Yeah, that was a really sappy title. Sorry about that.

Anyway, this is just a short blurb to say that I don't write for ARGNet (formerly ARGN, formerly the rock band: Steely Dan) anymore as of this weekend. It's been awesome, and the people who run ARGNet are as always rocking it hard.

But with a baby on the way, with a lot of household preparation for said baby, with a job that's outta control, and with general life beating down my door and asking for lunch, I gotta get cooking. And by that I mean that I didn't have time to play the games right now. In fact, I was loving Vanishing Point, but sadly, it's the first 42 game that I really have no time to play (other than doing that cheating thing where I just go to the UNForums to scavenge answers, which, yeah, I know is okay, but I just don't feel right about it...)

Anyway, I know most of you are like: "You wrote for ARGNet?" or "What's ARGNet?" Those people are just fine and should stop reading now.

For the rest of you who read the articles I wrote (like what, just five or six, really, I think...), thank you. And please continue to support ARGNet. In fact, I'm certain that Jonathan Waite could use a good writer to fill the portly, grease-stained shoes I leave behind.

So in conclusion, Always Drink Your Ovaltine, and check out the cool kids at ARGNet. I'll miss them. Click Me.

Okay... it's not a huge departure. In fact, it's not a departure at all.

I just heard that the Target less than 4-5 blocks from my home, is going to have "a lot" of Wiis (or is it Wiii?) on Sunday the 21st of Jan. That's less than two weeks away, people!

I'm still hoping to get one from Best Buy before then. However, they haven't received a shipment SINCE BEFORE THE NEW YEAR (as confirmed by myself speaking with a stock manager this evening). So, unless something else happens, I'll be camping out (even if I'm the only one) on the 20th, to be first in line (or at the very least, 5th or 6th) on the 21st!

I will have my Wii!

However, the reason I tell you all at all, is that I cannot imagine that this is an isolated event. I would imagine if my nowheresville Target is getting a shipment to sell on the 21st (when they've been fairly steadily getting one or two every week or two previously, so they've not been hoarding), then that means that your local Target is likely to be expecting a shipment soon as well, if not the same day.

Riddle me this, though, Batman: How does Target know exactly when they're getting a shipment, and that it will be of substantial size...and Best Buy has absolutely no idea when they're getting a shipment, or whether they'll get one this month at all?

It's fishy to me, kids. Don't be surprised if you read about some hoarding scheme or some eBay scheme(that I didn't write, that is) by the Best Buy employees of the NorthWest Chicagoland Suburbs.

Yeah...

Anyway, who wants to come over and play wii on the 21st?

I can't remember (except for the original NES) feeling so excited about getting a game system in my life. In fact, I really can't remember being so obsessed about getting any "thing" so much. I've never been much of a fad person. (Okay, I wore Sinbad parachute pants in junior high... I'll cop to that.) But beyond that, I've honestly been the type of person who wants something, sure... but I can wait.

But for some reason, I'm super-fascinated with the Wii. Allow me, if I could, to exhonerate myself and explain this strange Wii-fever (Wiiver?) I've come down with:

(WARNING: This ended up much, much longer than I expected. So read at your own peril. Don't say I didn't warn you!)

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So yeah, that was it. Rambly and stupid, and utterly fanboyish in retrospect... But still, they're not bad points. And the fact that it's the only system that hits all those points... well, that's huge for a guy with little disposable income and little gameplay time as it is. That's enough to make me move.

And that's the reason I made the previous post... If you're still reading this... I'm sorry. That's it. There's no unifying point that makes it anything other than my own personal ranting and fanboyish excitement. If you feel me though, and you want to pipe up in agreement, please feel free to comment.

(Yeah, I know... I'm totally sick of the jokes but they make me giggle so...)

TO: The Internet
RE: Best Buy + Wii = Dividing by Zero

Anyway, I'm ticked off... I asked for a Wii for Christmas and I really didn't expect to get one due to cost. (My entire extended family is um, well, over-extended, har-har...) So I was awesomely surprised Christmas morning when I opened a gift card for Best Buy in the amount of $350 (FREAKIN SWEET!) for which to purchase a Wii and Zelda (and perhaps an extra Wiimote or accessories...

Anyway, I've gone to Best Buy EVERY DAY bright and early SINCE CHRISTMAS and they apparently have not gotten ONE shipment. And here's where I get all conspiracy-theorist on y'all:

I don't believe them.

In fact, I'm quite sure that if GameStop and Target (TARGET, FOR PETE'S SAKE!) are getting nearly weekly, if not bi-weekly shipments, the major suburban Chicago location of Best Buy (one of 18 in the country to do the midnight PS3 launch, by the way, of which I also stood in line for nuttin... I was 124 of 108 lucky buyers and the rest tired, cold losers) should get some occasionally as well.

I don't know if the store employees are buying them to sell at nearly 200% profits on eBay (not a bad idea, but cruel nonetheless) or if it's just that they're storing them up for a huge "We've Got one thousand Wiis for sale! Get 'em while they're hot!" sale or something... Either way, it's pissing me off.

I've got good money (well, okay, THEY'VE got the money, and I've got the plastic card that entitles me to stuff worth that money) that I'm willing to drop IN A HEARTBEAT on Wiiephenalia and I'm certain that while there are others searching like myself, there can't be so many that they are getting snapped up before 9am EVERY TIME!

I'm especially bitter, as my wife and I are expecting a child in late March, potentially early April. At that time, my gaming hours will cease, and my burping*diaper-changing*consoling a jealous/stubborn 2.5 yr old*washing/sterilizing bottles days will begin. I NEED A WII NOW, DANGIT!

