Played Lately: World of Warcraft

• A lot has happened in the World of Warcraft since I last wrote. So lets get started. I hope you're all comfortable and used the restroom recently. I'm not pulling over until we get there.


• It took the better part of a month, but I finally leveled my paladin to 70. Starting in Hellfire Peninsula at level 58, I also cleared Zangarmarsh, Terrokar Forest, almost all of Nagrand, and a sliver of Blade's Edge Mountains before I heard my final "ding." I celebrated by immediately by hightailing (what does that really mean?) it to the gryphon vendor to purchase my flying mount. Thanks to my beautiful wife for disuading me from buying the ugly onyx gryphon that everyone else seems so enamored with.


• One thing I've done that I didn't do a lot of before is run various instances. The Outlands instances are so much better designed so it doesn't take forever to work through them. I've tackled Hellfire Ramparts, the Blood Furnace, and the Underbog several times. I also made it through Sethekk Halls twice and got my Shadow Labyrinth key. I also took unsuccessful runs at Mana-Tombs and Slave Pens, but I'm sure I'll be back for them.


• I'm kind of sad that I'm not earning experience points anymore. Hitting max level is most obvious goal in the game. Having that carrot removed has left me adrift. This means I have entered the end game, where my goals are my own and if I'm not having fun, it's my own damn fault. Thankfully there are plenty of goals I can strive for.


• My primary goal is complete all the quests in Blade's Edge, Netherstorm, and Shadowmoon Valley. That is a lot to do, with a lot of money and new equipment to earn. Once you hit level 70, there is no other way to improve your character than through equipment upgrades, so there is still a little bit of carrot out there. It's just broken into fairly small pieces and scattered all over the map.


• I also want to run the heroic instances and eventually, Karazhan. I was so excited to learn that this was the long term goal of this guild too. (Can you imagine me excited? It doesn't look much different than my other moods.) This is the longest of the long-term goals. Until then, there is plenty else to do.


• One goal that was decided for me was that I needed to craft a Breastplate of Kings, the first epic quality blacksmithing armor. After getting the recipe, I mentioned in guild chat that I was interested in building one for myself sometime. My friend, Mesia, decided that the right time was now. I'm actually a fair bit along toward getting it now, which is nice. Just a few more primals to go.


• Along this line, I want to max out my various professional skills. Mining was easy, and I had first aid done before leaving Hellfire. Cooking isn't that hard, but the high end recipes are a pain to get ingredients for. Blacksmithing just needs lots and lots (and lots and lots and lots) of ore to make the engine run. Only 25 more points to go on that. The tough one will be fishing. Even with the shorter guaranteed timer, you still have to take time out from everything else you're doing and dedicate your time to fishing. And it's the only profession that makes you switch equipment to use. Such a pain, but I will do it. Eventually. Maybe.


• So I'm still moving along and having fun. Time to get back to the quest.

Random Shots: Where The Hell Have You Been?

• In case you're concerned, that title is not meant for you, gentle reader. Instead, the interrogative is directed at myself, though I suspect you already know the answer.


• I've spent a lot of time playing World of Warcraft. A lot. A follow up post will expand upon that.


• Did a little reading. Since Greg Rucka is one of my favorite authors, I thought I should actually read one of his books. This time it was Finder, the second of his Atticus Kodiak series. Very good, almost as brutal as the first. I'm currently working on Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, on the recommendation of a WoW guildie. So far it's a paint-by-the-numbers fantasy novel, just a fantastically executed one. It's really hard to do anything original in genre fiction, but Hobb makes you forget that you've read this all before.


• My lovely wife and I watched the first season of The Wire. Thank goodness for DVDs or I'd never have seen this amazing show. Also picked up season three of Deadwood for good measure, but haven't gotten to it yet.


• Also saw a couple movies: Knocked Up (which was better than I expected) and Ocean's Thirteen (which I still enjoyed even though it fell out of focus twice and off frame once).


• So what have you been up to?

Random Shots: While The Cat's Away

• I see no one tracked mud in the house while I was away. Though next time you should clean up the empties if you're going to throw a party. I'm back for the time being and I have a few things to get caught up on.


• First of all, I'm pissed off at someone. Sorry for the strong language as I'm sure the person I'm mad at doesn't even read this blog. But if, in some cosmic joke, the arsonist who started the wildfire in the Griffith Park is reading this, I have a question for you. "Why did you make them preempt Veronica Mars? Couldn't you have waited until, say, Friday when people aren't watching TV anyway? Ass." I'm really annoyed.


• I've been spending a ludicrous amount of time playing World of Warcraft as of late. I'm sure that what you all assumed I was doing. I hit level 58 last week and headed to Outland, which is the expansion zone. It's just as amazing as everyone says it is. And thus, no blogging. Mea culpa.


• My desire to read dropped to nil after finishing that Michael Connelly book. It's not that the book put me off reading, it just that I can't read three series books in a row without the third book coming off badly. The problem is that I'm not sure what I should slot in between Michael Connellys. Maybe this? Or this? Any ideas?


• My lovely wife was gifted with a pair of tickets to see the Los Angeles Galaxy match this weekend. Never seen an MLS game, live or on TV. I enjoy soccer, so I'm expecting to have a good time.

Read Lately: The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly

• I am a very selective reader. Whether it's in words or pictures, there are too many options for me to slog through something I don't enjoy. So when I find an author that hits my buttons correctly (Can I still use that phrase in a non-ironic way?), I become a very loyal reader. Michael Connelly has become one of those authors.


• The Last Coyote, the fourth book of his Harry Bosch series, is an exemplary example (whee!) of the detective mystery genre. As it starts, Bosch has finally gone over the line with the LAPD and is on disciplinary leave. He may be freed from the burden of day-to-day casework but he is still driven by his mission to right the wrongs in his city. One wrong in particular, the murder of his mother.


• Any good mystery tells us as much about the detective as the crime being solved. In this case, the crime informs Bosch's character so much that to take him out of the story would destroy it in every way. The three previous novels in the series have only cement the groundwork upon which this tale plays out.


• Michael Connelly has by this point (I mean 1995 when the book was published. Duh.) already developed a natural writing style that is spare, but still evoking the look and feel of modern Los Angeles. His prose is fast moving and relentless in its pace. However character development does not suffer from the speed with which the book reads. Instead the intensity of the mystery casts his characterizations into high relief, sharpening their personalities and propelling their growth throughout the novel.


• My only nitpick is more due to the nature of the genre than with this book in particular. I much prefer for mysteries to be solved at the climax of the book. However in this novel, the tension peaks too early. Instead of resolving the mystery, you get a build to a second, much weaker climax before the end. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it feels forced more than anything. And for a novel that has done so much right to that point, it is a little disappointing.


• Nitpick aside, Michael Connelly is now on my list of go-to authors for when I need a new mystery. Thank goodness there are so many of his books I haven't gotten to, yet!

News Filter: We Need Another Fire Hydrant, Again

• For the second time since we moved into this house, someone collided with the fire hydrant outside the neighbor's house in a solo accident. Both times in the middle of the night. Last time, the guy was killed. This time the driver was able to continue about three or four houses down the road and seems to be okay.


• In both cases the vehicle had to cross from the opposite side of the street to collide with the hydrant. What is it about that hydrant that people just have to take a crack at it ever so often?


• The twenty foot geyser outside is kind of cool, though. The sounds reminds me of our vacation to Niagara Falls.