Archive for the ‘Main’ Category

Real ID – Real Fail

Jul 7th, 10 / 2 Comments

In case you haven’t already seen your Facebook explode with the news, Blizzard is taking their Real ID system to new a new level. Yesterday (July 6, 2010) they announced that the Real ID system would be used on their fourms:

The first and most significant change is that in the near future, anyone posting or replying to a post on official Blizzard forums will be doing so using their Real ID — that is, their real-life first and last name — with the option to also display the name of their primary in-game character alongside it. These changes will go into effect on all StarCraft II forums with the launch of the new community site prior to the July 27 release of the game, with the World of Warcraft site and forums following suit near the launch of Cataclysm. The classic Battle.net forums, including those for Diablo II and Warcraft III, will be moving to a new legacy forum section with the release of the StarCraft II community site and at that time will also transition to using Real ID for posting.

Needless to say, this has been met with much, much, much disapproval. So far, my favorite comment on the subject was made on a post over at Ars Technica:

I don’t like it. I’m not overly paranoid about my real identity, I’m sure it wouldn’t be difficult to track down at this point, but I also don’t really want to use my real name when I don’t have to. At this point my internet alias is my real online identity, far more than my name is. I post all over the internet under Xavin or XavinNydek, and it’s conceivable that there are people who recognize me from multiple places. Nobody would recognize my real name, that’s not who I am online.

That’s pretty much how I feel as well. Issues people have with privacy aside, there are other reasons anonymity is important. First, and most important, YOU shouldn’t be able to tell ME who I have to reveal MY name to. Period.

Let’s take a a very brief look at this from a non-stalker/scary-place angle. People in positions of power, or in the public eye for other reasons, need that veil of anonymity in order to have any kind of “normal” interactions with people. In this particular instance, I know of entire guilds of Law Enforcement personnel who have felt forced to cancel their subscriptions because now their real names will be revealed; GLBT players often band together in guilds, and many of these players are not Out in real life. Some of these Closeted players could have their lives ruined by a hostile public Outting; On a less “dangerous” level, what about people like me? Working in the industry, for a direct competitor, at the very best, no one would take me seriously because there is that immediate perceived conflict-of-interest.

Back to the original #1 point though – If I want to be known as KidNytro54 online, then why the hell shouldn’t I be able to do that? Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m a huge, huge fan of personal responsibility; I feel that’s something the Internet has lost sight of in these days of the Eternal September, so I’m all for making each player have a single online identity they are personally responsible for (no more creating temp accounts just so you can post some terribly rude comments without anyone knowing it was you), but for God’s sake..

LET ME CHOOSE WHAT THAT IDENTITY IS!!

Let’s Get Dangerous

Mar 10th, 10 / 2 Comments

Darkwing Duck

Darkwing Duck is my hero. I have many superheros I revere, for one reason or another, but Darkwing Duck holds a special place in my heart. While I may admire the Green Lantern‘s willpower, Superman‘s infinite compassion for humanity, Batman‘s dedication to justice-by-any-means, and Wonder Woman‘s roundhouse-kick-to-the-face, Darkwing Duck is a character I have always been able to identify with.

When I look at Darkwing Duck, and his genuine attempts at heroism, oft turn slapstick, I see what I would be if I attempted “Hero.” His whole heart was in it; all of his sincerity and passion was dedicated to vanquishing the evil-doers and saving the innocent. His biggest obstacle was his own mediocrity – an average Joe, with a heart bigger than his deeds were able to match. In his constant struggles to do-the-right-thing at a heroic level, he often failed – and quite spectacularly at times. That, of course, is what made it a great cartoon… but it is also that which caused me to view Darkwing Duck as my cartoon alter ego.

Would I have the courage, the gumption, the get-up-and-go, to put on a mask and attempt to save the average innocent from the average crime, I too would fail to live up in deed to my heart’s expectations; perhaps a real-life unintentionally-comedic hero, bumbling around providing less than what he had hoped. Sometimes I fear this is how I perform in life anyway… full of good intentions, but actions that leave me just shy of the hero my heart feels it should be.

War Fans of Culinary Fury!

Feb 28th, 10 / 3 Comments

I … LOVE … this commercial. It totally reminds me of some D&D chick wielding duel War Fans! Totally rocks!

Dental QQs

Feb 25th, 10 / 3 Comments

The last time I was at the dentist for a cleaning (This is not one of those, I haven’t been to the dentist in 20 years, stories .. I go regularly), the Doctor noticed one of my molars had fractured. He asked me a bunch of questions about when/how … to which I could only shrug. One would think a person would remember if they bit down on something so hard their teeth actually cracked under the pressure, but I had no recollection of when or how this fracture could have taken place. Hurrah.. <sigh>.

The tooth wasn’t falling apart at the moment, so it was decided to wait until a preliminary test was going to be done on a new type of porcelain-heating method supposedly able to generate inlays,onlays, and crowns 10x harder than conventional heating methods.

My tooth, however, had other plans. This past Monday, as I sat at my desk enthralled in my work, my fractured tooth decided it was time to give up the ghost. I was horrified when I started spitting out pieces of my tooth. Immediately, I picked up the phone and made an emergency appointment with my dentist.

Example of a Dental Crown

Long story short, I now have a temporary crown, while “the lab” uses this new heating method to create a the permanent one for me. It’s more expensive, but because of the way my jaw is structured, 100% of the work done by my teeth is handled by only 4-6 teeth in the back – therefore, any dental work done back there needs to be way stronger than normal. Joy of Joys.

Add to this, my resistance to conventional anesthetics, which makes any visit to the dentist that much more nerve wracking (HA!) for me, and you have the *best*day*ever* for me, yesterday. By the time I got home, I was in so much pain, I took some ibuprofen and passed out for about 4 hours. WEEEEEEEEE!!!!

So… yeah. And this whole ordeal isn’t even over; I have to go back to get the permanent crown put in, in a few weeks. Oh, and the payment is due at that time as well – yeah, insurance isn’t going to cover this since I had a filling put in that same tooth fewer than 5 years ago. I’m so overjoyed. I don’t think there is an appropriate emoticon that truly represents just how elated I feel.

Update – 3/1/2010

I talked with someone at my Dentist’s office, and it may not be as bleak as I originally thought. There is a chance the insurance will pay for half of the work. That still leaves hundreds of dollars for me to shell out, but 50% fewer dollars is quite helpful, if it goes through.

Plugin Woes

Feb 4th, 10 / 0 Comments

Ugh … I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a headache I’ve caused myself with my blog. I just can’t leave things well enough alone – I just constantly tinker with plugin code, trying to force every square peg into the round socket I’ve decided it simply MUST fit into. This, of course, undoubtedly ends up having strange things happen from time to time. Considering the low traffic my site gets, it’s not *that* big of a deal since I’m usually able to fix things before too many people see the site in a screwed up state.

Oh well. I’m sure none of you mind the occasional hiccup, right? If you see something truly outlandish though, please let me know so I can try to get it fixed!