Monthly Archives: June 2009

Namco/Bandai Is Weird

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You will never unsee this. Ever.

You will never un-see this. Ever.

I’ve been writing a lot about the whole fitness gaming genre recently.  I’m doing so because I think the genre has a tremendous amount of potential to really push video games as something good in our lives instead of the common misconception that gaming is bad for you (a misconception that, unfortunately, our current President seems to share).

As with anything that becomes a hit in popular culture, though, there will inevitably be a flood of cheap imitators that simply wish to capitalize on the success of those who came before them.  Airplane! was brilliant.  Meet The Spartans? Not so much.  Creativity and innovation have a tendency to get watered down in pursuit of the all mighty dollar in the long run.

I don’t think we’ve gotten quite to that point when it comes to the exergame genre yet, but I know we have at least one entry that’s causing me to react with a hearty WTF?

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Workout of the Day – June 17th

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65 Minutes Treadmill at 4 MPH (5 minute intervals on level surface followed by 1 minute intervals at 6% incline)

Assisted Pull Up – 190 pound counterweight (5 sets of 5)

Pulldown – 80 pounds (5 sets of 5)

Dumbbell Rows – 25 pounds (5 sets of 5)

Bicep Curls – 25 pounds (5 sets of 5)

100 Pushup Challenge – Week Two, Column 1, Set 1 (4-6-4-4-8)

200 Situp Challenge – Exhaustion Test (80)

I have decided to re-boot my situp challenge  paying close attention to form and allowing the full one second hold time on the crunch.  While I can still do 80 I’m not getting 200 in at this point methinks.

A summary of my strengths

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As supplied by the folks over at Gallup…

Instinctively, you understand the utility that technology can bring to an organization and are always looking for the best equipment and the best ways to use that equipment.  In addition to your technical expertise, you possess social and emotional talents that are often rare in the information technology field.  Socially initiating and verstaile, your primary social instinct is to intentionally expand the breadth of your social network as you are comfortable and effective in meeting new people.  Possessing high levels of emotional intelligence, your empathy gives you a strong awareness of human emotions that helps you to understand the emotional implications of decisions and actions.  Your positivity contributes to your emotional intelligence as it enables you to be emotionally influential.  You have a  natural capacity for helping others to feel better.  While some might ignore or minimize the value of human emotion, your possess a holistic view of humans and a view of the world that places a high value on all human beings.

I’d be interested to hear how accurate you all feel that is.

Humana Games For Health Wants Your Exergame Ideas

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InsertCoinIf the video game industry worked the way my naive mind believed it did the steps involved in the creation of a new video game would look something like this.

1) Come up with an awesome idea for a new video game.

2) ???

3) Profit!

Step 2 probably involves all kinds of, you know, work.  The kind of thing I generally try to avoid as much as I possibly can.  Fortunately for slackers like me the folks over at Humana Games For Health are having a contest that pretty much fulfills my game design dreams.

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Workout of the Day – Monday, June 15th

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60 Minutes on the treadmill at 4 MPH

10 Minutes on the treadmill at 3.2 MPH

5 sets of 5 Assisted Pull-Ups with 200 pounds counterweight

5 sets of 5 Pulldowns – 80 pounds

5 sets of 5 Dumbell Rows – 25 pounds

5 sets of 5 Bicep Curls – 25 pounds

100 Pushup Challenge – Exhaustion Test (13)

200 Situp Challenge – Week Six, Column Three, Set Three (39-39-50-50-39-39-33-33-218)

18 Minutes EA SPORTS Active

Win A Copy Of EA SPORTS Active For Dad

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EA Sports ActiveActive_Girl just announced over on Twitter that EA SPORTS is giving away a copies of EA SPORTS Active in honor of Father’s Day. She did not provide any links to a rules page so I cannot offer specifics in that regard, but the description of the contest she gave on her Tweet about it was “Father’s day giveaway – kids – why should your dad win a copy. Dad’s – why should you win a copy? email active@ea.com.”

Father’s Day is next Sunday, so hopefully Active_Girl will pick the winners soon and get them shipped out in time for those of us who have waited until the last minute to grab something for Dad.

Update! According to the notice on the EA SPORTS Active Facebook fan page they are giving away five copies.

Bringing a NewU To The Exergaming Field

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newULogoThere has been a considerable amount of innovation that has surfaced over the last few years in the fitness gaming market.  From dance pads to balance boards game developers are constantly thinking up new ways to get us moving in order to get healthy while we entertain ourselves.  “Exergaming” seems to be one of the next great things in the video game realm and those of us who enjoy the genre eagerly look forward to the next big thing that is going to come down the line.

The folks over at Black Bean Games are hoping they have found the new hotness.

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Dieting on a Budget : 100 Calorie M&M Packs

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Pre-Packaged 100 Calorie PacksHealthy food is expensive.  There’s just no two ways about it.  Fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and low-calorie treats are all generally a lot more expensive than a box of Patio Burritos.  Many of the lower income members of society who struggle with their weight simply cannot afford to eat well (and it goes without saying that gym memberships, diet supplements, and pre-packaged meal programs are simply out of the question).  Even those of us who aren’t necessarily struggling to pay the bills have to deal with the fact that our money just isn’t buying as much as it used to, and with all the economic uncertainty that is out there today it just makes sense to save wherever you can.

With that in mind were here at ShrinkGeek thought we’d occasionally share some of the ways we have found to eat better and save a few pennies in the process.  Our subject for today is the 100 Calorie M&M Snack Packs.

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