Category: Archive

I did the bundle thing with the PSP, the GBA, the Game Cube, and the PS2, but no more.  After getting some sort of crap accessories with the PSP, I decided enough was enough.  I guess the online shopping age has matured to the point where people are willing to pay a whole hell of a lot for extra crap just to make sure they get something that they may not be able to pick up locally.  Seriously, I know some people are desperate, buy why would anyone do this EBGames.com/Gamestop.com PS3 deal?

Friday evening [Nov 17], we will have a limited quantity of PlayStation 3 20 Gig HD bundles available for online pre-order. Each bundle will include an extra wireless controller, six games, a one-year product replacement plan, a 12 month subscription to Game Informer and a Resistance: Fall of Man guide. The price will be $994.28 plus tax and handling. We expect these bundles to ship on or before December 1.

The last offer I saw for the Wii was sitting just short of $700 for a collection of games, and some crap accessories.  Once again, I ask, why?

And no, I am not writing this because I am some bitter gamer that did not get a shiny new system.  I am just a disillusioned SOB – waiting for gaming to be fun again, without all the bundles of fun.

A couple of days ago preordered The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2007 from ACTA Sports. Last year was the first time I ordered the book, and while I may not have read every single page, it was pretty darn impressive. Good enough to see me preorder this year’s edition. The only problem is that I am going to be in London when the book actually ships.

Things sure change. A few years ago I would have happily waited in line for a Wii and a PS3, but those days are gone. I am no longer a ‘hardcore gamer’ – and yes, I still hate that term – I think I can wait for the madness to die down and maybe even wait for a price drop. I decided several months ago that I was not springing for a PS3 and while I have been tempted to get a Wii, I pretty much convinced myself that I could wait until after the Christmas rush. Some guys at work talked about standing in line for a Wii, but after some reflection I decided that the time was not right for a new system, even one as potentially nifty as the Nintendo Wii.

The reality of my gaming habits these days is that I just do not have much time for gaming. I have not played my PSP since September, and while Joshua plays the PS2, I have not played it since August. And the Game Cube? It has not been hooked up to a TV since I moved into my house back in January. The only PC games I play these days are OOTPB 2006 (enough for Chris not to kick me out of his league) and WoW, which I have not played in at least three weeks. So you could same that I am in a gaming dry spell right now.

Columbus, GA recently made national headlines when a dentist planned to hire a bunch of temp workers to stand in line to purchase 15 PS3 systems.

Newlin wanted to buy 15 of the consoles as Christmas gifts for grandchildren, nieces and nephews. He was prepared to buy available units from Columbus and Phenix City Wal-Mart stores, as well as Auburn and Opelika, using a crew of 60 workers he cycled through in eight-hour shifts, according to one of the temps he hired.

Crazy stuff. Apparently the dentist abandon the plan because other potential buyers, standing in the various lines, got wind of the plan and became angry. Not sure if they were mad because they did not think of the idea or because they could not afford to hire someone to stand in line. Capitalism at its best; no problems with a well executed plan, but I guess I would be pissed if I did not get a system because some guy in front of me was paid to stand in line and I did not get a system. If I got mine, who cares?

I will have to write later about more factors that played into my ‘not buying a PS3 system right now’ reasoning, but suffice it to say that I do not see a system seller in the launch lineup. This is really the same reason I did not pick up an Xbox (or a Xbox 360); I am not worried about the money – although the PS3 cames in at a hefty price tag – I just do not see anything I *have* to play. If anything, you could say that I have some degree of brand loyalty towards Sony, after all I have a hell of a PS1/PS2 gaming library, but what is the point in buying a PS3 if there is nothing for me to play?

The Wii looks interesting, and while I thought about doing the preorder thing, the bundles really sucked, which sealed the deal for me. I am not going to do the bundle thing about. If I *really* wanted a system, I figured I would take my chances on get a Wii later, be it at launch or sometime after Christmas. So here we are on release day, with no system to play. Feels kind of strange, even for a gamer moving into the mainstream of gaming.

