Sunday, January 26, 2024
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Attending (8): Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Celebrian, Eonwe, Lenwe, Sandalf, Xaviervonhoot, Varda (presiding)
Topic 1: What was the interaction of the Free People with the Druedain? They were even considered mythical. In fact, a lot of the beings that humans were unaware of were considered mythical. Any thoughts on those?
Topic 2: How did Sauron manage to feed his minions?
Short bit of Tolkien chat, more after Flash.
[12:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Saw the Tolkien movie today.
[Note: about Professor Tolkien]
[12:17 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Nice enough as a drama, and I know enough about the bits that are accurate, but some of the blatant references/inspirations were a bit out there.
[12:17 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not sure if it could work as a Tolkien topic for a meeting.
[12:17 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Depends on how many here have seen it 😛
[8:10 PM]Eönwë Valar: I haven't seen it so I wouldn't have a basis to discuss anything about it.
[8:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: That's fair!
[8:45 PM]Eönwë Valar: Ahem I'll just leave this right here
[8:45 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yeah, Eowyn was on the news today for Ireland. Made me smile.
[8:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: "No man can kill me." storm rolls up, rumbling "I AM NO MAN"
[8:47 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heh
[8:48 PM]Eönwë Valar: Apparently it's the first named storm of the year and they're starting at 'e". Guess they don't go alphabetically in the UK.
[8:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe, or a to d where late last year?
[8:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: We called it Eowyn too, and usually go alphabetically.
[8:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: *were
[8:49 PM]Eönwë Valar: Usually it resets each year.
[8:50 PM]Eönwë Valar: At least here.
[8:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, maybe that's different for us then.
[8:51 PM]Eönwë Valar: I suppose if you don't expect to get through the entire alphabet in a year, you might not feel a need to reset? :}
[8:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Exactly 🙂
[8:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: We'd never get a storm called Zara otherwise.
[8:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: Could've sworn we got further down before the end of 2024, but all I can find is the last named storm in the US being Rafael.
[9:21 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: By the way, the Starcraft-themed Hearthstone mini-set is out, and I'm just loving the zerg cards 🙂
[9:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Spawn minions, synergize minions, evolve all your zerg cards at once...
[9:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: There's one minion that puts random zerg minions in your hand every turn. Combine that with stat-buffs that last for the entire match...
[9:48 PM]Eönwë Valar: Test
[9:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Test successful?
[10:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: If by "successful" we count proof that my internet was about to screw up my Awakening the Machine run, then yes.
[10:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, ouch.
[10:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: On the final boss too.
[10:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: Needless to say I was less than pleased.
[10:21 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Can imagine. At least it's not a very difficult event.
[10:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: Yeah.
[10:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: Glad I wasn't trying to do something more challenging, like a Delve.
[10:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Does give me pause about running one though.
[10:23 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yep. I've been trying out solo Zek'vir...imagine having him at 2% or something and then disconnecting 😉
[10:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: I can imagine trying ?? diff and having him down to 2%. I would be incredibly unhappy at my internet for that.
[10:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I actually had 53 attempts at ?? difficulty tonight. Hit phase 2 only three times.
[10:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It's getting better, but still such a pain.
[10:25 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya!
[10:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[10:26 PM]Sandalf13: Just thought I would say Aiya before close up shop for the evening...Saw the Front roll in across the mountains this afternoon...more snow tonight, just in time for me to drive up into the mountains tomorrow for my one week vacation at my old timeshare at Swan Mtn. Not a good day tomorrow...I may wait to drive up on Sunda.
[10:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Either way, enjoy the vacation 🙂
[10:27 PM]Sandalf13:
[Image
[Image
[10:27 PM]Sandalf13: Thanks! You can see the cloud bank hovering over the mountains to the west...about one hour later, no mountains.
[10:31 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie!!
[10:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: namarie 🙂
[10:39 PM]Eönwë Valar: Take care, belatedly.
[3:58 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya , folks 🙂
[3:58 PM]Varda: Aiya Arien 🙂
[3:58 PM]Lenwe: Aiya Arien and Varda
[3:58 PM]Varda: Aiya Lenwe 🙂
[3:58 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya Lenwe :)]
[4:02 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend Aiya! Valar Guild meeting time is here! Come on in. 🙂
[4:02 PM]Varda: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:02 PM]Varda: Membership:
[4:02 PM]Varda: A delight to see Arien and Lenwe here. : )
[4:03 PM]Varda: Any comments? Maybe about the LotRO kin moves?
