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Accounting for lost time


On 02/24/2013 at 11:48 AM by Ranger1

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Although the actual elapsed time between my old laptop's final, dying breath and the new laptop's arrival was only nine days, it felt like an eternity. I felt disconnected from friends and family (we're spread out over the globe and the internet is the easiest, cheapest way to stay in touch), I missed blogging, and having a computer is a must for digital photography.

What did I do to keep myself entertained? I did a bit of organizing in my tiny living space: got the closet cleared of the previous tenant's belongings, stored my old CRT TV in ther,e along with a tote containing my PS2, XBox, and Game Cube. I also stored a few other things not nearly as interesting. I got a stack of the unpacked boxes from the move organized and stored in the loft, along with organizing my game collection into storage drawers. I'll be able to lay hands on what I'm looking for now.

In order to store things in the loft, I have to get the 8' step-ladder from the garage. Rather than take it back and forth everyday, I've left it leaning against the wall. Kaylee the Ninja Cat thinks it was very courteous of me to take her entertainment into consideration this way. She's been climbing the ladder into the loft, exploring, and then enjoying the view from her perch. She's also been sky-diving the 8' from the loft onto the futon, in total silence. This has resulted in several heart-stopping, hair-raising moments for me and the dog. Bandit will no longer sit on the end of the futon that is directly below her launch point. Smart dog.

I've also been catching up on some gaming .I finished Machinarium (PS3). A fun little point and click adventure, with some diabolical puzzles to solve. Played a lot of Lego LoTR (360), the main story is done and I've been wandering Middle Earth in search of mithril blocks, blueprints, extra characters, and quests. I think I'm about 70% done. My friend Michael came over and played a couple of levels in co-op with me. Ni No Kuni (PS3) got a little love, but I just haven't been in the mood for an RPG. Surprising as that may be, it does happen on occasion. My Aquarium (PS3) still hasn't lost my interest. I've actually left it up and running a few times just for the novelty of having a virtual fish tank in my humble abode. I've also dug Uncharted out and started over. I needed something to do while Michael was performing technical magic on various hard drives when the new laptop arrived. I decided to play on easy this time, and I've actually gotten past that horrible gun battle that caused me to rage quit the first time I tried playing. People keep assuring me that they fixed the shooting and aiming issues in the second two games, so that has encouraged me to pick it up again.

My big brother called last night and for the first time in a long time hasn't taked about his divorce or issues with his ex. He called to thank me again for the PS3 that I gave his family for Christmas (but he didn't actually get until acouple of weeks ago) and we talked about gaming and the games he's playing. He and my 13 year oldnephew spent all day yesterday gaming together. Modnation Racers and Modern Warfare were the two biggies. He's also playing SSX, Bejeweled 3, Tomb Raider Underworld, Sonic's UGC, and COD. I'm glad he's getting so much enjoyment out of it, he's had a rough time of it for the last 18 months and deserved a little something special.

Now that I have my new laptop and have a new home on the 'net, I've been feverishly backing up eight year's worth of blog entries. I'm about half-way done. Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I do know I want to keep them.

And there you have another random installment of Rangergirl's random thoughts.


 

Comments

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/24/2013 at 12:10 PM

I just want to take a moment to reflect on the fact that my comments don't need titles.  :)

Anyway, I played the first Uncharted but I haven't gotten to the others.  I was kind of shocked by the sheer number of people you kill in that game.  That guy is like Rambo.  

I don't have the spirit to backup my 1up blogs.  It's just too daunting a task.  I'm just content to let them float away.....

Ranger1

02/24/2013 at 12:12 PM

Matt, I have too much history invested to let them go.

And isn't it awesome that comments don't need titles?

Jesse Miller Staff Writer

02/24/2013 at 12:17 PM

Life without headlines on comments is great.  And yeah, Drake is a mass murderer at this point.  They kind of address that in either the second or third game (honestly can't remember).  He really must be a sociopath.

ThatKidOverThere

02/24/2013 at 12:18 PM

Darn.

I caved in and joined just now.

Good to see ya here you old geez!

Ranger1

02/24/2013 at 12:19 PM

Sidd, I'm gonna whack you with my cane, you young whippersnapper!

GamerGirlBritt

02/24/2013 at 01:09 PM

I gotta get my hands on Ni No Kuni sometime soon. I know what you mean about not "being in the mood" for RPGs. I have to be in the right mindset for those.

As for Uncharted, played em all, beat em all, and it never even occured to me that Drake's killed A LOT of people. Guess that makes me a bit of a sociopath too. Ohhh well.

Ranger1

02/24/2013 at 01:17 PM

Yeah, but in his defense, most of them were trying to kill him first.

Halochief90

02/24/2013 at 05:05 PM

Ah, Machinarium. That was a really cool game with an amazing artstyle. A lot of the puzzles were incredibly obtuse though so I basically had to rely on a walkthrough!

