July 9, 2017 Sunday Meeting
5pm
EST (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Back to News
Transcript work by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.
Attending: (5)
AIM:
Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe (Before-meeting), Varda
(presiding)
Discord:
Arien, Varda
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership
Web:
Tolkien Site:
in th eworks.
Games Site: tweaks ongoing
Gaming:
General gaming report
Tolkien:
Nifty urls for articles seen on the internet
Topic: Surveillance in
Middle-earth (idea from one of the urls).
After-meeting:
Flashgaming Reviews by
Ar-Pharazon
Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon
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Before-meeting
Timestamps for Ar-Pharazon
Eonwe Valar (22:58:34): Heya :}
Ar-Pharazon-V (22:58:41): Aiya!
Arien V (23:00:41): Aiya all
Eonwe Valar (23:00:48): Heya :}
Varda Valar (23:01:11): Aiya :)
Eonwe Valar (23:01:23): Heya :}
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:01:53): Aiya!
Varda Valar (23:04:18): Arien and I are in Discord's
meeting channel too. :)
Arien V (23:04:34): hoy
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:04:41): hi
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:04:47): ehrr
Varda Valar (23:04:55): Hi ho!
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:05:00): heigh ho, heigh ho
Varda Valar (23:05:02): Heighdy ho
Varda Valar (23:05:10): Aiya even :)
Arien V (23:05:12): sorry :)
Arien V (23:05:17): aiya
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:05:19): did I Aiya everyone? If
not, Aiya
Arien V (23:05:31): aye you did
Varda Valar (23:06:43): And we are in multiple
places. :)
Varda Valar (23:06:47): Fangorn says hi
Eonwe Valar (23:07:18): Heya to Fangorn :}
Varda Valar (23:07:59): Has anyone else downloaded
Discord yet?
Varda Valar (23:08:46): Just checking in case you
need an invite code to our channel.
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Varda Valar (23:08:56): Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
Varda Valar (23:09:00): Membership:
Varda Valar (23:09:31): My right eye gets operated on
tomorrow. Get to wear an eyepatch for the week, much saying of Arrrr. ;)
Varda Valar (23:09:42): Any other membership news?
Varda Valar (23:10:36): We have Arien, Ar-Pharazon,
Eonwe, Varda. Anyone else here ready to be counted?
Arien V (23:10:48): :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:10:48): More Fladrif spotted!
Varda Valar (23:10:57): Yay
(23:11:33) vardavalar1 added scott92027 to this group chat.
Varda Valar (23:12:07): Ok, added anyone spotted.
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Varda Valar (23:12:12): Web:
Varda Valar (23:12:35): Little Jewel is working on
that next chapter for her story. Should be a doozy, not quite ready yet.
Varda Valar (23:13:28): The Bohemian Weasel is
working on new Tolkien art, not quite completed yet.
Varda Valar (23:14:24): Don't think I can post
DeepGroover's Last Samurai in a Tolkien site, ah well.
Varda Valar (23:15:13): Eonwe is always tweaking the
Games Site, whether we notice or not. :)
Varda Valar (23:16:41): The Bohemian Weasel also has
a pile of Tolkien sketches, so we may be seeing some more good stuff
later. :)
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Varda Valar (23:17:13): Gaming:
Varda Valar (23:17:43): Eonwe won't be able to give
the Games report today, so here goes from me.
Varda Valar (23:17:53): World of WarCraft:
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:18:02): I thought that was because
he didn't think he'd be here?
Varda Valar (23:18:45): EonweValarBah, I'm going to
need to go in a few minutes, so I won't be able to present the Gaming
Report. It's all there though.
Varda Valar (23:19:03): World of WarCraft:
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:19:04): Ah.
Varda Valar (23:19:06): This
week's bonus event is Pet Battles.
(23:19:18) Elladani left this group chat.
Varda Valar (23:19:23): See
the latest hotfixes.
Varda Valar (23:19:36): A
new blog is up discussing the coming Black Temple Timewalking raid: The Black Temple – A Journey Through Time(walking).
More
hotfixes.
Varda Valar (23:19:47): Diablo 3:
Varda Valar (23:19:57): A
new comic is out featuring the Necromancer: The Chosen.
Varda Valar (23:20:09): There's
also a preview of Season 11. Check it out.
Varda Valar (23:20:18): Heroes of the Storm:
Varda Valar (23:20:28): Updates
have been made to the PTR patch notes.
