Eigun

<insert perverted comments about using your forearms> <I'll be in my bunk>

And not with a bang, but with a whimper, thus was the death of 25 man raiding.

Hey all - I have a lot of upcoming work projects and trips in the next month and a half, so I'll be very sporadic as to my raid availability. I'll update the invite calendar as soon as I know anything, but please don't think I'm blowing you guys off. Thanks!

Hopefully, I will be awake by then. Please be aware that half my shizz is dps gear.

Orbs? Do you mean Saronite? The Saronite is only put up for bids on Thursdays. Considering Maalick was the ONLY person to bid for them last week, I'd think your chances are pretty good. Oh yeah saronite. Awesome now I can finally get boots made! Or, if you are not a totally lazy slacker, you could have bought the Saronite on the AH and had them made months ago. But I guess if you have no money for flight point travel, then you have no money for Saronite.

I know, I know, I shouldn't post stuff like this here because it shows how I'm a total fanboy prone to geekouts. But I was hoping I might find some sympathy here. Plus: Scarlett Johansson has fabulous, um, acting.... something. New Iron Man 2 Trailer

Are you treating yourself to a brand-new track ball?

Thoughts on last night: There is no possible way that we shouldn't be happy with the progress we made last night. This is so close I can smell it. I think this is harder then any of the wipefests that we've had in the past. I can't think of a single fight yet that has challenged every aspect of our playing ability like this one: Movement, awareness, survival, dps race, target switching, all rolled into one. Having said that I can understand and sympathize with some of the raid members who are getting frustrated. But before you throw stones, glass houses and all that. Now, on to the fun part. I want to be very clear here: I do not have a problem with people running 10 mans, talking about 10 mans, or sharing experiences from 10 mans. I do NOT begrudge anyone's success in 10 mans. My problem with 10 mans is that it is unfair to assume that people are familiar with a tactic you have learned in a 10 man without sharing it with the rest of us. Don't get snippy or upset if I have no idea what you're talking about or what I should be doing, just because you've seen something twenty times and I've only seen it once. For the past two and a half years (since Gruul), this group of mostly casual players has demonstrated the ability to handle difficult fights, when they are carefully explained and everyone is on the same page. Is that ideal? Maybe not. But I'll be the first to admit that I'm one of those people that just doesn't have as high of a Warcraft IQ as some of the more serious players here. If you have a problem with that - FFS help me, boot me or deal with it. I'm trying to become a better player but that isn't going to happen overnight and it certainly isn't going to happen without some help. Finally, in what I anticipate will be all of you trying to "help" me with my mistakes - ONE AT A TIME PLEASE. Otherwise it just sounds like noise. Or simply just have one person making adjustments. We can't all be Jr. Raid Leaders here.

I Knew it!!!! that also explains the AFKS I think this one is better...

Yeah, I might be able to make this work. If you need faildps.

That's too bad, and I hope blizzard restores everything soon, you will be missed in the mean time. oh noes! $10 worth of authenticator buys you a lot of peace of mind...

Well folks, the past few weeks have been like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon, which has made me realize exactly how much time I spent enjoying this game with you all. Unfortunately, this short break has to turn into an indefinite one, until such time as my life returns to any semblance of normalcy. Thanks for all the lolz! See you on the flip side.

So, basically, people were once again full of QQ about druid DPS. Wonder what the net effect will actually be...

Tiz, You have our sympathy and support for your troubles. Essentially, you're telling us that due to external stressors, you're acting in a way that you would not normally act, and that you would appreciate some consideration for atypical behavior. I would normally see no problem with this. However, you've admitted as much that your reaction to The Phantom Cougher was less than ideal. What if TPC him or herself was equally suffering from a debilitating ailment? What if they were trying their best to avoid coughing RIGHT IN YOUR EAR but their situation, as yours, was less then ideal? Might you have been willing to take these annoyances with a grain of salt and look past them otherwise? If your near-vulgarity filled post was meant to be funny, then I apologize for failing to see the humor, but you seemed pretty serious to me. But since I was neither TPC, involved in a conversation with you regarding TPC, or involved in mocking you for being upset with TPC, I think you owe me and the rest of the raid an apology for having to put up with this tirade about coughing. (yes, that was meant to be funny)

Well guys, life has caught up to me and I've decided to step away from the game for a few weeks, at least until after the July 4th holidays. Hopefully I'll have my shiz squared away by then and I'll be back. Have fun without me!

