Monthly Archives: November 2009

PS3 Review: WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010

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Posted by Rob on November 25, 2009 – 3:47 pm
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svr20101

I always start off these reviews by saying this…I am no longer a fan of the WWE (I stopped following it in about 2001 or so, back when it was still the WWF). I do not watch it during the week, I don’t follow it online. All I know about whats going on in the WWE is based on each edition of Smackdown vs. Raw that comes out, so my knowledge is generally limited. That being said, I LOVE playing the Smackdown vs. Raw games (to hearby be referred to as SvR), and I tend to purchase the newest edition each year. Normally, there are some minor changes every year, but this years edition (2010) surpasses them all, and I think it is safe to say that SvR 2010 is the best wrestling game ever made.

I guess I will start with the actual in-ring gameplay. SvR 2010 now allows each wrestler to perform 16 strong grapples, as opposed to the old school 8, which means that each wrestler now has a move set that is twice as large. You use the right analog to perform a quick grapple, which is usually a cheesy weak move that wont do much damage, but is a great way to get in a cheap shot (usually a punch, kick, elbow, or quick takedown.) Then if you hold R1 while using the right analog, you will initiate a strong grapple. These are the big, devastating moves such as power bombs, choke slams, suplexes, DDTs, and all that other good stuff. Depending on the direction you push the right analog will result in different holds. For example, R1 and left on the analog will initiate a wrist hold, and R1 and up will start an up-close true wrestler grapple. Once the grapple is initiated, pushing the right analog in any of the four basic directions will result in a different move being performed. So that’s where you get your 16 moves from…four different grapple holds, and four moves for each grapple. You can assign which moves you want for each hold from a menu screen, and there are literally hundreds of moves to choose from. Oh, and lets not forget the grounded grapple moves. When an opponent is lying on the mat, you will be able to perform up to six different moves, depending on where you are standing (head, side, or legs), and if he is lying on his back or face-first.
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Book Review- The Life of Billy Yank and The Life of Johnny Reb

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Posted by Rob on November 25, 2009 – 3:34 pm
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lifebillyyank lifejohnnyreb

The have spent the last couple of weeks reading The Life of Billy Yank and The Life of Johnny Reb, both written by Bell Irvin Wiley. Both books focus on the life of the common soldiers of the Union and Confederacy during the Civil War. While it does discuss their actions in battle to a small extent, the majority of the books pertain to the soldiers lives outside of battle. I enjoyed reading both books, and will be writing my final paper comparing the two books for my AHIS 603 Civil War class.

I initially read Billy Yank because I had to give an oral presentation on a book about the Civil War. After reading Subdued by the Sword by James Grenier, I realized how interested I was in the life of the common soldier. I decided to read Billy Yank since my professor recommended it as being an essential book in getting to understand what the soldiers went through on a daily basis. I finished reading the book within three days, and really enjoyed it. Wiley uses letters and diary entries to paint a picture of how the soldiers spent their days, and I found it to be a very well written, fascinating read. After reading Billy Yank, I went out and purchased Johnny Reb so that I could read it as well.
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HS Student Teaching: Day Fifty-Three

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Posted by Rob on November 25, 2009 – 3:30 pm
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Today was the last day of my student teaching. I still have about two weeks of college classes left, but at least the daily grind is over for the time being!

I had bought my teacher some Civil War books as a thank you present. He was a great mentor, and I learned a lot from him. He encouraged me to treat the class as if it was my own, and I was able to do anything I wanted. I had heard horror stories from other student teachers whose teachers were pretty restrictive, which led to them having a bad experience.

I also spoke briefly with the head of the Social Studies Department, so that he could give me some advice on interviewing and my portfolio. He was a little help, but I realized that each district has different hiring policies, and some schools look for things that others don’t, or emphasize some things more than others. Still, he gave me some really basic information that should be helpful.

Overall, it was a good experience, and I am now totally confident that I would be successful in my own classroom.

The Upcoming Winter Games ’09

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Posted by Rob on November 24, 2009 – 5:25 pm
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<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> One of my only regrets about moving to Albany was leaving behind my friend Steve. When I lived at home, we would get together at least once a week for “game night”, where we would eat junk food, drink crazy energy drinks, and play PS3 and Wii until 1:00AM or later. Once I moved, it became harder to do. We play games online occasionally, but its difficult to find the time to meet up, and when we do the voice chat is sometimes buggy, and we waste a lot of gaming time getting situated. So when we do get to hang out in person and play, we play big time.

