Alie and her dolphin

Last Thursday, Mrs. Kestrel and I flew down to Tampa, where we’ll be through October 4. We’re here to celebrate our granddaughter Alison’s seventh birthday on Wednesday, and to help move Alie’s playroom upstairs, and convert the current playroom into a nursery. Originally, we had planned a to be in Tampa a week, followed by a week of “real” vacation further down Florida’s Gulf Coast. Those plans were modified with the Mother’s Day announcement that we were expecting another grandchild around Christmas.

So, we flew down on Thursday, spent Friday pretty much goofing off (Alie was in school, of course, and Eric was working), then on Saturday, packed swimsuits and sunglasses and headed to SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove, in Orlando.

It’s a pretty great place, a saltwater lagoon dug into the land near Orlando. We all thought the layout was outstanding, although a few people we overheard didn’t feel the same.There are different packages available, depending on whether or not you want to interact with dolphins, and whether you want the use of a private cabana for the day. Since this was a special event for Alie’s birthday, she and her dad added the dolphin swim, and we also got a cabana. The cabana had a locker and refrigerator, which was kept stocked with plenty of beverages—soft drinks, juice, and beer—and snacks (chips, cookies, trail mix, granola bars) throughout the day by Camilo, who was very personable, and provided outstanding service. While not everyone may want to pay the extra cost for the cabana, it worked out well for our family. The locker was huge, and gave us plenty of room for bags and backpacks, hats, purses, what-have-you.

In fact, one of the hallmarks of our day-long visit was the universal five-star service throughout the resort, from check-in, through greeters who showed us to our cabana and gave us an overview of the resort, to the dolphin trainers, as well as lifeguards and service staff. Everyone we met made a point of helping to make our day a very special one.

Regardless of the package you get, one price covers everything for the day: parking, drinks—including (pretty much unlimited) beer and cocktails, snacks, meals (both breakfast and lunch are served, cafeteria-style, with plenty of shaded outdoor seating), Panama Jack sunblock, Crabtree & Evelyn bath products in the showers, all the towels you need, wetsuits or wetsuit vests (required if you go in the water) . . . in other words, everything except your bathing suit and sunglasses (and if you need to, you can purchase those on site, at fairly reasonable prices). They also provide a mask and snorkel—and you get to keep the snorkel!

Eric and Alie got to interact with a dolphin about an hour after we arrived (which gave us just enough time to get the lay of the land, and put our stuff in the cabana). Diane, Janet, and I were able to observe from a nearby vantage point, and we got plenty of pictures and video. The dolphin interaction starts with a short introductory briefing and video: all told, about 15 minutes. Even those of us who weren’t going in the water with the dolphins were welcome to attend. Then, a short walk took us to the dolphin bays. Each group was about ten people, with a trainer and still and video photographers.¹

Alie with Dixie the dolphin. Her dad is on the far right.

The trainer introduced the dolphin and provided some information about the dolphin pods living at Discovery Cove. Participants were able to pet and, of course, kiss the dolphin. They also got a short swim with the dolphin, which Eric described as “fast!”

Eric and Diane had purchased a birthday package for Alie, so the last event of their interaction was for Dixie (the dolphin) to bring Alie a small buoy with “Happy 7th Birthday, Alison!” printed on it in permanent marker. However, Dixie decided that rather than give up the buoy to Alison, she wanted to play with it. After a few minutes, though (and, fortunately, just as their time was up), the dolphin found something else to entertain her, and Alie got her buoy, as well as a pretty cool bag of swag, including a stuffed toy dolphin, a tee-shirt, and a waterproof camera.

By then it was around 11:30, so we decided to have lunch. There was quite a nice selection, including coconut chicken curry, pulled pork sandwiches, hamburgers, salads, fresh fruit, and pretty tasty desserts. (I recommend the carrot cake, although the cheesecake was pretty good, too.)

After lunch, we donned our provided wetsuit vests, masks, and snorkels, and explored the lagoon and reef. We petted rays, and swam among thousands of tropical fish. There were quite a few more fish, in a much smaller area, than we’d seen while snorkeling in Hawai’i. ²

Alie, of course, had a blast taking underwater pictures with her camera. After about 45 minutes, we decided to take a break and rest a bit in the cabana. We then ambled over to the Lazy River, which is a freshwater river that flows through the aviary, and is a nice easy float trip (using buoyant “noodles”) that lasts between twenty and thirty minutes. We then explored the aviary on foot, and Alie had birds eating out of her hand…literally! Of course, we hadn’t brought cameras with us. Oh, well.

