Sugar Kyle

More than once I’ve been surprised while doing this series to learn of someone that enjoys exploration, whether on a main or alt character, seeking out new horizons or for treasure in the void like my next guest. Now, I’m not one that usually discusses money, politics, or religion among friends and rarer still on an open public forum, but I’m proud to say I voted for my next guest last year for CSM 9 and she definitely has my vote for reelection to CSM X this year. She’s proved to be one of the hardest working CSM representatives we have, Sugar Kyle.

So, how did an explorer like myself come to vote for a Low Sec representative? Simple, I’ve got a Stay Frosty Pirate alt, Yarr! 😉 Granted, I don’t take her out much, I’m really not a PvPer, lol, but I agreed with Rixx Javix and voted for her based on his recommendation that we needed a representative for Low Sec. Not only has she represented Low Sec as promised, she’s also taking time to listen, research, ask questions, and come to understand other areas of Eve Online with an open mind. That’s the kind of candidate I want.

Since this is one of those rare occasions I’m talking politics I’ll go on to say that I for one fully believe and support that you don’t have to be an “expert” in your area as long as you are willing to learn and offer a fresh perspective. Sometimes you can be too close to an issue, biased, stubborn, etc., and not see the bigger picture. How many times have you looked at an issue and couldn’t see the problem? Then someone comes up, looks over your shoulder, and points right at it. It was in front of you the whole time. I believe that’s the kind of perspective Sugar Kyle brings to the table.

The approved candidate list will be up tomorrow and voting begins on Wednesday, February 25th. Here’s a post about the details as well as a surprise this year from CCP. Also, Cap Stable Podcast has done, yet again, a fantastic job of doing candidate interviews and analysis shows. You can find them via this link. I just ask you to do your research and vote for those you’d like to represent you. (I promise and swear to you I didn’t time this interview with the elections. It just worked out that way and it’s a great way to bring attention to the upcoming CSM X!) Well, enough politics. You now know who’s at the top of my list. 🙂 (and if you do wish to know who else is on my list, just watch for Evoganda’s post tomorrow, it’s close to mine, just a slightly different order.)

Truth be told, I didn’t start following Sugar’s blog, Low Sec Lifestyle, until after the elections. So, it did come as a surprise while reading that I come to learn of her explorer’s ways. Well I’ll be…

What attracted you to EVE Online and how long have you played?

I started in November of 2011 and I’ve just passed my third birthday in the game. I found out about Eve from a cracked.com article about one of the Eve Bank scams and I thought it sounded amazing. A bit of looking into the game told me that it was an open world where other pilots could kill me to take my stuff. My first online game was a MUD that had open world like this and it sounded like it would be a great time.

What is your background as a pilot? Did you jump right into exploration, start in the military, hired by a corporation, or something else?

Exploration was one of the main ways that my corpmates made their ISK. This was pre-odyssey exploration where you had to scan the system to find out if there were signatures. I enjoyed the discovery aspect and then the hopeful hunt for treasure that followed after it.

What attracted you to explore New Eden? What is your goal and have you achieved it? If not, are you still working towards your goal, do plan to continue, or what are you currently doing?

I’m more a treasure hunter than one that seeks new horizons. I pillage and slink away to sell my goods on the market for whomever wants them. I’ve not had the time to go out in space and ply my wealth from the results of my scanner probes of late and I truly miss that activity.

Later, when I was elected to the CSM I started working to get some of the inconsistencies and broken bits fixed. It was a continuation of my campaign to bring low level DED complexes to low sec. This led to the rebalancing of escalations and anomalies which is something I am very proud to have been a part of.

But none of that beats spending my time slipping through space seeking what is hidden.

What is the name of your favorite ship that you enjoy flying the most while exploring? Why is it your favorite? Would you mind sharing your fit?

Legion

I settled on an exploration Legion in the end. I picked a T3 because I could nullify it. I often send my exploration character out to seek and seek until her cargo hold is full. She logs off in unknown systems and creeps, as unnoticed as possible, through the sovereign empires.

During your research and travels, what has been the most interesting fact, amazing sight, or other aspect of New Eden that surprised you?

Wormhole space relic and data sites have the most amazing structures. I’ve taken so many pictures of the shattered remains, oddly illuminated, cast in shadow and dust. They are beautiful monoliths and I understand why wormholes inspire their advocates. Wormhole space in general I have often found utterly enchanting due to the beauty and mystery. Just looking around Eve and taking pictures of nebula and planet can occupy hours and hours of my time.

What have you learned or what advice would you give to someone interested in exploring New Eden?

Take time to look at things and enjoy the scenery. One of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen was a lava planet in null. Read the descriptions and visit the monuments that you will find out in random systems.

For those who seek wealth, remember that it is not owed to you. You may seek but not find. Don’t be discouraged at a run of bad luck. You didn’t pick exploration for consistency but for that incredible payoff.

Do you have a favorite image that you wouldn’t mind me posting and sharing from your explorations?

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – André Gide, Author

15.02.yc117 NSBE-L < QI1M-Q Constellation < Scalding Pass

03-OR2 II

Joining Signal Cartel was, indeed, the right decision for me. Hearing the corp chatter in channel has been refreshing, from the challenges of the rookies to the experiences of the veterans, it’s been great to be among fellow explorers. The corp is growing having hit 100 members in a short time and the culture is a positive one, just what I needed and wanted. I’m trying to do my part from afar, which is challenging in and of itself while exploring Null Sec, as the corp grows and settles in. Mynxee sums up nicely our ways in her blog post “Musings on the Explorer’s Way” and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find you can still be yourself, yet be a part of something greater. If you’re interested in joining Signal Cartel, follow this link.

