Hello and welcome to Part 3 of this series, hope you are enjoying the festivities and will have a lovely Christmas and New Year. To be honest I have struggled to get into the Christmas spirit this year due to having to study for exams which is just depressing at this time of year and also the lack of snow compared to last year doesn't help.
Don't really have any updates as such compared to my own situation, but have some definite ideas for features which I hope to post after Christmas when things are a bit calmer. One thing I can say is that I may be getting my braces removed soon (thank goodness!) I think my teeth look great but they took impressions (one of the most horrible things) and if my teeth are lined up then they will take them off BUT I will have to wear a clear plastic retainer over my teeth all the time apart from when eating. This will keep my teeth in position until a time if I decide to have surgery on my jaw, not sure what will happen if I decide not to have surgery *shrugs*.
Now back onto the main part of update since I've already talked about music and TV shows I might as well talk about my favourite video games.
I've recently played and completed The Legend of Zelda-Skyward Sword and it has definitely jumped into my top games list. This game is a must buy for anyone with a Wii (though be warned that you need either the wii motion plus attachment or a wiimote with motion plus built in, which is probably more recommended) It is hard not to compare it to the other Zelda game on the Wii-Twilight Princess but it is so much better. Not to say Twilight Princess isn't a good game in fact it is probably one of the best Wii games but there are too many things about it which I dislike. Skyward Sword did not excite me whenever I first saw trailer/images of it but have to say I was completely wrong Nintendo have managed to take a step back and take a series that has been going on for 25 years and make it feel fresh. The motion controls work a treat and even weak enemies now offer a challenge, no more waggling or repeatedly pressing buttons to beat them, they also make using other items (which I won't spoil) more immersive as well. Other changes have been to the overall gameplay instead of it is essentially being do A, B and C, get to dungeon, complete and move on it has been changed so that getting to the dungeon is almost as much of a challenge as the dungeon itself which is great. The dungeons themselves have been I guess you could say streamlined in that they appear shorter and less complicated but I enjoyed them more for that as you weren't messing about for ages lost trying to figure out where to go. The bosses are also much improved and generally offer more of a challenge/are designed better than the ones from previous games, Finally the story is one of the best reasons to get this game it is great for newcomers as it is the first game in the Zelda timeline and for Zelda fans as they will understand and recognise things from later games. The story is great because it makes you actually care for what happens to the characters and coming up to the finale I wasn't thinking about completing the game I was doing it for the characters (however cheesy that may sound). Whilst I don't agree with the scores of 10/10 or 100% because I don't believe the game is perfect, I do think that anyone who gives it a negative review needs to get their head checked as this is an amazing game and I hope that they do a direct sequel in order to answer some unanswered questions.
Two other Zelda games that I love are Ocarina of Time because everything about it is iconic and Wind Waker for its graphics and just as a brilliant game.
Batman Arkam Asylum has to be my favourite superhero game ever and takes that title from the brilliant Spiderman 2 game. This is a completely original game not based on any movies or comics that I know of and the developers had the great idea of making it so that rather than have you running about the whole of Gotham city the story revolves around the Arkam mental asylum which is on an island. This is great decision because whilst it doesn't take much time to get from one side to the other, it is filled with diverse locations and hidden secrets. The game really makes you feel like Batman, taking down rooms full of bad guys with guns one by one, using every gadget that Batman has at his disposal and beating rooms of thugs up despite being heavily outnumbered. One of the best things about this game is the fighting system. There are also challenge rooms which are separate from the main single player campaign, these challenge you to either fight rounds of increasingly challenging thugs or in the predator missions you have to take down all the thugs in a room using specified methods e.g. take out two thugs using explosive gel at the same time. The only negative points about this game are that the finale whilst not bad is a bit disappointing in that it is so simple and also the detective mode is so good that you will probably have it on the majority of the time and hence miss the brilliant graphics.
