Oh, I forgot this was here!
Dec/18/10 12:02 AM
Well....it’s been a while since I have said anything here, I kinda forgot about it to be honest. Lots has happened since May...
I went back to work in a Limited Duty capacity, trying to keep my Rural Carrier job, went so far as to have the Dr. write that I had no restrictions other than time, so I could try to keep doing my job the way it always was. I was unable to, stopping on the side of the road some days and just having to rest/cry/hurt, so I asked the Dr. would he lower the restrictions, which he did. I was eventually called into the office because of Post Office politics, I did not have a CA-17, which is the Post Office version of a sick note, that was current I did have sick notes, which the rest of the world takes! My Dr. at the time refused to fill one out, so he had me do what’s called a FCE, or Functional Capacity Exam, which is a general test that is supposed to dictate how well you are doing. The test was complete crap, I did nothing that I did at my job, mentioned this to my lawyer and Dr. and he said I should get another job. Back to the called to the office for politics bit, it eventually ended with me being told to go home until I got a CA-17. I originally thought this was the PO calling my ‘bluff’, which I though was funny, it’s not up to me to fill it out, it’s up to the Dr., who would not fill one out. I have since come to believe that I was sent home because the PO is crying they do not have any money, and that way the Dept. of Labor would pay me. I really have no idea if any of this is true, it’s all speculation on my part. I was also ordered to do another FCE, got the call the night before! My truck is pretty much broken beyond repair, I don’t trust it to drive to Raleigh, it only goes in town or to the trash dump, and the motorcycle is too painful to drive, so I had to get Terry to move some of her work schedule around, what a PITA. I am still here, still getting paid a portion of my salary from the Dept. of Labor, and still pretty bored.
As far as doctors go, I am seeing Dr. Lam at the REX pain clinic, he’s tried just about everything, from trigger point injections to therapy and most recently, Epidurals done under an X-Ray into my neck. So far nothing has been successful. The less I do the better off I am, but I can’t do jack shit forever, as good as that sounds when you’re working, it quickly becomes boring. Perhaps if I were completely healthy I would have a different outlook, but I am currently unable to do the things I enjoy outside, motorcycling and fishing, things I used to do damn near year-round. I have been referred to a surgeon earlier this week to see if there is anything that can be done by cutting, Dr. Lam states that there is clearly something going on in the neck area around C3-C4, as seen on a CT scan, so who knows. I have enough friends with back issues that I am a bit leery of operations, not only for the risk of paralyzation, but for the recurring problem possibility.
Other than that I’ve been catching up on my television shows, the Sons of Anarchy was very good this season, the fact that the club knew Jax was ealing with the ATF lady was surprising to me in the end. I also enjoyed The Walking Dead. I think some of the character scenes were a bit long, but maybe I’m jut used to zombie games where action is the main thing. Fringe has gotten a bit weird, so I am hesitant to continue watching that, but I will eventually. House and Cuddy being together has completely turned me off from the show, why bother?
As far as games, I’m still playing the shit out of Killing Floor, and have started playing some Team Fortress 2, I am not big on shooting other folks, but the sheer amount of choice in TF2 characters and the item system have me pretty much hooked. I have been waiting for a game called Dungeon Defenders to come out on Steam, but it got pushed into next year, so I was excited to see it show up on the iOS store. I purchased it immediately, and tried to take a sneak peek at it in-between TF2 matches....Bad idea, the game refuses to run now, starting up, the Game Center welcome banner comes up...then it takes me back to the homescreen. I am going to update to the 4th generation Touch soon, I really want the camera, so hopefully it will work better on there, the premise of the game, Action RPG/RTS has me excited. I suppose I could wrestle the iPad from Terry if I really wanted to play it though!
Not much else going on around here, the kids are all home for the Holidays, Terry only has a few days left to work, and she’s off until the 2nd week in January (I think) and everyone is pretty excited, hell, we’ve even seen snow twice already this year, it normally doesn’t snow until January, and only once. Very happy that we moved before the heating season this year, not only does everyone in the house get their own space/room, but there is Heat Pump heat in this house, we would have had to fill up the LP tank twice in the other house already, at a minimum, that’s a $1000-$1200 bill I am happy to avoid, it also leaves more more for Christmas presents and toys for me!
