The Gears

I made my move on the chess board. I just simply moved a pawn forward. I will post either a picture or a video of the move(as I have both) soon. I simply don't think me moving one chess piece is enough to warrant any kind of attention, so I will try to get the dogs to do something interesting so I can put something of substance on the channel. I really don't want to flood the channel with spam videos, especially if it's just me responding to what seems to be a haunted chess piece.

Osiris just stares at the streetlight man. For what seems like hours, Osiris looks out that window and watches him. When streetlight man(I will dub him "The Stranger" from now on, as I did in my YouTube video) disappears, Osiris whimpers and comes over to me, acting like I need to explain to him who that weird Stranger is. I informed the police about this guy, but they claim that they never see anyone out there when they do their rounds in the neighborhood. The fact that Osiris can see him too comforts me. It helps me know that I am not just making this up, or hallucinating.

Those dreams people have about falling? Yeah, I am having those now too. The thing is, though, that my dreams aren't about me falling off a tall building or a cliff, but out my own windows. The slow motion style, coupled with immense dread, have overriden my "normal" nightmares of red skies and darkness. My fiancee is getting worried about the increase in my sleep "abnormalities". She took a class to train to become a Sleep Study Technician a while back, and she says that what I am experiencing is not consistent with any "normal" sleep issues, or dream issues.

Gears of War 3. How to review it properly without spoiling the campaign story.... Well, the story isn't much. It's actually the low point in the game for me. The missions are lame, and when you stop to think about what you are truly doing, you become disappointed. That said, the level design is great, the gameplay is top notch and the graphics and sound are wonderful. The battles are a blast, and the scenery is really neat. I guess I will make a small spoiler here, and speak of the horrors of going through 7 chapters that are entirely about getting gasoline. No, I am not kidding. Of course, you will have a fun time doing it, but to me, the epic(no pun intended) ending to a trilogy like this needs to be about more than a glorified fetch quest. The multiplayer shines in this installment. The weapons feel more balanced, and even I, a pretty average to below average multiplayer gamer in Gears of War 1 and 2, found myself playing well in this new multiplayer. Horde mode got a face lift, and now features boss battles and allows you to build fortifications. The new Beast mode is a ton of fun, where the players assume the role of the locust and attack the humans for a change. It is definitely worth a look. Wrapping up this short review, I would say that the groundwork laid in the first two installments really comes to life in this last one, apart from the story. The controls are tight, the game strikes a great balance in difficulty and now there is even a 4 player co-op feature. To me, this game is a must buy.

The Stillness

The man outside the window under the streetlight hasn't moved. He is still there, every night. He doesn't move. Ever. He just stands there. I decided to play an opening move on the chess board. I doubt that anything will happen, but I'll do it anyway, because I want "the last word". The piece has moved back to it's location every time I tried to move it. I am going to move a pawn of my own. Whether or not I will upload a video of such a mundane thing is still up in the air. 

I've spent the majority of the last week playing Gears of War 3. I have been trying to escape the nightmares, forget about the streetlight man, and overall just feel better. I will do a move detailed write-up and review on the game with my next entry.

Pixi did something interesting today. She needed a bath, so I turned on the water, and let the tub begin to fill a bit. Then, she jumped in on her own! I was surprised, because she hates water(why, I'll never understand) and doesn't much care for baths. She was also good for the entire bath, another oddity. I won't complain though, and I will take my victories where I can get them.

Sorry about another short update, I promise the next one will be longer, even without a full Gears of War 3 review.

The Standing

A man has appeared outside the last few days. He is under the streetlight, just standing there, and not doing anything. When a car comes by, he disappears. I haven't tried capturing him on camera yet, I will try tonight to get him on film. He doesn't move, he just stands there. He wasn't there before I uploaded the Pawn video.

The pawn itself moved back. I have decided to play a move myself. I haven't decided on how to open yet, so I am going to wait and think of what strategy to employ.

Osiris' is really sick. I am sorry the posts haven't been longer. I have to take care of him. Hopefully I get that guy on camera and can upload a video tomorrow or Wednesday.

The Opener

Something happened when I said goodbye to my fiancee last night. I caught it(somewhat) on video, and I will post the video tonight if all goes well with my day.

UPDATE: I left the camera in my fiancee's car. The video is still on the camera. I won't be able to upload until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.

UPDATE 2: The video is now up on the Osiris Chronicles YouTube.

The Flu

Like every story on the news, it seems like the story about abducted children has been overblown. While 3 children have been abducted in the last 2 weeks, it isn't exactly an alarming number, if you consider the reality that children will get abducted and the timing is just a coincidence. No one has even seen the potential abductor, the parents have all said that their kid was outside, one on the way home from school, one was taken while playing outside in the front yard of the family house, and the other one simply wandered into the wooded area of a local park, and was never found. I have doubts that the last one was taken, I think she just may have had an unfortunate run in with a bear or something. I think the news outlets simply want to lump this kid in with the other ones to make the story even more dramatic.

