FC'ed a medium size fleet of 45 from Korsiki to the destination gate a few systems out. Scouts had identified light OPFOR movement in near by systems.
OPFOR Domi came in to the other side of our gate camp at 100km. Fleet commanders conferred & agreed that this felt like an invitation to jump our 'ceptors over into the teeth of a smartbomb attack and so we determined to wait & see what OPFOR's next move would be... Tacklers were reminded of the safe orbit distance for smartbombing battleships and a scatter plan was prepared.
Domi jumped through. Tacklers again reminded of safe orbit distance. Domi uncloaked & was insta scrammed, webbed & jammed. Domi began smartbombing, but only Uni drones were in range.
OPFOR losses 1 smartbombing Domi
Uni losses 0 (zero, none, nada, not a single one!) ships, a few drones
Fleet returned to Korsiki without incident.
Later, I joined a Uni fleet camping 10+ OPFOR in their home station. Lots of smack in local. OPFOR surged a force of 3 Raven, 3 Domi, Thorax, Caracal, Taranis and our FC started calling targets... Lag was fairly bad. FC was calling targets that had not yet appeared on my overview!
Uni held the field, dispatching the entire surged force for the loss of a Scorp, Maulis, Merlin & Rupture. After loot/salvage complete, we warped to the designated gate to exit the system. Horrible lag ensued. Lost a battlecruiser who was lagged out when OPFOR undocked second wave.
Several DC's & reboots later, we gathered the fleet & returned to Korsiki.
Recap Kills/Losses
BB 7/1
BC 0/1
CA 2/1
FG 0/2
Int 1/0
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Musing on sadists, griefers & other forms of pond scrum
sadist - someone who obtains pleasure from inflicting pain on others. (Online Dictionary)
A griefer is a slang term used to describe a player in a multiplayer video game who plays the game simply to cause grief to other players through harassment. (Wikipedia)
pond scum - One you would consider a very primitive life form. A person without principles or morals. A useless person. Lower than wood tick and perhaps silghtly higher than whale shit. (Urban Dictionary)
The folks that have extended their war dec on E Uni would want me to mention their names. Particularly since they have chosen to also dec the alt corp that E Uni provides for brand new players, industrialists & miners who have no training for or interest in Empire wars.
They would want me to mention their name.
A griefer is a slang term used to describe a player in a multiplayer video game who plays the game simply to cause grief to other players through harassment. (Wikipedia)
pond scum - One you would consider a very primitive life form. A person without principles or morals. A useless person. Lower than wood tick and perhaps silghtly higher than whale shit. (Urban Dictionary)
The folks that have extended their war dec on E Uni would want me to mention their names. Particularly since they have chosen to also dec the alt corp that E Uni provides for brand new players, industrialists & miners who have no training for or interest in Empire wars.
They would want me to mention their name.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
CNR Down
One of our experienced pilots lost a CNR. He was flying it in war ops against express Uni policies and after having a personal conversation with Silentbrick where the prohibition on flying faction ships during wartime was reiterated.
The reasons for this prohibition are simple:
The reasons for this prohibition are simple:
- The additional combat capabilities of faction ships are marginal
- Loss of a faction ship provides a huge swing in morale (ours & the OPFOR's)
- Dropping tons of expensive modules provides incentive for OPFOR to continue
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Operation Santa AAR
Our fleet began forming at 1915 with the Special Ops Group.
At 1930, general fleet form up was begun and completed by 2000.
As launched from Korsiki, the fleet consisted of approx 50 pilots, with 1 orphaned pilot located at OPFOR HQ waiting for CSAR pickup.
Transit to the System X gate in System Y was made without incident. System X had 3 WT's in local, all docked at their HQ. Squad 1 and the Special Ops squad jumped into System X. SO squad warped to pre-established safe spot, from there to their AOE and began operations.
The remainder of the Fleet jumped into System X & established a position 200 km off the OPFOR HQ and executed CSAR pickup of our orphaned comrade. From this location, the Eve University Combat Choir held it's first public performance, singing "Jingle Bells", "Silent Night" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". After the performance, each Uni pilot jetted a can with a small token of our appreciation for our OPFOR friends, naming the can "Merry Xmas from EUni".
Having completed their mining mission, the Special Ops Squad exited the system.
Screenies here:
http://eve-files.com/dl/141653
http://eve-files.com/dl/141663
http://eve-files.com/dl/141682 Kra & the Killer Bees
http://eve-files.com/dl/141683
The remainder of the fleet exited the system. The Special Ops squad returned to Korsiki. Kra Martel last seen being chased by 40+ 'friendly' drones assigned to his interceptor.
AAR Ends.
Dee Carson
Capt. ILN
At 1930, general fleet form up was begun and completed by 2000.
As launched from Korsiki, the fleet consisted of approx 50 pilots, with 1 orphaned pilot located at OPFOR HQ waiting for CSAR pickup.
Transit to the System X gate in System Y was made without incident. System X had 3 WT's in local, all docked at their HQ. Squad 1 and the Special Ops squad jumped into System X. SO squad warped to pre-established safe spot, from there to their AOE and began operations.
The remainder of the Fleet jumped into System X & established a position 200 km off the OPFOR HQ and executed CSAR pickup of our orphaned comrade. From this location, the Eve University Combat Choir held it's first public performance, singing "Jingle Bells", "Silent Night" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". After the performance, each Uni pilot jetted a can with a small token of our appreciation for our OPFOR friends, naming the can "Merry Xmas from EUni".
Having completed their mining mission, the Special Ops Squad exited the system.
Screenies here:
http://eve-files.com/dl/141653
http://eve-files.com/dl/141663
http://eve-files.com/dl/141682 Kra & the Killer Bees
http://eve-files.com/dl/141683
The remainder of the fleet exited the system. The Special Ops squad returned to Korsiki. Kra Martel last seen being chased by 40+ 'friendly' drones assigned to his interceptor.
