Sunday, March 21, 2010

Professor Mukesh and Curtis

I knew it!!!

Money can’t buy happiness. Just ask Mukesh and Curtis. Both are university folks that modeled off how more money means just that… more money. I guess the idea is that up to a certain point wealth can bring you happiness. But pass that point, it’s just about keeping up with the Joneses. Or what they call ‘conspicuous spending’.

Sounds a lot like Feral druid armor diminishing return is making a cameo in your daily economic news.

Currently I have still yet to reach that point of keeping up with the Joneses. I still want to have a bigger house, faster computer, maybe an occasional maid to clean the apartment and a weekend house in up-state New York. I also would not turn down a boat or a long vacation in the Grecian Cyclades Islands or both a combination of the above.

Actually I’ll take the vacation pronto. (For those of you looking to go to the Cyclades, skip the other islands and go to Naxos.)

However, I can see the conspicuous spending theory in effect in my World of Warcraft. If I collect all of my gold from all of my character, I probably have a whooping 2000 gold. That’s rounding it up (generously). And I’m completely satisfied with it.

When I used to raid regularly, I think I have a little bit less than 1500 gold combined. These economist made me wonder, is there a ‘point of no difference’?

The saddest day in my entire WoW career would be on my warlock as she reached level upon level and when she went to the trainer to learn her new spells, she was denied cause she didn’t have enough silver to do it.

What could possibly make players want what I call a ridiculously large sum of gold? I really just needed that extra 56 silver to learn the next rank of shadowbolt.

Would having 10k gold made me enjoy the game more? Would buying Haris Pilton’s bag increased my enjoyment of the game?

Why buy gold then? Makes no sense to me.

Maybe cause I’m not a balla, shot playa, high rollaaa

Or in this case, a suckaaaaaa…

Friday, March 19, 2010

Tanaris Needs More Bacon

This has been somewhat of an old news. At least it is for me. My favorite morning deli is no longer in business.

Most of you will probably say, “What’s the big frinkin deal?!” See what I did there… I’m trying to reduce the amount of swearing coming out of my mouth and my writing.

Deli is a funny thing for us in New York. It’s mostly a small mom and pop store that sells a lot of variety goods. From sugar, cold cuts, sometimes fruit, vegetable, soda, cigarettes, to your morning coffee and sometimes simple breakfast. It’s your one stop shop for all of the simple little pleasures in your daily grind.

The one thing that’s important about them is it’s very hard to find a good one that fits your specific need. The criteria is very different for different needs.

I would not go to my sandwich deli to buy my bread. There’s another deli that always have fresh baked bread delivered that morning. The same goes for my fruit and vegetable. I wouldn’t go to my salad deli for my morning coffee and omelet since it’s not on the way between my subway stop and my office.

Favorite delis are developed over time as you developed your daily routine. I got all of my needs covered up till last week.

I found out my favorite morning coffee and breakfast deli is no longer in business. I was walking on a shitty slushy morning from my subway stop to my office. Typically the ‘Two eggs, hash and toast with coffee for $3.75’ caught my eye but that morning there was no sign. A large FOR RENT call xxx-xxx-xxxx sign was posted on the overhead coiling door. I was shocked.

I can’t believe the line cook who knows me by what I order (To him I was the bacon omelet with pepper jack cheese and toast with no butter guy) didn’t tell me anything. I was there the day before and he didn’t say anything?!?! I was crushed. Now I have to find another deli that’s clean, on my walking route, that makes good omelet, within a reasonable price, that brew good coffee. Grrrrr….

With the craziness that’s happening at work and RL, I really can’t do anything else in game other than leveling. My WoW time has been filled with constant interruptions and short period of time where I can login and actually do anything. Not much you can do other than level. Quests took 5 or 10 minutes each and that’s just perfect for me at the moment.

Now I’ve developed a habit when it comes to leveling.

For my Alliance characters I typically start them in their starting zones, then on to Loch Modan, then to Wetlands, mixed a bit with Duskwood, then continue to Dustwallow Marsh, Tanaris mixed with Feralas, then Ungoro mixed with Burning Steppes and Fellwod, finishing Vanila with Winterspring.

As I re-roll to the Horde side, I didn’t know where to go. Some zones can be kept but they’re all mixed up. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to ride into an Alliance town just to realize that the guards are beating me on my Kodo to death.

I love it when I got to Tanaris (and later on Winterspring). The goblins gave the same quest for both side. They even greet me with the same greeting, ‘Time is money friend.’ For a short period of time there I’m familiar with my surroundings.

If only they serve Bacon omelet with pepper jack cheese and homestyle fries with toast and no butter, I’d set my hearth in Tanaris Inn…. Forever…

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

It's Paddy, NOT Patty!!!

Remember that.

Today I got yelled at in two separate occasion for being an ignorant St. Patrick’s day celebrator.

