A Blogging Surprise – 2018 Liebster Nomination

I have been on the internet for a long time. Sometimes I am running a page over at Blogger.com, sometimes I am publishing my own Sci-Fi novel, or reviewing technology, or maybe just spewing glorified fan fiction from my favorite franchise.

Honestly, I find blogging to be a relaxing hobby that allows me to do some writing that isn’t always technical documentation!

So, I was very surprised when I was recently nominated for the 2018 Liebster Award by Alunaria over at Alunaria’s Avenue.

I consider this a very kind gesture and it is rewarding to think that I have an audience that is reading all of the nonsensical content I put out there on the world wide web.

I remember Alunaria was one of the first people to “Like” a post I made after I transitioned my blog to WordPress. I checked out her own blog, curious to know who this person was that had found my content, and I’ve been a fan of her posts ever since, from the clever crafting projects she produces to the in-game adventures she journals.

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So What is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award is an award shared among bloggers that attempts to highlight new blogs and share their content with others in the blogging environment. All of the official rules for participating and nominating others can be found at the official rules post for 2018.

Part of participating in this nomination if to give readers a little more information about you as a blogger, which includes providing some information:

• What Makes you Passionate about Blogging
• Provide 10 Facts about Yourself
• Nominate Other Bloggers

It’s true, that this feels a little “chain mail” in its mentality, like those old posts I would share on MySpace or Livejournal when I was younger… and that’s kinda the point, right?

Those were fun, so I’m in.

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What Makes Me Passionate about Blogging?

The real answer? Division.

In our new age of internet culture, the idea of almost anything, from technology to games… even computer hardware… is that there is a right and a wrong choice. Often times, this equates to a win or lose mentality on the internet. Your favorite author often times has fan sites, and sites that are designed just to tear that author down. The same for your favorite tv show, or your best novel.

Many times, it feels like the negative side of things wins out. For example, I have played a video game called World of Warcraft for over 12 years. I have always enjoyed the game, appreciated the work the developers and writers undertake to create that content for me, and I have thanked them with silence. I never patted them on the back, or praised them for their efforts. I just played their game.

Meanwhile, over the years, the ability to tear down their work has become easier and easier, and boy do people take advantage of it! Over the last several years, I’ve watched “fans” absolutely attack and deride these normal human beings that are just doing their job.

Technology? Oh wow. Have you ever watched two techies get into an argument over Apple and Android? Which is right and which is wrong?

So, all this time, I try to bring to my blog a positivity that I think is sorely missing from the internet discussion. It’s easy to tear something down, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right course of action.

These are just games… just phones…

What we need to focus on is the passion and the work that goes into keeping our world, our hobbies, and everything we do on a day to day basis. Love. Energy. Tears and Sweat.

On Monday August 13, 2018, the Blizzard team is going to launch World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth on live servers. Hundreds of employees are going to be doubling down, trying to keep the servers up, trying to quickly find and patch bugs, trying to do their job. They’ll be away from friends and family, working to keep me entertained.

I’m going to be here, blogging on my little piece of the internet, reminding people that even if our game is crashing, we need to build up those around us… not tear them down.

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What are 10 Random Facts?

This one is actually a really fun question… do we ever think about ourselves like this?

Let’s see…

1. Every day, at some point, I make a reference to the film Jurassic Park.
2. I miss living in Florida a lot more than I admit.
3. I mindlessly tie and untie my shoelaces, eventually breaking them.
4. I got pretty emotional during Matt Smith’s last episode as Doctor Who.
5. Despite not writing them, I have six novels fully outlined.
6. I didn’t build a big social network after high school and sometimes I feel left out.
7. I never regularly raided in WoW until 2017.
8. I only fly on one airline.
9. I have visited and stayed in 21 of the 50 states in the U.S.A.
10. I am a Technical Writer.

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What did Aluneria Ask You?

1. Which World of Warcraft quote is your favorite?
   
   Easy.

   “I see now why your Alliance and Horde cannot stop fighting. Every reprisal is itself an act of aggression, and every act of aggression triggers immediate reprisal.” – Taran Zhu

   I really feel like it strikes true to the story of Warcraft over the decades.

2. If you could bring back one NPC in World of Warcraft, which one would it be, and why?

   “Bring Back…” Well, I really wish Blizzard had brought Yrel into the Legion expansion as a racial leader for the Alliance. We need new blood in the leadership. I know now that they had different plans for her, but it seems she will remain off in the sidelines of WoW history and I would have had more.

