Here's a little game to play next time you go to the store

It's not much of a game though but anyways, get a vitamin water(the 20 ounce kind) that is not sugarfree(the zero kind is sugarfree) then go to the candy or the impulse section near the registers.

Look at the label of the vitamin water and you'll see it has 32 grams of sugar. Now here's the game part, try to find a candy that has more sugar then the vitamin water.

Some will have sugar in the upper 20's but I have yet to find one that passes the 32 grams of sugar. There are sodas that have more sugar such as mountain dew but it's funny how candy has less sugar then this vitamin water.

It goes to show you to pay attention to what your drinking or eating

I'm going to take a break from blogging because of my grandpa

I'm not sure how long the break will be or even if I take one at all since writing is my outlet at times and helps me feel better. Anyways to put it bluntly, my grandpa passed away today. He was in his 70's and was in the hospital since last week.

He originally went because of pneumonia then he had water in his lungs so he was put on a respirator and I believe on life support because of how weak his lungs became. He didn't want to eat during the past 3 days and he lost the will to leave. So he died today in the evening.

I didn't figure he would die simply because all he had to do was eat his hospital food and make an effort just like I known him to do all his life but he choose to go into the light.

He was the toughest person I knew and I last saw him in person in 2007. The last time I talked to him was early this month(feb). He told me to keep trying in life and he was proud of me and what I accomplished and to save up for a car(which I was doing).

He also said to take care of my sister and to get a woman(yeah he's from a different time). I didn't realize that would be the last time I would speak to him but now it makes sense.

I was hoping to see him next year or in 2017 then he'll would have been surprised over how much I changed since 2007. I would have helped him do yard work and harvest his crops. I also would have driven him to doctor's appointments.

I already miss him dearly and in case your wondering, no I am not crying but thinking of the song my immortal by evanescence is giving the urge to do cry so I'll think of the good times I had with my grandpa. I'm not a super tough I can't cry person and the last time I cried was in 2005. I figured my grandpa would be around 10 to 15 years more but he ended up going before his time

Retro fridays and donkey kong country 2 cards

The dkc 2 cards were not a playing game like pokemon trading card game or magic the gathering. It was a series of collectible cards you could buy in one of those machines that have stickers/tattoos/cards for 50 cents.

They have a picture of a character from donkey kong country 2 like dixie kong or a pirate kremling with a short description on the back.

I would always get one or 2 or 3 whenever I would go to toys r us and I ended up with 20 of them before they just vanished one day.

It was a neat little promotion to sell a game but I miss it

Retro fridays and ape escape

Ape escape is a 3D platformer for the ps1 where you have to capture monkeys in a net that have turned evil. Well there's more to the story but it's window dressing for this game because of the gameplay. It broke ground when it was released because it needed a dual shock controller(controller with 2 analog sticks).

You could not play AE with a older playstation controller(one without the dual sticks), so did you need a dual shock controller? the left stick is used for controlling your character and the other stick controls your weapon.

It seems simple today but this was unheard of at the time when only the left stick was used and usually to replace the dpad. The game itself has tight addictive gameplay with a variety of levels.

Each level has a certain number of monkeys among with hidden coins that can be used to unlock mini games. My favorite is the monkey boxing and monkey skiing.

AE was seen as sony's answer to super mario 64 but it is also now a timeless classic. It's also on psp but the ps1 original is the best because of the dual shock controller

The people vs oj part 4

Part 4 of this great mini series is about the jury selection while both sides further refining their plans. Robert shapiro also goes off the deep end. Anyways this trial isn't that simple so even the jury has to be carefully selected.

Marcia clark realizes how quickly things have turned into issues of race. She has a eye opening conversation with chris darden, meanwhile robert shapiro slowly loses his mind(not literally of course). He acts like sheldon cooper and wants things to go his way and wants everyone to obey him. He want's to give press conferences when johnny cochran suggests it would have more impact if he did it.

Marcia assumes the dream team will fall apart because of the big egos on the team and she is mostly right with robert shapiro being the focus of this episode. He also tries to settle on a manslaughter charge because he can't handle the pressure.

The dream team and his wife all realize how willing and focused johnny cochran is and how his speaking skills can be a great asset as lead attorney. Mr. Shapiro takes a vacation for some reason so mr cochran's guys take remove everything related to oj from robert's office then unofficially make johnny the lead attorney.

