Edge of Insanity: May 2017

See #Cars3 race into theaters June 16th!

This post did not receive compensation. Assets were received through our partnership with Walt Disney Company.

Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) is suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves. To get back in the game, he will need the help of an eager young race technician, Cruz Ramirez (voice of Cristela Alonzo), with her own plan to win, plus inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet and a few unexpected turns. Proving that #95 isn’t through yet will test the heart of a champion on Piston Cup Racing’s biggest stage!

We're big Disney fans here at Edge Of Insanity. Me and Leigh (our new team member and writer) may have our favorites, but Leigh's son is a MAJOR Cars fan!

FACT: Did you know that filmmakers added four characters to the film that were inspired by real NASCAR legends? They include Junior Johnson, Louise Smith (who entered her first race in 1949), Wendell Scott, and Henry "Smokey" Yunick.

Since Cars 3 releases into theaters on June 16th, we've decided to keep the excitement going by sharing some awesome activity sheets and recipes for you and your family to try while you wait for Lightning McQueen and the gang to hit theaters!

Can you complete the race and win? Click here to download the Piston Cup Race Maze. (PDF)

Think your memory is as good at Mater's? Try out this Memory game! Click here to download the Cars 3 Memory Game. (PDF)

Who doesn't love a good board game? Now you can build one and play along with Cars 3! Click here to download Race To The Finish Board Game. (PDF)

All that racing can make a stomach growl so why not try out Miss Fritter's famous Corn Fritters Click here to download the Miss Fritter's Corn Fritters recipe. (PDF)

FACT: Did you know that more than two dozen characters take part in the Crazy 8 demolition derby sequence, including a car named Tbone, whose condition temporarily improves when he gets hit?

Since the release of Cars 2, we can't wait to see Cars 3!

So you want to start running... Now what?

It's no secret that I'm a runner. I've been running since August or September of last year. It's transformed my life and my health to the point that if I don't run for a long period of time, I feel like something is missing, and the minute I go running after a long break, it feels good.

But many aren't sure where to begin when it comes to running. Trust me - I had no clue where to start. "Do I just start jogging? What about shoes? Will I be able to handle it physically and mentally? What if I'm no good at running?" Those questions were constantly in the back of my mind when I decided to pick up running, and I'm sure new runners, or those who want to start running, are asking themselves the same questions.

Let's start with the basics. First, if you're a new runner, don't think you can't do it, otherwise you're setting yourself up for failure. Running is 75% mental and 25% physical. The more you motivate yourself, the better your runs will be.

So where do you start?

Pick a day, get outside, and start walking. You need to stretch your muscles by walking, because if you just start running the minute you step outside, shin splints will become common until you've conditioned your body to running. Shin splints are microtears in the shin muscle, and those hurt! So just walk for a few minutes and then jog for 30 seconds. If you can't do 30 seconds, try for at least 10 seconds. Keep that rhythm going for at least 1/4 of a mile. If you feel like you can go longer, go ahead!
Don't over do it the first few weeks. Your body isn't used to running, and running constantly when you first start can cause pulled muscles and exhaustion. I learned that lesson the hard way. Once or twice a week is good enough.
Find a form that works for your body. You'll notice that tons of runners don't have the same form, and as you continue to run, you'll find one that works for you. Experiment as you go, but find a form that is comfortable and safe.
Make sure shoes are athletic shoes. Canvas and non-athletic shoes are supportive and can actually do more damage. (Not to mention that they are really uncomfortable for running/jogging!). You don't have to buy expensive running shoes right now as long as the shoes you have are comfortable and supportive. Always wear clean dry socks. Making sure your feet are healthy is extremely important.
Make sure you stay hydrated and you eat. Running not only makes you sweat a lot, you also burn quite a bit of fuel. So eat an hour before you run and drink plenty of fluids before and after. Be sure to check out our 4 Tips to Snacking & Staying Fit.
Stay motivated. There are going to be days you don't feel like running. But find a goal, whether it's to lose weight, run your first 5K, or just to get healthy, and keep it with you. Write it down. Tell yourself daily why you wanted to start running. You'll start finding motivation anywhere! Running buddies are also a great way to get motivated!

