February 4th was World Cancer Day. Chevrolet and the American Cancer Society came together for a great campaign. If you go to the Chevrolet website here, you can turn your Facebook or Twitter photo purple, a sign of survival. Every person that turns their profile photo purple, Chevrolet donates $1.00, up to 1 million, to the American Cancer Society. I am a cancer survivor more than once myself, and what caught my eye is below.  

Here is how it works. They offer a way to donate money directly to the American Cancer Society. You can do that here. These specific funds will go directly to helping the patients with travel costs, places to stay during treatment, rides to and from treatment, and someone to talk to. If you can donate funds do so. 

Many people are not able to donate funds and have no idea how they can help. With the economy, unemployment rate and lack of US jobs, I fully understand this. Well, remember what I said up there about patients needing rides to and from treatment? You can donate your time and give a patient a ride, and from personal experience, this means a lot more than you will ever know. Simply give up a dinner, movie or a tv show and donate a few hours a week instead, that is all. Give people a chance to get the treatment they need. You have the ability to help save a life. Can you imagine the depth in that? How much time you give is totally up to you. 

How do you donate your time? You can call 800-277-2345 or you can visit the American Cancer Society website for THE ROAD TO RECOVERY. Enter your zip code and help save a life. 

More from The Road to Recovery Program:
Every day thousands of cancer patients need a ride to treatment, but some may not have a way to get there.
The American Cancer Society Road to Recovery program provides transportation to and from treatment for people who have cancer who do not have a ride or are unable to drive themselves. Volunteer drivers donate their time and the use of their cars so that patients can receive the life-saving treatments they need.
The American Cancer Society has a vast volunteer network in which individuals can make a difference in the fight against cancer. Volunteers can help with the Road to Recovery program by serving as volunteer drivers or coordinators.

• Volunteer drivers donate their time and resources to take patients to treatment and back home again. They also provide encouragement and support. Drivers must have a valid driver’s license for the state where they live. They must also have a safe, reliable vehicle and proof of automobile insurance. Volunteer drivers must have a good driving history and be in good health.
• Driver coordinators help schedule the rides. Coordinators can work whenever it’s convenient for them, one day a week, during the evening, or weekends. All it takes is as little as four hours a week of your time, organization, and communication skills to make a major impact on the well-being of cancer patients in your community.

To learn about volunteer opportunities in your area with the Road to Recovery program, call 1-800-227-2345.

Chevrolet Purple Roads:
 http://www.chevrolet.com/purple-roads-world-cancer-day.html

American Cancer Society Road to Recovery Program: 
http://www.cancer.org/treatment/supportprogramsservices/road-to-recovery

Turn your Twitter and Facebook profile photo purple for Chevrolet to donate $1.00:
http://www.chevrolet.com/purple-roads-world-cancer-day.html

Donate the gift of money to the American Cancer Society:
https://donate.cancer.org/index?utm_content=other&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=chevypurpleroads&utm_source=chevy_landing_referral&campaign=chevypurpleroads

What is not to love about GeForce as a PC Gamer? We love it all, right? 

But wait! There is more! Last year I took the leap into something very impressive and new called the  NVIDIA GeForce Experience. In a nutshell "GeForce Experience automatically keeps your drivers up to date and your games optimized". It is connected to my Steam account where most of my PC games are purchased from. However, it automatically detected all games installed on my Laptop and PC and set each one (that is on their specific list) for optimization. The supported gaming optimization list is growing daily. When you jump from game to game as I do, you have to take time to tweak the game graphics and so much more before you can even begin the play. This program does that for you, and it keeps your drivers, including 3D, up to date. As a person who owns 100s of PC games, this is as good as it gets! 

In a recent update I downloaded today, it offered a Beta program to broadcast live to Twitch, where I have had an account for many years. I find this exciting because let's face it, live streaming can be a pain unless you are on a console gaming, in which case they make simplistic RCA cable hook-ups for HD recording and streaming. I know, I have these easy cables. PC is a whole different ball game though, especially if you want your face in the corner of your live streaming game or recording. I will say this, they have made it much easier over the last 10-12 years, but still, not an easy task.  

