Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
For the Alliance
This past weekend, I spent almost all of my WoW playing time on my Alliance DK, Vanco.
Part of the reason was that Teurion renewed his account for a month because he was bored, and the other part was the Midsummer Fire Festival and the easy XP.
So, Vanco had completed the DK starting area and had made his way to Hellfire Penn, but he didn't have any professions yet. I decided that Mining/Herbalism would be the best fit as all of the manufacturing professions are covered by my other toons.
Now, I'm not regretting my choice, but, dang, it sucks leveling mining. I have already gotten Herbalism to 300+, but Mining is lagging behind at 240. And, yes, I'm using a macro to switch between the tracking when I press 'c'.
The good part is that I've completed the Eastern Kingdoms Fire Festival activities and explored a number of areas so I don't have to go back when I'm going for the "Explorer" title. Oh, and I also dinged 60 in the process.
And, I've made a killing off all the ore, stone, herbs, and other junk by selling it on the AH.
But, most of my time this weekend was spent prepping and painting my youngest son's room. He picked a light gray and a charcol gray; his room used to be yellow and blue, so we had to throw down a primer first. Yesterday, we got the first coat down, and it looks really good.
Tonight, I need to do some sanding and primer the window well (I had recaulked the window, and we couldn't primer or paint it until today), and then tomorrow evening, we'll touch up and throw on a second coat if necessary.
I really don't like painting....
Part of the reason was that Teurion renewed his account for a month because he was bored, and the other part was the Midsummer Fire Festival and the easy XP.
So, Vanco had completed the DK starting area and had made his way to Hellfire Penn, but he didn't have any professions yet. I decided that Mining/Herbalism would be the best fit as all of the manufacturing professions are covered by my other toons.
Now, I'm not regretting my choice, but, dang, it sucks leveling mining. I have already gotten Herbalism to 300+, but Mining is lagging behind at 240. And, yes, I'm using a macro to switch between the tracking when I press 'c'.
The good part is that I've completed the Eastern Kingdoms Fire Festival activities and explored a number of areas so I don't have to go back when I'm going for the "Explorer" title. Oh, and I also dinged 60 in the process.
And, I've made a killing off all the ore, stone, herbs, and other junk by selling it on the AH.
But, most of my time this weekend was spent prepping and painting my youngest son's room. He picked a light gray and a charcol gray; his room used to be yellow and blue, so we had to throw down a primer first. Yesterday, we got the first coat down, and it looks really good.
Tonight, I need to do some sanding and primer the window well (I had recaulked the window, and we couldn't primer or paint it until today), and then tomorrow evening, we'll touch up and throw on a second coat if necessary.
I really don't like painting....
Friday, June 26, 2009
Excited again!!!!!111!!!!ELEVENTYONE!!!!1
I am really excited again about owning a dog! See, for the last couple of weeks, the shininess had worn off Denali, and her minuses were starting to outweigh her pluses.
First a little background. This is our first dog, for all intents and purposes, and we know absolutely nothing about training or raising a puppy. So we bought a book and enrolled in puppy classes at a large pet store chain.....I'll call it Smet Part.
(A little disclaimer: I like the store, Smet Part, but the particular trainer that I got just didn't set right with me. So this post should not be construed as being against the store, but rather the trainer and specifically, the training methods.)
So, for 6 weeks, the SP trainer has been teaching us how to get our dogs to behave using treats. The only negative tool that we had to use was removing ourselves from our dog's presence (because the dog REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to be around you and it doesn't like not being around you so it's punishment).
Well, we have had a problem with Denali biting during play. It's just puppy nipping, but she has broken the skin on more than one occasion, and we were starting to get worried about her biting not only us, but also others.
Unfortunately, the SP trainer only offered the "remove yourself" tool to correct this behavior; I am not by nature a passive person, so I would have much rather taken immediate action towards Denali other than hoping she associated my going away with her biting.
Well, everything changed last night as we engaged the services of Larry Blackburn. This guy is the real deal! Right off the bat he gave us two more tools to actively curb Denali's unwanted behaviors.
The first tool, which was to address the biting issue, was to be used when she was trying to bite or already was in the biting process; we would immediately take our index finger and shove it down her throat until she gagged. Yeah, sounds icky, right?
It works. Larry explained that we were not hurting Denali, but we were making her very uncomfortable, and in the process, preventing her from biting us as she couldn't bite while gagging. I can personally say that I've used the maneuver a couple of times and have noticed a drop in the biting behavior. YAY!!! Denali is becoming a joy again!
