City of Heroes is Closing

It's hard to explain how I feel about this.

I'll admit that I haven't played this game in months. I enjoyed the social aspect of the game more than the content itself, and when my friends started getting bored and left, a lot of the fun I had went with them.

Still, this was my first MMO, and I spent many happy years playing in Paragon City. I made friendships that have lasted outside the game, and many have grown quite deep.  Demonic Bunny, my Pellatarrum co-designer, and I first became friends there  (although I have no memory of how we actually met.)

So even though it's been a long time since I played, I think of it fondly, and took a certain comfort in knowing that all my characters were safely stored there, ready to play whenever I wanted to come back.

And now I find out that won't be the case any more. I feel like I've lost a favorite childhood toy. It doesn't matter that I may have outgrown it; I still regret the loss.

Goodbye and farewell, City of Heroes. I may play you one last time before closing, if there more sweet than bitter in our last bittersweet reunion.

Busy week

Will try to fill in the missing days with a flood of back-dated posts. Alas, I still do not have access to a time machine.

Pellatarrum: Suddenly, a Wild Logo Appears!

This amazing and epic logo sprung from the fertile mind of my co-author Demonic Bunny:

I don't know if I can express how awesome this is, but I'll try.

• I didn't tell Bunny what I wanted. I just said "I want Pellatarrum to have a logo for when we eventually publish it."  He managed to reach into my brain and pull out everything I wanted in a single try. 
• He doesn't have previous experience with graphic design. 
• It looks amazing in black and white, but will also look amazing in color. 
• It is instantly iconic. 
• It is detailed without being busy. 
• If you don't know the setting, it's a cool logo. 
• If you do know the setting, you understand how dense in information the design is. 
• It's actually an abstract view of the plane itself, with the Dayspire up top and the crumbling Nightspire below. 
• The triangles are the alchemical symbols for the elements, and clockwise from upper left they are Air, Fire, Water, Earth -- the sequence of the elemental seasons.

Another cool thing I discovered while I was looking up the aforementioned symbols was this chart of elemental correspondences from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn:

It's cool because I don't ever recall seeing this chart before, and I know I haven't read any of the Golden Dawn.  I love how we both came to the conclusion that Earth is winter, when everyone else tried to tell me that it should be Water. Coincidence, or great minds thinking alike?

I also love how this gives me authority against all the gamers who would object that I am somehow getting elementalism wrong. I can point to this and say, "Old School Occultism, bitches!"

WNW: Cuil Theory

You ask me for a hamburger. I slap you and  instead give you this video on Cuil Theory.

Everyday Carry: the Nebo Blueline

So JayG over at MArooned has written a blog post about not having an everyday carry flashlight (bad gunnie! Bad!) and how he should fix that. Lots of people weighed in with their suggestions, and I figured since I was already headed this way I might as well turn it into a blog post, because laziness.

(I can't really call this a product review, because I haven't tested this item thoroughly. Take it more in the vein of "I bought this, I like this, it's nifty" rather than a full-scale product endorsement.)

The model which I carry is the Nebo Blueline. It is a great little light that has yet to let me down, although admittedly I've only used it for walking the dogs at night and navigating the house during a power outage.

I bought this for three main reasons:

1. It cost $15 at the gun store. Most "tactical" lights are in the $50+ range. 
2. It uses one AA battery. Most lights use multiple expensive CR123 batteries. 
3. It is small. At 4" long, it's perfect for pocket carry. Compare this to a Mini Maglite, which comes in at 6". I know how you guys are with your inches, but sometimes smaller is better...

It has other nifty features, such as:

•  an output of 130 Lumens (honestly, I'm not sure if it's really that bright or not, but it's easily in the 90-100 range, which is my minimum for a tac light, and damn impressive for fifteen bucks)
• a strobe function
• an illuminated switch
• a striking cap for defense
• a belt/pocket clip for secure carry
• a magnet in the base for hands-free mounting  (though I question its holding strength)
• the obligatory "shockproof, weather-proof" body of aircraft aluminum

Don't get me wrong: this is not a be-all and end-all light. But it's bright enough for the price, and the price is low enough that if you lose it, or it's confiscated, you aren't out a whole lot of money. 

You can even get it on Amazon with free shipping.

I carry one, and so does my mother. If this light ever fails me, I will update this page. 

Monday Gunday: Erin Assembles an AR (part 2)

Having bought the stripped lower, and recently flush with some cash from a writing assignment, I decided the first thing I absolutely needed was a pistol grip for my lower so that I could hold it like a proper gun.

Because pew pew pew, dammit.

I didn't know much of anything about AR-15 grips (other than the fact that there are a lot of them) so I did some research. I quickly realized I wanted two things:

1. A grip that wasn't black
2. A nifty storage compartment in the handle

And of course, the unspoken zeroth requirements of   "It must fit my hand" and "Cannot cost an arm and a leg."

This led me to the Magpul MIAD. It has three backstraps, two finger plates, comes in a variety of colors, has a bunch of storage core options, and was under $30 at Amazon.

Not mine. This picture is from the web. 

I bought the trigger guard at the same time, just because I could.

This one is mine. Sorry about the glare. 

This is known as "flat dark earth," and the picture makes it look a lot more khaki than it really it. In reality it looks more like "sick baby poop" aka chartreuse.


It also comes with the default storage core capable of holding three .223 rounds:

I have only the one because I picked it up at the range. 

So that's cool. Now I have something to hold on to when I pick it up.

Finally, I think I'm going to name this rifle Frank, because

1. I'm assembling it Frankenstein style, with a mishmash of pieces, and
2. Francisco is a Spanish name and Stein is Jewish; therefore, Florida.

 Pew pew pew.

Pinkie-splosion

These pictures were sent in by faithful reader Brad with the following caption:

Please take these pictures in the spirit of "hey, cool, Tannerite" from a fellow Mosin owner and not some other nefarious reason.

I have to confess, my immediate reaction was "Aww, why you gotta blow up a cute li'l pony like that." :(

And then I realized that the pony was Pinkie Pie, and that made me think of this:




And thus I concluded that Pinkie would probably be perfectly okay with having her effigy be blown up if that meant everyone was having a fun time

Especially if there was cake afterwards.

Amusingly, this picture was drawn by someone called Dentist.

Thanks, Brad!