[1.Local]: From Esperanto into Farsi and back again
by Lisa Poisso 
Apr 11th 2009 at 12:00PM
Reader comments – ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.
Until next week!
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Observations from running a Naxx-25 PuG "Our readers are a bunch of smartasses, but oh, how I love them," cried Allison Robert after receiving this e-mail (no, technically not a [1.Local] reader comment) addressing point #2 of her "Observations from running a Naxx-25 PuG": 2. Trying to explain Heigan to new raiders apparently sounds like you're reciting The Decameron as translated from Esperanto into Farsi and back again. "So why wouldn't one just use the normal 1995 translation of the Decameron from Italian to Esperanto, instead of stupidly going through Farsi?!" wrote mankso. "Giovanni Boccaccio: Dekamerono, unuaj tri tagoj. El la itala tradukis Giulio Cappa, Perla Martinelli kaj Gaston Waringhien. Eld. Kooperativo de Literatura Foiro, Prilly, 1995. 320 pagoj kudre binditaj. ISBN 3-906595-10-2. Prezo ce FEL: 1380 BEF "Little wonder you couldn't explain Heigan! ;-)" Nerd. |
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PETA really to protest seal slaughter PETA = controversy ... There, we said it for you. But when it comes to PETA + WoW, only Triforceelf can tell it like it is. The following is what happens when Oximusprime stays home sick with a fever and is given access to the internet. Northrend, Star Date 4 8 15 16 23 42 PETA to attack the Horde PETA is well known for its animal activism and is taking its campaign to Azeroth. After Warchief Thrall and Supreme Northrend Commander Grommash Hellscream refused to take away the vital commerce that the hunting and skinning of Nothrend animals brings to the Horde and its allies, the Tuskar and Taunka, PETA has decided to declare open war on the Horde using its Alliance fringe elements. They will be attacking any Horde trying to eke out a living from the needed meat and fur of the seals, despite protests from Horde leadership. Chieftain Ashtotem of the Howling Fjord Taunka has been quoted as saying, "The seal population provides a needed source of food for the Taunka people, as well as their skins (providing clothing, shelter and armor for defense against the elements and scourge), as well as trade materials for much-needed weapons. We are puzzled by PETA's action in this matter." Chief Ashtotem has gone on to state that the Taunka have always "strived to find balance in their hunts" and are willing to negotiate with PETA to prevent permanent damage to the seal population. Elder Atuik has also gone on the record supporting Chief Ashtotem, stating that, "Both the Kalu'ak and the Bulls-that-hunt-the-land-and-sea seek only to have harmonious balance with the elements. We also work hard with the green-skins-who-yell-loudly and the pale-skins-who-stick-their-noses-in-other-peoples'-business to ensure that no lasting harm will come to the great creatures of our lands. We would welcome the people of PETA to our councils, if only they would listen to reason." However, Arch Druid Lathorius of D.E.H.T.A. has responded to these claims, stating that "The slaughter of these innocent animals is our most pressing concern. The Horde and its allies should be careful lest they follow in the path of the Great Desecrator, Hemet Nesingwary." King Varian Wrynn could not be reached for comment; however, his chin has released a statement that "The peoples of Azeroth should be banding together to fight off greater threats such as the Blue Dragonflight and the armies of the Lich King, not worrying about sea -- Wait, you said it involved killing Horde? Of course, this atrocious action must be stopped! To arms, brothers! SLAY THEM ALL! FOR THE SEALS!" Thrall, Warchief of the Horde, was also preoccupied. However, his right-hand Troll Vol'jin, when asked, responded, "I think I smoked a babeh seal once, mon." Commander Hellscream, when asked about the seals, threw an angst-filled fit of rage about the state of the Horde and the weaklings surrounding him. He was then put to bed by High Overlord Saurfang, who stated that it was far past Grommash's bedtime, where Hellscream was seen holding a small doll and crying about the "Greatmother dying." High Overlord Saurfang commented that "The Horde reserves the right to cleave anything it wishes" and that "The only reason baby seals still exist is that I haven't cleaved them yet." When asked about their thoughts on this matter, baby seals were very cute and cuddly, until they were eaten by an orca along with the PETA members at the protest. The PETA members were observed desperately trying to kill off the orca population, citing that they were "not cute enough to live." Next week: the DVD version. |