The other tool, which address her biting our legs, shorts, and pants, was to step on her back paw. Once again, we weren't out to CRUSH it, just enough pressure to make her uncomfortable (usually a yelp was the result).
The biggest thing about both of these tools is that they're immediate and action oriented. Denali quickly associates the bad behavior with the negative tool and stops the behavior. It turns out that pain and discomfort are much better tools to address unwanted behavior.
Of course, I knew this was true for kids; while my oldest son professes to need positive encouragement, it is only negative consequences that affect a change in him. When I use only positive feedback, it just allows him more time to put off the change until he absolutely has to...ie, when the negative consequences are upon him!
There were other things throughout the hour of training that resonated with me from a training standpoint, but the one that really stands out is his whole philosophy behind why the dog obeys.
See, the SP guy, by using treats, teaches the dog to perform for the treat; Larry, on the other hand, teaches the dog to obey me, regardless of any treats.
SP method: I'm a vending machine
Larry method: I'm the master
Personally, I like Larry's way much better, and after thinking it through, I came up with an interesting thought about the difference:
SP thinks that I am fostering a loving bond between me and my dog by not using negative reinforcement, but in reality, I'm just getting my dog to love/obey me because I'm bribing her. And we all know what happens when the bribes stop.
Larry, on the other hand, actually teaches me to create this bond through positive and negative tools, and Denali loves/obeys me because of me, because of her desire to please me, and because of her respect for me. No bribes needed.
And, for the parents out there, I'm sure you can relate to the difference between having your kids obey you because you bribe them and having them obey you because they respect you. In the former case, the kids are constantly wanting more. The latter is a world of difference and makes the home much more pleasant.
So, here's to Denali and a home more pleasant!
First a little background. This is our first dog, for all intents and purposes, and we know absolutely nothing about training or raising a puppy. So we bought a book and enrolled in puppy classes at a large pet store chain.....I'll call it Smet Part.
(A little disclaimer: I like the store, Smet Part, but the particular trainer that I got just didn't set right with me. So this post should not be construed as being against the store, but rather the trainer and specifically, the training methods.)
So, for 6 weeks, the SP trainer has been teaching us how to get our dogs to behave using treats. The only negative tool that we had to use was removing ourselves from our dog's presence (because the dog REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to be around you and it doesn't like not being around you so it's punishment).
Well, we have had a problem with Denali biting during play. It's just puppy nipping, but she has broken the skin on more than one occasion, and we were starting to get worried about her biting not only us, but also others.
Unfortunately, the SP trainer only offered the "remove yourself" tool to correct this behavior; I am not by nature a passive person, so I would have much rather taken immediate action towards Denali other than hoping she associated my going away with her biting.
Well, everything changed last night as we engaged the services of Larry Blackburn. This guy is the real deal! Right off the bat he gave us two more tools to actively curb Denali's unwanted behaviors.
The first tool, which was to address the biting issue, was to be used when she was trying to bite or already was in the biting process; we would immediately take our index finger and shove it down her throat until she gagged. Yeah, sounds icky, right?
It works. Larry explained that we were not hurting Denali, but we were making her very uncomfortable, and in the process, preventing her from biting us as she couldn't bite while gagging. I can personally say that I've used the maneuver a couple of times and have noticed a drop in the biting behavior. YAY!!! Denali is becoming a joy again!
The other tool, which address her biting our legs, shorts, and pants, was to step on her back paw. Once again, we weren't out to CRUSH it, just enough pressure to make her uncomfortable (usually a yelp was the result).
The biggest thing about both of these tools is that they're immediate and action oriented. Denali quickly associates the bad behavior with the negative tool and stops the behavior. It turns out that pain and discomfort are much better tools to address unwanted behavior.
Of course, I knew this was true for kids; while my oldest son professes to need positive encouragement, it is only negative consequences that affect a change in him. When I use only positive feedback, it just allows him more time to put off the change until he absolutely has to...ie, when the negative consequences are upon him!
There were other things throughout the hour of training that resonated with me from a training standpoint, but the one that really stands out is his whole philosophy behind why the dog obeys.
See, the SP guy, by using treats, teaches the dog to perform for the treat; Larry, on the other hand, teaches the dog to obey me, regardless of any treats.
SP method: I'm a vending machine
Larry method: I'm the master
Personally, I like Larry's way much better, and after thinking it through, I came up with an interesting thought about the difference:
SP thinks that I am fostering a loving bond between me and my dog by not using negative reinforcement, but in reality, I'm just getting my dog to love/obey me because I'm bribing her. And we all know what happens when the bribes stop.
Larry, on the other hand, actually teaches me to create this bond through positive and negative tools, and Denali loves/obeys me because of me, because of her desire to please me, and because of her respect for me. No bribes needed.
