Billion Dollar Ghost

       Activision, known for its "Skylanders" games, has been giving us a new "Call of Duty" titled video game every year over the last decade.  Last year the game maker's "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" took only 15 days to hit one billion dollars in global sales, after a November release.  "Call of Duty:  Black Ops II" reached $500 million in retail sales on its first day.  This year, cities like London and San Francisco held glitzy midnight pre-launch parties to celebrate the release of Activision's newest titled video game, the franchises tenth installment of "Call of Duty", entitled "Call of Duty: Ghosts". " Call of Duty:  Ghosts" reached one billion dollars in sales, the number of copies shipped to retailers, in its first 24 hours of release.  See also, www.callofduty.com.

The Killers - The Man (Lyrics)

The Riddler's Revenge On Ride POV Six Flags Magic Mountain

Cute Roller Coaster in Oregon

Soundgarden - Fell On Black Days

First For NBA All-Stars

       New Orleans - Two brothers Pau and Marc Gasol played in the honorable NBA All-Star Game Sunday February 19, 2017.  This is the first time two brothers have played, together, in the event.  Pau Gasol has been at the invitation-only event four times, and brother Marc has been once.  See whole story, www.nba.com.

Make One To Fit Me

       Las Vegas - The Ehang 184 can fly itself (it is an autonomous aerial vehicle), it is made from strong lightweight materials, it operates on electric power, and it can be recharged in two-to-four hours.

     The rider enters the destination and the single-seat Ehang 184 takes them there.  The Ehang 184 has a top-speed of 62 miles-per-hour, can fly up to 11,480 feet in altitude, and its battery pack lasts up to 23 minutes of flying time.       

     Chinese manufacturer Ehang showed the drone at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.  Ehang is working on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations that will allow the company to sell drones that will carry humans short-to-medium distances at low altitudes.  See whole story, www.money.cnn.com.    

        

Laptop to Palmtop to Wrist-top...Which Smartwatch is Tops

     New York - That smart-phone in your pocket seems like a laptop that can be called a palmtop.  Now, these smartwatches will let you keep your smartphone in your pocket as your wrist-top does some of the smartphones work.
     The smartwatch is approximately three years old, according to the Wall Street Journal.  Smartwatches are becoming more useful.  Smartwatches are evolving to the point they keep track of your calendar and your exercising, Android Wear does this.  Android Wear is a version of the popular smartphone software and is available on two new watches from consumer electronic manufacturer LG.  Android wear also lets you put eight different reminders of information on your watches face.  You can push a button on the new LG watch that will summon Googles talking assistant, simply named, Google Assistant.  The great thing about Android wear is that it is open to other people, beyond, Google making better faces and workout apps.
     When you are close to your smartphone Android Wear lets you use online service from your phone.          When your are further away from your smart telephone, the watches act like stand-alone phones.  The watch, then does, what basic smartwatches do, receive telephone calls, text message, give app alerts, and still more, until you get back closer to the smartphone the watch is paired to.  The top four smartwatches worth watching in 2017 are:  Apple Watch Series 2 ($350 and up), LG Watch Sport ($350), Samsung Gear S3 Frontier ($300),  and the LG Watch Style ($250).  See whole story, www.wsj.com.

That's a That's a That's a That's a Starboy

      Houston - In recent years, the New England Patriots have been the team to win in the Super Bowl.  If a team is fortunate enough to make it to the Super Bowl they may have the unfortunate task of having to defeat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.  Super Bowl LI did not disappoint.  Super Bowl LI had the first overtime in Super Bowl history, the greatest recovery from being down at half-time, the highest passing record set, and an NFL quarterback win a fifth Super Bowl ring and MVP.

     Down 25 points at half-time Tom Brady and the New England Patriots came back to win the Atlanta Falcons 34-28.  After half-time Tom Brady showed true championship stance by managing the time-clock and turning on his athletic ability to set a Super Bowl passing record of 466 yards.

   Some are calling Tom Brady the greatest NFL player to ever play the game, calling the someone the greatest is always debatable.  Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, John Elway, Terry Bradshaw, and Roger Staubach were great quarterbacks.  But, over-all 'Diamond' Tom Brady may be the greatest quarterback of all time.  "If it's possible to be humble and be the greatest of all time, he does it", says Patriots defensive lineman Chris Long.  See also, www.espn.com.               

