Author: Deck

Posted inGames

Lord of the Rings Online: One Game to Rule Them All

by Deck

Lord of the Rings OnlineLord of the Rings Online totally frakking rocks!!!

Whew! I’ve been dying to say that for weeks now.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a beta stress test for LotRO about a month ago, which ate up more than 15 hours of my time that weekend. I have since been invited to participate in the remainder of the beta phase for the game, which is scheduled to be released April 24, 2007.

A Non-Disclosure Agreement prevented beta participants like me from discussing the game publicly… Until yesterday that is, when game developers Turbine announced that the NDA had been officially lifted. Yay!

So now I can tell you how much I’ve been enjoying this game. I’ve played a number of other massively multiplayer online (MMO) games and can already tell that LotRO is going to be one of my favorites. With two more months of beta to go, LotRO is generally as stable (possibly even moreso) than some other games available now. <cough>

Character creation doesn’t stray much from the standard MMO formula. You can select your gender, race, class, and name, as well as customizing your appearance. You get to play one of the good guys in the War of the Ring: human, hobbit, dwarf, or elf. Each choice you make is accompanied by all the appropriate Tolkienesque lore to get you into the spirit of the game.

The newbie instance demonstrates immediately how much time and love the developers have put into the game. The graphics are lush and fluid, the sound is immersive, and the user interface is clean and attractive.

As with any MMO, the game is all about leveling, which happens at a satisfyingly swift pace for the first ten levels or so. The grind does manage to remain interesting, partially because you are running around in the same world as Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the gang. You even get to participate in the epic storyline in the form of special quests that come along every four or five levels. In fact, I already ran a quest for Strider, who I found holed up in the Prancing Pony in Bree. How cool is that? (Tolkien geeks are probably the only ones who truly understand that last sentence. ;-))

Of course, the game isn’t 100% solid yet and there are certainly some minor performance and design issues that I’d love to see addressed. But with such a terrific start, I can’t wait to see what else the fine folks at Turbine have in store for us.

Finally, any discussion of MMOs has to at least mention the 7 million pound gorilla that is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. With that many subscribers and a major expansion published just a few short weeks ago, I don’t see how any other MMO is going to be able knock WoW off the top of the list. But if anything can, it might be Lord of the Rings. I know I’ll be doing my part to overthrow the evil empire. (Mordor, not Blizzard. ;-))

If you happen to be on the Meneldor server anytime soon, send me a /tell (“Deck” – level 16 Human Captain). See ya in Middle Earth!

Posted inToys

Let It Snow

by Deck

Springfield experienced blizzard conditions for most of the day today. Here’s the snowdrift that is currently my driveway…


(The first shot is a little misleading… I was trying to get an artsy-fartsy low angle shot, but that just made the drift look like it’s nine feet tall, instead of nine inches or so. ;-))

However, I was able to travel around town today with little trouble because of a shrewd purchase I made months ago when it was sunny and 80-something degrees…


I love my 4-wheel drive Nissan Xterra! :-D

Posted inSports / WTF?

Fighting Illini – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

by Deck

University of Illinois Fighting IlliniThe Good

After a very shaky start to the Big Ten season, the Illinois men’s basketball team has put together a decent 5-2 run in the past seven games, marginally improving their outlook to make the NCAA tournament at the end of the season. Of course, how well they play in the final five Big Ten games will determine their fate.

I will continue to do my part, though… I’m not the only one who has noticed that the Illini play better when I don’t or can’t actively watch the games. As soon as I turn on the game, they commit a turnover or do something else stupid. It’s all my fault. ;-)

The Bad

For the past 22 years, any true fan who has ever attended a University of Illinois basketball or football game has thrilled to hear public announcer Jim Sheppard rally the fans with spirited calls like “It’s a Threeeee!!!” or “First Down ILLINI!!!” in his signature booming voice.

However, on December 7, 2006, the University’s Division of Intercollegiate Athletics informed Sheppard that they will “go in a different direction” after next year’s football season and Sheppard’s 22-year run will end.

WTF?!? I can’t believe the U of I would basically fire Sheppard without any better reason than “a different direction.” This Daily Illini article discusses the situation and I think echoes my opinion that Illinois is way off the ball here.

The Ugly

Coach Ron Zook and the Illinois football program should be celebrating a tremendously successful recruiting season, earning what experts are calling a top 15 recruiting class nationwide. Unfortunately, that very success is causing some losers, uh, I mean some coaches who lost recruiting battles, to bitch and moan privately, and not so privately. The New York Times published a literary masterpiece earlier this week titled “Illinois Has Rivals Fuming About Its Recruiting Coup”, which seems to have ignited this controversy with its less-than-balanced coverage of the story. For a more news-worthy study of the situation, I suggest reading this Chicago Sun-Times article instead.