But the most important thing, and I cannot stress this enough, is that before you start any new workout regimen, check with your doctor and make sure you're healthy enough to handle it. You don't want to stress your body out too much.

Post-run smile!

But if you do start running, after a good run, you'll find yourself feeling much better - physically and mentally!

A Complete Look At Guardians Of Ember: Immortal Edition

Thanks to Runewaker for the partnership. All thoughts/opinions belong to the reviewer. Your experience may differ.

Guardians Of Ember Waypoint

Released on December 13, 2016, Guardians of Ember is the newest hack-and-slash MMORPG game by Runewaker. Runewaker is the maker of the games Runes of Magic and Dragon's Prophet.

(Much thanks to Leigh for the review!)

I was given a chance to play Guardians of Ember in its fullest by getting its Immortal Edition, which does give you a lot of interesting items to enjoy the game with. I also looked in depth at each race and class although I did primarily stuck with three classes through-out my gameplay experience due to my play style. I tried out many of the games features including the dungeoning system, Party system, and PvP battlegrounds.

The Different Races

Races (left to right): Dwarves, Neia, Elf (Female), Elf (Male), Human (Female), Human (Male)

In Guardians of Ember there are four different races: Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Neia.

The Human race has a small story to how they are part of the campaign and look as you would expect a human to look and you can choose whether you want to play a Male or Female Character.
The Elves also are accompanied by a short backstory and have what we would call Elvish characteristics with being tall with long hair and pointy ears, and you can also choose to be a Male or Female character.
The Dwarves, although are short and stubbly with beard like you would expect, are restricted to only playing with the Male gender and their short background doesn’t explain why that is.
Like The Dwarves, the Neia also have a sex restriction but it is restricted to Female only. The Neia also look like very short versions of the elves but their background story is very extensive when compared to the other races.

With each race you do have a wide assortment of ways you can change the way your character can look by changing the color of their skin, eyes, hair, and lips, and the color pallet is very large compared to some games. Other than the sex restrictions given to both the Dwarfs and Neias, one other thing was missing which you can find in almost any type of MMORPG, the RNG or Random Name Generator. I love to just pick a random name for my characters instead of having to deal with a message saying, “That name is already taken.” every time you try to make one up yourself. I hope that some of these issues such as the gender restrictions and the RNG are implemented in future updates for the game.

The Classes

There are now six different classes which are Knight, Priest, Arcanist, Engineer, Ranger, and Dark Knight.

The Knight class is your typical sword swinging, shield wielding, tank/damage class.
The Priest is more of your support healer who can damage at range with spells.
The Arcanist is a magic casting damage dealing squishy.
The Engineer uses guns ether 2 pistols or 1 rifle for damage and uses machines to help buff or heal the party.
The Ranger is your bow and crossbow wielding ranged class.
The Dark Knight is also a duel-wielding damage/tank whose abilities can enhance their weapons.

I personally like the class system which brings iconic classes to be played in a much different environment.

Gameplay

Arcanist Gameplay screenshot

The gameplay is what you would expect from these types of games. You collect your quests from anyone with a yellow exclamation point above their head and turn them into the people with a blue question mark. You go around completing quests buy collecting items, killing certain creatures, or achieving certain objectives. I just wish they had a way to tell the difference between Main storyline quests and optional side quests, especially since you have to read everything with no voice-overs even in cinematic scenes.

As for the graphics for the game I would say a good 3 out of 5 on the “World” graphics and 4 out of 5 on the cinematic graphics.

Cutscene

The normal party system is average. All you have to do is find someone or a friend who you want to party with and send a party invite. The dungeons are a bit liner with MOBS every so often and there is no dungeon party making system, but it’s not really needed because you can solo these dungeons, even if you’re a squishy Arcanist, as long as you know how to “kite” the bosses. The PvP, in my opinion, is where the most work is needed. All the PvP is either 1v1 or 3v3 and it’s you killing the other team on a 2 tier circular map. I would have liked a more objective based PvP Battleground.

Guardians of Ember Boss

The Immortal Edition

The Immortal Edition of the game costs $50 and entitles you to many different perks. These perks include Exclusive Permanente mounts, items for visual fireworks, Bag expansion, experience boosts, and much more. There is however one very big downfall. The code given to you so you can get these Items can only be applied to one character and in my experience, when you buy a special edition of any game, including MMORPGs, it is implemented to all characters you have or make in the future and unless it is fixed in future patches, I do not think it is worth the price you pay.