AAR Ends.
Dee Carson
Capt. ILN
Sunday, December 23, 2007
From last night's op
I FC'ed a medium sized (for Uni standards) fleet of 40+ last night for a little over an hour. Since our OPFOR chose to remain docked, I used it as a chance to let everyone hear what normally happens behind the scenes and left all normal command channel coms in the clear.
We ran the pipe, set up some gate camps, moved the squads independently and generally had a pleasant trip. We didn't get to shoot anyone, but we didn't get shot at either.
Funniest comment I saw in local yesterday as we were moving:
Pilot> Dear Lord...
Pilot> Note to self: "Never, ever, piss off E-Uni."
We ran the pipe, set up some gate camps, moved the squads independently and generally had a pleasant trip. We didn't get to shoot anyone, but we didn't get shot at either.
Funniest comment I saw in local yesterday as we were moving:
Pilot> Dear Lord...
Pilot> Note to self: "Never, ever, piss off E-Uni."
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Ummm... Taranis!
Lots of fun
We roamed a bit this morning. 'Ceptors flying through our fleet all the time... No real danger, just an annoyance. This one engaged our advance scout & stuck around a few seconds too long.
And of course, all of the things predicted in my earlier post have come to pass. Two barge losses make up the majority of our isk losses. Very frustrating that people don't pay attention...
If you mine in Korsiki during wartime, be prepared to meet one very pissed off Mining Director.
We roamed a bit this morning. 'Ceptors flying through our fleet all the time... No real danger, just an annoyance. This one engaged our advance scout & stuck around a few seconds too long.
And of course, all of the things predicted in my earlier post have come to pass. Two barge losses make up the majority of our isk losses. Very frustrating that people don't pay attention...
If you mine in Korsiki during wartime, be prepared to meet one very pissed off Mining Director.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Time for a quote:
This has been around for a few months, but I laugh out loud every time I read it, so I thought I'd share:
How EVE University fights their wars
by Patri Allin
How we fight a war -
We form a Grand Blob with 3 people who have been to lots of wars, 20 people who have just taken the tackling class, 5 people who are wondering what a "TS" is, and 1 person who is so new they think this is part of the tutorial. It takes us 10 minutes to figure out if we are a "tackler" or an "EW", and we haven't even left the station yet.
We find the enemy. As Leader #1 "calls a primary" 4 people put their vote in gang chat, then Leader #2 says "Jam that guy" and somewhere someone stands up from their computer and starts to do the "Hammer", And although nobody ever quite realizes this is what happened, Leader #3 has already been podded by 5 of our own guys who are now super excited they killed an enemy Battleship.
After the dust clears we've got 5 people left - shot 5 of the enemy (net loss 45) and for us this is a MASSIVE FREAKIN VICTORY! It is too cause our ships cost 1mil each and thiers about 200. We try to remember which way is home and then fly off in the wrong direction as somewhere nearby, sitting in their pod in a station, someone is thinking this is the best tutorial in an MMO ever.
:)
How EVE University fights their wars
by Patri Allin
How we fight a war -
We form a Grand Blob with 3 people who have been to lots of wars, 20 people who have just taken the tackling class, 5 people who are wondering what a "TS" is, and 1 person who is so new they think this is part of the tutorial. It takes us 10 minutes to figure out if we are a "tackler" or an "EW", and we haven't even left the station yet.
We find the enemy. As Leader #1 "calls a primary" 4 people put their vote in gang chat, then Leader #2 says "Jam that guy" and somewhere someone stands up from their computer and starts to do the "Hammer", And although nobody ever quite realizes this is what happened, Leader #3 has already been podded by 5 of our own guys who are now super excited they killed an enemy Battleship.
After the dust clears we've got 5 people left - shot 5 of the enemy (net loss 45) and for us this is a MASSIVE FREAKIN VICTORY! It is too cause our ships cost 1mil each and thiers about 200. We try to remember which way is home and then fly off in the wrong direction as somewhere nearby, sitting in their pod in a station, someone is thinking this is the best tutorial in an MMO ever.
:)
Things That Happen in EVERY Uni War
Any time any war fighting organization goes to war, there are certain things that you can be absolutely sure will happen. They have always happened and they always will happen. To wit:
- A Uni pilot will get solo popped returning to Korsiki from a Jita 4-4 shopping expedition.
- A Uni pilot will lose a mining ship while mining during wartime.
- 30 minutes into the first gate camp, Fleet Chat will contain "This is booooooring.
I wanna shoot sum body!"
- 40 minutes into the first gate camp, FC on TS will say "Frigates, you should still be orbiting in jump range. 25Km is _not_ jump range."
- A Uni pilot will target: a gate / a corpmate / a wreck / a billboard and try to tackle it.
Also these:
- A uber l33t walking e-peen PvP machine will lose his fully T2 fitted T2 ship named "F34R the R34P3R!" to a 30+ T1 Uni fleet.
- Someone in local will ask "Holy s***! What class is the Uni having???"
- There will be an occasion where the fleet will consist of 36 pilots and local count will be 37. The one guy will be at the pod wash removing brown stain.
But most importantly, this:
Eve Uni kicks serious tail!
This is because of our team work and our pilots. 'Grats!
- A Uni pilot will get solo popped returning to Korsiki from a Jita 4-4 shopping expedition.
- A Uni pilot will lose a mining ship while mining during wartime.
- 30 minutes into the first gate camp, Fleet Chat will contain "This is booooooring.
I wanna shoot sum body!"- 40 minutes into the first gate camp, FC on TS will say "Frigates, you should still be orbiting in jump range. 25Km is _not_ jump range."