I just want to get some sweet, sweet Zelda action with a little waggly sports thrown in for good measure. Is that too much to ask?

Has anyone (In the US, or specifically in the Chicagoland area) seen a Wii at Best Buy EVER after launch? I haven't for the record...and I've been watching/salivating/envying.

When I get a Wii, I'll let you know. Until then, Best Buy and I have a date with destiny. I'm just feeling stood up currently.

(P.S. - Anyone know if you can get a refund on a gift card? I know you're not supposed to, but aside from dealing with multiple managerial levels in customer service, how is it legal to take money, and not be able to refund that money when no used tangible product has exchanged hands? (I know I was given a card, yes... but that card is also unused, meaning legally, it's the same state as any other unused or unopened merchandise less than 30 days old, right?))

-Larry

I LOVE these games, and I sincerely hope they make a return. For now, we can be happy playing a daily Dis Or Dat on the YDKJ website. Try this one out for size...

Santa's Downing the Christmas Spirits

First of all, Clayfoot and thebruce, y'all rule in a hardcore way. Ferrealz.

Anyway, After a couple of days of alternating success and failure (mostly failure, but honestly not mostly my fault...) I have succeeded in getting my mom-in-law's dead compy fixed again, and in tip-top-shape (well, as tip-top as a socket 478 P4 can be, with 512MB memory...) But yeah, it's good to go, and I'm so happy/grateful/awed by how good the experience has been.

It's been difficult, but most of that was because I was restoring Windows, not just installing it. So, that's awesomesauce. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to build my next PC from scratch, as I'm confident in my abilities now to do so, and that it was much less harrowing than I'd planned. Mind you, I'm still not all figured out on things like RAID utilities and I'm still not sure what half the BIOS options are, especially when it comes to overclocking (or if it's even worth it to overclock, for that matter), but I'm sure I can make a PC for my next PC's needs without much issue. Which is really really cool.

So again, thanks, and YAY!!!! It's done!

Okay, I'm putting out an SOS here for you techies who've built your own systems or recovered old ones!

My Mom-In-Law (entirely computer illiterate)'s computer totally died. Did some diagnostics and it was the Motherboard.

Anyways, I've replaced the mobo, got the right one, everything's all hooked up and dandy and all. However, Windows won't start.

It's an HP Pavilion a336n. There's a recovery partition, but since it's not the same motherboard, it's not recognizing the hardware and won't let me recover using the partition.

Couple of things here:

1) Anyone know how to bypass this stuff, so I can just freaking use the windows XP Home that's SITTING ON THE HARD DRIVE LOOKING ALL PRETTY BUT DOESN'T WANT TO COOPERATE?

2) No, I do not have recovery disks. My mom-in-law did not make them, and therefore they do not exist.

3) No, I don't have an XP disk, as it was bought "bundled-in" (Which you probably knew if it had a recovery partition anyway, but...) anyway, so re-installing from the disk is right out.


SO, it's looking like I've gotta buy a new XP cd, even though I've got a valid XP key, all the necessary hardware (after spending about $100 on the motherboard, thermal grease, and new memory (that I didn't need, but that I tried cuz first it sounded like a POST code error with memory issues, but it didn't end up being that...)

PLEASE SOMEONE HELP! (Help me CoffeeJedi! You're our only hope! I'll wear the Leia buns and everything! :)

But yeah, I'd like to avoid spending nearly another $100 if at all possible on XP, with a perfectly installable copy residing right there in that partition.

Anyone? Help!

EDIT: If my brother has a valid XP install CD, and I've got a key attached to the computer, will that work? Or are the MS police going to beat me within an inch of my life for trying? Lemme know!

This will probably end up, like most things I plan to have in a series, being the first of one. :) But here goes...

There are some things called "videos" on the "internet". Here's some that I think are interesting in a funny sort of way:

Gwammi Mufasta -- http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1710265




Bill Fillmaff's Secret System - http://planetstackedmovies.gamespy.com/fillmaffcrap.wmv (One in a series)

Microsoft "The Office" ? - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9076288729387457440

Great stuff... More to come later, I hope

Yeah, me wanty a Wii. Baaad. But I have to wait until Christmas to see if someone will get it for me because if I get it myself I'm impatient and childish. (I'm already getting enough flak from my wife for asking for a game with a subtitle "Twilight Christmas" and an extra Wii-mote and Nunchuk.)

So yeah, if anyone's feeling exceedingly generous and wants to (hopefully) pre-empt my mother (the only person I feel comfortable saying "can you indulge the child in me this Christmas and buy me a Nintendo?") and get me a Wii.. that's all good... :)


I waited in line for a PS3 and failed. That was going to go on eBay and provide me with a low-grade HDTV and a Wii (and potentially a 360 as well)...

dangit.. that PS3 was an opportunity...

A winner was not me...

Okay, so I know that it's a divided nation out there... A lot of you don't like Heroes. You think it's contrived. You think it's an X-Men clone. You think it's predictable.

You're all wrong.

I am 100% totally addicted to Heroes in a way that I've honestly (really) never been before. I like TV. I don't watch all that much, typically. I may watch 1 and a half hours a day, perhaps. And that's usually kids programming with my daughter. (Man, you wanna talk contrived? Watch an episode of Dora the Explorer... ugh!)

Anyway, here's the deal: Actually, scratch that. I don't know what the deal is.

I think the writing, the acting, everything... it's brilliant. Mind you, note that I didn't say, it's perfect, or that the actors are excellent, or that the writing is the height of dramatic precision. No, I didn't say that because I know darn well that it's not.

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( > - < )....(O.O)....\(^.^)/