I have a bad flu. It started when I woke up today. My head pounded and felt heavy. After pumping myself with fluids and grabbing a bite to eat it isn't as bad, but definitely not good. I don't remember eating any bad foods lately, or being around anyone  that could have made me feel so sick. Aside from getting food and drink, I have been in bed all day. Crappy day, hopefully it gets better soon. I hope I get better before I go to sleep, I know that flu nightmares are horrible.

Osiris has hip dysplasia. It's supposed to be something older dogs gets, but he got it young, possibly because he was overweight in his youth and traversed a lot of stairs. We can elect to get him surgery or to get him a wheelchair. Both options are expensive, and neither of them are perfect. I don't know what to do about it. I am more happy to be making this video series about him than ever before. It does seem, however, that ever since I've started doing this that things have progessively gotten worse.

The Abductions

There are reports on the news. Children are going missing. Every local telecast has been talking non stop about it. They are giving tips to parents about watching out for their children. They advise, that even if the stranger is dressed in a nice suit, it doesn't mean he can be trusted. I guess kids are trained to think bad people only dress in grungy clothes. It isn't much of a stretch to think an abductor can dress nicely to give children a false sense of security. That was the only part that stands out to me. The rest of the tips, including the "strangers with candy" the "vans" and all that jazz is such staple advice that I wish they'd discontinue, only because parents should not need the news to tell their kids that for them. It's common sense, and parents should already know about it. Oddball things, like the abductor's dress, is comething most people don't think of. We need that more if we want these abductions to stop. I'll post more details as I learn of them.

Osiris will be going to the vet on wednesday for his hip. I hope it is a simple leg break, and they'll cast him up, and he'll be back in god shape in a couple weeks. He just won't sit still, and it frustrates me that he won't just calm down and rest. He is a trooper though, and still wants to play and run around. It melts my heart. I hope that I can help him and he'll be the active and happy dog that I know him as.

Battlefied Bad Company 2(BBC2) is a great game. In preparation of the launch of the new Battlefield 3, I decided to finally pick up BBC2. This game is solid. The game plays silky smooth and the controls feel natural as soon as you get used to them. The environments are almost totally destructable, which is a neat feature. Almost every building can be blown up, and that is something new to the first person shooter genre. The storyline is solid, nothing too special, but it is servicable. The level design is actually really something special. While yes, most of it is a straight forward game, there are levels like the blizzard level that changes up the pace in a really enjoyable way. The graphics are amazing, and although the game plays at 30 frames per second, it isn't bogged down in any way by the action on the screen. Overall, BBC2 is a great game, that really got me excited for the upcoming Battlefield 3, which, unfortunately, is not a sequel to BBC2, but a sequel to 2005's PC Battlefield 2.

The Upbeat

Today a couple of our friends, Lynn and Charlie, came over, promising to treat us to pizza. I needed a break from the routine of questioning reality, so naturally, we went to Pizza Hut. I brought the camera, so naturally, I have footage. It was a good day, so it was easy to be comfortable, and at ease. I feel like uploading something upbeat again, after the unsettling Nightmare video. In regards to the Nightmare video, why did YouTube make it look letterbox? I haven't watched the YouTube version all the way, because the letterbox look the uploaded video throws a lot into doubt for me. Is YouTube taunting my perception? I haven't looked through the footage, but I don't feel much like I need to. I'll upload it as soon as my fiancee is done using the camera.

Osiris and Pixi are dirty. They need baths. Trouble is, neither of them like baths very much, so getting them to jump in and get clean is a chore in and of itself. Pixi smells worse though, so I may tackle that chore first. I wish we had a fence so I could just hose them down.

The rope toys are gone. The dogs liked those a little too much. They made their feelings known by destroying the jack made out of tennis ball. It's not our fault they eat the rope material, so they shouldn't look at us when we quit buying them rope toys. It is my hope that they will just accept the new toys from here on out instead of showing their displeasure with their current batch. That jack toy is over 3 years old and just now they ripped it apart. Not cool.

I'm going to keep the video game reviews coming along. I will give my thoughts on Resistance 3 and Dead Island when they launch, and then I will do a Gears of War 3 review. No reviews for October, unless I can put Battlefield 3 down long enough to do a write up on it. November will see an Uncharted 3 review, Modern Warfare 3 and Saint's Row 3. As you can tell, the number "3" is a big one this holiday season. In my next blog, I will do a review of Battlefield Bad Company 2. I'm a bit late to the Battlefield party, but hopefully a review now may add even more interest to Battlefield 3. If I decide that a newer, more relevent to today, game is more worthy, I will review that instead.