Right Now

So - interested in playing Guitar Hero? Right now? On my blog?

Well, here it is...the (Activision) Guitar Hero Widget...(or you can get the code and play it on your blog).



Having trouble? I was too, at first. But try to hit the fret (number) keys before the notes, and strum (Enter) as the note comes across.

Of course, it's not nearly as entertaining as the real thing, and I stick by what I said about half the fun holding the guitar.

Iron Man

To go along with the Iron Man movie release Friday, I may go ahead and stick with that workout from Sunday for a little bit (incorporating "Iron Man" and "Crossroads"). Changing it up once in a while's probably a good idea.

In local news, Monaco Pictures in Huntsville is having an advanced screening of Iron Man tomorrow night, but for two hours before, they're having a Guitar Hero contest - $10 entry fee. I won't be going (I hear you need to play on expert to be able to play at those things). Let me know if you're local and you end up there!

A Little History

Good grief - I've been promising this for a couple weeks and have finally gotten it down.

I've been playing video games since I was a kid - starting out with Pong and Intellivision (ah, memories), and getting more sophisticated as time went by. My game of choice morphing into role playing games, then the first person shooter. I started with Wolfenstein 3D (remember that?) and Doom, and absolutely loved Star Wars: Dark Forces (which, besides spending time eating out and going to movies with my wife are by far the fondest memories I have of grad school). That was starting back in the mid-90s.

But didn't have the chance to play Guitar Hero until a few months ago - this past Christmas Eve. My brother had Guitar Hero III, and hearing that he'd enjoyed playing it, for Christmas, we bought him a (cheap off-brand) second guitar, so we could both play during the holiday. And suddenly, I had the most fun I'd ever had playing a video game. Fortunately, we'd bought the family a Playstation 2 for Christmas. I got rid of my last gaming system - a Playstation - around the time my daughter was born (Julianna - she's now 6). There was no time for it then - but now we can play as a family. And to be honest, the only game I have that I don't play with my daughter is Bard's Tale (ah, back to role playing - fond high school memories of the C64 original), but that one sits on the shelf collecting dust.

So we took some of our Christmas money, bought the Guitar Hero Dual Pack (I and II) and a guitar and had a blast. I tore through Guitar Hero I and II on medium in a couple weekends. My brother let me borrow Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's, and I finished that on medium in about 2 hours.

But, as with all things, your life gets full, and you just don't get to put the time into what you want. I couldn't get my daughter into it (yet) and there wasn't a ton of time for me to play by myself, so I just wasn't playing as much as I wanted. But then, a couple of months ago, I had an idea. A wonderful, awful idea. (Sorry, when I started writing this, Julianna had just read How the Grinch Stole Christmas to me.) What if I got up early, and played every single day, and really rocked out? I'd get some exercise, and I'd be playing more than once every other week. Plus, I could share my experience, writing about it every day.

It took about a month to really talk myself into it. But finally, I took the plunge, jumped in, and here we are. A nice pound less than what I was a month ago, but...

No Time

Ah, the beauty of the busy life and not having any time. Another short workout this morning. The problem with such short workouts is that they're probably nearly as ineffective as not working out at all. At least (I think) there"s something to be said about being persistent and keeping the habit up.

Dirt Cheap

Guitar Hero for under $5?

No wait - it's a cheap knock off. And you download it to you cell phone.

I happened across Guitar Rock Tour (great name - it just rolls off the tongue!) surfing around on my phone one day. It has some of the same songs (I noticed "Message in a Bottle" and "Smoke on the Water"), and you use the number keys on your phone to play the notes.

Not something I'd try - I think part of the fun of Guitar Hero is holding the guitar in your hands. Plus, I don't think it would play well on my Blackjack since the numbers aren't all right together.

Start Me Up

Had to squeeze the workout into my afternoon, after coming in from mowing the lawn, so I cut it a bit short. My daughter (6 years old) wanted to suggest the songs, so I changed it up a bit, too. It's interesting how you can get really get into the fast songs, but you can get a lot more out of slower songs because when you're spending less mental energy trying to keep up, you can expend more energy playing like the Guitar Hero you are (at least in your own mind). I followed up my normal "I Love Rock 'N Roll" with Sabbath's "Iron Man" and Clapton's "Crossroads".

"Put it up to 11"

Yep - I better crank it up a notch. I'm kind of tired of this plateau - especially since it's where I started. This morning I was up for a little while with a sick little boy before I could work out. It allowed me to wake up a little and hit it pretty hard. I may need to just try to get up a little earlier to have some wake-up time before I break out the guitar.

Physical

Maybe today's workout was a bit less working out, and a bit more playing, but it was more activity than sitting on the couch.

Nine Lives

This is interesting - Def Leppard's new album (Songs From The Sparkle Lounge) doesn't come out until Tuesday, but Guitar Hero players got a sneak preview. "Nine Lives," their new single - a collaboration with Tim McGraw (!) - was available for download this past Thursday for Guitar Hero III, along with "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" from Pyromania.

I need to get a system that can download...

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

Friday. Finally.

Maybe I'll have a little more time to work out this weekend and I won't have to cut my it short like I did this morning. Possibly add a song or two and round it out to a nice 30 minutes.

And I do plan to write out a little background on what got me here like I promised last week.

"I got nine lives; steak fries.."

It's too bad they haven't packaged AC/DC in any of the Guitar Hero releases - I'm listening to "Back in Black" and that...well, that would rock. Unfortunately, I've got a lowly PS2 and don't have the luxury of downloading extra songs.

I had a decent workout this morning, but went to Red Robin for lunch for an office birthday. And you can't get a salad at Red Robin. Though I hear they're good.

Obstacles

Another get-up-late-short-workout day.

I wonder if they'll let me cut my work day an hour short so I can get my workouts in.

On Morning Workouts

I was able to forego an afternoon snack today, so didn't completely wash out my morning workout. Still, I'm a night person, so I don't really get going until later in the day and, as I mentioned Sunday, my morning workouts don't have the energy I'd like. I wonder if I got up at 2 or 3 every morning, I'd be awake enough to get into a good workout at 6 am, then be in a great mood for the rest of the day. Of course, I wouldn't relish going to bed around 7 o'clock.

Backward Momentum

My weight's staying pretty consistent. My workouts are good - I've only missed that one day, but I don't think they're enough...I've got to figure out how to get more out of them. That and the fact that I'm struggling to change my eating habits even a little bit are keeping my weight from dropping.

Another Trade Off

I've always heard that working out first thing in the morning before eating is one of the best ways to lose weight. The only problem is that one of the things about trying to exercise right when you wake up, you don't have near the energy you do later in the day. This being a weekend, I was able to work out later - something I don't have time for during the week - and it just feels so much better. I can get into a lot more and it just feels like I've accomplished more when I've finished.