tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77383690518453037202024-03-13T19:28:35.681-03:00Speed FairyMirror mirror, on the wall... who's the fastest of them all?Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-73161232383544571192015-12-19T18:48:00.000-03:002016-01-04T00:40:35.506-03:00Someone else's birthday<i>Most people think of podding as pain and death.<br />
<br />
I like to think of it as a birthday. The day you are born again. A chance for renewal. Maybe an opportunity to set things straight.<br />
<br />
The point being, getting podded is not all bad. It can be good for the soul, good for you. Maybe not the podding but what comes after, that's really something to look forward to. Your new life. The day you are reborn.<br />
<br />
Your birthday.<br />
<br />
<b>So Happy Birthday to You</b>!<br />
<br />
</i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEs89EtK-6P73Z2YSznm4_64gq4LIG8HB1Ps3AQse5Dp8-XVb4LDOjnBUw69ijsoUCRXlL6adx7oXuFkCgz0JyJsbTp5nzaCQh4hewRD-v3rdQ_OLnPkKgPOUBFDl2zv4JpjT1u9SeX7w/s1600/2015.08.26.03.55.22.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEs89EtK-6P73Z2YSznm4_64gq4LIG8HB1Ps3AQse5Dp8-XVb4LDOjnBUw69ijsoUCRXlL6adx7oXuFkCgz0JyJsbTp5nzaCQh4hewRD-v3rdQ_OLnPkKgPOUBFDl2zv4JpjT1u9SeX7w/s320/2015.08.26.03.55.22.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>BLAM<br />
<br />
Bitch.<br />
<br />
(Comms, standby for killmail.)<br />
<br />
</i>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-42661812973954740402014-02-16T03:14:00.000-03:002016-04-21T22:59:04.233-03:00Perpetual Motion: Rituals<i>Every society, every culture has its own rituals; ceremonies, rites of passage, coming of age or passing away. Amarrian rites stand out as so very formal, Matari so passionate; they all serve this basic need that people seem to have, of marking changes. And everyone has their own personal little rituals, in their very own way.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Because, you know, those little rituals do help.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
--<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Age seventeen: Tash-Murkon Prime</b><br />
<br />
"Miss Catherine."<br />
<br />
"Yes?"<br />
<br />
"Everything is ready, <i>mademoiselle.</i>"<br />
<br />
"Thank you, I will just need a few minutes."<br />
<br />
I cut the comms and sighed. It was time to say goodbye.<br />
<br />
I walked determined across the House until I reached the door to my bedroom and knocked, knowing there was no one inside. You know... to hear the sound just once more. I knew that door so well -its heft, how to push it exactly so it would not slam... or <i>exactly so it would</i>- how to listen to sounds muffled behind it, how to block it from House control. I opened it slowly and stepped in.<br />
<br />
"Goodbye my bedroom," I said to the now empty space. The intricate golden ornaments of the household were there but all my things were gone. It looked smaller, somehow, without the furniture and stuff lying around. It used to be such a mess. And it felt weird like... someone else's already. Of course it wasn't mine: it was tidy.<br />
<br />
I looked around as I slowly walked back, picturing every thing the way they used to look, posters, dresser, my backpack, holodesk. Coming out of the bedroom and through my personal quarters, I ran my hand over a massive wooden table that would have to stay. "Goodbye. I am sorry I cannot take you along." The texture of the wood felt so rich and smooth to the touch and the grain looked beautiful; along with the dark hue it had this sense of power, old power and secret deals. I have found similar in boardrooms since, but I bet they don't know half of what mine did of overnights and study, of friends and confessions, of breakfast, of passing out. "I will miss you, you know that."<br />
<br />
The family chambers, right outside mine, were still full of the trappings of family life. Maybe a bit less, maybe a bit older now. It had been a family of four long ago, and then three. Now it would become a family of two. Maybe it was too big now. Or maybe dad would be transferred and it would be assigned to be the home to some other family and some other teenager. Well, that is the way it goes, is it not?<br />
<br />
"Goodbye, my home," I said to myself.<br />
<br />
The household staff were assembled by the door. They were a diverse bunch, gallies and takis, jin-meis and whatnot; from dad's embassy liaison, to the cook, to mom's nurse. Among them, they never found a single spy. Maybe there even was not one.<br />
<br />
I said goodbye to each and every one, mentioning little personal details, sending regards to their families and presenting each with a small formal parting gift. Yah, one acquires some local customs after so many years. There were smiles and tears too, those were definitely imports.<br />
<br />
I took a long last look at my home. Former home. The next time I came it would be as a visitor and I knew it would not feel the same.<br />
<br />
I turned to the head of the household staff, "Mr. Asahir, I am ready."<br />
<br />
The man in front of me made a quick gesture and I felt familiar hands fitting a cloak on my shoulders. We had always disputed that, I would insist on wearing the cloak myself, he would argue that it demeaned staff to be deprived of their rightful duties. Stubborn old man.<br />
<br />
So for the last time I rolled my eyes at him, smiling.<br />
<br />
"The transport will take you to the Consulate where your family awaits; they will then see you to the spaceport. Your luggage will be transferred directly to your new lodging in Luminaire. Will there be anything else?"<br />
<br />
"Will you please take care of them."<br />
<br />
The Nefantar smiled wryly. "Of course, Miss Catherine. You need not ask."<br />
<br />
"Goodbye Hort," I said knowing how he disliked that nickname. "Thank you for everything you have done for us. For me."<br />
<br />
"Goodbye <i>mademoiselle.</i>"<br />
<br />
"Goodbye everyone, take care."<br />
<br />
Goodbye old life.<br />
<br />
Hello new adventure.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<i>Moving is always a painful occasion. Sometimes you do not understand the significance until much later. Sometimes you do understand and -especially when you have staid somewhere long enough to grow roots- maybe that makes it all the more painful. It hurts.<br />
<br />
But you find ways to cope with it. Maybe moving was an exception not to be repeated and you find a bright future in your new home. Or maybe a new adventure which will last you all of fifteen minutes, until you have to move again.<br />
<br />
So you come up with your own little rituals. Rites of passage for easing the pain, to remember what you used to love of your old life, or to embrace your new life with passion. For rituals mark change, and change is what you make of it. I choose change to be good.<br />
<br />
Here is to good change. Cheers,<br />
<br />
Q<br />
</i>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-40501723643855155982011-11-05T15:35:00.008-03:002011-11-07T01:10:29.375-03:00Racing Loss<em>There is often a time when one grows attached to something. Something, as in a thing, as opposed to a person or any other kind of living being. An inanimate object.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, one grows attached to this object because... who knows? Do you have one? Something you may have had by your side for so long, or that has become a trusty sidekick, maybe the secret of your success? Or saved your life? So many reasons...<br />
</em><br />
--<br />
<br />
I know it sounds silly.<br />
<br />
Capsuleers, for us it it usually our ships. And for me, it was <em><a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/01/wing-and-prayer.html">'A Wing and a Prayer'</a></em>. Oh, how I love her... my second racer, ever, and together we grabbed the T1 championship, what, four years ago already? Large polycarbon rigs which I crafted myself, some other special equipment and that nice emblem on her sides...<br />
<br />
I did something very stupid today.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>5 November 113, NE-RA Season 2.0 Race 1<br />
The Bleak Lands</strong><br />
<br />
Hello, I am Catherine Delorois and I am team Scuderia Caille's manager in the pro racing circuit. I do not race anymore, or so they say. If you remember last season...<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Well, for starters I did retire last season and went planetside. (Of course we all know how this goes, hotshot retires then keeps away from the sport, runway, politics, movies or whatever, then after much expectation comes back to glory and sponsors. Then more often than not gets injured, falls on her behind, melts down, is caught red-handed or whatever, then hotshot retires for good). I am still retired.</blockquote><br />
Today was the first race of a new season. A full hour before the race I was still retired. A few minutes before the race I decided to support the team an show up flying a frigate... of course it would be fine, being the hotshot that I am, with the best implants and racing equipment, with my racing legend ship and kickass team, what could go wrong?<br />
<br />
I am feeling like such a <em>idiot voyant:</em> I so fell flat on my ass. To make a long story short, the Amamake waypoint was camped, I was not careful enough and out of practice, so horribly out of practice.<br />
<br />
My clone I can restore, but I am going to miss the <em>Wing</em>.<br />
<br />
For the details, you can check <a href="http://addictedtoeve.blogspot.com/2011/11/nera-season-20-kicks-off.html">Kay's account</a> of the race.<br />
<br />
The <em>Wing.</em> It feels as if I have been unfair to her, putting her at risk in racing so... <em>carelessly.</em> She was (is? Do frigates go to ship heaven?) unique and she was mine. But otherwise, what could it have been, a museum piece? A ship belonging to a pre-nerf era long gone? Or a <em>comme-si comme-ça</em> racer, a slowpoke relic racing amongst Dramiels? Museum or last place? Forgotten until sometime I go planetside for good? And then what?<br />
<br />
But she went in a shower of sparks. Racing fearless at the forefront, unafraid of tricky waypoints and fighting for the top spot in the class. I had not felt this way since a couple of years when I stopped racing, and it felt <strong>great</strong>. I like to think she was meant to go that way, in an electrifying move, doing what she does best.<br />
<br />
So, my <em>Wing,</em> we both died today and although only one of us is back, I am going to miss you. I am happy it happened when we were racing together. You were truly my wingmate and you were my Champion Ship.<br />
<br />
<em>Merci pout tout.</em><br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://go-dl.eve-files.com/media/corp/quin/Wing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 412px; height: 262px;" src="http://go-dl.eve-files.com/media/corp/quin/Wing.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>Racing Series</strong><br />
See <a href="/2011/06/racing-not.html">what happened before</a><br />
Wait for what happens next</span><br />
</div>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-63689975278569281452011-10-02T23:50:00.002-03:002011-10-02T23:52:20.472-03:00Eejit"So, where shall we go?" he said.<br />
<br />
"Somewhere expensive!"<br />
<br />
He took me to the NEX store.<br />
<br />
:(Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-42602131552538858602011-07-20T23:10:00.001-04:002015-06-16T18:33:26.386-03:00Perpetual Motion: Hints<b>Age twentysix, Metropolis</b><br />
<br />
<i>Quin, wake up.</i><br />
<br />
I was curled up lying sideways in bed, with the duvet pulled into a nice cabbage around me. There is only one way to sleep, dear, and this is it.<br />
<br />
Now leave me alone.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<i>Quin, wake up.</i><br />
<br />
My eyes were so puffy I could barely open them. You know how it feels when it is warm under the covers and everything else behind a slightly colder haze. You don't even want to move. At all. Maybe except your feet. I can stay for hours lying in bed, just slowly moving my feet and my toes. It's a gift.<br />
<br />
So I did not even bother to open my eyes, wanting just five more minutes, five more.<br />
<br />
Go. Away.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<i>Quin, wake up.</i><br />
<br />
"Oh please, make it stop."<br />
<br />
Yup, because waking up can be ignored only so much.<br />
<br />
I turned and stretched, yawning lazily. Nice bed. I opened my eyes and looked straight at... the ceiling, wondering where I had woken up, the baritone voice being about the only thing I recognised around me. I looked for clues, as usual.<br />
<br />
After a second yawn I noticed the <b>sounds</b>, there was rain mixed with this incessant hum that could be air conditioning in the room, plus something vaguely industrial far away.<br />
<br />
I rubbed my eyes. <b>Ceiling</b>, yes, as unrecognisable as the sounds, with a metallic yet unpolished look with a hint of rust. I spy... a Republic-style building?<br />
<br />
<b>Sounds of water</b>. Not rain, coming from behind a door, so maybe a shower. Someone showering? Had I spent the night with...? Yah -you go ahead and laugh- I could NOT remember who I had spent the night with, or even if.<br />
<br />
It had better been amazing.<br />
<br />
Propped on an elbow, I looked for <b>stuff</b>. The clothes lying around were mine, as was the suitcase, so it was probably my place. Hotel room? No trace of whathisname's stuff, not even a shirt.<br />
<br />
Ah, <b>the shower</b>. You know how it sounds different, like movement, when someone is in the shower but it sounds flat when no one is? The rain also sounds alive by the way but this one was flat, so the shower was likely empty. Either that, or there was a body in the shower, ha, ha. Ew.<br />
<br />
Alone, bummer, and that was my wake-up shower.<br />
<br />
<b>Earrings</b>, my last clue. I reached for my left earlobe and counted: one, two, three. Clone number three, in other words, Business Clone. <i>Money Me.</i><br />
<br />
So:<br />
<br />
Republic hotel, by myself and wearing my business clone? I remembered, barely. I was in Teonusude for a marketing pitch, having clone-jumped and flown in on the previous evening for dinner and a whole night of sleep.<br />
<br />
I am very good at sleeping, by the way. Not so good at waking up.<br />
<br />
And I needed to be in top shape because, racer history would not matter. I had to show off my keen sense of market, the fact that I can buy my own expensive stuff and justify that yes, hiring the real deal would cost them dearly. They would not care how many Nomads I had plugged in some other clone, if my mind and my +5's right here were dozing off and wandering somewhere else.<br />
<br />
Anyway, it was time to get ready.<br />
<br />
"Mirror, mirror," I asked out loud, "Is there time for a bath today? And will you please find me an actual mirror?"<br />
<br />
The baritone replied "Quin, you have a meeting scheduled in three hours. This room is not equipped with a holo mirror, although you may use the reflective membrane on the wall as per local custom."<br />
<br />
Reflective membrane... a flat mirror?! How precious! Ever tried one yourself? I know it takes getting used to and you end up twirling and twisting your neck so you can not really <em>look</em> at yourself -which was the whole point of this mirror concept to begin with. But it is such a quaint thing, and the feeling that you have to use this ancient object in the same way they used to, in the old days. Like an Amarrian Holder Princess of yore, ha!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiw_fmQW1igY-hALn8sTZbC4TmsOll0Cv0pyi-_bRMIK4vQK2cOvYldSOIwNKQukI33IBRaZ64xTiSulbRaChblCdTWN_3w9yGs2BKBVMrMxxgv6xMx0w5SMYJ0iO0OPhNtci7hzfsLg/s1600/Quin+mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiw_fmQW1igY-hALn8sTZbC4TmsOll0Cv0pyi-_bRMIK4vQK2cOvYldSOIwNKQukI33IBRaZ64xTiSulbRaChblCdTWN_3w9yGs2BKBVMrMxxgv6xMx0w5SMYJ0iO0OPhNtci7hzfsLg/s320/Quin+mirror.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
