League of Legends

So I've been slacking on keeping this blog up to date.  Here's the latest...

I've found a new online game, League of Legends (LoL), which is a lot of fun and I now spend quite a bit of my free time playing. I've also found a site, OWN3D.tv, that allows gamers to stream their games live. . Very fun to watch and learn about the technical points of the game. I may look into streaming at some point. My streams would be more about how to NOT play very well. I'm still playing RIFT some, but not nearly what I was. I still have a lot to do in Skyrim and don't know when I'll get back to playing that. I've just been having so much fun with LoL.

School is going great, I'm right on schedule with my three classes. I'll have midterms in a few weeks and I feel pretty confident about them. I'm already looking forward to next semester.

I've been a lot more active than I was prior to the new year. I do feel like I still need to get into a stable routine for workouts though. I don't think I've actually lost any fat, I obviously need to work harder on this whole "getting into shape" thing.

Last thing... SOPA/PIPA are dead in the water, well for now anyway. The word is they are going to be revised and resubmitted. I'm going to guess that we'll never see a vote on them. I don't think they can revise them into anything acceptable. The internet has spoken!!!

STOP SOPA/PIPA

No need to write up some long piece on this subject. Many others have done that for me already. Instead, I'll just throw in some links in hopes that a few will go learn about the ruin of the internet... OK, maybe that's a little dramatic, but SOPA/PIPA could very well hurt the economy even more.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/01/12/if-facebook-wont-stop-sopa-we-can-do-it-for-them/

http://americancensorship.org/

http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/ - Don't forget to fill in the form and click "submit to congress"

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111122/04254316872/definitive-post-why-sopa-protect-ip-are-bad-bad-ideas.shtml

I agree that there is a piracy issue. SOPA/PIPA will not be able to stop piracy. Unfortunately they will cause more pain to our already hurt economy. Keep in mind, they could very well shut down all social sites... Facebook, Google, Tweeter, YouTube... all could end up being blocked. This would not be a good time to sit idle.

2012... New Year!

 So here starts the New Year, 2012.  It’s time for the New Year resolutions!

1.      Get back in shape.

I know this has got to be the most common of all resolutions. I’ve really let myself go since I left the military in 2000 and I miss the outdoors and being active. With all the trails in the local area for hiking, biking, running and walking, I should have no problem getting back to a healthier lifestyle. My lack of willpower and low energy levels are really the only things that have held me back from doing this before.

2.      Be more positive.

I feel like I’ve slipped into some rut where I’m negative about everything… I don’t like it. I need to make a conscious effort to change! I loved how I felt when I was positive most/all the time and I really want to get back to that place.

3.      Finish my AAS.

I’m not sure if it will be possible to finish it this year, but I’m starting classes again in about a week and I’m really not that far from my Associates. I need 23 credits and most of them are computer courses. I’m already registered and have the books for the 3 courses I’m starting on the 9^th. I’m actually excited to start learning some new things again.

4.      Help others.

Not sure exactly how yet, but at times I really feel compelled to get out and help in the community. I think this comes from seeing the impact my mother and father had when they volunteered for the VA Parade year after year. As I grow older, I have some hope that there is something I end up doing that has a good impact in the world. I’m guessing most people want to do something that will help the world out.

5.      Blog regularly.

Not sure why I can’t seem to find time to do this. I have plenty of time each day to do most of what I want so this should be easy enough. We’ll see. ;-)

So this is a short list of resolutions, but each item is realistically obtainable. Last year I didn’t make any resolutions. Years prior to that, all of the resolutions I made weren’t realistic, they were more of a joke. It’s much easier to make unrealistic resolutions and joke about it when you fail than it is to make realistic ones and follow through with them. Though it’s very gratifying to make the realistic ones and follow through!

HERE’S TO MAKING 2012 A GREAT YEAR!

Back To School

Well once again I'm going to be attending college. Starting in January, I'll be taking classes at Rio Salado Online. I'm going to be concentrating on some basic programming and web UI. Needless to say, I'm actually excited about returning to school.

Life is Great

There always seem to be a few hurdles in life, but all in all, my life is great. I have the most wonderful woman by my side and I love spending every moment with her. I can honestly say that I finally understand what it feels like to find your soul mate. I'm not talking about finding someone you just truly love, I'm talking about that person that you thrive to be with at all times. The one you miss although you just saw them a few minutes ago. It's the person you have such a deep connection with, you just know that's the one you NEED to be with for the rest of your life.

New T-Mobile Plan A Bit Misleading IMO

I’m a T-Mobile customer and I will admit that I love the service and customer service they provide. They now are offering a “Truly Unlimited” data, talk and text plan. I understand that when they say it’s unlimited they are referring to the amount of data being used; however, there is a restriction. After you’ve used the first 2GB at the 4G speed, they throttle back your connection for the rest of the month and you will be sending/receiving data at a slower rate.

I’m currently grandfathered in to a much older voice plan with T-Mobile. I have the myFaves 300 plan which gives me 5 numbers I can call on any network (does not take up my monthly minutes) and I can change each of those 5 numbers once a month. I also have unlimited data/texting for my phone which actually means 5GB on the 3G network before I’m throttled back. I pay about the same as what the “Truly Unlimited” plan is being offered for. I get more data usage; of course it’s at the 3G speed instead of 4G.

I also have the Dell Streak 7 tablet with the T-Mobile 4G data plan and I absolutely love the thing. My phone is up for replacement next month so I need to decide whether to get another Android phone, or just go with a phone for the voice plan. Tough decision… Ok, not really, I just need to decide which Android phone I’m going to get. :-D

Dell Streak 7 Tablet

I got the new Streak 7 from T-mobile almost two weeks ago and I'm loving it. The only real drawback is the battery dies quickly with the stock settings. After removing some of the needless Widgets from the home screen, the battery lasts much longer. I'm still learning many of the functions, but so far I'm loving this 7" screen!

Definitely worth the money in my opinion.