Author: Joe

Categories
Video Games

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Skyward SwordI know I’ve played a pretty amazing game when I’m both happy and sad to of finished it. Though I’m very happy to of played through the Skyward Sword, I am kinda bummed that the journey is no more (well there is Hero Mode I suppose, but I do also have a job).

This game was a masterpiece from top to bottom. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of playing the original Legend of Zelda for the NES 25 years ago with my brothers and friends. We were instantly hooked and it truly changed how we thought of video games from that point forward.

Even with my wild imagination 25 years ago, I’d of never of thought that the series could of reached the status that is has today.

The art style was stunning. It was like playing one massive painting. While not as photo realistic as many of the current A titles out, I really liked the art direction taken in this title. It just seemed very original to me.

I will always be amazed at the puzzles and dungeon designs. I wonder who comes up with them? They’re original and challenging but not too challenging at the same time.

The MotionPlus controls were spot on. It’s a shame that more titles haven’t been able to duplicate that yet. Sword strikes were dead on, with many moments decided by precision slashing. Very well done.

This was a true masterpiece and a must play for anyone who owns a Wii. The story was great, and really does a great job of tying in moments from the numerous installments over the past 25 years.

A truly amazingly well made game. And a prime example of when the are video games art debate comes up.

Categories
Books

Over-Diagnosed

Over-DiagnosedCheck out the new releases a the library and I was stumped. Nothing was really jumping out to me that day. I did notice Over-Diagnosed, and being how I feel about the medical system at times figured that might be an interesting read.

The overwhelming theme of the book was very interesting. To me it pretty much just backed up with evidence, how over-diagnosing in the medical industry can at times hurt more people than it helps.

The author, a doctor always backs up his ideas with plenty of facts and studies, which is great whenever debating any topic. Some of the findings really do open up your eyes a bit.

While the idea and theme of the book were very interesting to me, I didn’t finish reading the entire thing. I think it was a bit too “medically” written, it that makes any sense. I had a hard time getting through chapters at points.

I’d of personally been just as happen reading a few pages and viewing a sample of the charts to get an understanding of what the author wanted to share. But the point is an important one and I would recommend to always investigate what are the best options for one’s own medical care and not just operate out of fear (I know it’s easier said then done at times).

Categories
Sports

Amazing Flag Football Team Defense

Today we had another instant classic flag football game. The core teams remained the same, with some slight changes on both sides. I’ve really enjoyed playing with these guys every other week, and this week was no different.

It was very cold this morning in EHT. Warming up, I noticed that my cleats wouldn’t penetrate the frozen ground at times, shifting my ankles left or right on dig. I seriously considered playing in sneakers instead since the frozen ground felt more like street than dirt at times, but figured I’d warm up as we played on it. So stuck with the cleats today.

What really stood out to me this game, was our team defense. Early on we gave up some scores, but once we settled into our assignments we really clamped down tighter than any other recent game I can recall.

Chris continued to play great against Wes, Mike and Kraft both did amazing jobs working on Josh and their third option. I got the easiest task of handling the short slants and quarterback.

We make switches and picked up other teammates, it was great. A true team effort.

Despite being down 5-3 at the half, we stormed back in the second half winning it 10-8.

As good as we played today, the other team had some amazing plays as well. I can’t begin to even guess how many huge 4th down catches Josh came up with. Joe made a pretty amazing TD catch on a tipped ball, and Wes continues to log more miles than anyone else in the league (gotta find his battery one day).

Hall’s passes we solid most of the day too. I gotta admit he shows a great deal of poise in the pocket even when I was rushing him. He got some big throws even when we brought the blitz.

Every game’s been great, and I’m very lucky to play with a great bunch of guys. I will remember today for that second half defense. Good stuff.

Categories
Sports

Honey Badgers 1/17/12

Last night the Honey Badgers got a much needed win over the Lightning Donkeys. The great overall team effort was what the team really needed after numerous close defeats. A mixture of old vetereans and new faces blended together for a strong night.

Last night was we got our new shirts and also had a team photo taken (haven’t seen it yet). The shirts are nearly identical to last season’s, being a slightly different shade of red.

