Sh!t that annoys me Wednesday 12-21-2011

Contrary to popular belief, chubby people aren't jolly, we just get annoyed faster....

1. If they can make a one-coat paint for walls how much harder would it be to create a nail polish that does the same thing? It seems lately that every nail polish that I own still requires at least two coats and even then I can't guarantee decent coverage. Is this some kind of conspiracy? If chemistry can give rich old men boners for 4 hours then it sure as hell can make a nail polish that doesn't require 8 coats for solid color.

2. Chat trolls. Anyone who plays MMOs (massively multiplayer online games) has seen the trolls. It is most especially apparent in games other than World of Warcraft (WoW) because usually trolls are bitching about WoW. "I played WoW for 5 minutes and it sucked" "WoW was the first MMO evaaar!" and other whines about WoW. First of all, WoW was NOT the first MMO, that honor belongs to Ultima Online. Second, what is it about WoW that generates such hatred? Personally, I feel there are far worse MMOs to insult, Second Life, for instance. Most of these trolls & their hatred for WoW remind me of political fanatics-they are quick to judge harshly, but cannot back up exactly why they hate said game/gender/sexual orientation/religion. In other words, the most cogent argument they can make is "WoW sucks." Here is a better argument: "I stopped playing WoW because <insert valid reason concerning gameplay/graphics/social environment/guild drama etc>"  For example: I stopped playing Aion because I do not enjoy open-world PvP and I was tired of not being able to progress in the main quest line because some twit named "Kthxbai" decided I needed to be ganked every time they saw me. Plus I felt that the classes were extremely unbalanced for the PvP environment. I still miss the visual style and character creation of Aion, but the gameplay left me frustrated. See, a nice reasonable coherent argument.

3. While I'm complaining about gaming, let me bitch about Zynga games. These are the annoying games everyone on Facebook plays but you. I do play these games (but not Farmville. watching crops grow isn't my idea of fun, I'd rather play in actual dirt.) Zynga games have become less and less fun to play. One reason I have stepped back from playing (OK the main reason is Star Wars The Old Republic) is timed quests. I can't stand timed quests. It's difficult enough to find people who play regularly enough for normal gameplay, having a time limit just induces exasperated diatribes of language not suitable for children. Other annoying features: unrealistic requirements to complete quests, such as spending 10K on decorations you don't care about, or having to place a specific building. Of course, that building takes up a ton of space, which you don't have because you have to collect 8500 toupees etc etc from friends to have more space. Or you have to buy in-game cash. I should not be forced to buy in-game cash with real money for normal gameplay to proceed. Zynga has taken the micropayment phenomenon (seen in MMOs like Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online) to a really crappy place. Well, here's the thing Zynga, I just stop playing. Yep, I refuse to play a game that's not fun and forcing me to feel like I need to buy my way through a game (which I personally find reprehensible) makes it not fun. It just makes it more like real life-rich people get all the benefits and screw the poor trying to play the normal way. Ironically, this opinion has no bearing on how I play the Sims. The Sims isn't fun without infinite money. It's like real life. And real life sucks, which is why we play games-to escape. Stop making my escapism suck ass.

4. Playing Star Wars The Old Republic by myself. I was so excited that my darling husband bought me the Collectors Edition of SWTOR as my Solstice gift. I've been playing since my early access was granted last week (I also played in the beta, so I knew I was going to enjoy playing.) I'm going along great, I really like my Jedi Sentinel, I'm lucky that the play style for the Sentinel worked for me so I didn't have to jump around finding a new class. I'm already level 14 (I'm not a hardcore player) and I'm thrilled that I got there solo playing. But I find myself slowing gameplay because I want my DH to play too. I miss playing with him and find myself holding back so I don't advance too far. Also, it's damn hard to do heroics solo, even with a companion. (Though T7 kicks some ass.)

5. Why is it that all maternity clothes manufacturers seem to feel that only women size 4 and below get pregnant. I would hazard that many women that skinny don't have the requisite fat percentage to healthfully conceive a child. Before you bitch at me about skinny girls, biologically, the ideal fat percentage for women of child bearing age is 17-20% of total body composition. This doesn't mean that women with lower fat percentages can't conceive, it's just not biologically ideal. But I digress. Maternity clothes should not be so limited that a larger woman can't easily find some that fits her. I am so far lucky, at 5.5 months along, I am still able to wear all my pre-pregnancy clothing, including pants, which I am still able to button & zip. I know however that I will have to invest in some new clothes eventually and just looking at what's out there really annoys me-it's either too small, or hideously ugly.