World of Warcraft

Dead-on assessment of the barriers to fun in World of Warcraft.

I'm grinding my way up to level 60 now, and while there's certainly an addictive aspect to the "get quest, kill monsters, gain level, get harder quest, kill harder monsters..." cycle, I really wish I could spend more time just wandering around "doing" stuff. The in-game economy seems kind of stale, since low-end skills are so common, what they produce is next to worthless. High-end skills and patterns require jumping on the 40-main raid train. I agree with the article: that doesn't seem particularly appealing.

On the other hand, maybe it would be a good thing to walk away before it's too late.

Repeal the Massachusetts "Happy Hour" laws

Since Governor Romney ended the "blue laws" banning of liquor sales on Sundays, and is interested in a real, consumer-oriented repeal of out-of-state wine shipment laws, is it too much to hope that the silly 20-year-old "Happy Hour" laws could be repealed?

These regulations hurt responsible consumers by restricting price competition in the marketplace, keeping beverage prices artificially high. They hurt small business owners, who can't fill their restaurants or bars during off-peak hours.
They hurt our sense of community by encouraging us to head home after work rather than enjoying a drink with friends or coworkers in a public space.

I'm sure no one is lobbying for this, but it's one of those little ways the state house could get off our backs and make life more enjoyable.