Two of my co-workers go together to the gym on their lunch break. Today they worked on their glutes. When they got back to work, one of them commented over the cubicle walls that his "butt was sore". I instantly told them "I don't want to hear about what you do on your lunches together".
We all laughed.
2005-09-22
2005-09-14
Instant messenger is a tool of Satan
You know what I'm sick of? I'm sick of those instant messenger pop-up windows that shows who just signed on. No, I don't have an issue with it on my side, I disable that little punk first thing after I install or update my IM client. What I have a problem with is the pop-up on everyone else's screen.
You see, I don't use IM to keep up with my friends and family, I use IM almost exclusively at work. So as soon as I sign on, people (customers) around the world get a pop-up saying "Adam just signed on". And you know what, that pop-up must be irresistible, like a monkey trained to hit a button in order to get a banana, my customers all think that it's a really good idea to pester Adam with their early morning requests (I'm NOT a morning person, in fact I fantasize about drugging morning people with valium in order to make the whole world sleep in like me).
And they must think that they are crafty and subtle when their first line is "Hey buddy, how ya doin'?" Like they really give 2 cents about how I'm doing. That's just a preface to them asking for some favor that's always "real quick", when they should call our receptionist and put in a proper trouble ticket (I work in Customer Service).
This wouldn't even be a problem if it was just one customer, I'd just block them and never worry about it. But it's almost all of them.
Now I'm not saying that they can't IM me and ask a quick question. That's no my intention at all. What I want to stop is the 2-10 IM's I get the instant I sign in. It's frustrating to have that much to do in the first few minutes of being at work. Why can't these people give me 5 minutes to get the rest of my software loaded and ready to go? Is this their only chance to reach me? Do they forget about me when that pop-up window goes away? If they are that feeble, maybe I should add them to my block list anyways.
This morning it was a customer in Africa. I love these guys, they took very good care of me when I was out there training them, but it still gets on my nerves
So in review: Do NOT IM co-workers, customers, and vendors so shortly after they sign on. This should be added to some official "netiquette" rule. It's not big deal to do this to friends, unless you are asking them a work related question. In that case shame on you for abusing your friendship.
You see, I don't use IM to keep up with my friends and family, I use IM almost exclusively at work. So as soon as I sign on, people (customers) around the world get a pop-up saying "Adam just signed on". And you know what, that pop-up must be irresistible, like a monkey trained to hit a button in order to get a banana, my customers all think that it's a really good idea to pester Adam with their early morning requests (I'm NOT a morning person, in fact I fantasize about drugging morning people with valium in order to make the whole world sleep in like me).
And they must think that they are crafty and subtle when their first line is "Hey buddy, how ya doin'?" Like they really give 2 cents about how I'm doing. That's just a preface to them asking for some favor that's always "real quick", when they should call our receptionist and put in a proper trouble ticket (I work in Customer Service).
This wouldn't even be a problem if it was just one customer, I'd just block them and never worry about it. But it's almost all of them.
Now I'm not saying that they can't IM me and ask a quick question. That's no my intention at all. What I want to stop is the 2-10 IM's I get the instant I sign in. It's frustrating to have that much to do in the first few minutes of being at work. Why can't these people give me 5 minutes to get the rest of my software loaded and ready to go? Is this their only chance to reach me? Do they forget about me when that pop-up window goes away? If they are that feeble, maybe I should add them to my block list anyways.
This morning it was a customer in Africa. I love these guys, they took very good care of me when I was out there training them, but it still gets on my nerves
So in review: Do NOT IM co-workers, customers, and vendors so shortly after they sign on. This should be added to some official "netiquette" rule. It's not big deal to do this to friends, unless you are asking them a work related question. In that case shame on you for abusing your friendship.
2005-09-05
More New Orleans info
Here's a blog posted by a man who's staying behind in New Orleans to help out. Some of the posts on his blog are not for the faint of heart. The Interdictor.
2005-09-02
My nephew used to live in New Orleans
I just got off the phone with my nephew, who left New Orleans on Wednesday. He has a lot of insight that you won't find in the media.
