As I have explained in previous posts, I purchased an Xbox360 a few months ago. I bought it because i wanted to buy a new computer to be able to handle some of the newer games coming out. It has been more than 4 years since we bought our last desktop computer. So B suggested that I purchase an Xbox in lieu of a new computer since all I wanted the new computer for was to play games. (I knew she was smart but her logic was flawless on this one)
I immediately purchased Halo 2 and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. These are what are commonly referred to as first person or third person shooter games. You know, you are walking down a hall and something jumps out at you and you fire the weapon in your hand in hopes of killing it.
What you may not know is that these games have an online component to them. A place that you can connect over the internet to play other people with the same game. The online version of the game differs slightly from the single player version of the game in that you can usually play with a group of online gamers to accomplish a task or basically just kill each other.
Some of these games are pretty intense in their reality and life like game play. Some of the games have almost realistic body parts exploding when shot. Blood seemingly splatters in your face.
So what don't your kids want you to know about these games.
Secret #1: The age of children being allowed to play this game online is utterly shocking. I have been online and played against 8 year old kids. There are rated R movies that you would not allow your 8 year old child to see and yet you are letting them play these games. If you are a parent of a child that owns a gaming system BE SURE to research the games they play BEFORE they purchase them. If you visited the http://www.gearsofwar.com web site I highly doubt you would have allowed your child to play this game.
Secret #2: Even if you are going to allow your child to play the game, be sure you are aware of their online playing habits. What you don't realize is that there are people all over the world playing these games online. I am 38 years old. That means there are people as much as 30 years older than some of these kids PLAYING WITH YOUR KIDS, TALKING TO YOUR KIDS. I am no danger to your kids but I can't speak for everyone.
Secret #3: Think of how you were when you first moved out of your parents house? Remember what it was like to live in a world where you could do whatever or say whatever you wanted and your parents would never know? The world of online gaming is a place that your kids are using as their first exposure to that life. What am I talking about? Well let me explain it to you another way. Here are some of the actual conversations I have heard or seen occur between gamers online.
"Hey does anyone want to have cybersex?"
"You suck at this game as much as your mom sucked me last night"
And for the occasional female that chooses to play in this largely male teenage dominated world..."(girl talking)....Boy you really blew my head off with that shotgun...(boy speaking)...not as much as you will blow my head off.....etc....you get the point"
So why do I play in this world if all this garbage is being spewed out during game play? The main reason is that I avoid playing with people that would talk this way. Online gaming gives me an outlet to play with a group of people that enjoy playing the same game I do. I don't have anyone living around me that wants to play these games as often as I would. So I enjoy the comeraderie with these people.
Just beware that there is a sub culture that operates within your child's bedroom and you don't even know it.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
First day of Kindergarten for JCG
This is JCG two years ago before her first day of pre-school.
This is my baby girl one year later before her 2nd year of pre-school.
And this is my baby girl before her first day of kindergarten.
For your viewing pleasure this is a photo montage of how mommy wanted to remember the day. There are more pictures than this but this is my blog. If she wants to show you more....she will have to get her own blog... :)
For your viewing pleasure this is a photo montage of how mommy wanted to remember the day. There are more pictures than this but this is my blog. If she wants to show you more....she will have to get her own blog... :)
J sleeping
J waking up
J and J eating breakfast together
J saying goodbye to J
Me walking J to school.
My how time flies. Today was her first day of kindergarten. For me personally it went off great. She started a new chapter of her life. She did great. She was excited. She was happy. She looked exceedingly beautiful. She didn't miss a step.
The real story of the day was B. B was a sight to see. She did some crying. She did not want to have JCG going to school one little bit. It was absolutely another reason why I love this woman so much. She has the biggest and squishiest heart of anyone I know.
The real story of the day was B. B was a sight to see. She did some crying. She did not want to have JCG going to school one little bit. It was absolutely another reason why I love this woman so much. She has the biggest and squishiest heart of anyone I know.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
What has been happening?
I have not had much of a chance to blog lately. Due in part to not having anything compelling to write about and that I have spent a lot of time playing xbox. Its strange how addicting this is for me. I know in the grand scheme of life the time I spend playing the games is basically wasting my time. I am reverting back to when I was in grade school, junior high school and high school.
We have taken the house off the market because of the lousy housing market in the US. We need to save money to be able to bring more to closing or to apply to the principal amount thus we would owe less on the house and thus we would need to bring less to closing.
We have finished the basement (mostly) and now we are in the process of going through all the crap in the crawl space under the house. We have tons of stuff to get rid of and we are planning on honey of a garage sale.
I really need to start doing more exercise as my job really has no physical activity and thus I am gaining weight. I am trying to do different types of exercises when I can. Things like going swimming with the kids and cutting the grass and hopefully using the treadmill when the basement gets more cleaned up.
The job is going great. I am so blessed with this job. I have the confidence of my employees as well as the owner.
