Blog Azeroth Shared Topic: Nerd Badges!

The Shared Topic this week at Blog Azeroth was suggested by Akabeko:

How do you express your geekery? Do you own obvious paraphernalia like a Horde-symbol bumper sticker, in-joke tshirts like the dps/ups pun, or less obviously related items like a gift from a guildie? Rather than physical indicators, do you mix nerd lingo into your everyday speech or talk/post about geekdom in non-nerd spaces? How do you advertise your nerd tendencies? Does it help you to attract new nerd friends?

Home has plenty of signs of my geekery, but they aren't badges to others. My family already indulges in geekery and I have few interests that aren't already covered by someone else in the house. (I've mentioned how geeky my family is before in a prior post.) In fact, whenever I interest someone else in the family in something I enjoy, it doesn't take long before I find I've been overtaken. It's happened for years: Star Wars, Legos, Dr. Who, Game Boys, Magic:The Gathering, Joss Whedon, Harry Potter, Warcraft, Big Bang Theory. About the only thing I've left is J-Pop (Namie Amuro!) because everybody else at home prefers K-Pop (2NE1? Really?) (Did you check out my WoW Music Playlist post?)


Still top of my playlist

 The workplace is different. There, I do display "Nerd Badges". We've plenty of freedom at work to display things that mean something, but few of my interests overlap with my workmates. I'm older. My kids are in college. Most peers have young kids. None play "Video Games", unless you count that some have kids that play "Pokemon". The older son is twenty one and spent the holidays playing Pokemon with his college friends. (And watching My Little Ponies. Those crazy college kids!)

The Nerd Topic of conversation at work!

So, how do I badge?

On the wall, my calendar of choice has been the WoW calendar for several years. It has NEVER had a comment by a co-worker. I've even seen that the new college recruits don't seem to notice it. I'm guessing maybe they're unsure how much to say about their off-hour hobbies.

The geekiest things I display that attract far more attention is the little Star Wars Lego mini-figures. It's just three figures: two Biker Scout Troopers and Chewbecca. They attract comments and folks will pick up and play with them without asking. I'll come in to find them re-positioned, although never as creatively as I hope. Being a Star Wars fan now isn't a big deal. It's Mainstream!

Almost boring.

End of the Molten Front

End of the Molten Front 12/31/2011

Kallixta sat heavily on the chair. Her enthusiasm drained as muscles unclenched. She was tired. The dwarf had been diligent, spending her time fighting on the Molten Front. She had found herself returning to assist the Wardens far more often than elsewhere. This regular exercise yielded its own rewards. Every week seemed to see more measurable progress

• King of the Spider Hill  11/19/2011
• Have... Have We Met?  12/22/2011
• 500 Daily Quests Complete  12/23/2011
• Unlock Varlan Highbough
• Nemesis Shell Band  12/24/2011
• Lylagar Horn Ring  12/24/2011
• Relic of Tortolla  12/24/2011
• Unlock Ayla Shadowstorm
• Moonwell Phial  12/31/2011
• The Molten Front Offensive  12/31/2011

Now with the completion of the offensive, Kallixta finds herself at loose ends, but too weary to worry what comes next. The obvious thing would be to advance into the Firelands or the like, but the ache in her bones fills her with more doubt than she's used to. She wonders why she can't feel more satisfaction for her existing accomplishment. Maybe tomorrow she'll feel it.

Low level dailies, part 4

Low level dailies experiment

You can read Part 1,  Part 2, and Part 3 of the Low level dailies experiment.

Around 6 weeks ago, Aldonza was level 42. She has been travelling between the Alliance capitals, cooking and fishing the dailies and gloating over how much gold she squeezes from the Auction House. Her progress has slowed down as these quests make a smaller contribution to the XP she needs for a new level. She is now level 46. Achievements are not being directly pursued, but rather signposts of her journey.

Winter Veil arrived in a cacophany of a crowd in Ironforge. They spilled forth, surrounding Grandfather Winter and otherwise providing an obstacle course, occluding her path between the bank and the auction house. As happened the year before, a frown donned Aldonza's face for the season, "Bah! What are they expecting? Something different?"

As she shuffled through her mail, sorting and comparing to her notes, her own words echoed in her head: something different, something different. She looked up from her work, preparing to return to the auction house, and felt her frustration fire up again. -It isn't going to be different. And they don't want anything different. They'd pay good gold to keep it the same.- Her jog falters as she negotiates the bridge. Thoughts of gold and how to gather more always burn brighter in her mind. "Bah! I blame the noise for forgetting this is another good opportunity for profit."

Aldonza's notes remindes her that eggs for cookies were especially good last year. Her instincts also lead her to check for new opportunities. What might have changed? Well, she was an improved cook this year. In fact, there were some other cookies that had excellent potential. And she had working diligently developing a perfect source for the cocoa beans!

• Illustrious Grand Master Cook  12/26/2011

Aldonza felt great satisfaction with her improved cooking skills, not so much because there weren't plenty of other good cooks, but rather how inexpensively she acquired those skills, mostly during that profitable Pilgrim's Bounty time. Now she had new recipes at hand and a plan for generating foodstuffs in demand by folks with plenty of gold that she would be happy to take.

There was another skill that had recently been showing slow yet steady improvement. Her fishing hadn't had any easy boosts, but had been rising frequently as she found opportunity fulfilling the daily needs of one or another capital.

• Master Fisherman 12/27/2011

Back at her table in the Stonefire Tavern, Aldonza smiled in satisfaction at the improvements to her bottom line. Her visits to the Darkmoon Faire had not shown much new earning potential, but it did exercise some skills. Far better news were how many folks wanted Chocolate Cookies  to make themselves Feel Right As Rain. In her notes was an instruction to review the calendar more often. There must be more profit in the Lunar Festival...