The first point that should be made is that there's more than just one side of this story. The people of New Orleans fall into a few different categories:
1. People who left before the storm hit. Some feared the worst, some feared the unknown.
2. People who would have left, but couldn't for whatever reason. Many people could not afford to leave, others were too ill, and couldn't move. And there could be a dozen other valid reasons.
3. People who have been through several hurricanes and underestimated the scale of this one. I have a hard time criticizing these people. In the past they have endured similar storms, and they didn't think this would be much different. When you bear in mind that areas have endured category 5's (such as hurricane Andrew) with less trouble, it would seem that a cat 4 would be bearable.
4. People who decided to stay with the intent of taking advantage of the situation and looting. These people deserve some serious punishment, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they deserve to die. Some of the armed bandits you see are these folks.
Point #2 really makes me angry at certain reporters who want to place blame for this tragedy on those who remained in the city. How arrogant you have be to make those claims! That's your small minded way of saying: "I've considered all possibilities and came to the conclusion that there's no valid reason to stay in the city". I really want to punish the people who think this way.
The situation in New Orleans is grim. The armed thug gangs that run parts of the city have become so powerful that the police cannot control them. The 80% of the city that is flooded has problems we may not consider at first. The first thing that happens when the streets flood is the sewers intermix with the flood waters, making the water that you see horribly smelly, and a serious health risk. Another problem comes from the broken levee's that let in seawater. It doesn't just let in the water, but in this case it has also let in bull sharks. Right now, these sharks are feeding on corpses of victims. The flooded streets have also seen an influx of a few Water Moccasins (Ancistrodon piscivorus or cottonmouth). These are one of the few snakes that really scare me. In the wild they are territorial and aggressive, and who knows how they will react to this new situation.
My nephew was holed up with his wife, his 1 year old son, and his wife's father in his father-in-law's apartment. The apartment building formed into a group dedicated to protecting each other. Eventually they housed a few police officers who showed up seeking refuge from the streets. One of these police officers spoke of a shootout he was part of that went very badly. I won't go into what happened, but this officer is happy to be alive after seeing his fellow police officers fall. He also mentioned that some police have been forced to resort to looting food because they have been cut off from supplies and support. Thankfully this building was in a gated community on high ground, part of the 20% that isn't under water right now. My nephew's apartment was not in the dry 20, and since he was on the bottom floor, everything they own is now underwater. They were able to take their car to a 4th floor parking garage located in the dry 20, but looting may take that from them as well.
When they decided to flee the city, the group had to stand as armed guards as they loaded up his father-in-law's Ford Expedition, and pray that the only people who saw them were unarmed or poorly armed. Any of the larger looting gangs would likely have the firepower to take the SUV and would willingly kill for something this valuable. The group had heard of the stories of people trying to leave the city, and knew that a common car-jacking tactic was to stand in front of a fleeing car and when it stops, shoot the driver and passengers if they resist. With this in mind, they resolved to run over anyone who stood intentionally in their way. To discourage this, they flew through the streets at ridiculous speeds, and thankfully, didn't have to resort to this extreme. When they heard on Saturday that the storm was going to hit New Orleans, they filled the gas tank (at pre-storm prices), and that allowed them to get far from the city before needing to refuel. When they got to (I've forgotten where they refueled), there was only 1 gas station that still had fuel. Thankfully, they weren't gouging prices in this emergency, but there was still a 2 hour line for gasoline.
Now my nephew and his family are staying in a Miami suburb with a friend. Cell phone coverage is spotty, as the entire gulf coast area is under a heavy telecomm load. Text messages don't deliver every time, and when they do, they don't always show who sent the message. I'm just happy that it's over for the ones I love, and I continue to pray for those still in that hell.
The first point that should be made is that there's more than just one side of this story. The people of New Orleans fall into a few different categories:
1. People who left before the storm hit. Some feared the worst, some feared the unknown.
2. People who would have left, but couldn't for whatever reason. Many people could not afford to leave, others were too ill, and couldn't move. And there could be a dozen other valid reasons.
3. People who have been through several hurricanes and underestimated the scale of this one. I have a hard time criticizing these people. In the past they have endured similar storms, and they didn't think this would be much different. When you bear in mind that areas have endured category 5's (such as hurricane Andrew) with less trouble, it would seem that a cat 4 would be bearable.