I made it to Hamlin in Ni no Kuni. It's the only game I've been playing but I feel there's still a lot left in the game.

Jesse Miller Staff Writer

02/24/2013 at 05:15 PM

If you just got to Hamlin, there certainly is.  You'll be busy with that one for quite awhile.

Ranger1

02/24/2013 at 07:47 PM

Kevin, the reason it took me so long to finish the game was due to the fact that I was without a computer for over a week and couldn't refer to a walkthrough for one of the final puzzles.

I"ve just gotten to Hamelin, too. I think we're still towards the beginning of the game...

BrokenH

02/24/2013 at 05:20 PM

Futons and step ladders are the problem. If you have futons & step ladders this will lead to ninja cats being empowered. These are the laws of physics,Tami!

Glad your bro was able to appreciate your gift. I'm sorry about his divorce though. That must be tough!

Ranger1

02/24/2013 at 07:49 PM

Ben, that cat is a true ninja and can use any object to empower herself, lol.

My bro's divorce is one of the messiest I have ever had the misfortune to witness. He needed some joy.

SanAndreas

02/24/2013 at 05:23 PM

Ni no Kuni is one awesome game. I just finished Old Smoky. I am also fortunate enough to have the 400-page hardbound player's guide that Namco gave me for free after my Wizard's Edition order was lost.

Ranger1

02/24/2013 at 07:50 PM

Andrew, I have the same guide. Amazon was offering a percentage off both the guide and the game if you preordered them both at the same time.

HEKTR0

02/24/2013 at 06:55 PM

I backed up a few of my blogs as well, but not all of them.  I'll just have them to look back on.  In a way I think sometimes I blog in a way that's almost like keeping a journal if that makes sense.  So it's interesting to look back on that stuff from time to time and see where I was at 2 years ago or what not.

Ranger1

02/24/2013 at 07:53 PM

HEKTR0, that's pretty much how I feel about my blogs. I just finished backing them up, all 226 of them. At least, I hope I got all 226 of them. I was getting pretty tired last night and I hope I didn't miss any.

GrayHaired

02/24/2013 at 08:02 PM

Awesome that your brother is enjoying his PS3. I really enjoy ModNation Racers

Ranger1

02/24/2013 at 08:42 PM

GH, it was so nice to get the phone call last night and hear him sounding so exited. Thanks for the game suggestions for him, by the way. His absolute favorite game in the world is also MGS.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/25/2013 at 02:59 AM

I took a digital photography class in college, I've wanted to get back into it and filming; hopefully now that I work with fellow cinephiles, I can! Cause I can't afford this stuff on my own at the moment!

I've got 400 of my 6 years + backed up, last 100 tomorrow ... well, today. Oscars didn't help my sleep schedule haha.

And a PS3 is an excellent gift, I certainly believe those kids are loving it! Have a good one!

Ranger1

02/25/2013 at 08:22 AM

Joe, I finished mine last night. I stayed up way too late the past two nights, and the dog waking me up at 4:00 this morning didn't help. Glad I'm not currently working!

My brother's the biggest kid of the lot in that family, lol. I went with the PS3 because we could game together without him having to get a Gold membership. Problem is, the bulk of my multi-platform games on are on the 360! Guess I'll be buying a few duplicates now...

Chris Yarger Community Manager

02/25/2013 at 08:25 AM

I saw you playing Lego LotR the other night.. I whined to my Wife in fits of jealousy over the fact that you were playing what I've been dying to try. lol

Ranger1

02/25/2013 at 08:40 AM

It took me a while to get into it, I'm not a big fan of the movies - I think Peter Jackson took a big steaming shit all over my favorite books - and the game follows the movies pretty closely. After managed to wrap my head around the faithful adaptaion to the movies, it was all fun. I just wish Tt would have kept making online co-op part of the games!  I got the game new at Walmart for $40 and it came with a DVD of The Fellowship of the Ring.

Coolsetzer

02/25/2013 at 08:49 AM

ENTERTAINING!

Okay, that's enough of that. Haha. I won't miss those. Anyway, I feel disconnected when I'm not online as well, so you're definitely not alone on that. I also liked the cat story since I love cats. Just rented Ni No Kuni yesterday to check it out since I'm still on the fence with it.

Ranger1

02/25/2013 at 09:38 AM

Glad Kaylee's antics amused you. The first time it happened, there was an "OMG! WTF was that!" moment. I now keep one eye on the loft at all times.

Ni No Kuni is a great game, I'm just not in the right head space for the moment to play it. Let me know what you think of it when you've had some time with it.

bambamthepyro

02/25/2013 at 10:16 AM

Yeah I found a lot of 1up people.

Ranger1

02/25/2013 at 10:17 AM

Hey bambam! Nice to see you in the neighborhood! Pull up a seat, pop open a brew, kick back, and have fun!

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