World of Warcraft

The open beta for the World of Warcraft MMORPG closes today.

I've avoided MMOGs for a long time - the last one I played was Subspace, which was lots of fun, if rather chaotic. I decided when I heard about WoW I was going to wait to play any MMORPG until Blizzard came out with theirs, and I haven't been disappointed.

I hear people complaining about character balance and how this or that class is underpowered. Yeah, it's true, I believe you. Blizzard will fix it. One of the things I _liked_ about Diablo 2 -their last offering - was that character balance changed around now and again. It'd be nice if it was built into the gameworld better so people _knew_ their character was going to be underpowered without paying attention to the boards complaining about nerfage.

Anyway. So I'm getting the game. I should get it on release day. It should be very pretty. I feel like a crack fiend.

Thank you, Aunt karenv, for supporting my habit. You'll be happy (??) to know that your birthday money has gone to something entirely unnecessary to my continued survival and will keep me occupied for months.

All right, all right, yes, several 11s have passed.

ragnarok_now has reminded me I promised details.

I'm going to be joining forces with a company called EDS (Electronic Data Systems), who is working as a contractor for the DOD (Department of Defense) for a place called the Defense Manpower Data Center. The major server I'm aware of is one of the nodes for their biometric and personal information database which drives the smart card based ID system the Whole Bloody Military (WBM) uses.

It's a Solaris Only House. It's on Fort Ord, in Seaside, in the Monterey area. I'll be living and working in one of the best possible places in CA I could have hoped to work. The job pays well, has benefits and job security, and caters to my strengths. The downsides are going to have to be pretty heinous to scare me off.

Now I just need to find someplace to live. I saw a spot 4 miles down the road in Monterey which is pretty ideal looking, I just need to begin the process. I'm also looking into housing they have on-base - a two bedroom place for about the same price as the one-bedroom in Monterey proper. I may have my library room sooner than I expected.

Anycase. That's the news. I'm trying not to count my chicks before they hatch too much, but this is pretty spiffy.