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Well, my PS3 died Sunday or Monday night. Today is Thursday and I just received the coffin that I’ll use to send it to Sony for repair. I was in the middle of playing Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune when it happened, so I won’t get to beat that during Christmas break like I wanted to. I also have to scrap my plans to watch the new Sherlock series on blu-ray this week.

I know there are videos online that show you how to open up the PS3 and fix it, but I don’t want to do that. I have a feeling that I’d damage it more and have to buy a new one, which is more expensive than the $100 Sony is charging me to fix it.

I’m kind of disappointed that this happened, though it isn’t that much a surprise. People criticize Xboxes for having a high failure rate, but consoles in general don’t seem to last long these days. I bought my on Tax Day in 2008, partially because I was mad at owing the IRS money. I would’ve gotten one eventually even if I didn’t get it on that day.

I hope they can fix it fairly simply and return the disc that’s stuck inside, but my biggest concern is that I’ll lose all of my data. The lady on the phone said they won’t format the HD if they don’t have to, but the material that came in the coffin said that they will definitely format it. I don’t want to have to download everything from the PlayStation Network again on my slow Internet connection, and I really don’t want to lose all of my save games.

I’m hoping for the best.

I’ll start with my birthday the week before. I’d been saying all year that all I wanted for my birthday was TRON: Legacy, which came out on the same day. Well, I got it. I got off work early and drove down to Brandon to hang out with my friend John. It was good to catch up with him since I haven’t seen him much lately. We went out to eat, saw the movie, and got drunk afterwards. It was a blast. The hangover the next day wasn’t fun, however. It was only the 2nd time all year that I’d drank any alcohol. The last time was in Austin.

Christmas was good. It was hard to be away from my dog for 47 hours, but I enjoyed spending time with the family that was there. My sister and brother-in-law were stuck in Atlanta with the flu. My mom seems to be doing better, after being not-so-well for a couple of months. Thank goodness! There are some things she doesn’t remember, but otherwise she’s her normal self, which means she’s driving me crazy :).

I think I said this last year, but I do miss getting presents. I’m a little jealous of all the cool things I saw people getting on Twitter and Facebook. My sister and her family are the only ones who regularly get me gifts now, but they weren’t able to come. They’ll be mailing their presents later. I did take part in the Twitter Secret Santa that one of my Twitter friends organizes every year and I got an awesome Walking Dead t-shirt that I will be wearing during warmer months, if not before. I’m grateful for that. I will say that watching my cousin’s kids open their presents pretty much made up for any disappointment I had.

Even though it was an odd Christmas and disappointing in some ways, I think this was one of the best Christmas seasons I’ve had recently.

The Adderall Diaries by Stephen Elliott. I bought this book after I heard that James Franco had bought the movie rights. I like Franco as an actor, and I like that he’s done some weird things with his career lately. The title and premise of the book seemed interesting and I wanted something kind of wanted something different to read, so I thought I would go for it.

This is a true story. Stephen Elliott was suffering from writer’s block and decided to write a true crime novel about the murder trial of a computer programmer in the San Francisco area. He ended up with this book, which is part memoir and part recount of the trial. I guess covering the trial made him think about his past. I really enjoyed reading this book.  Elliott’s life is kind of sad to me, with the substance abuse, failed relationships, and father/son drama.   He and some of the players in the murder mystery confirmed that there are some messed up people in the world. Yes, I’m being judgmental. It makes me glad my upbringing was stable and my life right now is fairly normal and boring.

• Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself
• Joe Abercrombie, Before They Are Hanged
• Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings
• The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
• Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
• Go, Mutants: A Novel, Larry Doyle
• The Adderall Diaries, Stephen Elliott
• Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
• Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
• Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, Mick Foley
• American Gods, Neil Gaiman
• The Associate, John Grisham
• The Fourth Hand, John Irving
• The Colorado Kid, Stephen King
• The Walking Dead, Volume 1: Days Gone Bye, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 2: Miles Behind Us, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 4: The Heart’s Desire, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 5: The Best Defense, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 7: The Calm Before, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 8: Made to Suffer, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 9: Here We Remain, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 10: What We Become, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 11: Fear the Hunters, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 12: Life Among Them, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 13: Too Far Gone, Robert Kirkman
• The Stormcaller, Tom Lloyd
• The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Twilight Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Final Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• Busted Flush, George R.R. Martin
• Suicide Kings, George R.R. Martin
• Kraken, China Mieville
• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller
• Either You’re in or You’re in the Way, Logan and Noah Miller
• The Final Crusade, Chaite Naasiri
• Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• The Darker Mask, George Phillips
• The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson
• The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
• Towers of Midnight, Brandon Sanderson
• Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
• Bitter Seeds, Ian Tregillis
• The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams
• Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams
• To Green Angel Tower, Tad Williams

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.. I decided to read this because everybody was talking about it on Twitter. Amazon had the hardcovers for about $9 a piece, so I snatched them all up. I enjoyed this series a lot.

