So, as you may or may not remember/care, the AC jack to my notebook died a while ago. After some wicked-good-awesome soldering on my part, all was working well... for about 48 hours.

About that time, my daughter, Phebe, dropped the notebook, and it landed on the AC jack. Wah, wah, waaaaaah. Luckily, the jack saulder held (*cough, I rule, cough*), but now the AC adaptor was destroyed.

*sigh*

I found a replacement on eBay for a reasonable price: $26. However, when it arrived, the adaptor had the wrong connector. Contacting the seller didn't resolve my worries either: this person could barely type in English:

"sorry about that,please verify the item again, if the adapater seems defeat or wrong order, please return it for exchange, please with a brief problem, a note with the order id and order date, when you return, just return the adapter , don't included the power cord, we will replace the adapter please return to:"

I paid for a return, and received a second adaptor. This time, the adaptor type was correct, but the size was too large. Also, the adaptor appeared used. Furthermore, the adaptor only gave 8-9V, when it was supposed to give 18-19V.

Then, I went on the hp website, and looked at their online store.

Brand new, official replacement AC adaptor for $53. Sold

Let this be a lesson to you: sometimes, you get what you pay for.

Thank Jebulba for Ticketmaster updates, because tonight, this is what I saw:

Toadies
Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI
Fri, Oct 17, 2008 08:00 PM

That's right, **** they're back!!!

Possum Kingdom

I'll tell you guys, you have NEVER gotten a lap-dance until you request this song. The whole bar will go crazy.

Ok, so they never really left. After the relase of Rubberneck in 1994, the band put forth a second album, Hell Below, Stars Above, in 2001.

I am not ashamed to admit I saw them once on their Rubberneck tour, and twice on their Hell Below/Stars Above tour. 8)

While touring for their second album, founding member and bassist Lisa Umbarger quit. Between a lack of support from their label and the loss of a member, the Toadies stopped dead in their tracks.

The members split into various careers, with frontman Vaden Todd Lewis (that's him signing my bass in my desktop picture, along with former bassist Lisa Umbarger) singing for a new band, The Burden Brothers. Go ahead, click on that link and partake in the awesomeissity that is BB. I'll wait. No, really, they're that good.

While the Burden Brothers are on hiatus, the Toadies got back together to record a new album, No Deliverance (hear the title track here, at their site).

Tonight's e-mail confirmed my prayers: they're coming to Detroit. And thus, the story's circle is complete.

Toadies : Man of Stone (new)

For those interested in more, here is some current press, and older videos:

Some Current Press

Spin - with Duffy on the cover - includes a bit about Toadies reforming, along with My Bloody Valentine, Killing Joke, YAZ etc

STL Today
Sun Herald
SA Current
Goldin****cs blog
Guide Live
Live Daily
Riverfront Times

Older Videos

"Tyler": a song that most Toadies fans consider to be infinitely more awesome than "Possum Kingdom."

Tyler

"Away": their third best song on Rubberneck, after "Tyler," and "I Come From the Water."

Away

It looked so good, and was a good introduction (for me) into the PC's world of Lara Croft. But the controls... yikes.

Other than the half-second delay between pressing a button and watching the resulting action, I couldn't decide which was worse: the hyper-sensitive mouse steering, or the glacial-speed keyboard steering.

That decision was rendered pointless after the "walkthrough incident of 2008." Ascending a flight of stairs in an apartment building, I encountered heavy debris blocking my way. The solution: pull a box towards the edge of a landing, and use its given height to serve as a elevated jumping point from which I could grab the next floor's landing. Only, it didn't work. No matter where I position the box, or Lara, my character was blocked by an invisible wall that prevented me from grabbing aforementioned ledge. Reviewing a walkthrough online (which warned me of several bugs and major "grid" level problems that described an exclusive golden spot from which Lara could bypass a problem), I affirmed that this was indeed the correct solution to this puzzle. So I jumped back in-game, and tried again. And again. And again. An hour or so later, I gave up and uninstalled the game. Whether a control problem or a bug, I dind't care. The gameplay absolutely soured the visuals.

...that's because Lara is as likely to defeat evil as she is fall off a FREAKING LEDGE because she wasn't standing on the "golden spot" from which a succesful jump could be accomplished.

And she looked SO HOT in her jeans.

My Score: D

After the deluge of E3 updates, I have whittled down my list to the following games. Donations to keep my wife from going insane due to our sure-to-be-coming financial issues can be made here .

Definitely Buying

Lego Batman

Maura and I absolutely love Lego Star Wars II, and so this game (along with Lego Indiana Jones) is a no-brainer for us.