3. What is your favorite thing about the blog of the person, who nominated you for the Liebster Award?
   The creativity! Alunaria’s crafting projects are simply amazing and the way she finds those little nooks and crannies in the game is impressive. Honestly I would have simply run right past most of them as I make my way to my next adventure!
4. What is the biggest challenge you have had to overcome in World of Warcraft?
   Time management in the real world when it came to raiding. My wife and I really wanted to tackle Heroic Antorus this expansion for the achievement and mount. That ended up going to plan… but with pain points, as we were raiding two nights with our casual guild and two more nights with our serious raiding guild. It was rough and while the reward and experience was ultimately very fun, I don’t think I can pull that off again.
5. If you could give someone 5 million gold in the game, who would it be, and why?
   The character is Syanna. They helped me farm pirates for my reputation obsession, they helped me power level a character, and generally if I need something game I can just ask for Syanna and they’re there to help.
6. Which one of your own blog posts is your favorite, and why?
   All of my WoW Adventures. The character, Sionis, literally turned 12 years old this week. He’s one of the oldest things I own and he’s kinda a part of me now. I really enjoy getting to play with that character and put him in the living world… of warcraft.
7. If you could bring one World of Warcraft creature into the real world, which creature would you pick?
   My blue proto-drake, who is named “Cookie.” We would fly all over together and maybe roast some baddies.
8. If your World of Warcraft-friends had to describe you with 3 words, which words do you think, they would choose?
   Mage, Loremaster, Paladin
9. What is the best advice, someone has ever given you in World of Warcraft?
   “You should heal with mouseovers.”
10. What is your ideal way for World of Warcraft to end?
    Our world soul, Azeroth, awakens. The planet is shattered in the process and the races of the world are forced to flee into the Dark Beyond. Blizzard releases the final patch, moves the story forward a ways, and announces a new MMO, Worlds of Warcraft.
11. If you could change one thing in the game, what would you choose – and why?
    I would probably be that guy that would mastermind a way to harness the power of nostalgia and bring the game back to its roots… but ultimately realize what I thought I wanted was actually not what I wanted at all.
    So, for simplicity, I would make all of the unobtainable mounts/pets obtainable again, through some kind of system… or maybe even through the Blizzard Shop. The why is greed. I really want some of the older companion and battle pets that are now only available if I spend hundreds of dollars on Ebay for a sealed collector’s edition… which means I’m already locked into spending money for the pet I want, so why not sell it to me through Blizzard for a much lower price?

BONUS FOR YOUR READERS – Tell us 3 random facts about yourself and your main character!

• I will always be, 100%, FOR THE ALLIANCE!
• I build computers as a hobby.
• My character, while unaware, is nearly immortal, but that’s a story for another day.

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My Nominations

I’m afraid in this department, my contributions run short. The truth of the matter is, I’m not terribly social and still just getting my toes wet in the blogging scene… thanks much to Alunaria. Many of those I would nominate have already been nominated by her!

Still, I do have two nominees:

• Technicolor Mom: A hard working mother by day; a hard working mother and knitter by night! My wife is an amazing individual. She tackles so much each and every day and still finds time to take on her hobby of knitting. The things she creates are beautiful and I love being able to check out her blog for the latest!
• Home with Peanut and Pecan: A hard working father and blogger that tackles some of the issues that I find myself thinking about in this “dad” business!

I don’t know if either party is technically super interested in my nomination, but at the very least I do mean it as a nod to their efforts at sharing their lives with readers like myself!

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Questions for the Nominees

1. Have you ever played World of Warcraft? If so, did you like it?
2. What is the most “extreme” thing you have ever done?
3. Would you prefer a free flight to anywhere in the world, or a multi-day train ride in your own personal cabin?
4. What is something super important that you want people to know about you?
5. Have you ever seen a ghost?
6. If you could time travel, only once, where would you go?
7. Do you prefer thunderstorms or sunny days?
8. What is your favorite song?
9. If you can give someone a million dollars, who do you give it to?
10. If you could received half a million for yourself or give someone else 1 million, which would you choose?

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Wow. That was actually a lot of fun. As always, Aluneria has included me in something that really allowed me to write and think and do stuff! It’s awesome.

So, to that, happy Blogging everyone!