Taunting Taffy from Nicole Lee on Vimeo.

Nutmeg likes watches from Nicole Lee on Vimeo.

More and more, I turn to NPR’s 7AM ET News Summary podcast. All it takes is 5 minutes of my time, and I’m done. My only complaint is that it tends to be a day behind, but it’s better than nothing. Now, I’m not talking about technology stuff, because for that, I just tend to go back to the feeds. Though, when I’m reading about technology news, I tend to spend a LOT of time on it instead of just a few minutes, so that’s not exactly a great solution either. Then again, I like reading the geek stuff, but I’m weird that way.

So, where do you get your news?

Sigh.

For the rest of my Hawaii pictures, click here.

- Watch a ton of TV shows
- Watch movies
- Read a book
- Play video games
- Maybe writing.

I don’t know what to do with myself, I have so much free time. Yay!

Anyway, this brings me back to the first in my series of dork-tastic WoW topics: The art of PUGging. Now, I come from a pretty small guild. So much so that there aren’t that many of us on at the same time, and even if there are more than five, we don’t have correct class makeup to make for the perfect 5-man (We have a lot of healers and casters, but sorely lacking in melee). So if I want to run a 5-man, for a quest or for reputation, I have to get into Pick Up Groups a lot, by using WoW’s LFG feature. A lot of people dread getting into PUGs, for fear of getting into a really bad one, and getting a generally sucky experience since you have to play with strangers.

This is where I differ from most people. I like PUGs. I welcome the challenge. I welcome meeting new people. I like making contacts with random strangers. I mean, it’s a MMORPG — running into strangers is pretty much par for the course. Sure there are jerks and assholes out there — they’re almost impossible to ignore — but if you stick with it, the good outweighs the bad.

Here’s my basic criteria for a decent PUG:

1) Everyone knows their role. The tank, the healer, the CC/DPS (crowd control/caster class), etc. Nobody is doing something they shouldn’t be doing. For example, a balance druid should not be tanking. The hunter should know how to kite and misdirect. The mage should know to polymorph the appropriate mob, etc. These are basics that everyone should know once they hit level 70.

2) Competency can sometimes override behavior. That means, if the players in the group are competent and skilled, I can pretty much forgive jerk/asshole-y type behavior, within limits. Luckily, I’ve only been in groups where only one or two of the players are jerks, while everyone else just suffers through the experience. Yes, I consider this a decent PUG, because at least you can get the job done. What can I say — I like my dungeon runs to be efficient.

3) Behavior is pretty important too. I am /always/ nice in PUGs, unless someone is being a total jerk that I need to call them out on it. I try hard to be friendly, and communicative. I apologize if I do something bad. I ask before I roll need/greed on something. Again, this is pretty much rudimentary Internet etiquette, but it’s surprising how many people forget these basics when playing.

4) Be willing to learn. I can’t stress how important this one is, especially when learning new dungeons and new fights. When you’re in a PUG with people you don’t know, this is even more important. Be patient with people who don’t know as much, and if you’re the one who doesn’t know anything, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to wipe. Don’t be afraid to die. Yes, it’ll be frustrating, but if everyone in the group is willing to give it a go, it can be quite rewarding. If everyone knows their role (see number 1) and are at least marginally competent (see number 2), then everything will be fine. If everyone is friendly with each other (see number 3), it’s even better.

5) Teamwork. Of course, this is the ultimate test of a decent PUG. Everyone not only knows their role, but also knows how to work together. That means if someone falls behind a little, someone else tries to pick up the slack. If the tank gets overwhelmed, someone else can step in to help heal. If the healer dies, the druid should know to battle rez. Again, these are game socializing basics that everyone should know. Teamwork requires flexibility, communication, competence, and all of the above.

The more I think about it, the more I think Pick-Up Groups, or PUGs, are the ultimate test of socialization in MMORPGs. If all you do is solo and stick with your own guild or group, that’s fine. I don’t blame you — there are PUGs out there that are bad and scary. But every once in awhile, give a PUG a try. You might find that you like it — and you might make new friends in the process.

PS. The reason I started off with the introduction about me being a shadow priest is that it’s harder for me to get into PUGs. Most people want a holy priest instead, or they want a warlock, since warlocks have a lot more crowd control abilities. But this, ironically, has made it possible for me to get into the really good PUGs — I’m guessing the people who welcome shadow priests into the party are a lot more aware of game mechanics and class differences than others. But I’m probably biased that way

Next time, I’ll talk about what to do when you get into a bad PUG. Or when one of the PUG players is a total incompetent jerk. Short answer? Rebel. Long answer? Wait until next time!

You may now go back to your regular non-WoW life.

I know it’s not a good alternative for everyone, but if you can, it’s a good thing. And even if you need to buy something, maybe try taking the bus instead Also, even if you’re not a fan of the concept, you have to admit that the fact MTV has again and again refused to run a Buy Nothing Day commercial for the past few years is pretty odd.

Anyways, happy buy nothing day! I’ll be staying home stuffing myself with turkey leftovers.

Happy turkey day (or tofurkey day)! Gobble gobble.

1) So, you know how they have vegetarian food shaped like meat, or flavored like meat? Like tofurkey or those fake hot dog things? Well, we had this conversation the other day (totally not my idea, I think it was Mrs. Monteiro’s idea) that we should have meat shaped like vegetables. Like, chicken shaped into celery. Or meatloaf shaped into carrot sticks. It would be totally weird and gross. And awesome.

2) Facebook’s latest Beacon advertising deal has a ridiculous opt-in by default scheme that isn’t only “invasion of privacy” it’s just plain dumb. I would totally quit Facebook at the drop of the hat (I mean, it really hasn’t done a lot for me), but so many of my friends are organizing events through Facebook now that I have to stick with it. Luckily, Nate Weiner from the Idea Shower has come up with a handy way for Firefox users to block the nasty little Facebook Beacon things.

3) Please listen to the 9th episode of Dialed In. Just because.

4) Oh, for Christmas this year? I would appreciate a three-pack of Bacon Salt. Kthx.

5) Also, I’m seriously scratching my head at the moment as to how I’m supposed to get gifts for people without spending money. Which probably isn’t possible. I wonder if I can get away with just sending hand-written letters to everyone. Hey, that’s an idea…

It’ll be tough to blog here tomorrow, but I’ll try. Happy Turkey day, in the meantime!

I’m kind of a realist. Sorry.

That’s all I wanted to say.