L2NightElf n00b!

It is often rare to meet with fellow MMORPG gamers IRL. Without meeting face to face, I often tend to associate the voices and persona with whatever video game character they currently play. Recently during my whirlwind California trip, I had the fortune to meet two WoWers that I used to play a lot with, Truflight and some vain druid beginning with Faa and ending with Lena.

I was exceedingly disappointed to discover that they were not Night Elves IRL. What travesty is this??!! I expected Truflight to come with his Epic Frostsaber and a giant monstrous, vicious, bloodthirsty crab following quickly behind. Vain Druid was to swoop in in epic flight form to pick some random flowers or something next to the hotel. What actually arrived to pick me up were two humans in a Prius.

Despite the initial shock, I soon realized that these people were actually really cool. They had set up a raid of a local seafood chain and just like IRG (In Real Game), we were on time and well prepared with the necessary gear (I quickly replaced Truflight's missing DreadPirate and gave vain druid the only thing that she lacked, a mirror with which to admire herself), enchantments (Nothing like Old Spice deodorant to cover up that none-showered, fresh off the power plant smell), and appetite for blood (or food in this instance).

The seafood was divine, never before had I tasted such great food. It probably boosted all my attributes for 15 minutes. We chatted about various things like what's the best way to farm for epic flying mounts, and what types of patterns to make while making aerial passes for mining nodes/herbs. The dinner passed quickly and soon we were off to the final challenge...the LVL???RB.

As soon as we got to the house, I realized this was indeed the home of Night Elves. The house contained a plethora of exotic animals, in this case, a house cat. I imagine the other animals were all in hiding in some tall tree to protect them from the sounds of battle against LVL???RB. After briefing entertaining the geeky side by scoping out their WoW UIs, I started the encounter. Unfortunately, we wiped several times during the first few attempts, but after recalibrating our gear, we soon rocked out.

Overall, it was a very nice evening and I look forward to future visits to other OOM members.

Houston: 3 Days since last Hurricane

You hear it on the news, but in person, it's even worse. On the drive back to Houston from College Station, as soon as I got into town, I started noticing things. Things like almost all the billboards are destroyed. Any high shop signs are either completely blown off or severely damage. Even highways signs show wind damage. There are still downed trees everywhere and piles of debris on the highways. None of the traffic lights I have run into function and you see makeshift power lines everywhere.

In my neighborhood, there are numerous fences that have been blown down or completely blown away all together. I don't really see any broken windows, but there is still significant debris on the roads. My house had its main fence get blown away, and my mom lost all of her potted plants. We had some minor water leakage as well. All in all though, I would say we came out well. We are also lucky in that we have power.

We aren't in Kansas anymore

Hopefully Hurricane won't blow my house away. Need to get prepared!!! California trip was fun, will try to update later....

Riverwalk and Hot pot

Spent a day in San Antonio over the weekend to show Princess Pineapple the Waterwalk and Alamo. At first we decided we would park at the motel and just walk over to the Riverwalk. However after walking about 100ft and noticing that we were definitely in a very very run-down part of town, we decided it was more practical and safer to drive.

Got to the Riverwalk rather late and at dinner ate this Italian placed called Paesanos. She had the Shrimp Paesano with Spaghetti, Lemon Butter, and Garlic and I had the Penne with Grilled Chicken, Mushrooms, Spicy Peppers and Tomato Cream. Pineapple didn't really like her choice as the shrimp in the Shrimp Paesano were too buttery and the accompanying pasta too bland. The Penne however was excellent. The chicken was marinated just right and the sauce was creamy with just a hint of spiciness. Pineapple ended up mixing her spaghetti with the sauce in the Penne and I ended up eating all the shrimp. The Tiramisu dessert was excellent and ended the meal on a high note. We walked around afterwords for about 3 hours looking at the various little shops and businesses that ringed the waterways, picking up many little gifts for my trip back to China.

The next day, we only had about 3 hours before having to head back to College Station for a birthday party so we made a very brief stop (~15 min? maybe) at the Alamo just to remember it...har har..and spent the other 2.75 hours walking around the Riverwalk again.

The birthday party in College Station was a blast though. The theme of the party was a hot pot style dinner followed with birthday cake and a heaping helping of Mafia. Everything went pretty well....except the birthday girl was busy attending another party and didn't arrive at this party until about 10 pm. By that time, we had already finished eating the hot pot (hunger >>> willingness to wait for guest of honor) so we went right to the birthday cake. The cake was an Oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and tasted so awesome. It's been quite a while since I had had any type of ice cream so perhaps that's why this one tasted particularly good. Mafia was good as always with much killing, either premeditated or otherwise random lynching by the mob.

