Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning – Deep Mind, A Deadly Influence, Call of Duty MW2, and MS Excel, Discord, and Canva

Tags

A Deadly Influence, Call of Duty, Canva, Deep Mind, Discord, MS Excel, Streamers, Udemy, YouTube

Deep Time has the crew of America has caught some type of virus the medical AI could not detect, and they are quarantined until they can find out what it is. In A Deadly Influence, the police are still searching for a young boy kidnapped for ransom.

I’ve been watching a lot of Call of Duty MW2 YouTube videos, watching influencer streams, and all the rest to get back into the console version of CODMW2. Man did they do a great job on this game!

Getting ready to finish up the MS Excel course. Discord is almost at its end, Canva still has a way to go. I really enjoy the variety of courses available on Udemy, which is also available on my phone, my iPad and my laptop. I can always get in a quick lesson, regardless of where I am.

Well, folks, I have a lot on my plate today. I hope you all have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – The First Thanksgiving

Tags

Call of Duty, Contentment, Grateful, Gratitude, History, Holiday, Thanksgiving, Warzone

I found this video on YouTube liked it. I always try to pick short videos to respect your time. There were others that were an hour + if viewing. I like watching videos like this and so many others, depicting the first Thanksgiving. Obviously, there are a lot of perspectives on Thanksgiving nowadays.

I choose the perspective of giving thanks for what we have. Cherishing what we have is a terrific way to look at our lives. Think about the access to information, music, entertainment, and so many other things. In most cases these are free or inexpensively priced. I’m grateful for my health, my family, and for all the good in my life.

I am grateful for the ability to make friends with people all over the world. I have a friend who is an author in Australia. I have a blogger friend in South Carolina and another in Colorado. I met all of these people online and they are just terrific people that add value to my life, by exposing me to their stories, their point of view, and their talent.

So, as we get closer to Thanksgiving, take a few moments and count your blessings. Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be about what is described in the above video. It simply is a time to take account of what you have in your life that is good. When you concentrate on these things, you naturally feel better.

Well, that’s it for today, folks.

Here’s a shameless plug for Call of Duty MW2. The new Warzone 2 will be coming out tomorrow and it looks absolutely sick. Water mechanics are in, new vehicles, a huge map, and all kinds of new game play, including DMZ, which should be really cool to play. They’ve also added proximity chat, so that means you can communicate with opposing teams and even join them! HUGE!!

Well, now I’m done.

Have a great Tuesday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Gaming, Reading, Watching and Learning

Tags

Amazon Prime, Call of Duty, Civil War, CODM, Dark Time, Diablo Immortal, Grand Master, Ian Douglas, Star Carrier Series, The West Wing, Udemy

The Call of Duty Mobile saga continues. I am currently at the Grand Master level in both Battle Royal and Multiplayer and have a few more levels before I hit legendary. It’s a real grind. For those of you who do not know what grind means in this context, it is the literally playing and playing and playing until your objectives have been met. I grind to get ranked and I grind to get my diamond camouflages for my weapons.

I have also started a game called Diablo Immortal. Boy, that is a great game. All kinds of things to do, all kinds of weapons, gear, gems, and gold to collect. I am really enjoying the Role Playing Game (RPG) genre again. These guys at Blizzard really know how to create great games.

I’m started reading Dark Time, another book in the Star Carrier series. It’s another great read so far. The way Ian Douglas writes is terrific. The characters are awesome. The weapons and military craft descriptions are the best. I highly recommend this series if you are a SF fan.

My sister and I are in season 2 of The West Wing. It’s terrific. I never grow tired of The West Wing. The characters are so terrific! Sam, Toby, Josh, Donna, CJ Craig, Danny, President Bartlet and Leo are terrific. I won’t give away any spoilers, in case any of you are interested. The entire show is on Amazon Prime Video, but you’ll have to pay. It’s about $25 US per season.

I’m watching a new documentary on the Civil War and continuing with my Excel class on Udemy. Yesterday I learned about HLOOKUP. Today it will be INDEX(). I enjoy this class because of the short session lengths and the easy example files to work with.

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Hobbies, Games, Books, and Movies – CODM, Better Call Saul, Secret Societies, and Bay City Blast

Tags

Better Call Saul, Call of Duty, CODM, Curiosity Stream, Remo Williams, Secret Societies, The Destroyer Series

Well, here we are, folks! I changed my title to include books in the description, since I give you an update on my reading of the Remo Williams series I’ve been captivated with. Bay City Blast is the latest title, and again, a funny, exciting, and engrossing story. These books are relatively short, but always provide an entertaining read.

We started Better Call Saul and we both love it. The backstories of the original Breaking Bad crew is awesome. That’s all I’ll say, because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. If you liked Breaking Bad, you’ll like this. It has a different flavor, but is funny, sad, and all the rest.