Rock Band 2

1. AC/DC "Let There Be Rock" 2. AFI "Girl's Gone Grey"
3. Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know" 4. Alice in Chains "Man in the Box"
5. Allman Brothers "Ramblin' Man" 6. Avenged Sevenfold "Almost Easy"
7. Bad Company "Shooting Star" 8. Beastie Boys "So Whatcha Want"
9. Beck "E-Pro" 10. Bikini Kill "Rebel Girl"
11. Billy Idol "White Wedding Pt. I" 12. Blondie "One Way or Another"
13. Bob Dylan "Tangled Up in Blue" 14. Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer"
15. Cheap Trick "Hello There" 16. Devo "Uncontrollable Urge"
17. Dinosaur Jr. "Feel the Pain" 18. Disturbed "Down with the Sickness"
19. Dream Theater "Panic Attack" 20. Duran Duran "Hungry Like the Wolf"
21. Elvis Costello "Pump It Up" 22. Fleetwood Mac "Go Your Own Way"
23. Foo Fighters "Everlong" 24. Guns N' Roses "Shackler's Revenge"
25. Interpol "PDA" 26. Jane's Addiction "Mountain Song"
27. Jethro Tull "Aqualung" 28. Jimmy Eat World "The Middle"
29. Joan Jett "Bad Reputation" 30. Journey "Anyway You Want It"
31. Judas Priest "1Painkiller" 32. Kansas "Carry On Wayward Son"
33. L7 "Pretend We're Dead" 34. Lacuna Coil "Our Truth"
35. Linkin Park "One Step Closer" 36. Lit "My Own Worst Enemy"
37. Lush "De-Luxe" 38. Mastodon "Colony of Birchmen"
39. Megadeth "Peace Sells" 40. Metallica "Battery"
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones "Where'd You Go" 42. Modest Mouse "Float On"
43. Motorhead "Ace of Spades" 44. Nirvana "Drain You"
45. Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky" 46. Panic at the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon"
47. Paramore "That's What You Get" 48. Pearl Jam "Alive"
49. Presidents of the USA "Lump" 50. Rage Against the Machine "Testify"
51. Ratt "Round & Round" 52. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Give it Away"
53. Rise Against "Give it All" 54. Rush "The Trees"
55. Silversun Pickups "Lazy Eye" 56. Smashing Pumpkins "Today"
57. Social Distortion "I Was Wrong" 58. Sonic Youth "Teenage Riot"
59. Soundgarden "Spoonman" 60. Squeeze "Cool for Cats"
61. Steely Dan "Bodhitsattva" 62. Steve Miller Band "Rock'n Me"
63. Survivor "Eye of the Tiger" 64. System of a Down "Chop Suey"
65. Talking Heads "Psycho Killer" 66. Tenacious D "Master Exploder"
67. Testament "Souls of Black" 68. The Donnas "New Kid in School"
69. The Go-Go's "We Got the Beat" 70. The Grateful Dead "Alabama Getaway"
71. The Guess Who "American Woman" 72. The Muffs "Kids in America"
73. The Offspring "Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Separated)"
74. The Replacements "Alex Chilton" 75. The Who "Pinball Wizard"
76. Abnormality "Visions" 77. Anarchy Club "Get Clean"
78. Bang Camaro "Night Lies" 79. Breaking Wheel "Shoulder to the Plow"
80. The Libyans "Neighborhood" 81. The Main Drag "A Jagged Gorgeous Winter"
82. Speck "Conventional Lover" 83. The Sterns "Supreme Girl"
84. That Handsome Devil "Rob the Prez-O-Dent"

$60 for another 80 songs? Yes, please!

Halo Wars

Normally, I stay away from console RTS games like I would the plague. But after reading that the legendary folks behind Age of Mythology was not only developing this game, but that they started making this game only after reprogramming Age of Mythology to work well on a Xbox 360 gamepad (to ensure better control - the crux of console RTS games), I was sold.

Gears of War 2

The first Gears of War was the reason I bought my first console in over ten years.

Bionic Commando Rearmed

I was a huge Bionic Commando fanboy when it was out on the NES. Now you tell me that I can replay it with co-op and better graphics? YES, PLEASE!

Spore

So large, so imaginative.

Starcraft II

I've never played the original, but it's on my goozex request list. This game just looks sick.