Now don’t get me wrong… If there’s proof that Illinois did something illegal in recruiting these kids, punishment should be swift and appropriate, and then we’ll all move on to the next scandal. But I haven’t heard anything so far that even remotely resembles a shred of proof. If this turns out to just be sour grapes, it’ll give me even more reason to dislike a certain holier-than-thou midwestern university that has been named as the driving force behind these vague accusations. After all, having your very own national television deal isn’t enough of a competitive recruiting edge, is it? No Doubt about it. :|

Posted inNews

Got Milk?

by Deck

According to this article on Ars Technica, recent measurements by an X-ray observatory from the European Space Agency has revealed that the universe contains nearly one and a half times more calcium than predicted.

To my old college roommates who might be read this and think to blame me, I proclaim my innocence… I don’t drink nearly as much milk as I used to way back when. :-P

Posted inTechnology

Amazon + TiVo = Thumbs Up!!!

by Deck

Amazon Unbox on TiVo

Amazon and TiVo announced today a new service called Amazon Unbox on TiVo. While the name may be less than inspiring, the service itself sounds very cool…

“Amazon Unbox on TiVo” will allow TiVo subscribers to purchase or rent videos from leading movie studios and television networks at Amazon Unbox and download them directly to their TiVo’s “Now Playing List” to enjoy on their TV.

This is currently in beta to a limited number of TiVo subscribers. Go to the TiVo site to sign up to be notified when more news about the Amazon Unbox with TiVo service is available.

Posted inNews

The Sky is Falling! (Part 2)

by Deck

Unfortunately, I don’t have any juicy updates to yesterday’s meteorites story. (No tri-pods yet.) However, a New York Times Web article titled “Orbiting Junk, Once a Nuisance, Is Now a Threat” caught my eye. The article explains and illustrates what a huge problem the man-made space junk littering space around our planet has become.

During an eight year period ending in 2002, the solar panels on the Hubble Telescope were struck by space debris at least 725,000 times. Five thousand of these left craters and holes large enough to be seen by the naked eye.

In addition, experts believe that a piece of orbital debris might one day create a large enough collision capable of starting a chain reaction, “a slow cascade of collisions that would expand for centuries, spreading chaos through the heavens.” Apparently, China recently tested an antisatellite rocket that shattered an old satellite into hundreds of large individual fragments that could trigger this chain reaction sooner than later.

If nothing is done, a kind of orbital crisis might ensue that is known as the Kessler Syndrome, after Mr. Kessler. A staple of science fiction, it holds that the space around Earth becomes so riddled with junk that launchings are almost impossible. Vehicles that entered space would quickly be destroyed.

On the bright side, if the Kessler Syndrome does come to pass, we won’t have to worry about those pesky Martians and their tri-pods coming down to attack us any longer. Right?

Posted inNews

The Sky is Falling!

by Deck

Last night at approximately 8:30 central time, streaks of flaming objects were seen illuminating the skies throughout the Midwest. (No, this is not about the Bears’ Super Bowl flame-out. ;-))

The State Journal-Register, my local newspaper, reports the official word from NORAD…

A preliminary report from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which watches for airborne threats to the U.S. and Canada, also indicated the lights Sunday evening were from a meteor, spokeswoman Maj. April Cunningham said.

Of course, this is exactly how “War of the Worlds”, “The Blob”, and every other space-based monster movie ever started out, right?

In addition to this astral activity, a seismic event was reported yesterday afternoon in Menard County, northwest of Springfield. Supposedly, the ground shook for just a second or two as if there was a large explosion in the area. Yikes!

Clearly the Tri-Pods are on their way… I’ll let you know when I see the first one wreaking havoc and destruction throughout downtown Springfield. ;-)

And in case you still believe the “official” news sources for this story, here are a couple…

Posted inOn The Web

Batman Gets Treated to Burger King

by Deck

Most of the blogs that I check regularly are topic-oriented: technology, games, or entertainment mostly. But there is one written by a guy called moreanonymous that’s very much a slice-of-life. He had an entry a few days ago titled “Batman Gets Treated to Burger King” that I really enjoyed, and I hope you will also…

He had been using his best behavior all morning. He ate his breakfast quietly at the table; usually he refuses to eat anything. He brushed his teeth and used the potty. Then put his pajamas into the hamper before changing into his Batman clothes. He started with jeans and then added a black turtleneck, followed by a cape and gloves. He needed help to get his mask on, but he asked very nicely. Then he spent the rest of the morning sitting at his desk drawing pictures of himself. He was being so damn precious that I decided to treat him to lunch at Burger King.

Too adorable!