Valar Guild

July 18, 2021 Sunday Meeting

5:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Savings Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place

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Transcript work by Varda.
[times are Central Time from Varda's Discord. Add one hour for Eastern.]


Attending (and spoke): (7)
    Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Gimli, Pallando, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
    Ar-Pharazon
    Shelob 1, Shelob 2
Web:
Gaming:
    General from Eonwe, Varda, and Pallando: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, Eve Online
Tolkien:
    Topic from Eonwe, Shelob, and Varda: Was it possible to  read scrolls and books by other races in Middle-earth?
After-meeting:
    (non)Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
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Before-meeting
Eonwλ Valar — Today at 7:24 AM
Picked up 2 new mounts this week and a new toy in WoW. Yay me :}

Gimli — Today at 3:33 PM
yay
[3:34 PM]
your quite strong!!

Arien  Valar — Today at 3:37 PM
very good:)
[3:37 PM]
Aiya Gimli

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 3:39 PM
Aiya!

Arien  Valar — Today at 3:51 PM
Aiya Phari

Gimli — Today at 3:51 PM
aiya

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 3:51 PM
Aiya!

Varda — Today at 3:57 PM
Aiya. Back shortly. : )
[4:02 PM]
Aiya!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:02 PM
Aiya!

Varda — Today at 4:02 PM
@Bounder Hurray! Time to get together with friends to chat gaming and Tolkien or at least toss in a howdy!
[4:03 PM]

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Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:03 PM]
Membership:
[4:03 PM]
Good to see you cool kids here. : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:03 PM
I wish looks at thermometer

Varda — Today at 4:04 PM
Aiya to Gimli, Arien, and Phar!

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 4:04 PM
Heya.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:04 PM
Aiya Eonwe!

Varda — Today at 4:04 PM
and Eonwe : )
[4:04 PM]
It's summertime! Enjoy the warmth while you can! And your cold drink and the ice pack on your head.
[4:05 PM]
Any membership news the gang would like to pass along?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:05 PM
Parents on vacation, I'll join them for a few days one of these weeks, but should be back by sunday.

Pallando-Valar — Today at 4:05 PM
Aiya

Varda — Today at 4:05 PM
Sounds like fun!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:05 PM
Also Fladrif currently online.

Varda — Today at 4:05 PM
Aiya Pallando!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:05 PM
Aiya Pallando!

Varda — Today at 4:05 PM
Maybe Flad can toss a hoom hom our way? : )
[4:06 PM]
Folks can say hi anytime during the meeting! It's part of... meeting.
[4:06 PM]

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Web:
[4:06 PM]
Nothing new from me.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:07 PM
Aiya Pallando

Varda — Today at 4:08 PM
On to what we all love...
[4:08 PM]

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Gaming!
[4:08 PM]
Would we do that? A lot? A whole lot?

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:09 PM
Never ...

Varda — Today at 4:09 PM
Welllll ... any time we can get away with it.
[4:09 PM]
heh, Arien.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:09 PM
playing 2 games at once

Varda — Today at 4:09 PM
Eonwe, fire when ready!

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 4:09 PM
What's this "gaming" you speak of? :}

Varda — Today at 4:09 PM
hehe Phar
[4:09 PM]
Gaming, rl interferes now and then. : )

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 4:09 PM
World of Warcraft:

Varda — Today at 4:10 PM
Of course, life may be a game too.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:10 PM
So many games, so little time, when flightmastering in WoW I might as well do another

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:10 PM
bad habit 

Varda — Today at 4:10 PM
hushes [self]

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 4:10 PM
This week's Bonus Event: Warlords of Draenor Timewalking.
[4:10 PM]
The PvP Brawl: Packed House is going and runs through Tuesday, July 20th.
[4:10 PM]
The Sanctum of Domination is now available on Mythic difficulty, as well as the first wing of LFR.
[4:11 PM]
Check out this week's hotfixes. --- https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23691036/hotfixes-july-16-2021
World of Warcraft
    Hotfixes: July 16, 2021 - WoW
    Here you will find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Burning Crusade Classic, and WoW Classic.

[4:12 PM]
Next week's bonus event will be Arena Skirmishes.
[4:12 PM]
The PvP Brawl: Deep Six will also be running.

