I found my old blog I started in 2005, when I was forced to for a class in college. It hasn't been updated since the first week in that class.

Now it will become the new home for my blogs. Here's the link.

http://murphysblog3.blogspot.com

This also means the end of new posts here. Those who want to keep up with the Arakeens should check there.

Until then, watch your backsides. You never know when the ranger's watching.

I hate to say it, but I hate playing alone.

I've just returned to ULGG this week in Guild Wars. Mind you, I enjoyed having my old friends in a guild with me for a while, but I hadn't been playing for some time, and it just seemed quite hollow. While I was out, they took us out of the alliance we were with at the time. They were elitist anyway, but it severed us from a rather large player base.

So I started gaming with a few of my friends at ULGG, and well, it just felt good to play with other players instead of a full party of computer controlled NPC's. There was a different dynamic there that was missing. An efficiency and chemistry and a squishy feel-good feeling that could not be replicated. I reveled in it. It had been missing in the other games I was playing at the time.

Heh, they call them MMO's but you see people wandering around alone doing their own thing, and being rewarded for solo play when the point of an MMO would seem to be the social aspect. I suppose that's what drew me back into the ULGG fold. It was a more social atmosphere. People were talking back when I said a greeting, and responded to requests (one way or another) for help.

There were people THERE! Not a small guild of perhaps 30 empty slots, but 10 large guilds with active members at all times of day. Groups ready to form at a moment's notice. Men and women genuinely interested in helping the little guy get that push toward bigger and greater things. Not to say that didn't happen once upon a time in my other guild. But it's more prevalent now than it was then.

So it is one of those moments where past and present merge onto the same path toward the future. Now hopefully, they don't make me a leader again. I don't think I can handle that kind of pressure again!

I just had one of those "holy shit" moments. You know the kind, where you're just stumbling about and find something that just makes you utter that same phrase.

This has happened twice in the past few weeks, and once more last spring. The first time, it was when I was conversing with someone in IRC, at the GuildWiki channel. Someone at random asks outright if I'm a Myst fan. I ask why.

Turns out Aetrus is a house name in that game's mythos. I had no idea. Jaxinus, House Aetrus Patriarch and Emperor of the Draconian Empire (read as Guild Master), told me nothing of this. I've meant to ask him about that, but haven't gotten around to it yet. But that isn't even close to the last two times. These came as I was wandering through gamerDNA.

For those not in the know, gamerDNA - formerly GuildCafe - is a social site that allows players to log all of their gaming activity from past and present, and find ways to self-discovery of their own style. All this to help you find fellow gamers that share your interests.

The first of those moments came when I was browsing around guild listings. That's when I stumbled upon the Arakeen clan. This WoW group pulled the name from the same inspiration as I did. The Dune series by Frank Herbert, one of the best sci-fi book series ever written. I think I made a good impression on their leader, and offered them a foothold in Guild Wars should they ever need it.

The second of these moments was just moments ago, when I encountered a player entry for Madrak. It wasn't me, I go by my Xfire moniker there as well. So I was curious and viewed his profile. Now mind you, I just snapped together my name from a random selection of sounds that sounded good. But I was suddenly blown away with his entry on how he chose his name:

"Madrak was a name from a book about a man who died and was brought back by the gods to do thier bidding on earth (Egyption Mythos)"

Holy shit! Pure randomness leads to a hit in Egypt! And the oddest damn thing...

Ugh, I'm so bad about maintaining these things.

So, a year has passed. My first born is in second grade, and seems to be taking to school again like a duck to water. My second arrived last October, and is nearing her first birthday. How fast they grow, eh? Almost ready to walk and says a few words like "Ma," "Da," and "Hi." She even waves to you in greeting. Proud dad, I am.

Seems my gaming habits have been rapidly changing with the introduction with this new child in the mix. It's a struggle to get the time I want and still be there for the family. But it's worthwhile. Each keeps me grounded in a different way. The family keeps me from gaming too much. The gaming keeps me from going insane!

So much going on these days. Long story short, I'm going into my final year at the community college, I've been unemployed all summer, and we're almost flat broke. We survive through it all though, through the generosity of extended family and the benevolence of the state. Tell you what though, if any more crap hits the fan, I think I'll be choking on it.

Online things have changed too. I left ULGG, feeling a bit overwhelmed altogether in my leadership role. I figured a change in scenery would help my perspective. I now am a basic member in a lesser guild started by an old DE guildmate, and while there have been fewer group activities as a whole, it's been a nice change of pace. I think about returning to ULGG now and again, especially with my return to help DE back onto its feet.

Yes, the Draconian Empire lives. Xfire membership lists indicate 34 members. Many of which are returning warriors such as Lady Gaia Blackwolf, Mysteek and Peldyn Blackmayne, Marid al Zalsphere, and Indoril Sirian, as well as healthy new blood like Ritac Kelinai Draenghon, and the young Blackwolf sisters, Hiita and Rikka.

There are lots of opportunity here. With such a mingling of experiences across all the ages of the Empire, I have high hopes for all. Hopes high enough,...

It just so happens I just found out about the ability to blog on Xfire. I've always found keeping a blog is akin to keeping a journal or diary. Only difference is, while journals can be made private, everyone is capable of reading your blog. I suppose if there's a risk of someone actually reading this, I best prepare a brief introduction.

I am known online as Madrak Aetrus Arakeen, Ranger of Night, former Knight and Duke in the service of the Draconian Empire. I still associate with my old mates from DE, and am an unofficial member, holding position with their Rappelz in-game guild. I also call several of them brother, as I have been granted the honor of carrying the name Aetrus by Patriarch and Chancellor Jaxinus Aetrus.

As it stands however, my main guild - or rather alliance - is the United Legit Gaming Guilds, a conglomerate of several unique guilds with a common purpose: honorable, legitimate gaming. DE is counted among those guilds under the alliance, as well as other well known guilds from the Diablo era. The ULGG is predominantly a Guild Wars alliance, but most of it's membership participates in a variety of gaming pursuits throughout cyberspace, including World of Warcraft, EverQuest, and Neverwinter Nights.

I play Guild Wars. It's the first game of its kind that I was really able to sink my teeth into. Large, lush environments, separated PvP content, and no subscription fee...what's not to like? And there's such a breadth of PvE content that even after 2 years, there's still things in the game I haven't seen yet. Couple that with being with a bunch of good-natured folks in my alliance, and it's no small wonder how hard it is to turn away from my computer screen.

And yet, I must. After all, I've been married almost 6 years to this woman, and have a 6 year old daughter, with another child soon to arrive. I also am in serious study, as a student of the local community college. My dual-major is in Computer User Support and Computer Programming. I should be getting one of those degrees this year,...