I kinda figured there’d be a dragon at the bottom of the Endless Paths. I knew there was an achievement for killing all the dragons in Pillars of Eternity, and I hadn’t seen any, yet. Some mean old drakes, but no actual dragons. This is the first. Given what a tough fight Od Nua gave me, I’m not at all certain I want to tangle with a dragon at this level (10). ...

I can’t accept any kind of nostalgia server, like Ragefire or Lockjaw, while the Commonlands and Freeport are in such sad shape. Of all the things I did not like about the Prophecy of Ro expansion, I liked the “upgrades” to Freeport the least. Taking the advice of the more experienced, I snuck – sloooowly – through Kithicor, ran madly to the East Commonlands tunnel, and then snuck once again through North Ro to the newbie fields outside the Freeport NRo gate, working my way up to level 3. I wasn’t the only one hunting armadillos, but I got a few, enough to end up with a couple plat. That was money enough to go merchant diving for some tattered leather armor and a rusty spear – TOTES UPGRADES! ...

After much discussion, Kasul and I decided to start Final Fantasy XIV in Ul’dur (I think that’s how it’s spelled), me as a Guardian, he as a Thaumaturge. Though I don’t think he’s created his character yet – he’s been fully pulled in to EverQuest, Ragefire style :) I wanted to get past the newbie quests, eventually ending up in an outdoor zone at level 8 with my second set of armor upgrades. Kasul said the guides said the first ten levels were pretty much solo-only, but I’m already bumping into these Fate events (public quests) and that really sounds like something that indicates I’ve moved out of the newbie solo stuff. ...

With the opening of the new Lockjaw progression server, life on Ragefire settled down enough for me to log in at prime time, and even find, eventually, all the moss snakes (who no longer seem to kick much, darn it) and black wolves I could want to destroy. After an hour of grinding, and thanks to a buff cast on me by a passing cleric, I made it a little bit into level 2. Couldn’t afford any upgrades… couldn’t afford to craft, either. ...

Tipa stabs again. I can’t even recall how long it’s been since I made Tipa v1.0. I do remember that I twinked her with a lot of Rygorr armor from the orc fort in Velious, so that was probably the timeframe. She was my sixth character, I think? Mehve the Erudite Wizard, Etha the Halfling Druid, Tsuki the Gnome Mage, Nashuya the Dark Elf Shadowknight, Nina the Halfling Fighter, and then Tipa. ...

Darna was a long time, well-respected member of Team Tanglewood. I loved her from the moment I first recruited her back at the Black Hound Inn in the Gilded Vale. I made her a monk, because I needed a tank, and I thought someone whose power operated from wounds would fit the bill. I found out just now that there was an actual warrior waiting to be hired… but I guess I missed him. Anyway, Darna couldn’t tank at all, her DPS was subpar, I (a rogue) ended up tanking far too often; even the ranger’s pet made a better tank. ...

My kayak is this companies first product, now called “The Bay”. It’s a great boat, folds up for storage, snaps together for use. My only issue with it is that it’s a bit cramped for me. Well, now they have a new one. Longer, faster… more expensive…The Coast: a 16’ origami kayak. For adventures near and far. by Oru Kayak — Kickstarter Oru Kayak is raising funds for The Coast: a 16’ origami kayak. For adventures near and far. on Kickstarter! ...

Second Hyperlapse test. I’ve been waiting for this to come out for months. It really does make sped-up bike video look almost watchable, though, ironically, YouTube said it looked a little shaky and offered to clean it up ;-) The center point of the video wanders back and forth oddly, as Hyperlapse tries to find the focus of the shot. In the thumbnail shot, you can see how Hyperlapse chooses to include far more of the left of the shot than the right. You can see this even more dramatically when I go under a bridge; the shot slams right over. ...

Kayaking on Lower Bolton Lake, Bolton, CT.This was posted on Google+

2015 5 Boro Bike Tour in fifteen minutes.5 Boro Recap Quick recap of the high points of the 2015 5 Boro Tour. This was posted on Google+