Operation Redecoration

Over the labor day weekend, Princess Pineapple came over with a very important mission: to transform the upstairs into something a bit more hospitable. It was a lot of work as the place was really messy with random stuff lying everywhere, furniture arranged in non-optimal locations, and strange smells coming from the restroom area.

We ended up going to IKEA since they were having a labor day sale. We ended up getting a new chair, several containers, and even new shower curtains. After cleaning for an entire day, several rooms looked really nice. The computer room is now much cleaner and very uncluttered. The restrooms are soooo much cleaner and even smell nice! There is still a lot of work to do though, but time was running short so the project will be completed at a later date.

A Perfect Excuse to Crash a Castle

Going to get a yearly physical examination on Wednesday. What was that you say? Castle Crashers just so happens to be coming out 12 am Wednesday morning! Did I plan it like this so that I can get a leg up on the competition, could I be so conniving as to plan a doctor's visit JUST for this? I say no....

Moving Day

Spent the past weekend in College Station helping Princess Pineapple move in. Over the past summer, Pineapple had been practicing driving so this was the first big test. Despite impending dark clouds and some thundershowers, we all made it there with few difficulties. I got to meet all of Pineapple's MBA friends during a dinner party and I totally enjoyed the atmosphere as it reminded me of when I first came to the US and attended my parents' parties. Not particularly rich, but living a very happy life with lots of friends.
We played a different version of Mafia as well. The rules were significantly different and I think it made the game go by much faster. Rule changes were:

1. Multiple police and no medic. There were the same number of police as mafia but to balance the game, the mafia wins if they kill all villagers OR they kill all police.
2. Each person can only speak once per daytime turn. They talk, then say 'done' and the next person talks. I think this speeds up the game tremendously.
3. Deaths on first turn (night or day) have a chance to speak before they die.

We helped different people move in on Sunday and had lunch at another friend's apartment. Papaya gave me a ride back to Houston later that day and I treated him to dinner at Fuddruckers. Overall, a very good weekend!

Up next: Remodeling! Where Princess Pineapple transforms an ordinary bathroom and den with help from IKEA. Tune in next weekend!

Prince of Tennis

I finally "convinced" myself to take up tennis after forcibly buying a racket a couple of weeks ago. I have always wanted to learn how not to hit the ball out of the court and so far, things look kinda bleak. The main problem the first time out was that I only brought 1 can of balls. It's amazing how unfun it is to have to pick up tennis balls every 15 seconds. I should have borrowed BlupnutMM's lovable lab to come retrieve the balls for us.

Anyhow, my main playing partner is Papaya who after playing that incredibly unsatisfying trial, decided to buy a basket and 48 balls. Drive A here I come!

The Wii-eal Olympics

Sure sure, we have the Olympics going on in Beijing. The spectacular opening ceremony, the years of history, the records in the making. Who can forget the incredible come-from-behind victory in the 4x100 freestyle. (Freedom fries ftw!) However, the WII-eal Olympics happened over the weekend in my house. This spectacular event featured 9 competitors representing 3 nations from all over Texas! We had national anthems, national foods, and real Medals! (made in China...) We even had our own Olympic Mascot: Teddy the Lab!



The three nations represented were China, Hungary, and USA. Well, China was "slightly" over-represented, but with some creative naturalization, the BlupnutMM couple joined Papaya on team Hungary!

Breakdown of the teams:
China:
He of Many Cousins
Cucumbernator
PrincessPineapple

Hungary:
BlupnutMM
BlupnutMM's other half
Papaya

USA
Maximo Guru
BitterPotato
Cousin of He of Many Cousins

We kicked things off with a spectacular opening ceremony consisting of Rock Band and dinner (Eat your heart out Zhang Yimou). The original plan was to light the Olympic torch before the event, but we decided to help the IOC out and lent the torch to Beijing to light some other Flame for some other sporting event they were having. FedEx couldn't get it back in time!

