
    ~ Chris

  • Stuff

    Been playing Enemy Territory, Warcraft III, FFXI and the occasional Gaia raid in the meantime. I miss BWL so much. I miss Kanzei more. *sigh*

    A hellish class schedule and a work night starts later today. I’m not really looking forward to it.

    I’d say more but I’m tired. Yeah, I try to think about what more to say, and then my eyes close slowly in sleepiness…

    Yeah, I’m sleepy. Going to bed now.

    Sleepy.

    ~ Chris

    Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy.


    Click on image for better resolution. Last weekend’s domo kill with Gaia / Might and Magic.

August 21, 2006

  • My crazy-ass schedule for fall ’06

    Mondays are a joke. One class (online journalism) at 11 am. Maybe go to Campus Perk after dinner if it gets scheduled for Mondays.

    Tuesdays hurt like hell. Classes start at 9:30 am (comm law) and go back-to-back (creative fiction and nonfiction, same room) until 2 pm. No time for getting lunch. Then a class at 3 pm (myth & culture) and then dinner and DEN copy editing until 11 at night.

    Wednesdays class starts at 10 (online journalism), but since it’s a lab it goes until 1 am. No time for lunch. Dinner and a DEN at 5 – 11 pm.

    Thursdays are exactly like Tuesdays, including the evening work. Three nights of copy editing.

    Fridays are completely free and devoid of classes and work. THREE DAY WEEKENDS ALL SEMESTER!!! WOOT! (and sleeping in until 11 on Mondays )

    Yeah. Thats my year for 2006.

August 20, 2006

  • One day before classes…

    Been playing FFXI, Enemy Territory with Greg, Doug and John, and been writing with Calcifer. Played WoW a little to get the stink off, but man this weekend’s been great.

    John and I still need our books…. >.>

    ~ Chris

August 18, 2006

  • Good Times

    I’ve collected well over a year’s worth of World of Warcraft memories, and nearly 6 months of straight raiding and instances. Even though I never got to experience AQ40 or Naxx, even my short time in BWL was well worth the memories. When I think about it, this past year has been the best freaking time to do raids… and I have great memories of raids.

    The following are a top 10 list of my most memorable and favorite boss battles that I’ve encountered:

    #10 – Stratholme: Undead Side – Baron Rivendare

    Used to be a 10-man boss, now only killable in a 5-man party. Buffed since the patches, he’s been harder to kill and healing for this battle, even with epics, quickly became a challenge. Mortal strike and 2k hits on the tank made things rather fun.  Now I oom rather frequently when dps isn’t high enough.

    #9 – Ruins of Ahn’Quiraj – Ossiran the Unscarred

    This fight is a major bitch to master, and not fun to clear to. Healers can’t use anything longer than a flash heal because the tank, as well as the rest of the raid, is always kiting the boss from crystal to crystal. 5k hits on plate and instant-kill tornadoes roaming the room quickly made this a very on-edge but very cool fight.

    #8 – Ruins of Ahn’Quiraj – Buru the Gorger

    Another innovative fight strategy in AQ20 is Buru. Kiting him around a shallow pool to exploding eggs gave a whole new meaning to freeze tag. The dps race when the raid got him to 20% is a craze to keep even a handful of people alive. Props for ingenuity and all-around fun.

    #7 – Molten Core – Magmaddar

    Disputed among many to be the easiest boss fight in Molten Core, the pattern of attacks is so easy to get used to that any kind of music can make this seem like tossing horseshoes. Running just out of range to avoid getting feared, then running back in to cure the tank and heal the noobs who caught on fire. Good times, though.

    #6 – Blackwing Lair – Nefarian

    Like it or not, CVN, I was there to help. Anyway, this fight has it all. The mechanics of a heavy-damage Onyxia fight, an aoe-heavy introduction with dozens of elite mobs at once, and class calls that make healing three times as difficult all make this fight a major ordeal, but wholly worth the effort put into it.

    #5 – Molten Core – Ragnaros

    Okay, so most guilds don’t have a problem with him. But for most of the Harbinger and Ordo Eternus runs, we were struggling to kill this guy in under the 6 minute time restriction. Aoe nuclear explosions, lava waves that knock you back, and a crazy 3-min marker with mana-drain mobs… all in a race for the most dps you can crank out. A very fun fight.