[4:03 PM]Varda: Landroval to Peregrin
[4:03 PM]Varda: Crickhollow folks to Glamdring or Peregrin. That kinhouse will go to Glamdring, and take in characters that you don't have room for on Peregrin. : )
[4:04 PM]Varda: That will likely be in mid-February.
[4:04 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya all...got to go check in at the ski lift ticket office...be back in a few...
[4:04 PM]Varda: Sounds cool! Go go Sandalf!
[4:05 PM]Sandalf13: Tomorrow!!
[4:05 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya.
[4:05 PM]Varda: Aiya Eonwe
[4:06 PM]Lenwe: Exciting times for LotRO Has the 64-bit Angmar server been more responsive than the old ones?
[4:06 PM]Varda: Yes!
[4:06 PM]Lenwe: Seems when I play Landroval -- especially during a festival -- the lag spikes are a bit much to handle after awhile
[4:06 PM]Varda: Hardly ever lags.
[4:07 PM]Lenwe: That's great news!
[4:07 PM]Varda: Everyone crowding into the same small area, aye.
[4:07 PM]Varda: The 64-bit plus clearing a lot of deadwood is going to really help.
[4:12 PM]Arien Valar: just annoying with the ghosts there ....
[4:13 PM]Arien Valar: i havent got the patience to die during a quest three times ....
[4:13 PM]Arien Valar: and getting to a level when the ghosts get less
[4:14 PM]Varda: I understand.
[4:14 PM]Varda: Fortunately the new servers will not be Veil of Nine Event servers. : )
[4:14 PM]Arien Valar: :)
[4:14 PM]Lenwe: That was what drove me out of Angmar too
[4:14 PM]Varda: Fangorn got around it with one character farming his way up, but then made another to do regular questing as a Guardian.
[4:15 PM]Varda: My Fainan is getting pretty good at killing up to Mournful Wraiths, when it's usually time to run away. That works. : )
[4:15 PM]Celebrian: Hello!
[4:15 PM]Varda: And yes, I will not miss the wraiths being around!
[4:15 PM]Varda: Celebrian! Aiya : )
[4:16 PM]Celebrian: Whats this about moving?
[4:16 PM]Arien Valar: Hellow stormmaid
[4:16 PM]Arien Valar: hmm , actually eowyn or elwing?
[Note: actually Celebrian-(V).]
[4:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: Apparently they're shuffling everyone onto 64-bit servers in LotRO and shutting down the old ones.
[4:17 PM]Arien Valar: The normal serv ers will be changed to 64 bit servers and the kin is moving in february
[4:18 PM]Arien Valar: i mean they will be exchanged
[4:18 PM]Celebrian: Ahh, ok. So its you are going if you like it or not lol.
[4:18 PM]Varda: Celebrian is Elrond's wife
[Note: in-game and real life.]
[4:18 PM]Varda: Ok, on the move:
[4:18 PM]Varda: They will not be a transfer, not an upgrade.
[4:19 PM]Varda: The old servers will have free transfers until late in the year.
[4:19 PM]Varda: If a character accidentally lands on the wrong new server, the transfer to the new one is also free.
[4:19 PM]Varda: There are two reasons for the move:
[4:20 PM]Varda: One is that Microsoft will no longer support the 32-bit servers by the end of the year, probably October.
[4:20 PM]Varda: The other is to upgrade LotRO from 32-bit to 64-bit and cut that lag down.
[4:21 PM]Varda: Some of us have tried the short-term 64-bit servers and the improvement in lag is really good!
[4:21 PM]Varda: Cutting out the deadwood that won't move over, being unused, will also help.
[4:22 PM]Varda: The Landroval kinfolk will be moving to the US RP-encouraged 64-bit server named Peregrin.
[4:22 PM]Varda: Some of our Crickhollow kinfolk will be going there too, but
[4:22 PM]Varda: since Crick was our refugee kin for all the other closed servers in the past, that can be too hard on the character slots, so
[4:23 PM]Varda: The Crickhollow kin will be moving to Glamdring, US regular 64-bit.
[4:23 PM]Varda: Hiya Xav : )
[4:24 PM]Varda: Xaviervonhoot tried to type just now, reason I said hi. : )
[4:25 PM]Varda: The kinleader for our Landroval and Crickhollow branches will jump first. All of a sudden, in the old place it looks abandoned, but
[4:25 PM]Varda: when your characters move, they should pop right into the kin there.
[4:25 PM]Varda: If not, give me a holler for an invite. : )
[4:25 PM]Varda: Crick going to Landy will need that invite, for instance. Be happy to do it, no worries.
[4:26 PM]Varda: After the kinleader hops, your own home-owners should go next.
[4:26 PM]Varda: Then the rest.
