Monday notes
- Not that you don't already know it, but I'm an idiot. I picked up an ION kit for the 360 yesterday. The kit is solid and makes the other kits feel pretty cheaply made, but I guess that's what you can expect when the standard kits cost $70 or 80 and this costs $300.
The great thing is that I'm already experiencing some issues with it... The cymbals are missing quite a bit unless I hit them pretty hard, and the drum pedal is very loud (A really annoying clacking noise every time you press it down.)
According to what I'm hearing, I can do some adjustments to the cymbals, but it sounds like I'll have to replace the pedals. So, I'm looking at a $75 pedal to get the kit more to my liking.
What I do like most is the customization. You get to finally put the drums wherever you want them. For me, as I used to play the drums, you get used to having the snare in a certain position and the high-hat in a certain position. With this kit, that is possible. It's not as free (movement-wise) as a real kit, but it's not bad.
My daughter likes the kit though, that's an added bonus. She helped me put it together and she tested out playing the cymbals. Maybe I should get her into the drums... hmm....
- My Tecmo Bowl review should be up later tonight. If you listened to the podcast, you've heard my feelings for the title... I just wish it would have been better.
- As Dan said for the deals of the day... if you can use our Amazon search box for your purchases.. it always helps us out.
More Amazon Deals B2G1 on 2K
Amazon's other special is Buy 2 Get 1 Free on 2K games...which is nice for sports gamers. You can buy NHL 2K and NBA 2K and get Bioshock PS3 free, or MLB, or whatever. Again, just use our helpful search tool for NHL 2K9 and then you'll see the offer..
Amazon Daily Deals
Don't forget to support us by using our Amazon link on the right. There are three nice daily deals to help us out:
Little Big Planet - PS3- $39.98
Left 4 Dead - Xbox 360 - $39.98
Animal Crossing - Wii - $29.98.
Just enter these titles in the search box to buy now 
.
Netflix on TiVo is here..kinda
According to C|Net's Crave, Netflix on TiVo launches today. I have forced multiple connects to TiVo's servers, but I have not yet seen it....so I'm stumped.
Let me know if it's on yours. (Series 3/HD TiVo only)
One Other Thing
You know what annoys me? MAP..or minimum advertised pricing. Thanks to the vendors, you now have to do math in the Sunday circular. You see in order for a business to receive an advertising subsidy, they have to promise not to show an item for lower than a certain price.
However, they can still offer a lower price. Take today's deal of the day at Circuit City -- a Samsung HDTV, only $2099 before $600 savings. WTF? It's $1499. Just say it. MAP is just plain stupid.
Monday Thoughts
Nothing like waking up in pitch dark, with a temp of 7 and a wind chill of -9. It's these early December days that make me wish I lived in Florida! On the bright side, Mt. Washington is -18 with a current wind of 85 mph. That is a bad wind chill.
HOpe you enjoy the podcast. I'm off to work...
Riding the Pines: Episode 26
Oh, it's been a long time... but we're happy to bring you Episode 26 of Riding the Pines.
In this episode, Dan and Glen discuss the following
...and the rest of the holiday lineup.
Also, we've included a fun contest that will be taking place next year. We'll put all of the rules down for the contest soon, but it's something that everyone will like to particpate in and will cost you nothing more than an email.
You can get the show via our page, via iTunes, or Feedburner. Enjoy the show!
Sunday notes
Whew. The Packers finally managed to take care of their season, losing on a late field goal to the Texans, 24-21.
The team forced 4 turnovers, and still lost the game. Incredible. Here are, what I think, the most defining stats of the game.
- Coming into the game, the Texans had not converted a single instance where they had 3rd and 9 or greater. Today? 3 of them. They finished the game 7 of 13 on 3rd downs. The Packers? 1 of 10.
- The Packers allowed 549 yards of offense. The turnovers were the only thing that kept them in the game.
Other things are intangible... the fact that the Texans ran about 7 or 8 naked bootlegs and only once did it look like the Packers had any clue how to defend it.
It was just a dreadful season for the Packers, and the next 3 games are going to be painful to watch as they strive for a .500 season without anything to play for.