    #4 – Dustwallow Marsh – Onyxia

    The earliest dragon most of us could face and kill in a practiced effort. Phase 1 and 2 are jokes, unless your raid attracts a Deep Breathe that kills half the members instantly. Phase 3, though… raid-wide fear and aoe damage plus 3k+ hits on the tank make this fight a pleasure to master and heal for. Mana regen ftw!!!

    #3 – Zul’Gurub – Hakkar

    Long-ass and very painful fight, but a true test for a healer. Add up 2-3 dots on the entire raid, three tanks fighting for aggro while being mind-controlled and sheeped, and mages sheeping a wide range of targets while controlling aggro. It’s very easy to go oom on this fight, and the tanks need heals more than the four other severely wounded people in your party. A tense fight, but a good test.

    #2 – Ruins of Ahn’Quiraj – General Rajaxx

    One of the longest fights in existence. Before you face this boss, he throws seven waves of nearly a dozen mobs each. All elites. But fear not, you have 5 NPC’s fighting with your raid, and the healers can heal them as well! But remember… you have to conserve your mana through a fight that lasts easily at least 15 min… damn thats a lot of healing! Makes a good use for my 105 mana regen gear, but it’s so fun overcoming the endurance battle.

    #1 – Molten Core – Majordomo Executus

    Sure, it’s Molten Core. Sure, it’s before Ragnaros. But this fight requires so much coordination, dps, prolonged tanking/healing and professionalism that every must go exactly as planned. The big cheese himself brought with 8 elite mobs, four of which can be sheeped. The other four must be tanked while he gets two tanks to himself. These mobs have periodic spell reflection and damage immunity, so mages and tanks always have a field day. Each non-sheep must be killed individually, then the sheeps cannot be sheeped and then killed off one-by-one as well.

    This ENTIRE time, the tanks are holding their targets and healers struggling to conserve their mana as the mobs are being (slowly or quickly) killed off one-by-one. It’s a very long fight, and random shit happens. Healers and tanks alike can be teleported into a firepit, tanks can randomly lose aggro. If one tank or healer goes down, the snowball effect builds.

    All in all, a challenging fight, but one that makes your job as a healer just that more gratifying.

    Well that’s about it. Real pics were deleted from the old days, so I had to get some from websites and WoW-Wiki.

    Gotta get some ID’s and get ready for dinner. Later all!

    ~ Chris

  • WOOT

    After two days without getting the internet in my room to work, I’ve finally triumphed!!!! TAKE THAT, CLEAN ACCESS!!!!

    …Now to go to work, get my new Panther ID and my textbooks.

    FFXI tonight and this weekend, but not before. Stupid DEN, training noobs and editors…

    Oh and I got a PS2, so my games are running fine now. I’ll have FFX and a few others in a few days. Things are rockin. John and I are pretty much settled in and we’re about to smash our weekend!

    After games: Calcifer letter storyline update! Wootage!

    ~ Chris

August 15, 2006

  • One day

    Regardless of whether RS accepts me or not, I’m all but resigned to quitting WoW. I don’t have or can’t find the words, Jun. Only that Justin and I would be thrilled if we could get ya into FFXI with us. How to break it to Audrey… no clue. I have a final game night tonight before going back to school.

    My ISP seems to be giving me the admiral’s farewell, before I leave for EIU – it’s going down every 5 minutes now, during the day and afternoon, even. I hate Qwest. I look forward to getting back to school with a solid, fast internet connection. 1 GB of RAM arrives in the mail a week from now. (yay) Unfortunately the disconnections are making it virtually impossible to update FFXI in one consecutive download. Doh.

    Installed FFXI and talked with Justin a long while about classes and starting out. WoW is so confining and so group-unfriendly compared to FFXI it’s crazy. And the class system is so free and flexible that you never have to really worry about playing a class someone does or doesn’t need. Square-Enix did a good job with their first dozen games, now maybe it’s time I gave this one a new look.

    Ooooh new news! PS2 is coming out with a NEW VALKYRIE PROFILE game, a SEQUEL to the last one!!!! Isn’t that GREAT?!?!? John Mattson told me over AIM last night with the corresponding link to gaming magazine previews. I’m so stoked. After my old PS dying, I’m sooooo getting a PS2 when I get to school, now

    Packing begins soon. Like 8 boxes and just a few cases of energy drink (yes, John, Bawls included.)