No picture this time, I’ve not taken any lately
I went back to work in a Limited Duty capacity, trying to keep my Rural Carrier job, went so far as to have the Dr. write that I had no restrictions other than time, so I could try to keep doing my job the way it always was. I was unable to, stopping on the side of the road some days and just having to rest/cry/hurt, so I asked the Dr. would he lower the restrictions, which he did. I was eventually called into the office because of Post Office politics, I did not have a CA-17, which is the Post Office version of a sick note, that was current I did have sick notes, which the rest of the world takes! My Dr. at the time refused to fill one out, so he had me do what’s called a FCE, or Functional Capacity Exam, which is a general test that is supposed to dictate how well you are doing. The test was complete crap, I did nothing that I did at my job, mentioned this to my lawyer and Dr. and he said I should get another job. Back to the called to the office for politics bit, it eventually ended with me being told to go home until I got a CA-17. I originally thought this was the PO calling my ‘bluff’, which I though was funny, it’s not up to me to fill it out, it’s up to the Dr., who would not fill one out. I have since come to believe that I was sent home because the PO is crying they do not have any money, and that way the Dept. of Labor would pay me. I really have no idea if any of this is true, it’s all speculation on my part. I was also ordered to do another FCE, got the call the night before! My truck is pretty much broken beyond repair, I don’t trust it to drive to Raleigh, it only goes in town or to the trash dump, and the motorcycle is too painful to drive, so I had to get Terry to move some of her work schedule around, what a PITA. I am still here, still getting paid a portion of my salary from the Dept. of Labor, and still pretty bored.
As far as doctors go, I am seeing Dr. Lam at the REX pain clinic, he’s tried just about everything, from trigger point injections to therapy and most recently, Epidurals done under an X-Ray into my neck. So far nothing has been successful. The less I do the better off I am, but I can’t do jack shit forever, as good as that sounds when you’re working, it quickly becomes boring. Perhaps if I were completely healthy I would have a different outlook, but I am currently unable to do the things I enjoy outside, motorcycling and fishing, things I used to do damn near year-round. I have been referred to a surgeon earlier this week to see if there is anything that can be done by cutting, Dr. Lam states that there is clearly something going on in the neck area around C3-C4, as seen on a CT scan, so who knows. I have enough friends with back issues that I am a bit leery of operations, not only for the risk of paralyzation, but for the recurring problem possibility.
Other than that I’ve been catching up on my television shows, the Sons of Anarchy was very good this season, the fact that the club knew Jax was ealing with the ATF lady was surprising to me in the end. I also enjoyed The Walking Dead. I think some of the character scenes were a bit long, but maybe I’m jut used to zombie games where action is the main thing. Fringe has gotten a bit weird, so I am hesitant to continue watching that, but I will eventually. House and Cuddy being together has completely turned me off from the show, why bother?
As far as games, I’m still playing the shit out of Killing Floor, and have started playing some Team Fortress 2, I am not big on shooting other folks, but the sheer amount of choice in TF2 characters and the item system have me pretty much hooked. I have been waiting for a game called Dungeon Defenders to come out on Steam, but it got pushed into next year, so I was excited to see it show up on the iOS store. I purchased it immediately, and tried to take a sneak peek at it in-between TF2 matches....Bad idea, the game refuses to run now, starting up, the Game Center welcome banner comes up...then it takes me back to the homescreen. I am going to update to the 4th generation Touch soon, I really want the camera, so hopefully it will work better on there, the premise of the game, Action RPG/RTS has me excited. I suppose I could wrestle the iPad from Terry if I really wanted to play it though!
Not much else going on around here, the kids are all home for the Holidays, Terry only has a few days left to work, and she’s off until the 2nd week in January (I think) and everyone is pretty excited, hell, we’ve even seen snow twice already this year, it normally doesn’t snow until January, and only once. Very happy that we moved before the heating season this year, not only does everyone in the house get their own space/room, but there is Heat Pump heat in this house, we would have had to fill up the LP tank twice in the other house already, at a minimum, that’s a $1000-$1200 bill I am happy to avoid, it also leaves more more for Christmas presents and toys for me!
No picture this time, I’ve not taken any lately
0 Comments
Now Playing
Apr/22/10 10:54 PM
Well, now I’ve made the full circle, I am back on consoles! The game I am playing now has become like an addiction I like it so much, it’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2. I normally would play the entire campaign of a game like this for the trophies, and play a little bit of multiplayer then send the game back out through Goozex and move on to the next. I have not finished the campaign, and have over 2 full days worth of playtime in the game already! The trophies in this game are really easy except a few of the online trophies, but those will likely come in time.
