Today I'm pissed! I was planning to make an update explaining how much I love my Helena, but instead I find myself being pissed about an article in Metro this morning. I've always like Metro cause they have like a no-bullshit attitude towards news, they just report the news. Sure they have a columnist or two but this wasn't it. No, this was a 30-40 year old woman (juding by the photo) writing about a report from a swedish company that said that "there's not a single case of computer game addiction that doesn't have any links to World of Warcraft. It's a computerized cocaine"!!
Oh man.... I don't know where to begin. But lets!!
To start with, let me introduce myself. I started playing Warcraft at european launch in early 2005 and from fall of 2005 to may 2008 I was in one way or another leading guilds and 40 man raids (that was later slimmed down to 25). I played the game almost as much as I worked during that period and I feel pretty comfortable saying I know the game inside and out, every aspect of it. Then in may 2008 I met the woman of my dreams, sold off my main account and settled for my B account that I play occasionally with my friends. But enough of me, let us start...
First off, it's "what's the source of the news". It's a company. Complete with CEO and everything. Sure they have a green light from the social office, but it still comes down to making money and to do that people need to know they exist so what better way than to call the most played game in the world for cocaine!?
(and yes I do realize the irony of me writing about it here increases their audience, but I'm sure as hell not gonna link to them!)
Secondly, don't people commit crimes to pay for their cocaine addiction? I have no problem dishing up the 10 euros per month it costs me to play Warcraft. And the kids today ask their parents for money for it. Now how would that sound if a 15 year old asked his mother for 10 euros for cocaine? And don't ask me how much cocaine you get for 10 euros per month, I have no clue!
Thirdly, the drug dealer. In this case it's Blizzard who has such a high profile thanks to Warcraft that they can't afford to NOT listen to criticism. A company so responsible they even built in a parent tool into the game so parents (remember, the ones that pay for the account) can set limits to how much and when the account can be active. How would that go with a drug dealer? "Sorry, can't sell to you, it's past your bed time!"...
Fourthly (is that even a word), there are no documented health related issues to playing Warcraft on a regular basis. Yes there have been one or two cases of people dying after playing computer games for days at an end, but that's not a regular basis! And really people, take two normal people, give one of them cocaine constantly and let the other level up a new char in Warcraft and see which of them dies first! More people die from ice falling off buildings than of Warcraft!
Fifth, I don't know why people take cocaine but the only reason a person would play the game more than what can be considered "healthy" is if they have serious psychological problems! Because there really is just two ways to play the game. Either you can do it "the casual way" which is to play occasionally with friends and do some small scale stuff and you're happy just playing with friends and maybe making new ones. Or you can do it "the hardcore way" which is all about one thing - E-PENIS! Yes, that's the correct word for it! To make your character better geared, more powerful and more so called achievement points for achieving different in-game goals. But it's all in game and if you have a need to get such a huge e-penis that you play it that much, then you're not right in the head. And what would you rather have people who are not right in the head do - play Warcraft or do cocaine?
Sixth, now that sweden fails in pretty much every sport we used to own (like skiing or tennis), what's not so known in the general media is the status Sweden has in cyber athleticism! We dominate! And last time I checked the most famous Warcraft player (besides Jenkins) was "kungen" who happens to be Swedish, leading the most famous guild that's made up of a lot of swedes. Now how is that related to cocaine? Do we have any chart of cocaine addicts that are doing well and putting Sweden on the map?
Seven - the good feelings of cocaine (as I understand it) are artificial and chemically induced and effects your body so much that if done on a regular basis makes the body so addictive to it that you need weeks of detox to get out of it. Cause as I understand my House, cocaine isn't something you cut cold turkey. The good feelings in Warcraft comes from achieving goals in game and the "just a little bit more" feeling is constantly there. However, pulling the power cable will quickly remedy that - cold turkey style. The body won't be chemically dependant on anything and after a few days he/she won't even care. I know, I sold my paladin account without any drawback symptoms what so ever.
