Inside the Jarr

Touched and remembered

2011-11-10T14:25:00.001-05:00

This for some reason always touches my heart. Today marks the anniversary of the tragedy Edmund Fizgerald back in 1975. So today I find myself listening to the famous song over and over. It’s partially because I like its haunting tone and beautifully crafted lyrics. But there is something deeper.

I certainly wasn’t old enough to remember the events – I was only four years old at the time. But it’s something deeper. When I was a teenager, my Dad volunteered with the Coast Guard Auxiliary in and around the Manasquan River waterways in central NJ. It always gave me a sense of awe when I considered what they did. Most of the time it was saving idiotic and irresponsible boaters from their own stupidity, often pulling the ignorant joy riders out of the shallows that they impaled their shinny new speedy vessels upon. Others times it was towing the simply unfortunate boaters with engine problems back to dock. All with a smile, and perhaps with a smirk.

Dad always taught us to respect what a boat and – more importantly – what Mother Nature can do. In essence, “When in doubt, bring her about.” Dark clouds looming-- back home. Traffic getting heavier in our typical water ski lanes – back to shore. I may be a reckless driver in my car at times, but never in a boat. My Dad’s lessons and volunteer example always stuck with me.

Now consider the Coast Guard. They go out when everyone stays put. They risk their lives to save those unfortunate souls that to get stuck in Calypso’s wrath. That’s what sticks with me about the Edmund Fitzgerald.

They were simple sailors out to do their jobs. They lost their lives in an unfortunate and extraordinary event. The details are still somewhat of a mystery, but still no less tragic. Maritime events like this resonate with me – out of awe, out of fear, and out of respect.

So take a listen to the song as Gordon Lightfoot sings you a tale of pride and tragedy. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find a way to connect with the fear and bravery that those 29 men felt on the turbulent waters of Lake Superior not so long ago.

Holy Rollin'!

2011-04-11T13:01:00.009-04:00

Think back before the Dark Portal reopened. Back when Rag’ and Nef’ were the be all end all. Now think about the Burning Crusade and even in to early Wrath. Good memories, eh?

Now ask yourself if you would roll and level as a holy priest or priestess during those times. I’d be right up there with you saying "No way," remembering how poorly equipped to level a pure holy spec was.

Now though, with so much more at our disposal it’s a much different World of Warcraft.

I roll how I play. I play how I roll.
First, a bit of perspective. Even with the introduction of dual specs, I intended to roll my priest as holy. I just feel that I get a better understanding of the nuances of the spec if it is what I am constantly in. I prefer not to switch between specs and try to adjust to two learning curves simultaneously.

So the first 20 levels or so were a bit painful. My wands got a rediculous amount of usage, which is sadly unique to priest leveling it seems. Once I had a decent feel for the class and an ok caster set -- somewhere around level 27 or so -- I started queuing in the LFG tool as a healer.

Elune be praised!
Levels have never gone by so fast. I could manage almost a full level per instance. On my priest I have by far the fewest flight paths. Why? Because I’ve never had to set foot very far out of Stormwind. In fact I’ve leveled from 27 to 44 almost entirely through the LFG tool. You might not think so but It is refreshing actually, because after having done the Loremaster achievement on my druid main, the prospect of questing again (especially through the tedious 40s and 50s) does not appeal to me much.

And my gear gets some fairly regular updates. I try not to be greedy, rolling on only true upgrades. And it’s nice to be in predominantly blues for a change. But why is it so damn hard to find a wand upgrade? Hey Bliz! How about an heirloom wand next?

Alliance rep is also now sickeningly easy with the inclusion of the faction tabards.

Oh and a floating priestess is just awesome! Gotta love Levitate. “BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE GODESS!”

Holy sacrifices
LFG leveling isn’t all roses and gold though.

First my professions suffer. On my other flower children, herbing was effortlessly easy. But on the priest, my herbalism takes a concerted effort to level since I’m not out in the zones questing. It is further compounded by difficult travel as I have very few flight paths. Even the level 40 “epic” mount upgrade doesn’t really lessen that pain enough.

Enchanting has been decent, though it is one I doubt I will keep. It's startng to become tedious again. I will more likely switch over to a alchemy once I transfer her over to Wildhammer with the rest of the Jarr-heads.

Finally, you do run the same things with some disturbing frequency, especially at the higher vanilla levels. I’m quite tired of Dire Maul already, though Scholomance is still one of my all time favorites.

Healing ain’t so scary
My biggest fear was actually jumping in and being a competent healer. Having done decently on the druid and ok as a Wrath resto shaman, I wasn’t too worried. But coming in as a lowbie priestess with largely single target heals was intimidating. To those of you feeling the same way, here is my advice. Just do it! Remember the truly epic words of Patrick Swayze as Brody “Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true.”

It’s not that hard. It just takes attention to detail and a willingness to triage. Plus a few tools will make this much less intimidating.

First, set up some mouseover macros for all of your healing / resto abilities. For example here are a few from the priestess:

#showtooltip
/cast [target=mouseover,help,nodead] Renew

Second, set your key bindings to be convenient. I’m not much of a configuration freak in this regard. I’d rather play than try to learn a whole new key set. Just be sure that your most used and most important abilities are tied to your most easily reached keys. For example on the priest I have Heal bound to “1”, Flash Heal to “2” , Renew to “3” ,Shield to “4”, and Greater Heal to “5”. Ideal for all players? Probably not, but it works for me. Find what works for you and roll with it.

Third, get a couple of add-ons that track your buffs and healing. I love Grid because it’s highly configurable and allows you to have your entire party / raid in one convenient frame. Plus it makes those mouseover macros even more potent.

Power Auras is another that I swear by, though I use it more on my other characters than this one currently.

Queuing Healer LFG
So I continue my trek, the Dark Portal beckoning on a not-too-distant horizon. Once I hit 51 I’ll be moving ‘Angel here over to Wildhammer (cursed gold limits) to rejoin my Calvary cronies. Perhaps there she will continue to find some competent groups to healbot.

“Healer LFG for randoms. No fatties.”

Sometimes it's something simple

2011-04-03T12:02:00.001-04:00

This made me laugh out loud when I found t`his on my Blackbery this morning. It's the simple things in life we have to enjoy the most sometimes.

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" played on the Iowa State University carillon

Because eight isn't enough

2010-10-28T14:02:00.008-04:00

Likely much to my WoW mentor's dismay, I've once again made the trek through the stagnant 50s, plowed through the Outland 60s, and boosted through Northrend to have my nineth level 80. Jarramond the Warrior now joins my ranks of level 80 Jarrheads. DING! GRATS! WOOT?