The campaign is pretty standard fare for this game, I played the first, Battlefield: Bad Company and really enjoyed the humor scattered throughout the campaign and this sequel isn’t nearly as funny, but it still has me chuckling at a few one liners. Not 100% sure of the story, other than there is some sort of destructive weapon that can cripple the US if deployed. We found it, or, rather we found a fake, and are now searching for the real one. I’ve not gone any further, although the game is pretty average from what I’ve seen. It is longer than a few of the recent titles like this I have played, which is nice, these First Person Shooter (FPS) games tend to have a forgettable and very short storyline, and focus on the multiplayer, which is a shame, as very few FPS games manage to attract enough players for there to be an active community more than a few months after release.
The multiplayer is where this game shines. It is all about teamwork, communication and blowing stuff up! The developer, Dice, has updated their Frostbite game engine to allow even more destruction on the maps, which is a welcome addition to the genre. I can’t tell you how many tank rounds, grenades and bullets I have wasted in other games trying to get a camper out of a house. With this new engine, you can bring the house down on the camper! There are 4 different classes you can use, each with their own strength. They are Engineer (explosives and repair), Assault (grenade launchers and ammo supply for teammates), Recon (sniper rifles and artillery strikes) and Medic (health packs and revive teammates).
There are three game modes, the first, and least interesting, is Squad Deathmatch, which is just like it sounds, your squad of 4 must get more kills than other squads of four. The twist is that there is a tank in the middle of the map, which should give the team holding the tank an advantage, but not really, they are fairly easily taken out. The second, Rush, has a defending and an attacking team, once again, using squads of 4. The defenders must defend M-Com stations from the attackers, who must go in and destroy them be either planting charges and letting the timer run out before the defenders can disarm it, or destroying the stations. The attackers have a limited number of tickets, or chances to do this, which is where the Medic class comes in really handy, as if a teammate is revived before they bleed out, the attacking team gets to keep the ticket! The attacking team also has access to vehicles, including tanks, hummers, quads and even boats and helicopters. The defending team can also sneak over to the attacking base to steal these vehicles, and cause havoc. The last game mode is Conquest, which revolves around your team capturing and holding zones, while taking tickets from the other team, as well as preserving yours, in this mode both teams have tickets. The zones allow players to spawn on a zone, or a teammate, so if one team controls all the zones, there is only one place the other team can spawn, their base, and it’s hard to spawn, then immediately get shot by the other team sitting on your base!
Overall the game is great, I absolutely love the teamwork aspect, something I missed in other shooters, which rely on twitch reflexes. The maps are huge, the gameplay is realistic (as can be, harder to see when you are hurt, explosions kick you around, making it hard to aim, buildings come down, etc) There are unlocks to keep you playing for more items, although that ends around level 22, but there is also a tracking system for number of kills you obtained with your guns, vehicles, even combat knife, so there is a reason to come back for more. I just hope there are more maps planned, the maps it shipped with are huge, but a change of scenery is always welcome. See you on the battlefield!
The campaign is pretty standard fare for this game, I played the first, Battlefield: Bad Company and really enjoyed the humor scattered throughout the campaign and this sequel isn’t nearly as funny, but it still has me chuckling at a few one liners. Not 100% sure of the story, other than there is some sort of destructive weapon that can cripple the US if deployed. We found it, or, rather we found a fake, and are now searching for the real one. I’ve not gone any further, although the game is pretty average from what I’ve seen. It is longer than a few of the recent titles like this I have played, which is nice, these First Person Shooter (FPS) games tend to have a forgettable and very short storyline, and focus on the multiplayer, which is a shame, as very few FPS games manage to attract enough players for there to be an active community more than a few months after release.
The multiplayer is where this game shines. It is all about teamwork, communication and blowing stuff up! The developer, Dice, has updated their Frostbite game engine to allow even more destruction on the maps, which is a welcome addition to the genre. I can’t tell you how many tank rounds, grenades and bullets I have wasted in other games trying to get a camper out of a house. With this new engine, you can bring the house down on the camper! There are 4 different classes you can use, each with their own strength. They are Engineer (explosives and repair), Assault (grenade launchers and ammo supply for teammates), Recon (sniper rifles and artillery strikes) and Medic (health packs and revive teammates).
