W.O.W.I.A.C.

Can Haz Resume

2009-07-17T10:20:00.005-06:00

Big Bear Butt, over at Big Bear Butt has a few things to say about resumes because he's in the unfortunate position of having to hire someone. I'm not going to say that his post is wrong, but I do disagree strongly on a couple of points.

BBB sez:
"But I have a responsibility to hire someone that has the skills we need, someone that will stay here, dedicated, committed to making this company a long term place to continue your career."

Are you serious? Anyone telling you this is either lying or naive. If I tell you this, you should read it as: "Hi, I'll stay here as long as you, the employer, pay and treat me in a competitive manner to my other options." Companies will drop you at the slightest whim. Anyone not willing to drop a company at the slightest whim is to be treasured, but will probably be first in the line for layoffs. Loyalty to a company is so 20th century and VERY misguided.

BBB sez:
"What I don’t need, is for you to tell me, in your resume, about your personal interests. I most particularly do not need to know you enjoy four wheeling in the mud during Autumn, hunting with rifle and bow, and that you love taking a 6 point buck in deer season and dressing it out with your son. I’m glad you are a family man, but why exactly should I be giving a shit about that?"

You should care because you get an idea of what that person will be talking about during work, whether just during breaks or all day long. But it's primary purpose is to weed you out of the pool of potential supervisors and to grab the attention of the supervisor who does love the same things.

My resume does the following things, in order of importance:

1) Weeds out companies/departments/supervisors I DO NOT want to work for.
2) Has a few personal tidbits that tell certain people that I will probably get along well with them.
3) Showcases the things I do well
4) Ignores the things I don't do well
5) Still manages to get past the "HR professionals" who know nothing about the job or environment but somehow get paid to screen the jobs

Once they know you can do the job, everything else is personal. While a few misguided people may pick "the most qualified" the reality is that they will pick the one they like the most or the one who has the most similar interests, as long as they figure you can do the job.

And FYI, I am very well employed by one of the largest employers in the state. I work mostly with people I like, and am very well paid, despite having an average employment per job of about 3 years and I changed job fields two jobs ago.

My comments above apply to all resumes, whether it's for a job, or a guild, or a club, or where ever you are applying for membership.

Long Absence

2009-06-29T15:20:00.004-06:00

Ok, I started this thing, and I had every intention of keeping it up and running, then I became a father in real life and all my spare time left. Now that things have settled down a bit, I figure I will come in here and post a bit now and again.

The Blood Money project is dead. It never went any further, but the DK project is probably still going to happen sooner or later. I'm now playing a Dwarf DK, and oddly, much as I think Gnomes rule for DKs, I'm really liking the Dwarf. I'm also playing a Forsaken DK on the Horde side, but he's more of just a gatherer than a real alt.

I've pretty much stopped playing on PVP servers, though I'm possibly just following my own leveling guide. That said, having played mostly on Normal servers in my limited spare time over the last four months (before that I played almost exclusively on PVP servers), I see nothing gained by actually playing on a PVP server. There really is no upside to them, there is no World PVP on a PVP server, just ganking, which isn't PVP, it's just rude.

Which brings me to an odd observation... I play both Horde and Alliance and on a Normal server I get to do that without having two accounts. I think both are tremedous fun, so what is with all the hate some players have for one side or the other? Probably because they were ganked to death on a PVP server. Yeah, lots of fun there, let's spread more hate and discontent in the world.

Anyway, more to come later, just wanted to note that I might actually post more here.

-IA IA Gnarly Hotep

New Recruit

2009-02-09T09:13:00.005-07:00

I'm here to report that I have successfully recruited a new agent and managed to insert him into Azeroth. The fact that we are related is completely irrelevant. He was, if anything, harder to convince than a stranger. He's known me all his life and was on to most of my tricks. I even showed him the game the last time he was here.

Then, out of the blue, it all came to fruition, he called me up and he was sold. So I set him up for a quick promotion (Recruit-A-Friend) and we started on a newish server, using my guide. We chose Grizzly Hills, because it was new and has tons of new players like him on it. It meant I was stuck without higher support, but once transfers and/or DKs open I figure I will remedy it.

The real hassle is that his pretty much completely ruined my plans for the DK instance guide and the Blood Money project, so those are on hold for a bit. I might just restart the Blood Money project on Grizzly Hills. It also explains to the three people reading this why I haven't posted in a week.

