While I prepare for exams, today we bring you an extract from the blog of half-elf ranger Tylion Sureshot, currently adventuring somewhere in the Mines of Uduk'lar…

The others are asleep and I have agreed to take the first watch, so I figured now was a good time to update my blog for those of you reading on the surface. I tell you, it's a damn good thing this dungeon has wireless or I'd go crazy in here, staring at these rocky cavern walls. Though that might be because of the luminous blue hallucinogenic fungi growing on them. Gorax decided to eat one of the mushrooms earlier and it took us almost two hours to calm him down and get his clothes back on again. Take my word for it, you do not want the full naked Dwarf experience.

The pirates have rallied after the crushing attack a few days ago. Rather than consolidating a single port as before, they are now distributed across several nations which seems to make sense, although it renders their legal position more difficult to deduce (they always maintained their actions were legal under the laws of Sweden). As for the Swedes themselves, few were terribly peturbed about the rousting of the pirate rabble, but scandal broke out when it seemed their politicians had buckled and taken orders from the United States — a notion with which no one was happy. A large demonstration occurred in protest, with a speech from the Pirate Chief as well as escalating attacks on official websites.

I had been considering trying the Vista beta on this machine but there are several issues holding me back. Firstly, it being a notebook there will be a myriad of driver incompatibility problems. Secondly, the use of the graphics card for visuals causes a significantly increased mana drain, and finally my enchanted ambulatory hard drive dislikes the mines (because of the damp) so it's hard to find the 20MB of space that Vista politely requests on the internal. Perhaps later I may give it a shot once I've had a chance to clean it out. I wonder if our wizard knows Bigby's Defragmenting Hand…

My mood is currently: bored
My weapon is currently: vorpal
I am currently listening to: Krystina A-Ghoul'era - Djinn in a Brothel

My laptop now sports only 25 letters, the M key apparently deciding that being attached to the rest was too "mainstream". Ironically the breakage happened while I was actually legitimately working. Sliding a folder, it must have caught the underneath of the key and tore it right off, snapping one of its plastic legs in the process. Luke informs me that at least it's only the 14th most commonly used letter, although was somewhat more helpful in providing an alternate keyboard for me to use for the moment, along with an interesting USB-to-PS/2 gizmo. In related news, a new version of Das Keyboard is out, looking identical but now boasting quality keys that will rival the best on the market. Its sleek, unmarked keys certainly bring a whole new meaning to the word minimalism.

Internet fraud is a nasty thing, and while my eBay experiences have been mostly smooth (hassle-free refunds for a few misrepresented items), the same cannot be said for everyone. A unique method of revenge followed the alleged sale of a defective laptop by Amir. The unwitting buyer claims his requests for refunds were refused so he proceeded to extract the contents of the machine's hard drive and has produced a website, written in the first person, describing the sale of the laptop. Let us say it features material of a delicate nature. While the authenticity of his claims cannot be verified, the hilarious results have been featured in several newspapers already.

Meanwhile in Louisiana the horrendous Jack Thompson-penned game bill has received approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee and will go forward for debate. Few gamers would suggest that violent videogames ought to be played by young children but applying the same standards to seven and seventeen-year-olds is absurd. Having discussed it with Stephen (as both a parent and a lawyer practicing out there), we concluded the bill will have little effect on those it aims to protect as their games are purchased either online or by uninformed parents who seemingly refuse to inform themselves. It is, he argues, a First Amendment violation. Until those parents learn to say "no" to their whining brats, I don't foresee an immediate solution.