- I picked up an ION kit for Rock Band and Guitar Hero today. I've been thinking about getting back into drumming again and with 2 young kids, it's pretty much impossible to get a real kit... so I'm going to give this a go and see how I like it.
- I'll be posting the newest episode of Riding the Pines later tonight. Dan and I recorded it on Friday night and it's of the same high quality as the past episodes. I'll let you decide what that means.
EA Announces 3 on 3 Hockey
EA is getting into Live Arcade in a better than 2K way, with 3on3 Hockey:
Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq:ERTS) announced today that 3 on 3 NHL® Arcade - an all-new downloadable experience from EA SPORTS Freestyle™ - is in development at EA Canada by the team that produced the critically acclaimed NHL 09. 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is a no rules, fast paced, hockey experience that gamers of all types can enjoy. This fresh take on the NHL Hockey franchise will be available as a download in February 2009 on Xbox LIVE Arcade and the Playstation Network for 800 MS Points and $9.99, respectively.
This sounds very interesting...
Wednesday night notes
- Work has just been crazy for the last few months, but I'm still hopeful that it's going to start to even out eventually. I'm really hoping to get the podcast done with Dan on Friday night (the only night this weekend where I have the time...)
- So, today was my oldest daughter's, Gabrielle, 4th birthday.
Last night before she went to bed, she started to show a rash on her face.. pretty red, and looking like really small blisters. So, we put some lotion on and hoped for the best for the next morning. This morning, it looked terrible... so off to urgent care we went. She was diagnosed with Impetigo, which is a rash caused by Strep... so antibiotics are now the order of the day.
When I got back home, after a long day at work, I found out that the youngest threw up in her crib... and Gaby had gotten a bad bloody nose.
I can't even imagine how much it would suck to have issues like that on my birthday, but she really doesn't even care. She's been acting as if all is right with the world... except for the fact that we have to tell her to not touch anything... oh, to be young. I'm sure if this had happened when she was 6 or 7... it would be the end of her world.
- I should be putting the finishing touches on my Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff review in the next day or so. I keep playing the game, so that should say something...
- So, here's my Amazon purchase quandry from Black Friday...
My Arcade 360 with DDR shipped for $130, and I've heard that the newest of the Arcade units are featuring the new Jasper chipset and have 256MB of internal memory... My problem is that while I would like the newer unit, I actually need a memory card that will hold my profile so that I can use both 360's with my Rock Band and Guitar Hero: World Tour content.
What are your thoughts? Just buy a memory card if my new system is a Jasper model, or just keep the old model and live with the memory card that I need?
- The other game that I've playing quite a bit of over the last few days is World of Goo on the Wii. The game is just amazingly polished and fun to play. I really look forward to playing a bit of it each night, it's just too much fun.
- I do have a new years resolution/revelation to talk about on the podcast... it will involve a contest as well, so it will be something that you all can benefit from if you tune in.
Dead Tired
Well sorry for the lack of a post, I've been extremely busy doing something or other. Glen and I are really going to work to have a podcast this weekend. No guarantees, but hey, that's more than we've said in the last two months. Heh.
So anyone going to vote for Jesse Orosco on the HOF ballot?
Quick Monday notes
Probably the best deals on Amazon today....
Tecmo Bowl Kickoff for $9.99 (It's a great deal for that price. Anyone with a DS should have it for that amount.)
More later today...
Monday Thoughts
Well, maybe it's just the one Best Buy that has issues with in store pickup. I don't know what to say. Of course for the record, I am never lucky with stuff like this, so it's not all that unexpected.
Lots of Cyber Monday deals going on -- the Wal Mart deal for GH and a 360 is online today so no need to trample people or kill to get it. OH yeah, btw, all those people in New York that did what they did - you're all a bunch of aholes. I hope you enjoyed that $15 savings at the expense of killing a guy.
Other deals:
* Nero is doing a buy 1 get 1 free. Why you need two copies of Nero 9 is beyond me, but whatever.
* The Sirius / XM deal of 3 months of the "Best of" free is rather lame, because everyone gets it if you subscribe to a multiyear subscription.
* Pure is on sale at Amazon -- you should try this racing game.
* There are a lot of deals at Amazon on videogames..too many to list. Just go visit there and view by platform...
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