Hey all!

I figured I'd take a break from my glut of life and Warcraft (those are two different things) for some self-reflection. First, I gotta say "Wahooo!" over the public unveiling of Lost Planet 2. The original was one of my favorite games of 2007. Based on the end of theoriginal, I can see how the diversity of environments has come to pass. I loved Lost Planet's multiplayer quite a bit. I particularly enjoyed playing against honorable, respectful, and cagey overseas opponents. Hopefully when you aren't trudging through snow you will move at a pace faster than "plodding." I am very excited and optimistic about this title, but I doubt it will be coming out in 2009. . . but I could be wrong.

During my recent WoW binges I've had the occaison to continue to associate with Bethany, Justin, James Yu, Stanley Lin, and others from my time at GameSpot. During one of our guild chats, I found out James Yu, Senior Hardware Editor, has departed. He will be missed, but I hope he is on to brighter prospects in the hardware industry. He is a talented professional and a very amiable individual. He lent one of the best keyboards in the office to me and provided some great pointers on TF2. Godspeed, James!

For those of you outside the Bay Area, this weekend is Wondercon. It is San Francisco's answer to the unmatched San Diego Comic Convention. Sure it is put on by the same parent organization, but anything is a pale imitation of Comic-Con. Since I won't be hitting San Diego this year, the family is making the trip up to the City for Wondercon. It should be a great opportunity to meet, greet, and hobnob with individuals from many different industries, whilst taking in the local cosplay. My wife suggested we all dress up, but she didn't like the costume Ideas I had for her.

While she was away yesterday, my son and I had some bonding time playing Rock Band 2. Sure it was me singing and him sleeping, but he did clap at one point during my rendition of "Hungry Like the Wolf". It was as epic as my long distance nose wipe this morning. Who knew I could wipe my daughter's nose from ten feet away with a cloth? I didn't until this morning. Now I am off to wipe smug looks off of monster faces.