Just a quick note to say I'm not dead.
I'm moving house tomorrow and will be without internet until about the 13th when I get back from a short break in Geneva.
Y'all stay classy
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Monday, 22 March 2010
Back with a bang... Well... More like a dull thud
When you can flatten entire cities at a whim, a tendency towards quiet reflection and seeing-things-from-the-other-fellow's-point- of-view is seldom necessary.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)
Finally, my systems are back online and hopefully all technical difficulties experienced thus far this year will be a thing of the past.
Now if Only I could find something to kill. Other than a Shield Extender Rifter and a poorly fit mission Rifter kills in Gusandall with the Succubus, my thirst for blood went unquenched.
There was a slight glimmer of hope when an obvious bait Abaddon started engaging alliance mates outside the station, I undocked in my Armageddon and engaged, cyno goes up and in jumps an Archon carrier, I'm heavily neuted and now capless. Kurtz undocks his Archon and reps me. With this going nowhere we decide to push the escalation they so obviously want and I dock to grab something shinier, the Bhaalgorn. This was enough for them to jump in another Archon, a Thanatos and a dreadnought (either a Rev or a Moros, can't remember now) and joined by a lone Vexor.
With Kurtz' Archon easily repping my Bhaalgorn it was clear this wasn't going anywhere, we were aware they could possibly escalate further were we to undock more Capital ships but to be honest we just weren't that interested. So we docked up and watched them waste more fuel by jumping out.
Hotdrops suck by the by.
I would later chase a Vengeance and a Rifter in my own Rifter but neither pilot seemed interested in making my acquaintance.
A rather quiet return to action but hopefully things will pick up.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)
Finally, my systems are back online and hopefully all technical difficulties experienced thus far this year will be a thing of the past.
Now if Only I could find something to kill. Other than a Shield Extender Rifter and a poorly fit mission Rifter kills in Gusandall with the Succubus, my thirst for blood went unquenched.
There was a slight glimmer of hope when an obvious bait Abaddon started engaging alliance mates outside the station, I undocked in my Armageddon and engaged, cyno goes up and in jumps an Archon carrier, I'm heavily neuted and now capless. Kurtz undocks his Archon and reps me. With this going nowhere we decide to push the escalation they so obviously want and I dock to grab something shinier, the Bhaalgorn. This was enough for them to jump in another Archon, a Thanatos and a dreadnought (either a Rev or a Moros, can't remember now) and joined by a lone Vexor.
With Kurtz' Archon easily repping my Bhaalgorn it was clear this wasn't going anywhere, we were aware they could possibly escalate further were we to undock more Capital ships but to be honest we just weren't that interested. So we docked up and watched them waste more fuel by jumping out.
Hotdrops suck by the by.
I would later chase a Vengeance and a Rifter in my own Rifter but neither pilot seemed interested in making my acquaintance.
A rather quiet return to action but hopefully things will pick up.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
[OOC] News and tattoos
Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home.
-- (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens)
There will be light
Good news on the graphics card front, a friend from Arsclan, Krissea, has been kind enough to ship me a spare card for the cost of shipping, so hopefully I'll be back up and running around the 22nd of this month. I'll remove the dead 8800 GTX and plug in the 9800 GTX as soon as it arrives :)
Under my skin
As some have requested shots of my tattoos I dug through my images to find what I could. Picture quality isn't amazing as most were taken with a camera phone the day they were completed and it's awful difficult trying to get shots of your arms by yourself. I cannot for the life of me get a good shot of the sun dragon on my right shoulder blade. I can also not get a good shot of the text that is on the inside of my left upper arm as it wraps around too far (My artist has a collage of three shots that shows it of well but he doesn't have them online)
My arms are a work in progress and will eventually be full sleeves as time and inspiration allow. Each bit of ink has specific meaning to me and I have never felt the need to justify them to anyone, least of all my family.
Work on my right outer forearm and right wrist commences on the 6th of April, I can barely wait.