Project Origin

**** the naysayers. I LOVED F.E.A.R. This game is going to own.

Probably Buying
Too Human Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Silent Hill: Homecoming
Tomb Raider: Underworld Ghostbusters Resident Evil 5
Crysis Warhead Dragon Age: Origins Fallout 3 Dead Space
Left for Dead Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II Call of Duty: World at War
Prince of Persia S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky Mortal Combat vs. DC Universe
Alpha Protocol Bioshock 2 Legendary Far Cry 2

Watching/Maybe Buying

Bionic Commando Wii Sports Resort LittleBigPlanet * Resistance 2 *
Killzone 2 * Uno Rush Space Siege The Agency
Edge of Twilight Red Faction: Guerilla * Disciples III: Renassaince
Mirror's Edge Flock Borderlands Rage
Dungeon Hero Age of Booty Wolfenstein MAG *
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels Fracture Empire: Total War
Dark Void Warhammer Online

* would require me to drop $400 on a PS3

WE'RE HEMMORAGING MONEY, BUT WE'RE NOT OUT OF THE FIGHT YET!

I liked that Sony is introducing a larger harddrive for their $400 SKU (if this had full PS1 and 2 backwards compatability, the PS3 would be a no-brainer for me... maybe even at $500), and I liked that they are (like Microsoft) pursuing more movies and TV shows for their PSN. Smart business moves, really. But the crux of their problem comes down to this: with their momentum just beginning to pick up, can Sony suck up billions of dollars of debt in order to keep great games coming to their console. And more importantly, can they turn a profit by doing so before Microsoft reveals their next console (which in my estimates, will be in another 4 years)? Good moves for them, but they should have done more.

Where Sony excelled is in their "hardcore" game announcements regarding the following past, present, and future games:

• Resistance 2
• God of War III
• DC Universe Online
• MAG
• LittleBigPlanet (harcore?)
• Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
• MGS4
• Quantum of Solace
• SOCOM: Confrontation
• Ghostbusters
• Soul Calibur IV
• The Agency
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
• Mirror's Edge
• Resident Evil 5
• Guitar Hero: World Tour
• NBA 09: The Inside
• Warhawk
• Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
• Crash Commando
• Fat Princess
• Pixeljunk Eden
• Pain Amusement Park
• Flower
• Siren: Blood Curse
• Ragdoll Kung Fu: Fists of Platic
• EA Sports games
• Star Wars: Force Unleashed
• Warriors Orochi 2
• Yakuza 2
• Resistance
• Motorstorm
• Warhawk
• Call of Duty 3
• Fight Night
• Need for Speed: Carbon
• Rainbow Six Vegas
• Assassin's Creed
• Elder Scrolls IV
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma
• Mercenaries 2
• Killzone 2

Damn

C- for business
A for games
B- overall

Miyamoto gives a Wii-mote fellatio, and reveals a game that nobody really finds interesting.

More games were announced for the 12 > x < 38 demographic, including WiiMusic (above), and WiiSports Resort.

Following this was the announcement of more we-can-have-awesome-games-too,-only-they'll-be-gimped-in-some-way games, such as

Call of Duty: World at War (a shooter on rails)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (limited by hardware)
-and-
Spore Creatures (want to play only 1/8 of a game?)

Unfortunately, rumors of a new Kid Icaarus game did not come to fruition. Gamers have already begun to lament that Nintendo "doesn't like games anymore," with so few hard-core games available for the Wii. Unless you count Animal Crossing: City Folk as food for the hard-core.

While Microsoft tried to please every demographic, Nintendo appears to be laser-focused on the casual market.

C for business
E for games
D overall

I think their conference/strategy was often brilliant in terms of business. They obviously can't please everybody, so they spend some time pimping themselves with numbers, some time on the hardcore audience, and some time on casual games (to **** about this foolish - the Wii is showing that casual games = $$$).

They're stealing, er, introducing avatars, which was a cool feature that their competition had, and they may have beat Sony's Home in the race (which to me is really sad, that Microsoft can steal the best bits of Home, and possibly implement them before Sony can), the Wii as THE party game system now has a little more competition, and the concept of the PS3 as THE gamesystem/hi-def movie player just got ran over with the partnership with Netflix.

They grabbed exclusives, or timed exclusives, and continue to take away exclusives from their competition (whether directly through $$$ or indirectly because the publisher already wanted to go multiplatform).

None of this is perfect, but I think it's enough to continue to grow the 360's audience, keep the hardcore entertained, and tap into the better strategies and ideas that their competition has.

The consumers won't care that MS is stealing ideas (avatars, home, etc.) from others:most consumers won't care who had it first, but rather who does it well, for an inexpensive price. I'm also really excited for the new dashboard. It looks a lot cleaner.

On the other hand, a LOT of background space looks unused.

