Mass Effect 3 Launch Trailer Review

Reposted from BioWare Forums:

I'm not sure if I'm already too pumped for ME3 or what, but I don't think I had the same reaction other people did to the trailer. I mean, sure it was nice and all, but my pants and my keyboard remain thoroughly unsoiled.

Thoughts on the trailer:

Heavy emphasis on Male Shep. Great for people who want to play him, not so much for people who want to play FemShep.

0:22 Oh great, it's that kid again. Look, it's not like it's not an emotional scene, it just doesn't have the same impact when you keep seeing it over and over and over and over and...

0:43 The Asari being held by that Asari husk (don't remember what it's called), is that Rana Thanoptis? Her markings are white, not black, but aside from that they look the same.

0:47 Looks like some kind of half husk. Is this a product of the Reapers or Cerberus?

0:52 Is it just me or does Garrus sound like he's talking with a bit of lisp?

1:03 Ok, third time seeing him, I'm pretty sure that's Wreav.

1:11 The "Go to Hell" line seemed... I don't know, just out of place for some reason.

1:15 Car flip, explosion, pretty cool looking.

1:19 Blowing up a Reaper: also cool. Though firing weapons on a planet: potentially dangerous and advised against, but I guess you gotta kill the Reaper somehow.

1:21 Explosions in the Migrant Fleet. Hope to god Tali's on my ship during this time.

1:22 Tali!

1:24 Legion!

1:26 Jack, with some sort of mohawk ponytail thing going on. At least it looks like her jacket will cover her up a bit more (though leave plenty exposed).

1:22 - 1:27 Don't really like the heavy handedness of this line. Something about it doesn't strike me as "Shepardy"

1:30 Reaper vs Giant Thresher Maw. Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

1:33 Migrant fleet again, with what looks like a ship of unknown architecture. Possibly Geth? And more explosions.

1:41 - 1:43 And Ashely romance. They've been emphasizing her a lot lately, now we know why. Still, at least they're wearing underwear for the romance scene instead of just straight up dry humping like ME2.

1:49 Nice looking fleet, though in some playthroughs, the Destiny Ascension won't be there.

1:51 This game (and the series in general) seems to flip-flop on whether the reapers all look the same or different. Here, they all look the same.

2:03 Very impressive looking final scene. Liara's line really adds to it. Wonder what that thing is?

Ok, re-watching it, I can definitely say I didn't not like it, but I didn't love it. It crammed a lot into a short amount of time and I really think it could've done it better. The ME2 launch trailer may have set the bar too high. It still gives me chills when I watch it. Heavy emphasis on MShep, plus some of the lines they used not feeling right, makes me give this trailer a rating of 4/5 (Good, not great).

That said, I'm already really pumped for ME3. I definitely didn't need a trailer for that. Also, I think that, as of the end of the day, I'll be going on an Mass Effect media blackout. I'll spend some time with my wife this weekend to preemptively make up for the time she won't be seeing me. Bye everyone, see you once I've finished my first playthrough.

Status Report

Hey everyone! I've been meaning to update my blog for a while now. In fact, I'm hoping to do it at least semi-regularly.

Computer Woes

To start things off, if you've been following my Twitter account, you may have seen that I was having trouble with my new video card.

My previous one carped out on me (the Video RAM burnt itself out) a while back. I managed to get it working slightly for a few weeks over the summer, but then it stopped working altogether. I had to wait until I had enough money to buy a new Video Card. Once I had the money, I bought this one. It was the best Graphics Card I could find that would fit in a single slot.

Anyway, I get the card, put it in, and it's working fine. I download the latest drivers (because who trusts the the drivers that come with the hardware) and installed them and the CCC. When I rebooted into Windows, after a few minutes, I started seeing red dots on the screen. Moments later, other graphical corruptions manifested themselves. After a while of that, I got the dreaded BSOD. A few restarts, same thing kept happening. I even managed to remove the old driver but to no avail. Nothing bad happened in safe mode and it worked fine if used the "Standard VGA Adapter" driver, but that would hardly be enough for gaming.

