An Englishmans Castle

Disturbing news today. My wives best friend woke this morning to find that during the night she and her family had apparently been gassed rendering them in a deep sleep and then burgled. They even took her kids clothes that had been ironed. The scary thing though is the supposedly growing use of gas in such incidents here on the southern coast of Spain. Having been in Law Enforcement most of my working life I am all too aware of the risks of being burgled and also that even though it is a common offence it is still one of the most invasive nasty things that can happen to a person.

There’s an old saying where I come from, "An Englishmans home is his castle". I’m sure the sentiment is the same throughout the world. If you own a house, you naturally feel comfortable and probably secure in it. This is what is so disturbing about the offence of burglary. It is a truly invasive crime that has a huge knock on effect mentally for the victim. It sends the message, “You thought you were safe. You are not”. Now add this new phenomenon to an already horrendous crime and you enter in to a whole new ball game.

I know anything can happen in a tussle, and even the toughest of people can be brought down by bad luck alone. But I like to think that if anyone broke in to my house, they would be sorry about it. You can make your own luck you see. I’m no stranger to physical conflict. I used to do it regularly and in fact I came across violence almost daily in my work. I have lost count of the amount of times I have had a knife pulled on me and been slashed at or stabbed at, lost count of the amount of times I have been assaulted, punched, kicked, stomped on, headbutted, had boiling water thrown at me, oh yeah and boiling fat. That’s just to name a few of what I have experienced. And I have never lost an encounter. Out of the probable thousands of encounters I have always come out on top. So I reckon I might have a bit of a chance against a burglar, and even if they bring two or three of their mates (as long as firearms weren’t involved). But this new thing of gassing people is scary if it turns out to be true. It makes the most competent of people sitting ducks all in a row. For the burglars it really must be like shooting fish in a barrel.

What‘s even scarier though is the circumstances in this particular case. For all of the stuff that was taken, you would need at least three people. Meaning three strangers were wandering around her house. Now for the scary part. She is a single Mum to three young kids. All of them were in the house. Her young daughter is blonde with beautiful blue eyes. Living on the coast here, we all know that that particular look of child is much sought after by child kidnapping rings from Europe and Africa. Her daughter was asleep in her bed and there were at least three people in her house. They could have taken her children without her knowing a thing until she finally awoke all groggy the next morning to find them gone. Absolutely terrifying thought.

Something one must always consider in situations such as this is the fact the occupants may not actually have been gassed. It is a natural human reaction to attempt to reason and people simply struggle to believe that they had burglars inches from them in their house, but did not wake up. It is a very difficult concept to understand. But think about it. If you have a husband/wife/partner at some point in your relationship I bet you have had to wake them up and not found it as easy as you had thought. It’s simple. It can come down to just two things. We sleep very heavily at times and some burglars are sadly very very good at their jobs. I don’t know if this is a real phenomenon or not, but until we know for sure we must treat it as real.

The best defence against a burglar, even this new type of burglary? Yup, you got it. A yappy dog. It doesn’t have to be a huge Rottweiler, just something that makes a lot of noise whenever someone approaches your house. Best deterrent ever. It wakes you and makes the burglar think twice. It may not stop you getting burgled if you have something inside they really really want. But it has a high chance of pushing them on to a different property. And if they do decide to still go ahead with it, at least you have forewarning. I have no doubt if gas is used then a gas that incapacitates dogs also would be used. But it doesn’t stop the dog barking as they approach your property, or start setting their equipment up outside ready to ‘gas’ you. Yeah, your dog might be gassed too, but they can still give fair warning.

Anyhow, until next time...

Be safe & Be well.

Lethargy

I’m getting bored of EQ2 again. This expansion really has failed to grab me to the same extent of RoK and those prior. I stuck through TSO, which was another expansion I didn’t particularly enjoy and now with another expansion I think is ‘OK’ but certainly not fantastic and throw in my busy real life and I’m struggling to gain the enthusiasm to keep going. It’s probably one of the main reasons I am struggling to level. I guess the content’s there plenty enough, it’s just that I am not over enthused about diving in to it. It may be that it is because I’ve done it all before. Not the exact content of course and there are a few spiffy changes been made recently, but I mean I have done the levelling thing, then the clamour for better equipment, then the raiding and so on. I’ve been through those patterns before, many many times. I guess I am just getting a bit jaded. Of the new expansion that is.