Last year we had something I called “Winter Fight Night”, where during my winter break I came down to visit, and we got our game on. I had printed up an excel list of games to play, and we kept track of who won what. Basically it was a night of competitive gaming. But we have always enjoyed playing co-op games more than competitive games.

Anywho, we have set a date for this year’s gaming night, and I am thus calling it “Winter Games ‘09”. He will be coming up on a Thursday and staying until Saturday, so that will give us basically three nights of gaming goodness. We haven’t played much at all online this Fall/Winter due to my hectic student teaching schedule and workload, but now that it will be over, we will be able to enjoy not only more online gaming, but can take time out to actually hang out and game in person. Im looking forward to getting my game on in the first time in a long time.

HS Student Teaching: Day Fifty-Two

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Posted by Rob on November 24, 2009 – 5:23 pm
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Today was another boring day. Just like yesterday there were only two classes, so the rest of the day dragged. I read a little of my book, and spent the rest of the time writing up blogs. I can write my blogs in word, and then when I get home I copy and paste them to notepad, and from notepad I copy and paste to my actual blog.

Tomorrow is the last day of my student teaching. I bought my teacher two books that I think he will enjoy, as a way of thanking him for all the help and guidance he gave me the past few months. After tomorrow I am free to sit home and relax, until I find a job.

HS Student Teaching: Day Fifty-One

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Posted by Rob on November 24, 2009 – 5:22 pm
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Today was a pretty slow day. The AP kids have meetings at Guidance today and tomorrow, so there are only two classes during the day. The 11-3 kids are watching Dances with Wolves this week, so at least that’s something to do during those two classes. The rest of the time I spent getting college work done.

I had to fill out a survey about my teacher and District Supervisor, and I also had to write up an evaluation on both of them. I had to write an 8 page essay in which I pretty much reflected on how the student teaching experience was, and compared it to last semesters placement at the middle school. I took advantage of my teacher’s printer and printed up all these papers, to save my home printer paper and ink. To kill the rest of the time, I read more of my Life of Johnny Reb book.

There are only two days left. I don’t know what Im going to do these next couple of days, but once its over I will be mighty happy.

HS Student Teaching: Day Fifty

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Posted by Rob on November 24, 2009 – 5:20 pm
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I spent my day completing my portfolio. I had a hard time developing a lesson plan for 9th grade and for economics, but I came up with some ideas to make some interesting, engaging lessons. I finished printing everything up at the school, so I think that part is set.

I also started the process of applying to be a substitute teacher. Upon graduation in December, I can begin to look for a substitute teaching job. To do this, I have to register with the local BOCES building. Once I make my way onto their lists, I am pretty much on call daily to fill a job at any of the schools near the capital district (I think the furthest school is an hour away.)

So that’s how I spent my day…basically getting stuff done for college and beyond. I don’t know what Im going to do tomorrow. I have some papers I have to write for college, so I might just do that.

How I Spent My Saturday

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Posted by Rob on November 22, 2009 – 2:07 am
Filed under Books, Movies, My Personal Life, TV Shows, Video Games
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Shell went to a friends house today, so I was on my own for the afternoon and night. I kept quite busy during this time. Heres what I did (in no particular order):

  • Watched Simpsons Season 11
  • Watched Boondock Saints off the PS3(never saw it before…was a really great film)
  • Worked on my portfolio
  • Played WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010
  • Played Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
  • Did three loads of laundry (mine, Shell’s, and the linens)
  • Took out all the garbage and recyclables
  • Read some of The Life of Johnny Reb
  • Talked to my mom and sister on the phone

So yeah, I got quite a bit done. I like to do some little chores around the house when Im home alone so that I dont get accused of playing games the entire time, so I break up my relaxing time with more productive things. Today was a good day to just unwind and relax. I enjoyed my day off.

Perplexed by Assassin’s Creed

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Posted by Rob on November 20, 2009 – 7:17 am
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I rented Assassin’s Creed, and within the first five minutes I was confused as all heck. I thought the game was about some assassin guy in like the old times. However, the game starts off with this futuristic/computer feel, and before you know it the first characters introduced are all from modern times.

As the story goes, scientists have discovered how to trace a person’s heritage through his/her genes, and can use a machine to view these images from the past. So it appears to me that the game revolves around a guy from now “remembering” the actions of one of his ancestors as he runs about some Middle Eastern kingdom and kills Templar knights.