Some might ask why, especially given that the expansion is right around the corner. A few reasons jump to mind. First, why not? There was little else to do in the game. Our guild's raiding has been effectively halted as most are burned out on it. It’s disappointing because we had a great and fun Friday night group assembled, but it's certainly understandable.

Second, I realize that leveling is something I really enjoy. It’s tedious at times, but I like the challenge of seeing if I can do it better, faster, more efficiently.

And to that end, the new LFG tool is SERIOUSLY overpowered. My old manner of leveling in Northrend would have me do the two starter zones (Fjord and Tundra) first. I just like the quests there. Skip the Grizzly Hills and move on to Dragonblight. Finally wrap up in the Basin and usually will ding 80 there. With the LFG tool and a toon in all possible heirlooms (sans ring) and it’s a different story all together. By way of comparison, I had hit 77 before even completing the Tundra.

So now it’s a self-imposed fun race against the expansion. Can I get yet another Crusader title before the sundering? Can I get a full tier 9 DPS set for him before the Earth Warder tears his entity apart? Can I get him all the Northrend reps to Exalted before we all burn? It’s not so much a question of needing to do these things, but rather a wondrous sense of what might be possible.

Then again, I do have a lonely level 23 priest sitting in Ashenvale. Pehaps...LFG anyone?

Update: Crusader -- check! Full Tier 9 and decent weapon -- check! Northrend exalted -- check! It was fun getting it all done within a tight window. On the other hand with 1 main and 8 alts all pretty much geared how I want them (I love full sets) now I sit here wondering "Now what?" Fun run nonetheless.

Interview time... /Gulp!

2010-09-13T15:53:00.006-04:00

Time to buckle down and dust off those interview skills! I've landed an an assessment interview for a new position within our company. New realm of responsibility, completely new department, entirely new works away from the contact center focused career I've had so far. Plus a promotion and pay bump to boot: bonus!

It's both exciting and nerve wracking. But interviews are all about preparation. I know how to get ready. Nonetheless, wish me luck all.

"Can you tell me about a time when you..."
/fingercross

Update 9/16: Took the initial assessment which was basically a spelling and proofreading test today. No interview scheduled yet but hopefully we'll have that all set within the next few days. Step one: complete.

Update 9/21: An excerpt from an e-mail from our HR department...
"Thank you for posting for the position of ...

At this time the hiring department has decided to move forward with other applicants and will no longer be pursuing your candidacy. We do appreciate your interest in the position and your desire to further your career objectives."

Guess I'll keep looking. Kind of disappointing because I really thought the department's work was truly interesting and could renew my interest and enjoyment of my job. But for now it seems, back to the grind.

Heroes, to Arms! Defend the Skybreaker!

2010-07-27T14:30:00.005-04:00

This is just way too cool.

Oh and...

We stand with you, Brann Bronzebeard!
For the Child King! Long live Anduin!

Take a look over there...

2010-07-09T08:56:00.009-04:00

Regardless of where you stand on the RealID debate, I strongly suggest you read the article below. It's an excellent read and I think it captures the feelings that most of us have on the subject.

Shades of Grey: An Open Letter to Blizzard (Internet Dragons)

"Someone save that tree before the internet dragon kills it"

LFG: Frost Lord Ahune

2010-06-24T12:32:00.002-04:00

Curse you Lord Ahune! Why are you being so stingy with your capes? Casters get all the love as do the Agility wearing crew, but have you no love or loathing for the big shinny folks with the big swords 'n boards?

I guess I really can't complain though. I got the rogue an easy upgrade. Pugging it is fantastically easy with the LFG/LFD tool, with queues averaging about 4 minutes for DPS and even faster for healers and tanks.

Still no pet though and no tanking cape for my Tankadin-wannabe. Oh well. Guess I have a bit more farming to do.

If you have a new toon or with a sub-par cape (ie below ilvl 232) jump in and grab free a free upgrade from Frosty here. Though don't you dare roll on my tanker cape. I called it. Dibs! See it's mine. I called dibs. If you can call "dibs on a spaceship," I can call dibs on a loot drop. Dibs!

That's what it's all about

2010-06-08T13:35:00.001-04:00

It’s amazing how easily we become creatures of habit. In doing so, we sometimes forget the basic tenets of that which we hold dear.

So last night I was a bit tired of tooling around on the Ret Pally, so I jumped over to my rogue for a few random dungeon runs. He’d been a subtlety spec since his inception, minutely tweaked from expansion to expansion. With the coming of dual specs and a bit of coin in the purse I went dual spec: keeping subtlety and adding an assassination/mutilate spec.

I’d typically run Shadowstep/Subtlety for questing and pick pocketing, using Assassination/Mutilate for instancing or (Elune forbid) raiding. Last night I was having a rough go at it as mutilate. I just couldn’t get my openers down and my DPS was really rather lackluster. I couldn’t even discount my gear really. I’d done better in the past. It just wasn’t clicking. So mid run I swapped over to Sub.

Best thing I could have ever done! It finally clicked why I was doing so poorly before. Yeah I can do well with Mutilate. I just don’t like it. Why? Because it’s not fun. Despite being the flavor of the month and one of the preferred DPS specs, I just don’t like it. I’ve been tolerating it to do some decent numbers. In doing so I surrendered one of my longest lived Warcraft beliefs…

Fun is greater than all!

Simply because I was enjoying it more I was actually doing better. I picked up roughly 800-1000 DPS just by swapping. Is this because of a superior spec? No. Most would probably argue that I moved to a poorer (worst?) spec. But I did better because I was having more fun. Faster stealth movement? Hell ya! Shadowstep poofs? Bring it! Tricks of the Trade + Shadowstep + Shadow Dance + Ambush, Ambush, Ambush!?! Ooh yeah!

I kicked myself later for not realizing it. I’d given up what was fun for what was “expected.” Fun is indeed better than all. It’s largely why my specs are rarely cookie-cutter. I play how I want and enjoy it. I don’t need to top the meters. I don’t need to have top of the line, progression level raid gear. I want to play a game and have fun doing so. And I want to do so on my terms.

So when it comes down to it dear friends, play your way and the rest be damned. Spec how you wish. Play what ever content makes you happy. You will fare far better if you like what you’re doing rather than simply doing what some Jerk (©?) recommends. If your desire matches their gospel, so be it. Just don’t lose sight as I did.

It’s a game. It’s supposed to be fun. Never let anyone tell you how to do so. Fun is subjective. There is no wrong way to have fun. Well, except maybe to roll Boomkin. Other than that you’re golden. :D

Rest in peace, video card

2010-05-20T16:02:00.001-04:00

I jump on yesterday and have no problems. I come back from my son's testing (Grats on the blue belt, Son!) and my PC crashes...a lot. I think it's the video card. So it looks like it will be out of commission for a while.

Now I just have to decide if I want to just try another video card or bite the bullet and see if the Geek Squad at Best Buy can fix it.

