The Blarg

I’m on a video game kick for sure…and the new addiction is Modern Warfare 2. Everyone was talking about it, so I had to see what the hype was about…and let me tell you, the hype is legit.

So far I’ve really only played online, but that’s the main reason I bought it. I thought Uncharted 2 online would be cool…but I’ve come to realize 3rd person multiplayer isn’t my thing. Mod Warfare 2 however, has an amazingly robust multiplayer system. Not only are there a  ton of different modes, but there are all sorts of weapons, equipment, and attachments to customize. And to keep you coming back, only a few things are unlocked at first. You have to keep leveling up to get access to better weapons. This makes it tough for people starting out, but you can still kill people as a lvl 1 player, so it’s far from frustrating.

Another cool aspect to the whole customization thing are perks and challenges. By getting a certain number of kills with a weapon you can unlock new sights for guns or maybe a silencer. Perks are attributes like unlimited sprinting, and these too can be leveled up and unlocked.

I just wish more people had PS3 so I could play with them.

This story actually starts like 7 years ago, so I’ll start there.

I remember the day vividly. I was sitting in a computer chair at TBWA\Chiat\Day (the advertising agency I was interning at during my junior year of college). As I was sitting there, I felt a twinge in my lower back, and all my lower back muscles tightened up. For the next 5 years, every couple months it would do the same thing, and I’d end up lying on a bed in pain.

This leads up to about 2 years ago when I decided to go to a chiropractor to fix it, and it worked. Between the adjustments and traction (they strap something around your waist and pull, stretching the spine) I felt a ton better. It’s been almost 2.5 years since I first went, and in that time I haven’t had any problems with my back. As part of my visits though, I would also get my mid-back and neck adjusted. It felt good, and for a long time I had no problems.

But back in April or so I started to have some pain in my neck. You know that tension you get in your fingers that makes you feel like you need to crack them? Well I had that in my neck…and bad. It was to the point that I was always moving my neck around trying to make that feeling go away. Something wasn’t right, and for a while I kept going to the chiropractor hoping she could fix it.

Now I don’t know for sure if going to the chiropractor caused my problems, but after a few months I stopped going to see if it would get better. Some days it would start to feel better, but then out of nowhere it would start up again. Finally about 2 months ago I’d had enough and went to my doctor.

He gave me some pain pills and muscle relaxers (which have helped), but I also started going to physical therapy. Here I am, a “healthy” 20-something guy in a room with a man recovering from a stroke, and mostly people who are easily over 60. For the last two months I’ve had my neck stretched, learned stretching exercises, and gotten mini-massages…and I can finally say I am feeling better.

I’m not 100% yet, but for the first time in many months I’m feeling good. It’s actually been kind of scary. I’ve had this pain for so long that I started to think it would always be like this. Chronic neck pain for the rest of my life? That would suck. I did have some x-rays taken, and all they found was “mild arthritis,” but I’m finally headed in the right direction.

If anything it has given me an appreciation for good health. I’ve always told myself that I don’t want to be the 90 year old guy that complains how much everything hurts, but I wanted to share with everyone.

Post like this on facebook? Never!

…one to go! I finished Uncharted 1 yesterday. First of all…awesome game. Great story and acting, and the gameplay was great. Today I dabbled with trying to beat it on a higher difficulty for more trophies…but I decided I’d rather just play a different game to get more trophies, so Uncharted 2, here I come!

I’ve got multiplayer in Uncharted 2 to play, but the more I read about Modern Warfare 2 makes me want to play that too. There are just too many good videogames to play.

I forgot that they had enabled new updates to the PSN Portable ID in the last firmware. Actually, it took them a while to update the portable ID so it shows trophy info…but it’s finally all working! Now you can track my trophy progress on the right, and even click on it to see what games I’ve played, and how many trophies I’ve achieved!

Right now I’m working on Platinum for Uncharted, and then I’ll be moving on to Uncharted 2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 looks pretty sweet…but I think I’ll be waiting on that for the time being. The God of War collection looks cool too.

Too many games, too little time!