At that point, it was time to do some diagnostics to find out if this was truly a software problem (like it seemed) or if I'd gotten a faulty card. I installed an old hard drive of mine and set up a partition (which it now seems was unnecessary) to install Windows onto. With a fresh install and up-to-date drivers, I found none of the graphical errors that occurred my normal portion. That was the good news.

The bad news was, that meant I had to re-install Windows for real. I backed up all my important files, as well as my Steam Installations, onto an external hard drive (turned out to be unnecessary, but still a good thing to do). Then it was time to do a fresh install. Thankfully, I was able to do a clean install without having to worry that I only had an upgrade copy of Windows 7.

So mostly this past week has been spent re-installing all the software I've been missing. So far, I've installed Firefox, Winamp (for music), VLC player (for video), Photoshop (along with the rest of CS4), Steam (along with all the Steam games I had on my previous installation), and Mass Effect 2, which looks even more awesome than I remember, by the way. I still have to re-install MS Office (will be doing that later tonight), Dragon Age 2 and the Sims 3. Oh, and I also got a free copy of Deus Ex with my Graphics Card. I'll be trying that out soon.

The Job Front

In other news, I started a new job. I'm going to be working for event security for IU home games. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. Hopefully this will lead to more gainful employment.

Unfortunately, this comes on the heels of some other news. I will not be attending college this semester. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get IU all the information they needed in time so now I have to re-apply for the Spring Semester. I also can't attend classes at Ivy Tech due to a "Maximum Timeframe" issue. Apparently, if you don't graduate after attempting a certain number of hours, you lose your financial aid. Had I known that ahead of time, I wouldn't have taken so many electives.

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Till later!

Gripes

As I sit here, waiting for a graphics card for my desktop that may or may not come tomorrow, I've been surfing and have found a few things that really annoy me. If you follow my twitter feed, you may already know them, but I feel like posting them anyway.

Firefox 6 is out already?!?

Seriously? I haven't even updated to 5 yet because Google Toolbar refuses to support anything beyond version 4. Granted, I could probably live without Google Toolbar on my desktop, that is once it starts working again, but it's a real pain to work without it on my laptop.

Protected Tweets

I suppose that's a little misleading. I understand there are people out there who have legitimate reasons for protecting their tweets, among those the potential backlash that could be caused by a current or prospective employer.

No, the problem I have is when people have conversations over twitter and one or more (but not all) of the participants protect their tweets. It's like being in a room with someone who's talking loudly on the phone. Even if what they're saying sounds interesting, it's still annoying because you're only hearing half the conversation. Hell, that's the whole reason I refuse to send any @replies to anyone who protects their tweets.

---

Ok, I suppose that's all I've got. Still, even if no one winds up reading this, it was nice to vent a little.

Mass Effect: Extinction

I've started a new FanFic called Mass Effect: Extinction. You can read it over on FanFiction.net

Mass Effect: Extinction
Commander Shepard's actions, while done to safeguard the Galaxy, have resulted in Galaxy-wide chaos. Now, with the Reapers closing in, Shepard must unite the Galaxy's waring factions if she has any hope of stopping them.

This story stars a version of the Shepard from my previous FanFic who made a few different choices over the course of ME2. I'll reveal those different choices throughout the course of the story.

Mass Effect 2.5 is going strong. Not as many readers as I'd like, but much more than I expected. I'll be wrapping up Episode 3 this Friday for anyone who wants to read it.

So I had an idea to write some Fan Fiction for Mass Effect. It's essentially how I'm bridging the gap between Mass Effect 2 and 3. It will likely contain references to upcoming bridging DLC that BioWare is coming out with as well as an abbreviated Lair of the Shadow Broker chapter or two. Not a whole lot of focus on Action, but with Drama and Humor galore.

