NOTE: The events described below are what happened in a dream I had before I woke up this morning. I dreamt that I was at school, except that everything was almost identical to the real-life school, which was kind of creepy. In real life, school is out this Friday, but school was supposed to be out on the 22nd for some weird reason. Anyways, the school was mean, and delayed the date back to the 29th. Anyways, I was in my Carpentry class, which I suck at in real life. Well, apparently, I sucked at it in this dream, too. My best friend, Trevor, was saying how our work tables are softer than, um, something (my memory sucks when it comes to dreams >.< ), and I somehow cut through the table with a palm sander. And, then, one of my older classmates (this is a cross-grade class), Joey, cuts through the table with some kind of table saw that was on the work table and that saw fell off and, um, well...let's move on! And, so, I faintly remember coming home right afterwards or something like that, but I do remember that I browsed these very forums (that's right), and I apparently had a floated thread in one of the sections. It was acknowledging some sort of awards. And, then, there was weird feedback system under everyone's post, with the best rating being "Keep." Apparently, I had this "keep" rating, and I pressed something, and it turned out that the forums disappeared and turned into a menu interface for a Metroid game. Strange, eh? Well, that's as much as I can recall about my strange, strange dream. The alarm clock buzzed, and I realized that I wasn't really in the real world until the buzz of the clock. I think I'll do my English homework, and hop back in bed for a little while longer. After all, it's only 6 AM...

Well, I had a much cooler banner, but it's 5 megabytes!

Well, I went and preordered Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube at EBGames. I had $28.70, so I spared the 20 bill from the hands of the retailers, and just deposited the $8.70. I was planning to rent something afterwards anyways (which I didn't do, since I didn't find anything interesting to rent--movie or game). By the way, I couldn't preorder the PSP because, well...there's no official release date yet! But the interesting thing about the transaction is that, well, EBGames has been giving out a promotional demo disc to people who preorder Resident Evil 4. But it turns out that, well, they didn't have any. So they just went ahead and give me the follow items, instead:

A deck of World Championship Poker playing cards

A Call of Duty: Finest Hour action figure Although I would have just been satisfied with the card deck, I'm also happy to have the action figure...I guess. I haven't opened it yet, and--since I'm not the kind of guy that just plays with action figures--I don't intend to anytime soon. And so I'm giving you guys a one-time offer: the first person to ask will receive the Call of Duty: Finest Hour American G.I. "Limited Edition Action Figure" for a negotiable offer. Why is this not absolutely free? Well, whatever monetary funds that I get are going towards shipping, because, for one, you'll be receiving this baby in a box, not an envelope of some sort. And that means that it could be expensive. And what if I don't get any offers? I'll probably let it collect dust, or I'll send it to Gamespot for free. Perhaps they could do something better with it, or maybe one of the staff would like to have it. Besides, they've given me two T-shirts, a DVD, and a game all for absolutely nothing. I guess it's time that perhaps I returned the favor somehow. Anyways, for now, good night! And have a happy holidays!

Well, it came in the mail today. Thanks go to Gamespot for the great generosity. I'll be sure to watch On the Spot tomorrow! :)

That first title there is what I am, for now, calling my "game" that I started working on today for Developer For A Day 3. I know that there is a lot of competition, but I feel that my ideas will eventually be placed together to create poetry in motion. Here's a teaser image, if you want to see it: (I'm pretty good at manipulating existing images, but pretty damn bad at making original content. Forgive me for the sloppy-quality artwork.) Now, onto the other topic: remember when I bought the PC version of MGS2: Substance for a mere $8.99? Well, like I said, it was pre-owned, and the previous owner(s) treated it poorly, turning it into a visually warped piece of junk. And so, last night, I returned to the EBGames that I had purchased it at and told the clerk there about the situation, but couldn't even get in-store credit, let alone a cash refund. So he offered to just give me a flat-out exchange. And so, with some money in my wallet, I paid roughly $6 for a pre-owned copy of Aliens vs. Predator 2 Gold Edition priced at $13.49 after a 10% discount. Oh, well: that's a better price than $19.99, the price tag for the new copy. And, besides, I tried the game out last night, and it runs just fine. I am now a happy camper. That's all for now. Happy holidays...and stuff...!!!