Kevin just posted a funny aim conversation…so I dug up one of my own. This is circa August, 2006.

(15:59:26) nathan118: hey where’d you go
(15:59:27) kevin wilkinson <AUTO-REPLY> : CIY video @ church
(16:00:25) kevin wilkinson: to church
(16:00:28) nathan118: why
(16:00:39) kevin wilkinson: cause i had plans for this video and i want to see them carried out
(16:00:42) nathan118: that’s in cal poly pomona
(16:00:50) kevin wilkinson: what?
(16:00:53) nathan118: ciy
(16:01:00) kevin wilkinson: church?
(16:01:18) nathan118: yes
(16:01:32) nathan118: i sent it via courier, over the london express
(16:01:56) nathan118: didn’t you get it?
(16:02:11) kevin wilkinson: i dont understand at all
(16:02:14) nathan118: the package!!
(16:02:22) nathan118: you haven’t seen a courier?
(16:02:30) kevin wilkinson: what package?
(16:02:48) nathan118: with the card for mike!
(16:03:06) nathan118: the courier should have been there a half an hour ago
(16:03:14) kevin wilkinson: what card?
(16:03:17) kevin wilkinson: i’m not at church
(16:03:22) nathan118: i know
(16:03:26) nathan118: i wanted it to be a surprise
(16:03:31) nathan118: for the baby, a congrats card
(16:03:48) kevin wilkinson: for mike to soon be an uncle?
(16:03:53) nathan118: how’s your tapeworm?
(16:04:26) nathan118: you could send it via courier
(16:04:26) kevin wilkinson: i don’t have one
(16:04:35) kevin wilkinson: who would want my tapeworm?
(16:04:39) nathan118: carly of course
(16:05:02) nathan118: maybe your sister saw the courier
(16:05:23) nathan118: it was going over the london express at 5th and Wilmington, it should have been there by now!
(16:05:26) nathan118: i’ll have their heads
(16:05:28) kevin wilkinson: why would she see it?
(16:05:44) nathan118: the association will not be pleased
(16:06:08) nathan118: we need to choose our words carefully, we are not alone
(16:06:23) nathan118: are you running phish detecting software on this connection?
(16:07:38) kevin wilkinson: not yet
(16:07:46) nathan118: they may be listening to determine the exact location of the courier, something my people are not willing to reveal at any cost
(16:07:57) kevin wilkinson: who wants a card sent to mike?
(16:08:11) nathan118: the association. they felt it would be the proper timing with the upcoming pregnancy
(16:08:25) nathan118: it’s for young preachers
(16:08:48) kevin wilkinson: but he isn’t having a baby
(16:09:11) nathan118: that’s why it is so important that you meet with the courier and find out the truth
(16:09:22) kevin wilkinson: where is the courier?
(16:09:31) nathan118: let me call him
(16:10:24) nathan118: he’s at florence at mattock
(16:10:37) nathan118: but he’s having a hard time finding the house
(16:10:50) nathan118: can you go outside to meet him? he’s on bike he said
(16:11:00) kevin wilkinson: i’m looking out the window
(16:11:14) nathan118: maybe he’s down at the end of the street or around the corner
(16:11:30) kevin wilkinson: tell him to bike down the street again
(16:11:40) nathan118: it’s of vital importance to the mission that you get this package
(16:11:47) nathan118: the association will not be pleased
(16:11:52) kevin wilkinson: oh well
(16:13:03) nathan118: he says he’s there
(16:14:00) kevin wilkinson: no one is here
(16:14:04) kevin wilkinson: i’m going
(16:14:09) nathan118: did the doorbell ring?
(16:14:13) kevin wilkinson: if i see this man i will get the package and take it to the church
(16:14:14) kevin wilkinson: no
(16:14:15) kevin wilkinson: bye

Luke (and the rest of us) had a very fun Halloween. He liked being Elmo for the most part, though we spent most of the night without our Elmo head on.

I’m working on getting a plugin working that will automatically cross post to facebook, but it wants a higher PHP doober than we have. Then I would just post to my blog, and have it magically appear on facebook to notify people. Best of both worlds!