Its a very odd game so far, and I dont know how I feel about it. It hasnt hooked me yet, and I am not a fan of the controls. I’ll give it some more time before I make a real decision on it.

HS Student Teaching: Day Forty-Nine

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Posted by Rob on November 20, 2009 – 6:47 am
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I spent my day completing my portfolio. I had a hard time developing a lesson plan for 9th grade and for economics, but I came up with some ideas to make some interesting, engaging lessons. I finished printing everything up at the school, so I think that part is set.

I also started the process of applying to be a substitute teacher. Upon graduation in December, I can begin to look for a substitute teaching job. To do this, I have to register with the local BOCES building. Once I make my way onto their lists, I am pretty much on call daily to fill a job at any of the schools near the capital district (I think the furthest school is an hour away.)

So that’s how I spent my day…basically getting stuff done for college and beyond. I don’t know what Im going to do tomorrow. I have some papers I have to write for college, so I might just do that.

HS Student Teaching: Day Forty-Eight

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Posted by Rob on November 18, 2009 – 6:44 pm
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Today was my first day of freedom. While my teacher did his thing, I either watched and listened, or worked on my portfolio. Now that its getting closer and closer to get into the job market, Ive been having to start creating a portfolio, which I will bring along with me to interviews. Its actually a requirement for my Thursday night class, which is good, since its something I can use after to help me get a job.

Once I get some feedback on my portfolio from him, I am going to bring it to one of the teachers at the school Im student teaching at for further advice. He might give me a mock interview too, so I get a feel for how the process is and what kind of questions I will be asked.

The portfolio contains quite a few things…my resume, my philosophy of education, references, a unit plan, and several additional lesson plans. All the lesson plans also include all the worksheets, quizzes, and tests that go along with it. It’s a lot of work, and is definitely going to be over 75 pages long in the end. To break up the monotiny of working on that, I have also been reading Johnny Reb, a book about the life of the common Confederate soldier during the Civil War.

HS Student Teaching: Day Forty-Seven

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Posted by Rob on November 17, 2009 – 7:42 pm
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Per. 3

Class went very well today, especially for being my last class teaching them. I started the class by collecting their DBQs. After that, I jumped right into the lecture. Since the test is tomorrow, I couldn’t waste any time whatsoever, so I skipped the intro question.

I was able to get through all the material I needed to. I finished up the Compromise of 1850 about 30 seconds before the bell rang. I covered quite a bit of ground there, and was happy that I accomplished the goal of finishing up the unit. I also started the class by backtracking from yesterday, and reviewing the beginnings of the Mexican War, which is what had the kids confused. I used two different maps to drive this point home. One thing I noticed is that I use maps a lot more these days, and I refer to them quite often even when talking about things that are not necessarily important.
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Our Weekend in New Hampshire

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Posted by Rob on November 17, 2009 – 6:32 am
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Shell and I went up to New Hampshire to visit my aunt and uncle living up there. They moved there several years ago, but I had never had the chance to go. I was always busy working or at school and could not get the time to go. We were planning on going in the summer, but then decided it might be a nicer trip if we waited until the Fall. It proved to be a good time.

The entire weekend I had my eyes peeled for either moose, bear, or Wood Devils. I had seen bear three times, but always for a brief second or two, and I always want to see more bear. I had never seen a moose in the wild, and was really hoping to. Unfortunately, I did not get to see any wildlife aside from some squirrels, but the rest of the weekend went well.
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The Next Simpsons Season on DVD is…20?!

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Posted by Rob on November 16, 2009 – 11:08 pm
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So I went on amazon today to see when the next Simpsons season (13) was going to be released on DVD. While I did not find a listing for season 13, I did find a listing for season 20, which apparently comes out in January. If you’re too lazy to click the link and see for yourself, heres a pic of the box art:

thesimpsons_s20_dvd

All I can say is, what the hell is Fox smoking?! I have been patiently waiting to collect all the seasons. They were doing a good job initially, dishing out two seasons a year. Then they lost a year with the release of the Simpsons Movie, and since then have been slacking. And now they pull this load of crap…instead of releasing the next chronological season (being 13), they are skipping right ahead to 20. So why am I upset?

