A dungeon in the outer void! (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

Space becomes "void" in Sanctuarian parlance. Space exploration = Void exploration. Outer space = Outer void. Spaceships = Voidships. Space stations = Void stations, and etc.

[[Arcane Sanctuary|This floating dungeon in the outer void]] has been the most expansive "dungeon" I have EVER seen in my adventures! I thought it took so long to run from one end of this fighting space-labyrinth to another, I really wished I could have a possessive spell to mind-control the [[Specter]]s so they could air-ferry me across the area in a hurry.

Anyway, the background looks very much like outer void, yet I do not see any planets! I was hoping this remote floating, open labyrinth would be somewhere in orbit above [[Planet Sanctuary]] but apparently it's light-years away from our solar system.

The air and its temperature is as very much present as it is back in Lut Gholein, except it's not so hot and our star doesn't glare down on us. (Maybe it's somewhere in the background, but I can't pick out which star holds our Sanctuary.) I do NOT know how the air remains present in the otherwise vacuumed harshness of void! Perhaps an everlasting "force field" spell keeps the air in, allowing for demons and man alike to keep breathing and fighting each other. (Specters probably don't need air but without this "force field," they would get sucked out into the timeless depths of the void.

I might very well be one of the first "astronauts;" void explorers, but I do not think this is "official" until we gain the technology to break through this force field, wear self-contained suits, and fly in man-made "voidships" directly from Sanctuary rather than walk through portals. To advance our society to enter space without magic will probably not happen for 700 years hence! (Now the [[year]] is [[1266]]; let us hope my descendants; the Socunas of 1966, will find my journal in a vault somewhere and make my name known again across civilization: Chileth Socuna - the predictor of voidflight!) --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 05:53, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

The Facebook Reunion of the old High School Peer Group (Personal Entry)

All the people tagged here knows what the peer group was about because we were a part of it. I horribly missed you all ever since I/we left high school.

In retrospect, I was far from ready to leave, but times were stormy with my parents back then so they were sympathetic with my (impulsed) desires to attempt to live on my own. That was a huge flop (at least until I finally had it done right in '05.) I wanted to grow faster back in my senior year, but should have looked at some wider scopes of things and reconsidered. If I hadn't have graduated at semester, how would I be different today?

I wonder what Mrs. April Counts is doing nowadays; probably the same job.

Moreover, I will have to confess a large, 6-year-old secret to Mrs. Judy Smith, my ACA teacher that year. (Advanced Computer Applications.) If she has since retired, I will need to know where to find her because I only intend to confess it to her in person.

Right after I got home for Christmas, I thought of how I could get the old peer group together electronically for nostalgia's sakes, and etc..

Did I miss anybody on the Taglist who was in our peer group? Let me know if you recall anyone.

Anyway, this was something I thought I'd post in time for a holiday when we reunite with old friends and loved ones. I send out a heartful wish for you all to have a very Merry Christmas.

Remarks

*Mark Birch is Erik's older brother; class of '99. Erik was '01, and is presently nowhere on Facebook. I have no idea what Erik does with his life today, so until we can find Erik Birch here, Mark is his placeholder in the meantime. Yay! Erik joined! I have now replaced Mark with Erik.

*I'm 70% sure Casie was in our peer group too. Was she really?

*Same for Brandi, with Casie's case.

*And for Lindy, with Brandi's case.

A series of funny, uplifting, and serious LDS missionary videos: (Personal Entry)

Foreword: Former missionaries, I'll not post that one video yet that we've gone over privately. I'll still wait for your go-ahead. (Update: Jordan has spoken. I'll not post that missionary-parodying video I pre-screened to him after all.)

Now here is a collection of LDS missionary videos. They could be funny, uplifting, serious, or simply moving. One of them isn't about missionaries themselves but it concerned me enough to post it here. :

"Some Postman (funny LDS Mormon Missionaries) Ted Sowards - LDSFF 2007"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyvMu2TqFPc - (Music video - gave me a good laugh)

"Day in the life of an LDS missionary"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhlEcE8smqg - (Music video - puts a nice smile on me)

"Mormon Missionaries get revenge"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRgnpqo0gdw - (So someone tackles and tries to steal a missionary's bike. I didn't know missionaries were allowed to FIGHT, but if they NEED to defend themselves, then they defend themselves. They did, and won. Go missionaries!)

"Crazy kid tackles Mormon Missionary"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV7vkvKd1vY - (By the power of God, the kid just bounces like he would off a rubber wall.)

"Axe, 'Mormon' Commercial"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clmr9JUyTIc - (I don't know why somebody decided to put a missionary in here, but the missionary's portrayal looks ridiculous enough to be funny.)