What does the Columbus Wii scene look like? Yesterday before 9AM there was already a line of 10 or so folks at Wal*Mart for about 25 units. This morning I made an early trip to Target to pick some stuff for a trip to London next week. On the way, I noticed a line of 35-50 folks standing outside of Best Buy. Once I made it to Target, some lady told me that they were already sold out by 9AM (not sure how many units they received). The lady was surprised that I was not there for a Wii. Target must have turned away a lot of disappointed folks.

Out of curiosity, on my way home I drove by Circuit City to check out the line. Some dude told me that they had 21 units, and the 21st person was in line before 7:30AM. He offered me his spot for $300. I told asked why I would want to pay $300 for something that only cost $249. Another smart ass answered because his spot was going for $500, and there were not going to be any more Wii units in Columbus. He may be right, but I told him no thanks.

Down the strip, no one was in line at Toys R Us. Not sure if this was because they were already out of units, or if it was because they did not open until 11AM. Gamestop and EBGames were not open; I guess they sold out at midnight.

On my way home I asked my wife to call Best Buy to see what things were like; they were already sold out. A friend of mine told me that one of the local K-Marts only received two units; Sony did not bother to send them any PS3 systems. Ouch.

Not sure what the numbers are going to look like, but I assume that Nintendo sold a lot more systems than Sony (based on the release numbers that have been posted on various web sites). Even at the high price, I think the PS3 is going to sell well; just imagine 10% of the 100 million PS2 owners wanting a PS3. It will be interesting to see what Nintendo does; I could see them climbing neck-and-neck with the Xbox 360 very quickly.

Sitting on the sidelines has never been more interesting. It is going to be fun watching this console race unfold.

So I was distracted with real world stuffs; it happens.  I have not wanted any football today (maybe 5 minutes of that ‘game of the century’ thing), but I have not seen any scores, so I guess technically I could make some selections.  Would appear to be cheating, so I am just going to call it a day, continue cooking some good food on the trusty ‘ol grill, and drink some more beer.

Go Dawgs!  (Beat Tech next week!)

I never would have predicted a total spanking by the Dawgs, but they completely thrashed the Tigers from Auburn. This is not the first time this sort of upset has taken place in this series, but I really did not expect Georgia to take it to Auburn in such a convincing fashion.  The Bulldogs won every facet of the game.  Happy.  Inebriated.  All the same thing.  Go Dawgs!

Last week was bad on a lot of fronts.  First, there was the crap performance by my beloved Dawgs.  Second, I was a horrible 3-4, which was my first losing week on the season.  Totals sit at 61-15 going into Week 11.

Vanderbilt – Kentucky
This is actually an interesting game of SEC has-beens.  Vanderbilt is really playing batter each week, but their record (4-6, 1-5 SEC) does not reflect their hard work.  Of course their crown jewel win over Georgia does not look so hot.  Same for Kentucky, but they appear to have turned the preverbal corner (5-4, 3-3 SEC), needing this win today to qualify for a bowl appearance.  I think the Commodores are the better team, but I am going to pull for the Wildcats in this one.

South Carolina – (6) Florida
This one means more to Spurrier than Florida, but I doubt that the Gamecocks have enough for the Gators.  A close one, hard fought and all that, but this one goes to Florida.

Alabama – (12) LSU
The Tide earned the SEC Shame of the Week Award last week with their horrible loss to Mississippi State.  Yes, it really was worse than Georgia going down to the Wildcats.  LSU had a great win over Tennessee, and I do not expect even a hit of a let down.  The Tigers will completely spank the elephants, which is going to make Shula even more miserable.

(13) Tennessee – (11) Arkansas
Is Arkansas the real deal?  Tonight we will find out, and while I never pull for Arkansas, I think I will pick them for the victory tonight.