V-KDY2 VI

Since joining the new corp, I’ve had some interesting conversations in Null Sec. I’ve been asked a couple of times if there was a wormhole entrance to Thera in system. At first, I was thinking to myself how would I know and why are you asking, when it hit me, oh yeah. The rule of the day in Null is know who’s in local. I use tools like EVE Pirate’s Little Helper as well as bringing up pilot information and reading Bio’s, checking Corp, and Alliance information, when I’m in system with others. It’s a good first step to get an idea if you’re in hostile territory or not.

Sophia Hawkwood

So of course it makes sense that I’m being checked out as well and with EVE-Scout quickly making a name for themselves with the hard work and dedication to Thera wormhole scouting, it’s only a natural when seeing my alliance of EVE-Scout Enclave to assume I’ve just come from there. It’s been rather funny trying to explain that I’ve no idea if there’s a entrance nearby, so I refer them to the EVE-Scout site, and go on to explain my personal mission. It’s actually been a great ice breaker and provides the opportunity to promote both Signal Cartel and EVE-Scout.

Setele Ymont

It’s refreshing to have that long eerie silence finally broken between the in corp and alliance channels as well as the questions in local, but also by the casual and encouraging conversations about my journey. On two separate occasions this last week, I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of fellow capsuleers. Both were pleasant and curious about my exploration. Sophia Hawkwood of Hawkwood Executive Interstellar Secure Transport, I met in system 5-MQQ7, and Setele Ymont of Phoebe Freeport Republic, I met in system 4-CM8I. I do wish to express my thanks to Phoebe Freeport Republic for their kind offer of docking as well as allowing me to pass through unhindered.

All in all, this past week has reenergized my spirit, like getting my second wind, while I look to the remainder of Null Sec exploration.

Fly clever!
Katia

#cantstopthesignal

JLO-Z3 VII

* Images from Scalding Pass Region

“Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.” – Frank Borman, Apollo 8 Astronaut

31.01.yc117 04-EHC < V2S-RH Constellation < Insmother

Perhaps this has happened to you, that moment when you first meet someone and feel like you’ve known them a lifetime or more. Or maybe you’ve read something that resonates with your very being, to your core, and you know it to be true. Or that moment upon hearing or seeing something and you know it’s meant to be.

KS-1TS III, Cat in Station

When I began my exploration journey over five years ago now, there wasn’t any exploration corporations to be found. They didn’t exist, nor did I think they ever would. Likewise, I knew due to my own personal mission, I could never devote the necessary time and effort to grow a corporation and see to the memberships needs to make it successful. Yet, there have been a few exploration corps since then. Some successful and some not, but none that resonated with me. So, I had started Sagan Explorations as a personal corporation to accommodate my needs with the intention that I would never grow it.

Q-3HS5 XI

But, the loneliness of deep Null Sec exploration has been eroding my determination to see this to the end. At first, it seemed that in every Null Sec region, I would always find someone that would strike up a conversation, ask about my journey, and wish me well. Lately, however, the journey has gone eerily quiet. These last few regions have been completely silent, with hunters now and then trying to seek me out without a word in local. It’s one thing to be hunted quietly, yet still continuing to receive words of encouragement from others. It’s another to be hunted, when you’re feeling completely alone in the silent depths of space. I’ve come to realize I needed that social interaction, that camaraderie of likeminded souls, to feel a part of something bigger than myself, to encourage me, to keep me going.

As fortune would have it or perhaps fate, Mynxee whom I had interviewed previously as part of the New Eden Explorer series, tweeted about forming a new corporation for explorers, Signal Cartel. Upon reading, I felt that tickling of the soul one gets when something is meant to be. I immediately replied with words of my support and encouragement for her new endeavor. Then I read the Corporate Credo and the envisioned Corporate Life and my soul began to sing. Home… has found me.

Portions of the Credo and Life that resonated. Click here to see them in their entirety and how to join if interested.

Signal Cartel

“Signal Cartel is a service corporation to all of New Eden… our goal is to look for a graceful resolution and set an example of dignity and friendship through our actions.”

“We embrace the attitude of a true explorer: we are friendly to others in our travels, neutral and never initiating aggression… In suffering losses, we respond with good cheer and shed no tears. In this way, we aim to be recognized and respected by all across the cluster and left in peace to do our work.”

“Among our own ranks and with others, we are patient and generous with knowledge, ideas, and experiences…”

“Signal Cartel members tend to be solo wanderers, opportunistically exploring New Eden far and wide to discover its secrets, wonders, and buried (or abandoned) treasure. Yet we are all connected by the ideals behind our corp credo which encourage open communication, cooperation, helpfulness, and a generous spirit.”

“To aid newer players who aspire to that lifestyle (Exploration)…”

4M-QXK VII

As excited as I was, I didn’t want to immediately jump on the opportunity. I have a great deal of respect for Mynxee, her past experience of growing a unique corporation certainly gives credence that this one too will likely be successful, but would it be the right move for me? Sagan Explorations was more than just a haven, it was a tribute to Carl Sagan and Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, the one who first had awakened the explorer within me. I’ve always known I was an explorer, but watching Cosmos as a young teen, my eyes were opened to the wonders around me. It would be hard to give up that corporation name and tribute.

I slept on it overnight and by morning when I awoke, I couldn’t deny my explorers heart. How could I not join this new and growing exploration corp? So, that was that, my mind made up, I spent a great deal of time scanning down a connection to Empire space and after twenty systems finally found one. Landing in Orgron, Metropolis, I docked up for the first time in seven months, then respectfully dissolved Sagan Explorations and accepted the offered invite to join this new exploration corp. It’s not just about wanting what Signal Cartel has to offer, I had decided, it was about need. I only hope that I can offer as much as I’m sure it will give.

You can’t stop the Signal.

G-EURJ IV

* Images from Insmother Region