There are three game modes, the first, and least interesting, is Squad Deathmatch, which is just like it sounds, your squad of 4 must get more kills than other squads of four. The twist is that there is a tank in the middle of the map, which should give the team holding the tank an advantage, but not really, they are fairly easily taken out. The second, Rush, has a defending and an attacking team, once again, using squads of 4. The defenders must defend M-Com stations from the attackers, who must go in and destroy them be either planting charges and letting the timer run out before the defenders can disarm it, or destroying the stations. The attackers have a limited number of tickets, or chances to do this, which is where the Medic class comes in really handy, as if a teammate is revived before they bleed out, the attacking team gets to keep the ticket! The attacking team also has access to vehicles, including tanks, hummers, quads and even boats and helicopters. The defending team can also sneak over to the attacking base to steal these vehicles, and cause havoc. The last game mode is Conquest, which revolves around your team capturing and holding zones, while taking tickets from the other team, as well as preserving yours, in this mode both teams have tickets. The zones allow players to spawn on a zone, or a teammate, so if one team controls all the zones, there is only one place the other team can spawn, their base, and it’s hard to spawn, then immediately get shot by the other team sitting on your base!
Overall the game is great, I absolutely love the teamwork aspect, something I missed in other shooters, which rely on twitch reflexes. The maps are huge, the gameplay is realistic (as can be, harder to see when you are hurt, explosions kick you around, making it hard to aim, buildings come down, etc) There are unlocks to keep you playing for more items, although that ends around level 22, but there is also a tracking system for number of kills you obtained with your guns, vehicles, even combat knife, so there is a reason to come back for more. I just hope there are more maps planned, the maps it shipped with are huge, but a change of scenery is always welcome. See you on the battlefield!
Now Playing
Mar/24/10 04:28 PM
Having pretty much swapped my gaming from consoles to computers as of late, I decided it was time to revisit an old franchise, Geneforge. The game is the last chapter in the series, and is supposed to give closure to the war between the Shapers, a group who use magic to create life in any form, and their creations, who have learned the secrets of the shapers themselves, and are fighting for their freedom from Shaper servitude. The title is Geneforge 5: Overthrow.
How the game plays out is completely up to the player, you can side with the Shapers, learn their secrets and use that newfound power to squash the rebellion, or play as a rebel and work to overthrow the shapers. The player is actually a creation of a Shaper, given power to help them against the rebels. I am currently undecided what I will do, keeping all of my actions open. I don’t know how long I can keep this up, I want to gain benefits from both sides!
The game is not beautiful graphically, it looks like an early RPG, honestly. I would love for the game to look better, but the real draw of the series is the storyline, which has completely sucked me in, I hardly notice the graphics, to be honest, even though most are reused from earlier versions of the same game! If you are looking for a new game to try out, I highly recommend this one, as long as you can keep an open mind about the graphics, you will be rewarded with a great game. This is also rare in the fact that it’s available natively for the Mac as well!
How the game plays out is completely up to the player, you can side with the Shapers, learn their secrets and use that newfound power to squash the rebellion, or play as a rebel and work to overthrow the shapers. The player is actually a creation of a Shaper, given power to help them against the rebels. I am currently undecided what I will do, keeping all of my actions open. I don’t know how long I can keep this up, I want to gain benefits from both sides!
The game is not beautiful graphically, it looks like an early RPG, honestly. I would love for the game to look better, but the real draw of the series is the storyline, which has completely sucked me in, I hardly notice the graphics, to be honest, even though most are reused from earlier versions of the same game! If you are looking for a new game to try out, I highly recommend this one, as long as you can keep an open mind about the graphics, you will be rewarded with a great game. This is also rare in the fact that it’s available natively for the Mac as well!
Now Playing
Mar/08/10 08:01 PM
I have just started playing Torchlight, a hack and slash action RPG (Role Playing Game) in the vein of Diablo or Sacred, two of my favorite games of all time, and most certainly my favorite genre. The story, like most games of this type, is a little lacking. Basically this material, called Ember, is being mined in a town for evil and I need to stop it. All by myself, oh, and my cat. I could have chosen a dog, but I went the cat route.
The gameplay is all point and click, everything is able to be controlled with a mouse, which is nice, although I have mapped several keyboard keys for various spells. I am playing this on the computer, through Steam. This is the first computer game I’ve played in at least 5 years, so it’s taking some getting used to. The game is PC only, and I don’t have one, so I am emulating it via Crossover Games on my Mac, which is working perfectly. The game doesn’t require a super rig to run, hell, it even has a netbook mode, but I am able to run it with all options turned to 100% with no slowdowns on both my iMac and Macbook.
There are only three character choices in the game, but I feel like nothing is lost with only these three, they cover the bases very well. I chose the Alchemist, or Magic User class and am having a blast pointing and clicking my way through the game. Most of the game, so far at least, takes place underground in dungeons, which are randomly generated, so repeat playthroughs will still give you the same quests, but not the feeling that you have seen it all before. The characters also have a skill tree, that while basic, is just enough to keep you playing for that next level up so you can add yet another benefit to the player.
