Drunk [chat]

This is not true:



but it is damned funny anyways

BE A JUKE-BOX-HERO

Foreigner this weekend!

Raiding: The Commitment

I wrote this for the Guild forums but liked it so I posted it here.


Since we've lost some old members, obtained some new members, and are looking forward to the future of our guild I thought it best to post this rant now rather than wait.

Raiding is different than anything else you will do in World of Warcraft. Raiding is different than pvp, than pve, than pugging or casually doing 5 mans. Raiding is a commitment. It is best to understand this sooner rather than later.

World of Warcraft is fundamentally a game, a hobby, and ought always to be thought of as such. But the status of "game" does not detract from the experience as a whole. Rather, the enjoyable and entertaining aspects of World of Warcraft are what bring people to the game and the reason for why we play. The "we" in that sentence, though, is what raiding emphasizes.

Raiding is a group activity, a team effort. In a Karazhan run an individual may be primarily there to obtain gear for their character but one must also remember that there are nine other people in the group who depend on you and upon whom you depend. You have a responsibility to those other players just as they have a responsibility towards you.

This does not mean that we must be deadly serious, that we cannot discuss dolphin fucking or ball gags. Rather, it means that one ought to be prepared, that one ought to always attempt to do one's best for the benefit of both their self and the group.

An example of this is the use of individual buffs to maximize one's utility. Yes, a spellcaster can simply show up and DPS. But a better spellcaster, a more beneficial spellcaster, will take advantage of potions, food buffs, wizard oils, etc. Review the following items:

[Superior Wizard Oil] +42 spell damage
[Crunchy Serpent] +23 spell damage
[Greater Arcane Elixir] +35 spell damage

The use of these items grants the user +100 spell damage. That is huge. Given that all spellcasters have access to these items, that they are not prevented from using them, spellcasters always ought to have these items in stock and use them throughout any given raid.

This is not an attempt to drain gold from individual players, to establishing a harsh benchmark for performance. Rather, it comes from an objective analysis of what we are doing. We are all, whether we know it or not, trying to progress forward in the game and so obtain better gear so that we can progress even further. To make this attempt, to embark upon the venture of raiding and put forth the effort without utilizing these easily accessable items that benefit not only ourselves but the group as a whole? That is simply foolishness and a waste of everyone's time.

The same can be said for many other aspects of raiding. Prompt attendance, for example. Realistically there will be times when players are late to raids; that is life. But it is best to minimize lateness. Always try to be online early, to be ready to go. If our raid starts at 9:30 a.m. be online by at least 9:15 a.m. If you are out of potions or spell damage food obtain them the night before the raid, not the morning of. Make an effort to better yourself and so better the group as a whole.

Because, again, that is what separates raiding from everything else you will do in WoW. Raiding is a team effort. You are part of a group. Do not depend on others to cover for your slacking; do not half-ass your attempt.

Do your best. Put forth effort. Better yourself as a player.

Because that is how you progress in the game, how you obtain better gear, how you create stronger relationships with your fellow players.

And, most importantly, it is how you have more fun.

Jonah Goldberg needs a puppy.

I assume you are all aware of Liberal Fascism, a book by Jonah Goldberg which, by the title one could guess, explains how contemporary liberals are, in fact, fascists.

Rather than get drawn into that argument and critique the book itself I wanted to know more about Jonah Goldberg and get a sense of who he is. So I dug around on the tubal interwebs to find some of his writings.

From his article "What the Daily Show Cut Out:
"Viewers in search of more than disjointed, stuttering cross talk would be disappointed if they caught the whole exchange - it was all like that. Stewart, try as he might, could not understand where I'm coming from."

From an article he wrote regarding Al Gore:
"One student asked a long and rambling question that went basically as follows: He understood why I think Al Gore is dishonest and misleading. But how can I criticize Gore when all he wants to do is make people change their behavior and take care of this planet?

Translation: Gore is on the side of the angels and therefore it’s mean-spirited to throw inconvenient truths back at the Oscar winner for An Inconvenient Truth. “Yeah, exactly,” the kid responded when I rephrased the question thusly."

From Liberal Fascism:
"Animal rights advocates correctly note that animal rights activism was a major concern in pre-Nazi Germany and that the animal rights movement shouldn't be associated with Nazism. But as with environmentalism, this is less of a defense than it sounds. It is fine to say that many of Nazism's concerns were held by people who were not Nazis. But the fact that these conventionally leftist views were held by Nazis suggests that Nazism isn't as alien to mainstream progressive thought as some would have us believe."

Jonah Goldberg is like Ann Coulter in that he makes his living saying asinine things to people who will listen to him. Now, this is not a criticism. Hell, if someone offered me such a gig I would happily accept it. But I think what is most interesting is Goldberg's specific brand of asinine portrayed by these quotes.

"Stewart, try as he might, could not understand where I'm coming from."
Forum gold, the "they just don't understand me" argument is a classic rhetorical position to maintain in an argument. It maintains that the speaker is correct, educated, and reasonable whereas their opponent is simply mistaken, unable to understand the discussion and points made by the speaker.

"Translation: Gore is on the side of the angels and therefore it’s mean-spirited to throw inconvenient truths back at the Oscar winner for An Inconvenient Truth."
This is the tried and true "well I guess my opponent is infallible" argument. It bypasses the nuance of the argument, the substance of the argument, and instead implants hubris into one's opponent's argument. It is a means of pardoning one's self from the rules of debate by misrepresenting one's opponent. It is, again, childish.

"It is fine to say that many of Nazism's concerns were held by people who were not Nazis. But the fact that these conventionally leftist views were held by Nazis suggests that Nazism isn't as alien to mainstream progressive thought as some would have us believe.""

Conventionally leftist views were held by Nazis.
Therefore: Leftists are Nazis.

I don't think that is even logic.

Reading through the writings of Jonah Goldberg I found myself feeling sorry for him. He honestly does not seem to understand logic, the process of thought, or the manner in which valid and sound arguments ought be structured. He appears to be genuinely confused and particularly fixated on the "they just don't understand me" style of argument, maintaining that if only we were all just slightly smarter we could understand his non-syllogisms and historical revisionism.

I hope he is just playing a role. I hope he is like Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter, individuals who play characters in the media for fun and profit. If Jonah Goldberg is such a person then, awesome, he has found a way to exploit our stupid little system. Good for him.

If Jonah Goldberg is not acting, though? If his writings are genuine and representative of his intellectual capabilities and level of intelligence? Then someone needs to buy Jonah Goldberg a puppy. Because if he is not acting then Jonah Goldberg is just a thirteen year old uneducated boy in a man's body who is obviously scared to death of the world in which he lives.

Maybe a puppy would make him feel more secure.

Iz be ISed

It is finished.

Link to "Collective Cognizance," etc., here.

Go read if you have a heart and soul. Or maybe just one of the two. Or even none at all. 'Tis the work of nearly the last full year AND it has the perk of being relevant. Sneer if you must, but read it.

Democratic Debate Open Thread [update]

Tonight on CNN at 8:00pm is 1st democratic debate since super tusday.

There is another one next Week on MSNBC

UPDATE
that was kinda boring. What this instead

Zero Punctuation: GDC