World of Warcraft Brewfest

Alliance Brewfest Camp at Ironforge

It's that time of year again. Personally, my favorite WoW holiday, Brewfest is here. The festival runs from September 20 until October 5 which mostly coincides with Oktoberfest (9/17-10/3) this year. As with the real celebration, beers and games abound. I mostly play Alliance therefore most of my tips will be directed to that faction. You can check out the full guide to everything Brewfest over at Wowhead.

Horde Brewfest Camp at Orgrimmar

There are prizes that you can buy with Brewfest Prize Tokens. The first day you can earn over 100 Brewfest Tokens easily by doing all available quests.  Each day after that you should be able to earn at least 30 Tokens by doing the Brewfest Dailies.  A few of items you'll want to make sure to buy over others, so that you will be able to complete the Brewmaster Achievement, if your into that sort of thing. Just keep in mind that Brewfest is required for the What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been Achievement that awards the dragon mount granted by the Reins of the Violet Proto-Drake.

The component Achievements required for Brewmaster

• The Brewfest Diet - You can buy all of these food from vendors at the Brewfest camp.
• Does Your Wolpertinger Linger? - Get drunk, or wear the beer goggles, and throw your net on the Wolpertingers.  This is easily done near the Brewfest camp. If you collect companion pets then you'll definitely want to do this one because you get the Wolpertinger's Tankard as a reward.
• Brew of the Month - costs 200 Tokens, bought at either Blix Fixwidget (Horde) or Belbi Quikswitch (Alliance)
• Down With The Dark Iron -  You get this for completing This One Time, When I Was Drunk... (see below)
• Have Keg, Will Travel - You can either buy hops (get the 2 token cheap ones) from the token vendor or win a Brewfest mount from the boss Coren Direbrew.

• Direbrewfest - This is a quest to kill the boss of Brewfest, Coren Direbrew (Lvl 85 Elite).  He is in Blackrock Depths but after flying there and spending a while in the actual instance I couldn't find him.  You can simply join the battle in the Dungeon Finder however. He was very easy in my opinion and awards one of 8 ilevel 365 items, mostly trinkets.  I fought him about 6 times in a random party.  Luckily, I won both his Bitterer Balebrew Charm and the Brawler's Trophy for my Pally. There was a guy there that said he fought 40 times before he finally won the Coren's Chilled Chromium Coaster.  I saw it drop twice.  The first time you kill him each day, Coren also drops a Keg-Shaped Treasure Chest which may contain rarer drops like the Swift Brewfest Ram and the Great Brewfest Kodo.

The Dailies

• Brew For Brewfest: Awards 2 Tokens per turn-in. This is a continuation quest.
• Horde There and Back Again
• Alliance There and Back Again

I like to think of these quests as ram racing. Just remember to run close to the apple barrels, located to the left of the path heading towards Kharanos and also directly behind the quest giver and the barrel thrower, so that your mount fatigue stays low.

• Horde Bark for Drohn's Distillery! or Bark for T'chali's Voodoo Brewery!
• Alliance Bark for the Barleybrews! or Bark for the Thunderbrews!

You get to pick one per day; it really doesn't matter which. You basically run in a circuit through your given faction's city advertising the brewers' beer.  All you have to do is run the circuit on the ram mount and return in the allotted 4 minutes.  I like to do Thunderbrew simply because I can jump down from the road pretty much straight onto their tent on the return trip.

• Horde This One Time, When I Was Drunk...
• Alliance This One Time, When I Was Drunk...

This is the "main" battle of Brewfest. It is the Dark Iron invasion of the Brewfest camp which occurs every 30 minutes during the festival. Pretty easy really; you just pick up beer mugs from the nearby table and chunk them at the baddie. You don't actually need to participate in the battle. Afterwards, a big gear will remain on the ground in the center of the Brewfest tents. Just click it and enjoy a painless quest reward at others' expense.

Star Wars Birthday Cake!

Tada! So was it worth waiting almost a week for your surprise?

See, the Gremlins can't wait for the Lightsabers. The blue and green weren't even "cracked" yet.

Yes, I know I said it would be "tomorrow" but time is just relative after all, right? No? I, uh, got held hostage? OK, really, I was brought in on a super secret multi-governmental spy mission.  Now, you must all die...FINE. Honestly, I dislocated my jaw and didn't feel like typing up a blog post. You'll like this one though.  I mean who doesn't like Star Wars? Nope, La La La, I don't hear you.

