The first volume collection of Twitter Hats is now available as a spiffy Wallpaper for your computer desktop! I can think of no better way to celebrate the power of the Eve Community than sporting the Eve Community in your face every day!!
Either click on the image or the link to find various sizes to download on Flickr.
I think this piece has already started to become particularly significant since several of those pictured are no longer with us. I'm sure as time marches on that will become even more apparent. In a way, the Twitter Hats have become a semi-memorial, or a moment in time at least, to the diversity, strength and friendly power of our odd little group.
I started doing Twitter avatar hats on June 9th and over 150 hats have already been provided, some multiple times! (by trick, or by choice!) For those of you that remain un-hatted, do not despair, the plan is to continue putting hats on avatars for as long as you want them. And the wallpaper will only continue to grow with each new addition. Volume II should sport nearly 300 hats I think.
When I look at the collection I see a story in every single hat and I know there is a person behind each one. For those hats that no longer have a person behind them, there is sadness, but also joy at the time we did share. And if the silly hats have one purpose, it is in sharing something together. Even if only for a moment.
I consider you all my friends. Hats off to each of you.
My heart goes out to all those affected by the recent news from CCP. My sincere and heartfelt wish is for each of you to find your destiny, your path, your life, free from worry and fulfilled to the utmost.
Sadly I share your dark day as I had to lay-off some of my own friends and employees today as well. It doesn't get any easier with time, looking into their eyes and delivering the bad news. I learned long ago that there is no easy way, no softer way, to couch the words that have to be said. I only hope they can find what they need and in a timely manner.
Difficult times. Nothing good can be said. One only hopes that good can come of it somehow.
Keep the courage.
Over a month ago I wrote a series about the CSM and CCP, mostly focused on why the actions of both over the Summer were ultimately bad for EVE itself. The series gained a lot of exposure, traffic and generated other blog posts blah blah yadda yadda. The point being, specifically when it came to CCP, I was correct.
Today's news that CCP is reducing or moving 20% of its staff and "that we are attempting too many things for a company our size." is confirmation of my basic premise - that CCP was overextended and this is bad for EVE.
At the time several sources within CCP as much as admitted that I had hit the nail on the head. Or at least had come closer than I might had thought, since I had NO inside information to base my conclusions on. The subsequent letter from CEO Hilmar started the ball rolling ( I would suggest that letter was an excellent "monkey" btw, well done. ) and recent changes have put CCP back on track once more.
Sadly, for me, I hate being right in this case. Mostly that has to do with the potential layoffs that will result. So for everyone that is impacted by today's news, my sincere and heartfelt condolences. I hope for you and your family's sake that you find employment again quickly.
The other side of me is glad that CCP listened and is making the necessary changes to address their issues now, rather than later. This is a good sign. And as hard as it is on those affected, it means good things for the future.
I'm not suggesting that my series had anything to do with the change in direction at CCP, so don't put words in my mouth. I do know that series was read by at least 45,000 people, give or take a dozen or so. So someone read it. And maybe it had some small part to play.
Either way. Onward and upward.
Sure looks like the Tornado might be coming to life someday soon. New Minnie BS, T3 Battleship or whatever, new ships are always exciting news around the Eve community. It has been awhile since we've had a new PvP ship to get excited about, so this is welcome news. Personally I hope the Tornado is simply a new addition to the Minnie fleet and not a new ship category yet. I think each race could use a new BS to compliment the armada (especially the poor Caldari) before we move on to some new ship category.
But the details remain to be seen, so we'll wait on that news.
In other news ship spinning has returned.
Honestly, and I know I've said this before, I really didn't miss it. But I'm glad it's back. That door was getting annoying, so much so that I generally refused to look at it and kept undocking to find good fights!
And now we get news that the Planetary Customs Offices are going to be player controlled and owned. And while I don't participate in PI this seems like a huge shift in structure control within the universe of New Eden. Certainly this raises the bar somewhat on player versus player conflict, but just how much remains to be seen. I suppose there might be areas within New Eden where more PI happens than I am aware of, and perhaps those places might be hotter than others?
All in all I am in support of anything that puts more of the game in control of the players. Generally speaking that is always a good start. The rest can be dealt with down the road, with balancing, market controls, etc. So we'll have to wait and see what real impact this huge change has in actual game play.
For me it potentially removes an easy warp to destination, if no one puts up a CO around a planet, since right now they virtually all have one. But other than that, I can't see it impacting my game play significantly.
More importantly it feels like CCP has finally started to gain the upper hand again on the news front, and that is good news for everyone. Whatever you think about "ship spinning" personally, they listened to the players and brought it back. And now, with more changes, news, upgrades, ships and balancing in our future, it really feels like Eve is getting back its mojo once more.
If this is the start of the promise of changes at CCP, of the words in Hilmar's letter to the players, then it is a good start. And an exciting time once more in New Eden.
