Barb Kicks Ass

Barb kicked total ass this past weekend.  There's just no other way to say it.  She took the bull by the horns and decided it was time to get the basement completed the way we wanted it.  So she (with some help from Zach) got the new theater area painted, got everything moved, arranged, hung and accounted for and now the basement is fabulous.  The kids have the run of 70% of it.  It's a huge play area where they can do what they want, have tons of toys at their disposal and a TV and DVD player as well.  It's very kid-friendly, decorated very cutely and just perfect for what we need.

And the theater area turned out way better than I ever expected.  It's perfect for movies, sports, gaming or visiting with friends. Barb got all of my movie posters up and all of my gaming stuff stored neatly.  I got everything all hooked up and working so it's a go.  We could not have done all of this without Jessica either, so a big thanks to her as well.

But Barb was the worker.  She was the (wo)MAN.  She kicks ass!

Vacation Time!!!

It's been a long haul since Jan. 4th, but today marks the start of a much needed 10 day break. It actually started yesterday at noon. I took the afternoon off and drove down to Ogdensburg NY to pick up an amp that I had shipped to the UPS Store there.

The amp is an original Tone King Meteor, a 40W 1x12 combo with reverb and tremolo. It has two footswitchable channels, one based on a Fender Deluxe Reverb and the other on tones that range from Fender Tweed Duluxe into early Marshall territory. A half power switch allows you to run the second channel at 20W. Very handy! I haven't played much at all since returning to work in July, but the itch is coming back in a big way. There's nothing like a new amp to fuel that urge, and I have a killer Slacker Radio mix set up and ready to roll for backing tracks. Yee-Haw!!!

Tonight we're off to the Sens game courtesy of tickets I won in a raffle about a month ago. Our seats are 12 rows behind the Senators net, so it might be a good night for some photo opps. Looking forward to the game and hitting our favorite arena restaurant for beer and burgers beforehand.

My main "project" for the week is to get our taxes done. Up until now it's been a very straightforward affair, but that's all changed since I became self-employed last year. Lots of receipts to compile and expenses to calculate. I'm not looking forward to it, nor am I looking forward to the trip I need to make to the licence bureau to cancel the registration on my old car sometime next week.

I'm not sure how much time I'll have for gaming, but whatever there is will probably put towards a second play through Heavy Rain. Joyce was actually asking about it last night (gotta love that!). She'd like to see how differently it might play out the second time through. So would I?

Joyce is working through Wed., then on Thurs. AM we hit the road for a few days in Ithaca NY. Why Ithaca, you ask? Well, it came highly recommended by a server at our favorite eatery in NH. It's primarily a college town (Cornell U, Ithaca College) with lots of pubs, restaurants, live music, etc. Were booked into an historic inn on the edge of Ithaca Commons - the hub of activity downtown. It's apparently a lovely town and area, and also wine country. Neither of us have ever been to a winery and, though it's no doubt out of season, we'll definitely be seeking one out. We're also planning a day trip up to Waterloo about an hour to the north. There's a huge oulet mall there that we're anxious to check out. In the meantime, I've been busy compiling tuneage for the tour (fighting iTunes every step of the way). Really looking forward to the trip and getting the Mazda on the road for it's first serious run (notwithstanding my round-tripper to Ogdensburg yesterday).

Finished God Of War III

Awesome.  Just absolutely awesome.  This would have been a serious Game Of The Year contender last year.  I am sure it will make the finalists for 2010.  If you have a PS3 you shouldn't miss this game.  Just the sheer spectacle itself is worth the price of admission.  And the gameplay is dead-on as has always been the case with this series.

Now it's time to see what all this fuss is about with Just Cause 2.

Quick gaming thoughts

I am about 3 hours into God Of War III and - no surprise here - it's awesome.  The graphics are phenomenal, the cut scenes tremendous, the voice acting superb and of course the gameplay is 2nd to none.  Dave from Were Not Here claims that this is the best video game series of all time and if it's not, it's gotta be in the running.  Simply stellar.

I also will be getting Just Cause 2 today.  I pre-ordered it yesterday, trading in Dragon Age: Origins.  I could just never get into that game and I tried with 2 different characters.  I wish I hadn't waited so long, I could have gotten more credit for it.  Anyway, Just Cause 2 looks fun; it's a huge sandbox type of game where stuff blows up real good.  :-)   I won't be playing it until GOW3 is finished but I will give impressions when I do.

What's on your iPhone?

Here’s how mine is loaded at the moment…

Facebook – iPhone and Facebook, they were made for each other

Dragon Dictation – a ‘gee whiz’ app – converts speech to text with surprising accuracy

AppBox – a plethora of useful little apps, including a great unit converter

Around Me – like the POI function of a GPS – I haven’t had occasion to use it yet, so can’t vouch for accuracy

Mixology – cocktail recipes at your fingertips – can even suggest recipes based on your bar and mix inventory – bottoms up!

