ima420r

XBox One

Today Microsoft, hereby known as M$, had a press conference where they introduced the world to the new Xbox, the Xbox One. Like a sandwich from a vending machine, it might look good but after a few bites you get a bad taste in your mouth, and a few hours later you are on the toilet with a bad case of the trots.

I was at work during the press conference watching some feeds but not able to see the event. When it was over I checked out some news articles and read some of the specs: it looked like a good machine with a better version of Kinect bundled with it and a decent looking controller. It also worked as a cable box and dvr, something I like because Comcast sucks.

Then I read a bit more, and when I got home I watched some videos.

M$ had said that they were not going to do the "always online" thing, then they said they would leave it up to the individual publishers to decide what they wanted for each game, but now they said that you need to be online only not all the time, just like once a day to check in. I don't mind this really, but I still find it to be a bad decision.

Rumors had been floating around about the lack of used game playing on the new system and they weren't far from the truth. Though they are not releasing many details yet, M$ has announced that there will be a fee associated with playing used games, though they also mentioned something about trading games online. They are essentially making it so we can't buy a game from Gamestop and play it without some sort of extra charge, nor will we be able to swap games with our friends without paying for them. It seems this has to do with the mandatory install of all games you play and the fact that you can play them without the disc once installed.

Oh, yeah, you have to install all the games you want to play. I don't mind this much either, and being able to play games without the disc is actually a grand idea, but there is a problem: you can't upgrade the 500 gigabyte hard drive. 500 gigs? Really? That's maybe 20 bluray discs. So, depending on the size of the OS, I can install maybe 20 games before I have to delete something to free up space. I have 200 Xbox 360 games (not including another 200+ XBLA games)! If I had to install them all I would need over a terabyte of hard drive space (with all the DLC and crap with them).

At least the Xbox One will have a bluray drive. Wait, I already have a bluray player, it's called a PS3. Larger discs for larger games is fine though, I like it. It means we can get more on-disc DLC to pay for. I'm looking at you EA!

Well, as long as I can play my 360 games on it, I will buy one.

Wait...

I can't play my 360 games on it? Not even my XBLA games? WTF! Even Nintendo lets me play the last systems games on the current console! PS3 let me play PS2 games in it (for a little while until they decided it was better to make us all buy them all again digitally) and my Xbox 360 still plays some (most) original Xbox games.

*Deep Breath*

I like the whole "One stop shop for your multimedia needs" thing. Being able to watch and record TV (Comcast still sucks), getting live updates to fantasy football teams (I don't partake but it's a neat idea), multi-tasking, talking to it and having it do things (still waiting for "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot" but Nasa is getting there), and playing video games... it's a great bundle. With powerful hardware and wicked awesome software, it will go far, I just don't want the bad stuff to go with it.

Speaking Writing of software, there was a neat looking game announced amongst the sports and racing games they showed: Quantum Break.

 

It might be garbage but it might be good. I like the mix of live action and cgi. I guess M$ said they have 15 exclusive games in development now with 8 being new IPs. That is something to look forward too.

It's a shame I may just miss out on them. I won't pass judgement just yet, we don't have the whole story and until the system is released we won't really know what it can and can't do. No one wanted the Wii until it came out, then you couldn't find it in stores for 2 years.

If things go they way it looks, I may just skip this upcoming generation of gaming systems and stick to my Wii U and PCs. I hope it ends up being better than it looks, though.

Spoiler Alert: Iron Man 3

    Okay, so these are my thoughts on Iron Man 3 with spoilers. Fun fun.  By now you have seen it if you want to and if not, then my spoilers aren't ruining anything.

    First off, what was with the suit that Tony Stark could control with his mind? Seems like just a plot point because it came up a few times later in the movie.

   And the chick from 1999 new years who came to "help"?? She was a baddie but turned good so she could be killed? It makes no sense? She needed some words of wisdom from Tony to make her be good? And why would a bullet kill her anyway? Was she not on her own serum?

    So Iron Man kills a guy on Air Force One... but is he dead? Iron Man says something like "Let's see you come back from this!" and then shoots him with his chest laser and we don't see him again, but is he dead? We saw him heal from a 3000 degree explosion earlier, why would getting a whole in his chest by a laser kill him?

