I was going to make a political post, but let’s face it, that’s boring. And this, Little Big Planet, is far more exciting than anything political.

Little Big Planet is a new game coming out for the PS3 in a couple weeks on October 21st. It’s hard to categorize the game, because it’s in a category all to itself. Just watch the videos. It’s amazing.

I thought I’d take a break from the political posts and put up something a little more fun.

We had some old Blockbuster gift cards lying around, so I went the other week and looked for a good game to buy. The only thing that caught my eye was Metal Gear Solid 4, so I got it. The reviews have just been amazing, so I had to give it a try. Then I found out that you could get the first three Metal Gear Solid games for the low price of $30…so in an effort to better understand the story in part four, I bought the first three games.

I beat the first Metal Gear Solid today after 15 hours. It’s old school, from the PS1 in 1998, so the graphics are a little dated, but the story is awesome. It’s a little hokey and over the top at times, but I quickly forgot about the pixelated 3D environments and was engrossed in the story. The first half of the game seemed familiar as I had played it in the past, but I had never beaten it until now.

Next up is Metal Gear Solid 2, which was made for the PS2. I’m pretty sure I beat that one all the way through when it came out, but I’ve forgotten the story line completely. My goal is to beat all 4 games pretty close together so the story flows well. My overly optimistic goal is to have them done by October 21st when Little Big Planet comes out, but I know the first game is quite a bit shorter than all the rest.

Oh, and Luke helped me beat a lot of the game.

Today our little guy turned one month old! It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. I’ve got a full 60 minute tape for the last 3 weeks, so his youth should be well documented. Once I get to editing that I’ll be sure to post links. For now though, here is his monthday picture!

Dodgers: They put up another high score tonight, so I expect a week or so of doughnuts. Andruw Jones did have two hits…in the SAME game, so that’s a positive. Four games in a row on TV this weekend/Monday.

Book: Took me about 3 weeks (since baby came home) to finish the most recent chapter I was on. I started a new one last night and made good progress, so I’m hoping things speed up. Sometimes the words just shoot off the finger tips and you know exactly how the scene should unfold, but other times it could go a bunch of different ways. Most of the time you just have to plunk away at it, and in the process you usually figure out where it’s supposed to go. I’ll wait until I have more exciting news to say more.

Videogames: I’m currently batting about .325 at AA Jacksonville in the Dodgers minor league organization. I’m a shortstop trying to rise up the ranks, and it’s a stacked position for the club, but I’m giving it my best shot. I’m riding a 9 game hitting streak right now, so hopefully the higher ups notice me.

I was tired of the Wii’s super slow wireless connection. Granted it sits below the TV, a terrible spot, but downloads would sit and sit and do nothing. Finally bought a Wii Lan Adapter. The Wii is now hardwired just like the PS3 and downloads and internet are quick and reliable.

There is a new channel on the Wii called “Check Mii Out.” It lets people post their Miis and other people can rate them. The best part is that they are having contests where you have to design a Mii for a specific topic, and then judge them. So far they’ve done Mario with no hat, and someone who would be at the first thanksgiving. My first entry in the Thanksgiving one was a skinny white guy with a lot of hair and a bushy beard, but my second try was 100x better. It’s an Indian looking guy named Squanto. Maybe I’ll win!

We’ve been playing Zack and Wiki, and I must say it is way cool. Solving the puzzles in this game are much more satisfying than solving a puzzle in Zelda. I think Mario Galaxy would be fun too, but I’m too busy playing The Show on PS3.

Lately I’ve been playing a lot of the baseball game I have on PS3, and mostly online. There is something about playing a human opponent that is so much more satisfying than playing the computer. The game still has some network related kinks, but the gameplay is downright solid. All you need to see is me pumping my fists after getting a groundout in the bottom of the 9th to secure a 2-1 win. It’s awesome.