That is about it for now. This is nothing really compelling but I did want to keep my adoring fans informed about the goings on of my thrilling life.
I love you B.
We have taken the house off the market because of the lousy housing market in the US. We need to save money to be able to bring more to closing or to apply to the principal amount thus we would owe less on the house and thus we would need to bring less to closing.
We have finished the basement (mostly) and now we are in the process of going through all the crap in the crawl space under the house. We have tons of stuff to get rid of and we are planning on honey of a garage sale.
I really need to start doing more exercise as my job really has no physical activity and thus I am gaining weight. I am trying to do different types of exercises when I can. Things like going swimming with the kids and cutting the grass and hopefully using the treadmill when the basement gets more cleaned up.
The job is going great. I am so blessed with this job. I have the confidence of my employees as well as the owner.
That is about it for now. This is nothing really compelling but I did want to keep my adoring fans informed about the goings on of my thrilling life.
I love you B.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Fantasy Football 2007
Today's post is specifically for my league mates in my 2007 Fantasy Football league. But is also for anyone that might be interested in fantasy football but didn't want to take the time to learn about it.
There are several different iterations of how to play fantasy football. No matter how you prefer to play fantasy football the end result is still the same. It is to enjoy watching more football games than just your hometown favorite team. It is also to have some bonding time with people that share the same interests as you.
I have been playing fantasy football since the mid to late 80's when the Washington Redskins won the super bowl. I have typically run the league myself because the point scoring method used by others frustrated me so much.
The philosophy I use in my league is that no one position is more valuable than others. For instance a field goal kicker can potentially score as many points as a running back or a quarterback. So don't put all your eggs in one basket (i.e. having one big star on your team and getting scrubs for the rest of your team).
So, on to the basics of my fantasy football league.
At the beginning of the football season a group of people get together for what is called the fantasy football draft. Often times this is the most enjoyable part of the season. We get together in one place to construct our fantasy teams for the new season. Each fantasy team consists of the following positions:
1 - Quarterbacks
2 - Running Backs
2 - Wide Receivers
1 - Wide Receiver/Tight End
1 - Kicker
1 - Team Defense/Special Teams
6 - Bench positions
The bench positions are to be used for your reserves. If you choose you can have 6 running backs on your bench. It is up to you.
When the draft starts every team owner has a salary cap of $50.00. A random drawing is held to find out who begins the draft by introducing a player. When a player is introduced the bidding begins. Every owner gets a chance to put in a bid. Every bid must be in increments of $0.10. The bidding goes around the room and every owner can opt to raise the bid or sit out. Once you have opted out of bidding on a specific player you can always jump back in when it comes to your turn.
Every owner must introduce a player into the auction until all of their roster positions are full. No one can skip their turn.
This goes on until every team has every roster position filled. Depending on the number of teams this process can take 4-6 hours.
Before the kickoff of the first game of each week every owner must submit a starting roster. If you do not submit a starting roster the previous week's roster will be used. Each week you will go head to head with another owner. the players on your team will be given points based on the following:
There are several different iterations of how to play fantasy football. No matter how you prefer to play fantasy football the end result is still the same. It is to enjoy watching more football games than just your hometown favorite team. It is also to have some bonding time with people that share the same interests as you.
I have been playing fantasy football since the mid to late 80's when the Washington Redskins won the super bowl. I have typically run the league myself because the point scoring method used by others frustrated me so much.
The philosophy I use in my league is that no one position is more valuable than others. For instance a field goal kicker can potentially score as many points as a running back or a quarterback. So don't put all your eggs in one basket (i.e. having one big star on your team and getting scrubs for the rest of your team).
So, on to the basics of my fantasy football league.
At the beginning of the football season a group of people get together for what is called the fantasy football draft. Often times this is the most enjoyable part of the season. We get together in one place to construct our fantasy teams for the new season. Each fantasy team consists of the following positions:
1 - Quarterbacks
2 - Running Backs
2 - Wide Receivers
1 - Wide Receiver/Tight End
1 - Kicker
1 - Team Defense/Special Teams
6 - Bench positions
The bench positions are to be used for your reserves. If you choose you can have 6 running backs on your bench. It is up to you.
When the draft starts every team owner has a salary cap of $50.00. A random drawing is held to find out who begins the draft by introducing a player. When a player is introduced the bidding begins. Every owner gets a chance to put in a bid. Every bid must be in increments of $0.10. The bidding goes around the room and every owner can opt to raise the bid or sit out. Once you have opted out of bidding on a specific player you can always jump back in when it comes to your turn.
Every owner must introduce a player into the auction until all of their roster positions are full. No one can skip their turn.
This goes on until every team has every roster position filled. Depending on the number of teams this process can take 4-6 hours.