So, without further ado, I present Chapter 1 of:

Mass Effect 2.5

---

Entry 217

Personal Log, Shepard, Leanna, Commander, Normandy SR-2

We made it back through the Omega 4 Relay. I didn’t expect to be able to say those words. I fully expected my previous entry to be my last. I’m cancelling the letters I’d scheduled to send to Liara, Ash and Anderson. I’m a little relieved too; they all seem a bit too sappy.

Miranda is busy working on her report. I’m not sure what she’s going to do with it now that we’ve left Cerberus. I can barely imagine the strength it must have taken to turn her back on the man who saved her and her sister from her father. She’s a much stronger woman than she gives herself credit for, genetically engineered or not.

In all, everyone seems glad that I destroyed the base. Grunt even thought it was funny. Legion made a comparison between my choice and the one his people made. He says we’re more alike than he realized. What he doesn’t know is that he inspired me to make my decision. If we continue to build our Civilization on the backs of Reaper technology, how are we ever going to stand on our own two feet?

The rest of the crew’s fine. Jack’s being her usual “chipper” self. Mordin’s already moved on to his next project. Hope it’s a cure for Thane. I’m worried that without more exercise, the Kepral's Syndrome will get worse.

I’m afraid Garrus might be minimalizing his accomplishments. He led that second fire team and probably saved Tali’s life. If something were to happen to me, I trust him to be the one to finish what I’ve started.

I still question the wisdom of having a thief living on our ship. I swear, every time I go down there, her “personal collection” has gotten a bit bigger. Jacob’s spending a lot of time with her, but I’m not sure if he likes her, or just considers her a drinking buddy.

I’m glad Samara hasn’t left yet. When she first joined, I got the impression she’d take off immediately after we returned through the Relay (assuming we got back at all). She’s staying on the ship though. She said she can “Continue to follow the code while onboard the Normandy”. I hope she sticks around. She seems lonely.

Tali seems to be holding up well. I wish everyone had her strength. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to contact the Migrant Fleet since we’ve been back though. She seems to be spending most of her free time around me instead.

I also want to make a Note in the Logs about Zaeed Masani. Zaeed led the Distraction team that bought us the time we needed to make it through in Samara’s biotic bubble. The team made it through alive because Zaeed took every shot the Collectors fired. In the end, it seems his stubbornness wasn’t enough to keep him from death. Regardless of how he lived, Zaeed Masani died a hero. In his honor, I will make sure his ex-partner Vido is brought to justice.

At this point, I’m unsure of what to do next. Part of me wants to warn the Council about what is coming, but I don’t feel like shouting at a bunch of idiots. Plus the way the Turian Rep does that whole air quotes thing just bugs me.

I can’t face Liara right now. She’s on her whole Vengeance kick and I can’t deal with that. I need to feel happy for a while. I just wish things could go back to the way they used to be between us. The feel of her skin against mine. The way we…

Dear god I’ve got to get off this ship. I’m setting a course for Omega. I’m gonna get drunk.

---

You can read the rest by Clicking Here.

Commander of the Grey

Well, earlier this night I finished playing Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening. I used the character I previously played through Origins with, a Noble Human Warrior named Alisand. Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that the base game was better than the Expansion.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad game or anything. I liked the added combat options, and it was a good storyline, but I honestly can't see myself playing it more than one more time. I say one more time because there are still a few things I'd like to see play out differently with another (more evil) character, but that'd be it.

Mass Effect 2

I never beat a game before online guides started coming out before (that is, after online guides started coming out), but that's exactly what I did last night.

I've spent the last couple months in dire anticipation of Mass Effect 2, the first being a game that blew my mind and showed me just what exactly my computer was capable of. I spent a long time reading forums and watching for developer updates on the game. As soon as I could, I preordered the Collector's Edition. I built the game up in my head as the greatest game I would play (so far anyway).

You know how sometimes, you get so excited about something and when you finally get it, it's not as good as you thought and it lets you down?

This was not one of those times.