As I stood up I found what looked like a window into another room and saw... myself, looking back. A flat mirror, how cool! It had been years since I had used one but, you know how it is, once you learn how you never forget. Only last time it had been mounted on a proper golden frame. <br />
<br />
Bath! Right. "Please cancel the shower and prepare the bath."<br />
<br />
"Quin," the AI voice said, "the shower is currently in use."<br />
<br />
Oh?<br />
<br />
I turned around, surprised, and walked back towards the closed door, listening carefully for any extra hint. Clone jumping always messes my mind up, but maybe there was enough time to remember what I was up to last night.<br />
<br />
"In that case," I grinned, reaching for the door, "please order breakfast for two."<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<i>You get used to it, and even come up with ways of coping. Ways of making it appear interesting or even funny, the fact that sometimes you may even not have a place regular enough to call home.<br />
<br />
So you smile, you laugh. At every chance, every little thing you observe. The way people walk, or that silly monocle, or how the sun feels different or moves the wrong way. Because it is new, true or not, it should be exciting, and finding excitement in the little things, that makes all the big changes worth it.<br />
<br />
And it keeps you going.<br />
</i>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-38096957930236615582011-06-01T22:48:00.004-04:002015-04-28T21:36:10.910-03:00Racing notIt feels odd that, upon the start of a new racing season I should be writing about not racing. Yet here I go.<br />
<br />
<i>Hello, I am Quin and I am not a racer.</i><br />
<br />
Well, for starters I did retire last season and went planetside. (Of course we all know how this goes, hotshot retires then keeps away from the sport, runway, politics, movies or whatever, then after much expectation comes back to glory and sponsors. Then more often than not gets injured, falls on her behind, melts down, is caught red-handed or whatever, then hotshot retires for good). I am still retired.<br />
<br />
Then there is this little thing about the team. We were once two teams, Kay's Dragonstar and Quin's Scuderia Caille. Then we were Scuderia Dragonstar and it was the best of times. Now due to corporate politics we have had to split the team, which albeit done on the friendliest of terms still resulted in, you guessed it, two teams. Kay will race with Dragonstar and I will not-race with Scuderia Caille.<br />
<br />
Which leaves us one little problem: racers. DS is welcoming all racers her corp's bigot policy (sorry, I just said that - but it's a sport for goodness' sake!) will not allow her, which leaves SC quite weak in numbers. Demon, our frigates champion, seems to be as retired as I am; Searaph is around but not with SC; Lief is probably racing away from police as the good smuggler he is. Our roster so far includes two.<br />
<br />
Which by the way is ironic as we started out as an the University of Caille racing team, an inclusive bunch that reaches across borders, affiliation and ethnicity in order to go fast, have fun and learn. And this gets us? Two racers.<br />
<br />
Not that I have been doing much team management work either. I went planetside, remember?<br />
<br />
So I am not racing and am torn between placing my racers with someone else, while maybe putting SC on ice... or coming up with something for the team that is completely crazy and as fun as competitive racing once was. I have talked to some of the other team managers about placement and they have been nothing but supportive. Thank you, by the way :)<br />
<br />
Anyway, last Saturday was the first race of the season and what did we have? One racer showed up.<br />
<br />
Nicoletta's first race ever (did I mention she is also a rookie?) ended up with her taking 3rd place in the AF podium. Not bad. Even though she was a team unto herself (I refuse to say 'racing alone') we were on comms during most of the race, sharing tips and hints and trying to figure out where she was. Besides, she did not blow up which is like doing twice better than I did on my very first race.<br />
<br />
Waitaminute...<br />
<br />
First race, not blowing up, podium? Hey, not too bad at all!<br />
<br />
Still, I'm really wondering about what to do next.<br />
<br />
Maybe we need to be closer to our roots as a team - remember when in season 3 we kicked ass and took numbers? And though we were the best frigates team out there we still got zero season score due to our not meeting the requirements to register as a corporate team. And we did not care a bit about not getting points.<br />
<br />
Or maybe our mission is to really be the little league of the sport. All we need is a few good newbies and good instructors, as when we registered for S4. To teach the racers of tomorrow! And looking back, I do feel proud about SC racers joining other teams and showing what they've got. That's what we said back then we would do: teach people. And we did it!<br />
<br />
Or this could be a business opportunity. Want to race? Want to ride shotgun with the pros? So we go into the consulting business to help a team, any team or teams, beat the others. Our racing R&D is still unrivaled off and on the track - who flies frigates with large polycardboard rigs? Who developed the away-from-can opening? The jump-clone shortcut? The blind warp? SC did, that's who.<br />
<br />
Possibilities, endless possibilities...<br />
<br />
So be warned. We are still at the track, one way or the other. A blip in your overview, a shadow in your rear-view mirror, a system ahead, sniping at you in chat. One way or the other...<br />
<br />
We are good. We are creative. We are Scuderia Caille.<br />
<br />
And we are BACK.<br />
<br />
<br />
Q<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>Racing Series</strong><br />
See <a href="/2009/12/racing-dev-blog.html">what happened before</a><br />
See <a href="/2011/11/racing-loss.html">what happened next</a></span><br />
</div>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-74973047636508300222011-03-19T17:51:00.001-03:002011-03-19T20:25:47.858-03:00Cee Vee<em><br />
It is midnight and the man pushing the cart down the street stops to catch his breath. If it only were easier. A life of hardship has taught him to be strong, to be steadfast, but he has always wondered, and even now, looking up at some of the lighted housing in the arcology. He wonders how it would be if he had a life like that.<br />
<br />
It is midnight and inside, another man stands up from his paper-covered desk and walks to the window. Oblivious to the man and his cart downstairs, he is too worried to notice. Expenses, mortgage, payments, ends having to meet; his climb up the corporate ladder slower than anticipated and now changes with the new CEO. There are needs that must be filled. If he only had a chance...<br />
<br />
It is midnight and the new CEO looks down her domain from the top floor building. The pressure, the people, the petty strife amongst corporate divisions; public appearances and secret negotiations. Right now, she would rather be free amongst the stars, flying from planet to planet until she chose another star, any star in the sky and start over. If she only could fly like they do...</em><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
It was midnight and I put the finishing touches to a description of my entire life. It is grossly unfair to sum it up on just a handful of pages, but that is the way it must be. And if I spent any more time making it perfect, I would show up and next day's interview being sleepy, grumpy, stupid and with bags under my eyes. Not the best first impression, I am afraid.<br />
<br />
I hate job hunting. Hate it, with passion.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<em>Interviewer X> Can you tell me about your combat experience?<br />
<br />
Quin> I have, ah, seen combat.<br />
<br />
X> Do you have any killboard references?<br />
<br />
Q> Not really. But here, see, I have two kills.<br />
<br />
X raises an eyebrow> Two kills in four years?</em><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
I do not know which part I hate the most, whether it is the constant application/rejection cycle, or the part where I have to pretend to be someone I am not, just because everyone else pretends.<br />
<br />
Okay, I get it. Really. Eggs must be broken to make an omelet. You have to apply a hundred times to get one acceptance. I do not have to like it, do I?<br />
<br />
What I find disgusting out there is the sheer amount of people wanting to oversell themselves and embellish their life with fantastic details. Should I pretend as well, or is it better to be honest up front?<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<em>Interviewer Y> What are your best strengths as a pilot?<br />
<br />
Q> I can go fast. I used to race in the pro circuit, you know.<br />
<br />
Y> So you are a tackler...<br />
<br />
Q> Yes, I could be.<br />
<br />
Y> Could? You are either a tackler, or are not. What else do you consider a strength?</em><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
So I do not pretend and that usually lands me in trouble. Or, rather than trouble, -here is to positive thinking- saves me the time and effort of attending a second or third interview with the same people.<br />
<br />
I have been saving a lot of time and effort lately.<br />
<br />
Everyone else pretends. Then again everyone else is, well, <em>not me</em>. They have skills people want around here. Maybe I am looking in the wrong spot?<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<em>Interviewer Z> Your CV states you are committed pacifist; you also state you have trained Advanced Weapon Upgrades to level 5...<br />
<br />
Q> I am an angry pacifist.<br />
<br />
Z> What makes you think you are a good fit to our corporation?<br />
<br />
Q> I think that people skills are a valuable contribution to any organisation. I mean, you can have all the technical stuff in place but your corp still needs the right approach to people to work and endure in time. The current skillpoint system does not really reflect that...<br />
<br />
Z> Oh. Okay. Shall we... Is there anything you would like to know about us?</em><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
Or maybe I am the wrong candidate?<br />
<br />
The worse that I have been called? I would say it was me being 'management material without management experience.' I think the proper answer to that one is feeling somewhere between flattered and insulted. Like I would be just right for the job if I did not know jack shit. Small detail.<br />
<br />
I think I may be doing this the wrong way. I have been out of the picture for too long now, out of the loop. Maybe there is something I could do to make myself fit better, a skill or certification that looks good on my CV but is something real, substantive and useful. That way, I would not have to pretend being someone I am not. Rather, I would be interesting because of what I can actually do. Because of who I am. Which, incidentally, is the same woman I was before, only now with a nice certificate on the wall.<br />
<br />
I think that's it: I am off to learn some skills.<br />
<br />
I still hate job hunting, though.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<em><br />
What do people see when they look at capsuleers? Giants, gods, monsters, mythical creatures, insufferable snobs, unreachable heights?<br />
<br />
Capsuleers are not gods, just people as well like everybody else. We bleed, we die, we look for acceptance, we look for a life to call our own. There are needs that must be filled, because we are human. And because we are human, it does not matter how many things one gets for granted.<br />
<br />
There are still needs that must be filled.<br />
</em>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-27339493909960431122010-11-02T22:48:00.001-03:002010-11-02T23:13:03.804-03:00Racing Blob<strong>November 109, ISGC Season 4<br />
Race 3: Sinq Laison</strong><br />
<br />
This race was nuts. I mean, I can barely recall all the way back to Season 4* but whoever was there for race 2 will remember that one, such a complete and utter mess that it was. Complete. Utter. Mess.<br />
<br />
The race region was Sinq Laison, home of Uni of Caille (rah!). Back then we were mostly a UC student team, we flew as <em>Scuderia Caille</em> and were the shiny underdog to Kay's all-star <em>DragonStar</em> and Takashi's challenging <em>Venture Racing Team</em>. But Sinq is <em>our</em> region and we were flying as locals. We had something to prove.<br />
<br />
Speaking of locals, by the way, Sinq is also home to Rancer and a whole lot of fun people who like to hang out with blasters and gatecamps. They do not take lightly on trespassers because, you know, it is <em>their</em> region.<br />
<br />
You do not have to live in 0.0 to see the problem there.<br />
<br />
That was, at least, what we expected.<br />
<br />
We started out in Auberulle for the pre-race. Gyra had warned us that she would be a bit late, she had been having other commitments during the week and had had to outsource the track to someone else, but finally made it to host the race. She gave us the undock signal and, like lovely little lemmings that we are, we hit the first few waypoints: <strong>Olettiers, Rancer, Miroitem</strong>. Not finding the dreaded space pirates was a big relief but also a bit meh, we had been wondering how to evade them. Maybe it was pirate day.<br />
<br />
We did not stick around for long anyway and went on to the next waypoints deeper into lowsec, <strong>Lamadent, Otou and Rorsins</strong>.<br />
<br />
I know you must be thinking <em>but Quin, what about the race itself? Like, who was in front and who was falling behind?</em><br />
<br />
The answer: what difference does it make? It all went wrong starting waypoint seven. But now that you ask and just for the record, I would like to point out that I got there first.<br />
<br />
<strong>Waypoint seven, Thelan.</strong><br />
<br />
[ 21:01:09 ] Quintrala > can 7 empty?<br />
[ 21:01:26 ] Kayleigh Jamieson > Can 7 empty<br />
[ 21:01:28 ] Takashi Kurosawa > Yes I think so too<br />
[ 21:01:33 ] Saithe > is it just me or is there notging in wp7<br />
<br />
There, see? I just wasted twentyfour perfectly good seconds, waiting.<br />
<br />
A racer ages about a year in that time.<br />
<br />
Gyra directed us to <strong>WP eight, Crielere</strong> which meant going back through Rancer again, ugh :/<br />
<br />
[ 21:05:50 ] Quintrala > wp8 empty too?<br />
[ 21:05:59 ] Kayleigh Jamieson > Um, WP8 appears empty as well.<br />
[ 21:06:22 ] Kazuo Ishiguro > Ok, where's wp 9?<br />
<br />
How is it that they say? "Once is an accident, twice is coincidence..."<br />
<br />
We were directed to <strong>WP nine, Ambeke</strong><br />
<br />
[ 2007.11.11 21:08:37 ] Takashi Kurosawa > I cannot open can at WP9<br />
[ 2007.11.11 21:08:44 ] Quintrala > bad password at Ambe<br />
[ 2007.11.11 21:08:49 ] Kayleigh Jamieson > This is so not my day :(<br />
<br />
From there onwards, almost every single waypoint was messed up in some way or another. WP10 had the wrong password, as did WP12 to WP14. While we waited, we even appreciated the irony of WP11 being okay. Gyra only knew the right password so she could not help beyond following the rules, that is, waiting for the second racer to report an error and then direct the pack to the next waypoint. Every time this happened, the few in front of the pack got delayed and the ones in the back had time to catch up.<br />
<br />
The result? We were pretty much a racing blob.<br />
<br />
<strong>WP15 Olettiers VII - Asteroid Belt 4</strong><br />
<br />
[ 2007.11.11 21:25:01 ] Quintrala > bad Wp 15<br />
[ 2007.11.11 21:25:11 ] Kazuo Ishiguro > Finish line?<br />
[ 2007.11.11 21:25:12 ] Takashi Kurosawa > confirmed<br />
[ 2007.11.11 21:25:13 ] Kayleigh Jamieson > Coonf<br />
<br />
