Hot or Cold?

Here's one for you: Would you rather be hot or cold? I'm not talking about anything religious, just temperature. Sunburn is probably better to get than frostbite, and burned food is better to eat than freezer burned food. We also refer to overly attractive people as "hot" and when someone does something underhanded it's considered "cold". And being "hot blooded" (romance) is better than "cold blooded" (murder). When you are cold, everything freezes and hurts. You get slower and need to warm up. You also have to cover up and stay insulated from the cold. Being cold kind of sucks. We also associate vacations with hot beaches and not the arctic.

On the other hand, being cold does have some advantages. When you are cold, you can warm up rather easy. Being hot requires that you have someplace cool to go and if you are sweating then that could lead to bad things if you become overly chilled. I also would rather hang out with people I consider "cool" than people I consider "hot". Having a nice cool glass of water is always better that an nice hot glass of water (gross). When you are cold you get to snuggle up in your blankets and get a nice sense of security. When it's hot, sleeping becomes unbearable and is hard to cool down. Also, freezing to death is considered a lot better than burning to death (not that doing anything to death is a good thing).

I guess if I had to choose, the choice would be cold. I like ice water even when it's cold out and enjoy snuggling in my blankets when I'm sleeping. Even at work (the North Slope) I prefer the winter to the summer, and like working outside a little better than inside. I also like the song "Ice, Ice, Baby" better than "Hot, Hot, Hot" (sorry, Poindexter). Be cool everyone.

Helper Dogs Steal Jobs.

That's right, I said it: Helper Dogs take jobs. Think about it. Dogs are trained to see for the blind, help them walk, keep them out of danger, and other things. Things that could be done by hard working Americans. Helper dogs are invading our workforce and doing these jobs for less than the daily minimum wage that a normal American would. I say we need to stand up to the pro-helper dog advocates and let our voices be heard.

My new one week diet.

I'm trying to lose weight. I'm down to about 210 lbs. from 220 lbs. and am trying to lose ten more pounds. Apart from exercising (I did 3 miles on the treadmill followed by a decent lat and bicep workout), I've changed my diet. I've gone almost meatless. The reason that I say almost is because I still need my sausage and egg bagel for breakfast. Other than that it's vegetables, grains, pasta and fruit. I think I'm feeling better and kind of enjoy the challenge of finding foods to eat at work. I have another ten days to go and am excited to see the results. Ice cream isn't part of any meat group, is it?

Phobia Zombirus

I have an odd thing to admit. I'm afraid of Zombies (re-animated dead guys, and gals). I don't know what it is about the dead coming alive to eat my brains that scares the willies (I did use that word) out of me. Every time I watch a zombie movie, whether it be watching Shaun of the Dead (a love story) or playing Left 4 Dead (a deeper love story) on my Xbox 360 or even reading the Marvel: Zombies comic books, I stay up late into the night deep in thought on the dangers of zombies.

I think this comes from the realization that zombies tend to be more of a viral anomaly rather than beings of magic or mythology. Whether it be from space or from a lab, reanimated dead people are generally a product of pathology and evil. The fact that zombie-ism is basically the most deadly form of rabies (28 Days Later, not 28 Days with Sandra Bullock. Both scary movies in their own right) seems very frightening to me. I often wonder if all of my doors and windows will hold up to my just-dead neighbors, when it does happen (see what I did there). What would I use to defend myself? I'm sure a shovel will do just fine, but what happens when there are hundreds of them (luckily, I don't live in a metropolis.)?

I'm sure I'm just being paranoid, but how can I be sure?

The Law of Averages.

Some people are blessed with good luck (or fortune) and some with bad luck (to a point) and some have a pretty even life. I think I fall under the good and bad mix, and I also think that most people do. It seems that everything good that happens (ie: found $10, got a new TV really cheap, had a great week, etc.) the opposite also seems to find it's way in. I would like to say that I'm the only one, but I know a few people that this happens to also. The economy is a good example of the law of averages, sure it's bad right now, but it's been good for the past couple of years and was good before it went down after 9/11. It will go back up, we just have to be patient.