Mass Effect 2 was one of the greatest games I played since... well... Mass Effect. The level of detail was amazing (and I'm not talking about graphical detail, though that was pretty good too). Just about any action I took in the first game had some sort of consequence in this one. From the big decisions at the end of the major Missions, to what happened to my #1 fan on the Citadel. Hell, I even saw a guy finally getting his refund after two years of waiting (though he seemed to be at the wrong warehouse). It was such an incredibly immersive experience that it was impossible to play with a Shepard that I didn't create in the first game (and I tried, first with the default, then with someone else's save). I've got two more Shepards to play with, after which I'll have to go back to Mass Effect and churn out a couple more.



Leanna Shepard (2154- )
Still Fighting for the Lost

The Daily Blur

I can't believe that May is almost over. Here it is, 3 weeks into the Summer and I haven't even started on anything I was going to do. Well this week I'm changing all that. I'm making a conscious decision right now that I am going to get started on every one of my projects this week.

Project #1: Getting a License
This Summer I will be spending as much time as I can relearning how to drive. To start off, I need to get my permit which means passing the written driving test that I haven't taken in forever. Shouldn't be too bad though. I'm more worried about when I take the actual driving portion of the test. Fortunately, I should have plenty of opportunities to practice driving this Summer.

Project #2: Learning to Draw
So for a while now, I've had this idea for a webcomic. I even made two strips of the comic using pictures made in The Sims 2. Unfortunately, I learned that while getting a computer program to look the way you want is easy, getting it to do what you want is hard. I stopped trying to make comics, but the idea stayed with me.

Recently, I took a class in game design. After a few classes, we suddenly found ourselves without an artist. Unfortunately, none of the remaining class had what could be considered traditional artistic skills. Thankfully, we did have some free sprites we could manipulate into backgrounds and we used simple designs for the creeps and towers.

My Mother is an artist and I have started wonder if I am missing out on something that I in fact can do. These events have made me determined to learn how to draw. Of course, it's not like I could take a class to learn this. What I want to do isn't something that can really be taught. Instead, I intend to teach myself. I will discover my inner artist by starting my webcomic again. This time, it will be hand drawn. I just need to get my hands on some tracing paper and I will start drawing. (I will be penciling and Inking by hand but I'll be using photoshop for colors).

Project #3: Get Back on Track with Weight Watchers
So yeah. I haven't been to a Weight Watchers meeting since May 1st. I gained weight that week and I haven't been able to stick to the plan for more than a day at a time since then, I'm almost sure that I'm back over 200lbs. and I'm afraid that I won't be able to lose it again. I need to start exercising and I need to relearn how to control my cravings. Far too often I've had the desire to eat large amounts of unhealthily prepared meat and followed my urges. I keep sleeping in on scheduled meeting days thinking "I'll go to the next one". Well I need to go now. And I definitely need to start working out again.

Project #4: Games
After all the projects listed above, "playing games" doesn't seem like such a big deal. Well it is to me. I have a number of games that I likely won't have much chance to play once the school year starts back up.


Well, that's all I got for now. Later!
-Ben

Grakus Version 2

Ok, we've done some work and I think we have a finished project. Check out Grakus on Kongregate! If you don't have an account, sign up for one, and please, please, please, rate it 5 stars!

Grakus

For the last semester, I've been in a class where we've been building a tower defense game. Check out this current release version at Kongregate.