See, right there? That was me, 10 seconds in the lead. Which, by the time ISGC confirmed, looked up and typed the finish line, would have evaporated. That's like a hour of flying, with 10 seconds to show for it, already gone by in the time it took you to read this but now that everyone was around I could be first as easily as last.<br />
<br />
Unless... it occurred to me that it was not the destination but the journey what mattered: I would just pick a gate and warp. What was the worst that could happen? Did anyone know where to go next? Tell you what, certainly not at the can.<br />
<br />
So how many gates did we have in that system? Four. <em>Eenie, Minnie, Manny, Moe... Dondenvale!</em><br />
<br />
I warped off, fingers crossed. If I was wrong, I would just have to do the exact same thing everyone else would: warp to the correct gate. Nothing lost with trying, that is, if Gyra so kindly waited to announce until I had already landed at the Dodenvale gate. Now if the announcement caught me mid-warp...<br />
<br />
Of course, the announcement came in when I was nine seconds into my warp: <strong>FINISH: Unel IX - Chemal Tech Factory</strong><br />
<br />
I frantically punched the new navi data as my destination and, as a result, one gate in my overview lighted up in yellow. It <em>was</em> Dodenvale.<br />
<br />
Just in time, I jumped on contact while they were all in mid-warp behind me :)<br />
<br />
As it turns out it was a short, mad dash to the finish line. The entire blob was docked within two minutes of the winner. Kay was fourth, Tak was second and I... I had beaten him by those exact same nine seconds I had gambled back at Olettiers, yay!<br />
<br />
After all that practice, after trying so hard... my first interceptor win!<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Race results: annulled<br />
<br />
ISGC Gyra: ... for those that attended will attest to the complete chaos that ensued during this evening's race.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
This event will be considered an exhibition, or practice exercise, and will not be counted towards the League scores. We will return to Sinq Laison at the end of the season as a make up event. For those interested in the details, I have provided track information and a <a class="postlink" href="http://www.pleasure-hub.com/data/isgc/season4/sinq_time.jpg">raw data</a> of the performances from the participants that attended this evening.</blockquote><br />
Damit.<br />
<br />
At least we met no pirates on the way. **<br />
<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
* ((I can not remember so I cheat. Having a crap laptop helps, it is full of logs that go back forever.))<br />
<br />
** ((Stay tuned if you want to know what happens when you get this false sense of security around dodgy places..))<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>Racing Series</strong><br />
See <a href="/2009/02/racing-blind.html">what happened before</a><br />
See <a href="/2009/02/racing-spy.html">what happened next</a></span><br />
</div>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-15052719860133323452010-10-15T12:12:00.005-03:002016-01-21T22:27:26.270-03:00Perpetual Motion: People<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEH0PNiRfVtKi5-g44HZIRJqv5Hh9X3tJNvQGP5kz2Zvh8y20646MDjaDsxTA6AI5-dnvGTn5iidNK9y4HSNrZBf5GgpB9qQlbU3Hx60Gqobhu2KTMeb0cQ-5GHp8mq0HWHRH7DxWHS-Y/s1600/Departure.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528285934087393378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEH0PNiRfVtKi5-g44HZIRJqv5Hh9X3tJNvQGP5kz2Zvh8y20646MDjaDsxTA6AI5-dnvGTn5iidNK9y4HSNrZBf5GgpB9qQlbU3Hx60Gqobhu2KTMeb0cQ-5GHp8mq0HWHRH7DxWHS-Y/s400/Departure.jpg" style="height: 400px; width: 327px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>At some point in your life you realize that it is not <a href="https://www.blogger.com/2010/01/perpetual-motion.html">places</a> but people that make you feel home.<br />
<br />
So it is only natural that, as you leave places behind, you will want to bring your people along. A gift, a memento, a promise to write or to call, maybe visit. A social network link because, you know, you will also be chatting, talking, conferencing each other face to face across the chasm. Like being home.<br />
<br />
Is it not great? Keeping in touch with people is so much easier than keeping in touch with places.<br />
<br />
And maybe, if you are lucky, you will meet them again somewhere.</i><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<b>Age ten: Pator</b><br />
<br />
Sitting on the rocks next to the beach, I was holding my knees to my chest while Taro basked in the sun, lying on his back with one leg dipping lazily in the water. The murmur of the ocean blanketed everything and was a lovely background to idle chat.<br />
<br />
"Dunno. Journalist. An artist like Maman," I said, "something with people, definitely."<br />
<br />
Taro chuckled "Like <i>your</i> mom? I hope not. She's fierce."<br />
<br />
He had been one of my first friends back in Eram and one those who had left ahead of us. As it turns out when it had been time for my family to move out, dad's next assignment had been Pator. Down in Matar, actually.<br />
<br />
Have you seen it? Of course everybody <i>knows</i> about Matar, the cradle of the Republic and everything, but have you <i>seen</i> it? From above it is this beautiful blue ocean world, with green dots here and there for people to live on. And on the ground, from the snowy mountain ranges to the plains and deserts to the jungle islands... oh, my favourite part used to be the islands. We lived on an island.<br />
<br />
This is was where Taro's family had <i>returned to.</i> this was their 'home.' By some amazing coincidence we had ended up living on the very same island where they hailed from and it was cool because some of mom's old friends from Eram also were there.<br />
<br />
Someday I would learn to do that, to arrange coincidence the way mom did. ;)<br />
<br />
Anyway, funny how knowing someone from my previous life had helped so very much when I arrived... how long had it been, five years now? How time flies. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath of salty ocean air. It felt great.<br />
<br />
I felt home.<br />
<br />
I swear there must be this law of the universe that says whenever I start feeling at home, it is time to move to some other planet. I did not want to tell Taro. And besides that, there was much more to say but... I did not really feel like it. Somehow it just felt as if it would make things more difficult. So I just looked at the horizon and kept the small talk going.<br />
<br />
"And what about you?"<br />
<br />
"I want to be a soldier with the Marines."<br />
<br />
"Oh, I see. How typical, you want to kill people," I teased, "you suck, y'know."<br />
<br />
"It is not about killing, Kü, it is about fighting for my people." He replied matter-of-factly.<br />
<br />
See, most in his tribe, the Brutor, feel different about fighting than the rest of us. For them it is usually about people and freedom, not about conquest, profit or sport. Fighting is Freedom. Fighting is Life. I knew that.<br />
<br />
Maybe I could poke him with that.<br />
<br />
"That's just an excuse, you know, so all of you can go and beat the crap out of each other like in the holos."<br />
<br />
He just grumbled and pretended to ignore me.<br />
<br />
Hey, maybe that is what I really needed, a good fight. A good break-up fight so epic that we would look back, remember this day and think <i>good riddance!</i> That way we would not have to miss each other terribly, every single day. We'd hate each other's guts, good. I could live with that. Half a universe away, that's what I would do.<br />
<br />
In case you have not noticed, I am really good at fooling myself, sometimes.<br />
<br />
So there, Newly Discovered Fact: Fighting is killing, fighting is crap. <i>I hate you because you want to be a killer.</i> 'Cause I said so. Just like that.<br />
<br />
I pushed it. "No, really, must everything be solved by fighting?" now seriously enough for him to take notice. "Stupidest thing in the world."<br />
<br />
"Sometimes you can't avoid a fight."<br />
<br />
"I think there is always a way, if you really want to. And if you are smart enough."<br />
<br />
He grumbled again and, in the corner of my eye, I could see him tensing up. I kept my sight on the horizon, thinking of how to tease him next. There is something not quite smart enough about trying to pick up a fight with an islander, boy or girl.<br />
<br />
Oh, whatever. Keep poking.<br />
<br />
"So, are you?"<br />
<br />
"Am what?"<br />
<br />
"Smart enough?"<br />
<br />
Without actually looking in his direction yet keeping all my attention on that corner of my eye, I think I saw his head move. He was there allright, maybe he was wondering why I was suddenly hostile. Or maybe his tribal instinct was sizing me up for a well-deserved beating.<br />
<br />
"Taro?"<br />
<br />
"Hrmpf."<br />
<br />
"I'm leaving. Dad got transferred..."<br />
<br />
A movement, then stopped. I finally turned my head and found him propped up on one muscled arm, the other resting on his knee, curiously looking at me.<br />
<br />
"Kü." He still called me that.<br />
<br />
"It's Amarr."<br />
<br />
"Kütral, listen," he slid closer and drew me in. I felt his arm gently pushing me closer, firmly across my shoulders, and I nested my head against his chest. I did not hug back.<br />
<br />
"It's Amarr, Taro, it's fucking Amarr. I am going to live in the Empire now."<br />
<br />
You know what some people say, right? <i>Only two kinds of people live in Amarr: slavers and slaves.</i> Even in this day and age.<br />
<br />
Yah, yah, I know, and already knew back then it's not like that... but how about everyone else? Did my friends know? What would they think, what would they say? I was moving to the Empire. What would <b>he</b> say, what would he think of me?<br />
<br />
<b>And I did not want to go but, what can you do? Sometimes there is just no alternative but going wherever it is comes next.</b><br />
<br />
"So what? We will always be friends," he whispered to my ear, "You <i>are</i> one of my people."<br />
<br />
WTF? Hello? I was trying to break up and he was coming up with <i>this?</i> And why was that, genius, to make things more difficult? Put me through the grinder and make me hate even more already what I was about to go through? I mean, was it that hard to figure out that we were over anyway, whether we wanted or not. <i>Take a hint, you obtuse, uncaring and simple-minded idiot. I am going anyway, so let me.</i><br />
<br />
Why bother? He has never been good at hints, even today. I pushed him away slowly, deliberately.<br />
<br />
"Goodbye Taro." So much left unsaid.<br />
<br />
I stood up.<br />
<br />
"<i>N'de rendape ajuta,</i>" he said to my back as I turned around.<br />
<br />
<i>Yah, right,</i> I thought, <i>I would love to see that.</i> Ten-year-old crosses the universe to be with friend, news at ten.<br />
<br />
I did not run, I walked... and I did not look behind, I just stared ahead all the way home. No running, no looking back, no crying. Hey, two out of three, not bad.<br />
<br />
Only halfway my sore feet reminded me that I had left my sandals behind.<br />
<br />
I did not care. Wish it had been only sandals.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<i>Now by the second time you move, you have already learned it doesn't quite work the way you expected. There is always something in between: distance, timezone, time apart, the fact that no matter how many times you call each other, the nuisance of a call will never feel the same as sitting in front of each other for drinks. Or a hug. Or a kiss. And then you start drifting apart.<br />
<br />
So it does not work, and it turns out that you do leave friends behind, as much as you may want not to. But you expected this already, right? I mean, you learned that the very first time you moved.<br />
<br />
One thing though. Maybe, if you are lucky, you will have good friends; they will keep you in their hearts, the same as you keep them in yours. And the day you see each other again, it will be like you were never apart.<br />
<br />
For good friends, those are forever.</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 78%;"><b>Perpetual Motion</b><br />
Previously: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/2010/01/perpetual-motion.html">Places</a></span></div>
Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-39634930764833643222010-10-12T00:09:00.005-03:002010-10-12T00:24:06.397-03:00[OOC] Do-over<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_JRvFmRRHefdz1cKKeArEp2Hk2ewP0rxD1OgZTQf7rC5YMXqtjSXrRC-BL8_6r4DXlSH_gHLDjsNy0f57YslnoxQQiz07w5pG3cCgRc0YdWDgNWBaSpD7Xj-En2yYV5z1xpCZpxF6jg/s1600/NewQuin6.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_JRvFmRRHefdz1cKKeArEp2Hk2ewP0rxD1OgZTQf7rC5YMXqtjSXrRC-BL8_6r4DXlSH_gHLDjsNy0f57YslnoxQQiz07w5pG3cCgRc0YdWDgNWBaSpD7Xj-En2yYV5z1xpCZpxF6jg/s400/NewQuin6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526992924776876386" /></a><br /><br />Lights check, ears check, eyebrows check, do-that-is-not-from-Lazytown...<br /><br />Check.<br /><br />With an aprés-pod look too.<br /><br />There :)Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-16773722575706823812010-10-08T16:24:00.005-04:002010-10-09T01:16:13.381-04:00[OOC] Face Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4J4sF2-zvz0eciGYEe9bi0iWCF4BBSpYu19xbc1cejkR1zjIbq8HmtFeHb-O3mQymCtlC42rCXDAO3hzkrfe4AKE_inUAIsxD9_sIg_dRTN8Va9qeaV4xh4MACzrFSoeWathCyahets/s1600/NewQuin1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4J4sF2-zvz0eciGYEe9bi0iWCF4BBSpYu19xbc1cejkR1zjIbq8HmtFeHb-O3mQymCtlC42rCXDAO3hzkrfe4AKE_inUAIsxD9_sIg_dRTN8Va9qeaV4xh4MACzrFSoeWathCyahets/s400/NewQuin1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525801940601806450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I have been rather busy lately.<br /><br />See, I saw <a href="http://www.ghostfestival.net/myrhial/face-angel/trackback/">Myrhial's post</a> and then I had to look for myself. That pic over there is a first go at what I would look like in Sisi.<br /><br />I liked the sculpting tool, although I felt that it is sort of limited in range. I mean, you can move the cheekbone a bit but not too much, the jaw a bit but not too much, there is no control over the shape of your head -which limits the kind of hair you should be legally allowed to sport- but you can control the shape of your temples tho, and the corner of your eyes (WTF? "wow, did you see the temples on that guy?"). Yay. I guess that this has been done this way to get a more realistic look and, anyway, they do achieve that in spades.<br /><br />It would seem that cartoonish pics are no longer that easy to create, whereas the classic pic maker made it more challenging to create verosimile ones. Way to go!<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Sorry, you gallies all look the same to me.</strong><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xrHQwCSe5usTswTWKj7kUC1v_-A6Yc0E883DBpq5Lvo31_jLERZ_ABwoUetXo2iIpVyCMpCf13tOaTKKq4BuacZfd6mNBA0qnGxGW0vJUnrboIJQs-QLabCbjduxh0iM8BXsICt4aP8/s1600/QuinFace2.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xrHQwCSe5usTswTWKj7kUC1v_-A6Yc0E883DBpq5Lvo31_jLERZ_ABwoUetXo2iIpVyCMpCf13tOaTKKq4BuacZfd6mNBA0qnGxGW0vJUnrboIJQs-QLabCbjduxh0iM8BXsICt4aP8/s200/QuinFace2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525822570503000994" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArIgpm0Hb-RNHgnr8OskHdfnJHVrwzYkQy0RI5Jfy8XQPxVJ6-tgmpZ6p_ECWpu8htoDihlu8I3yQy3vw6cAq3FT3gaXXDjvCmyeJB3DNFGkcRxcFfJd5bIdEsoIJ6mGPph7pHVnX-IU/s1600/QuinFace1.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArIgpm0Hb-RNHgnr8OskHdfnJHVrwzYkQy0RI5Jfy8XQPxVJ6-tgmpZ6p_ECWpu8htoDihlu8I3yQy3vw6cAq3FT3gaXXDjvCmyeJB3DNFGkcRxcFfJd5bIdEsoIJ6mGPph7pHVnX-IU/s200/QuinFace1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525822566925033426" /></a><br />I wonder what will be the implication though, maybe we will transition from people that look all cartoonishly the same, to people that all look realistically the same? Then again, I have not played enough with this to build radically different faces within the same bloodline.