Here's the deal.  My nephew wanted a Yoda cake for his birthday. By the time he could walk my family was plotting to turn this innocent child into a member of the Nerd Army.  We succeeded, BWHAHAHA.  Being as I am the go-to cake person in the family I was tasked with making this happen. Well...simply put, I didn't feel like expending the time and energy needed to make a Yoda cake.  [Read: I am lazy.] Therefore, my favorite, and only, nephew got a Star Wars cake instead. Here's the blow by blow, edited for your viewing pleasure of course.

Step 1 - Bake a cake to the specifications of an 8 year old. →  "I want sprinkles inside" OK, confetti cake. "No, SPRINKLES - INSIDE" *sigh* OK, vanilla right? [now imagine the voice of someone speaking to something dumb and really slow (like a slug, or a rock)] "No Aunt, VANILLA BEAN, NOT plain VANILLA" *double sigh* What kind of icing, vanilla buttercream? "ummm, Lemon." What?! Have you ever had lemon icing? "Yes." And, you liked it? "Yes." OK. (yeah right)

Step 2 - Flip the hot cake (white, vanilla bean, confetti) out onto an aluminum foil-covered piece of cardboard while praying to the Cake Gods that when you flip it out of the pan the cake actually comes out instead of just hanging there, stuck, and then falling into 2 or 3 chunks.  Let cake cool.  Why cardboard you ask? Because my stupid, freaking, stupid, &@$#%, cake carrier was in my car - in another state. 

Beautiful

Step 3 - Make 4 cups vanilla buttercream, not lemon, frosting. Dye two-thirds blue and the rest black. Google antidote for transdermal poisoning.

Step 4: Pop the heads off of several Pez dispensers. Eat all of the Pez candy like a depraved crack addict, saving none for the kids.

Step 5: Mangle some perfectly good, holographic notepads.

yay for the $1 Target bins

Step 6: Charge the nerdy men with creating Lightsabers using only glowsticks, duct tape, and Sharpies.

Step 7: Use the Force, Luke (and everyone else).

Notice the cake carrier?  Yeah, that was fun to move.

Step 8: Travel 100 miles and convince children that eating melted wax will not KILL them. Geez, when I was your age we ate cakes made out of dirt and rocks, decorated with acorns and twigs.

Cruising Charlie

Surprises for tomorrow!  Today you get Charlie's ears flapping in the wind.

MIT Cures HIV?

Common Cold Virus

Sponsored by a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the New England Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, with previous funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and Director of Defense Research & Engineering (now the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering), researchers at MIT may have found the cure for many viruses, including HIV. 

Hepatitis C

HIV

Fifteen viruses to be exact, including the cold virus (rhinovirus), strains of swine flu (H1N1 influenza), adenoviruses (which cause symptoms ranging from common cold syndrome to pneumonia, croup, and bronchitis), the dreaded stomach virus (reovirus), a polio virus, hepatitis C virus, dengue fever virus (breakbone fever), several members of hemorrhagic fever (arenavirus and bunyavirus), and highly lethal viruses such as Ebola or smallpox that might be used in bioterrorist attacks, hence the funding by the DoD.

MIT's new wonder drug (more virus warfare, or broad-spectrum antiviral approach, as they call it) is called DRACO (Double-stranded RNA [dsRNA] Activated Caspase Oligomerizer) and it was found to be nontoxic in 11 different cell types representing various species (e.g., humans, monkeys, mice) and organ types (e.g., heart, lung, liver, kidney). There have already been preliminary lab tests done on mice in which not only were they cured of a given virus but in some cases were saved from certain death; for example, when given a lethal dose of swine flu. In order to understand how the virus kryptonite DRACO works you must first understand a little about viruses and how they work. Get ready for a biochemistry and genetics crash course.

A virus is merely a set of genetic instructions, usually RNA, surrounded by a protein coat or envelope. All viruses have some type of protein on the outside coat that identifies a viable host cell. This protein attaches the virus to the membrane of the host cell. Some enveloped viruses can dissolve right through the cell membrane of the host because both the virus envelope and the cell membrane are made of lipids and because they do not carry out any biochemical reactions of its own, viruses can live for years or longer outside a host cell. Some viruses can "sleep" inside the genetic instructions of the host cells for years before reproducing. For example, a person infected with HIV can live without showing symptoms of AIDS for years, but they can still spread the virus to others.

Unlike human cells or bacteria, viruses do not contain the chemical machinery (enzymes) needed to carry out the chemical reactions for life. Instead, viruses carry only one or two enzymes that decode their genetic instructions. Therefore a virus must have a host cell in which to live and make more viruses. Outside of a host cell, viruses cannot function. Cold and flu viruses will attack cells that line the respiratory or digestive tracts. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, attacks the T-cells of the immune system.