4. People who decided to stay with the intent of taking advantage of the situation and looting. These people deserve some serious punishment, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they deserve to die. Some of the armed bandits you see are these folks.
Point #2 really makes me angry at certain reporters who want to place blame for this tragedy on those who remained in the city. How arrogant you have be to make those claims! That's your small minded way of saying: "I've considered all possibilities and came to the conclusion that there's no valid reason to stay in the city". I really want to punish the people who think this way.
The situation in New Orleans is grim. The armed thug gangs that run parts of the city have become so powerful that the police cannot control them. The 80% of the city that is flooded has problems we may not consider at first. The first thing that happens when the streets flood is the sewers intermix with the flood waters, making the water that you see horribly smelly, and a serious health risk. Another problem comes from the broken levee's that let in seawater. It doesn't just let in the water, but in this case it has also let in bull sharks. Right now, these sharks are feeding on corpses of victims. The flooded streets have also seen an influx of a few Water Moccasins (Ancistrodon piscivorus or cottonmouth). These are one of the few snakes that really scare me. In the wild they are territorial and aggressive, and who knows how they will react to this new situation.
My nephew was holed up with his wife, his 1 year old son, and his wife's father in his father-in-law's apartment. The apartment building formed into a group dedicated to protecting each other. Eventually they housed a few police officers who showed up seeking refuge from the streets. One of these police officers spoke of a shootout he was part of that went very badly. I won't go into what happened, but this officer is happy to be alive after seeing his fellow police officers fall. He also mentioned that some police have been forced to resort to looting food because they have been cut off from supplies and support. Thankfully this building was in a gated community on high ground, part of the 20% that isn't under water right now. My nephew's apartment was not in the dry 20, and since he was on the bottom floor, everything they own is now underwater. They were able to take their car to a 4th floor parking garage located in the dry 20, but looting may take that from them as well.
When they decided to flee the city, the group had to stand as armed guards as they loaded up his father-in-law's Ford Expedition, and pray that the only people who saw them were unarmed or poorly armed. Any of the larger looting gangs would likely have the firepower to take the SUV and would willingly kill for something this valuable. The group had heard of the stories of people trying to leave the city, and knew that a common car-jacking tactic was to stand in front of a fleeing car and when it stops, shoot the driver and passengers if they resist. With this in mind, they resolved to run over anyone who stood intentionally in their way. To discourage this, they flew through the streets at ridiculous speeds, and thankfully, didn't have to resort to this extreme. When they heard on Saturday that the storm was going to hit New Orleans, they filled the gas tank (at pre-storm prices), and that allowed them to get far from the city before needing to refuel. When they got to (I've forgotten where they refueled), there was only 1 gas station that still had fuel. Thankfully, they weren't gouging prices in this emergency, but there was still a 2 hour line for gasoline.
Now my nephew and his family are staying in a Miami suburb with a friend. Cell phone coverage is spotty, as the entire gulf coast area is under a heavy telecomm load. Text messages don't deliver every time, and when they do, they don't always show who sent the message. I'm just happy that it's over for the ones I love, and I continue to pray for those still in that hell.
2005-08-26
Here be my name...
My pirate name is:
Iron Sam Rackham
A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.
More pirate fun can be found here.
2005-08-22
How long is a year?
I can't believe I've been blogging for almost a year. My first post was just a note letting everyone know that I wasn't gonna blog, I just wanted to post comments on Kirsten's and Annie's blog.
My second post was mostly a realization that you don't need to have anything significant to say in order to blog. Something that 99% of the rest of the bloggers already knew (or didn't know, but were oblivious to how boring they were/are).
Now I throw almost any random thought up here. Who cares about relevance or continuity! And you all get to take advantage of these pearls of wisdom. You're probably all thinking: "Wow, that Adam. What a great guy!" Well, you're welcome.
My second post was mostly a realization that you don't need to have anything significant to say in order to blog. Something that 99% of the rest of the bloggers already knew (or didn't know, but were oblivious to how boring they were/are).
