Faith in Humanity: Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale

I just got back from the "Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale". Seeing tens of thousands of people show up to shop through hundreds of thousands of books warms my heart. Reading, in a society so bent on instant gratification, sometimes feels like a lost art. However, today I was reminded that people still read: from little old ladies sorting through the Nora Roberts table, to the throng of geeks grabbing everything off the Sci Fi and Fantasy table.

Enough with the pontificating and on to the books I was able to snag:

Michael Crichton - Sphere, Jurassic Park, & Eaters of the Dead

Isaac Asimov - The Currents of Space (1962 paperback edition), Foundation, Foundation and Empire, & Foundation's Edge

Tad Williams - Shadowmarch, The War of the Flowers, River of Blue Fire (Otherland, Book 2), Mountain of Black Glass (Otherland, Book 3)

Terry Brooks - Sword of Shannara, The Black Unicorn

All for a total of $12, mixed paperback and hardcovers. Most were gently used and in the case of Sword of Shannara and Isaac Asimovs, 1st printing mass market paperback editions from the 70's and 60's respectively.

Next Warcraft Expansion: Cataclysm Confirmed and Detailed

The basics:

Two New Playable Races: Adventure as one of two new races--the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde.

Level Cap Increased to 85: Earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to improve characters.

Classic Zones Remade: Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two.

New High-Level Zones: Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great Sunken City of Vashj'ir beneath the sea.

More Raid Content than Ever Before: Enjoy more high-level raid content than previous expansions, with optional more challenging versions of all encounters.

New Race and Class Combinations: Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations.

Guild Advancement: Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements.

New PvP Zone & Rated Battlegrounds: Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds.

Archaeology: Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.

Flying Mounts in Azeroth: Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms like never before.

Comments to follow at a later date.

Team Fortress 2 Hat Drop Rate

I have to tip my hat to Kill Ten Rats for finding this chart detailing the drop rate of items in Team Fortress 2.

Actually, I can't tip my hat, because there appears to only be a 0.05% chance of actually seeing any single type of hat drop.

Has anyone else found a hat since the latest TF2 updates?

Polar Bears: Guild Wars 2 Looking Good

Guild Wars 2 has a new website and a new trailer. Normally, MMOG previews are full of computer generated cut scenes and movie-like storytelling. Not so with Guild Wars 2: the video is full of in game footage and the game looks absolutely stunning.

I was most intrigued by the Polar Bear people and would be interested to find out if they are an NPC faction or playable race. Unfortunately, I read through the FAQ and they are not exactly a playable race:

Will Guild Wars 2 have non-human playable races?

Absolutely! In addition to humans, players will be able to create, customize, and play a variety of non-human races.

* Charr - Ascalon's conquerors, the charr are ferocious, warmongering creatures--the intractable foes of humanity. Now, as greater dangers threaten their conquests, charr legions and their war machines prepare for battle.
* Norn - The norn are towering brawlers from the frigid northern lands who can shape-shift into mighty bestial forms. Driven from their homeland by a force beyond reckoning, the norn have regrouped among the dwarven ruins of the Shiverpeaks.
* Asura - The asura, who once ruled the caverns and tunnels below Tyria, are an advanced race of small size and great intellect. Now that they have risen from below, the asura aim to rule the surface world with their powerful golems and ingenious plans.
* Sylvari - Not much is known of the sylvari, save that they are a race of sentient plant-beings, newly blossomed into the world. The sylvari are the youngest of the races, bound together by a common dream and awesome power.

But hopefully, Norn, can shape shift into being a polar bear, because that would be cool.

Introduction to the "A Game of Thrones" Card Game

Fantasy Flight games has a neat little tutorial to introduce new players to their card game based on George RR Martin's book A Game of Thrones.

Its a neat time waster for anyone interested in the books in the Song of Ice and Fire series. The introduction covers some lore and the game play that can be found in the game.

The official game page is here.