XB360 Lowers Price

Looks like all the speculation was right. Starting tomorrow the XB360 will cut its price by $50. You can read the full story HERE.

Harry is Home

I just got back from Wally World after taking my girlfriend to pick up the 7th and final installment of the Harry Potter series. It actually just took a few minutes to grab it and get out. Many of the other locations selling the book were doing parties and all sorts of hoopla, so thankfully we were able to avoid that at the store we went to. Don't worry, no spoilers here. I'm too busy blogging to read what's going on anyway. ;)

XB360 a Class Act(ion)

Microsoft is named in a Class Action lawsuit claiming the Xbox 360 damages discs. This coming only a few days after their extended warranty regarding "the red ring of death" and the announcement of Peter Moore jumping ship.

Working at a game store I can confirm I've seen a number of XB360 discs that were damaged in the specific fashion stated in the lawsuit. Although it isn't frequent, it usually occurs when someone does not have their console on a level surface or if they move their system while a disc is still inside.

You can read the full story here.

Pranked Telemarketer

I was rolling on the floor listening to this. Absolutely classic!

Smoker's Bib

When it gets to the point that you need one of these, I'd say dropping a lit cigarette is the least of your worries. Not to mention whenever you blow yourself up with the oxygen tank, that I'm sure you would have at this stage, do you really want to be found wearing this thing?

Stupid Things

This happened to me a few weeks ago, and I have no clue why I'm sharing it with you other than to demonstrate that we all have magical moments of complete idiocy at some point in our lives (some more than others). I will preface this by saying I was in a huge rush to get to work, so I wasn't exactly focused. ;)

I had become engrossed in something online and completely lost track of the time. Suddenly, I realized I was going to be late for work if I didn't head out the door...and fast! I quickly put on some clean clothes and brushed my teeth, then performed my usual pre-work check. I went through my pockets to make sure I had everything before running out the door.

Cigarettes...lighter....watch....ring...wallet...keys - all good, time to roll!

I opened the car door with the usual push of a button on my keyring. I don't think I've ever used an actual key to get into my car, and at this point it would probably just seem "weird" to do so. A blast of heat slammed into my face as I climbed inside while letting out a customary gasp, as to indicate to anyone watching the extreme level of "hotness" I had just encountered.

I quickly turned the key in the ignition. The engine sprung to life and I immediately turned the A/C to full, letting out another gasp as a warm blast of air hit me again from the idle A/C. I noticed a familiar, yellow icon pop up beside my speedometer and various other meters displayed in the console for my vehicle. Great, I was sitting on empty. Luckily there was a gas station close by, but I was sorely pressed for time so I better hit it quick. I threw the car in reverse, backed up and sped off through the parking lot to my next desintation.

Within a minute I had arrived at the gas station. I popped the cover for the fuel intake from inside the car and hopped out while reaching for my wallet. I shoved my credit card into the reader directly on the pump and waited for the authorization prompt. Once it flashed on the screen I started pumping gas from the hose I had already grabbed and held at the ready for my fuel tank.

Seconds later a few thoughts bounced around my head.

Hmmmm. Why is it this nozzle does not seem to fit? It seems like gas is going to splash all over the place. That's sort of a different smell. That's weird. Wait...am I pumping gas?

Broken by an audible "Oh, SHIT!!!"

I suddenly realized that I had just force-pumped about 2 gallons of Diesel fuel into my car. Don't try and rationalize how I could have made such a blunder, as I still can't figure it out myself. Perhaps the green handle or the glaring fact that the nozzle didn't remotely fit my tank should have been dead giveaways, but stubborness and lack of focus were the rulers here today.

I immediately stopped pumping Diesel fuel and began cursing my own stupidity. After verbally slapping myself around for a few moments I reached for the "real" Unleaded hose and finished putting gas in my car. I sped off again for work, barely making it on time.

The real torment began when I mistakenly told my girlfriend what I had done. She had worked on jet engines in the Navy and understands mechanical elements far better than I do. She probably enjoyed all this a little more than I was comfortable with, as I rarely make such bold mistakes (or admit to them). She relished the thought of me "screwing up" so much that she felt the need to contact her family and share the experience with them.

Needless to say, it was a dreary couple of days for me being poked fun at. I also had to keep my gas tank full (with Unleaded) and octane boosters over the next few weeks to help dilute the small amount of Diesel until it had made its way out of my engine.

So next time you're at the gas station, remember if the nozzle doesn't fit then it probably isn't supposed to go there and pay close attention to the handle colors because "Green does NOT mean go!"

Ads Worth Seeing

Granted, some of these are likely a product of photoshop or "convenient" placement, but they are still funny to look at. Check 'em out here.

Haiku Review #1

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry grows stronger
Teaching Hogwarts to defend,
Evil will not win.

The movie was awesome! You will not be disappointed with this 5th installment in the series. And let me just say Dumbledore kicks ass in this film - nuff said.

Stitched

This is a song I composed a few years ago with a friend of mine for a video game he was working on. I also have a link for "Stitched" on MySpace, but I wanted to try out the Box storage service for sharing my music and see how I liked it. Frankly, I think MySpace is a poorly designed garbage site that makes me want to scrub my hands with industrial cleaner after visiting.

STITCHED.MP3

Do You Believe?

It will be awesome if this actually happens. I'm definitely up for more X-Files action!

Diablo 3?

Blizzard reveals they have another project in the works, but mums the word. I'd expect to hear more at the upcoming Blizzcon.

NCAA Football 08

Tonight at Midnight gaming stores everywhere will be opening up for the release of NCAA Football 08 from EA Sports. While I'm not a big sports genre fan, I will say the improvements made to Dynasty Mode, which provides numerous tools to influence and recruit players for your school, look to be an awesome update.

The "Shrine" for your athlete is where you can store and share replays of great moments from your games. You can also upload these files and share them over the internet. Expect YouTube to be bombarded with a massive influx of player footage during the next few weeks.

Go Vols! ;)

'Everyone's A Gamer'

On the final day of E3 Nintendo unveils their new WiiSpeak controller.

Caption: "Chimchar I choose YOU! Melt face for granny!"