"The U" Gets Chomped

Here's an interesting little piece of news out of Gainesville this weekend. While everyone was in Hoover, Alabama for SEC Media Days worrying about Tim Tebow's virginity, trying to solve the mystery of who left Tebow off the preseason All-SEC ballot, or discussing Nick Saban possibly having to wear LSU colors for a movie role, UF had a high school football camp on Friday Night appropriately called "Friday Night Lights." While the biggest news is that Urban Meyer landed running back recruit Mack Brown, who committed to the Gators after the camp ended, another noteworthy story involves Jacksonville native Tavadis Glenn. Glenn went to Terry Parker last year and will be attending Raines in the fall. The DT prospect has already committed to Miami but decided to go to the UF camp anyways. At one point during the camp, Glenn threw up "the U" in celebration of a play. The UF coaching staff took note of this and quickly let him know that he could watch from the sidelines for the rest of the camp, effectively booting him from the field.

A lot of Miami people are upset about this. However, if a recruit who has already made a solid commitment to UF were to attend a Miami camp, do you not think the same reaction would come from Miami if that recruit did the chomp in the camp? It's one thing for a player to get excited and taunt some of the other players who he's playing with, but it's another thing to taunt everyone at the camp, including the staff that is putting the camp on. You just can't do that in the midst of the Swamp and expect for there not to be backlash. I'm sure Glenn will fit right in with his future Miami teammates.

Buy a car, get an AK-47

You've seen them before in your own hometown. Test drive a car, get a Florida Gators window flag. Buy an SUV, get a set of golf clubs. Purchase a brand new sedan, get a free iPod. But perhaps the greatest promotion I've ever seen is happening at Max Motors in Butler, MO, just outside of Kansas City. Buy a car, get a free AK-47. Yes, you read that right. If you buy a new car at Max Motors, you receive a $450 voucher to take to your local gun store and redeem it for an AK-47 assault rifle. The best part about this promotion is that it's clearing out his inventory. He told Fox News that he was "going to run out of cars" because so many people are buying from him. Within the next 2 days he has 19 people flying in to buy a car from him simply because he's giving away guns with his cars. In the midst of an economic recession that is crushing American car dealers, Max Muller has found the solution: arm people when they buy a car.

Whatever happened to swine flu?

Remember a few months ago when the media and Joe Biden had everyone fearing the H1N1 virus? We were told that it was going to turn into a pandemic of epic proportions, that you shouldn't leave your house without a face mask on, and that you should prepare for the worst. Schools were going to shut down, businesses were going to close, and an already ailing economy was going to come to a standstill as people stayed home to try to stay healthy.

So what happened to all that? Within only 2 weeks or so the media moved on and Joe Biden started flying on airplanes again. There have been only 5 fatalities in the U.S. because the virus reacts to Tamiflu, the current seasonal flu vaccine. More people have died from the seasonal flu this year than from swine flu and people no longer are afraid of the "pandemic." Just another example of overblown hype from the media. Most likely Michael Jackson's death will follow suit to the swine flu story; within another week or so no one will care.

My Most Anticipated X-Box 360 Games

Part of the reason for me starting this blog was to be able to make posts like this. Facebook Notes absolutely suck for doing things like this, so now I'm here.

With the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) behind us, I have seen quite a bit of previews for upcoming X-Box 360 games, and I am excited about more than I can afford. I'm almost certain that these are all expected to be released within the next year with most coming before the Christmas season. These are in no particular order and include a link to a video.

Splinter Cell: Conviction

I've never played a Splinter Cell game before and have never had much desire to. This game, however, looks incredible. From what little bit I do know about previous Splinter Cell games, they were based completely on stealth and if you were detected, then it was game over. This, however, takes after what the developer calls "the 3 JB's: James Bond, Jack Bauer, and Jason Bourne" and has Sam Fisher looking like Liam Neeson did in Taken. To get a feel for how this game is set-up, you really should check out the video to see some of the cool things that Sam can do. Splinter Cell: Conviction should be out before the Christmas holidays.

Modern Warfare 2

What can I say? The first was incredible with an addictive multiplayer that I still play today and the campaign was fantastic. This is by far the most anticipated game in recent history due to the success of the first and the improvements that are coming. Missions on snowmobiles are confirmed, and there's supposedly some underwater missions as well. I'm looking forward to the single player more than anything because of how much I enjoyed the story and realism of the first. They've apparently fixed the enemy's spawning habits so that you no longer have to reach an invisible trip wire to end the infinitely spawning enemies (those who played the first know what I'm talking about). I'm sure the multiplayer will be awesome too but it will probably be much of the same structure with new weapons, maps, and perks. Modern Warfare 2 is scheduled to be released on November 10th of this year.

Assassin's Creed 2

I recently played the first one, and it was pretty average. The concept behind it was good, but the execution of the idea behind the game wasn't that great. It was good for the first few hours, but after that it got repetitive really fast. With AC2, the developers are looking to fix the issues from the first so we can play as a true assassin and not spend our time running through towns with our sword out in combat instead of remaining with a low profile. There will be no more "investigations" such as eavesdropping and pickpocketing and the missions will be more structured, helping to cut down on the repetitive and mind-numbing tasks that made the first a forgetful experience. Ubisoft must have realized that sitting on a bench and listening to a person talk doesn't make for very exciting gameplay. New story structure, new AI and new assassination methods (such as the double-face stab) will help make playing as a Renaissance assassin much more believable and enjoyable than playing as Altair in the Crusades was. Now if only they'd drop the back story about Desmond using the "Animus" to relive these memories about his assassin ancestors... Expect AC2 in stores in time for Christmas.