Guardians Of Ember Engineer

After playing the game for quite a while I have learned that there are features that I really like about the game and a few features which seem mundane. Overall I would give the game a 3 out of 5 the way it currently is, but if some of the thing I mentioned were fixed, I would say 5’s across the board. I will definitely continue to play the game because it is a fun play through and I can’t wait to see what changes they have in store for Guardians of Ember.

You can find Guardians of Ember on Steam for PC. Editions available are the Mortal Edition ($19.99), Demigod Edition ($29.99), and Immortal Edition ($49.99).

Now There's a Smart Pillow That Wakes You Up Gently

Imagine waking up one morning, feeling refreshed, like you just got the best rest of your life. Hard to imagine that, right? Most of us stumble out of bed and to the nearest thing with caffeine, hoping it'll make us feel halfway human.

If only our pillows could help us wake up more naturally, instead of a blaring alarm on our phones that we constantly put on "snooze".

Wait, there might be a solution for that! I was on Twitter one day when I came across the Sunrise Smart Pillow, currently being developed by Mode Modern. (Check out their Kickstarter.) Touted to be the first ever "smart pillow", it's supposed to bring a better way of falling asleep and waking up.

Here's the how:

It comes with an impressive 18 features including:

Sleep Tracker
Smart Alarm
Sunrise Alarm
Wireless Music
Fan Sounds
Blue Light Technology
Deep Sleep Mode
Custom Wake Messages
Sound Conditioner
Audio books
Directional Speakers
Binaural Beats
Reading Lights
Breathable Fabric
Premium Memory Foam
Ergonomic Support
Cooling Technology

Using Bluetooth and technology, the lights this smart pillow sports wake you up when it’s time. All you have to do is set it up on their mobile app.

The pillow also incorporates a gyroscope and accelerometer to monitor how often you toss and turn. Need guided meditation? Yep, it has that, too.

To say that this packs more gadgets than Iron Man's suit is an understatement.

You can pre-order the Sunrise Smart Pillow on Indiegogo starting at $129.

We'll wait to see the reviews on the Sunrise Smart Pillow before we decide if it's worth giving up our favorite $10 pillows from Walmart.

Zombie-Opoly - When Monopoly and zombies collide.

I received Zombie-Opoly from Late For The Sky games to facilitate this review. All thoughts/opinions are my own. Your experience may differ.

I'm a gamer - board games and video games, you name it. Granted, I'm not a hardcore gamer like some of my friends, but I love gaming. It makes my little geeky heart squeal with happiness. Plus, I'm a little competitive, depending on who I'm playing with (or against). But I learned a very valuable lesson when it comes to competitiveness when you play against a very good friend (a hardcore gamer called L.C.) and your twin sister.

The three of us, thanks to Late For The Sky Games, were able to try out Zombie-Opoly. What exactly is Zombie-Opoly? Think of Monopoly but with zombies. We like zombies so we were intrigued.

Here's a quick run-down of game:

Player pieces (6) - a shovel, Severed Ear, Femur Bone, Lethal Weapon, Zombie Boy and a Human Remnant

These are not all the player pieces. Just the ones we chose for our game.

Properties - Properties have a zombie-theme like The Horde (also known as Boardwalk in Monopoly) or Goodbye Kitty (also known as Mediterranean Avenue). These are interesting! They include interesting facts and cute little jokes on the back.

Houses/Hotels - Houses are Boxes of Flesh and Hotels are Screaming Humans.

Play Cards - What would be Community Chest and Chance are now Stagger and Crawl. They're a lot like Monopoly play cards, except there is one card that kind of takes the game a little further.

L.C. had no problem doing a "zombie walk". (We were at a public board gaming place and the last thing you want is to be crawling around on the floor. We may upload the video at a later time!)

Time - You can play the normal version or an hour version.

Gameplay
It plays just like Monopoly. The only difference is that it is zombies and maybe a little more fun. (See "Crawl" card above.)

