Gamer Lent

Well, I picked up Rogue Galaxy today for the PS2. It is probably going to be one of the last 2 or 3 games I get for the system (Lumines Plus and God Of War 2 being the other two).

I've been looking forward to Rogue Galaxy almost as long as I was looking forward to Final Fantasy XII. It's by the same guys who developed Dragon Quest VIII (and Dark Cloud 2) and looks to be a spiritual successor to one of my all time favourite games, Skies Of Arcadia.

It's basically a cel-shaded RPG romp through the universe as a band of space pirates. Garrett saw the case when I got home and wanted to watch me play it more than he wanted to watch Backyardigans. Yes, it looks that cool. All the 2 1/2 year olds in the neighbourhood want to watch me play!

I had ordered Rogue Galaxy from Amazon a month ago and was hoping to get it sometime next week or so. Yesterday I got an e-mail stating that they'd delayed shipping for 4-6 weeks and I wouldn't be getting it until close to my birthday. Thankfully EB got copies in today so I grabbed one and cancelled my Amazon order. I don't even know why I bother trying to order games from Amazon. They're ridiculously fast for movies, CD's and books but use a herd of frozen turtles to ship their games.

Anyway, the reason I was trying so hard to get a copy today is because I'm taking Gamer Lent starting tomorrow. Gamer Lent is when I swear off buying any new games or game peripherals for an entire month. Thankfully there's not much coming out until March anyway, so it shouldn't be nearly as hard as if I tried doing this in, say, November, but I still need to try and actually stay away from game stores for a month.

I told the manager at EB today when I was in and I think he had to lay off one of his staff. Poor fella.

Julie's In For A Surprise!

Have you heard about this case in the States?

Claudia Mejia gave birth eight and a half months ago at Orlando Regional South Seminole. She was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando where her arms and legs were amputated. She was told she had streptococcus, a flesh eating bacteria, and toxic shock syndrome, but no further explanation was given.

The hospital, in a letter, wrote that if she wanted to find out exactly what happened, she would have to sue them.

Holy crap! The article goes on to say:

"When the statute is named 'Patients Right To Know,' I don't know how it could be clearer," Hyman said.

The hospital's lawyers wrote back, "Ms. Mejia's request may require legal resolution." In other words, according to their interpretation of the law, Mejia has to sue them to get information about herself.

I guess there is some legal loophole about how she had asked to know if any other patients on her floor had streptococcus and that would violate their privacy, but come on...

Julie made me promise that she'd come out of labour with all her limbs intact. I guess she did pay for the Wii and has been rather understanding of my game purchases of late, so I'll do my best to keep the hacksaws away.

Creeeeepy...

I found one of the creepier, yet interesting, websites on the internet today. It's mydeathspace.com and it basically compiles obituaries of people who had MySpace pages.

I loathe MySpace (1997 called and wants its website back) but I have to say that this site is really neat. There are the usual bevy of teens wrapping their cars around trees, school buses and other immovable objects, but then there are the stranger cases that tickle that forensic nodule in my brain and make me wonder exactly what happened (since the stories often don't tell the entire story).

I've always wondered how the big network of friends I've built online would ever find out about my death if/when I ever were to shuffle off this mortal coil. I guess I need to write a will and put all of the websites and MSN contacts that need to be notified :)

Wow. What a downer of a way to start the day. I found that site and was also talking about my experiences being a pallbearer with some people on Evil Avatar (someone there lost an uncle and wanted to know what to expect from the whole pallbearer experience).

All I need to do to cap things off is to sign my organ donor card and my morbid morning will be complete!

Maybe a coffee will brighten my day a bit.

Like An Arrow To The Heart

Did you hear that Feb. 14th is Caring And Friendship Day?

WTF?! Since when has Valentine's Day changed names? Is this just something some weirdo at Treehouse has implemented or have schools done away with Jolly Old St. Valentine and implemented a sustainable action plan on caring and/or friendship?

What next? Easter will be known as Chocolate Omelette And Sacrifice Day? Christmas will henceforth be known as Present And Fat Guy Appreciation Day?

