Day 15,349
Last couple days have been busy, what with the working out, World of Warcraft, Gran Turismo 5, Pathfinder and going out.
Working Out
This has been going well. I'm seeing improvements in my general endurance, with the heart rate actually staying pretty constant during the cardio. I've even had to adjust the resistance up, to get up a sweat. I've made a few tweaks in what I eat, to the point where I've actually had vegetables and the like. I've also seriously slashed the Coca-Cola intake, again, and am going through a bit of the caffiene withdrawals. The overall trend is, so far, to weight loss without any radical diet changes. I suspect I'll be hitting the plateau soon, though.
World of Warcraft
This is a very, very different game from the one that debuted 6 years ago. I think one of my favorite things about all the changes I see, is how many of them reflect the developers paying attention to how people play the game. Nearly every "must-have" 3rd party interface enhancement is now part of the core, for example.
They also seem to pay attention to play styles. One of the first things anyone would do upon making a new character is scrounge and scramble for pouches & bags, just so you could actually carry stuff. Now, bags and pouches seem plentiful in the early going - to the point where I was actually selling some as surplus.
There's plenty of pointers and handholders to get you to and from quests, acknowledging, I think, how people tend to go to 3rd party website for quest guides. Simplified talent trees, so optimizing is easier and requires less sifting through build guides.
It's all a sign of a company that seems to pay attention.
Gran Turismo 5 remains pretty darn awesome as a driving sim, though I haven't gotten into the damage modelling yet. I did enjoy the go-kart tracks, though.
Pathfinder
I'm not sure if it was that the opposition was weak, or that the party finally got its act together, but we had a pretty short Boss Battle this week. The Mitrhal Mage actually didn't get off a single offensive spell, thanks to the efforts of the monk and the wizard.
The monk grappled, of course, forcing an emergency (and nearly impossible) Dimension Door. When The Mithral Mage popped back to attempt a disintegrate... he botched the concentration check, and then had his quickened Mirror Image spell get counter-spelled by the wizard with a Dispel Magic. After that, it wasn't hard for the monk to flurry of blows the poor caster into dented mithral foil.
Other Stuff
Went to Bedouin Soundclash last night, and had a great time. There sound guy must be really good, because it was a perfectly mixed concert. Clear sound, no feedback, and intelligeble lyrics. The band was really tight, and the crowd definitely into it. Afterwards, the girls and I headed to HUSH, where they got to dance the rest of the night away to some heavy beats. Got home way too late (or early), though, and I think we're all paying the price.
Working Out
This has been going well. I'm seeing improvements in my general endurance, with the heart rate actually staying pretty constant during the cardio. I've even had to adjust the resistance up, to get up a sweat. I've made a few tweaks in what I eat, to the point where I've actually had vegetables and the like. I've also seriously slashed the Coca-Cola intake, again, and am going through a bit of the caffiene withdrawals. The overall trend is, so far, to weight loss without any radical diet changes. I suspect I'll be hitting the plateau soon, though.
World of Warcraft
This is a very, very different game from the one that debuted 6 years ago. I think one of my favorite things about all the changes I see, is how many of them reflect the developers paying attention to how people play the game. Nearly every "must-have" 3rd party interface enhancement is now part of the core, for example.
They also seem to pay attention to play styles. One of the first things anyone would do upon making a new character is scrounge and scramble for pouches & bags, just so you could actually carry stuff. Now, bags and pouches seem plentiful in the early going - to the point where I was actually selling some as surplus.
There's plenty of pointers and handholders to get you to and from quests, acknowledging, I think, how people tend to go to 3rd party website for quest guides. Simplified talent trees, so optimizing is easier and requires less sifting through build guides.
It's all a sign of a company that seems to pay attention.
Gran Turismo 5 remains pretty darn awesome as a driving sim, though I haven't gotten into the damage modelling yet. I did enjoy the go-kart tracks, though.
Pathfinder
I'm not sure if it was that the opposition was weak, or that the party finally got its act together, but we had a pretty short Boss Battle this week. The Mitrhal Mage actually didn't get off a single offensive spell, thanks to the efforts of the monk and the wizard.
The monk grappled, of course, forcing an emergency (and nearly impossible) Dimension Door. When The Mithral Mage popped back to attempt a disintegrate... he botched the concentration check, and then had his quickened Mirror Image spell get counter-spelled by the wizard with a Dispel Magic. After that, it wasn't hard for the monk to flurry of blows the poor caster into dented mithral foil.
Other Stuff
Went to Bedouin Soundclash last night, and had a great time. There sound guy must be really good, because it was a perfectly mixed concert. Clear sound, no feedback, and intelligeble lyrics. The band was really tight, and the crowd definitely into it. Afterwards, the girls and I headed to HUSH, where they got to dance the rest of the night away to some heavy beats. Got home way too late (or early), though, and I think we're all paying the price.