Category Archives: thoughts

thoughts

Holiday Ends – Stuff n’ Things

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Quick and Easy Back to School Shopping Tips

Here are the most common tips and tricks to make your back to school shopping an on-budget breeze.

1. Remember priorities

It’s easy to get caught up in everything your child could want or need for school. Remember that your priority as a parent is to buy what is on their school list and to send them to school in clothing and shoes that fit, everything else is a bonus.

It is not worth it to go into credit card debt for locker mirrors, the trendiest, brand-name shoes, or school supplies your kids simply don’t need. Before you go out and shop, set a spending goal that will cover the priorities and whatever bonus spending you can afford.

Don’t forget to include sports fees, doctor costs for physicals or immunizations, classroom parties, or any other items associated with school. I fully suggest checking out these cougar paper deals.

2. Compare online

Compare prices online before you leave your house. Wal-mart and Target fight over back to school dollars as well as many office supply stores. If you need pricey items like that scientific calculator, check Ebay, Craigslist, and Amazon too.

3. Print out coupons

If you know you will be going to Old Navy for clothes and Target for pencils, do a quick search online for store coupons. Retailmenot.com is a great place to look for online shopping while Savings.com is good for in-store shopping and sales information.

4. Group shop

All the kids in my neighborhood go to the same elementary. If you know other parents of children in the same grade, perhaps suggest splitting the list and sharing the load.

If might seem too much to comparison shop 40 items for your two children, but if you can get a group together, perhaps each parent can handle finding the best deal on only five items.

5. Keep your receipts

Perhaps you bought the wrong type of school paper, or those shoes start pinching your son’s feet. Make sure you can make an easy, no argument return by keeping your receipts.

6. Consider other stores

The Dollar Store, Dollar Tree, and Five Below might not come to mind when you are thinking of school supplies, but competition in these low-priced stores is fierce. These stores are also typically located next to a Target or Walmart.

Stop in here first and see what they have before going to other locations. If you find something cheaper elsewhere, you will be right next door and will have your receipt.

The Dollar Store and others are also a good place to buy very inexpensive little birthday presents needed for class parties and other invites throughout the year.

7. Stock-up

If you find an amazing deal on something your children need throughout the year, stock-up! Maybe there is a great deal on granola bar packs at the Dollar Store, or watercolors that your daughter loves.

Stock-up for a months worth of snacks or hours of painting time (and an easy birthday party gift) while you are out. Just remember your budget and stock up if only a truly great deal.

alts, screenshots, thoughts

I Was Gonna Delete These Characters, But…

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So the other day I figured I’d do some Spring (uh, Autumn) cleaning and delete a couple of old characters that I haven’t played in years.

Then I made the mistake of logging in on them to see if they had anything cool.

CPDhKGlUAAA2AIm.jpg largeHunters with intellect gear!

CPDhRAKUwAANDItHunters with quivers and arrows!

But what really got me were the pets.  The above troll hunter had a snow leopard from Dun Morogh, so presumably I ran her up through Stranglethorn Vale at level ten all the way up to Ironforge.  I also had a tauren hunter, similarly low-level, with an owl.  From Teldrassil.

Teldrassil!

Now I suddenly find myself loathe to delete these two characters.  I’ll probably never play them again, no.  And yet they remind me of a time long, long ago, when hunters had mana and arrows and when I’d take each one on a weird little journey to find the most unusual pets for them.

Do you have any characters like that, who you don’t want to delete?

thoughts

#wowconfessions

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So this #wowconfessions hashtag was making the rounds on Twitter for a bit this morning.  My two token contributions were:

  • I still get lost in the Exodar and have to hearthstone out

and

  • In all my time spent playing this game, I have only ever leveled two classes to max.  (One druid and three different hunters.)

Honestly I could probably think of more confessions, given a bit of time.  But those were my two big ones.

What are your WoW Confessions?  Confess them to me, my child.  Then go, and sin no more.

lists, thoughts

Four Reasons Why I’m Still Playing WoW

These days it feels kind of… well, not really embarrassing, but weird to admit that I still play it.  It’s like saying “I still write checks” or “I still have a VCR” or something.  Isn’t WoW that game that everyone’s moved on from by now?  Aren’t all the hip and happening gamers playing FFXIV and Dota 2 and Hearthstone and all that other stuff?

