Odds and Ends

So FM2006 arrived earlier in the week … and has been sitting on my desk all week. I am not even sure why I pretend to have time to game these days.

I would get to FM2006 this weekend, but the weekend has pretty much been Housecleaning 2005 Spectacular; actually Yard Work 2005 Spectacular. I thought I had a deal to sale my house without listing it (and incurring agent fees), but the buyer could not sale their house in a reasonable amount of time, so now we have to list the house on Monday. What a major pain in the ass.

It looks like our new house will be ready in a couple of weeks – keeping my fingers crossed. We are renovating my grandmother’s 100+ year-old house, and it has been an adventure. New plumbing, re-wiring the house, building a new kitchen, saving a garage apartment, and the list goes on and on. It is amazing how much time and effort this is taking. I was ignorant going into this – figured I could just hire a general contractor that specializes in renovating old homes; silly me. The house looks great, but as I said, it has been a pain getting to this point.

On a completely unrelated note, I have put in a decent amount of time with Madden this week and I have to say that Madden for the PSP does not suck as much as I have read. I will try to write more info later, but I am actually enjoying the game. I have not really played around with the franchise mode (because of all the reported bugs), but single player games have been fun. The ability to play a quarter – then sleep or save – and play some more later is a godsend. There are some load times (delays) between the play select screen and lining up for a play, but that is really my only complaint at this point.

I watched Star Wars III a couple of nights ago – this one is the best of the new bunch. It has everything you would want in a Star Wars move – great space battles, light saber duels, cool aliens, and awesome special effects, but man does the acting suck. Office Space was also re-released on DVD Tuesday, but I passed on it because there is no freaking commentary. Publishers are doing major $ grabs when they release second and third versions of a DVD with minimal extras/upgrades over previous editions.

I really hate yard work. I am not sure what sucks more – having to invest more time and effort into my current house, or the major landscaping effort that looms in front of me for my new house. As I have grown older, I actually find some yard work therapeutic, but mostly I hate wasting weekend time working in the yard.

I am not sure why, but I decided to purchase Nirvana’s “Nevermind” from iTunes. I have always been a casual fan – I like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” “In Bloom” and “Come As You Are” but that is really it. I am not sure why the rest of the album is so beloved. Luckily I had an iTunes gift card so I do not feel like I totally wasted my money. I guess I will really show my age (closing in fast on 35), but Madonna’s “Something to Remember” and “The Immaculate Collection” were much better purchases. Sue me.

I finally decided to get serious about my PSP collection and only keep the games that I am playing, or have time to play more than every now and again. Ridge Racer and Twisted Metal: Head On missed the cut and where promptly listed on eBay yesterday. Wipe Out: Pure may be next; it is a great racing game, but Colin McRae Rally may be the only racing game I need. I know they are completely different types of racing, but there is only so much free time in a day. If I can get some life out of Madden PSP’s franchise mode, then I may wish Madden 2006 for the PS2 a fond farewell.

All for now. Hopefully more to come on FM2006, and Madden PSP.