I hate when people rename holidays, esp. when they're basically secular celebrations these days. If it's not Valentine's Day because of the ties to the ancient church, I'm even more annoyed. I can understand if it's Friendship & Caring Day because of the connotations of love usually implied (esp. for small kids) but even there it's pretty lame.

Dresden: Take Two...

Well, tonight was episode 2. I know that I wasn't alone in my disappointment in the first episode. None of the characters acted like their literary counterparts, the tone of the episode didn't ring true to the books and the casting seemed rather off too.

I have to say that after having watched episode 2, my hopes have risen significantly. The self-depricating Harry voiceover from the books is back, the characters (especially Bob) are acting like themselves again and the intricate (to a point) schemes that Harry has to come up with to save the day are back. It felt like an episode written and directed by someone who had actually read a Dresden story instead of just reading a Coles Notes list of character names (which the first episode felt like).

It still feels a bit like a low-budget show, but I can see the potential now that wasn't there last week. They still haven't introduced a lot of the more interesting characters/factions/plot points from the books, but if the series lasts longer than the initial batch of episodes, hopefully the Vampires, Faeries and Wizards will all make an appearance.

I'm just glad that things seem to not suck so badly after the first episode. I wonder if I'm alone in my optimism.

You can be TOO much of a Leafs Fan

I came across this picture today and had to share it.

Why? Because it is the single creepiest piece of Leafs clothing ever...

Enjoy!

RUN AWAY!

I found the link to this on Extralife today.

Behold! The scariest shark on planet Earth!

RUN! Er, SWIM!

Very cool, yet disturbing shark, if I do say so myself.

Oh, I'm feeling much better now. I'm THIS close to being over this stupid cold. I have tomorrow off and hopefully that'll help me recover the last of my strength. I've been WAY too tired the last few days.

We Need A Shot Of Self-Deprication, STAT!

Well, that was interesting.

I'm on the fence about The Dresden Files series. It wasn't bad but I'm not sure if it really captured the essence of the books. That's not a good thing. I can handle changes to characters and particulars if you're at least getting the same feel as the books. This had the baseline mechanics of the Harry Dresden universe (mundane world with supernatural elements at work) but it seemed to lack the sense of humour that makes the Dresden books (and Harry himself) so endearing.

Surprisingly, I didn't mind Bob. He actually DID live in the skull (yay) and even though he was a little more brooding and a little less capricious than in the books, I actually didn't mind the way he was portrayed.

The changes to Harry's backstory were acceptable and having Justin (or whatever he's called in the TV show) alive instead of dead like in the books could prove interesting, especially if he remains behind the scenes for some time.

It was only the first episode, so I'll keep watching and see how it progresses. It definately wasn't a bad show. I'm just not sure if I'm 100% on board with the translation from book to TV series. Hopefully it'll find its feet and get a bit of the levity from the books.

Speaking of TV shows, I've been watching the first 6-7 episodes of House over the last few days. I haven't really seen more than one or two episodes from the recent season and while I knew the show was good, I wanted to watch it from the beginning. Man, this show is awesome. Hopefully I'll get the other discs from first season soon so I can get caught up on Season 2 before Season 3 comes out on DVD :)

I'm Alive!

Hmm.. I guess I haven't updated my blog for a day or so.

FLU REPORT!
My fever broke sometime yesterday. I obviously was on the mend as I was able to play some Zelda in the afternoon. I actually was thinking about going into work around 5ish or so to help relieve the evening staff (obviously a sign that I wasn't quite right in the head) but after getting Garrett fed and standing up for a period of more than 5 minutes, I realized that I was completely tapped out and had to go lie down for a while.

I had another good night's sleep last night but Garrett woke us up around 4am. Why? He was afraid of a box in his room. Of course, there wasn't actually a box in his room... at least not anywhere near where he was pointing. My kid is afraid of imaginary boxes. Sigh.

Unfortunately, by 4am I'd had my 6 hours of sleep and couldn't do much more than toss and turn for a while before just giving up and playing some WoW and Zelda till 7:30 when Garrett and Julie wandered downstairs.