Varda Valar (23:20:36): Hearthstone:
Varda Valar (23:20:46): While
the Midsummer Fire Festival is over in WoW, it's just getting started in Hearthstone.
Varda Valar (23:21:01): Hearthstone's
next expansion has been announced: Knights of the Frozen Throne
Varda Valar (23:21:08): Overwatch:
Varda Valar (23:21:19): A
new lore blog is out: Talon
Involvement Confirmed in Previous Attack on Helix Facility.
Varda Valar (23:21:31): A
new patch is up on the PTR.
Varda Valar (23:21:37): Lord of the Rings Online:
Varda Valar (23:21:52): Featured Instance aka Box run
this week is 12-man Barad Guldur.
Varda Valar (23:22:06): Hobnangians is going.
Varda Valar (23:22:32): StarCraft/BroodWar played by Fangorn
and Varda
Varda Valar (23:22:48): StarCraft 2 played by Fangorn and
Eowyn
Varda Valar (23:23:22): Any other general gaming news?
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:25:30): Well, complete tangent, but
I did watch a movie today based on one of my favorite pc RPGs of all
time ;)
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:25:36): Dungeon Siege!
Varda Valar (23:25:43): Fun :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:26:05): I loved that game in my
pre-WoW days, and it made me quite nostalgic. I wonder if it still
works in Windows 8.
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:26:21): Bunch of references to the
game in the movie, too :) And it was quite enjoyable in itself.
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:26:25): Other than that, continue ;)
Varda Valar (23:27:26): LotRO gamers spotted this week:
Arien
Bregalad
Dis
Fangorn
Gil-galad
Hamson
Lenwe
Nar
Varda
Varda Valar (23:27:56): Any other news, suggestions,
business?
Varda Valar (23:28:12): Anyone else need a code
invitation to our Discord channel for Valar?
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:28:46): (note: apparently you can
still fight Pet Masters that are currently up on the Broken Isles while
a zone invasion is going on, even if you don't get the WQ, might help
you with achievements)
Varda Valar (23:28:57): Nice tip
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Varda Valar (23:30:23): Tolkien:
Varda Valar (23:30:32): Nifty article url:
Varda Valar (23:30:35): http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/07/tolkien_v_orwell_who_understood_modern_surveillance_best.html
Varda Valar (23:30:48): If you can read the url, you
can see the title.
Varda Valar (23:31:55): Here's another nifty one:
Varda Valar (23:31:58): https://www.wired.com/2015/10/see-jrr-tolkien-lord-of-the-rings-middle-earth-illustrations-for-first-time/
Varda Valar (23:33:46): The one about surveillance in
Middle-earth is a nicely focused topic.
Varda Valar (23:34:11): One point is All-seeing is
not all-knowing, referring to the Eye of Sauron.
Varda Valar (23:34:59): Rather than the movie idea of
the eye on a tower, we can also remember all those spies, crebain
flying overhead, and the palantiri.
Varda Valar (23:35:19): But Sauron had to interpret
what intel he did get.
Varda Valar (23:35:45): If he couldn't fathom it, and
he thought he understood it all, he couldn't really work with it.
Varda Valar (23:36:00): Self-sacrifice being an alien
idea, even though he had to have seen it.
Varda Valar (23:36:38): It must have an ulterior
motive. Cowardice in facing insurmountable odds so they opt out of the
rest of the battle, could be his interpretation.
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:37:50): Cowardice by sacrifice?
There's a though.
Varda Valar (23:38:02): Intel guys gather the info
and try to guess what attack will be made, so that they may be thinking
defensively.
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:38:15): *thought
Varda Valar (23:38:21): As Banner once said, the
guy's mind is a bagful of cats.
Varda Valar (23:39:05): The inflitrator can try to
exploit the surveillance's weakness, pro-active attack.
Varda Valar (23:39:53): Understand the enemy's blind
spots. That's where it's good to have determined analysts like Gandalf
or Frodo.
Varda Valar (23:41:11): The article mentions that the
orcs see quite a bit, including weaknesses. Like this one:
Varda Valar (23:41:13): “Sh! ... They may, but they’ve got eyes
and ears everywhere; some among my lot, as like as not. But there’s no
doubt about it, they’re troubled about something. … Something nearly
slipped.�?
Varda Valar (23:41:42): and the lack of trust as in
this:
Varda Valar (23:41:44): “Oho! So they haven’t told you what to
expect? They don’t tell us all they know, do they? Not by half. But
they can make mistakes, even the Top Ones can.�?