After another short stay in the cabana (and a margarita, or maybe two), we headed back into the lagoon. This second time we went snorkeling, Alie suddenly turned into a fish! Even her dad, who has done a couple triathlons, had trouble keeping up with her sudden changes in direction. We’d gotten a floatation vest for her, in addition to the wetsuit vest, so she was able to swim without tiring at all.

We finally got out of the water about 5:15 (the water is emptied of people at 5:30), and showered and changed. We picked up pizzas on the way home, and pretty much collapsed after a very full, very fun day. If you’re planning a vacation to central Florida, I highly recommend a day at Discovery Cove.

A Day at Discovery Cove is a post from: Kestrel's Aerie

 

When last I posted, I mentioned I’d have a post up soon regarding Priest changes in 3.1 Clearly that hasn’t happened, nor will it. Generally I refrain from addressing speculative changes, and in the clear light of day (my link to MMO-Champion in my last post was made well after midnight!), I realized I wasn’t about to change that.

I’m not a QQ’er. Oh, I can bitch with the best of ‘em–in college, my nickname was Lucy Van Pelt–but after 20 years or so of MMORPGing, I’ve come to understand that game developers really don’t hate us–any of us (well, not our classes, anyway, although I am sure there is some strong dislike for certain people; I’m sure you can guess why). So, no 3.1 analysis while it’s in testing, no copying Osprey to the PTR (I’m sure Matt’s group is healer-heavy anyway!), no QQing on the official forums.

Sure, I’ll read blog articles regarding 3.1, and I’ve been following some of the PlusHeal discussion regarding the patch, but I’m not going to concern myself too much with what may or may not change. For example, look at one significant change already known: Originally, dual spec changes were going to require a Lexicon of Power. The patch hits the PTR and Boom! no LoP required. Click a button and presto change-o! Personally, I’m disappointed by that change, but in the long run, it’s not a big deal to me, even though I could make a fairly ranty article about it.

Enough about 3.1: Already three more paragraphs than I’d intended!

Progression

In other news…The Oroborus is working on Heroic Eye of Eternity. We took six shots at Malygos last night and got him under 30 percent. We seem to be spending too much time in phase 1. Healing is not a problem at all, but corralling sparks seems to be. Once that gets ironed out, we should be in much better shape. We still seem to lose too many people in phase 2. I died once, going from full to dead in nothing flat, and I was smack dab in the middle of a dome. One of the scions decided I was George, and that, as they say, was that.

On our last attempt, I healed well and shielded well (Malygos fixed his gaze on me way too many times for my comfort!), and didn’t die till the enrage timer expired. We’ll get there–perhaps as early as tonight.

Blogging and Other Writing

As this article perhaps illustrates, I’ve hit a rut. Or a dead end. I haven’t been inspired to write much the past week. I think part of it has to do with reflecting on some of the changes in the WoW Blogosphere (the demise of Chain Trap, the impending demise of Resto4Life, and Bre’s decision to focus strictly on her non-WoW blog, for example). More and more I am feeling the tug to write about more than "just WoW." I’ve started exploring other interests of late, including creative writing (I really hate that term: it reminds me too much of 11th Grade English).

If you follow Breana’s blog(s), you know I’ve been helping her by editing and proofing her "Fever" serial. That exercise rekindled the smoldering embers of my creative side as well, and I’ve written Chapter 1 of a story that started with a dream. I’ve no idea yet where that story is going: It could be a mystery, a thriller, science-fiction, or a combination of any or all of those. The people who’ve read it have given me a lot of encouragement, so I want to continue that. I also think I should at least try my hand at a short fan-fiction piece; unfortunately, I think my lack of lore-knowledge may prove to be my undoing there. On the other hand, I’m sure I could find someone to help me out in that regard. The big question is, do I have the imagination to truly engage prospective readers? Time will tell.

