Women love WoW?

OK, I have to admit that this story really surprised me.

“It’s amazing how Nielsen can get these numbers but they’re reporting a total of 428,621 female WoW players while there are 675,713 male players within the age groups of 25 to 54.

The statistic is even more impressive when considering that an estimated 675,713 unique male players of the same age group logged into World of Warcraft during the period, indicating that the WoW gender gap may not be as large as some imagine.”

Who knew that women love WoW almost as much as men? I know that Blizzard claims to have millions of users, so I guess the rest are male teenagers? Surely there are not hundreds of thousands of girls slogging though WoW?

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The last Dungeon Master passes on …

The last of the original Dungeon Masters, Dave Arneson, passed away today just thirteen months after Gary Gygax (March 2008).

There are numerous guys my age that were very much influenced by the original box set of Dungeons & Dragons, the “red” and “blue” Basic and Expert sets, and of course Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I still remember when I finally realized that the two sets of rules (D&D vs. AD&D) were in fact different, and no, you do not go from Basic to Expert, to Advanced. LOL

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Browsers statistics for those that like math.

I thought this was an interesting article about browser adoption. Even if it is European centric, it shows some interesting insights into the browser market.

“On an average basis, IE remains the dominant browser globally, according to Net Applications. However, the market share was 66.82%, the lowest level for IE in about a decade. Firefox marches on and came in at 22.05%, the highest number published by the market research firm so far. Safari climbed back up to 8.23%, after having dropped to 8.05% in February, and Google’s Chrome continued to gain slightly to 1.23%. For the month, IE was down 0.62 percentage points, Firefox up 0.28 points, Safari up by 0.21 points and Chrome up by 0.08 points. We will leave the Opera browser out of consideration in this article, as its share has always remained between 0.69% and 0.75% over the past year and has not shown substantial gains or losses. Its current share is estimated at 0.71%.”

My family is pretty much exclusive to FireFox and Opera, except for those sites that demand IE. I have not played around much with Chrome, and while Safari is available on Vista, I have never given it a go. The article goes on to show some trends for weekdays (IE6 is popular in the business world), weekend (drop off of 4% of IE6), and points out that IE is better adopted in the US.

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Bushnell ELITE 3200 goes under the knife.

I recently posted on the Straight Shooters forum that my Bushnell Elite 3200 7-21-40 Scope has encountered some unforeseen issues. My very expensive scope has some strange spots on it that cannot be cleaned, but one of the Straight Shooters owners attempted to clarify the situation.

“When the scope is assembled, there is nitrogen on the inside to keep things dry. A small amount of oil is placed around the rim to attract any loose nitrogen dust that might be floating around, much like an oil spot on a garage floor attracts dust. However, once in awhile, probably due to the two way recoil of the airgun, a small amount of that oil can get splattered onto the back of the lens. You can’t see it when shooting but you can sometimes see the small drops if you look into the lens from the large (wrong) end.”

The Bushnell warranty information looks fairly solid. According to the manual and online site info …

“We are so proud of our Bushnell® ELITE® Riflescopes that their materials and workmanship are warranted to be free of defects for the life of the ELITE Riflescope. The warranty is available to any owner of the ELITE Riflescope. No receipt or warranty card is required. This warranty does not cover damages caused by misuse or improper handling, installation or maintenance of the riflescope.”

I decided to send in the scope for repairs. While the spots are not hurting anything (at least right now), they do bother me. Besides, the scope is worth a car payment, so I figured I would see if I could get Bushnell to correct the problem.

I will provide an update after I get my response from Bushnell.

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Till Tuesday.

No, not what you are thinking. Will the ‘birds be in Prime Time? Only a few more days to wonder …
 

“The 2009 NFL schedule will be released in prime time for the first time, exclusively on NFL.com and NFL Network, on Tuesday, April 14 at 7:00 PM ET. The entire 2009 schedule will be announced and analyzed on NFL.com and NFL Network during a two-hour primetime NFL Total Access: 2009 Schedule Release Presented by GMC Sierra. …”

I have a serious Jones for some Falcons right now. Cannot wait to see my seat upgrades, and to see what sort of tailgate specials I am going to get for the 2009 season.

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Bye-bye Laurent. Hello value picks.

Earlier this week the Falcons moved wide receiver Laurent Robinson to St. Louis for a swap of fifth and six round picks.

“Atlanta sent wide receiver Laurent Robinson to St. Louis along with a fifth-round choice (160th overall) and a sixth-round pick (No. 196). In return, the Falcons will get St. Louis’ fifth-round pick (138th) and sixth-round choice (176th overall).”

