Daily Ramblings – Free Writing Friday – I Think I’ll Stay Old

Tags

Computers, experiences, Land lines, Mobile phones, Old age, pen and paper, technology, TV, Video Games, wisdom, Youth

There are all kinds of songs, stories, and poems about being young forever. You can have it.

I was thinking about turning the dial back earlier this week, but then I started thinking about all the things I’ve learned. Yeah, it would be interesting to go back knowing all I know today, but frankly, I enjoy my life as it is. I don’t want to go through puberty again. I don’t want to go through high school again. They were great times, but I like my life the way it is now.

Yeah, the joints creak, and when I wake up it is harder to get out of bed, but I truly enjoy my age.

I enjoy the wisdom I’ve gathered. I enjoy the skills I’ve cultivated over time. I still enjoy learning new things. I enjoy great movies, great music, great writing, and good comedy. I enjoy video games of all types.

I was born without computers, without a cell phone, and without television. We got a TV when I was 6. It was black and white, but boy was it great, once we got it. Now that I am spoiled by streaming services, GPS on my phone, email, and all the other great things we have access to,

I get to play video games in 3d, with a realistic soldier, fighting other people who are playing realistic soldiers. I would not give that up to return to my tech-less youth. So, I think I’ll stay old.

I’ll stay old because I have memories good and bad that I like to revisit from time-to-time. I’ll stay old because of the many friendships I’ve made and the wonderous adventures I had in the Army. I’ll stay old because I’m happy and enjoying the hell out of life.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Gaming Saturday – Battle Pass

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Challenges, Character skins, COD MW2, CODM, Gaming, Legendary status, Maps, Video Games, Weapon skins, Weapons

I’m working through the Battle Passes for both COD MW2 and CODM. This is another of my favorite activities, because you get rewards as you progress through. Gifts range from new weapons, new weapons skins, and new character skins. It’s a lot of fun playing through these.

Another nice thing about new seasons and battle passes is new maps. CODM is bringing a new one in and it will be fun to learn the new map. By the way, if you do not know this, it is great to play a private match on these maps without any AI. When you do that, you can literally explore the entire map without being harassed. I try to do this for a good 30 minutes or so, so I can find every nook and cranny and predict where the traffic will be when I play it for real.

COD MW2 has introduced new character skins specific to the DMZ. Some have complained, but I think it’s a novel idea. I have three characters so far with different bonuses. One has a self-revive, another has a two-plate vest, and another allows extra slots for new players to add in.

This formula of new weapons, new items in the battle pass, new skins for characters, and new maps are what keep me coming back to both of these games. I just love the variety and grinding camo and skins. It’s awesome.

Challenges are also a great thing for me. Each season on both games they introduce new challenges, These challenges also offer rewards. I love rewards–they are awesome!

I also got Legendary status in both multiplayer and battle royale. That feels great! Well, that’s all I got for today, folks.

Happy gaming!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Video Games and Your Brain

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Battlefield, Brain Science, Call of Duty, Call of Duty Mobile, Daphne Bavelier, Dead Space, health, Ted Talk, Video Games

I hope you enjoy this Ted Talk delivered by Daphne Bavelier. She’s a brain scientist and what she will tell you in this video will dispel with most of the myths surrounding video games. I am an avid video game player and I’ll be 60 this year. Video gaming is my hobby and I enjoy it very much. When I am not working, I’m gaming. I’m playing Call of Duty, Call of Duty Mobile, Battlefield, Dead Space, and any other number of games. I tend to gravitate more to first person shooters (FPS), but there are other games I like to play as well. With a history of dementia in my family, it’s important that I keep my brain and body healthy. I am helping my elderly mother who will be 80 this year, and definitely slowing down in the last few years I have been home. She’s worn out by my Dad, who she takes care of. So, I do all I can to easer her burden and help where I can. My primary responsibility is to be with my Dad during the day, when Mom is doing her thing, running errands, and the like.

I hope you enjoyed this video and take up video game play if you are interested. Video games are for everyone. There are a lot of gamers who are freaked out when they play against women. I am not. It is so refreshing to play with and against women. They bring a whole new layer to both gaming and content creation.

If I could have it my way, everyone would play video games. They are so much fun. They inspire, motivate, and entertain. They have terrific stories to tell and are like reading a book watching a movie and being a participant in the story line. Seriously, get out there and play some video games. They are terrific fun, and as you’ve learned are really good for you.

