The Best of Times

When things go well, there's not much for me to blog about.  I just love to complain, or maybe if I'm not feeling complain-y, I will actually attempt to solve a problem (or at least propose a solution to one).

So I am blogging right now about all the good things going on in my life (well, some of them anyway).

1. Healthy, cute, 1-year-old niece.  Did I mention she was cute?
2. Colts are undefeated.  That's pretty nice.
3. Modern Warfare 2 launched today.  See you online in an hour or so.
4. AT&T U-Verse is awesome.  No signal disruptions or DVR issues or program guide issues or anything.  Whole-house DVR, excellent picture, and everything just works.  Plus it's cheap, which makes it better than DirecTV for me right now.
5. I love my friends.  I needed to make a bunch of new ones the past couple years (I still kept the good old ones, too) and I've been blessed.  They don't read this blog, so I'm not just kissing up.
6. My XBox Elite, Pioneer Kuro and surround sound setup (Boston Acoustics speakers and Yamaha amplifier) have provided the hardware for many fun Rock Band parties, Halo 3 multiplayer sessions, and movie nights.  I hope I never have to replace any of it.
7. I am hopefully done with surgeries on my ankles: broken ankle, torn achilles tendon, ankle screw and plate removal... I am able to exercise again and will try not to break anything ever again.
8. I'm going to Florida for a week's vacation in January... (most) expenses-paid by my parents!  Can't wait.
9. There is no number nine.  I'm just trying to get to number ten.
10. A job.  Not the world's greatest job, but it pays decent, it's been relatively stable, and it exists.  I know a lot of people that don't even have a job and I just want to be thankful rather than take it for granted.

I'll see you online again when something needs fixing!

Lunch hour

Ever since I left the womb of college and had to earn a living in the workplace, I've looked forward to lunchtime.  I'm usually hungry (since I rarely eat breakfast).  I like the break from work.  I enjoy the taste of food.

I take my lunches at 11:00 am.

But, you might say, almost everyone else takes their lunch at noon.  Exactly.

Here are the reasons I take lunch at eleven instead of an hour later (or even a half-hour later):

1. I'm hungry then.  Why wait?
2. Traffic is better.  I don't typically travel too far for a bite, but I usually eat out or drive home (just a couple miles away).  Less traffic = less stress.
3. Service is better.  The noon rush is a hectic, stressful time for fast food establishment employees.  I get my service before they've had to deal with impatient lunchgoers.
4. The food is fresher.  A burger and fries at 11:10am is freshly-made and delicious.  A burger and fries at 12:25pm may have been made at 11:45 in preparation for the noon rush.
5. Less time waiting in line.  Line?  What line?  There are no lines when you take lunch at 11.  The lines at noon can take 15 minutes until you get to order, even in the drive-through.
6. When I get back from lunch at noon, everyone else in my office then goes to lunch and I get to play solitaire at my computer, surf the web with impunity, or just doze off if I so choose.  It's really like having a 2-hour lunch every day!

I didn't always take lunch at 11.  Once upon a time, I took lunch at a different time.  Those were the days when I had to be at work at 7am (now it's 8:30...-ish).  So naturally, I took lunch at 10:30 back then...

Time Wasting at Work

Last year just before Christmas break, I had 3 days of boredom in my company office alone while my co-workers were on vacation and my customer was on holiday.  This year, I will only have 2 days to kill before Christmas, but maybe 3 or 4 days to kill during New Year's week.

Last year, I got into Desktop Tower Defense.  This year, I've already tried http://www.fantasticcontraption.com/ and I think that's run its course for me.  I have played Text Twirl on facebook, Spider Solitaire which is included with XP, and probably several other popular online distractions.  Anyone with any suggestions?  I may just bring my Nintendo DS into work with me.  I recently purchased NY Times Crossword and Clubhouse Games.  Plus I have Mariokart DS, New Super Mario Bros., Brain Age, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, plus a dozen or so other DS and GBA games.

Maybe the last-minute shopping deals and/or after-Christmas sales will give me something to do.

Oh yeah, check out my new background and blog banner.

Time Marches On

There is a poll up at GameStooge for the "first FPS (first-person shooter) that you loved".  They had options ranging all the way from Wolfenstein 3D to the Halo franchise.  Made me think back a bit and come to a conclusion: no matter when I feel that I am "done" with shooters and have found a "good enough" game to end all games, there is another game around the corner worthy of my devotion!  Walk through my FPS history with me, if you wish...

Wolfenstein 3D - I used to load this bad boy up on a 486 with 8MB or RAM in the basement computer lab at school!  Killing Nazis and looking for hidden wall panels.  Good times.

Doom - Ditto above (playing it at school).  This was the first game that I thought was even remotely gory.  I soon got over my hesitations and continued killing demons and looking for hidden wall panels.  Even better times.

Quake/Unreal/Half-Life - I played all these PC games, but they never made a huge impression on me.  I certainly never played multiplayer online with any of their variants.  Star Wars: Dark Forces and Jedi Knight fall in here as well.  OK times.

Goldeneye - Wow, this game seemed so cool at the time.  Now it is nearly unplayable.  The right gun and you were unstoppable.  Many 4-player fragfests in college and just after graduation with this classic.  Awesome times.

Perfect Dark (N64) - The next step up.  I played the heck out of this cartridge with the bots and various meat shields that I would invite over.  Much more complex than Goldeneye and "multiplayer" was possible with bots.  Extremely awesome times.

You see where I am going with this, right?  At one time, Perfect Dark fulfilled all my FPS needs.  I thought I would never progress any further.  I thought games had basically reached their full potential.  Enter Halo.

Halo - Wow.  Like my N64 before it, I didn't buy my XBox myself.  It was a gift.  An awesome one.  When I figured out how to run xbconnect on my spare computer, I re-arranged my whole basement to set up my multiplayer gaming habit.  The cost of broadband (stil steep at the time) was justified.  Euphoric times.

Halo 2 - OK.  The pinnacle.  The top.  Online XBox Live multiplayer.  Working from home.  Taking 3, 4, or 5 hour Halo 2 breaks in between "work sessions".  Watching my rank like a hawk.  Living and dying by the frag grenade and BR.  Creating custom games.  10-hour marathon sessions.  Addictive times.

Halo 3 - I sprung for a 360 to play Chromehounds, Call of Duty 2, and XBLA titles.  I was ready for Halo 3.  Everything that Halo 2 lacked, this title has.  Cheating fixed.  Forge options.  How could a FPS get any better than this?

Call of Duty 4 - Don't get me wrong.  I don't think COD4 is better than H3.  It's not as customizable.  It's not as much fun.  But it's probably even more addictive.  And it combined with Halo 3 make me think once again that I am at the pinnacle and that I never have to buy another FPS again.

But history tells me I am wrong.  There is a COD5 coming out.  Halo 3:Recon will closely follow.  And I know MS and IW and Bungie and who knows, maybe even Rare will keep cranking out FPSs.  As much as I'd like to just stop at one game, get really good at it and be happy playing it alone forever - that's just not reasonable to expect.  Bring on Halo 4, Call of Duty 6, Perfect Dark 33 1/3, whatever.  Just keep making them better and better and I'll keep revising my definition of the "pinnacle".

When I move to Alaska

When I move to Alaska, I think I'll start an All-Alaska clan named (are you ready for this?)... 2Cold2Play. Ba-dum-TSHH!!! Thank you, I'll be here sporadically with worthless blogs when I feel like it.

By the way, I'm not planning on moving to Alaska any time soon.  Especially not with winter coming soon.  But maybe I could move up there and live with the grizzlies.  Like Grizzly Man, but without the "turning into a bear turd" part.

Speaking of turds, um, nah I'm not gonna go there.

But seriously, we have some Canadian members on this site.  Maybe they want to use "2Cold2Play"?  Or does it look too much like "Coldplay"?  Maybe.  I guess if you don't like clan names that remind you of musicians, then you wouldn't want to be part of 2Aero2Smith, 2Modest2Mouse, 2Linkin2Park, 2inAroom2wiggleIt, 2Nu2Ponderous, or 2Tommy2Tutone either.  All of which are fine clan names (especially 2inAroom2wiggleIt).

More at 11.