 Malik
(11/21/11)Once again, Skyrim has stolen my time! I would say something like "Damn you Skyrim!" but that doesn't seem right when Skyrim gives me so much happiness while stealing my nights away from me. I set out this weekend with one important goal; upgrading the CPU of my computer. It seems simple enough, but when you need a flash update of your BIOS, it becomes a bit more convoluted. Well, this meant I needed to install a new DVD burner (who needs optical drives that work correctly when digital distribution is king?) in order to make a BIOS upgrade boot disk. Then I needed to flash my BIOS, which is about as safe and logical to accomplish as checking if an outlet works by stabbing a fork into it. I did get this far without failure. However, removing the old CPU, putting in the new one, adding some Arctic Silver, and replacing my super-sized fan/heat-sink to overclock the hell out of the CPU never found its way into my schedule. I guess that will be tonight. With the hard and problematic part done (BIOS flashing), this last step should be simple enough. For now, I can play Skyrim, so I don't find myself needing to finish this...but in the name of declaring some autonomy from Skryrim, I will get it accomplished. Plus, with the new CPU, the game should work a bit smoother and welcome a small graphical upgrade. I used the weekend to finish the Dark Brotherhood quest line in Skyrim. If you enjoy the "playing evil" type of storyline in RPGs, this is one of the best quest lines I've seen in a The Elder Scrolls (TES) universe. I also did most of what remains in the thief guild plot, which is another amazing quest line beyond the sad plot that was the equivalent in Oblivion. In fact, I have to say all of the guild quests feel so much more complete this time around with plots worthy of being considered the entire game. I also took some time to check a method one of my friends was using for his character. One friend became obsessed with smithing. I thought the smithing line seemed weak when compared to something fun like sneaking or light armor (both of which have amazing perks). I power-leveled smithing and can see the appeal. Donning some massively upgraded dragon scale light armor, and using weapons that are double their original strength is amazing. Because of this, I'm now adding some enchanting to my skill set. My goal is to make a double enchanted upgraded daedric dagger to use in stealth mode to deal 15x damage with a backstab attack. It seems, according to one friend, that my smithing friend made a one-shot on a dragon with this type of build, and that sounds like too much fun to pass on. On a different note, football sucks. The Beavers humiliated UW. OSU is a bad team this year, and UW should be so much better. Still, it's not as bad as seeing the Ducks (I do like OU) lose in the last second by missing what looks like an easy field goal to send the game into overtime. How to make it worse? The Seahawks just keep trying too damned hard to not have a good draft pick. I didn't think I'd see it this season, but the Seahawks actually dominated a team. Yes, it was the Rams, but the Rams were fully dominated by a team that should be considered equals (equally bad). The Seahawks have almost no chance of making the post-season (an epic collapse of the 49ers and non-stop Seattle victories are basically required at this point. The best option for the 'Hawks is a complete breakdown (even more than they already have) to ensure a high enough draft pick to get one of the many solid QBs entering the league next season. One funny thing about Seattle winning; local media is based on hype no matter where you live. Well, the Seattle media today has repeatedly bragged about "the Seahawks are in 2nd in the NFC West." That would be interesting if they had a chance and if they haven't been in 2nd (or tied for 2nd) the entire season already. Bragging about it now is like bragging that your child doesn't have the worst grades in his/her class despite having a solid F average. Malik |
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Malik
(11/22/11) This is probably the final post for this week for myself. It's time for vacation. Well, it's actually time to stay home from work on vacation, but not really go anywhere (unless you count the world of Skyrim). The only plans are Skyrim, finalizing some Christmas shopping, eating until I burst on Thanksgiving, and being a good all American home owner by hanging far too many Christmas lights and wondering why I do this to myself each year (but enjoying it despite myself). Somehow, I actually didn't play Skyrim last night. I also didn't get around to upgrading my CPU. It almost felt like a day before Skyrim came out in which I barely touched games (played one level of Super Mario 3D Land) and actually was productive with chores and the like. Not a bad experience every once in a while, but I will make up for the lack of Skyrim tonight. After more than a week, I wish I could give some thoughts on Super Mario 3D Land, but that is just not possible. I have played two levels and a single mystery box (or whatever it's called) in one week. When you are trapped by Skyrim, the idea of such a simple game is not on the menu. While I don't have any complaints, I do thing Super Mario 3D Land doesn't quite feel as good as it should have been. This, of course, is only from playing 2 levels and a minor bonus stage. However, it has the feel of a classic style Mario game, but the pacing of a 3D Mario game. Which is to say it's too slow in feel for the genre Nintendo went with. I honestly cannot say (and this is too early to form solid conclusions) this is the system seller that Mario games usually serve as on Nintendo hardware. Anyway, I have Skyrim to dominate my attention span, so any Mario opinions are naturally biased and are too soon to make into anything more than a worthless quick opinion. Tonight I aim to finish the thief guild plot on Skyrim and start the magic college in full earnest. While I'm not playing the magic focused character I intended to when I started Skyrim, I'm hoping the college can change my opinion so far. The opinion being that Skyrim is not nearly as fun for a magic user as Oblivion and Morrowind were (or Arena, for those who remember how amazing Arena was for magic in it's day...wow, I dated my age a little bit there). Happy Thanksgiving to all, and a happy day of overindulging on the feast of life. Malik |
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