Shelob — Today at 4:12 PM
Good evening! Have we passed membership news yet?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:12 PM
Aiya Shelob :0
[4:12 PM]
*

Varda — Today at 4:12 PM
(We can back up to it shortly and aiya)

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 4:12 PM
And the Auction House Dance Party will be on Thursday.
[4:13 PM]

Overwatch:
[4:13 PM]
Check out the blog Cinematic Magic: Inside The Visuals And Music Of Overwatch Shorts. --- https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/news/23686849/cinematic-magic-inside-the-visuals-and-music-of-overwatch-shorts/
    Overwatch
    Cinematic Magic: Inside the visuals and music of Overwatch shorts
    Catch up with members of the cinematics and music teams to discuss what goes into developing visuals and music for animated shorts.

[4:13 PM]
Hearthstone:
[4:13 PM]
Patch 20.8.2 is out. --- https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/news/23686112/20-8-2-patch-notes
    20.8.2 Patch Notes
    The 20.8.2. balance patch includes 1 change for Druid and 2 changes for Priest in Standard.

[4:14 PM]
Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:14 PM]
Update 30.1.1 came out this week. --- https://www.lotro.com/en/content/update-3011-release-notes
    The Lord of the Rings Online
    Update 30.1.1 Release Notes
[4:14 PM]
Varda also has LotRO news. Go ahead Varda.

Varda — Today at 4:14 PM
Lord of the Rings Online kin gamers this past week:

Landroval role-playing encouraged server:
Dis
Eonwe
Fangorn
Frodo
Irmo
Nar
Nimrodel
Varda

Anor legendary server:
Dis
Eonwe
Varda
        [Note: link to Shadowfax server news as it happened later during the meeting]

I showed up in kin on the Shadowfax and Treebeard fast and slow Legendary servers.
[4:15 PM]
Back to Eonwe!
[4:15 PM]
(and let me know if you want kinned on Shadowfax or Treebeard in a Discord message!)

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 4:16 PM
Thanks.
[4:16 PM]

Eve Online:
Pallando has an Eve Report for us. Go ahead Pallando.
[4:18 PM]
If you're available :}

Pallando-Valar — Today at 4:18 PM
I am!

Varda — Today at 4:18 PM
Yay!

Pallando-Valar — Today at 4:19 PM
This weekend is seeing the final days of the Liberation Day event, with the 4 way Rifter FFA going on
[4:19 PM]
Right now I'm just holding on at rank 65. The top 100 winners will get some prizes, as per usual with the Abyssal Arenas.
[4:20 PM]
In other news, the Alliance Tournament is back, and this November we'll be seeing some serious competition for the first AT in 3 years.
[4:20 PM]
https://www.eveonline.com/news/view/announcing-alliance-tournament-xvii
    EVE Online
    Announcing Alliance Tournament XVII | EVE Online
    The Tournament returns this November

Shelob — Today at 4:21 PM
I remember it used to be a really big thing. Is the AT returning to its former glory?

Pallando-Valar — Today at 4:21 PM
It is indeed.
[4:22 PM]
Additionally, they announced the details of the bank reserve keys for the ESS. https://www.eveonline.com/news/view/the-grand-heist
    EVE Online
    The Grand Heist | EVE Online
    It’s time to get your ships and fleets ready for the Grand Heist!

[4:23 PM]
There's some interesting twists, like money coming out in proportion with time (unlike now) but the times are also much longer and you'll alert the entire region. The keys only come from lowsec, and involve multiple people doing simultaneous hacks.
[4:23 PM]
Still no news about teiricide or scarcity.

Shelob — Today at 4:28 PM
Looks to me as if Pallando's finished his report.

Varda — Today at 4:28 PM
I left a message asking him, no reply yet.
[4:29 PM]
Eonwe, did you have more Gaming news?

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 4:29 PM
No. Once Pallando's done, the floor is yours again.

Varda — Today at 4:29 PM
Thank you.
[4:29 PM]
Shelob, go ahead with your news.