[4:26 PM]Varda: Keeps it the least complicated. : )
[4:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: And hope you didn't pay for your house out till June, heh. cough
[4:29 PM]Varda: I am paying mine up in all branches. : )
[4:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: We're going to have to buy the house again in the new server, correct?
[4:29 PM]Varda: Not the best policy. Just being careful. I don't recommend for sane people.
[4:30 PM]Varda: The kinhouse and personal houses will be refunded to us. Then we buy anew, but maybe in a better place!
[4:30 PM]Varda: I make enough money to blow a bit.
[4:31 PM]Varda: And he's right. You don't have to waste money on the house beyond closing time.
[4:31 PM]Varda: Any other comments? Questions? Suggestions?
[4:37 PM]Xavier: This is just.me.but since years ago I lost raid house items when the old item setup and houses didmt.work same.as they do now. Took me 2 years to run those runs again to get the items back. This time I'm just putting house items on alt toons vault. And moving them directly and giving back items to players they are bound to
[Note: He's right and we're clearing the kin houses. Bound and bought items are also at risk. Take note, house owners.]
[4:37 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya!
[4:39 PM]Xavier: Since.im kin leader of Highgaurd of Numenor I have the kin house items too. Those will go with me except those bound items I took screen shots too. For referance
[4:39 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya Xavier
[4:40 PM]Varda: Thank you for adding in! Must be tough phone-typing!
[4:42 PM]Varda: I see messages that say you are typing. Feel free to break in as needed!
[4:42 PM]Xavier: Thanks Varda. I also took screen shots of my toon and friend list. I'll be adding those settings again if needed just in case
[4:42 PM]Varda: Good idea!
[4:43 PM]Varda: I had not thought of the friend list. Will do.
[4:45 PM]Xavier: For the options game setting. I'll deal with that 1st day when our toon names can be reserved. May Lower them and adjust them if needed. Just to help with potential issues. Not many changes though
[4:47 PM]Varda: Options may need some adjusting for the new servers.
[4:48 PM]Xavier: I'll be happy to help anyone with stuff like that
[4:48 PM]Varda: Feel free to break in as needed, but we are running way overtime on our scheduled meeting sections, so pardon if we seem to be stepping on toes. We are practiced at reading between.
[4:48 PM]Xavier: Ok
[4:49 PM]Varda: Thank you! Gang, Xavier is excellent with all this stuff. You can trust him to know what's going on, and for LotRO gaming advice of all sorts. : )
[4:49 PM]Varda: He's been a great friend since wayyy back!
Links that may help:
[4:49 PM]Varda: On to the next section of gaming.
[4:49 PM]Varda: Right after...
[4:49 PM]Varda: Web:
[4:50 PM]Varda: No new content this past week, sorry. We've been working on the backend of the website.
[4:50 PM]Varda: Gaming:
[4:50 PM]Varda: Eonwe, would you like this shiny gavel for this section?
[4:51 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sure.
[4:51 PM]Eönwë Valar: World of Warcraft:
[4:51 PM]Eönwë Valar: This week's bonus event: Delves and Legion Timewalking.
[This week's PvP Brawl: Arathi Blizzard.
[4:51 PM]Eönwë Valar: A Zone Overview of Undermine, coming in the next content update, is available.
[4:52 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Joyous Journies Experience Buff is going in Cataclysm Classic until its next content update.
[4:52 PM]Eönwë Valar: WoW Classic: 20th Anniversary Edition Phase 2 Battlegrounds are live.
[4:52 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out WoW Weekly for anything not mentioned above.
[4:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out this week's hotfixes.
[4:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hearthstone: New blog: Launch Into Heroes of Starcraft.
[4:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo Immortal:
[4:54 PM]Eönwë Valar: A new event is going: Tong-Shi's Renewal.
[4:54 PM]Eönwë Valar: See the latest bug- and hotfixes.
[4:54 PM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch 2: New blog: Season 14 Midseason: Classic Fun, Deadly Elegance, And Lunar Mischief.
[4:54 PM]Eönwë Valar: That's it for gaming news from me.
[4:55 PM]Varda: Thank you, Eonwe. : )
[4:56 PM]Varda: Starcraft 2: The usual suspects. Eowyn, Fangorn, Faramir, and Floppa. : )
[4:56 PM]Varda: Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:56 PM]Varda: You heard the big stuff already but feel free to add.
[Note: kin move link to above discussion.]
[4:57 PM]Varda: Universal Ingredient through Jan 30 Code: SPARKOFINSPIRATION
[4:57 PM]Varda: Current events schedule
Landroval branch
Crickhollow branch:
Treebeard branch:
Angmar branch:
Mordor branch:
[4:58 PM]Varda: Any other gaming news?
