I have a new definition

I have a new definition of gaming sweetness and that is NCAA Football 2003 in widescreen mode on my Xbox, displayed on my HDTV. Now this is how video game football is meant to be! I took the 20 minutes needed to manually enter all of the names of the ISU Cyclones into the game too, so that the announcers call out their names instead of their numbers. I'm not psychotic (or patient) enough to do that for the entire field of Division 1 teams in the game, however. So far, the game seems pretty well balanced, both passing and running games have the right balance of difficulty, though I'm not much good on defense yet. I'm still amazed by some of the details included in the game. My first game as ISU started with the announcer saying "Welcome to Jack Trice Stadium, on the banks of the Skunk River in Ames, Iowa!" I was impressed by the level of research that's gone into all the teams, and I like the ability to tell the game who your favorite team is, so that even the opening menus are customized to reflect your favorite school.

I was given a play-test

I was given a play-test copy of The Sims Online yesterday. The game won't launch for a couple of weeks still, but they have a few thousand people playing it so they can test the system and get feedback. I am now one of those people. So far, it's a lot of fun. If you've ever played The Sims, you'll feel instantly at home, though this moves at a slower pace, and you don't disappear off to work for most of the day. Having real roommates is kind of neat, the woman I'm shacked up with bought some really ugly chairs to put in the living room though. I'm going to have to talk to her about that...

We caught the new James

We caught the new James Bond movie at the Waverly Palace Theatre this weekend. A good flick, though the first half is stronger than the second. I'm telling myself that now I have a big screen TV, I'm not going to go see as many movies in the Theatre, and I think I can do that, but there are a few coming out in the next month that I will pay to see. Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers and Star Trek: Nemesis being foremost on my mind.

I sent Staples an e-mail,

I sent Staples an e-mail, expressing my displeasure with their DMCA action against Fatwallet. Here's what I got back:

Thank you for writing regarding our recent request to remove Staples proprietary information from fatwallet.com. As our customer, you know that Staples leads the industry in providing the office supplies you need at great prices. Because of our leadership position and the competitive environment in which we operate, it is important that our planning and pricing strategies not be made public in advance of (special sales/promotions.)

The advance release of proprietary information to competitors could disrupt our business and adversely affect our ability to serve our customers. It is Staples policy to take action when we become aware of the disclosure of such information. In this instance, we are pleased that fatwallet listened to our concerns and removed the confidential information from their site, as we requested.

I apologize for any misunderstandings this has caused and we do appreciate your feedback. Your opinions are being shared with the appropriate management staff for consideration. Thank you again for writing. Jim

Notice that it doesn't mention Copyright anywhere in that response, though that is what the DMCA is supposed to protect, not just any piece of information that you don't want other people to know.

For the convenience of family

For the convenience of family & friends, our X-mas lists are now online. Well, at least mine is. My wife is slow.