This also prompted me to actually delete a ton of my Alts on other servers and recreate them on the new server. So pretty much, any toon that was lower than level 40 got the axe, plus a few Death Knights. I have tons of alternate identities and it was time to purge them, yeah, purge I said. The highest non-DK toon I deleted was a level 35 Dwarf Paladin with maxxed out enchanting and I deleted a level 60 DK on that server as well. Crazy... Yeah, but when I was done, I was left with one toon on that server that I will actually pay to transfer off. See, I have two accounts (and this will actually be my second RAF, my Night Elf Druid loves his Zhevra) and after I transfer off that last toon, I can create a horde DK on that PVP Server, giving me one account as Horde and on account as Alliance on that PVP server. I'll explain the benefits of that in a later post.

So anyway, I'll be leveling fast and furious, and I will try and keep some updates going for those curious about the process.

-IA IA Yog Thulhu

Druids Attempt to Control Nature

2009-02-02T15:16:00.003-07:00

And fail.

This is because Druids are Nature, not the fluffy bunny pacifists to all the cuddly furry creatures that some seem to think they are.

Druids are the enforcers of order in Nature. They aren't going to save the bunny from the panther, but they are going to bust a staff off in the ass of either if they get too far out of line with each other. Too many bunnies turns into too many panthers, which turns in turn will tend to turn into too few bunnies, leaving too many panthers, so Nature calls in a favor and the Druids are who she calls. See, it's better for a panther to die healthy than to get all sickly and spread corruption through the panther population.

So the next time you think it's odd that some druid is paying you whack some critter, just be glad you don't have to be the one to contract out a hit on your best friends. Cause Druids, they love them critters enough to have em killed when they need it.

And yes, Hemet, is one of us. The DEHTA you say? They are just the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Don't believe me? Then why doesn't doing work for Hemet drop your Rep with the Cenarion factions?

-IA IA Yog Thulhu

How to Level on a PVP Server

2009-01-29T14:02:00.004-07:00

This is a very serious topic, or so says the Man In Black telling me to write this at gunpoint.

Leveling on a PVP server can be a pain, if you aren't a Paladin, Rogue, or Druid, it can be even more painful. So to help you out I figured I would share the secret of how to level alts on PVP servers.

Step 1:
Pick a Class.

Step 2:
Pick a Race.

Step 3 (Optional):
Find the datacenter nearest to you, or with the best connectivity.

Step 4:
Pick a PVE server and make a character of your chosen Class and Race.

Step 5 (Optional):
Use a free leveling guide, such as WoW-Pro, Carbonite Quest, and/or Tourguide (Which works fine with the other two).

Step 6:
When you reach your desired level, pay $25 to transfer your character to the PvP server you want to play on. If you don't have $25 then go mow lawns or shovel driveways until you have it, I'm sure you will need some sunshine after your 6-10 days locked in the basement leveling.

Step 6 (Optional):
Laugh as you gank all the lowbies who didn't follow this advice.

Really, that's the easiest way to do it.

IA IA Yog Thulu*

*If you think you can actually pronounce this, you are doing it wrong.

It's Discordian, Not Random I Assure You

2009-01-29T08:56:00.003-07:00

New Project:

The Secret Master's have determined that I have to write a Death Knight instancing guide for new DKs who want to run friends through instances. Kind of a niche thing, but the Secret Master's are not to be trifled with, so I'm working on it, but I have to actually test it. That means it will probably show up next week. I have about 10 DKs on various servers, so it shouldn't take too long.

The Blood Money project:

I made two levels last night, getting to 14, but ran out of money for training before I was able to find the gnome or goblin responsible. I was able to make it up in short order, and actually have a surplus now by just doing more quests, but it surprised me a little that I actually ran out since I am not buying anything except the occasional arrow or a little thread for leatherworking. That said, you REALLY want to use the Auction House when leveling a character to sell stuff (just don't buy stuff unless it's both really cheap and really good). I decided to do it on Borean Tundra because the economy there would be brand new and thus completely broken (and give me an idea of exactly how a new economy ramps up)

I'll be keeping track of how well my Auction House mule does as well. So far nothing has sold, but thanks to signing a guild charter he has a little gold. When I go to a new server, answering guild charter signing ads is one way to get a quick start, but it's like writing: Do it in private, and wash your hands afterward. (Thank you Mr. Heinlein)

IA IA Yog Thulu

Blood Money

2009-01-27T15:10:00.005-07:00

Is it the Goblins or the Gnomes who really control the economy in Azeroth? And can an intrepid Blood Elf break this conspiracy of spending that so plagues the poor levelers to poverty and ruin?