And yet eleven years after its release, I’m still here in WoW.  Why?  Well, I imagine everyone has a different answer to this question, but for me, it comes down to four main reasons:

1.) WoW Token

Wow_token01For me, this is definitely the biggie.  If I still had to cash out real money for this game, there’s a good chance I would be either on hiatus right now or heading to hiatus very soon.  But since I can make enough gold to pay for my subscription just by doing garrison stuff every day… why not stay subscribed?

2.) WoW is a Theme Park Game

1f3a0-Theme parkIn a way, WoW reminds me a lot of those games that were big in the late 90s.  Stuff like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie.  The gimmick in those games were that there were a bunch of mini-worlds inside a big overworld, and you could go to whichever mini-world you wanted to go to.

WoW is similar.  It’s been around for so long and there’s so much to do at this point that it just feels like its own mini theme park.  Even if you don’t raid, there’s stuff to do.  It’s a lot of entertainment for free (if you’re using the WoW Token).

3.) I Like the Lore and World

ElfArcherIt’s probably a little silly but it’s actually one of the things that keeps me invested in the game.  If I didn’t find the lore and characters as interesting as I do, I don’t know if I’d still be playing.

And, finally…

4.) It’s Just Comforting

Potato_Soup-iconBecause I know all the little nooks and crannies of this game, I can sit down at the end of a long stressful day and shoot stuff without thinking or worrying.  It’s pretty nice to have a ready-to-play comfort game.

So yeah.  It’s 2015 and I’m still playin’ WoW.  Hey, I’ve also still got a CD player in my car and I still wear a watch.  It’s all good.

thoughts

All Work And No Play Makes Pike a Dull Elf

Aaaaaahhhhhh I’ve been so busy lately.  Day job work!  Freelance writing work!  Work work!

Relevant. And unintentional, actually, but.
Relevant. And unintentional, actually, but.

Finally it’s time for some video games though.  I think I’m going to continue leveling some of my alts in WoW (I’ve got three that I’m cycling through who are in their mid-60s!), try to actually get some FFXIV done, and work on my new seasonal wizard in D3 (because I can’t stop playing wizards now).  There are other games I want to play but they’re not a top priority so we’ll see how things go.

So yeah, them’s my weekend plans!

Sorry there haven’t been any particularly interesting posts here lately.  Just, ya know, busy.

non-wow, thoughts

That Weird Problem When A Game Is Really Fun, But…

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Have you ever had that problem?  Have you ever had a game that you find really fun, but there’s a “but” attached?

That’s kind of where I am right now with FFXIV.  I’m having a lot of fun with it.  But… work is busy, and I’ve been playing other games, and if I had to drop something right now it would probably be FFXIV.  Not because I dislike it.  But because, well, my time is limited.  And right now I’m feeling other games.

So as it stands, I’m not so sure I’ll subscribe once my free month is up.  Granted, I’ve got two weeks left on my free month, and a lot can change between now and then, so nothing is final.  But right now I’m not seeing at as something I’ll play long-term.  Not right now, anyway.

Meanwhile, I’ve been playing absurd amounts of Diablo 3.  Especially wizards.  At some point I’ve gone and gotten myself addicted to wizards.  It’s magic, I ain’t gotta explain nothin’.

lists, thoughts

Five Best Things to Come out of Warlords of Draenor

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I know, I know, this expansion is probably the most controversial one yet.  But there was a lot of stuff I liked about it, at least.  Here’s my list:

1.) Garrisons

I am going to defend these til the day I die.  Fantastic for social anxiety stricken players like myself, and also fantastic for being money printing machines.

2.) Reagent Bank

I love this thing so much.  It was such a little thing but it made a gigantic difference when it came to quality of life and saving bagspace.  Related: reagents stacking to 200, and being able to craft right from the bank.  Gosh this was a great idea.

3.) Heirloom Tab

I remember back in Wrath of the Lich King when starting a character on a new server meant running heroics for days so I could get the badges to buy an all new set of heirloom gear, stick it on a new character, and then pay real money to transfer said character to a new server.  I mean, I guess you didn’t HAVE to do all that, but heirlooms spoiled me quick, and I’m so glad that it’s easier than ever to be spoiled.

