VT-Vincent

I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a hobbyist, but I do take on side projects like that occasionally. The first media center I built was actually a lot more limited, I was using the now-defunct Beyond Media instead of MCE/GameEx and there were a lot of things it couldn't do. It was also hooked up to my crusty old 32" CRT TV.

IT can be a great choice due to the income potential, but do you actually like the field? If you have an interest in technology and don't mind working with it, I would recommend it. If you are interested in it only due to the income potential though, you may find yourself getting burned out after a couple of years.

I would imagine that Saudi Arabia is doing well at the moment and for the foreseeable future.

You can add me to the confused list as well.

One thing I would highly recommend with an HDTV is having a dedicated computer hooked up to it, even if it's just a basic Atom NetTop. Several years ago, I built a media center to dedicate to my TV and I have to admit that it's been great. I have all of my standard movies and music through the media center interface, all of my emulators accessible by remote control only on GameEx, my iTunes media and even a custom home page for my web browser for all of the streaming media websites. You can actually pick up the official Microsoft remote control and keyboard pretty cheap to make the experience even more seamless.

It'll never happen. There would be a civil war. It's in the constitution. Many would see it as treason on mass scale. I know if a ban were in place, therre would STILL be guns out there. Alot of guns. Alot. It would take FOREVER to get it down to where other countries might be at. Also... I don't want anyone taking away my right or ability to fight back. But real quick, I hear rumors about America Canada and Mexico merging. If this were to happen, the constitution would be tossed out the window. I can see that scenario already, then there would be a civil war. Because if you did merge... there would be too many laws... they would have to standardize. I cannot see this working anyway. Canadians pay like 10% tax or something but dont have to worry about medical expenses or somesuch. That and I hear growing weed is ok. Is this true? I don't feel like Googling it... I want to make this brief, I have Fallout 3 GOTY installing as I speak. And Mexico... those poor bastards are poorer than us. Fuck... we have a hard enough time with the ones that are here... Learn the language fuckers. Aaaaany way. Guns are a very touchy topic. If the world goes to shit... I want a/many gun/s. Plain and simple. Unfortunately, I've seen very little good come from the right to bear arms. Most people who carry them are irresponsible and the few responsible people do carry them are usually in a situation where a gun would be of little to no use in defending them. The constitution is also a living document, amendments can be repealed with future amendments. The right to bear arms was instituted in a time when it was necessary to defend the country from an invasion from Brittan. Since that threat no longer exists, the amendment is no longer needed. A North American Union? Between the US and Canada, I could see a lot of potential benefits (as well as obstacles). But with Mexico, it would essentially be a complete bail-out. I could see our three countries strengthening trade agreements, but an all out unification like that I think is really unlikely. The only way I could see that happening is if we really started going down the crapper, so unless our countries are forced into it by circumstance it ain't happening.

I would second Shibathedog's suggestion of getting a PS2 converter. The Playstation's controller layout can be adapted to just about any game and I've found the converters to be surprisingly reliable. In the past, I tried a wired 360 controller and I have to say I was pretty disappointed. The D-pad was terrible, the fact it was one of Microsoft's own product and required an independent driver made no sense and it occasionally would drop input for a split second.

Personally, I would like to see a full gun ban in place in the US. I think our country would be a better place without them.

I would highly recommend the IT field, it pays well and doesn't require an enormous time commitment. You'd be surprised how far certifications and experience will get you in this field. I don't see why any government (including mine) thinks this is going to get better. There are really no signs of recovery out there. I think this is a case of "if we convince the investors it's all ok, maybe they'll start using their money to prop up our failing companies again". If the worst should happen and this or any other country slips into another Great Depression, I am hopeful that people will remain civil and work through this like human beings instead of ripping each other apart like animals.

I've never been to DC, but I have heard the stories. I think it's really more of a sad reflection of our country than a surprise. I mean, how many major cities can you really say are nice places that you'd want to live? Even Pittsburgh, which I live very close to is a hell hole despite being rated as "The Most Livable City in America". Sure, Downtown doesn't look THAT bad (if you ignore all of the hobos) but the surrounding towns are almost all ghettos which don't show any sign of getting better anytime soon. As a country, we need to rethink urban development. Honestly, at least in terms of the financial situation things haven't really hit where I live yet. I'm gainfully employed and can look forward to a 4-digit pay check every two weeks and I also bought my first new car about 6 months ago. Unfortunately though, it is a frightening situation because we know it's going to hit at some point - it has to. The dollar is very weak and getting dumped as a reserve currency, our government is printing money out of control and credit lines have frozen. All of this in combination is going to hit this country like a ton of bricks. The problem in America (and I'd be the first to say I'm guilty of it too) is that we're not willing to change our lifestyles. Despite this disaster, spending hasn't really slowed that much and our government knows it can't ask anyone to make any sacrifices. Instead, we're trying to maintain and unmaintainable level of debt and standard of living. The most frightening thing of all is that our government refuses to acknowledge the problem - according to them, we're almost out of this "recession." (like hell we are!)