Much to the chagrin of The Falcoholic:

“Despite that, I still don’t like this move at all. When we drafted L-Rob in the third round, he flashed speed and pass catching skill in his rookie season. He was a complete non-factor last season, yes, and maybe he’s going to turn out to be an injury-prone player. He had a lot of upside, though, and that’s something we don’t really have outside of Roddy White and Harry Douglas. Michael Jenkins is a quality option, but we know that his ceiling is a decent number two receiver with good blocking skills. Nobody else on the roster right now–and yes, I’m looking right into your soulful eyes, Eric Weems–has the upside Robinson had. Letting him go to move 20 spots up in two of the latest rounds of the draft immediately weakens the depth of our receiving corps in the short-term and long-term.”

Me? I do not think this is such a shitty trade. The Falcons managed to move up approximately 20 spots in the fifth and six rounds for a WR that shows some promise, but one that will be buried on the Falcons depth charts. Why not cut bait, get what they can for essentially nothing, considering Laurent had no future in Atlanta? According to the FalconsInsider @ scout.com …

“Between Robinson’s injuries, no visible role in the offense or on special teams, and general manager Thomas Dimitroff inheriting Robinson and having nothing personally invested in the former 3rd round pick, the Falcons used the talented receiver to significantly improve the team’s draft position in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Dimitroff has also done Robinson a favor by trading him to a team he has the potential to start for. As nice a guy Dimitroff assuredly is, I’m not sure how much that played into the Falcons’ thought process, if it did at all.”

I think this is a good move, especially when you consider the NFL Draft Value Chart. At some point you have to take some risks in order to move onwards.

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Finally! Gordon takes a checkered flag!

With his victory today in Texas, Jeff Gordon finally ended a winless streak that dated all the way back to October 2007. Good grief, 47 races, and the kicker was that he had never won at Texas Motor Speedway in 16 previous tries, until today.

Gordon heads into the Easter weekend off week with 162 points in hand over second place Jimmie Johnson.

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Pest control, Beeman R1 .20 Carbine style.

Today was a banner day for best control. While the weather was great yesterday, I was stuck in the office most of the day, so I did not have an opportunity to work out my .177 R7 or .20 R1 Carbine (.22 R1 is currently sans scope, so it is not in the rotation). I told my wife that I thought I earned some trigger time, and while she agreed, it was raining so that pretty much put the brakes on that idea.

The rain forced my planned ribs cookout into the comfortable confines of the kitchen via the Jenn-Air. While cooking I looked at the window and saw a big, nasty brown rat. The dreaded scum was foraging in the yard in the light drizzle.
I am like – “Oh crap! Look at the size of that rat!” I do not have an airgun on hand, so I quickly grab get the Carbine out of storage, and frantically gather up some JSB Exacts. My pulse is racing and I am worried that the rat is going to be gone in the 30 or so seconds it takes me to gather up my gear and quietly open the window in the half batch just off the kitchen.

I figured I did not have much time before the rat spooked so I quickly sighted in the varmint, and figured I was looking at ~20 yards. Careful … careful … deep breaths. Pulse was still racing as my heart was pounding. Steady. Lightly on the trigger … gently squeeze. The Carbine let loose hell’s furry. The rat drops instantly. A few seconds later the rat had enough life in it that it started to do the two step, but quickly decided it was ready to let go of this world. Just to be safe, I put in a second shot to bring its life to a close.

Not too terribly graphic, but click at your own risk …

My wife agrees that the R1 Carbine just earned its keep!

I thought that would be the end of the story, but instead, several other opportunities were presented to the Carbine. As I have mentioned before, the chipmunks are making a mess of the yard and digging perilously close to the garage apartment foundation. I took out one at ~27 yards, and a couple of hours later the Carbine rang true with a second ~27 yard instant kill thanks to the JSB Exacts.

As if that were not enough, a couple more varmints presented shots of opportunities, but I am going to save those stories for another day.

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Worth Reading (Squirrel Hunting and Total Airguns).

When I am not shooting (plinking, punching paper, or pest controlling), I have been reading a couple of interesting books. A few weeks ago, I wrote a blurb that I had ordered “The Ultimate Guide to Squirrel Hunting: Everything You Need to Know to Hunt This Popular Game Animal” by Bob Gooch. I planned to write a more detailed review for this out of print book, but I have not really had much time to throw work up a review. The book is a very quick read, entertaining, but not necessarily must read material. It is not at all about airguns, but obviously squirrel hunting is an interesting topic for those of us that like to take these critters with our adult air rifles. The author focuses on squirrel hunting; no mention of the sport of pest control.

