Sleepypete's Pillow

I was heavily into the original Super Mario Brothers, and the really old Tetris that used real Russian background music and had cheerleaders for when you achieved a level, but now I’m more into Bookworm and Snood.

I’m here from Michele’s. Game on!

I used to be hugely addicted to games, far too many of my waking hours were devoted to seeing more of computer games and even some of the sleeping hours too. Recently though, I’m seeing games as far too much effort and a bit of a waste of time too.

I think I’ve been having a gradual realisation of that waste of time aspect, plus the multiplayer games like World of Warcraft let me compare myself to all of the other players. A year or so ago when the first WoW expansion came out, I suffered a huge amount of frustration because working hours meant I couldn’t keep up with all of the other players out there. My highly charged competitive instincts were wanting me to be the first at everything and having a job meant I simply couldn’t be the first to do anything in the expansion. Not enough hours in the day and all that.

Nowadays, I’m still comparing myself to the other players but I’m realising that they’re treating an online game as something more important than their job. The game actually becomes their full time job. However, they aren’t earning money through their ingame endeavours, at least not money that can be spent in the real world. The addicts are also descending into that fantasy world, losing parts of themselves in the process.

Today, I had a good few uncommitted hours where I could have buried my head in a game but I found myself quickly coming out of Baldur’s Gate 2 with thoughts of “I really can’t be bothered slogging through this.” Perhaps another of those ‘if you’re not enjoying the game, why are you playing it?’ moments. Games tend to require effort for a reward of a one dimensional predictable experience, whereas a good book is relaxing and fun. My main PC with all the best games on it has actually been off for 2 days when it’s usually on 100% of the time.

Maybe I am gamed-out (if there is such a term!). That won’t be a bad thing, as getting out from behind the pooter desk will allow me to :
Do much neglected housework
Put the fence panel up again
Allow my eyes to see a little more than 18 inches to the monitor screen
Get some reading done
Not aggravate my RSI by being hunched over a keyboard

And probably most importantly, let me focus on real world stuff instead of going to bed with my mind racing on options for improving my in game characters. Time for the oven to go on and for me to relax in front of a dvd with my dinner, instead of pummelling my brain thinking of ways to beat a game.

PS New stuff still gets my interest, I’ve probably just seen a little too much of the normal formula.

[chuckle] I try to avoid the NHS as if they have the plague 😉 (too many stories about MRSA … but also knowing of people who come out of hospital worse than when they went in)

Lol – I just like sneaky ways of doing things or methods that are completely different from how everyone else does things. I can be orthodox when I need to be but different is more fun 🙂

Thanks for the visit 🙂

I’m not here via Michele. I trust that’s acceptable.

I suppose a hot water compress would be too difficult to use then? I know I’m an American and we hear things about the NHS, but have your English people really run out of hot water?

Bugger.

I will pray for you.

Cheers.

Could well be – ice packs could close down the jugular or carotid, meaning less blood getting to the head … Never a good thing 😉

Never really liked the idea of using ice packs – the ice deadens pain but that deadening means you’re more likely to aggravate what you’ve just injured.

Maybe you shouldn’t use ice packs on the neck because of the jugular vein being there?

Michele sent me back, Sleepypete; I couldn’t get here earlier, due to blogger’s being down.

I too love pizza and Mini Eggs!

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

Lol – I’ll have to update my post a little to add a couple of links in for SETI, BOINC and Rosetta@Home 🙂

They make the cpu go 100% all the time, which means heat which means :

Laptop = Surrogate Hot Water Bottle !

Thanks for the tip, SP! We’re being nailed by another blast of Canadian winter, so any source of heat is welcome indeed.

My new laptop is decidedly cooler than my old one – darn you, Intel, for introducing new lower-power chipsets! – but I think it has a High Performance mode that kicks up the clock speed and forces the little gerbils inside my machine to run even faster.

Belated hi from Michele’s: Blogger’s been an unhappy camper today.

Wrist feels better now 🙂

Yep – heat’s good, I think it helps to open up the blood vessels, getting more oxygen around. It’s what ultrasound treatment is supposed to encourage, healing through heating of the area that’s not happy.

Standing under the shower with the hot water directed to my injured shoulder can feel oh so good 🙂

“Also, do not use ice packs on the left shoulder if you have a heart condition. Do not use ice packs around the front or side of the neck.”
Curious – just found that on a medical page. I can understand the heart one but am trying to figure the neck one.