Now I throw almost any random thought up here. Who cares about relevance or continuity! And you all get to take advantage of these pearls of wisdom. You're probably all thinking: "Wow, that Adam. What a great guy!" Well, you're welcome.
2005-08-21
Surviving the end of a failed raid
A good raid can be the most rewarding and exciting part of your World Of Warcraft experience. When teamwork and skill combine in a good raid party, objectives are easily met and your entire group hearths home without resurrecting.
But when your raid group is formed on the spot by someone with less than existent leadership skills, you are in for a world of hurt. These groups are often the type formed when an area is hit by an organized opposition's raid. At this time, the need for a raid group becomes apparent, and somebody steps up and starts the group. But a defensive raid group should never change to an offensive raid group without first setting some kind of objective.
These groups get gung -ho when they route the enemy, and the group quickly becomes a train of "HK seekers". Snaking into enemy territory chasing after the tail end of the retreating enemy, soon they meet the organized resistance that's been formed at the nearest enemy town. The newly formed battle line is fiercely contested for a few minutes, but the defending enemy has the advantage of respawning guards, and every raid group formed since the conception of WoW has had that 1 (or more) guy who stirs up the guards.
At this point it's best to call a general retreat. Since that never happens with these "pick up" groups (they always think they can turn the tide back in their favor), your smartest act is to hearth out and leave with dignity.
So lets say you are one of the folks that should have left already, and now face an overwhelming number of red names. You are gonna die, accept that and prepare for it. We are gonna leave everyone else now. If you are a support class, don't feel bad, you can't help much now anyways.
Don't run down the path you came in on, everyone else is doing that, and it only serves as a focusing point for the now "HK hungry" opposition. Find a route that nobody else on your team is taking and head that way. You don't even need to be heading in the general direction of your intended retreat. Remember that we are hearthing out, so it doesn't matter if you do this 100m further away.
If you have no pursuing fan club, then hearth out and count yourself lucky. If you do have your own train, "root em if you got em". If you can't root, at least draw them as far from your main group as possible. This way you still serve a value to the rest of the team.
If you are going to get nailed, try to find some trees or hills that you can res behind after you go down. Ashenvale and Tanaris are great for this. This will give you a chance of escape if they corpse camp you. Res behind a visual obstruction, and once they see your corpse change to bones, they will run all over looking for you, but you have a head start because of the cover you took. Now just find a safe place to hearth, and end this nightmare.
But when your raid group is formed on the spot by someone with less than existent leadership skills, you are in for a world of hurt. These groups are often the type formed when an area is hit by an organized opposition's raid. At this time, the need for a raid group becomes apparent, and somebody steps up and starts the group. But a defensive raid group should never change to an offensive raid group without first setting some kind of objective.
These groups get gung -ho when they route the enemy, and the group quickly becomes a train of "HK seekers". Snaking into enemy territory chasing after the tail end of the retreating enemy, soon they meet the organized resistance that's been formed at the nearest enemy town. The newly formed battle line is fiercely contested for a few minutes, but the defending enemy has the advantage of respawning guards, and every raid group formed since the conception of WoW has had that 1 (or more) guy who stirs up the guards.
At this point it's best to call a general retreat. Since that never happens with these "pick up" groups (they always think they can turn the tide back in their favor), your smartest act is to hearth out and leave with dignity.
So lets say you are one of the folks that should have left already, and now face an overwhelming number of red names. You are gonna die, accept that and prepare for it. We are gonna leave everyone else now. If you are a support class, don't feel bad, you can't help much now anyways.
Don't run down the path you came in on, everyone else is doing that, and it only serves as a focusing point for the now "HK hungry" opposition. Find a route that nobody else on your team is taking and head that way. You don't even need to be heading in the general direction of your intended retreat. Remember that we are hearthing out, so it doesn't matter if you do this 100m further away.
If you have no pursuing fan club, then hearth out and count yourself lucky. If you do have your own train, "root em if you got em". If you can't root, at least draw them as far from your main group as possible. This way you still serve a value to the rest of the team.
If you are going to get nailed, try to find some trees or hills that you can res behind after you go down. Ashenvale and Tanaris are great for this. This will give you a chance of escape if they corpse camp you. Res behind a visual obstruction, and once they see your corpse change to bones, they will run all over looking for you, but you have a head start because of the cover you took. Now just find a safe place to hearth, and end this nightmare.
