Author: John Pezzino

Extra Life 2016

As you may already know, this is the fourth year we (NJLanParty) have been participating in the Extra Life Gaming Marathon to support the Children’s Hospital. The idea behind Extra Life is to provide an outlet for gamers to support a great cause. Some people are runners, and they can run marathons, to support good causes. Other people are swimmers, and they swim laps. Some people are athletic, and they do pushups, or other exercises. I am a gamer. I play games. When I heard that there was a gaming marathon, I thought “This is something I can really get involved with”.

 

Some people wonder why playing games, something I would do anyway given the chance, is something people should donate to? Someone actually said, “Why would I PAY you to do what you do for free on your own.”  The thing I stress is you are not donating to me, you are donating to the Children’s Hospital. All I am doing is drawing your attention to a great cause and the good works that the hospital does.  The work and the miracles that happen in these hospitals really is amazing. Just check out some of their YouTube videos and you will see.

 

By donating to me, you are saying, “I agree with what you are doing, and I want to support that cause”.

 

For the fourth year in a row, we will be holding our marathon at Innovation Fitness Solutions (address below). We are very appreciative of Rob and the other trainers at IFS, who put up with us disrupting the Saturday and Sunday workouts, while we setup (and take down) tables, computers, and networks for 24 hours of gaming.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to come on down and say hello to the NJLP Extra Life team. We will have several games to play, we are always looking for new players, and we would love to teach you how to play. We have board games, card games, and computer games. This year, one of the guys will be bringing his Virtual Reality (VR) setup to demonstrate to anyone interested. This is really a cool new technology. You won’t believe how amazing it is.

 

Innovation Fitness Solutions is located in Bromat Plaza on Rt 23 North In Butler. The address is 1574 Rt 23 North – Butler, NJ. For a hint, as you are coming North on Route 23, you will pass Outback, then Goodyear, and then Bromat Plaza (IFS) will be immediately after Goodyear. If you reach the traffic light, you have gone too far. Once you pull into the shopping center, IFS will be in the middle of the long side. If you are stopping by after noon, we may be locking the front door, so please drive around to the back. We will have the back door open, and we will be just inside the door. Even with 24 hours, there are too many games, and not enough time. I would say the best hours to stop by would be anytime between 1PM and 10PM.

 

I will include a link (http://www.extra-life.org/participant/murdock) if you can help out with a donation. If you would prefer to donate to the hospital with a check or in person, we will have a donation jar on site. Remember, your donation is tax deductible, and 100% of it goes to the hospital.

 

So that’s it for now. I hope you can stop by and say hello.

 

Sincerely,

 

John

Artemis This Weekend

We WILL be playing Artemis at some point during Extra Life 2015, so I figured I would offer it out to the USS Justice. If anyone would like to join us for a couple of hours (and offer a small donation), the Children’s Hospital would appreciate it, and I am sure it will be a blast! If you are interested and available, please let me know so we can coordinate when we will be playing Artemis.

Extra Life is THIS SATURDAY!

Hi everyone! This will be my third year participating in the Extra Life 24 Hour Gaming marathon to benefit the Children’s Hospital. The event is THIS SATURDAY! So far this year, I have raised $325 toward my goal of $1000. 100% of your donation is used for the kids. Any help you can provide will go a long way. This is an organization I really believe in and support with my time and money, and it really feels good to help these kids. I hope you can help me reach my goal. Here is a link to my page to support me.

Below is a fantastic video that was made in my local Children’s Hospital, with the doctors, therapists, staff, and children I support through Extra Life. I hope you can help me help them.

Extra Life 2015

Hi everyone! We are doing the Extra Life Charity Gaming marathon this year. On November 7th, my team and I will be getting together at IFS and gaming for 24 hours to benefit our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals here in New Jersey. Over the last two years, we have raised over $6000 through your donations! Thank you very much for that. I hope I can count on your donations again this year. Here is a link to my page, and below is more information about Extra Life.

 

I’m on a mission to save kids and I need your help. My local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital treats thousands of children each year, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. These kids are facing scary stuff like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and injuries from accidents to name just a few.

You can read more about the Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountainside New Jersey here: http://www.childrens-specilized.org/About-Us.aspx

On November 7th, I’ll be participating in this huge worldwide celebration of the social impact of gamers of all kinds, from video games to board games and tabletop RPG’s! Since 2010, Extra-Life has raised more than $14 million to help children’s hospitals provide critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment, research and charitible care. It’s my sincere hope that you’ll find it in your heart to support my efforts with a monthly pledge or one-time gift that will go directly to my local hospital.

Your donation is tax-deductible and ALL PROCEEDS go to help kids. ( I asked about credit card and administration fees, and there is another fund that exists to pay these fees so that 100% of your donation goes to the help the kids.)

I need your help to reach my goal For The Kids.  Please make a safe, easy donation online today.  Visit http://www.extra-life.org/participant/murdock_njlp and click the “Support This Participant” button on my page to get started.  Thank you so much for supporting my efforts!

Children’s Hospital Donation – Last chance for 2014!