Varda Valar (23:42:17): Tolkien shows that their are
weak links in any security apparatus, even for Sauron.
Varda Valar (23:44:06): Sauron has to watch a huge
lot of people, so as long as someone doesn't wear their Ring, they can
be invisible even while being looked at, just another person walking
around.
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:44:21): There's an irony in that.
Varda Valar (23:44:24): Any other comments on Sauron
and his security?
Arien V (23:45:15): Frodo and Sam managed to blend in
quite easily on their way through Mordor
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:45:15): Keeping a spider on guard
who doesn't report directly to him was not the best idea.
Varda Valar (23:45:17): (One might be that a great
eagle flying to Mt. Doom with the Ring would be spotted and shot down
with an arrow, same as shepherds protecting their sheep from them.)
Varda Valar (23:45:42): True. The orcs should have
warned that something got past the spider and injured her.
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:46:01): Well they did send some
items along.
Arien V (23:46:10): they quarrelled and killed each
other instead ^^
Varda Valar (23:46:13): The dragon in Erebor being
killed, Smaug. I wonder who reported that one.
Varda Valar (23:46:36): True. Still, the mithril
shirt and stuff eventually were sent along, winding up with Gandalf.
Arien V (23:46:47): aye
Varda Valar (23:47:12): The Balrog in Moria was
watched by orcs/goblins, so when it went down, that should have been
reported at some time.
Arien V (23:47:17): i wonder whether Sauron could
sense somehow what Saruman spied with his crepain
Varda Valar (23:47:25): Without a palantir, I wonder
what the lag time was on such reports?
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:47:50): Well, he did have some
winged "messengers".
Varda Valar (23:47:57): Good point. How did they see
through the crebain, and who all was watching? Did they report back or
were they seen through?
Varda Valar (23:48:00): True. :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:48:02): And I wonder if he could
communicate with the Nazgul directly throgh their rings.
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:48:04): through
Varda Valar (23:48:35): He held their Rings, if I
remember correctly, so he may have had a direct line to their minds
from those.
Varda Valar (23:48:54): Since he didn't have the One
to read the rings for him.
Varda Valar (23:49:43): Tons of orcs and goblins and
men in all directions around him, and some traveling a good distance.
Varda Valar (23:50:20): Some beings don't seem to
have been interested in the conflict, such as mountain giants throwing
rocks around.
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:53:02): They prefer a rock party.
Varda Valar (23:53:07): Tom Bombadil would not have
been interested if the hobbits hadn't walked into his backyard so to
speak.
Varda Valar (23:53:08): hehe
Ar-Pharazon-V (23:54:02): Possibly neither would
Beorn, though he did make sure to keep some wargs out of his territory.
Varda Valar (23:54:31): Good point. They would
protect their own territory, but they weren't interested in the wider
war.
Monday, July 10, 2017
Varda Valar (00:00:41): The Hammer walks.
Varda Valar (00:00:50): The Hammer stalks the
Hammerpad.
Arien V (00:00:52): interesting
Ar-Pharazon-V (00:00:55): hehe
Varda Valar (00:01:05): The Hammerpad leaps up and
pounds the end of the Hammer.
Varda Valar (00:01:13): *thomp!*
Varda Valar (00:01:29): *the hammer stalks back to
the shelf in high dudgeon*
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Varda Valar (00:01:33): After-meeting!
Varda Valar (00:01:36): Free chat. :)
Varda Valar (00:11:33): *the hammerpad has returned
to its normal location. Is that a grin?*
Arien V (00:12:00): *shines a ray on wandering
hammerpad*
Ar-Pharazon-V (00:12:28): That implies it has a mouth?
Varda Valar (00:12:46): could just be the cant of the
edge?
Arien V (01:19:30): time for bed for me .. was a long
day :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (01:19:37): namarie!
Arien V (01:19:41): Namarie all !
Ar-Pharazon-V (01:21:17): I'll make a start on gaming
report before I head into Storm ;)
Ar-Pharazon-V (01:22:43): For flashgaming, this week I'll give you
2 physics puzzlers and a platformer :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (01:24:10): http://www.kongregate.com/games/bontegames/sugar-sugar-2
is one of a series where you draw lines to let the sugar fall into the
correct cups, using coloring filters and teleporters and other
gimmicks. Starts easy, but later on you'll need to be quite careful to
not run out of sugar. If you just like sugar pixels slowly trickling
down a slope, this is a game for you!