And, for the parents out there, I'm sure you can relate to the difference between having your kids obey you because you bribe them and having them obey you because they respect you. In the former case, the kids are constantly wanting more. The latter is a world of difference and makes the home much more pleasant.
So, here's to Denali and a home more pleasant!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A Milestone
On this very day, 16 years ago, my youngest son, T, was born.
It's hard to believe that my little baby is 16 all ready.
I know I should have seen it coming; I mean, he's been having birthdays at the same rate for the last...well, fifteen years. But, it seems that this one has kinda snuck up on me.
Sixteen!!!
Wow, where have the years gone? Happy Birthday T!
It's hard to believe that my little baby is 16 all ready.
I know I should have seen it coming; I mean, he's been having birthdays at the same rate for the last...well, fifteen years. But, it seems that this one has kinda snuck up on me.
Sixteen!!!
Wow, where have the years gone? Happy Birthday T!
Interestinking
I realized today that I've never had to catch up cooking to my current level; I've always leveled cooking along with my toon level.
So, running around collecting low level meats is new to me and, if I may be frank, isn't all that exciting. Also, since I collect recipes during my leveling process where ever I find them, I'm having a bit of an issue remembering where to go for the next recipe.
Now, I could level fishing along with cooking. /sigh. That would set me back some time, and I'm starting to get itchin' to move on to leveling Daxjin, who hit 60 last night by completing the Honoring/Desecrating the Flames of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms.
I had another epiphany recently...if I really enjoy playing Death Knights, then maybe my army of alts, who are created solely to cover the rest of the professions, should be DK's. That way I can level them 10 levels and be done as far as toon leveling goes. I can see it now:
"Yeah, I served Arthas, killed innocents, pillaged villages, and generally wreaked havoc in my past, but now I like sewing...."
The downside is that BoP recipes found in instances would be out of reach unless I leveled my profession DK's. I'll have to think about it more.
On another note, someone is trying to corner the market on Netherweave bags, or at least they are buying up bags that are below their set price, and that smells of profit for me! I'll keep on listing bags about 50 silver below their price, 2 at a time and take as much money as they'll give me! Of course, once they realize that I won't stop suppying the bags, they'll have to switch to another tactic if they still want to set the price at 7.75 gold, namely, undercutting me and driving the price down.
Of course, they may just accept the fact that they'll lose a little business to me, but also realize that their bags will sell after my two have been bought up. Or they may flood the market with cheaper bags and accept the lower profit (or even a loss) in order to drive me out of competition. Or, they may just move on to another segment of the Auction House and leave me be.
The key to making money in this situation is to take advantage of the other person thinking through and trying different tactics:
First, he attempts to deplete my stock. Once he realizes that I just keep making more, he'll stop buying my bags (and that tactic). The amount of time that I sell him bags depends on his market savvy; I've sold him two bags, will he buy more and how long will he hope that I run out? I make money from him (and others) while he plays out the scenario.
After this, he may just accept the loss in business and leave me a small share of the pie. This is probably the best course for him as it takes the least amount of capital and effort.
He may undercut me. Now the ball would be in my court, but I won't play (probably)! I'll continue to list my bags at my set price in the hopes that once his bags sell, mine will sell. If my bags won't sell, then I may lower my price to compete and repeat the original scenario, albeit at a lower price.
He can drive me out of the market if he lowers the price of the bags below what a stack of Netherweave + 1 Runethread costs; it would be ludicrous to sell a manufactured item for less than the cost of the mats. Of course, his costs and my costs are probably different (mine are probably higher), so he could still make a profit selling the bags below what the mats cost me.
One more observation - if I continue in this particular market, I'll make sure to buy my Netherweave cloth on the weekend as the price climbs significantly during the week.
So, running around collecting low level meats is new to me and, if I may be frank, isn't all that exciting. Also, since I collect recipes during my leveling process where ever I find them, I'm having a bit of an issue remembering where to go for the next recipe.
Now, I could level fishing along with cooking. /sigh. That would set me back some time, and I'm starting to get itchin' to move on to leveling Daxjin, who hit 60 last night by completing the Honoring/Desecrating the Flames of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms.
I had another epiphany recently...if I really enjoy playing Death Knights, then maybe my army of alts, who are created solely to cover the rest of the professions, should be DK's. That way I can level them 10 levels and be done as far as toon leveling goes. I can see it now:
"Yeah, I served Arthas, killed innocents, pillaged villages, and generally wreaked havoc in my past, but now I like sewing...."
