you can get a 1080 projector for under $2k now - the Mitsubishi HC4900. I have a few years old panasonic PTAE700u (720p native) throwing out a 123" picture and it rocks hard. At that size, though, 1080 would really be a nice upgrade. My only other TV is a seriously old 27" sony CRT Provided you can control the lighting in your room, a front projector is easily the way to go. If you can't, you gotta go another route.
Mariokart, as far as playing during thunderstorms, can an outage hurt the console when it's on standby or only when powered on?2headedhawaiian
When lightning takes out a local transformer or hits on your circuit somewhere, the surge of electricity through your home can fry anything plugged in, no matter if it's turned on. Likewise, if power goes out, when it comes back on there is a second surge (generally much smaller, but still a serious power spike) which can still be dangerous to delicate electronics, computers, etc. I live in Austin, TX, and we get some pretty gnarly lightning storms here. When they roll in, I just unplug all my stuff. If you have everything on surge protectors, it doesn't take long to just unplug those from the wall. It's much easier than trying to collect insurance money from a surge protector guarantee.
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