8 posts tagged “wii”

On Thursday I got a call at work that was really unnerving. Jennifer called and you could tell she was upset. Grace was in the background crying, so I knew something bad had happened. Jennifer told me Grace had burned three of her fingers on the stove and wouldn't stop crying. She told me Grace wouldn't let her do anything to her hand. She wouldn't let her put ice on it, clean it, or anything. She called me wondering what she should do, and I didn't have any idea. She had already called the doctor, and they had pretty much told her to put Grace's hand in some water, but there wasn't much more we could do for her. The burn wasn't too bad, so it was just the pain that was bothering Grace. Jennifer was finally able to get Grace to calm down by giving her a pacifier. It was the same thing we did months ago when she had a procedure to remove a cashew she had inhaled from her lung. Other then that time, she hasn't had a pacifier since she was 1. Occasionally she'll grab Logan's and put it in her mouth, but we always take it from her. She just chews on them anyway. Jennifer said once she got Grace calm and focused on something, she took the pacifier away.

I felt bad for Grace getting hurt, because we had snow on Thursday. Not a lot, but enough that she got excited about it. She saw lots of snow while we were in Michigan, but our schedule while we were there made it all but impossible for her to get to play in it much. Besides, the weather was just WAY to cold up there.

Thursday morning, I went in an picked Grace up and opened her Window to show her the snow. She started screaming, "Snow! Snow!". Then she noticed my car was covered and told me I needed to go clean it off. I went to finish getting ready for work, and when I came back out, Grace was missing. She had put her shoes on and was out on the deck (You see, we used to fuss at her for going outside and told her she had to come in because she didn't have any shoes on. Now she puts on her shoes before she goes outside without us knowing. She's clever, that one.). When I went out on the deck to get her, she looked at me, grinned really big, and started bouncing and giggling in the snow. "I like! I like!" she screamed as only a excited toddler can. It was adorable.

Yesterday was Logan's first birthday. It is hard to believe the kid was born a year ago, but then again it almost is since this year has gone by so quickly. Staying at the hospital with Logan is such a blur, because it went so quickly and smoothly. Grace had difficulty passing her hearing test, had difficulty nursing because of a lump of skin in her mouth that was removed while we were in the hospital, and Jennifer had a much harder recovery. Logan popped out, ate fine, pooped fine, and Jennifer was better overnight. We went home much sooner.

I also recall that Jennifer and I were much more relaxed with Logan. With Grace, Jennifer seemed to have this compulsive thing about keeping Grace in the room with us. With Logan, we didn't have a problem pushing him back to the nursery so we could enjoy our dinner in quiet or get a good nights sleep. We knew we'd get plenty of sleepless nights and screaming at home. Boy did we ever. A year in and he's just now starting to wake up once a night.

The party yesterday was hectic, but fun. We had 12 adults and 6 kids (including ours) in this trailer. It was a little cramped at times, but the kids stayed in other rooms playing for the most part so that helped out. We had this Italian dish that Logan really loves. It is chicken, marinara, and polenta. Most everyone seemed to like it. We knew it was a little bit of a different dish, but we figured that it was only weird in name. The taste is very nice. Basically, it is like eating marinara and chicken on top of a cheese sauce.

Logan got a lot of clothes, because that is what we asked for. With is birthday so close to Christmas, it didn't make much sense to get more toys.

Oh, we also managed to get some games of Wii bowling in during the party and I have big news...I went PRO in bowling!!! Finally. Yep, it only took me a year (good grief). Now if I can maintain it. I woke up early this morning and played a few games. I have my pro status up to about 1,049 for the time being. That should give me some wiggle room.

When I woke up this morning, the disk drive of my Wii was glowing blue.  This was to notify me that a new download was available.  The full version of the Opera web browser can now be downloaded for the Wii, but that really isn’t the story here.

Earlier today, I was trying to explain this situation to one of my coworkers, and it resulted in one of those sentences you immediately regret saying.  “My Wii had an eerie blue light coming from it this morning.”

As soon as I finished saying it, I knew how it sounded.  I added, “That sounds wrong on so many levels.”  The coworker laughed in agreement.

