Penny Out; Chessur In

I have been writing this blog now for a year and a half.  And of course before I started writing about EVE, I was playing it and reading other people's blogs.  Blogging is a peculiar hobby.  It is unpaid of course; nobody pays for writing of this level.  At times it seems like work.  Some people have what it takes to write a blog seeming indefinitely.  But I am not one (I know this from other blogs I have kept IRL).  And I doubt that many people are.  Writing is hard work sometimes.

It is inevitable, then, that over time anyone who reads blogs is going to have favorite blogs go dark.  This already happened to me in EVE, short a time as that has been, with Jester ceasing to blog.  And now there's another casualty: Penny Ibramovic, ace huntress and proprietor of Tiger Ears, has ceased blogging, at least for now.  She cites IRL circumstances (unspecified) in her exceedingly brief farewell note, a comment on her last post.

After 6 years of pretty much daily blogging, reaching a tidy 2,001 posts about EVE Online—2,002 now—seemed like a good place to, well, at least take a break. 

My circumstances may be changing to the point where I can't commit to writing on the same schedule, and I thought a clean break at a milestone would be better than fizzling out. It seems that my final post wasn't quite as unambiguously final as I expected. 

I may get bored and start writing again, you never know, but I am taking a break for now.

Surely it is too early to write an obituary.  Writers will write, and Penny is a writer.  (Indeed I am a bit of one.  I took up EVE blogging in part because the political blogs I'd been commenting on had gone dark.)  As I said of Jester, he'll be writing again I am sure.  Whether it is EVE Online or some other interest that Penny writes about in the future, it will be blessed by her presence.

That said, I did want to make note of it and say thank you.  Penny inspires me in several ways, which I thought I'd mention by way of saying thanks for all the memories.  I learned to hunt mostly on my own, and from other stuff I'd read online (read down for a bit more related to this).  But Penny's tales certainly strengthened this knowledge.  And I know I learned to recognize K162s due to Penny.  It's mostly simply knowing that something is possible, but Penny also had the canonical compilation of wormhole appearances.  I also want to specifically mention Penny's camera work, which is awesome.  She gets good screenies and lots of them.  Compare the spotty and/or crap screenshots I get in combat and you'll see the difference.  I am improving on that, I like to think, and that is in part due to the fact that I know from Penny that it is possible.

Another way that Penny inspired me was her in-game exploits, which made and make me want to replicate them.  I trained into Loki because Penny was flying Lokis.  (Now I am training Proteus, although that won't be ready for months.)  I trained Onyx in part based on the hope of replicating a miner massacre like Penny.  (This dream I did accomplish, although not as fulsomely as Penny did.  Someday I hope to do it again and perhaps even exceed the master.)   In game I sometime quail at some engagement, then I think to myself what would Penny do?  She'd attack.  So I attack.

In addition to in-game victories, Penny also inspires me with her sheer output.  When I have nothing interesting, I don't write.  Or I cast about for some metagame or game design idea to write about.  Penny writes what is in front of her, day in and day out.  This is hard to do.  The life of the wormhole hunter is mostly deadly dull.  Scanning, scanning, scanning.  Each day, every day, at least 90% of your time.  I don't mind it that much, but neither is it very interesting.  Oh, another gas site!  Of the remaining time, there's a bit spent lurking about, an even smaller amount spent making decisions about what to do.  And there is a razor-thin slice of time spent actually in combat or otherwise doing something inherently interesting.  This latter bit is the payoff that makes it all worthwhile.  But it's not the reality on its own.  It is pretty much impossible to convey in writing how boring a hobby hunting in wspace is most of the time, but Penny does at least point in that direction.  And she does it without being boring, by virtue of stylish writing and humor.  (Humour, I suppose.)  Her last bits of writing, reviewing Oblivion while killing sleepers, were particularly great.

And so Tiger Ears is quiet for now.  One blog does not a section make, but now that I have two blogs that I wish to record for posterity, I am making a blogroll for it.  

In vaguely related news, since I was adding the new section for quiescent blogs, I went looking for a blog that inspired me even before I found Tiger Ears, back when I was in highsec.  That blog is Confessions of a Wormhole Killer.  I've not linked it up before because it was quiescent two years ago back when I found it, and I assumed it stayed that way.  But it hasn't; there's new stuff there!  The writer, Chessur, probably more than anyone else inspired me to want to be in wspace.  So he is in my blogroll and he's got a place of honor in my heart.