Ok…today is your last chance for a Tax Deduction for 2014. If you have any money put away for charity for 2014, why not consider helping the Children’s Hospital! Here is how your money can help! Below is the link to my donation page.

$15 GIFT OF PLAY – Provides special toys and game that can be used for recreational therapy.
$25 GIFT OF CREATIVITY – Provides art tools like crayons, coloring books, stickers, clay, and art supplies for children to use for art therapy.
$50 GIFT OF LEARNING – Provides items to help the children learn during their stay. These items include books, DVDs, learning software and other educational tools.

Here is the link to my donation page:
http://www.extra-life.org/participant/89673

Happy New Year! And may you have an excellent 2015!

Extra-Life 2014 Final Push

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Hi everyone!

UPDATE: I know the event has passed, but I would still like to raise some more money for the kids before they close the donation window. I know several people that mentioned they wanted to give, but haven’t had the chance yet. I would still like to make it to $1000.

I just saw this in the hospital newsletter: A breakdown of giving levels.

$15 GIFT OF PLAY – Provides special toys and game that can be used for recreational therapy.
$25 GIFT OF CREATIVITY – Provides art tools like crayons, coloring books, stickers, clay, and art supplies for children to use for art therapy.
$50 GIFT OF LEARNING – Provides items to help the children learn during their stay. These items include books, DVDs, learning software and other educational tools.

Anything you can give is appreciated…Even if it is a dollar! And remember, the hospital gets 100% of the money you give!
I am on a mission to save kids and I need your help.

Here is the link to my donation page:
http://www.extra-life.org/participant/89673

My local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountainside New Jersey, treats thousands of children each year, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. These kids are facing scary stuff like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and injuries from accidents to name just a few.
You can read more about the Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountainside New Jersey by clicking here.

On Saturday October 25th, 2014, my team and I will be participating participated n this huge worldwide celebration of the social impact of gamers of all kinds from video games to board games and tabletop RPG’s! Innovation Fitness Solution or IFS (http://innovationfitnesssolutions.com/) is supporting us by providing the location, Internet Access and Electricity for the day, along with a trainer to get us up and moving every couple of hours to make sure we make it to the finish line!

It is my sincere hope that you’ll find it in your heart to support my efforts with a pledge that will go directly to my local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital (Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountainside New Jersey).
Your donation is tax-deductible and ALL PROCEEDS go to help kids. ( We asked about credit card and administration fees, and there is another fund that exists to pay these fees so that 100% of your donation goes to the help the kids.)

In 2012, Extra Life raised more than 2 million dollars to save kids. 2013 was New Jersey LAN Party’s first year participating in Extra-Life gaming marathon, and we raised $2,400!   Extra-Life just about doubled the previous year total, raising $3.99 million in 2013. In 2014 our goals, just like the needs of the kids we serve, are much, much higher.

I can’t do this without your help. Donating online is safe and easy! To make an online donation please click the “Support Me”  at the top of this page for your donation. Thank you for caring for our kids!

Below is a video about the girl that was the inspiration for the Extra-Life drive.

August 2014 Super Moon (early)

The true supermoon will be tomorrow, I know.  I figured I had the time tonight, so I took the telescope out to see what I could see. The moon looked really good. I wished I could share what I was seeing. So I gave the camera on my phone a shot. Here are the pictures I was able to take holding my phone up to the 10mm and 20MM wide angle lenses. I some of the pictures were taken with the Moon-filter. For some of the other pictures, I played with the shutter speed and exposure times.

Extra-Life 2013

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I’m on a mission to save kids and I need your help.

My local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountaiside New Jersey, treats thousands of children each year, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. These kids are facing scary stuff like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and injuries from accidents to name just a few.

You can read more about the Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountaiside New Jersey here : http://www.childrens-specialized.org/About-Us.aspx

On November 2nd, 2013, I’ll be participating in this huge worldwide celebration of the social impact of gamers of all kinds from video games to board games and tabletop RPG’s! My Fitness Center, Innovation Fitness Solutions (IFS) is donating the space for us to play for 25 hours.

It’s my sincere hope that you’ll find it in your heart to support my efforts with a pledge that will go directly to our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital (Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountaiside New Jersey).

Your donation is tax-deductible and ALL PROCEEDS go to help kids. ( I asked about credit card and administration fees, and there is another fund that exists to pay these fees so that 100% of your donation goes to the help the kids.)

Last year, Extra Life raised more than 2 million dollars to save kids, but in 2013 our goals, just like the needs of the kids we serve, are much, much higher. I can’t do this without your help. Donating online is safe and easy! To make an online donation please click Support This Participant or the logo at the top of this post.

Thank you for caring to support me and the kids!
– John –
Murdock

Another shot at filming Artemis Bridge Simulator

Ok…I was able to find some time Saturday night and a few of the guys could make themselves available to man the bridge for a few quick games of Artemis Bridge Simulator. Cupcake, Bashbang and Harlock had never played before. I asked Corpus to bring the green screen to see if he can add some scenery in post production. I don’t think it will come out that good, but at least we gave it a shot.  The best part was we could get some of the core NJLP guys together for the holidays.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!