The measure of insanity

I had some losses - big losses, like 130 million worth of losses over a period of a week - and decided that I really needed to re-evaluate what I was doing. I had no illusions that I was the victim of bad luck or cheating scumbags. My own lack of skill and experience was directly responsible for those losses.

It was an ancient Earth scientist who had some kind of quote I've never forgotten - 'The measure of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results each time.'

I'm not insane, so therefore I had to stop repeatedly doing the same thing! If what you're doing doesn't work, then just stop doing it.

So I've stopped looking for ships to attack, for opportunities to engage in acts of combat against other pilots. It's just not working for me.

Instead, I've taken to cleaning up my corp and focusing on regaining that 130 million ISK, plus more. I jumped in an Iteron V, loaded it up with Cargo Expander II's and Giant Cargo Cans (giving me about 32,000m3 of hauling capacity) and proceeded to jump around the galaxy picking up all the assets I had laying around, and bringing them back to HQ.

Speaking of HQ, I moved it. It's no longer in lowsec space, and is back in highsec. The main reason for this is because the corp is full of people that aren't very skilled in lowsec combat, and it's 'safer' in highsec space. This is important as I intend recruiting new pilots and slowly teaching them the ways of Eve - eventually including combat.

My plan is simple. Focus on missions, and raise some money. I think this is because I've been burnt really badly by how much I've lost recently. I need to get that back, and create a significant buffer for future such occasions, should they occur again.

At the same time as I focus on raising money, I'll also be working on building up my combat skills, but not alone. No longer solo. It's just too dangerous for someone that's not completely sure what they're doing.

Instead, the corp (under my direction) is investing in Rifters. Lots of Rifters. Dozens of them. And cheap T1 modules to fit on them. The corp will buy them, fit them, insure them, and replace them.

Scorpion's Sting is going to eventually become a corp focusing on hunter-killer packs, with gangs of Rifter pilots roaming lowsec looking for prey. When we have some decent experience in gang combat against other pilots, I'll consider moving into 0.0 space. Old friends offer opportunities for support that I might eventually take them up on.

But those days are far away. I have only 2 other members right now, both friends of mine, and one of them is brand new as of a week or so ago. I found out he was gate camped last night and podkilled... his first experience at it! I think he needs some new trousers now...

As I rebuild this corp, I'll be looking at getting some skilled combat pilots to focus on training and lowsec patrols. I'll also be getting some miners and manufacturers so we can become self-sufficient with our manufacturing needs.

If you know someone who might be interested in joining a corp and working to build it from the ground up, have them get in touch with me. We'll have much to discuss.