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A friend of mine introduced me to the song Code Monkey (you can read the lyrics and listen to the song here) by Jonathan Coulton. There's even a World of Warcraft Code Monkey video which is hilarious! I have been sending the video link to my programming friends, and they all love it.

I like the song so much that I bought a MP3 copy of it from Jonathan's website. You can also purchase it from iTunes. I think the term "Code Monkey" is quite cute, although it may have some negative connotations.

I was reading a Digg thread about why trophy wives are less popular these days, and I stumbled on a reference to Ladder Theory (original source). In case you are not familiar with it, here's the introductory paragraph on the topic from LadderTheory.com:

The ladder theory is a funny, scientific explanation of how men and women are attracted to each other. It also covers such topics as why women sometimes just want to be friends but men always want sex. It is based upon many years of sociological field testing, and was first conceptualized in 1994 in Exeter, CA by Dallas Lynn with acknowledgments to Jared Whitson for his role in formalizing the theory.

There's an entire Ladder Wiki dedicated to the topic as well.

It's here! Blizzard's Burning Crusade (first major expansion to World of Warcraft). I had resisted the temptation to pre-order, so I was pleasantly surprised that my local Best Buy had copies available.

After installing the expansion, and waiting for various patches to download, I logged in to find that my server (Lightbringer) was full and that I was number 689 in the queue! I just let the login process run its course in the background while I tooled around with my website and blog. After waiting over half an hour, I'm finally in, but I won't get a chance to see all the fancy new content since I just wanted to move my toon to an inn. Crystal tells me that Outland is fun but very crowded. Maybe I'll check it out when I have more time this weekend.

Labels: mmorpg, WoW

It seems that I change webhosting providers every two years so I guess I'm due for another switcheroo!

This time, I'm going to try DreamHost, which is a company that my friend Joe recommends. One of the reasons why I'm changing again, is that I'm frustrated with the limited functionality available with GoDaddy, and their lack of support for applications such as WordPress. Not that I'll necessarily be moving away from Blogger.com any time soon, but I'd like to keep my options open, and be ready to make the leap if/when the time comes.

The problem with switching webhosting so infrequently is that I forget what I need to do each time so my site my be down inexplicably for stretches at a time without me realizing something is wrong. Let's hope it goes smoothly this time.

Here is a Massive Resource List for Autodidacts that I'm posting on my blog so I know where to find it later. I'm especially interested in the "Learning Chinese" files for iTunes, assuming they are referring to Mandarin as opposed to another dialect.

Labels: resource

After watching the trailer last year, I was intrigued by "Children of Men" which was released while D & I were in Hong Kong. Even though it hasn't done well at the box office, we went to go see it anyway, especially I read this Digg posting of Why Children of Men is the Best Picture of the Year. I like intelligent and original movies so I loved it. I do hope it gets nominated for an Oscar. The Digg posting says it the best:

"Children of Men" is one of the most poignant and creative films of the past decade, yet Universal, the Film's distributor, has left the film with a non-existent advertising campaign and little press. This amazing film is being ignored by a majority of film goers, and even the film industry. Do not let a movie like this go unrecognized!

The other movie we watched was Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth". From looking at the poster and a brief preview, I thought this was a children's movie, so I was shocked at the violence and disturbing scenes. I highly recommend it, but it's definitely intended for adults. The film is entirely in Spanish, but I don't mind reading subtitles; I prefer that to watching dubbed movies.

This is an unusually great start to the year for movie watching. I hope it continues!

Labels: movies

It appears that NCSoft is now taking Tabula Rasa beta testing applications. The last thing I need right now is to get hooked onto another MMORPG, but I went ahead and applied anyway. Not that I'll necessarily get in, and even if I do, I may not be able to play. Here are some of the recommended technical requirements (minimum requirements are lower) that have been posted:

• 3.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent AMD processor
• 2 GB System RAM
• ATI X1800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series, or higher 3.0 Shader compliant video card

The last beta I played was Dungeons & Dragons Online. I supposedly had a VIP code for Lord of the Rings Online but I haven't heard a word about being accepted into the beta program.

Thanks to my friend James, the quality of my reading material has improved dramatically. He was the one who introduced me to the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, which I thoroughly enjoyed, mostly because of the writing: it's delightful. Naomi really has a way with words - I would re-read sentences and paragraphs just to reflect on how she cleverly describes things so creatively and vividly. It's the first time that I've read anything and thought, "Wow, I wish I could write like that."

James and I previously made a pact that we would never spring a book series on the other unless the series was in fact, complete. There is nothing more annoying than getting to the end of the book, only to realize that there is more coming, but you have to wait (usually months) for the next installment to be published. When he recommended the series to me, he was quite explicit that there are THREE and ONLY THREE books to the saga. What happens when I get to the end of book 3? I see an excerpt from book 4! Argh! I had half a mind to hunt him down to give him a sound walloping. James' own defense is that each of the books can be read standalone because they don't end on a cliffhanger, so the "book series rule" doesn't apply here. Hrmph.

Curious as to how book 4 was going, I visited Naomi's official site, Temeraire.org, which links to her LiveJournal. Good news! Book 4 may be published as soon as fall 2007, with book 5 slated for spring 2008. Not only that, it appears that Peter Jackson has optioned the movie rights to the series. Yay!

Labels: books, James, movies, Temeraire

As you know, I have playing way too much WoW. Another one of my many new year's resolutions is to play less.

Fortunately for me, post Burning Crusade, my guild will be downsizing its raiding roster, and I will be demoted from "Raider" status to "Friends and Family". All I can say is... thank gawd! I'm glad that the officers have allowed me to stay in the guild, since the main reason I play is to keep in touch with friends, with the added benefit that I will now be able to play less frequently without impunity, and not feel stressed about racing to get to level 70, keeping up raid attendance, grinding for mats, etc.