It takes place in the not so distant future. A country called Panem exists in what remains of North America. Panem is governed from a place called the Capitol, which is located in the Rocky Mountains. As punishment for a rebellion against the Capitol, each year a boy and a girl from each of Panem’s 12 districts must compete in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a fight to the death that all of Panem is forced to watch. The winning competitor’s home district gets extra food for a year.

The first book is definitely the best, so at least give that one a try. Once you get into it, it’s hard to put it down.

• Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself
• Joe Abercrombie, Before They Are Hanged
• Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings
• The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
• Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
• Go, Mutants: A Novel, Larry Doyle
• The Adderall Diaries, Stephen Elliot
• Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
• Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
• Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, Mick Foley
• American Gods, Neil Gaiman
• The Associate, John Grisham
• The Fourth Hand, John Irving
• The Colorado Kid, Stephen King
• The Walking Dead, Volume 1: Days Gone Bye, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 2: Miles Behind Us, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 4: The Heart’s Desire, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 5: The Best Defense, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 7: The Calm Before, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 8: Made to Suffer, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 9: Here We Remain, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 10: What We Become, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 11: Fear the Hunters, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 12: Life Among Them, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 13: Too Far Gone, Robert Kirkman
• The Stormcaller, Tom Lloyd
• The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Twilight Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Final Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• Busted Flush, George R.R. Martin
• Suicide Kings, George R.R. Martin
• Kraken, China Mieville
• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller
• Either You’re in or You’re in the Way, Logan and Noah Miller
• The Final Crusade, Chaite Naasiri
• Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• The Darker Mask, George Phillips
• The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson
• The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
• Towers of Midnight, Brandon Sanderson
• Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
• Bitter Seeds, Ian Tregillis
• The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams
• Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams
• To Green Angel Tower, Tad Williams

Microsoft Kinect finally was released at midnight last night and I’m so glad that I can finally talk about. I was in the beta program, but because of the Nondisclosure Agreement, I’ve been pretty quiet about it except for a few mentions on Twitter. I didn’t want to risk having it taken away from me. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. My dog looks at me like I’m crazy when I’m using it, but that’s okay.

Setup was easy. I started out positioning it below the television but moved it to on top so that it could see me better. That brings to mind the biggest problem so far: space. You need to have plenty of space in your play area. They say at least 6 feet between you and the sensor, but the more the better. We were able to download beta/demo versions of 3 games: Kinect Sports, Joyride, and Kinect Adventures. I’ll probably buy Kinect Sports eventually. I didn’t like Joyride. I didn’t get to play Kinect Adventures much, but I’m getting a free digital copy for being in the beta. I had to download updates 1-2 times a week during the beta and I noticed improvements over time. I think Kinect is quite a bit better now than it was when the beta first started.

Dance Central is the only game that I’ve bought so far. It’s a lot of fun. You just have to get over looking like a fool. It’s made by the same people that made the first few Guitar Hero games and Rock Band. It’s not an easy game since I have no dance skills. It’s also physically demanding. Maybe 1 or 2 days a week I’ll skip going to gym and dance to “Poker Face” or “Poison” or something. I like the menu navigation in this game better than the 3 beta games. I can see companies getting pretty creative with navigation.

Speaking of navigation, I like being able to use voice commands and gestures to control some of the tasks on my 360. Neat features. One feature I have yet to try out is Video Kinect, which lets you have video chats over Xbox Live. You know how people are going to abuse that, so I don’t even have to say it.

Microsoft released a big dashboard update last week in preparation for Kinect. I got some of the updates when I got Kinect around the end of August and they rolled some of the others out later. I like that the audio quality will be better even though I haven’t chatted with anyone yet. ESPN on the 360 sounds cool, but I can’t watch live games since my ISP isn’t affiliated with ESPN3. It probably won’t be much use to me until something changes. Netflix search is the new feature I like the most. It’s a no-brainer, especially since I could already search when I used Netflix on my Roku. Other than better looking avatars, I can’t remember any other new features, but it seems like there were some.

I’m enjoying all the Xbox goodness that’s come lately. Of course, the games are going to make or break Kinect. I hope they come out with a lot of good games soon, so I don’t get bored with it like I did with the Wii, which I believe has been made obsolete by this device if it wasn’t already before.

The new TV season started a few weeks ago.  I tried out a lot of new shows.  It was hard to keep up with them and the old shows that I was already watching.  A lot of the new shows were mediocre, so I’ve been able to drop a few and free up some time.

I’m still exercising.  So far I’ve lost about 27 pounds.  I’m starting to get bored at the gym, so I may need to switch it up a little bit.

Work has slowed down.  The project that I was working on for the first half the year has stalled, so it’s back to the same old stuff that I’ve always done.  The next month could be pretty busy though.