The game is ultra-realistic when you’re playing another human because you can get inside their head. For example, early on you can start to figure out what type of player they are. Some people have zero patience and swing at everything. Even if the pitch is in the dirt, they still swing. In my most impressive outing yet I struck out a guy 22 times in a game. It’s so advanced that you can fool people. Sometimes I’ll throw a fastball pretty far outside so that it’s unhittable, and a decent player will lay off the pitch. But then the next pitch I’ll come back a little closer to where the ball is just outside the zone, but the previous pitch makes it look like a strike. Usually people will swing, and if they don’t miss, they get horrible wood on the ball and make an out.

In addition to the batter/pitcher duel, sometimes games are downright intense. In my last game I went down 1-0 early to the Phillies. I was putting men on base, but I was having a horrible time capitalizing. I eventually put a run across on a double-play ground out and made it 1-1. Lowe had pitched a good 7 innings for me, so I brought in Olmedo Saenz to face the lefty with 1 out and nobody on. He left a pitch out over the plate and the Killer Tomato put the ball over the fence, 2-1 Dodgers. Billingsley held it in the 8th, and Saito came in for the 9th. Everything was great in the 9th until Ryan Howard doubled with 1 out. Next batter grounded out and Howard took 3rd on the play. With the tying run at third and 2 out Saito was able to induce a groundout to win the game 2-1. It was awesome.

So far I’m 19-6. You can see my online profile here. Unfortunately you can’t see all the fun statistics that you can in the game, like ERA, k/9, HR/game, etc, but they do show your average. I’m batting .318 as of this posting, which is pretty good if you ask me.

Yesterday I ushered in my first hours of summer with some non-stop videogame playing. Stacie and I had a good long discussion a few weeks back, which led to the purchasing of a shiny new PS3. I never quite met my target goal, but it’s gotten it’s worth that’s for sure.

I played MLB ’07: The Show online for about 6 hours when I got home from work yesterday around lunch time. I played several games, winning and losing some. The best game was my last though. Early on I went down 6-0 against someone using the Yankees. I hit a solo shot and made it 6-1, but I was having a hard time breaking through. Eventually I had a big inning and made it 6-5, followed shortly by a two run inning putting me in the lead 7-6. This entire time my pitching was super sharp. In the top of the 9th I gave up 1 run, tying the game at 7-7. But in the bottom of the ninth with Russell Martin at the dish, he knocked a solo home run over the fence and gave the Dodgers the walk off win! It was awesome.

Aside from playing this great baseball game, I hope to fill my hours writing, trying to workout a bit, and doing a little travelling with the wife.

But for now I will start with watering the grass.

When I get something in my head it’s really hard to get it out. Usually this is tied to desiring new technology or something of that nature. Luckily I have a wife who tempers that urge to buy every new gadget the minute I want it. Sometimes that means I don’t get it, or instead I think of inane arrangements to justify my purchase.

The wheels in my brain are still spinning about wanting to play the latest and greatest baseball game on PS3, so I start to find all these ways to pay for it, without actually spending money, which of course is ludicrous. But it sounds like it’s not costing any money, which is the genious of my plan. You might remember my WoW fast back in ’04. I could pull a similar stunt here, but it would take a while. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

$60 – Money left in my old Wamu checking account that’s been there since we got married.

$170 – Money I made at school doing supervision, like watching kids on my lunch break. (This is above and beyond my regular pay, so it’s easy to argue that I can do whatever I want with it, like buy videogames.)

$80 – Money in my paypal account from selling the old Gamecube (which was supposed to pay for the Wii. Shhhh!)

$50 – Approximate money I could get from selling my original Xbox since I wouldn’t need it anymore.

$27 – Money I could get from selling Zelda: Twilight Princess. (I tried to play it over the weekend, and I almost went insane it’s so boring. But my new found distaste for adventure games is another post entirely.)

Sub-Total: $387
Remaining: $313

I’m still well shy of my $700 target. I’ve made almost $250 on my Nintendo stock, but I’m not sure I can justify including that in my scheme.

Time to look around the house for stuff to sell.

I thought I missed this big announcement, but apparently it was sometime in the last 24 hours. You can mark my return to PC gaming folks, because Starcraft 2 has been announced!

I want to play Starcraft 2 with friends via the internet, and get together at someone’s house and play all night long. Good times!