We also welcomed aboard two new members of the Honey Badgers, Brian and Jonathan. Wow, what an addition these two seem to be. Excellent players and also great teammates. They found ways to contribute to the team all night, even when they weren’t playing. Can’t ask for more than that!

We found ourselves in an early hole losing the first two matches. I honestly wasn’t sure how things would turn out for us at that point. However the troops kept plugging away and settling in and before we knew it the teams were exchanging match for match.

Our girls played great and really kept us in the game. With the exception of one girl on the Donkeys who literally caught everything and anything thrown near her, our girls were pretty dominant. It’s great to watch how well they’ve come together as a team. A major turning point in the night for us was when Steph was our last girl remaining, and made back to back catches to win us a very important match. Great job!

As the night moved on our guys really began to settle in, it was great to watch. While some of our usual stars had off nights by their standards, new guys stepped it up and really carried us. Jared had a very solid night, with some key catches and good low throws all night. I really like the aggressiveness I saw in his play.

New guys Brian and Jonathan were amazing! Their infusion of athleticism and strong throws was exactly what we needed for the Honey Badgers. Actually one of my best memories of the game was when it as down to Brian, Jared and myself in one of the later games. The teamwork that we had with one another was great. We all seemed to know what each other intended to do, throwing at the same time/targets and making sure everyone had a ball in hand to throw. That was a solid match and playing together really got us through that match.

Shawn and John really showed a better understanding of the rules this week and greatly contributed to the team as well.

Overall I was very impressed with the Honey Badgers last night. I feel like we’re a greatly improved team with our new additions this season and our continued team play.

Categories
Books

The Conan Chronicles

The Conan ChroniclesDidn’t really have anything specific in mind as I visited the library last. Nothing in the new releases section caught my eye, so I just figured I’d wander into the fiction section.

I recalled NGM telling me that there was a really great fantasy series by Robert Jordan. So I figured I’d see if they had the first book in the series. I’m not sure if they did or not (pretty sure not), but did see The Conan Chronicles by Robert Jordan.

My brothers and I loved the Conan movies when we were little kids, and the comics were pretty cool too. So why not give some Conan a shot?

This book was a compilation of 3 separate stories. I read the first 2 and they were not too bad. It wasn’t great, and the formula seemed a bit predictable at times (Conan against an evil magician), but overall they were entertaining.

As usually I found my most enjoyable character a sidekick, the one eyed Hordo. Typically he’s “too old” for all this stuff, but goes along for the good fight.

A bit predictable at times, but still nice to get back to some old school violence of good against evil that I grew up with.

Categories
Sports

Honey Badgers 1/10/12

Season 2 of SJSL dodgeball started last night with a majority of returning Honey Badgers from last season joined with some new faces too. Despite losing in overtime, I was extremely pleased with our play in the first game of the season. I saw a lot of poise, grit, and determination by the Honey Badgers last night.

Our opponent was the expansion team Vicious and Delicious. Former Honey Badger standout Jen was amongst their members, so we knew that their girls would be a solid squad. However, our Honey Badger girls matched and at times exceeded them match for match. It was fantastic to observe.

Meghan played great, her throws were solid all game long. A very impressive display. Lauren was amazing too. She was hustling all game long, making some amazing and clutch catches and also getting off throws in a rapid fashion. Caitlin too was her usual a aggressive self. Getting many throws off and always being one of the first to run up to the line. Steph and Katie made some amazing catches too. It’s like they both went to a catching camp over the break.

Our guys played very solid as well too. With our new additions of John and Shawn, we seem to of gotten younger and quicker as a team. We had some early outs due to our new guys adjusting to rules, stepping over the lines, etc. but once they figure all that little stuff out I really like our new squad.

Dustin was very solid all night for us. John and Shawn are bringing a lot of offense to the table as well. I sat out all but one match to hopefully rest up my sore shoulder. Unfortunately my old man should has been in pretty bad shape the past few weeks.

All in all a very promising start to the season. I really like out updated roster and the effort that was on display last night.