    Pepper Potts gets injected with the "healing but hot serum" and survives a 50ft fall into flames, and then she kicks some ass after we learn she didn't die. So did the baddies live too? They had that healing serum, and they survived some crazy shit, so are they still alive?

    And WTF is with the Marndarin?!?!?!? I liked the comic villian but they made him so shitty in the movie. He was an actor??? So the guy playing the Mandarin was acting and the guy who invented the Mandarin was really the Mandarin? And then he died? WTF? the Mandarin had rings that gave him powers, and Guy Peirce had no rings or powers, so how was he the Mandarin?

    And I have seen the commercials for the Iron Man action figures, you can mix and match them to make your own Iron Man guy... so why the fuck did Iron Man not mix and match his suit parts in the final battle??!?!?!?!???

    He went in and out of suits so fast, sometimes losing a leg or an arm and never replacing them. Why not have his arm get destroyed only to have a new one appear?!? It would have been bad ass and it would have helped promote toy sales! I would have loved to have seen classic Iron Man with the laser arm and the jump boost legs.

    I dunno what the fuck I am talking about. I think I mixed Megaman with Iron Man.

    So, when Tony Stark first meets the Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley (I don't recognized the Queen's Knighthood or Authority) I was waiting for a twist. Like, he is messing around but really he is The Mandarin... but alas, he is not. I saw he did not wear the rings and knew it really was all a charde.

    So, after Kinsey and I saw "Iron Man 3" today we argued over who would win in a fight... Superman or Thor.

    I am so happy that I could have such a discussion with my daughter that I didn't care what the outcome was.

    I lied. Superman would win. He may be weak against magic but Thor isn't magic... The first movie starts with narration stating that magic is just technology that is so advanced that people see it as magic. Superman can withstand technology.

    I hope I am raising my daughter right. :)

 

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

    My daughter and I went to see the new Iron Man 3 movie today. It was a fun afternoon with lunch at Famous Daves (I had never been), kitty petting at the pet store, art supply buying at the craft store and 150 minutes of sitting in a theater on what turned out to be a georgeous day.

    Here's a trailer:

 

    I prepared myself for the movie by watching the first two last night, but I probably shouldn't have; it gave me very high expectations and I was somewhat dissapointed.

    Tony Stark is working hard on new Iron Man suits. His new one, Mark 42, is able to be controlled with his mind. Since "The Avengers" Tony has been having a hard time sleeping and suffers from panic attacks, seemed like PTSD to me. I guess fighting aliens and flying into a wormhole to another dimension can do that to a person.

    Then there is this bad guy called The Mandarin who is blowing things up and being a big a-hole terrorist. When Mandarin hurts one of Tony's friends, he decides to start a manhunt to get some revenge.

    Things don't go all that well, his suit gets broken, he has fun with some kid, and eventually there is a big showdown at the end. They shouldn't have called it "Iron Man" though, they should have called it "Tony Stark". The suit time is very limited and though the end almost makes up for it, there could have been more.

    Actually, the end was pretty fun to watch, but I could think of a few things that might have made it more fun. I don't want to give anything away, but I'd liked to have seen some mix and matched parts from different suits.

    And what's with The Mandarin anyway? I was waiting for something more, something else to happen, but it never did. Ben Kingsley is a heck of an actor, he played the part really well, but I didn't like the direction they went with him.

    The story was good, I liked it, but it was long and didn't have much action. Well, it had action but I wanted to see Iron Man action not Tony Stark action. Heck, War Machine Iron Patriot had a handful of scenes and when it was time to fight the good fight he flies off! The scenes with the kid were probably the best, though the whole movie was peppered with humor and entertaining.

    The special effects were awesome! When the credits got to "visual effects" there was this wall of names that went by; they did their job well. I didn't once think anything looked fake, and if it had been in 3d it might have really looked swell.

    Oh, we also made sure to stay for the after credits scene. It was well worth the wait and tied the movie together nicely; I wondered why Tony was narrating at the beginning.

    You probably already know if you want to see this movie, so my review of it will likely not change your mind. Just don't think you are seeing a movie like the last two and you might enjoy it more.

