The Good News - My Game Is Back...The Bad News - My Game Is Back

 I don't play many video games, a few...basically three. It used to be two, but then one of them went away. It went away on my phone, anyway.

Bummer.

The game that is no longer available on iPhones is called Jet Ball 2. It's been years since I played it. I used to have it on an older iPhone until I installed the latest update, then the game was just an icon representing broken dreams that mocked me whenever I saw it. Eventually, I deleted the icon from my phone realizing the game would most likely never return.

I don't know how, but a few months ago I found out the game still exists, just not on the iPhone. You can download the game on Android. I came across a LG tablet my sister-in-law gave to the family. I charged the tablet and downloaded the game.

Success!

That was the good news, but also the bad news. Good that I got it back, but bad, because it's another excuse to not to do things I ought to do, like read a book or write a book or clean the house. No, the net negative outweighs the net positive of having that game available to me.

One positive in all this, the game is glitchy on the tablet--no where near as smooth as it played on my phone, so there's that. Still, I should really cut back on all the games. Maybe that big EMP will kill all these devices (and the games...) after all.

Fourteen Years...Kind Of A Waste

 Every once in a while people will post their Twitter Anniversary on their Twitter feed. I suppose there's a way I could have looked up which day I joined--I had no idea how long I'd been on the app. Today, this little nugget popped up on my account...

Fourteen years.

That's a long time.

The funny thing, I thought I was late to the party when it came to Twitter. I didn't really understand it (still don't, in some ways...), but I stayed with it. I found out quickly that to "succeed" on the app, the more snarky the better. I don't do snark well, so I haven't taken the app by storm. That's okay. It looks like too much work to be huge on Twitter.

Truth be told, I would have deleted the app years ago if it weren't for the positives. One of the first things that blew my mind with the app was the immediacy. Case in point, it was summer and our state (and others...) were experiencing a high rate of fires. Most were in the mountains, but some were in neighborhoods. Unfortunately, a fire broke out in a Salt Lake Valley suburb. I logged onto Twitter and obtained instant information, even down to the streets where the fire was heading and where it had already been. It was SO much faster than the local news. That type of information delivery is invaluable. 

I also began following (and being followed...) by many authors. I like Writing Community Twitter, and Sports Twitter. I follow some Political Twitter, but all have their downsides and some people on the app are absolutely insane...literally.

Fourteen years ago today, I logged on for the first time. I know I should spend less time on the app and other social media platforms, or better yet, cut it out of my life completely, but I don't. It's an addiction. I know it--you know it. It is fact.

And, I know after writing this, I'm going to post the link to Twitter and other sites...

And the whole thing starts all over again.

Exercising Myself...From The Demonic Pigs

I don't play a lot of video games. Compared to some, I play practically none. We live in a time when some of the most amazing games available are found on our phones, games adults play, games senior citizens play, games even infants play.

I am part of the generation that lived before any video games existed, and by "any," I mean exactly that. Video games didn't exist. The first financially successful game--Pong--was invented int he 1970s. 

I was invented in the 1960s.

Once I got a fully-functioning smartphone, I downloaded several games. Over the years, I've played, and by "played," I mean, addicted to, a few games. The most recent one is an offshoot from the successful Angry Birds line. It's called Angry Birds Blast.

And I played it a lot. So much so, I had it on three devices, my phone, an iPad, and an android tablet. I played it every day, because those of you who play games every day know there's advantages to playing every day. They give you bonuses, and tips, and other ways to help. I took advantage of those helps and tips...

Until one weekend, about a month ago, I stopped. It was a busy weekend, not sure exactly why, but I remember when the time came that I usually played, I didn't have the time. The next day came and, once again, I was doing something else. By the third day, when I did have time to play, I simply didn't. And I haven't played the game since. Today I opened the game for the first time so I could take a screenshot for this post. 

It's funny--I thought I'd miss it more. It was fun, hence, the many months/years of playing, but now that I've stopped, I don't want to go back, not even once.

So, there's now only one game I play on my phone. It's called Jet Ball, a breakout game that was discontinued years ago. I told my wife once that I'd like to find a game I enjoyed as much as Angry Birds Blast, but at the same time, no. I don't. It's just a way to spend time on non-important things. Who knows...maybe another game will come around and I'll once again be addicted. It might be okay, as long as it doesn't have those demonic pigs...

My Very Limited Funko Pop Addiction...

You've seen them. Chances are you've got a couple of dozen of them sitting somewhere in your house, be it in a china cabinet, or in your kid's bedrooms. They may be confined in their original packaging, or they're free from their card stock and plastic prisons.

They're Funko Pop figurines and they're everywhere.

Last week I bought my first one, not from this month's FanX Comic Con, not from a store, or from Ebay, but from a yard sale. It's a 2010 Batman and I like him.

For the past couple of years, my family members have found cute Funko Pop figurines at Salt Lake's FanX and Comic Con events--everyone, but me, that is. For some reason, I never saw one that I liked. It could have been the hundreds to choose from that distracted me. Whatever it was, I never found one I liked.

Last weekend, my wife and I stopped at a yard sale and I spotted this little guy. The seller was asking 50¢, but I gave him a dollar. A quick on-line search of my particular Batman showed a pristine Batman of this style in its box could fetch anywhere from $100 to $200. Mine is not pristine, nor do I have the box. Besides, I don't feel like getting rid of it.

I think one of the reasons I didn't want to get one before is because I didn't want to get the next one. They make so many that I know I'd want my favorite Star Wars characters, but which one of the literally hundreds do I choose? Same goes for Star Trek, and Firefly, Harry Potter, Peanuts, Marvel universe, and countless others. It can quickly become a very expensive addiction that can never be completely satisfied.

So, for now at least, I'll stick with my one. It's a good one. He's cute and older, and he sits at my desk at work. One day I might get some friends for him--maybe I ought to go to more yard sales.