Study Suspects Violent Video Games Are Healthy!

As published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, they said that violent games don't necessarily lead to violence among children and that the kids could actually benefit from playing video games. (Alright!)

Massachusetts General Hospital's Cheryl Olson SC.D. also commented that the "idea that 'M' rated games cause shootings or major violence just doesn't hold water."

Anger management is important to everyone at any age and to me, I think that playing video games is a form of anger management. Olson continues, "We don't know whether playing to get anger out is a good thing or a bad thing for any individual child, but we suspect that it might be healthy for a lot of kids."

Video games also teaches us social interaction. The study found that the kids are more likely to be playing with a couple of friends, whether in the same room or over the net. In their study, none of the kids fell into the sterotype of the lone gamer who's out plotting the destruction of the world by intense violence.

Of course, the study is based on a group of 1,200 seventh and eight graders. And, as always, focus groups are always too small to be able to formulate a completely accurate generalization. I would say to still watch your kids for any signs of intense anger after playing video games. Sure, you win some and you lose some, but if your kid decides to go out and beat someone after he loses, that's a slight problem, I would say...

The conclusion, though, from Olson rests:

"It's not going to ruin them, they're not going to go out and pick up a gun. Violent video game play is typical and normal for kids nowadays. That doesn't mean that parents have to like it, but they shouldn't panic about it."

Like the saying goes, "Guns don't kill, people kill"...as long as your kids have a clear understanding that video games are just that: video games, your kids would have no issues playing with violent games...

DIY S60v3 Theme Creator

Ok, so since I have a Nokia cellphone sporting the S60v3 OS, I had to write a little something about this freeware app I came across. And no, I haven't used it yet, but from the sounds of it, it should be pretty good! I've always wanted to create my own themes but when I tried Carbide UI from Nokia, things were a little confusing, to say the least. But, I won't get into Carbide for now...

This freeware from Nokia is called ThemeDIY. It's supposed to allow you to create simple things such as backgrounds, background fades (for menus), and simple background color changes, battery bars, etc. It's pretty nice! I have yet to try it so please don't think I'm advocating it in any way...just saying it's a nice piece to have on your S60v3 phone to play around with...

Download: Direct Link To Nokia Downloads

Yahoo! Go Live!

Personally, I don't use this since it doesn't have a built-in IM Client for their own Messenger but I feel I should put a few words about it...it stinks. Aside from their, fairly integrated, Yahoo Maps/Driving Directions, it's bogged down by areas that I do not use. Flickr, Local News, Weather, Sports, Finance, Entertainment...extras that, I'm sure, other people would enjoy reading about, just doesn't interest me...ok, so the weather I admit I looked at every once in a while, but just doesn't warrant me to continue to use it.

Now I'm not saying it's a bad program nor am I saying it doesn't have its uses...I'm just saying that I personally do not use it. Not even for the Y! Mail nor driving directions. Oh, they also have a search feature that if you want to, can use. Why would you use that, anyway? You can just pop open a browser and search from there...but I suppose integrating it was good for other users...

Palringo - Voice Instant Messaging

Ever wanted to use your phone as a Push-To-Talk device but didn't want to jump onto the PTT service? Well, here's your chance to use your phone to PTT like all the other guys! The guys over at Palringo have created a program that allows you to use your phone, along with a nice data plan, to talk with ANYONE, and I do mean ANYONE, that has the Palringo software. Yes, that means you can PTT with people on their cellphones as well as those on their home PCs. And yes, it looks like you can chat with people across the globe with this one. Would be perfect for those who have families across the world and want to spend as little as possible to communicate with them.

Sure, there are other alternatives such as Skype or other VoIP solutions, but this one can be used with cellphones! It has extensive phone support. I use it and it's pretty nice, I have to admit. Though it can get rather annoying when you're in a public situation (like in a grocery store) and you have messages coming through as loud as can be. Yes, you can adjust the volume and you can set it to receive but not play the message upon receipt.