"Mormon Missionaries"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08PlFFeVuwk - (Nothing humorous but this is still a nice music slideshow. The song has a potential to "move" viewers.)

"don't mess with the missionaries!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxQpB25mkOM - (Some random video the missionaries made themselves just 'cause they were bored.)

-(Umm... NO COMMENT!!!!!)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVOK42o4E0 - (My decision to post this was hard to make, but it's here now. I don't know how much others' opinions of me will change from THIS video, but my feelings over it are so complicated, maybe if you watch this, you might feel the same way.)

"mormon missionaries cribs"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ZDXiN3XcU - (Some missionaries live pretty well!)

"Excommunicated from The Mormons"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l9Hw-oYSeg - (NOTHING TO DO WITH MISSIONARIES, but something that I thought I ought to post. Serious, deep video. Wow. Posting this here could get Pastor Mike Wangsgaard to have a word with me.)

"Hot Vegas Mormons"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlmZupsvlj0 - (Sometimes, it takes looking hot and having good guy-to-gal charm to send them to our churches.)

"Mormon Humanitarian Aid"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7XpUUvqySg - (Finally, let's end this note on a good journal. Or should I say, let's end this journal on a good note. The tune and the depictions herein truly do move me. I wonder about that $1.01 billion figure though- is that in the 170+ years of the church's history, or in a recent period, like in the past 10-20 years?)

Closing

At first, I thought I ought to have Anderson and Matheson review it first before posting this to the rest of the church friends, but figured I ought to man up and have nerves of aluminum alloy. (Steel is cliché.)
Sure, I may have tried to stem the tide of aging lately, believing I'm growing too old, too fast, but social currents pull me in opposite directions. (So it's like I'm getting ripped down the middle.)

Facebook is a place to speak minds, sometimes more freely than in real life, so why don't I unhook my own fetters. Enjoy the vids, and have a Merry Christmas.

(Former) Missionaries, should I publicize this video & my take... (Personal Entry)

...on it?

Foreword: Privacy settings are currently set to only allow Jordan, Stephen, and Chelsy to read this journal entry. I streamlined this note to under 750 words for your reading ease.

How a parody of what we're about could be funny

I'm thinking about publicizing the fact that I find an Anti-Prop 8 video funny. It's funny in how the missionaries were ridiculously portrayed.

If someone makes a parody of something I'm familiar with, I'll probably find it funny. If a parody goes against what we stand for, or twists it in particular ways, I'll either get turned off, or find it funny as well. (I don't know what makes me decide whether to get turned off by it, or laugh at it.)

Your opinions on the video?

Jordan and Steve, if I’d learned of this video while in Japan, I’d have shown it to you both to hear your opinions on it. I’d have loved to hear it from the Missionaries themselves! Anyway, what are your thoughts upon seeing this?

Chelsy, if you had allowed me to show it to you after the Boyd Hall Bible Study, what would you have said? (I got to show it to Cami right after. This was several weeks before you left. Did she ever discuss it with you?)

What I plan to do with the video

After I get your opinions (and whether it's "safe" to show,) I’ll let others from our Institute (anyone under the "Church Friends" sub-list) see it by extending the privacy settings accordingly.

Even though this may parody us LDSers directly, I keep itching to hear/read the opinions from fellow LDSers about this video. If you strongly discourage me from sharing it with all of them, I'll tone it down; reading your own opinions might be enough.

MY POSITION ON PROP 8

I used to openly hate fags up through parts of high school, but after going through lots of social hardships and being bullied, I've learned that gays are very much like people too, AND capable of giving us hardships just as much as straight people are. After having many hardships thrown my way all these years, I've learned to be more accepting to a wider set of demographics, not to be so selective of friends, and be more open to most everybody.

Treating gays with respect gave me respect in return, and my past hardships made me decide to test new waters with people I've been closed-minded to beforehand. If I treat gays right, they'll treat me right and not give me trouble. Even in the present day enough troubles linger in my mind - hurtful thoughts others have given me and all.

Spiel over; here’s my point: I am indifferent to Prop 8; I'd ABSTAIN from the vote.

I'm too fed up of letting any more people (and demographics thereof) hate me and give me trouble, so acceptance of more demographics helps my case, from the looks of things.

All that matters, however, is that homosexuals don't force themselves on me. If they respect my straightness, all will be well.

Conclusion: Some things about myself

You may think it's atypical for a fellow Mormon to find an anti-Prop 8 video funny, but inherent eccentricities cause me to look at, interpret, and take things differently.

Other Mormons may think it completely differently, but the comic ridiculousness of the portrayal in the vid was what I first thought of upon watching this. I can't explain why now, but it’s possibly like asking, "why'd you feel what you felt when you first saw the video?"