Most Monopoly games can go on forever, unless one person has a very good strategy. We all started out as we normally would, but within 30 minutes, my sister and I realized that it was going to get extremely competitive. About 45 minutes to an hour in, I was the first person out, with L.C. being the person who took me down. It didn't take long for the realization to sink in that L.C. knew what he was doing. About 30 minutes later, he had an empire near the "Shamble to Buried" (also known as Go To Jail), which eventually took out my sister, declaring L.C. the winner.

The only problem we saw was that because of the design of the game board, it made it sometimes difficult to see the silver player pieces.

Other than that, it was fun and if you love zombies, Zombie-Opoly might be the game for you.

4 Things You Must Do While in Waco, Texas

Waco in Texas has become a hot spot, thanks to the HGTV show "Fixer Upper". I was born and raised in Waco, and when I saw the first episode of "Fixer Upper", I never imagined my hometown would become so popular.

Thanks to the show's success, Chip and Joanna Gaines created Magnolia Market, a shop for those who want a little taste of "Fixer Upper" located downtown and within walking distance of Indian Springs Park and the Suspension Bridge. It is now considered THE spot for visitors of Waco.

But don't let that fool you - Waco has some other great places to visit and check out!

Waco boasts its own Cameron Park Zoo, right in the heart of Cameron Park. Animals include White-Handed Gibbons, cougars, giraffes, meerkats, and even a Komodo Dragon! I've been several times, but my favorite animal exhibit will always be the orangutans! They just look so cuddly!

I don't know how many of you are history buffs, but I totally am! The Waco Mammoth National Monument is kind of a cool look into the paleolithic era with the nation’s only recorded discovery of a nursery herd of Columbian mammoths. You can actually view the fossils, just as they were found! For $5 for adults with kids ages 3 or under getting in for free, not a bad way to spend a few hours!

Who wants candy? OK, this one might be a little biased, but I have yet to come across a small-ish city that has an actual candy shot filled to the gills with every sweet you can think of, including candy that our parents grew up with. Hey Sugar Candy Shop even has ice cream and floats! It's one of my favorite hang out spots.

No trip to Waco would be complete without visiting the Dr Pepper Museum. You can find an extensive collection of memorabilia and history in Dr Pepper's first bottling plant. The most popular exhibit is a continuous loop of old Dr Pepper commercials. You can end your visit with a Dr Pepper from an old soda fountain.

There's also the Texas Rangers Museum, Mayborn Museum (which kids will LOVE), and the ever-impressive Baylor University campus, but take it from a Wacoan - the hidden gems are so worth it!

Bring gaming nostalgia back into your life!

Video games have crossed into futuristic instead of the primitive games from yesteryear. Gameplay has moved from side-scrolling, like Sonic or Mario Bros, to VR, where you are the character.

For gamers, we often feel nostalgic for the games that got us into gaming in the first place. However, many of us don't own an original NES or Sega Genesis console to which we can fulfill our needs to play those games .

Well, we did a little research and found a few places where you can play the games you grew up with.

Contra on 8bit.com in Google Chrome

For Super Mario Brothers fans, there is 8bbit.com. The simple-looking website boasts over 100 NES games in alphabetic order. You have the option of playing in the browser or full-screen. All 8bbit games run on Adobe Flash.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on SSEGA in Mozilla Firefox

Another website is SSEGA. Does the name look familiar? It should! It is a website to play infamous Sega Genesis games. Besides the ever-popular Sonic series, they have over 1000+ games that came out on the Genesis console. Some games don't work, but a majority of the games do work. You have the option of playing in the browser window or full-screen. All ssega.com games run on Adobe Flash.

Asteroids (Atari 7800) on RetroUprising in Mozilla Firefox

If you are looking for a way to play games like Atari, Space Invaders, or any other forgotten games, RetroUprising has almost any game you are looking for, including user created "hack" games from other popular games like Sonic. You can also find games for N64, Game Boy, and many other older consoles.

You also have the option to save your game onto your computer but to do that, you need to download their latest version of ArcadeOx. At last check, it was safe to download and use. Unfortunately, RetroUprising only runs on Windows.

How Quinn & the Quips are getting girls excited about technology.

With technology becoming more and more popular, trying to find a way to reach a much younger generation excited about technology can be difficult.

The people at Blue Socks Media have come up with a great idea - create an animated TV series and game called Quinn & the Quips, which centers around the 11-year-old game developer and technology-savvy Quinn, who has to keep her emoji-like character called Quips, who have escaped from her latest game and are causing chaos in her life and relationships, quiet from an overly-competitive classmate.