- A Uni pilot will target: a gate / a corpmate / a wreck / a billboard and try to tackle it.
Also these:
- A uber l33t walking e-peen PvP machine will lose his fully T2 fitted T2 ship named "F34R the R34P3R!" to a 30+ T1 Uni fleet.
- Someone in local will ask "Holy s***! What class is the Uni having???"
- There will be an occasion where the fleet will consist of 36 pilots and local count will be 37. The one guy will be at the pod wash removing brown stain.
But most importantly, this:
Eve Uni kicks serious tail!
This is because of our team work and our pilots. 'Grats!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
War! Yarr! Beer!
The Uni has been war dec'ed by a corp of self confessed can flippers, griefers and empire gankers. They would want me to mention their name...
War prep began shortly after the dec was received and I'm sure all the shopping will be complete shortly.
I've moved all the barges to the back of the hangar. Combat ships are being tweaked & peaked.
War prep began shortly after the dec was received and I'm sure all the shopping will be complete shortly.
I've moved all the barges to the back of the hangar. Combat ships are being tweaked & peaked.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The end of another long road....
Finished a period of intense (at least for me) mission running last night. The target was to raise my standings with Expert Distribution to the magic 6.7 level so I'd have zero tax at our mining base in Lower Debyl.
You'll hear mission runners talk about 'grinding'. I really appreciate that attitude more now. The last 1/2 standing point seemed to take forever.
Bottom line: Mission accomplished. I now have perfect refine/zero tax at both Expert Housing & Expert Distribution. Looking forward to helping the Uni miners get the most value for their mining effort at our two bases.
You'll hear mission runners talk about 'grinding'. I really appreciate that attitude more now. The last 1/2 standing point seemed to take forever.
Bottom line: Mission accomplished. I now have perfect refine/zero tax at both Expert Housing & Expert Distribution. Looking forward to helping the Uni miners get the most value for their mining effort at our two bases.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Stealth Bomber fun...
An impromptu free for all broke out last night at Planet 2. I'd been looking for an excuse to roll out my new Manticore, so I saddled up & off we went.
Not wanting to seem rude, I determined that I'd limit myself to 1 volley (1 EM, 1 Thermal, 1 Kinetic) so as to not pop any of the frigates. That 1 volley was almost too much a couple of times!
After a few minutes, another Uni Manticore showed up, so we ganged & started a series of drive by's on the larger ships.
From chat:
"Dee??? Where did you come from?"
"WTF!!"
"Ouch! Ouch!"
"Dee, where did you go?"
:)
Just a few thoughts:
- Manticore is paper thin.
- Script nerf hurts. Can't really fit any kind of EW, so you need to be ready to leave the scene if you get targeted.
- A co-ordinated short squad of six of these would be _really_ nasty.
- If you are going to fly Cov-Ops, being able to fly Stealth Bombers is only a short step.
Not wanting to seem rude, I determined that I'd limit myself to 1 volley (1 EM, 1 Thermal, 1 Kinetic) so as to not pop any of the frigates. That 1 volley was almost too much a couple of times!
After a few minutes, another Uni Manticore showed up, so we ganged & started a series of drive by's on the larger ships.
From chat:
"Dee??? Where did you come from?"
"WTF!!"
"Ouch! Ouch!"
"Dee, where did you go?"
:)
Just a few thoughts:
- Manticore is paper thin.
- Script nerf hurts. Can't really fit any kind of EW, so you need to be ready to leave the scene if you get targeted.
- A co-ordinated short squad of six of these would be _really_ nasty.
- If you are going to fly Cov-Ops, being able to fly Stealth Bombers is only a short step.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Hi Sec Can Flippers
Come in two flavors; true ore thieves and PvP cowards.
I don't hate the first flavor. They take advantage of the fact that miners employ an accepted exploit (jet cans were never intended by the devs to be a mining tool) that leaves open the opportunity for theft, without consequences to the thief and only small, avoidable consequences for the victim, as long as the thievery is executed correctly. These guys are like shoplifters. What they do is wrong. It's a pain in the ass. But they will never cost me a ship. These guys work in teams of 2 or 3, with a flipper in a fast, small ship (shuttle), a hauler with a tractor and an optional scout. The shuttle drops a can right next to yours, the hauler targets the can, flipper starts a warp out to a station and (while aligning) moves the contents from your can to his. As soon as he hits warp, the hauler turns on tractor beam, pulls the can & picks up the contents. Flipper docks & waits out the timer. Not flagged (he didn't take from your can!), Hauler docks with your ore. Rinse & repeat. Done correctly, you never have a chance to engage these guys.
I hate the second flavor. These are school yard bullies. 14 year olds who hang out on the elementary school play ground, stealing lunch money from 8 year olds. They want a fight, but only against the weak. They flip cans in combat ships and hope that they will be underestimated by a new barge pilot. They want to blow you up. If they get some salvage or loot from it, fine, but that's not the point. If you choose to ignore them, they smack in local or open a convo to tell you how lame you are. Again, hoping that you will engage, so that they can blow you up. If you have backup, they hope to use aggro timers to allow them to isolate weaker teammates to kill after the rest of the gang's aggro timers expire. These PvP wannabe's could go to low sec or 0.0 and get all the pretty lights they want. The problem with that is they might actually have to face a fair fight. So, they pretend to be tough guys & pick on nOOb miners.
It's easy to avoid both types and to keep your ship facing the second.
1. Don't mine into a jet can. For new miners, use a GSC, put a password on it and haul it when it gets full.
2. Mine to a jet can, but have a hauler standing by to move the ore to their hold. Put a single round of ammo or a bookmark in the can ("popper stopper") and transfer the ore as soon as it's dumped. If a can flipper flips 1 round of ammo, laugh at him in local. Partner with another member & swap off hauling duties. Split the take 50/50.