I've always loved the Mario Kart games and during my GCSE exams I developed an addiction for Mario Kart Wii, whenever I wasn't revising I was generally playing it. It added bikes into the mix for the first time which was quite controversial. This backfired a bit as bikes were generally seen as being better than the karts due to their tight turning and ability to wheelie for a boost at anytime and I definitely prefer them. The online was a great example of what online gaming on the Wii should be like and the majority of the time there weren't any problems. With great single player including time trials which told you when you had beaten the basic developer records and also what the world records were (although some people unfairly exploited glitches to get ridiculous times), a great multiplayer and a large selection of characters, vehicles and levels it is definitely one of the best games in the series. Unfortunately the dreaded blue shell still remains and so it is a very real frustration to be leading for the entire race only to get hit with one or more of these and come last.
These are obviously not all my favourite games but this is a lengthy enough post as it is, thanks for reading.
Friday, 23 December 2011
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Life's too short
I don't know if anyone has watched this program but those who have probably know that it is rather cringe worthy and tends to toe the line with what its acceptable on TV. For those who don't know it is a fake documentary about Warrick Davis who is a little person. In real life he is a successful actor, happily married, well liked etc. but in the documentary it is a completely different story. Most of the time it does just attempt to be as cringe worthy as possible but it also has some good messages.
In tonight's episode Warrick went on a date, his date was also a little person, he went to the restaurant and she was already there, the waiter just assumed that she was his date because they were both little people and this got Warrick upset and rightfully so.
The fact is that people shouldn't make assumptions that people with medical conditions can only have relationships with people who have the same medical conditions and I think any person that thinks people like Warrick should only be allowed to date other people with the same medical condition (and I'm sure there are people like this) should be ashamed of themselves.
It is as ridiculous as saying that blue eyed people should only be allowed to date other blue eyed people. As cheesy as it sounds it is definitely true that what's inside counts and people with conditions should be allowed to date anyone without people making comments or assumptions. If people can't see pass their looks or their condition then that is their loss.
I will continue this theme on what people's "opinions" involving people with genetic conditions and other things in a longer update soon.
In tonight's episode Warrick went on a date, his date was also a little person, he went to the restaurant and she was already there, the waiter just assumed that she was his date because they were both little people and this got Warrick upset and rightfully so.
The fact is that people shouldn't make assumptions that people with medical conditions can only have relationships with people who have the same medical conditions and I think any person that thinks people like Warrick should only be allowed to date other people with the same medical condition (and I'm sure there are people like this) should be ashamed of themselves.
It is as ridiculous as saying that blue eyed people should only be allowed to date other blue eyed people. As cheesy as it sounds it is definitely true that what's inside counts and people with conditions should be allowed to date anyone without people making comments or assumptions. If people can't see pass their looks or their condition then that is their loss.
I will continue this theme on what people's "opinions" involving people with genetic conditions and other things in a longer update soon.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Busy busy busy
Sorry for lack of updates second year of university has been pretty hectic, lots of practical reports to hand in not to mention the fact that I am in around 20 hours a week, compared to some of my friends who's courses only require that they be in for a tiny 7 hours. I'm pretty worried about exams as I have had literally no time to go over my notes and do extra reading but hopefully with it tailing off before Christmas I'll be fine.
Don't really have anything relevant to talk about today other than the fact that yet again I've been asked if I want a BAHA, the fact that I've been asked so many times almost makes me not want one. As I've said before I am pretty happy with what I have at the moment, its definitely not top of my list of things to do.
In other news finally realised that the reciever that I use with my new radio mic system actually works with my old system so I can use that with my ipod although this means I have to carry two systems to uni (whenever I'm not using the new system it goes in my bag) and make sure both are charged/have fresh batteries. Also got a hard case to protect my expensive ipod but of course like everything not even that was simple, you see to use an mp3, headphone jack on pc etc. I have to connect them to my radio mic system using a special cable, apparently these cables only come with angled jacks and of course the hard case doesn't like angled jacks as they won't fit properly. It does work but it comes loose very easily, just another example of how TCS affects almost everything.