Georgia – (3) Auburn
Any chance for an upset?  It has happened before, but I do not expect it to happen today.  I just hope Georgia can have a somewhat expectable showing.  Sigh … lets just get the season over with already, lick our wounds, and get ready for next year.  What the hell; always the homer, Georgia pulls off a shocker by somehow getting a running game established, and only turning over the ball once, resulting in a 23-22 win.

Go Dawgs!

Well, nothing with the Dawgs this year stuns me any more. I cannot remember the last time we lost to Kentucky, but after today’s 20-24 defeat, I now have a season to remember with losses to Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida. It is unfortunate, but Georgia is not going to win another game. Big losses to Auburn and Tech loom.

As we roll into week 10, I am 58-11 on the year (7-0 last week). This week is very much like the last two, easy pickings. LSU/Tennessee is the marquee match-up, but there is not really a whole lot else to offer this weekend besides Arkansas/South Carolina. Oh well, on to the picks …

(7) Florida – Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt keeps improving, but the Gators are not the Bulldogs, so this one goes to Florida.

Mississippi State – Alabama
Alabama is really not so hot this year, but Mississippi State is pitiful, so Roll Tide.

Northwestern State – Mississippi
Another bad team from magnolia country, but they can take on a 1-AA team, right? If not, you know we will have to give them the Shame of the Week Award.

Arkansas State – (6) Auburn
Auburn’s final practice before taking on Georgia.

(12) Arkansas – South Carolina
This could be an interesting game. I do not like the Razorbacks and I do not care for the Gamecocks, so I do not even know who to pull for in this one. Conventional wisdom says to pick Arkansas, but I am going to go with South Carolina in an upset. Some type of Spurrier magic or some such.

(13) LSU – (8) Tennessee
This is the game of the week. Tennessee keeps improving, so it is hard not to pick them in this one.

Georgia – Kentucky
If you go with Kentucky you are really saying that their poor defense is better than Georgia’s poor offense. This should be a game for Georgia to get healthy before getting stomped by the Tigers from Auburn. I want to believe that Georgia will win 31-13, but I have a feeling that the game is going to be much closer; a high scoring game … along the lines of 34-29 in Georgia’s favor.

Go Dawgs!

Last week was fairly crazy with the typical array of work, cleaning out the future nursery, and the kids’ soccer games (in other words, the family life mix). Needless to say, gaming time has been pitiful of late, but on a positive note, I actually I was able to take in some quality TV time (is there really such a thing) with the World Series, and plenty of football (college and the NFL).

World Series
Congratulations to the Cardinals. Great coaching? Maybe. Poor showing by the Tigers? Sure. Did the best team win? Hard to say, but I have to believe that this series shows that you just have to be hot at the right time. I am not really sure where this one ranks in the history of World Series upsets, but I doubt many people outside of St. Louis game the Cardinals much of a chance to pull off an upset. Little did anyone know that St. Louis’ pitching staff would post a sparkling 2.05 ERA, which certainly helped Tony La Russa’s bunch pull off a great showing.

Vick lights up Cincinnati
The Falcons and Vick have been on fire, and as much as I would love to jump on the bandwagon, I have a hard time believing that they can keep up the pace. I am a true homer, but are we actually witnessing Vick transforming into a QB (beyond the typical hype)? Mark Bradley of the AJC thinks that is the case.

Carson Palmer, the first player drafted in 2003, is considered a quarterback in the classic mode – tall, polished, a thrower first and last. On Sunday, the first player drafted in 2001 threw the ball better than Palmer, who admittedly threw it well. Vick passed for more yards and more touchdowns, completed a higher percentage of his throws and had a much higher passer rating (140.6 to Palmer’s 106.9). There were many reasons why the Falcons won this rather large road game but, these being the Falcons, all reasons must start with No. 7.

Nine days ago, Vick had never thrown more than two touchdown passes in an NFL game. He has since done it twice – four against the Steelers, three more against the Bengals. The Falcons try to pretend they didn’t redo their offense after being pounded by the Giants, but occasionally the truth trickles out. “I’m glad we’re changing,” Vick said. “Well, not really changing. But doing some things differently.”