My Father started taking me hunting with him when I was five years old. Cray old coot. I have four boys myself now and I can't imagine taking any of them into the woods with me when they were five. But he did.
We weren't crazy obsessed hunters. We were casual, have-fun, serious, respect nature hunters who often went with our cousins and Uncles - who were crazy obsessed hunters.
It was miserable. Cold. Wet. Tiring. And incredible. My Father and I spent some great times together in those trips, hours and hours and hours of saying nothing, sitting in wet grass, peeing on trees, eating ham and potato soup, and watching my cousins drink beer. And then go back out into the woods with weapons. An attitude, with them and in the general population, that would eventually destroy the fun for us. We were shot at a few times by drunken hunters and once, I was actually shot by a hunter. (I wasn't seriously injured, it was rabbit shot and went thru a pretty thick thicket and I happened to be seriously bundled against the cold.)
I think of those days when I think of low sec and the Pirate life I've chosen. Because they share many of the same aspects. Eve is a hard universe and within that universe there is no harder life than that of a pirate. ( Don't even try to argue that point. Total respect to those that live in Wormholes, which is close, but the isk tips the scale.) I'm not complaining, in fact I suspect most pirates revel in it. Much as we did at 3 am in the morning when it was below zero and my snoot froze in my nose.
There are much easier ways to make a living and certainly many easier ways to participate in PvP within Eve. But the hardship isn't the story. The sec status, lack of isk making, general contempt of the lifestyle, the tears, the ransoms, the skull-duggery, those are not the story. Just like in those hunting days, the killing of an animal ( which you will be happy to know, my Father and I sucked at that part.) isn't the story. The true story is the time spent together, the bonding, the camaraderie, and most importantly the HUNT.
The hunt. The hunt is what is missing from the gate campers, the station campers, the snipers, the bubble waiters, and all the other forms of lazy combat that Eve seems to promote. Oh sure, there are times when we all have to do it, or when we have no other choice. I relate it to one crazy Uncle of mine, who never went with us on our trips because he would drive into the woods and shine a very bright light into a Deer's face. He had one of those large lights on the side of his truck, you've seen them. That is lazy hunting. And it ain't hunting at all.
My favorite times in Eve have been on the hunt. Alone or with my friends. Ultimately it is the search for those moments that drives me to log in, to put up with the hardships of Pirating, the problems with logistics, the sec status, the lack of isk making, the whining about low sec, it is the possibility of the hunt. Superior skill against a worthy opponent. Beating a human being on the other side of the virtual divide. It isn't about conquering a computer, or an AI string of code, but about the most dangerous prey in the world, another person.
The hunt is what brings me back to Eve. It isn't easy. It may even be dying out, but it is still out there, waiting, haunting, mocking, and despite the challenges, the blobs, the camps and the lag, I'll keep looking for it.
Cause I am the hunter.
CrazyKinux, or SocialDave as he is known today, sent me this picture of this desktop today. I asked him if he minded me sharing it with all of you and he said no problem. He's awesome like that.
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| Click to embiggen! |
You can find all of my Eve Wallpapers on Flickr. Enjoy! And send me pictures, I enjoying seeing other people enjoying my work.
And ship spinning returns on Tuesday.
All I know, is that to me, you look like your lots of fun.Open up your lovin' arms, watch out here I come.
I am both incredibly glad that ship spinning is returning and incredibly BLAH about ship spinning returning. Goodness knows I am no fan of staring at that damn door all the time, which is why I typically avoid it and undock! Which is also, part and parcel, why ship spinning tends to not excite me. Because I am usually UNDOCKED.
This won't change. Now I know there are those that were hurt by CCP's removal of your favorite pastime, the afore mentioned ship spinning, ( and they were kinda poo poo heads for doing it in the first place ) but Eve is a game that takes place in space. Or is it? Gosh, at this point I admit to being more than a little confused about all that. So let's table that discussion for a later date.
Confusion though, that is kind of rampant. It makes it more difficult to write posts about things when they change so rapidly under your feet. And now I feel a little dizzy. Plus I've given myself a horrible '80's song that is running around and around in my head now.
Ship spinning is back. I'm happy about that despite my upper caps above. A lot of my time is spent in station too, just like the rest of you. I do like to undock, but even I can't avoid the down time and the bio breaks. Weeee, look at me manipulate this 3d model in real time! Truly, it is endlessly fascinating.
Now I'm off to open iTunes and rescue my brain. Maybe some Mumford & Sons, oh no Dropkick Murphys!
EDIT: My apologies. For those of you unaware of the pure genius referenced in the above post, "genius" here being used in a way diametrically opposed to "good", please watch this video. Expect the song to b stuck in your head for the rest of your natural life, only seldom pushed down into the background noise of your subconscious. But never, ever truly gone.