I have also been browsing “Total Airguns: The complete guide to hunting with air rifles” by Pete Wadeson. This one is a must read for me. The book is very informative, and an easy read. Even if “Total Airguns” is British centric, it contains a wealth of knowledge. I plan to review this one as well, but have not had enough time to write anything interesting.

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Freedom from choice.

Last week the local Fox affiliate decided not to carry the new Osbournes Reloaded reality show. Apparently it does not fit the moral decency standards of the local community. Not that I had any intentions of watching the show, but I just love it when someone decides for me that something is not fit for my viewing pleasure.

I was trying to get my video game jones moving in the right direction this morning, so I took a look at the latest news and came across this strange article about the UK attempting to ban Rapelay.

It’s easy to be offended by a game whose concept revolves around raping a family of women, one of them being much below the age of consent. But the controversy and subsequent banning of Rapelay is especially ironic when you take into consideration the amount of explicit “fantasy” material that actually reaches the mainstream.

Do I agree with this sort of game? Nope. Would I let my kids play it? Nope. Does it need to be banned to protect me? Nope.

Of course there are deeper issues than just banning Rapelay. Some things are taboo (or at least should be), but video games are held to a higher standard of moral judgment than other forms of media. Playboy is considered appropriate if you are 18 or older, but the same sort of content (i.e. pictures of T&A) are not suitable for a video game. Why? Once again, as an adult, I do not need someone deciding if I should or should not purchase a video game with “adult” content, but I will make the decision for my children. That is not only my right as a parent, but my duty and obligation.

If Rapelay were a movie, it would be controversial, but surely not banned. Released as a game, all hell breaks loose.

Let me be clear, violence against women should not be tolerated. If that is what you think I am suggesting, you missed the point. I just do not need the government, or TV station to decide for me what is morally acceptable.

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Team USA pulls away from Trinidad & Tobago.

I only got to watch the second half of this one, but what I saw was enjoyable. Where did Jozy Altidore come from?

After sitting on the bench for European clubs during most of the season, the 19-year-old became the youngest American with an international hat trick, leading the United States over Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday night.

Making just his fourth international start, Altidore connected in the 13th, 71st and 89th minutes, all three times off passes from Landon Donovan. He also scored as a substitute in the 77th minute last Saturday to start the U.S. comeback from a two-goal deficit in a 2-2 tie at El Salvador.

While the US controlled most of the game, a couple of things bothered me. First, they could not finish a few build-ups that I thought were going to be sure fire goals. Second, at times, especially on quick counters, the defense seemed suspect (maybe out of position), often playing from behind to make a last second tackle or block.

On a positive side, the US did recover nicely after the El Salvador let down. When Donovan had the ball, he looked strong, creating opportunities for others (assists on all three Altidore goals).

Next up is a road challenge at Costa Rica (June 3). The US still heads the CONCACAF table by a point, and has the best goal differential at +5.

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Falcons announce preseason schedule.

It is hard to get excited about the NFL preseason games, except that I love NFL football. I always enjoy seeing how the rookies perform, and seeing how the Falcons are going to fill out their roster.

The atlantafalcons.com and nfl.com have just posted some preseason schedules. This year the Falcons go to Detroit (preseason week 1), St. Louis (preseason week 2), followed by home games against San Diego (preseason week 3), and end the preseason with Baltimore (preseason week 4). The San Diego game is a National Broadcast by CBS; Saturday August 28 at 8PM.

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Mock Draft Take 4.

Please say it isn’t true. Could the Falcons possibly be looking to go with a TE with their first round pick? Half of the usatoday.com panel (4 out of 8 pundits) thinks this is a likely scenario.

  • Jim Corbett – Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
  • Nate Davis – Brian Cushing, LB, Southern California Derek Harper – Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
  • Sean Leahy – Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
  • Matt Pitzer – Evander Hood, DT, Missouri
  • Rob Rang – Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech
  • Larry Weisman – Louis Delmas, S, W. Michigan
  • Scott Zucker – Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State

Early on in my off season reports I did list a decent dump off safety net type TE as a need, but good grief, we do not need to revisit the Reeves era of taking a TE (or two) early and often.

Up until this report, I felt certain the Falcons were going to go defense with their first couple of picks, but now I am getting worried. Where there’s smoke, there is fire. Looks like the coals are smoldering.

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