    I give it a 7/10. Enjoyable and fun but it could have been better (like having less Tony and more Iron Man in it!)

 

What I listen to in the shower.

I recently restarted my mp3 player; i clicked play all + shuffle. I have some good music on there and have added some songs recently that probably brings the "Weird" Al to other music ratio to 1:2. Of course this means Mr. Yankovic needs to release some more albums... pronto!

So here is one of my favorites.

 

 

If he trades your dimes for nickels, and calls watermellons pickles, you know you're talking to the reefer man.

 

I've always liked music covered in different styles then the original artist. I made a CD years ago with "Paint it Black" on it. Thats it, just "Paint it Black". 24 different versions all in different styles:rock, punk, techno, jungle...

 

 

 

I always thought Bette Midler had the biggest balls of all...

 

Then there is the best of them all.

 

You can't beat Mr. Yankovic: he's so weEeEeIiIiRrrrd!

He writes a mean children's book too! 

Waiting for Spring...

    Usually by this time of the year the grass is green and the flowers are blooming, Rarely does it snow like this mid-April. It's like the world is upsidedown!

The birds are going crazy, I watch them out my window at work. Must have seen a few thousand fly by at one point, I watched for 20-30 seconds as they all flew by, landed on a tree, flew off and landed on the next tree, and so on until they had passed.

Glad I got Kinsey a new bike... so she can not ride it... cause of the snow.

I spend Tuesday evening working on my bike. Nothing like taking something completely apart to learn that the broken part could have easily been taken off by itself. At least I got it going, though I need to do a few small things to it before I can start riding it to work.

I have no pic of my bike.

Tomorrow morning I want to get out the good camera and take some shots, if it looks as good as it did today at least. The phone works okay but if I am going to pay $500 for a camera I gotta get some use out of it (other than school that is).

I will be keeping the xmas lights on through this wintery weather, makes me feel like it's still the holiday season and helps make the weather more managable.

I leave you with a dry erase picture Kinsey drew and I added to.

Pinkie WHY!!!!!!!!

The times, they are a changin'

    I have decided to make some changes to this site. I have enjoyed posting weekly on my attempts (and mis-attempts) at losing weight and getting in shape but I feel the need to do things differently. I am still taking a picture of the scale every week I just won't post it every Sunday. I have a plan for my daughter and I to be more active and eventually when summer gets here (I can't see it through all the snow) get into a real exercise routine.

    I have gotten more and more stressed about having to post every week about what I have done and will do, mostly because I have not been doing much as part of any get-in-shape routine. So I am thinking I will get more into posting about other things and less about losing weight. It's just not as fun as it used to be.

    I hope that taking off the pressure I have put on myself will help me feel better about myself and make it easier for me to do the right thing. At first it seemed to help, posting my thoughts and actions here, but it's just gotten to the point where I don't feel it's helping anymore.

    So I am going to start making some site changes, making it less about me losing weight (which I seem to be in a rut with at the moment anyway) and more about my life in general. I have already posted some movie reviews, game reviews, activities I have been a part of and general thoughts. Look for more of that and less of the in-shape stuff. I would also like to get some more things posted, like videos and photos.

    I still need to get in better shape. The last few days I have been in pain with a very sore lower back and a knee that feels like someone hit it with a hammer. These may be nothing, maybe I strained something, but I don't like it and I know things like this could be prevented if I weighed less and moved more.

    Oh, and check out my daughter's new website. www.artbykra.com has her artwork, mostly pony related, and what ever else she feels like posting. It is also here on TypePad, I created it under my account but have given her full control for posting. She has so much art, she couldn't post it all if she tried! Well, maybe if she tried...

    One thing that has come from this website is that I am no longer a 420r. I have not lost much weight, only about 42lbs since I started some 64 weeks ago, but I have kept it off (more or less) and that is an accomplishment.

    If anyone actually reads this blob I thank you and I hope you enjoy the new direction I take the site. Post any suggestions or comments you have, I would love to hear from anyone interested in what I have been sharing here.

 

 

 

Week 61 weigh in

    Because of the holiday I am posting this a little late. Who cares?

    My daughter said today that she is concerned about her weight. She said she weighs like 145 and she should be 125. She does have a stomach but she is not necessarily unhealthy.