I’m not yet ready to explain how something about me could make me feel this way. I had planned to submit other entries about what I have that makes me how I am, once I had 510 friends. However, after conferring with a trusted website first, they recommended against it so it’s been put on hold until I'm sure I'm ready.

The name of the website I conferred with could cause me to reveal too much about myself (in the meantime) but here’s a hint: It's something to do with what it's like to be on an incorrect ball of rock. If you solve the website’s identity yourselves, many praises to you.

PS: Chelsy, I tried to find Emma Watson here but I can’t find the correct Emma Watson on the search results. I never learned Sister Harringer's first name. Would you please let me know?

Now, the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q28UwAyzUkE

There is no Contemporary music at Institute. I miss it so badly. (Personal Entry)

(I have set this note so that only the friends under the "Church Friends" list would be able to read this post. Most of you are from the LDS institute across the street from Goodnow Hall, but there are some friends on this list from my previous church(es).

I think it's too much effort to diverge this list onto a separate LDS list, so I extend an invitation to non-LDSers on this list to read it as well. Non-LDSers may be more familiar with the subject-matter below.)

I thought a recent wall post would also do good as a Note post. This has been slightly altered for reasons you could figure out on your own.

Some of you wondered about my updated religious views.

I miss the contemporary Christian music: Jars of Clay, SONICFLOOd, Delirious?, Caedmon's Call, & other great Christian Pop groups. Golly, how I badly miss them. All we sing at Institute are hymns that are at least a century old. -_-

You've probably never heard of these Christian Pop groups, but they're on the WOW Worship albums here: http://www.wowworship.com/ (The AWESOME thing about the site is you get to hear 30-second previews for each song! It auto-starts when you load the page, and keeps going through the lists.)

See? THOSE songs uplift me to euphoria. I sang these in a high school youth group at my old church & at Navigators, an on-campus (mainstream) Christian club I attended before leaving for Japan.

So this is one of the reasons why I'm only LDS in Manhattan but another Christian somewhere else. I'm still too deeply rooted in the mainstream denominations.

I suppose you could share this w/ the missionaries if you wish & maybe discuss this w/ me face-to-face at Institute or wherever I have a missionary Bible Study session.

PS: Chelsy, didn't I tell you about how I miss this music?

Let's let a quiz tell me how old I am. Interesting! (Personal Entry)

I got this "maturity age" quiz from a friend of my sister's. Let's see how old I am in this sense.

[x] I know how to make a pot of coffee
[x] I do my own laundry
[>]I can cook for myself Half-X. ("><") I could cook anything, but I don't have a cookbook, nor ALL the cooking utensils in existence.
[x] I actually enjoy intellectual conversations
[>] I think politics are exciting Half-X. Only some topics are.
[] My parents and grandparents have better things to say than my friends
Total: 4

[] I show up for school and or work every day unless I'm sick.
[x] I always carry a pen in my pocket/purse.
[x] I've never gotten a detention. (In college, what detention? Or do you mean never in my life??)
[] I've watched talk shows to point out the credibility of it all
[x] I know what credibility means without looking it up
[>] I drink coffee at least once a week Half-X. Energy drinks give the kick without the stains...
Total: 3.5

[x] I know how to run the dish washer and or do the dishes.
[>] I can count to 10 in Spanish Half-X. Does another language count instead, like Japanese?
[>] When I say I'm going to do something I do it. Half-X. Part of the time, yes.
[x] My parents trust me
[x]I can mow the lawn.
[>] I can make adults laugh without being stupid. Half-X. I may say something that happens to be funny without myself knowing it was funny beforehand.
[] I remember to water my plants. I don't have plants. I want to be low-maintenance.
[] I study when I have to.
[>] I pay attention at school Half-X. Some subjects don't bore me, so I will then.
[]I remember to feed my pets No real pets, and I haven't fed my Neopets in over a year. I think I've grown out of that particular hobby.
Total: 5

[x] I can spell experience without looking it up. Are you kidding???
[x] I clean up my own mess.
[] The first thing I do when I wake up is get Diet Coke.
[x] I can go to the store without getting something I don't need.
[>] I understand jokes the first time they are said Half-X. Some.
[x] I can type fast.
Total: 4.5

[x] I have realized that the weather forecast changes every hour.
[x] I can look at someone hot without thinking of sex
[>]I realize that no one will take you seriously unless you are over the age of 25 and have a job. Half-X. It depends on the personality & people skills. Some are natural-born leaders!
[>] I can read a book and actually finish it Half-X. If it's interesting.
Total: 3

Grand Total: 20 (out of 32)

So I'm also "20," like the friend I took the quiz from.

Perpetual 24-hour darkness (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

As soon as I explored the Lost City for the first time, everything suddenly went dark. I had to use my mana-powered lighting aura to see in the sudden pitch-blackness. I may have been thrown off-guard for a few seconds, but I knew I had to head back to L.G. to ask around about it. A magicware seller (whose name is not easy to remember) told me of a tainted sun altar in an underground temple of vipers.

My circadian rhythm has since been thrown off; I do not know when to sleep and wake anymore, and all we tell time with in the 13th century are simply sundials (and [[wikipedia:Water_clock|clepsydras]] in Aranochian cultures.) Sure, I could ask for the time of the official Palace clepsydra but I have bigger fish to fry.

Update: I had reached the bottom level of the [[Claw Viper Temple]] when I had to go back to LG to offload and sell all plunder. I noticed two cages on the bottom left corner of the alter room - there were two lost souls trapped in those cages, long since dead but with very much of their flesh remaining on their corpses. I wish they had still been alive when I came to clean the temple out. I hope they do not burn in Hell now.

I will see if the Western Lands of my [[Act I|First Adventures]] are also shrouded in this accursed darkness. If they are, I will see what the characters there have to say about it.

Hopefully by now, the Rogues have all moved back to their Monastery. --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 13:48, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Update: Now I have went back to the West and returned to LG. It is apparently dark everywhere on Planet Sanctuary. However, the Rogues have nothing to say about the prolonged night spell.

Would anyone PLEASE tell me why the Rogues cannot move back into their Monastery?! It has been thoroughly cleaned out; what are they STILL afraid of? Why are they still at their encampment??? They will not speak of this either. Accursed Rogues... --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 14:16, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

The Maggot Lair reminds me of the Olthoi nests of Asheron's Call. (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

(Notice: I cannot wikilink anything in the blog title here. There ought to be nothing wrong with that. Someone could change the code so that this is therefore allowed.)

When I used to adventure in the lands of [http://asheron.info/~asheron/index.php?title=Dereth Dereth], there were a swarmy set of monsters called the [http://asheron.info/~asheron/index.php?title=Dereth Olthoi], who paralleled ants except that they were far bigger and far more vicious. Their lairs, sometimes called "Olthoi Horde Nests" very much paralleled the [[Maggot Lair]] in the Aranoch Desert. I think the [[Scarab]]s and the other life-sized fireflies parallel the Olthoi, and same for the life-sized maggots! I wonder if Auberean (the lands of Asheron) were also an influence in the formation of these creatures? --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 13:48, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

My Semi-Immortality Explained (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

In the desert immediately north of Lut Gholein, I was fighting more dung soldiers and undead with a Mercenary whose name I've forgotten now. Seconds after he quickly died (I think ranged mercenaries are best,) I was chugging my health potions while fighting off the swarm. It all turned out to be futile. Had I not created the pact with an angel whom I shall not name, I would have been gone for good. (FYI: Not making this pact with an angel is referred to by the slang "going [[hardcore]].") When I was but a young lad, I had been fervently seeking redemption and atonement of myself. One day, I stumbled upon an angel who was doing a survey of the lands. I told him what I wanted. I also asked if there's any way to make me return to life should I die young.

The angel granted me semi-immortality on the condition that I serve [[Heaven]]'s cause for the rest of my existence, and paid a tithe of part of the gold on myself at the time of death. Once I had paid this gold, I would revive in a new body back in the nearest settlement. I had lost ~4,800 gold in my first death in a tomb underneath a desert outside Lut Gholein. All of my combatware and jewelry were lost so I had to hire another mercenary and attack with a [[composite bow]]. I had my items and the remainder of my gold returned, so I continued on as before. --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 13:08, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

The tombs look so "Egyptian" (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

In my youth, I took a hobby in reading an extensive amount of folk tales of adventures and civilizations on the mythical planet "Earth." In one of these tales, were the chronicles of an ancient civilization named the "Egyptians." I have paid heed to the artists' depictions of Egyptian life-culture and death-culture. The Egyptian tombs look uncannily similar to the tombs I have been cleaning through in the [[Aranoch]] Desert.

Also, the backstory about these Egyptian tombs included that of graverobbers picking the tombs bare of all the treasures it had in store. Now I have been kicking urns and uncovering sarcophagi in order to re-equip myself in the field of my battles with the cursed demons and undead in these tombs. I would be considered a "graverobber" here, albeit for a heavenly cause.

It is obvious that the lore-writers decided to be unoriginal in basing the Egyptian culture directly off of ancient [[Aranoch]]. Then again, the origins in lore are much shrouded in colossal mystery. Perhaps portals opened from this "Earth" eons ago, sending us mortals from our original planet onto [[Sanctuary]]. If so, then these stories were an attempt to preserve our true origins, and the ancient Aranochs actually based their culture off of Egypt's.