Last night saw me, Ema, Jahf and a couple of others, Seareal (a new acquaintance of my wife) and Lucyndra (an alt of a guildy of mine) rampage through firstly Cazic Thule, then Rivervale to take maximum benefit from the double exp weekend [Why oh why didn’t you use Adurj?!? He needs the XP – Ed]. I must admit, it was a bit of a pull and ‘aoe’ fest as my SK, ‘Angur Managmunt’ went from level 35 to 48 in one day with Voltaan leading the way, mentored. Yeah my AAs suffered a fair amount, but I will gain those back questing at a later stage and I plan on running through at least 4 HQs tonight so that should help too. I’m really enjoying my SK. I have a level 80 tank, Killzum my Guardian but he got shelved shortly after release of RoK. I’ve noticed in guild even though we have a fair few tanks, quite a few of them now spend a lot of time on their alts. Last couple of guild groups I have had we have had to wait some time for a tanky. So I thought I would try to level a tank I enjoy playing. I know I have Voltaan my bruiser who is now nearly 85th level and I actually still love playing him, but let’s face it unless he has the right equipment it’s tough for healers to keep him up in top tier zones.

Anyhow, back on to the main subject. So last night I had a great blast. It was lower level content of course and I really enjoyed it, as I always do. I’m starting to think that I just ‘clicked’ with the expansions up to RoK as I have no boredom issue when doing old content. It’s the new stuff. I guess I will find a new game, or just continually create new toons to stay in the content I truly enjoy.

There is of course always Lotro. I still love that game but it has been a while since I have logged in. Also I never really got to grips with the community there. The game and content are excellent and it’s now FTP so there is no reason why I shouldn’t head back and perhaps make more of an effort getting involved and trying to find some like minded players and a home there.

Until I make a decision, I have my SK to keep playing with, Adurj to try and level when I can be bothered and of course Mass Effect (which is going brilliantly btw!).

Be well.

A bit of this and that

More Mass Effect for me last night, seasoned with a bit of EQ2 and a Library instance run. I’m starting to become addicted to ME. I love the fact you can explore pretty much freely and do the quests/missions as you go along. Last night I did a bit of Galaxy hopping and explored some new regions gathering information on surveys for rare deposits and as quite a coincidence actually managed to further the main plot line.

Whilst I was doing my surveying I dropped off my little Mako (6 wheeled ATV) on a planet to do some exploring and it turned in to me rescuing an alien Asari lass who was caught off guard by raiding AI species the Gath whilst she was taking part in an archaeological dig. It seems she may be integral to the plot. It was a really fun mission with lots of nervous battles and some tough Gaths to destroy. The only problem is the little Asari seems to be a bit of a flirt. I’m a Spectre for goodness sake! Like I would have time to hook up with a lady Asari. I have important work to do!

EQ2 was fun. Had a run through the Library of Erudin with guildies from AoV. As always with guild groups I had a lot of fun. Although I was a bit cheesed off that I didn’t get the answer right to who I was accusing with murder in there..again! One day I’ll get that quest finished. The quest is actually really good fun. Basically it’s a game of Cluedo (or Clue if you are from the US) and you have to name at the end where the murder took place, with what weapon and who you were accusing. I got most of it right, but in the end it was down to two of the 7 or 8 Scholars who were responsible for the murder and I opted for the wrong one. Oh well, mebbe next time.

Be well.

A whole new world

ME. Medical Examiner? Maine? Millennium Edition? Master Earthdog? [Wha..? Eh? – Ed]. Nope. Mass Effect. I mentioned a few posts ago that my Bro had sent me a copy via STEAM as a gift and I finally finished downloading it by Sunday lunch time. I didn’t get to indulge though until last night as we had a BBQ at the outlaws during the afternoon to watch the football [The less said about that the better – Ed].

So, evening time comes and it’s my first try at the game. Admittedly quite an oldish game, especially as the sequel is out and available. It really doesn’t show it though. I may be a bit out of touch concerning any games that are not an MMO on the PC as I usually play one person FPS or RPG games on the PS3 but the presentation of Mass Effect is really good. I found it to be one of those games that you just ‘click’ with. Everything seems to be in the right place and not once have I found myself searching for keys after the first time I familiarised myself with the controls. Like I say, everything just seems to be in the right place.

So far I really like it. The plot is extremely addictive and the fact that I found I had played the game for about 4 hours without a break kind of gives you an idea how addicted I was. The game play is good, but the thing for me is the plot and the side missions. Great fun, amazing depth to the game and it really does keep you guessing. I think my wife got bored of hearing me exclaim “What the hell’s going on?” as the plot thickened and progressed.