The Quips

Quinn & the Quips shows that science and technology can be cool - encouraging girls to be excited about a field where they may be afraid to show interest or experiment with.

To learn more about this awesome project, meet the characters, and help them create the pilot, head on over to the Kickstarter page. Every bit helps, especially when it comes to a project that could impact so many girls and a field a lot of women aren't represented.

We had the chance to sit down and ask writer and producer Alex Anderson a few questions about Quinn & the Quip:

Edge Of Insanity: Quinn is obviously tech-savvy. Where did the inspiration to create Quinn come from?
Alex Anderson: I’ve always loved games. I grew up playing NES (still have it, still mostly works) and turned to computer games as soon as my family acquired a desktop computer (& massive tower) with Windows 95. Games are interactive & the media we watch is becoming more & more interactive so I wanted to create a character that could translate to both and could cater to many possibilities of combining games, “traditional” story, and virtual reality (which is what I’d love to do eventually).

EOI: What's the story behind the Quips?
AA: I’ve always been a fan of physical comedy, bright colors, simple design, and magic…combining all of that, the Quips just naturally happened. In the show, the Quips are characters in Quinn’s latest game that continuously escape from her tablet and cause some havoc in her life, especially since she must keep them a secret from her frenemy, Ben. How do they escape, you ask? I can’t tell you yet. Couldn’t she just delete them? She could…but they also turn out to be very helpful in certain ways and they each have a personality & feelings.

EOI: In the QQ Game, what can we expect to see?
AA: We are in the pre-development stage of the game. It could change if we end up working with a gaming company and they have a better, crazy-super-cool idea. As of right now though, we are planning a multi-level app game where players will create avatars or choose to play as a character from the show. The avatar will be responsible for finding, catching, and keeping the Quips out of Ben’s (the antagonist) hands [and possibly while also maintaining her grades & her social life].

EOI: What are you hoping children, and parents, will take away from Quinn & The Quips?
AA: I’m hoping they will laugh together, relate to the characters, take away positive social values, and a new perspective or interest in technology and how we relate to it.

EOI: Any advice for young girls who are showing interesting in technology, science, or creating games?
AA: Don’t be afraid to experiment! Maybe do that with parental guidance or a teacher…especially if there are chemicals (or the internet) involved, but explore your imagination. You have one for a reason. And don’t be afraid to stand out or be different than your peers. Having different opinions and interests is part of what makes you unique. That might be frustrating or seem uncool if you feel you don’t “fit in” when you’re younger, but keep playing! Your interests could turn into cool, fun, & fulfilling careers or hobbies someday!

As a girl who showed an early interest in technology and gaming, Quinn & the Quips is groundbreaking as it shows that even girls can have a love of technology and games without being afraid to show it.

Is Robin's Quest: A Legend Born worth playing?

I like PC and console games. I've logged quite a few hours playing Neverwinter, City of Steam: Arkadia, League of Legends, and most recently, Diablo III. (When your friend invites you over to play co-op, you play co-op. I love my Demon Hunter's Rain of Vengeance's Flying Strike.)

But I occasionally play casual games when I just need to slow down and that's I came across Robin's Quest: A Legend Born.

Beginning cutscene from Robin's Quest: A Legend is Born

You are essentially Robin, a woman (I know. I was surprised, too.), who has been jailed by the evil ruler who taxes the poor and it's up to you to save the day. Like every hidden object game, you find clues and complete puzzles, but in RQ, you are mostly searching for clues. Puzzles to solve are scarce, but relative to the story.

Screenshot of gameplay

The game is pretty short by casual game standards, lasting less than 3 hours. Most hidden object games last much longer, requiring several days to finish (unless you have nothing else going on that day). It wasn't as challenging as you'd find with other casual hidden object games. It was actually quite easy, making it great for those who don't want a challenging game.

The graphics and game play are smooth, though it will depend on the system it is played on.

All in all, Robin's Quest: A Legend Born is a pretty easy and short casual hidden object game.

You can find Robin's Quest: A Legend Born on Amazon for download.

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The Different Races

The Classes

Gameplay

The Immortal Edition