Monday, September 29, 2008

Bailout Blues

I'm of two minds about this whole bailout thing. On the one hand, I think that we should just sit back and let things burn. Honestly, I have a sick curiosity that makes me want to see just how bad it can get. The fact that many of these financial firms and banks are in trouble because of their unchecked greed doesn't make me any more sympathetic to their plights. On the other hand, if these firms go belly up, a lot of people who had nothing to do with this debacle will lose their jobs, possibly myself included. My company makes software for the mortgage industry and while things haven't been spectacular for us, if bunches of lenders start going belly up, things can get a whole hell of a lot worse.

Regardless of my unclear feelings on the bailout, it was interesting to see today's proposed bill fail, only because it was the first time in a long time where the members of Congress seemed to be voting based on their opinion of the bill and not just because they were falling into line with their party. Just think about how different the past eight years might have been had members of Congress and the Senate voted based on what they felt about the various pieces of legislature, or based on how things would impact their constituency, rather than voting simply to stick with party lines or to not appear weak on terror or some other nonsense. The mind reels at the concept of members of Congress and the Senate actually doing their job.

What Pelosi et al thought they were going to accomplish by calling on the House Republicans to get behind the President is beyond me. The President is a) on his way out and b) one of the least popular sitting Presidents ever. There is absolutely no one in Washington DC who feels like they have to do a damn thing for that man, or even remotely cares about how they appear in relation to him. Well, except for House Democrats whose lack of a backbone in the face of Presidential pressure is rivaled only by their sheer incompetence.

Now, I'm not so naive as to think that every person who voted against the bill did so because they opposed it, as opposed to opposing it because Pelosi was for it, nor do I believe that every person who voted for it did so because they were just falling behind their party, however I do think that there were more people than usual that voted their opinion than their party. Regardless of the outcome, whenever our elected officials vote based on the merits of the legislation and the needs of their constituency it promotes responsible government and governmental accountability, something that has been sorely lacking for years now on both sides of the aisle. It's a shame that it took a near total economic meltdown to bring about such responsible behaviour, however briefly it lasts.

AAAAAHHHHH!!!!

The Dow is plummeting, Congress can't corral themselves long enough to pass a useless bailout bill and we're all going to die in a fiery market crash! What's a person to do in these trying times? I know, read my splendid review of The Price is Right for the DS. It will take your mind off of your pressing need to start stockpiling gasoline and bullets.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Long Live Rock!

My Rock Band 2 review is up. Woot!

This game is really an amazing improvement on the original in every way. I wish I could be playing it right now.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Weekly Weigh In: Week 16

Technically, this is the 17th week of weigh-in's, however it's the 16th on of these I've written, so I'm going with week 16. It will also be my last.

Duh-duh-duh!

For two weeks now, my weight has been pegged at 172 even after returning from the feeding trough that was Vegas and getting back to my normal eating and exercising schedule. I'm thinking that my body has just gotten used to the caloric ins and outs of my daily life and I'm not going to lose weight unless I eat even less food or exercise in new and more strenuous ways. Neither of these things is going to happen. I don't relish the idea of getting used to a diet all over again, and I'm not about to join a gym or start lifting weights or do anything that doesn't involve my ass on that bike with either a movie or a video game in front of me.

In the end, 19.5 pounds isn't too bad, and given that it was two more pounds than my goal, I'm pretty happy. I would have liked to have lost another inch or two off of my midsection, but them's the breaks. If I really get tired of carrying the extra inch or so, I can make adjustments to lose it. I'm pretty sure that won't happen, unless the adjustments are "eat more pigs".

For now, I'll keep working out, keep eating how I've been eating while on the reduced plan and hope that things continue to stay the same. Of course, I'll be thrilled if I lose more, but realistically, I can't expect that to happen. Now that I'm at my target weight, I can afford myself the occasional Frosty or other dessert as long as I keep working out and don't go crazy. Yay me. The most important thing will be that I don't go back to my old eating habits, however now that it's been four months, I'm thinking they're a thing of the past. I'll have to stay vigilant though, lest I find myself gorging myself on leftovers right before I go to bad. Bad Brandon! No flank steak!