I'm still on the mend today, but I've actually left the house TWICE and even took Julie out for her belated birthday lunch... which we'll be eating for a few more meals as we have lots of leftovers. Curse you, bottomless Italian Wedding Soup at East Side Mario's!

Anyway, gonna scoot now. Now you know all there is to know about me as of today!

Happy Birthday Julie!

It's Julie's birthday today!

We were going to go down to Casey's to take advantage of their birthday deal (the birthday girl gets $15 off an entree) but alas, I'm dying so we just had some pizza and souvlaki from a local place.

I hope this crazy cold/flu thing clears up so I can take her out on Saturday.

Exploding Head Man!

Ug. I've been home sick for two days now and I'm not going in tomorrow either. I think I've got the flu. I barely slept last night and while I did spend most of the day in bed, I still feel like a truck ran over my head.

My fever has wavered between 100.2 and 102.5... I did finally get some food in me today and hopefully that'll help me feel a bit better, but yeesh...

Of course, the worst thing is that I've got the new World of Warcraft expansion to play and aside from a bit of playtime yesterday, I haven't been able to muster up the energy to play.

Same with the Wii. I would love to play some Zelda, but just thinking about gaming makes my eyes hurt and my arms ache.

I did watch the last 5 episodes of Band of Brothers today. I think I'm going to have some freaky fever dreams tonight, if the wacky thoughts in my head this afternoon while I dozed are any indication.

I just hope I can fall asleep before midnight tonight and not be up tossing and turning from 3am onward like I was last night.

Stupid Sympatico (again)

So I'm sitting here, running a fever of about 100.2F and feeling miserable. I ALMOST fell asleep around 8pm tonight but nope... I'm still awake.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else out there a) uses Sympatico and b) has noticed that there's something wonky going on with the mail servers (and some of the other servers).

Julie couldn't check her e-mail earlier today. Now I can't check my e-mail OR log into their website to do any self-help or even check my online e-mail.

I CAN send e-mail though... which is odd. I guess the PoP server is down but the SMTP is still up. Or is it the other way around? I do find it kind of odd that I can't even log onto their account info site.

I really hope that it's just some weird server outage tonight and that it'll work fine in the morning.

Double O Tom

This just in!

Tom Hanks is the new Bond!

Don't believe me? Check out the trailer.

I'm going to go back to being sick. I think I got whatever Julie & Garrett had last week. Blech. I can't even muster up the energy to play on the Wii :(

I still think it should have been Spike

I've been meaning to post this for a few days but keep forgetting. It's mainly for Dave and James, but maybe Suzie will watch it too!

What am I talking about? Oh...

The oft rumoured adaptation of The Dreseden Files to the TV screen is a reality.

And it's coming soon! Like, this Sunday at 9pm, soon.

The nice thing is that it's not all swords and sorcery. If you're new to Dresden, it's about a private eye wizard living in contemporary Chicago. He has to deal not only with the seedy underbelly of the city, a police force that has a love/hate relationship with him and his crappy car but also with werewolves, rogue wizards and much, much more. I really hope they don't wreck the series by translating it to TV. The Dresden Files is probably my favourite contemporary fantasy series and I'd hate to see something bad happen to it!

James Marsden (Spike from Buffy) would have been an awesome Harry Dresden, but I think the guy they have playing him might work. He looks REALLY familiar...

Edit: WAIT... WHAT?! Bob's an actual person? Feh. He's a skull... well, a spirit who lives in a skull. He's not a funny looking guy with white hair. Grr.

The guy playing Dresden was in 24, which is where I recognize him from.

I'm not sure I like the casting of some of the people but I'll try my best to watch the first few eps unless they thoroughly suck. And I watched the entirety of Blade: The Series, so that'll take some pretty intense sucking.

The Mario Diet

I was joking last week that if I keep playing the Wii Sports fitness test every day for a year, I'll probably lose 100 pounds and have a 6-pack and huge arm muscles.