However, as the Terran Tales have been handed down through the generations, we have corrupted our convictions enough into reducing the chronicles of Earth down to mere myth, folk lore, and fairy tales. Our civilization needs a reaffirmation that once upon a time, these were our true origins, not mere works of fantasy fiction. The prospects are dim and nigh-hopeless on this matter. There is reason to believe that no one will find a reaffirmation of the truth in these tales anytime soon. --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 13:08, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Visala, my new Rogue (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

My current rogue partner is now Visala. She looks Irish with that signature orange hair and all, but I believe Visala is an East Indian name. Rozene gave her life to keep me and our mission going, and Heather was her replacement. She also sacrificed herself for the good of our mission somewhere in the Catacombs on our way to Andariel.

Kashya only has two more rogues left after Visala. I was hoping that she could find more women to recruit. She cannot find any willing prospective employees quite probably because her pay for her rogues are too low. Any sensible fighting women would (and should) only be hired for 2,000 gold or more. The risk to their lives is clearly not worth any less than the 2,000 gold they ought to be paid!

I surmise that the two other rogues remaining, Fiona and Hannah, only haven't quit on their own because their contract (probably) says they can only move on to another occupation once I decide to hire another rogue, or keep fighting alongside their mercenary boss until death. Becoming hired through Kashya can become a sad fate indeed. --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 09:34, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Beginning My Second Adventure - Lut Gholein (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

Those [[Dung Soldier]]s in the sand fields immediately on the outskirts of my new adopted city hurt even more than Andariel herself could! I have not died once yet in the entirety of my adventures, but death chases ever closer now than it did in back in the west. When they die, they don't give up; they splash the last blast of electricity to stun me with it. I wish we could capture those dung soldiers so they could generate electricity for our lighthouses and our ships' beacons. If we ever get to harness electricity enough to replace candles with contained "light-bulbs," we could use these dung soldiers as our sources for electricity. Sure, this sounds like slave work, but it's the price they ought to pay for harrassing us out in the desert lands!

My new mercenaries die more quickly even if they're higher-level than the Rogues out west. My first was Durga, then the next was... oh which one was it? Was his name Washeed or Waleed? He was one of the most expensive ones - at 612 when the others were in the 500s, and yet, he died within 10 minutes of getting hired while we fought in the sewers under Lut Gholein. Maybe the hiring coordinator ought to train his mercenary job pool better.

I'd like to bring a Rogue to Lut Gholein because of their better proven track record, but since Visala didn't follow me East after slaying Andariel, I have reason to believe no other Rogues can. --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 09:34, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Andariel was too easy! (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG
It is far too bad that Andariel was defeated so easily, I only needed three healing potions. (Maybe I only needed two, but in the heat of the moment, I may use more than necessary.) She dropped three yellow, unique objects: a [[crystal sword]], an [[axe]], and a [[dirk]]. Also, she dropped two more blue, enchanted items. If only she was more of a challenge; her height was twice that of mine! Her dropped treasures were worthy of a foe three times her strength! Regardless, her days of torturing and killing rogues, along with deflowering captured male soldiers, have finally ended! I have far more journeys ahead, but I have proven myself valiantly in the face of serious, but relatively unchallenging evil.

Then again, I have thoroughly "gambled" with Mr. Greed ("Gheed Greed;" my nickname for him) and earned uber, unique fighting wares this way. Otherwise, Andariel may have been a worthier challenge.

(Speaking of Gheed Greed, after defeating Andariel, he exclaims that he'll "party like it's 999!" I come from a land where a different calendar system is used. What year is it where I am now??) --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 05:34, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Preparing for my second adventure (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

It is far too bad that Andariel was defeated so easily, I only needed three healing potions. (Maybe I only needed two, but in the heat of the moment, I may use more than necessary.) She dropped three yellow, unique objects: a [[crystal sword]], an [[axe]], and a [[dirk]]. Also, she dropped two more blue, enchanted items. If only she was more of a challenge; her height was twice that of mine! Her dropped treasures were worthy of a foe three times her strength! Regardless, her days of torturing and killing rogues, along with deflowering captured male soldiers, have finally ended! I have far more journeys ahead, but I have proven myself valiantly in the face of serious, but relatively unchallenging evil.

Then again, I have thoroughly "gambled" with Mr. Greed ("Gheed Greed;" my nickname for him) and earned uber, unique fighting wares this way. Otherwise, Andariel may have been a worthier challenge.

(Speaking of Gheed Greed, after defeating Andariel, he exclaims that he'll "party like it's 999!" I come from a land where a different calendar system is used. What year is it where I am now??) --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 05:34, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Foolish Fiends Fight Futilely (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

The [[Dark One]]s do not have the sense to throw their weapons down, put their filthy arms in the air, and surrender to me. They have SEEN me defeat Andariel, so why MUST they keep fighting in a vain attempt to overpower me?

