I’m taking a break today and enjoying the holiday with my wife and dog.

I hope you all have someone to spend the day with. If not, get on XBOX and find someone to game with!

–Sal

Folks, during this holiday season you may find yourself (if lucky enough) to have more time than usual to game. While that’s tempting and I’m not saying to not game, I will highly suggest you do not ‘Binge Game’. Much like binge drinking can make you very ill or worse, binge gaming can have an effect on your brain.

I made that mistake last night and gamed for 14 hours. While it was a LOT of fun, at the end of it I found myself abnormally dizzy, then confused, as well as having a huge headache.

I did take some headache medicine then went to bed. Thankfully, that sleep helped a lot and I only have a small headache now. It’s taught me a lesson though, not to game for so long. At the least, you should take a break for 15 minutes or so every 3-4 hours. Allow your body to reset itself so-to-speak.

I was lucky enough to just be able to get some good rest and most of the effect went away. However, there have been deaths attributed to longer binge gaming than this. So PLEASE do take care of yourselves. Be that during the holidays or any other time of the year.

MOST Sincerely to all of you good readers and anyone else that happens upon this message,
-Sal

Other than the text and my logo, everything else was done in Halo 4’s Forge.
Click pic to make bigger!

-Sal

On our way from our home to my wife’s mom’s home for the weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving, we stopped at a strip mall along the way. The intention was for my wife to go into a craft store to get something she had a coupon for. While there, since Toys R Us was right next door to it, I decided to peruse, hoping to get the 20-figure set, since my local one didn’t have it in stock when we were out earlier in the morning.

I come upon the Mega Bloks section and saw two boys and their mom. The older of the two boys, I’d guess at 11-12 was looking at the Halo stuff, when he noticed the 20-figure set. Now mind you, this was Black Friday (yes, my wife and I celebrate Thanksgiving on the Saturday instead, because we can have more family present that way). Anyway…

The older boy snatched up the set and his younger brother, I’d guess at 7-8, grabbed the last one. The older boy turned to his mom and asked if she had an extra $50 for the set (as that was the price tag on the shelf. She said no and both boys looked forlorn. Well, I could have snatched that opportunity for myself and wait for the kids to put them back…OR, do the right thing, which is what I did, without any hesitation. I told the mom, that particular set was on sale for Black Friday ONLY for $30. She asked if I was sure, and I said yes. In the meantime, the boys ran off to find a price checker. They came back excited and said it was $30. She smiled and said they could BOTH have their sets. She then told them to thank me as they wouldn’t have known of the sale otherwise. The boys were quick to thank me, then the mom did as well, since this saved her $40 between the two sets.

There I was, still no 20-fig set in hand, but the feeling of helping someone, especially a family, even in such a small thing as to mention a sale price, was beyond worth it to me.

So yes, I had Halo on the brain this weekend, just couldn’t post anything since I didn’t have access to my computer and my wife’s mom’s internet was down. One side note, she (wife’s mom) is going to repaint her kitchen. The color she picked out is called “Halo”! I thought that was pretty cool and she was excited to tell me about it being that color. Just so you know, it’s a pale yellow.

-Sal

As the title of this article states, I just got back in town. That’s the reason the blog has been a bit short of news for the past few days. I’ve got unpacking to do and honestly need a break from the trip, so I’ll have stuff tomorrow. Though I will write up one quick story of something that happened Halo related over the weekend.

-Sal

I’ll be playing Halo 4 throughout the day today, especially in the Turkey Bowl playlist. Come join me for some fun Halo gameplay.

My GT is HaloFanForLife1. When asking for an invite, please send a message letting me know you saw this article on the blog.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Sal

For all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, have a happy and healthy one.

I’d like to ask that you take at least a moment and think of those who may not have a Thanksgiving this year for whatever reason. Donate a can of food to your local food shelter. ONE can may make the difference for someone who wouldn’t otherwise have ANYTHING to eat.

Next time you pick up a pack of socks or underwear, consider buying an extra pack and donating it to a homeless shelter. It’s not much for you, but again could make all the difference for those much less fortunate.

I’m speaking from the heart here. Some of you may not know that when I was 15, I was homeless. My mother and I had nothing but some clothes and two sleeping bags. Were it not for the help of folks from a local church, life would have gotten worse. I’m here today in part because of the thoughtful acts of others. Many of you know my wife and I are going through a severe financial hardship with me being 32 months unemployed now. YET, I ask nothing for myself. There are MANY out there who have much greater need. As you sit down to a good meal with family and/or friends, just take that moment please and consider those others. When you’re done with that meal, maybe take some leftovers to a homeless person, or better yet, volunteer at a soup kitchen.

Thanksgiving is a day we should reflect on that with which we should be thankful for. Yet many consider it a day full of football and merriment. We all as a whole have so much, that a small sentiment towards those who don’t have won’t break our wallets and again may completely change for the better someone else’s Thanksgiving.

My wife and I have several cans of food we’ll be donating.

Respectfully,
Sal Salerno
Owner/Blogger
HaloFanForLife.com