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A guide to shutting out the World of Warcraft In a MMO as immense as WoW, you're bound to find players at all points along the playstyle spectrum. Thousands play WoW quite contentedly in a solitary fashion, while others insist that WoW is and will always be a social game. Reader rrrarr proposed this idea for fellow reader Heidi, who wrote in asking for tips on how to shut out unwelcome distractions. "I think Heidi's main problem is the social interaction she has found is undesirable," he observed. "Most will agree that Trade is annoying, and while PvP on PvP servers can be a lot of fun for some people, it's not for everyone. I'm going under the assumption that it isn't so much she would not like to interact with people in the game as much as she would like to no longer interact with most of the people she's encountered so far... I think we all have come across players we'd rather never see again. "But fortunately, the assumption that all players are the obnoxious 12-year-old or the PVP griefer is incorrect. There are many players who are mature, understanding and have many of the same goals you have in the game. The trick is finding them. "I was fortunate enough to find a guild which is primarily a social guild and approaches instancing and raiding in a very low-pressure way. Most members are adults with families, and we all realize the things that take place in the real world need to come first. Finding this group of people has made my experience in the game infinitely more enjoyable. ... The biggest roadblock for a lot of people is initial shyness." Wisdom, indeed. |
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Blizzard did the wrong thing with Ulduar-10 emblems Should 10-man raids be easier than 25-man raids? Should the two raid sizes reward different levels of gear? Strong feelings abound on both sides of the fence. Teni injected poignant perspective. "Eliah -- In complete agreement with you here," Teni wrote. "I know I can raid 25-mans (and raided MC in the old days as well as BC raids... walking there in the snow, of course ;-) ). Most of my raids are in the 10-man configuration, and it's frustrating. They introduce this great 10-man configuration, then treat us like red-headed stepchildren. "You know what this is? Hand-me-downs. So according to Blizz, the 10-man raids are like the kid brothers who don't deserve their own attention; they just get old hand-me-downs. Bleaugh." Do you feel let down by "leftover" 10-man loot? |
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The math behind random drops and rolls Ahh, nothing like a little math to spice up a good thread. This week's challenge: probability and "random rolls." "Mike doesn't understand the Central Limit Theorem, I see," wrote Idran. "While the flat chance for any given run is unaffected by previous runs, it is still possible to figure out the expected number of runs before an item drops through both simulations and calculations. In fact, you don't even need a simulation to get it unless you're also factoring in the chance that you give up before reaching a given boss or something. "If you're just going straight by the drop rate of the item from the boss, the EV for how many trials you need for an event X to occur is just 1/(P(X)) where P(X) is the probability of X. For example, for an item with a drop rate of 2%, or 0.02, the EV for number of boss deaths before the item drops is 1/(0.02), or 50. While this doesn't mean that you'll definitely get one after 50 runs, it does mean that if you ran it enough, you would average it dropping once every 50. "You can also calculate the variance on the set to figure out the percentages associated with various margins of error, or use basic binomial probabilities to calculate the exact chance of getting one or more drops in N number of runs, both of which people do in WoW all the time already. "What Mike's doing is the inverse of the Gambler's Fallacy, assuming that before you do any events at all that the chance of success for multiple runs is equal to the chance of success on a single run. While the odds for the next 25 are exactly the same regardless of how the last 25 went, speaking in this manner is essentially considering the odds of the 50 as a whole as a single event, and so it's misleading to reframe the question halfway through its conclusion." Readers gave it up for Idran's insight. doomkin: "Idran, you have my sword." smiley: "and my bow" Avrus: "And my dagger!" rosencratz: "... and my axe! *beard stroke*" ... Why do we writers always get stuck with the healing mace? |
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
drahliana Apr 11th 2009 12:44PM
This last line got me:
... Why do we writers always get stuck with the healing mace?
Does anyone remember a Forgotten Realms magic item called the Mace of Odo. The thing about it is that you could heal wounds to a creature by touching the mace to it. The bad part is that by "touching" it was required that you actually had to swing the mace full force, no pulling back allowed! So the ending results would depend on you rolling better on the healing dice than you did on the damage. Or give it to the Str 8 mage to use. :)
Angus Apr 11th 2009 1:43PM
I'm glad this was reposted. The peta post had me in tears.
Maîhden Apr 11th 2009 2:26PM
Cool article, verry intresting :-)!
Aubrecia Apr 11th 2009 6:37PM
Fantastic comment on the PETA stupidity, I was laughing the whole way through.