[4:58 PM]Sandalf13: Not on this end.
[4:58 PM]Varda: Welcome back, Sandalf. : )
[4:59 PM]Varda: On to
[4:59 PM]Varda: Tolkien!
[4:59 PM]Varda: Do we have a topic you'd like to bring up? Throwing this open to all.
[5:00 PM]Varda: We have a suggestion in a side message on accents in Elvish.
[5:01 PM]Varda: Another topic might be what do you remember about the interaction of the Free People with the Druedain? They were even considered mythical. In fact, a lot of the beings that humans were unaware of were considered mythical. Any thoughts on those?
[5:02 PM]Varda: So myths inside a fantasy. : )
[5:03 PM]Sandalf13: I have an idea: how did Sauron manage to feed his minions? From the extant descriptions of Middle-earth, it appears that lands to the south and east of Mordor were desert wastelands. There is mention of slaves farming in the area around Lake Nurnen, but that is hypothetical, and surrounded as it is by mountains, it was probably NOT good farm country. So. Where did all that Orc food come from?
[5:04 PM]Eönwë Valar: Even Mordor was considered something on the border of myth for some of the human populations.
[5:04 PM]Arien Valar: hmmm I remember that they kept themselves seperate from the other peoples of Middlearth since they kept their own way of life and didn 't go with the time .. they didn t move into stone houses i think or formed towns , at least none that were recognisable as such to other peoples
[5:04 PM]Arien Valar: they had a special relation ship to nature , at least the forest and moundtains
[5:06 PM]Arien Valar: they sought help as they recognized the free people were able to deal with the minions of sauron and could be treated with , so there was still hope they would keep their forest
[5:08 PM]Varda: Aragorn proclaimed that the Druedain had a place, so they would be rewarded for their help. They merely asked that the evil ones be cleared away so they could return to normal lives. Chances are good!
[5:10 PM]Arien Valar: Sandalf, i d imagine they d dig for stuff in the earth , were breeding animals like worg or swine for food, and .. it must be said probably prisoners at times as well as their prisoners mounts, or stealing stuff together as they needed it
[5:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: Forgive me but I'm going by memory here, but if we go by the story of the Druedain in UT, it would seem they had a relationship/alliance with the Edain since way back before coming into Berleriand. The Rohirrim if memory serves were descended from Edain, or ancestors of the Edain. Good reason for the Druedain to live where they live flanked on both sides by Numenoreans and Eorlingas, and so Ghan-buri-ghan was almost re-establishing relations with old allies.
[@Sandalf13
[I have an idea: how did Sauron manage to feed his minions? From the extant descriptions of Middle-earth, it appears that lands to the south and east of Mordor were desert wastelands. There is mention of slaves farming in the area around Lake Nurnen, but that is hypothetical, and surrounded as it is by mountains, it was probably NOT good farm country. So. Where did all that Orc food come from?
[5:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: As I recall Aragorn gave the land around Nurnen to the servants of Sauron, so I suspect it was more than conjecture that it served well enough to supply troops. I think Aragorn would've done research to make sure that land could sustain people if he was going to grant it to them.
[5:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: He could've also sent some teachers (farmers, ranchers, perhaps someone familiar with trying to live in similar terrain) among them to help them get the most out of the land that they could.
[5:18 PM]Arien Valar: and help with education , i. e. literacy and history and such ]
[5:19 PM]Varda: Sindar were used by the Silvans for teachers. Perhaps that was one of the jobs the Mirkwood colony took on, or some of them.
[5:19 PM]Sandalf13: Aye. All possible...but I still have some doubts about the suitability of the lands around the Sea of Nurnen, but you folks must be right.
[5:19 PM]Arien Valar: as much as it is needed , since i think they probably have their own culture or as much of it as sauron left it to them]#
[5:19 PM]Varda: (We are not automatically right, or we would not need discussion and books. )
[5:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: I'm not sure how much the Sindar would've necessarily taught the Silvans, given the Sindarin complaint generally speaking was "The Silvan way of life is better."
[5:20 PM]Varda: Add some of that Amazonian black dirt
[5:20 PM]Varda: Just passing on what I read. : )
[5:21 PM]Varda: They could help with learning to read and write, such things.
[5:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: I'm 100% correct in everything I quote directly from the book :} If I'm not providing a quote (which I try to do when I have my books in front of me) the easiest way to prove me wrong is to provide a quote that does so :}
[5:22 PM]Varda: The joy of JRRT's giving us contradicting history. On purpose, even!
[5:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Conjecture and rattling off from memory invites the possibility I could be wrong.