It's kind of a shame. I used to be so much more computer savy. Now I have to pay someone to fix it. Probably for the best though. Even in my tech savy best, I still only knew enough to be really dangerous tinkering around in there.

Oh well. Wish me luck.

So you wanna be a Crusader?

2010-05-14T15:37:00.002-04:00

I’ve got a little project I’m working on that hopefully I’ll have completed soon. I’m trying to create a calculator that will tell you what it’s going to take to go from your current state and reputation levels to earn the Crusader title and all of the glory that comes with it.

My vision is that it will tell you:

Which quest lines you need to complete
Which dailies you need to complete
How many days will you have to spend doing dailies
How many Champion Writs you will need to earn and spend
How much gold you would earn in working toward crusader.

Right now I’m working in Excel, but if I could figure out a way to get it online that would be even better. The “pie in the sky” vision would be to have it pull in data from the armory somehow, but that’s much beyond my expertise.

It's something I would have loved to have had before working on my five Crusaders and I realize it may be a bit dated. Nonetheless it's a been an interesting excerise.

More to come. Let me know if you are interested or have any input.

Wipes happen

2010-05-06T12:31:00.004-04:00

Bad is never good until worse happens. ~Danish Proverb

Inevitably it’s going to happen. At some point down the road you are going to wipe on a five-man instance that you’ve run multitudes of times before sans incident. It could happen due to a number of factors: some controllable, some not. As in most things in life, it’s how you react to such adversity that often determines the outcome.

Last night I ran into a situation that I’m sure we’ll all find familiar. PuG run and the tank pulls a big group, gets spotty heals, and dies. The substantial remaining mobs then run rampant over the group and full wipe ensues. Again, I think we’ll all find familiarity in this sequence.

The Example:

Trollgore room in DTK. Mass pull leads to wipe.
• Tank: “So heals just stopped.”
• Healer:"I lagged."

So far so good. What happened + explanation = solved? Time to move on? Not so much.

• Healer: “ I also wasn’t in the room before you pulled. It’s called situational awareness.”
• (Insert simultaneous DPS "uh-ohs" here)
• Tank : (insert derogatory, accusatory “fail” comment here)
• Healer: (insert derogatory, accusatory “no-u-fail” comment here)
• Jarr: “Let’s just regroup and move on.”
• Tank has left the group.
• Healer: “What a fail tank baby.”
• Requeued to find a Tank

Let’s pick this apart and get into the Jarr zen mentality. Let’s avoid the FPB and do the right thing.

Keep your mouth shut!
In most wipe cases it’s evident what caused it. Tank pulls too much. Healer didn’t keep up. DPS pulled agro. Disconnects. Lag. You name it. There is no need to point it out. Sit quietly take your rez or walk-back and move on.

However if you’re one of those folks that must open your pie hole (though I’d strongly advise against it), then …

Consider how you say what you need to say
In our example, Mr. Tank set the completely negative tone with the opening salvo. Automatically the healer is in a defensive position. Keep your comments positive or at least neutral. Here are some examples.

“Why didn’t you heal me?” vs “Ouch! What happened?”

“Didn’t know you were pulling the whole damn room!” vs “Sorry, I wasn’t prepared for that. If you’re going to pull big, just let me know.”

Suck it up and fess up
We’re human (despite someone’s accusations of cyborg infiltration). We make mistakes sometimes. If you mess up, then say so. Apologize if something went awry, even if it wasn’t entirely your fault. Again some examples for roles:

• Tank: “Sorry guys. I lost that dude somehow.”
• Healer: “Whoops! Sorry ‘bout that. Rez incoming.”
• DPS: “You guys suck! Scrape me up!”
Whoa! Get outta here you dime a dozen deeps! /kick

• DPS: “Ouchie! That hurt. Sorry ‘bout that. Can I get a rez please.”
Much better.

Intent & Tone
Again, before you open your mouth. Think! Then perhaps think again. What are you trying to accomplish or gain by speaking? Are you after knowledge to prevent or remedy problems going forward or simply trying to assign blame? If it’s the later then follow my advice and just STFU. If it’s the former, then move on to your tone.

Consider what you say and perhaps even to whom (party vs. whisper) before you say it. Think about how you would react if your question/statement/accusation were tossed at you.

I’m again focusing on five-man content here (because it’s largely all I do currently), but these same attitudes, mentalities, and approaches can be applied to larger raids or even (GASP!) real life.

Seewhutididthere? Sensei Jarr has just taken you down the path of enlightment without you realizing it. You’re welcome, Grasshopper. /bow

The tank said what?!?!?

2010-05-04T08:28:00.006-04:00

"I picked Tank for the faster queues."

* Cue the FPB *

Keys you should not be tanking:

You don't know what Defense is
You don't know what your defense cap for heroics is (535)
You have less health than your healer
You think that PvP gear is tanking gear

Gotta love the LFG tool. It truly brings out the tools. It's great that it's pushing interest in tanking. It just sucks when it brings tanks that don't know how to tank and only selected that role in order to insta-queue.

Tanking: Do the right thing

2010-04-19T15:58:00.009-04:00

Yeah, Facepalm Bear is back again. This time it’s the tanks’ turns in the barrel. I’ve been rolling healbot for frosties more so than tanking, simply because I find it frankly easier and less stressful. If I’m not healing I’ve been on the mage shooting fire around. From either perspective I’ve seen some doozies of fails when it comes to tanking. Granted most times things go smoothly. But when they screw up, it’s usually big time.

So let see what the FPB has to say today.

Don’t Be a Hero: Even if you’re pushing 50k health, there is no need to try to pull the entire instance in one shot. Pull two groups, no problem. Going larger than that rarely goes without someone pulling agro. The best example of this was a bright and shiny T-10 pally tank over 50k health that decided to pull the entire first hall of Utgarde Keep. Things went well…right up to the point he got stunned and his avoidance went all to crap. No matter how big your life pool is, you are not invulnerable. If you still feel the need to pull big than at least…

Speak the F^~% Up!: If you insist on pulling big, open your damn mouth and let the party know. This is important for two reasons. First it let’s you round them up and the DPS can hold off until you’ve got them where you want them. Secondly (and more importantly) it puts your healer in the right mindset. Your healer can be preventatively healing for the expected damage rather than getting taken by surprise by the fact that your tank just ran out of range. It is so much easier to heal big when you start ahead of it than to scramble and catch up. And if the healer draws agro due to your “heroic antics” then you are nine kinds of fail.

Control the Locale: Pop quiz. By show of hands, who wants a fast heroic run? OK good. Who wants to move along briskly with few snags? Good, good. Ok so where are you fighting the following?

