From the Hips

Once upon a time I used LiveJournal to blog, that was years ago and I’ve evolved. But one thing has remained the same, I do still listen to music when I write. And sometimes I get absolutely obsessed with an artist, album, or song for a time. The band Cursive is one of my favorite bad habits, I’ve listened to them for years even seeing them live once in Oklahoma City. It’s probably that part of me that’s still a teenager, the part that wore Cons and Combat Fatigues. Maybe there’s a little hipster in all of us.

But back to the point, I’ve decided to start including a youtube video with each of my weekly posts. I thought about sneaking them in like Kauzmo, but opted for the embedded video instead. In either case, this should give you a fair idea of what a Dark Overlord of Tanking and Gold Making listens to while pulling the strings. Now, down to business…

Beta Scams
Beta invites are going out all over the place, but not all of these invites are legitimate as I’m sure most of you are aware. In fact if you’ve logged into wow in the past couple of days you’ve surely seen the “Breaking News” at the login page describing a common security mistake. And normally I wouldn’t belabor the point but I got an email that compelled me to speak.

I’m reminded of those old Sesame Street bits, “One of these kids is not like the others”. Many of the scam emails people are receiving (and probably getting hacked by) are phishing emails, they tend to use either scare tactics or enticement strategies. Right now the big thing is tempting people with promises of Beta. It happens every time an expansion is released, and people actually do fall for it. The tragedy is, that most people focus on the Cataclysm Beta part, and don’t even look at glaring inconsistencies in the messages they’re receiving.

Below is an Example of a Scam Message:
Get those optional ins ready for the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta close1 The sundering of Azeroth is upon we people, and you don’t want to be left out in the freeze of Northrend when you could be enjoying the sunny sand beaches on the goblin isle of Kezan. To ensure you in good and eligible as a potential candidate, you will need a World of Warcraft license attached to your Battle.net account, have your current system specifications uploaded to the Battle.net Beta Profile Settings page, and have expressed interest through the franchise-specific check boxes.

Get the Installer – Log in to your Battle.net account:
[ link removed for your safety ]

** IMPORTANT ** To avoid graphical bugs and other technical issues, please ensure your video card drivers are up-to-date!

Some guy in Russia or Asia
I got a buyer already

How to Spot the Scam
First and foremost, if you think you may have gotten a beta invite – type battle.net into your web browser, log in and check. Don’t click a link to battle.net from the email. If you’re too lazy to type in battle.net and hit enter… good luck with that. Second, there are several glaring errors in the above example. Problems with spacing, wording that doesn’t quite make sense, and even spelling or grammar – these are tell tale signs that something is wrong. It’s likely that the email was copied over using translation software as Blizzard is a native English speaking company, I doubt they’d have these errors in their official messages. There are people paid to make those canned messages appear professional and legible, the message above is neither.

And most damning is the return address as shown in the picture above… World of Warcraft is property of Activision/Blizzard not Sony Online Entertainment… In short, watch your ass, you know what they say about a fool and his money. Don’t be a fool, protect yourself and your investment (of time) in the game.

GUILD.news
Face on Fire is still recruiting. We’ve been burning through hard modes but still have a few left. Judging by last week’s 0% wipe Sindragosa should be dead this week. I would also like to take a moment to welcome (officially) two new members of the guild Lukhien and Nephora. Both have proven to be a great addition to the team, Luk even brings another Shadowmourne to the raid and of course colorful Ukranian accented singing to Vent. (Seriously, you haven’t lived till you’ve heard a Ukranian sing Poker Face).

Updated Info:
We’re 9/12 H ICC 25 Man, working on Professor Putricide, Sindragosa, and Lich King hard modes next.
We also have Glory of the Icecrown Raider (10 Player)

Currently Recruiting:
» Druid – Balance
» Hunter – Marksman
» Shaman – Enhancement

* We are also accepting applications from select DPS and Heals, so if your class isn’t listed you’re still welcome to apply.

Register on the forums at http://faceonfire.org/ for more details and to apply.

RL.news
RL concerns appear to be dying down a bit, though I did get a visit from my mother this weekend with some unpleasant news. Aside from that, there have been no major disasters this week, and I’m worn out. So, I’m hoping to get some rest and spend as much time with my wife as I can before school starts, with her new position as Chair of the English Department it’s going to be that much harder to spend time with her in the coming year. Unfortunately, all of the RL bullshit has left me in a really sour mood. Which puts things in sort of a tenuous position at best.

The Bloodscalp Report
+ HORDE
It looks like another solid week of sales despite the hobbling of the glyph market, really there just isn’t a lot of gold to be made there right now. I’m still making money off of it but nowhere near what I’m making in other markets, and so my focus switches to these other markets, likewise I’m seriously considering abandoning the alliance markets entirely. There is just so very little activity on that side, it’s sad. At times the Alliance AH looks as pitiful as the Neutral AH. So, I’m definitely redoubling my efforts on the Horde side (both literally and figuratively). Enchanting Scrolls are selling well still, likewise the Gems market has remained stable and strong. I’m on target for re capping before Cataclysm launches, making 20K per week means I’ll be back at cap in five more weeks. That said, my preparations for the end of the world continue. I’m still anxiously looking forward to it.

+ ALLIANCE
No News, currently on hold.

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading…