Tag Archives: Xbox

Burning a Hole

Posted by on July 17, 2008 4 comments

Finally once again I have an established in flow of cash.  For the past year cash has been flowing in pretty much one direction.  This influx has caused what some call (Justin) the “Toy Phase” of getting a new job.  Already I have purchased the following:

  • GRiD Racing for Xbox360
  • Xbox Racing Wheel for Xbox360
  • iPod Classic 80gb
  • A rolling garment bag
  • A carry-on luggage piece with suitor
  • Dress Shirts
  • Ties
  • Eat out more often

Currently I am in the process of purchasing a 2009 Toyota Corolla S. (Blue Metallic)  I am on the list and in about 40 days it should arive.  This to me was a very wise decision.  While I was looking at and almost purchased this, I decided against it due to a possible house purchase and other purchases in my near future. (Plus gas is expensive and I would burn through it quick with that kind of car.)

With money still left over and not yet sacrificed to any materialistc god…these still remain in my sights:

  • iPhone 3G or HTC Touch Pro ($300-$900)
  • [Camera+lens] Canon EOS 40D (w/ 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6) ($1200)
  • [lens] Canon 50mm f/1.8 ($90)
  • [filters] ES-72U (Polarized, Neutral, UV) ($115)
  • Build a New Computer ($2000-$3000)
  • A Waterski ($600-$1500)
  • A sailboat ($3500)
  • Other ($6000-$10000)
  • Vacation ($1000-$2000)
  • Slew of games in the fall (X * $60) [Prerequisite = New Computer]

So as you can see, it never stops.  There is always something else to buy.  Most of these things I don’t need and won’t end up being purchased.  I rather like ratching my various accounts grow.  Now if only the market would turn around, things would be better.

The Pre-Christmas Warm Up

Posted by on December 24, 2007 No comments

If you haven’t noticed, it’s been a few days since I’ve last posted.  A very influential reader informed me that it would be best if I did so again.

I feel I can not be blamed for the passing of time and of the rate at which it travels.  To me the past few days have blended into one giant super day.  It is mostly the effect of a multi day graduation celebration.  A number of us made trips to Minneapolis (or stayed there since some live there) and we got our “party on” as the kids (ha!) say these days.  Greg found it in his infinite wisdom to purchase a Breathalyzer.  We turned it into a game of sorts and were certainly surprised by the results.  The most interesting part of the night occurred when JJ while playing wingman happened to be the only one to come out “victorious”.  JJ ended up staying and chatting with the girl when the rest of us decided to get out of his hair and head to KHK to see Quigley.  He was a wonderful host but that doesn’t change the fact that my desk is better than his.  Afterwards we stopped at the lovely Burrito Loco to get some food.  Back at Chops’ place Greg and Elizabeth quickly slipped off to dreamland after finishing their Loco. They were the top players in the Breathalyzer Olympics.  Elizabeth being the winner with a BAC of .21.  Chops and I entertained ourselves by making a video of JJ’s empty room and then watched TV while we waited for JJ to return.  JJ showed up in short notice to inform us of the anticlimactic end to his evening.  Unsurprisingly the girl was not JJ’s type and who could blame him?  It’s not that he didn’t have the chance to make things happen, it’s just he is a better guy than that.  Still, it was something out of the usual and that is always a good time.   That was pretty much the end of that evening.

Saturday was quality time with Elizabeth.  We just relaxed the whole day together.  Moments like that are far and few between.  It is wonderful when we get to enjoy each others company alone for so long.  It had rained the previous evening and sequentially dropped back below freezing so I had to veraciously scrape off my car.  The roads were pretty nightmarish when driving Elizabeth back home.  Capped off the evening with some COD4 and some ranked doubles in Halo3 with JJ.  We pretty much rocked everyone we played by a good measure.

My effort to go to sleep early last night failed.  (I blame myself, although JJ could hold a close second.)  Which in turn threw my plans to wake up early and finish my Christmas Shopping into blarney.  (English references ftw!)  Woke up around 4:00pm.  Found, to my wonderful surprise, that my parents had cleared out the middle stall of the garage so that it could now be used to berth a car like it was intended.  Thus, scrapping ice from my car as previously detailed has come to an end.  It was with good timing as today we were hit by a good dose of snow and wind.  So at around 5:00pm I headed out into the storm to finish my Cristmas shopping.  I still had my sister, Secret Santa and few more items to purchase for Elizabeth.  I headed over to W******* L**** and W**-M*** to make my purchases.  I was lucky I had woken up so early (</sarcasm>) because W******* L**** was closing at 6:00pm.  I stopped in 3 different stores and was able to pick up some gifts for my sister and Elizabeth.  With still a few things in mind I headed off to W**-M***, the store that never closes.  I was able to pick up the remainder of my gifts for all three people.  Total time was 40mins for that shopping trip.  Given the terrible driving conditions and the amount of walking between stores I must stay that I deserve some kind of medal.  The only demerit I deserve was forgetting a battery for the garage remote.  A23 battery?  Honestly, what the crap kind of battery is that.

I must reiterate that people are terrible drivers.  You live in Minnesota.  It’s going to snow.  It kind of happens every year.  Long term memory exist for a reason!  Remove head from arse!

Able to rest having completed all my shopping I spent some quality time with the parents.  We prepared for the family Christmas Eve party while Discovery Channel was on in the background.  (A cool show about a couple living with Wolves in Idaho.)  My Dad helped prep the Turkey, my Mom made the stuffing and I made the Chex Mix.  I had to improvise a bit because of the size of the batch we were making but it turned out well.  (Kind of hard to screw up.)  When we were done cooking and the show about the wolves was over we switched it over to Comedy Central where we watched Trading Places.  As the night drew to a close and the show was over, I retreated to the basement for some COD4 with Chad.  We tried to get JJ to play with us, but he his home for the holidays and doesn’t have the mechanical means to connect to Xbox live.

And now we come to the present hour and find me wrapping up this post with a cliche conclusion.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Eve and if you are having a party, party in moderation.  Enjoy the holiday season and be safe on the roads.  Merry Chirstmas everyone.

Perpetual 2nd

Posted by on December 14, 2007 No comments

Doomed I say.  Doomed to live a life of eternal second places.  Yet another poker game has come and gone, resulting in a second place finish for yours truly.  The game was a steady decline until I won a few key hands to become chip leader.  I pretty much worked Greg over.  To his credit, he didn’t see the flush possibility on the board and made an ill advised call.  Thus our four player game (Greg, Casey, JJ and Myself) became a two player game and that was where my “luck” had run out.  I made an ok call by forcing JJ’s hand (pre-flop)  only to have him soundly thrash me.  From then on it was pretty much over.  No luck I say, no luck.

Chops doesn’t join us at the table on these poker nights.  In the past he had class and wouldn’t get back until after the game had started.  Not having any excuse now, he still would rather play video games or watch a movie.  This time he chose to do both.   After some Halo he put in Tremors.  As we fell one by one from the poker table we made our way into the living room to join in the viewing of Tremors.  It was certainly a refreshing look at the Golden Era of movies-ha!  It is indeed the epitome of a modern day B-movie.

We didn’t do much after that.  I returned home and ate some left over Yang’s.  Played some Xbox live with JJ and Chad.  Now it’s time for bed.  I’m pretty proud of my update track record.  Definitely a testament to the stark contrast in the usability of WordPress versus my patch work CMS.  Tomorrow should be really fun.  Greg was talking about getting JJ pretty well “hydrated” and I get to see Elizabeth after her work party.  Life is wonderful, goodnight!