<br /><br />Maybe it is possible. We shall see.<br /><br />Then again, maybe that's ethnicity at work, people looking alike. I remember that ethnicity did limit some of the choices you could make before, like no red-headed Amarrians, Brutor being generally more tanned and the Lonetrek facelift -that weird tight hairdo- only being only available to Civire and Sebiestor.<br /><br />No such limits this time but again, test phase and we shall see. It would be cool if choices were ethnical (hair, eyes, tan) and some location-based (hairdo choice wherever you re-cast a character)<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Fashion emergency</strong><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizp525JbRpEujoVF2Fz3skFEiAOA284nsTDqPe1eqAzSDMTYs2FuZ7PTJVROUNKrzcxxLS1PIy67YQV6mY3kESUS04DFfS8Ou0r8ydLs8VDiN1XW4VUB0Gvgb4swKshsXCV1NHx2fZr48/s1600/Outfit.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 76px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizp525JbRpEujoVF2Fz3skFEiAOA284nsTDqPe1eqAzSDMTYs2FuZ7PTJVROUNKrzcxxLS1PIy67YQV6mY3kESUS04DFfS8Ou0r8ydLs8VDiN1XW4VUB0Gvgb4swKshsXCV1NHx2fZr48/s200/Outfit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525832299510048642" /></a><br />Regarding clothing you get the basics from what I guess are each race's designs of one piece of each top, pants, jacket and shoes. You can mix and match, and I happen to think Matari boots work surprisingly well with an Amarrian tunic :)<br /><br />Designs are indeed gorgeous and very detailed; from a heavy-looking ornate tunic to a running tank-top. I can only imagine what the CCP wardrobe design department will be coming up with.. and I can't definitely not imagine all the many different ways that people will use them.<br /><br />One thing though: no accessories yet, but these are promised for the future. I want <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/04/window-wide-open.html">backlaces</a>!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Full freckles ahead!</strong><br /><br />You have many different face options, from hair to eyebrows to makeup and eye colour, no tattoos allowed. Sculpt sensitivity is weird, it takes some time to figure out what happens when you pull features in different directions with up/down/wide/narrow being an easy guess and smile/smooch/frown/sneeze being not so intuitive.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdldEhJah7r6mxhIaLYLDreO93bT9bN3cyRTPwJBIScfHfbr5LXOEO13KLXGCNaZIlY5QbM6RbLLGhq_GabKr3Kr3sHUmVsFxhqHdIRQaGZwwRfW4NI8rDzZ9xji15YNb_lWuavfSGBE/s1600/QuinHair1.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdldEhJah7r6mxhIaLYLDreO93bT9bN3cyRTPwJBIScfHfbr5LXOEO13KLXGCNaZIlY5QbM6RbLLGhq_GabKr3Kr3sHUmVsFxhqHdIRQaGZwwRfW4NI8rDzZ9xji15YNb_lWuavfSGBE/s200/QuinHair1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525838111707870690" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsLxDfFfk3EovYS1h8JWnfGaA8qTp2DeG5Q2RPn80UVi-hkGd628QpK02vcGjQQeXcwHJYoNUfLLhY-eKQDBZytLohfpPDWlz6t8d_1cV1Ip8LfCdJJWj6mYGYvzKUYWs7J8xPS-YiDE/s1600/QuinHair2.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsLxDfFfk3EovYS1h8JWnfGaA8qTp2DeG5Q2RPn80UVi-hkGd628QpK02vcGjQQeXcwHJYoNUfLLhY-eKQDBZytLohfpPDWlz6t8d_1cV1Ip8LfCdJJWj6mYGYvzKUYWs7J8xPS-YiDE/s200/QuinHair2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525838106552379554" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pQOwJEQUahn1YhW88qc2ALoMjnwnrMN7393RPUnw45OvFpY7SZ1rqOSyB_6fkSbbNhvQZt2ZyTXvZ1j6Fe5RZJ5St54hQkNWgoDRjThiGQgKZbNyLle2u1NHAD9Gg-D17Ki-aqCC_LM/s1600/QuinHair3.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pQOwJEQUahn1YhW88qc2ALoMjnwnrMN7393RPUnw45OvFpY7SZ1rqOSyB_6fkSbbNhvQZt2ZyTXvZ1j6Fe5RZJ5St54hQkNWgoDRjThiGQgKZbNyLle2u1NHAD9Gg-D17Ki-aqCC_LM/s200/QuinHair3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525838109899238082" /><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDm_z0UGRMtVSB7HupZvCchNuMjcG6vZo-V-xU2L-GL054j7CgDi2zgCQI_mDluwVOokaZHVTRiwSQVAy4Kh6hNAMTS6uECI3xT03SdXGqL3Ncv5Y25R9eeCBZ9hroY6q1CiOzYi8oO4A/s1600/QuinHair4.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 149px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDm_z0UGRMtVSB7HupZvCchNuMjcG6vZo-V-xU2L-GL054j7CgDi2zgCQI_mDluwVOokaZHVTRiwSQVAy4Kh6hNAMTS6uECI3xT03SdXGqL3Ncv5Y25R9eeCBZ9hroY6q1CiOzYi8oO4A/s200/QuinHair4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525838104589836194" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwnaDuZFvkpN0kUkF8mjiWMw355gbY-ikxMDNYLYxqqcMQYIZ1gY8tCMY64JiZsMw6zzNt1jpfWKPKDZEIiEwLaerPf0g32_zH8et7CF_9XoTIeB8us4tbCFe_1LxBHCwPDfU04M3WUs/s1600/QuinHair5.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwnaDuZFvkpN0kUkF8mjiWMw355gbY-ikxMDNYLYxqqcMQYIZ1gY8tCMY64JiZsMw6zzNt1jpfWKPKDZEIiEwLaerPf0g32_zH8et7CF_9XoTIeB8us4tbCFe_1LxBHCwPDfU04M3WUs/s200/QuinHair5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525839195647645346" /></a><br /><br />Eyebrows do not really work well on Gallentean faces yet and with my freakishly huge in-character ears, I guess I will be sticking with the bob for the time being.<br /><br />Oh by the way? The round sliders are not that difficult to work, if you hate sliding it is possible to just click on any position and voilà, it slides by itself.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Express yourself!</strong><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNnLoxzui8D_GlBwdphc67EilqsUMs3yZXxdcsHXnzcRbbq4UZ0j-ogQZOcxTY3Ea9w2leQlDYkBQCRRV7mmFpZnu_v15moXIjsOdV4tCRMUBpPNhhzc4MK9q34u_FgtRYjYCBPfjvs8/s1600/NewQuin2.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNnLoxzui8D_GlBwdphc67EilqsUMs3yZXxdcsHXnzcRbbq4UZ0j-ogQZOcxTY3Ea9w2leQlDYkBQCRRV7mmFpZnu_v15moXIjsOdV4tCRMUBpPNhhzc4MK9q34u_FgtRYjYCBPfjvs8/s200/NewQuin2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525811696707727346" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdAYz5Lcmwflfu83C136LINKG69-05aqJlxHY1gr6FoADxoRGtsk8TgYdX9_hTirxf57E0JFUD1EQQFJMkmdNutpp_jJsQ3qDxQFCl-fdSfHFCwW90zK5HFa69kKHSjM9vxa7fNx7svgg/s1600/NewQuin3.jpg"><img style="margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdAYz5Lcmwflfu83C136LINKG69-05aqJlxHY1gr6FoADxoRGtsk8TgYdX9_hTirxf57E0JFUD1EQQFJMkmdNutpp_jJsQ3qDxQFCl-fdSfHFCwW90zK5HFa69kKHSjM9vxa7fNx7svgg/s200/NewQuin3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525812074006037522" /></a><br /><br />After sculpting, I was surprised to find that you can make faces. I mean, you can smile or frown or squint, which is not the same as -and trickier than- pulling your mouth up or changing the size of your eyes from the previous phase. Range is again a bit conservative (see if you can tell wide-eyed smile from squinting smooch above and... yes, wide toothy smile was possible but I rather not). The pre-set poses look natural and are a much better starting point than the old ones.<br /><br />What is cool is that the pic is alive as it is posing! Slight movements, eyes that wander here and there, light changes in expression... you get the idea. Which also means this is only the tip of the iceberg: come Incarna, I think you will find your avatar fidgeting, frowning or making faces you may not have intended and well beyond the control of the posing environment.<br /><br />Which, I think, is a good thing.<br /><br />And this is where the game is -'cause character creation <em>is</em> a game, did you not know?- in making a character that looks lifelike, real. Someone you could be talking to on the holo, or an ID card snapshot, or a realistic expression of happiness, anger, sadness, vengeance or whatever background history your character has. And it is still as challenging as it was before because, even if you get all these aids like the pre-sets and limits, the entire process from head to toe has now so much more complexity, that it still leaves you lots of room to come up with something unique, genuine and yours.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />All things considered, I am quite impressed. It shows that there has been a lot of care and hard work done on Incarna, so I would like to send many thanks and kudos to CCP.<br /><br />Also, thank you for allowing us to see this!<br /><br />-Q<br /><br /><br /><br />PS: I tried the Deteis and they look stunning already, just by pressing "continue" all the way. They sorely need to look uglier. Really. Lots. Nerf please!<br /><br />PPS: I can see a meme calling. So, what do <em>you</em> look like in Sisi?Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-29792303392533656772010-09-20T12:05:00.001-04:002010-09-20T18:08:04.176-04:00Planetary Interruption<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Z-1qwTVm5sFzhU5EMMFe4kTxWnSW1BwlH_YWwdXf6aLrM4QSPz1kdYFuExTtjfBh-XqCuAh6ilB7V9vLwEjFGtlkv9rCTfZSpVOmrU-043JziXtGd1PV3ZySKYp_cujdUboj8X7knQQ/s1600/2010.09.17.17.46.39.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Z-1qwTVm5sFzhU5EMMFe4kTxWnSW1BwlH_YWwdXf6aLrM4QSPz1kdYFuExTtjfBh-XqCuAh6ilB7V9vLwEjFGtlkv9rCTfZSpVOmrU-043JziXtGd1PV3ZySKYp_cujdUboj8X7knQQ/s320/2010.09.17.17.46.39.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517943658149809394" /></a><br />Dear employees:<br /><br />Operations in Hek II will be down for maintenance on 23 September 112. Regular downtime will be extended from 0900 to 1100 HST.<br /><br />During this period the Company will upgrade the planetary Command Center to an Improved Lava Command Center, which will result improvements to overall productivity and employee experience. The soda vending machine at the SS-HIP launchpad office will be fixed as well.<br /><br />Unfortunately it will be necessary to tear down all corporate structures on the planet and rebuild these from scratch; this shall happen, of course, on budget and on schedule.<br /><br />We apologise for the inconvenience.<br /><br />Employees are advised to take all personal items with them as they leave the office for the day.<br /><br />With kind regards,<br /><br />Management<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />(this item contains a hint: Bring a large supply of oxygen with you.)</span><br /><br />--<br /><br /><em>OOC: Oh my. Was there not an easier way to do this? Why do I have to scrap everything just to upgrade? Tsk, tsk...</em>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-10001075757888703212010-09-15T06:34:00.001-04:002010-09-15T12:40:40.901-04:00[OOC] The Return of the QuinWee, that was some downtime! Take that, CCP :P<br /><br />Anyway, I think it has been like about a year since I stopped flying regularly, with a couple of fun exceptions. What have I been up to? I have been playing Real Life, baby, like an addict and let me tell you: I HAVE HAD IT.<br /><br />So I sit down and look at that capsule... and there is so much stuff to do.<br /><br />I want to fly again.<br /><br />I want to do new stuff in space.<br /><br />I would like to, for once, get that next racing season going. There were many interesting ideas, and so little time.<br /><br />No, I do not think I will be racing again but that's OK.<br /><br />I want to roleplay.<br /><br />I think I am definitely going to keep blogging. Stories, fiction, race reports.<br /><br /><br /><br />You have no idea how long I have been staring at this one post and would really have liked to have much more to say than "I'm back..." but, as they say, just do it and inspiration will come.<br /><br />It's good to be back!<br /><br />Hugs,<br /><br />QQuintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-86120178380606997022010-01-29T19:11:00.008-03:002016-01-12T23:07:08.996-03:00Perpetual Motion: Places<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9E7eAc7wwKX6lGOfkYuDzuOrm6XlTC4eqAEBUp_9Ejt4dzjYh_FLoE1hLKQS9RQL21nEQiyxMRMwHXYp4xayvjPxlBOzIyE_QMYuE-W42HTAeff888w5ZCEzVkNujkS7UdXyfmqeqZg/s1600-h/2009.12.07.22.51.26.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432575465904718082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9E7eAc7wwKX6lGOfkYuDzuOrm6XlTC4eqAEBUp_9Ejt4dzjYh_FLoE1hLKQS9RQL21nEQiyxMRMwHXYp4xayvjPxlBOzIyE_QMYuE-W42HTAeff888w5ZCEzVkNujkS7UdXyfmqeqZg/s400/2009.12.07.22.51.26.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 250px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<strong>Age five: Eram</strong><br />
<br />
I was six the first time we moved. I guess I should have seen it coming.<br />
<br />
Funny. As far as I can remember, there has been a steady trickle of people disappearing from my life. You can't imagine how tough it is to realize, as a kid, that friends are only temporary.<br />
<br />
At first it was my friends from the crèche moving out. Thierry, Cathy Q, Taro. But new kids would move right in so there were always people around. They would stay just long enough to cease being strangers... and then would go.<br />
<br />
Vanish, rinse, repeat.<br />
<br />
Angèle was one of my best friends. Not only had we known each other since forever, we had also witnessed together the curious acts of disappearance by friends and schoolmates. We used to talk about that sometimes and afterwards I would pepper mom with questions about them, where had they gone, why had they gone and when were they coming back.<br />
<br />
Apparently there is some mysterious time when grownups "must go" somewhere. And when it comes, they drag their family along. Stupidest thing in the world.<br />
<br />
Then it had been Angèle's turn.<br />
<br />
<em>How predictable,</em> you must be thinking. Right. I'd love to see you explain 'predictable' to a five year old.<br />
<br />
Mom always did, she would explain with infinite patience and something like "She went back home, Quin, where her family is. When people have their home somewhere else, sometimes they want to return."<br />
<br />
Okay, I was beginning to understand going back 'home.' Gallente kids went back home to the Federation. Caldari kids went back somewhere else called the State. Some had returned home to Pator. Blah blah. Apparently they would not come back on Monday nor the rest of the week and, unlike going back home for vacation, once they <em>returned home</em>... they were gone. For ever.<br />
<br />
"Oh, no, not forever. All of these places are faraway stars in the night sky and, see, each one is actually an entire world full of people. They are so far, far away that it is difficult to attend the same school or to even visit, but maybe one day..."<br />
<br />
So, 'home' was this place you had never seen in your life, huh? Full of strangers and empty of familiar faces or places. Any place else could be home.<br />
<br />
Except, of course, the one where I had been born. Where I had been brought up, where I learned to talk, walk, made my friends, knew everyone in the neighbourhood, climbed every tree... where I lived. The one place that was mine yet, somehow, was <em>not my home.</em> 'cause home is elsewhere.<br />
<br />
I got to stay while all of my friends had to go. Maybe I was just lucky.<br />
<br />
All of my friends. All. of. them.<br />
<br />
Lucky? Maybe I am looking for a different word here.<br />
<br />
But... certainly not Angèle? She had been there all my life and my party, she was supposed to come to my sixth birthday party in a couple of months. Unfair!<br />
<br />
"Why did <em>she</em> have to leave?"<br />
<br />
Mom had heard so many of these questions before. "Why?" "Because people miss their home, sometimes very much so." "Why her?" "Because everyone has a home."<br />
<br />
"Why do <em>all of my friends</em> have to leave? All of them? That's unfair. Must <em>everyone</em> go?"<br />
<br />
"Because..."<br />
<br />
"Why me?"<br />
<br />
Yes, mom, <em>why does this happen to me? Why?</em><br />
<br />
She just looked at me and -you know how it is, to look at someone's face right that very moment they can't hold it back any more?- her eyes began to water. Looking away, she brought the back of her hand up to cover her mouth.<br />
<br />
<em>My, oh my, oh my, oh my, did I do something wrong, am I in trouble? Did I just hurt her? What did I do? I must have said something terrible, I did not mean to!</em><br />
<br />
