If I have been conspicuous in my absence, it is because I have a new gaming machine. Not just any gaming machine, but an actual, honest-to-god computer running Windows. Of course, I can’t just get any machine when I have to use it as my day-to-day workstation, but an iMac can handle almost anything I throw at it these days. Naturally, it’s not just the fact that I have a new toy that’s kept me from writing.
Instead, I’ve been bitten by the MMO bug. Originally, I endured several weeks of being told by P of all the fun she was having. For a while, I escaped into Arkham Asylum, but eventually got sick of being ignored for several hours a night in  favour of people she had never met in real life. I threw a tantrum, which seemed to work for a few days but we went back to the same routine.
That’s when I resolved to get the iMac and see what Lord of the Rings Online is really like. Turns out, it’s a lot of fun. The world is vast, and perhaps more populated than Tolkien’s books ever hinted at. Still, I think it captures the essence of the setting very well. I’ve often wondered while playing, how much material is gleaned from official sources, how much from third parties (like ICE’s out of print Middle Earth Roleplaying game supplements), and how much is original content.