Thanks Nintendo.  If it hadn't been for the name you gave your console, there wouldn’t be a rumor circulating that my urine glows blue in the morning.

Actually, I think I have coined a new phrase.  I think misstatements regarding the Wii like this should hence forth be knows as Wiimarks. 

Now spread word of my invention and make it so.

I wrote a longer post about my weekend, but I decided to buy the Wii for my birthday.  Man, was that the right decision.  So far, we are having a blast playing it.  My wife and I can even play Wii Play together while she nurses our son, because it only requires a single hand to play. 

I bought the Wii and Wii Play so I would have the extra controller.  One of my brother's has already went out and bought his own controller and nun chuck so him and I can play Boxing together. 

So far, I think Tennis and Bowling are my favorite games to play.  Golf is my least favorite, because it seems to have some glitches.  Wii Play is a pretty good collection of games, but I agree with the review I read.  It wouldn't be worth the $50 if it didn't come with that controller.   Still, Laser Hockey is pretty fun, and I like the Shooting Gallery as well.  For some reason, my wife loves the Fishing and Cow Racing.  What the world?!

This was a crazy weekend, but crazy in a good way.  It all started on Friday, which was my birthday.  After work, my parents took me out to eat at a local Mexican restaurant that I had chosen to go to.  I love Mexican food.  

When we got to the restaurant, we told the host, who looked like he was no older than 12, that we had 7 people in the party and needed 2 highchairs.  I thought it was clear that we needed room for 9 people.  It was a big party and a wait was expected.  We had been to this restaurant with larger parties and had no difficulty.  That night was different.  We sat for 45 minutes as people came in and were seated almost immediately and we were forced to wait.  At one point, the guy took us to a table that only had six seats and certainly not enough room for highchairs.  Once again we explained we had 7 people and needed room for 2 highchairs and went back to waiting.  

Eventually, one other large dining party, that was sitting at several tables pushed together, left.  We felt for sure that we would get to sit down.  We were wrong.  They split up the tables that large party had been at and sat some smaller parties that had come in AFTER us.  That was the final straw.  We decided to leave and go somewhere else.  Maybe we should have complained some more, but we had already told the host several times that we were STILL waiting.  We just wanted to get something to eat and we were sick of trying to communicate with a 12-year-old host that didn't seem to understand English.  

We went to another Mexican restaurant and were seated almost immediately.  We had our food not long after that.  After I had finished eating, I noticed a circular piece of wood appear out of the corner of my eye.  This thing was directly next to my head.  Before I had time to turn and see what it was, someone started beating it with a stick and the sound of it clacking rang in my ear.  Suddenly, I realized 6 or 7 Hispanics had quietly surrounded me.  They placed a sombrero on my head and began to sing.  Occasionally, they would shake the sombrero, as if they needed a way to attract more attention to the situation.   Of course, every eye in the restaurant was on me.  Including those of Grace, my two-year-old daughter, who couldn't figure out if she should be delighted or terrified by what was happening.  She did get excited after they left, because they left a fried tortilla covered in cinnamon, sugar and chocolate sauce, which I shared with Grace.
 
While we were eating, I had a couple of cards handed to me which I knew contained money.  So, after we got to the car, I ask Jennifer if we could go to Wal-Mart and check to see if they had a Wii in stock.  It was almost 9-o'clock, and the idea didn't thrill her, but after some begging (otherwise known as whining), I convinced her to let us stop by.  When I got to the electronics section, they had about 10-15 Wii's in stock, plus one copy of Wii Play, which is a game that comes with a controller.  I realized there were several people standing in the aisle with us, but only one other person was waiting to buy a Wii.  I got the Wii, Wii Play, paid and was back out to the car in probably 15 minutes.  

Saturday was Grace's birthday, so we spent most of the day at my mom and dad's house.  Mom made Grace a special lunch of her favorites.  We had chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and broccoli.  Yes, our daughter LOVES her broccoli.  We also ate cake and ice cream that day, but that was supposed to be for both of us.  We've decide that two full size cakes would be crazy, considering mine and my daughter's birthdays are back to back, so we'll either share a cake or have two mini cakes.  