I'm sure you already know the drill. You're at a crowded party and someone near you sneezes. You inhale a rhinovirus particle and it attaches to cells lining the sinuses in your nose. The virus attacks these cells and rapidly reproduces new viruses. The host cells break, and new viruses spread into your bloodstream and also into your lungs. Because you have lost cells lining your sinuses, fluid can flow into your nasal passages and give you a runny nose. Viruses in the fluid that drips down your throat attack the cells lining your throat and give you a sore throat. Viruses in your bloodstream can attack muscle cells and cause you to have muscle aches. Now you feel like you have the flu, but you are really in the grips of the common cold.

In computer terms a virus is a small bit of code that attaches itself to a program such as a spreadsheet. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs). Biological viruses reproduce by transcription into viral mRNA (messenger RNA) molecules. RNA codons (basically the 1s and 0s that relate to the building blocks, amino acids) are read by your biological machinery and turned into polypeptides, or strings of amino acids, through a process called translation. Fold these polypeptides and you get proteins. As the host cell's ribosomes attach to the viral mRNA molecules, the mRNAs are translated into viral structural proteins and viral enzymes.

Essentially, DRACO is a protein with one part that binds to viral dsRNA (double stranded RNA) and a second domain that induces apoptosis, or cell suicide, when two or more DRACOs crosslink on the same dsRNA. If viral dsRNA is present inside a cell, DRACO will bind to the dsRNA and BAM! dead. If viral dsRNA is not present inside the cell, DRACO will not crosslink and everything stays rosey. DRACO works on the assumption that most viruses have double-(dsRNA) or single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) genomes and produce long (greater than ~21–23 base pairs) dsRNA helices during transcription and replication. Uninfected mammalian cells generally do not produce long dsRNA, so DRACO attacks cells that exhibit at least 30–50 base pairs. DRACO can be fused with proven protein transduction tags, including a sequence from the HIV TAT protein, the related protein transduction domain 4 (PTD), and polyarginine (ARG). These tags have been shown to carry large cargo molecules into both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of all cell types in vitro and in vivo, even across the blood-brain barrier. Because DRACO doesn't trigger within normal cells it rapidly heals a viral infection while minimizing side effects on the patient.

Ideally, you want the top left and bottom right images of each quad to be the same.

Clearly, this is a great step in Medicine even if the general public never sees it. I wonder, though, how they plan to administer said DRACO. I'm assuming by intramuscular injection, or a shot, which brings up the question, "How long will it take before all viruses are dead?" or asks the sick person, "How long before I feel better?"

Also, and I feel silly thinking it, but this reminds me of that movie I Am Legend in which most of the population becomes crazed and vampire-like after the world is unable to stop the spread of a virus, manufactured by man to cure cancer, mutates and spreads like wildfire. 

Plus, I don't think I can shoot Charlie when he becomes infected.

Evil Toy Traps Dog

Charlie's new favorite toy is the bathtub grid disk.

Why he loves this, I don't know.  I suspect part of it is the clanking sound that it makes on the tub floor.  Our grid isn't screwed down, by the way. Sorry to viciously crush all the Battle Cat, or Pinky and the Brain, doggie daydreams out there.  

Charlie has always loved the shower, often he waits outside the curtain like Norman in the movie Psycho. OK, maybe not exactly like that.  Because, you know, that would be a little creepy and Charlie might just have to find a new home with nice new people that he could murder.

So it wasn't that surprising when I heard the grid clacking in the bathroom.  A little while later, though, I heard whimpering and went to check it out.  This is what I found:

Favorite Low Fantasy Series

This the second part of my recommended Fantasy Series.  This post highlights Low Fantasy. Low Fantasy is very appealing to many people because it's rooted in our working world but with characters who often have special, supernatural abilities. This familiarity often makes it suitable to fantasy newbies who don't won't to feel like a weird nerd (but secretly are).

Click here to visit my High Fantasy post.

I have listed the first book in each series, along with the series name in parentheses. On both lists, High and Low, the quoted plot summaries are from the back cover of the books. Here we go, in no certain order.

The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks (Night Angel Trilogy)
"For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist. For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint. But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death."

For once a book's cover is a good summary. That pretty much sums this book up. I originally bought this book because it was featured so heavily in Barnes & Noble. I thoroughly enjoyed the easy murdering, quick-whitted characters, and political intrigues although Kylar and Doll Face's relationship frustrates me.



The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicle)
"So begins the tale of Kvothe—from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe as a notorious magician, an accomplished thief, a masterful musician, and an infamous assassin. But The Name of the Wind is so much more—for the story it tells reveals the truth behind Kvothe's legend."

