Kaida23

The Tragically Hip. Is there another band that personifies Canada more completely than the boys from Kingston? Not that I've ever found. Almost every album certified platinum (1,000,000 sales), many of those multi-platinum, and two albums, 1989's Up To Here and 1992's Fully Completely, certified diamond (10,000,000 sales). They've sold more albums than there are people in this country and were it not for a tragic illness we might have have the chance to buy many, many more. In May of this year it was announced that lead singer, Gord Downie, has terminal brain cancer. If you're not a Canadian it's hard to truly understand how hard that news hit us. This was quickly followed by the announcement of a final Canadian tour to, yes, say goodbye but also to say thank you. To thank the fans, the people, the places, the very country that has supported them for the past 30 years. Those three decades have not been idly spent either. Ask anyone who's ever met them, worked with them, toured them and you'll hear stories of good 'ol boys who never bought into the rock star lifestyle and did their best to stay true to their roots. Who still live in their hometown of Kingston, less than two hours down Highway 401 from Ottawa, and regularly not only give back to the community by lending support to events and charities but also having raised their own families there have been regulars at school and sporting events just chatting and hanging out with other parents like everybody else. I've heard these stories for as long as I can remember. Personally, my love affair with The Hip started the summer before I started high school. Road Apples had just been released and I was blown away by "Little Bones". I can still hear that opening riff blaring from the speakers of the arcade/pool hall/general store by my aunt and uncle's trailer. The following summer I had my first part time job and one of the first things I bought was a CD player and my very own copies of Road Apples and Up To Here. Later that year Fully Completely was released and I convinced the program director of our school radio station to add "Locked in the Truck of a Car" to the rotation. The Hip were a big part of the soundtrack of my teenage years and have been a favourite of mine ever since. Fifteen years ago on the day I brought my son Liam home from the hospital "Little Bones" was playing on the radio when I picked up him and his mother at the front of the hospital, and two days ago I got to take him to see them play here in Ottawa for the second last stop on their Man Machine Poem tour. It was awesome and moving and heartfelt and sad and funny and one of the best emotional roller coasters I've ever been on. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Gord said his final farewell of the night and don't think I'll ever hear "Courage" the same way ever again. It was the first song of the first encore and they hit the first note so hard and the lights came up so bright and it was just such a perfect song to play at that point that I nearly cried again. When they followed it up with "Wheat Kings", all 20,000 of us singing along, I actually did. My son has heard their music literally his entire life and I think he now finally understands why I love them so much. Tonight our country comes together to bid farewell to some of its favourite sons. Kingston is abuzz with excitement and understandably so. This is a concert series that sold out in record time, even for a group that has a history of selling out Canadian shows faster than many bigger acts in the 90's and early 2000's. Extra shows were added and the CBC is even interrupting their Olympic coverage to broadcast the show live. Earlier today I was in Kingston for a job and I'm glad I wore my Hip cap. I've never had so many people come up and talk to me while I was working. Fans, people they went to school with, even one of their neighbours (if a random person at a gas station can be believed lol). If Thursday's show was any indication then this will be one for the history books. Gord has given us his all this summer and we have given him and the rest of the boys every bit of it back with love and support helping to make this tour absolutely legendary. I know they'll never see this, but I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to The Tragically Hip for 30 years of music that has been such a big part of my life, for one last tour that gave us a chance to say goodbye, for a special night of memories with my son, for never forgetting who you are and where you came from, and for reminding everyone that Canadians can rock with the best of them. Finally, I want to say a special thank you to Christa, my ex-wife, who got me the tickets to Thursday's show. Words will never do justice to how much being there with Liam meant to me.

Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging. Good luck with your goals. :)

Doesn't seem like much but this has already made a big difference for people skilling at the CA. Every so often they get things right. :thumbup:

So far only the threads that were actually being used have been folded into the main OT section. The old subsections and threads are still there, just hidden from public view while we discuss which others to keep. With one or two exceptions no one has posted in any of remaining threads in over 3 years though, so it's unlikely any of them will be missed. Once we're done, Randox will then send what remains off to the land of wind and ghosts that only admins know about.