Whatever the characterization, the effect has been stunning. Greg Knapp has stopped calling dinky West Coast plays and is catering to Vick’s conspicuous strengths. These past two weeks the quarterback has gotten outside the pocket and flung the ball vertically. (Forget that horizontal garbage.)

As a Falcons’ fan I have to hope that Vick is finally turning into a quality QB. Now if we can only turn the defense back on.

Dawgs take one on the chin
I guess it was not as bad as I expected. In fact, the Bulldogs almost managed to shock a ton of people, but you just cannot escape so many turnovers. I am sure there were some bright spots, but they were hard to find from my vantage point. Besides, when you lose to the same team 15 out of 17 years, it is hard to find a bright spot. Things could get ugly with Auburn and Tech on the horizon (and I am assuming that the Dawgs are better than Kentucky).

WoW
I spent a little time with WoW. My mage is now sitting on level 14, and I am actually getting comfortable playing here and there with random folks. In fact, I have actually been able to help a couple of other newbies, which is surprisingly gratifying. I am enjoying the game, but my next big decision will be to spend $29-60 on a headset and continue to pay the $14.95 monthly fee.

The football spreadsheet that many seem to enjoy is back with a 2007 version. I’m sure it is probably a fine game, but like many people are turned off by the Out of the Park Baseball interface, I don’t like playing games that feel and look like a Microsoft Office product. A demo is available, but I won’t bother with it based solely on the screenshots. Your mileage may vary.

Another glorious weekend of SEC football is on the plate.  Well, except for the glorious part.  Tennessee/South Carolina looks like a decent game, with an interesting Spurrier/Fulmer backdrop, and Georgia/Florida always makes for a good story line.  The only problem is that neither game shapes up to be much of a contest.

Last week I was a perfect 6-0, which brings the total to 51-11 on the year.  On to the picks…

(7) Auburn – Mississippi
It would be safe for one to assume that the Tigers will crush Tommy’s former team.  This is really not much of a match up, and no chance for Ole Miss to get up for this one and pull some sort of upset along the lines of the Arkansas debacle.

Kentucky – Mississippi State
In a clash of too bad teams, the Wildcats will pull even to 4-4 on the year, while the pitiful Bulldogs will continue their lackluster (dare I say embarrassing) showing this year.  I wonder how much longer Sylvester Croom is going to be given to turn this puppy around.

(8) Tennessee – South Carolina
I think some people are going to think there will be some sort of Spurrier factor in this one, but the truth of the matter is that the Gamecocks are far, far away from having talent to match the guys in orange.  If South Carolina does pull off the upset, we will have to debate if Spurrier is really a genius or if Fulmer is a fool.

Vanderbilt – Duke
Vanderbilt pulls one step closer to .500 (and a bowl bid), while Duke continues their run of ineptitude.

Florida International – Alabama
Nothing like a healthy dose of a cupcake to get the Tide’s offense rolling, rolling, Roll Tide!

Louisiana-Monroe – (13) Arkansas
Another piss-poor game on the SEC slate.  Not sure why they bother to schedule these things, but they do, so souie!

Georgia – (9) Florida
Another year, another loss to the Gators.  I think the line is about 13, but I have a nasty feeling in my stomach (and I am not talking about the chips and coke-rum from last night), that the results are going to be more like 13-34 in favor of the bad guys.  One can always hope for an upset, but that seems highly unlikely.  But one can hope.

Go Dawgs!

I figured I would continue to write about my experiences with WoW; hopefully this is entertaining, if for no other reason than getting the perspective of a newbie.

I gave my priest mining and herbalism professions because I figured a dwarf should mine for gold (or gems or something), and I had seen enough silverleaf and peacebloom that I figured picking herbs would be an easy way to make some money.  Besides, it just seemed like gathering rocks and plants in between my travels would be more entertaining than crafting items.  Of course I could be wrong, because I have been wrong about a lot of WoW things lately.