[5:23 PM]Varda: : )
[5:23 PM]Varda: I'm also rattling from memory, but can do look-ups if we need.
[5:23 PM]Xavier: Is not the fact if Sauron and servants of his on the corrupt side wouldn't need normal fertile land for sustaining things.?
[5:24 PM]Arien Valar: I am just putting myself in the place of slave of sauron .. i mean they were not always slaves , but were tribes conquered and taken in by sauron
[5:25 PM]Varda: They could go for sub-standard, true. And use a lot of things we might not for fertilizer.
[5:25 PM]Arien Valar: so that s pure speculation and has hence the potential of being wrong
[5:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: Humans and Orcs still need the same kinds of foods regardless of affiliation.
[5:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: And yeah, "Sub-standard" growing methods resulting in less food, smaller food etc. is a possibility too.
[5:26 PM]Varda: There were also those tribes that worshipped Sauron.
[5:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: Given Sauron's penchant for efficiency, however, I suspect he would be going for the "produce as much food with as little space as possible" outcome.
[5:28 PM]Xavier: Well yes things like mushrooms just as one food source among others grow fast with what seems to be hard to grow other foods
[5:28 PM]Sandalf13: Perhaps he utilized some of his technological mindset to maximize food production...hyponics?
[5:28 PM]Varda: Mushrooms, while not mentioned, seem very likely.
[5:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: Fun fact: apparently Elves didn't like mushrooms.
[5:29 PM]Sandalf13: I doubt that orcs were fans of mushrooms...nothing like manflesh (or elfflesh) or the like, huh?
[5:29 PM]Sandalf13: Wow...where did you discover that, Eonwe?
[5:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: Mentioned in Nature of Middle-Earth in a short essay.
[5:31 PM]Varda: Annnd, we are now one half hour over time. My apologies to the European folks.
[5:31 PM]Varda: gavel runs out as fast as it can, sliding into the hammerpad
[5:31 PM]Varda: thok
Thus ends this week's meeting. Come back and see us next week!
[5:32 PM]Varda: After-meeting!
[5:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: I should be on my way as well, but before I go....
[5:32 PM]Varda: Free chat, including Tolkien chat.
[5:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: Since one of our topics mentioned myths/legends, just remember....
[5:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: YouTube - Legends Never Die (Lyrics) Ft. Against The Current
[5:32 PM]Arien Valar: bed time for me , I fear ...
[5:33 PM]Eönwë Valar: Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun :}
[5:34 PM]Arien Valar: Namarie
[5:34 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie!
[5:36 PM]Xavier: Good night
[5:37 PM]Varda: Thank you, folks. : )
[5:38 PM]Varda: I snuck off to wave bye to Sauron on his way to work. (Sounds weird, eh?)
[5:38 PM]Varda: Anyone know if Phar is all right?
[5:39 PM]Varda: Legends never die. : )
[6:49 PM]Varda: Landroval and Angmar servers reporting big lag.
[6:50 PM]Varda: Namarie for now! Fangorn and I are going to pop popcorn and watch a movie. : )
[7:04 PM]Sandalf13: Good for you! I hope it is a good movie so you can enjoy it...
[7:33 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya! Caught up, and can I just start by adding that I approve of the kin-name Highguard of Numenor
[7:34 PM]Sandalf13: I suppose that is a good thing.
[7:34 PM]Sandalf13: Hope you are well.
[7:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Part of me wonders if Sauron's technology and "magic" allowed him to utilize "cultured" meat more than we have managed so far, though nutrients would still be required.
[7:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Also, I imagine the lands to the East, Rhun, might actually be quite a bit less barren than the people in the west might imagine, and food might be traded/sent to Mordor from there.
[7:36 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And aiya Sandalf I basically have a weekly health thing that takes up a lot of sunday time, and it's been worse/slower the last few weeks. I hope it'll pick up again shortly with some health measures like... actually drinking proper amounts of water.
[7:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It'll also be a while still, for that reason, that I'm in a spot to give my report for this week.
[7:39 PM]Sandalf13: I am thankful that you are here.
[7:39 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, I can imagine the worry. Varda sent me a message as well tonight.
[7:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But I'm fine. No need to worry unless I'm out several weeks in a row without announcing it in advance, though we did have no internet for about a month in 2023, so it can be anything, really.
[7:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I must admit, while I'm not too worried about mortality, I dislike the fact that if something happens to me, I have dozens of friends online - Valar, Warcraft, among others - who might never find out what because they have no real life connections to me. Even Fladrif might never know, and he's the only one of the guild I used to regularly see in real life.
[7:43 PM]Sandalf13: Is there some way to keep in touch with us other than Discord? I know I have your Email addresss...
