Fury Warrior Resources

Strength

Strength is the single most important stat: increases DPS and scales with buffs.

Expertise

• Lvl 70: 2/2 Weapon Master + 4.5% (4.5 x 15.77) = 71 Expertise
• Lvl 80: 2/2 Weapon Master + 4.5% (4.5 x 32.79) = 148 Expertise

The goal for Expertise is to remove dodge chance from the table, which is 6.5%. Weapon Master grants up to -2% Dodge.

Hit: 

• Lvl 70: 3/3 Precision + 5% (5 x 15.77) = 78.85 Hit Rating
  
• Lvl 80: 3/3 Precision + 5% (5 x 32.79) = 164 Hit Rating
  

The goal for Hit is to elimiate the base chance to miss, which is (apparently) 8%. Precision grants up to +3% Hit.

Stat Priority

1. Yellow hit cap and Expertise cap
2. Strength
3. Attack Power
4. Crit

Note: This information pertains to version 3.0.9.

Rogue Resources

Websites

• Rogue Pocket Guide
• Vulajin's Rogue Spreadsheet

Interview Resources

Websites

• TechInterview

Books

• How Would You Move Mount Fuji

Questions

Other Rresources

• On Interviewing Programmers (Coding Horror)
  

Inked

I got my first ink today, the World of Warcraft Horde insignia on my lower right abdomen. I got only got the insignia done, considering the diamond shield as well, but it would be large, thought it a bit much for my first tatt, and the artist said it could be added later with good results.



I had the work done at Psycho Clown Tattoo in Fort Worth, TX. I had no idea how to choose a tattoo artist, but PCT had a favorable writeup in a recent Fort Worth Weekly. The seemed like talented and reputable artists, so I chose them.

If you've never gotten a tattoo before, you probably don't know what searing pain feels like. I'm not talking about burning your finger on the stove, I'm talking hot needles piercing the skin for 45+ minutes of agony. I took no pain meds of any kind, no alcohol, aspirin; nothing. It's definitely a rite of passage of sorts and I have new respect for people that have elaborate tattoos on their bodies.

And when I left, there were only two cars in the parking lot, my Prius and, well, someone else's Prius! At the tattoo studio! Evidence that not all Prius owners are uncool?

Related photos

My Cool Tools

Being a software development consultant, I usually work onsite using the client's computer equipment. This means that every year or so, I have to personalize a new development machine and spend the day installing my own box of tools, assuming that I remember what all they were and where I got them. This time, however, I wrote them down as I installed them so that I could list them here, as well as have them available next time (a form of self-Googling).

Scott Hanselman has compiled a platinum, nay Elementium, list of sweet developer tools, from which most of these tools can be found, but a few are not on Scott's list.

• CCleaner - System cleanup utility.
• Chrome - Google's web browser
• CR_Documentor - Nifty Visual Studio add-in that renders XML documentation to a tool window as you write it.
• CutePDF Writer - A PDF writer that installs as a print driver and uses GhostScript.
• Eraser - Secure file delete utility. Good for zeroing out free disk space when compacting virtual hard disks.
• GrepWin - Search and replace text in files with regular expressions from Windows Explorer.
• ImgBurn - Free lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application.
• JS Beautifier - Auto-format JavaScript code.
• JSLint - new JavaScript syntax checker/verifier. Predrag Tomasevic created a Visual Studio add-in for JSLint.
• LDAP Browser (Java) - Browse your LDAP forest. Requires Java.
• Meebo - Web-based IM for use when under IT lockdown.
• Microsoft ClearType
  • Online ClearType Tuner - Activates ClearType
  • Consolas Font Pack - Superb font for IDEs (requires ClearType)
• Machine Key Generator - Generate machine keys for ASP.NET applications.
  