• The Commander boss in Heroic Nexus
• The statue & mojo mobs before the Collossus/Elemental boss in Gun’drak
• The all-caster groups in Hellfire Citadel Ramparts

If you answered any of these “Where they stand” then you need to go back to basic tank training (or at least not queue tank for a while). More often than not, where you fight is going to dictate if you’re going to have surprises. Fears will happen. Melee DPS needs to be behind their targets to be most effective. Too close and they could pull additional groups.

By bringing the mobs to you rather than you running to them, you control these factors. You lessen the risk of pulling more that you wanted. Remember, as the tank if you have to scramble because of positioning, you failed. Even if you save it, you still failed.

The Key to Smooth:The key to a smooth run is simple. It’s not what you pull or how many. It’s all in how you do it. A little communication and a little bit of forethought goes a long way. They definitely go further than having to scramble. Don’t get complacent because the higher gear on most folks these days grants them higher survivability. Do it right. Do it smooth. Be the example. Be the tank. Make the Bear happy will ya?

Let it all BURN!

2010-04-14T15:52:00.012-04:00

I’ve been setting the World on fire lately! I’ve recently started playing my mage again to trying to rid him of his few remaining blues and outdated trinkets. I’d forgotten how truly fun a fire spec can be. There are just so many things that make them fun.

The satisfying FWOOSH! of ignite after a crit that would make Richard so proud.
The fireworks of explosions after tagging four mobs with Living Bomb, making it look like the Fourth of July. Enough internal combustion to make Vael and Geddon smile.
Instant cast Pyroblasts and that big ball of goodness is always cool. Hot streak rules!

Fire mages are just too much fun. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Arcane may be still king of the meters. Frost may be the PvP defending champ. But fire is just way cooler…er hotter. Come on! You’re hurling frickin’ fire around for Elune’s sake!

It took a while for me to figure out how to get decent DPS numbers out of my spec, but now that I’ve got it down ALL WILL BURN! Muhahaha!

“I’M CASTING FLAMESTRIKE!!!! Ooooooo, you're on fire!!!!”

Caster DPS LFG, baby.

Black Belt Test - PASSED!

2010-04-08T11:40:00.007-04:00

Nearly four years of hard work. Three months of study, preparation, and practice. More study. More practice. It all came to a head on what would be the most challenging day of my life.

April 3, 2010 – my black belt test.

It was brutally hard. I thought I had mentally prepared myself for just how hard it would be. I was wrong. The workout was tougher than anything I’d ever done before. Once the instructors had pushed us to and beyond our limits, we then had to concentrate and execute our katas (forms) and defense techniques. Ninety self-defense techniques, six open-hand katas, and four weapon katas.

Think about that for a moment. Think of the hardest test you’ve ever had to take, either in school or professionally. Now think about having to do that after having run a marathon. My body was screaming for recovery, for a time-out (not happening). I couldn’t focus because I was so tired, so sweaty, so thirsty. I made mistakes simply because it was so hard to focus.

After the exhausting workout and the tension filled practical test, the real fun begins. Three minutes of full contact sparring with the instructors and their assisting black belts. Three minutes straight - no stops - with a new instructor swapping in every 30 seconds. Remember all that exhaustion from earlier? Yeah it’s still there.

Before the testing, I originally thought to myself “Once we get to sparring, it’s almost over. Just three more minutes and you’re home, Ant.” A silver lining of sorts. Yeah…not so much.

When it was my time to spar, the silver lining mentality went out the window. My only thoughts were “Just survive.” I thought I could keep track of how many I had sparred with and how many to go. Yeah…no again. It was all a blur. I got a good beat down. I may have had a good shot or two in there, but for the most part I got pounded. I got one decent (though weak) shot to the head on one of the instructors. Part of me cheered inside. The other parts went “What the heck did you do that for!?!? Now he’s gonna tear us up!”

I didn’t give up though. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. My helmet came off. Keep going. Goggles came down…tore ‘em off. It ended in much the same way it went: with me defensively on my back just trying to survive. When time was called I was still tensed waiting for the next opponent. It took a few seconds to realize no more were coming.

As I stood up, it still didn’t click. It wasn’t until one of the instructors (the same one I got that headshot on) said something that that it made it settle in. "Welcome to the black belt club." It was done.

I've passed my black belt test. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It had to be. Otherwise it wouldn’t mean as much. I truly feel different now. I have a renewed sense of confidence. I have a tremendous feeling of pride. There are few things in my life that I’d consider as much as an achievement as this. So if you notice a bit of a swagger in my step or my chin a bit higher, understand that I’ve earned it. And it’s something that will stay with me forever. It’s something that no one can take away. And I’m really looking forward to my boys (and hopefully the girl some day) walking this same path and feeling that same pain, pride, and accomplishment.

Now if I could just get the soreness out of my legs, I’d be all set. Five days later and I’m still feeling it. Then again, it is another proud reminder of it all. Advil? Nah, I’m good. Let me relish this for a just bit longer.

Jace Hall rules

2010-03-26T09:56:00.004-04:00

Jace is one of those guys in the media that just makes you proud to be a gamer. Here are two of his tunes that I now regularly listen to while playing.

I Play WoW

Superplaya

We should have seen it coming

2010-01-11T12:36:00.006-05:00

X-Com Directors Log – 19 April 1999
We should have seen it coming.

It started with a typical detection. A small UFO was heading in to the US over the Atlantic. Then a larger blip appeared from the Gulf. Then the Canadian skies parted with two more large craft. Then another biggie from the Pacific. They were pinging all over the sky. Hell, even Moses didn’t see that much red when he parted the sea.

Interceptors scrambled. I ordered the small downed over the Atlantic. Down she went, lost to the sea floor. We have bigger fish to fry. I ordered the flight groups split to the larger craft with strict standoff orders. Pursuit and report, only. They tracked the first two to their landings.

Ranger One was deployed to the first landing. Breach and recon teams worked to perfection. Liberal use of the aliens' grenades made sure of that.

Flight crews turned the Ranger around in record time. The wrenches need to be recognized for that. Second landing was bigger. Probably a warship en route to terrorize another city. Not on my watch. More intense fire fights, but zero casualties. Thank God for the new personal armor the tech boys created. A round for them as well.

During the two recoveries, one of the Interceptors had tracked what we believe to be a supply vessel to its landing the Florida panhandle. Int-One was ordered to CAP over the landing zone until the Ranger could be turned around. Again, I’ve gotta buy those wrenches a round on me.

Then it happened. I can still hear it in my head. “Interceptor 1-1 to Command. Sir! They’re heading underground! They’re heading underground!” Murmurs quickly spread through the Command & Ops Center. I ordered our satellites into position. Well I’ll be damned if the thermal scans didn’t confirm our worst fears. Those damned aliens built a forward post right under our bloody noses.