Don't really have anything relevant to talk about today other than the fact that yet again I've been asked if I want a BAHA, the fact that I've been asked so many times almost makes me not want one. As I've said before I am pretty happy with what I have at the moment, its definitely not top of my list of things to do.
In other news finally realised that the reciever that I use with my new radio mic system actually works with my old system so I can use that with my ipod although this means I have to carry two systems to uni (whenever I'm not using the new system it goes in my bag) and make sure both are charged/have fresh batteries. Also got a hard case to protect my expensive ipod but of course like everything not even that was simple, you see to use an mp3, headphone jack on pc etc. I have to connect them to my radio mic system using a special cable, apparently these cables only come with angled jacks and of course the hard case doesn't like angled jacks as they won't fit properly. It does work but it comes loose very easily, just another example of how TCS affects almost everything.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Parenting
Saw this the other day and I have to say I think the mum shouldn't have done this:
First of all I cannot understand why she seems to have forced her child to appear on youtube and essentially telling him what to say and secondly he clearly isn't happy doing it.
I'm all for raising awareness and standing up and being proud but this is taking things a little too far. I think children with TCS should experience what I had which was a childhood as normal as possible, its bad enough having all the hospital appointments and other issues without your parents forcing you to appear on youtube.
Also its not like she can even show him the nice comments from people without him seeing the comments from trolls. These comments make me so so very angry but they want a response they seem to get off of it so the best thing to do is just flag their comments as spam and report them to youtube.
First of all I cannot understand why she seems to have forced her child to appear on youtube and essentially telling him what to say and secondly he clearly isn't happy doing it.
I'm all for raising awareness and standing up and being proud but this is taking things a little too far. I think children with TCS should experience what I had which was a childhood as normal as possible, its bad enough having all the hospital appointments and other issues without your parents forcing you to appear on youtube.
Also its not like she can even show him the nice comments from people without him seeing the comments from trolls. These comments make me so so very angry but they want a response they seem to get off of it so the best thing to do is just flag their comments as spam and report them to youtube.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
My looks do not define me-Part Two
Welcome to part 2 of this series, today I'm going to talk about TV series that I like.
Might as well start off with the most ridiculous one-Dragonball Z, not sure if many people got my its over 500 reference but that's where its from. Dragonball Z is based on a manga series and is the sequel to Dragonball. In Dragonball Z we follow the story of Goku, who is now grown up, married and has a kid (he is a kid in Dragonball) and his friends on their adventures and battles and their quests to collect the magical Dragonballs which when collected allow them to make a wish. Some people will probably love the show and others think it is ridiculous nonsense but the main draw for me are probably the brilliant fights. I think it is awesome and I would still go back and watch episodes from time to time.
LOST is another ridiculous show but in a totally awesome addictive way. To give anything away would just be wrong but lets just say that these plane crash survivors have a lot more to worry about than just surviving. It spans 6 seasons and whilst it turns get ridiculous and confusing at times it is still far better than most TV shows, great acting, great story and great music. I highly recommend it.
Dexter, now this is definitely more for adults. It is based on the series of books by Jeff Lindsay but the TV show follows a different storyline to that of the books. It follows Dexter Morgan who by day works as a blood splatter analyst at Miami Metro Police Department but at night he is a serial killer. The unique thing is that Dexter does not just kill anyone instead he only kills those people who he thinks deserve it for example murderers and rapists who have escaped the law. It deals with how Dexter deals with his double life and you actually find yourself cheering for him and laughing when he gets into awkward situations.
