New CoD Black Ops Screenies, New Lease on Life

    I went to the local medical supply place to be fitted for the pressure stocking. I went home and put the leg up to reduce the swelling before putting the stocking on. Bit of a struggle getting it on, but, once I did, it did make a big difference. I haven't been able to sit up for more than a few minutes - maybe an hour, tops - before the swelling and pain really started. This time, I was able to sit at my computer for several hours and walk around without any pain. The pressure stocking seems to really work. Once I took it off, there was markedly less swelling and stiffness. It even felt better than usual in the morning when I got up. It's early days yet, and I'm going to have to do some more walking around to really stress the leg, but I'm more hopeful than I've been in weeks and weeks and weeks. Thank God Almighty.

    Why do Free-for-All spawns suck? That's what YouTuber TetraNinja wants to know. If I had to bet, it would be because Free-for-All mode does away with the 'spawn near your team' factor. It also seems that some factor is included to spawn you near your enemy so you can take revenge. Unfortunately, that seems to lead to killing the same guy over and over sometimes. I've noticed, since I watch more vids than actually play lately, that successful FFA players often reverse their direction on the map, anticipating that an enemy is likely to be rushing them from that direction, thanks to the ever-present narc radar.Moving on...

• New post-E3 Call of Duty: Black Ops screenies.
• Infinity Ward no longer developing Call of Duty?
• GamesRadar rundown on Mad Catz Call of Duty: Black Ops themed peripherals.
• New iPhone app: The Unofficial Modern Warfare 2 Strategy Guide currently $0.99 from App Store.

• BASHandSlash reports Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has a lag-fixing server patch, R16, currently in beta.
• BASHandSlash's Jockyitch discusses Battlefield: Bad Company 2's helicopter handling tweaks and countermeasures. Here's his YouTube vid illustrating:

• Team Fortress 2 engineer getting update, Golden Wrench. Joystiq reports on hints about the new update gleaned from this recent engineer comic.
• Red Dead Redemption by the bloody numbers as GameSpy collates the game's carnage stats, from Army men to wolves.
• Microsoft seeing 'unprecedented demand' for Xbox 360 Slim. 
• Do players really care about graphics? For me, it's all framerate. Don't sacrifice smooth framerates for eye candy.
• Pachter: Games industry 'in a state of decline'.
• The Inconvenient Truth of Buying Video Games. 
• Portal 2 could be the greatest game ever.
• Three year-old plays Mirror's Edge and Portal. Great. Now, I'll be getting pwned by toddlers as well as the usual Timmies.

• Russian supply capsule misses ISS docking.
• Firefox - the Official browser of IBM. That cracking sound was my jaw hitting the floor.
• Microsoft solves the backwards battery problem.
• Rapper Will.I.Am uses iPad to track down thief.
• Just in time for the 4th: Fireworks Wallpapers.
• I, for one, welcome our robotic beer-toting overlords.
• iPhone holding problem finally solved.
• George Miller 'maxing out' with two new Mad Max films at once? Will newly disgraced Mel Gibson reprise the role?
• Nine historic symbols that don't mean what you think they do.