Global RTB ordered and base lockdown status initiated. No one is getting in here. The Ranger One team was given two days R&R. No need to rush this. Following that, one full day of prep and briefings. One more day to get the operatives rested and focused.

Then we launched. Surface penetration went perfectly. Breach and recon teams swept the base with tactical precision and efficiency. The aliens were scattered through the base, but quickly dispatched. They picked their way in to the central command center. Breach teams lined up, smokes and chokes at the ready.

Then it happened.

A blast of purple light shot down the lift shaft and turned – I mean 90 f*#&ing degreest turned – and hit the squad leader square in the chest. The blast decimated the room and instantly incinerated the three operatives inside. Then a second blast right behind it streaked through the now sundered door and hit the back wall, killing the other three operatives holding position outside. Before the recon teams could even move to support their fallen comrades, a third blast came from behind. Three blasts, 9 kills, 3 seconds.

We should have seen it coming. It was all a trap. We’d been too successful, too over-confident and fell victim to our own successes.

The skies filled with UFOs were the first lure and we bit down hard. They allowed us to take their larger craft - a larger bait which we swallowed whole. They let us pick off their base’s interior sentries and fodder. Hell, even their base was a throw away by the way they nuked the crap out of it. They leveled the damn place and all of our men in one fell swoop.

They didn’t need to come to us. They knew we’d come to them. And we blindly accommodated them.

We should have seen it coming. Now I sit approving personnel requisition forms, scheduling training regiments, and writing letters home to the families of the fallen. And my bottle of scotch is far too low to accomodate all of this.
Yeah. I should have seen it coming.

If you've never played X-Com UFO Defense, I highly recommend it. It is one of the deepest and most rewarding strategy games and still one of my all time favorites. Plus you can nab the first (and best) off of Steam for just $5. You have no excuse.

How to play a mage

2009-12-15T12:03:00.010-05:00

Ok, this may be just the thing to make me play my mage again. And I fully intend to play it EXACTLY like this.

All I can say is "I'M CONJURING MANA STRUDEL!!!"

Drekor, dust off that wand. It's time to rock!

Get it off the back burners

2009-11-23T10:36:00.003-05:00

Ok, people. You now have no excuse. If you have neglected your cooking skill to date, shame on you. With the new Pilgrim’s Bounty world event, you are given a chance at a reprieve. With the purchase of 1 recipe book, a bit of capital city traveling, and a minimal amount of coin to buy the vendor sold mats, you can now effectively level your cooking from level 1 to 350 in one day.

That’s right folks. You can take a newbie chef in the making and have them Wrath buff food enabled in one sitting. Level is irrelevant. For example I took my humble level 29 paladin all the way from level 129 cooking to a few points past 350. She is now ready to make all of the Wrath buff foods that don’t require Northern Spices.

So if you’ve ignored your cooking, GET ON IT! You now have absolutely NO EXCUSE to come into any party with out a cheese head buff. In fact if I have lead, and you don’t have a cheese head, I may be tempted to kick you. I’ll go Harvey Dent on you and toss my Titanium Seal. Heads I win, tails you lose. Don’t be that guy. Raise it, cook it munch it, crunch it.

Kudos Blizzard!
I think Blizzard took the perfect course with this one. The biggest problem most people have is getting the mats needed to level cooking to a viable useable level. This circumvents that. All of the mats needed are easily obtained from vendors or from abundant turkey critters in the starter areas.

Another problem people have with cooking is that it shares a symbiosis with fishing. Having fishing makes it easier to level cooking. But even I must admit that leveling fishing is tedious. The holiday cooking removes this need. You can go from start to finish without ever seeing a bobber. Bliz has removed the necessity of fishing for cooking with the holiday so that excuse is now removed as well. However, fishing is still one of the ways to get some of the most potent Wrath food buffs so I wouldn’t completely ignore it.

I love also that Blizzard tied cooking so plentifully into the world event. Food is a big part of the holiday tradtions around Thanksgiving so I find it so fitting. When I think of family Thanksgiving get-togethers, I think of traveling about to be with friends and family, loved ones hovering in and out of the kitchen, helping with the cooking, and sitting down together to feast with merriment. All of those WoW-heads gathered outside town, cooking fires ablaze, and achievements abounding, it felt like Blizzard captured a good essence of the event and holiday.

Plus all of the cooking quests make the Chef Hat a much loved accessory! Few things more smile inducing than blowing through 20 slow roasted turkeys in less than 7 seconds.

Well done, Bliz. Well done indeed.

The Where, when, and how
There are probably already a few guides written to accommodate the holiday cooking quests and mat guides. You can Google them on your own if need be. But to get you started, head outside your capital city and look for the holiday cooking trainer & vendor. Then buy the Bountiful Cookbook. Inside this delicious book are all of the recipes you will need to make you a skilled gastronome. These recipes will take you incrementally all the way up to 300 cooking. At that point you will need to head to either Outland or Dalaran to train and level it further.

I hope this is helpful and that you all can enjoy the holiday, both in game and out. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Now, could someone pass me the sweet potato pie and a port to Exodar? It seems the space goats are out of turkey.

Help me, Help you

2009-10-29T14:57:00.005-04:00

In running some 5-man content lately with both PuGs and guildies, I’ve noticed a few behaviors that rather irk me.

As a tank I judge my success by a few simple measures.

Is the target(s) dead?
Did any of our party die?
If they died, was it my fault? Was it preventable?

In a few of the runs I did, I lost a few people to deaths. Surprisingly, they were not on boss fights, but rather on simple trash. I think it’s largely due to a few simple, preventable behaviors.

So once again, let’s delve into the Jarr perspective -- the one with the big bear butt staring back at you.

You are your own meter maid
You are running a threat meter right? If not, go get one. Omen is the current gold standard in WoW and the one I use, but I’m sure there are others as well.

With that said, it is your responsibility to watch your own agro. As a tank I will try to keep tabs on everyone’s agro, so that I can tell when I might need to taunt off. However, it is still your responsibility to control what you pull. We’re not talking about progression raiding here, so you don’t have to squeeze every little ounce of DPS out of your toon. If you get high in the agro bars, back off. A mob focused on the tank and is far easier on everyone (especially the tank and healer) than if it’s chasing you around the room.

Give me a sec
With the ramp up in gear availability through Ulduar, the tournament trials, and badges, most folks are now far out-geared for heroics. This seems to feed into a “kill it two seconds ago” mentality. It feeds a bloodlust desire to just blow through the content as quickly as possible.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to stack on the tank immediately. Take a moment. Count to two. Give the tank a brief moment to get the pull started and gain some initial agro. Then follow the tank in and start your mash and slash, cast and bash. A run will go far quicker if you let the tank get initial agro and maintain it than if you make the tank chase agro all over because you wanted to shave 1.3 seconds off of your kill time.