Bump! - bump iPhones to transfer contact info. - nifty!

TSN Mobile – The Sports Network – good for news, not so much for boxscores

Sportsnet – easy access to boxscores, but meh for news

Sportacular – for broader and more in-depth results tracking

Slacker Radio – create your own radio stations – love it! - I’m going to subscribe

Flycast – somewhat like Slacker, but provides access to real radio stations from across the U.S.

Shazam – another ‘gee whiz’ app – point the iPhone at a music source and Shazam will tell you what’s playing – amaze your friends!

Gibson – yeah, THAT Gibson – comes with a built in guitar tuner which should prove very handy

IMDB – gotta have access to movie and TV info.

IGN – have seldom referenced this – reviews seem to lag behind the main site

Bejeweled 2 – a fave from Xbox 360 Arcade – one of the very few apps I’ve purchased

Peggle – see Bejeweled 2 – another great Pop Cap title worth shelling out for

Words with Friends – if I could only have one app, this would probably be it – mobile Scrabble is big fun and a great way to stay connected

FloodIt 2 – highly addictive – Joyce has been playing the life out of it on FB

Slingshot Plus – a silly little time waster where you take out cows and gophers with a slingshot

Fingerzilla – another time waster - devastation and destruction literally at your fingertips – try it!

Gold Miner – for the platform gamer in all of us

Hatch! – crack the egg and out pops a cute little animal – two year old grandson Koen loves it

Zombie Farm – a surprisingly “deep” sim for a handheld – just getting into this one

Web Pages – fave sites accessible from my home page…Hockey’s Future Boards, SensChirp, The Gear Page, We’re Not Here and, of course, Memory Almost Full

So what’s on your iPhone?

P.S. Barb, this would be the perfect opportunity for you to step out from behind the shadow of anonymity and post your very first blog.

R.I.P. Alex Chilton

I was very saddened to read that rock music cult icon Alex Chilton passed away suddenly on March 17th.  Chilton was the lead man behind Big Star, an early 70's band that was extremely influential despite poor record sales.  Big Star is often referred to as the pioneers of Power Pop, a genre that includes such bands as Cheap Trick, REM, The Replacements and The Posies.  After years away from the music scene, Big Star reformed with members of The Posies rounding out the band.  They had been active until his death and I am seriously bummed that I never got a chance to see them live.

As mentioned, Big Star never sold a lot of records.  They put out 3 albums in the early 70's and each one was highly acclaimed and they are now all considered classics.  When Rolling Stone magazine released their list of the 500 greatest rock albums of all time, all 3 original Big Star records made the list.  In 1987 The Replacements released their excellent Pleased To Meet Me album.  The 2nd track on the album?  A rocker entitled "Alex Chilton."

Chilton's biggest hit was as a 16 year old singer in the band The Box Tops.  The band hit #1 with their classic The Letter.  It was after his success with The Box Tops that Chilton formed Big Star in Memphis.  Chilton's solo work away from Big Star has divided many critics, some who love it and others who think it is a far cry from his best work.  But that seems to matter little at this time.  The man's music and legacy will live on mostly through his work with Big Star.  If you have not heard Big Star, I recommend checking out all 3 of the early albums: #1 Record, Radio City and Sister Lover/Third.  It definitely has that 70's vibe but to this day it still sounds fresh and exciting.

There have been recent rumors about a Big Star movie in the works, though whether it would be a documentary or a drama I am not sure.  Another early member, Chris Bell, died in an automobile accident after he had left the band.  Bell was extremely talented in his own right and was a tragic figure with some inner demons that he may never have conquered.  Now Alex Chilton is gone too.  Rest in peace, fellas.  The music world is a much better place for having had you.

God Of War III has arrived

I only got to play around with it for 20 minutes or so, but my goodness, what a grand opening!  I had heard that the scale of the game has been increased considerably, that some of the settings and foes were almost too huge to describe, and that is obvious even in the short amount of time I have played.  The gameplay seems largely unchanged from the first 2 games (that's a good thing) and the control is once again spot-on.  I won't be able to really get my hands grubby with this game until next week, but I am really looking forward to it.

I also ordered the strategy guide and it is awesome as well.  If you have seen the guides for either of the 1st two games, you know what to expect: not only a complete walkthrough and locations for all the treasures, but also background on all of the Greek mythology that is in the game.  It's really like a very palatable history lesson and its worth shelling out the bucks just for that alone.

They say that this is the last game in the series but I am finding that really hard to believe.  These games are massive sellers and are universally acclaimed.  Walking away from this series would be a very bold thing indeed and I am not sure Sony wants to see such an obvious cash cow just disappear.  We'll see.