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How to find your way to all those loved squirrels
"You love Rat." "You love Chicken." "You love Rabbit." I have to admit, before the achievements came to the game, I was a critter-killer -- I usually ended the lives of any critters I came across, because this is war and the world is no place for them. But since achievements appeared, I've gone around loving every little animal I could -- I haven't gone at To All the Squirrels I've Loved Before with a plan, just emoted towards everything I found.But Random Ravings isn't quite as random -- they've got a terrific list of where to find every single critter you need. Only two are actually in Northrend (I thought there was more), and the rest seem to be in muliple places around the world, so it doesn't seem too bad at all. The hardest might be the wild parrot -- that one seems to be only in Un'Goro, but brave the dinos down there, find the bird, and you're all set.Nice list. Anyone ready to head up to Borean Tundra and just grab the last two? BBR says they're also working on a list of all the books for the reading achievement -- can't wait to see (and eventually run around and do) that one either.
World of WarCrafts: Mojo tee
Every Thursday, Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle guides you in creating WoW-inspired crafts using real world mats with World of WarCrafts.There's just never enough Mojo to go around. Fortunately, this tee will let you show off your love for Mojo without having to get lucky with your hex stick.The method can also be applied to bags, hats, or even shoes. And if by chance you don't fancy Mojo, you could always mix it up and make a shirt with a huge Willy. Here is what you will need: T-Shirt Glue-on Jewelry Beads Fabric Glue Cardboard Click on the images below to view a gallery of step-by-step instructions. %Gallery-36236% Want to print the step-by-step instructions? Copy and paste the instructions below.
Forum post of the day: Freakin' frogs
Ftoomsh of Aman'Thul is hopping mad that Shamans will be getting Hex in Wrath of the Lich King. Green with envy, she feels that Mages are already being rendered obsolete in PvE. Polymorph as a unique ability should not be added to a pool of skill for more classes to draw from. The original poster jumped to the conclusion that giving this ability to Shamans make Mages completely useless. Baah, I say. Hex is similar to Polymorph, but is definitely not the same spell. You might even say it doesn't go the whole nine yards. Several of the responding post reminded Ftoomsh that the Hex ability in its current form only lasts ten seconds. On top of that it set to a one-minute cool down while Polymorph has no cooldown but diminishing returns. The frogged character will be in control of their movement, but ill not be able to cast with the debuff. I'd like to add that Hex does appear to lack the healing mechanic of polymorph.
Gameplay Wishlist: new mount abilities
Mounts in World of Warcraft are essentially organic vehicles that allow the player to traverse the landscape more quickly. Level 60 Epic mounts are faster than level 40 mounts, and of course flying mounts grant vertical movement. Mounts in other games are mostly the same, barring, of course, smaller games of which we might know nothing. It's a big game universe out there; it's possible.But it seems that there's unaddressed potential with these mounts. Sure, they look menacing, and it's better to ride than to walk, but is that all? Watching the recent Vanguard mounts video made us yearn for more from our noble steeds. Here's what we'd like to see in future games.
Get your Mojo workin'! [UPDATED]
Are you one of those folks who just absolutely can't live without the cute and cuddly non-combat pets? Well, this morning has turned up news of a surprising new non-combat pet, but we're not convinced that "cute" fits here. The pet is Mojo, the frog long claimed to be obtainable in Zul'Aman via the Amani Hex-sticks. While we're not entirely sure if it was intended or not, it would appear that Mojo is currently available by going to the small camp just outside and slightly to the south of Zul'Aman. I have tested this quest and was actually able to get Mojo on my level 70 Rogue as well as my level 27 Hunter, so one would think that it is likely attainable on most characters. Of course, the down-side of this particular variant of Mojo is that he doesn't seem to be quite right. Well, that is to say, his texture map looks very low-res/unfinished compared to other frogs in game, and his in-game icon is a grey doll with a blue nimbus around him as opposed to being a frog. However, should you want a Mojo of your own, check out the how-to after the jump![UPDATED] - It would appear that this is no longer working and was, in fact, a bug that was hot-fixed today. Blizzard has not issued a statement as yet about whether or not the NPC-given Mojos will remain. If they do say one way or the other, we'll let you know.
WoW Moviewatch: Think of the animals
ZeusJones sends along this movie he made, in support of his new organization seeking to protect the apparently innocuous wildlife around Azeroth. How many innocent lives have you mindlessly snuffed? Please, stop the slaughter. Now, I'm all for Zeus' little campaign (and he's even got a blog up and running for it), but I want to warn him: those animals might not be as harmless as they seem. True story: I was in Heroic Underbog this weekend, and a frog hopped by while we were waiting for mana. I clicked on him, and Frost Shocked him out of his little froggy existence, as I usually do whenever we see critters around.And I kid you not-- I was very surprised to see a little red 1 roll up my scrolling combat text. I checked the combat window, and sure enough: "Frog hits you for 1." Completely true. I don't know how he did it (it was an instant spell! he's a critter!), but that frog tried to take a bite out of me. Maybe I should have bought Griftah's amulet.
Robotic frogs employ condoms and engage in "foot flagging"
When we predicted the killer robot-frog sequel to those evolution emulating robotic tadpoles we saw last month, we didn't expect the response to be this quirky. An article over at The Scientist details the process by which Professor Peter Narins and his colleagues at the University of Vienna managed to "convince real frogs that a male intruder has just hopped into their territory". How did Narins go about this strange activity? Using robotic frogs equipped with air pumps, speakers, and get this, condoms. Apparently, condoms are so well suited to task of mimicking a frog's croak that the sound can provoke a real frog into sparring with the lifeless and immobile robot-frog. Later on next year, the research will shift onto a study of Staurois natator, the black-spotted rock frog, whose habitat is near running water which Narins thinks makes sound communication impossible. To address this problem, he intends to devise a robot-frog model with tiny leg motors which can communicate using "foot flagging": an apparently graceful movement whereby frogs lift their legs and rotate them in order to convey their thoughts. Are we the only ones to spot the similarity between this activity and Homo sapiens using their toe digits to operate television remotes when they're on the floor?[Via Primidi]
Robotic tadpoles emulate evolution
Robot tadpole mating. That's what a team of vertebrate physiologists at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. have been using to investigate the evolution of vertebrae. These little robot tadpoles -- lovingly named "Tadros" -- are modeled after the larvae of sea creatures called "sea squirts": each has an electronic eye, motor, computer brain, and gelatinous tail of varying lengths and stiffness. By racing the Tadros towards a light in 8-foot fish tanks and recording the results, the scientists have been able to carry out a simulated form of evolution by electronically mating each Tadros and producing a next-generation that shares the attributes of its two "parents." Over 10 generations of robot tadpole "relations," the scientists found that the tails became stiffer as the swimming performance improved. Apparently this stiffness accounts for only 40% of the improvements in swimming performance: further investigations will ascertain which factors account for the remaining 60%. Next, the team hopes to add a "hunter" to the tank which the Tadros can avoid using infrared sensors, to mimic the pressure sensitive organs of fish. Evolution emulating robot-tadpoles today, giant killer robot-frogs tomorrow?[Thanks, Rod L.]
