My Computer and I: Rat-a-tat-a-tat

My desktop is a 3-year-old Dell Dimension 8400. It was high-end at the time it was bought, but regardless is starting to show its age. I have upgraded some of its parts since then to keep playing World of Warcraft bearable, but of course it will need to be replaced eventually.

I have had my share of computer problems with my current computer (not suggesting that Dell is necessarily a poor computer assembler, mind you). Other than high school computing studies, I have had no formal training in maintaining a computer, so I usually need to end up experimenting when something goes wrong. Without further ado...

The Problem:
I had upgraded the video card (to an NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS). After its installation, the computer tower would emit a noticeable low-pitch rattling sound. It was easily recognised as percussion and distinct from beeps emitted from the system speaker.

Random Ramblings to 17 November 2009

Acidosis
An increase in the acidity (or a decrease in the pH) of blood. The eventual state of highly acidic blood is referred to as acidaemia. The pH of blood must be kept near 7.4 (slightly basic) or the body will not be able to function properly. One type of acidosis occurs when carbon dioxide (CO₂) is not released through the lungs fast enough, causing a buildup of carbonic acid (H₂CO₃). Another type of acidosis (lactic acidosis) occurs from excessive anaerobic respiration, where instead of using oxygen to break down sugar to release energy, the body instead breaks the sugar down into lactic acid. The lactic acid itself does not cause the acidity, but rather the respiration process. This commonly happens when sleeping on an arm, which becomes numb and experiences a pins-and-needles sensation when blood circulation is finally restored.

A simple gear score

There exists several ways to rate the items a player has equipped (examples include gear scores from Be Imba, Armory Light and the GearScore addon. Each method places varying importances on different characteristics of the gear. While changes in single gear scores can track the player's gear progression, different gear scores cannot be compared with each other, or to any other benchmark.

There is another, simpler way to rate the quality of gear. Every item has an item level (ilvl), which Blizzard calculates from from the statistics (stats) they assign to it. Generally, the more stats there are on the item, the higher the ilvl. Why not base a gear score on a stat sanctioned by Blizzard?

WoW Mathematics: Programming Your Warlock Tank

In a few rare NPC encounters, a warlock may be needed to tank a boss. Examples include Mimiron's Aerial Command Unit and Leotheras the Blind in Demon Form. While the focus of the warlock is to maximise threat, they may be interested in maximising DPS while generating the minimum amount of threat needed to hold aggro.

Fortunately, they have the mathematical tool of programming (not to be confused with programming computers) to work with. In its simplest form, linear programming, a certain value (e.g. profit, costs, or in this case a warlock tank's DPS) will need to be optimised (maximised or minimised). Of course, two chosen factors will influence that value (for this case, the number of casts of Shadow Bolt and Searing Pain), and, subject to several constraints, the right combination of both will need to be found.

This exercise gives a little insight to the workings of stat optimising utilities like Rawr.

The Time-Value of Health

This blog post builds on the concepts suggested in 'Not All Hitpoints are Created Equal', helping to adjust healing for the health level of the recipient.

Experts in finance speak of the time-value of money. Under this concept, the value of a certain quantity of dollars (or other currency) will decrease as time passes. Many attribute this to the fact that people want money now rather than later. Therefore, to keep this time-value the same, interest must be paid on top of this quantity of dollars.

Hitpoints restored by healing also seem to have this time-value, since a heal of the same size will be more valued the sooner it is received (considering that people wish to keep their health at a maximum). How should such heal weighting be done?

Of Ladders, Mirrors and Black Cats

Superstitious people may believe that performing certain actions endow bad luck on the one performing them, causing them great misfortune in the future. Are these worries justified?

Inspecting these superstitions further, it becomes evident that they do have substance, even if only a little! Think twice before doing any of the following...

Why should you not step on a crack on a footpath?

• If not careful, you could get your foot caught in one and trip.

Five reasons to like (Northrend) Ghouls

World of Warcraft's portrayals of things are noticeably cartoony when compared to real life equivalents. Northrend ghouls (ghouls) are no different, being any combination of cute, adorable, cuddly, pitiable, likeable and silly.

1. Descent into undeath

These lumbering, rotting corpses were once innocent townsfolk who have made the final transition into true undeath... They are vicious creatures, retaining little of their humanity. The plague has torn away most of their memories, leaving only hunger and basic survival instincts in their place... Even those who were close to the individual in life have difficulty recognizing their loved one; the transformation removes most vestiges of humanity as well as identifying features of voice and body structure.

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