This is mostly a first-person narrative of Kvothe, a young man who grows to be one of the most notorious magicians his world has ever seen.  You pick up Kvothe in disguise as an innkeeper and through the storytelling of his life to a renown historian learn about his sometimes misadventures that helped to boost his reputation to something more than human.  I have to say, while starved to finish the fantastically written first book. I was disappointed by the second book "Wise Man's Fear."  It just seemed like major story ideas, some unnecessary, pieced together roughly and just didn't flow well.  Just my opinion though.  Let me know what you think.

Across the Nightingale Floor - Lian Hearn (Tales of the Otori)

"It begins with the legend of a nightingale floor in a black-walled fortress-a floor that sings in alarm at the step of an assassin. It will take true courage and all the skills of an ancient Tribe for one orphaned youth named Takeo to discover the magical destiny that awaits him...across the nightingale floor."

After his village is viciously attacked and family killed, Takeo is adopted by an assassin guild.  They help teach him skills that aid him along his path of revenge. He has to learn to cross a famed nightingale floor that serves as an alarm system to a very powerful man.  Interestingly, these floors actually existed in real life as security measures in Japan, often in temples and palaces.  The wooden floor boards were designed so that the nails would screech against jackets or plates creating loud chirping sounds warning the inhabitants of a intruder.

A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire)

"Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones."

Well, I can't really explain it any better than that.  This series of books is heavy, HEAVY, on medieval type political intrigue.  I have to admit that the first time I read "Game of Thrones" I didn't really like it, mainly because Martin kills off the first five or six "main" characters in a very short time.  I just couldn't bring myself to attach any feeling to any of the other characters who, I felt, might die off at any moment.  It is a good series though and has become even more popular with the advent of the HBO TV series.

Storm Front - Jim Butcher (Dresden Files)

mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get... interesting. Magic. It can get a guy killed."

I love these books, all of them.  You can read them stand alone but plot lines do build throughout. My favorite is probably Summer Knight.  I love Harry's sarcastic, just shy of poverty, love torn and confused, devil may care character.  I love Bob; I love Michael; I love the physically exhausting, gritty magic. These books make me laugh out loud. Read them.  A side note: Do not watch the Dresden Files TV show.  While the books are great, the TV show on the Sci Fi Channel (Syfy?) sucked.

Favorite High Fantasy Series

So, I was reorganizing my office bookshelf, which was in dire need, this morning and it got me to thinking. I should really share my favorite fantasy book series. I told myself that I would limit it to 5, only five. Then, I couldn't narrow it down. My internal argument went something like this: "But I love this one too. You can't list every book you have! But, but, this one is different; it's high fantasy and that one is low fantasy. You can't really compare them. You can't list every book you own! OK, fine, I'll make 2 lists. Happy? Yeah...I guess that'll work." My inner voices often fight. That's normal right? Right?!

And then there were two, one list for High Fantasy which in my opinion is defined as either having an innately different physical world, the workings of its physics not its appearance, than ours, or having so much magic or fantasy elements that it seems different, i.e. Harry Potter. The second for Low Fantasy which operates primarily in our working world but with characters that often have special, supernatural abilities. I have listed the first book in each series, along with the series name in parentheses. On both lists, High and Low, the quoted plot summaries are from the back cover of the books.

Click here to visit my Low Fantasy post.

I love both types. I was 16 or 17 years old before I read my first High Fantasy book, which is just sad really. My boyfriend at the time was kind of obsessed with The Wheel of Time series, and with good reason. I picked it up so that I could seem cool and have something to talk about with him, although talking is not always at the top of a adolescent boy's list of priorities. Nevertheless, this simple act, in plain terms, rocked my world. To this day the High Fantasy genre is my go-to reading subject. Here are my favorites in no certain order.

Eye of the World - Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time) - Brandon Sanderson finished this series after Jordan's unfortunate death.
"The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow."

The Eye of the World revolves around a group of young people from Emond's Field in The Two Rivers - Rand al'Thor, Matrim Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere and Nynaeve al'Meara. As a matter of fact, the whole series revolves around these characters. Basically, minions of the Dark One force the central three, Rand, Mat, and Perrin, to confront their destinies, often with the aid (or manipulation) of mages, known as Aes Sedai, to hopefully save the world from being destroyed.



Furies of Calderon - Jim Butcher (Codex Alera)
"In the realm of Alera, where people bond with the furies--elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal--fifteen-year-old Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. But when his homeland erupts in chaos--when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies-- Tavi's simple courage will turn the tides of war."

