detlef

I managed to get 6 items out there before they shut that down. I've got bids on two of my items thus far and will clear 200 EP if they stick. Then I'm a shopping fool.

And for the record, I don't wear bowling shirts or trucker hats in the kitchen. that would be someone else... I'm the scary looking dude on the right with the weapon-I mean spoon

I'm on page 3...Come and get it! Of course, in all seriousness. With all the hacks currently up there, there is no reason at all to hit anyone that you even have a chance of losing to.

My mysterious drop put me a few spots behind McNasty, so I was able to hit him before the next rankings pushed me up about 100 spots. FWIW, I didn't beat him as badly as some of the randoms on page 1 and 2 right now.

That's pretty standard. At the restaurant, we always try to stay a day ahead because it is much better after it sits in the freezer overnight.

I really like Ipe. It is also known as brazillian walnut or iron wood. Insanely strong and naturally resistant. Not cheap but not crazy expensive either. Looks great.

How's this for a motley batch of prizes?

Just gotta keep farming that.

I believe the old Mark used to use that one a lot. Remember him? He had a number in his name if I recall.

Rating used to matter more in the old game because the uncommon and rare gear was much better than the common stuff. Now, it is really a very minor difference and, in many cases, there's common versions of the same weapons that are better. For instance. Iron weapons are better than bronze ones, but a tarnished iron sword is only common and bronze version of the same thing in good shape is uncommon. Since your rating is based on how much ultra rare, rare, and uncommon stuff you have, it can be skewed by this. As for the rankings correction, it didn't happen to everyone. Plenty stayed at the top and many moved way up to take the place of those of us who fell. For instance, if you are looking for an easy mark on page one, hit Tinkerbell. I beat her with at least 100 life left every time and she's ranked like 20th right now.

They say you get better loot going after higher ranked players, but I haven't actually seen that to be the case. Your "level" increases faster if you hit higher ranked players but I have no idea what that means. Earlier today, I was actually up to #17 and had the distinction of being having nobody ranked ahead of me with as low or lower rating and having won less than half as many battles as everyone but one (who'd won nearly twice as many). Then all of a sudden the standings were updated and I (along with a bunch of others) inexplicably dropped like 300 spots.

I understand it's too late for H8M8 (well that's a true statement if there ever was one...). Honestly though, it is freaking poison. Regardless of where you fall in the "love the planet" debate, what about "love your freaking backyard"? In my opinion, this stuff is just plain nasty but I suppose you could make an argument for using it under the house, etc. But your freaking deck? I understand that most natural options are rather expensive (but very attractive), there are so many composites available now.

When your mail order bride gets tired of being slapped around and leaves you, will you accuse her of hating men?

OK, topped out again. I hit #26 but it's going to be tough making much more headway. I've managed to get enough quality largeswords and great axes so I can max out everything I have at 100 SP. The only person with as low a rating as me has got twice as many wins and the only person with as few wins as I has a much higher rating. While I realize that rating isn't everything, when you're talking about people with 500+ wins under their belt, there's a good chance that the UCs and Rares they have are not highly polished bronze weapons that are actually less potent than tarnished iron ones. Now that I've maxed out my SP, I get nothing for losing so, should I go on, will have to drop back a bit in rank and hit players I can be assured of beating. Right now, the list of guys on the first page that I pretty much split with are: Darren Stone Olaf Xandar Dellen (though lately he's owned me) Some thoughts: Mastery is basically a waste. I haven't seen anything past UC, but those are +3. I can't imagine taking a skill from 100 to 103 making much of a difference. The more things change, the more they stay the same. They actually were on to something when they added the energy factor so you had to manage your weapons and not just load up on the big boys. Taking that away makes it just like before. I would be very surprised to find many, if anyone on page one who isn't either using magic or swinging big weapons. I know I keep saying this, but I'm amazed I'm still playing this game. It says more about the fact that I am an abject addict for games than it does about the game itself.

It's actually not all that hot for once in along while here in NC. Sunday was amazing and today looks like more of the same. Also, the whole house fan we just installed has been bringing the cool night air into the house so it's not almost 80 inside by 9am.