This is a reply to Eddie (@Brigwyn) and his opinions on addons in MMO's from the Rift Riders Podcast.  I'm not trying to change his mind, I just want to put my feelings on the subject out there.

     First a little background on me. I raided in vanilla WoW as a Orc Warlock in the guild Dreadstorm. That guild broke up before Burning Crusade and I didn't raid again until Wrath. My first lvl 80 was a Dwarf Hunter, and this is were the story gets pertinent. I was told by my guild leader, after the 4th wipe, that if I didn't get my autotargeting under control I would not be welcome in a group. As a result I leveled a gnome warlock. I currently play a Kelari Cloromancer named Zytamb in Alea Iacta Est on the Deepwood shard. Because of my work schedule the only raiding I get is during invasions.

     My problem is I can tend to fixate and get tunnel vision when I'm under stress. This happens in every aspect of my life. When I was a hunter I fixated on so much on my rotation that I didn't pay attention to the auto switch target issue hunters used to have. I guess that makes my a Huntard. I have been known to fall off a ledge trying to get behind a mob because I forget where I am. In a situation were I need to be sure I'm not standing in the fire my DPS will plunge because I will forget to cast. I use addons to brake me out of this tunnel vision. I use addons to improve my own ability, I have never used any addons to judge another player. Well, that's just my two cents.

    Crossed posted to http://riftriders.net/2012/01/rift-riders-ep-24-er-23-spending-time-with-redhawk/#comment-57

  

'Tis the Season

    Being a Buddhist I always feel a little left out this time of year. The idea of a person giving out presents to children is not unique to Christianity. In Buddhism there is the bodhisattva Budai (10th c. CE), also known as the Laughing Buddha. When most people think of a fat jolly Buddha this is who they are thinking of. Traditionally he is depicted as carrying is few belongings in a bindle, waking the countryside giving candy to children.
     In many religions it seems that the idea of generosity, lovingkindness, and a time of merriment and gift giving, In the more northern areas I can understand why that would come around the winter solstice. The long cold dark times are when people could need to come together to make it through the more lean times that are coming after the bounty of the harvest. in modern times we seems to have lost the need for that. I got together with some friends on Friday, but the rest of the long weekend I'm spending alone.