I don't for a second regret the almost 3 years I spent playing the game as much as I did. I made alot of friends. I learned a lot more about people skills. I learned how to motivate people, how to balance being nice and enforcing discipline, I learned alot. And I had fun.Which is what it's all about for me.
So yeah, you come here and call me a cocaine addict if you want to and I'll give you a crushing blow with my thunderfury! (how very old-school!)
//RoLaren aka Tandie
Edit: My bad, they said "cocaine", not "heroin".
Pirate Bay Trial
I guess you all know that there's this big trial in sweden against Pirate Bay. The prosecutor and representatives of the media business are charging them with aiding and abetting copyright violations and all that crap because of the site and torrent tracker. And the defense is saying "no haven't done anything wrong"...
The fun thing here is that from a legal stand point they didn't (as far as I understand it). Morally they did ofcourse and their disregard for copyrights and encouraging anarchy is way off, but nothing they can't get convicted for. And the swedish court system has time and time again proved that they are all about the letter off the law rather than the spirit of the law so it's my bet they'll walk away free.
For whatever it's worth, either way the losing side will appeal and we'll be right back here in a year or so...
The fun thing here is that from a legal stand point they didn't (as far as I understand it). Morally they did ofcourse and their disregard for copyrights and encouraging anarchy is way off, but nothing they can't get convicted for. And the swedish court system has time and time again proved that they are all about the letter off the law rather than the spirit of the law so it's my bet they'll walk away free.
For whatever it's worth, either way the losing side will appeal and we'll be right back here in a year or so...
Golfing
I tried golfing last sunday. Just going to a huge simulator that has like 6-7 feet to a huge screen and you hit the ball on the screen and it guestimates and projects how the ball goes. Surprisingly accurate, as long as you actually hit the screen! When we were putting we sometimes hit the ball so lame that it didn't get to the screen so it didn't count! Fortunately it had 2 meter "giving" distance (if you got within 2 meters of the hole you were in).
I did surprisingly well I think although I still don't feel like I can say I have control of where the ball is going! Really when I swing that huge driver I really feel I have no control what so ever and just happy if I hit near where I was looking!
Not sure if it's a sport worth investing alot of money in, cause it sure as hell aint cheap!!
I did surprisingly well I think although I still don't feel like I can say I have control of where the ball is going! Really when I swing that huge driver I really feel I have no control what so ever and just happy if I hit near where I was looking!
Not sure if it's a sport worth investing alot of money in, cause it sure as hell aint cheap!!
Getting it Right
Today we went out to look at a house in Täby. The house looked pretty good for us, just the right size and everything. Even a little small door for the cats to run in and out as they wished. However, and this was the deal breaker, it was exceptionally close to the railway (I mean like 50-60 meters. And not 50-60 meters of forest, it was 50-60 meters of playground to the school that was right next to it. And right now that's really not what we want.
We want a nice place in a calm environment where we can sit out and enjoy a nice juicy steak in the summer, and with a living room that's ok to set up a home theater in and where the kitchen and living rooms are not that seperate, prefereably not at all. But that seems impossible to find and since this is the biggest deal we've ever done, yes we will be that picky :)
We want a nice place in a calm environment where we can sit out and enjoy a nice juicy steak in the summer, and with a living room that's ok to set up a home theater in and where the kitchen and living rooms are not that seperate, prefereably not at all. But that seems impossible to find and since this is the biggest deal we've ever done, yes we will be that picky :)
Road Trip
Yesterday we went out for a road trip in my new Volvo. Don't know if I can say new since it's from 2001 but it's new to me so I wanted to take it out for a test drive. Drove up to Uppsala to have a relaxing afternoon at Fyrishov, which is a huge facility with lots of different pools, everything from spa to competetion pools. But it was anything but relaxing 'cause there was a gazillion families there. So after an hour or so of that we got cleaned up and went out to a restaurant called "Peppar Peppar". And it was awesome! Peppar steak was juicy as hell, loved it. A bit on the pricy side but how often do we get to eat in Uppsala :) And then back home again. And the car performed excellent :)
How Was Your Weekend?