Ar-Pharazon-V (01:28:00): http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/the_electric_shocktopus
(itself linking to another site, but eh) is an underwater platform game
where you have to use magnets and electric fields to get across.
Ar-Pharazon-V (01:28:09): Just a demo, but still a
good amount of levels.
Ar-Pharazon-V (01:31:23): http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/solar_ball
is the third game! Simple drag-to-launch ball-throwing game, avoid
obstacles, use teleporters, get to the end. See if you can get the
bonus hearts along the way.
Varda Valar (01:49:19): (Namarie, Arien!)
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:14:14): Blizzard gaming:
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:16:41): Heroes of the Storm: Level 203 now,
a few more levels on Sylvanas. This week's brawl was Bloodlust, random
heroes that randomly get the Bloodlust buff on the dragon knight map.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:21:41): Hearthstone: Once again, both
fladrif and I had a challenge a friend daily this weekend, so more gold
for us :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:23:41): Brawl this week is
midsummer related, bit weird, with an extra minion on the map that eats
your own minions, if it gets strong enough you get a fireworks reward
or something.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:26:39): Not only did I stop opening
packs, as I said last week, but I also decided to not buy any packs
with the new expansion coming, maybe save up a bit of gold for that.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:27:00): WoW:
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:34:00): Got my last pet from
Ulduar, at last! Sanctum Cub from Auriaya. So now we're done with
Ulduar pets, and just need some from Icecrown Citadel.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:35:25): More Tomb of Sargeras
progress: We took down Kil'jaeden, the last boss, on normal difficulty.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:35:48): As a result we got a new
achievement, a cinematic... and a big ol' demonic planet visible in the
sky from now on :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:36:34): (speaking of which, I also
took a look at the scripts they released for Argus dialogue on
MMO-champion, and am now fully aware of some major plot twists. Quite
epic!)
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:37:05): We also continued on heroic
Tomb a bit, killing a big naga boss tonight, and wiping a few times on
the other naga boss. But we'll get there.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:38:14): Clearing more pet masters
and their achievements! Finished with Robert and Jarrun, leaving only 3
pet masters to fight, with 5 fights total, to get all 15 for each pet
family achievement.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:38:41): Also got a few more marks
of honor, which are coming to good use, as I'll mention later on :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:39:53): Finally did a bit more
story questing, empowering my Balance and Restoration artifacts, and
getting the achievement for doing all 4. Now I can continue to shove
artifact power in them on my mission to get Concordance trait on all of
them :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:40:36): Also set up a few more
abilities on the actionbars for both specs as I did the quests. I'm not
sure what it'll take for me to be able to do the class challenges on
them, but at least I'm a bit more prepared.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:41:39): And then.. appearances!
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:42:18): Cleaned out Black Morass,
getting the last weapon I was missing on my fifth attempt on tuesday,
which would've been my last attempt of the reset, so I got it just on
time.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:42:28): So this reset I got started
on all the Burning Crusade raids!
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:44:13): So far I've tackled
Karazhan, Gruul's and Magtheridon's lairs, Serpentshrine Cavern,
Tempest Keep and Mount Hyjal. Tomorrow and the day after I'll go for
Black Temple, Magister's Terrace (technically not a raid, but tied to
the last raid) and Sunwell Plateau. Got a good bunch of appearances
from them, including a bunch of tier tokens, extras of which can also
be used to buy certain old pvp season sets.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:44:57): So far I've already
completed 2 new appearance sets, getting the achievement for having 10
tier and/or pvp sets, giving me a title: Stylist!
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:45:16): And I got an new illusion
from Illhoof as well.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:46:34): And I even got pvp
appearance set for 12 marks of honor, after realizing you can't get the
season 3 set for tier pieces. So I've got that one too!
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:47:03): Which is why it's a good
thing I"m getting new marks.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:48:20): From here on each reset
will have me visiting the same Burning Crusade raids on each day as
this reset, until I clear one (or more) in which case I can fill the
gaps with starting Northrend 5-man instances.
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:48:39): So I should be getting a
lot more appearances in the coming weeks :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (02:49:41): And that's my news for this
week!
Varda Valar (02:49:53): Thank you, Phar. :)
Varda Valar (03:36:34): Lot of lightning over here.
See you all another day. :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (03:36:38): Namarie!
Varda Valar (03:36:48): Namarie :)
Ar-Pharazon-V (04:03:11): namarie, sending transcript
tomorrow
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