Are you focused?
Be honest. When was the last time you used the focus function? During vanilla WoW and TBC when crowd control was more eminent, the focus pane got a workout. Wrath’s laughable need for CC has largely lessened the use of the focus pane I fear.

Take it further. When was the last time you set the tank as your focus? Do yourself a favor. Set your focus to the tank and show the focus’s target. These two panes can make it so much easier to keep agro on the primary target where it belongs. Which leads us to…

Can you assist me?
Most trash mob groups are pulled and then killed with AOE. Even so, being on your tank’s target can help keep the agro on the primary targets. Remember how we set the tank to our focus? Here is a simple macro to help you stay on his target. Alternately you could hit the assist key (default key is ‘F’), but this requires you to target the tank first. This forgoes that need.

/assist [target=focus]

Toss Me Some Love
At the risk of parroting, I’m mentioning this one again. Threat redirection abilities are there for a reason. There is no reason to not use Tricks of the Trade or Misdirection. TotT is even less arguable, since you get a nice damage bonus. Perhaps Blizzard should consider doing the same with Misdirection.

Toss me some agro and then you can stand in place and pew pew away. Otherwise I may be chasing you all over, or worse letting you die. Pull once, shame on me. Pull again…well, it’s your repair bill.

Dodge the Bullet
The flip side of the love toss is the threat reduction. Fade, feign death, feint, soul shatter and the like. They all fall into this category. If you’re about to pull agro then dump some. The few seconds spent to drop the agro won’t hurt your DPS. Come on, you can do it. One global cooldown is worth a smooth run, right?

Lack of agro control is often the cause of deaths or worse wipes. Evasion tanking is not a sign of strength. It’s a sign that something failed. Even if you pull it off, you still failed.

Get behind me
Most encounters require someone to initiate a fight by smacking something. There are a few events that are triggered rather than attacked to start. The hunter trophy room in Utgarde Pinnacle, Keristrasza in Nexus, and the gauntlet event in Halls of Stone come to mind. In these events, the boss will typically go to whomever is closest to them. Let the tank be the only one in there. You don’t need to be on top of the boss at the go. Remember that two-second rule we used for trash. Apply it here. You’ll still get those high DPS e-peens that you seem to love to flex so much.

Sum it up
I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that most groups I’ve run with do well. Those that don’t go so smoothly usually fall into categories mentioned here or in the “Those ‘Uh-oh’ moments.” From where I stand, these a just a few things that can turn a decent run into smooth sailing. Good luck and good hunting all.

Those "Uh-oh" moments

2009-09-28T10:27:00.008-04:00

Pick-up groups or PuGs as they are so affectionately called. We’ve all had to do them at one point or another. On a largely dead server like the Alliance side of Gul’dan it’s really the only way to run five-man content.

We’ve also all been in those groups that make you shudder. The kinds where you know there is going to be a problem, even before you get started. Having tanked through most of my Burning Crusade career and tanked and healed through Wrath, I think I’ve developed a keen eye for sensing and identifying those problems.

So today kiddies, I’m going to share the Jarr perspective. Here are some signs that you might be a problem. If nothing else try not to be this guy or gal.

Lacking cheese heads
In your next PuG take a look at everyone’s buffs. Count how many people have an appropriate “Well Fed” buff from food. If there are not five cheese heads running, then someone is not coming prepared.

Vanilla WoW had some lack luster buff foods. Once you hit Hellfire Peninsula and BC content it gets much better. And Northrend foods are just outstanding. The resources for most are readily accessible from mobs you’re likely to be killing anyway (Nessingwary anyone?).

There is absolutely no excuse for this one. If you don’t have it, then it shows you either roll unprepared or that you don’t care enough about the success of the group to use it. Crunch and munch so that we can crunch a bunch.

"Does anyone have any XYZ?"
Fill in the blanks. This could be buff food, mana or health pots, hunter ammo, or elixirs and flasks. If you can’t keep on hand what you need to run something, then take the time to stock up before you join LFG.

And if you ask for a Fish Feast, you’re likely to get booted. Ironically the people that ask for them the most are ones that have neglected their cooking and fishing altogether. Bring what you need. Keep it on hand at all times. That means buff food, regular food,and water. If you have a blue bar and no water on hand, you are nine kinds of fail.

"Does anyone have the meters for that fight?"
This shows two problems in my opinion. First it shows you’re probably trying to flex your e-peen. Second, if the meters mattered that much to you, then you'd be running one yourself.

Granted, some people may use them as an appropriate measurement tool. In most PuG cases though those asking are often more of a tool themselves.

Jarr’s meters are easier and require no mods to run. Is the boss dead? If yes let’s move on.

Can I get a summons?
This is a mixed bag but it always irks me. If you’re stuck in old world with a hearth on CD then I can understand (maybe). But if you’ve been sitting in Dalaran for the last 20 minutes I ain’t pulling you in. Make an effort to get there and if you’re not the first two there you’ll get your port. Don’t be lazy.

No buffet or candy dishes
Mages and ‘locks, I’m looking at you. It costs you next to nothing to toss up a table, soul well (candy dish!) or even a portal after a run. Doing something as simple as that sets a positive tone for you in the group. You’ve come prepared and are willing to help everyone out. Not doing so can show you as being cheap, selfish, or just an uncaring SoB. Do the right thing. Toss it down. Now, if people demand such things of you, then do as you will.

Agro! I gots it!
Hunters and rogues – it’s your turn in the barrel. Your threat reduction and distribution abilities (Misdirection and Tricks of the Trade) are there for a reason. Use them. Granted, most Wrath five-man content doesn’t truly need it. On the other hand, everyone loves a smooth run. Tossing a bit of agro gain to the tank can only help. Additionally, remember that it’s a PuG. You may not know the competence of the tank at hand. Everything you can do to help sets you in a better position to succeed and to be perceived as a team player.

"I hope my pants drop!"
Loot. We all want it. It's probably the reason you signed up to PuG in the first place. However, this shows that you are focused on a personal end goal rather than the task at hand. Additionally, it’s a bit insulting to assume that they would be yours when there is likely someone else in the group that could use it. Even more so if it’s a larger upgrade for them. And remember the random number generator is the bane of such things. Generally when that is said in a group, it’s usually a guarantee that it ain’t gonna drop. Damn you, Ingvar the Plunderer!

"How do I get there?"
This one came out of Brewfeast really with Corbin Direbrew being buried in Blackrock Depths. It’s amazing how many PuGs I’ve run on this and how many people didn’t know how to get there.

It makes Jarr sad that so many people have blindly blown past that content. BRD is a lore rich and well constructed instance. I have some pretty epic memories of fights and guild runs in there.

