Fickle Mistress EVE


A month, it seems, is a long time in New Eden.

That EVE is clearly a feminine name is no coincidence I suspect. I dared allow myself some time to engage in the real world and although I feel I did not scorn her, EVE nonetheless acted with fury that is indeed not found in hell. Well, to say 'fury' is probably pimping it up a little, but she certainly moved out and threw all my stuff onto the driveway as she went.

Or if you want the riddle-free version: Wow, a lot has happened in my absence, mainly the following:

EVE Vegas 2.0

My last blog-posts were EVE Vegas flavoured and despite my promises to provide coverage, none was forthcoming. Sorry about that, I was off having fun. Besides, I felt that Ecliptic Rift, whom I had the pleasure of meeting whilst in Vegas, did an admiral job of providing an independent view in this general blogpost and this one about our afternoon with CCP Dropbear (good pun about "dropmic" there too, I wish I'd thought of that).

I felt that EVE Vegas was a great stop-gap for those who would wish for more than one Fanfest per year, although understandably on a much smaller scale. It was very Goon-centric, but this is not necessarily a bad thing, I had no idea how deeply Goon culture is intertwined with the fabric of EVE. A number of CCP attendees started life as EVE-playing goons. Lead game designer Soundwave was apparently a "legendary shit-poster" as a Goon, and Security guy Sreegs was also from their ranks.

I was hoping for the opportunity to have a beer with The Mittani, if nothing else to find out whether he wanted to poke my eyes out with a model Incursus for the podcast mockery I have directed at him these last few months, but sadly my encounters with him were brief.

Our first meeting was a drunken half-hug during a late-night pub-crawl, but he bounded off into the crowd before words could be exchanged. The second was whilst I was speaking with the event organisers to get my latest Mittani-flavoured audiofile played, where he interjected to politely request that he give his presentation first. The last was a mildly embarrassing moment when I went up to ask him a question during the open-mic portion of his presentation and he pointed out how defensive my body language was. I still cringe when I remember my response to that was to, in a hall full of EVE players, momentarily drop into some odd fighting stance before recovering to ask a perfectly gentlemanly question about his future with the CSM. I knew Vegas was full of tits, but I never expected to be one of them.

Sadly, Mittens cleared off early the next morning, so any chance for a sensible conversation was lost.  Nonetheless, I found attending EVE Vegas to be more than worthwhile. It was refreshing and inspiring and I found myself coming away with new, grand ideas for my future in EVE.

EVE Commune R.I.P.

Although I knew it was coming, I feel saddened by the demise of the EVE Commune podcast. Garheade was the driving force behind the initiative but for him, after 30 episodes, Lady Reality stood strong against the seductive crack whore that is EVE. Quite right too.

I was further saddened by my inability to see EVE Commune off in a proper fashion in it's last few episodes. After all, I owe EVE Commune a lot. If it wasn't for Garheade's request for me to read my Cult of EVE article on the show, I might never have got bitten by the podcasting bug. Although belated, I would like to offer my thanks to the EVE Commune team and wish them all the best in the future.

The End of Crazy Kinux's Blogpack

So the Canadian man-mountain who wrote the One Blog to Rule Them All has hung up his quill and decommissioned The Blog Pack. Apparently he has moved onto to pastures new and although still out there somewhere, was unable to continue his role as the 'Blogfather'. Whilst the Blog Pack itself was always a matter of taste, CK's diminished role in the community is a shame, although it was apparent in the last few months that his resources were increasingly limited and he was unable to devote the time required. I wish him luck in his new project.

Fortunately, the blogging autocannon that is Rixx Javix of Eveoganda has stepped up to resurrect his own Blog Pack from the ashes of CK's. As a part of the now defunct iPhone app Capsuleer, the Blog Pack served as a great introduction to the EVE Blogosphere and although I am less sure of the Blog Pack's role today, it's continued existence can only be a good thing.  Thank you Rixx.

Russians Run Rampant In Null-Sec

Although I have yet been able to set aside some time to get back into the core gameplay of EVE, my understanding is that much of the stable existence which I left behind has been torn down and my alliance is on high alert for sovereignty-threatening hostile fleets. My grasp of the politics is so poor that I can't be sure of the whos and whats, but word on the grapevine is not good. Systems have been lost, the corp POS is no longer there and reinforcements have been called in from elsewhere. I'm not sure what it all means, but it certainly sounds exciting.

Re-igniting the Flame

So all that remains is for me to get back into the swing of things. I intend to whisper sweet bloggings into EVE's electronic ear and get her to move back in. Or at least stay over at weekends.

I'm sorry I went on holiday. Lady Reality? Never heard of her.

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