Turns out I might not be too far off the mark. This guy actually tried doing his usual activities and eating his usual food with the addition being a 30-minute play session of Wii Sports every day for a month. He lost 9 pounds and about 2-3% body fat!

I tell ya, that first week with the Wii almost killed me. I was playing it pretty aggressively for several hours each day and coupled with not getting a lot of sleep, I was feeling pretty run down by Sunday. I only did a bit of Wii Sports yesterday (and a lot of Zelda) and I don't feel like a truck ran over me. That said, I'm going to keep doing my daily Wii Sports regimen and see if I can lose some weight like this guy did. It's nice to see it's achievable.

I want some armour like this for work

Maybe Grant can hook me up with this suit of armour. It's made by the same guy who did the bear suit a few years back and this time it's aimed at the military.

I love how it looks and it seems to move pretty nimbly. Very cool stuff.

Water Poisoning?

Well, I learned something new today. You can die from excessive intake of water over a short period of time.

How did I learn this?

Jennifer Strange was found dead on Friday at her home after taking part in a contest named “Hold your wee for a Wii” at the studios of radio station KDND 107.9. The competition involved drinking large quantities of water, with the last person to go to the toilet winning a Wii console – currently out of stock in most of North America.

Yeah. A woman died from drinking too much water and not peeing in order to win a Wii. Yeesh. Even I'm not that hardcore. I don't care how happy it would make Garrett to get something, I wouldn't put my life on the line for it. Granted, I'd never heard of the term, water toxicity, before today, so maybe nobody involved really knew there was any danger. Crazy stuff. I feel pretty bad for her kids though. Maybe Nintendo can send over a free system so her death wasn't in vain.

Lost Is Ending!

Don't worry... it's not being cancelled. They've just announced that ABC and the producers of the show are sitting down to set a final date for the show. I've read in the past that there would probably be 5 seasons total, which would be great. We're already halfway into the 3rd and we could see a definite ending instead of having it just lurch on past the point where it gets boring (I'm looking at you, X-Files and Millenium!)

Here's the quote:

The date will set a limit to the number of "Lost" seasons to come and will be announced to fans. The show's producers, speaking at ABC's Television Critics Association press tour session, said having a conclusion date will bolster fan confidence in the series' narrative. A timeline for making the decision was not announced.

"It's time for us now to find an endpoint for the show," said executive producer Carlton Cuse. "JK Rowling announced there were seven books in the Harry Potter series and it gives fans [a framework for understanding the arc of the show]. 'The X-Files' was a cautionary tale for us. It was a great show that ran two seasons too long. 'Lost' has a short-half life."

Lord Of The Brocks

My name in Cirith (The Moria Dwarf Runes from LOTR)

Thanks for the linky to the rune generator, Doug!

My Tooth! It Crumbles!

I was playing on the Wii with my friends tonight when it happened. I noticed something that felt like a kernel of popcorn was stuck in the gap between my back two molars. I couldn't get it loose with my tongue so I poked in there with my finger and what came out? A little chunk of my back molar. I couldn't believe it until ANOTHER little chunk of molar fell off!

Now, I had a root canal in this tooth a few years back (at least, I'm pretty sure it's that tooth) and it's already 90% filling as it is, but man, it's annoying. Thankfully it doesn't really hurt (though the gum seems to be somewhat sensitive).

I'm just annoyed that a) it happened late on Friday night and won't be able to see a dentist until at least Monday or Tuesday and b) I have an insanely long weekend ahead of me and I really don't need dental emergencies on top of all the other stuff I have going on this weekend.

Of course, this had to happen to me not too long after playing Rayman: Raving Rabbids and doing the "Worms In The Teeth" minigame... I think it cursed me.

I guess this is a sign to stop eating candy canes... I think that the crunchy candy canes I've been munching on this week and the grinding of my teeth in annoyance and frustration while at work are likely culprits in this deterioration of my dentition.

That and the fact that I haven't been to the dentist in a LOOONG time... I guess this is God's way of telling me it's time to see the dentist. And here I was thinking that I'd just spent a pile of $$ on my car this week and thankfully hadn't had to pay a dental bill for a while. Sigh.