3. Ignore them. Follow Silentbrick's procedures for reporting a can flipper in Corp chat and then do not engage. Remember, they are flagged as thieves to the whole corp, but they can't shoot at you unless & until you shoot at them. YOU have control of the engagement, not them.
I don't hate the first flavor. They take advantage of the fact that miners employ an accepted exploit (jet cans were never intended by the devs to be a mining tool) that leaves open the opportunity for theft, without consequences to the thief and only small, avoidable consequences for the victim, as long as the thievery is executed correctly. These guys are like shoplifters. What they do is wrong. It's a pain in the ass. But they will never cost me a ship. These guys work in teams of 2 or 3, with a flipper in a fast, small ship (shuttle), a hauler with a tractor and an optional scout. The shuttle drops a can right next to yours, the hauler targets the can, flipper starts a warp out to a station and (while aligning) moves the contents from your can to his. As soon as he hits warp, the hauler turns on tractor beam, pulls the can & picks up the contents. Flipper docks & waits out the timer. Not flagged (he didn't take from your can!), Hauler docks with your ore. Rinse & repeat. Done correctly, you never have a chance to engage these guys.
I hate the second flavor. These are school yard bullies. 14 year olds who hang out on the elementary school play ground, stealing lunch money from 8 year olds. They want a fight, but only against the weak. They flip cans in combat ships and hope that they will be underestimated by a new barge pilot. They want to blow you up. If they get some salvage or loot from it, fine, but that's not the point. If you choose to ignore them, they smack in local or open a convo to tell you how lame you are. Again, hoping that you will engage, so that they can blow you up. If you have backup, they hope to use aggro timers to allow them to isolate weaker teammates to kill after the rest of the gang's aggro timers expire. These PvP wannabe's could go to low sec or 0.0 and get all the pretty lights they want. The problem with that is they might actually have to face a fair fight. So, they pretend to be tough guys & pick on nOOb miners.
It's easy to avoid both types and to keep your ship facing the second.
1. Don't mine into a jet can. For new miners, use a GSC, put a password on it and haul it when it gets full.
2. Mine to a jet can, but have a hauler standing by to move the ore to their hold. Put a single round of ammo or a bookmark in the can ("popper stopper") and transfer the ore as soon as it's dumped. If a can flipper flips 1 round of ammo, laugh at him in local. Partner with another member & swap off hauling duties. Split the take 50/50.
3. Ignore them. Follow Silentbrick's procedures for reporting a can flipper in Corp chat and then do not engage. Remember, they are flagged as thieves to the whole corp, but they can't shoot at you unless & until you shoot at them. YOU have control of the engagement, not them.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Scripts = mid slot nerf
Had a couple of questions about scripts last night in corp...
Pre Trininty (PT), some modules boosted 2 attributes. For example, sensor boosters both increased your lock range and reduced your lock time. 2 sensor boosters in a sniping Rokh gave you the ability to lock out to 249km at to have a relatively quick lock time on small targets.
As a part of the Trinity patch, these dual boost modules had their base bonuses cut in half. You can add a script to the module to increase one of bonuses back to PT level, at the expense of no boost to the second bonus.
So, in order to get the same attribute bonus as 1 PT sensor booster, you now have to fit 2. Double the number of mids required to get the same performance.
Snipers now have to choose between range, lock time, damage & tracking speed. Fitting just got a whole lot more complicated and juggling scripts adds to the combat load of the pod pilot. Anyone else want a EWO in the backseat?
Pre Trininty (PT), some modules boosted 2 attributes. For example, sensor boosters both increased your lock range and reduced your lock time. 2 sensor boosters in a sniping Rokh gave you the ability to lock out to 249km at to have a relatively quick lock time on small targets.
As a part of the Trinity patch, these dual boost modules had their base bonuses cut in half. You can add a script to the module to increase one of bonuses back to PT level, at the expense of no boost to the second bonus.
So, in order to get the same attribute bonus as 1 PT sensor booster, you now have to fit 2. Double the number of mids required to get the same performance.
Snipers now have to choose between range, lock time, damage & tracking speed. Fitting just got a whole lot more complicated and juggling scripts adds to the combat load of the pod pilot. Anyone else want a EWO in the backseat?
Thursday, December 13, 2007
No, I'm not dead, it's just been one of those months...
No excuses, just facts... RL holidays & end of year work stuff. Struggling with the Trinity upgrade. None of my boxes can run the premium content and all of my boxes have suffered from significant frame rate drops using Classic graphics with the new engine... My notebook played the best before Trinity, but is now unplayable for anything beyond basic travel & station work. From 40+fps pre patch in station to 7 fps afterward. My older desktop went from 30fps to about 20fps. And yes, I've upgraded all the firmware, drivers & direct X. I turned off sound & effects. I'm running full screen mode with the same resolution set for Windows & for the game.... All that, still no joy.. My bug report, with attached DXDiag is in the queue, but I'm not taking any bets on how long it will take to be answered.
In game, we've had 4 weeks of war, with all the fun and frustration that goes along with it... I only had one "Ruh Roe" moment as I logged on at lunch & answered Saber's call to "Get your ass in your Scorp & get on the Osmon gate, now!" I'm in warp to the gate, when I see local start spiking... Tango count goes from 1 to 12+ while I'm in warp.... Predictably, I'm called primary as soon as I drop out of warp on the gate... Jammed 4 & tried to align for warp out... My pod made it, but my Scorp went out in flames! And I'm asking myself, "Hey Dumbass! Why are warping to the gate when you can jam from 150km & you have a set of bookmarks at that distance?" Dumbass didn't have a good answer. :(
The past few days have been better as I've at least got a semi-usable box. We've popped a few can flippers and producing scripts has had a positive impact on my wallet. Working on plans for some kind of mining contest and a road trip to Debyl before year end. Anything to keep me from having to go shopping with She Who Must Be Obeyed & the daughters! lol!