I’ve also considered, and probably decided, to expand the scope of Kestrel’s Aerie. There is more to (my) life than WoW (although my closest friends may dispute that), and I want to talk about other things that interest me. I still enjoy WoW, don’t get me wrong, and I still enjoy writing about it (current slump notwithstanding). But I am not one-dimensional, so I don’t think I want to write in a single dimension either. Of course, I could start a second blog, and I’ve considered that, but I don’t have the focus of a Tami Moore, for instance, to be able to manage multiple blogs. (You may have noticed I’m too lazy today to even include links! You either know these people anyway, or if you’re interested enough, you’ll Google them. If you do go looking for them, you won’t be disappointed.)

Personal

And now comes the more serious reason for my current fog. As you know, we were in California for a week last month for a family reunion of sorts. Our three sons joined us, as well as my wife’s brother and his wife, at my mother-in-law’s home near San Luis Obispo. Long-time readers may recall my mother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last May. Up until late fall or thereabouts, the disease was mostly kept at bay through chemotherapy. Mom’s desire was to maintain her quality of life as high as possible. She’d go down to UCLA Medical Center every couple weeks for treatments, but she didn’t want to move down to my brother-in-law’s home. We all supported that decision: After all, her friends and interests were not in Los Angeles.

Eventually, however, she stopped the chemo: The trips to LA and back were too taxing. My wife spent a couple weeks with her in January, and of course we enjoyed some time with her last month (her 81st birthday was this past weekend). Sunday, her son took her to the hospital, where she was admitted, at least overnight. My wife will probably be flying to California Tuesday or Wednesday. Right now, the prognosis is in terms of weeks; in any event, we all recognize the end is nearer rather than farther. And while we all know Mom has had a pretty full life, that knowledge doesn’t make the current state of affairs any better. Compounding the situation, one of her lifelong friends passed away over the weekend after a lengthy illness, and another, closer friend is not expected to survive the week.

As my wife said the other night, Mom’s not fighting back anymore. She got to see her grandchildren and great-granddaughter again; her children will be near. So now, we wait. Waiting is the hardest part.

This and That: An Update of Sorts is a post from: Kestrel's Aerie

 

Sunday will be a large family brunch in honor of my mother-in-law and her approaching 81st birthday (Feb. 29, so she really doesn’t get one this year). All told there will be 15 of us at brunch. Our immediate family will stay in the area through Wednesday, when we’ll drive back down to the Los Angeles area for some sightseeing and a Thursday trip to Disneyland for my 4-year-old granddaughter (not that the rest of us won’t be enjoying the Magic Kingdom, either!)

Friday night my brother-in-law is hosting dinner, complete with his home-brewed beers and homemade wines. Should be a fantastic evening. Then on Saturday, back to reality (i.e., freezing temperatures, snow, ice; in other words, winter in the Midwest).

So for the next 8 days, there won’t be much going on at the Aerie; however, I do have an add-on review scheduled to debut on Monday morning. In the meantime, Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Presidents’ Day, and enjoy Love is in the Air!

On the Road Again is a post from: Kestrel's Aerie

 

I’ve been very busy playing in Northrend, when I have had the chance. Osprey is 77 now (as of Monday night), and Kestrel is about 1/3 to 1/4 of a level from 72. 

Right now, I’m in Illinois spending the Thanksgiving weekend with my oldest son and his family. Our middle son drove down with us, and the youngest flew in from NYC on Thursday, so the whole family is together through the weekend.

I have several ideas for blog articles, but it seems the time available to write said articles gets filled in other (probably less productive) ways. However, once I get back home, at least for a few weeks before our house is filled with family for Christmas, I intend to set up and adhere to a personal schedule to help ensure I get a couple articles a week posted here. 

I also have some work to do for the TNB Wiki I need to catch up on, and that will be a priority next Wednesday (we’re driving home Monday/Tuesday). So I hope to have at least one article up next week, and two per week after that.

So I hope you can forgive my epic slacking of the past little bit…lots more Aerie goodness Coming Soon!

Hope all my U.S. readers and other friends had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as I did, and that your weekend continues to be a great one!

Just A Quick Update… is a post from: Kestrel's Aerie

 

Alrighty then…now that’s out of the way, what’s the point? The point is, in about 20 hours, Mrs. Kestrel and I will start driving mostly west and some south to California, before we fly to Honolulu on Sunday.

Our itinerary will take us to Evanston WY tomorrow (just NE of the Utah state line), then diagonally through Utah on Thursday, to Las Vegas. On Friday, we’ll drive across the Golden State (the not-so-golden parts: mostly desert) to Los Osos on the Central Coast (just north of San Luis Obispo), where we’ll spend the night at my mother-in-law’s.