I'm thinking that maybe instead of focusing on the negatives that happen, maybe I should deal with it and move on. Maybe those who have nothing but good luck are just good at shrugging the bad off and learn from it and use that to create their luck. I should try that.

And I'm back?

After a year long hiatus, and many life changing experiences, I'm back (I'm hoping it will be for good this time, but you never know). I'm hoping to go in a different direction from gaming news (considering the flooding of the gaming blog market and the lack of sufficient funds to buy and review every game imaginable) and give some insight into my brain and life experiences. I may throw some video game "stuff" in there with it (maybe a lot if deemed necessary).

I think that the main thing is for me to keep writing and develop a personality that people can relate to. If not, then maybe you can laugh at me and make fun of the things I write (making the world a better place, through insults and humiliation of me.) So, I'll see you tomorrow and maybe have something to say. Maybe a recipe, or a game recommendation, or a story, or just the alphabet (or something else).

The Writer's Strike and Me.

If you've been out of the universe for the past few months you may not know that Hollywood Writers are on strike. You may also have noticed that TV really sucks lately. I wrote an article over at MarriedGamer.com about the strike increasing DVD viewing and Video Game playing. What I didn't mention was what I thought about it. So here goes.

I started out thinking that it was unfair that writers didn't get a cut of the digital download sales on the things that they write about. Realistically, if you worked on it you should get paid for it (unless you are God, or a blog writer with a passion and a few loyal readers). I still think that, to a point. Unfortunately, I'm tired of nothing being on during the winter season. The only good thing that has come out of this is that the wife and I now watch TV together because of the lack of disagreements (rarrrrrrr!) on what we want to watch.

I also want to know why the writer's union can give the okay for their members to write for The Grammy Awards, yet not agree to write for America's favorite shows. How hard is it to write for a music awards show? "And presenting the award for greatest hard-core-country-metal newcomer singer/songwriter of the year is...(insert famous person here)." That seems hard.

What I really am trying to say is: I want to watch syndicated TV again. I want new episodes of shows, like LOST or even Grey's Anatomy (for the wife, of course.) I want to not live again! I want my warm soft couch to caress my backside while I slide into a near comatose state for a few hours. Please give me that back, Writer's Guild of America, please!

I Likes Me Some Super Mario Bros.

If you haven't been able to tell, I've been on hiatus for the last few weeks. For starters my wife, son and I decided to go and visit relatives in Washington (the state) for the Christmas season, and do a lot of shopping (and I mean a LOT!). And then I had a lot to do when I came back to work. And then I got lazy. And then I got my wife pregnant (which actually happened before we went on vacation).

Before we left I picked up Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Gameboy game) for my DS Lite. After so 17 years this game is still really fun to play, a fantastic find in the Fred Meyer bargain bin. I don't know how many times I have died in my pursuit to finish this game (or how many times I have thrown my DS in frustration). For all of you Super Mario Bros. fans out there: I know that you can use the warp whistle to beat the game quicker, I wanted to do it on my own merit (and I haven't figured out how to successfully use it).

Super Mario 3 is a timeless classic. Running and jumping on things never gets old, not to mention flying and swimming like a frog. SM3 is everything I remembered from the olden days, plus a little more. The beautiful coloring and graphics still hold up today. Turtles are still non-scary enemies, but flying ships with flame throwers scare the crap out of me. It is still fun to find treasures in the air or after sliding down a pipe. I also love the different worlds: Air world, Ice world, Desert world, Big world, Forest world, Normal world, Waterworld (Kevin Coster is the man!), and Fire World. (Have you ever noticed that the word "WORLD" doesn't seem like it's spelled correctly?)