When robert get's back from his hawaiian trip(he had a shirt on) he still assumes his is the alpha dog. Everyone on the dream team  is gathered at johnny's office(oj is also on the phone in the room) where everyone votes to move johnny as lead attorney.

The episode ends with the jury selection and marcia clark being satisfied with the jury among with the dream team but they have a huge shock when chris darden is sitting next to marcia to add some racial variety to her "team". 

It is incredibly ironic to like comic books but not be into dc or marvel

By which point I'm talking about myself, ever since I was little I could not get into marvel or dc comics. Even though I owned a couple of the dark night and spiderman comics they would just sit in a drawer.

I do like comic books though, ones such as bone and foxtrot and danger girl and anything related to the simpsons such as the treehouse of horror series. I also enjoy comics that are made to tie in with a tv show or movie like the x-files comics and the terminator comics.

As I'm typing up this blog entry I'm tempted to actually buy some cheap comics. I love exploring through the 50 cents or less bins and just seeing what I find. Sometimes I'll buy something because the cover looks cool. There is a comic book store across the street and 3 of them in the uptown part in my city

Retro fridays and sonic 2

Sonic 2 is easily the most common and most popular sega genesis game. It is an edgy teenager in video game form which also helped make it popular. The 90's were "xtreme" so sega made sonic to be "cool".

Sonic 2 is a platformer like the super mario bros series but with more of an edge. Sonic runs through the levels and there are loops and steep hills to help you go faster. I remember it most for the music and the 1st two worlds

The bonus stages show off some neat 3d effects but what's most memorable about this game is when your underwater. Ok let me remind you of a little something, in the super mario bros games you can breathe underwater so you only have to worry about a time limit to finish the level.

Sonic 2 lulls you into a false sense of security. When your underwater you feel no rush to get to the surface so you take your time jumping from platform to platform but this isn't a sonic game.

Suddenly the music speeds up more and more until you drown and yes it includes a gurgling sound. The music causes legitimate anxiety

Retro fridays and xmen vs street fighter

Just like the title says, xmen vs street fighter is a fighting game made by capcom in 1996. It features characters from the xmen such as cyclops,wolverine,rogue,storm,sabretooth and others competing against ryu,ken,zangief,m.bison and sf vets.

It's main innovation is the tag team gameplay. You pick 2 characters and you can tag in any time just like in a wwe match. To win the battle you have to kill both opponent characters and vice versa.

Everything in this game is exaggerated such as the 15 hit combos and the giant fireballs and the super jumps and the screen filling super moves. I actually like this gameplay compared to the one in street fighter 2.

My favorite characters are wolverine and cyclops simply because of how dominant both can be and how easy it is to do multi hit combos.

The final boss is apocalypse who does a mmpr monster and grows and grows, he fills the whole screen but luckily he has 2 weak spots. His head and his arm so he isn't too hard. However he has one deadly weapon in his arm. He can turn it into a drill that can easily kill you even if your at full health and you block all of it.

The gameplay is tight and the game is worth playing or at least the arcade version is as the ps1 version get's rid of the tag team concept.

The people vs oj simpson part 3

Part 3 is about the defense team coming up with a gameplan and marcia clark realizing this case won't be as easy as it seemed. The episode starts off with robert shapiro having a team meeting to come up with a gameplan because the evidence seems to overwhelming paint oj simpson as guilty.

There is a little scene that is ironic and kinda funny in 2016. Robert kardashian goes up to kris's house to pick up the kids so he can take them to lunch(yes those kids, khloe,kim,kourtney and rob). They act like normal kids in case your wondering.

They go to a restaurant where the host recognizes him as robert cordvian and the guy from the oj trial. He get's seated at a table right away and the kids act like kids. Kim kardashian says that her mom(kris jenner) said that oj is guilty but robert still believes he's innocent.

The whole scene is funny and ironic because robert kardashian is uncomfortable with being famous while his kids want to be famous. Yes a kardashian doesn't want to be famous and is bothered with being recognized.

The dream team realizes that mark fuhrman might/is a racist then the light bulb goes off. They can blame a racist LAPD(this was 2 years after the LA riots) and get evidence thrown out. Johnny cochran is contacted and he joins the dream team, upsetting marcia clark so much she utters the only uncensored MF word I haven't heard on basic cable. I'm not sure how this show got away with it

This was another great episode with great pacing. The scene where johnny asked oj if he killed nicole is great acting, you can tell by his body language he is guilty. There is a scene that I don't remember who was driving but there was modern cars in the opposite lanes.

