Sunday, October 29, 2006

New Picture

Check it out. ^^^^

The previous image was a photo I snapped in Montana. This one is overlooking the bay at Cass Lake where my extended family vacations each summer. The resort overlooking this bay is named, appropriately, Sunset Cove. :)

(BTW, for all you in the family who read this blog, you will note that the image is, technically, incorrect. I had to flip it horizontally in order to accommodate the title.)

Updates...

So here's the skinny on a few things I've posted on recently...

- After selling two DS games on eBay, I have finally received positive feedback from both buyers. It's great when you can breathe that sigh of relief after completing an eBay transaction. Your fate rests in the good Lord above and the hands of the US Postal Service below when using eBay, and it's nice when everything works out.

- I beat 343 Guilty Spark last night and have moved on to The Library. Wow, this game is good. It's been close to two years (really?) since I played through this part, and it's just as thrilling as ever, only now I understand what it is I'm doing and why I'm fighting off all these strange creatures.

- I've been jamming quite a bit since I got my guitar back from the shop. I'd forgotten how much I missed it. I even jam out to some of the riffs from back in Nick's basement, and it's still all good.

- New Weird Al(bum) continues to be super good.

The extra hour yesterday was like a nice bonus. Sort of like finding out there's a coupon on the box of Hamburger Helper you were going to buy anyway. And today is looking to be another great fall day--the kind of day that's perfect for a nice walk through the park. :)

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Zelda Goodness

This morning I watched a "Legend of Zelda Retrospective" documentary courtesy of a web site called "Videogametrailers.com" (I would post a link here, but I'm using my trusty Dashboard widget, and am too lazy to find the link) Part 1 of the documentary focused on the original NES title and its sequel, part 2 was about the SNES and Gameboy games, and part 3 delved into the genius of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Part 4 (and hopefully part 5, 6, etc...) are coming, but for now, it was great to remember what was so cool about those games. I only played the original for a little while, and never played its immediate sequel save for a bit here and there on a ROM I got for my computer once. I played the SNES and GB titles extensively (every time I hear Soul Asylum's "Let your dim light shine" or Weird Al's "Bad hair day" I think of the GBA game, since I listened to those albums almost exclusively while I played it in my downstairs bedroom) and came *this close* to beating Ocarina of Time. My brother Phil was fond of Majora's Mask, from what I remember, but it always weirded me out

The thing with the Zelda games is that they didn't rely on shootings and violence and shock value. They have always been good solid games with good solid gameplay. Wind Waker just feels...comfortable, I suppose would be a good term for it...and I'm very much looking forward to the newest ieration on Wii and Gamecube, due out in a few weeks.

In other news, it seems as though one of those home design shows is taking over a residence in Lincoln only a few blocks from where I grew up. Sweet!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Triumph!

Wow, tonight I beat "The Maw" on the original Halo on "Heoric" setting.  It's tough, but I feel some sort of odd sense of accomplishment in getting past it.  The next level is something else entirely, though, as the "flood" of new enemies was hard enough on regular setting.  I'm looking forward to the challenge!  I'm also starting the book "Timeline" tonight, which should be cool.  The last Michael Crichton book I read was "The Andromeda Strain," which I finished about a year and a half ago, and it was really good.  So yeah, here's hoping good ol' M to the C can still bring it.  :) 

Sunday, October 15, 2006

eBayed!

Well, I sold both games on eBay. I was hoping for about $20 each, and one sold for $18.50 and the other for $22.50. That averages out to $20.50 per game. Nice! I'm shipping them out on Tuesday, since I can't make it to the post office tomorrow. When eBay works, it sure is neat.

In other news, I recently discovered that Comcast has upped my bandwidth from 6mbps to 8. It's nice to get something when you don't expect it, and the speed boost is certainly welcome. And for those interested in knowing their internet speed, my cousin Eddy showed me a cool speed tester at SpeakEasy.

And speaking of getting things when they are least expected, Papa Murphy's gave us a family size pizza when we ordered a large. Now, if you haven't experienced the complete deliciousness of a Papa Murphy's pizza, you don't know the tastiness you are missing. And if you know what I'm talking about, then you can appreciate how cool it is to get the hugeness of a family size when you expect the adequacy of a large. Suffice it to say, we will have leftovers for quite some time now. :)

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Geetar is back!

<jam>
Almost three weeks ago I took my guitar in to a place called Guitar Zone in order to have the input jack fixed. It had been acting up for some months, and it was high time to get a new one installed. The dudes there were super nice and fixed it for a great price, even though it did take a while. It's the kind of thing I'm sure I could have done myself with a soldering gun, screwdriver, and hefty serving of patience, but I'd just as soon have the pros do it instead. I've got it all tuned up and was jamming a bit tonight, and it's nice to have it back. I got new strings too--some strange ultra-would things that are supposed to be good, but we'll have to see. Blue Steels are the only strings I've found that don't rust out on me, but the guys at GZ said these are great about not rusting, so here's hoping they're right.
</jam>

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Lynwood

Wow, the new Weird Al(bum) is great. So far, I think my favorite is "Don't Download This Song." It's, like, vintage Al. It's got all the great background vocals, it's got a great funny message, and the music doesn't fit it at all. Think of "You don't love me anymore" from "Off the deep end." Go Al! 27 all the way, yo!

Monday, October 09, 2006

Widgets!

Wow, I'm writing this from a Dashboard Widget that lets me update my blog.  Sorry Windows users, but the Mac just keeps getting cooler and cooler!  Viva OSX!

Saturday, October 07, 2006

So long, DS Games...

Well, in preparation for the Nintendo Wii's imminent appearance on store shelves across the nation, I decided to put up two Nintendo DS games for sale on eBay. I got rid of Super Mario 64 DS, which I bought along with my original DS about two years ago, as well as Metroid Prime Hunters. I've been using eBay for, oh, over six years now, but my feedback remains a relatively low 17, mostly because I don't use it all that often. But my score is 100%, so that's definitely a good thing. :) I hope I can get at least $15 for each game, which isn't all that much in the grand scheme of things, but it's $30 closer to a Wii, and there's no way that can't be cool. Less than six weeks to go!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Chrisp

Today was one of those decidedly autumn days which can only be described with the word "crisp." It was neither hot nor cold, and the brownish leaves exploding in a stunning display of natural fireworks, were slowly beginning to decorate the streets and walkways with a soft blanket of earthly color. The ground itself, it would seem, was busy snuggling itself up in its own natural blanket in preparation for the coming winter months. It's also getting dark just a bit earlier each evening, and I happened to notice this tonight when I went into the grocery store under a light blue canopy and emerged not a half hour later to see the wayward white eye of the night staring down at me from a decidedly navy face. Winter is coming, no doubt, but beyond it lies another spring and summer, and that is definitely something to look forward to.

I remember a guy from Russ's way back in the day whose name was "Kenneth Chrisp." I don't remember anything about the man save for his name, and today made me think of him too.