I'd like to point out that, generally speaking, the recipients of hate are more often then not those that excel at taking it in stride. As exhibit A, I give you Markenfail, who decided to ride his mount directly into oncoming traffic and paid the price for being an idiot. As exhibit B, I give you Eigun, who decided during an Iron Council overload that he should put his face in it, and paid the price for being an idiot. As exhibit C, I give you Elrikk, who makes little grunting noises as he plays, resulting in our darth vader-esque mockery of him. As exhibit D, I give you Frogger Boss, where EVERYONE has been made fun of for failure. I think all of those things are enjoyable memories of raiding that are more valuable to me then any loot drop I've gotten. Laughing about our failures and "gallows humor" provides much more camaraderie and esprit du corps then does a silent raid full of hyperfocused clickers. Finally, we're all adults here. If someone has a problem with anything I have said or done, please don't hesitate to approach me directly. There is absolutely positively no need to elevate a personal exchange into a raid-wide "issue" unless there is no resolution at the lower level. I hate you all. Douches.

Me too.

Ok, here's some thoughts about consumables from the perspective of an alchemist: 1) Flasks require Frost Lotus. Frost Lotus is rare and not cheap, anywhere upwards of 40 gold as of this writing. Most herb/alch combinations generally do not sell any Frost Lotus they find, simply because they get used themselves. The only way to acquire Frost Lotus, other then buying on the AH, is through farming, and it is generally more time-efficient to do dailies and purchase then to farm. Which is why they're expensive. 2) Some classes definitely see the most benefit from using a flask for every situation. Others... may not. 3) Case in point: Average flask prices currently are about 35 gold, with most of that cost in the FL (one FL makes 2 flasks). For casters, they *may* benefit nearly as much from using a combination of a +spell power and a +mana regen elixir. Compare: Frost Wyrm is +125 sp (at 35 gold). Flask of Pure Mojo is +38 mp5 (at 35 gold). You choose ONE of those, for 1 hour. 4) OR... 1 Spellpower Elixir is +58 sp (2-3 gold) plus 1 Mighty Mageblood is +24 mp5 (at 4 gold) also lasts for one hour. Total of 7 gold. So... unless you are dealing with serious min/maxing issues, and ASSUMING 2 deaths in the first hour (therefore 6 elixirs - 3 of each), you are looking at 21 gold vs. 35 gold, and without consuming a rare drop, vs. consuming stuff that most herbalists should be able to give away. I'm just suggesting that especially for content that *should* be on a farm status, it may be sufficient to use two elixirs instead of using a flask, at a significant cost savings.

FYI: Uglutz gave me a heads up that he will be on the road and unable to make the raids this week.

I won't be able to make it tonight - Wednesday, 3 June. Sorry guys - house shopping is soooooo much fun! I want to do it every day for the rest of my life! /endsarcasm

Crazy Cat Lady seems like it would be more doable if a dps switched to healing. Oh, hey, look, I have a resto set... For Can't Do That While Stunned - My interrupt is on a 10 second cooldown. The rune dude casts quite often, especially towards the end, where he will immediately go from a chain lightning to a lightning ball whirlwind thing. Which means a la BT Faces of Death style we need to call out interrupts if we want to even come close. BTW, I won't be there on Sunday.

I established a Man Rule for this weekend. No pants on indoors. Period. Yes, my wife gave me that look, but then agreed to comply with the Man Rule.

...says the guy topping the dps charts in the Speckle Dust raid!

Ok, I took this straight out of last month's Esquire. We just made this and it is friggin' awesomesauce. Peter McAndrew's Best Potato Salad Here's what you get from an Irish guy who owns an Italian restaurant. Quarter 2 ½ lbs small red bliss potatoes. Season a pot of water with enough salt that it tastes like seawater and bring it to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until fork tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and transfer to mixing bowl. Stir in the following: 2 tbsp rinsed capers, ½ cup thinly sliced roasted red peppers, a few cloves chopped garlic, ½ cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp red-pepper flakes, and 6 minced oil-packed anchovies. Use these even if you think you hate anchovies. They add a salty backbone, and any fishiness disappears into the dish. Stir and cool to room temperature. Then add 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil and ¼ cup chopped fresh mint, then coarse salt and ground pepper. Taste as you go — seasoning is personal. Sprinkle ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese and a few more torn mint leaves on top. Serve at room temperature. Gets better after a day or two.

I would gladly take infinite hate + success over some hate + failure any day. If the hate is perceived to be getting in the way of success, then shut up and do your job until we win. Then hate away as much as you like. (yes, for you slow-witted monkeys, this post was intended to redirect hate towards me and away from the weak squishy ones)