But that't not all, you can send text AND photos, too! Provided your phone has a camera. So, it's an all inclusive package. However, the only drawback is that this is yet another messaging client and does not support AOL/MSN/Yahoo/Google or whatever else is out there. So, if you have multiple IM Accounts, this is another to add on to it. But I find this to be the end-all IM solution since I can talk with it. Another good thing about it is that you can chat with people and not have to give out your phone number! =P

iPhone in new exciting colors!

Wow...what else can I say. This is very nice where you can customize the color of your iPhone! And no, I don't have one and I doubt I'll ever get one, since there are so many issues with the phone. Plus it just doesn't get me all excited. I mean, everything on the phone has been done before and almost everything the iPhone can do, the Nokia N95 can do, too. All in all, I think this would be very nice to those who own iPods of the various colors and want to match their iPhone with their iPod...

The advertisement that you see is from ColorWare, which is better known for skinning new colors onto Sidekicks. You can choose from 29 different colors and you can purchase a new iPhone with your color choice from ColorWare for either $649 (4GB) or $749 (8GB)...or, if you already have an iPhone, you can send your in own for $149.

PS3 Lost The Console Wars

Now, from a consumer's point of view, I think that Sony has already lost the console wars. This is due, I think, mainly from their price point of $499 versus the 360's $299/$399 price points. Sure, the 360 has an elite version that's coming out for $499, but I'm going deep into that...why do I think Sony lost? Take a look at sales, take a look at exclusives, take a look at the whole picture.

If I remember correctly, Sony had sold over 105 million PS2's since its launch. Now, to be fair, their launch was a LONG TIME ago. BUT, for the month of June alone, the PS3 had only sold, roughly, 98k units...that's not gonna make Sony hit their 100 million consoles within 5 years...

Their ticket to failure? I think it's their stress to the Blu-Ray standard. Not that it's a bad standard, but it's something that, to the normal eye, you can't tell the difference with a normal TV. I, myself, do not have a HD TV, nor do a lot of other people I know. So, what's BR gonna do for us who do NOT have HDTV? Squat, that's what. AND, why am I gonna pay $500 for squat? Sure, there's a lot of people moving to the HDTV standard, but the PS3 will be another $500 they have to shell out to get a system that can do BR and play games.

Now, I'm not saying the 360 is a better buy. I love Sony and have their consoles (original PS1, their updated PSOne, PS2, PSP) and most of my electronics are Sony. BUT, as of now, there aren't any interesting games out there for the PS3. Mainly I'm looking for Gran Turismo. No, I don't want a demo of GTHD...I want the real deal. GT4 was SUPPOSED to allow you to download cars to your garage. Did that happen? Nope. GT for the PSP was SUPPOSED to come out...I'm still waiting. And now, with the release of Grand Theft Auto NOT being a PS3 exclusive, you can see where they are slipping. Also, with Forza Motorsports 2, it makes me want to get a 360 JUST for that game. Sorry, Sony, but I want to play a driving sim and you don't have one for me...

I would have thought that Sony would have started their PS3 pricing to match that of the 360, $299/$399. Sure, they're losing money, anyway, but I think if they had done that, the PS3 would have jumped WAAAAAAY ahead in their months behind (after the 360's launch). I'm not a marketing analyst so I can't scrutinize all the numbesr, but to me, if you don't price accordingly, people won't buy. Sure, it has a zillion times more processing power and the best DVD player in the world, but if you have to pay two hundred dollars more for it, that's a lot to swallow...especially if the cheaper console offers almost as much with a wider selection of readily available games...let's put it this way, in this generation with kids going to work for $8/hour working a full work week (~ $900 a month), do you really think they would want to spend $650 of it on a console? That's not much left to spend on their other wants...

Will Sony ever recover? I'm sure they will...if they lower their prices to match that of the 360. If they're unwilling to budge on their pricing, my guess is that the 360 will lower their prices even more to further shut out the PS3 from the market. In fact, I think the 360 will come down to be closer to that of the Wii. People have already jumped on the Wii and traded their PS3's for it. Too many people are trying to sell their PS3's for the Wii or 360.