To investigate, I made a new Blood Elf Hunter on Borean Tundra. I apologize to the rest of the Horde, but it's a girl, so at least you can treat your eyes.

I'm not going to buy ANYTHING from the Auction House for this toon until she hits the level cap. This is so I can get an idea of how much money can be saved through the leveling process, I'd be fun to do it naked (and even easier on the eyes), like that troll, but that's a different test, and it's been done.

She will only be outfitted with what can be self-gathered, self-crafted, and/or self-quested. I am taking Skinning and Leatherworking, so it will help, but NO purchases from the Auction House, only items sold by a vendor. I am going to PvP some, but that shouldn't directly impact the test since I don't intend to PvP enough to gather full sets of gear.

I am pairing her with a bank mule co-conspirator and I will be selling stuff on the Auction House that drops, but I'm only going to send the vendor amount back to her from the bank alt. Sorry, not going to gimp myself should some crazy blue drop make her rich, but I will delay the gratification until level cap.

So far she is level 12 and wearing a mix of grey and white items with one green, the Farstrider's Bow, which is a reward from the pet taming quests.

And to those who complain that a hunter is ez-mode for this test? I'm trying to determine how much can be made or saved, not how long I can take to do it. Each class should do approximately the same number of quests over the trip to level cap and/or kill an approximately similar number of mobs. Any deviations from this will be noted.

IA IA Yog Thulu

Welcome

2009-01-27T12:39:00.001-07:00

W.O.W.I.A.C.

Which stands for:

WFNORDorld OFNORDf WFNORDarcraft IFNORDs AFNORD CFNORDonspiracy (to keep me under the control of Blizzard). That's right, Blizzard are the Secret Masters. You read it here.

Which means:

I am a slave to WoW and so are you, even if you think you are free, especially if you think you are free.

Why you read this blog:

Statistically speaking, you aren't and you won't, unless by some freakish miracle that infra (or was it ultra)-dimensional beast I sent to corrupt you finally managed to stop leaking ichor on the rug and do something useful. That said, there is the very minuscule possibility it will be updated and contain something amusing and/or informative. But really, is that ever going to happen.

What is the focus of this blog:

This blog is focused on the fact that it has no focus and will/won't succeed despite/because (of) that fact. I assure you the whole secret conspiracy thing is a myth and that there is no conspiracy, secret or otherwise. IA IA Yog Thulu

Who am I?

I go by lots of names, for I am an Altaholic. I'm not a raider and I'm not a PvPer, but I play one occasionally. I will tend avoid the world you call "real" here and focus on the one true world, Azeroth and Outland. Yes, that includes Northrend. I have also spent much time in other worlds as an RPGer and Wargamer. I'm an EASK. I am married. I am nearly procreated. I am really really really old to most gamers, which means I am at least 21 years of age. Despite all the annoying/stupid/illuminating/funny typing here I am probably not pretentious and you can mock me at your leisure. Speaking of mocking me, I am also in Dagorhir, which means I dress up like someone from a bad fantasy movie and beat up people with padded sticks while not talking in a funny accent. And I assure you this is a very good thing.

I play (in reverse alphabetical order):

Undead Rogues and Mages
Orc Hunters and Death Knights
Night Elf Druids
Human Paladins
Gnome Warriors, Mages and Death Knights
Dwarf Hunters
Blood Elf Paladins and Hunters
I will add and subtract from this list as time goes on.

Toons I have deleted but will endlessly remake and delete in some sick and twisted parody of reincarnation (in Discordian order):

Trolls
Shamans
Gnome Rogues
Warlocks
Priests

And my Word of the Day(Week?/Month?/Year?):

";ostemomg"
-with thanks to the guy who sent me this who shall go unnamed but it was really funny and cool.

Disclaimer:
All contradictions here are mine and honestly held to be true of fault.