ICFC Lan: the Aftermath

Well, I had an excuse for not posting. What was yours?

So we had eight HoC members at the It Came From Colorado Lan and I note that the seven others all had twelve days to post something but didn't. I was on vacation thank you and had other things on my mind.

Still waiting for some pics from, you know, ANYONE, but all I have so far is Q-Bert's gallery which is almost entirely Lan setup. And a tree. Thanks Q-Bert. Technically that's a real thanks and not one of my usually sarcastic thanks such as the one directed at your offer to help with my network problems that night.

Q-Bert: "I can just..."

Stormblade and Blackwalt (simultaneously): "NOOOOooooOOO!!"

We do appreciate you, honest. More than you know. In exactly the same way we appreciate Moricerevek.

I'm sure no one saw me...The Lan was started with a bit of humour as everyone was greeted with Shovels placed strategically in our gravel and labeled appropriately. Not sure who did this but a have a photo which shows a likely suspect sneaking away. This is in no way proof but it is his style. Q-Bert's gallery shows a similarly labeled wheel barrow.

We also had four of the eight attendees NOT read the list of games in the original invite because "WHY" would you want to do that. "So what games are we playing?" isn't really expected one hour into the proceedings. As if the general Zombie theme and Tickle Trunk weren't obvious enough.

And yes, some people had to go to the local Rogers to rent copies of the required games. Those that read the list were prepared and even brought Viva Piñata. "Hey, it was on the list!" I already picked on Q-Bert a lot so I left out his name here.

Tickle Trunk!

It's a real live Tickle Trunk!Yes. We (I) built a tickle trunk. It had stencils of "Herd of Cats," "nacht der untoten," "Verrückt," and even question marks across the top. The pièce de résistance however was a totally awesome Nazi eagle symbol with the swastika replaced with the HoC logo. Created and cut out (!!!) by Coxxorz. Q-Bert and I (I) were exceptionally careful while attaching, painting, and peeling off this masterpiece stencil. The result is visible in the photo.

We filled the box with boxes full of random prizes ranging from hats, MS points, HD DVDs, to a Teddy Bear. And yes, without specifically picking on Q-Bert, he drew the teddy bear first try. In Call of Duty: World at War the teddy bear destroys the Tickle Trunk and moves it to another location. In our Lan mode, we just banned the individual (again, Q-Bert) from being able to draw again. No more prizes for him that evening. I understand he displays his teddy bear with pride and had to fight with his daughter to maintain possession.

The trunk has now been retired out to the backyard where it will serve gainfully as storage for Rolly's tonka trucks and other outdoor toys.

The Lan party

Oh yeah. So we played Call of Duty: World at War zombie mode (two games of four), Call of Duty: World at War team deathmatch, Left 4 Dead versus mode and we even had a game of Burnout Paradise running. I greatly appreciated everyone downloading the 1 GB (plus) updates for Burnout Paradise and other updates and DLC on my dime. As it turned out we had hit our download/upload limit with Rogers that morning. Yes, before the Lan had even started. There was a network issue that has been hunted down and resolved. You all owe me $1.50 each. Pay up or I will pass the overdue accounts on to my Accounts Receivable Department. Also known as Guba the Impaler. Your call...

Every time someone did something notable (positive or negative) they were sent to the Tickle Trunk. This was very entertaining as prize contributions had come from Graybush, Blackwalt and Coxxorz so know one knew what anyone was going to get. There are photos out there and I hope people will add to Q-Bert's ICFC gallery. Have I mentioned that already? Better make sure you all got that. Q-Bert's ICFC gallery.

Notable quote in response to "We are all married or losers." (I can not remember the context. You would think it would be obvious but...) Coxxorz with "hey, what if we want to be both?" Well yes, apparently there can be some cross over. Thanks for that.

Stormblade was well welcomed back, even in his Zombie form. More people were introduced to Call of Duty: World at War zombie mode and why we are currently addicted to it. Hardw00d in particular was introduced to the four player limit when with only five people left Coxxorz, Stormblade, Graybush and I started a Nazi Zombie match. When he realized we were playing without him he demanded an invite and we strung him along for 30 minutes with:

• Didn't you get an invite?
• Are you sure you are signed in to live?
• There must be a technical glitch, hang on and we'll send you another...
• I thought Coxxorz sent you an invite?

He left shortly after this, no idea why.