Blockbuster Game Pass Debacle

I decided to get a blockbuster game pass so I could catch up on games that I have been missing as of late. I’ve moved away from purchasing games unless I really want to make a committment to playing them long term. Since I haven’t really played too many games long term, I figured this game pass would work out great.

You can basically have 2 games out at a time and you can keep them out as long as you like. I was really excited, $34 is not bad if you check out 5 or more games in a month.

So I checked out Scarface for the Xbox and the game crashed constantly. I decided to check out the disc and I was amazed at how many scratches were on the disc.  I take very good care of my games, so I am used to looking at a pristine disc.

So I took it back and figured I’d try another disc. The dude showed me another one with less scratches, but still quite a bit. I figured it was worth a try, and I began to realize at this point that ALL of these games were probably going to be in this kind of shape. I also checked out another game – Madden 2007 for the PS2. Sure enough the same thing happened, I couldn’t play for too long before the Scarface game would crash. Same thing with Madden 2007. I have a slim PS2 in very good condition and I’m really not used to any games I have crashing.

I brought the disc back to blockbuster and let them know that  I had now checked out 3 games and none worked. I told them that I was beginning to wonder if it was worth the $34 if I’ve not even been able to play a game to this point. The manager asked me if my PS2 was in good condition which seemed ridiculous since these discs looked like they’d be scoured with a brillo pad or something.  So I asked to cancel my gamepass and she agreed, and I had thought that she agreed to refund the $34. But when I got home I realized that it didn’t show a credit on my receipt. So, I’ll be heading back there tonight to get that refund or fight. I am preparing for the worst, which is them refusing to refund my money. To this point, I’ve not gotten anything of worth. I’ve actually bought aggravation, I wasn’t aware that they were selling me that.

Teddy or New Teddy ?

Luke has grown attatched to a blanket-type object that has a Teddy bear head/arms on it. Not uncommon for a 2 year old to become attached to something such as this, but as a concerned parent you ponder what happens when Teddy ceases to exist. Mainly because Teddy is beginning to fall apart and kind of smells. So I’ve already begun taking steps to prepare for such an event. Enter “New Teddy”.

I am going to trust that it’s quite clear which one is New Teddy in the picture above. I was really hoping that we could find a newer Teddy and just swap him out, but we weren’t able to locate the same “Teddy”.
So the task is to now convince Luke that New Teddy is far superior to Teddy. I think an unbiased child would most definitely choose New Teddy, just based on his superior hygiene. But after some research I’ve actually found that Teddy has some attributes that New Teddy might not be able to deliver on.

1. Teddy’s head has squeaking technology. You squeeze his head and it makes a noise.
2. New Teddy’s eyes seemed to be always closed. I’ve not been able to get the feeling that I’ve made eye contact with New Teddy, so I’m not sure how the bonding will occur without solid eye contact. He might even think that new Teddy is not actually alive or always sleeping.

It’s a dilemna, but I will move forward on trying to expedite the changeover even though I myself am not fully convinced that New Teddy is superior.

Currently we’ve introduced him to New Teddy and he now actually carries around both Teddies. So I don’t think we thought about what to do if he doesn’t think a decision is required. For now I am going to just let him get to know New Teddy and see if maybe he decides on his own that he no longer needs Teddy. If that doesn’t happen naturally, I might have to find ways to make Teddy less appealing. (Apparently smell is not a deterrent.)

Lady Sovereign – What is this ?

So I am watching the MTV New Years Eve show, and on comes this girl rapper called Lady Sovereign.

It was the most annoying performance I’ve seen in a while. The song was “Love me or Hate me” and the hook being “Thank yooooooouuuuuu”. I think the name of the song means that she’s probably already come to grips with the fact that a large amount of people will hate her. To be honest, it was kind of catchy, but I wanted it to stop almost immediately. I think I’ll stand with the people who hate her music… Thank yoooouuuu!!

I figure if I am going to bash her, I might as well give you a link to her profile on myspace so you can check out her music :

Lady Sovereign – MySpace

Saddam Hanging – Cellphone video

I will start by saying that I love this day and age that I live in. Within 24 hours of Saddam being hung, cellphone video footage emerged on Google Video :

Saddam Hanging

I actually expected it to be on YouTube, but it appears that they have deleted all the instances of it that has been posted to this point.

Why is the media so afraid of making this video available to the masses ? Maybe it would deter a few aspiring dictators with a penchant for torturing and killing people.

Is this really how we want to remember Saddam :

I think you look at the hanging video and you almost forget that this picture exists. I would even venture to say that even Saddam might choose the hanging video to be remembered by over this pic if he had been given the choice.

New Years Resolution #1 – and #2

My New Years resolution #1 is to create a blog, to record and document… umm… life!

One question one might have is why they hell they even need to be aware of my life. Which I guess is a pretty damn good question. So I have a short list :

• One reason is that I am a husband/father and I am going to attempt to let you all in on how I attempt to fulfill the responsibilities associated with such labels.

• My wife has Tourettes Syndrome, which can make life a bit interesting at times.
• I have a 2 1/2 year old son, Luke, who does some pretty entertaining things from time to time. I’ll keep you abreast of the situation.
• I have a 13 year old stepson, so if you have some tips on handling teenagers please shoot me an email
• I believe that I overANALyze everything and anything. In my world, things don’t happen except for a reason and I am always trying to figure out that reason.

Ok, this is just a short list, and I believe there are more, but I’ve lost my desire to make it a long list. That’s my #2 resolution, stop over analyzing.