NIGHT_RUNNER

Hmmm... this might actually prompt me to play. Or not

Yes Belated Hippo Birdees to you, Viv. I'm sorry that I missed the actual day.

I hope that the upcoming year brings you much fun and joy.

I think the suggestion of games is a good one.

Getting something that all three would enjoy - given the age range - would be a challenge; but I know that there are some games that my wife's six year old niece was able to play with us and the older niece and nephew. These included Scrabble, Boggle
and Scatagories.

I have no idea where this might fit on the appropriate meter either for gender or age, but when I was young I loved the Dark is Rising series of books by Susan Cooper.

(In fact, a while back I bought the series again with the intention of giving it to neices/nephews, but I still haven't been able to decide to whom precisely and now I'm afraid that they might be too old for the books.)

Still, I loved them when I read them; and they were part of the reason I bristled when the Harry Potter stuff came out and people started talking about fantasy fiction for kids like it was a NEW thing...

Oh my goodness!

Maybe the third thing will actually be good, for a change?

What everyone else said. Sometimes, life rather bites; but it is good that no-one was hurt. Hopefully insurance will take a large chunk of worry away, reducing the whole thing to just a serious nuisance.

Take care of you and yours, Viv!

Hi. My name is NIGHT RUNNER. (Not really.) Or Uldar the Skilled. (In my other game; but again, not really.) And I am a MMORPG addict.

But it is a nice addiction. It doesn't cost much. No one dies (at least not literally.) I remain functional: I work to support myself and my household, I eat, I sleep and I shower fairly regularly. I am capable of conversation about things OTHER than the games I play. I can even sit in the living room (without game in sight) and perform my central matrimonial function: a good ear as my wife reviews the drama of her day (and she's a high school teacher, so there's a fair bit of drama to cover )

My wife is not a gamer. She doesn't understand my gaming. She says.

And then I catch her playing Spider Solitaire when there are any number of other things she could/should be doing. So she isn't into MMORPGs, but she does understand addiction.

Going back to the OP, it sounds like there were a lot of issues OTHER than the gaming. I think it is very important to recognize our partners for who they are and take a look at the whole package on balance, good and bad. Yes, I game. Yes, I can be a little obesessed about it at times (like when I was depressed/melancholy for two weeks after getting a new computer because I couldn't play my games the way I used to). But I can also carry on normal engaging conversation with people. I perform comedy improv. And some people (my wife included) even find me intelligent and witty on occasion.

So I think the challenge is to find a nice woman with a balanced perspective. I don't know if you're as ancient as I am (44), but I have found that once they get past their "bad boy" and/or "I can fix him" stages, some women can be pretty sensible. (I'm sure that there is a parallel comment that can be made about people of my gender.)

/e ducks any possible objects thrown in his direction

Ok Hamster: what is up with all the pictures? Sheesh. (And there is a typo in the first one, but maybe that was the whole point...)

I have not done spreadsheets for CoX, but in my other game I have at least five that I use to track my characters, quests, objects, armor, etc, etc...

So I think technically the answer to the question: "How anal am I?" The answer is: VERY. (Of course people I know who don't play MMORPGs just think I'm insane, but what do they know?)

Hippo Birdee to You

And I thought that my reply was going to be original...

NIGHT RUNNER was based on one of my very first Champions characters. He was my first CoX character and is one my two 50s (the other being an Isolator). Sunspawn is based on my very first Champions character.

I had other conventions for naming characters in other computer games (Fladnag, anyone?), but Champions was what got me wanting superhero-based computer games for AGES; so that was my inspiration here.

Hippo Birdee to you

Yep it was the keyboard language.

Thanks for the suggestions

I get another silly symbol, as per the keyboard that came with the system.
I will try the language solution to see if that works (fingers crossed).

I recently purchased a new Gateway computer that runs Windows 7.

The keyboard that came with the computer appeared to be configured oddly - for example pressing shift and 2 would not produce an at sign (@).

I decided to replace that keyboard with the old Dynex one I was using; however, the wierd configuration seems to persist following the change.

Any suggestions from the IT-savvy as to how I might fix this?

Thanks.

Actually, she originally had a laptop. The thought was that she could use it at the dining room table and then it could be easily removed when we wanted to use the table to entertain. Well:

- the dining room quickly became her "office," filled with papers/clutter;
- the laptop died (the screen started to black out/fade after about a year);
- we replaced the laptop with an old desktop (now 6 years old) and a clunky monitor.

Now with a new decent desktop and an LCD monitor it will be easier to work in her "office," but we aren't that much closer to recovering the space as a dining room

I just got tired of all the wires, especially the long blue one running out to the dining room to connect my wife's computer to the router...

I think that I will be able to still use wires for my own computer that will likely be in the same room as the router. We'll see. I'm still afraid that there will be problems setting things up - but I guess that's why I allowed myself to be convinced to pay for them to set it all up for me.

I'm still scared, though. Computers scare me. Change scares me.

Someone hold me. Viv? Where are you when I need you?

Just thought I would provide an update that I shelled out last night to buy a truly uber computer. Over the top, in fact.

I should be happy, but I'm afraid. They will be coming tonight to deliver and set it up. I'm also changing to wireless router, wireless fax/scan/copy/printer, etc, etc.

I am afraid. Very afraid. But once they are done and I get my games installed things will be better, right? right???

Ok admittedly I have a TV on my desk as well. I guess I could use a second screen for that. Or use a second display for a second game/other software. Is such a thing easy to set up?

But why two monitors?

Why?

WHY???

This is a well-timed thread, as I too am contemplating a computer purchase - mostly because the one of my older computers that my wife has been using is on its last legs, but while I'm buying one computer, why not more? (I'm actually thinking of three: a basic one for her, an uber gaming one for me and a latop that either of us could use. Yes, this is what tax refunds can do for you...)

But I have an additional question for some of those who responded to date: why do you have TWO monitors? What do you use them for? Do you recommend that set-up to enhance the gaming experience?

Actually, the resemblance is very scary.

And the mental connections one can make:
- Gary Busey in Under Seige? Macaque in a dress.

Yep: VERY scary.

Not that my opinion matters, because I haven't really played for a while, but... yeah Viv - don't leave!

Testing... testing... 1.. 2... 3...

Hippo Birdees to you