Apparently Paddy is the correct abbreviation for the occasion and Patty is a girl you dated in junior high. Or was it Samantha… I don’t remember…

On a separate occasion a ‘true’ Irish man told me the color of his beer is black. “Guiness comes in one color and that color is black.” he claims. His comment kicked my ego sharp in the groin since I enjoy my green beer during this festive occasion.

But then again, it’s light jacket weather in New York, people are wearing green and walking the streets. The sun is shining and the green beer are flowing.

No WoW today, go and enjoy St. Paddy’s day. Be merry but be safe.

Note: I found out that my green beer is no other than budlight mixed with green food coloring. Yay!!! It’s St. Paddy day everyday :D

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Who Says?

Last weekend I decided to take control of the remote and steer us (me and wife) away from the usual suspect of Jersey Shore and Housewives of OC. Married life exposed me to many garbage television shows.

Talk about un-recoupable span of my life.

So we watched VH1s storytellers. It was John Mayer.

Now I’m not a big fan of music video television but I like this particular show and this particular artist. A combination of the two sounds really good.

It was a great show. John explained with great detail how he wrote his songs. He really demonstrated a high level of craftsmanship and passion to his craft.

While I’m aware that the World of Warcraft is a game, I really believe that its players need to show a certain degree of care playing it.

Like many other group related activity, this game also revolves around level of contributions to the group. When you slack other will have to pick it up willingly or not.

So when you hum ,”Who says I can’t get stoned?”

The answer is nobody. As long as you keep the tank alive.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Salty Ban


Did you hear? They’re going to ban salt in NYC restaurant!!! I can’t let this pass and not blog about it.

A congressman from Brooklyn wanted to ban the use of salt in restaurant. It seems that his dad went through a heart attack due to eating out too much. So as a service to public he’s proposing a ban in the use of the ‘substance’.

Seriously congressman…. Seriously….

There’s no chance that the heart attack is caused by the selection of food?
There’s no chance that the heart attack is caused by genetics?

And myriads of other factor that can cause it.

Instead of educating yourself on what is a heart attack and what causes it, you pick on the salt.

So let us make a promise fellow WoW players….

Each time you queue for a random dungeon and start your pissing match.  Educate yourself on why the boss one shot the tank when you DPS during overlord’s brand.

In the mean time, I'm going to check on the next election dates so I can vote for the other guy.

Friday, March 12, 2010

THE END IS NEAR! REPENT!

As we cross the Manhattan bridge on the subway, an older lady was screaming in my train this morning. Actually she was screaming since four train stop back. She claims, “THE END IS NEAR! REPENT!”

With so many talks around the subject of Cataclysm, I can’t help to think back on the many ‘end of world’ movies that have hit the street.

Depending on which flick we’re talking about,

The public is always the last to know. Usually they’re notified by big hurling balls of fire hitting high populated areas.

There’s always a crazy scientist that predicted the event.
Sometimes they have the ‘league of justice’ bunch that will save the world. Elites of the elites to take care of the meteor/aliens.

The message of the story seemed to be consistent throughout the spectrum. Together we can conquer the impossible and after the destruction there’s always a fresh start for everybody.

With cataclysm the expansion, to tell you the truth, I could care less about the stats change. I’m more excited on the event itself.

Will there be an elite group of heroes that gets to do their hero thing? Are we those hero? Will there be a raid instance created from this? Will Iron Forge or Orgrimmar be hit with big balls of fire? Let’s face it, Exodar and Silvermoon is as dead as Okemah Oklahoma.

Will Alliance and Horde combine force to fight in this instance? To spice up the rivalry between the two they can stage a misunderstanding between the two at the end of the instance so they came in as a raid group and came out in a PVP battle ground.

The end is near people! Let’s hope Bruce Willis shows up to save the world.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Corey In Moderation

Today is a sad day for me as I remember fondly ‘License To Drive’. Heather Graham wore super hot bangs in short mini skirt and the VW Cabriolet was the car of my dream. It still bugs me why they didn’t get a Mercedes Benz for the ending car since her name is also Mercedes. Budget problem I guess.

Well, the word is out and Corey Haim is no more. The cause of death actor apparently is still undetermined. Some says he overdosed on drugs and that sadden me even more.

This game we play and love have been known to some as the model example of video games addiction. I for one am a firm believer it’s not the game but the person’s doing. We are after all master of our own destiny.

I’d like to highlight one of the loggin tips as we all enter our beloved world of warcraft.

"Take everything in Moderation, even World of Warcraft."

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A Conversation With A Yogi

Last Sunday we had brunch with a good friend we haven’t seen for a while. A little bit of catching up is always good. Weather in New York these past days were perfect. I can definitely feel spring is in the air.