Thank Elune for the Brewfest mole drillers at the start though. Can you imagine if these PuGgers actually had to navigate through BRD and find their way to the bar to do it? I wonder how many even have the Shadowforge key. Hell, how many even know it exists for that matter (let alone know how to get it)?

Jarr’s Motto for PuGgers
In short remember Jarr’s motto. Roll prepared or don't roll at all. You don’t have to come in with best-in-slot gear or break 4k DPS to be a winner in my book. Do your part, do it well, and roll prepared and we’ll get along just fine.

Happy PuG-ing all! LFM for Direbrew. I hope my Kodo drops.

“Make a long, long slice..."

2009-09-23T12:09:00.000-04:00

…for a long, long life of health, wealth, and happiness.” A family tradition of sorts. It’s what we in the Jarr clan say when we cut a birthday cake. It’s cheesy and we get strange looks when we (ok, when I) say it outside of our own dining room.

Birthdays. I’m not really a big fan of my own. I always find it a bit self-serving. “Hey come pay homage to the day I entered the world!” Not my thing really. I get more out of my kids’ excitement over my birthday than I do anything else. Otherwise, to me it’s just a day like any other.

Other people’s birthday tend to be a different story though. I look at them largely as my chance to celebrate the fact that this person is part of my life. Admittedly, I’m not the best at remembering them outside of my own. But I think that may change.

My father just had his birthday this week, turning 64. For some reason, after I bought his birthday cards (which I forgot to mail until the day of – again not my strongpoint) I found myself reflecting on that and what that span of time means. In talking to him on his birthday as well it hit me even more.

He’s certainly seen some interesting times. The end of World War II. The Korean conflict. The assassination of John F. Kennedy. He was sent over to Vietnam and managed to return in one piece. He lived through the likes of the Gulf wars and the events of 9/11. He’s seen 12 different presidents in office.

He’s outlived his father by 10 years and younger brother by 12. He’s seen his mother slip away to Alzheimer's disease and stayed by her side the entire time. He’s the sole living grandfather (Pop-pop) to my kids with my wife’s parents having died way too young.

He worked for the same company for 34 years. Despite being under 5’ 6” tall, he always stood proudly and looked the epitome of professionalism. In the brief times I spent with him at work in NYC, it always struck me as ironic at how many 6”+ people looked up to my father in the workplace, all the time having to really look down. He carried himself with pride and attitude than simply garnered genuine respect.

He’s raised two kids. And despite him being his own worst critic, he did it successfully. We didn’t make it easy and it’s still not I’m sure. But he did it. We were never lacking and still are not, despite the hard times and challenges of the mile between us. He gave us long lasting childhood memories. He introduced us to the joys of boating and took us on fantastic vacations all over the Eastern seaboard. Anyone can take a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard or Block Island. How many people can say the cruised there from NJ? How many people can say they've ferried through the entire Erie canal lock system?

He’s always been the pillar of strength in our family. Someone needs a hand around the house. Dad is there. Someone has a home improvement project to do. Dad’s there to work and often get injured and keep working. Only Dad would say “I stepped on a nail. It really hurts. I should go to the hospital but I have more work to do.” And he’s always there when it counts. Even at what I perceived as his difficult times, he was the pillar of strength and poise. My uncle, his brother’s funeral stands out most to me. He had lost his brother and still was the person the family turned to for help and support.

My father recently read this site and was a bit surprised that I listed him as one of my idols. I feel that points to a big problem. That I haven’t told him enough what he means to me. That I haven’t said “Thank you” enough for all the things he’s imparted to me. That it isn’t more evident that he is ultimately the man I measure all others against, including myself. No better compliment could be made to me than “You’re just like your father.”

So I find myself looking at birthdays in a new light. They have new importance to me. It’s not a celebration of birth, but of life and how that person has made it all the richer. While I regret that it’s taken this long to realize, I’m grateful to now have this clarity nonetheless.

Thank you, Dad. And happy birthday from your proud son.

Unexpected Remembrance

2009-09-11T08:39:00.005-04:00

Something odd struck me this morning. On the ride into work the radio jockeys were all talking about 9/11 and it really didn’t faze me. Largely because the stories are all the same: each person telling where they were and what they were doing. The thing they most had in common was that they were so distantly removed that it feels like they are simply trying to one up everyone else’s story. Perhaps that’s just my cynical nature though.

The guards outside our office were working in the rain, setting the flags to half-mast. I stopped out of respect as they raised them then went inside, again largely unfazed.

My boss and coworker were briefly talking about their respective “where I was” and I nodded and put on my headset to settle down to work.

It was something simple and unexpected that struck home. One of the reports each I run each morning has the full report date printed on the page. It has 9 report dates spelled out: “September 11, 2009.” Then all of the memories of that day and week come rushing back.

I’m not going into my personal memories of where I was and what I did, because as I mentioned I think it’s largely one-up-manship. It’s best that we find our own ways or remembering, honoring, mourning, or even just surviving.

There is one thing that I do remember and I always will. I vividly remember five days later, after much of the initial turmoil had settled and new discoveries and rumblings were just beginning. I remember sitting listening to the radio; all ears in the room listening to President Bush address the nation. I remember looking around that nursery at Abington Memorial Hospital, to the nurses attending other newborns infants while still intently listening to his words. I remember my wife sitting in the rocking chair nursing our fussy little newborn. I had a son. I had a family. In that moment, I felt incredibly grateful to have been largely unaffected by the tragedies of 9/11. That feeling is what came back to me once again in reading “September 11, 2009.” We were alive and we were well. And in the larger scope of things, that’s all that really mattered.

Daddy plays no favorites

2009-09-04T17:53:00.001-04:00

Ok guys, it’s been a while since we’ve all sat down and talked, but I think it’s long overdue. The in-fighting between you three has become all but unbearable. And while you are responsible for your own actions, I must admit that the lack of this conversation to this point is also largely responsible for it. For that I apologize. But we must make amends and thus that means setting the record straight on a few things.

First and foremost, I do not play favorites with any one of you. You are all incredible parts of my life. You all came into my world in your own way and with your own unique stories and circumstances. Your arrivals we not always entirely planned, but all three of you little bundles of joy were the start of something incredible. You remain so today. My loves for you three are just as unique as each of you. So I can honestly say that I love you all differently, but I love you all unarguably equally.

Having said that, I must admit my time has not been as equally shared with you all. And while it’s certainly not a justifiable excuse, it’s been a difficult time for me. Daddy’s new love has taken up a lot of my time lately, and so I feel it’s only fair that I explain why. Our relationship has been a rocky one – very often on again / off again. So I felt it necessary to spend the time and effort to solidify that relationship and get it on more stable ground. It’s certainly put added and unneeded pressure on our once tight little family. But I think that we are now in a place where that relationship will not need as much of my time anymore. As such I will be renewing my efforts to make time for you all. I’ll not just share my spare time with you. I will go out of my way to MAKE time for you. Again, you are my loves and my passions in life. It’s regrettably taken a lot for me to recognize this, but I feel it’s not too late. For that I am glad.

