video game luvin'

I think I have finally figured out what has fueled my love of video games so much in the last few years.

I have a monthly video game rental pass with Blockbuster. I know, I know. "Real gamers use Gamefly." Whatever; Blockbuster's right around the corner. That's not what this post is about, anyway. Since February, I've rented maybe 3 games, and put in a total of about 10 hours of game time. 10 hours?! Hell, I normally do that on a Saturday, alone. The bulb in my projector, finally bit the dust sometime in January after I got back from my vacation to the Keys. I can't complain too much. It did last the better part of 3 years of constant use. In case you don't know, projector bulbs don't come cheap, and they're not universal. I've been temporarily reduced to 17" flat panel monitor that I had lying around. Needless to say, movies, tv, and gaming just isn't the same. I've been watching more stuff on the 19" on my computer in my room.

Thanks to the gratuitous reimbursement from the IRS, my birthday present to myself was originally going to be a 360; but, given the list of titles, I decided to wait. Next, it was going to be a new projector; one that supports HD. Ooohh, the dream of XBox in HD with 5.1 audio.... mmmmm. Gives me mahogany just thinking about it. ;) Well, my laziness of not keeping up regular maintenance on the Jeep left me having to replace the radiator last month. So, 2 weeks, ~$450, a couple sets of greasy clothes (they needed to be tossed from the wardrobe anyway), and the entire cooling system (minus the heater core) later, I just ended up paying extra on some outstanding bills. I figured I had enough in savings I could wait a couple more months on the projector.

I've been jonesing pretty bad lately to get back into the gaming action, so I finally played Shadow of the Colossus for the PS2 (which I rented almost 2 weeks ago). After about 15 minutes of squinting and griping about not being able to really visualize the intricate detail put into the environment, I've decided to pull what I already have saved and just get a new bulb. The new projector will just have to wait until Christmas.... I really want to try to finish the dotHack series before then. I completed game 3 last November and have been constantly thinking about game 4 for at least 2 months, now. Worst case scenario, I've had a couple of friends ask me about buying the projector when I get the new one. I was just going to give it to them, since there was no cost when I acquired it, but maybe I can make a little bank back on the bulb cost and use it to buy a ceiling mount for the new one (or maybe that 5.1 receiver I've been trying to talk my friend out of for several months, now). :)

l8rs.

Peyton's Podcast

Now I don't know if I've made it apparent here or not, but my sister's got me watching One Tree Hill ...along with The O.C. and a few other shows, but we won't go there.... ;) For those of you out there who watch the show, I'm sure you know about Peyton and her Podcasts she does in relevance with each episode. "She" started shortly after this season began.

OK... so what's my point? I finally acquired an iPod Shuffle. I used to use iTunes a few years ago, when it first came out, but I never cared much for the way it organized the files (call me anal). Hence, I went back to using *gasp* Windows Media Player. This was all, of course, before I started using Linux. In that sense, I still haven't really found a media player that does everything of what I want, yet. Like I said, call me anal... and picky. ;)

NEWAYZ.... I downloaded the Podcasts this week and started listening to them on the train in to work. Interesting little addition to the already twisted plot of the show. What I find the funniest is if you listen closely, there's this "theme" of dealing with depression and emotional hard times. Then, at the end, she offers encouragement saying it's worth going on... or something like that. I never really had it all that hard in high school... or at least, I never felt like I had any reason to be depressed. No, I wasn't one of those snobby rich kids, nor was I a bitter pill that never cared much for anyone. I never really fit into a descriptive "click", which seem to have existed more predominatly back then than they do in today's pre-collegiate (<-- is that even a word?) education. Yah, well, I don't have kids, and I haven't been around a whole lot of non-college students in a while. So, I'm probably wrong in that assumption.

Well... whatever. I just like listening to them. ...The Podcasts, that is. :) Peyton's quite the music lover, so she's brought up a few band names in her rants. Gives me something new to listen to for a while.

Geeze, I work in the technology field; you'd think I'd have already jumped on the Podcast bandwagon by now. Hell, I was even late in getting into this blogging thing. Am I loosing my touch with modernization?

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LOL!

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Hrmph... yeah, so newayz, check 'em out the next time you're poking through the iTunes Music Store for something to listen to. Or, if you don't have iTunes, download 'em from here:
http://peytonspodcast1.blogspot.com
Worst case senario, you've wasted 5 minutes listening to an "episode" of One Tree Hill.


l8rs.