She got there first so the wait for table is not that bad. After the usual banter of words she mentioned that she’s a yogi now. I replied, ‘You mean you go to yoga class?’ And to my surprise, it’s more than just paying your monthly due, get a yoga matt and do your twice a week thing. Being a yogi is more of a way of life. The position exercise that most people are aware of is just a vehicle of their meditation. The idea is that these position can help the mind in meditation towards a higher enlightenment.

What really fascinates me is that the ultimate goal of Yoga is not what becomes popular. People are more familiar with the vehicle or the means to get to the essence of it.

It seemed that with the game that we love it’s the other way around. The pursuit of gear is spreading as fast as Paris Hilton’s sex tape on the internet. The one thing that should be the vehicle/means for us ended up consuming our obsession. I’ve seen loot ninja and guild drama caused by loot. It’s purple pixels madness in the world of warcraft.

The end goal of the game should not be gear. It should be the many feature that the game has to offer. The game have so many to offer (raids, heroics, explorations and quests, lore). Why would you choose to play dress up doll?

Thursday, March 4, 2010

To Orb Or Not to Orb

The subway system has and will always be NYC’s blood vessel. Cut that out and we’re dead in the water. Me and my wife (then girlfriend) sold our car when we moved from Texas. Never looked back, never regretted it. Not having to deal with auto ownership was and still is our simple joy.

On December 20th 2005, the TWU called for a strike. For those of you who are not familiar with who or what the hell is TWU, they are the transit worker union. These are the people that do the day to day job of running the subway system in our beloved Gotham city.

For once New Yorker does not have the subway system to rely on. Some wasn’t even born when the last strike was called. We didn’t know what to do.

I for one was a skeptic the night before. I really believed that they would never even come close to a strike. They’ve always been able to work it out for the passenger’s sake in the past and they will again. They would’ve never left us New Yorker in the cold, so close to the holiday and without any mode of transportation to go around the city.

I was in for a rude awakening. That morning, I was not able to go to work or anywhere else for that matter.

But people adapt. Illegal cabs (gypsy cab) are suddenly not so illegal. People share these things. A trip from Brooklyn to Midtown Manhattan cost $100 and we split it up 4 ways. You sit down with complete stranger, negotiated on the transfer of money and you adapt. In New York, it’s business as usual.

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Lately we have been selecting ‘Need’ on the Frozen Orb. The sudden ‘buff’ to Frozen Orb increased its value up to a point where players changed their habits. I do have to say the change is for the worse.

I learned the Need over Greed the hard way. I was a warlock then running scarlet monastery rolling ‘Need’ on a green cloak with stamina and agility. I got called for it and made some friendly players not so friendly afterwards.

Yes, I too can argue either side of the fence but I know deep down inside it’s not right.

We’ve adapted to the new way of allocating Frozen Orb loot.

I didn’t think it would come down to this but in the world of warcraft, it’s business as usual.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Mike's 15 Minutes

Anub Rekhan score card have to wait just a bit longer.

The looking for dungeon tool have given me another thought provoking subject to write about. This time we’re going to attempt on some number crunching.

The incident happened when a paladin in our heroic violet hold decided to do roughly about 800 dps on Lavanthor. He’s the enlarged version of your core hound pet.

The healer in our group noticed it and called him out on his sub-par DPS performance.

Turns out he’s leveling one of his weapon skills.

Argument ensues and everybody decide to kick the paladin out but can’t do so due to the 15 minutes debuff.

This really got me thinking, what is the minimum DPS to beat an encounter.

This is a bit hard to gage since we’re talking about heroics. In raid setting, you always have an enrage timer to set the DPS required. However, in heroics you have none. Some heroics have ‘soft’ enrage timer but there’s no hard enrage timer.

So for our purpose, we will impose an enrage timer of 3 minutes.

According to wowhead, Lavanthor have 431,392 hit points. With that in mind, your group need to have 2396.63 DPS in order to beat the encounter in 3 minutes. That’s for the group. 2396.63 is NOT the minimum individual damage per second.

Assuming that the tank miraculously held agro without doing any damage to Lavanthor himself, each damage dealers will be required to perform 798.87 damage per second. (assume 3 DPS-er)

That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. A 180 seconds epic battle with Lavanthor can be beat by doing less than 800 DPS.

The paladin did more than the minimum required to beat the encounter.

So what’s wrong with this picture?

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Mike was our star ball player. He’s 6’1” forward with a jump shot accurate as a scud missile. He’s one the best ball player in our school.

One day on a school yard pickup game we got him and felt confident we’re going decimate the other team. Mike decided to start practicing his left hand jump shoot. Not only he’s not very good at it, that’s all he does. Got the ball and did a left hand jump shoot. Over and over again. In other word, he fucked us all.

So we call him out on it. I said, “Mike, quit fucking around and fucking use the right hand!” He replied with, “It’s just a pickup game man.”

Mike’s fifteen minutes of fame is up.

With plenty of guys waiting on the sideline, we called for a sub.

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Comes in the mage in heroic blues. Did 6k on Cyga and wave good bye.