Shelob — Today at 4:29 PM
Yay! Thanks!
[4:30 PM]
And big news it is!
[4:30 PM]
A lot has happened in the past week and a half.
[4:30 PM]
I have received the green light needed for the medical part of my transition, which means I will likely be able to start on hormone treatments before the end of the year. When everything is finished is still anyone’s guess, as the entire process could take as much as 2 to 3 years, depending on waiting times, recovery and whether additional corrective surgery is needed.
[4:30 PM]
Most importantly though (for the moment at least!), I have been given the green light to, and have changed both my sex and first name(s) legally. I am therefore now, according to Dutch law, legally a woman!
[4:31 PM]
If anyone is interested in knowing my new names, shoot me a pm.
[4:31 PM]

[4:32 PM]
That's it for my literally life changing news.

Varda — Today at 4:32 PM
Thank you for letting us know, Shelob.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:32 PM
Congratulations  i am happy for you

Varda — Today at 4:35 PM
In other gaming news, currently in the process of inviting Arien's character to our Shadowfax kin.
[4:38 PM]
Arienric has just joined the deadly and fast Shadowfax kin. : )
[4:38 PM]
Pallando was called away by real life. Happens.
[4:39 PM]
Any other news (hard to top Shelob's!) or gaming? Requests, comments. Tolkien topics.

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:40 PM
my BC classic Paladin has reached 70 and back to dps  fighting through the end game bit and attunements and such now

Varda — Today at 4:40 PM
Grats Sunshine : )

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:40 PM
bit of a grind .as you have to reach revered reputation to do heroic of a faction
[4:42 PM]
in other news tryin g to get used to the new in wow retail and getting flying there on the sideline , not really my case this expack but trying to keep half way up to date
[4:42 PM]
that 's it from my side

Varda — Today at 4:43 PM
Thanks, Arien : )

Shelob — Today at 4:45 PM
Ahem. Amidst the hustle and bustle of life altering events, I forgot to mention one minor detail.
Last week I also picked up the certificate denoting my having completed the first year of my bachelor's degree. (7.8 on average, which during Corona and having spent more than 90% of classes at home, is something I am really proud of.  )
[4:45 PM]
Typed it in Harbour.

Varda — Today at 4:46 PM
Grats to Shelob on the certificate for your first year of your Bachelor's degree. : )
[4:46 PM]
What are you trying to get the certificate in?

Shelob — Today at 4:46 PM
It was in Finance & Control, otherwise known as Business Economics.
[4:47 PM]
I have decided to shift and have been accepted into the 2nd year of Accountancy though.

Varda — Today at 4:48 PM
Sounds like something you can get an actual job with. Congratulations again.

Shelob — Today at 4:49 PM
It is! About 95% of students finishing the studies will get a job in the financial market.

Varda — Today at 4:49 PM
Since we're running out of the hour, we need to shift to
[4:49 PM]

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Tolkien!
[4:49 PM]
Scholarship could be tricky in Middle-earth at various times.
[4:50 PM]
Since most of us here have delved into scholarly pursuits, we may have some opinions.
[4:50 PM]
For instance, being able to read the works written by other races.

Shelob — Today at 4:50 PM
As in the US version of scholarship, or as in the wise and learned like Gandalf and Elrond?

Varda — Today at 4:50 PM
We know the runes of the elves and dwarves had to be learned.
[4:50 PM]
This is Tolkien : )
[4:51 PM]
As in anybody in Middle-earth.

Shelob — Today at 4:51 PM
Had to check. Sorry.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:51 PM
Hey, back from timewalk and phonecall...
[4:51 PM]
congrats Shelob on both milestones

Shelob — Today at 4:51 PM
We know very little about tuition fees in Middle Earth. Or any sort of schooling for that matter.

Varda — Today at 4:51 PM
Good idea, considering. You helped me come up with a topic, mixed with comments by Eonwe on elves and Duendain on the side.
[4:51 PM]
We know there were "wise women" like Ioreth that learned herb lore, healing.
[4:52 PM]
We know there were libraries.
[4:52 PM]
Even our esteemed hobbits wrote books.
[4:52 PM]
One trick was to be able to reach the writings of other races and be able to read them.
[4:52 PM]
Not all hobbits could read.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:52 PM
I imagine there's a lot of homeschooling in the Shire, which is useful when you have families the size of schoolclasses

Arien  Valar — Today at 4:53 PM
We know there were esteemed matriarchs amongst the forefathers of the Stoors who had their stock of what they considered widom  and knowledge

Varda — Today at 4:53 PM
Sam learned to read, and his father Hamfast said the Baggins didn't mean any harm by teaching him.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:53 PM
Yep. I'm guessing Bilbo taught both Frodo and Sam much of what they knew, scholarwise.

