This has been a really strange fall for me, with everything from a root canal to a car crash to a crushing workload to termites to the loss of a dear friend. It’s with some relief then, that I gotta say that this was a Really Good Week.
It was a week where everything seemed to come together: business has been good (I even got about two dozen orders of my own on Atomic Avenue in the just the past four days: thank you, free shipping option!), we had a great visit with my folks who had come out for Kelly’s birthday, and I finally got a chance to unbox my Playstation 3 and play Guitar Hero 3 with Neil (who’s currently cleaning my clock. Dang, he’s getting good!).
Speaking of which: the PS3 has really been a pleasant surprise. I’d loved the idea of the PS3 when I first saw the tech demo from E3 two years ago, but frankly the price and lack of compelling games put me off. When the price finally dropped to $399 recently, I finally decided it was time to finally make the move to a next gen console. Having cashed in every Amazon gift certificate I’d ever hoarded over the years and more, I’ll admit I was so afraid of being disappointed that I let the box sit unopened on our conference table for almost two weeks before I took it home to play with it.
I had to pick up a couple of cables at the local Fry’s in order to get it hooked up properly, but I have to say I’ve been surprised how really nice a console it is. The graphics are astonishing, the OS hints at some amazing possibilities (it supports printers for goodness sake!), and the networking is first rate. Best yet, I got a chance to look at the included Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray movie and the picture quality absolutely blew me away—even at the measely 720p my lashed-together projector system will support. The movie looked as good or better as when I saw it in the theater.
Later on, I got a chance to try out Resistance: Fall of Man (a beautifully executed Sci-fi/FPS game), as well as bust open the Guitar Hero 3 that just arrived. Both have been a ton of fun, and I can’t wait to try out Rock Band on it (although I fear Kelly will want to hog the drums).
In other miracles: I actually got word that State Farm (the foks who insured the truck that obliterated my VW Golf almost three months ago) are actually getting ready to wrap things up on the claim. (I don’t blame State Farm in particular, but getting rear-ended in a multi-car crash with about six separate insurance companies involved made for a heck of a delay in getting anything settled). It’s a real relief to not be looking forward to another week of calling insurance companies… (knock wood!)
Happy thanksgiving!