Have a great Tuesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Making Choices

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Choices, decisions, Energy, Evaluating, Responsbilities, time, Time allotments, Video Games

We only have 24 hours a day. We have to make choices. As many of you know, one of my hobbies is playing video games. I played Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 over the weekend and dabbled in the multiplayer a bit. I had a great time but realized I don’t have the time to add yet another video game to my day. Couple that with my Dad’s situation, and it just isn’t viable.

To learn how to play a video game, like Call of Duty for the console (Xbox), it takes a lot of game play. About 5-6 hours a day. Like other Call of Duty games, there are weapons to level up, your character needs to level up, and you need to learn how all the new systems work. It takes a lot of research, reading, watching YouTube videos and all the rest. So, Call of Duty MW2 will not be part of my game play, maybe on the weekends, but not during my week.

The reason I bring this up, is because we all have choices to make, when it comes to our schedule. We only have so much time, and we need to determine what is in our best interest. For me, exercise, reading, writing, interacting on social media, my spiritual practices, and of course my video game play are all the choices I made about my day.

The best way to determine what you can do with the time you have, particularly if you work on top of all the things you need to do to take care of yourself, is to list out all the things you’d like to do.

Here’s an example:

Exercise (30 minutes)

Reading (1 hour)

Writing (2 hours)

Social Media (30 minutes)

Spiritual Disciplines (1 hour)

Chores (1 hour)

Hygiene (1 hour)

Learning (1 hour)

Gaming (3 hours)

Then we add all this up. The above times total out to be 11 hours. For me, since I am usually awake for about 16-18 hours a day, it works. I still have 7 hours for sleep and all these times are estimates. Some days, I’ll spend more time on writing and reading than I normally do. Some days, depending on the game, I’ll spend more than 3 hours jamming on challenges or something else. The point I’m making here is to determine what you want to do; estimate what type of time investment you’ll need to make for that task and then analyzing whether you need to adjust. For example, if I was still working, there would be no way, the above schedule would work. I’d have to make some adjustments.

I hope this makes sense. Think about what is most important to you. What do you value? Then schedule some time to do it each day. Maybe you only have about 1-2 hours a day to work on something that is important to you. If you have multiple interests, perhaps you will only be able to dedicate 30 minutes each day to that hobby or thing you want to do with yourself. It’s all up to you.

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

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Hobbies, Games, and Movies – CODM, Last Call, and Breaking Bad

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Breaking Bad, CODM, Jesse Pinkman, Mobile gaming, Remo Williams, Season 2, The Destroyer Series, Video Games, Walter White

Well, here we are again, folks. Season 2 of CODM is almost over (8 days left). I can’t wait for the next season and what will happen! I’ve got diamond camo on a few more weapons. I’m still working on the Arctic Sniper Rifle, started with the ECHO auto shotgun, the swordfish assault rifle, the QXR submachine gun, S36 Light Machine Gun, Kilo Bolt Action Tactical Rifle, and the FHJ-18 Launcher. I rotate loadouts every time I knock down 5 games of 10 kills for each weapon. The launcher is the exception, because it is dependent on what is called UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that I have to shoot down. I’m around 60 and need 100 to get the launcher to diamond.

For those of you who are playing CODM, my tip is this. Play frontline for most of your weapons, but hardpoint for the more difficult weapons to get 10 kills with. These for me were pistols and shotguns. The reason hardpoint is a great game to play is that it typically lasts longer than other games like frontline and team deathmatch. Time is critical when you are grinding camouflages for your weapons, because some of these weapons are really hard to get 10 kills with. Obviously, this is dependent on the lobby you are playing against, but the extra time gives you some leeway, particularly for weapons like the crossbow, little shotty, and the J358 pistol.

Now onto movies. My sister are on season 3 of Breaking Bad. I won’t give any spoilers for those of you who might be interested in watching the show, but this is one HUGE rollercoaster. Just when you think Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are in the clear, something else happens, and you are on the edge of your seat again. I’ll leave it at that.

The book Last Call is in the The Destroyer Series. This series has 146 books. I know that seems like a lot, but if I pushed it, I could read a book a day. They are really short reads, but the authors are terrific at moving stories along and their creativity is unbelievable. There has not been one story that even hinted at the same plot as another. They are funny, action-packed, and just my cup of tea. If any of you have read the Jack Reacher stories, this is the genre I would put the Destroyer series, although they are nothing like one another.