If only they had surrendered, I could have led them through the Town Portal to the rogue encampment holding hands with two at a time (while Visala watches the rest of them) so I would turn them in to Warriv to make them our labor slaves. If only they would have redeemed themselves this way, then they would not be burning in Hell right now. They would have had a chance at salvation had they have decided to labor for us. --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 05:34, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Antisocial Rogues (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

My Rogue employees are pretty antisocial. Is there some kind of code in their [[Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye]] that prohibits speaking to their employers while they are mercenaries?! I don't remember the name of my first Rogue anymore, whom I hired for a really low 100 gold, but I decided to replace her because I couldn't find a way to get her to speak to me.

Then the next Rogue wouldn't talk either. I kept her around until she got defeated in Tristram. (I still was able to clean out the town just fine.) Disappointingly, my rogue employee wouldn't drop any loot once a gang of demons killed her. I have since hired a new one, named [[Rozene]].

Also, I do not know why a Rogue cannot carry any packs; none of them will pick up any loot for me that the monsters drop! I really, really wish they could also serve as my mules so I wouldn't have to Town-Portal back to the Rogue Camp every 5 minutes to off-load and sell demons' junk.

I have over 35,000 Gold in my possession (in the stash and on myself). I wish I could give them bonuses of extra gold for doing excellent work. Alas, '''there isn't a mercenary incentive system here!!!''' (And maybe if I gave them a BIG bonus, of perhaps 5,000 gold or more, I could get them to court and fall in love with me as well. They aren't trained to be prostitutes either so I can't.)

Finally, another big frustration with my employees is that I cannot buy any weapons and armor for them! Why do they have to keep using basic fighting wares all the time? This just won't help them get far, you know? --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 01:50, 13 December 2008 (CST)

Blood Moor and Cold Plains (Personal Gaming Entry)

This entry was copied from my Diablo gaming blog at http://diablo.wikia.com. Original source is http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ENG

They're supposed to be open fields and yet they're surrounded by inexplicable stone walls. There are also squares with dense foliage inside, as if they were community gardens. You know, the way they're planned has all the makings of a future city!

I have had previous mayoral experience in the Sim City games. I would know how to plan a new city. I would turn the Rogue Encampment into a castle, and develop the Blood Moor and Cold Plains into a major new city. The caves would either be sewers or an underground promenade of shopping centers. I'd have to raise construction capital by fighting monsters and selling their loot first.

Alas, the mayoral dynamic doesn't exist in Diablo II. --[[User:ENG|ENG]] 12:55, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

I don't think Dad should pry into my business here. (Personal Entry)

Recently, Natasha sent a friend suggestion to friend my Dad here. I thought of how that could open a can of worms in my face.

I think now that I'm over 18, he need not see my personal life 90 miles from home.

This is why you don't friend your parents on Facebook: http://i37.tinypic.com/35l9smh.jpg

It hit the front page on Digg.com. The article is http://digg.com/people/Why_you_don_t_friend_your_Mom_on_Facebook but clicking the link from there will cause you to look at something different. (Someone replaced the pic a while ago. The link above the Digg link is a mirror.)

I also joined when Facebook was only for college students. I feel kinda weirded out when my PARENTS are here. It just doesn't feel right to me. Isn't there a network exclusively for middle-aged parents like Dad?

Thus far, I've never rejected a single friend request, but when Natasha suggests Dad, this makes me real uncomfortable. I'm pondering whether to reject Natasha's friend suggestion of Dad. I don't know if it's just as intense as rejecting a regular friend request, but I think I'd rather ask Natasha to withdraw the suggestion, if she can.

If I want Dad to correspond, we can over the phone, face-to-face, or through an email.

I think too many of us wouldn't want to friend our parents for the above reasons, and many more. What reasons can you think of?

Here's a very relevant article: "When Mom or dad Asks To Be a Facebook Friend"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030801034.html

Why I would've liked to be born in the year 2000. (Reasons 21-40) (Personal Entry)

This is the second installment of a 100-reason series. (At least.)

Click here for Reasons 1-20

21. Schools and etc. now have more resources to help kids get farther along in their personal developments than they did when I was a kid.

22. I would get to love Pokémon and not get socially backlashed for childish interests.

23. Classmates and peers would NOT hold grudges for as long as they do now.

24. "Jeanessa DeSpatznio (nee Ryndella)" betrayed me. (She may be more amicable to a millennium kid. Or she may inherently be an authoritarian hag who wouldn't be any kinder to them.)

