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Tag Archives: Games

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

28 Thursday Apr 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Hobbies, Games, and Movies

≈ 2 Comments

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 – CODM, The Sopranos, and The Destroyer Series

21 Thursday Apr 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Hobbies, Games, and Movies

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bottom Line, Call of Duty Mobile, Games, Hobbies, Movies, Remo Williams, The Destroyer Series, The Sopranos

I qualified for the second stage of the CODM World Championship. It’s really cool that they open these tournaments up to anyone. I’m currently at the Master Stage, leaving only Grandmaster and Legendary left to accomplish. There were also 8 challenges this season. Those were great fun and dropped some mean loot.

I’m reading a new Remo Williams book called Bottom Line. It is yet another story where Remo and Chiun are saving the U.S. from some horrible threat. As you can tell, I really enjoy these books!

My sister and I are in season 6 of The Sopranos, the final season. Since we just discovered that the new Ozark season is starting soon, we are putting off Game of Thrones and will watch that one next. No spoilers, folks, but The Sopranos has been an awesome ride!

Well, that’s it folks! I hope you have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Gamifying

28 Monday Feb 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Games, Gamify, Monday, motivation, tasks, To-do

Have you ever heard the term gamify? It’s turning something into a game. As you know, I love games, particularly video games. One of the things that keeps me going back to many of the games I enjoy, are the challenges. Gamifying something involves turning real-world tasks into games.

When I find myself losing motivation for something, I question it. Am I done with this particular thing for now, or do I need change how I approach it? Gamifying something adds a fresh take on whatever I am doing. Here’s how I do it.

We play games because they’re fun, they are challenging, and they result in a reward if we win. So, you take a task and you do the same thing with it. Let’s say I want to write so many chapters this week. Well, each chapter is an achievement that I can award myself for completing. If I want to write 5 chapters this week, I’ll get an individual reward for each chapter and a bigger individual reward for completing the weekly task. I like to eat, so my rewards are typically food, like a cookie, piece of candy, or a cup of coffee from one of our terrific coffee houses.

You can do this with everything, and your reward doesn’t have to be related to food. It could be a reward of reading something in your favorite book, watching an episode of one of your shows on Netflix, or even taking some time to listen to a great song on a streaming music service. The key to this is that the challenge must relate to something you have to do anyway. The rewards you give yourself depend on what you like.

So, here is yet another technique you can use to get what you need to get done, and have fun while you’re doing it. Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

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

20 Thursday Jan 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Hobbies, Games, and Movies

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Call of Duty Mobile, Challenges, Fun, Games, Hobbies, Movies, The Heist, Thursday, WWII series

My sister and I are still watching the WWII series I discussed last week. It is approaching its end, as we are now after the D-Day invasion, and the battle of Minsk on the Eastern Front. The Americans in the Pacific are launching attacks into the Mariana islands. It is a great series.

Call of Duty started its new season called The Heist. There will be new characters, new weapons, and new challenges. I was so excited to start playing yesterday! Currently I am grinding through shotguns to get them all gold. After these, I have the marksman rifles and sniper weapons to work on. I began getting more efficient and worked on gold camouflage for all of my melee weapons as well. I am currently working on the baseball bat melee weapon.

I haven’t watched any movies since our last chat, but there are a few that I am interested in. I’ll keep you posted on what my sister and I watch.

Well, that’s it for the week. I hope all of you have a great rest of the week.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Hobbies, Games, and Movies

06 Thursday Jan 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Hobbies, Games, and Movies

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Call of Duty Mobile, Far Cry 6, Games, Hobbies, Ken Burns, Movies, The Pacific, The War, World at War

Now that I’m retired, I tend to have a great deal of hobbies. My hobbies are video games and watching documentaries. Every once in a while I catch a good movie, but documentaries are my thing. This year, I’m going to use Thursdays to share what I’m playing, what I’m watching, and give you my thoughts on all.

Gaming is my passion. Currently I’m playing a lot of Call of Duty – Mobile. I also played a different genre of game, called Far Cry 6. These are both terrific games. Call of Duty is season-based, with each new season introducing new characters, new stories and plots, and tons of different types of mobile fighting from team deathmatch, frontline, control, seek and destroy, and the ever-famous battle royals, which are a lot of fun to play as well.

Far Cry 6 is a game about a dictator who is using his people as slaves to produce a cancer fighting wonder drug. The problem–one of the ingredients used to create the drug is killing the very people that are kidnapped and forced to work the fields the drug is grown. You are a guerilla who helps overthrow this government.

