What a long, fulfilling day.

I woke up with what wanted to be a hangover, but I’d dealt with enough of those to know how to put it in its place – protein paste, a few liters of water, and as many pushups as I could do before my arms gave out.

A lengthy hot shower, and I was off to enjoy one of my favourite aspects of Fanfest – the breakfast buffet.

You can always tell when you’re in the right place at Fanfest, if your nose doesn’t tell you, the incessant conversations about spaceships will. Capsuleers are a fixated bunch.

Once returned to the venue, things picked up. I gave away a lot of Roc swag, was interviewed by local Channel 2 News, interviewed by EVE TV, and interviewed by Scion magazine. I wager all three of those media outlets will see a significant spike in their audiences.

DUST 514 was the theme of the day, and after some technical glitches, I laid eyes on my first Duster. Part of me wanted to tell Commander Shepherd to go back to Halo (see how upset you are that I did that?), but once we got to the Orbital Bombardment part of the presentation, I was a happy Roc. I can fly battleships; I just have always chosen not to. Now I am going to be. I can think of few things that will bring me greater satisfaction than blowing up amarr pleebs planetside.

Parts of me where disappointed on this official opening day of Fanfest 2012. There is usually plenty of swag given away, even moreso to fansite operators. This year – nothing. I got a bag and a shirt, same as everyone else.

No BattleClinic booth, no other event sponsors, everything was barren and quiet. Last years, we worked hard at the Live Events, as each year Fanfest is themed to the winning race. Minmatar was to be the theme this year. Not only was there no Minmatar theme, there really wasn’t much decoration at all; a few banners, a couple of Eve Online spotlights, everything seemed to be on the cheap.

Maybe I’m just cynical.

Speaking of which, it seems like a good time to reiterate a few essential concepts:

1. The shower. Use it. Daily. It’s free. It’s essential. If not for you, for us.
2. Ladies. You can talk to them. Their eyes. Look at them. They don’t like when you and your nerdy friends all stare at their boobs simultaneously.
3. Real World. There is life outside of Eve. Yes, I understand that’s why we’re all here but there comes a point when you need to get out of your bubble (see what I did there?)

I should’ve just called it Roc’s Nerd Survival Guide or something. It’s also very humbling to see how few people actually know who I am, or what this blog is, because based on the stench that continues to grow, my advice on hygiene has gone largely ignored.

Ok, back to my day.

Petur extended another invite to the gym, which I accepted, but by the time I got there, the class was half over. To continue my bromance with Petur, I need to take a moment and comment on this awesome man.

Not only is a beast, deadlifting 460lbs, etc, etc, but he maintains his form and is willing to take coaching to keep himself on track. I figured since I couldn’t join him, I’d monitor him and help correct where needed. To his credit, there were few areas of improvement I could spot. He was incredibly receptive to the things I did see and comment on, and that is the sign of someone who truly wants to improve.

I purchased a Mjolnir TShirt, as a memento of the fantastic gym I had been to. The girl behind the counter asked me what my American size was, and I replied a large. She rummaged around for a bit, slapped a shirt down on the counter, then let me know that my size was equivalent to a woman’s small in Iceland. Everything went silent for a moment, and then we both laughed.

I intended to have dinner with friends, but was called to a technical rehearsal for my Third Party Dev presentation tomorrow. I basically have ten minutes to try to teach the concept of UI/UX. Sharing the concept really won’t be that challenging; I’m well versed as a public speaker/educator. The issue will be the resistance of the attendees to learning something beyond themselves. Most developers like to think they are the best thing that has ever happened to the universe. I need to effectively get across to them the reality of the situation.

It was late by the time the rehearsal done, but I managed to sneak some time in with DUST 514. It’s actually pretty awesome, but I still won’t be buying a PS3 to acquire the title. Granted, I am still in the DUST 514 tournament, so might win myself a PS3, in which case it’s a moot point.

I decided with pub crawl on the horizon, I would just turn in early, but as I left Harpa I ran into Mark/Seleene and we decided to journey onward together. First, I dropped some stuff in my hotel, then he did the same as his. While waiting in the lobby for him, I ran into a solo roaming Mittani. He’s a very different man away from his minion hordes. He’s almost likable. Almost.

He had some good words of advice for me regarding my CSM campaign, and as Mark joined the conversation, I found myself having a good time with the both of them.

Then his Goon minions found him and we all reverted back to our roles.

Mark and I spent some time at the Iceland Bar (yes, I still call it that even though I’ve been told it’s Islenski Bar, which means the same damn thing), and we ran into Two Step, and proceeded to sit and talk about internet spaceships and politics.

Well, they did.

I spent my time getting to know some of the individuals at the table as people, not pilots. I’ve always found that it’s more important to know how someone differs as an individual identity moreso than their beefs as a pilot.

I turned in early, but not before wanting to kill Skype as it denied me any real connection with my wife, whom I miss dearly.

Not much of a Roc post today, but sometimes I need to get my voice across as well.