25 Random Things About Me

Ok, I got 2 people sending this thing to me on Facebook, so I figure I can't just ignore it. Here goes.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I feel most comfortable in front of a computer screen
2. My Life's Goal is to design Video Games for a living
3. Although I love to play Video Games myself, I'm actually not that good at most of them, with the exception of Puzzle Games and RPGs
4. I'm 3/4 Irish and 1/4 German, and I don't drink
5. I've been on a diet for a bit over a year, but After losing 50 pounds, I've found it nearly impossible to stay on it
6. I've lost two family members due to smoking-related cancer, my Aunt and my Granddad
7. I recently built a brand new computer for myself, and it costed much less than if I'd bought it pre-assembled
8. People may sometimes see me as arrogant, but in truth, I'm just not much of a talker; I've gotten better though
9. I have a bad habit of correcting people's pronunciation of words
10. While I like my job, I actually enjoyed my job more before I became a Supervisor
11. I still have my appendix, tonsils, and all 4 wisdom teeth
12. I met my wife in 2nd grade, and from the 7th grade on, I never had any doubt who I was going to marry
13. I dropped out of two schools before going to Ivy Tech, now I'm determined to get a degree from there before I move on
14. I really wish I had the time and money to get back into collecting comics
15. I cringe when I read something that's over-saturated with netspeak
16. has always been my lucky number
17. I'm not a very religious man, but I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, I believe that no one religion could be completely right, and I believe that no one religion is completely wrong; except for [withheld], that scares me.
18. I've always wanted to go into space
19. I prefer a mouse and keyboard to a gamepad
20. I don't believe in the end of the world
21. I have a tendency to feel other people's pain, which is why I could never be a doctor
22. I like things as small as they can get, without sacrificing performance
23. I tend to get along more with women than with men
24. Earbuds don't stay in my ears
25. My greatest fear is that I will one day loose my mind
    

Still Alive

It's been a while since a full update (although I have still been updating the sidebars), but I'm still here. I've just been busy with work and school that I haven't been able to type anything up.

Weight Loss
As of last Friday, I've lost 19 lbs. No small accomplishment for me, especially since I've been having trouble finding the time to work out. Oddly though, I've recently discovered that my appetite has a tendency to decrease when I don't do much. I'm winding up with extra points those days. Still, with the weather getting better lately, I hope to do more long walks outside.

Gaming
I haven't been gaming quite as much as usual, and when I do, it's mostly been PC rather than console. I recently started playing a borrowed copy of RollerCoaster Tycoon. It's pretty fun. I'm considering purchasing RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 as it's 3D and has an actual sandbox mode.

I haven't been playing World of Warcraft as much as I used to lately. That's mostly because my friend (who's currently living in Japan) and I haven't been able to sync up our schedules as much as we'd like to. My Wife and I are going to be making a two-person team however. We're planning on putting these two characters on a Roleplaying Server, so if anyone has a suggestion on which server we two should join, I'd appreciate it. I'm going to be a Paladin and she has yet to decide between a Warrior and a Mage.

That's all I have right now. Catch you later.

Witty Title

So I'm really excited about our new World of Warcraft Guild. We just got enough gold for our first tab and between me, my alts and my wife, we've practically filled it. Hopefully, actually having a tab will help us keep our members more.

I'm also considering entering the "2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament". The only thing is getting a team together. The obvious choice is to get my wife and my friend (the other co-founder of my guild) to do it. The problem is that I'm not sure my wife will be able to justify the expense, and I'm not sure my friend will be able to do it as she's in Japan right now. The good thing is that if (and that's a big if) we make it to the big tournament, it's in October and my friend should be back in the US by then. Other options include my co-workers (I know some of them play WoW), Guild mates (though I'm not sure who would be good for this) or just teaming up with some random people. Regardless of which route I pick, I have until June to figure it out. Who knows, maybe another option will present itself.

Victory for Sylvanas!

Paternal Issues

So, out of the clear blue, I got an email from my father the other day. He says he wants to meet with me. Now first of all, I haven't been on fairly good terms with my father for a while now. I will admit, a lot of it is my fault. I had a falling out with my Step-Mother and unfortunately, the rest of my Dad's side of the family got caught in the balance. The last time I saw my father was at my Wedding. The last time I heard from him was an email back in I think December where he said he'd gotten my previous emails but didn't have too much time on the computer. He said he would reply soon. It's now nearing April.

Well of course the first thing I did was send him an email back letting him know when I'd be available and telling him to call me if he could. Now I play the waiting game.

In other news, I now have a Guild on WoW. Click Here to see our Guild Page. Our Armory page isn't working yet. We're on the Trollbane server so if you're on, contact Carvis, my character, or either Nohkomi(My wife), or Miridia(a friend of ours). If none of us are on, try to join using the site.

