WII FIT PLUS SEGWAY CIRCUIT

When I feel lazy in Wii Fit Plus, I merely play the Balance Games instead of doing yoga poses or strength exercises.  The nice thing with Wii Fit Plus is there are many more so-called Balance Games.  Wii Fit Plus may call them something else, but they are basically games, something more interesting than the regular exercises.  I got pretty good with all the games and was able to secure the top spot, or completed all the levels.  Until I hit Segway Circuit.  Pretty much the only control you have is lean forward to move forward and lean backward to, uh, move backward.  Well, you also turn left and right by turning the WiiMote, which you hold horizontally with two hands, the front of the WiiMote (the part where the infrared light shoots out) pointing to your left.  The goal of the game is to go around bumping into beach balloons that were inflated by moles or gophers.  There is a time limit and the last mole has rocket-propeller to travel faster.  With the Amateur Level, it took me a while to realize that the only to catch up to the Last Mole is to use a ramp to speed up.  One bump into The Boss Mole, I think, and it's game over for Mr. Mole.  Or at least that's what I vaguely recall.  I should go back to it just for fun.

For the longest time, or at least it seems so, I was stuck with the Advanced Level.  There are more beach balls to bust and that Last Mole was impossible to catch.  Through some YouTube video, I learned that once you have the puppy to follow you, pressing A sic the dog to the Balloons.  It saves you time from having to traverse the distance to bust the Balloons yourself.  Just travel a bit toward a Balloon, press A, then the dog will do its job.  Be careful not to press A too many times.  Press once to get the Balloons busted by the dog, but don't press too quickly or you will call the dog back to you.  Another button that is useful to know is the 1 key.  In the overview map on the right, pressing 1 will zoom out a little bit to show you where the Balloons are, so you don't end up wandering all over searching for them.  Lastly, don't bump into the Moles while they are above ground.  You lose points and I think it makes them run away to another hole, making it harder for you to bust the Balloons.

Even with more time at the end to chase the Last Mole, I still couldn't catch it.  Eventually, I realized that the dog can only do so much work.  It may slow the Mole so that I can bump into it, to bust its on-board balloon.  The on-board balloon is replaceable, so pop one and another one comes out.  Only after the third balloon popped that you would be done.

I am now on the Expert Level and it seems to be even more difficult.  There are buildings to go around, Balloons may be on the sidewalk or within some place that's higher than the road, thus your progress is slow.  I think the trick is to get the dog as soon as possible.  Luckily, the dog seems to be in the same spot all the time.  In the Advanced Level, it's under the tree on the left if you make the first right turn on the road.  In the Expert Level, it's between the building in town.  I will try to ignore all the Balloons and go hook up with it next time.  That may be the only way to quickly bust all the Balloons, with the dog's help, to have more time to defeat The Boss.

MYCOKEREWARDS: USE ZERO AND OH INTERCHANGEABLY

At my last job, I once maintained a Lotus Notes database of tips and tricks.  Knowledgebase (KB) was the fancy name I used.  Whenever I came across some computing trick that would save me a minute or an hour I would create an entry in the KB.  Even though computer programs nowadays are powerful, much computer work is still repetitious.  Launch some program, click some button, check off some box, etc.  You end up doing the same sequence over and over.  Some of the tips I found have all these clicks and selections done once the program starts.  Some of my favorite tips are (1) opening certain databases as the Notes Client starts; (2) connect to the various Netware trees and NT domains while logging in via Netware client.  The KB was mostly text and as I created most of the entries, I mostly knew what keyword to search for.  When the transition to SharePoint happened, it was just not the same.  I never got around to getting warmed up to SharePoint.

Recently I discovered a useful tip in entering codes for My Coke Rewards (MCR).  MCR is that loyalty program whereby participants buy Coca Cola products and enter a lengthy code found on the products to accumulate points that can be traded in for merchandise etc.  After many years of collecting I finally "cashed in" for a $50 Nike gift card that shortly went toward a new pair of Nike running shoe.  It's appropriate use of the points, since I get them mostly by picking up bottle caps etc while out running.

I used to enter the codes on a laptop computer via a web browser.  Recently I started to use the iPhone app, just because it takes less time to get the iDevice and the app going.  The codes are automatically converted to uppercase too.  Unfortunately, the series of code involve letters and numbers, which means frequent switching of keyboard screen while using the iPhone app.  One day, after making some typo, I read the possible solutions and discovered that zero ("0") and oh ("O") can be used interchangeably.  For example, if the code is A1B2C4D56EF0HK, where the third number from the end is a zero.  If I was to religiously switch between letter keyboard and number keyboard, after F I would have switch to number, enter the zero, then switch to letter to enter the rest.  Instead, I can save a few nano-seconds by just entering FOHK.  "Oh" would be readily accepted as zero.  Just like all those seconds I saved with having programs opened the way I need them to, using zero and oh interchangeably with MCR does add up.  Or at least cut down on the frustration.

Now let's have some fun!  I am giving away three 10-point codes from fridge packs that I rescued off the street.  I currently have a surplus of codes and there's a 120-point limit per week that I will easily max out, so I'm giving the three 10-point codes.  Probably just a one-time deal.  Who knows?  In future weeks I may not have any codes for my own use.

To get a 10-point code, look up a post from my blog, in the year 2012, for some topic or some fact that is common to you and me.  Enter two comments for that blog entry, one explaining what's the common link between you and me, the second just your email address.  I will approve the first comment but not the second, so I will have your email address to send the code, but will not publish it for the public to see.  Disclaimer:  It is highly unlikely that these codes were used, but it's a possibility.  You've been warned.  Play the game at your own risk.