Saturday, the three of us will drive down to Los Angeles (Palos Verde Estates, for those familiar with the LA area), to my brother-in-law’s house. Looking forward to some of Bill’s home-brewed beer and homemade wine! Saturday night, Mrs. K, her mom, and I are meeting friends for dinner: The woman who introduced us 36 years ago, and her husband. I’m hoping for Mexican food.

Sunday morning, we trek to LAX for our flight to Oahu. The five of us are renting a house in the Kaelua area for a week.¹

We don’t have any firm plans, but dinner with my wife’s uncle and a snorkeling trip to Haunauma Bay are on the agenda. I will also lobby strongly for dinner at the Kona Brewing Company brewpub (in fact, that will be my suggestion for dinner with Uncle Bob).

We return to Los Angeles on Sunday the 28th. The next day, Mrs. K and I will take Mom to her chemo appointment at UCLA Medical Center (and I’m hoping to visit the Student Store at my alma mater) before driving back up to Los Osos. We’ll stay there a couple days, then start the drive home on Thursday, October 2.

I’ll have the new MacBook Pro with me (more on that shortly), although I’m not planning on blogging. However, I hope to be twitting via the iPod Touch or the Mac. I’ll also try to check e-mail (the house we’re renting has wi-fi) and respond to comments here. However, opening the laptop will not be a major concern! Mai-tais and mahi-mahi will be.

A small consideration was the ability to play WoW; however, since that wasn’t a major factor, I ended up with the lower-priced MacBook Pro. It’s still 1.5 lb lighter than my Windows laptop, has the same 2GB of RAM (upgradeable to 4GB), and an nVidia GeForce video card.

I went to the local Apple authorized seller, but they had none in stock. I wasn’t about to pay $75 for them to have one overnighted. Instead, I drove up to Best Buy. I was in and out in about 5 minutes.

Say what you will about Apple, but their packaging is outstanding. I’m not one to get all gushy about the "out of box" experience, but it’s sure a LOT easier to unpack and set up any Apple product than it is a similar non-Apple item. (Note to Steve Jobs: License the MagSafe connector technology to everyone, make tons of money, and establish a standard for powering portable devices.)

It took almost no time for the Mac to boot up, set itself up and get my user info. I almost hate to say it, but I like the requirement to use one’s account password to install applications.

It took another 30 minutes, give or take (I wasn’t paying a lot of attention) for the Mac to update its software­–OS X, iTunes, Safari, and a couple other things. Then I downloaded Firefox.

A few differences between Mac and PC:

• Mac "delete" = PC "backspace"; there is no Insert/Delete key.
• Windows can only be resized from the bottom left corner, or the Max/Min buttons; I miss being able to resize from any edge
• Control key (and, I suspect, the alt/option key) doesn’t do the same as on a PC. Command-C and Command-V are the copy/insert functions.
• I love the Dock.
• Application menus are not on the apps themselves; instead, there is a contextual menu bar at the top of the screen. By contextual, I mean it changes depending on which window has focus. Took me a bit of getting used to, but I like it.

I had to deauthorize all my computers in Apple Store, in order to authorize the Mac for my iPod. Not a huge deal; I think it was authorized on my old work laptop and my son’s MacBook, in addition to my old laptop and my desktop. Might have been authorized on my old work desktop too. Not one of those things you’d remember to do, I think.

Now all I need is to figure out how to get my MS Office 2007 on to the Mac. I know I can run a Windows emulator; that may be a project going forward. I also know my son can probably provide a (legal–he’s an MS employee) key for me. Not sure he can get the software though. Will e-mail him to find out.

I also got Adium chat client for the Mac. It’s good, but Pidgin is still more laptop-friendly in terms of screen real estate. (I think Spaces may help there, but I haven’t had time to check that out.) I was very pleased to realize TweetDeck works under OS X as well.
I almost forgot to mention that the keyboard is very comfortable, and I love the way the touchpad works with two-finger scrolling as well as expand/contract. Very intuitive!

One thing I do need to find is a good list of keyboard shortcuts, until I get used to the different special keys on the Mac.

All in all, I’m very happy with the MacBook. Definitely looking forward to playing with it more on the trip.

And so until next month, mahalo for stopping by the Aerie, and aloha!

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Hawai’i Calls! is a post from: Kestrel's Aerie