[7:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I have Varda's and Eonwe's as well, but my family wouldn't know to use that and for whom.
[7:44 PM]Sandalf13: Even with some precise instructions?
[7:45 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I suppose my brother's the best bet for figuring out how that works, though my father also has gmail. I might pass it along, just in case.
[7:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Though from past experiences I don't think they hold online contacts in high regard, socially, and it certainly won't be a priority for them.
[7:46 PM]Sandalf13: I do remember your saying several times that you had a brother, and I thought as young as you are, your brother would have a good handle on the Internet...
[7:46 PM]Sandalf13: Sometimes we have to override our own disdain for doing something that needs to be done, niche wahr?
[7:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: My brother's 4 years older, so early 40s. Should be fine. My sister in law is probably the expert though, at least when it comes to smartphones
[7:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh, true. But I won't be able to check if they go through with it
[7:47 PM]Sandalf13: I am sure that they would...but let us change the subject, please. You have many, many good years ahead of you.
[7:47 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, sure. But it seemed relevant, since people have apparently been worrying about me tonight.
[7:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And I intend to go skydiving for my birthday this year as a bucket list/midlife thing, and you never know
[7:48 PM]Sandalf13: It IS relevant, but I want you to make sure that you such things in place. Even I am doing the same now. One never knows what the future will bring.
[7:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Very true!
[7:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And now to cook some dinner... at 3 in the morning... I really need to get this stuff under control!
[7:51 PM]Sandalf13: Yes. I believe, and pardon me for saying so, that you should consider changing your schedule slightly. I do not mean to intrude at all, but I do not believe that staying up so late at night and rising late in the morning is an overall healthy thing. We are not evolutionarily designed for such action.
[7:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Eh, I've never been a morning person. But yes, these are extreme cases.
[7:52 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And didn't our very early ancestors used to hunt at night?
[7:52 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: back in a bit
[7:53 PM]Sandalf13: Not that I am aware of...our earliest ancestors, once they learned to hunt following their omnivorous diet, were daylight stalkers and hunters
[7:54 PM]Sandalf13: One of the most amazing things about humans is that our five senses are so well aligned, that even though any one of them does not match up to the capabilities of other hunting animals, our combination of the sense combined with our "brain power" enabled us to become the dominant predators on Earth.
[7:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I was thinking further back, but sure
[7:55 PM]Sandalf13: In fact, you are right. The EARLIEST mammals were nocturnal.
[7:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And hopefully getting things under control will allow me a healthier schedule.
[7:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Right!
[7:55 PM]Sandalf13: One reason most mammals have some degree of good vision.
[8:14 PM]Sandalf13: Two views of Buffalo Mountain, at thesoutheastern end of the Gore Range. Can you see the Buffalo? The Local Arapho Indians sure did...
[Images]
[8:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Something in the curve over shoulder and back? I don't know, these things always seem so farfetched to me, like constellations I suppose when you're surrounded by mountains and need to navigate through them, it comes more naturally.
[8:19 PM]Sandalf13:
[Image]
[8:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hm, figured something like that, though that screams more turtle to me than buffalo
[8:19 PM]Sandalf13:
[8:20 PM]Sandalf13: Could be that too...but the only turtles around the Great Plains are the occasional snapping turtle and small turtles...nothing too dramatic, although it is best to avoid a snapping turtle, if possible.
[8:21 PM]Sandalf13: They can be nasty!!
[8:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Do they give chase?
[8:25 PM]Sandalf13: No...they are not too fast. High juvenile mortality rate, but those that survive become fearsome ambush predators.
[8:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Neat!
[8:26 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I do like tortoises.
[8:26 PM]Sandalf13: They can get pretty big, too...big enough to chomp through a human leg or arm of an unwary bather.
[8:26 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oof.
[8:26 PM]Sandalf13: Yes oooof.
[8:31 PM]Sandalf13: Speaking of oooof, I am oooofed out tonight. I arrived at my timeshare yesterday evening, after driving up on some icy and snowpacked roads, and went for a run today. My elevation at the Lodge is 9,200...about 4,000 feet higher than my body is used to. Makes one tires and easily worn out..so i am off to bed, to get ready for a day of skiing tomorrow. Namarie, and most importantly, SEI GESUND!!!!
[8:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Alright, namarie and have fun Report will be here when you check back!
[8:31 PM]Sandalf13: I shall check out your report tomorrow evening. If you are online, I will stop in to say Aiya!!!
[9:11 PM]Varda: Rest well. : )
[9:12 PM]Varda: Had a neighbor with a pet snapping turtle that he used to cut wires. : )
[9:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Was it Fred Flintstone?