Varda — Today at 4:53 PM
The well-to-do had access to books, to paper of some kind and writing instruments.
[4:54 PM]
Paper must have been tough to come by.
And binding a book was tough, so they made use of scrolls.
They also carved runes in stone, quite a job.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:54 PM
More of it around naturally, though.,

Varda — Today at 4:55 PM
Hard to correct an error when chipping a comment in stone. : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:55 PM
Though finding flat slabs might be a problem.
Grind it down, start on the next layer

Varda — Today at 4:55 PM
The dwarves and Noldor were excellent craftsmen with stone and metal.
Feather pens would not be hard to come by, although ink would get tricky.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:56 PM
I'm always more impressed by hewing structures from "living stone", like Dwarrowdelf. What happens if you make a mistake there?

Varda — Today at 4:56 PM
Probably had to experiment to find working ink. Possibly related to art.
heh
Living stone in a cave is usually wet, as still "growing", lime water still dripping down on it.

Shelob — Today at 4:57 PM
Were there libraries of some kind, or were the scrolls in Minas Tirith for example kept in guarded vaults only accessible to the high and mighty?

Varda — Today at 4:57 PM
Perhaps they figured where it would grow next, like a tree, and worked with that for sculpting.
There were libraries.
Rivendell had them, Gondor had them
[4:58 PM]
The high and mighty were more likely to be able to read and able to make time to do so.

Shelob — Today at 4:58 PM
I'm sure some of it was tucked away in some guarded vault though.

Varda — Today at 4:58 PM
The hobbits must have had at least home libraries. Maybe some books in the Mathom House?

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 4:58 PM
Likely both: Libraries the public could access, and vaults only the nobility/royalty/those with permission could access.

Varda — Today at 4:58 PM
Aye

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 4:58 PM
In Minas Tirith, not much sense in putting all the libraries on the lowest circle if only the upper 3 can read.

Varda — Today at 4:58 PM
And most libraries have a special access section for the delicate or controversial items.

Shelob — Today at 4:59 PM
Like the scrolls Gandalf was only begrudgingly given access to.

Varda — Today at 4:59 PM
Since they did have healers and others that needed access, they probably had public libraries of some kind.
Then the guilds, if any, would have their special libraries. Masters of a craft would have theirs.
[5:00 PM]
How do we build a new gate on the third circle to match?
Gandalf was persona non grata, true. : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:00 PM
Architecture's a big one, true.

Shelob — Today at 5:02 PM
In the meantime one of my cats has snatched and let go of a moth, which both of my cats are now chasing to the detriment of everything and anything I am doing.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:02 PM
Right, you're a crazy cat lady now!
[5:03 PM]
(too soon?)

Shelob — Today at 5:03 PM
Not at all!

Varda — Today at 5:04 PM
Hobbits wrote actual books with bindings.
Thats at least one industry JRRT was not against. : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:05 PM
I wonder how he felt about papermills.

Varda — Today at 5:06 PM
Wood, cloth, chalk?
[5:07 PM]
So we know of scrolls, bound books, libraries public, private, and probably privileged.

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 5:07 PM
As for paper, there's always animal hide.

Varda — Today at 5:07 PM
True
We've reached the hour.
[5:08 PM]
the gavel hops along with a music stand and an open book on it
the music stand holder looks suspiciously like a hammerpad with eyes on stalks also reading

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After-meeting!
[5:09 PM]
Feel free to continue with the topic or gaming or helping me cook pork ribs. : )
Namarie for now!

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 5:09 PM
Take care.

Shelob — Today at 5:09 PM
Was there anything like Papyrus in Middle Earth?

Varda — Today at 5:09 PM
Probably. Just need reeds, and they had those.

Arien  Valar — Today at 5:11 PM
Namarie all
[5:12 PM]
Sleep well when it finds you

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 5:12 PM
Take care.