Doctor Who, I never watched the old series but I understand it is quite different than those from after the revival. It tells the story of the man known as the Doctor (who is actually an alien) as he travels through time usually with one or more human companions having adventures. One unique thing about the Doctor is that he can regenerate which means he can change his body and his personality which is why 11 actors have been able to play him so far. I would recommend that you start from the beginning of the revival but it is not necessary to be able to follow whats going on but I would recommend that you at least start from the beginning of season 5 as with Matt Smith as the Doctor and Steven Moffat as head writer the storyline has been overarching over 2 seasons and into next season as well.
Smallville, I used to snigger at the adverts for this but I later got into it and I have now watched all 10 series of it. It follows the story of a young Clark Kent starting with the day he came to Earth and then skipping forward to his time at high school. We see how he deals with controlling his powers whilst developing new ones, his attempts to play football against his father's wishes, his crush on Lana Lang and his new friendship with Lex Luthor. Of course not all 10 series are set during his time at high school and as it progresses we start to see who he will become. As much I like this show I would say at 10 seasons it is rather long it also has a limited budget which means it does not fulfil its potential at times and some of the special effects/cgi are rather lacking on the positive side it features some great acting (Michael Rosenbaum is in my opinion a far better Lex Luthor than Kevin Spacey and Gene Hackman), great banter between characters and a good few funny moments as well.
Has the best theme song ever as well
This is obviously not the full list of shows that I like but its a good sample.
Thanks for reading!
Might as well start off with the most ridiculous one-Dragonball Z, not sure if many people got my its over 500 reference but that's where its from. Dragonball Z is based on a manga series and is the sequel to Dragonball. In Dragonball Z we follow the story of Goku, who is now grown up, married and has a kid (he is a kid in Dragonball) and his friends on their adventures and battles and their quests to collect the magical Dragonballs which when collected allow them to make a wish. Some people will probably love the show and others think it is ridiculous nonsense but the main draw for me are probably the brilliant fights. I think it is awesome and I would still go back and watch episodes from time to time.
LOST is another ridiculous show but in a totally awesome addictive way. To give anything away would just be wrong but lets just say that these plane crash survivors have a lot more to worry about than just surviving. It spans 6 seasons and whilst it turns get ridiculous and confusing at times it is still far better than most TV shows, great acting, great story and great music. I highly recommend it.
Dexter, now this is definitely more for adults. It is based on the series of books by Jeff Lindsay but the TV show follows a different storyline to that of the books. It follows Dexter Morgan who by day works as a blood splatter analyst at Miami Metro Police Department but at night he is a serial killer. The unique thing is that Dexter does not just kill anyone instead he only kills those people who he thinks deserve it for example murderers and rapists who have escaped the law. It deals with how Dexter deals with his double life and you actually find yourself cheering for him and laughing when he gets into awkward situations.
Doctor Who, I never watched the old series but I understand it is quite different than those from after the revival. It tells the story of the man known as the Doctor (who is actually an alien) as he travels through time usually with one or more human companions having adventures. One unique thing about the Doctor is that he can regenerate which means he can change his body and his personality which is why 11 actors have been able to play him so far. I would recommend that you start from the beginning of the revival but it is not necessary to be able to follow whats going on but I would recommend that you at least start from the beginning of season 5 as with Matt Smith as the Doctor and Steven Moffat as head writer the storyline has been overarching over 2 seasons and into next season as well.
Smallville, I used to snigger at the adverts for this but I later got into it and I have now watched all 10 series of it. It follows the story of a young Clark Kent starting with the day he came to Earth and then skipping forward to his time at high school. We see how he deals with controlling his powers whilst developing new ones, his attempts to play football against his father's wishes, his crush on Lana Lang and his new friendship with Lex Luthor. Of course not all 10 series are set during his time at high school and as it progresses we start to see who he will become. As much I like this show I would say at 10 seasons it is rather long it also has a limited budget which means it does not fulfil its potential at times and some of the special effects/cgi are rather lacking on the positive side it features some great acting (Michael Rosenbaum is in my opinion a far better Lex Luthor than Kevin Spacey and Gene Hackman), great banter between characters and a good few funny moments as well.
