The Patent Dragon's Zone of Soul Retraction

Now that was close - far closer than you ever want to get to seeing thirteen/fourteen YEARS of playing Ultima Online going down the toilet.

And relax...

Back to work Monday, but I still want to squeeze every last moment of relaxation - a.k.a Minecraft and excellent space exploration sandbox Starbound - out of my time off. Also, I'm shopping for essential equipment, and maybe setting things up for Blockbuster Season, so that I can make the most of my Christmas cinema gift-card windfall...

Writing? Not just yet, but this weekend, there WILL be progress. I still have some type-up to do from last month (and last year).

Also, Ultima Online - the first hunt of the year!

Done: watching over the exams!
Done: received my Rush ticket!
Not Done: Star Trek Online patching. It's "Legacy Of Romulus" Day, but I haven't had the chance to play yet. maybe before LOR-Day becomes LOR-Yesterday...?

There's no real hurry. The next three days are intended to be seriously laid-back, especially tomorrow - which just happens to be personal "sacred day" Spiritwalk...

Later, Dear Reader...!

Update: Patching done! Let's go (or very possibly crash in a heap of binary soup)!

Update on the Update: "Unable to log in for an unknown reason" - America is AWAKE, maybe? Gods, this is like Ultima Online's "Age Of Shadow" expansion all over again, but in stead of necromancers and paladins, it's Romulans...

Yeah, I missed another day, but to be honest, you weren't missing very much. The "main event" was the "race" to complete the "Borg Assimilated" equipment set for my other Star Trek Online characters before one set of four on-ship devices becomes two sets of three when Season 7 kicks in, and that's been continuing today - there's no guarantee I'll be able to complete the Borg set for both remaining characters, but my Klingon Defence Force representative may be close enough for it to work out...

When not "grinding" episodes in space, I've also been enjoying some downloaded content for Skyrim, in the form of "Hearthfire"; the new add-on house-building system. It's no way as in-depth and customisable as the set-up in Ultima Online, but you do have to build each part of your dwelling literally from the ground up.

In the meantime... I'm 0 for 2 on attempts to watch this week's CSI Miami, as the show's conclusion approaches. Damn.

And finally... I'm considering starting to post the latest piece of the WORLDS COLLIDE run-in starting Monday. That'll give me about a week... mark... before Chapter 4, which should be the conclusion, will be due in. Can I possibly make the deadline...?

ITEM! I think last night's... high spirits were someone's birthday celebrations. Still probably a student brithday, so :P

ITEM! I'm commencing experimentation with The Foundry, the Star Trek Online player-created mission system. There are some useful videos for starters, and I'll be checking those out, probably this evening after the Mage-Poker in Ultima Online. At least I come to this with some experience of toolkits like this, from back in the Neverwinter Nights days... and I have a story-line. The mystery of VaaQ'tis will at last be unravelled...

More coverage at The Clan Tyran blog.

ITEM! Ooooh - a chance encounter with janitorial staff has provided me with some valuable test materials for the sole units of my Mission/Gap Year boots (Task 94)! I will be pushing ahead with this project as I assemble the rest of my materials - all I really need now is contiguous work-space, but that's the real "choke-point" for this one, given that we are STILL waiting for painters, let alone clearance to fit those fnajing new windows...

ITEM! One more day to pay-day! *drools*

To my associates in SRG, RAA and RAAM - sorry I missed the cross-guild hunt in Ultima Online last night. It wasn't because of connection trouble, or unexpected patching - although both were involved - it was because I got distracted in Star Trek Online, and lost all track of time. I could've caught up with you, but the patch session when I eventually logged on probably made sure I couldn't. I hope I didn't let you down too much, and it WON'T happen again.

There. Now I feel better. Back to business...

Outstanding Issues... Where's my AVENGERS BluRay refund? Did you actually receive the returned item? I have no idea - and I'm checking it right now.

Ooooohkay... My nephew keeps telling me I can't do things - "you're not allowed to (insert action)", "you've got to stop (insert action)" - maybe because he keeps getting told what he can and can't do, 'cause he's at school now. Hey, buddy, I earned the right to do whatever I choose to do - and live with the consequences sometimes, and maybe I need to assert those rights...

However, I am becoming more and more convinced that I should be exactly who I choose to be, while I still have the time. This was the plan a LOOOOONG time ago, but I never took any major steps along that path. I will give this some thought in the next few weeks and months, especially with Patent Saturday approaching, and perhaps another two-night indulgence like last year.

The Dragon Rises, pehaps...?

Meanwhile... Talking about Star Trek Online, I am now able to easily earn the 8000 Refined Dilithium a day, and more, on the road to earning enough "Dil" to convert into Zen for the Atrox Carrier purchase. 2500 Zen is worth about £16 (Did I mention that before? "Yes, you did." Oh, sorry...), and the going rate is about 160 Dil to 1 Zen, so 8000 Dil is therefore worth... *calculates*

...about £0.32.

( And this is how you do it... )

*eeek* Simples.

...all together now...

"...and I think to myself..."


"...what a wonderful worrrrrld..." *urgh* Time to reload...

Yeah, Skyrim is "one of those games". Of course, it's been quite a while since I last played anything other than Ultima Online. Right now, what I'd like is enough gold to buy a house so I could securely dump all the shite I seem to be carrying...

So, anyone know where Andur's amulet is in the Hall Of The Dead in Whiterun? C'mon, put a half-smile back on my face...

TWO days to go??? Holy crap - after all this time, we are almost there...

In the meantime, work... of a sort. No net connections, so not a lot got done - except for several games of Patience, and an apparently successful experiment in putting Dungeon Master "emulator" "Return To Chaos" on a flash drive. Sweet - I can now carry the greatest game of all time with me wherever I go!

Got to go now - Ultima Online bar-staffing calls!

MISSING: One Saturday, slightly used, answers to the name of "Oi, YOU! Where the f**k did you go to?" I mean, it's already 9pm, heading into CSI - New York territory, and I've achieved nothing, apart from getting the latest comic order away, and digging up a bunch of treasure maps in Ultima Online...

...oh, right, that explains a lot.

Had I known in advance, I'd probably be in Liverpool for the Sea Odyssey street-show. Just one day after hearing about Machines de l'Ile, this highlight of the Titanic 100th anniversary events comes along. What makes it event more annoying is that such events have happened before, in the last few years - where is the damned publicity????

Sometimes, ya gotta have Cosmic sodding Awareness.

In the meantime, a warning - get ready for...

F[!q]b@s

- the future is f[!q]ed up.

Well, would you look at that...

96 - Watch the original version of The Prisoner in its entirety (14/17)

Now, if I can find three 48 minute slots between now and Sunday morning, and the peace and quiet to sit and watch stuff, I *gasp* can put a Mission task to bed!

In the meantime, I'm continuing work on the Brighthawk "interlude" - and it's not been/being easy. The last section just will not wind up, or at least that's how it feels, so I'm going to wrap this up sharply, do some essential housekeeping in Ultima Online and get back to work. I need to get some "grind" in, and bust this bad boy open...