Consider this blog renamed!

And voilà, it is done. I think the title shows that I still have some interest in space-related stuff but that I like a broader palette of subjects. And I'd like to thank the thousand or so crazies bashing the hell out of the Burn Eden monument; I wonder if the alliance that won this monument and placed it there ever imagined something like this could have happened... probably not :) I've used this header to signify that my EVE adventure is pretty much over. I will probably change it at some point, but for the time being this is it because I want to show my support to those of you who still like EVE as a concept, despite all the stuff that's been happening since Incarna arrived, and all the shenanigans CCP was up to. I will watch closely as the CSM flies to Reykjavik to ask CCP in person "Dudes, WHAT THE FUCK ?!?!". Interesting times, Hilmar said... yeah!

On other fronts, I'm happily doing the vacation dance right now! Yep, I took the week off for some bike riding, a bit of gaming, and most importantly the Montreal International Jazz Festival. The kick-off was last Saturday with Robert Plant and Band of Joy; I was supposed to see Paco De Lucia that evening but things got tight and I couldn't have a baby-sitter as I had my boys. But on Sunday night I opened my 2011 festival with Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos (Marc Ribot and the False Cubans XD). The first thing we noticed just before my buddy and I entered the concert hall was a sign saying "There will be no intermission". Coolness! And we got treated to 2 hours of what I'd call Power Salsa, which was absolutely amazing. Three encores later, the sign we saw earlier was clear to me: intermissions are for pussies !!! And of course before and after this show we mingled with the crowd outdoors and drank in the festival atmosphere, complete with beer and the legendary MJF hot-dogs :)

Yesterday I had my first "I am a vegetable" day of my vacation so I didn't do much during the day but surf them interwebs, but the evening was beautiful and windless so I did a nice 30km round-trip on my bike. From my place in LaSalle I went to the St.Lawrence river, followed it to Lachine and then up to Dorval airport where I saw my first Airbus A380... goddamn this thing is huge !!! I'm more and more anxious to do my little trip later this summer. Yesterday's ride could be considered a night ride, so because I had gotten up pretty early in the morning I was tired when I got home, but at least it wasn't from physical exhaustion. So with better preparations, a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast, I should have no trouble going up north.

And now, on to enjoy the rest of my vacation. In the plans today: a bit of Hellgate single-player (btw, Hellgate Global will go open beta on June 30th), probably a ride to the Jazz Fest, and paying Letrange a visit later tonight.

Life is good :))

o7

Blog redesign soon

Let's face it: "Diary of a Space Jockey" doesn't fit the bill anymore. I started blogging just to keep a record of my EVE Online career, and over time I've added little bits and pieces that have absolutely nothing to do about EVE, something that very few EVE bloggers do. Pushing myself to write about a game I loved inspired me to write about things I love even more, until eventually I noticed that I was more interested in writing about real life stuff than I was about EVE. And then I started noticing that I didn't like the game I was supposed to blog about as much as I did when I started. At this point, EVE Online is the very last thing I feel like blogging about because so many other subjects interest me. Therefore, a redesign will be in order soon to reflect this.

"But what will the readers think?" one might ask. That's an interesting question. When I started blogging I did it purely for myself; my buddy Letrange had a blog when he got me to play EVE and I just said why not. I was already an active forum participant on other sites, mostly Quake, flight sim and race sim related, and when I noticed that a lot of EVE players liked to keep a record of their activities I told myself "when in Rome..." even if I knew only a single person in all of New Eden. It was a great surprise to see players start following me and commenting on my posts. But since then a lot of the bloggers that were around when I started have completely stopped writing (as my "blogs I read" list shows), and my loss of interest for the game means I'm not reading other EVE blogs. On the flip-side I read drumming blogs, cycling blogs, and other gaming blogs. So when I start the redesign will my reader base follow me? Maybe, maybe not. But as I did when I started playing Internet Spaceships, and without any disrespect to the readers who have followed me, I write about things I'm passionate about. If people start following my passions then it's icing on the cake!

So what do I call a blog that talks about cycling, music, motorsports, FPS games, RPG games, Sci-Fi, science, and basically anything I feel like writing about on any particular day? With my current bike trip plans I did think about "Diary of a Madman" but I wouldn't want to offend any Ozzy fans, least of all Ozzy himself! Also, what should I use as a header? It's kind of hard to pin down, which is why my Cynabal is still there. I have zero Photoshop skills so one thing is sure, the next header won't be a work of art! I'm sure I'll come up with something that's not too gaudy :)

But even if I don't play the game anymore, I may keep just a little bit of EVE content if only for one reason: EVE is an awesome source of drama bombs! Yesterday's arrival of Incarna and the shit-storm that followed is a prime example. I may even keep my EVEnews24 gadget on the right, maybe down a few notches. I may not like the game anymore but it's still the one that got me writing, so might as well give it a little bit of respect. Only a little bit. I feel sorry for anyone I know whose EVE experience has been diminished because of Incarna due to the new bugs, the ressource hogging problems, or the mind-numblingly expensive vanity items. It is now clear that CCP will never listen to their player base, and they sure as fuck will never learn.


So whatever you do, may it be fly, ride, play or anything else, do it because you love it.

o7