Has the best theme song ever as well
This is obviously not the full list of shows that I like but its a good sample.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
A quick update
Sorry for lack of updates, they weren't kidding when they said level 2 at university was a step up.
For those wondering my lower eye lashes have grown back which is rather annoying but I will not be trying the laser treatment again no matter what.
Also found out about a new hearing aid that operates similarly to the BAHA but works through magnets which means that you don't have the implant sticking out which means no maintenance, no bald spot and it heals quicker than the BAHA site, http://sophono.com/products/, will definitely be keeping an eye on this but apparently its processor is not as strong as others and so it will not work for some people.
And finally, reached 600 views recently, thanks again for all the support and positive feedback!
For those wondering my lower eye lashes have grown back which is rather annoying but I will not be trying the laser treatment again no matter what.
Also found out about a new hearing aid that operates similarly to the BAHA but works through magnets which means that you don't have the implant sticking out which means no maintenance, no bald spot and it heals quicker than the BAHA site, http://sophono.com/products/, will definitely be keeping an eye on this but apparently its processor is not as strong as others and so it will not work for some people.
And finally, reached 600 views recently, thanks again for all the support and positive feedback!
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Hearing aids
I thought I might as well post about hearing aids since as far as I know anyone affected with TCS will have hearing loss. I am old school in that I haven't upgraded to a digital aid but like with what happened with my radio mic system I will be forced to upgrade if it breaks as the parts aren't available any more.
There are several different types of hearing aids:
Behind the ear hearing aids-what most people use especially older people with hearing loss, not really suitable for people with TCS who don't have proper ears.
Bone conducting-this is what I have, it consists of two pieces on connected by a wire, it is mostly used on a removable metal band which is placed on the head with each piece on either side of the head but I find a fabric band to be much more comfortable.
Bone anchored hearing aid (or BAHA as it is more commonly known)-for this you have to get a screw implanted in the side of your head, once healed you can then attach the small hearing aid.
I have not included cochlear implant as apparently it is not considered a proper hearing aid.
Recently it seems every doctor I meet asks have I considered a BAHA and to be honest whilst I've thought about it I'm just not fussed on the idea of having a screw on the side of my head which requires surgery and which could possibly but not very likely be knocked out along with a bit of skull (I had asked a doctor about whether or not it could be knocked out and he said very rarely but told me of an instance where a mother had hers knocked out by her child's shoe...) The line I always seem to use is "what if something better comes along in the next few years that doesn't require surgery" but I may be kidding myself. The fact is I've heard a lot of positive things about the BAHA and also that it is a lot better than the bone conducting but for now I think I'll stick with the one I have at the moment as I've managed pretty well with it up to now.
There are several different types of hearing aids:
Behind the ear hearing aids-what most people use especially older people with hearing loss, not really suitable for people with TCS who don't have proper ears.
Bone conducting-this is what I have, it consists of two pieces on connected by a wire, it is mostly used on a removable metal band which is placed on the head with each piece on either side of the head but I find a fabric band to be much more comfortable.
Bone anchored hearing aid (or BAHA as it is more commonly known)-for this you have to get a screw implanted in the side of your head, once healed you can then attach the small hearing aid.
I have not included cochlear implant as apparently it is not considered a proper hearing aid.
Recently it seems every doctor I meet asks have I considered a BAHA and to be honest whilst I've thought about it I'm just not fussed on the idea of having a screw on the side of my head which requires surgery and which could possibly but not very likely be knocked out along with a bit of skull (I had asked a doctor about whether or not it could be knocked out and he said very rarely but told me of an instance where a mother had hers knocked out by her child's shoe...) The line I always seem to use is "what if something better comes along in the next few years that doesn't require surgery" but I may be kidding myself. The fact is I've heard a lot of positive things about the BAHA and also that it is a lot better than the bone conducting but for now I think I'll stick with the one I have at the moment as I've managed pretty well with it up to now.
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