CSM 10 and other random stuff

Its done, I voted for CSM 10.  Its basically the same list as I recommended on my previous post with the addition of Bam Stroker.  Bam came in late since I never really had heard from him – just a lot about him.  Then came the podcast and Bam had me sold.  He is full of energy, genuine enthusiasm for the community and a solid all-around guy.  Bam for CSM X.  I even forgive him that he is a Goon. Or PL.  Or whatever those groups are that fly the space with gates that are not Russian.

Other than that, RL had me travel a bit.  I literally keep a packed bag at home and live by my Tripit calendar.  Not complaining, its actually fun for a change but its not exactly conducive to fly spaceships.  We had a meetup in Virgina where I met Tur Amarth for the first time in person.  He and I disagree on all sorts of things in EVE but are totally of the same mind when it comes to loyalty, morality and how EVE generates that in a group of seemingly randomly-chosen strangers.  He is a top guy, even if he drinks wheat beer (whats this?  US in winter or Bavaria in summer?) and doesn’t speak as funny as he writes.  Despite calling me something that could be construed as insulting, he is still someone I’d drink a (proper) beer with.

And since he published a photo of me on his blog, I shall return the favor and publish one of him on mine.  Upside down, just to annoy him.

 

In other news, we had a great roam with Agony Unleashed, where – for once – I actually did what the FC commanded. It was a perfect combination of flying under solid direction and one of my favorite ship classes.  Destroyers with their awesome firepower, their agility and low cost are “my kind of boat”.  Rail Catalyst – perfect combination as well.  It was awesome.

Not much else going on. I picked up a new hobby that eats into my little EVE time and I am getting ready for another week or craziness at work.  See you in space.

CSM 10

Elections are near and CSM 10 is about to be voted into office.  As usual, the EVE Forums are the place where the candidates present themselves to the voting public.  The CSM delegates are meant to communicate with the players, be the sounding board of CCP about new ideas and in general, facilitate sane conversations between the company and its player base.

Why live in a wormhole?

So, my friend Oreamos and I mused the other day about the reason why anyone would want to live in a Wormhole.  Don’t get me wrong, Anoikis is great and the risk / reward balance here is still very good. Recent buffs to sleeper loot makes running C1/C2 sites actually worthwhile – add to this the sheer number of connections in/out and its a very lucrative region of space.  Non surprisingly, we see an uptick in activity especially in the lower wormholes while the higher ones (C5/C6) still seem to be mostly farming holes of nullsec alts and are fairly quiet during peak hours.

But while increased activity, good loot and many routes mean, Anoikis is a great space to be, it doesn’t mean its a great place to live.

I killed an Erebus with my Iskhur

Dear and Cherished Reader, I am the Top PvP fighter in our alliance.  The big kahuna, the top gun.  Just call me “boss” from now on, no further genuflections are strictly required.

I killed an Erebus in my Assault Frigate.

 

This will never happen again…

I may have had a little help.

 

Here is the story. 

2014 – Looking back

New Year’s EVE (see what I did there?) is upon us and with it the inevitable reflections one the year past and the New Year’s Resolutions for the next year.

Well, lets start – personally, it was a challenging year.  The company I work was bought out and my team and I had our hands full to keep the wheels running. Glad to say that nobody lost their job but its been a rocky ride.  This of course impacted on my game time and most of the spring and summer, I have been flat out too busy for EVE and I spent most of October / November on the road – again without access to games.

Unfaithful – Day 1

Blizzard had been bombarding me with messages to come back to World of Warcraft and re-subscribe.  I left Azeroth in 2009 and I figured after 5 years, it would be fun to revisit my old haunts and check out what is new.  I get a 10 day free trial and I figure, what is to lose?

Well, downloading and installing is pretty simple – the Warcraft installer lets you know when you can play despite several gigabytes are still being queued for download.  I got a 10 day free pass and log into my old account.

Trust and Swords

United Airlines and Southwest love me – they give me the best seats on the plane. Generally row 45, right near the toilet, middle seat.  Its a great chance to get to know new people, the 400 pound gentleman on my right (window seat) whose snoring is only interrupted by thunderous and odoriferous farts.  His Ooompah music – while at full blast – doesn’t disturb me too much, it drowns out the baby screams from the row in front of me.  To my left tends to be a lovely old lady with blue hair, a huge bag full of week old cheese sandwiches and a slight odor reminiscing of talcum, garlic and well-used diapers.  Inevitably, she is flying to see her unmarried daughter and – upon spying my wedding band – decides that I am not worth talking to.