EZ Server

 Hello all, wanted to post a quick update regarding T11, as it's been some time since I put up a proper post about it. First thing, I continue to work to finish T11 as quickly as possible, however I have had a few personal issues that have run me down a bit. While there's obviously no requirement that I detail my issues, I am going to anyway.

For those who don't know, I own a Harley-Davidson dealership in California. While owning a business is rewarding, it can also have times where the work extends beyond business hours, and sometimes into a 7 day a week job. This has been the case off and on the past 6 months, as staffing challenges mean that work I can't do during the day, I have to finish at night. This is actually a relatively small aspect of my personal issues, the main one being that I have been spending about 3 weekends a month riding to LA (200 miles) to visit and help my parents who are staying in a motorhome to be closer to the UCLA Medical Center. My mom has been fighting progressively worsening COPD, but is on track to be accepted for a lung transplant, but to this point the number of tests and appointments she has had, has been pretty intense, and requires either my sisters or myself to go help her get to them. My Dad has been plagued over the past couple years by increasingly debilitating headaches, which despite Stanford and UCLA consultations, they don't have a diagnosis for, much less any treatment beyond laying down in a dark room. As his headaches have worsened, he seems to be developing dementia-type symptoms, which may be from the utter lack of sleep he gets due to his discomfort. Ultimately, they just require more attention than they would really prefer, but it also takes me away from my ability to put my full efforts into T11 as consistently as I'd like. While I do take a laptop with me, and can work on that, I am used to a 3 monitor setup where I can have everything I need up all at the same time, so tabbing through really slows me down to nearly worthless.

I am not saying this for sympathy, although I appreciate that people who don't really know me would genuinely care about my problems. I just want everyone to understand I am by no means burning out, I'm not going anywhere, I'm just a little run down as of late.  I know that people will thank me for my work for EZ, and that it's a volunteer position on a free server, but just being around isn't the standard that I hold myself to. I want to produce quality content, fun content and most importantly content that is in keeping with EZ's legacy. EZ's community, while smaller than some, is the greatest game community I've been a part of, and it's one I'm proud to be a small part of carrying on. Akkadius has put a lot of faith in me, as have all of you, to deliver content that you can enjoy playing through, and take you away from your real problems if even for a bit. I am proud to be a part of the EZ Admin Team, and to carry on what has been passed down from Hunter and Basher, through Hateborne and Rent, and absolutely enjoy sharing what I do with all of you.

T11 is coming, I'm sorry it's not out already.

 Some additional news coming soon regarding future developments.

-Draca <GM>
   EZ Server Admin Team

Glad your not burning out Draca. With such a scheduele it would be easy to do so. That said i know how you feel. I once had a gaming café and i would work 12 hours a day to keep costs down and in the end i was burned out. "luckily" for me the finans crisis in 08/09 meant i went bankrupt and had to close it down.

T11 will come when it does and people will be here for it. Take care of your buisness and your family thats the most important.

I fully enjoy EZ, i love the grind and the people playing here, always helpfull and always ready with good advice.

Looking forward to trying the rest of the tiers (am in ToV) and who knows maybe its a T12 when i get there :)

Thank you for the fantastic work your doing and keep the spirit up.

Meika

Thanks for the update Draca.  Prayers for your parents and for safe travels for you and your siblings.

Family should come first brother....all else can wait.  If it takes a few more months no big deal. Also I didn't know you owned a HD dealership.  I am wanting to get a bike soon...but with my COPD and all I am going to have to get a trike because I don't trust myself on a two wheeler anymore...any advice on that?  I am not overly fond of the sticker price on those (even used) is more than I care to spend...but I think it would be fun to get out and ride with my wife again like we use to.

You’re pregnant? congratulations!

No hurry, family always comes first! Take care, and my prayers for you and your Mom.

We, the EZ server community appreciate all you do and can't thank you enough for picking up where Rent left off. If you didnt step up, there would be no T11 nor alot of the fixes that you implemented on our behalf. So I am pretty sure when I say "You aint gotta explain nothing Draca..." the rest of the community stands with me.

Take all the time you need. RL comes first and T11 will happen, when it happens.

-Mix-

Well stated, Mix.

Ray, trikes do tend to hold their value a little better than typical Harley models, and because they were somewhat limited in production levels for the first few years 2009-2011, it means finding a good one can be a bit tough. I would definitely stick to the Tri-Glide over the FLHXXX or later the Freewheeler, having the Tour Pak and trunk is huge, especially if your wife will ride with you, and the fairing just makes the ride way less fatiguing without having to fight the wind all day. If it were me, I would look for a 14-16 Tri-Glide, which is the Twin Cam 103 engine but with the newer style fairing and nicer radio. These also eliminated most of the issues with reverse motor failures, and have generally been solid mechanically. If you look to buy private party, call around and get some prices for an extended warranty, specifically the factory-backed extended warranty. Dealers do not have to sell these for a set price, they can be marked up astronomically, so shop around. As long as bike is within 12 years and 60,000 miles, and doesn't have any current issues, a warranty can be sold. In fact, I could sell you one should you want to go that route. Avoid 2017-2018 models, unless you can verify that they have updated their oil pumps, as they can have issues scavenging oil from the crankcase due to a vacuum leak in the oil pump, and the resulting puddle of oil starts fighting your flywheels and will eventually do some serious damage (condition known as sumping in the Harley world).

That's all I got..

Draca

Thank you for the advice, brother! Yeah we are looking...and I like the tri-glide and would want trunk storage.  Mainly for going up to the north Georgia mountains and riding up there. My oldest brother has a Harley and my twin brother has a Honda (forget what model but is a heavy bike for a metric)...they have been after me to get another bike bad but like I sdaid with the health issues from the last few years I just don't trust myself on a two wheeler anymore....or should I be more honest, my wife doesn't trust me on one lol...and she is usually correct!

Thanks for all that you do for the server, Draca.  Will keep you and your family in our prayers.

Sounds like a fantastic time to return for some EZ fun!

Hope things turn around for you Drac! Looking forward to seeing what you came up with for T11

Additional Updates:

As you've probably seen, Sarthin has come on board as a new GM and content developer, which is great news for the future of EZ content. While we await his final onboarding, he has been hard at work on a future tier in Kael Drakkel. Depending on progress, his development may end up becoming T11, with mine shifting to T12. While I refer to these as if we are working on them independently, that is not the case. We continue to bounce ideas of each other, in the hopes that two people have less chance of making a bad decision than one. I look forward to the continued work with Sarthin, and enabling him to make the fixes and provide the GM assistance at a level that you all deserve, and while I have been unfortunately absent in the past few months, there is good news on that front...

We found out last week that my Mom has been accepted to receive a lung transplant, and will be listed very shortly. We also were able to get my Dad into one of the best headache treatment centers in the country at Cedars-Sinai, at which some testing began today. Individually either one would have been amazing, having them both come together within days of each other is really beyond our highest expectations. This doesn't immediately solve my problem finding the proper time to make actual headway, it's a large step in the right direction.

Thank you everyone for your kind words, I do appreciate them,

  -Draca

Wow, great to hear on the personal front.  Wishing all the best for you and your family.

Your family is in my prayers, Draca.  Jesus is the Great Physician.

Glad to hear your parents are getting the care they need, Draca. Looking forward to a really good era of ez content  Thanks again for your dedication.