it's been a road, of Sam Cooke sunshine

today our friends paul and maureen will be arriving via bicycle from chicago and might stay until sunday.

it's friday, and although that normally doesn't really phase me, i had a really nice walk to work.

its only supposed to be 74F.

i am around 8/21k rep to exalted with netherwing and have a bunch of flayer hides.

excited about what we'll be cooking up.

its a good week, good day.

wedding.

so i am married. and i am getting married (to my wife) again next saturday (to be preceded by jumping out of a plane from 10k feet on thursday). thats got precious little to do with the following citation:

You would think that a priest could dispel bleeds. We can restore people from death and protect them from incoming attacks, yet we can't plug up one gushing wound? Seems a bit strange, doesn't it? Are we not masters of healing?

Anyway, today's column actually has nothing to do with dispelling or bleed effects (other than the author writing today's column while under the effects of a non-dispellable bleed debuff*). It has to do with leveling a priest from levels 40 to 70. Hit the jump and we'll get to it. (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/25/spiritual-guidance-so-you-wanna-play-a-priest-part-4-levels-4/)

thats from the Priest Columnist over at WoW.com, Dawn Moore. she has a good podcast too. anyway. good bait and switch there ol' hots dots, good one. (*a buff makes you stronger, a debuff doesnt)

razer naga. unfinished

 so i got the naga as i mentioned before. for wow it is terrific. it is terrific for a two button mouse, that just so happens to have 17 buttons.

however, i have found i miss my logitech LX8. it wasnt the best 2 button mouse, that just so happened to have 9 buttons. but it was a damn fine 7 button mouse (the latter two, tilt left/right, were kind of superfluous). that being said, the naga is a great laptop bag mouse. the reason for this is also my biggest complaint. it is small and fits wherever it needs to and its quality 5600 dpi makes any surface feel like some cloistered gaming sanctuary. yet... the buttons and my thumb are still not wound together as tightly as the LX8 buttons | my thumb/ring finger tips.

more updates to follow once the curve has completely arc'ed.

just got a new laptop. her name is snuggles.

i got an ASUS G72gx over the weekend. its kind of a best buy standard buy that i got at the end of the item life so it was originally like $12-1300 and i got it for $900. i also got a razer naga gaming mouse. its going to be hard acclimating myself to the 17-button mouse from my previous 9-button, especially because theyre laid out entirely differently. boo-hoo

anyway i also got a bag and a sleeve for the laptop. and a kensington lock and an addon cable lock for the corded usb peripherals. i know kensingtons are mostly for aesthetics in terms of their ability to prevent theft, but hey it was pretty cheap.

im also eyeing up lowe's for some supplies for making a diy laptop stand. im thinking of a hinged/collapsible one.

i am not sure whether acrylic or a sheet metal is the best material; or whether i want more of a skeletal frame, like a t-stand. i guess we'll figure that out as we go.

im excited and want to take care of my new baby. i guess theres another bay for a 2.5" hdd in it. it already has 500 gig so for the time being i think i will just manage without since my desktop does just fine with 200 gig. granted, i have 80+ gig of music i havent taken into account, but well manage that.

first priority for getting back home; securing up my wifi

i am not a proud gamer

i do not have the luxury of playing my video games in the living room on the beautiful large screen television. although i do not begrieve my current den as it is very cozy and comfortable, it is stereotypically in the basement; i game underground.

my wife and none of my friends play my game of choice: world of warcraft.

and thats fine.

i am somewhat envious of the podcasters and bloggers who have family members and spouses who enjoy playing. however, one friend of mine voiced a particular objection to wow based on people he knows who are those people you hear about. the ones that vanish; from jobs, from family, from human interaction outside of azeroth. i dont ascribe to the people who pen these enamoured write-ups, nor do i ascribe to the people who create hate groups. like anything, its something that requires responsible allowances. i think the lack of human reinforcement (outside of azeroth) helps me keep mine in check. although i think it would be great to share it a little bit with maybe my wife, i dont think she would be interested even if she already didnt dislike every minute i play.

do i question whether thats an indicator to just drop it altogether? yes. do i feel like i am singled out in comparison to couch potatos who spend all day sunday watching pro sports instead? no. i try to audit every minute i play. do i have other interests that sometimes get pushed aside? a little bit. honestly i think wow filled a sort of vacuum from reading, oddly. i think if anything sufferred it was reading, which, post-graduation with a degree in religious studies and philosophy i have not had any desire to read; coincidence or side effect?

anyway, on to my first post as a hunter.