Congrats again on 99 Attack. :thumbsup: If you crop out the extra around the RS screen then it'll seem bigger.

Nah, we're all just too busy grinding free xp. :P I've gained 4 Ranged levels so far without having to worry about dying or buying arrows so I really can't complain.

I watched the Psycho Pass movie with my son this morning. Not bad at all. An interesting extension of the original anime (which we're both fans of).

Today Pokemon Go was officially released in Canada. My kids absolutely lost their minds when they found out. :lol:

It's been nearly a week and that means it's time for another update, so welcome everyone to another instalment of the best RS blog on the 'net. :-D After a small break during the end of May and the beginning of July, I returned to RS just in time for another skilling competition. Well, I returned a couple days late but it was still early enough that I was able to make a good effort at it. Initially I started crafting some of the left over hard leather I had from way back when, but quickly decided that was just too damn slow. After looking into it a bit I sold off all the leather and started buying supplies to make diamond amulets. I know, I know...necklaces sell just as well and don't require stringing just to sell them, but the prices were just too close and I wouldn't have made any profit and most likely would have lost money. Normally I wouldn't mind that so much, but we're talking major losses here and I hate training skills at a loss (see my crappy Prayer level). Diamond ammys were guaranteed profit and it really didn't take that long to string them. All in all, I made about 13m profit by the end of the comp. \:D/ As usual this skilling comp update comes with the obligatory image dump, so here we go... [hide='Crafting 75] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 76] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 77] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 78] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 79] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 80] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 81] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 82] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 83] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 84] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 85] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 86] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 87] [/hide] [hide='Crafting 88] [/hide] I'd been waiting a long time to get my Crafting level up and I made the most of it. I'm only sorry that I didn't get it all the way to 90. :( If I'd started the comp on time I have a feeling I would have made it. Still, I got over 3m xp and ended up in 5th place. Not too bad at all. Once again Medieval Kid blew everyone else out of the water. From what I understand he spent the entire comp cutting diamonds. Must have cost him a pretty penny, but there's no denying his xp gains were absolutely incredible. Thanks in no small part to this we beat Free Players by over 43m xp! :shock: Once the comp was over I returned to Dororan and engraved another piece of jewellery for him for another 10k Crafting xp. In between all of the Crafting levels, I also gained a Prayer level from mask pieces. [hide=Pray 73] [/hide] After the comp I returned to superheating and gained another Magic level bringing me one step closer. [hide=Magic 97] [/hide] This was also the point where I started using the new setup I told you about which allowed me to make progress so much faster. In between all this I also did a couple of quests that had been released while I was away, as well as the new Gower quest which, while a bit long, was still kind of fun. But I think this is enough for now so that will have to be a tale for another day. Until next time blog lovers.

I've brought this up to the rest of the team for discussion. And just FYI: the moderating team ;) Yes, Tripsis and Randox are still admins, perhaps not as active as they once were but the forums aren't as active as they once were either.

Holy crap have I ever. :oops: Alright nothing to see here, move along.

This was earlier this morning. Didn't realise anyone was so close to 200m all.

I hadn't heard that. You wouldn't think we'd miss something that small, but it really hasn't felt right without it. Glad they're bringing it back. :thumbup:

Old school noob. RS3 or gtfo. :P Seriously, well done on the levels. Do you play RS3 anymore or are you old school all day every day?

House plays RuneScape? :blink:

The xp tracker as we once knew it is gone. It's been replaced with a RuneMetrics display. It functions basically the same, but doesn't show xp gains as they happen so no more "+50xp". If you turn on 'lightweight mode' (which makes the HUD display transparent) and 'precise values' and set the number of skill rows to 3 it will look pretty much the same as it did before.