So I went to EBGames just now, and I originally intended to rent a movie at the Rogers Video that it was merged with, but I found an interesting item in the PC bargain bin there: a copy of MGS2: Substance for the PC for $9. There was also a copy of Tribes 2 there for $2 (Heh...) which I decided to get some other time (although it was the more insane deal), but I had always wanted a copy of MGS2: Substance. I mean, I don't really care what other people think about a console-to-PC port: it's MGS2, man! And compared to the PS2 version of Substance that's $25 and the PS2 version of Sons of Liberty that's $10, I firmly believe that I'm doing myself a favor by picking up a game that has a lot of gameplay value. Now all I need is a controller, and I'll be having just as good an experience with this game on the PC as I would on the console versions. Anyways, that's all for now. If you want, you may laugh at my decision to buy this game, but whatever. It's almost done installing, so I shall get to playing in a few minutes!

Shortly after reading Gamespot Hardware's feature, Console Cable Conundrum, I realized that this explained what kind of A/V cables are better, but it didn't emphasize on what product they would recommend. I wanna know about good cables for a good price, and I bet you do, too. Well, I've got the answers for you all within this journal entry. Please note that an asterisk (*) indicates that the price is an estimate based on currency exchange. Let's start off with: Component Cables After seeing the price tag and what it can do, this has to be, hands-down, the most cost-effective set of cables I've ever seen. The Mad Catz Universal Component Cable is not only useable for both the Playstation 2 and Xbox, but it is only $19.99CAD (this translates to around $16.99USD*) on Bestbuy.ca. However, if you're willing to splurge for a bit more, you could pay a helluva lot more for Monster's component cables (PS2, $79.99CAD/$59.99USD; Xbox, $99.99CAD/$84.99USD*). And then there's the Xbox's High Definition (HD) A/V Pack Component, which will set you back $23.99CAD*/$19.99USD, and also comes with digital and fibre-optic receivers for the audio department. However, it doesn't actually come with the component cables for you to plug into your TV. (NOTE: The Monster component cables for the Xbox disappeared from Best Buy's database while I was writing this for some odd reason. I apologize for any other links that don't direct you to the product referred to in the article.) If you only care about the video, however, and you don't care about having to switch between the PS2 and Xbox every time you want to play on one of those consoles, the Mad Catz component cables are definitely a good choice, especially when the next best substitutes either don't come with cables (and is slightly more expensive) or are as many as five times as expensive. Gamecube owners, however, can't even use component cables on their system--at least most of them. You need a Digital A/V Out port for that, and only the older Gamecubes have that. In case you're one of them, like myself, you can buy some component cables direct from Nintendo for $39.95CAD/$29.95USD. So let's move on to a more friendly and popular video source, which are: S-Video Cables Now here are some more popular A/V cables, probably because most component cables nowadays are very pricey compared to S-video cables. For the Playstation 2, Sony does have a set of first-party cables for $39.99CAD/$33.99USD*, but there are a couple of cheaper substitutes, such as Datel's cables, which are only $9.99USD/$11.99CAD*. Or you could go for an even cheaper price with Hip Interactive's cables, which are only two bucks less at $7.99USD/$9.49CAD*. Of course, then again, you can go for Monster Cables' cables for five bucks more than Sony's first-party cables at $34.99USD/$40.99CAD*. Now, as for the Xbox, again, you have the Advanced A/V Pack--the HD A/V Pack's S-Video/Composite counterpart--with a price of $19.99USD/$29.99CAD (US, Canada), but, like its Component counterpart, the cables are sold separately. Meanwhile, Monster Cables' cables (US, Canada) are a whopping $44.99USD/$69.99CAD (Ouch!). But then there's the cheap substitutes, such as Mad Catz' cables that are only $9.99CAD/$8.49USD*, or go even cheaper with Hip Interactive's cables for a mere $7.99USD/$9.49CAD, just like its PS2 counterpart. Unlike component cables, S-Video cables for the Nintendo Gamecube are plentiful...and cheap. Again, you can buy direct (US, Canada) for $15.95USD/$19.95CAD, but Monster Cables has this console covered as well, with S-Video cables (US, Canada) bearing a price tag of $39.99USD/$49.99CAD. Of course, if you're feeling like going for something cheaper than Nintendo's first-party cables, Mad Catz's cables for the Gamecube are only $9.99CAD/$8.49USD*, while Pelican's cables are $9.99USD/$11.79CAD*, and Hip Interactive's cables are, once again, $7.99USD/$9.49CAD*. Let's carry on to the next kind of cables. However, well, since you get some really good ones right out of the box with your console, should I even bother with this? Well, in case you somehow misplace or destroy yours, here's a quick summary of some: Composite Cables Let's just forget about all the third-party cables and just go with the first-party cables. Besides, if you've got a new TV, and you somehow break or lose your out-of-the-box cables, why would you go with some new composite cables? Go get some S-Video cables at least, or even some component cables. Just look at the above sections for all that junk! However, if you're like me, and none of your televisions have an S-Video or a component input, just buy some first-party cables, whether they be direct from Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo, or from a store. For example, Sony's cables are $19.99CAD/$16.99USD* at Bestbuy.ca, while Nintendo's cables (US, Canada) are $15.95USD/$19.95CAD direct. Lastly, you can get some of Microsoft's cables for $19.99CAD/$16.99USD*. Now, let's finish this off with: RF (Radio Frequency) Cables Who am I kidding? If you can afford a PS2 or an Xbox or a Gamecube, you can certainly afford to buy a TV that doesn't make you use RF cables to play a game of Metroid Prime! Shoo! Don't come back until you get a new TV! Maybe one day, I'll update the RF section, but for now, I apologize. But, for now, you may use this badly-written article to help you decide what set of cables to buy for your favorite console. For now, I must sleep. Have a good morning!