The one year anniversary of the release just passed in January and it was officially released in May. I have been using it since that time and the updates are phenomenal. They are not backing down one bit. 'For these PC newcomers, and for existing players, configuring PC games was a daunting task due to acronym-laced settings menus filled with dozens of options, and undocumented detail levels. With a single click, GeForce Experience solved this age-old problem, automatically configuring games to give players the perfect balance between performance and image quality, based on their specific system specifications.' DAUNTING. 

This is a true game changer that everyone has been waiting for. 
Want some of the action for your GeForce? Go here: GeForce Download. 

You can find all of the NVIDIA videos on their channel on YouTube or you can simply visit their page which I also linked above for a quick rundown video of features. 

The question is this: do you have NVIDIA GeForce? 

Source: NVIDIA

I've tried posting this a few times. The first issues involved uploading the video directly to this site instead of YouTube, which is a whole beast of a blog in itself. Thanks, Google+, you're a gem.  Then the text color appeared black, which matched the background making it impossible to read. Tonight I went back in this post and did the trusty old copy and paste into notepad to make the text color pop up correctly. Here is my general issue: I usually blog from the iPhone/iPad app because I am never home. Like I stated before, it has a few bugs to work out...and they will be worked out soon! 

Back to the goodies...
I got in line at my local store about 10:30pm and waited anxiously for midnight to roll around with all the 15-25 year old boys for this big, bad Xbox One because that's my gig. This specific Xbox One is a "Day One Special Release" with a limited amount available for purchase. The store I was at only had 9, as with the other stores, so that tells you where I was in line. I got the fourth one. I so deeply wish I didn't have blogging issues because I made this teaser soon after arriving home along with a detailed talking walk-through of my unboxing, first voice/hand commands and gameplay thoughts of Call of Duty: Ghosts. Now it seems ridiculous because everyone else already unboxed it and posted their Xbox One video.


Here you go! It is a simple 34 second video, a teaser as stated. Should I even bother splicing, dicing and posting the talking walk-through? Maybe. I know one thing for sure! I really want to show you the voice commands in action because they take lazy to a whole new level. 

Click the photo to take you directly to the original command sheet, which may be much larger. 

Hello, Strangers! Remember me? I've fallen behind on my blogging because of some minor bugs that are being worked out by some spectacular people who host my space at Weebly.

It happens.

Life still happens.

Great things still happen.

Life is still grand!

My world still rotates on a gravitational field built on scifi, gaming and zombies!

I have so many updates for you including books, comics, new TV series, new movies, new cosplay I have put together but haven't had the opportunity to wear, games (PC and console), new apps, iOS7, iPhone 5, places I've been, physical changes (HAIR!!) and more.

Mostly, this beautiful Xbox One: Day One Special Edition, which I have not opened. So be prepared for the unboxing, initial thoughts, first gameplay with Call of Duty: Ghosts and more.

I look forward to jumping back in here and telling you where I've been lately! Here are some hints on a few things I will be sharing.

LL&P!

I absolutely love a good indie game with a GREAT back story for its development, which you can read in the paragraph below. Evoland is my new happy place. It takes me from my first pixel gaming experiences back in the day, like Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy and even Pong, to full blown modern graphics all by earning it with rewards. It is easy to play getting more complicated along the way, continuously fun to play and has very addictive gameplay. All things I look for in a game, no matter what the genre. 

"Evoland is a game and a story. The story of action adventure gaming as seen in the Zelda or Final Fantasy series, starting with the early age of action RPGs, when a few pixels were enough to make us dream for hours. New players will discover a bit of video game history and a very fun gameplay, and veterans will also enjoy a host of references to legendary titles scattered along the game. Evoland Classic was originally created by Nicolas Cannasse for a Ludum Dare competition in about 30 hours. Turns out the game won the first place (out of around 1400 games) and quickly reached over 300 000 players within a couple of months. With such a great feedback from our community and given our love for the original concept, we decided that Shiro Games should work on a bigger and more refined version of the game.
The game will enhance and continue the story started in Evoland Classic, taking you further along the history of action adventure gaming, adding collectible items, new monsters and bosses, and more importantly new play styles and full 3D environments!"-Evoland Website

Here are reviews found on Steam, where you can get this game for a mere $10.00 for hours of amusement.