Playing Blind

      Rocky Hill - Some of the games so far are Super Mario World, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (a 3-D game), and Pokemon Blue, that these players like to play blindfolded.
     They cover their eyes with a mask, or a scarf, or a hood, or anything that will let them hear the video game, but not see it.  The aim is to finish the game as fast as possible, with a score as high as possible.  In the last few years many video gamers have popularized the playing of video games with covered eyes, a trend known as 'blindfolded speed-running'.  The pastime has caught on, and many players now stream their blindfolded play to build interest in the trend and to set community-verified records.  These records become local legends, because as of now, there is no official record-keeping organization.  Although, one player, Alex Tan, of Rocky Hill, Connecticut, set the record for speed-running Super Mario World.  Tan's time to finish was 15 minutes and 59 seconds.  The record is in The Guinness Book of World Records and video of the performance was published on the websites of USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and others.  2-D games have finishing times measured in minutes rather than the hours a 3-D game will take to complete, while blindfolded.
     Using blindfolds has been a long-held practice in other fields.  Chess players value playing blindfolded as a way of mastering the game.  And Jiu-jitsu players have praised training with blindfolds to  heighten the focus on one's body movement and positioning.  Speed-runners say they rely on a game's sound effects and music to know where they are in the game.  "For most of the games, there's no celebratory thing for world records, so it doesn't feel as special," Tan, who is 20, says.  "But it still feels really good to the person because the rest of the community knows they worked really hard to get to that record."  See also, www.gamespot.com.

Coming 2017

      Hollywood - For 2017 look for "Little Boss", "Cars", "xXx:Return of Xander Cage, "Power Rangers", and 'Transformers", among many more motion pictures.  Sure blockbusters.  See also, Cinemark.com. 

Future Drones on The Battlefield

       Ventura - The greatest impact drones will have on the battlefield, is that, drones will be increasingly smarter and stealthier, sort of like, United States Air Force (USAF) stealth planes.  This argument is from a new paper entitled, "The Consequences of Drone Proliferation: Separating Fact from Fiction", by Michael C. Horowitz, Sarah E. Kreps, and Matthew Fuhrmann.  See whole story, www.popularscience.com. 
     

First Robot Drone Delivery

       Cambridge - Amazon is in the lead to deliver retail packages that are five pounds or less.  The first customer was a British man in Cambridge England (50 miles from London).  Amazon wants to get small packages to customers within 30 minutes of the order coming in.  See whole story, www.foxbusiness.com.   

The Joker front seat on-ride 4K POV Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

[ HD POV ] Kingda Ka Front View Six Flags Great Adventure

Domino's Pizza Teams Up For Drone Delivery

      Auckland - Pizza delivery to your door is now science-fact.  It took two companies, Domino's Pizza and drone delivery service, Flirtey, to allow the giant pizza company to use drones.  The companies are calling it the "world's first pizza-by-drone commercial trials."  They are testing the concept in New Zealand.  If the trials are successful the companies plan to expand to other areas of the globe.  See also, www.aviationweek.com.         

Nike's Self-lacing Tennis Shoe

       Hollywood - On November 28, 2016 a Nike shoe will go on sale online.  The app will let you get the $720 self-lacing tennis shoe before it goes it starts selling in stores, in early December 2016.  See whole story, www.kcal9.com. 

Too Big or Not Too Big That is One of The Questions That Will Be Facing Hillar Clinton if She Wins

     Washington - Democrats and Republicans, alike, are opposed to the acquisition by broadband and wireless provider AT&T of Time Warner.  Time Warner also owns CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros.  See also, www.wsj.com.             

California Chrome Does Not Go The Distance

      Arcadia - At the 33rd Breeder's Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park Saturday November 5, 2016 California Chrome was upset stunningly by a relative newcomer named Arrowhead.  California Chrome's owner says, in the last 10 yards it became clear Arrowhead would win.  See whole story,  www.nbc4.com.      

1893 Experiment Becomes 1904 Official Game

        Cleveland -  In 1903 the Boston Americans won the Pittsburgh Pirates five to three.  In an effort to end a two-year rivalry and promote unity in baseball, the already established National League and newly established American League, decided to settle it with a new kind of season finale. 
          Nine years earlier, in 1894, the two top teams in the National League played an 'experimental' post-season championship, in which Boston beat Pittsburgh five games to three.  Then, in 1903, both teams (now in separate leagues) competed against one another in the first official  World Series. See also, www.espn.com.