In game, we've had 4 weeks of war, with all the fun and frustration that goes along with it... I only had one "Ruh Roe" moment as I logged on at lunch & answered Saber's call to "Get your ass in your Scorp & get on the Osmon gate, now!" I'm in warp to the gate, when I see local start spiking... Tango count goes from 1 to 12+ while I'm in warp.... Predictably, I'm called primary as soon as I drop out of warp on the gate... Jammed 4 & tried to align for warp out... My pod made it, but my Scorp went out in flames! And I'm asking myself, "Hey Dumbass! Why are warping to the gate when you can jam from 150km & you have a set of bookmarks at that distance?" Dumbass didn't have a good answer. :(
The past few days have been better as I've at least got a semi-usable box. We've popped a few can flippers and producing scripts has had a positive impact on my wallet. Working on plans for some kind of mining contest and a road trip to Debyl before year end. Anything to keep me from having to go shopping with She Who Must Be Obeyed & the daughters! lol!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Scattershooting
- My trek up the training path to sniper hits a major milestone Saturday as Large Hybrid V finishes. I'll be shopping for T2 425mm rails over the weekend! Battleship V by Christmas...
- The mining loaner fleet has received lots of love the past few days. The Uni funded the addition of 6 barges, individual members have provided ships or isk to add 5 more haulers and 6 more cruisers. This program exemplifies the team spirit that is a core value of our corp.
- Mining 101 class last night was offered mission omber & scordite. Resulted in a 2.5m isk payout to each of the students.
- Another Mining 101 class set for Sunday.
- Several interesting ships set for Trinity release. Mmmm, Widow!
- The mining loaner fleet has received lots of love the past few days. The Uni funded the addition of 6 barges, individual members have provided ships or isk to add 5 more haulers and 6 more cruisers. This program exemplifies the team spirit that is a core value of our corp.
- Mining 101 class last night was offered mission omber & scordite. Resulted in a 2.5m isk payout to each of the students.
- Another Mining 101 class set for Sunday.
- Several interesting ships set for Trinity release. Mmmm, Widow!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Some days are stones
A couple of long time leaders of Eve University and Ivy League have determined that the time is right for them to move on to other adventures. Kassie & Phaedra have been involved as long as I can remember, providing leadership, sharing their resources and time, and generally providing examples to the rest of us.
Turn over at the Uni is an expected thing, but when anyone leaves, mixed emotions always arise. Excitement for the person & their new chapter, seasoned by sadness at seeing them go. When longtime members go, the feelings are all intensified.
My hopes for you as you go forth:
- For your peaceful activities, fair winds & following seas.
- For your combat operations, a target rich environment.
O7
Turn over at the Uni is an expected thing, but when anyone leaves, mixed emotions always arise. Excitement for the person & their new chapter, seasoned by sadness at seeing them go. When longtime members go, the feelings are all intensified.
My hopes for you as you go forth:
- For your peaceful activities, fair winds & following seas.
- For your combat operations, a target rich environment.
O7
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Some days are diamonds
Having pushed my standings at Expert Housing up to the magic no tax level, I've turned to Expert Distribution missions to reduce my taxes at our mining base in Debyl. 3 Missions last night with about 20m in nice loot drops in an hour.
Mined 15m of minerals in Korsiki.
Popped 2 ore thieves [Poinen (at lunch when I logged in to clean out my inbox) & Korsiki].
Some days are diamonds!
Mined 15m of minerals in Korsiki.
Popped 2 ore thieves [Poinen (at lunch when I logged in to clean out my inbox) & Korsiki].
Some days are diamonds!
Monday, October 15, 2007
No War for Me :(
Starting last Thursday, I took a 4 day holiday to Chicago with my wife and another couple. I prepared for everything Eve related, I thought... Long skills set for both Kaye & me. Post on the forums letting everyone know I'd be out... I figured I'd be able to check up on email & chat a bit from my notebook on hotel connections, but really didn't plan on anything else...
So, of course, Uni gets dec'ed & I can't fly combat. Uni kicks serious ass & I can't fly combat. OPFOR can't stand the heat, so they get out of the kitchen, retracting the dec before my holiday is over. Bah!
On the bright side, we had a wonderful time in Chicago. The Adler Planetarium is a must see if you find yourself in the Windy City. We also had lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern (inspiration for the Saturday Night Live "Cheesboyger, cheesboyger, chips_no_fries, pepsi_no_coke" skit and dinner at Harry Carrey's (greatest tiramasu _ever_!)
Back home, back to work & back to mining tonight!
So, of course, Uni gets dec'ed & I can't fly combat. Uni kicks serious ass & I can't fly combat. OPFOR can't stand the heat, so they get out of the kitchen, retracting the dec before my holiday is over. Bah!
On the bright side, we had a wonderful time in Chicago. The Adler Planetarium is a must see if you find yourself in the Windy City. We also had lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern (inspiration for the Saturday Night Live "Cheesboyger, cheesboyger, chips_no_fries, pepsi_no_coke" skit and dinner at Harry Carrey's (greatest tiramasu _ever_!)
Back home, back to work & back to mining tonight!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Nice Night!
Last night was interesting... Our resident ore thief took up station in a cruiser at the undock bookmark at HQ and jetted two cans with a single round of ammo in each. Kaye & I baby sat him for a time and dropped our own single round cans("Please" and "Take Me"). We also assembled a squad of combat ships who were all docked at HQ. On the call, the docked ships undocked and warped to the undock can, effectively landing right on top of our "friend". We held position for 60 seconds and then gang warped to the Osmon gate. Message delivered.