Breakdown of Events and Winners:

Pin the Medal on the Wii-lympian!
Tagline: How can this NOT be an Olympic Event??!!
Winner: He of Many Cousins

Boxing:
Tagline: There can only be one survivor!
Winner: PrincessPineapple

Into the Pool!
100m Freestyle:
Tagline: B is to recover Stamina, not A
Winner: BlupnutMM's other half

4x100m IM Relay:
Tagline: Miis only have 1 style apparently...
Winner: He of Many Cousins

En Guarde!!
Fencing:
Tagline: My name is Inigo Montoya!
Winner: BlupnutMM's other half

Onto track and field!
110m Hurdles:
Tagline: Obviously the most important event, only fitting that China wins!
Winner: Cucumbernator

400m:
Tagline: It's about how long you can flap your arms!
Winner: BlupnutMM's other half

Archery:
Tagline: Big Game Hunters
Winner: He of Many Cousins

Gymnastics:
Tagline: A, B, B, B, A, Twist, B, A, B, Twist, B, B, B (for 30 lives...)
Winner: BlupnutMM

Single Sculls:
Tagline: You sank my Battleship!!!
Winner: Papaya (in classic come-from-behind fashion)

Table Tennis:
Tagline: In an event ruled by China, was there ever any doubt!!??
Winner: He of Many Cousins

At this point, we had a 4 way tie for Bronze so we had a winner take all event to break the tie!
Dream Race:
Tagline: Who the HELL hit me with all those stupid lightning bolts?????!!!
Winner: PrincessPineapple

China finished first in the medal count with 6 golds, Hungary was second with 5 golds, and team USA finished in 3rd. Of course, there are no winners and losers in the Olympics...but in the Wii-lympics there are, so take THAT team Hungary and USA! Did you all forget to eat your Wheaties??!!

What Olympics would it be if there wasn't a signature vocal performance? To cap the night off, we all went out to sing Karaoke. PrincessPineapple dazzled the crowd with Faye Wong vocalizations while Papaya wowed the masses with a mastery of Chinese lyrics.

The Cliffs of Insanity!!!!

Thanks to tropical storm Edouard, I got to spend the day yesterday away from the office. I was hoping for a storm of epic proportions, but it ended up just being lots of rain..what a a letdown! However, I was able to watch Red Cliff. I have always been a fan of the Three Kingdoms periods and overall, I think John Woo did a good job with Red Cliff. Here are my general impressions of how each of the characters was played and how they matched my "vision" of what they were supposed to be like.

Shu:

Liu Bei: Decent, the movie portrayed him as little more than a peasant. He had no martial abilities, no general vision for his future, and primary Musou attack was "fix straw shoes for everyone." They did emphasize his deeply righteous beliefs on how a ruler should act.

Zhuge Liang: Totally did not match the impression in my head. He doesn't speak eloquently, seems insecure all the time, and generally just frowns a lot. Also has Brokeback scene involving zithers with Zhou Yu which totally didn't work for me. He also fondles horse uterus.

Zhang Fei: Pretty good, they toned down his drinking, but kept his general profile to what I envisioned. Loud, obnoxious, always looking to pick a fight, and having strength of 100 men.

Guan Yu: Dynasty Warrior. Face not Red enough, no Red Hare, but they obviously paid tribute to Dynasty Warriors with this incarnation of Guan Yu. Speaks little but absolutely slaughters legions of troops with a single stroke of his halberd. It's almost as if troops were just walking up and impaling themselves since no matter where he swung, heads rolled. I could totally see the body-count counter rolling up every time he appeared. I think the best scene in the film to illustrate this is when Zhang Fei is trying to hold Chang Ban against overwhelming odds, Zhuge Liang rides in and Zhang Fei asks him "Where are the reinforcements???!!!" Zhuge Liang simply points, and you see Guan Yu mysteriously emerging from the fog of war and then proceeds to slay about 40 soldiers with 1 swipe of his halberd

Zhao Yun: A good portrayal. Loyal and fearless. The movie actually featured the battle of Changban bridge and I thought his charge was a lot more realistic in the number of enemies he slew.

Wu

Sun Quan: For some reason, all the leaders were portrayed as these frail little things that had no other abilities other than sitting there. Basically does nothing the whole movie except frown and make fun of Sun Shang Xiang (SSX).

Zhou Yu: Wow, he was portrayed really well. He's basically the perfect commander. Brilliant military tactics, superior martial abilities, and exceptional love-making skills. He demonstrates all three to a high degree in the film. In fact, I think his sexiness is so powerful that Zhuge Liang could not resist.

Gan Ning (Named Gan Xing in movie for some odd reason): Same attitude, same elite fighting abilities, no bells. Pretty good portrayal

Xiao Qiao: Token female. Passes the days petting horses and passing wanting glazes toward Zhou Yu. Her lines sucked, "Cao Cao has army of death bringing and will surely destroy all of us, but he lacks one thing that you have....friends!" all in that super high pitched annoying voice. This is one character that I wish matched its Dynasty Warriors counterpart. Give her some fans, and watch her run amok.

Sun Shang Xiang: My favorite character from the movie. This was the best portrayal and basically matches my impression of her perfectly. Sassy, sarcastic, me-against-world mentality, and total self confidence. Even though she has a relatively small role in the film, her scenes were always the ones I enjoyed.