    I told her she should spend less time on the computer (Dang you Minecraft!) and more time outside. We decided maybe we could help each other. I don't always think about going outside and neither does she, so if we work together maybe we can help each other get more exercise.

    We will see how it goes. It can't get much worse.

    The other night I fell asleep thinking a bunch of crazy thoughts. Well, not too crazy, but the type of thoughts that if you brought them up in conversation people would wonder if you were stones or something. I am in the process of writing them down, when done I will post them, if only to satisfy myself and get these words out of my head.

    Spoilers: Andrea died.

    Kinsey is still working on her website: www.artbykra.com . She is posting pictures as she makes them or takes pictures of them... she has so many older ones I bug her to share, they are awesone! Check her out.

    I hope everyone had a hoppy Easter! I spent a few hours with family, had a good time but missed those were could not be with us; love you all!

    G'night all.

 

 

Week 60 weigh in

 

 

Week 59 weigh in

I can't tell if Kinsey is starved for attention or just wanting to stay up later.

I have been getting home late and I tell her to be ready for bed and have her school stuff for the morning all set and we can hang out until it's bedtime. I get home and she is on the computer usually, not in PJs, and is not ready for bed.

So when I do soemthing else for a while and then say it's bedtime, she gets upset that we didn't do anything together and she wants to stay up and watch a tv show with me. Either she really does miss me being home all the time or she just wants to stay up later.

I finally told her the other night that she had to get to bed. She gets up at 6am and if she is not in bed by 10pm doesn't get enough sleep. It kinda sucks being on such different schedules, but it will work out fine once summer gets here, she'll be able to stay up later and sleep in.

This week wasn't so busy. I dropped one of my classes, I just couldn't handle all the work, but it will help me get through these other classes. I was thinking of taking it over this summer, one class that I got part way through already may be doable over the summer.

We also have a cold starting in the house. We've been taking the Zicam but kinsey already has it pretty good and I am hoping it misses me.

Now let's see where I am at, weightwise.

 

 So I have been thinking: I'd like to attend some local activities designed for fitness and/or weight loss. I think it would be a good idea for a few different reasons. For one I could use the help losing weight. For two I could meet others trying to get in shape. And three I couldget Kinsey involved in something more than sitting at the computer playing Minecraft (she draws a lot too but that's hardly being active either).

This next week I want to see what's going on around town, find out if there are any fun things to do that will help us be more active and be entertaining. I don't know what there will be with Winter keeping everything frozen still, but as it thaws there will be more outside activities; until then there are surely things to do inside where it's warm.

I really want to get in shape enough to biek to work, once it's nice enough. I am only a few minute drive away, if I cut through and hit the wrong way on a one way road I could be to work in 10 minutes on bike I bet.

Biking home in the dark isn't the best, and it means I may end up getting home even later than I do now, but it will be much better for me and soon it will at least be a little light out still when I leave work.

That's my week, that's my post. 2 days late but better late than never.

 

Week 58 weigh in

It's been really busy for me this week. Actualy, it has been really busy for weeks, since I started working again. It's hard to work and take classes and be a single dad. I may just take the summer off (from school).

I don't eat much, though what I have been eating isn't the best. I like having soup a few times a week, it's easy to make when I get up and it's filled with veggies. Durring the day I have a yogurt and usually a muffin from one of the vending machines at work. A few times I grab a bag of chips as well but that's not too often. Dinner is usually pizza, or leftovers. Some nights I just have a quick bite and fall asleep.

Last night I picked up some wine and had a few glasses when I got home. I had a fun night but I didn't like the way I felt this morning. Perhaps I drank too much, but I don't like feeling icky. I think I will just stay away from the alcohol for a while longer, the consequences outweigh the benefits.

I am starting to see things in a more positive light. I still have a ways to go, but seeing the scale actually go down makes me happy.

This week I am just going to stick with what I have been doing. I am eating less than I used to, and I am losing weight. When I go to the store I will buy something I don't usually eat, I need more variety in my meals, but it will be something healthy. And I have to stay away from the candy. I still have a sweet tooth and once I open a bag of something its hard to remember to put it down.

It's another busy week ahead, can't wait.