Later a few of us headed down to Poinen to help a 7 day old member with World's Collide. Assault Frigates FTW!
On the way back, an ore thief in Nuken in a Drake stole from another of our new guys in a Bantam.
No more than 60 secs later, Kaye and her Domi were second to the belt and engaged. A couple of cruisers who were on station also engaged at that point. As I jumped, I called for tacklers to cover the Korsiki side of the gate, hoping that when I showed up in a tackling Scorp, I'd either lock him down or he would run out the gate.
My warp in point was out of scram range, so I jammed him, added my launchers to the mix and engaged MWD to get close enough to tackle. The thief warped to the gate with me following. I jumped through to see 12 corpmates waiting! Kaye warped to the gate to engage. The thief both declined to engage or to jump through, chosing instead to head to Lai Dai and dock up to wait out the timer.
So we took the squad to the station & camped him until his timer expired.
I'm really proud of the attitude of teamwork & co-operation displayed by our pilots. We won't always catch the bad guy, even when we are in position to bust him if he makes a mistake. In this case, he didn't, but we still delivered our message.
O7
Later a few of us headed down to Poinen to help a 7 day old member with World's Collide. Assault Frigates FTW!
On the way back, an ore thief in Nuken in a Drake stole from another of our new guys in a Bantam.
No more than 60 secs later, Kaye and her Domi were second to the belt and engaged. A couple of cruisers who were on station also engaged at that point. As I jumped, I called for tacklers to cover the Korsiki side of the gate, hoping that when I showed up in a tackling Scorp, I'd either lock him down or he would run out the gate.
My warp in point was out of scram range, so I jammed him, added my launchers to the mix and engaged MWD to get close enough to tackle. The thief warped to the gate with me following. I jumped through to see 12 corpmates waiting! Kaye warped to the gate to engage. The thief both declined to engage or to jump through, chosing instead to head to Lai Dai and dock up to wait out the timer.
So we took the squad to the station & camped him until his timer expired.
I'm really proud of the attitude of teamwork & co-operation displayed by our pilots. We won't always catch the bad guy, even when we are in position to bust him if he makes a mistake. In this case, he didn't, but we still delivered our message.
O7
Friday, October 5, 2007
No candles, please...
The automatic sprinklers would go off!
Yeah, it's my birthday. My youngest daughter is home for the weekend and we have some family activities planned. Fortunately, I have 20+ days remaining on Large Hybrid V, so my diminished playtime won't cause co-ordination issues.
A couple of years ago, my daughters asked me to celebrate my birthday by recording 50 Things That I Know. Looked it over last night & I'm still pretty happy with the list, so I'll share. Maybe you'll find something that resonates.
Yeah, it's my birthday. My youngest daughter is home for the weekend and we have some family activities planned. Fortunately, I have 20+ days remaining on Large Hybrid V, so my diminished playtime won't cause co-ordination issues.
A couple of years ago, my daughters asked me to celebrate my birthday by recording 50 Things That I Know. Looked it over last night & I'm still pretty happy with the list, so I'll share. Maybe you'll find something that resonates.
50 Things I Know:
- You can never say “I love you” too many times.
- It’s hard to consistently take the long view. It demands patience!
- Everyone you know will disappoint you someday. Realize that in advance, cut them some slack & get over it! PS: You’ll disappoint them sometimes, too.
- Never underestimate the rejuvenative power of a good night’s sleep.
- Butter tastes better than anything that has “poly”, “hydrogenated” or “trans” anywhere in the ingredients.
- Want to see what ‘focused’ means? Watch a bird dog on point just before the covey flush.
- Holding a sleeping baby is God’s anti-depressant.
- A bird feeder & a pair of binoculars are pretty cheap entertainment.
- If you have to explain it, it isn’t “art”.
- Faithful friends: a sharp knife, a cast-iron skillet & a home-made quilt.
- Every 8 year old should know how to tie a square knot, a bowline & two half-hitches. By 9, they should know when to use each one.
- There is no substitute for the power of the written word. It follows, then, that there is no substitute for both being able to read and actually exercising that ability often.
- It’s pretty handy to be able to make change without a cash register doing the math for you.
- If you are talking more than you are listening, pipe down.
- Looking at the stars through a decent telescope, can make you feel insignificant. Recognizing that the same God who made those stars knows you by name, can make you feel really valuable.
- Changing a flat tire in August will make a preacher cuss.
- Having a current backup of your computer is a lot like an ejection seat in a fighter jet. You don’t need it very often, but when you do, you need it badly, right now and there’s no viable substitute.
- Being able to type and 10 key by touch are lots more important than they used to be.
- It’s hard to go wrong when you send flowers, particularly to your wife’s workplace. You get the credit for sending them & she gets the credit for training you properly! On-line florists really take the pain out of this, too.
- Sometimes the difference between “preaching” & “meddling” depends upon which side of the lectern you’re standing.
- Being able to make good cream gravy is equal parts science and art.
- You should be able to appreciate almost any kind of music. You may not like it, but you can still appreciate the talent it takes to create it.
- Nobody dies saying they wished they’d spent more time at work.
- My choices include: Batman not Superman, Mary Ann not Ginger, Chevy not Ford, Clapton not Knoffler, Folgers not Maxwell House, Levis not Wrangler, Jiff not Skippy, Sig Suaer not Glock.
- To quote Ronnie Dunn “I’m finding a lot more truth in the words written in red.”
- I have a lot more questions and a lot fewer answers than I did ten years ago, but that doesn’t seem to bother me as much as it used to.
- Having a charged fire extinguisher in your trunk and in your kitchen is a pain in the neck. Until you need it.
- Having more credit cards than cars is a bad idea.
- If your internal clock and sense of direction aren’t reliable, a watch and a compass are pretty handy.