2005-08-18
Alone time
Well, I've had a lot of alone time this last week. It's not like I wasn't a hermit before everyone abandoned me, but now I really feel alone. It's kinda sad, but mostly in a "pity party" sort of way. I'll be fine, it just takes some getting used to.
A positive thing happened this week though. An friend that I met online a while back might be moving to Utah soon. She IM'd me 2 days ago and mentioned this. It's kinda wierd for me, as she is the first (and only) person that I've met and gotten to know rather well, without ever meeting in person.
I've updated my webcomics page, and I am VERY proud of the results. I set it up with expanding lists, and the process of learning this was really fun. It's my first Javascript that does anything really functional. I'm always adding new content to it, but I'm keeping it text only for as long as I can (there are 2 images used in the expanding lists though).
Possibly my favorite new (new to me) webcomic is Copper. I just love the art.
A positive thing happened this week though. An friend that I met online a while back might be moving to Utah soon. She IM'd me 2 days ago and mentioned this. It's kinda wierd for me, as she is the first (and only) person that I've met and gotten to know rather well, without ever meeting in person.
I've updated my webcomics page, and I am VERY proud of the results. I set it up with expanding lists, and the process of learning this was really fun. It's my first Javascript that does anything really functional. I'm always adding new content to it, but I'm keeping it text only for as long as I can (there are 2 images used in the expanding lists though).
Possibly my favorite new (new to me) webcomic is Copper. I just love the art.
2005-08-11
2005-08-05
Alien Loves Predator
Alien Loves Predator just may be my new favorite way to spend time online.
The premise is that an Alien and a Predator are roommates in NYC. Unlike the popular comics, games, and movie, they get along rather well. The bulk of the webcomic is done by superimposing pictures of toy figurines over real world photos. One of my favorites is Abe ogling a Barbie, it just captures Abe perfectly with one frame. If that's not awesome in it's own right, the creator, Bernie, is one hilarious human being (I presume he's human from the pictures of his offspring).
I'll throw a link on my webcomic page on Monday most likely.
The premise is that an Alien and a Predator are roommates in NYC. Unlike the popular comics, games, and movie, they get along rather well. The bulk of the webcomic is done by superimposing pictures of toy figurines over real world photos. One of my favorites is Abe ogling a Barbie, it just captures Abe perfectly with one frame. If that's not awesome in it's own right, the creator, Bernie, is one hilarious human being (I presume he's human from the pictures of his offspring).
I'll throw a link on my webcomic page on Monday most likely.
2005-08-04
Panda Attack!
Good news! I got into Panda Attack! I don't know if this is going to be enough to inspire me to put in the time to get another character up to lvl 40 and beyond.
We had a raid last night, but I had a church meeting at the same time, and I could not attend. Turns out we lost, and the Alliance beat us back to Horde territory. I can't help but think that maybe one more healer on site might have turned the tides. Wish I had been there.
We had a raid last night, but I had a church meeting at the same time, and I could not attend. Turns out we lost, and the Alliance beat us back to Horde territory. I can't help but think that maybe one more healer on site might have turned the tides. Wish I had been there.
2005-08-01
PvP vs. PA
How do I decide?!!! Do I join "Panda Attack" or whatever incarnation PA decides on for the new Dark Iron server? Oh, BTW, this is all a bunch of WoW jargon. If you don't roll in Azeroth, just ignore my macho-nerd babble and head over to someone more interesting.
For everyone still with me, I'm leaning towards siding with PvP for 2 reasons: 1. I haven't played Horde nearly enough, and 2. Panda's are incredibly cool.
For everyone still with me, I'm leaning towards siding with PvP for 2 reasons: 1. I haven't played Horde nearly enough, and 2. Panda's are incredibly cool.
2005-07-28
Tegan and Sara
Am I insane, or is Walking With A Ghost about the catchiest song ever. Tegan And Sara's website.
This video clears up that Tegan is in fact the evil twin. We should have known that from the lower lip piercing that Tegan has had for a while. I guess that's the female equivelant of the "evil twin goatee".