25. "Salco DeSpatznio" also betrayed me, even though he's never met nor talked to me before. He heard pretty much everything from "Jeanessa." (He may also be more amicable to a millennium kid. Or he may inherently be an authoritarian grump who wouldn't be any kinder to them, but it's doubtful because I don't think that's the character of an aspiring optometrist.)

26. It is easier to get on anybody's more charitable side as a kid. An adult would have to be deft in the art of persuasion to do the same!

27. "Melhan Dapponary" betrayed me. (Though it was a little less severe than "Jeanessa's" betrayal.)
(She may be more amicable to a millennium kid. Or she may inherently be an authoritarian hag who wouldn't be any kinder to them.)

28. If a kid earns allowances based on the grades he gets on his school assignments, that would give me the best incentive to do my best in school!

29. I favor short-term incentives all too well. I don't like to wait for long-term rewards all that much, and short-term rewards were more abundant in childhood.

30. I REALLY love the "twofer" fashion scheme. (At least I think they're called "twofers.") That fashion wasn't as well-known when I was a kid, but more common now. I'd want to wear shirts like that much of the time! Now I believe it is a "fashion crime" for college men to wear that! Examples below:

---30a. 2fer sample 1: http://www.addictivedjdesigns.com/product_info.php?cPath=10_39&products_id=177

---30b. 2fer sample 2: http://www.addictivedjdesigns.com/product_info.php?cPath=10_39&products_id=271

---30c. 2fer sample 3: http://www.addictivedjdesigns.com/product_info.php?cPath=10_39&products_id=272

---30d. 2fer sample 4: http://www.addictivedjdesigns.com/product_info.php?cPath=10_39&products_id=279

31. The ballpits of Chuck E. Cheese's and any other kids' establishments, were hard to tire of.

32. The last time I was at Chuck E. Cheese's, I still never got bored of it.

33. I've been more comfortable as a follower than a leader, and whereas I'm starting to be forced to do what I don't like all that much, being a follower was a wonderful ideal back in childhood.

34. Children's/Youth Ministries aren't something anyone dozes off in often. They keep providing fun ways to worship and grow in The Lord.

35. There were too many youth summer camps I didn't go to when I was a kid; I found myself rotting and bored out of my mind throughout the summers many times.

36. Thanks to the wonderful Internet, a millennium kid can find some good youth camps for his parents to send him to, if they don't take the initiative to find the camps for him in the first place. (More kids that age get savvier at the computer these days.)

37. There were less pathological liars; even if the truth was hurtful, at least they told it like it is so that the kids they told it to would know what not to do next time.

38. Even if a few kids pathologically lied, it was easier to tell whether one lied, and easier to blurt back how they were lying.

39. Kids are physically lower-maintenance (shaving, etc.)

40. There is less stress in a kid's life, therefore (usually) less violent thoughts and tendencies coming from these stresses.

(Click here to read Reasons 41-60.)

Today, I have crossed a BIG milestone! I now have 500 FRIENDS!! (Personal Entry)

Feeling of Acceptance

This has been quite a LONG time coming. I've been on Facebook since about the December of '04, I believe Lindsey Snider (nee Altwegg) was my 1st friend here, and now, I feel better about myself because having 500 friends makes me feel so accepted! I don't know whether I've ever felt more accepted in my life!

I never dreamed of this back in the day.

When I was in Elementary and Middle school, I never dreamed I could have this many friends! (Even less so in Middle than in Elementary.) In high school, (especially after I quit wrestling,) I started to reckon that I'd be able to gain many more friends as people mature and I age beyond my teens.

Just a few people I've never met in real life before.

Sure, there are a few people whom I've never met in real life nor online who just randomly found and added me, but they were only a few so it's not that big an issue. Others whom I've never met in real life, I've had dialogue with online prior to adding as a friend.

I am to make anyone feel better; I never take friends off my list

Moreover, I've NEVER taken anyone off my friends list. I want to show everyone that I'm amicable and not cruel; that I want everybody to feel good. (Most everyone, anyway. If some guy is from the Hell's Angels biker gang and have a bully-like disposition, I can just keep away from them and hope they find God, become more personable, and turn their lives around.)

Overcoming adversity

There is a BIG adversity that shapes the way I am - my personality, disposition, etc., that I will not reveal until I have around 510 friends (or a little after.) For a long time, this adversity caused me not to think in my wildest dreams that I'd exceed 500 friends, but just as Helen Keller, Stephen Hawking, and many other luminaries with adversities did, I can overcome mine as well.

My 500th Friend

The honor of being my 500th friend goes to:

Becca Johnson!

She's from my church - that institute right across the street from Goodnow Hall. Maybe we've talked, but I'm sure we've seen each other. Anyway, if I haven't talked face-to-face with my church friends yet, I will sooner or later, just from being at church and going to church activities. Isn't God such a graceful, giving God?