- Granny was right… Hard times will make a monkey eat red peppers.
- Email is handy, but sometimes the people you love need to hear your voice.
- A simple, handwritten thank you note speaks volumes about you.
- If it’s stupid, but it works, it isn’t stupid.
- If you have both the ability to cook well and the inclination to do so, you need never be lonely.
- A good hug is hard to beat.
- If you hope that God is more pleased with you today than yesterday, He probably is.
- As I have gotten older, my father has gotten wiser. Even though he died more than twenty five years ago.
- You may want to re-think things if you spend more time with the TV, the golf course or the computer than with your spouse.
- A gun is always loaded, until you personally, completely and safely verify that it isn’t.
- A few things every man should know how to do: sew on a button, iron a shirt, cook something besides meat on grill and choose the right fork at a tablecloth restaurant.
- A few things every woman should know how to do: check the fluids in a car, adjust the air pressure in the tires, change a flat, differentiate between a Phillips & regular screwdriver and between a crescent and box wrench.
- One man’s varmint is another man’s endangered species. It’s always wise to consult with others before pulling the trigger.
- Better on TV: football & basketball. Better in person: baseball & auto racing
- There are worse ways to spend Saturday morning than with 6 speeds, 50 miles of twisty road and Stevie Ray’s box set.
- There are worse ways to spend Saturday night than with Chinese takeout, “Steel Magnolias”, “Murphy’s Romance” and your sweetie.
- I used to think that God would be ready to earnestly answer all my questions when I get to heaven. I’m becoming more convinced that we’ll just share a pretty good laugh at all the trivial things I was so concerned about.
- You can call it ‘salmon’ or ‘dusty rose’ or ‘morning coral’ or ‘blush’. It’s all ‘pink’ to me & I’m not wearing a shirt that color.
- Nothing is more lonely than a hospital in the middle of the night.
- I’ll take tornadoes over earthquakes, hurricanes & floods every time.
- God (and a few people) loves me no matter what I do, say or think, but it never hurts to say “I’m sorry and I’ll try and do better” when appropriate.
Monday, October 1, 2007
It's about the team...
Ran another Mining 101 class yesterday afternoon. Ten new guys split about 23m isk. Thanks to the vets who donated time to help fill cans!
Quej, one of our other vets, built & fitted 5 Retrievers to give to new miners, so we ran a little trivia contest to give them away.
Category: 70's Bands
Question: If Timothy B. Schmit had a forum sig, why would "Schmit comes after Meisner" be doubly appropriate....
I spread the winners out across the time zones, so everyone could play.
After the class & all ot the admin work, I clone jumped to Lower Debyl to do some serious mining... I'll probably stay there for 3 or 4 days. Mmmm... Kernite!
Quej, one of our other vets, built & fitted 5 Retrievers to give to new miners, so we ran a little trivia contest to give them away.
Category: 70's Bands
Question: If Timothy B. Schmit had a forum sig, why would "Schmit comes after Meisner" be doubly appropriate....
I spread the winners out across the time zones, so everyone could play.
After the class & all ot the admin work, I clone jumped to Lower Debyl to do some serious mining... I'll probably stay there for 3 or 4 days. Mmmm... Kernite!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Back to Business!
I ran a Mining 101 class in Korsiki last night. It was really great to get back to more productive things than war.
One of the great things about this class is that there are always older members who roll out their mining barges to help fill cans. At the end of the class, the 'roids are refined and sold at market prices. The proceeds are split among the new students who are attending.
Last night we had a couple of Hulks and a whole flock of Ospreys. 4 new students split 23m isk as their reward for attending the class. Not a bad deal at all!
Thanks again to the vets who help the new folks get started!
One of the great things about this class is that there are always older members who roll out their mining barges to help fill cans. At the end of the class, the 'roids are refined and sold at market prices. The proceeds are split among the new students who are attending.
Last night we had a couple of Hulks and a whole flock of Ospreys. 4 new students split 23m isk as their reward for attending the class. Not a bad deal at all!
Thanks again to the vets who help the new folks get started!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Phoenix & Nanotardz have enough...
Both war decs have been withdrawn.
I think the withdrawals were the result of several factors:
Now, back to mining. My production stocks are so low, I've had to resort to buy orders. :(
I think the withdrawals were the result of several factors:
- Our performance on the field was outstanding. An amazing 94% vs Phoenix and a more expected 63% vs Nanotardz.
- Our tactics reduced the easy ganks & gave our enemies the choice of either engaging our fleet at a decided numerical disadvantage or staying docked & using alts to observe our conga lines.
- Our diplomatic efforts brought political pressure from the community to bear.
Now, back to mining. My production stocks are so low, I've had to resort to buy orders. :(
Friday, September 21, 2007
Osprey for Taranis.. AKA The Worm Turns
Popping an T1 fitted Osprey in the belts + 3 million isk
Catching the pod + .5 million isk
Losing a T2 fitted interceptor to a T1 cruiser - 12 million isk
Realizing that the "OMFG! They blobbed me"
can't be used as an excuse Priceless!!!
Posting the Osprey kill in 30 secs, but
not posting the loss after an hour ???
Catching the pod + .5 million isk
Losing a T2 fitted interceptor to a T1 cruiser - 12 million isk
Realizing that the "OMFG! They blobbed me"
can't be used as an excuse Priceless!!!
Posting the Osprey kill in 30 secs, but
not posting the loss after an hour ???
Thursday, September 20, 2007
"Some times you're the windshield, some times you're the bug!"
Maelstrom
Megathron
On the one hand, I truly hate the disruption that this series of war dec's causes in the activities of the Uni & it's members.
But on the other hand, there is something satisfying in seeing the Fleet deliver an old fashioned ass kicking. I just wish that I had been able to stay & be a part of it!