Penny does too.  She probably knows that, seeing how much I refer to her.  But just in case, Penny, you will be missed.  You are already.

Two Birds, One Stone

It's the weekend.  A C5 system has connected to my home.  Earlier today I entered C5b, scanned it down, then saw probes.  I killed a scout who jumped into my system and jumped back immediately.  Now I am just lurking in my stealth bomber.

There are several interesting things in C5b.  For one, there is a tractor unit out in space, somewhere.  Another is the Vital Core Reservoir I found when I scanned earlier.  I'd like to get some Ventures and ninja-mine some gas.  But I feel that having ganked the scout, the system is a bit hot for that.

Also, there are IRL chores to do.  I can't sit here playing all day.  In fact I have to go AFK.

Ooh.  Wrecks.

Back later, and I dscan.  There are sleeper wrecks on scan, eight of them.  Four battleships and four frigates.  I know what this must be: the sleepers from the core gas site.  I warp to it at 100 km, and sure enough.  The wrecks all sit as they were killed.  All are unlooted.

Well well.  Do I have the stones to come in and attempt salvage?  I consider it.  But I'd rather gank than be ganked, and I assume that whoever did this will be back.  You don't leave out ~80m in loot and salvage.  So I move back, make a perch, and sit.

I wait.  I wait some more.  Nobody comes.  Strange.  Well, I have more chores to do, but I will try to get back soon enough to have a shot at salvaging.  My window is two hours since the wrecks were made, which time I do not know with certainty.

IRL, I mow the lawn.  I try to make it snappy, but when I get back, it's an hour and a half later, and the wrecks are gone.  Maybe someone looted and salvaged, or maybe they went poof.  Either way: dammit.

Now I go back to lurking at my wormhole while I do manufacturing with my Jita alt.  And again, I have to go AFK for a while.

Back again!  I dscan, as always when I return to EVE.  Dscan shows two Ventures.  They must be in the Vital Core gas site; I warp to it without even checking.

This is mining dumb.  Don't do it.

I land on grid, and I was correct.  There the Ventures are, 25km from me.  Incredibly, they are both unmoving, and sitting right next to each other in the C320 cloud, sucking away.  I set course at them immediately.  Can they really be that dumb?  Will they start to move after some temporary lapse of attention?  No.  They sit.  I move in.

Sneaking up.

When I get close, I get ready.  I rehearse my plan to myself.  Then I head right at one Venture, and uncloak, and start locking both ships.

I turn on my sebo and my warp scramblers, but not my missiles.  Both locks complete; the first Venture locked is now scrambled.  Now I select the non-scrambled Venture and turn on my light missiles.  My plan is to go after both of them.  I'll hold the one as I shoot the other.  The second will be able to escape if it is paying attention, but I hope it won't be.

They are not reacting at all.  I sit and shoot.  They sit and get shot.  The second Venture explodes.

Now the first starts to move, as I lock the pod.  And... locked.  The pod can still flee; it is not scrambled.  I kill it.  Evidently AFK.

One down.

Now I follow the first Venture and start shooting it.  I am concerned that it will afterburn out of range.  But it does not outrange me at all, and then it too explodes.  This pod flees promptly.

Two ships at a time!  I am pumped.  My hands shake.  I gather the loot and the corpse, then get out of range and cloak.  No response comes, at least not that I can see.

Wrecks.  Still have bulky gas aboard.

I still want to find the tractor unit out there and see what's in it -- but that's another story.

Not Around

I'm on vacation.  

Back soon.

An Intrusion

It's the weekend.  I killed a pair of miners earlier, something I've never done before.  So I am in a good mood.

I am also in a good mood because I am outside, on a sunny but cool late spring day.  I am watching boys (mostly) playing baseball.  Or a modest approximation of baseball, as played by children of ages seven and eight.

I'm a coach for my team, though not the one who pitches today.  So, when my team is up to bat I coach near first base.  My job is to keep on the boys about paying attention to their running and not the ball.  And running through the bag.  Also, of course, offering positive feedback about their hitting and running as much as is reasonable.  On defense, I have to position several of my players almost every inning, since they have very little idea of where they should be playing.  Then I watch them to make sure they are ready and paying attention.  (Small boys lack much focus, and baseball as played by this age group has much down time.)  And I yell at them to throw to first, remind them of where forced outs are, etc.  I try to encourage them all even when they fail.  It's all very low key.  We are losing 5-2 after the first inning, but that is not really dampening my mood at all.