Well, that’s it for this week. If any of you are reading any great books, have a cool hobby you’d like to share (which you probably already do on your blog), or you have a good recommendation for a movie or series (Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, or Amazon) send them my way here. I may take you up on your recommendations. If not, many of my readers may find your recommendations interesting and try one of them out. You never know.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Far Cry 6

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Adventure, Enjoyable, Exploration, Far Cry 6, Fun, Grateful, Thankful, Video Games

Well, I’ve found another great game to play. It’s called Far Cry 6. These games fall into the roll playing genre, as you are running with someone who is a guerrilla and trying to take down a dictator of a small island in the pacific. It has a main mission thread, which progresses you through the game to its finale, but more interesting are the side missions, which are all over the place. Couple that with the plundering you have to do to build better and better weapons, and boy, you have a game that will keep you busy for quite a while. I also like these types of games because they allow co-op play. My brother can play too. It is terrific!

So that’s what I am grateful for today. Far Cry 6! It is a great game, has some terrific things to do, and more importantly, will last probably for the next few months. Call of Duty Vanguard is coming out in November, so that’s another one I’ll be playing.

That’s it for today, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Hobbies

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Balance, Fishing, Fun, Happy, Hobby, Joy, Music, Reading, Relaxation, Relish, Video Games, Writing, Xbox

My sister has been “over-focused” on work for as long as I have known her. There is nothing wrong with that, provided you take time to do other things to balance it out. Balance is key to a happy life, in my opinion, so that you can do your work, have some fun, and not miss anything important. Important things like regular checkups for you and your pets, paying your bills, exercising, learning something new, and enjoying something that you do, because you enjoy doing it.

Hobbies could be coin collecting, antiquing, drawing/sketching, playing an instrument, or playing video games. It doesn’t matter what your hobby is, as long as it gives you a break from the things you have to to do. Another requirement: You have to look forward to it.

I love playing video games of all kinds. Whether these are on my pc, my iPad, or my Xbox. They are challenging, entertaining, and even educational. I look forward to my daily session, and laugh, yell, and have a heck of a good time. It is even more fun when I can link up with my brother and play together.

This is what I’m talking about. The passion for your hobby has to be there. You have to enjoy it, think about it, and relish the time you get to do it.

Think about people who enjoy fishing. These people can’t wait to get back out on their boats and fish again.

Think about those people who enjoy golf. They can’t wait to get out to the course. They even plan their vacations around it. Does that resort have a golf course?

I hope you get my point. The quote, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy” rings true here. Spice up your life a bit with a hobby. It provides a great retreat from your daily routine of work, chores, bill paying, and errands.

In the meantime, I’m about ready to head down and fire up my Xbox.

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Uh Oh!

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Call of Duty, Excitement, Fun, Learning, Tips and Tricks, Video Games, Warzone, YouTube

All, it appears TED is now expecting a monthly membership to view its content. I tried to view a couple of recommended videos and use one I liked best to show this week, but I couldn’t view any of them. If anyone has viewed TED without paying, please send me what you did.

Going forward, I’ll be using YouTube videos instead, since they are still free. I think I am going to start offering up content in and around my favorite hobby – gaming. So, starting next week, look for some gaming content to begin appearing on my blog. I enjoy Call of Duty, but there are other genres and games I also enjoy. We’ll see how this goes.

Here is the first video. It contains some tips and tricks for playing Warzone. Warzone is Call of Duty’s Battle Royale. I hope you enjoy it.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday – Sister Update

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Disney+, family, Friday, Good Conversation, Good Food, John Wick, Siblings, Sister, Talking, Video Games

Well, folks, my sister is leaving today. We had a great time. We played video games (Call of Duty Black Ops – Zombies), watched some movies (John Wick), and had some late night talks. She brought some green pea and Thai chicken soup she made, and that made some nice dinners for a few days.

It’s always nice when my siblings visit. My sister lives a few hours away and my brother is in Arizona. It’s nice to connect with them and hang out with them while they are here.

Have a great Friday, folks. Daily Ramblings will be back to its normal schedule of postings and topics next week. Have a great weekend!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Video Game Skills

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COD, DOOM, fortnight, leadership, Skills, stories, teamwork, Ted Talk, Video Games

I am a huge video game fan. I play Call of Duty, but also play many other first-person shooters, role-playing, and adventure games. This TED talk discusses the new E-Sports, and what skills are needed to truly succeed at video games. Enjoy!

Have a great Tuesday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave