Over the past few months my wife and I have since moved out to the country on a small hobby farm. While we love it the only way to get internet is by satilite via Wild Blue. The slow DL speeds put me off of even getting on the computer most the time as it just takes to long (which explain my absence on GS). In short my online PC gaming career has ended for awhile anyway. I have tried COD4, WAW, WOW, Guild Wars with not luck; our lantency is way to high. I have been tempted to try gaming over a G3 netowork to see if it is any better but I'm not holding my breath. Has anyone had any luck gaming over a satilite connection of G3?

In the mean time I have suddenly become a avid wii fan and must admit am enjoying it. I will say that I am the type of person who will rewearch a game and only buy it if it seems interesting or gets great reviews. So far in the past few months I have played Madworld, Ghostbusters, Punchout, Zelda and am hoping to get Tiger Woods soon. I have yet to test the wifi connection with the wii to see if I can go online with better sucess.

I wish there were better ways of playing online but to my knowlege there is not (yet). I can only hope that one day in the near future we will get BB or cable out to our farm until then it looks like it's single player PC or wii games for the future.

http://www.maxgames.com/game/age-of-war.html

Give it a go you won't be dissapointed!

For the most part everyone needs a mousepad, the kind you need all depends on what you use it for. Today mousepads come in all shapes, sizes, colors and materials, again it all depends on your needs which kind you will need or want. At the moment I have a mousepad from Xtrac called the Xtrac Pro HS, the HS means Hard Surface.

I have always been skeptical about mouse pads weather they are worth it or not. I recently broke down and decided to get as I was wearing the finish off my office desk with all the gaming I do. I must admit that this mouse pad is great. It has a super slick plastic top surface that lets the mouse glide effortlessly. The hexagon pattern helps with the mouse tracking.... though the difference is negligible. The rubber-backing will not slip even during your more robust gaming nights.

Overall I believe the Xtrac makes a good product and for the price you can't beat it.

What can I say? After a few short week of intesive gaming this is the best gaming mouse I have have played. The other mice had their strengths, and I'm not saying this is the only mouse you should consider, but I do think it's the best. Why? I'll tell you.

First, this mouse is comfortable to use. My hand conforms to it naturally and I don't feel that any fingers are hanging free or gripping in any weird places. Apart from the traditional left, right, middle scroll wheel, there are two additional buttons for your thumb that do not feel misplaced. The construction of the mouse feels solid. Everything is big enough but not too big. It's subtly designed for a right hand (lefties won't work at all) and feels natural at it.

The software is pretty much what you expect: all the usual configuration options. It doesn't have an easy DPI switch button like the Ikari or Sidewinder, but its On-the-fly sensitivity is so easy to use that you don't really need it. One extra button under the scroll wheel might not have been unwelcome, but who can say?

The motion and tracking are absolutely flawless in this mouse. It's still as a rock at rest, goes in a straight line when it needs to, but doesn't interfere with any movements at all.

If you are looking at purchasing your first gaming mouse whatever the brand it will take several hours of gaming to get use to it. Stock mice usually have a DPI or around 400 unlike gaming mice which have a DPI of around 2000. This allows for tighter hand movement for a quick response on the screen but it take getting use to.

Combine this mouse with a mouse pad (more later) you will be on your way to several more hours of happy gaming.

barefooting (bare•foot•n) n. 1. The exhilarating joy of going barefoot without leaving yourself exposed; 2. any activity requiring unconventional footwear offering the protection of a thin, flexible Vibram skin; 3. an intelligent way to deepen your connection with your natural surroundings.

Check it out: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Love the shoes!

After 6 months, having to sell our Wii and move 3,000 miles away, this Christmas we received a new wii. This is great and something we didn't expect. The wii is a great system and still fairly hard to find in stores. While is may not be the hardcore gamers choice (PC for me) it is a great system to have around for friends and family. We even managed to get my 86 year old grandpa playing a round of golf on wii sports. This from a man who can't turn on a computer.

And now I am looking forward to playing the few games that have been released during my six month hiatus. If you got any suggestions let me know.

SoI just found out about the release of a new trackmania game to download for free on the PC. For those who may not be familiar with this series trackmania is a racing game with a twist, full of big jumps, loops and speed. I won't say anything more about the game as you can read the reviews about the game on gamespot, other than that its great for multiplayer both locally and via the internet. Check it out you won't be disappointed.

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/driving/trackmanianationsforever/download_6189199.html

As I wrote earlier we are moving back to America.... I'm off tomorrow to get our four cats settled in there new place. Then we have roughly six weeks before you move. My visits to gamespot will be sporatic as things are busy here. Will post later....

The last week or so I've gotten back into Star Craft. In light of SCII imminent release, I thought I should practice up on my playing skills (I'm a bit rusty to say the least). If anyone out there plays look me up on battlenet (rizzo1).

No I'm not pregnant and neither is my wife.

We have decided to move back to America. My wife and I are both American and have decided that it is time to move back. We have been here together for the last five years, though my wife has lived here since she was six so this is a big step as she well be leaving her home.

We are looking forward to the opportunities that await us and meeting back up with some old friends. We need to find jobs so my wife is looking for a job such as a house manager or director of a residential home and I will be looking for a marketing executive position. I havn't been following the job market in America recently so I can only hope that we find something quickly. For now it is off to live my family for a few months!

On the gaming side of things... well the brand new Wii I just bought a month or so ago I will now hae to sell. But atlas I will get another when we get settled into the states.

I have had my Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse for the last 6-7 years. Over the last few months I had begun to see some problems with the communications between the computer and mouse/keyboard, but without boring any of you, the short story of it is that they have had their final breath and died. For backup, I am using just a standard keyboard and mouse from HP. Needless to say I'm in the market for another keyboard and mouse. Anyone have any opinions on this matter?

I play a combination of either RTS games as well as FPS. I've read some good reviews about the Logitech G9 and G5 laser mouse. The only requirement I have to have with the keyboard is that it has to be fairly usable as a standard keyboard outside game play as I am a web designer and need functionality of the keys. I'm open for suggestions...

Wish I had something exciting to say but for the past week since getting Call of Duty 4 I have loged 15.5 hours of online time with 1441 kills and the not so good 1468 deaths. Needless to say my deaths should be less than my kills but hey its a work in progess.

Finally after three weeks Call of Duty 4 arrived in the mail. Thats my weekend sorted!

Now I now just have to get used to the game and how the multiplayer plays. I've been playing FEAR but it is time to cross over.

Recently I had an idea about my transportation back home from work. From work to my house is just over two miles down a long curvy hill. As my profile says I like extreme sports and love to climb, mountain bike, etc. Well I had thought it might be fun to get a longboard and skate down the hill (I am not a skateboarder and don't pretend to be, but I've been told that longboarding is quite different to skateboarding). Because the hill is quite curvy I have since found that stopping on a longboard at speed requires one to slide along the ground with your hands (with padding) acting as a third point of contact. This is not as controlled as I had hoped. But I found something even better... freebording - a snowboard with wheels. Check it out for yourself http://www.freebord.com/ . I've had to added this to my gotta do list. No more waiting for the winter to hit the slopes!

Over the last few weeks I have been tracking a game called Battlefield Heroes (http://www.battlefield-heroes.com/). I first saw the game reviewed in Total PC and has since been reviewed on Gamespot and other gaming mags.

If you havn't seen or heard about the game yet check out the website. In essence Battlefield Heroes is a 3rd person shooter played for free online. The game is developed by Dice and publish by EA. The same people who has brought out the various Battlefield games. This game is clearly meant to be fun, as the game looks like a cartoon. The game is to be released this summer.

I won't say anymore about the game as you can read the preview on gamespot, but it defiantly look to be a bit of fun and one that I will be looking out for this summer!

So I've just about saved enough money for a Nintendo Wii. Only played on the system once, but it was a good laugh. It was a toss up between a 360 or a Wii. I love many of the games of the 360, but I think that of those games I would prefer to play them on the computer. So that brings me to the question of the topic above. Anyone have any recommendations for good Wii games? I would love to hear your opinion.

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them in your journal (BLOG!) for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. NO GOOGLING / using IMDb search functions.

NO CHEATING!!!

1. "Be sober; be vigilant because your adversary the Devil walketh about seeking whom he may devour." "That's real comforting Goat, that ain't freaking me out at all."

2. "My mommy says that there is nothing to be afrid of in the dark." "Your mother's wrong, kid. Being afraid of the dark is what keep most of us alive."

3. "Thousands of years ago, in ancient China. An evil army of Shadow Warriors terrorized the great city of Sheng-sa. To save his people, the good king sacrificed himself to create a mystical medallion. Realizing the ultimate powers of the medallion, the king split it in half. To one son, he gave the power over the body. To the other, the power over the soul. This is the legend of the…"

4. "At the beginning of the 21st century, the Umbrella Corporation had become the largest commercial entity in the United States. Nine out of every ten homes contain its products. Its political and financial influence is felt everywhere. In public, it is the world's leading supplier of computer technology, medical products, and healthcare. Unknown, even to its own employees, its massive profits are generated by military technology, genetic experimentation and viral weaponry." (Resident Evil - Autumn)

5. "Right, so... Pretty much touch anything, and you get your head chopped off."

6. "In all likelihood you're going to die out there. We're all going to die out there, but none of us needs to be reminded of that fact. So you die, you never existed."

7. "The temple above us was the wonder of the ancient world. Bisonopolis shall be the wonder of my world. But I think the food court should be larger. All the big franchises will want in."

8. "Look at me, I'm burning."

9. "So, this is my power... but what is my purpose?"

10. "I'm back! I love those plumbers!" (Mario - Autumn)

Here's my rant for the day.

I use Skype quite frequently to keep up with friends and family overseas. General I have found that the sound quality and connectivity tends to be better than the phone. Now with the phone, when you call someone it rings, and those at the other end will answer, but for whatever reason several of my friends and or relatives have taken to turning down/off their Skype from ringing. My question is often what is the point of having Skype, or any VOIP for that matter, online when you can't hear to answer it? Yet when I undoubtedly ring several times because their "online" they don't pick up. You might say that they are ignoring me, but I have asked them about it, and my best answer thus far has been, "Because the noise distracts me from playing my video games". This I will have to admit is a good reason, however it is not like Skype makes any other sounds other than when someone is trying to call, so to me this seems to negate this reason. Eventually I do get through but only when they happen to be sitting at their computer. Problem solved... and 8 hours later.

So to people with any kind of VOIP service... keep your volume turned up, we want to talk to you!