5.20.2010

Star Trek - Retirement

Well, it's been a while since I talked about... well, anything on my blog, but specifically about Star Trek Online.


Since my last STO blog post, a lot has happened. I went on a bunch of missions, fought in a lot of battles against Klingons, Gorn and Orions, and learned a lot more about how the game works and plays. I started to realize that the missions began to feel somewhat repetitive. They'd probably be more fun with other players, but I've been flying solo since @Olaf330 retired citing the same reasons, repetition.

Now this isn't really a bash on the game. It's well thought out and well done, looks beautiful. But the problem is it's new. It's not polished, and there's room for a lot of additions, a lot of new missions, and overall bugfixes/improvements. It almost feels like a beta. I've played many games still in beta over the years, and STO feels unfinished, so I have also retired. But definitely not permanently. My character and status are all safe on Activision/Cryptic Studios or whoever owns the servers. I definitely plan on returning to this game, it's a dream for Star Trek fans, but I'd like to play a more finished version.

I accomplished a major milestone before retiring though, pretty cool. My final battle to reach my new status was long and difficult, and unfortunately cost me my ship. If you don't remember my last post, my ship is pictured above, the U.S.S Solitude. It looks a bit different now:


I was in a battle against a Klingon Negh'Var class flagship and several Klingon Birds of Prey inside of a nebula. If you don't know this nerd talk, a Negh'Var is the most powerful ship the Klingons have. WAY more than a match for poor Solitude. I had to survive for two minutes until a Starfleet Task force could reach me to assist. In the end I survived, but my ship had to limp back home and was in no condition to go on.

Upon my return to Earth Starbase, I was summoned to the Admiral's office. He congratulated me for exposing the Klingon task force hiding in the nebula and was honored to promote me to Lieutenant Commander. YEAHHHHHHH! I OWN! My first new orders were to report to spacedock for new crew and new assignment. WOO! I get a crew to order around! and spacedock? What could possibly be there waiting for me?  I hopped in a shuttle to find out.


What's this? A ship... looks Constitution class. Hmmm, let's check this out...


Definitely a sleek looking Federation Starship, but what does it have to do with me?


AWW YEAHHHH it's just like the end of Star Trek IV where it's the -A version of the... AWWWW MANNNNN!


So yeah, I got a new starship.  The U.S.S. Solitude-A.  It's so bad ass.  Look at how cool I look in the big chair.  Lieutenant Commander BITCHES!


This new bridge is so roomy, lots of room for iPod parties. Let's take this bad boy out for a spin...  ENGAGE!


Wow, I am the coolest guy and this is the coolest ship in the goddamn galaxy.


Oh yeah, and my all girl bridge crew is totally sweet, here's my Vulcan first officer T'Mimo telling me something totally important, but I'm way too busy with my Ryan Seacrest haircut and this Tribble, yo.

Ahem, perhaps I've gotten a little buried in my role.  Anyways, I left the game shortly after, but as you can see, I had a lot of fun.  I'll be back when the game's a little more polished and there's more to do. I'll also have more silly pictures of my exploits to share.  See you... (Shatner pause) out there!


5.05.2010

Geese are dicks

Just returned from another bike ride. I decided to tackle the next section of the trail down Cemetery Rd. here in Channahon. I'd been anxious to try out the bike ever since @olaf330 gave the crappy old thing a new lease on life with his bike repair skills. He wasn't around, so I went alone, which may have turned out to be a mistake.

Things were going great until I ran into a family of geese, complete with goslings... Awww, how cute. I decided I'd take a picture to show the wife. I stopped the bike and readied the iPhone camera. What I didn't realize is that geese are very protective of their young. And by protective, I mean total dicks. They started hissing at me, and raising their wings. I quickly snapped the pic and decided it was time to get my black ass outta there.

Within seconds of snapping the photo above, the goose was airborne and heading toward me. I turned and pedaled, for some reason believing I could outrun a large bird in mid-flight. He passed right overhead, forcing me to duck on my bike, and with the skill of a surgeon, or possibly a ninja, he placed himself directly above and slapped the bejesus out me with his giant wing. It's a sting that lingers even now. I finally escaped the shocking and grizzly attack with only minor injuries.

So what's the lesson here? Well if you see a family of geese in the wild, my advice is to leave them be...

Or they'll murder you.

I&M Trail Channahon: Cemetery Rd. to Gun Club Rd.