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Surprised to Get my Next Gamefly Game Today

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Posted by Rob on November 16, 2009 – 8:11 pm
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This morning I checked my Gamefly queue, and sure enough they had not noted that they had received Dragon Age: Origins, which I mailed back Thursday morning. I thought it was taking a long time, but then I came to the realization that it is indeed Gamefly and they sometimes take forever to receive mail.

So I get home from my college class, and waiting for me in the mail is my next Gamefly game, The Beatles Rock Band. I was extremely perplexed. Not only had my queue not mentioned this this morning, but I never got an e-mail informing me that they had shipped the game. I went to my queue, and sure enough Dragon Age was now marked as being received via the “Fast Return”, and that The Beatles had been shipped. Mind you, this was not the case this morning. So within one day they changed my queue to acknowledge that the post office was in the process of returning Dragon Age, and that they had shipped out The Beatles…all on the same day I received the game itself!

Now Im not complaining one bit, but Im just perplexed at this. Basically Gamefly received my old game, shipped out the new game, and I received the new game all within four postal days (Thursday I sent it in, Friday, Saturday, and then received the game Monday). That is a new record, and Im pleased as punch! I just wish that I was more informed so I knew what was going on…

HS Student Teaching: Day Forty-Six

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Posted by Rob on November 16, 2009 – 8:04 pm
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Per. 3

The class went pretty well today, but I think I might have been going through material to fast for them, and they might have been getting confused. I started the class by handing out their DBQ assignment, which is an essay they have to do at home tonight and hand in tomorrow. I then started the class by asking a basic question to get them thinking, and then went on to the lecture.

The classes are all about a day or two behind. They should have taken their test on this unit last Friday, but because I was covering material at a slow pace, we got behind. The test had to be Wednesday, so I was intent on getting through as much material as possible so that I could accomplish this goal. I think I might have gone a bit too far and covered too much ground, because towards the end of class the students were looking confused.
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HS Student Teaching: Day Forty-Five

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Posted by Rob on November 16, 2009 – 8:01 pm
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Per. 3

The class went pretty good today. I started by foreshadowing the upcoming election (1840) by having them brainstorm the strengths and weaknesses of Martin Van Burin. After that, I asked them to figure out how the Whig party (opposed to Van Burin) could create a campaign similar to Andrew Jackson’s.

After that introduction of sorts, I dove in to the material. I wasn’t sure how much I would cover today, but I covered less than I anticipated. I wanted to get through the annexation of Texas, but didn’t even start it. I got the class pretty far behind, and I have to fly through material now to make it through to the end.
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Getting My Second $25 Gamestop Gift Card

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Posted by Rob on November 13, 2009 – 7:47 pm
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I mentioned a few months ago that I received a $25 gift card from Gamestop for completing online surveys from a third party company. Well today I accumulated enough points for a second $25 gift card, which is on its way.

I received my last gift card in September, and used it to buy Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. So I will be getting this next one by the end of November. Thats like a $25 gift card every two months! I dont know what to get next, though my eye has been on Dragon Age:Origins and Buzz Quiz! TV.

I just want to thank Gamestop again for this awesome opportunity to get free games!!!

Getting Bogged Down

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Posted by Rob on November 12, 2009 – 11:10 pm
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Well with only a few weeks left in the semester, its crunch time. I have a lot of work ahead of me, not just for student teaching but for my college classes as well. I came home from my 12-hour day today pretty burned out. I should have used the two hours to get some stuff done, but instead I crashed on the couch in a heap. The fact that I have had a raging headache the whole day doesnt help either.

Just two more weeks…

Movie Review: GI Joe: Rise of Cobra

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Posted by Rob on November 12, 2009 – 9:46 pm
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gi-joe

I was never a fan of the GI Joe cartoon show or toys growing up. I don’t know why…I think I just liked other things. Regardless, because of this, I watched GI Joe with having no expectations. Well actually just one…I didn’t want it to be corny or lame. While the movie was not lame, it had some corny moments that I did not particularly enjoy, and I will admit I was a bit nervous and skeptical.

My nervousness kicked in early, as the first scene of the movie takes place in France in the 1600s. While I was not a fan of the TV series, I still knew the more popular characters, and I quickly recognized the mask of Destro. I was a bit concerned by this because I didn’t want to see some kind of immortal-like figure that’s been plotting revenge for centuries. My fears were put away to a degree later on when I saw that it was instead his great-great-great-great grandson instead, but I still felt it was kind of weird for his family to be holding a grudge this long.
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