World of Warcraft - So I bought Cataclysm

And it is pretty cool. This is probably the first time when I have been truly ‘ready’ for an expansion the last time with Wrath of the Lich King I was barely at max level and certainly I had no experience of end game raiding and pvp. Now I read guides of all shapes and sizes I follow a number of WoW and gold making blogs (I WILL listen to a podcast soon I promise) and I think I know at least my two preferred class and spec combinations.

The new quest zones are interesting well Vash’ir is Hyjal is more than a little boring but I think with 4 character to get to 85 over the coming months I will use it as a levelling option again. The quests themselves are usually interesting and require you to read the text though the whole 360 degree nature of the underwater zone can sometimes drive you mad when looking for a cave hub.

The instances are... different think Razorfen Kraul that is what I thought when I tackled Blackrock Caverns, that instance is long and the bosses just seem to keep on coming definitely different to the WotLK dungeon style with their general structure of 4 to 5 bosses and small numbers of trash pulls. Don’t worry though it certainly isn’t getting back to Burning Crusade style dungeons  but you certainly have to keep a good 2 hour window open if you are going to try the LFD group while you quest but things will only get shorter once people gear up.

Can’t comment on Archaeology though everything I hear tells me to avoid it like the plague and that it is the worst time sink ever.

I recommend it seems silly to stay stuck on WotLK content when there is now so much to explore.

Christmas Thoughts

It is Christmas so here we are, well probably we will be at Boxing Day by the time this goes out. My day was spent mostly sleeping in and trying to stay warm then I finally managed to drag myself up listen to a little Five Live before heading into Azeroth to do a little fishing nothing too heavy just mainly for the skill ups.

Now after some tasty Chinese leftovers I am sat here reading various internet articles and pondering ways of sprucing up my blog with a nice central image. Somehow though while thinking about this I managed to find another article about the naughty things that Disney stars do. Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus and now Demi Lovato with some interesting pictures of her and her dancers. Add to that the gossip of why she went into a treatment center with the scuttlebutt being it was to avoid the aftermath of giving a kicking to one of her dancers for supposedly grassing her up and some might say they are spoiled and out of control.

I think that is a little harsh I am not so confident in my own ability to stay sensible when introduced to that kind of fame and fortune at such a young age, true a few celebrities stand out as good role models and in the end that is only because the media tell us so. And with the paps and your friends selling you out at every turn it makes staying on the straight and narrow even more difficult.

So spare a thought for young celebrities you certainly don’t have to pity them just don’t assume you would be so superior if put in their position.

CHRISTMAS - TIME FOR SWEETS

So here I am finally about to have a day to myself in quiet contemplation, even today I had to pop out to get some shopping my parents got for me. Certainly not complaining though that food will mean that I can save my money in harsh financial times for all of us. So given the time of year consider this a general round up of stuff I have not had time to post up due to far too much time lost to insomnia and World of Warcraft.

Skype

http://www.techwatch.co.uk/2010/12/23/skype-blackout-causes-misery-for-millions/

So just reading through a great post by @sykezington at the Just Another Goblin Community alerted me to the recent 30 hour service blackout experienced by the vast majority of Skype users. This is rather bad timing for Skype as in a few months time they will be asking for investors. They are remaining pretty tight lipped as to the reason for the failure. Maybe they installed a Windows 7 update on their server I know that has taken down my new netbook more times then it should.

Gantz

Gantz is a sci-fi manga that is a really interesting and fresh read. I can’t give you a plot synopsis of it would take too much of the fun away it is far better to read through the opening issues and sit there wondering to yourself “What the heck?”. The artwork on display is top notch and the storyline is fairly gripping and I can definitely recommend is as one of the best adult oriented mangas I have read. Not adult like most of the Internet just not the child friendly stuff like Naruto for instance.

Definitely worth a read or a watch as it was released as two series of thirteen epiodes.

Peering into the void

So it is well and truly into the Christmas period which combined with the recent snowy weather has made the UK a bit miserable.That is just for everyone else, yours truly already hates the holiday period with a burning passion. I always find myself down around this time of year and this is no exception. Freezing to death while doing your shopping just doesn't make for a very happy Shaft.

This time of year just brings things into focus like what has not succeeded and those ongoing issues that otherwise complicates your life. I think I'm rambling here so I will just close with saying if you're out there and you feel like crap hang on for dear life, eventually the nights will get shorter and it won't require four layers to get the morning paper.

Be well and go eat some candy, may not be healthy but certainly made me feel better, mmmmmmm coconut cake.