I am out in the field, watching my guys fail to get another out at first base, although they do try, when I get a text.  I pull out the phone and have a quick look, but I cannot read it at all in this bright sunlight, and I should be paying attention.  After the next hit, there's a delay as the other team gets their next boy up to bat.  I take off my sunglasses and shade my phone with my other hand, and I can read it.  It's Jayne.

Crap.  There's nothing like being helpless as your tower is attacked to spoil the mood.  But I figure it should take the enemy, whoever they are, some time to do serious damage.  My tower is better designed than last time, at least.  It has a mix of small artillery and ECMs, as well as the small amount of other stuff.  And Jayne is there.  Our one guy with Starbase Defense Management is one of his characters, so he can do what he can with the tools there.  (Come Kronos, we're going to have a lot more starbase defenders.)

Meanwhile, the ball game rolls on.  My team is up to bat, bottom of the second.  We get several hits, but the opponents have a couple of good players in the infield.  These kids can actually throw and catch decently, unlike many at their age.  So, combined with my team's underwhelming hitting, they are getting outs.  We don't score at all.  Back into the field, and the last inning repeats itself.  We get one out before the opponent gets their five runs, which is the league's per-inning scoring limit.  And we swap again.  My team is up to bat, and I am near first base in foul territory.  Buzzzt.  A new text arrives.  This time I am right on it.

I feel better.  I have little idea what's going on, but Jayne wouldn't say that unless the enemy were doing something quite inexplicable.  Enough so that I doubt they are serious in attacking.

But back to important spaceship baseball business.  My better hitters are up, including The Boy leading off.  He whacks his usual hit, which is too strong to act like a bunt but too weak to get out of the infield.  As usual, the hit almost reaches third base then dies.  With nobody on base, there is no force-play over there; they have to throw the ball to first base.  The throw is off, and the first baseman has to leave the bag to grab it.  He tries to get back, but The Boy beats him out!  He runs exactly the way we've repeatedly told them: don't look at the ball after you hit it, head down and run run run, hit the bag at full speed, overrun it.  So I am proud.  Ha.  Good times.  Take that, stupid EVE.  The next batter gets a single, then the next gets another hit that makes it slightly out into the outfield.  Balls in the outfield mean the kids are allowed to try for extra bases; The Boy sees this and alertly scoots home.  Yay us.  The rest of the inning goes downhill, with two outs at first and a tag at third (not forced).  We do score another run.  But now we're down 10-4.

Their raps.  This inning we have one of our weaker players playing pitcher.  The "pitcher" at this level does not actually pitch; the other team's coach does that.  But he is allowed to stand at the pitcher's mound.  The pitcher is about the most important defender at this level of baseball, because the majority of hits will be fielded by him.  If he can throw, and the first baseman can catch, you get outs.  If he can't throw, or does not know where to throw, you don't.  In this case, he can't throw effectively.  He gets close on one hit that goes right of the mound, but otherwise is not even getting close to getting outs.  After the other team loads up the bases, he gets confused on two plays and does not get a throw off to anywhere.  They get their five runs.

Buzzzt.

I like the sound of that.  Evil laughter is unlikely unless there is little real danger.  I am not sure when I can be on, so I don't answer that one.  Baseball ends when it ends, although we do have a time limit on starting innings.

By this time it is clear the other team is just better.  They have slightly worse hitting and much better fielding. We get a few more runs, while they score their five in each inning.  Final score: 20-8.  We do the post game "good sportsmanship" rituals, and I award the game ball to a kid for trying hard and paying attention.  Then most of the kids have to leave.  (Chop chop!  On to the next scheduled item!)

I am still doing the "post game talk with parents" thing, gently encouraging one of my players' Dad to get out and play catch with him.  New text.

That sounds rather final.  Knowing something of how EVE fights go, I doubt there is anything for me to do now.  I have nowhere to be, so I hang out to enjoy the day.  The Boy sucks me into a game of 4 on 4 baseball, kids vs adults (me and three moms).  We have a good time.  There's no hurry to get back in the 'verse, so far as I can tell.

Just as I get home there's a new text:

I go to get online.  But that's another story.