From the category archives:

Soapbox

O, Canada!

March 1, 2010

If I weren’t an American, I’d want to be a Canadian. I used to think I’d want to be an Aussie, or a Kiwi. But the past fortnight has brought home to me just what wonderful neighbors we have to the north. I’ve been privileged to count Canadians among my friends for many years; I’m [...]

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Giving More Than Thanks

November 25, 2009

Tomorrow, the United States celebrates Thanksgiving. Originally a religious holiday, it has become much more secular over the past century or so. In doing so, however, it has also become, in my view, a much more revered holiday.1 Christmas has become way too commercial (the day before Halloween, I was in a home center and [...]

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On Veterans Day

November 11, 2009

Tuesday morning, I saw the following editorial cartoon in the local newspaper.
First, let me make it absolutely clear that I endorse the sentiment here one hundred percent. As a Veteran myself,1 you better believe I recognize and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.
However, I am a little [...]

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What I’m Tweeting: Win7 and Other Topics

October 21, 2009

As you know, Twitter is a way to microblog in 140 characters or less. But sometimes, 140 just aren’t enough. Here are some of my thoughts from earlier today, with a bit of expansion. I should note that most of my comments are directed at the larger part of my audience: Home users, hobbyists, gamers. [...]

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Calling the Wipe: Do’s and Don’ts

September 21, 2009

Last week, CLOSED underwent its second guild merger of the summer. The first merger was a drama-filled disaster, with only a handful of the original members of THE OROBORUS staying with Closed. But last week, we went from 8 or 9 online on a raid night, to 30-something! As a result, we were in Ulduar-25 [...]

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English Comp 101 – Cliff Notes Version

September 16, 2009

Today’s post introduces a new post category for the Aerie, "Writing." I hope this won’t be the only article in this category, but I do hope all are helpful.
I’ve also categorized this article under "Soapbox" because it is a rant, of sorts. Yes, I am going to put on my grammar nazi hat. Sorry, I [...]

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Reflections on the Moon

July 20, 2009

Forty years ago today—July 20, 1969—Man walked on another celestial body for the first time. I was reminded of the first moon landing today in an excellent editorial by Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post.
A few weeks earlier (the 25th anniversary of D-Day, in fact), I’d graduated from high school. The week before graduation, [...]

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Blizzard: You’re Joking, Right?

May 16, 2009

Last night, shortly before I logged, I sent Talons, one of my alts, to the Auction House in Ironforge to get a Dream Shard: I needed four to enchant a new weapon for Falken, my Rogue, and only had three in the bank.
I verified (even over Skype to two friends) that my buyout bid [...]

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A New Pet Peeve

April 28, 2009

Would someone please forward me the memo on abbreviations, because I seem to have missed it. Specifically, I’m talking about the one where the first word’s abbreviation is two letters rather than one.
Need some examples? Since when did Prayer of Healing and Prayer of Mending become ProH and ProM? I’m seeing this increasingly at [...]

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“You have aggro”: 3 words I hate in WoW

April 24, 2009

If you don’t read Jessika the Tank, who fancies herself “Pretty in Plate” (and who am I to disagree??), you should. She got on her soapbox today, and I am going to join her there. And oh-by-the-way, the three words are not, “You have aggro.”
Jess addressed three all-too-common words we see in WoW, her distaste [...]

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