I asked the Missionaries to bring Becca along for the next Bible study session so we can get to know my 500th friend better.

Closing

My self-esteem will improve from this, and so should my self-confidence. Beyond the 510th (and the notes that should come along from adding my 510th,) I do not have any more milestones to care for. 500 is quite nice as it is.

Some people say I sound too careful with how I talk, and that I should relax when I do. I'll move that towards the front of my mind now, and let more of my "me" out. See how anyone likes me for how I really am, and not just how I best present myself. (If I slip back below 500 for any reason though, I'll revert to the old ways until I exceed 500 again.)

That ought to be it for now. Have a good weekend.

-Christian

If I Ever Become Obese, I have one grandiose plan. (Personal Entry)

(Foreword: This draft was originally made on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 12:31 AM. I saved this in a private draft folder for several months, and have now decided that it's worthy to submit to the public.

Since this is such a long note, you may either stop where you are right now and read something else, or get the computer to read for you with a free edition of ReadPlease at http://readplease.com/ with the direct download link at http://www.readplease.com/downloads/setupreadplease2003.exe )


If my BMI ever reaches 30, I have a plan.

First off, the Japanese diet appears to have taken my pounds off. GO JAPAN! (I hope the Korean diet will be similar, given that I'll stay there for eight days.) Last time I weighed myself, I was 176 pounds. (That is ~80 kilograms for all you Metric guys and gals out there.) At 6 feet (1.829 meters), that gives me a present BMI of 23.9, just 1.1 below the Overweight threshold.

But our metabolisms fall as we grow old. I don't think I'll reach 30 BMI for the next 10 years, but whenever I do, here's what will happen:

If I can afford to fatten myself, then I can afford to buy a mountain quadricycle. It will have at least 21 speeds, two seats, and a TRUNK. Also, this quadcycle must be electric or solar-assisted, or both.

Once I obtain one, I plan to pedal cross-country (and maybe even through Canada during warmer weather,) burning calories all the way. I intend to keep doing this until my BMI goes down to 20 (or maybe I should go for 19? Ah well, once it's at 20, I'll bike home and maybe it'll reach 19 by the time I arrive.) If I maintain my current height, BMI 20 is 147.5 pounds, and BMI 19 is 140 pounds. I haven't weighed that little since my Freshman year of High School!

This trunk will have all the travel supplies a bicyclist will ever need. You can imagine what those are. The quadcycle must have a battery assistant for those treacherous hills. Even on the lowest gear, I probably couldn't pedal a quadricycle alone up a hill, and I may have to pass through the Rockies!

So that I don't involuntarily get helped by the battery, I hope for it to also have a battery toggle switch. I think all battery-assisted bicycles have that kind of switch, so it'll go without saying for these quadcycles to have one.

I'll keep a laptop and a cameraphone with me all throughout this nationwide trek, and will regularly post to a public blog (on BlogSpot, LiveJournal, or the best blog service on the Web. What IS the best blog service on the web?) I may custom-print T-shirts that briefly depict and describe my journeys and sell it wherever I stop. With my URL on these shirts, I may be sure to get (site) traffic.

(For any crazies out there or anyone who pretends to be - Don't think I'll post while I pedal; anyone ever attempt that? I'll make video and text logs at rest stops, restaurants, motels, and etc.)

I hope that my journey inspires others caught in the nationwide Obesity Epidemic to do the same. I'll also print business cards with my blog URL and email, pass it around whenever appropriate, and drive more traffic to my site that way too.

I'll probably stop at motels, a few hotels, but nothing too fancy, I suppose. If any of my fans extend an invitation for me to stay over at their homes (and I'll probably post an invitation form for this on my website), then I'll be more than happy to, since it would cost less this way.

Along the way, I may add parts & accessories to my quad, like a more powerful electric motor, better batteries, solar panels, better solar panels, lighter frame & body components, and anything to make the quadcycle and the riding experience better for myself.

My quadcycle must have at least two seats because a friend, fan, or even media reporter may want to have a talk with me while we ride around! In fact, I may add seats as I go along in my travels.

For safety's sakes, I may have to add bumpers and other safety features. Since they won't be relevant if I have to drive through a seedy part of a city (like Compton in LA and other crime-ridden neighborhoods in other cities,) I'll have to buy and carry a taser, pepper spray, other non-lethal self-defense tools, and bulletproof clothes.

I shouldn't forget to add an aftermarket odometer and speedometer to my quad in order to track my trips better.

The whole experience ought to build my character, personal development, and other vitals about me as well as lose my weight. Moreover, it might make me more well-known in America and inspire other people to go to such great lengths to lose weight when necessary.

This would also look great on my resume. Why wouldn't it?

Why haven't I heard of anyone else doing this already?