Bioshock 2

The first Bioshock was creepy to say the least. Yet with it's dark story and setting, it's probably one of the best games ever made. The FPS with RPG elements played well together and was backed by an engrossing environment and an equally engrossing story. From the very opening scene featuring Andrew Ryan's "Welcome to Rapture" clip, you knew you were getting into a game that was going to be truly fantastic. That being said, it's hard to follow a near-perfect performance, and that's exactly what Bioshock 2 is trying to do. In this game you play as the first Big Daddy in Rapture many years before the events of the first Bioshock. Similar to how the previous game ended, you'll be able to take on and protect a Little Sister as she collects Adam from Rapture's fallen splicers. There's a new enemy that makes a formidable opponent for the Big Daddy, and that's the Big Sister. Also, the Big Daddy can make his way outside the walls of Rapture and venture into the sea with no problems. Hopefully the follow-up will fit right in with the original or else it will be just another sequel that failed to improve on it's first take. Also there will be a multiplayer that will tell a separate story than the campaign that will be focused on the fall of Rapture as it's residents began to tear eachother apart. Bioshock 2 is scheduled to be released on November 3rd of this year. Edit: The release date has been changed to sometime in early 2010.

Halo 3: ODST

I'm going to be honest: for some reason I'm just not as excited about this game as most people are. Part of that may be that I really enjoy the stories that video games tell and the only Halo I've played is Halo 3 which is the end of the series. I know how it ends and I have an idea of how it begins, but I have yet to play the first or second game and therefore am missing a lot of the story that is told throughout the Halo series. Someday I'll give them a go just to be able to put the trilogy together. That being said, I'll probably still get ODST and play it since it's Halo and it is the most recognizable franchise on X-Box and always has a solid multiplayer experience. Halo 3: ODST takes place before the events of Halo 3 and puts you in the shoes of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) who is separated from his squad and has to fend for himself in the open world of New Mombasa where many events in Halo 3 take place. Halo 3: ODST "drops" on September 22nd.

Mass Effect 2

I'm not as excited about this game as some of the others, but this game is still a good bit from being completed and I have yet to play through the original a second time. I enjoyed Mass Effect and loved the way the dialogue was played out seamlessly with the short responses that became full thoughts as Shepard spoke. Once I play through it again and uncover every nook and cranny like I did with my second Fallout 3 playthrough, then I'll be ready for the sequel. Perhaps the most intriguing part about ME2 is the way that the first game will effect the story of the second. If you killed off a main character in ME then you can expect to not see them in ME2. That means that the way you ended the first game will directly effect how the second game begins and plays out. This will apparently continue through ME3 as well, meaning that if you truly want to see a different ending to the trilogy then you'll have to play through all 3 games again. This is a very intriguing concept that has never been done before but may not have as great of an effect on the ending of the second and third games as many think. After 3 games the decisions will really be piling up and I doubt there will be more than a few possible endings despite the numerous decisions that will lead up to the conclusions. ME2 most likely will be released in early 2010.

Alan Wake

I hadn't heard of this game until right before E3 and it apparently has been in development for a very long time and many thought that it had turned into vaporware. Instead, Alan Wake made it's first appearance at E3 and will definitely be released sometime next year. The gameplay demo likened to a Resident Evil feel with the zombie-like people, seemingly limited ammo supplies (the player in the demo runs out of ammo quite quickly), and all around dark and eery environment. While it's still a long time before it will be released, E3 showed that it has some definite potential. Expect to see Alan Wake sometime during the middle of next year.

I guess I'm a blogger now.

Well, I never really cared much for blogging. I've read a number of blogs before and have stumbled across some while perusing the web for various reasons but there isn't really a blog that I consistently follow. Well, actually, that's not true.

My brother got me into Pearls Before Swine, a newspaper comic strip about a community of animals that include a warm-hearted yet dull-minded Pig, a pompous Rat, a wise Goat, and a Zebra who is constantly trying to keep from being eaten by his dumb-witted neighbors the Crocs. Anyways, the strip's creator, Stephan Pastis, has a blog that I have bookmarked and periodically check. It often-times has nothing to do with the strip whatsoever and instead often features a humorous story right out of his everyday life. Basically he posts whatever he feels like at the time and occasionally will throw in a comment about a recent strip or take suggestions for creating new merchandise.

Since I am by no means famous and have no reason to attract readers besides my friends and family (and I don't even expect a courtesy-read from them; perhaps my girlfriend will be the only person to bookmark it, and that may be only after I do it myself on her computer), I intend on posting whatever I feel like posting. At least early on, there will be no structure or time-schedule as to when and what I post. Perhaps it will evolve into something better, or perhaps I'll do it for a week and never post again. I just wanted to have a place where I could create well-written and structured posts about whatever it is I decide to post, whether it be computer help, phone tips/tricks (like I've been doing on MyBlackjack2.com under the username zman2100 for a year now), politics, video games, Christianity, sports, comic strips, UF, movies, current events, you name it.

That being said, there may be certain posts that will bore you to tears. Do not be discouraged. My idea for my first real post will turn some away immediately (it will probably involve video games) but hopefully some of you will continue to read even after a topic is discussed that you couldn't care less about.

So with that, I introduce to you Zach's Blog.