[9:18 PM]Varda: hehe
[9:18 PM]Varda: Electrician : )
[9:18 PM]Varda: LotRO is working fine now.
[9:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And I'll start on the gaming report!
[9:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, a bunch of old badges this week, and I'll link one it's very hard to resist for me whenever it comes up
[9:21 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Unpuzzler: one of a series of 4 puzzle games where you have to dismantle a jigsaw puzzle piece by piece! Order is important since you can't move pieces that are locked into more than one direction. Also different mechanics are present; this one, for example, has pieces that are linked together and can only be removed as one, explosive tiles that basically give you a free direction to remove pieces in, and other stuff.
[9:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Also a separate game mode where each piece has an arrow and can only be removed in that direction.
[9:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And if you like it, there's more in the series!
[9:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
[9:33 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Level 102 on the reward track! That got me the choice of another portrait for this tier, based on the tier 5 raid sets.
[9:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: As well as a new custom set for the demon hunter, Second Sight, which I picked, because I thought it looked the most impressive of the remainders.
[9:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: New Mini-Set based on Starcraft is out! All 3 factions are represented, with each faction corresponding to 3 or 4 Hearthstone classes; the cards for them are mostly shared between each of the aligned classes, though each class has a few uniques as well.
[9:36 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And with it comes a quest event, where you choose between questlines related to each Starcraft faction, to finally get a class skin based on that faction, while the two skins you don't choose, end up in the shop later.
[9:36 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I went with the zerg questline myself, since they were always my favorite in the Starcraft series, and they work with the Death Knight class which I am still leveling, so that works out nicely.
[9:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And I gotta say I'm loving the zerg cards so far There's cards for several zerg creatures, and some of them can buff each other or spawn more zerg. One I especially like is one that, on deathrattle, gives a permanent stat buff to each zerg minion you play or summon for the rest of the game. It can really ramp up!
[9:39 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, I've completed the first weekly zerg quest of the event now, which required playing 200 zerg minions. That's a lot of zerglings!
[9:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Brawl this week is Shake, Deathrattle and Roll: Choose class, get random deck, every minion gets a deathrattle from another random minion. Some luck required, because getting a powerful deathrattle on a cheap minion can swing the game around early!
[9:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warcraft Rumble: Level 53 now!
[9:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Druid of the Claw part of the event is over, and we've moved on to the Swole Troll part, around a new horde mini that ignores enemy minis and does extra siege damage.
[9:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The special quests this time revolve around said troll, and all the towers have five times their normal health. Siege minis are recommended, but even just using the troll for that will get you a long way.
[9:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The challenges also concern the swole troll, but there's also challenges for pvp matches with certain leaders, quests with certain leaders, and one to play any troll minis, of which there are now at least 4.
[9:45 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm going pretty well, and have gotten enough stars from the reward track to unlock the swole troll, the swole troll portrait, and enough stars for him to reach uncommon quality; I then got the right talent for him, which is also required for one of the challenges. I've already got all the most important rewards, and am now saving tickets for some tomes.
[9:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: No luck in the dungeon so far. Never got the last level with Jaina in the alliance week, and in the current beast week I have been getting to the second fight with Hogger, but not through the entire dungeon. Also at level 22.
[9:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Most of the minis in his army are 2 levels over the dungeon level, but the dungeon itself is just quite annoying still.
[9:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the heroic sigil campaign, I gave Un'goro Crater a shot, but the bosses are now at my armies' level and pretty difficult, so I think I'll just hold off on that until they skip ahead again a bit.
[9:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: No rush!
[9:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For quality upgrades, besides the aforementioned uncommon Swole Troll, I also got the leader Ysera to rare quality, as well as the Footmen and Drake minis. And I got the right talents for them as well. Upgrading minis to rare is the most efficient way to get my minis leveled right now, since normal levels take quite a bit of experience at this point, but between the quality upgrade itself and the second talent, they gain 2 levels pretty much instantly.
[9:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Though a few of my minis are approaching the 50 thousand experience needed for their next normal level up, so that's nice.
[9:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
[9:52 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still raiding, trying to get the place on farm. Not sure how long until the next patch and the new raid, but I think we've mostly gotten what we wanted out of this.
[9:52 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Got a few more gear upgrades from gilded crests, and got my ring to the maximum of 658 ilevel.
[9:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For the previous reset's weekly quest, in battlegrounds, I managed to get to honor level 136 at the end. For the current weeklies I'm doing my timewalking, and somehow got the timewalk reward buff for this week on the first run, while it should have been the fourth. Well, gift horse.
