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Sounds like they are having a lot of problems with the server latency everywhere. Saw a post about someone with a 18Mbps connection in Texas who was still getting 250 to 300, or more.
Rick, are you playing a wizard? I’m still trying to decide which character(s) I want to play. Haha! Am leaning towards Demon Hunter or Wizard. Maybe play that solo and play a monk with you all. Not sure yet.
Elias, did you ever get a chance to see if the connection speed was better playing on the Asia server? I haven’t tried that yet.
I haven’t gotten time to play much. Just took a few characters to level 10. Not sure I would be able to play regularly in a group since my schedule is so messed up.
What classes will you all be playing in the group? I’m leaning toward the barbarian for the group, since the monk seems more fun to solo. My barbarian is only level 10 now.
What days and times would you all be able to play? Wednesday evenings are best for me, and Saturday afternoon and/or evenings are maybes.
Ok. Will play around with a Barbarian and a Monk to see what I would like to play the most with you all. 🙂
Got in about 10:00pm last night. Made a wizard and ran around for a little bit before bed. Am planning to take one of every character class to like level 10 to get a feel for how they play before picking my main.
Reminded me a little of Dungeon Seige, which I liked a lot.
@Chris – Skype seems a bit of a bandwidth hog. We’ll probably need all we can get if connecting from here to the NA servers.
@Rick – I read that they decided not to include voice in D3. I looked at Ventrillo and Teamspeak (as well as Mumble). Ventrillo (and Mumble) seemed to have a lot of bells and whistles that I don’t need and you need to setup your own server, which uses bandwidth and CPU I would rather use for the game. Teamspeak had servers, but they have a cost. C3 seemed simple and their servers are free and also are up 99.9% of the time. I still have not tested it yet though.
Oh, this morning I clicked Install and it started installing! I think we’ll be able to play starting at 3:00pm our time. 🙂
Do any of you use any 3rd party audio chat software while playing these games? I was looking at some of them and this Vivox C3 looks pretty good/easy. I’ll have to test it out this week. See you in D3 soon!
Would like to play a monk on the team. By the way, I remember reading that groups could only have up to 4 players. If there is enough interest maybe we can have two (or more) teams play on different days/evenings. My best time to play is Wednesday evenings.
There’s also the Mugen Ryu Martial Arts Academy which teaches karate, kendo, and jujitsu. I wish I had time to learn kendo (Japanese sword).
Contact info is:
Shaocheng Mansions, 3rd Fl., 98 Changshun Zhong Jie, Chengdu
成都长顺中街98号少城府邸3楼
Phone: (028) 13018236007
Diablo III will be released on May 15th. If you buy the digital download version you can even download the game now, so that all you will have to download on May 15 is the patch.
They will have it at the Shamrock. They usually open at like 6:30am and will serve breakfast (Mmmm… steak and eggs) and drinks.
They use to have it at Mooney’s, but not sure if they will be showing it this year or not. Anyone know?
They will have it at the Shamrock. They usually open at like 6:30am and will serve breakfast (Mmmm… steak and eggs) and drinks.
They use to have it at Mooney’s, but not sure if they will be showing it this year or not. Anyone know?
Chili Con Carne
1 jin* lean ground beef
1 medium red, yellow or white onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 medium green, yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz.) red kidney beans
1 tablespoon oregano
2 to 3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons salt
1 heaping teaspoon black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons pure chili powder (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional – depending on how really really spicy you want it)
1 to 2 tablespoons Sichuan hot chili paste (optional – depending on how little you need your mouth and stomach)
Beer (not dark beer… used as thinner when needed)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)
* 1 jin = 0.5kg or 1.1 lbs.
In ChengDu I can usually find most of the ingredients at Metro, Ito Yokado, Carrefour and/or Sabrina’s Country Store. Sometimes I have to go to several places to get all of them.
Directions –
1) Prepare all of the ingredients that need shredded, minced, chopped, or finely chopped and set them aside.
2) In a big pan or wok cook the ground beef until almost browned. Drain excess grease, but save a little in the pan for the onion and green pepper. Add chopped onion and green pepper to beef in pan until beef is browned and the onions and green peppers are soft.
3) Add tomato sauce, oregano, cumin, salt, black pepper, chili powder, and jalapenos (optional). Simmer for 1 to 4 hours. If it starts to get a little too thick or too hot you can add a few ounces of beer every once in awhile.
4) Add garlic, Sichuan chili paste (optional), and kidney beans. Simmer for 30 to 60 minutes. If it starts to get a little too thick or too hot you can add a little beer every once in awhile.