I’ve played numerous versions of Far Cry, starting at Far Cry 1, and in Far Cry 6 there is a twist. After you beat the game (I won’t spoil it), there are insurgencies that crop up each week. You have to beat down each insurgency as they arise by completing different types of missions. It’s a great idea and one that keeps the game fresh for a long time, without making any new purchases. How novel, right?

Documentaries I am watching are all about WWII. I finished Ken Burn’s The War, and now watching A World at War on YouTube. The War will run you about $20 U.S., but worth the money. Ken Burns picked four American towns and highlighted the WWII veterans that lived there, telling the unique stories each had to tell. Many of the veterans are now dead, but at the time it was made, they were all alive and told their stories during the show.

What’s next? I plan on purchasing a series called the Pacific. It is a drama, but highlights one of the characters in Ken Burn’s documentary, Eugene Sledge, who picked up the nickname of sledgehammer while he served in the Marine Corps. It has a great collection of actors and Tom Hanks was involved in the making of the film. He does a great job with these types of films.

To give you a taste of one of the games I play, here is the trailer from YouTube for Far Cry 6. It is a terrific game!

If you’re a gamer, try this one out. It’s a winner in my opinion!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Here we are–again!

06 Monday Dec 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Adventure, Books, Boredom, Cycles, Excitement, Games, Gaming, Monotony, Movies, Reading, Writing

Sometimes life seems to be a little dull. We get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat dinner, we relax, go to bed, and then up again to start the whole cycle again. The days are the same, the weeks are the same, the months are the same, and so on. What can we do to break the cycle?

Many folks break up this cycle by doing what they enjoy. Maybe it’s quilting, writing, having an adventure in a local forest, or taking a long drive. For others, like me, it’s gaming, writing, and reading. Reading really helps me a lot. There are so many books and so many places to visit.

I read a book by Stephen King, titled On Writing. He wrote this book while he was in the hospital recovering from an accident, where he was hit by a delivery van while on his daily walk. In the book he described himself as more of an archaeologist. He “uncovers” stories that are already there. Each chapter strips away a little more dirt.

It’s a great analogy for story telling. Initially the story starts out at the surface level. We get to meet the main characters, the place they call home, and told about a problem these characters are involved in. As the story unfolds, we learn more about our characters. We learn how they react to stress, how they think, and what they do to solve the overarching problem. In the end, depending on the story type, the characters win or lose. If they win the story is a comedy. If they lose the story is a tragedy.

Reading can break up the monotony of day-to-day living. It takes us to far away places, and lets us explore another world “discovered” by the author. I truly enjoy reading a great book, regardless of where it takes place, what time period it is in, or what the characters are doing. Each book is an adventure waiting to be had.

One of the key lessons I’ve learned in retirement is the need for structure, and something to look forward to. I look forward to reading every day, writing this blog and working on my book. I also look forward to my game sessions, which are a lot of fun for me. Games have become so realistic that they act like books for me. They transport me to a war torn city, an outer space battle, or an adventure with friends who are part of my adventurers party.

As far as structure goes, I tend to chunk my time. One chunk I do my morning routine, the next chunk I read, followed by another chunk which is writing and the chunk I am in right now. After I have done all of my daily chunks, it’s game time. Even when I game, I have goals for each gaming session. It could be to finish a challenge or solve a particular problem to get to the next part of a story. This is what I do in a game I’m playing now called Far Cry 6. Far Cry 6 is set on an imaginary island, where a dictator uses his people to manufacture a cure for cancer. The problem-the chemical used to add to its chemical crop kills those who work in the tobacco fields.

In another game I play, Call of Duty Vanguard and Mobile (two different games), I work predominantly on leveling up weapons. Call of Duty uses camouflage to designate what level a gun is at. For example, when you complete all weapon challenges, the gold camouflage is opened up. When you get gold camouflage for all of your weapons in a particular class of weapons, you have access to the platinum (mobile) camouflage, or diamond camouflage in the version of Call of Duty for consoles or personal computer (PC).

Every game has these types of challenges or goals. It’s great fun for me to try and finish all of them, which can take quite a long time. I’m currently working on gold camouflage for the assault rifle class on Call of Duty Mobile. I’m not playing Call of Duty on console yet, because the next year’s season does not start again until December 8, 2021. That will be a great day!!