4.) Twitter Integration

As anyone who follows me on Twitter can attest, I love sharing screenshots of video games.  Now I can share EVEN MORE screenshots of video games!  Bwahaha!  Anyways this has spoiled me a lot and I now wish that all games came with Twitter integration because it’s just so great.

5.) Timewalking

I’ve talked about this a million times before and I’m talking about it again because I love it.  The great thing about it is that it’s optional and nets you some neato mount rewards but it’s not required for progression, so people who don’t want to do old content don’t have to.  But for nostalgia hounds like me?  Bring on the rose-tinted glasses!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Updated character models, bag improvments (like the sorting button), and an overall improved dailies experience (IMO).

So yeah!  The quality of life changes have been good to us this time around, I feel.

meta-wow, thoughts

So I’m Thinking of a Server Transfer

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I feel awkward saying this because I just wrote a post a few months ago about how much I enjoyed my server.  And you know, I do… or, rather, I did.  But between CRZ and connected realms I find that I don’t enjoy good ol’ VeCo half as much as I used to.  We were always a small server to begin with and I feel like the other ones have kind of muscled in, making it a place that’s hard to recognize these days.

So I’ve been seriously considering a transfer, at least of my current main and maybe a couple of my alts.  Obviously, every server’s community is going to have some issues, but going back to a care bear lifestyle by jumping ship from RP-PvP to RP is a start.  (I will miss the good world RP-PvP times I had but am not gonna miss all the extra camping that came with the influx of players from other servers.)

I already have some ideas on where I’m going but I’ll save the details for now in case I change my mind.  The next step, of course, is figuring out how to transfer my gold over…

thoughts

PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF DEFENSIVE DRIVING TESTS

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PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF DEFENSIVE DRIVING TESTS

Employers are responsible for their employees’ safety and well-being at work, and that includes motor vehicle safety when they are driving company vehicles or on company time. Ensuring that employees learn proper driving safety techniques is advantageous for employers in several ways. Having a good driver safety program can help reduce the risk of injury for employees, avoid potential liabilities associated with crashes and avoid costly medical bills and time lost from injuries. Requiring employees to take and pass a defensive driving test is a crucial part of such a driver safety initiative.

A Substantial Risk

Every 10 seconds, an injury occurs as a result of a motor vehicle crash, and many of these incidents occur during the workday. The average American driver travels over 13,000 miles per year by car and has about a 1 in 15 chance of being in a motor vehicle crash each year. By contrast, a typical fleet driver can travel over 100,000 miles annually, substantially increasing the probability he or she will be in a collision.

The Cost of Accidents to Employers

Employers bear the brunt of the cost of motor vehicle crashes that occur on company time or with a company vehicle. Medical bills and lost time can be extremely costly, not to mention the resulting increased workers’ compensation and auto insurance rates. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), motor vehicle crashes cost employers approximately $60 billion annually in medical care, legal expenses, property damage and lost productivity. In fact, OSHA just recently released new guidelines for employers to help reduce motor vehicle crashes, offering 10 steps to create an effective driver safety program in your workplace. Though the guidelines are not regulatory at this time, they are helpful in ensuring that employers satisfy their legal obligation to provide a safe work environment.

Employers who do not offer any driver safety programs also put themselves at risk for costly litigation, where a plaintiff could potentially claim that the company was negligent by not properly training and educating its employees before allowing them to drive for business purposes or with a company vehicle.-

Defensive Driving

Defensive driving should be a cornerstone of any driver safety program; you cannot control anyone else’s behavior on the road, and neither can your employees while driving. By learning proper defensive driving techniques, your employees will be prepared to handle any situation on the road and to better protect themselves from bad drivers and dangerous situations. Get the best assistance and learning from these Los angeles driving lessons.

Teaching employees defensive driving techniques can go a long way toward improving driver safety and minimizing motor vehicle accidents. Administering a defensive driver’s test can be an effective tool to ensure that none of your employees get behind the wheel on company time without the proper training and understanding of defensive driving.