Where'd He Leave His Cane Today?

It's Tony's birthday! He's now officially older than me for the next two months or so. Mwahaha.

I love razzing him on his birthday. I need to make a Mii of him as an old man to scare kids away from my Wii.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Holy Hannah, the end times must have arrived. Much to Julie's delight (I'm sure), I finally have a Wii.

I went into my regular EB yesterday after dropping Garrett off at the sitter's and whined about how I was getting sick of stalking the Electronics departments in every store in the tri-city area.

"Hey," said the manager, "You're our best customer. The next time a shipment comes in, I'll put one aside and give you a call."

I almost jumped over the counter and kissed him, but instead I thanked him very much and went on my merry way.

So today rolls around. First, I had to go to get my oil changed, which turned into a $400 job to replace my front brakes and get the bird's nest out of my air filter (I kid you not! There was an actual nest in my air filter!) but the upside is that I don't have to worry about dying the next time I come to a stop sign.

Afterwards, I got home. No messages from EB. The phone rings. It's Julie. She headed off for lunch and left me alone with my thoughts again.

Then the phone rang.

Could it be? Was it... EB?!

No. Just the same lady asking to speak to the person who pays the hydro bill. I told her that Julie was STILL at work just like every other time they call me at 11:30am. They hung up.

Sigh. So I go to check the mail. I walk back in and "RING!"

Could it be? Was it... EB?!

"Hello, Brock?"

"Yes."

"It's Grant down at EB. We got one." (Yeah, the manager at EB has the same name as my little brother... go figure...)

"I'll be down in a flash."

A flash later and I was down at EB getting the second last Wii that they had received that morning. A guy behind me picked up the last one they had. What was really a kick in the gibblies was that this guy walked in and saw us buying these last two Wii's and was almost in tears. He had been at the EB earlier in the morning, walked outside for all of 20 minutes and by the time he came back they had sold out of all the systems. Poor fella.

Anyway, I'm back home now and have the system set up. I haven't even played a game yet. I've been too busy configuring everything, making a Mii that looks like me and checking out the forecast channel. Very spiffy.

It's a good thing I have Friday off or I'd be calling in sick for the next couple days. I can't wait to play some Zelda, Elebits, Wii Sports, Excite Truck and Rayman: Rubbing Rabbits.

Wii!

Er, Whee!

I should have top marks on the driving games

Given that my brain is just starting to recover from driving back and forth to Kingston today for Eve & Mason's Christening (which was just smashing, if I do say so myself... it's a gorgeous cathedral they have there in Kingston!), I have an excuse for only getting 88% on this really good game quiz. I wonder if anyone can beat me!

The sad thing is that some of the shooter questions that I got right I just guessed at while some of the ones about games I'm intimately familiar with I got wrong.... grr...

Silent Amusement Park

Creepiest themepark ever...

Although it would be really cool to visit this place right after (or before) a trip to Centralia. Now, if I started hearing noises (especially a child's laughter) while checking this park out, I'd run screaming for the hills... the haunted, spooky hills.

Woohoo! Post #2932! I feel like I'm forgetting something...

What exciting things happened on this day in history?

533 - Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy. (Conflict!)

1929 - Canada and the United States agree on a plan to preserve Niagara Falls. (Romance!)

2004 - Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later. (Adventure!)

1942 - The United States Navy opens a blimp base at Lakehurst, New Jersey. (Um... Pregnancy?)

1872 - Brigham Young is arrested for bigamy due to having 25 wives. (Yikes! I'm stopping now!)

On that note, I'm pleased to remind everyone that I only have ONE wife and today's our 8th anniversary. We're not doing anything TOO super exciting as we already had our fancy meal and evening out (shopping at the mall) last week. We went to Maison Ste. Aubain in Sarnia. It was a great meal at a lovely french restaurant and we both thoroughly enjoyed the gigantic filet mignon that we consumed that night. Mmm...

Don't forget that on Jan. 2, 1999, there was also just a wee bit of snow on the ground, unlike today. Boy, I never knew the future would be so exciting!