There are several central characters, Amara who is training to become a royal spy; Bernard who leads a town, or steadholt; Doroga, along with daughter Kitai, who is leader of the Marat, a barbarian race; and of course Tavi, the primary hero of this series. The story goes back and forth between their lives until they meet up. This series is so good; the rich character development, relatable conflict and inner struggle, seamless intertwining of plots, character growth, ugh so good. I'll be reading this if you need me.



Dragons of Autumn Twilight - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance Chronicles)
"Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world. No one expected them to be heroes. Least of all, them."

The novels, based on a series of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game modules created by Weis and Hickman, take place on the fantasy world of Krynn where the population once worshiped the True Gods, a pantheon unique to the Dragonlance saga. At some point in history the True Gods abandoned the world and those in it. The world is just starting to recover from the loss of the True Gods when a group sprung up seeking to replace them, the Seekers. This book begins with the return of a group of friends, consisting of Tanis, Sturm, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint, and Tasslehoff, who previously went their own ways and pledged to return in five years. Kitiara Uth Matar, the half sister of the twins Caramon and Raistlin, was supposed to be there as well, but only sent a mysterious note. The Companions discover that the meet-up village has been taken over by the Seekers who are in collaboration with the Dragon Highlords for the conquest of the continent of Ansalon.


The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks (The Shannara Series)
"Living in peaceful Shady Vale, Shea Ohmsford knew little of the troubles that plagued the rest of the world. Then the giant, forbidding Allanon revealed that the supposedly dead Warlock Lord was plotting to destory the world. The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness was the Sword of Shannara, which could only be used by a true heir of Shannara—Shea being the last of the bloodline, upon whom all hope rested. Soon a Skull Bearer, dread minion of Evil, flew into the Vale, seeking to destroy Shea. To save the Vale, Shea fled, drawing the Skull Bearer after him…"

The first book in this series interweaves two major plots into a fictional world called the Four Lands. One follows the protagonist Shea Ohmsford on his quest to obtain the Sword of Shannara and confront the Warlock Lord, the antagonist, with it, while the other shadows Prince Balinor Buckhannah's attempt to oust his insane brother Palance from the throne of Callahorn while the country and its capital, Tyrsis, come under attack from overwhelming armies of the Warlock Lord. I'm always reminded of a soaring, lifting feeling when thinking about this series. While dark elements and frustration are clearly present, this series maintains a solid optimistic feel which is not quite naive in nature, but in a good way.


The Sorcerer's Stone - JK Rowling (Harry Potter Series)
"Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team...He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and had never worn a cloak of invisibility. All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys...But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place...[where] he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything...but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if only he can survive the encounter."

I distinctly remember sitting in a college Lit class and being assigned this book as mandatory reading. Brazenly, I raised my hand and asked, "Isn't Harry Potter a children's book?" Murmurs of agreement echoed through the room. "Just read it," the professor responded. He was right; it's well written, entertaining, and relevant at any age. While I can't remember the man's name who introduced me to these books, they have become my go-to favorites for when I'm feeling crappy. They always seem to cheer me up and being such light reads, I can easily finish one of them in a day or so. For that I thank him.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Exciting news guys! The next Zelda (or as some people call it, Link) game is coming out soon. Of course it will be released on Nintendo's main console, the Wii.

Super Mario 64

GoldenEye 007

As a matter of fact, many gamers believe this will be the last major game for this console. {Warning: Tangent Bitch Rant} Nintendo high ups have been quoted as saying that they want to focus development more on their handheld platforms, the Nintendo 3DS and the new Wii U. This is disappointing news for me. I don't feel like there have been any real groundbreaking games released on the Wii. Sure they integrated the motion control remote but I don't need all that. I'm a true gamer who is perfectly fine being fat and lazy, thanks. I just seem to pick the wrong systems again and again; the Wii over the Xbox360: FAIL, the Xbox360 over the PS3: FAIL. There's just a vast lack of really great games on these systems. Sure they get a hit every now and then, think Call of Duty, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. At least Xbox finally got a Final Fantasy game. Stupid Sony agreements. I miss the days of GoldenEye 007 and Super Mario 64. Now those were truly great games.

Anyway, back to Zelda. I loved Twilight Princess. I would even venture as far as saying that it is the best game on the Wii. I'm talking call in sick to work love. Therefore I have high hopes for Skyward Sword. So far reactions have been mixed. Some old complaints are still there; Link still gets fatigued if he sprints too far, and shields can still break. Not biggies though. Here's a kicker though, no Ganon. Yep, that's right, the third piece of the tri-force will be absent this time. I have a friend who named his computer Ganon. He will be crushed. Oh well. Another negative is that Skyward Sword will require the Wii MotionPlus expansion device that improves the accelerometer and allows the controller to more accurately capture complex motion. This is needed because apparently the swordplay in Skyward Sword is going to blow our minds. Hopefully, it's better than Red Steel, which to be honest, sucked.