That being said, as a gamer, I wasn't very impressed, but I'm glad that Fallout 3 had a playable demo, the Rockband 2 setlist is OMGWTFBBQ, and that Resident Evil 5 has co-op (though I'm still LTTP on that series).

My grades:

A for business
C for games
B overall

I walked into Gamestop the other day with some games in tow: Rayman Ravin Rabbids for the Wii, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for the Xbox 360, and Perfect Dark Zero also for the Xbox 360. While I've heard horror stories regarding their trade-in values, I figured that I would at least get $30 for these three (especially after seeing stores sell used copies of Rayman for $35).

I was in shock when the clerk told me he'd give me $7. Seven dollars!!!???!!! I've received more for a slice of my pizza in college.

F... that.

Perusing the 1up forums days later, I discovered the usual "Gamestop sucks, blah blah RAWWWR" thread, posted in it, and saw a glint of silver lining. That lining, my friends, is Goozex.

Basically, Goozex is a third-party game trader. You list the games you're willing to trade, the website assigns a value to it ($5-$50 - way better than Gamestop's $1-15), and then it searches for somebody who wants that game. If that person has enough points (earned through his/her own trades or purchased), you ship him/her the game. It costs the sender $2-3 for postage, and the "buyer" pays Goozex $1 (which is how the site makes money - what, you expected it to be completely free?)

After this Monday, I will have shipped seven games (Doom 3, Age of Mythology: The Titans, Advent Rising, Vampire: the Masquarade - Bloodlines, The Bard's Tale, Family Guy, and Serious Sam II) paid $17.50, and earned 500 points. Those points will have acquired me:

• Sid Meier's Pirates! for PC 100pts
• Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for DS 350pts

At Gamestop, I would have received $3 for my trade-ins, as they're mostly PC games.

Not bad for $7.

Let me know if any of you want to list your games there, because I will get a few extra points to "refer a friend." Hell, even if you sign up without referring me, at least that's one more person who will get to trade games at a more reasonable value.

The answer: with patience, no, not so much.

I hate being late to the party with games (and it seems that I'm eternally catching up), but that's what happens when you take years off of such a great hobby), but it's either that, or I play the sequals or "spiritual successors" while having no clue as to why everybody's raving about the improvements, nostalgia, etc.

So, Diablo II is going the same way as Diablo did for me. I picked it up, found it simple to play, and the initial levels boring... of each map.

For the unititiated, the original Diablo played out on only one map, and your character simply descended further down as the game progressed. In Diablo II, however, your character travels to (I think) four different lands. Each land has around six goals to meet, with each goal accomplished in a different map. These six (or so) maps then all connect to make the lands.

With that explanation, Diablo II's early levels on each map are BOOOOORING. But, as the storyline for each land progresses, I can see why so many lauded this game.

That being said, I'm probably missing out on the best party of Diablo II: multiplayer over Battle.net. For some lack of foresight, I didn't check to see if I could transfer my single-player character on to Battle.net. Alas, you can not. :( So, I'm stuck with the following decision:

do I complete the game on single player, and then try multiplayer?

do I immediately switch over and start a new game, with a new character, utilizing Battle.net?

--or--

do I complete the game on single player, and then get a taste of Battle.net with
Hellgate: London, or the upcoming Diablo III?

I'm getting there.

But while I still have the better half of one hundred games to complete, all of them aren't games that I feel I have to play. Only a select few (edit: ok, maybe a LOT more than "a few") are akin to the "Citizen Kane"s of interactive media.

I'm thinking I should head to Gamestop today to trade in three games that I've completed... maybe pick up Resident Evil 2 for Gamecube, or something else that I can afford with the trade-in "cash."





Castlevania
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
The Chronicles of Riddick Developer's Cut
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert: The Aftermath
Command & Conquer: Red Alert: Counterstrike
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm
Command & Conquer: Renegade
Command & Conquer: Red Alert II
Command & Conquer: Red Alert II: Yuri's Revenge
Command & Conquer: Generals
Command & Conquer: Generals: Zero Hour
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Diablo II
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Fallout
Fallout 2
Gothic II
Gothic 3
Half-Life: Blue Shift
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Hellgate: London
Icewind Dale II
Giants: Citizen Kabuto
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
Planescape Torment
Prey
Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
Resident Evil
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadows of Chernobyl
Star Wars: Dark Forces II - Jedi Knight
Syberia
Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
The Witcher
Assasin's Creed
Dead Rising
Lost Planet
Prince of Persia XBLA
Psychonauts
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Super Mario Galaxy