I think the only thing that gets on my nerves (in this game), is that the little mosses and big bosses are always the same. Sure, some of them fly, but is that really a challenge? (some say "no") I guess, being the "fly" person that I am (more jive, really), I still love it. But it could have used more originality when it came to the bosses. I think I'll fire up my time machine and go talk to the developers about this. I might rethink that plan since I'm still in the process of inventing the time machine and haven't gotten all of the bugs worked out (I also want to apologize to my family for the missing animals).

In conclusion (why does everyone need closure?), I recommend that you go out and buy this game immediately! If you don't own a Nintendo DS or Gameboy Advance, I would recommend that you go out and buy one of those. If you are an executive for Nintendo and want to send advertising dollars to me for the glowing review of your products, please email me: alteredweapon@gmail.com

I hope everyone is having a Happy New Year and will continue to read (unless you have stopped) or become a new reader. Bless you all!

Slow gaming week, or just laziness?

I thought I would write something for all of my fan out there (thanks for reading, Dave).

This weeks been kind of a lull in gaming for me. I'm not sure why, but I lose interest every once in a while. Maybe it's the cold weather, wanting to spend more time with the family, or stress at work (or the mafia members sent over by certain game companies to make sure I don't say something stupid). Whatever it is, I've been taking a break from gaming. Not a complete break (Uncharted has been played a couple of times this week), but as close as a gamer can get.

I have been watching Planet Earth, a documentary from the Discovery Channel, on Blu-Ray, with my wife and son. I've been blown away by this hi definition documentary. The crystal clear camera shots combined with the locations make this a must watch for any Blu-Ray owner. It's got a boatload of nature and no human beings that are visible (except on the Yellow River in China). Breathtaking scenery and good writing make this a reason to get a Blu-Ray player. I am so impressed, I wish I could show everyone. Two words: WOW!!

Xbox Customer Support and my dead 360...

I was going to have a long explanation on how my 360's disk drive died, but I've decided to get to the point. It happened on Monday night while I was preparing to play Call of Duty 4. My first 360 died almost a year ago and I though I was a few weeks out of warranty on the refurbished unit that I had received. So I called Xbox customer support, fully expecting to argue with someone on the other line.

If anyone from Microsoft Customer Support is reading this, please get a different voice for your automated system. Automated Dave's voice is not soothing or helpful to people who are going through a video game crisis. Luckily, I got through the automated portion pretty quickly (after Auto Dave hung up on me once), and got to talk to a very nice lady named Keisha. I don't know if it's my phone voice or just luck, but I'm quite impressed with this lady's customer service skills. She didn't treat me like an idiot, was very easy to understand and didn't leave me on hold for a long time when looking up information. I am now waiting for the "coffin" to send my box into be repaired/replaced.

This doesn't mean that I'm not upset about having to send my 360 in for the 2nd time, I am. Playing on Friday nights with my friends is the stress reliever I need to get through the next week. I'm really going to miss the gaming. Keisha really helped with my anger and I hope she gets promoted or at least a hefty pay raise (I know it's her job, but she did it well and she should be thanked). This experience also allows me to invest some much needed time into my other console.

So I'm going to need some games to play on my PS3. The day after my box died I decided to cheer myself up by purchasing 2 PS3 games. I bought Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (which I loved when I rented it) and Warhawk (for my multiplayer needs). I played Warhawk a couple of times yesterday and really see the potential in this multiplayer only game. My first reaction to this game isn't favorable, but I'm willing to play more and get better at playing. I've also learned that I can play with friends on the same TV and online at the same time (which is great!) . It's a well thought out , multiplayer only, 3rd person shooter with vehicles and weapons galore. Hopefully I can play with some of the people on my friends list this weekend and get more proficient at it.

Hopefully I can become more Playstation friendly and be happy with the repair wait all at the same time. I'm still a big fan of the Xbox 360 and will try to think positive in this time of need. Again, Thank you to customer support expert Keisha and I hope you have a happy holiday season.