-- (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens)
There will be light
Good news on the graphics card front, a friend from Arsclan, Krissea, has been kind enough to ship me a spare card for the cost of shipping, so hopefully I'll be back up and running around the 22nd of this month. I'll remove the dead 8800 GTX and plug in the 9800 GTX as soon as it arrives :)
Under my skin
As some have requested shots of my tattoos I dug through my images to find what I could. Picture quality isn't amazing as most were taken with a camera phone the day they were completed and it's awful difficult trying to get shots of your arms by yourself. I cannot for the life of me get a good shot of the sun dragon on my right shoulder blade. I can also not get a good shot of the text that is on the inside of my left upper arm as it wraps around too far (My artist has a collage of three shots that shows it of well but he doesn't have them online)
My arms are a work in progress and will eventually be full sleeves as time and inspiration allow. Each bit of ink has specific meaning to me and I have never felt the need to justify them to anyone, least of all my family.
Work on my right outer forearm and right wrist commences on the 6th of April, I can barely wait.
Monday, 8 March 2010
[OOC] From Bad, to Worse
++?????++ Out of Cheese Error. Redo From Start.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times)
Seems 2010 is starting to look like one fucked up year for me, EVE and gaming in general.
Got back from a club last night, turn the gaming rig on and it seems my graphics card has followed the Raptor drives example and gave up on me. So... No PvP for the foreseeable future as I venture to replace it, if and when time and my budget allow.
Normally I'd replace it straight away but with various projects in Real Life™ this is just another cost that wasn't planned for. Between trips to Geneva and new tattoos it might take me a few weeks to get it sorted so until then, Stay Classy and fly reckless.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times)
Seems 2010 is starting to look like one fucked up year for me, EVE and gaming in general.
Got back from a club last night, turn the gaming rig on and it seems my graphics card has followed the Raptor drives example and gave up on me. So... No PvP for the foreseeable future as I venture to replace it, if and when time and my budget allow.
Normally I'd replace it straight away but with various projects in Real Life™ this is just another cost that wasn't planned for. Between trips to Geneva and new tattoos it might take me a few weeks to get it sorted so until then, Stay Classy and fly reckless.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Bringing it back
"I perceive a possibility of an immediate chronological sequence of events which includes a violence," said Three. He stepped back, "I express preference for a chronological sequence of events which precludes a violence."
-- (Terry Pratchett, The Dark Side of the Sun)
It's time to go back to the good old days, flying things that others consider unconventional.
The Succubus is one of the most feared frigates ever to harrow the spacelanes and asteroid belts of civilized space, and with good reason: tales abound of its superiority over ships twice or three times its size. Whether you believe this to be fact or rumor, the Succubus will still strike fear in your heart.
Special Ability: 100% bonus to Small Energy Turret damage
Amarr Frigate Skill Bonus: 7.5% bonus to Small Energy Turret tracking per level
Caldari Frigate Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Small Energy Turret damage per level.
I got the hangar crew to take the dust covers off one of my favourite old frigates, pretty much unchanged since they came into service with only minor tweaks here and there. While not as popular as some of the other Pirate faction frigates in this day and age, the sharpness of her spiky bits are enough to drive grown men to tears.
Had a rather nice fight in Gusandall and I'll try and recall the events to the best of my ability.
A Rupture appears on scan, quickly tracked to belt 1-1 via my onboard scanner, I warp in at range, not wanting to get too close before I can ascertain more or less his fit. Of course the possibility that he is bait is nagging away at the back of my mind but hey, you know me, if it's a trap, I'm damn well going to spring it.
I barrel in, get lock and tackle. I mention on alliance comms I have a rather deadly cruiser tackled and that I am in a rather fragile frigate.
Rupture locks back and releases Warrior II drones, this is going to get sticky, but I'm in it to the end. Darthi comes in with a Pilgrim but lands quite far away, Aiko, as unconventional as ever comes in a Navy Issue Osprey of all things.
I hit half shields, the drones doing a number on my fragile defences, but the Rupture's buffer is starting to give way. Just then things get interesting, the Rupture's friends warp in. A Merlin, Taranis, Vagabond and another Rupture appear on the scene.