All in all, I'm very glad that I got fed up enough to lose the weight. I feel great, I think I look OK and I'm not the only person at work not to have lost weight. Talk about peer pressure! If I can keep it off, I'll feel even better. Here's hoping. Thanks for showing an interest in my weight loss travels when you weren't ignoring them completely. Now I need to come up with some other theme for Monday's post, or lack thereof. Back to the drawing board!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Saints Row 2 preview

My preview of Saints Row 2 is up for those that are interested. The interview isn't, but hopefully that will go up today. If you're interested in my account of the Vegas trip, head over to Lungfishopolis for all of the sordid details.

EDIT: Here's the interview.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Weekly Weigh In: Week 15

This week's weigh in was a) unofficial and b) way off base as it came on the end of a significant eating binge in beautiful Las Vegas. I think it was 173.5 but I honestly don't remember, so little weight did I give the number.

When I was in Vegas, all I did was eat and play Saints Row 2, a combination that didn't lend itself to losing weight, even if it was just for a couple of days. It didn't help that I got back Friday night and promptly ate half a pizza a scant 12 hours or so before my weigh in. You can see why I paid no mind to the number. This weekend I'll have no excuses as I'm back on track, no doubt with a glorious reward of increased slenderosity this weekend. Feel free to use that new word. It's awesome, I know.

I watched a bootleg copy of "The Strangers" this week while working out and man, what a bleak movie. If you like horror movies that are light on the gore but heavy on the dread and malice, this one is right up your alley. I'll have to keep my eye on the guy who wrote and directed it as this movie was pretty damn good for a first time effort. Not sure what I'm going to watch for the rest of the week, but I have plenty of options what with the big stack of discounted HD-DVD's I just bought, including Planet Earth. I'm also tempted to continue my third run of Mass Effect as I don't have the time to play it during normal gaming hours, and I'm looking at another 30 hours, minimum, to finish it up. Well, to finish up this run. I'll need even more to get my level 60 achievement as well as my remaining Biotic powers achievements. The life of an achievement whore is a tough and unyielding one. Besides, it saves me the effort of having to pick something out to watch. I am well aware of the irony of being so lazy that I don't want to pick out a movie for my physical exertion sessions. Lazy and unintentionally ironic is a compelling mix, believe you me.

Tiger Woods '09 review

If you like golf, and you have a Wii, then I implore you to check out Tiger Woods '09 for the Wii. It ain't perfect, but it is a ton of fun, as my review so eloquently explains.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Naruto review

I'm back from Vegas with some super fantastic Naruto PSP review action. Whee!

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Lungfishopolis.com

Greg's hard work has finally paid off and Lungfishopolis.com is up and running. Greg has done a fantastic job, and continues to do so and I think the site is a really nice place to hang out. Hopefully all of you will as well. It's just a place where we talk about games, but not in the traditional review or news kind of way, although I'm sure some of that will show up there too.

Head on over, check it out, leave some comments and bookmark it so that you can always be just one click away from it.

Weekly Weigh In: Week 14

I'm making more and more progress in my efforts to waste away to nothing, crossing the all important 20 lbs threshold and now stand at a fit and trim 171 pounds. I have no lost 20.5 pounds, so go me.

My waistline still isn't getting smaller, but at the same time, I am eating worse than ever, so I'm sure it's going to take time. I'm still not eating as badly as I was before I started dieting, as going back to those habits won't be good for anyone save the fine folks at Wendy's, but it was worse than usual. This week I don't expect to see any movement as I'll be in Vegas for a good chunk of it, not working out and eating like a pig. Of course, this is the week I'll lose like five pounds and three inches because that's the way it seems to go. The weeks where I don't expect to lose anything, I lose the most. Following that logic, me pigging out in Vegas is a dietary aid. Yes, that's it.

I'm watching Robot Chicken Season 2 this week as it's a short workout week for me and I didn't want to have to pick something that had to be finished in two days. Plus, after the narrative mess that was Too Human, I wanted something that was intentionally stupid. It's a nice change.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Incredible Greaves of Unyielding Synergy

My review of Too Human is up, as is my column making fun of Too Human. Truly, it's not a good day for that game.