The downside is that BoP recipes found in instances would be out of reach unless I leveled my profession DK's. I'll have to think about it more.
On another note, someone is trying to corner the market on Netherweave bags, or at least they are buying up bags that are below their set price, and that smells of profit for me! I'll keep on listing bags about 50 silver below their price, 2 at a time and take as much money as they'll give me! Of course, once they realize that I won't stop suppying the bags, they'll have to switch to another tactic if they still want to set the price at 7.75 gold, namely, undercutting me and driving the price down.
Of course, they may just accept the fact that they'll lose a little business to me, but also realize that their bags will sell after my two have been bought up. Or they may flood the market with cheaper bags and accept the lower profit (or even a loss) in order to drive me out of competition. Or, they may just move on to another segment of the Auction House and leave me be.
The key to making money in this situation is to take advantage of the other person thinking through and trying different tactics:
First, he attempts to deplete my stock. Once he realizes that I just keep making more, he'll stop buying my bags (and that tactic). The amount of time that I sell him bags depends on his market savvy; I've sold him two bags, will he buy more and how long will he hope that I run out? I make money from him (and others) while he plays out the scenario.
After this, he may just accept the loss in business and leave me a small share of the pie. This is probably the best course for him as it takes the least amount of capital and effort.
He may undercut me. Now the ball would be in my court, but I won't play (probably)! I'll continue to list my bags at my set price in the hopes that once his bags sell, mine will sell. If my bags won't sell, then I may lower my price to compete and repeat the original scenario, albeit at a lower price.
He can drive me out of the market if he lowers the price of the bags below what a stack of Netherweave + 1 Runethread costs; it would be ludicrous to sell a manufactured item for less than the cost of the mats. Of course, his costs and my costs are probably different (mine are probably higher), so he could still make a profit selling the bags below what the mats cost me.
One more observation - if I continue in this particular market, I'll make sure to buy my Netherweave cloth on the weekend as the price climbs significantly during the week.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Twofer
I realized the other day that there's one more skill I need to grind out on Daxjin before heading to Outlands: Cooking.
Hmmm....maybe I should start now and get cooking up to my current levels of my other profs, that way I can work all three skills at the same time for a given area.
Thankfully, First Aid was already up to Heavy Runecloth bandages at the start.
So, watch out wolfies, I'm coming for your Stringy Wolf Meat!!
Hmmm....maybe I should start now and get cooking up to my current levels of my other profs, that way I can work all three skills at the same time for a given area.
Thankfully, First Aid was already up to Heavy Runecloth bandages at the start.
So, watch out wolfies, I'm coming for your Stringy Wolf Meat!!
Business and Dying
I have a little business going that takes advantage of the depressed Netherweave cloth market on Andorhal. I've been able to buy stacks of Netherweave for under 4 gold (5 in two cases) and send said stacks plus one Runethread per stack to Robin to make Netherweave Bags, which I sell for around 7.25 gold. The current market price is between 7.75 and 8 gold.
I'm only listing 2 at a time, and I'm making a killing! I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep it up, but by limiting my production, I'm not flooding the market with cheap bags, so I should be able to keep it up for a while.
I also invested 10 gold in an Eternal Fire as the Crystallized Fire sells for about 2 gold each. Once again, I'm limiting the amount I auction so as to not flood the market. I've sold 4 so far, so my investment is almost paid off, and the remainder is pure profit!
And finally, this morning I thought I'd squeeze in a couple of Fire Honorings. I grabbed the Sepulcher and headed for Tarren Mill. I died upon landing.
The Alliance were running amok, killing everything in sight, so I corpse hopped my way over to the flame, waited right by the quest giver until I thought I had a chance, popped a rez, completed the quest, and died.....satisfied. lol.
Now I just have to make my way over to Southshore to desecrate their fire....
I'm only listing 2 at a time, and I'm making a killing! I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep it up, but by limiting my production, I'm not flooding the market with cheap bags, so I should be able to keep it up for a while.
I also invested 10 gold in an Eternal Fire as the Crystallized Fire sells for about 2 gold each. Once again, I'm limiting the amount I auction so as to not flood the market. I've sold 4 so far, so my investment is almost paid off, and the remainder is pure profit!
And finally, this morning I thought I'd squeeze in a couple of Fire Honorings. I grabbed the Sepulcher and headed for Tarren Mill. I died upon landing.
The Alliance were running amok, killing everything in sight, so I corpse hopped my way over to the flame, waited right by the quest giver until I thought I had a chance, popped a rez, completed the quest, and died.....satisfied. lol.
Now I just have to make my way over to Southshore to desecrate their fire....
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