Speaking of Zelda, I think I may actually start a new game in The Phantom Hourglass. I made it about 4-5 hours into it a while back, but I was side-tracked and didn't pick it back up. From what I've seen, it seems like a great game. I was hesitant about the idea of full stylus control, but it's surprisingly natural once you get into it.

The first game I played in the Zelda franchise was actually Ocarina of Time. It was one of my favorites for the system and I became hooked on Zelda after that. The only post-OOT Zelda that I haven't completed is Majora's Mask. I've made several attempts at playing through it, but for some reason it just isn't doing it for me. Minish Cap is definitely a must-play. I love how the blended the classic 2D Zelda elements and the OOT elements perfectly. The characters, script and music were all just right. My favorite of the franchise at this point would definitely be Twilight Princess though. To me, it was everything that OOT should have been but wasn't due to technical limitations. I think if they had taken the franchise in this direction to begin with on the GameCube the system may not have met the fate it did.

Nice! You won't regret it. If you're a perfectionist though, I would recommend following a good FAQ as there are a lot of missables and one-time things that can affect the outcome of the game. You may also want to save at certain key points so you can experience some of the different endings.

I know, it's painful thinking about it... these days, the TV I bought would sell for about $500. When I can manage to get my debt down, I'd love to replace it with something like that.

I've had a lot of people think I'm Italian (I'm actually Polish/Slovak descent) because of my name, but never Asian. lol

Absolutely, completed it with 23 hours clocked in, took a few weeks to complete. There's one area in the game where the enemies spike in difficulty. Overall the story was pretty enjoyable, have you played it yet? You having played it before or not will vary my response. I did have the chance to play through it and I have to say, I was really blown away. The game is a worthy successor to Earthbound in every way and playing it was quite a throw-back to my childhood. I still remember the day I received the email that the translation was completed, I was absolutely elated.

Not to hijack the topic, but I would certainly agree with Earthbound being up there as one of the greats. It's actually the first RPG I ever played and still to this day one of my favorites. Out of curiosity, have you had a chance to try Mother 3?

Wow, that is some awesome guitar work! CT is also one of my favorites, but sadly I didn't get to play it on the SNES. I was introduced to it through emulation and I've loved it ever since. Recently though, I did pick up the DS port and played through that. I was impressed to see that they were able to compensate for the change in screen resolution without causing any major detriment to the game. The extra content though is a bit questionable. I ended up going through the Lost Sanctum, one of the new areas added. It's basically just an obnoxious set of fetch quests with a ton of fights strewn about. All of the textures and music for it is rehashed from other areas of the game. The other new area I never bothered trying after my experiences with the first one.

I like my Sony 32", but I jumped in on it too soon. It's a 720p/60hz model that I paid $1,300 (at employee cost) for about 3 years ago. The only thing that's really getting me is the fact it only has 1 HDMI port and 2 Component hookups. I would make sure that whatever you buy has at least 3 HDMIs because from experience I can tell you that you don't want to have to rely on an HDMI switch - all of them are crap. Cominus, how in the heck did it fall on you? Was it wall mounted?

If I were him, I would make sure the front and back of the prize don't come off to reveal a chocolate coin in the middle.

That's Mario Kart Wii and I'm on the Sherbet Land course. It took a bit of work to actually find an area where the Mii was big enough for a still and was against a backdrop that didn't clash with it. I ended up taking that shot from when the camera pans over your character immediately after passing the finish line on the final lap.

Heh, there's a slight resemblance... it seemed only natural that my Mii should look like me.

That you know of...

I'm sorry, but I really don't see how he could win the Nobel Prize without even a full year in office or any substantial accomplishments to speak of. Efforts are one thing, results are another. It seems like the committee was trying to use the prize as a way of conveying a political message, which I don't think is appropriate and marginalizes it.