So I finished my first 25m Naxx last night. It was a run with the guild Retribution on Khaz Modan-US.  I was the only shammy in the raid and managed to get the following gear:

Crown of the Lost Protector
Mantle of the Lost Protector
Cult’s Chestguard
Atonement Greaves
Bands of Mutual Respect
Cloak of Averted Crisis
Gloves of Calculated Risk
Pauldrons of the Abandoned
Helm of the Grave
Soul of the Dead

Needless to say, it was an excellent night of loot for me.  I had never been in such a smooth raid before, but it was very obvious that Retribution had 25m Naxx on farm.  The speed at which they went was an incredible change from PuGs.  Almost makes me want to join a raiding guild…

I use my Windows Media Player to share media over the server.  One of the problems we have, however, is that our media names are confusing due to weird naming schemes by various groups.  My apartment has established a standard naming scheme (Show Title.SeasonEpisode.Episode Name.ext), but it wasn’t showing up as the new names once we changed them.  It seems that Windows Media Player will see the newly named file, but keeps the old name as the file display name.  What you have to do is delete it from your WMP library and then rescan those folders.  That solved it for me.

So the final episodes of Battlestar Galactica (BSG) started showing last night on SciFi.  The first one was titled “Sometimes a Great Notion.”  As a fairly hardcore BSG fan, I was very excited to finally get to see these new episodes.  Needless to say, that one hour episode rocked my whole world.  I honestly don’t know how many times I or someone in my apartment screamed at the TV, trying to get someone from doing something stupid… but it happened quite a lot.  Anyhow, after the show I found an interesting article about “Sometimes a Great Notion” on the Chicago Tribune’s website about the episode that just aired.  It has interviews with BSG’s executive producer Ron Moore and a few other people as well.  I felt that this was one of the best episodes of BSG yet in terms of acting.  You could feel how raw the emotions were for everyone, especially for the Adama/Tigh showdown.  It was amazing.  This article is somewhat long, but definitely worth the read if you’re interested in  the show.

This semester I’m taking ME 274: Basic Mechanics II.  What stands out most for me so far in the one day of lecture is the amount of technology that has been, for the most part, correctly used by our professor.  Our professor has set up a very interesting way to use a common Wordpress blog that is effective in helping students learn the material.  Students are allowed to register accounts, post comments, questions, and even new blog posts.  Accounts aren’t visibly linked to a student’s career account so there is no ’shame’ in asking a question if you chose a non-identifying username.  After every lecture, posts are made with the titles and basic information about the next homework problems.  Students are then given the opportunity to discuss the problem, potential solutions, and their troubles in solving the problem. Read the complete article »

Writers Note: This post was tentatively titled: “Big Balls Inc.” Bailout for Implants”, but was rejected for inappropriate language.  I’m fairly sure *this* title has none of that.

As was widely reported today, the Adult Entertainment Industry, headed by Larry Flynt and Joe Francis, asked today for a $5 billion federal bailout.  Now, obviously, some people laughed this off, but I really want us to consider this.  Is this really such a bad idea?  Could the industry survive without a bailout?  How many jobs would be created by this bailout?  Let’s take a slightly closer (but not too close–makeup can only do so much!) look at this proposal.

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