I’m currently in the main citadel (the hub for civilisation in the Galaxy) after completing the intro plot, carrying out some side quests there and progressing the main plot line. At the moment I’m trying to expose a ‘Spectre’ (Spectre is a black ops unit that answers only to the ruling council) as being behind an attack on Eden Prime, a human settlement. It’s frustrating. I know Saren (the Spectre) is bad because I’ve seen the cut scenes! Unfortunately I can’t go to the council with that as evidence, so that’s how I am spending my time at the moment. Making allies and digging up information in the Citadel to try and expose Saren to the council for what he is.

I guess I haven’t made too much progress, but I’ve got so immersed in the plot and locales that I do seem to spend a lot of time investigating absolutely everything and that takes time. I have no idea how big the game is so am in no rush to plough ahead and find out by rushing things. As long as I stay interested, I’ll take the game at a pretty relaxed pace. I guess I’ll find out more tonight, but as it stands, Mass Effect gets a big two thumbs up from me. Thanks Bro!

Be well.

Look at me! Look at me!

Parses. To some they are like the devil in disguise, to others a tool for improving ones own or indeed another person’s performance. They are used on raids so the raid leader can establish who is working and who is not, what detrimental are in effect and for timers. They are also used to show off.

I have a parse up and running almost constantly whilst playing EQ2. I use it mainly to improve my own performance but also when I am raid leading for the many beneficial things it can bring to the party. I have been known to pop the parse in group chat occasionally when a group member does particularly well, or in the case of a group in was in couple of weeks ago to prove to the tank who was adamant the assassin in the group needed his hate transfer when in reality the Troub we had was doing almost triple the assassins dps. On occasion I have used it when I have been extremely proud of a parse in a tough fight. Or sent a parse to a friend when I have been proud (or astonished) at the dps I have put out. For me. I have never been an awesome dps’er so when I do hit big numbers (usually a lucky buff cast on me or just luck meaning I do well). Usually I check the parse beforehand though to make sure there is nothing embarrassing on there before posting (like an assassin being out dps’d by the Troub – unless that is the point I am trying to make of course) as I don’t think it is particularly nice to embarrass your fellow players.

But one thing I can’t abide, in all walks of life, is a braggart. Now I don’t mind a bit of playful fun around this, but when someone is systematically and pretty much constantly letting everyone know how good they are, in my eyes it’s crass and lacks style. The reason I bring all this up? Well, on Saturday night I was grouped with a really nice bunch, just hacking out some Crypt of Agony and other RoK instances. Part of my group was a Swashy. I’m not going to post his name, because I am class and not crass ;)

He actually came across as a really nice guy, but with one major fault. Let me pop you in the picture of what I’m talking about with a few quotes from our Swashbuckling hero that came across voice chat;

“So, that 14k parse good enough for you?”

“Did anyone parse that? That fight” – at this stage we already knew he had a parse running as he mentioned it quite a bit earlier. The fight in question was where he parsed nice 23k, in a 4 second fight.

“This is my only toon. That’s why I parse so stupidly high” – the highest I saw was 35k, which is very respectable, but again this was in a fight that lasted a very short time. Seconds.

"Don't worry, the fight won't last long enough. It'll be over quickly"...

Now, I’m not saying he wasn’t good at playing his toon. He was, quite respectable in fact. And he was an otherwise really nice guy. The bragging just let him down though in my eyes. There was no need. In most groups at least one person will be running a parse, in fact I would say quite a few people run parses all the time, so in any one group I bet there at least two watching the parse. So why the need to brag? They can see your dps without the ‘bells n whistles’ attached.

I guess it takes different strokes for different folks, but I know I don’t appreciate the in your face “Look at me!” attitude. Some may like it, but in my opinion, stay classy, don’t be a braggart. That doesn’t mean don’t post your parse, or comment on how well you have done, but don’t do it constantly. Don’t get in your groups face about it and most definitely don’t let it spread in to that murky subject of, “I’m better than you”.

Be well.

To sign, or not to sign...