She began to weep quietly. Suddenly I saw it was not just me... it also happened to her. She was also losing friends, places, roots. It was not my fault. So I hugged her, we cried together and, for a couple of minutes, my mother and I were the same.<br />
<br />
We were friends.<br />
<br />
I really should have seen it coming. We moved a couple of days after my sixth birthday.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 78%;"><strong>Perpetual Motion</strong><br />Next: <a href="https://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2010/10/perpetual-motion-people.html">People</a></span></div>
Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-40598499782626159062010-01-13T11:42:00.000-03:002010-01-13T11:43:25.437-03:00[OOC] EVE Blog Banter #14: Now what?<em>Welcome to the fourteenth installment of the <a href="http://www.crazykinux.com/search/label/eve%20blog%20banter">EVE Blog Banter</a>, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by <a href="http://www.crazykinux.com">CrazyKinux</a>. The <a href="http://www.crazykinux.com/search/label/eve%20blog%20banter">EVE Blog Banter</a> involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the <a href="http://www.crazykinux.com">CrazyKinux</a>. The <a href="http://www.crazykinux.com/search/label/eve%20blog%20banter">EVE Blog Banter</a> should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check out other <a href="http://www.crazykinux.com">CrazyKinux</a>. The <a href="http://www.crazykinux.com/search/label/eve%20blog%20banter">EVE Blog Banter</a> articles at the bottom of this post!<br /><br /><strong>The first banter of 2010 comes to us from the EVE Blog Father, <a href="http://www.crazykinux.com">CrazyKinux</a> himself, who asks the following: As we begin another year in New Eden, ask yourselves "What Now?" What will I attempt next? What haven't I done so far in EVE? Was it out fear, funds, or knowledge? Have I always wanted to start my own corporation, but have never dared doing so? Is there a fledging mercenary waiting to come out of its shell? Or maybe an Industrialist? What steps and objectives will I set myself to accomplish in order to reach my ultimate goal for this year? EVE is what you make of it. So, what is it going to be for you?</strong></em><br /><br />-- <br /><br />Such an interesting question, in so few words. What, now?<br /><br />I guess that my plans for the year 112 are simple: I have just retired from racing in 111 so now I am able to care for the ISRC a bit more as an organiser. Hopefully we will make ISD headlines like we used to in the past but, to do this, I think I will need to find help with the stuff I cannot do by ourelves so we are a bit stuck there. Graphics, movies, etc.<br /><br />Also, now that I am mostly finished with the social skills I have been dabbling with <em>antisocial skills.</em> You know, Advanced Weapons Upgrades, T2 guns, etc. Who knows? Maybe they will become useful sometime.<br /><br />Speaking of that, there are some loose ends. I shot someone in space last year, <em>another capsuleer</em>. Maybe I have yet to find the right way to deal with it, other than thinking it was a mistake. Maybe it wasn't. I think I know someone who can help there.<br /><br />Finally, I need to get my blog up to date with all the stuff and stories that have crossed my mind, especially the memoirs for past racing seasons. Every season is unique, for different reasons... <br /><br /><br />((OOC:<br /><br />I cannot begin to explain how complicated things are right now in Real Life. Things keep falling into place, sometimes the key word being 'falling' and sometimes being 'into place'. Lately, there has been much more good than bad so it's worth it.<br /><br />Anyway, I will go away for a month or so. Yah, those holes in my blog have been planned to get you guys used to my absence ;) When I come back you will probably not notice, but I will be four, five or six timezones away from here and maybe permanently. And over there, I do not really know things are going to be, how soon or how much time will I have to fly, play or write.<br /><br />But again, what to make of all of this is my choice.<br /><br />And I choose to go with the flow. My weird resolution for Real-Life 2010 will be to draw inspiration for in-character 112. That way, no matter how awful things are, I should always have something interesting to blog about.<br /><br />Anyway, it looks like this is going to be a year for writing and roleplaying.<br /><br />Now if only I had the time...<br />))Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-42692370124915063622009-12-15T13:29:00.005-03:002009-12-15T20:54:56.336-03:00Names you learn as a child<em>Some time ago I was watching the video by DireLauthris, about Admiral Tovil-Toba and his defense of Caldari Prime. Wow, what an excellent video! Makes you proud to be a patriot, <em>n'est-ce pas?</em> All my Caldari friends were so full of themselves when it came out...<br /><br />Anyway, it's because it is impressive! Go take a look, if you haven't yet...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="222" width="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yXWf-l71MY4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yXWf-l71MY4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="222" width="360"></embed></object><br /></div><br />I showed it to C. and he was very impressed. All the way until "to this day he is revered as a national hero and his name is one of the first things every Caldari child learns."<br /><br />That's when I got an earful...<br /><br />Anyhow, I was reminded about a story from RealLife(tm), of a XIX century war between the two Matari Tribes, shall we call them Chilestan and Peruvia. I already knew about it, but C, he went into excruciating detail.<br /><br />It's story time!</em><br /><br />--<br /><br />Once upon a time there was a young naval officer, <strong>Captain Arturo</strong> of Chilestan, who was in charge of camping an enemy harbour. He had been left by his FC with strict instructions no to let anything through while the main fleet sailed away to some big battle. He had two wooden ships (T1 frigates, I kid you not!), badly fit and in worse shape, but that would suffice in a place where there was only civilian traffic to block.<br /><br />Only there was not just civilian traffic.<br /><br />The enemy was spotted by dawn. As usual, intelligence had sucked, they had crossed the main fleet in the dark and were fast approaching the port with two lean, mean hi-tech armour-plated ships. Captain Arturo was so screwed. Not able to call for reinforcements ('cause vent had not been invented yet), he roused his crew with a moving speech and they went to battle, intending to fight till the end. He was brave but he was also smart, fighting a gun battle inside the port against one of the iron ships -they were not <em>his</em> civilians being shot at port anyway- while his wingman took off distracting the other ship. When the enemy FC decided to ram his own ironclad into the wooden frigate, Captain Arturo did the unthinkable and took a small boarding party across. They all died as heroes. Shortly afterward, his ship broke in two and sank straight to the bottom.<br /><br />The enemy had broken the camp.<br /><br />But Captain Arturo became a rallying cry in Chilestan for the rest of the war, to this day he is revered as a national hero and his name is one of the first things every child learns.<br /><br />Captain Arturo had not really meant to be a warrior; he was but a young lawyer who had left an even younger wife back home when he enlisted. He had not asked to be a hero. He just did what felt right.<br /><br />--<br /><br /><strong>Captain Miguel</strong> from Peruvia was a military genius, an officer and a gentleman. He had come back from a cushy retirement seat in Congress to fight the war, commanding the very same ship he had seen built to his specs fifteen years before by the Brutish, which he had then updated, refitted and rigged. As the FC, his mission was to harass and interdict the much bigger enemy fleet, a juggernaut that included wooden boats, ironclads, logistics, advanced ammo, some of the first battleships to ever exist and maybe the kitchen sink. His tools would not be brute force and firepower, but stealth, finesse and surprise.<br /><br />Captain Miguel saw many successes breaking enemy camps, capturing transports, messing with enemy pets, bombing ports, sinking stuff. His small gang would appear from nowhere, strike and then vanish. At a certain battle, he rammed his ship into the enemy frigate once and again until it broke in two, sank straight to the bottom and, hear this, he then had all the survivors picked up from the water and carried to safety before x'ing back. And after the battle, he sat down to write a poignant note to the young widow of his adversary, which he sent the very same day with her dear husband's belongings and his deepest condolences.<br /><br />A true gentleman if there ever was one.<br /><br />Silly politicians back home wanted to promote him to Grand Admiral of All the Fleet, a honor he protested would not allow him to do what he did best, FC'ing from the front in their best command ship. So they compromised.<br /><br />Rear Admiral Miguel met his fate at a fleet battle in high seas. As usual, politicians had sucked, ordering more raids and ignoring his calls for refit. Following orders and against his very own judgement, he would thus fall to an enemy BS gang rigged for gank, speed and devoted solely to hunting him down. He died in the gun battle and his legendary ship was captured. Losing the war had become a certainty.<br /><br />But Admiral Miguel became a rallying cry in Peruvia for the rest of the war, to this day he is revered as a national hero and his name is one of the first things every child learns.<br /><br />Admiral Miguel was a warrior, a genius and a gentleman. He left three loving widows: his wife, his ship and his country. He was probably always destined to be a hero, whether he asked or not.<br /><br />--<br /><br /><em><br /><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=w5N-c7YMrJYC&pg=PA130&dq=arturo+prat+miguel+grau">You can't make these things up.</a><br /><br />Both stories happened at the same time, over a hundred years ago. Every nation has a national hero but what is remarkable is that in this case is that two Heroes that fought in the same war and fought each other, ultimately became their own countries' greatest. Both died on the very same deck.<br /><br />To date, people from Chilestan and Peruvia learn these names as the Hero and his Enemy, and vice-versa. To date, after more than a century, they are still taught to hate each other's guts. As children, no one is told about the flip side of the coin; as grownups, only a few wonder if there is a flip side at all.<br /><br />Tools.<br /><br />And there is a reason They teach you that stuff as a child in Real Life, so you don't question Them.<br /><br />That keeps you a good patriot and a good tool.<br /><br />The ugly face of patriotism, captured with such a simple phrase in Admiral Tovil-Toba's two-hundred year old story.<br /><br /><blockquote>"To this day he is revered as a national hero and his name is one of the first things every Caldari child learns."</blockquote><br /><br />((Don't you just love it when they bring worlds to life, warts and all? ;) ))<br /></em>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-6620543789459336372009-12-08T07:54:00.007-03:002011-11-07T01:05:51.130-03:00Racing Spy #3<strong>December 109, ISGC Season 4,<br />
Between Races 5 and 6</strong><br />
<br />
<em>It had been weeks since my racing interceptor had been <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/02/racing-spy.html">scanned at a training session</a>, by a friend. Only problem was, this friend was the owner of a rival racing team, had scanned me and Kay unawares while on a friendly flight.<br />
<br />
To mend our friendship, I had entrusted him with something of incredible value. To get even, I had asked him to promise the impossible.<br />
<br />
I had offered him a miracle and a curse. He took them both.<br />
<br />
Oh boy.</em><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
Races 4 and 5 went by and ISGC had lifted Ken's suspension from racing; he had already brought the ship I gave him to a race already and much to everyone's surprise.<br />
<br />
The cynics thought it was just a rumour, that it could not really be my beloved <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/01/wing-and-prayer.html"><em>Wing</em></a>; others really believed it was -and it was, mind you- and chided me for being too kind with Ken, after what he did.<br />
<br />
Maybe I was too kind. But I also wanted to get back at him.<br />
<br />
Yin. Yang.<br />
<br />
In spite of everything I still wanted to remain friends with Ken so, sometimes, I invited him to tag along when I explored in my Covops. The idea was, I would go in and find a radar site, Ken would then warp his Domi in and deal with the Sansha rats, and finally I would hack and salvage.<br />
<br />
That's how we ended up in lowsec Sukanan.<br />
<br />
It seemed such a good idea at the time.<br />
<br />
Making a long story short, there was this radar site that took ages to pinpoint, we were a bit careless... and ended up with me hastily cloaking and Ken <a href="http://www.pleasure-hub.com/isgc/viewtopic.php?p=1070#p1070">warping out in his pod</a>. Before that, I had no idea you could be probed out so fast.<br />
<br />
I know what you are thinking but, no, it was not my doing. Too crude and, besides, we were genuinely making up.<br />
<br />
Afterwards, he gave me the chance to speak at the Fed Navy for the dedication of his replacement Domi.<br />
<br />
As I prepared, I could not help but notice the irony. It was him that was being <em>too kind to me.</em> I did not deserve it.<br />
<br />
Damit, he did not deserve it.<br />
<br />
That was what I had in mind when, blinded by reflectors in my eyes, in front of the assembled crew of the <em>Enduring Friendship</em> (awww) I made my way to the podium and read a passage from one of my favorite poems.<br />
<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_if.htm">If you can make a heap of all your winnings<br />
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,<br />
And lose, and start again at your beginnings<br />
And never breathe a word about your loss;<br />
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew<br />
To serve your turn long after they are gone,<br />
And so hold on when there is nothing in you<br />
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'<br />
</a></blockquote><br />
<br />
People must have thought those were tears of emotion.<br />
<br />
They... were, but not quite the one they would expect.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
As soon as I got back from the ceremony I called some files to my desk.<br />
<br />
"Mirror, mirror, may I see the files tagged <em>dagger</em> and <em>twist</em> please?"<br />
<br />
The nice synth baritone voice replied "Quin, I do not have anything to show. Additional files may be available to you if you plug in, would you like to try again?"<br />
<br />
He can be so discreet. "Yes please."<br />
<br />
I plugged. Two files were conjured and appeared as if hovering over my desk. Anybody else would have seen me stare into thin air.<br />
<br />
I checked the <em>dagger</em> file carefully to make sure it was what I was looking for. <strong><em>Anonymous contract for a mercenary hit on an Executioner-class racing frigate.</em></strong><br />
<br />
Yes, that one.<br />
<br />
Ken had promised to race to win and had also promised to bring my ship back. No one, not even Ken himself expected to... but it was still possible. Unless one <em>made sure</em> that, ah, expectations would be met.<br />
<br />
The <em>twist</em> file was a draft of a personal note where I explained everything: <em>"Ken, it was me all along..."</em><br />
<br />
Drive the dagger home. Then twist it.<br />
<br />
But there was no need for it anymore. "Cancel the contract, discard both files and please confirm no backups remain."<br />