My weekend was pretty good. Started off going out to Texas Longhorn with a few buddies of mine on friday, played some WoW, saw a few movies, enjoyed good food and having a girlfriend.
Oh and I also bought a new car (Volvo S40 from 2001)..
How was your weekend :)
Oh and I also bought a new car (Volvo S40 from 2001)..
How was your weekend :)
"What If" Operation Valkyrie Had Been a Success?
So there's another movie coming out about Operation Valkyrie, you know, the old plot of blowing up Hitler and his military chiefs to hell, but this time it's Tom Cruise as Stauffenberg so should make some headlines. Anyway, heard an interesting "what if" that was related to this movie from some random movie critic, and you all know I love "what if" scenarios.
What if they had been succesfull?
I don't know if it would've made _that_ big difference if they'd killed Hitler that late in the game (July 1944). It's even more interesting to speculate if someone could've killed him even before it started. How would that affect history? Things you don't really think about, like NASAs #1 rocket guy, von Braun, that helped the states in the space race, he wouldn't have the expertice he had. Not to mention fusion power and stuff like that.
That was one of the few things I liked about "Benjamin Button", they had a very interesting "cause and effect" sequence that showed just how little small irrelevant things can hurt you...
Enough philosophy for one day, tonight it's time for another nice steak at Texas Longhorn, jummy!
What if they had been succesfull?
I don't know if it would've made _that_ big difference if they'd killed Hitler that late in the game (July 1944). It's even more interesting to speculate if someone could've killed him even before it started. How would that affect history? Things you don't really think about, like NASAs #1 rocket guy, von Braun, that helped the states in the space race, he wouldn't have the expertice he had. Not to mention fusion power and stuff like that.
That was one of the few things I liked about "Benjamin Button", they had a very interesting "cause and effect" sequence that showed just how little small irrelevant things can hurt you...
Enough philosophy for one day, tonight it's time for another nice steak at Texas Longhorn, jummy!
Movies and Even More Movies
In the past few weeks me and my girlfriend have watched more movies than anyone should. But we really have nothing better to do in our spare time right now than watch a movie or two. And I'm not really complaining since I like movies :)
Finally saw "Mamma Mia!" (had to buy it on blueray just cause I can!), quite a funny and good movie for all generations basically. I was most interested to see how they incorporated "Does your mother know". 'Cause let's phase it, had it been either of the male actors singing it to a young girl it wouldn't work today.. most innovative use of a Abba song was "Lay All Your Love on me", loved that one!
Biggest disappointment yet was Benjamin Button. Sorry but it felt like it tried to be Forrest Gump... but didn't quite achieve that epic feel. Big disappointment there. Or maybe "Wanted" was the biggest disappointment? That's not even worth words... or maybe X-Files was even worse?.. so many stupid movies made today...
"Expired" was a bit funny and cute but overall pretty boring. "Seven Pounds" was very boring but the last 10 minutes make up for the boring movie cause it's so good ending I had to drop a little tear. "Grey Matter" was pretty slow but sweet, "Alien Raiders" was surprisingly good thriller/horror. Never been into horror movies but Helena is so I just adapt.
And countless comedies, "Accepted", "My Best Friends Girl" but best one was "Step Brothers", didn't expect it to be _that_ funny! And ofcourse Kevin Smiths latest, "Zack and Miri Makes a Porno" which was funny, just not hilarious.
Can't wait for the F1 season to start :)
Finally saw "Mamma Mia!" (had to buy it on blueray just cause I can!), quite a funny and good movie for all generations basically. I was most interested to see how they incorporated "Does your mother know". 'Cause let's phase it, had it been either of the male actors singing it to a young girl it wouldn't work today.. most innovative use of a Abba song was "Lay All Your Love on me", loved that one!
Biggest disappointment yet was Benjamin Button. Sorry but it felt like it tried to be Forrest Gump... but didn't quite achieve that epic feel. Big disappointment there. Or maybe "Wanted" was the biggest disappointment? That's not even worth words... or maybe X-Files was even worse?.. so many stupid movies made today...
