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Raiding under the influence
The response to Monday's breakfast topic got me thinking about drugs, alcohol and WoW. A lot of people said they drink to pass the time while farming in WoW. If you're 21 or whatever the legal drinking age in your country is, that's fine -- at least you're not driving. And as for other substances, well .... we're not the FBI and we're not here to judge or moralize. Generally, it's probably better to play WoW while intoxicated than, say, perform brain surgery or control the country's nuclear arsenal. But dealing with drugs and alcohol can be tough if you're in a group situation, especially if you're in a raiding guild. There's a thin line between "having a good time" and "wiping the entire group because the suppression room is spinning." I've been in raid groups with extremely drunk or high people, and the result has rarely been good. Sure, there's the odd person who can heal or tank just as well while under the influence, but I've also seen a drunk mage whisper me with "loool im kiting gluths stuff," and heard one too many guildmates explain that they couldn't remember why they quit the guild/insulted the officers/yelled out their phone number in Vent. Pretty entertaining for those of us watching, but for a guild actually trying to make progression, such members can be hard to handle. The worst I've seen was when I was guilded with a tank with an admitted drug and alcohol problem. He was an excellent tank when he was present and conscious, which is why guilds kept giving him chances. The end of the line for him with our guild was when he was the main tank for Nefarian -- we were just beginning to learn the fight, and the guild leader figured a tank with Will of the Forsaken might make things easier. He did a good job the first try. He did a good job the second try. But after the ten minute break before the third try, he disappeared. He didn't log out or tell anyone he was going AFK -- he just stayed still until he disconnected. Turns out he had taken quite a bit of alcohol and/or cocaine before the raid and had passed out at his computer. Needless to say, he didn't get to tank Nef again (although he did stay in the guild.) What does your guild do with people who are clearly intoxicated during instances? Do you have a drug-free zone policy during raids, or do you consider it a violation of the person's privacy to tell them what to do in their personal lives?
Phat Loot Phriday: Darkmoon Special Reserve
Yes, there's lots of things to do in Azeroth, and fortunately, getting drunk is one of them. Our expansion finally shows up next week, so before then, let's have another round on the best tasting stuff you can find.Name: Darkmoon Special ReserveType: BeverageDamage / Speed: Messes you up but quickAbilities: "An extremely potent alcoholic beverage." Yup, this is the hard stuff. When you want to get virtually drunk, settle for nothing less. It's the official beverage of fishing superstar Nat Pagle! You know how when you get a few in you, it feels like you can take on the world? This beverage is no different-- after consuming it, not only do you get the normal blurry vision (seen above), but mobs will actually look lower in level to you. Get smashed on this stuff, and a level 50 mob will actually look level 45 or 46. Careful though-- this stuff packs a heck of a hangover. Too bad you can't find a chocolate milkshake anywhere in the game (trust me, that's the best hangover cure ever). How to Get It: As the name implies, you can get it at the Darkmoon Faire-- the beverage vendor there sells it cheap. The Faire shows up either outside Thunder Bluff or Stormwind, depending on where it happens to be at a certain time. But the vendor will sell it to you anytime, no matter what faction you are, as long as you make your way over there.But the other, better way to get it is to stop by the most legendary fishing spot in all of Azeroth. Nat Pagle, fisherman extraordinaire (named after Blue's Pat Nagle), has a nice little fishing spot hidden in none other than Zul'Gurub. At the camp (where you also summon Gahz'ranka). There's a few boxes there, and you can stock up on the Special Reserve to your heart's content. Pagle fished in style, baby!Getting Rid of It: Drink the stuff-- it does a body good. If, for some reason, you've decided to cut down on the consumption, a vendor will buy it back for 12 copper. Cheers! Here's to the Burning Crusade! See you in Outland!
Japanese hardware sales, 4 September - 10 September: Thick Irish accent edition
So, weh here a' the Fanboy decided ta' switch nationalities for a Wii bit. (I could na' resist the pun!) It seems that o'er in Japan, the DS Lite has taken a bit of ah slide. The only explanation weh can offer is that a giant shipment ah Guinness draft arrived a' the pubs, and people were just too busy drinkin' to spend money on such a fine system. The PSP sales, o' course, went up, as people needed more fancy coasters to set their drinks upon. - DS Lite: 113,831 115,108 (50.28%) - PSP: 29,141 1,642 (5.97%) - PS2: 19,882 2,821 (12.43%) - GBA SP: 2,104 647 (23.52%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,801 10 (0.56%) - Xbox 360: 1,094 156 (12.48%) - DS Phat: 1,058 738 (230.63%) - Gamecube: 696 159 (18.60%) - GBA: 13 9 (40.91%) - Xbox: 5 5 (infinite%) - Wii: 0 0 (0%) Fellow blogger Ludwig, over a' Joystiq, decided ta' include the Wii in the sales charts for this one week, and since weh pretty much try ta' emulate his every whimsical notion are the Wii Fanboy, after oll, weh decided ta' do so as well.[Source: Media Create]
Nissan considering anti-drunk driving technology
Although third-party options have long been available to interfere with the poor decision to start a car while inebriated, a recent string of alcohol-related accidents in Japan has led Nissan to begin mulling over a factory installed system that prevents intoxicated individuals from cranking up their own ride. The technology would utilize "breathalyzer-like devices" to detect the blood alcohol content when you got behind the wheel, and if it finds that you're over the legal limit, the hopes of turning that engine over are squashed. Potential "solutions" included a straw-like device which you'd have to puff on before ignition could ensue (sanitation concerns could become an issue here if you share your car with someone), or an automated system that would require drivers to enter a series of numbers (presumably difficult if you're not sober) before being granted access to cruise. While we don't know when these anti-drunk driving vehicles will start popping up at dealerships, we highly doubt folks that are careless enough to toss a few back before getting behind the wheel would have the presence of mind to pay extra for something like this when they buy their car -- besides, we'll all be using autopilot before too long, right?
Drinktrain
What better way for a group of tireless Apple code monkeys to relax after a week of hard work than to get smashed on the train ride home? According Drinktrain, not much. Thus, a tradition consisting of just that seems to have emerged from within Cupertino. Most Friday evenings, the last car on the CalTrain from Mountain View to San Francisco can be found chock full of inebriated Apple employees partying it up to such themes as: Chuck Norris Train, Snakes on a Mothaf*ckin Train, and my personal favorite; Mac OS X Pirate Localization Train. According to our anonymous source, Drinktrain participants get away with their shenanigans due to the fact that there is no open-container law that applies to CalTrain vehicles. By far the juiciest tid-bit of information in the official wiki is the fact that Drinktrain is continuously looking for new blood, even if it comes from those who don't work at the shiny white mother-ship. Who's up for some locomotive lunacy!?
iPod or drinking: students prefer iPod
We can't say that we're really surprised, but it would appear that this year's hundred-university student survey conducted by Student Monitor showed the iPod to run the show in terms of student desireability, even more so than getting soused. It's the first time in almost ten years that something besides drinking has reigned atop the survey, but we have to admit though, drinking has the odds stacked against it. We'll see what happens to the Apple's sweet spread when we lobby the government to raise the minimum buying age for iPods to 21, now won't we?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