<br />
"Quin, all done and confirmed."<br />
<br />
<em>Sigh.</em><br />
<br />
<strong>We were even already, my friend and I.</strong><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<em>((OOC: Now again, who says that roleplay is dead in this game?<br />
<br />
Anyhow if you are wondering, we only got halfway there. Eventually, Ken himself withdrew from the season, returned my ship safely and would not race ever again. In the meantime, he wrote some <a href="http://www.pleasure-hub.com/isgc/viewtopic.php?p=1487#p1487">short pieces of fiction</a> based on this, which I think were beautiful.<br />
<br />
There is some difference between what I am willing to do in-game and out-of-game. Ken's player became more and more absorbed by RL and at some point in time I felt that going ahead and hurting him in game would hurt him in RL. That was a no-no, so I just dropped it. A few months later the Ken character died in his sleep and was biomassed. I am still friends with the player or at least I like to think that.<br />
<br />
I do not think I ever told him about the entire plan, I certainly did not warn him in advance of the RP angle. <strong>Yes Ken, I would have had my ship blown up from around you.</strong> Or maybe you would have surprised me, and I would have had to deal with the guilt. Real surprise gets you real emotions -> great RP. Now I can only wonder how this would have played.<br />
<br />
What I do know is that by giving you the ship I loved the most, I did get to see some of the best RP I have seen, and most of it was actually for real.<br />
<br />
In any case, if you are reading this I hope you can forgive me for being such an awful person. And enjoying it. Immensely. Thank you!))<br />
</em><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>Racing Series</strong><br />
See <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/03/racing-spy-2.html">what happened before</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size:78%;">Wait for what happened next</span><br />
</div>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-70093983987009201472009-12-04T12:18:00.004-03:002009-12-04T15:47:03.293-03:00Racing dev Blog<span style="font-style:italic;">(Originally posted <a href="http://www.pleasure-hub.com/isgc/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=695">here</a>)</span><br /><br />I think we have learned a thing or two during the last couple of seasons... like, we are still too few racing and even fewer organizing, and that organizing does take a lot of time. That we need to keep the attention of spectators, sponsors and, if possible, of ISD (I wonder if that piece on Season 7 will ever be published?). We have learned that it is not good to race during holidays -wait... I think we knew that one already.<br /><br />We also learned that we are not Gyra. We have been trying to do things Gyra-style and while she was good at that, we will never be as good as she was.<br /><br />So we will change the rules.<br /><br />We have been thinking about how to make ISRC-style racing more appealing to more racers, how to make it a bit less dependent on so few organizers, how to bring in and involve sponsors, how to make the calendar more flexible.<br /><br />Finally, we have learned that sometimes good things in life come with dev blogs. A dev blog is a statement that says that what we are doing is not baked but under construction... under constant improvement, if you will. A dev blog says <em>'change!'</em> and gives you the chance to prepare. A dev blog represents opportunity to change and the will to improve. It gives people (that's YOU) the chance to discuss what is on their mind and a forum to influence what kind of changes will come in the future.<br /><br />So with this in mind, I give you the first ISRC dev blog.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Out of the comfort zone, shoo!</span></span><br /><br />One of the issues that has plagued the ISGC first and then the ISRC have been related to the multiple-class racing format. I mean the part where ships of different classes like Interceptors, Frigates and AFS run on the same track at the same time.<br /><br />One of the problems is that people tend to stick to the same classes so we would never truly know how great a racer is, for example the Frigates Champion vs. the Interceptors Champion? Also, there have been semi-deserted racing classes, first a destroyer class and then an AF class (with what, one race out of four having, you know, racers?). We have frigates and assault frigates overtake Interceptors because of team tactics, which is actually cool if you are on a good team, but maybe it lends lots of impact to team makeup. Finally, we have the same people winning the same classes season after season.<br /><br />Based on the "Exhibition Race" concept that we have been running once in a while, it is actually fun when people step out of their comfort zone and race something different like Cruisers, Industrials or that little Frigate on the 0.0 rally. Also, we have found that more rookies tend to show up for exhibition races, maybe because the field is even, as opposed to season races where teams and scores are important.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">So the idea is that now each race (or most of them) should be a single-class race.</span> We would vary the class from race to race, but now everyone get to compete head-to-head with everyone else!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Update: Optional slowboating?</span> KJ has suggested that we could allow out-of-class racers compete, as long as they fly a slower class. In other words, you could enter the Interceptors race on a T1 Frigate. It allows rookies to participate and gain experience, while keeping the competitiveness of the class race intact.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Roleplay Races</span></span><br /><br />We will be giving each race a unique personality. Up to Season 7, we had ultimate bland "Race 1, Race 2, Race 3..."<br /><br />Next season will see these, for example:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Federation Grand Prix</span> (Frigates)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The State Open</span> (Interceptors - the Gariushi Cup?)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Empire Championship</span> (Assault Frigates)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Republic Derby</span> (Faction Frigates)<br /><br />These would be our four big events. Each race will be held once yearly; 200M prize each one and, say, 2000 ISRC points to the winner (1200 to the 2nd place, etc, etc) . We go out there and get regional sponsorship and stuff, maybe local celebrities to host or race or just give it some flavour. Heavy ISRC publicity would be devoted to the race the region and the sponsors.<br /><br />Then we could have the little ones: Interceptor races, Frigate races, AF races, 0.0 Rally, whatever races, worth 1000, 500 points and with varying prizes. Depending on the race and the score awarded, we could have the new hires (see the Organisation part) start out with the smaller races and earn the right to host the big ones. And if someday someone wants to scam us, like EBANK was, at least he would have to host a whole lot of races.<br /><br />What changes with this?<br /><br />Entry is easier. Anyone joining has a shot at a cup and a prize, no need to play the entire season.<br /><br />Easier to skip races. We schedule the Grand Slams for dates no one has trouble with. We schedule little cups for conflicting dates. We could do this bi-weekly.<br /><br />Vacant classes are no longer an issue. Everyone runs the same class on a given race. Or they can skip it if they do not like flying AF's or whatnot.<br /><br />((At Roland Garros people either play on clay, or stay home.))<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">More Roleplay.</span> Some of the ISRC executives, whom I am not going to name by name ;) , object to having races in the Amarr Empire. I feel this is a legitimate position to take... and I really look forward to working this out together. Maybe this is a challenge that the ISRC will have to meet?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Update: Militia?</span> Eek. I thought I had no issues but then someone comes along and offers to sponsor in the name of a Government-sponsored Militia. I am not sure why, but I am not comfortable with that... we will see what happens.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Scoring</span></span><br /><br />Did I mention score changes? We are currently thinking of having yearly scores. <span style="font-weight:bold;">You add 52 weeks of scores back, and that is your ISRC ranking at any given time.</span><br /><br />This has a couple of cool things. Someone may be the champion at any given time; at the same time, someone else may still be the unbeaten ace of the Republic Derby. Maybe winning all Grand Slams is an achievement worth looking forward to...<br /><br />From an organisation perspective, this allows us to run stuff in a more flexible schedule too... as opposed to having two yearly seasons with weekly races that should not overlap summer nor holidays. We did not want to interrupt the season because of holidays, nor wanted to spend the best days of summer laying track no one would race. With the yearly thing, the pressure to keep going during holidays goes away. If you race, you are scored, as simple as that.<br /><br />What do we lose? The seasonal aspect. Bye-bye Season 8, hello ISRC Circuit. There is some sense of loss there, maybe you guys have some comments about that?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">No more remedial races</span></span><br /><br />We tried this officially for Season 7: best 10 races out of 12 are scored. The result was people skipping races, less racers showing up, less competition and less excitement.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Well, no more remedial races.</span><br /><br />That's why we are also setting up a handful of big races and many small ones, so the pros can skip small ones if they want, and the rookies may catch everything and still have a fighting chance. So you can still skip races if you are ahead enough...<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">More people and mini-professions</span></span><br /><br />There has never been enough people organising. From Season 1 to 5 we had Gyra Rho and her many alts. That's one person -albeit with superpowers- organizing the entire thing for a full five seasons and then half of season 6.<br /><br />Starting Season 6 and then 7, we had Killjoy Tseng organizing the races, with some help by myself on the PR side. But, we were not truly backing each other up, he was race host and I was racer. But now that I have retired, we are two.<br /><br />I do not think that two is enough.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">So for season 8 we are introducing the mini-professions "Race Host" and "Race Designer" for all of you to play with.</span><br /><br />(Yah, we could have called these 'roles' but, if we are already stealing the devblog concept, why not go all the way and steal some more? Plus, mini-profession sounds cooler.)<br /><br />Someone willing to help as <span style="font-weight:bold;">a Race Host will have the opportunity to, well, host any of a number of races.</span> In the host role, he or she will be present during race time (Sunday 20:00 usually), act as referee for that race, call the start, make judgement calls during the race (ohmygosh, the waypoint is not here!) and note the official times. Two hours of work in exchange for the princely sum of... well, we are thinking about that. Maybe 20 million, but don't quote me on that.<br /><br />Someone willing to help as <span style="font-weight:bold;">Race Designer will have the opportunity to design and lay the racetrack.</span> This has a theory part which is easy and a practical part that sucks. First, think where the real and fake waypoints go, some fifteen minutes. Then, prepare the waypoint cans and go anchor them, some 3-4 hours. Again, there is money on this one but we are thinking how much and how.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Eventually we could put a tutorial up on EVElopedia about these aspects of organizing. And speaking of tutorials, we could have one for racers too</span> (it is a profession after all, right?)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Points exchange</span></span><br /><br />The racing community is more than just the ISRC. We have friends in the House Rigel races (hi Julius!) and would love to make more. With all these different leagues and racers, the wild thought is that maybe <span style="font-weight:bold;">we could have some other races assign ISRC points on a per-race basis</span>.<br /><br />In this mode, owners of the race would organize and operate the race as usual, ISRC would do some checks to confirm the race adheres to our so very strict quality standards (Got track? Check. Got racers? Check. No cheating, mkay? Good to go.) There would be some cross-sponsorship and publicity, and racers would get points for the ISRC circuit. Maybe ISRC could help run the race if needed.<br /><br />This gives ISRC more people, more visibility, gives other races more visibility and staff, and bring the racing community together.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Update: Keeping it simple.</span> Julius had told us it looks like a great idea but that we seem to be throwing too much complication into this. I guess there is only one way to find out...<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Official ISRC Pace Frigate</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Gallente Navy Comet has a blinky on top. That's our new official pace car.</span><br /><br />We are withdrawing our petition for ISD to lend us some Polaris frigates. We did not want them anyway ;)<br /><br />(Credit to Julius Rigel for having the same idea before we did and, no, we did not ask for Polaris frigates. Teleport feature on the Comet would be nice though. Killjoy must train Gallente Frig up to 3 now :P)<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Live Race Tracker</span></span><br /><br />It is an insanely cool idea of Killjoy's and coded by Takashi, this one: sometime in Season 7 we started testing a live tracker. Basically each racer opens a browser window to the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Racer URL</span>, this will update the racer's location as the race progresses. Meanwhile the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Spectator URL</span> has a list of all the racers and where they are, and constantly updates the overall location.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">We would like to make the Racer URL mandatory now...</span><br /><br />Early on, this means that the Race Host will have a picture of what is happening with the race. As he knows the track layout, this enables him to do... live commentary!<br /><br />Eventually, if we do this right, this could result in a cool live tracker in NOHi-color for the general ticket-buying public ;)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Update: The dog ate my tracker!</span> Really. We got word from some of our racers in Singularity that the tracker would no longer work and, sure enough, come Dominion it stopped working. It has something to do with session changes not being reported anymore.<br /><br />So, bad Moondoggie, bad!<br /><br />We will have to send the code back to Tak for fixing, or wait for Moondoggie to learn this trick, or have the Teleport ability added to the Comet (so we can track everyone, right?).<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Racing bets</span></span><br /><br />Some time ago there have been several efforts to run bets on the ISRC circuit. It has sort of worked but it has never been permanent. It would be nice to have it done on a more official/permanent basis.<br /><br />Personally, I have absolutely no idea how betting works... so I would be asking the expert: Kazuo, what would it take to make the betting side of races permanent?