MY THOUGHTS - Broadband is GO and other stuff

Broadband is here FINALLY. The initial speeds are pretty good but I guess they may change overtime. One thing I have noticed just from occasionally checking the local wireless networks that a lot of neighbours are on Sky too, them and Talk Talk really have a foothold in the local area. Switching to Broadband is initially an expensive step but it should be cheaper in the long run no more running out of bandwidth at crucial points when I am trying to do work or just do some gaming.

Plus the bonus means I can watch TV episodes whenever I want and I will hopefully no longer suffer from excruciating lag when playing World of Warcraft. That is a major plus in my opinion and it really helps keep on top of things like writing this blog and contributing to various online communities.


World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
So I am thinking it is going to be another two weeks before I can buy the expansion, as a guy who likes to get off to a quick start it is really irking me to have to wait and constantly read about realm firsts and the ludicrous gold making that can be had in the first few weeks of a new expansion. Also I know people who are already raiding perhaps my bad luck for knowing overachievers but it still leaves me feeling seriously left behind.

Other stuff
Broke is the word of the day if not of the year as it comes to an end. Hopefully I will finally get some employment with some decent hours early next year and go about building myself a proper life of actually being able to sleep at night wake in the morning go to work and all that exciting stuff. I don't need to earn loads just something to break even and get rid of the debt you know? Anyway I don't want to bore you readers to death check back in a few weeks when I start blogging about my own Cataclysm experiences.

Books
Finished the final Hunger Games book - Mockingjay. Short review of the series - it is the most depressing book or series that I have ever read I kept on hoping in the end that something redeeming would happen but no it was just unrelentingly depressing and negative. After finishing it I really do sit here wondering what the heck all this hype was about. The first book was awesome but things seriously just go down from then on. If you haven't started the series yet and don't like thoroughly depressing books I would steer clear.


EVERYONE OUT THERE, BE WELL! 

World of Warcraft - BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

So all my carefully laid plans have gone up in flames it seems I thought that by now I would be happily running or more accurately flying around Azeroth by now fishing, questing and trying to hoard items as much as possible to sell later. Instead I find myself writing this article offline only to try to upload it on my phone’s meagre Internet connection whenever I get this thing finished.

Already as I check out the WoW related blogs I have seen that we already have our first level 85 indeed by now I would suspect there are dozens across the various regions of the world where Cataclysm has been released. I doubt there are any gathering related world firsts left on my realm. But enough complaining obviously things are going to change in my Cataclysm schedule.

First up I don’t have a fixed date for buying Cataclysm all I can say for sure is that I will do my best to buy it before Christmas so I have something to do on the day. I have finally got a phone line installed at the fortress but unfortunately for me broadband won’t be active on the line till near the end of next week. What am I meant to do till then? Well as it is so near Christmas finances are incredibly tight with the purchases of a phone line and broadband.

So there won’t be a whole lot in the way of World of Warcraft content on my blog for the next couple of weeks, instead I will be sticking to other areas of interest including a couple of book reviews and general discussions.

CURRENTLY READING - SUZANNE COLLINS - Mockingjay (Hunger Games 3)

TV SHOWS - Misfits

So here we are well into the 2^nd season of Misfits a British Sci-Fi drama shown on E4 in the United Kingdom. When I first started seeing the trails for the first season of this new drama I couldn’t help dismissing it as Skins with powers lots of drug and sex references and not a lot of anything else. After catching the first season I felt fairly vindicated it was nothing special but maybe did a little something to examine the idea of what real characters might do when they discovered they possessed super powers.

The end story of season one was interesting though with a young girl going around converting people into her upstanding morally strong slaves and the appearance of a mysterious masked rider who saves one of our intrepid heroes.

After coming to the end of the season I thought it was OK but certainly not anything special and I did not anticipate it getting renewed but here it is and strangely enough I find myself watching again. The initial episodes were more of the same and I began to wonder how they managed to get renewed but then it threw out a surprise or two. Time travel, the emergence of a real superhero and a super powered villain of the week has definitely improved things as well as the existence of a new future story arc in the Misfits universe.

The writers have succeeded where many other sci-fi shows with far more money and hype behind them have failed. The show has managed to improve on itself in the 2^nd season and give its viewers a reason to watch so let us hope they keep us this good work to the end of the season. I will see you there!

The Shaft’s Word Blog also reviews Movies and Books in case you were wondering as well as charting my experiences playing the Multi-award winning MMORPG World of Warcraft and acting as a personal blog.