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Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:23 PM
Personal gaming report!
[5:24 PM]
(non)flashgaming: 2 new badges, one old.
[5:25 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/VasantJ/wolfs-bane-2 is the first game, among the Medieval Cop franchise again, starring a different character this time. Gameplay's the same detective work, though, as you investigate an art exhibition after a large fire and the death of a janitor. And something creepy is going on with the doll collection...
    Kongregate
    Wolf's Bane 2
    =Sinful Beauty=
    Ada tries to solve a Museum Fire Case but realizes that the Case is more dark than she paid the entry fees for.

On another note, this was the very final game to be badged on Kongregate, before they went to a more suspended state.
[5:29 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/ZBlip/mine-of-sight is the second game, in the same style as the Pixoji game I linked last week. This one's based on minesweeper, with each of the many levels requiring you to logic your way to find all the mines' locations, with more and more hints introduced along the way, to be used in combination. And unlike actual minesweeper, guessing is never needed!
    Kongregate
    Mine of Sight
    Minesweeper#39s weird cousin. Use a variety of clues to find all the mines. Over 100 levels.

[5:30 PM]
And while I already had the badge for 10 levels completed, and my progress was somewhere around level 60, this week I fully went for it, completing all 168 levels.
[5:33 PM]
It does a good job at teaching you one step at a time, though, so don't worry about it too much if you give it a go

Eonwλ Valar — Today at 5:59 PM
Time for me to be off. Take care all.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:59 PM
namarie!
[6:05 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/Lu_Muja/zs-dead-detective-pumpkin-dead is the third game! Second new one for me. Part of a point and click detective series in a zombie world, for this one you need to find out the identity of Pumpkin Head, and solve the attack on the mayor.
    Kongregate
    ZS Dead Detective - Pumpkin Dead
    A new case for detective Margh! After all this time, has he gotten rusty..? Have you?

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[6:05 PM]
Blizzard gaming:

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:16 PM
Heroes of the Storm:
Still 456, and most heroes are still some way from the next level, so might be a bit

[6:19 PM]
Hearthstone:
Fire Festival still going! On the longest quest now, 10 matches as shaman. But I'll get there this week
[6:22 PM]
Up to 142 on the reward track now, and got enough gold to buy my next class hero skin, Hazelbark the old tree for druid
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:39 PM
Oh, whoops, I guess I had that one earlier, since I mentioned it last week
[6:39 PM]
Well, not enough gold for the next one yet!
[6:40 PM]
I did get a new level on the demon hunter, up to 39!
[6:41 PM]
Brawl is the Duelist Burndown, where everyone starts off with a random duelist deck; if you win, you keep yours for the next match, if you lose, you get the opponent's deck. The idea is to see which deck dominates at the end of the week.
[6:41 PM]
A few losses, but ended up with a pretty powerful mage deck in the end

[6:41 PM]
WoW:
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:51 PM
Raiding: 7 bosses down now on normal! A few more pieces of loot as well.
[6:52 PM]
Weekly is timewalks, for which I also got a raidloot piece as reward, which helps
[6:53 PM]
I also got 2 new pets from the raid, Eye of Allseeing (small Jailer's Eye) and Irongrasp (an iron glove pet).
[6:54 PM]
Got my renown up to 45, unlocking the chapter to unlock flying, but haven't had time for it yet, between helping with vacation preparation and other things.
[6:55 PM]
But through that renown I got the flying mount already, the Ardenweald Wilderling (though I can't fly it in Shadowlands yet), as well as a companion adventurer, Sulanoom.
[6:56 PM]
And through Torghast, where I unlocked layer 10, I also rescued a new adventurer called the Spore of Marasmius (yes, it's a small mushroom) as well as being able to buy a new toy from the Broken vendors inside, the Experimental Anima Cell.
[6:58 PM]
I did get a bit of alting done, before unlocking the campaign chapter, as I went further into the paladin class campaign, visiting a demon world to rescue some people, and ending up looting the hidden appearance for the Silver Hand artifact in the process
Paladin's now at 46, and ready to stop Balnazzar at the Netherlight Temple. But first I'll work on the flying unlock with my main, if I have time this week
[6:59 PM]
And that's my report for the week!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:53 PM
namarie

Varda — Today at 9:52 PM
Thanks and namarie!

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