In the grand story line Skyward Sword is a prequel to Ocarina of Time. Ocarina of Time may have been the best Zelda so far. Not surprisingly it came out for the Nintendo64 (see Bitch Rant above). In Skyward Sword, Link is born and raised in Skyloft, a group of islands floating above the clouds. Using the Skyward Sword, which later becomes the Master Sword, Link travels back and forth between the sky world and the land world. He eventually learns why the two worlds are separated. Once the sword transforms into the Master Sword it assumes the form of a female figure who gives Link advice. Hopefully she is more like Navi and less like Midna, who I wanted to drown and/or throw into a volcano. In this game, Zelda is not a princess but a childhood friend of Link. She has been kidnapped by the baddie Lord Ghirahim and Link is searching for her. Sound familiar? *cough* Mario and Peach *cough*

Lord Ghirahim doesn't quite strike fear in your heart like Ganon does.

Skyward Sword is due out November 20, 2011 in the U.S. It will be able either as a stand alone game ($49.99) or as part of a bundle that includes a gold controller with built-in WiiMotion Plus ($69.99). As my eyes glaze over it's evident that I must have the new shiny controller with the Hyrulian decal. Regardless of whether you buy the stand alone or the bundled version, you will also receive the 25th anniversary soundtrack which features "select orchestral arrangements of iconic music spanning the history of the franchise which will be performed at The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert performances in October 2011." Currently I have Saria's Song as my ringtone.  With this new CD I feel like that could change.

Dragon*Con 2011

Where's the one place that geeks and nerds can come together for four days every year and feel completely normal? Dragon*Con of course! Dragon*Con for the uninitiated is "the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the world" Yeah, yeah, Comic-Con is bigger but Dragon*Con is more diverse. Dragon*Con is held every year on Labor Day weekend. Which means...get your cosplay on and get down to Atlanta, GA because the party's about to start!! I can't really express the chaotic, crowded, sometimes drunken camaraderie that is Dragon*Con in words. There is so much to do; gaming, vendors, cosplay, contests, speaker panels, workshops, demos, concerts. You really just have to be there.

Here are just a few of the almost 400 Guests that will be there this year:

Terry Brooks
Laura Hickman
Tracy Hickman
William Shatner
Felicia Day (from The Guild)
Wil Wheaton
Nicholas Brendon (Xander from Buffy)
Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)
Lou Ferrigno (Hulk)
Martin Landau
Peter Mayhew (played the Wookiee Chewbacca)
Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin in the Sci-Fi channel's hit series Battlestar Galactica)
Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh, Executive Officer of the Battlestar Galactica)
Lea Thompson (Lorraine Baines McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy)
Beau Bridges
Stan Lee
Boris Vallejo

If you can only afford to go one day things won't ramp up until Saturday, September 3, so I'd go then. I, unfortunately, won't be able to go at all this year; recession and all. Last time I went, my husband and I spent about $500, including hotel. If you stayed in one of the five host hotels, particularly the Hilton, and bought autographs you could easily spend over $1000 in 4 days.

Here are a few tips for saving money:

1. Stay outside the Downtown area. We stayed near the airport and rode the Marta Rail in. Yeah, it added 40 minutes travel time or so to our day but we saved something like $100/night on hotel. A Marta Pass for 4 days is $15. Plus, I liked riding the train.

2. Pack your own breakfast and lunch. We saved big money by only eating one meal/day at a restaurant.

3. Buy your tickets ahead of time. Little late for that now but maybe something to keep in mind for next year. Pre-registration 4-day passes tend to run about $75. Tickets at the door are always more expensive. Good thing is you can buy one day at a time if you so desire. Be prepared to wait in long ticket lines though. Go very early, first thing in the morning. Seriously.

Dragon*Con 2011 September 2 - 5 Memberships (aka tickets)
$120 Friday to Monday 4-day (available for purchase on Thursday and Friday only)
$90 Saturday to Monday 3-day (available for purchase on Saturday only)
$60 Sunday to Monday 2-day (available for purchase on Sunday only)
$40 Friday only (available for purchase on Friday only)
$50 Saturday only (available for purchase on Saturday only)
$40 Sunday only (available for purchase on Sunday only)
$30 Monday only (available for purchase on Monday only)

Registration hours are as follows:
Thu 9/1 - 10am - 10pm
Fri 9/2 - 8am - 10pm
Sat 9/3 - 8am - 10pm
Sun 9/4 - 8am - 10pm
Mon 9/5 - 8am - 5pm

4. Buy your souvenirs on Sunday or Monday. Vendors will often reduce their prices as the convention wears on so that they don't have to pack all that stuff back up.