Unfortunately, one of the fallouts of downsizing is that some of the folks who have not keep Raider status have decided to leave the guild. I've read quite a few farewell posts, which saddened me greatly, but there was one that really stood out. It was so beautifully written that I'm re-posting it here, while removing the person's alias.

It’s a terrible thing to have to choose between friends. The events of the last few weeks have caused me countless hours of anguish and grief. But now the moment of truth is upon me.

I feel the need to express more than a simple farewell. The experience I have had during my time with menagerie has been more than this post can convey. The triumphs, the challenges, the camaraderie, the excitement, the sense of belonging to something more than a group, the moments of hilarity, the limitless humor, but most of all the people. For it was the people, with all of the different personalities, all of the many facets, that drove me to log on each night to raid.

My friends who don’t play WoW often ask me why I spend so much time at my computer. They don’t see the attraction. They see it as a frivolous waste of time. But what I tell them is that it’s the people that I adventure with that are the reason to play. I tell that I’ve made dozens of friends during the last year, a boast that none can come close to matching. I’ve met people from all over the country, both young and old. I got to become friends with people that I may only know by their odd-sounding names but they are still just as real and just as precious as those I see in the "real world". And for this I’m grateful.

But I now find myself in an untenable situation. How do you decide between friends? How do you weigh in the balance which friend or which group of friends is worth more. As many of you know I’m friends with [list of names]. These are the people who got me started on WoW, these are the people who helped me level [my character], these are the people who got me into Wicked Union, and got me into Menagerie. If it wasn’t for them, [my character] simply wouldn’t exist.

Unfortunately, circumstances have placed me in a situation where I must decide between the friends I've known long before WoW existed and the many friends I’ve made since I started playing WoW. It hasn’t been an easy choice. Having to choose one over the other is a no win situation. Whatever choice I make means my friendship with those I part ways with will suffer. It is simply unavoidable that distance will weaken the friendship.

But I have follow my nature. I value all my friends highly. Our friends are the only people we choose to spend time with. It's our friends that make our time here so precious. I would not be the person I am if I was to turn my back on my friends when their fortunes aren’t as plentiful as mine.

That doesn't, however, make my decision any easier to accept. I am just as troubled by having to part ways with my more recent friends. I find myself greatly saddened as I am faced with a tremendous sense of loss, words simply can't express my sorrow.

I can only respond by conveying to each and every one of you how much I have enjoyed the time when have raided together. Each of you has added to my enjoyment of having been in this guild. Whether it has been because of the skill that you bring to the game, or the humor, or the camaraderie, or simply the joy in sharing an achievement together, each person, each personality, each moment, has contributed to the whole. It will not be an experience that I shall soon forget.

There are many who I feel deserve an extra level of my gratitude, but I don’t want to slight anyone so I just speak of each of you as a group

To the healers: It was you that made me look good. Without your skill, your patience, your talents, I would have just been another dead warrior. I thank you all. For every heal you gave me, for every buff you bestowed on me, I could never have had the success I enjoyed without them. I don’t think it’s said enough, but you are at the heart of any guild's success.

To the hunters: You were one of the few classes I got to work with directly. I feel I got to know each of you personally. And for that I will sense your absence more.

To the rogues: It was you that I would see on my screen the most, You were the ones standing toe-to-toe with me. I enjoyed the challenge of holding aggro against you (or at least trying). You each made me a better warrior.

To the mages: You may be the quiet ones, but your presence was always felt. I can only say that you taught me how to select targets accurately after breaking so many sheep. Plus you never feel so far from Org as when you missed the last portal.

To the warlocks: Like the hunters I got to work with each one of you, don’t for a minute think that I didn’t appreciate all the healthstones. You were all very generous and I can only thank you again for the time you spent collecting all those shards for me. You saved my life many times and, like the healers, were indispensable to my success.

And to the warriors: My buddies, My teammates. I’m at a loss for words. It was you who taught me how to tank, it was you that I got to share in the triumphs with the most, and it was you that are the hardest to part ways with. I can only say what a shame it was that the other classes couldn’t see all the fun we had in warrior chat. How each warrior’s personality was something special to enjoy. It was among the warriors that I felt most at home and certainly got to know each of you so very well. I will sorely miss your company.

I wish you all the best.

Long live the Horde,

[Name]

Labels: mmorpg, WoW

I wanted to work on my blog while I was away in Asia, but wouldn't you know, there was an earthquake in Taiwan that disrupted communications between Asia and the rest of the world. "Communications" meaning Internet/data, telephone service... I read reports that they were back up to 50% the next day (with priority given to business traffic), and they may be up to 70%+ now, but it's amazing how much damage was done in a natural disaster, and to realize how dependent we are on telecommunications these days. As hubby pointed out, ironically, the Internet was developed to survive a nuclear war. Given this experience, it probably wouldn't.

I was trying to work during this fiasco, and my efforts were severely hampered. VPN access was a non-starter, and even Citrix was on and off (mostly off). Web email was non-existent, and it was a disaster (no pun intended) trying to reach MSN, Yahoo, ... basically any site in the U.S. with the EXCEPTION of Google. Miraculously, I was able to reach not only Google, but also Gmail, which in fact was the only way I got anything done.

Over time, as access gradually improved, I noticed that Blogger is out of Beta and so I migrated my blogs over to the new version. While everything seems to be working, since I'm using FTP publishing, I don't have access to all the latest features such as dynamic serving or managing layouts using drag-and-drop. Ah well. There are days where I still think about using WordPress, especially after I help set up Daddy Liu's new blog which looks utterly amazing these days.

But blogging infrastructure aside, one of my many new year's resolutions is to blog more consistently!