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Archive for November, 2006

San Diego, WI

Holy fucking shit it’s cold. Last night, San Diego turned into the frozen tundra of Lambeau field. It was cold and windy. The weather report issued a wind advisory with gusts up to 40-50mph - and I fucking believe it. There was debris flying around last night and the wind was howling through the canyons like a mother. It’s died down considerably now, but I’m still, pardon the pun, blown away by it. Sadly, no power lines were downed and I’m at work.

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Grindhouse TV Spot

Basically, this TV spot is a mashup of various trailers and clips that were shown at Comic-Con this year. Grindhouse looks to be the must-see movie of next year. I think a few exclusives that were shown at the Con are still missing. Nonetheless, it still rocks. I am eagerly awaiting this double feature from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. For me, the fake trailer of Machete starring Danny Trejo takes the cake.

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Wii Update!

You want mii.

Finally, it has arrived. I waited over 3 hours in line at Best Buy last Sunday to finally get my hands around one. I was #10 out of 15 available units. By the time they handed out tickets at 9AM, there were already 50-60 people in line. I ended up buying the system and Excite Truck. Best Buy didn’t have any accessories at all. I found a spare nunchuck at Wal-Mart right after. The big breakthrough was yesterday, when I caught Target just as they were opening their shipment of accessories from Nintendo. I picked up some more Wiimotes for future multiplayer action.

I was close to buying Super Monkey Ball and possibly Madden. I was disappointed to learn that Call of Duty 3 had no multiplayer, either online or local split-screen. A huge disappointment. I probably won’t be picking up that game at all. I have to wait for Zelda, just because I know it’ll suck up all of my time. Marvel Ultimate Alliance looks great though. I’m eagerly awaiting WarioWare and more importantly, Super Smash Bros. next year.

Overall, I’ve been totally impressed and totally smitten by the Wii. It’s quiet, easy to use, sexy, and above all, loads of fun. I can listen to music and view photos on it. Although the video functionality leaves much to be desired, I’m not heartbroken by its failure to play 1080p HD MPEG4 trailers I downloaded from the web. I haven’t bought any Virtual Console games yet.

My sister and her boyfriend Mike recently came over to try it out. They are not gamers at all; rarely playing games, if at all. However, after the initial hesitation, they were totally won over by it. They were having so much fun playing Wii Sports and Excite Truck. I really think Nintendo scored a huge hit here and looks to be the upsetting darkhorse in this round of console wars. I can’t wait for future DS interactivity and Wii Channels.

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Happy Thanksgiving

There is much to be thankful for. I’m thankful to have such loving and loyal friends & family. As cliched as it sounds, I’m thankful to have a roof over my head, a hot meal in my stomach, and my health. I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving. <3

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No Wii For Mii

I tried and I failed. Checked out the midnight launch at Walmart with Hanie. We waited about 30 minutes before we were informed the list was already full for about 30 units. The Target down the street had 80 units and 70 of the spots were already taken. I didn’t want to wait up all night for it. Next morning, I got up to go to Toys-R-Us. Waited in line and got inside, but then realized that tickets were already given out for people standing in line. All in all, I didn’t waste too much time standing in line. The Wii launch went infinitely smoother than the PS3. No riots, no robberies, no shootings. Wonders what having a massive amount of units available launch day can do.

In other news, my friend Kevan was able to get one. We played Wii Sports and Madden on it. So much damn fun. I hope to get one this week, just in time for the long weekend. Wii Sports is so simplistic and almost childish, but damn is it fun to play. Madden is great using the Wiimote too. It looks decent enough. The gameplay easily makes up for any lack of detailed graphics. After a few hours playing the Wii, I realized how innovative the controller is and how much fun games can be again. It really opens the possibility for new games, while making old hits refreshing again.

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Travel Trips

I found a couple of cool sites for those of you that frequent the airport.

Security Checkpoint Wait Times - TSA offers a simple to use site that shows you the estimate wait time for security lines at airports. Note that the data is not real-time and is based on historical data. So, if you get a bitchy old hag or a fussy family of 4 with brat kids, your wait might be longer than what’s listed here. Still, it’s worth a look before heading on your trip.

Airport Parking Guide - AboutAirportParking offers an easy to use site based on Google Maps to help you find the best parking. With over 400 airports listed, the site shows you available parking lots, general time delays at the airport, average security wait, parking lot reviews, and most importantly, a list of parking lots, which you can sort by distance, price, or name.

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