If you've never been it's definitely something to look into, especially if you're into sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, and/or hot, barely clothed chicks. They used to allow non-convention people into the hotel lobbies to view the cosplay. Recently I've heard that they have locked up security a bit and no longer allow that. If you wanted to see the costumes though but don't want to pay for admission, definitely check out the parade on Saturday, September 3, at 10:00 AM. Just be aware that if it looks like rain the extravagant costumes won't be there.  I mean would you want to get your $2000 Darth Vader costume wet?  You can also view Dragon*Con TV, which is broadcast to all guest rooms in the host hotels, online.

Coke Freestyle

Recently, I was coerced into driving across town to Moe's Southwest Grill. I love Moe's and normally don't really need a reason to go. This time, however, I was on an adventure to try out the new Coca-Cola Freestyle drink dispenser. Yes, my friends forced me to drive across town to, well, have a Coke. Apparently, I wasn't sufficiently excited about the prospect because I was chastised the whole way over there. "But...there are 106 different combinations," they said. Wait for it...they even had a print out of the options: Raspberry Sprite, Grape Vault, Caffeine-free Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke, Minute Maid Orange Lemonade, Powerade ION4 Lime, just to name a few. "You should decide what you're going to get before we get there," they pressured. "I'll probably just get Diet Coke with Lime." Oh no I didn't! "But you can get that anywhere!!"

= THE DEVIL, clearly

Now before you think my friends are nutso, I have to admit it was pretty awesome although I do have a few complaints about it. Firstly though, let me explain what it is just in case you haven't experienced one. Coke Freestyle is Coca-Cola's new fountain dispenser that uses micro-dosing technology to dispense more than 100 sparkling and still beverage brands from a single freestanding unit. What that means is that you can dynamically change what you're drinking. Say you have a 16oz cup and you want a drink that is 1/2 Hi-C Fruit Punch, mixed with 3/8 Raspberry Sprite, topped off with a shot of Dr. Pepper. You can easily do that with this machine. It uses flavor cartridges to blend concentrated ingredients with water and sweeteners at the point the drink is dispensed instead of using the usual syrup bags and carbonated water. It also has the same micro-dosing technology that was developed for pharmaceutical dispensing. The most important inner workings, however, and why I'm sure Coke decided to implement this machine, is that it uses cell phone technology to transmit user data back to Atlanta headquarters. Without a doubt this is high-tech food service. With ever declining soda sales, Coke needs all the resources they can find to figure out how to keep making money.

OK, now for the bitch fest. The first thing negative that I noticed was the wait. There is only one fountain dispenser so the line can back up pretty far, especially with newbs like me who don't know how to work it. I had to wait for 5 people (maybe 10 minutes) to fill up before I got my turn, which is a long time when you just want to sit down and eat. Secondly, maybe this particular machine just receives a lot of use but the touch screen was not very responsive. You kind of had to touch and hold your finger on the screen for a second before it would register your choice. One of my friends said that he had visited another restaurant in town with one of these and it didn't have that problem. This brings up the question, is it a defect of the machine or of the users? Thirdly, I seriously question the economics behind this. Due to the fact that there are more options available most people will tend towards drinking more so that they can try different combos. Myself, I had 3 refills (well one initial and 2 refills) whereas I would normally only fill up my cup once at a standard fountain. All of my friends also admitted to drinking more than they would have normally. I can't help but feel like restaurants will have to pass this additional cost onto the customer at some point. All things considered though it's a refreshing take on fountain drinks and was a fun experience. Currently the machines are in just over 1000 locations nationwide so look for one near you and let me know what you think.

Just in case you're wondering my favorite combination was half Hi-C Orange, half Raspberry Sprite Zero which tasted somehow tropical. All of the Sprites were good. Be warned; the Dasani Sensations are nasty unless you like tonic.

Youtube Obsession

Hey guys, so I was thinking about what nonsense to blab about today and decided to make a list of my favorite websites instead. Yeah, my brain just works that way; don't judge. While going through my links I realized, hey, I might just have a problem. Over half, OK more like two-thirds, of the links were for Youtube people. So, I decided to do a post highlighting five talented uploaders that you should definitely check out. These are in no certain order.

Hank and John Green

If the Vlogbrothers aren't on your subscription list stop reading this now and go add them. Seriously. This duo, comprised of brothers John who is an author and Hank who is a musician, is intelligent, funny, relevant, and successful. Among other things they are the founders of VidCon which is the largest gathering of members of the online video world. The annual convention is routinely sold out 2-3 months in advance.