<br /><br /><br />So these are our ideas for now... The floor is still open!<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />ISRC QuinQuintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-66998619361437305812009-12-02T18:29:00.003-03:002009-12-02T18:39:27.840-03:00Patch the patch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA5hZR1hNVwzMx8yMGjNXm-Ka66zIuyAZxgnyElTyQ9CTV9e2t6Mz3wwNa3Fmk7IzNNEruueG3xxobF1letTQAmryOOsYLVv6J_0RjELhQHxkGvUzJ20GzQKQdK9FRCmbFb_Jl9sXS18/s1600-h/Patchday.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA5hZR1hNVwzMx8yMGjNXm-Ka66zIuyAZxgnyElTyQ9CTV9e2t6Mz3wwNa3Fmk7IzNNEruueG3xxobF1letTQAmryOOsYLVv6J_0RjELhQHxkGvUzJ20GzQKQdK9FRCmbFb_Jl9sXS18/s400/Patchday.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311531355486162018" /></a><br /><br />See patch download.<br /><br />See patch fail. Why do I even bother anymore?<br /><br />See Quin download the installer.<br /><br />See installer crawl.<br /><br />See install fail. Rinse, repeat.<br /><br />See some creative use of digital camera memory sticks -I am such a junkie. Maybe I should upgrade some of my stuff.<br /><br />See? We are finally good to go.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Wait... what do you mean there is another patch tomorrow?</strong>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-40754099777332585042009-12-01T07:10:00.004-03:002009-12-01T07:23:42.972-03:00Racing Future?Season 7 is over. So what happens now?<br /><br />We start all over again.<br /><br />With one little difference, mind you: I will not be racing. I am done, I quit.<br /><br />No, no, I <em>retire.</em><br /><br />Wow. I look back at three years in space and this has been what I have been doing: racing.<br /><br />Getting up on Wednesday to look at the next racing region, setting up spares and moving jump clones... bookmarks... spying on the locals... jumping into my race clone on Saturday afternoon so I am ready for race day on Sunday, to either clonejump during the race (ha, ha :P but <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/11/racing-finale.html">it worked</a> only twice out of maybe thirty I prepared) or right after the race, for flying free.<br /><br />I feel as if pro racing has been a freaking <em>job</em>.<br /><br />And I am so going to miss it.<br /><br />Also, I have the feeling that I have done so much. I got blown up many times. I started my own <a href="http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Scuderia_Caille_%28Racing_team%29">racing team</a>, <a href="http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=611494&page=1#1">recruited people</a> into, and gently kept people off it. I have been racer on the track and <a href="http://www.pleasure-hub.com/isgc/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=424#p3048">manager off the track</a>; spent so much time coming up with ways to outrun, outlast or simply outsmart. We went through a merger with the best of the best. And then, I won three championships, <em>one for each class</em>. Who's the Quin?<br /><br />I had to train skills to build wonderfully weird ship fittings. Sure, speed in the low slots, tank in the middle and who cares about the highs. Shield-tanked badass-neut large-polycardboard cloaking racing Malediction anyone?<br /><br />I have met many interesting people within, around and outside the racing circuit. Fostered friends and grapevine the size of half of Auvergne. Kept deadly secrets, and <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/02/racing-spy.html">saw mine revealed</a>.<br /><br />It has been so much fun.<br /><br />So, there. I am done because I feel that I have done everything now.<br /><br />So what happens now?<br /><br />I think I will have more time to write my racing memoirs... Season 4 still halfway, there is quite a bit of writing yet to be done.<br /><br />I am sure that Kay will do a wonderful job running <a href="http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Scuderia_Dragonstar_%28Racing_team%29">our team</a>. Her team now. It feels funny to say that.<br /><br />I will take up that part-time job at ISRC and help KillJoy with race organizing. I will probably get to write on the races from a sports commentator point of view -I never really liked <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/02/racing-blind.html">Bouchard's style</a> anyway.<br /><br />Maybe I will have some free time to try stuff I have never done, outside of the races.<br /><br />It feels like an entirely different game. I have some ideas...<br /><br />It should be fun.<br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>Racing Series</strong><br />See <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/11/racing-finale.html">what happened before</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Wait for what happened next</span><br /></div>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-44344409419956266982009-11-18T20:05:00.013-03:002014-08-10T17:36:50.916-04:00Chameleon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
I picked up some new <i>Caméléon</i> tights yesterday while holiday shopping.<br />
<br />
They have a store here in Clermont and we know each other well; my favourites are the black nanite <i>Artémis</i>. From a long pullover to a Devereaux gown, they can make any outfit kill rather than simply stun.<br />
<br />
I love how <b>nanite tights</b> keep all the style of fabric and then bring it up to an entirely new level. Set the control to start at sheer, fishnets, lacy or opaque -whatever you feel like, actually- and then let the pattern slowly change, so subtly that will not notice at first but your legs never look exactly the same at second glance. Depending on the model, the playlist will fix, cycle, improvise or follow your mood during the evening, always <i>hinting</i> but naturally, never <i>telling</i>.<br />
<br />
And turning heads is not all of it. Every step, every bit a star as you look outside, that is how you feel inside. Luxurious, daring, ready to walk on any edge. So very tired after an day on your feet? A nasty tear? Evening dancing? Don't worry, it will be alright -besides making stay-ups actually, you know, stay up, nanites know a couple of other tricks to make a girl feel like a billion or two.<br />
<br />
<i>Caméléons</i> carry a stupid expensive pricetag for tights you use only once. But are absolutely worth it.<br />
<br />
And stray hands, beware. Chameleons do bite.<br />
<br />
-Q<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Answering chat questions from readers...<br /><br /><b>Updated:</b><br />- Nanite tights: Made out of nanites, not fabric. They can change appearance and texture, but not colour.<br />- Caméléon: Gallentean luxury hosiery brand. They invented nanite tights and hold coyrights on pattern playlists.<br />- Caméléon black nanite Artémis: A model in the collection, my favourite...<br />- Stay-ups: sometimes do not. Unless with nanites, then they do stay. They'll even crawl up, which is creepy.<br /><br /><b>Updated, again:</b><br />- Of course they are not going to burn the boyfriend as they follow one's mood. He would feel something like a soft touch of fingertips. He will probably be surprised.<br />- Come to think of it, if you are mad at the BF, ouch. You had it coming, sweetie.<br />- I am not sure how much nanites would like the wash.</span>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-28682151327465484022009-11-14T12:32:00.021-03:002011-03-20T23:51:25.214-03:00Racing Finale<strong>August 111, ISRC Season 7 Final, Race 12<br />
The Bleak Lands</strong><br />
<span style="font-size:78%;">(You can also <a href="http://addictedtoeve.blogspot.com/2009/09/season-7-race-12-bleak-lands.html">read this race from Kay's point of view</a>)</span><br />
<br />
It was the last race of the season and there were so many loose ends.<br />
<br />
One of these was Ayre Rowan, our team rookie. She had been doing wonderfully during the season and this was her last shot, ever, to capture the rookie title. You can't be a rookie forever.<br />
<br />
Then we had Demon Flir. He had been frigates champion once... and again, and this season he had again collected enough score to go home and have the cup shipped to him afterwards. But nooo, this time he did not want to just win: he wanted to bowl perfect.<br />
<br />
Then there was me. The AF class had suddenly heated up, with Venture Racing Team planning to make a last push for the team AF title. And I was the designated AF driver for Scuderia Dragonstar.<br />
<br />
Bad things happen on the last race.<br />
<br />
Especially when there are loose ends...<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
Pre-race was livelier than usual. There had been this huge preparation and discussion, about where the track would go from the Bleaks. Would there be pirates? Would there be shooting among racers?<br />
<br />
The plan involved lots of ammo, lots of drones. And lots of clones.<br />
<br />
Ayre was uneasy. "Does this mean I can race safe? As long as I don't shoot anyone?"<br />
<br />
Maybe it was all that talk about clones. We were all a little bit uneasy though, not about losing ships, but about losing <em>time.</em><br />
<br />
"Ayre you should run like the wind..."<br />
<br />
So we had placed our team racers, four of them, at the starting line at Netsalakka. And then some seven spare ships across three or four regions.<br />
<br />
I would start in a Jaguar.<br />
<br />
It would be fun.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
ISRC gave the starting signal and everyone but me undocked. As the slowest in my team, I held back and called gate - "First gate, Iesa, Iesa!" then dived the <em>Feline Fatale</em> into the undock blackout.<br />
<br />
If you ever see space and you do not know where to warp, then you are falling behind. It was my job to set the course and make sure they knew. I slipped out just in time to see Takashi's Malediction warping away, chased by Demon, Kay and Ayre.<br />
<br />
Have I mentioned we have such a kickass frigates team? They all fly like interceptors.<br />
<br />
And now we knew <em>who</em> was racing. VRT had Tak in his Malediction and Koronakesh in a Retribution; this meant that Tak would fly slow to anchor Koro at the waypoints. And he could afford it, he was definitely getting his own interceptors cup shipped home regardless of what happened on this race.<br />
<br />
There were also three independent racers, an Executioner and a couple of Rifters.<br />
<br />
<strong>Waypoint one, Uusanen.</strong> Warp in, approach, wait, get the waypoint, warp out. Same old, same old.<br />
<br />
<strong>Waypoint two, Kamela</strong>. "Holy crap," came Demon's voice through vent.<br />
<br />
He was point. Just in case you are wondering, no, a racing team point does not point people. It is the racer in front, pointing stuff out for the rest of the team coming behind.<br />
<br />
"Four cans... four cans, five cans. Pedaling towards waypoint two."<br />
<br />
"Kay going to two."<br />
<br />
This place had containers marked as waypoints two, three and up to seven! Everyone dreads this in a race, a waypoint so confusing that no amount of experience or fitting will beat blind luck. If you make the right guesses, about which cans to open and which ones to ignore, you can make a podium finish. Go ahead, you have a full split-second to decide.<br />
<br />
My second favourite behind blind luck is team tactics.<br />
<br />
"Two is open, points to three in Lamaa, so the three here is fake. Pedaling waypoint four now."<br />
<br />
"Kay going on to waypoint three."<br />
<br />
"Quin approaching five."<br />
<br />
Demon swiftly took the role unto himself to stay behind in Kamela, accessing every one of the five, while Kay sped ahead to Lamaa and other places; we would still figure the track out faster this way. Ayre had somehow dropped from vent but was still racing, and I was doing everything at AF speed.<br />
<br />
<strong>Kamela, Lamaa, Kamela, Kourmonen, Kamela, Tannakan.</strong> We were racing in circles.<br />
<br />
I reached waypoint five in Kourmonen. "Tak is here." He should not have been.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, he is behind me," replied Demon "I'm still not sure what he is doing - is he waiting?"<br />
<br />
"And he is gone. And Koronakesh is just warping in, he's just overtaken me!"<br />
<br />
Crap. It did not matter how fast or how far ahead our frigates and interceptors were. If Tak could pull his AF team mate faster than I could go, they would win.<br />
<br />
<strong>By waypoint nine, Kurniainen,</strong> Tak and Koro were slowly but surely overtaking our entire team when Demon called ten.<br />
<br />
"Ten is Oyonata control bunker."<br />
<br />
I was a minute behind, still two systems from nine and jumping into... Oyonata! I smiled, I would collect ten, then nine and -with any luck- I would be closer to eleven.<br />
<br />
Now I was calling for the team: "Eleven is Gratesier, ha!"<br />
<br />
See, that's why I love blind luck, that move put me a minute <em>ahead</em> of Demon.<br />
<br />
"Anyone has eyes on Takashi?"<br />
<br />
Kay was wondering where VRT was. The last we knew of them was Tak leaving everyone in the dust at nine, not to be seen again, with Koro in tow and thumbing his nose at our best. With any <em>more</em> luck -please?- Koro would slip and I would catch up.<br />
<br />
<strong>Four jumps to Gratesier, then five to Archee.</strong> Somewhere in between I noticed this blue blip in my overview, so brief I could not see who he was. I jumped and, as I warped away, the blip reappeared on this side of the gate.<br />
<br />
Takashi was gaining on me.<br />
<br />
Excuse me? That does not really happen in real life? I was actually racing my AF ahead of the entire pack. I was in the lead!<br />
<br />
Three to go and I could see reality catching up anyway. There was no way to keep that up. Tak, my team, the pack and Koro would all fly by me. I asked my team about Koro's position on the track again and again, while I tried to figure out how to keep him behind. Three to go, only three shots for Tak's flying to help; on the fourth one he would be docked.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, Ayre had been cut off team vent and only on chat, which made her miss some of the Kamela waypoints. By the time she realised that... it had became such a long way back to the beginning of the track that she almost quit the race. Almost... but she pushed on.<br />
<br />
<strong>Thirteen was Egghelende.</strong> We were so screwed.<br />
<br />
Tak overtook me on the way there but at least he would be getting mugged before me. I arrived at Egghelende in third place, there was no one to bother us. Pirates must have been on a break.<br />
<br />
<strong>The next waypoint was fourteen jumps away, Carrou.</strong> Jump, align, warp.<br />
<br />
Maybe it was a short break. Kay's voice warned us "Oh, Koronakesh says Egg is being camped by pirates? I did not see anyone..."<br />
<br />
Then my in-ship comms went crazy with our navigator suggesting a clone jump. Where to? There was no time. Jump, align, warp.<br />
<br />
VRT had an impossible situation now. Tak was already past the Egghelende waypoint and Koro was blocked from it. He could keep staying close to Koro... or drop him to fend off by himself. He had fourteen jumps to make up his mind.<br />
<br />
In the meantime I really needed to check, but you can't stop your ship in the middle of a race to check the map. And in space no one can hear you ask for directions. What to do?<br />
<br />
Jump, align, warp.<br />
<br />
Carrou was now eleven jumps off and geting closer. I had a spare and a jump clone at Jel, the same at Faurent. Jel was close to Carrou, right? Jump, align... dock.<br />
<br />
"Oh whatever, I am docking."<br />
<br />
A last look at the autopilot saved me from a stupid mistake: Faurent, not Jel, because it was on the way to Carrou. Doh.<br />
<br />