I am almost afraid to write that I never thought that I would actually spend time in a game mining for gold, but things change.  In fact, I swore that I would not waste my time mining for gold, but last weekend I spent a few hours just traveling looking for minerals and herbs as I was going from point A to point B.  The end result was that I collected enough items to give the Auction House a try.

If you have never used WoW’s Auction House, it can be a little intimidating.  Where do you start?  How much should you list an item for and should you list a buy out price?  What is a good deal?  How are required deposits calculated and how are final auction expenses determined?  And so on.  I could probably find most of this in the manual, or on one of the many helpful sites I have come across, but I had not read anything about the Auction House other than some general information, so I did not really know what to expect.

Of course you cannot learn with out trying, so for my first auctions last Saturday night, I figured I would list my items somewhere between what a vendor would give me and a little less than the suggested start price (in most cases 2-3sp for my goods).  I did not search for items to see what the going rate was for the items I wanted to unload, which I later learned was a mistake; I should have did a quick search before putting my items up for bid.  For my first haul, I received the following per item (full item stacks, medium length auction, includes final price after auction house expense) – peacebloom 2.30sp, earthroot 4.79sp, and copper bar 2.78sp.  The earthroot and copper bar were priced much too low as I found out in my next round of auctions.

Last Sunday night I setup a few more auctions, this time searching for the going rate, and also providing a reasonable buy out amount.  By reasonable I mean that I put my prices right in line with current auctions, if not a little below.  I received the following per item (full item stacks, medium length auctions, includes final price after auction house expense) – silverleaf 3.25sp, peacebloom (no bids), earthroot 24.55 (a 500% increase over the first auction), and copper bar 71.65 (a whopping 2,500% increase over the first auction).

The bottom line is that in addition to the game mechanics, there is a whole economy to learn.  It is really good stuff, and for low level characters, the Auction House can be a useful way to earn some quick coin.  After all, why not mine or garden (or even skin, although I have not tried that one yet) while you are out questing?

I just thought this quote from Vick was so interesting, that it had to be posted.

“Winning this game today put us in position to where we can move forward with some confidence,” said Vick, who also rushed five times for 40 yards. “The drive in overtime, we put it all together. Players have to step up. Jerious Norwood started it off with a great run [11 yards], and I kind of took it from there.”

Vick may be a team guy, but he never sounds like one. Vick’s final statistics were nice, but not great: 18 completions on 30 attempts, good for 232 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs. If you throw in Vick’s 40 rushing yards, on 8 attempts, Vick was 28 yards shy of 300 (total yards). Nothing to sneeze at, but not worth all the ESPN hype that will be generated as a result of the Falcons’ overtime victory over the Steelers.

I just wish that Vick could put together this type of game on a consistent basis, but it seems like we never know what we are going to get next. Last week I said that I see Atlanta going 7-7 with swing games against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. All things being equal, the win over the Steelers gives the Falcons the potential of 8-7, so this Sunday’s game at Cincinnati is extremely important to having a successful season (9-7 looks better than 8-8). Of course if Philadelphia keep playing so poorly, the Falcons’ schedule may be a little easier than I predicted.

Just got back from the kids’ soccer games, cooking out some great food (chicken, hotdogs – Nathan’s famous of course, and some veggies), and realized that I have not gotten in my week 8 picks. In the interest of time, no reasons or summaries will be given.

(15) Arkansas over Mississippi. Georgia over Mississippi State. (8) Auburn over Tulane. South Carolina over Vanderbilt (Commodores are improved, but the Georgia game has to be a fluke). (7) Tennessee over Alabama. (14) LSU over Fresno State.

Texas over Nebraska. Hook ’em!

Go Dawgs!

Here is a very funny take on real life player rating in computer games…from a real life player. Ethan Albright is mad and he is not going to put up with it anymore from John Madden and his EA Sports goons!