Before the kickoff of the first game of each week every owner must submit a starting roster. If you do not submit a starting roster the previous week's roster will be used. Each week you will go head to head with another owner. the players on your team will be given points based on the following:
- Completions (.25)
- Incomplete Passes (-.25)
- Passing Yards (20 yards per point; 2 points at 300 yards; 4 points at 400 yards)
- Passing Touchdowns (3)
- Interceptions (-1)
- Rushing Yards (10 yards per point; 10 points at 200 yards)
- Rushing Touchdowns (6)
- Receptions (1)
- Reception Yards (10 yards per point; 10 points at 200 yards)
- Reception Touchdowns (6)
- Return Yards (30 yards per point)
- Return Touchdowns (6)
- 2-Point Conversions (2)
- Fumbles Lost (-2)
- Offensive Fumble Return TD (6)
- Field Goals 0-19 Yards (4)
- Field Goals 20-29 Yards (5)
- Field Goals 30-39 Yards (6)
- Field Goals 40-49 Yards (7)
- Field Goals 50+ Yards (8)
- Field Goals Missed 0-19 Yards (-4)
- Field Goals Missed 20-29 Yards (-3)
- Field Goals Missed 30-39 Yards (-2)
- Field Goals Missed 40-49 Yards (-1)
- Point After Attempt Made (1)
- Point After Attempt Missed (-2)
- Sack (1)
- Interception (2)
- Fumble Recovery (2)
- Touchdown (6)
- Safety (2)
- Block Kick (2)
- Kickoff and Punt Return Touchdowns (6)
- Points Allowed 0 points (10)
- Points Allowed 1-6 points (7)
- Points Allowed 7-13 points (4)
- Points Allowed 14-20 points (1)
- Points Allowed 21-27 points (0)
- Points Allowed 28-34 points (-1)
- Points Allowed 35+ points (-4)
That is about it.
Good luck every week except for when I play you. Playing fantasy football is 10% skill and 90% luck. You are at the mercy of injuries and bye weeks. you could be statistically superior to your opponent and should crush him only to have his wide receiver have a career day and his kicker kick 7 field goals. Have fun. Be nice!
Monday, August 6, 2007
I'm a Ramblin Man...
I haven't blogged in a while and there hasn't been enough significant things going on that would be blog worthy. So I thought I would share some thoughts about what has been happening.
Let's see, well, I fell down in the backyard of a neighbor's house and really hurt my knee. It wasn't dislocated or sprained. Just really bruised. Well after about 2 weeks I started getting an excess of fluid build up on my knee. I am going to get it drained on Thursday.
Both of my softball leagues are finished now. Both of the teams weren't all that impressive. But I got out of the house and got a little exercise.
My niece left Ohio after four months. I don't think we made as much of an impact as we probably would have liked to. She is defintely her mother's daughter. But then again her mother couldn't wait to get out of the house and on her own.
Work is going really well. I am learning a lot and I really enjoy what I do. I love the people I work with and I really like the customers I deal with.
I have been playing an unhealthy amount of Gears of War on the Xbox.
We have been going through the basement crawl space to pull all the stuff out and decide what we are going to sell, throw away and donate. We are going to have ahoney of a garage sale.
B and JHGIII are going to be travelling to Oklahoma in a few weeks which means me and my angel get to spend some quality time together for a few days. I can't wait.
The basement is about 98% finished. I still have a few little things left.
I think I am finally getting the garage to a point where I want it to be.
JHGIII went poo poo in the potty chair today. B and he went to Target to buy some big boy panties. Spiderman and Go Diego Go. He was very excited. So were we.
We are probably going to pull the house off the market in the next few days until next March.
That is all about for now.
Let's see, well, I fell down in the backyard of a neighbor's house and really hurt my knee. It wasn't dislocated or sprained. Just really bruised. Well after about 2 weeks I started getting an excess of fluid build up on my knee. I am going to get it drained on Thursday.
Both of my softball leagues are finished now. Both of the teams weren't all that impressive. But I got out of the house and got a little exercise.
My niece left Ohio after four months. I don't think we made as much of an impact as we probably would have liked to. She is defintely her mother's daughter. But then again her mother couldn't wait to get out of the house and on her own.
Work is going really well. I am learning a lot and I really enjoy what I do. I love the people I work with and I really like the customers I deal with.
I have been playing an unhealthy amount of Gears of War on the Xbox.
We have been going through the basement crawl space to pull all the stuff out and decide what we are going to sell, throw away and donate. We are going to have ahoney of a garage sale.
B and JHGIII are going to be travelling to Oklahoma in a few weeks which means me and my angel get to spend some quality time together for a few days. I can't wait.
The basement is about 98% finished. I still have a few little things left.
I think I am finally getting the garage to a point where I want it to be.
JHGIII went poo poo in the potty chair today. B and he went to Target to buy some big boy panties. Spiderman and Go Diego Go. He was very excited. So were we.
We are probably going to pull the house off the market in the next few days until next March.
That is all about for now.
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