Well Adurj made level 86 last night. I hooked up with a PuG and hammered round several TSO instances graded up to 90. I didn’t even realise I hadn’t done Evernight Abbey yet on Adurj, so I got a nice bit of AA too. I was a bit peeved off at our ISP though. We seem to have been having some really bad spike problems with our service with our connection making like a yo-yo. The reason it peeved me off is that I couldn’t download Mass Effect whilst I was playing, the pressure on our connection must have been too much. I started it downloading again after I had logged, but by then it was too late to play the game with having work the next day. I guess I will get my first taste of it tonight and I’m quite looking forward to it.

I’ve just checked our guild website and yet again, whilst not surprised I am a little disappointed that only two other people than me have bothered to sign up for the raid. It’s not as if folks don’t turn up on raid night though. Last week in ToMC we had three full groups, all AoV members. The thing is I need to plan. And to plan I need to know who is going to attend the raid. The amount of times I have had to do an adjustment of location for the raid depending on who turns up seems to becoming more frequent.

The reason I run the raids is to help get my fellow guildies a chance at some higher end gear than they will see from instance running. As any raid leader knows, it takes time and effort to run and keep these raids going and whilst they are running it is not a relaxing time at all either. Fun, but by no means a relaxing nights gaming. I do it because I love my guild and the people in it also. But, it really does disappoint me when I put all of this effort in to help others and only a couple can be bothered to check the website and sign up for the raid which would make the planning stage a whole lot easier. Don’t get me wrong, the raid force is always polite and never forgets to thanks me for the effort I put in. But it’s not the thanks I do it for, it’s to help. But it is really tough to help properly when I don’t know what I am supposed to be helping with, who needs what content, or who will be turning up. I just tried creating a new guildportal account for my own (old) guilds webby that is no longer used. It took me literally 3 minutes and 47 seconds to register, check the forums and sign up for an imaginary raid. I really don’t think that’s too much to ask.

A HUGE thank you to those who I know do check the webby, you know who you are ;).  And a big shout out to the two main users where my raids are concerned, Trubow & Baresark you always sign up and use the calendar without fail. Thank you very much for using the service as it was intended. Jahf, my mate who is not even in our guild checks out the forums regularly for any helpful or interesting titbits.

Come on folks, a little more give and a little less take. It’s the part of the ethos AoV is built on.

Be well.

I got the Power!

Unfortunately I have been the victim of a 24 hour power cut recently and as such have only been online for a couple of hours this week. I managed to get on late last night for an hour or so with my Dwarvern Mystic where we raided The Court of Al Afaz in Pillars of Flame, which was fun and gained Dorfy another 3 AA points. Which was nice.

I plan on playing my Mystic a bit more. I forgot how much I love playing him. It’s difficult though to spread oneself about all of ones toons when I still have yet to reach 90 on any of them. Sometimes I am of the mind that as long as I am enjoying the game it matters not and others I feel I am falling behind as I am not experiencing content my guildies and friends are having fun with. It’s really weird. When the level cap had just turned 80 it took me about 3 months to get 4 of my toons up to the required level, but then again I was playing the game for many more hours a week than I am now.

I guess I will just have to admit that my low play times mean I will fall behind in such things. I will have to accept that will probably be online a little less too. My brother has just bought me Mass Effect on STEAM, so once it’s fully downloaded (darn power cut stopped my download) I’m sure I’ll be playing a fair bit on that. My bro really rates the game and his taste in gaming is very similar to mine, so I know I can trust his judgement. Then after Mass Effect, I reckon I’ll probably move on to the sequel. We’ll just see how it goes I think. I really should stop considering all this stuff and just play games!

This weekend sees MotoGP head to Assen in the Netherlands. One of my favourite venues of the season. The track is simply awesome, one of the real old school tracks, loved by pretty much every racer who goes there. Sadly Rossi will be out for a few more races due to his nasty injury, but it’s really great to see his team mate doing so well (he won last weekend at Silverstone). I always knew Jorge Lorenzo would be a World Champion in the top tier one day and I reckon this season may be his chance. Good luck to you Jorge! By the way, Jorge Lorenzo is George Lawrence in our speak ;)

Silverstone was a good race. Mr Lawrence raced away at the start and was not seen again until the final flag, leading by a huge margin the whole race. The excitement came further down the field in the battle for third place and further down the grid also. Great stuff. Always nice to see Nicky Hayden beat Stoner too. Shame Hayden narrowly missed the podium though with yet another 4th place finish and his countryman Ben Spies (who was simply amazing) taking his first podium in the class on his Tech3 Yamaha. Grats to all and good luck in Assen!

Vale, get well soon! I’d love to know who you are cheering on whilst you are away!

Be well.