Really should pay attention to my Admiral Akbar senses more often but it's on now, Rupture goes down, I target the Taranis who has closed on me rather quickly, lasers pew pewing away, it explodes and the rest of the hostiles disengage and bail. Us being rather fail Pirates are not able to get points on the rest and they're able to get out just as another alliance member lands in an Ishtar.
Like I said, a rather nice fight and the battle summary doesn't quite paint the whole picture. I had the shakes again, for the first time in a very long time and it felt fucking great.
-- (Terry Pratchett, The Dark Side of the Sun)
It's time to go back to the good old days, flying things that others consider unconventional.
Succubus
The Succubus is one of the most feared frigates ever to harrow the spacelanes and asteroid belts of civilized space, and with good reason: tales abound of its superiority over ships twice or three times its size. Whether you believe this to be fact or rumor, the Succubus will still strike fear in your heart.Special Ability: 100% bonus to Small Energy Turret damage
Amarr Frigate Skill Bonus: 7.5% bonus to Small Energy Turret tracking per level
Caldari Frigate Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Small Energy Turret damage per level.
I got the hangar crew to take the dust covers off one of my favourite old frigates, pretty much unchanged since they came into service with only minor tweaks here and there. While not as popular as some of the other Pirate faction frigates in this day and age, the sharpness of her spiky bits are enough to drive grown men to tears.
Had a rather nice fight in Gusandall and I'll try and recall the events to the best of my ability.
A Rupture appears on scan, quickly tracked to belt 1-1 via my onboard scanner, I warp in at range, not wanting to get too close before I can ascertain more or less his fit. Of course the possibility that he is bait is nagging away at the back of my mind but hey, you know me, if it's a trap, I'm damn well going to spring it.
I barrel in, get lock and tackle. I mention on alliance comms I have a rather deadly cruiser tackled and that I am in a rather fragile frigate.
Rupture locks back and releases Warrior II drones, this is going to get sticky, but I'm in it to the end. Darthi comes in with a Pilgrim but lands quite far away, Aiko, as unconventional as ever comes in a Navy Issue Osprey of all things.
I hit half shields, the drones doing a number on my fragile defences, but the Rupture's buffer is starting to give way. Just then things get interesting, the Rupture's friends warp in. A Merlin, Taranis, Vagabond and another Rupture appear on the scene.
Really should pay attention to my Admiral Akbar senses more often but it's on now, Rupture goes down, I target the Taranis who has closed on me rather quickly, lasers pew pewing away, it explodes and the rest of the hostiles disengage and bail. Us being rather fail Pirates are not able to get points on the rest and they're able to get out just as another alliance member lands in an Ishtar.
Like I said, a rather nice fight and the battle summary doesn't quite paint the whole picture. I had the shakes again, for the first time in a very long time and it felt fucking great.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Sky is Over
OOOOOOOOUUUCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHH!!!
The searing pain behind my eyes tells me I'm not dead... Yet. Might as well be, this last fight was rather harsh. Vague memories at this stage but soon enough my entire consciousness will be downloaded into this new clone. There's a reason training new skills takes so long, the mind can't handle all that information in one go. Of course they didn't think about this during cloning, the sheer volume of information being downloaded right now is enough to make my head explode violently.
I slowly open my eyes, I'm in a cloning vat, that much is clear from the liquid around me and the breathing tube in my mouth. Through the liquid and with new eyes I make out a single figure sitting at a desk. With a new hand, attached to a new arm I knock on the glass tank which contains my new body. The figure at the desk jumps out of the chair as if shocked and moves towards my cloning vat.
With a sound that can only be described as a vacuum cleaner unclogging a drain, the clone vat opens and I fall to the floor of the Gusandall cloning facility.
"Welcome to the Republic Justice Department cloning facilities Mr..." says a female voice.
She looks at her datapad
"Mr Rizzel"
MOTHERFUCKER THAT HURTS!
"Uhm, no need to curse"
Look, miss?