Explaining minecraft for parents and/or beginners

I looked at various guides throughout the internet and they over complicate this game therefore confusing you even more. Whether your a parent with a kid and you want to understand it more or you want to try minecraft because you want to see what all the fuss is about, this post will explain it to you in a easy to understand format.

What is minecraft?

Minecraft is like playing with legos but the blocks can defy physics. There are 2 modes in minecraft, Survival and Creative.

1. Creative Mode: Your pretty much in a virtual world with unlimited blocks and unlimited health. Imagine your in a world where someone set up the legos for you and you can erase them or add more. You are free to walk around and create to your hearts content. Creative mode is also good for getting a hang of the controls with no pressure, also you can fly in creative
2. Survival Mode: This makes it into a survival type game. You can't fly and you spawn randomly (hopefully somewhere with good resources) with only your fists to help you. You have a health bar and a hunger meter(depending on the difficulty level) and monsters come out night. There is a huge emphasis on making stuff(crafting)

When you start a new file in minecraft you are given a choice of the type of world you want.  

1. Old: You are in an invisible box so it's easy to find your away around and not get lost but your limited on what you can create because well...your in a box
2. Flat: Just like nebraska or kansas, the world is flat and feels like it goes on forever(there is no invisible box in flat)
3. Infinite: There is no invisible barriers so it's like your on a planet, very easy to get lost 

That's pretty much minecraft in a nutshell and I'm not sure why it's so popular but it is addicting once you do play. So I figure I give some tips

• Sand and gravel follow the laws of physics so if you put one in the air it will drop straight down
• If you play survival mode gather a lot of wood and craft(make) a crafting table)
• In infinite mode, make street lights with 3 blocks and torches so when it gets dark you can see which areas you have already explored 
• The meat that zombies drop is still edible 
• Have more then one house, these will make landmarks that make it easier to get your bearings and provide a good place to hide from creepers
• When your outside at night, always look around for enemies especially up
• Your houses can be simple rectangles as these are easy to make and you can maximize your space to hold stuff
• Treasure chests are great objects, 3 or 4 of them in a house can easily hold a lot of your stuff
• Make sure your house has a roof or else spiders will get in and surprise you
• You can burn wood with other wood in a furnace to create charcoal which is used to make torches. This is great for your 1st or 2nd day as it's easier to make torches this way instead of looking for coal in mountains or underground
• Be careful when exploring as it is extremely easy to get turned around then you can't find your house

Take a look at 90's pdas aka future tablets

They were labeled pdas but some like the AT&T EQ could do more then simply take notes or store phone numbers, it could send faxes and emails with no wires. In fact I'll say that a lot of these were early tablets back in 1993 but back then the only time you heard the word tablet was a writing tablet.

I also wanted to point out the prices on these, remember these are 1993 prices so the cheapest one(amstrad) with it's price tag of $499 would be $821 in today's money. No wonder I have never seen one of these in person. They were too expensive when new so no one bought them.

Modern tablets owe a lot to these forefathers because without them, the ipad may not have come out then it would not have lead the tablet explosion.

It's funny that tablets did exist in the early 90's but they were pretty much unicorns

 

The people vs oj simpson part 2

The 1st episode ended with oj and ac escaping onto the freeway in the infamous white bronco(but still not found by the cops) so episode 2 picks up where it left off. The news is breaking that oj is a fugitive on the loose. A couple in a vw micro bus spot a white bronco that is tailgating them aggressively when the passenger in the vw notices it's a.c. that's driving.

They stop at a freeway side phone(remember those?) to call the cops about the oj sighting which quickly leads to the police shutting down the freeway and oj stopping at some traffic.

It's obvious the freeway scene was filmed on a 1 mile or so street of freeway as the overpasses and signs repeat themselves and it's noticeable if you pay attention. The studio only shut down one direction(hah) of the freeway which is jarring. In the right lanes you have oj and 90's cars but headed in the opposite direction are modern cars.

Yes they are clear as day, I saw a prius, a 2012 camry, a 1998 f-150, a mid 00's dodge ram, a early 00's chevy astrovan and a 2010's ford e-150 van. You would think the studio would edit out the modern cars but it is a over sight that is hard to ignore.

We all know how it ends but what's new is how close oj came to killing himself inside the bronco. He had the gun in his mouth a couple of times. Also it's surprising to find out that it was ac's bronco and not oj's. The episode ends with oj being handcuffed and put into a cop car.