This video clears up that Tegan is in fact the evil twin. We should have known that from the lower lip piercing that Tegan has had for a while. I guess that's the female equivelant of the "evil twin goatee".
2005-07-21
The new record is 3!
That's the number of consecutive times someone has called and hung up before I could answer.
You see, my phone doesn't play a "ring" to those who call me, it play's Eric Clapton's "Layla". My family and friends are used to this by now, but strangers are always caught off guard. I've found that most people just hang up and call back. Sometimes they will even hang up after that second call.
It just surprises me to no end that some of them won't stay on the phone the 4 seconds it sometimes takes for me to answer the call. Let's run through the mental dialogue that must go on: "Layla?!? This is not the normal ring that I hear when I call others! Surely there is witchcraft at work here. I must hang up NOW before I am cast into the infernal abyss!!!!" I can assure you all that there is no telecom hellfire portal to worry about. And if there was, Nortel would surely charge too much for it to become a functional part of any major providers client damnation budget.
Every now and then I'll get a new caller who hangs on the line long enough for me to answer. I've noticed that these people are a bit more kick-back than the uptights that hang up right away. I know right away that these people are cool.
You see, my phone doesn't play a "ring" to those who call me, it play's Eric Clapton's "Layla". My family and friends are used to this by now, but strangers are always caught off guard. I've found that most people just hang up and call back. Sometimes they will even hang up after that second call.
It just surprises me to no end that some of them won't stay on the phone the 4 seconds it sometimes takes for me to answer the call. Let's run through the mental dialogue that must go on: "Layla?!? This is not the normal ring that I hear when I call others! Surely there is witchcraft at work here. I must hang up NOW before I am cast into the infernal abyss!!!!" I can assure you all that there is no telecom hellfire portal to worry about. And if there was, Nortel would surely charge too much for it to become a functional part of any major providers client damnation budget.
Every now and then I'll get a new caller who hangs on the line long enough for me to answer. I've noticed that these people are a bit more kick-back than the uptights that hang up right away. I know right away that these people are cool.
Webcomics
I threw up a new page about the 3 webcomics that I regularly read. No idea if my reader-base (Kirsten and Sam) is interested at all, but there ya go!
2005-07-20
Lisa Hannigan has the most beautiful voice in the world.
Don't beleive me? Then I'm gonna punch you in your left ear.
2005-07-17
Arrrrgghhh! I'm a pirate!
I'm a pirate. I really am. And I don't mean a software/movie/music pirate, everybody does that. I mean I'm an actual pirate, with boats and the proper lingo, and sometimes even the lack of bathing! Here's how this came to be.
Tom, Tommy, Tommy's friend, Ryan and I went wakeboarding today on Utah Lake, and there were a good number of other boaters there chopping up the water. I told Tom that we should bring my rifle and shoot at them to get them to leave. If we did that, then we'd be real pirates. But none of us really liked the idea of going to jail, so that idea was nixed. Then Tom said we could chop up the water like they are doing to us, and we could do it very well. And although nobody dies when we do this, it's still very annoying, and very pirate-esque.
And boy did we chop up that lake. Tommy and his friend went tubing, and I turned that lake into the definition of chop! Arrrggghhh!
Tom, Tommy, Tommy's friend, Ryan and I went wakeboarding today on Utah Lake, and there were a good number of other boaters there chopping up the water. I told Tom that we should bring my rifle and shoot at them to get them to leave. If we did that, then we'd be real pirates. But none of us really liked the idea of going to jail, so that idea was nixed. Then Tom said we could chop up the water like they are doing to us, and we could do it very well. And although nobody dies when we do this, it's still very annoying, and very pirate-esque.
And boy did we chop up that lake. Tommy and his friend went tubing, and I turned that lake into the definition of chop! Arrrggghhh!
2005-07-11
Battlefield 2 - another really enjoyable game
I really enjoy playing Battlefield 2. They had the ingenious idea of integrating rewards, unlocks, and goals to strive for in a multiplayer first person shooter (FPS). Now, this isn't unique to video games by any means, Ghost Recon did this years ago with "hero" unlocks, and other games have similar features.