The skilling is pretty much completely afk'able but the xp rates are nothing to write home about. Still, it's something different to do for an hour or so. I just wish the rewards were a bit more flexible. It's great that they're giving us xp lamps, but it'd be nice if we could choose what to spend them on. Out of 10 caches today I got 8 lamps, 6 of them were for member's skills (which doesn't help me at all), and 3 of those were for the same skill.

Holy cow! Since its release PG has added over 9 billion to Nintendo's market value. :shock: Not bad for a game that was released a week ago.

Moved to Video Games & Consoles. It's not available here in Canada yet, but it's very interesting. Just so long as they don't designate my house a gym like they did to this guy then it's all good. :lol:

With a rubber chicken of course. Isn't that how pro players dispatch high level, end game bosses? :P

So it's Monday and Mondays suck, but let's see if we can't make this one a little better with another update! :D Mega May brought us a Dungeoneering 50% bonus xp weekend and a bunch of TFS'ers were getting together to benefit from this as much as possible. Unfortunately, my son was really sick that weekend so I wasn't able to join them. Well, I could have...and then I would have been that guy who disappears in the middle of the floor and gets everyone else mad at them. Don't be that guy. So I solo'd a bit and gained myself a few levels. [hide=Dungeoneering 71] [/hide] [hide=Dungeoneering 72] [/hide] [hide=Dungeoneering 73] [/hide] [hide=Dungeoneering 74] [/hide] [hide=Dungeoneering 75] [/hide] My son spent most of that weekend asleep on the couch with his head in my lap, so I got to do a fair bit of Dungeoneering. Poor little guy was burning up with fever, I'm actually kind of lucky I didn't catch whatever it was. I'm also kind of lucky that my DG binds weren't as out of date as I was afraid they were. The last binds I remembered having were a Fractite spear and gauntlets. Fortunately, I was still here for the changes to the bind setups and was decked out fairly adequately with Bryll top and bottoms, Cosmic runes and a Catalytic staff. Now the sharp eyed among you may have noticed that the boss just before I got 74 dropped a Bovistrangler wand, the best DG wand for free players! :D I quickly upgraded the offensive power of my new toy by making myself a Catalytic orb, the better that I may run roughshod over the dungeons of Daemonheim. I've also added a Zephyrium maul to the mix for fighting Astea Frostweb when she protects from magic. The floor that gave me 74 also gave me this: Hooray! A new floor to...What's that? We can't? Members only, eh? Oh well. Guess I'll just have to make do with the 35 I already have. :P After the DG weekend the monthly skilling comp started, and the skill for May was Magic. I thought that was absolutely perfect! I could keep working on Smithing and take part in the comp at the same time. Unfortunately, this was around the time things really started going downhill for my dog so I didn't do very much. I gained another Smithing level, but that was about it. [hide=Smithing 97] [/hide] Which was too bad because Medieval Kid didn't completely own this comp (heck, he barely cracked the top 10) and I would've had a real shot at a top 3 spot in this one. Alas, I gained just under 430k xp and merely placed 18th. Don't worry though, I have a feeling that I will redeem myself in the next one. ;) And just because it finishes out everything I did in May, I will tell you that I also gained a Defence level from a treasure hunter lamp. [hide=Defence 62] [/hide] And so we come to the end of May. Not bad eh? Two decent sized posts out of a month I was only active for a couple of weeks. |^_^| See you all next time, when I shall spin the tale of the Crafting competition. You see what I did there? "Spin"? "Crafting"? :lol: TTFN.