I’m a little disappointed with Call of Duty. The stage 3 tournament will probably not happen for me. The key is to know people and build a team before the event. There is still time available to do that, but the mechanism they are using in-game and on their Discord channel is not very intuitive. So, lesson learned. It’s time to build some relationships so next year I can compete as far as I want, without going through this turmoil. That being said, it is a great season so far, with a new character–an Egyptian! The theme is in the desert and there is an actual sand storm on the Battle Royal map. Wow! They’ve also started a tournament game, which commences each weekend Friday – Sunday, so those that are still working can jump in and compete. This was WAY COOL. They introduced a new sniper rifle, a new melee weapon called Kali Sticks (see Rambo movie where he begins in Thailand).

I’m watching the third part of a three-part series on Curiosity Stream. It is called Secret Societies. Watching this show, prompted me to find a cool video I posted on Tuesday about the Illuminati. Anyway, the third part is about conspiracy theories. They disbanded the “Jesus married to Mary” theory, and just began looking at the conspiracy theory spurred by HItler during the 1930s to focus public opinion on something other than the outrageous inflation rates, unemployment, and everything else Germany was going through at the time. It’s a great documentary so far.

Well, that’s it for now, folks!

I hope you have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Hobbies, Games, and Movies – CODM, Bottom Line, and The Sopranos

Tags

Books, Bottom Line, Breaking Bad, Call of Duty, Call of Duty Mobile, Games, Hobbies, Movies, Ozark, Remo Williams, The Destoyer Series, The Sopranos

Well, folks, my sister and I finished The Sopranos yesterday. Wow, what a great show. We started re-watching Season 4 of Ozark to get ready for the second part, which starts tomorrow on Netflix. We can’t wait!!

I’m reading yet another Remo Williams Book in The Destroyer Series. The title is Bottom Line. Again, a great series of stories which never disappoint.

In the gaming realm, Season 4: Wild Dogs started today in Call of Duty Mobile, They have introduced some new challenges, the melee weapon Kali Sticks, and a whole host of new characters including a new skin for the Ghost player. There’s also a new map dropping called Satellite. It’s going to be great fun! I completed one of the new challenges yesterday.

My sister and I often talk about things while we hang out watching TV. One of the things I suggested was a hobby. Everyone needs a hobby. Something to look forward to after work or chores, or whatever you do that you consider work. I look forward to my game time after I’ve finished my tasks for the day. Painting, crafting, hiking, or whatever just wakes you up each day is something to consider. We all need balance in our lives. Hobbies are a terrific way to pass the time and enjoy life.

Well, that’s all I got for today. If you haven’t watched Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, or Ozark, I highly recommend all of them. They are terrific! If you’re into mobile gaming, give Call of Duty a whirl, it is an awesome game and the creativity these guys bring to the table is unbelievable. I have never been disappointed.

Well, that’s it for now. Have a great Thursday everybody!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Hobbies, Games, and Movies – Call of Duty Mobile, The Sopranos, and Power Play

Tags

Call of Duty, Challenges, CODM, Gaming, The Destroyer, The Sopranos, Zombies

Season 3 of Call of Duty is a real kick! There have been some great challenges, my quest for diamond camouflage continues, and there will be more to come. Ahh, gaming is my passion, and this game never disappoints. They’ve continued Zombies indefinitely, which is awesome!

My reading of The Destroyer Series continues. I’m on book 36. It’s called Power Play and it is another great read. I won’t ruin it for anyone, but it’s a terrific series to read. I’m going to focus my reading on this fiction series for the near future.

My sister and I just started Season 4 of the Sopranos. Boy is this show getting good. It is so creative how the tension in series like this, Breaking Bad, and others are woven together. I am really enjoying it. We haven’t decided what we’re going to watch next, but I think it’s going to be Game of Thrones. Believe it or not, my sister has not seen this show, except for a few episodes. Crazy, right?

Well, that’s it for this week. If you know of any great shows, video games, or books to read, drop me a note. I’m always open to new ideas.

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Hobbies, Games, and Movies – House of Cards, CODM, and The Destroyer

Tags

Breaking Bad, Call of Duty, CODM, Diamond Camo, House of Cards, Remo Williams, The Destroyer, Zombies

My sister and I are in season 3 of House of Cards. Man, I forgot how intense this show is. So much going on. Multiple story and character threads. Wow! If you have not watched this show yet, watch it. It is a terrific show, with great writing and a great cast. The final season is the only thing I do not recommend. We will not be watching it this time around. It is just bad.

In Call of Duty Mobile, I’m playing Zombies, working on Diamond camo on most weapons, Gold on some launchers, and that’s it. I discovered that some games within CODM are more efficient for getting the achievements for Diamond Camo. Hardpoint seems to be the game, since you can get a lot of kills while teams fight over various points on the map for dominance. Team Deathmatch, Frontline, and Kill Confirmed are fun, but don’t last long enough to work on Diamond camo for certain weapons, like the Crossbow. The Crossbow is fun to play, but so frustrating. It’s reload time is long, and aiming down sights is almost as slow as most of the sniper rifles. It’s tough, but I am making progress.