"Betincourt"
Look Miss Betincourt
"Alise Betincourt"
Look, my mind is capable of a great many things... Being civil and rational after being violently sent to the cloning vats isn't on the list. Where's Krieger?
"Dr Krieger has been called away to an emergency, I'm his assistant, how can I assist?"
Vodka! Krieger normally gives me vodka to take the edge off, there should be some in his desk.
"I'm not sure alcohol is the best thing right now"
EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH VODKA!
"OK, calm down"
I AM CALM, I'M THE CALMEST PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE, WHEN PEOPLE AREN'T SHOOTING AT ME OR DROPPING BLOODY BIG FLEETS ON MY ASS.
"You sound like the universe is out to get you" she says handing me the bottle of vodka
You have no idea
"A little paranoid?"
It's not paranoia if it's true
Wow, her eyes are really blue. The vodka has helped take the edge off, good old Krieger and his bottle of vodka. I can focus a bit better and notice that Alise is rather good looking with the bluest eyes I have ever seen, I file this information away for later use, right now I need to get back to business.
You have a comms unit?
"Yeah, it's on my desk"
I walk over to her desk, bottle of vodka in hand, taking more of the edge off as I punch in the number for my hangar.
Jarek? You there?
"Yes boss"
Good, get the new Dram set up and go over to my office, there's a box of implants on my desk labelled 'Snakes in my Brain', bring it to the cloning facilities ASAP.
"No can do boss"
What?!
"Sorry boss, but the station is on lockdown, there's been an explosion"
Really?
"Yes boss, near the M34N Corp hangar"
Fuck, anybody hurt?
"Don't know, station got locked down rather sharpish, haven't been able to get any information"
Shit, I hope it's not that stuff we ordered for the party, ordering something to drink 'that' volatile might not have been the best idea.
Jarek, as soon as the lockdown lifts, get those implants to me, I feel naked without implants.
I terminate the conversation and take another swig of vodka.
"Speaking of which" said Alise
I look down and I was indeed standing at her desk in all my naked glory.
Don't suppose you have any clothes handy?
She just pointed to a locker next to my cloning vat. I casually made my way over and grabbed a jumpsuit, got dressed and walked back to her desk. I take the comms unit and punch in the M34N corp hangar number, Nomi answers.
Nomi, what the fuck is going on?
"Delivery guy dropped a box of that stuff we ordered for Kurtz' welcome home party"
Anybody get hurt?
"Delivery guy got a little burnt"
He alright?
"Well... They found one of his shoes"
Alise barely contained a giggle, which made me laugh more. I like this girl, good sense of humour.
"What about you? Heard you got exploded"
Yeah, took on a Drake in 1-1, bait of course, had a whole fleet dropped on my head, fuckers got the Dramiel and my bounty.
"Sorry dude, shit happens. Listen, when this lockdown drops, come on by the hangar, one of the boxes survived, we'll have a drink"
Sounds like a plan.
I terminate the convo and look at the now empty bottle of vodka, the edge well and truly gone. Alise is writing something on her datapad.
"Bounty? You some kind of Pirate?
I'm not just 'some kind of Pirate', I'm Kane Rizzel.
"Well, pleased to meet you Kane Rizzel, Would you like to authorise a new clone?"
Probably a good idea, could we make this one hurt less?
"Don't know about that, cloning is a rather delicate science and being in uncivilised parts, makes getting the right materials a touch difficult, I'm amazed Dr Krieger is able to operate this facility at all"
He is a bit of a genius.
"True, but his skills could be put to much better use in the trade hubs or at least in more secure areas of the universe"
Hah, Gusandall is safe.
"Says the man who just got podded"
Well, that wasn't entirely my fault, it was a trap, unfortunately I have the innate ability to find traps and then explode.
"Happen often?"
The exploding yes, not so much with the cloning, it's been a long time since I got violently cloned. Forgot how much it hurts. What's the damage on that new clone?
She hands me the datapad.
Thirteen Fucking Million! Are you mental?