Yup. As you heard on On the Spot, I won the Xbox version of SW:B. Hooray!

I was just playing some Counter-Strike: Source this morning under the alias "Canadian Penismonger," with all due respect. Penismonger is just some word that my friends made up, and I guess that Canadian Penismonger just came to my head as a neat alias one day. Anyways, someone by the name of teddylongcock has the nerve to unprovocatively make fun of my Canadian heritage. "Well, how many wars have you won? ZERO!!" Let's recall. World War II: we were part of the allied forces that won that war. In our case, Canada landed on Juno Beach during D-Day and participated in other ways. War of 1812: The United States tried to invade Canada. We made them fall back from their so-called invasion. I mentioned the War of 1812 incident. "Oh, dont tell me you didnt just mention that." Yeah, I did. And, if you haven't heard about it in school, it's most likely because American History likes to avoid mentioning it...or because you weren't paying attention. I don't know. But whatever the case is, I proved him wrong. But he just went on and on, once saying "Canadian...lick...my...nuts..." So, tired of Teddy's crap, I went on another server. Would I received sanctuary? Hell no. Some guy named Putzy goes and makes fun of my nationality again. "Canadian, you don't fight that well. Must be that great army of yours!" Then I said "it's lame how Americans mindlessly make fun of Canadians without provocation." And it's true--I was just minding my own business, and playing a damn video game, and I have to suddenly defend myself in the argument that Canadians are, apparently, "incompetent." I know that we don't have the best health plan or the best military forces, but we're damn good at what we do: being productive. The Canadian dollar is catching up to the American dollar, Canadians are getting better at more events in both the summer and the winter Olympic Games, and we're still one of the best countries, if not the best country, in hockey and lacrosse. Don't forget our great beer, either. Now that that's been settled...Half-Life 2 tomorrow! I plan to literally go to bed around 5pm, wake up at 2am, and treat myself to a good, 'ol train ride into City 17. Hopefully, the game will justify all the rave reviews it's been getting (98% from PC Gamer US and UK, 9.5 from Game Informer, perfect scores from a couple of other British mags), and that it's not just the Source engine being responsible for all the hype these print journalists have been spewing at us.

Well, I've been thinking of how to plan employment. That's right: I'm assuming that I can just get a job whenever I want (what with my respectable resume) in this little "plan," and that I'll get X dollars per hour and work X hours a week. And I've come to the fact that, if I get a part-time job in the summer with a good salary, I can make at least two G's (Canadian) in the summer. So I've been thinking: if I do end up with $2,000 in my pocket, what would I buy? Well, first, I thought "I'll get some upgrades for my current desktop." Then, I thought about that: although it's currently between entry- and mid-level by now, it still plays the newest PC games like a beast: an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ with 512MB of RAM and a 256MB GeForce FX 5700. That will play CS: Source and Half-Life 2 fairly well. So, I'll leave that option at a lower priority. Then I thought "what about a notebook computer for school?" It doesn't sound like the best idea, but it's a good idea, so I left that at a lower priority. Then I thought "how about I buy A TON of video games?" It sounds like I could get a lot of bang for my buck, so I put that at a low priority, as well. Then, I thought about what I should replace by now. "Well, I have the crappiest VCR and TV, so why don't I get a pimpin' setup for my room!?" That sounds like a good idea, since I ended up finding a setup for 1,400 Canuck Bucks. Manoman, with $2,000, I could do one of hundreds of things with it--maybe even a couple of those things. But ah, well. I don't have that money yet, and I'm just brainstorming out of boredom. If you do have a good suggestion as to what to spend two-large on, post a comment! :D