Thickness is a matter of taste. Some like it thin like a soup and some like it so thick that your spoon can stand up in it on its own. I usually prefer a medium thickness and tend to make it thicker when the weather is warm and thinner in the winter. Of course, that might be because I drink the beer more when I’m making it in the summer.
Note: If it burns a little while cooking that is ok. Be sure to scrape the burnt bits off the pan before emptying it and stir them into the chili mix until they dissolve. There’s a lot of good flavor locked in those burnt bits.
Variations –
You can use ground pork instead of, or along with, ground beef. Ground pork will generally produce more grease while browning, so you will have more to drain.
You can use red salsa instead of tomato sauce.
You can use Montery Jack cheese instead of Cheddar.
Sometimes you can find Chipolte pepper sauce here and can use that instead of the Sichuan chili paste if you want a more Tex-Mex authentic tasting hotter than hell chili. If you’re feeling suicidal you can use them all!
Serving options –
Pour in a big bowl and serve as is.
Crush up some crackers and put them in it if it seems too thin (or too spicy).
Serve on rice or pasta. You may or may not want to cook it with beans if you serve it this way.
Serve with some cheddar cheese and/or chopped onion on top.
Serve with a side of corn bread. The corn bread here in China is a little sweet, but I still like to put honey on it for a dessert.
Chili Con Carne
1 jin* lean ground beef
1 medium red, yellow or white onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 medium green, yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz.) red kidney beans
1 tablespoon oregano
2 to 3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons salt
1 heaping teaspoon black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons pure chili powder (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional – depending on how really really spicy you want it)
1 to 2 tablespoons Sichuan hot chili paste (optional – depending on how little you need your mouth and stomach)
Beer (not dark beer… used as thinner when needed)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)
* 1 jin = 0.5kg or 1.1 lbs.
In ChengDu I can usually find most of the ingredients at Metro, Ito Yokado, Carrefour and/or Sabrina’s Country Store. Sometimes I have to go to several places to get all of them.
Directions –
1) Prepare all of the ingredients that need shredded, minced, chopped, or finely chopped and set them aside.
2) In a big pan or wok cook the ground beef until almost browned. Drain excess grease, but save a little in the pan for the onion and green pepper. Add chopped onion and green pepper to beef in pan until beef is browned and the onions and green peppers are soft.
3) Add tomato sauce, oregano, cumin, salt, black pepper, chili powder, and jalapenos (optional). Simmer for 1 to 4 hours. If it starts to get a little too thick or too hot you can add a few ounces of beer every once in awhile.
4) Add garlic, Sichuan chili paste (optional), and kidney beans. Simmer for 30 to 60 minutes. If it starts to get a little too thick or too hot you can add a little beer every once in awhile.
Thickness is a matter of taste. Some like it thin like a soup and some like it so thick that your spoon can stand up in it on its own. I usually prefer a medium thickness and tend to make it thicker when the weather is warm and thinner in the winter. Of course, that might be because I drink the beer more when I’m making it in the summer.
Note: If it burns a little while cooking that is ok. Be sure to scrape the burnt bits off the pan before emptying it and stir them into the chili mix until they dissolve. There’s a lot of good flavor locked in those burnt bits.
Variations –
You can use ground pork instead of, or along with, ground beef. Ground pork will generally produce more grease while browning, so you will have more to drain.
You can use red salsa instead of tomato sauce.
You can use Montery Jack cheese instead of Cheddar.
Sometimes you can find Chipolte pepper sauce here and can use that instead of the Sichuan chili paste if you want a more Tex-Mex authentic tasting hotter than hell chili. If you’re feeling suicidal you can use them all!
Serving options –
Pour in a big bowl and serve as is.
Crush up some crackers and put them in it if it seems too thin (or too spicy).
Serve on rice or pasta. You may or may not want to cook it with beans if you serve it this way.
Serve with some cheddar cheese and/or chopped onion on top.
Serve with a side of corn bread. The corn bread here in China is a little sweet, but I still like to put honey on it for a dessert.
I’m going to run a singer barb and my girlfriend will try a meteororb sorc. We’re going to try those out on ladder and see how that goes. Not sure when we will have time to play though, since I work a late shift most days. If you all have any ladder characters that would like to join us then PM me and we’ll see if we can arrange a regular day/time to play.
Steve
Have not played D2 in years, but just started up again. My girlfriend wants to learn. Created a MF toon to get some gear for us, but have not had much time to play. Maybe we’ll get to play some during the holidays.
Will definitely be nice to get a group of players for D3 when it comes out.
Steve
This site has info about filing with the US… Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.
Basically, you only need to pay the US government taxes on the money that you make over $91,500US (may be more in 2011), so you probably don’t have to pay any US taxes. I think you still need to file every year though.
That publication is also helping if you have trouble sleeping, since it is boring as hell.