• SoapUI (Java) - A unit/load testing tool for web services.
• TaskSwitch XP - A replacement for Alt-Tab functionality.
• WinSnap - Handy screen capture.
• Firefox - The web browsing platform of choice
• Web Developer Pack (LifeHacker) - Includes addons below and more.
• Web Developer extension - A superb suite of tools for web development.
• FireBug extension - Client-side debugger.
• IE Tab extension - Run IE-only pages. Compatible with IE7.
• ColorZilla extension - Color inspector for page elements.
• SlickRun - Replacement for Start-Run. No more poking through the start menu or mucking the system path.
• StudioStyles.info - Online Visual Studio style builder.
• NUnit - Defacto unit testing component.
• TestDriven.Net - A Visual Studio addin that eases unit testing in the IDE. Superb!
• Pidgin (formerly Gaim) - Open source IM client that supports all major protocols. Login to multiple MSN accounts concurrently.
• Maxthon - Tabbed browser for IE. Compatible with IE 7. I still like it better than pure IE 7.
• Tail for Win32 (or BareTail) - Tired of reading log files from the top-down? Read from bottom up!
• BareGrep - Uber text file searching tool. Maybe we should all just install CygWin.
• WinMerge - Open source diff/merge tool.
• Fiddler - HTTP traffic inspector and manipulator. It even has a built-in scripting.
• Fiddler2 - Newer version of Fiddler; supports HTTPS.
• Expresso - A cool regular expression tool. Alternative: Roy Osherove's The Regulator.
• 7-Zip - Open source file compression tool.
• TcpTrace - Simple inspection of HTTP traffic.
• PowerShell - The Windows command shell of the future.
• FxCop - A static analyzer for coding standards.
• Mesh (formerly FolderShare) - Online remote access and folder synchronization for all of your computers. I use it for quick transfer between work/home.
• Reflector + add-ins - Inspect .NET assemblies.
• SysInternals suite - How did I ever live without FileMon and RegMon? New Sysinternals Live!
• touch for Windows - Change the date/time of a file.
• Notepad++, Notepad2 - Windows Notepad replacement.
• UltraDefrag - Open source file system defragger for Windows, including Server 2003; compacts the files, too.
  
• Whidbey Commands - Useful tools in a Visual Studio add-in.
• VS2008
• VS2005: Download and install this then overlay with this and execute Setup.bat from a Visual Studio Command Prompt.
• Windows Server 2003 SP1 Administration Tools Pack - Many useful tools for working with Windows Server 2003, including an Active Directory search and Authorization Manager (AzMan). Runs on Windows XP.
• XSD Object Generator - A better class generator from XML Schema.
• Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager for Windows XP - Allows remote administration of IIS6 from Windows XP.

Candidates

These are tools I'm/'ve evaluated that have not been oficially blessed.

• MagicDisc - Virtual CDROM utility. Mount various image formats rather than burn them to disc first. It can also create an image from an existing CD/DVD.
• Easy BCD - Manage Windows Vista (and later?) boot loader entries to boot all your fave OSes.

Colophon: Velvet Acid Christ - Hex Angel, DJ Brad Miller

NUnit GUI and project config files

I've used NUnit as the unit test framework on a number of projects and all used their own config files to hold connection string settings, etc. On several occasions, I've also used TestDriven.net, which is an awesome Visual Studio addin for running unit tests. On my current project, however, I create an NUnit project for my unit test project and store the .nunit file in the same folder as the unit test project's .vbproj file (I'm not using VB by choice ;-) ).

And since I'm using Visual Studio 2005, I don't need to modify the unit test project's Post-Build Event script text to copy/rename the app.config in the output folder because VS does that now.

The problem I ran into was that the config file wasn't getting picked up. I double-checked to make sure the configuration was correct and that the config file was being copied/renamed properly, but it still didn't work. After futzing around with it a bit more, I determined that app.config needs to be copied/renamed the same as the .nunit file name and location.

And to make the arrangement portable across projects, I name the .nunit file the same as the VS project nams. So now my Post-build Event script now looks like this:

:: This script copies and renames app.config to .config
:: so that the NUnit GUI application will consume it.
:: Example:
:: MyTestProject.nunit
:: MyTestProject.config
copy /Y "$(ProjectDir)app.config" "$(ProjectDir)$(ProjectName).config"

Solved!

Rainwalk Therapy

I went for a walk in the neighborhood this evening because it was a beautiful day here in North Texas. Along the way rain began to fall, a few drops at first, escalating to a brisk shower. My first reaction was to scamper out of the rain because that's what we generally do when rain starts to fall on us. But since there was no shelter anywhere nearby and I was already in clothes that were supposed to get wet and dirty (gym clothes), I decided to just let myself get soaked. The rain subsided after 10 minutes or so and it was then that I realized what a communal experience it was to have the Earth's rain fall on me. I felt more grounded at that moment than I have in some time now. So I hereby resolve to walk in the rain at least twice per year, weather permitting! ;-)

Disclaimer: Should you decide to join me in this experience, please be sensible and stay indoors if there is any thunder or lightning. Better yet, go to a window or covered patio and witness the magnificence of lightning first hand.