The Destroyer series is terrific. It’s interesting when you visit Goodreads or Amazon. There is always one reader who consistently gives the series a 1 or 2 star rating. The question I have: Why do you keep reading when you dislike the books? It doesn’t make any sense to me.

When we are done with House of Cards, my sister and I are going to watch Breaking Bad next. I’ve seen the whole show, but she has not. It’ll be a great time, because the series is really well done.

That’s it for this week’s edition. Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Hobbies, Games, and Movies – Manhunt

Tags

Call of Duty, CODM, Manhunt, Mobile gaming, Nail bomber, Netflix, Remo Williams, Unabomber

This week, my sister and I watched Manhunt “Nail Bomber” and “Unabomber”. They are both on Netflix. They are great shows, particularly Unabomber, which is more dramatic, and based on real events. The Nail bomber was more of a documentary, depicting an individual who set bombs off in various parts of England and who was part of the right-wing movements there. If you are into criminal documentaries or crime dramas, both are worth a watch. Currently we are watching a series called Mindhunter. It is also on Netflix and is about the behavioral science unit in the FBI. It is about how the FBI profilers came about at the FBI. It is also another great watch, if you are into crime dramas.

On the gaming front, I am still enamored with Call of Duty Mobile. I am currently working on Gold camouflage for the family of weapons called Marksmen. These are the equivalent of tactical rifles on the console version of Call of Duty. I planned on playing Warzone this year on the new map called Caldera, but after watching some of my favorite gaming streamers, it appears Caldera is not a great addition to the Warzone game. So, I am going to stick with CODM and keep playing there. It has been great fun so far, and I am enjoying all the new maps, weapons, and seasonal challenges.

I’m reading The Ship of Death in The Destroyer series. It is another great story about Remo Williams.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Have a great day!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Hobbies, Games, and Movies – WW2 and Call of Duty Mobile

Tags

Call of Duty, Call of Duty Mobile, Entertainment, Excitement, Far Cry 6, Fun, WWII

This week we are continuing our viewing of all things WWII. There are ton of documentaries on Amazon, YouTube, and Netflix. Right now we are watching WW2 – The Call of Duty – A complete Timeline. It is on Amazon Prime. Each episode is about 45 minutes and it is terrific.

I’m still plugging away at Far Cry 6 and Call of Duty Mobile. Call of Duty Mobile, like it’s counterpart, Call of Duty for the Xbox, has a system of earning camouflage for each weapon. The goal is to get all weapons to gold camouflage. To get gold, so many kills, hip shot kills, head shot kills, long shot kills are tabulated. Once all of the camouflage challenges are completed the gold camouflage is unlocked. I enjoy the challenges and daily tasks associated with this game. Each provides an award and a sense of accomplishment.

Far Cry 6 has been on the back burner for a bit, but I’ll get back on that this weekend. Surprisingly, I have not played Call of Duty on my Xbox since it came out. Mobile has kept me too busy. There is also my Dad to consider. He is now at the point where he can’t be left alone. So, I play my game on my iPad, while Mom is out and about. I also have a lot of things on my plate currently that must be tackled during the day.

Well, that’s it for this week’s installment.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Charles Dickens

Tags

Call of Duty, Charles Dickens, family, Far Cry 6, Friends, Gaming, Happy New Year, Last Posting 2021, Merry Christmas, Relax time, wisdom, Wisdom Wednesday

A loving heart is the truest wisdom.

Charles Dickens

We forge the chains we wear in life.

Charles Dickens

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else.

Charles Dickens

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

Charles Dickens

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!

Charles Dickens

I wanted to touch on Dickens again, since he is so connected with the holiday season with many of his tales that celebrate Christmas. Here is his Wikipedia link for those that would like to know more about him and his life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens

I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas! I’m shutting Daily Ramblings down early, because we are starting our celebration of the holidays early. These last few weeks in December, I shut down everything to truly enjoy the holiday season, get some gifts out to extended family, and get in some final relax time before we begin getting busy in 2022. I’ll still check in to reply to comments and such, but will not be putting anymore postings up this year.

Today, I celebrate my wedding anniversary, on the 12th my wife’s birthday, and of course, the 25th for Christmas, and the 31st for New Year’s Eve. It has been a great year for me, and I hope all of you, despite all the craziness of COVID and all the repercussions of lockdowns in many of your home countries.

I sincerely wish each of you the very best during the holiday season. I wish you every happiness, every joy, and hope that you have some time to settle down and enjoy your families and friends as we close out 2021.

For those of you who are gamers in my readership, I’ll be playing Far Cry 6, Call of Duty Vanguard, Call of Duty Mobile, and Mafia City. My gamertag in all the Call of Duty games is ieatbullets63. If you find me, send me a quick note that you are one of my readers, and we’ll get in some “kills” together. The new Warzone is out today, featuring Caldera Island. I cannot wait to dig in!!

Happy Holidays! See you in 2022!!

Until next time…

Dave