Of course, I took my Wii over to my parent's house and I spent a good part of the day playing various games with my dad, wife, and brothers. Sunday was the only day that didn't feel busy, but my brother came over and we played the Wii most of the evening.

I think I definitely made the right decision with buying the Wii.  Just about everyone that has played it thinks it is a blast.  The only exception is my teenage brother, who seems to think it is un-cool to wave your arms around when you play the games.  This is the same brother that juggles, loves yo-yos and thinks DDR is awesome.  I'll never understand the minds of teenagers…

My birthday is just around the corner and I am getting money.  I am torn between two options of what I am going to buy.  Both cost around the same amount and I am not sure which direction I would rather go.  So, I thought I would turn to some Voxers for some advice.

Option 1: Nintendo Wii. 

I think the Wii sounds awesome and I believe it is something my wife and I would have a blast playing together.  I would probably get the Wii and Wii Play if I go this route.  I hear the games in Wii Play aren’t great, but it is supposed to be worth the $10 to have your controller come with a game.  I need a second controller so my wife and I can play tennis together.  After I sell my GameCube on eBay, I would use that money to go out and buy Zelda (I am a HUGE Zelda fan). 

Option 2: Recording Gear

I want to get in on the whole home recording phenomenon.  I am mostly interested in MIDI recording at this point, and I am thinking of getting the M-Audio Axiom 49 49-Key USB MIDI Controller.  It comes with Ableton Live and sounds like it has everything I need to get started.  Since I am new to this whole thing, I am not sure this is the right way to go. 

So, those are my two choices.  Love to get some feedback on both options and find out which one you would pick, if you were me.

This article made me smile.  Apparently some people are really getting into their new Wii games, and their remotes are flying and breaking things as a result.  Sweaty hands and people letting go of the remote are apparently the culprits.  One bowling game that requires you to move your arm like you are bowling is apparently causing problems because people actually let go of the remote as they would a real bowling ball.  Nintendo is apparently "looking into" wrist straps breaking. 

Wrist straps?  I think they should look into wrist straps not being worn.  Seriously, I would have never worn it.  I would have looked at it and thought, "Well, that's gay." (Sorry, that's how I talk.  Not PC, but that's me.)    I'd, of course, be one of those people looking at the hole in my TV saying, "Oh.  So, that's what the strap was for." 

Then again, this could just be an ingenious conspiracy by some men to get that HDTV their wife won't let them buy.  "Gosh honey, I can't believe I did that.  How silly of me.  The rock?  Oh, well, I held that in my hand with the remote to add weight.  I guess we should just go HD since they're so cheap now.  Bummer."

So, the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii (hey, that rhymes) come out this week.  Here is my overview of what they offer:

PS3 – The power of the PS3 would make the Cray Supercomputer weep with envy.  I imagine something this powerful would have been considered top secret 10 years ago.  But you better already have a hi-def TV, or it's going to feel an awful lot like you're playing a PS2.  It has better graphics and built in blueray and wi-fi, but there's is not much new here as far as experience.  Oh, and you might have to sell an organ to afford one.

Wii – The one I am most excited about.  While the graphics are terrible when compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3, the real appeal of the system is the innovative controller that you actually wave around to control things on the screen.  Also, Nintendo is promising to make old games available through an online service so you can play your old favorites.  The bummer there is that the games are going to cost as much as $10 a piece.

Now that I am older, I don't get around to playing games as much as I used to, but the Wii sounds like something that I could really get into.  Not to mention it would be "fun for the whole family".  I probably will get a one eventually, but I'll wait another year or so to see if it will actually be popular.  I think people are going to love it, but what do I know?

Oh, and word has it that someone got shot this morning waiting in line for a PS3.  Now, knowing how most people think all gamers a psycho murders, I am sure most people won't actually listen to the story and will assume the crime as committed by someone wanting a place in line or because of an argument between gamers.  If you listen, you'll hear that it appears it was just someone robbing the people in line.  Someone wouldn't give up there money, so they were shot.  Obviously the gamer wasn't that bright.  It's not worth dying for a PS3.