    I’m feeling better now.
    ~ Chris

August 14, 2006

  • Two days

    I applied to RS… (again) in a final attempt to be with Audrey. Jay said that he’d since quit WoW and suggested I should take his position. I wish it were that easy.

    Quitting WoW isn’t so easy, especially when I still hold friends like Jun and Andrew out there. And Kanzei, who may be driven even further into depression if I quit. I finally bought FFXI to check it out and install it. I won’t make an account yet and request Justin for a World Pass just yet, but the WoW scenario is looking pretty grim. Can I ever force myself to say goodbye?

    So I’ve got so many hours left of summer vacation… when I look back on it, it’s been one fucking crazy summer….

    April 21, 2006 – Harbingers Downs Hakkar, First Guild Kill
    May 6, 2006 – Summer Vacation Begins
    May 10, 2006 – Harbingers Split Four Days Into Summer, Ordo Eternus Founded
    May 29, 2006 – Ordo Eternus Officers At Odds With Eachother
    June 11, 2006 – Chris Visits Chicago, Endures Temptation of Guild Switch
    June 23, 2006 – Ricky Gets His Epic ZG Mount, Loot Discussed in Guild
    July 2, 2006 – RS Midway Into BWL, Tsk Donates Heal Codex to Orim
    July 7, 2006 – Orim Goes to Cape Cod
    July 17, 2006 – Ordo Eternus Loses Three Mages, Mage Officer
    July 20, 2006 – Orim Goes to Georgia, Ordo Eternus Disbands
    July 21, 2006 – Orim Invited to CVN, One of Few ex-OE Members Guilded
    July 29, 2006 – Orim Experiences Full BWL Clear, Dwells On Member Policy
    August 3, 2006 – Orim Kicked From CVN For Offensive Xanga Post
    August 11, 2006 – Orim Temporarily Joins Gaia With Priest Friends
    August 16, 2006 – Chris Returns to EIU, Destination Unknown

    Let’s face it. What has very well been the end of my WoW addiction has culminated this summer. I really don’t want to leave my friends. I’m looking for other ways, but… damn this sucks. Not the summer I was looking for.

    ~ Chris

August 13, 2006

  • Three days

    Hooray! My playstation broke mysteriously when mom and I left dad home alone… I suspect him because he’s been snooping around my room late at night this week. I guess I’ll buy a PS2 when I get to school.

    WoW is looking less appealing. Pelors Might is split up, Jun and I are having way less fun than before, Andrew is adjusting to LoG but enjoying life as a twink in training, and Dan can’t seem to shut up every time CVN downs Nef. I’m sorry, Dan, you’re my best friend, but you gotta keep in mind your company. And it’s old news – I’ve downed Nef, too. I get this feeling that Pelors Might is being torn apart by forces beyond our control, regardless of the channel we share. Blizzard making 25-man instances, but those will be harder than Naxx? Can us casual raiders even enjoy it?

    I’m seriously giving thought to switching to FFXI or something, taking Justin up on his offer. Just anything for a good change. Being so close to starting school again gives you such a different perspective. I miss Audrey a lot, and I’m feeling the loneliness that Jun does.

    So let’s see… Oh yeah, biggest good news of the summer, perhaps: I found my old playstation memory card. Yeah, the one I’d thought I’d lost last year. The one with all my perfected game files on it. It seems kinda funny now, after I’ve re-mastered nearly all of my games anyway. At least this means I can choose the best files from both and mix them. FF2, FF5, FF7, FF8, FF9, FFT, Chrono Cross, Valkyrie Profile… there’s not much left. Just FF3 and finalizing the last 10% of all the aforementioned game files.

    Jun, Justin, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re well. Audrey, I love you and wish we could have been together. Destiny is saying otherwise and I’d do anything to defy it if I could – I woulda given anything to be in RS. Even with Jay quitting, they don’t seem to need priests any more than without him. Anyone else, well, if you’re still reading then I count you among my closest friends.

    Reading Calcifer’s writing is so much fun, I’m having the most fun these days just writing responses. Real role-playing. I miss it. Talk to ya later, all.

    ~ Chris