One final note, the kardashian kids make an appearance, yes kim kardashian is famous because of oj. The whole scene is incredibly ironic in 2016. The kardashian kids are watching their dad(Robert Kardashian) give a press conference with robert shapiro.

What's almost like a joke is that one of the reports asks robert who he is and how his last name is pronounced and spelled which the kardashian kids spell it out for us and chant it too. The irony is great because that last name is everywhere.

It was a great captivating episode(just like the real bronco chase) and john travolta should win an award for his portrayal of mr shapiro. 

I have free bagels every day from panera bread

well I mean it's 1 bagel free per day but still, free daily food is great. I got it free because I frequently go to panera bread. All this week and next week I'll stop by to get a free bagel since the jalapeno cheddar is so good and it's within walking distance.

As if the free bagel wasn't good enough, I found a red power ranger shirt at goodwill among with a metallica and justice for all shirt. The only disappointment was that there was no new hws at the 99 cents store or target but I'll check again tomorrow and on wednesday

Retro fridays and a gameboy ad

This is from 1996 and it looks to be from sears or kb toys. For $10 more, the gameboy pocket is a better buy. It has a clearer screen that doesn't blur as much and it uses less batteries. The downside is that it doesn't have a power indicator to let you know when the batteries are low(that would later get fixed)

I have half the games on this list and dkl2 would later drop to $19.99 same with kirby's block ball. These prices are more reasonable. The play it loud colors show that in the 90's even video game systems had to be Xtreme to sell.

Retro fridays and 90s windbreakers

aka the swishy clothes that made a swee swee sound whenever you walked or sat up or stood absolutely still. They were called windbreakers and that's exactly what it did.

It make horribly loud sounds with ever small movement. The 90's had clothes that were a lot more swishy which you can not get on today's clothes.

Look at that teal and pink, does anything scream 90's more then those colors.

Retro fridays and alex mack

Unlike other retro posts, I have never seen an episode of the secret world of alex mack. Mostly because I didn't have cable growing up and it was on nick. I do remember seeing ads for it in nintendo power back in 1996.

I do also know that alex mack is a spy and a pre teen girl. Maybe one day I'll watch an episode or 2.

The people vs OJ Simpson part 1

This mini series premiered last night and it is captivating must watch tv even though we all know how it ends. The story is told from the point of view of marcia clark, robert shapiro, robert kardashian and johnnie cochran so you get to see all the "behind the scenes" things.

Marcia is extremely passionate about getting oj locked up so her frustration must have been off the charts in 1994, mr kardashian(yes from that kardashian family) is oj's childhood friend who believes he is innocent. Roberty shapiro keeps it all together with his professionalism.

It is incredibly interesting how the kardashian family is at the funeral of nicole brown simpson. Yes kim and kourtney and khole are in the episode(although as kids) which leads to my saying years ago that oj simpson is the reason why we all know who kim k is.

Also oj almost killed himself in kim's room which would have been incredibly ironic(her video takes place in her room) before he sneaked out and left in his white bronco.

I look forward to the next episode and I highly suggest you watch the 1st episode

The newest episode of the xfiles was great

1st off I assumed it was a comedy episode and it was well executed. There is a lizard creature loose that shoots blood out of it's eyes similar to the horned lizard. Mulder seems to be at war with his phone because of an app that keeps taking pictures.

The lizard gets cornered into a portapotty which is revealed to contain a guy with a snazzy hat. Oh this was all discovered by a forest ranger. Ok back to the story, mulder and scully check into a cheap motel(no not for sex) when mulder overhears the owner yelling about a monster.

He investigates a trashed room where he discovers the owner mounted animal heads on each room as a way to spy on customers. He also finds the lizard man's medication, this leads to mulder seeing mr lizard's psychiatrist who hints he might be at the cemetery. So at the graveyard, the lizard man is there but he's a werelizard and is actually a monster that turned human not vice versa.

There's also a scene earlier where he was working at a cell phone store and scully ran into him. Anyways he spills his secrets and catches everyone up on what he was doing. He is actually innocent and didn't kill anybody. Mulder believes him and goes to the pet store where scully is.

Apparently the actual killer was the park ranger and mulder should have paid attention to scully. He does have one final goodbye with the werelizard at the forest. Mulder seems to have a case of the mondays in the start of the episode.

He claims how everything is a prank or hoax and how all serial killers are the same. Someone could micro analyze this episode and say some people(donald trump, ruben patterson, tom couglin) are more monster then person