For the Horde!

So Many Games, So Little Time

You know, I really hate the fact that I have to work and go to school. If I could cut out work, then I'd be able to take the time I'd normally be working and do my homework. Then I could take the time I'd normally be doing homework, and focus on myself. I guess I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I've got to pass both my classes, keep showing up to work, stick to this diet I'm on, get a job for the Summer (because I won't be getting as much Unemployment as I did last year), and still find time to have a relationship with my family. I don't think I can keep doing the comic right now. I'm going to finish up the arc I'm on and then take a hiatus until the Summer.

Spore!

No real news post today. I'm very busy with work and school and all. Still, I found this cool Spore video online today. It's not the most recent (a little over a month old), but it's cool looking. I haven't watched it with sound yet, so I'll be doing that tonight. Enjoy!

Top 'O the Mornin' to Ye

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Nice day for me, because I'm Irish. Of course I don't drink, so that makes my celebration a little different. Still, I enjoy the day. My wife and I are going to be having some sort of Irish dinner. We have a leg of lamb in the fridge, but we're not sure if there are any points friendly meals we can make with it. We may instead do something with some deli Corned Beef.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but that was mainly due to Spring Break. Starting today I'm back on track. I should have a comic uploaded by Friday.

In game related news, we've decided to keep Mario Party 8. Thankfully, when I selected Keep It, there was a DS game available, which means I'll be able to play my DS some more. I'm expecting Puzzle Quest any day now.

I reached my 10 lb. goal on Friday which means I got to play Bully this weekend. It's a fun game. My only problem with it, and this is a problem I've noticed with Wii Games in general, is that it's a full body game. I mean sure, I could just sit down and play like that, but then I'd just feel like a tool. Suffice it to say, it's not that kind of game you want to relax with after a workout.

I've been playing Bleach: Shattered Blade too. I have to say, it is a fun game. I read some bad reviews about it, but it actually is fun. It's got its own original storyline set after the Save Rukia Arc, but before everyone goes back to the Human World. Episode Mode is really fun, if a little short (at least in comparison to Bleach for the DS). I only have two more episodes to beat. The hardest episode by far has been Hanataro's. Unfortunately, they got his abilities dead-on. His sword actually heals when it cuts. In order to do any damage, you've got to use special attacks, which mainly consist of Hanataro being clumsy and bumping into the enemy. Thankfully, when you fill up his "Bankai Meter" (which, unlike everyone else's, looks like the gauge he normally has on his sword), you can "Bankai" (which is actually his Shikai). During this time, his sword can actually do damage, but it has virtually no reach either. He does, however, have one of the most powerful special moves in the game at this time. Still, it was a challenge.

In other game related news, I just got my first World of Warcraft Character to level 30. His name is Carvis and he's an Undead Warlock on the Trollbane server. Say hi if you get a chance.

Well, I've got to get back to work. Still have a job to do. Later!

Wii Rock

I picked up Bully: Scholarship Edition for Wii today. I'm not going to play it yet though. It's not like I enjoy buying games that I can't play, but there is a story behind it. I reserved the game when I first bought my Wii, and I decided when I started making weight loss goals that this game would be my reward for loosing 10 lbs. Needless to say I'm still a bit short of this goal, but it was either buy it today, or loose the $5 deposit I put on it. I figured the best compromise would be to buy it now, but not to play it until I reach that goal. So now it's just going to sit there, mocking me.

Speaking of games, I had a few ideas I wanted to get out of my head and this seems like the perfect venue to do it. I want to see Rock Band for the Wii. Not the one that the other consoles have though. I've always felt that the only bad thing about Rock Band was the song list. It's not that I think the songs are bad, it's just that I don't usually listen to those songs. It seems to me like most of the songs (on the disk anyway) are mostly Metal and that's just not appealing to me. Not to mention there are some other ideas I'd like to see. So allow me to present my idea.