My eldest, you above all the others have felt this absence most I fear. I still remember the times before all this turmoil that I created. We would stay up late together and play long into the midnight hours…often beyond. We’d laugh, we’d cry, we’d cheer and sneer. We shared glorious victories and agonizing defeats. Even now I’ve by far spent the most time with you in total, but you have certainly been the most time neglected in recent times. Despite how you may feel to the contrary (which I can see in how you look at me every now and again) you are still much beloved and I know there are good times to be had once again and shared with the kids. We’ve built a good legacy of long lasting memories together. It’s one I think that you can help me build with your brother and sister.

My middle child, brother of my eldest. I know that you feel that you have to compete with your elder sibling. Let me tell you flat out that you don’t. While I believe that you can achieve the same levels of success and excellence that your brother has reached, I do not expect you to be the same. I do not compare what he is capable of and what you are capable of and judge you for your differences. Instead I embrace and adore all that makes you unique. You feel unproven I’m sure, and I think that it largely because I’ve not paid enough attention to you and what you can do. I promise that we will be spending much more time together. I am making it my vow to you now that we will find good times and our own shared and beloved legacy. In that you and your brother are indeed the same. But those treasures we discover and create along the way will be uniquely ours.

To you, my youngest. When you first arrived, I must confess, I was scared. Everything I thought I knew was turned upside down. The standards of controls that I had so firmly learned and perfected over the years went right out the window the day you arrived. While the rest of the family embraced you, I tried to do the same. But I let my fear, uncertainties, and the biases toward the comfortable past get the better of me. On the surface you are so different from your older siblings. But now I can see that there is also much the same. I should have recognized your greatness and potential earlier. After all, you do come from a long line of established and successful predecessors. Your heritage runs long, deep, and strong. I see it now and I hope you will realize that I have much to learn...we have much to learn together. I look forward to whatever exciting and refreshing experiences we can share.

So there it is guys. To put not too fine a point on it, I've neglected you. Plain and simple. It's a mistake I regret but one that I promise to make amends for. I vow this to each of you: to you my beloved PS2, to you my impassioned PS3, and to you my quirky young Wii. Warcraft is important to me, as are all of you. So I must make time to show you each my love.

I’m glad we’ve had this time together. I hope you feel as good as I do. It's a first but important step I feel. So, who wants to play som...

Hold on guys. I’ll be right back. The kids are screaming and crying and carrying on about God only knows what. There’s always something, isn’t there?

Who is Jarr?

2009-08-25T14:42:00.012-04:00

The Basics
Name: Anthony (or Tony)
Age: 39 (12/21/1971) Sagitarius baby!
Sex: Yes please.
Location: Willow Grove, PA (East coast native for life)
Known Aliases: Jarr, T-Bone, TonyBone, Skippy (I have no idea why)
Known Accomplices: Chris, Shane, Nick, and my boys -- Peyton & Alex
Religion: Catholic and eternal skeptic (though I might convert to Elune)
Passions: My kids, my wife, and my games.
Idols: Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Hawk, and my father.
Music: Ecclectic. I’m a metal head but I also love the late 60s music (thank you Dad!). Check out the Song of the Day for a lil' sample.

Gamer for Life
I’ve been a gamer for life. I can still remember the early days. My first experience with my pixilated passion came from none other than Telstar, followed by the much beloved Atari 2600. I practically grew up on that thing. I swung and yelled with Pitfall Harry. My arms went numb doing the 1500m run in Decathlon. I ducked and weaved to avoid the swirling blade o’ death in Yars Revenge, and I raised the Ark with Indy many a time.

As I matured, so did my passions. I had the privilege of growing up in the hay day of the now lost parlors of paradise – the arcade. A mystical place of poor lighting and loud noise that offered up doses of happiness for a single, silver quarter. There were the staples of course: Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Gauntlet. Peter Gun still makes me think of oil slicks and smoke screens.

About this time I got into my first foray in to computers – my much beloved Commodore 128. Raid Over Moscow, Beachhead, Skate or Die, California Games (heck all of the XYZ Games for that matter!) all in their splendid 5 1/4 inch glory. I blew through many a joystick on those memories.

Then consoles came home. First the NES, then the SNES. Mario, Zelda, and Metroid – oh my! Lasting arch types that now become memories reborn and revisited on the Wii.

College days brought it full circle with PC gaming. X-wing, TIE-Fighter, and Falcon 3.0 with all of its add-ons were the flavors of the day. And of course – Doom launched me into first person shooters and online play. Now I am spoiled with the new incarnation on the PC, the Playstation 3, and even the venerable PS2.

Gaming is a passion of mine. And I’m fortunate enough to be able to pass to passions along to my children. Few things are as fun as playing along side the kids and seeing the youthful spark of wonder in their eyes that harkens back to when controllers were simply one stick with a big orange button.

Wonder and awe always, my fellow gamers!

Where did the name Jarr come from?
My first real Warcraft character was a Night Elf Rogue which I named Jarraxel – a misspelled derivative of Jarlaxle, the houseless mercenary leader from R. A. Salvatore’s Dark Elf series and its subsequent follow-up novels. I loved those books and thought it a fitting tribute.

My guild mates had taken to simply calling me Jarr. From that I made subsequent characters Jarr-heads (Jarranne, Jarrande, Jarralynn) so that I’d be easily identified in game. Despite many of my online friends knowing my shared real name, Jarr is still by far the most used and loved.

Inside Information

2009-08-24T12:33:00.002-04:00

First and foremost, welcome to Inside the Jarr! My goal with this site is to share my stories, perspectives, and opinions on the world at large, my passion for gaming, and love/hate relationship with the game I’ve spent by far the most time with – World of Warcraft.

Here are some of the tags you’ll find here.

Warcraft: This will used be for all things loved and hated in our beloved worlds of Azeroth, Outland, and Northrend.

Game On! All things gaming that is not tied to Warcraft. PC and consoles. Old school & next gen. Lore and technology. I love it!

Time & Labor is the name of our time tracking system at the company I work for. As such all things corporate America and professional will be here.

IRL: This is where you can get a peek at life away from the keyboard or controllers. My family and kids are my treasures. Here I’ll share them with you.

The Blog: This will simply be for posts regarding the status of the blog and (hopefully) the community.

I hope you enjoy your time here. While I welcome any feedback or suggestions you may have, let’s all play nice, shall we?

Thank you again for your time and interest. ~Jarr