wii is fun. beware wii injuries
By jeff - Posted on June 6th, 2007
I finally managed to buy a Nintendo Wii a week or 2 ago. It’s pretty cool.
The real story is the indirect Wii-related injuries. Being a particularly crappy day last Saturday I spent the morning and the better part of the afternoon playing some of the games — mostly boxing. I particularly like the heavy bag training mini-game. It’s the test where you punch different size heavy bags to make them explode; I got a gold metal on that one. That morning I also got to Pro level in boxing. Sadly, it took a long time because my reflexes are slow, especially for a 27 year old man in the prime of his life.
Anyway the next morning after my shamelessly long Wii session I went to Costco. While picking up a carton of orange juice (the Tropicana premium 4-pack) I pulled a muscle at my right shoulder blade and came up totally lame. The pain was pretty significant and I would have to say it is directly related to the amount of Wii I played the day before without stretching.
Monday at work I was messed up pretty bad because the pain was getting worse. To treat it I bought a large Bed Buddy heat pad ($24 at Walgreens) and found a bag of ice. The method is to alternate hot and cold at regular intervals: roughly 10-15 minutes. The next day, Tuesday, I was in decent enough shape to play some light real-world tennis (not Wii tennis). By Friday I expect to be back at 100%.
Probably the worst part of the story is I didn’t create a manly cover story to make me sound less pathetic. When a female co-worker asked me “What did you do to your shoulder” I told her I was playing too much video games. Hellz yeah.
Essential Ann Arbor
By jeff - Posted on June 2nd, 2007
If you stop by Ann Arbor, MI you should know a few good places to get a drink, to eat, or to generally sit around. Check some of these businesses out on MerchantCircle and leave them a review.
Dominick’s. Dominick’s is the best place to get a drink in the summer. It has the best place to get drunk and talk with good friends. Sit out on balcony, on the front patio, or in the back garden. I prefer the front patio. They have good local beers but at least get a pitcher of sangria — it’s good and powerful stuff but expensive at $22 for half gallon. If you like sweeter stuff try the “constant buzz” it’s a frozen slushy type thing that’s extraordinarily strong. The place closes at 10PM sharp, but the ambiance gets annoying at about 9:30PM because the staff continually announces that they will close for the night.
The Brown Jug. The Jug is a good place to get a pitcher of beer and pizza. There isn’t anything special about the ambiance but I like this place.
Good Time Charley’s Charley’s isn’t the best place environment but it has good strong drinks. Go there, get wasted, then head off to the various parties or dancing places. Long Islands are usually cheap after 11PM if I remember correctly.
Conor O’Neill’s Irish Pub. Conor’s is a good Irish pub closer to downtown AA.
Old Town. Old Town is a nice place downtown that doesn’t get too loud and the service is friendly. It does not have the loud crazy college-bar atmosphere.
Fleetwood Diner. Fleetwood is downtown near all the bars and it’s open 24 hours so you can go there after a night of drinking. Get the hippie hash, it is awesome.
Northside Grill is a few blocks from the U-M hospital. The breakfast there is good. If you like hot sauce, make sure to try some of the Clancy’s Fancy hot sauce that is on the table.
Angelo’s is the premier breakfast place but it’s often crowded and quite pricey — That’s why I go to Northside all the time. I think it’s only open in until 2PM. Angelo’s is across the street from the UM hospital.
Zingerman’s Roadhouse is the restaurant arm of the famous Zingerman’s Deli. They serve up some awesome southern style food. The roadhouse and the deli serve slightly different foods. The deli specializes in big sandwiches — especially pastrami. The sandwiches can be pretty expensive in the $8-13 range. The roadhouse is out near Jackson road area. The deli is in Kerrytown.
Mr Spot’s is next to Pizza Bob’s. Get the buffalo wings at Spot’s, try the subs at Pizza Bob’s. They are located south of central campus and open late.
The Real Seafood Company is a decent place downtown suitable for semi-formal dining. Not bad, not fantastic.
