…at least for today. Luke got a fever on Friday, and it didn’t start to go away until last night. He’s also got a throat infection, so he’s on antibiotics, and lucky dad gets to stay home with him today. I think he’ll be ready to go back to daycare tomorrow, and daddy back to work.

I’m about halfway done with my final read through of Terra Nova. I’m still finding little things to fix and change, but I’m confident when it’s done it will be the best it can be. After I’m done Stacie will read through it, and we’re good to go. I need to finish it, because we can’t both read it at the same time.

I finished Metal Gear Solid 4 on Friday. It was cool, but I don’t know if I’d ever want to play through it again. It’s certainly a pretty game, though the story is a little ridiculous. The story goes on and on and just gets more ludicrous. Unfortunately it doesn’t haven’t trophies, but Fallout 3 does!

Over the weekend we got satellite tv. I didn’t really WANT to…but I was tired of fixing the DVR I had built. I’m sure once the Dodgers start playing I will appreciate it, and even right now I can actually find something to watch besides news, judge shows, and soaps. We went with Dish, and the DVR we got can record up to 2 satellite channels, and 1 ota channel at a time. It’s even connected to the TV upstairs, so you can watch recorded shows and access the guide on a second TV, something we couldn’t do with the htpc. I’ve got an order placed for a Popcorn Hour A-110 to replace the media capabilities of the htpc.

We have the TurboHD Silver package…so what should we be watching?

Not a ton going on here, just getting ready to enjoy a three day weekend!

The hard drive in my HTPC died. Arg! I seriously considered getting satellite, but I didn’t. This is the second time the hard drive has died in the last year. I think the first time might have just been normal hard drive failure, but when Western Digital sent me a replacement it was a refurb, so that’s why I think this one didn’t last long. I ordered a NEW drive made specifically for DVRs, and at 1 terabyte it should hold close to 100 hours of HD video. As much as I hate opening it up and setting it up, when the thing works it does a darn good job. I just couldn’t justify spending $50-60 a month for a DVR with limited space, no ability to edit or save shows, and a channel I really want (Dodgers!) and a few channels we enjoy on vacation.

My proof copy of Terra Nova is still on its way. Should be here Monday along with the new hard drive. I think next time I might pay extra for faster shipping. Here’s what shows on my UPS tracking info so far:

SUMMERVILLE, SC
WEST COLUMBIA, SC
GREENSBORO, NC
COLUMBUS, OH
MAUMEE, OH
HODGKINS, IN

I’m guessing it was on a truck…a very slow one that liked to stop in every city it passed. It left that last stop 2 days ago, so I’m guessing it’s now on an airplane.

I’ve been playing Metal Gear Solid 4 the last few days. I really wish it had trophies, but I already had it, and it’s pretty fun. I have Fallout 3 coming to me from ebay for cheap. My new philosophy is to buy games used, play them, and then sell them and recoup some of the cost. Few games are worth having for a long time anyways.

Pictures of baby soon, I promise!

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.