[9:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Other weekly is delves, which I'm doing at tier 8, since... I finished the tier 11 achievement earlier in the week! Finally got Sinkhole as the last one.
[9:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Also got the Poisonous Shroom Cap hat from one of the Delves.
[9:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and maxing out the ring gave me a new toy, Cyrce's Circlet, which you can use to display the ring on your hand in-game.
[9:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, with the tier 11 delves done, I started trying to solo Zek'vir at the highest difficulty, marked by ??
[9:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And even at my ilevel it's quite painful. I can't go guardian spec since that means I don't have enough dps to defeat the adds on time, and he hits like a truck when I'm in catform. A lot of running around for Brann's healing potions, and don't even think about getting hit by one of his abilities.
[9:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I've since switched a few talents for single target damage, started using tank trinkets for defensive cooldowns, and took to using weapon oils and flasks. But while I have reached phase 2 a few times, so far it's still giving me great difficulty, and I'm almost on 100 tries.
[9:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: If I'm honest, I don't know if I'll manage to solo it and get the void appearance for my dirigible, since I just can't upgrade much further before season 2 starts.
[10:00 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But I can always keep trying!
[10:06 PM]Varda: Do you have to solo it?
[10:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For the title you can do it in a group. For the void dirigible appearance, you do need to solo it.
[10:07 PM]Varda: ugh
[10:07 PM]Varda: Good luck
[10:07 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And apparently if you get buffs from someone else, like the priest health buff, they disappear when you enter the delve.
[10:07 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Thanks
[10:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'll give it some more tries throughout the next few weeks. Never know if it works!
[10:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And finally, Plunderstorm is back! A few interface improvements, and easier to get enough plunder to just buy the stuff you want.
[10:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: There's about 35000 plunder's worth of new items this time around, and I've been trying to get that plunder in thresholds of 1750 a day. Going well so far; I've gotten the Sparklesnap and Parley pets, and the Plunderlord's Midnight Crocolisk.
[10:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: There's one more mount left for, and a bunch of appearances.
[10:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: *left for me
[10:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The gameplay of Plunderstorm is tolerable enough, I like going around fighting mobs and collecting plunder, though I try to avoid combat with other players at all costs On my best match I got to number 3 out of 60, though, even managing to kill someone else!
[10:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: That's probably as well as I can expect to do in this game mode, but that's no problem, since you can get plenty of plunder without ever seeing another player
[10:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for the week!
[10:28 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, just reading that Brann's campfire gives a 5% main stat buff. Should be easy enough to trigger that before my attempts by spending some mana.
[10:30 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, namarie
[11:00 PM]Varda: Namarie
January 27, 2025k
[1:02 AM]Eönwë Valar: Since I brought it up earlier and I was able to retrieve my copy of The Nature of Middle-Earth, I'll give the essay found on page 343: "XIV: Note On The Consumption Of Mushrooms":
["[The Druedain's] knowledge of all growing things was almost equal to that of the Elves (although untaught by them), discerning those that were poisonous, or useful in medicaments, or good as food. To the astonishment of Elves and other Men they ate funguses with pleasure, many of which looked to others (Men and Hobbits) dangerous; some kinds which they specially liked they caused to grow near their dwellings.
[1:06 AM]Eönwë Valar: The Eldar did not eat these things. The Folk of Haleth, taught by the Druedain, made some use of them at need; and if they were guests they ate what was provided in courtesy, and without fear. The other Atani eschewed them, save in great hunger when astray in the wild, for few among them had the knowledge to distinguish the wholesome from the bad, and the less wise called them ork-plants and supposed them to have been cursed and blighted by Morgoth."
[1:11 AM]Eönwë Valar: This is a portion from The essay in UT called "The Druedain" that was ultimately rejected by Tolkien because he thought it made the Druedain too much like Hobbits.
[1:24 AM]Eönwë Valar: So whether Elves (or the Eldar specifically as mentioned above) really didn't eat mushrooms is up for debate. I could see it going both ways. Since I like mushrooms, I would like to think Elves would give them a fair shot in their culinary dishes, but I could also see the Noldor of Beleriand turning their noses up at them unless in dire need or out of politeness. Even then, I would expect any Elves who spend time in the wild to be familiar with the safe and dangerous ones for just such an event.
[8:18 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Funny how that links the two topics
[9:56 AM]Varda: Thanks for finding that. : )
[10:52 AM]Varda: The process of the author's working out the lore is interesting. We know, of course, that by the time of the Lord of the Rings, Frodo and other hobbits were very fond of mushrooms, and that Farmer Maggot grew them, needing dogs to keep out pilferers. "A Short Cut to Mushrooms", FotR.