O7
Megathron
On the one hand, I truly hate the disruption that this series of war dec's causes in the activities of the Uni & it's members.
But on the other hand, there is something satisfying in seeing the Fleet deliver an old fashioned ass kicking. I just wish that I had been able to stay & be a part of it!
O7
Monday, September 17, 2007
And it came to pass...
"A fully T2 fitted Myrm is death to 3 frigates & a vanilla BC. But a 15 person fleet with sufficient EWAR support is another matter entirely." DC 9/14
Nanotardz Killboard 9/15
Be sure & look at the comments on their losses.
Lessons to be learned:
Nanotardz Killboard 9/15
Be sure & look at the comments on their losses.
Lessons to be learned:
- Pre-war intel is really important. Know what your opponent flies & how they fight.
- One man's fleet is another man's blob.
- No matter how big the ship, if it's jammed, damped & disrupted, it can't deal out effective damage. EWAR is the great equalizer.
- Rarely does the FC have enough scouts.
- There is no such thing as overkill. There is only "Target" and "Reloading".
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Grrrr....
First the servers don't co-operate with our mining Road Trip, then I have some RL issues to deal with, then another war dec...
My fangs hadn't fully retracted from the last time!
I'll be putting on my Navy uniform for the duration, so no mining for me. Mining during war time is not a good idea, particularly against small corps that specialize in the solo gank.
If you choose to mine (against advice!), then be smart:
- Choose an isolated system
- Make a safespot away from the gates, belts & stations
- Position your mining spot out of plane to the belt, so you have a clear shot at your escape (station, safespot)
- Don't use a gate as an initial escape, you won't know what's on the other side
- Point to the escape before you start mining & set speed to 0
- If WT jumps in, leave the belt immediately! Go to safe spot & cloak or WTZ to station & dock.
The important thing is to first deny these guys the kind of gank they like and force them to fight on our terms.
A fully T2 fitted Myrm is death to 3 frigates & a vanilla BC. But a 15 person fleet with sufficient EWAR support is another matter entirely.
Be smart!
My fangs hadn't fully retracted from the last time!
I'll be putting on my Navy uniform for the duration, so no mining for me. Mining during war time is not a good idea, particularly against small corps that specialize in the solo gank.
If you choose to mine (against advice!), then be smart:
- Choose an isolated system
- Make a safespot away from the gates, belts & stations
- Position your mining spot out of plane to the belt, so you have a clear shot at your escape (station, safespot)
- Don't use a gate as an initial escape, you won't know what's on the other side
- Point to the escape before you start mining & set speed to 0
- If WT jumps in, leave the belt immediately! Go to safe spot & cloak or WTZ to station & dock.
The important thing is to first deny these guys the kind of gank they like and force them to fight on our terms.
A fully T2 fitted Myrm is death to 3 frigates & a vanilla BC. But a 15 person fleet with sufficient EWAR support is another matter entirely.
Be smart!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Yeah, I'm old....
From private convo:
“
There are _so_ many smart aleck ways to answer that question. However, when tempted to make such a remark, I’m always drawn up short by the wisdom of my father (who is still getting smarter, even though he passed 30 yrs ago) who said: “Son, everyone likes a little ass, but nobody like a big smart ass.”
Harpoon I, II and IV
Harpoon Battlesets (Authored 30+ scenarios)
V For Victory Series (4 titles)
Steel Panthers I & II
Steel Panthers Expansion Sets (4 titles)
Patriot
Panzer General
Allied General
Pacific General
Silent Hunter I & II
SU-27 Flanker
So it’s not complicated. I play because it’s fun! I’m a part of
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Server Crashes: The Miners Did It!
Monday night, after can 10 of our op, the servers crashed.
Tuesday night, after can 10 of our op, the servers crashed.
Coincidence? I think not. Clearly the servers can not handle the database updates required when we are filling cans every 5 minutes.
On behalf of the Road Trip Mining Crew, I accept responsibility and offer our apologies. We'll stop after 9 cans in the future & take a break to let the servers catch up.
/me refolds tinfoil hat & returns to work.
Tuesday night, after can 10 of our op, the servers crashed.
Coincidence? I think not. Clearly the servers can not handle the database updates required when we are filling cans every 5 minutes.
On behalf of the Road Trip Mining Crew, I accept responsibility and offer our apologies. We'll stop after 9 cans in the future & take a break to let the servers catch up.
/me refolds tinfoil hat & returns to work.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Something new this way comes....
New for you & new for me.
I've never been one to keep a diary or a journal, so we'll see how long this lasts before I run out of steam.
Post war, I rescheduled the Road Trip to Debyl and we ran our first op last night from 0000 to about 0115 when the gerbils died. We had a nice group of 10 miners and at peak peformance were filling a can every 4.5 minutes! Poor Kaye and her Ity V simply couldn't keep up as we were one jump from our base of operation.
It was quite nice to have an entire system to ourselves, particularly all that lovely kernite. No one else ever entered local.
Even though it was a bit abreviated, we put 23m isk of minerals on contract (at maket prices) to Morning Maniac for the freighter project.
We'll run another 2 hour op tonight.
I've never been one to keep a diary or a journal, so we'll see how long this lasts before I run out of steam.
Post war, I rescheduled the Road Trip to Debyl and we ran our first op last night from 0000 to about 0115 when the gerbils died. We had a nice group of 10 miners and at peak peformance were filling a can every 4.5 minutes! Poor Kaye and her Ity V simply couldn't keep up as we were one jump from our base of operation.
It was quite nice to have an entire system to ourselves, particularly all that lovely kernite. No one else ever entered local.
Even though it was a bit abreviated, we put 23m isk of minerals on contract (at maket prices) to Morning Maniac for the freighter project.
We'll run another 2 hour op tonight.
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