Ruminations

Yes! We're finally online! Okay, I've only put about 160 SKU's (product lines) up so far and they're mostly medieval-oriented, but its getting there - growing a little bit, day by day. I've probably got about 2000 products to put up all told but I think the site will have arrived once I get to about 6-700.

http://www.westernleathercraft.com.au/shop/

Oh my, I've spent far, far too many hours on Skyrim so far.

But its one hell of a game!

The combat has been a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, if you play in 3rd Person View, you can actually judge distances and use techniques one picks up in the SCA. Because the AI doesn't automatically adjust for where you're standing as it delivers attacks, you can effectively sidestep or circle around your opponent. Its difficult but its doable.

You can also use distance to your advantage, stepping in to deliver blows and stepping away as they return them. But because there's no tactile sense involved this can sometimes fail.

Combine that with some sort of weird system whereby the computer fails to accurately sense the striking zone of a weapon, and its possible to miss someone directly in front of you and yet cut the person behind them. This is particularly troubling when that person is on your side, like a "Companion". Ordinarily Companions can't be killed by other NPCs because they "yield" and become a noncombatant when they drop to maybe 15% health.

Can't tell you the number of times I've killed my offsider whilst attacking some bandit that stands between us. :P

Most single handed weapons work fairly well, but two handed weapons strike stupidly slow. And on top of that, I'll often find myself clicking the mouse button 2-3 times to get my character to swing even once. One day I'd like to play a game where they actually went and field tested these weapons or maybe spoke to someone who actually knew how to fight with them. ;)

On the whole though, I'm having a bloody great time. :)

It can be found at:

http://knightsbridge.sharpie.id.au/home

Knightsbridge is having a get together in early October to make plans for the next year. I'm really looking forward to it.

Thinking perhaps of doing a rapier pas d'armes and maybe a grand hunt. But we shall see.... ;)

Mmmmm.... I was just reflecting today on how much I gained by going to the "Dimensions in Leather" Conference in Brisbane. It cost about $1500 or so to go to but it was soooo worth it! The skills I learned, the contacts I made, the equipment I bought and the clarity of Vision I found.

Had a huge win today with my business too. Can't really discuss any details here but I think I can see the light at the end of Cash Flow tunnel. ;)

Starting to feel like I'm being targeted here.

For about the last 2-3 weeks I have had an old post in my blog recieve one or two bogus comments per day advertising some bogus product or fishing. And now another post I've made has had its first comment.

Has anyone else had problems with this kind of Spam comments?

Does anyone else actually read the quests they go on?

I found myself abandoning a Faction and ending a whole quest line when I didn't like the content for the Tamarin Tigers for Age of Conan. It was like, "WTF? You're cannibals? You eat those who are "Not strong enough"? You want me to kill some rival recruiter and when I ask why you say, "Do not question! Just obey!""

So I gave the Tamarin Tigers the proverbial birdie and left their faction, thereby earning -50,000 faction with them. Wow!

My Guild Leader, who was teamed with me to help me out was like, "You read this stuff? Don't you want to get the Tiger Mount?"

"Not that much..." I said.

I won't even mention what led me to this line of thought. Its best left alone till I've got a clearer mind and a few hours sleep.

In any case, the line of thought is thus:

I've been pondering lately just what to express and what not to. Particularly in a public medium.

Because I'm a Knight in the SCA.

Ordinarily I don't mind a little bit of self-monitoring. A bit of reflexivity. I like to reflect on things a little and not get hot-headed. Because I certainly can get hot headed about some things.

But lately its starting to feel a little bit too much like self-censorship.

Sure, I value the SCA. And I don't want to ruin the game for newbies. But pandering to ego-trippers and the socially inept is just as destructive as giving them a public flogging.

I tried a different tack and told someone off privately the other day. No name-calling. I just spelt things out the way I saw them. And they didn't even get angry. Maybe in speaking plainly to them, they felt they were being treated as an equal. Go figure.

I'm coming to the conclusion that its really quite hard.

Every time I see someone over-reacting to something, or not checking their facts, or playing the martyr or victim, I think, "Ha! I would so *never* do that!"

But that's just because I haven't had my "buttons" pushed today.

And it takes very little. A heart felt apology rejected. A freely given gift rebuffed. An honest mistake misconstrued as as an attack. Simple things like that really get my goat.

I wish I could put a filter on my emails that stopped them getting out of the Sent Box for 12 hours. ;)

Ran into an old teacher, Mr MacKinnon, and his wife, on the train this morning. He'd been my form teacher in year 9 and my Social Studies teacher that year as well.

I hadn't seen him since I left Rossmoyne Senior Highschool in 1987 and he was still recognizable, though his ginger hair had turned snowy white. He'd been retired for only about 6 or 7 years, and had 24 years of continual employment at Rossmoyne.

We chatted for a bit and then the lass in the chair behind him got up and said he'd been her teacher at Rossmoyne as well. She'd graduated in about 2001, I think.

A serendipitous morning, if ever I'd had one.

I must say, I'm really enjoying catching the train to work. In particular I love riding my bike to the train station and back. There's a sense of freedom to be had on a bike that you just don't get in a car.

If you're reading this, then its probably with good reason:

Doubtless you've all heard this before but I'm going to put it out there again. My own version, at least. If you think this is aimed at you, it probably is. And if you don't think you need to change, then suck it up, because you probably do.

I'm not trying to tell anyone to bite their tongues, or turn the other cheek. Just to try and be better human beings.

The rules are quite simple. And there are four:

1) No one likes reading your flowery crap. Its bad enough when you love the sound of your own voice in person. On the internet we all just wish you'd get to the point. Succinctness and simplicity are virtues here. So keep it short and sweet. Anything else and we may start to suspect that you're just trying to bore us into agreeing with you to make you shut up.

2) If you're going to argue, attack the argument and not the person. Mudslinging is for lowlives. If that's your style and you won't change, then go and run for parliament.

3) If you think someone is having a go at you, just, for argument's sake, assume they're actually obeying Rule #2. Try and clarify with them off list if they mean what you understood them to mean. Don't assume the worst, circle the wagons, call out the troops and start marching to war. I can't tell you how sick I am of seeing this happen time and time again.

4) No Crusading. There used to be a time when people would lead by example. Or they would lead by painting a glorious vision of what could be. They would plant the seeds of greatness in our hearts and nurture them till they grew. Oh! Those were grand old days! Now we seem to have a variety who lead by cracking whips and putting babies on pitch forks. If people have to be "convinced" and not inspired, you're doing it wrong.

5) Okay, we have four... no FIVE... main rules. The last is "Have a sense of humour". Learn to laugh at yourself. This *is* a game. A game we all would like to be able to have fun at. If you think that it being a game allows you to be an asshat, then this isn't the game for you. This one has rules and they can be summed up as "...acting in a Courteous and Chivalrous manner...".

Regards

Sir Andre de Montsegur