Philip DeFranco

Philip DeFranco, star of the Philip Defranco Show (PDS), has become an internet celebrity. His videos feature current news with a humorous spin (think a younger and less rehearsed Jon Stewart). It's sad, but more pleasant, really that I get most of my news from him. He also has a spin off channel, Like Totally Awesome (LTA), which started off reviewing video games but has morphed into a very successful movie club.

Samantha and Nicola Chapman

Pixiwoo, is again, a team of talented siblings. This time funny, charismatic sisters from the UK. They are makeup artists that film tutorials as well as product reviews. Simple things make me love them, for example, that they pull their hair out of the way when doing a tutorial. Very useful stuff.

Vi Hart

Vihart blows my mind. She calls herself a recreational mathematician. On her website she says that her hobby is mathematics, with special interests in symmetry, polyhedra, and surreal complexity. Ummm, who has hobbies like that?! I hope one day she has something named after her. Her videos explain sometimes complicated math concepts in an entertaining and, most importantly, an understandable way. Don't get me wrong, I like math and have taken more classes on advance math than the average person but sometimes it all becomes too much and my head wants to melt. I don't get that with Vi. I particularly love her Binary Hand Dance. Watch it and be entertained.

Evan, Andrew, Michael, and Sarah Gregory

And last but not least, who can forget such internet sensations as "hide yo kids, hide yo wife"? Schmoyoho is a quartet of three brothers, Evan, Andrew, and Michael Gregory, along with Sarah Gregory who is now married to Evan. They specialize in auto-tuning real news clips which result in humorous and catchy songs.

World of Warcraft 4.3 Patch

It's all over the Trade channel because, you know, it's really more of a gossip/troll channel than a trading one.  OK, admittedly there is also an element of LFM (looking for member, for the uninitiated) for raids too.  But before I get off on a tangent, back to the subject at hand.

Patch 4.3, rumored to be the final Cataclysm content patch and contain the means with which to kill Deathwing.  As with all patches, rumors and hunches are being thrown around like set in stone certainty.  You can't blame them too much.  End game 85s really do need something to do after all.  The best I can decipher, it's due out in the next couple of months.  I would be very surprised if it wasn't released by the end of the year.

There are several very exciting prospects with the new patch.  The most anticipated is, of course, Transmogrification which will allow you to change the appearance of an item while retaining its original stats.  Why does anyone care?  Well, say you play a Feral Druid (you know, a completely random example, ahem) who happened to really like look of the Embrace of the Viper set from Wailing Caverns.  Now, that set is really only good until at best level 30.  But, what if you could re-engineer it with level 85 equivalent stats?  Ahh, the heavens would open up and all would be right with the world.  OK, maybe not, but you could kick ass while looking sexy.  Many players are looking forward to wearing Deathknight and Warrior specific gear as Priests or Rogues.  Best of all the moggs, as it's affectionately being called, are not permanent but work more like gem slots so you can change your appearance whenever you like.

So where do you store all of the extra equipment you're holding onto for mogging?  I most definitely do not have space in my bank.  Good thing we have Blizzard to think of everything for us. Void Storage, due out with the new patch, is a new type of bank where players will be able to store their old armors in order to free up space in their regular bank.  I've heard storage estimates between 80-150 items and that anything stored there will lose all gems and enchantments.  That's kind of crazy actually considering the regular bank only has 28 slots.  Even if you bought all 7 additional slots and outfitted them with 16 slot bags you'd only have 140 slots.  I'm excited.

Something else that excites me is Darkmoon Island.  Yeah, yeah, 4.3 will have 3 new 5-man instances, including one in the Caverns of Time and there's a new Raid Finder, similar to the Dungeon Finder, but while I have an 85 Pally I don't raid.  I know, blasphemy.  I much more enjoy professions (epic gems are of great interest) and world events, like Darkmoon Faire which has been completely overhauled.  The Faire will run the first week of every month and there will be portals outside the capital cities to take you to the new Island.  Rumored are new heirlooms, new armor sets, deathmatches (think Gurubashi Arena), new companion pets, new recipes...ugh, I'm so excited!

Another much, much needed change in the works is decreasing the experience needed for levels 71-80 because right now Northrend is where alts go to die.

And for all of you who just read this post and are like, "What the Hell is she talking about?" Blizzard is planning more tutorials and walk-throughs for the first 30 minutes and five levels of the game.  Thank God you can turn those off.  Get in while you can because Patch 4.4 will bring a world changing event before the next expansion but you probably have at least until the middle of next year.