“If You Like Final Fantasy Or Zelda, You Need To Play Evoland”
Kotaku

“Evoland is a fascinating study of the adventure game genre, and surprisingly funny at the same time.”
Wired

“Evoland's elements form a love letter to some of the most venerated games in their respective genres, and it's surprising just how well the shifting gameplay types work together”
Destructoid

“Evoland is a fantastic advert for indie gaming. It's creative, unique, highly entertaining and wonderfully nostalgic. This is a must-play.”
eGamer

This photo is self explanatory as stated above. You start the game out in a beautifully black and white retro world, unlocking colors, dimensions and graphics along the way, and eventually you have a full blown weapons, chests to open along the way, and a monster boss filled game plus so much more. 


Below is a short video trailer with gameplay. There are 3 options to purchase the game through Shiro Games, all for $10.00. Steam offers it, Gog.com offers it and you can buy it direct for your PC from Shiro Games using PayPal. 

Down to the nitty-gritty. You can play the original game free on their website within the browser. Be very aware, this is not the version that is available now, it is the game built in 30 hours that caught on and lead to the upgrades. You can support them by adding a Like on their Facebook page and getting this small indie company and their developers more attention that they so deserve. That is free and easy enough, right? You can also follow them on Twitter if you wish. I have found a simple retweet can help many great causes and/or help bring attention to things that you enjoy. 

Now shew! Go support something worthwhile, affordable, awesome and full of addictive fun for all ages! 

This is a surprising low number. Honestly, I do not think people are being properly lead to FEMA in all disaster struck areas, but specifically in rural areas, especially after the second round of tornadoes and floods. I personally feel from being on-sight and reading, that 95% of funding, donations, food, medical care and volunteers have been focused in Moore, then OKC and many small rural areas are just in wait, including farms. This needs to be looked into. I think I will inquire into this ASAP. It's just a feeling from doing this kind of work for a long period of time. 

Thoughts?

http://www.ok.gov/triton/modules/newsroom/newsroom_article.php?id=275&article_id=12078

Over 10 1/2 hours in 104 degree weather and humidity at 96% were spent raising money at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for the "Toby Keith Twister Relief Concert". I'm sure it was around 118 degrees in the stadium without a single breeze to be caught.

Before I go any further, you can donate $10.00 by texting REBUILD to 52000. This was used at this concert and ALL funds go to the tornado victims. 
Or you can go here and see more ways to donate: http://www.aidmatrixnetwork.org/SCMPublicPortal/states.aspx?ST=Oklahoma
If YOU need help: http://www.ok.gov/okstrong/Need_Assistance/index.html

Other guests were Willie Nelson, Sammy Hagar, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Mel Tillis, Ronnie Dunn, John Anderson, Wade Hayes and a satellite performance from Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood. They brought out people like Bob Stoops, the current OU football coach and brought in Barry Switzer, the previously GAWD coach who took on the Dallas Cowboys later, and whom I spent many a night with in bars with along with his current team back in my pre-med college days, to introduce musicians. Along with the introducers were the Mayor of Moore, Glen Lewis and the always sporting flannel and jean wearing female governor, Mary Fallin. She impressed me so much through this natural disaster that it would literally take another blog to go through it all. I will say this: she was there from day one, helping, cleaning, talking, hugging, and giving.....in jeans and flannel like the rest of us.