"No, not mental and yes, the figure is correct, it is a rather advanced clone"
Advanced? well it better fucking be for that price. Don't suppose you have any cigarettes?
"This is a medical facility, no smoking"
Anything else to drink?
"There's some coffee, that's about it"
Coffee is good, I like coffee.
Alise gets up to make some coffee, blue eyes, very blue eyes. She hands me a mug of black coffee, I take a sip.
Coffee goooooood.
Station comms come to life and a rather flustered voice announces the lockdown is over. The seals on all doors are released. Right, time to get back to work.
Alise.. It's been a pleasure to meet you but I really must get going.
"What about your implants?"
How about dinner? Least I can do to thank you for your help.
"Uhm... Sure, but your implants?"
I'll get Jarek to plug them in, he's a rocket scientist you know.
"And your clone?"
Oh right, almost forgot, thirteen million, sure. Tell Krieger I owe him a bottle of vodka too.
I race out of the cloning facility, a grin on my face. It's good to be the King.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
[OOC] The Lost Art
"If we find a cat I'm going to kick it!"
-- (Terry Pratchett, Only You Can Save Mankind)
I offered a 1v1 to a Dramiel pilot, my Jaguar against his Dramiel, which he declined stating "I don't trust you"
Something about having friends in system and a command ship pilot in the next system.
Well, I was rather insulted.
1v1 to me is sacred, I have never and will never dishonour them. This is something taken very seriously by Mean Coalition too.
I take great pains to put my opponents at ease, letting them form gang, choosing the safe spot etc.
The fact that dishonoured 1v1s have become such common place that even those that follow the unwritten rules of 1v1 are left being ridiculed as untrustworthy, is in my opinion a sad state of the universe and the game in general.
When I say unwritten rules of 1v1, it means those often agreed to before the fight, such as: To the ship, to the pod, no ECM etc.
I quite often offer 1v1s, as I find them a good test of my abilities and skill. I have in the past had some epic fights in such situations.
Now, the other nights insult got me a bit riled up and I had a small outburst in local chat, something about the Dramiel pilot lacking balls. On reflection this was not how I should act, even as a pirate I hold myself to a higher standard.
1v1s, much like ransoms have been spoiled by others, to the detriment of those that feel honour, even amongst thieves is something to keep.
(Highsec ransoms then gank are a different kettle of fish, I understand the reasons of these kinds of actions)
1v1s may be a lost art, but there are those out there who will honour them and I salute you and I for one will always hold them sacred.
Disclaimer: Well, the art isn't really lost, we know exactly where it is, now just to convince others to enjoy it.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Only You Can Save Mankind)
I offered a 1v1 to a Dramiel pilot, my Jaguar against his Dramiel, which he declined stating "I don't trust you"
Something about having friends in system and a command ship pilot in the next system.
Well, I was rather insulted.
1v1 to me is sacred, I have never and will never dishonour them. This is something taken very seriously by Mean Coalition too.
I take great pains to put my opponents at ease, letting them form gang, choosing the safe spot etc.
The fact that dishonoured 1v1s have become such common place that even those that follow the unwritten rules of 1v1 are left being ridiculed as untrustworthy, is in my opinion a sad state of the universe and the game in general.
When I say unwritten rules of 1v1, it means those often agreed to before the fight, such as: To the ship, to the pod, no ECM etc.
I quite often offer 1v1s, as I find them a good test of my abilities and skill. I have in the past had some epic fights in such situations.
Now, the other nights insult got me a bit riled up and I had a small outburst in local chat, something about the Dramiel pilot lacking balls. On reflection this was not how I should act, even as a pirate I hold myself to a higher standard.
1v1s, much like ransoms have been spoiled by others, to the detriment of those that feel honour, even amongst thieves is something to keep.
(Highsec ransoms then gank are a different kettle of fish, I understand the reasons of these kinds of actions)
1v1s may be a lost art, but there are those out there who will honour them and I salute you and I for one will always hold them sacred.
Disclaimer: Well, the art isn't really lost, we know exactly where it is, now just to convince others to enjoy it.
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