"Expired" was a bit funny and cute but overall pretty boring. "Seven Pounds" was very boring but the last 10 minutes make up for the boring movie cause it's so good ending I had to drop a little tear. "Grey Matter" was pretty slow but sweet, "Alien Raiders" was surprisingly good thriller/horror. Never been into horror movies but Helena is so I just adapt.
And countless comedies, "Accepted", "My Best Friends Girl" but best one was "Step Brothers", didn't expect it to be _that_ funny! And ofcourse Kevin Smiths latest, "Zack and Miri Makes a Porno" which was funny, just not hilarious.
Can't wait for the F1 season to start :)
Sometimes Hi Tech Sucks
I'm pretty proud to be as high tech as I am, but sometimes being hi tech sucks! Last week me and my girlfriend had a sensitive argument, the kind that can kill a relationship if you phrase things wrong or say stuff in the heat of the moment. So it was done through SMS. The advantage of that is ofcourse you don't risk ending up calling her fat just to be cruel. But it also has one big setback! Sometimes if you send long text messages it doesn't deliver it all at once, but in small pieces. Some messages where chopped so badly that if we hadn't waited for the rest it'd killed it! So that really didn't help... hate emotional rollercoster rides like that!
Love You All
Today I got one of those chain e-mails, you know the one that says "forward this to everyone you love and you'll be happy". I never do. But this one, from my niece, was about taking a minute to tell everyone that matters to you that you love them before it's too late. So I thought I would...
So here's to mom, dad, AC, Amy, Paul, Nic, Alex, Linda, Carro, Binta, Becks, Steph, Lauryn, Jack, Jocke, Mats, Lina, Ricki, Eva, Peter R, Clara, Henrik A, Janne, Johan, Dago, Mattias K, Roger P, Dazza and most of all Helena - love you all!! (hoping I didn't miss anyone)
So here's to mom, dad, AC, Amy, Paul, Nic, Alex, Linda, Carro, Binta, Becks, Steph, Lauryn, Jack, Jocke, Mats, Lina, Ricki, Eva, Peter R, Clara, Henrik A, Janne, Johan, Dago, Mattias K, Roger P, Dazza and most of all Helena - love you all!! (hoping I didn't miss anyone)
How's The New Year So Far?
How is your new year going? For me it's "ok but could be better", had a bit of a downer with my girlfriend last night but atleast we fell asleep holding eachother in the end. Other than that I'm happy to finally have my video system set up the way I want it to, complete with HTPC optically hooked up and all stuff like that, the way it was meant to be basically. So now we're busy plowing through movies one after another. And then still busy redesigning NataliePortman.com. But atleast WoW isn't taking that much of my time anymore :)
Happy New Year!
Happy new year everyone! Personally I'm not sure how I can ever beat 2008 but gonna try :)
Busy Busy
Not sure I should be apologizing here for being so busy I haven't had time to update it in weeks. So many things going on, from Warcraft to adapting to living with someone 24/7 to redesigning NataliePortman.com and ofcourse celebrating christmas. Again. And again. Cause me and Helena actually celebrated it thrice - once at her brothers place, once at my parents place and once at her parents place. Lots of good food and stuff that got me bloated. But I love it cause I still love christmas!! :) And ofcourse I still love Helena :)
The Man From Earth
Speaking of movies, we saw a pretty interesting movie the other day called "The Man from Earth". It was one of those low-budget movies where everything was dialogue. It was about a guy that was moving away and his collegues and friends, most of which were professors or scholars of some kind, was throwing an improvised farewell party. And he dropped the bomb that the reason he was going away cause he had to before people started noticing he was weird and didn't age. It'd been like that for the past 20.000 years. And they spent the rest of the movie toying with the idea. Great fun and interesting concept, can really recommend it!