The fit crew jumped on my ship as soon as it docked, extracted the pod and prepped me right there. No, I do not know how they do that and I doubt that we have a freaking racing-grade jump clone flash-freezer.<br />
<br />
I jumped.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
"Goodmorning everyone," I awoke to a bunch of unfamiliar crew in green jumpsuits.<br />
<br />
I must have been racing.<br />
<br />
They wasted no time briefing me on what was going on, what I had to do next and sending me on my way. There was no time for coffee or croissants, damit, and I would have to finish waking up on my way to -where had they said I had to go?- Carrou. They set me in a Ishkur and I undocked.<br />
<br />
Kay updated me "I am now seven to destination, Takashi is... about to overtake me, it will take like, one jump maybe two for him to overtake me. I am lagged now, loading systems. Nice, Quin!"<br />
<br />
I was one jump off the next waypoint and in the lead again!<br />
<br />
"It's Crielere, right next door to Rancer," I said, calling waypoint.<br />
<br />
"You did not post the next waypoint on chat, you know that?" complained Demon.<br />
<br />
I warped out and <em>then</em> posted the full navi info. "Warp now, questions later," I would not let the lead slip away this close to finishing.<br />
<br />
<strong>As I arrived in Crielere</strong>, Demon was being overtaken back in Carrou.<br />
<br />
"Tak left, just as I was warping out. Slightly ahead of me now."<br />
<br />
Apparently Takashi had made up his mind that there was no helping Koro. No matter how long he waited at Carrou, Koro would never catch up on the AF race. There was nothing to prevent Tak from going all-out.<br />
<br />
I warped out as soon as my systems had locked onto the next waypoint, the finish line.<br />
<br />
"Warping out. Ooooh, bad, bad, bad," I looked at my navi info "seven jumps to finish, I do not know if I can beat him."<br />
<br />
<strong>Finish line at Stetille.</strong> The last seven jumps of the race, the last of the season. Last of my career.<br />
<br />
Takashi is very good at long jump sequences. For all we know, he can gain five seconds on you on each system, <em>and that is if you are racing the same ship</em>. But his Interceptor vs. my Assault Frigate? Eeek. I only had a lead of four systems on him.<br />
<br />
I docked at Stetille with a not-so-comfortable lead of 48 seconds.<br />
<br />
Yup, I think I may have seen a blue blip in my overview.<br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPTZnVQadvAJorujf03BtJ2a9XDzzxCFRLw0gKc3m_ADocn9DF-zAaQ7N3OaYek49I3_r26AJmZwMz6S-VGAXq0s5mFVc0zhXFL3dWAPENjCEo3jaaHNSetlN_68E9GeaPqJjAu-mXiw/s1600-h/2009.08.23.21.25.02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPTZnVQadvAJorujf03BtJ2a9XDzzxCFRLw0gKc3m_ADocn9DF-zAaQ7N3OaYek49I3_r26AJmZwMz6S-VGAXq0s5mFVc0zhXFL3dWAPENjCEo3jaaHNSetlN_68E9GeaPqJjAu-mXiw/s400/2009.08.23.21.25.02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404140338850853426" /></a><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
After-race was livelier than ever.<br />
<br />
We were all still feeling the adrenaline rush; everyone in the team had something to celebrate.<br />
<br />
Ayre had survived the comms loss and finished the race to become the Rookie Frigates Champion, keeping in the finest Scuderia racing tradition. Demon had won frigates and scored a perfect season for the first time in history: every single race a win! Kay had risen from 3rd to 2nd place interceptors ranking thanks to this race and, although she had not won any championship for herself, she had led the team to our best season ever.<br />
<br />
No one had been shot. We had used only one clone, mine.<br />
<br />
And I? I had finished the race in first place and beaten the legendary Takashi Kurosawa, in an Assault Frigate! I had won the AF Team Cup for SDS, and the AF Pro Cup for myself.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>And all those loose ends? Tied now, in a nice bow knot.</strong></div><br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.clker.com/cliparts/e/f/5/c/1197106365409384228jonata_Bowknot.svg.med.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 175px;" src="http://www.clker.com/cliparts/e/f/5/c/1197106365409384228jonata_Bowknot.svg.med.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>Racing Series</strong><br />
See <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/08/racing-challenge.html">what happened before</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size:78%;">See <a href="http://speedfairy.blogspot.com/2009/12/racing-future.html">what happened next</a></span><br />
</div>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-27565332559482877922009-10-29T19:55:00.012-03:002009-10-29T20:26:20.702-03:00First Kill<em>Sometimes you find yourself in a situation you never intended to. You may have done something terrible, hurt someone, disappointed people... What do you do in this situation? What do you do when you disappoint yourself?<br /><br />You deny, of course.</em><br /><br />-- <br /><br />My father's forehead has these deep wrinkles, telling wrinkles.<br /><br />We talk once in a while, by holo. Last time, I was having breakfast at my place in <a href="http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Auvergne_(System)">Clermont</a> and he was having his after-dinner brandy somewhere in Mies. There is something funny about having a guest sitting in an armchair, in your kitchen, eyes level.<br /><br />Back to the wrinkles. I can read those, you know. No one can read his mind but I will settle for the closest thing, his forehead. You would imagine that after years, no, decades in the service he would have perfected his poker face.<br /><br />Well, he did and it does work with most people... but not with me. I am dad's girl.<br /><br /><em>Right there, three horizontal. Question.</em><br /><br />"You know I look at the killboards once in a while, Catherine," said his holo across the table, "and I must say I was surprised to find your <em>nom de guerre</em> on the killing side last week."<br /><br />Oh, merde.<br /><br />I just looked back at him while I munched on my granola. I did not want to lie and besides, he almost always caught me.<br /><br />He can read me right back.<br /><br />--<br /><br />It was a 0.0 roam with NOX, the first for me in so many ways. First outing in months. First time flying a Taranis. First time in fleet with Redkiwi as FC and the first time I ever heard many of them on vent, although Loras was a voice I knew. First time I had gone looking for trouble.<br /><br />In my defense, I thought I was only looking. I had wanted to bring a Covops.<br /><br />I have so many more excuses like those, if you ever want to hear.<br /><br />Oh well, my <em>Hell Hath</em> was scout for the fleet and had just landed on the gate at the same time as a neutral Rifter. I was alone, two systems away from the nearest friendly and unsure about what to do. I was sure he was looking at me and I just looked back at him for a moment... Not wanting to shoot, I burned towards him and started orbiting.<br /><br />What was I supposed to do?<br /><br />He decided to lock me and that is when I freaked out. I am not sure who fired first, I simply flipped every single module I had and then waited for a quick death. Did I mention he targeted me first? He did.<br /><br />And then it was over... as quickly as it had begun.<br /><br /><a href="http://nox.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=4648728">His ship had exploded</a>, I found myself in half armour, my MWD turned off and warping away on instinct.<br /><br />A minute later, I was warping back to the scene of the crime, to the sight of the NOX fleet inspecting the wreck and the sound of their voices cheering <em>my</em> kill. Again, a first in so many ways.<br /><br />My <em>first</em> kill.<br /><br />My first <em>solo</em> kill.<br /><br />I felt great.<br /><br />--<br /><br />I felt awful.<br /><br />You get some perspective when the rush is over. A week had passed and I was not done having a guilt trip. Lots. Of. Perspective.<br /><br />Dad's holo was looking at me. What was I supposed to say? <em>Sorry, Papa, it was an accident? I freaked out and shot the guy? He was threatening me?</em><br /><br /><em>Oops?</em><br /><br />Sometimes, maybe it is best not to answer. "I think it speaks for itself, Papa."<br /><br /><em>Wrinkles again, two vertical. A frown of concern... annoyance? Yes, you will have to take it from me.</em><br /><br />"I am not saying you did anything wrong, I just want to understand what you were doing in 0.0 and flying with Atlas. I know you realise that by taking sides -any side- you are closing doors to yourself in the future, so I will not try to..."<br /><br />Uh, say what? Something did not fit there...<br /><br />He went on "... red to CVA, the Empire and possibly also..."<br /><br />"Wait, did you say Atlas? I do not think the guy I shot was from Atlas..."<br /><br /><em>Wait... busted. It took him ten seconds and a freaking mindtrick. Yes, so I did shoot someone.</em><br /><br />But he did not expect me to be genuinely confused. To be honest, neither did I.<br /><br />"No, no... that is not what I am saying. Ah, take a look at this, Catherine. Help me understand it."<br /><br />He made an off-holo movement and a <a href="http://nox.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=4000765">two-month old killmail</a> popped up and hovered over my table. Sure enough, Atlas had killed a Thrasher in N-RAEL.<br /><br />Somehow I was listed as the top damage dealer. Was it a joke? WTF?<br /><br />"Oh, what? I had no idea," I replied, which was completely true. "N-RAEL? I remember two months ago, this guy <a href="http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=8207050">podded me</a> at a bubble camp there. I was on my way back from an expedition with Amarrian acquaintances, if that makes you happy. Of course I shot back! I wish I had got him, at least... are you telling me I did?"<br /><br />"It was self-defence, of course," he asked-without-asking, "Do you need any help? We stand behind you, all the way."<br /><br />"You bet it was. I woke up on a clone half a cluster away. Maybe this bozo managed to get himself killed by Atlas later. So yah, I am glad I shot him up, at least a little."<br /><br />I was still surprised about having that kill and about not knowing for months. And I was angry.<br /><br />How did that idiot dare to get killed? I had perfectly clean hands, no kills in almost three years of flying. I had just wanted to get away but, no, he had to go and get me on a killmail. Come to think about it, it was <em>his fault</em> and not mine that my record was ruined now. Once CONCORD has you on a killmail, eveyone knows. His fault.<br /><br />And then there was Dad, subtly running damage control. Wondering if I had ruined my career. Or his contacts. Or his expectations? I did not even want to know.<br /><br />Oh, I was angry and upset allright.<br /><br />So upset in fact, that Dad had the tact to not ask about the Rifter kill. Nor about <a href="http://nox.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=4648653">the Broadsword kill</a> after that. And he would not know of that Dominix, because the stupid killmail never arrived.<br /><br />Three, maybe four kills. A freaking spree.<br /><br />What am I supposed to do?<br /><br />--<br /><br /><em>In the end, it turns out that you can get away with a terrible deed. You just deny it and may even be able to fool some people, some of the time. But there is someone that already knows, the one person that really counts. Yourself. Can you pretend not to know?<br /><br />And for just how long do you think you can try to fool yourself?<br /></em>Quintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-76404252169596731712009-10-27T07:39:00.001-03:002009-10-27T07:39:00.576-03:00Ghosts of Banters PastOld IOU´s...<br /><br /><strong>EVE Blog Banter #10: Voting with your feet</strong><br /><br /><em>xiphos83 of A Misguided Adventurer asks the following: "Victor Davis Hanson argues that western culture, comprising of ideals such as freedom, debate, capitalism, and consensual government, are what make western society so successful at waging war. These ideologies create a warrior who's direct participation in government, ability to think freely, and desire to remain free, fights harder and is willing to suffer more than his conscripted foe. Though a military must remain a structured oligarchy to fight a war effectively, why in a world where military conflict is as familiar as breathing are there so few alliances that embrace these ideologies when governing their members?"</em><br /><br />I do not think there are any conscript alliances out there. How do you keep someone in against his will?<br /><br />In EVE people vote with their feet, so everything still feels sort of like a democracy. If you do not like the alliance boss then you pick up your stuff and get a new one, elsewhere. You shop for leadership. That's democracy.<br /><br />See? Not that democracy in the age of jump gates and warp speed needs to be about space, it's about people wanting to stick together.<br /><br /><br /><strong>EVE Blog Banter #11: T3 Frigates</strong><br /><br /><em>Joe Brusati, a long time reader of CrazyKinux's Musing, asks the following: "CCP states that T3 Strategic Cruisers are just the start for the T3 line-up. In future Eve expansions what would you like to see as the next T3 ship type. Please be specific on details about what role this ship would play, cost of manufacturing, and the different modules that would be available for it, and of course you must give your T3 ship a name!"</em><br /><br />T3 frigates! And these should be roughly 1/5 the size of a cruiser, and would fit a single cruiser module. Any module. Mwahahaha...<br /><br />Role? I do not think you can peg "a role" to anything T3 but, of course, I would like to see them able to race ;)<br /><br /><br /><strong>EVE Blog Banter #12: Sorry boss, it's an offworld call I have to take</strong><br /><br /><em>CrazyKinux himself asks the following: "First there was the MMO on the PC, and now with the recent announcement of DUST 514, EVE will soon be moving onto consoles. But what about mobile? Allow your imagination to run wild for a second and describe how you would see EVE being ported to mobile devices, whether the iPhone/iPod touch, Blackberrys or Android-based devices. Dream the impossible for us!"</em><br /><br />OK... I spy, with my little eye... a world where mobile devices act as a window into the game, but do not directly play against the main thing.<br /><br />Say for example: the iTouch acting as a neocom, looking and changing skills, showing me the money, inventory, lab jobs, reading blogs, sending evemail, strategic maps, FW stuff, online chat, EVEMon and EFT for mobile.<br /><br />Most definitely *not* doing market nor contracts. I'm sure the moment macro-miners and real money traders have those we will have Maddoff's droids running the market for us. Forget about making any ISK yourself unless you have a planetside fund with Garoun Investment, UBS or BNP Paribas.<br /><br />So, make it able to see but not able to compete with the game...<br /><br /><br /><br />There. I'm up to date now :)<br /><br />-QQuintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7738369051845303720.post-7802237902114891922009-10-26T06:59:00.002-03:002009-10-26T06:59:46.678-03:00[OOC] Witness RelocationThe last couple of months have been an unbelievably harsh time in Real Life and I have had to take a step away from so many things. For me in EVE this has meant no flying, no blogging, no bantering, chatting just barely enough, while the world goes upside-down. Accepting, adapting to Real Life changes and... arranging for things to happen.<br /><br />Relocation stress.<br /><br />Maybe this is how it must feel like being a mafia wife. You keep away from the family business... but when it is time to go, you definitely notice. Everything changes around you.<br /><br />And you just jump, hoping to land on your feet.<br /><br />-QQuintralahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17458542061158180630noreply@blogger.com4