Isk and well, more isk.....

A loss with a silver lining
It was with some surprise and sadness that the first week of January had us Bastards bade a fond farewell to Jedizah and Kulmid. Both whom I count as friends and assets to the pirates. Their reasons for (in my view) an abrupt departure was driven by their need to engage in even more and more pure ship combat; free from the constraints of politics and other baggage. Hopefully, away from anyone using an excessive amount of Falcons too. For that, they've joined up with Club Bear; a corporation with a fearsome reputation for combat prowess. They are mobile and travel extensively, picking up fights are they go along. They also have some impressive videos of them dishing out carnage.

I can see the attraction of this, The Bastards has increasingly been establishing a base in our system and the surrounding areas so we're much more tied to territory. We still roam of course. though we derive a portion of our monthly income from the relatively rich pickings around the system. It is not in our immediate plans to leave our current home.

Still, the two departures have been viewed by all as an opportunity to step up and fill their considerable shoes - both in terms of acting as new fleet commanders and in the back-office roles they have been engaging. A pirate organisation isn't just all about the yarr but relies on the dedication and hard graft of loot selling and ransom management.

Speaking of which, it was pay day for me and all the other bastards and associates. Just to give you an idea, here is an amended and cut-down payout list from the loot sales listing in our forums of items sold since October/Novemeber 2008. The names have been removed to protect the er, innocent. Also, the number of # are random so plugging in the names of known Bastards will not work. So no risk of any muggings of isk thank you very much. However, I am immensely pleased with my pay out all from the combined loot drops from kills.

#### 259,071,266 isk
##### 13,053,234 isk
######### 191,894,511 isk
######## 85,603,274 isk
# 106,990,146 isk
### # 5,927,862 isk
##### # 144,973,662 isk
## 49,575,916 isk
### 201,897,050 isk
### 66,209,240 isk
###### 255,560,451 isk

Not bad numbers and it doesn't include the income from ransoms and individual kills since we have a 'you-keep-what-you-kill-when-you're-solo' rule. There's still more loot to sell as well.

Once again, the ease and smooth running of this process ensures that all pirates involved in any kill will get a share of the loot that is successfully sold. We have developed an application that takes the kill mails and the loot (from the asset manager) and organises it into a hyperlinked format that can inform the directors who is due what amount from which ever kill, based on kill-id. Just have a look at the screenie on the right. All the useful information is there and makes the loot split per kill as well as a summation, so much easier. With the amount of loot we are dealing with - a more robust and automated system was required.

If only the selling and automatic distribution of the loot can be done automatically too....

Oh, just to show you how much we love this process here's a quote from one of our pirates when he noticed his isk bonaza...

Nice work!!!! Bet that took a while to sort, and explains why you've been a right sour c*nt the last day or two, RoninData.

A happy pirate

You have to laugh. It's not easy being the CEO is it, and worse if you're in charge of a bunch of cussing, grog swilling and cut-throat pirates.

However hats off to Perdy for this application!

There's an obstruction ahead of us.... Lately, The Bastards have been trying to figure out a way of circumventing or pushing aside a rather large corporation now parked about five jumps from our current position. It's already affected two scheduled pirate excursions as these chaps are numerous and has more or less the same TZ coverage as we do. Like us, they have eyes almost everywhere. Unlike us, they are aligned to the Minmatar Militia and are fighting to secure local space from Amarr factions. While I (and most of the Bastards) have stayed away from the increasingly volatile Empire based wars; it's effects are now almost exculsively being felt in low-sec.

Am mildly concerned at the possible reduction in loot and hence isk. Nothing worse than the possibility of not earning isk for a pirate. We love coin too much however, plans are afoot and gathering pace to fix this intolerable attack on our liberties but we've had a lot on lately and with the alliance tourney just round the corner....

Am a director?
Er, yes - it seems that I have been quietly promoted around christmas time to directorhood and I look forward to now raiding the fabled gold-leaf lined toilet paper in the boardroom en-suite bathroom as well as see the famous 'Unemployed Stu's Comfy Soffa' in the corner. Quite funny that no-one told me about both the promotion and the loo roll, but there you go.

Tournament!
Yes, The Bastards are in the alliance tournament. Hooray! We have no plans but to appear in our rag-tag ships and bum rush the opposition and then we will eat their women, board their food and ravish their ships and er, no - wait.

Now, where's my ticket for the event?