Some things are finally starting to fall into place.  It’s time to make some of the changes I’ve wanted to make for a while.  There are things that I want to do while I’m still young enough to want to do them.  Maybe I’ll make a list and post it here.  Hopefully, there will be raises in the New Year because I won’t feel comfortable trying to do some of these things until I have more income.  I’m single, so I don’t have 2 incomes at my disposal like most of the people I work with.  If there are no raises, then it might be time to move on.

I need to blog more.  There are a lot of things on my mind.

What’s been happening lately?

• My back and everything else is feeling better. It’s great to feel completely healthy for the first time since early summer.
• I had a little vacation around Labor Day weekend. It was so good. I mostly got stuff done at home that I’ve been wanting to do for a while.  I went to visit Mom for a little while. My sister and her husband were in town as well, so I got to meet my niece for the first time. I’m going to enjoy spoiling her.
• I’m down about 16 lbs so far. More to come.
• I’ve been doing the same stuff I normally do in my spare time.
• I caught the little town blues.

Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik. It was just ok. I was dissappointed. It’s definitely the weakest in the Temeraire series. I was bored for most of the book.

Now I’m working on The Hunger Games Trilogy.

After that I’ll start reading The Walking Dead.

• Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself
• Joe Abercrombie, Before They Are Hanged
• Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings
• The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
• Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
• Go, Mutants: A Novel, Larry Doyle
• Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
• Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
• American Gods, Neil Gaiman
• The Law of Nines, Terry Goodkind
• The Associate, John Grisham
• The Fourth Hand, John Irving
• The Colorado Kid, Stephen King
• The Walking Dead, Volume 1: Days Gone Bye, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 2: Miles Behind Us, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 4: The Heart’s Desire, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 5: The Best Defense, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 7: The Calm Before, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 8: Made to Suffer, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 9: Here We Remain, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 10: What We Become, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 11: Fear the Hunters, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 12: Life Among Them, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 13: Too Far Gone, Robert Kirkman
• The Stormcaller, Tom Lloyd
• The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Twilight Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Final Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• Busted Flush, George R.R. Martin
• Suicide Kings, George R.R. Martin
• Kraken, China Mieville
• The Final Crusade, Chaite Naasiri
• Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• The Darker Mask, George Phillips
• The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson
• The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
• Towers of Midnight, Brandon Sanderson
• Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
• Bitter Seeds, Ian Tregillis
• The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams
• Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams
• To Green Angel Tower, Tad Williams

Summer has flown by. Fall classes begin next week. It’s one of my favorite times of the year because Starkville and MSU become more alive. Even though summer break ends next week, we still have a little longer before the summer season ends. 44 more days. We should be getting some relief from the heat before then, right? This heat is making me miserable.

I didn’t move at the end of July like I thought I would. My landlord said I could stay where I was and he would put the person that had rented my place in a different one down the street. I’m glad because I wasn’t looking forward to moving.

About a month ago my back starting killing me all of a sudden when I was walking to my car after work. It was hard for me to stand up straight for about a week. It’s feeling better now, but it’s still not 100%. My wrist and shoulders are also hurting and my thumb has been popping constantly. It all started around the same time. The doctor seems to think it’s from too many hours working at a computer, but I don’t think she really knows. Nothing that I’ve tried has helped much. I hope I can start back exercising soon so I can re-lose the weight I had already lost.

It seems like every day I wish that I were somewhere other than here. I want to go back to Texas. I want to go to California. I want to go to New York. One of these days….

Scott Pilgrim is a series of 6 graphics novels written by Bryan Lee O’Malley. It’s a really fun series. Scott is a 23-year-old Canadian who is also the bass player in a band. He meets a woman, but in order to date her he has to defeat her 7 evil exes. I decided to read this after I saw the first preview for the movie adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World a while back. Even seeing that preview didn’t prepare me for what I saw in these books. It was a lot of fun. The last volume came out last week. I think they’re each around 200 pages so even a slow reader like me could finish them quickly. I hope the movie is good. At least see the movie if you don’t want to read.

• Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself
• Joe Abercrombie, Before They Are Hanged
• Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings
• Go, Mutants: A Novel, Larry Doyle
• Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
• Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
• American Gods, Neil Gaiman
• The Law of Nines, Terry Goodkind
• The Associate, John Grisham
• The Fourth Hand, John Irving
• The Colorado Kid, Stephen King
• The Stormcaller, Tom Lloyd
• The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Twilight Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Final Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• Busted Flush, George R.R. Martin
• Suicide Kings, George R.R. Martin
• Kraken, China Mieville
• The Final Crusade, Chaite Naasiri
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, Bryan Lee O’Malley
• The Darker Mask, George Phillips
• The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson
• The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
• Towers of Midnight, Brandon Sanderson
• Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
• Bitter Seeds, Ian Tregillis
• The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams
• Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams
• To Green Angel Tower, Tad Williams