The main draw, to me at least, for games like this is the loot, and there is plenty of it. Tromping through dungeons, slaying monsters and picking up their drops is almost a game in itself, with the different items. There are normal, rare, enchanted and even unique and set items to find. The more set item pieces you find the more bonuses are bestowed upon the character. The pet, my cat in this instance, is used to solve a problem I have always had with games like this, what to do with all that loot? The pet has their own inventory, you can use them as a packrat, equip them with items, and best of all, send them back to town alone to sell off goods they are carrying and bring back the gold! The player can continue on slaying and picking up loot while the pet is absent. This has always been a problem for me in similar games, I hate to throw anything away, that money could be used for other things!
All told this is a very simple, yet extremely enjoyable hack and slash RPG. I had heard very good things about the game at various places online and it has yet to disappoint.
The gameplay is all point and click, everything is able to be controlled with a mouse, which is nice, although I have mapped several keyboard keys for various spells. I am playing this on the computer, through Steam. This is the first computer game I’ve played in at least 5 years, so it’s taking some getting used to. The game is PC only, and I don’t have one, so I am emulating it via Crossover Games on my Mac, which is working perfectly. The game doesn’t require a super rig to run, hell, it even has a netbook mode, but I am able to run it with all options turned to 100% with no slowdowns on both my iMac and Macbook.
There are only three character choices in the game, but I feel like nothing is lost with only these three, they cover the bases very well. I chose the Alchemist, or Magic User class and am having a blast pointing and clicking my way through the game. Most of the game, so far at least, takes place underground in dungeons, which are randomly generated, so repeat playthroughs will still give you the same quests, but not the feeling that you have seen it all before. The characters also have a skill tree, that while basic, is just enough to keep you playing for that next level up so you can add yet another benefit to the player.
The main draw, to me at least, for games like this is the loot, and there is plenty of it. Tromping through dungeons, slaying monsters and picking up their drops is almost a game in itself, with the different items. There are normal, rare, enchanted and even unique and set items to find. The more set item pieces you find the more bonuses are bestowed upon the character. The pet, my cat in this instance, is used to solve a problem I have always had with games like this, what to do with all that loot? The pet has their own inventory, you can use them as a packrat, equip them with items, and best of all, send them back to town alone to sell off goods they are carrying and bring back the gold! The player can continue on slaying and picking up loot while the pet is absent. This has always been a problem for me in similar games, I hate to throw anything away, that money could be used for other things!
All told this is a very simple, yet extremely enjoyable hack and slash RPG. I had heard very good things about the game at various places online and it has yet to disappoint.
Now Playing
Feb/22/10 01:23 PM
I am currently playing The Saboteur, set in 1940’s Paris, just as the Nazis start entering the city. The plot is basically the revenge of the main character, Sean, who watched his best friend die while on a prank mission. The game is the last effort of Pandemic Studios, most of which were laid off by Electronic Arts in 2009.
Not very far into the game yet, but it has been fairly enjoyable so far, even though there have been a lot of cut scenes to tell the story. The game is sold as an open world, sandbox style game, which I assume I have not gotten through the setup part of the story to get to yet. Hopefully there will be some means of quick travel, as the period vehicles handle about as well as they should, which is frustrating after playing games such as Burnout Paradise recently. The controls are a bit awkward, requiring use of the shoulder buttons to put Sean into a sneak or brawl mode, the stick buttons would have been better suited for this, as well as feel more familiar, I often have to stop and think which buttons I need to press to get Sean to perform an action.
Overall the game is enjoyable, as I have said, I am not very far into the story yet, hopefully the little things like the controls I will get used to, it sure is fun sabotaging Nazi fuel depots and sneaking around the patrols so far.
Not very far into the game yet, but it has been fairly enjoyable so far, even though there have been a lot of cut scenes to tell the story. The game is sold as an open world, sandbox style game, which I assume I have not gotten through the setup part of the story to get to yet. Hopefully there will be some means of quick travel, as the period vehicles handle about as well as they should, which is frustrating after playing games such as Burnout Paradise recently. The controls are a bit awkward, requiring use of the shoulder buttons to put Sean into a sneak or brawl mode, the stick buttons would have been better suited for this, as well as feel more familiar, I often have to stop and think which buttons I need to press to get Sean to perform an action.
Overall the game is enjoyable, as I have said, I am not very far into the story yet, hopefully the little things like the controls I will get used to, it sure is fun sabotaging Nazi fuel depots and sneaking around the patrols so far.