It feels like home.  We had a high of 93 degrees here in Albany today.  I had to get outside.  I left a bottle of water in my car and when I picked it up before my drive home, it had to be 100 degrees.  I sure missed this.  Living in a place with seasons makes you appreciate heat.

So, even though Mario Galaxy 2 is out and in my Wii, I had to take the time to get outside.  But let's not forget.  Mario Galaxy 2 is a great game.  I'm about one third of the way in and I am very impressed.

Mario Galaxy 2 will be out in just a few hours (Sunday) and I'll pick up my reserved copy some time tomorrow.

The original Mario Galaxy is one of the best rated video game ever and my favorite game produced in the last 13 (!) years.  The second one is getting great previews already and I'm very excited about it.

This video is of footage from the original Mario Galaxy game from 2007.  Clips were mashed up with a Queen song and it came together beautifully.  Don't stop me now.

I have never liked rhythm games.  I don't like Dance Dance Revolution or modern day Dance Dance Revolution (also known as Guitar Hero or Rock Band).  I did find a rhythm game that I do like.  It is a great looking game an as frustrating as it is fun.  Video games aren't rewarding unless you feel like punching a hole in the wall at some point.  This is one of those.

Bit Trip Runner is the fourth of the Bit Trip games by Gaijin Games.  All are available on Wii Ware and probably worth the small price for download.  Bit Trip Runner came out just yesterday and it was the first of the Bit Trip games that I have bought.  I played for over two hours to complete the first world.

The game is a music-based side scrolling game.  This means that you jump, slide, or kick to the beat of the music.  Of course, this means that your character is running at a constant pace that you can not control.  This makes it hard.  This guy does not want to slow down.

I just made this.  I set the webcam up to take a photo every hour in addition to streaming the video.  I started it about two months ago and this is what I have so far.  It's pretty cool to see the end of winter turn into spring.  I started it after the last of the snow melted so we don't get to see snow but who wants to see snow anyway.

One hour equals 1/10 second.  I'll let it keep going and see if I can get a whole year.

I have been so very busy lately.  Not the busy "I don't want to call you back so I'll say I have been busy" type of busy but the real busy.  We're making wedding plans and I have been spending a lot of time outside.  Right now it is so nice outside but I hurt my ankle.  I'm stuck on the couch for at least a few days.  Here I am.  At least the weekend will be nice.  I'll try to do something this weekend, no matter what the pain.

Maybe we'll go see that animated dragon movie.  The new Iron Man is out.  Maybe I'll go and see that with Erin.  We just got the first one in the mail through Netflix.

We're also working on our registry.  We'll be ready to make that public soon.  The invitations were sent out just a few days ago.

I have been busy and the weather has been great.  But today the weather sucks and the only thing I have to do can wait.  Let's waste some time on the internet.

When I was in junior high school, there was a substitute that was anything but a substitute teacher.  He would bring in videos for us to watch and I assume he just ignored any lesson plan based on what the teacher would ask us when he or she got back.  Anyway, beside watching Dumb and Dumber, my favorite things to watch were these Mind's Eye videos.  They were basically short CGI films set to trendy music.  They look like crap by today's standards and they don't even keep a corny charm to them.  Anyhow, you can watch some clips here.

The bird/fish one called "Love Found" has been stuck in my head for twelve years.  It was nice to see it again.

I didn't play with dolls (action figures) as a kid.  I don't know if we just didn't have the money for them or if it was a way for my dad to say that he didn't want me to play with miniature versions of muscular men with tight costumes.  I'd like to believe both.  I did have a bag of army men that were what remained from who knows how many plastic wars.  Nothing matched.  Colors were not the same, some were really tall, some were hotwheels.  They all wound up with the same fate.  A horrible death brought on by their omnipotent leader and maybe some neighborhood kids as well.

We had a push lawn mower with the big spinning blades which is what most everybody has in southern California because it's hard to justify anything else for a two-hundred square foot lawn.  That lawn mower was only used enthusiastically when it was being used to chop up plastic army men and subsequently ruin the blades.  They would also be classically melted together with a magnifying glass, crushed by bicycle tires, or simply rubbed to death against the pavement.

As I type this, it is 7 PM and 82 degrees outside.  I am on the porch.  I tried to take a nap but it was actually too warm.  It was such a nice day.  I wish today wouldn't end.  Our neighbors are having a picnic or something right now with their friends.  We will see thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow but it will still be warm and I could hang out on the porch watching the rain fall.

Today, Erin and I have been together for 5 years.  That's a long time.