The lock creaks as the bolt is turned back and the door squeals in its frame with each push. A shoulder slams into it and the door is thrown open with a bang, small gold lettering now visible on the frosted glass: "Kaida23". Dust hangs in the light from the hallway as a hand gropes blindly along the wall. With a loud click a switch is flipped and fluorescent bulbs flicker reluctantly to life bathing the small office in their harsh light. Various plaques and pictures adorn the walls, some barely visible through dust covered glass, and the various pieces of furniture that take up the room are covered with sheets. As the cover is pulled off of the largest one, more dust is tossed into the air revealing a desk with burn marks along its edges and a typewriter flanked by ashtray, pencils and coffee cup exactly as they were left, along with various other sundries and detritus strewn about. Everything is just as it was so long ago. A look around the room reveals random papers of half-started blog posts and bookcases strewn with books, training guides, and long forgotten submissions. An old Times publishing schedule hangs from a clipboard. A hand gently wipes a layer of dust from the Moderator commissioning scroll on the wall behind the desk. The chair creaks and groans as it is sat in, its wheels amazingly still smooth as they roll along the floor. A cabinet door is slid open to reveal several empty bottles, most long since dried out but with one still guarding a splash of liquid promise at the bottom. "Guess I'll have to restock the bar", is muttered to no one in particular. The bottle is raised, and "To starting over!" is declared as its last gulp is quickly drained. Fresh ribbon and paper are put in the typewriter, a cigarette is lit, and a familiar tap-a-tap-tap-ding fills the room. There are many stories left to tell, and this will be the place that they are told. Greetings once again real life blog lovers. :) I hope you all enjoyed my little into piece. I did something similar when I returned to my RS blog, but I think I better captured the atmosphere I was going for with this one. This was also the first time I've tried writing something in this style of narration. It's harder than you'd think. Still, it was a neat little project and I think worked out really well. It's hard to believe it's been over 3 years since I posted here last. I know I never posted much in this blog having focused mostly on my RS blog before, but hopefully I can keep up with it better this time around. So join me if you will on a journey though my musings, ramblings, and rants and maybe we'll see if we can't also have a little fun along the way. ;) Until next time! |^_^|

Happy Saturday everyone! :) What a week this has been. Most of the week has been stupidly hot and sticky and now it's raining like the wrath of Saradomin himself. Still, I didn't have to cut the grass today and isn't that just a crying shame? :P Just means more time to update my blog. After the WC comp the Mega May event started and with it came Meg's Cases and a Dungeoneering bonus xp weekend. :thumbsup: Each day I logged in to make sure I did the new case Meg had for me...well, I did until things started going sideways with my dog. It was around this time that she got worse and I kind of wandered away again for a bit. As such I only got 22 of the cases done. [hide=Meg's Cases] [/hide] Don't worry, I cropped them all into one pic. Even I'm not that crazy. ;) I got enough of the cases done to unlock Socky McGee, the Investigator's Outfit and the Sockroth pet. The outfit's kinda cool looking and the Sockroth is kinda neat but I'm not really using either. Socky McGee on the other hand was awesome. I talk to him, he talks to me, sometimes we argue...kinda makes me feel like a Batman villain. This one's my favourite: It's good to see my plan of spreading false tales of adventure and derring do are working. Even sock puppets have heard of me. :lol: In between all that I got another Smithing and Magic level... [hide=Smithing 96] [/hide] [hide=Magic 96] [/hide] ...and dumping all the lamps from Meg's cases into Prayer got me another level in that as well. [hide='Prayer 72] [/hide] At some point in here a bunch of us from TFS and Free Players all got together and descended upon RuneSpan for a good old technicolor get together. It was loads of fun, I hadn't been to the 'Span in literally years. I managed to gain about 150k xp while just chatting and hopping islands and siphoning nodes with my fellow F2P'ers. It reminded me a lot of what things used to be like back in the day. I've noticed there's a lot less chatter nowadays. Well, except when I'm in W3. That place is chat central. I'm discovering bringing this blog up to date is kind of a challenge; there's a fine balance between making posts that are too ridiculously long, and making enough of them so that I finally get caught up. I think that's enough for today though. Join me next time for the tale of the Dungeoneering bonus xp weekend.