Rock Band: Greatest Hits.
[for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, and Wii]
Immerse yourself in the greatest hits done by the greatest bands. Now, not only can you rock like the bands, but you can look like them too. Make your own fantasy band by playing as members of real bands! Make Steven Tyler your lead singer, Carlos Santana your Guitarist, and Ringo Starr your drummer! You can even download other band members and individuals into your game! The game contains songs actually done by the artists you're playing as.

Suggested Band List:
Aerosmith
Kiss
Beatles
Gorillaz
And Many More

Wii Exclusive Features:
Rock Band: Greatest Hits will have several features exclusive to the Wii (as compensation for not starting out with a Wii version). The Rock Band Guitar will be similar in setup to the Guitar Hero version, but with the added Rock Band functionality. It should be compatible with the Guitar Hero controller for the Wii as well. The Drum set will be nearly identical to the Drum Set for other Rock Band games, with the exception of a slot for the Wii Remote to slide in, making it a wireless drum set. Hits will support a USB microphone but there will also be two other methods as well. They can either use a Microphone or Headset that plugs into the back of the Wii Remote, or they can use the Nintendo DS (the DS headset is recommended). Users of the DS will notice that the words also appear on their DS as well as the TV. Wii gamers will also get exclusive characters, the Mario crew. Wii gamers will be able to choose from Mario, Luigi, Princess Daisy, Princess Peach, Wario, Waluigi, Toad, Toadette and of course, Bowser. These characters will be available for all band positions and have their own signature instruments.

Anyway, let me know if my idea strikes a cord with you. (Get it? Strikes a cord? Oh, nevermind)

Later!

Best. Weekend. Ever.

Oh my God, I had so much fun this weekend. I built a computer. All by myself. The only thing that would have made it better was if it was for me. Instead, I built a computer for my Mother. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the Rig itself, but I do have links to the parts I bought. I used Newegg.com because well, they're the best. I typically rely on Newegg and use Tiger Direct if I find a better deal, but this thing, with shipping, came in under $900.

New Computer:
Case
- hec COMPUCASE Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower
Motherboard
- GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard
Processor
- Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz Processor
RAM
- Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Power Supply
- mushkin 550250 ATX12V/EPS12V 580W Power Supply
Video Card
- XFX PVT86SYAFG GeForce 8400GS 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card
Sound Card
- Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 70SB104000000 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card
Optical Drive
- LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA
Extra Case Fan
- AeroCool TURBINE 3000 120mm Case Fan
Monitor
- Hanns·G HB-191DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor
Keyboard/Mouse
- Microsoft S82-00032S Black USB + PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard Mouse Included

I have to be honest, If I could, I would have taken it home with me. But it's OK, because the one I build for myself will be even better.

One thing that irks me though. I sent the Zelda DS game back to GameFly (I just couldn't get into it) and I stuck 3 DS games at the top of the Q, hoping that they'd send me one of them. Instead, they send me one of my Wii games, so Now I'm going to have 2 Wii games out at a time. It's OK though, because my wife and I are seriously considering keeping Mario Party. If we do, I'll make sure I do that at just the right time to get sent a DS game.

Well, that's it for now. See you real soon.

To Be...

I've lost 3.8 lbs! Well, as of Friday anyway. Honestly, I'm a little stunned. I mean I haven't been working out as much as I should. I guess the diet really works. This makes for a total weight loss of 6.2 lbs, which means I've hit my first goal of 5 lbs. I rewarded myself for reaching my first goal with a new (for me anyway) game: Fable. I have to say it's pretty fun. So far I've already created 2 characters. One's a nice, compassionate warrior; the other is a greedy, morally ambiguous "Battlemage".

In other news, I'm now an Uncle. My sister-in-law recently had a baby girl. She was born premature, but the doctors say she'll be fine. I'm going up to visit her this Sunday.

I'm also starting a Webcomic. This should be interesting as I'm not a good artist. It's called Ingaged. Look for the first panel sometime this week.