Also saw "Get Smart". Surprisingly funny movie. I couldn't stop laughing at the answer to the question "how did you get here so fast!?", good stuff :)
Also saw "Get Smart". Surprisingly funny movie. I couldn't stop laughing at the answer to the question "how did you get here so fast!?", good stuff :)
Guess I'm Not That Geeky
Yesterday me, my girlfriend and my two best movie friends Ricki and Eva tried out a movie-quiz night at Pet Sounds Bar in stockholm! It was basically small video or audio clips from more or less famous movies and guessing some trivia about them, like directors, oscars and stuff.
And we didn't even get close to winning! I was afraid that we'd either crush the competition or the questions would be about Hungarian independant movies and we'd end up with 0 points. But we finished in the midfield which I thought was quite ok.
(what wasn't ok was when I saw a question about christmas movie and the question was "what building?" I said "Die Hard, Nakatomi!" a good 30 minutes before we even got to that question, but hey, it's one of my favourite movies!)
And we didn't even get close to winning! I was afraid that we'd either crush the competition or the questions would be about Hungarian independant movies and we'd end up with 0 points. But we finished in the midfield which I thought was quite ok.
(what wasn't ok was when I saw a question about christmas movie and the question was "what building?" I said "Die Hard, Nakatomi!" a good 30 minutes before we even got to that question, but hey, it's one of my favourite movies!)
This Is Love
Got a new definition of love for you - my girlfriend serving me coffee, gingerbread and a whiskey while I'm having a blast with my friends in the World of Warcraft, even though she hates it when I'm playing... that is love ... Damn I'm a lucky guy!
Good Times!
Got a good feeling this morning as I was walking to work in the snowstorm. Damn I'm lucky right now. I got it all! My family is overall doing great as far as I know, I got a good job and I consider myself a bit overpaid, and I'm still happily and crazy in love with an amazing woman that loves me! Things are great right now!! Sure I could whine about my tinnitus, my 15 kilos overweight and my allergies that are still acting up, but overall, things are really great! Me so happy!!
Back Into The Abyss
Yeap, I'm going back into the deep abyss of Warcraft again! Gonna try to level up asap and then chill as much as I can and my girlfriend will allow. Feels ... pretty good and pretty bad... Good that the expansion is here, always fun with new stuff. Bad that my girlfriend will go around feeling ignored :( Hopefully we'll land somewhere in the middle.
End Of An Era
Last weekend was a bit of a bummer for a nostalgic person like me. I moved in with my girlfriend a few months back but now it was time to clear out my old apartment since it was just draining cash. So after my family helped me load everything into self storage I had some professional cleaners come in and clear it and now the contract has expired so after 9 1/2 years I no longer live there at all.
When I moved in there back in 1999 I was the chief of our little department at Min Dator. Since then I've changed employers a few times, seen the world, lived the bachelors life, did all my WoWing there, my home cinema system and generally had a very good time there. But now I gotta try to have even better times in our apartment in Barkarby which I still think is a bit small, but what tha hell, I get to share it with the woman I love and that is by far the most important thing.
When I moved in there back in 1999 I was the chief of our little department at Min Dator. Since then I've changed employers a few times, seen the world, lived the bachelors life, did all my WoWing there, my home cinema system and generally had a very good time there. But now I gotta try to have even better times in our apartment in Barkarby which I still think is a bit small, but what tha hell, I get to share it with the woman I love and that is by far the most important thing.
The Kickoff That Failed
On thursday, friday and saturday we had something of a kickoff at work. Intended to get all the projects underway, get everyone onboard and motivated to kick ass and have fun at work.
It failed.
I came home with a terrible "I don't really wanna work there anymore" feeling. I've always loved working there for alot of reasons but after all this I don't. I'm hoping that feeling goes away or the people in charge starts taking my complaints and suggestions seriously 'cause I don't wanna go job hunting again.
It failed.
I came home with a terrible "I don't really wanna work there anymore" feeling. I've always loved working there for alot of reasons but after all this I don't. I'm hoping that feeling goes away or the people in charge starts taking my complaints and suggestions seriously 'cause I don't wanna go job hunting again.
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