Wei

Cao Cao: A little too conniving, backstabbing, plotting, and generally evil for me. In history, he was a very charismatic leader with many good traits. In the movie, he is basically portrayed as obsessed with bedding Xiao Qiao. They did perfectly portray his rashness and arrogance as a military strategist.

Zhang Liao??: Can't remember which general it was, but he is the only named general I remember on Wei who does anything significant. Basically gets his army destroyed, and runs away.

Various other Wei Generals: Only job is to provide the other generals with stat power-ups and morale boosts. They slay a few foot soldiers or peasants, then immediately gets cut down by a Shu or Wu general.

Hans Zimmer roXXor!

Was just looking around youtube and stumbled upon some Hans Zimmer music from movies. He's such a great director, I wonder if there is a "greatest hits" CD that he offers? It would really be cool too if somehow Harmonix scored these for Rock Band!

Crimson Tide
The Rock (Not the Wrestler....)
Gladiator

Time to brawl in the Toyota Center...

Umm, so apparently the Rockets have traded for Ron Artest. This actually seems like a pretty good trade, on paper. Artest brings hard-nosed defense, and an offensive (literally and figuratively) touch to the SF position currently occupied by Battier. This certainly increases the Rocket's offense and if they can rotate Battier, better defense as well. Plus it adds a layer of perceived toughness to a relatively soft Rocket's team. Now if McGrady and Yao can just stay healthy the whole season....

Shut up PETA

Some people just have nothing better to do than complain. Take this article for instance. Yes, shooting animals is bad, but where else would you rather troops practice triage on live subjects? Maybe draw straws and randomly shoot the soldiers who drew the shortest straws? Civilian volunteers? Shoot POWs?
They mention a trauma simulator but nothing really simulates treating real wounds like treating real wounds. If a few wounded pigs can provide the experience to save the life of even 1 soldier, I say shoot the pigs.

The Dark Knight

Went to see Dark Knight last night. I went into this movie with extremely high expectations resulting from all the hype and reviews of the movie. I am happy to say that this movie did not disappoint. All of the actors put in superb performances and the plot was just as well-written. Special props to Heath Ledger and his Joker portrayal. While this may be a Batman movie, Ledger totally stole the show with his dynamic performance. This all leads to the question of how can you possibly find a replacement villain for the Joker in the other movies? It was done that well.
Not going to mention anything about the plot for those who haven't watched it.

Beijing!

I love Beijing! =)

Rubik's Cube

Always been interested in these little puzzle boxes. I have seen people solve them really fast so I know there are some fundamental algorithms to doing it. Hopefully with some diligence, I can learn to solve these things fast too!

Hancock

Watched Hancock over the weekend on Saturday. I really didn't have any expectations for this movie as I didn't know anything about the plot or the history of the comic. Turns out, I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. One important thing I learned was that every superhero has 1 phrase which will just cause them to blow a gasket when uttered. Overall, I think Fe-Man still holds the crown of best superhero movie.

Watermelon Lore

What could be more scary than Vampire Watermelons? This is just too amusing to me, especially the part where it states:

"The belief in vampire fruit is similar to the belief that any inanimate object left outside during the night of a full moon will become a vampire. According to tradition, watermelons or any kind of pumpkin kept more than ten days or after Christmas will become a vampire, rolling around on the ground and growling to pester the living. People have little fear of the vampire pumpkins and melons because of the creatures' lack of teeth."

Fission Mailed!! Almost

Saturday was the big Crawfish boil. Last time, there were some complaints that the crawfish were a bit too spicy so for this second round, I got the usual 30 lbs of regular and an additional 10 lbs of mild. This turned out to be a mistake because the mild ones basically had no taste. It was like eating boiled crawfish with no seasoning. On really bad thing that happened was I had invited one of my coworkers to attend this party and I had completely forgotten that the coworker did not eat seafood at all. So this led to a very awkward moment when we were preparing to eat:

Me: Okay, have a seat
Coworker: Gives me this blank look
Me: You don't like Crawfish?
Coworker: I don't eat seafood, remember?
Me: Ohhh crap...

It was particularly bad as there was no other food available except for some cookies and grass jelly drink. The coworker just ended up playing Rock Band upstairs while the rest of us gorged.

Besides that little blunder, the rest of the evening went off very well. We spent quite a bit of time playing Rock Band and Mafia. Originally, we were supposed to go Karaoking, but time constraints led us to just have a really late dinner (~10:30) at this Chinese restaurant and calling it a night.

All the pretty Horses

Borrowed from a Chinese Website: How many horses do you see?