Straight up, the crowds were passing out from heat exhaustion by hours 2 and 3. We could barely stand and I mean that. Then--Sammy Hagar STOLE the show. I really didn't know any of their music except Willie Nelson and I was never a fan of Van Hagar, or Sammy, but after he got on stage, in front of 80,000 country-western fans and he got everyone standing and screaming, I instantly became a Hagar Groupie. It was almost a miracle because they had to set up med centers at every section with water and oxygen a few hours after a light bulb went off. And honestly, you can ask the people that passed out from heat or those puking drunks, it was STILL amazing to be there and witness this community gathering.


It was held at this stadium, outside, to get the most people in. Nothing in Oklahoma could hold enough, so this concert went down in history as the largest concert venue in the history of Oklahoma ever. 


ALL money raised, every single penny, goes directly to Oklahomans hit by the tornado. Not only the ticket money, but the teeshirt money and donations they asked for in between sets of musicians. They also had interviews and motorcycle and car giveaways for those desperately in need, from Toby Kieth.


About Toby Kieth, I have a new found respect for this fellow, and not because my brother was his body guard for so many years. It is because he GIVES BACK. Everywhere. To everyone. When everyone wouldn't go or stopped going overseas to perform for our troops, he still remains valiant in giving them some relief from war to this day. He also has a foundation for children with cancer in which 100% of the funds go to those kids. Toby made a joke about doing a yearly Twister relief concert for Oklahoma 3 months before tornado season so we wouldn't have to suffer again. 


Cheers to you, Toby Keith, I raise my "red solo cup" to you. 

Note: The top stadium photo is the work of my trusty iPhone. The Sammy Hagar photo is stolen from the web from the same concert. I would love to credit the actual source, but it's on every news site and blog.

You think you give enough, volunteer enough, give your life enough and maybe even dedicate your career to helping those in need is enough. You think you give so much of yourself, that it feels like it periodically drain your life-force. 

Then a tiny, spunky, intelligent, blonde woman named Wendy Davis pops into your life on one important day--a moment in history, and singlehandedly changes the rights and freedoms for every woman in the whole state of Texas so they have control over their own body. She speaks for 13 hours straight, without sitting or taking a single break, to her comrades in the senate. She hopes, prays, yells, argues, validates every word.

Her goal is complicated, twisted with state and religion, morals, morality and basic human rights, yet every state has the right: giving women the right to choose what happens to their own body. Abortion.

The crowds cheer and roar so much in the last minutes, it's closed down to the public. Troopers make arrests, but those roars, those live stream viewers that the senate wasn't expecting made the difference. Wendy used her tools and we backed her up with our stories. It was a moment in time to be savored, to learn from and to continue until every being has equality in every fashion. Every senator that walked out said that they truly believed if it weren't for the roars, cheers and sudden unexpected attention from the 200,000+ live viewers on YouTube, things might have turned out different. Literally by a mere 2-3 minutes.

It is this moment in time you realize there IS more you can do, say, and fight for.

Much more.

Starting point: this is why it is so very important to vote and to make sure your voice is heard and tallied. Make change and give to women, children, men, and even animals rights that our US troops fight and die for every day. It is our duty to vote, our duty to make changes, and our duty make sure our children's children don't have the same battles, even if there is still a war.

It is our duty to improve as humans, progress, grow to respect everything and everyone regardless of religion, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual preference and so much more, and give all you can give.

Cheer.
Roar.
Vote.
Make change.
Write Senators.
Tell your stories.
Hang signs.
Carry signs.
Help make change.
Be a better human.

Thank you Wendy Davis.

On a end note, a Christian stated to me that it was morally wrong to abort a fetus, regardless of days, weeks, months. I simply replied with "Women who were raped. FREEDOM.". Message understood. Simple, easy, fast and it opened their eyes. This is an example of how you can make change with just a few words.

State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Ft. Worth, late in the evening during her filibuster of abortion bills that descended into chaos as political drama unfolded at the Texas Capitol in the last hour of the 83rd Texas legislature's first called special session, June 26, 2013

Read more: http://nation.time.com/2013/07/09/filibustering-days-over-wendy-davis-faces-a-big-decision/#ixzz2Ycok82jL