The key to keeping your life exciting in retirement is to have a structure to your day, along with some things that really excite you. Each day is a grand adventure for me. If you need some ideas on what to

read or what to play on a game console, here is what I’m up to in both areas:

Books:

Delta Force: A Memoir by the Founder of the U.S. Military’s Most Secretive Special-Operations Unit

Deep Space: Star Carrier: Book Four

The Silent Wife

Games:

Far Cry 6

Call of Duty Mobile (iPad)

Call of Duty Vanguard

Mafia City (iPad)

Movies:

Apocalypse Now

Well, that’s it folks. Break up the drudgery of your day. There are many who blog who have all kinds of ideas for travel, crafting, writing, and all the rest. Use them. They are a great resource. Life is short. Make every day your best day, by doing things to break up the patterns or cycles in your life. You’ll look forward to each day. You’ll be excited to get up and get at it.

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Update

22 Tuesday Jun 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content, Update

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Brother, family, Fun, Games, Good Food, Heading Home, Laughter, Love, Smiles

Well, all. My brother left for Arizona and is heading back to life in the “furnace” He He.

I’ll begin my regular posting schedule again on Wednesday. I hope all of you are having a great June!

Talk soon!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Checklists

10 Monday May 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Checklists, Eat the Frog, Games, motivation, Motivation Monday, Planning, Sam Levenson, tasks

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.

Sam Levenson

Have you ever watched the clock? When I am doing this, I realize that I am experiencing resistance. I can’t wait for the thing I’m doing to end. If you catch this yourself, take a moment. Perhaps this task is something you really don’t want to do. If you are in a position to choose, I’d recommend putting that thing on hold for a while. There’s no sense in doing something you do not enjoy or are not motivated to continue.

If you are in a position where the task you are doing must be completed or is mandated by your employer, find some ways to make it tolerable. I used to make things into a game. Let’s say you have to make some uncomfortable calls. Eat the Frog and get it done. Eat the Frog is the phrase used to get the stuff done you really don’t want to do at the first of the day, so you can get on with your day and avoid procrastination. Let’s face it folks, regardless of what you decide to do with your day, there is always something about that task that isn’t so fun. Get that stuff done first!

I find for myself that having a list of things to do each day is the best way to avoid clock watching. Plan out your day, list out the tasks you need to do each day, and knock them out. One by one. Knock one down, then off to the next. If your day is sufficiently planned with all the activities you need to get done, you’ll be motivated to keep checking them off as you go and the faster your day will go (psychologically). The closer you get to the end of your list, the easier it becomes, and the entire process is really motivating, when you know that once you complete those tasks you are done for the day, to do whatever you want to do. Make sense? When I come to work in an “unplanned” state, nothing is written down and no checklist is in place, my day is absolute drudgery.

Planning, creating lists, and checking them off each day is a terrific way to get things done, avoid the clock watching addressed by Sam Levenson, and get your stuff done, so you can do what you want to.

Have a great week, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Sisters

28 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thankful Thursdays

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

enjoy, family, Fun, Games, Good Food, Good times, Movies, Relax, Sister

My sister just left for home. It was a nice 5 days. We watched movies, got take out, hung out in the living room and chatted, and she even watched me play some Call of Duty with my brother. It was a great visit! She likes coming down and hanging out with Dad because we don’t know how much longer Dad will be with us. Last night, they watched some Star Trek movies (Dad loves those).

It’s terrific to have family visit. The folks get a kick out of it, and it’s always fun to catch up. When I have a family member visit, you’ve probably noticed a little inconsistency with my postings. I put everything I am doing on hold when family comes to maximize my time with them.

Anyway, I’m grateful for the time we had together. It was great fun!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Unbreakable

01 Monday Mar 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Dedication, Discipline, Drive, Games, Gaming Your Work, Motivation Monday, Techniques, Tenacity, Tools, Tricks

Today’s the day you stand up and tell the world, “Nothing you throw at me will break me.” I included this inspiring sound track from YouTube, titled “Unbreakable”, and hope you find it as inspiring as I did. It’s long (about 48 minutes), but worth it. Music has always been a great source of motivation and inspiration to me. I listen to different types of music to work on different things. When I am reading, I listen to quiet music. When I’m in the gym or working out, I listen to Rock. When I am just sitting in my chair with my eyes closed, I listen to classical or jazz.

If you’ve never used music to exercise, think, or knock out your daily tasks, give it a whirl. It really makes a huge difference.

My workout routine will involve full body with exercise bands this week. I’ll do this Monday-Friday. For cardio it’ll either be a walk around the block, my supine bicycle, or doing some stairs in my home.

Until next time…

Dave

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