Why I give them credit for this, is because they are the first to do so on such a large scale (MMO). And I don't mean MMO in the sense that 64 people can play on the same server, I mean large scale in the sense that tens of thousands of people have their stats recorded and ranked (here's my stats).
Right now my global score is just under 3,000. I need 11,000 for my next rank advance and weapon unlock. The benefit of the weapon unlock is obvious. But the benefit of the advancement in rank really only matters to leaders. People with higher rank will be able to take the position of commander from those whose rank is lower. I don't play commander a whole lot, I prefer forming my own squad and playing as squad leader. But as squad leader you will sometimes notice that the commander isn't doing a good job. If that's the case, I'll apply for commander at the start of the next round.
Today I got my Basic Command badge. That's not an easy one to get. I'm rather proud of this, and grateful to the group of soldiers that I was playing with today. Without their skilled work (play?), I wouldn't have gotten this.
Saturday night (really it was Sunday morning, but I hadn't gone to bed yet, so it was Saturday to me) I got my Explosive Ordinance badge, and my Basic Transport badge! I'm so happy. The Explosive Ordinance badge is acquired by getting 15 kills with explosives in one round. I had tried to get this for weeks, but was only able to get it by using a rather devious method. While playing Strike at Karkand, I spawned at the USMC southernmost base. There is almost always a HMMWV or two there. Playing as spec-ops I loaded all 5 C4 packs on the front of the jeep, and drove towards the enemy. When I would get close to a group of 2 or more enemy soldiers, I would hop out of the jeep, and hit the C4 detonator. This would send jeep chunks all over the place, killing the bad guys, and myself as well. As I was doing all this, I also earned my Basic Transport badge (24 minutes in a transport vehicle)!
Now I need only the Knife, Pistol, Helicopter, and Aviator badges to complete my full set of Basic level badges. This is exactly what makes this game so good. It's very replayable because there is always something to strive for. After the Basic badges, you can try for the Veteran badges, and then the Expert badges. There are also many commendations that you can earn. Most of them have never been earned by anyone, so nobody outside of EA really knows how to get them all.
Why I give them credit for this, is because they are the first to do so on such a large scale (MMO). And I don't mean MMO in the sense that 64 people can play on the same server, I mean large scale in the sense that tens of thousands of people have their stats recorded and ranked (here's my stats).
Right now my global score is just under 3,000. I need 11,000 for my next rank advance and weapon unlock. The benefit of the weapon unlock is obvious. But the benefit of the advancement in rank really only matters to leaders. People with higher rank will be able to take the position of commander from those whose rank is lower. I don't play commander a whole lot, I prefer forming my own squad and playing as squad leader. But as squad leader you will sometimes notice that the commander isn't doing a good job. If that's the case, I'll apply for commander at the start of the next round.
Today I got my Basic Command badge. That's not an easy one to get. I'm rather proud of this, and grateful to the group of soldiers that I was playing with today. Without their skilled work (play?), I wouldn't have gotten this.
Saturday night (really it was Sunday morning, but I hadn't gone to bed yet, so it was Saturday to me) I got my Explosive Ordinance badge, and my Basic Transport badge! I'm so happy. The Explosive Ordinance badge is acquired by getting 15 kills with explosives in one round. I had tried to get this for weeks, but was only able to get it by using a rather devious method. While playing Strike at Karkand, I spawned at the USMC southernmost base. There is almost always a HMMWV or two there. Playing as spec-ops I loaded all 5 C4 packs on the front of the jeep, and drove towards the enemy. When I would get close to a group of 2 or more enemy soldiers, I would hop out of the jeep, and hit the C4 detonator. This would send jeep chunks all over the place, killing the bad guys, and myself as well. As I was doing all this, I also earned my Basic Transport badge (24 minutes in a transport vehicle)!
Now I need only the Knife, Pistol, Helicopter, and Aviator badges to complete my full set of Basic level badges. This is exactly what makes this game so good. It's very replayable because there is always something to strive for. After the Basic badges, you can try for the Veteran badges, and then the Expert badges. There are also many commendations that you can earn. Most of them have never been earned by anyone, so nobody outside of EA really knows how to get them all.
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