Sony needs to rethink their strategy here in order to regain their market share. It's never too late...however, the longer Sony waits, the harder it will become...

Illuminated Tweezers!

OMFG! What the heck is that?! An illuminated tweezer?! This is something that I think my wifey would like since she does the plucking...eruhm...yeah...anyways...direct from their website:

"These tweezers have two integral LEDs that turn on when the slightest pressure is applied to the gripping arms, providing illumination where it is needed most during the delicate removal of splinters, or whenever the tweezers are used. Unlike steel tweezers that can corrode, these are made of rust- and shatterproof polycarbonate, and each tip has three interlocking gripping ridges for best traction during use."

I think it's kinda neat for people who use it...me? Naw, I use a razor so I don't find the desire to pluck, thought I did have to pluck out a splinter a few times so, I suppose this might come in handy during a camping trip or for the late-night yard-worker...

Longines Blingage!

Longines Blingage! My old watch broke so I asked one of my best friends to see if he had a watch I could borrow...I told him I wanted a chronograph-style watch with metal bands...I couldn't stand the leather stuff. I also told him I didn't want any digital displays on the watch. And, I knew he was into watches so I told him NOT to lend me one of his expensive watches since I didn't want to live with it being either broken or damaged in any way, since I prob couldn't afford to pay him back. So, what did he have available? This Longines model. At first I was like, WTF is this, generic brand? I can't even pronounce it. Then, after much digging around, my dad told me it was one of the better known watch manufacturers in the market and was of very good quality. How the heck would I know?!? I know phones! I don't know watches!

Toyota Supra!

This is my Radio Shack X-Mods Toyota Supra. This didn't come in a kit or RTR version. Bascially, it all comes fairly assembled except the wheels and body. So, I would consider it an RTR. I decorated with a Gundam marker to accentuate the body lines...I've also installed a light kit on it...I had to accent the body lines to make it look better...at least to me. Besides, this way, it looks more realistic instead of some static model just standing there...=P

School!

So my little baby is going to be in kindergarten this fall and we had to go get her a school uniform. What joy! And I do mean that seriously. Since I've never shopped for anything like that before for anyone, I think it was a fun experience. We first went to FrenchToast online to check out the clothes and soon found that Target had them locally. The sizes must have been for large kids since the size 6 was extremely wide. Even the size 5's were wide. We have to get a size 6 since our daughter is in the 98% percentile regarding height...she's a little thin, but that's ok...so, we ended up getting a few size 6's from Target...but, later we went to Old Navy and saw that they were also selling school uniforms and we decided to get her's there. Besides, I think it looks SLIGHTLY better...the quality, though, I'm thinking might be a little less since it doesn't have colorguard or something of the sort cuz I just washed it and it looks like it's slightly fading...I think the FrenchToast one would have faded less...oh well...such is life, I guess, right? =P And we got her the Old Navy shirts, too, to complete the package...

Just chillin'

Nothin' new, today, just chillin'. Funny how I can post at work now whereas before, everything was blocked. I'm thinking they just want people to be more productive. Now, by productive, I don't mean that you get more done, I mean you're more willing to get things done by having a little distraction. Most jobplaces make you feel like you're in a prison, doing some cheap-labor work instead of a corporate environment where everyone's opinion is highly appreciated. Giving their employees a little freedom, when it comes to browsing and/or eMail, would go a long way. Imagine, feeling free and happy at work would result in employees actually wanting to come to work. How about that for a change? If you want to come to work, wouldn't you be less likely to call in sick and/or goof-off at work? Versus you not wanting to go to work, you'll be more inclined to use all your sicktime and just laze around at work. I dunno...that's just my thought...

So, one day we were out at the mall and came across this store, Hot Topics, I think it was, and my wifey saw this nice sticker of the Horde symbol and she made a comment of how that would look nice on the Pilot. Sooo, after some thought, we decided to get it and put it on our Pilot...

That's about all I can think about right now at this moment...more ramblings later...