Wii this is fun!!

I have never been a "big" gamer, but a few years ago I did buy the Xbox 360. If I have to be honest, there was no deductive reasoning prowess in that decision other than it was the platform that carried Oblivion (sequel to my favorite game ever - Morrowind).

That being said, I've had the Xbox 360 for a few years now and I don't play it that much. I'll get into a game or two and play hard for about a month maybe, but then it gets put down for 6 months. It's been that type of cycle ever since I got it.

I hate the "big" game mentality often times. The games that you have to relearn all the complex controls for all over again if you just put the game down for a week. I started realizing that the games I play most and enjoy most are short attention span, simple type games. The kind of games that are fun to just kill 30 minutes with mind numbing fun. I guess that comes with the territory for us 30 somethings as we aren't "kids" any more. I enjoy the complexity of a "vast" game now and then, but most of the time, I just want to have fun for a few minutes.

So I heard about the Wii Fit this year and it stated perking my interest. I was a little confused about the Wii though because of all the "packages" available. A Wii was $250. A Wii Fit was $90. But a Wii/Wii Fit bundle was about $600. I wasn't sure if all you needed was the console and the Wii Fit or if there was more to it. I thought there might be more to it since the bundle was about $250 more than the pieces needed separately.

Anyway, I found out the bundles were more extra stuff and all I needed was the Wii console and the Fit. I traded in my Xbox 360 and picked it up Thursday. I intended to keep it as a Christmas present and now break it out to show my girlfriend until Christmas. That idea lasted about 24 hours as I mentioned it the next night and we decided to hook it up Saturday morning.

Saturday morning had us setting it up in about 10 minutes and playing in about 12 minutes. OMG did we have fun with it. I LOVE the fact that you can do things "for real"...not just hitting buttons to make them happen. I can hold the Wiimote (just a simple remote control type object) just like a baseball bat and "swing" at the ball as it comes at me on the screen. That, by itself, makes it 10X better than most other video games in my book because it makes you get off your butt to play.

We had at least a few hours of fun playing the Wii Sports pack that came with the console: tennis, baseball, golf, boxing, bowling, etc...

We went out for a bit and came home to hook up the Wii Fit Saturday evening. It was like a whole new order of magnitude in coolness. When you first get on, using the Wii Fit game program that comes with it, the thing will test your standing balance/center of gravity and give you feedback on your posture. The thing could show me how I was putting more weight on the back of my feet and help me work toward better posture. I could TOTALLY see this being used by Physical Therapists to help people with their posture and positions.

Then we started playing with the "games" (fitness programs). There are "balance", "strength" and "cardio" sections to play. We first started with "balance" and did some yoga exercises. It not only demonstrates the stances to you, but uses the balance checking to help show you how to shift and balance better. We did three Yoga exercises and one (one leg balance thing) was particularly difficult.

Then we moved on to cardio games and did "hula hoop", "stepping" and jogging. The hula hoop and stepping ones were quite fun. It uses your balance and weight to determine your movements and when you step on/off. The hula hoop isn't "just" hula hooping, but they throw hoops to try to catch and keep going too. The step game has you going in synchronization with a whole group and tests your accuracy of stepping on and off. It reminds me of that dancing video game I've seen in public a few times.

The jogging was different. You didn't use the Wii Fit board, but just the Wiimote and jogged in place. It used your arm movement to determine your speed. You had other people around you jogging, like it was a park and a person in front of you that you were supposed to follow. It makes everything seem like you are with people which is very motivating.

The Wii Fit has a point system where it gives you points in a "fitness piggy bank" and the more time you spend you can unlock more games that are in there but hidden. Hope (my girlfriend) and I were very impressed with the whole thing. If you can afford it, I think the Wii Fit may be one of the most effective fitness tools ever devised.

Congratulations President Obama

I will make this short and sweet. No inaugural addresses required.

This is the first time, and I truly mean FIRST time I've ever felt like I had a clear choice for president of the United States. Every election I've voted in (1988 was my first) has presented me with candidates I truly despise. I've had to, every time, vote for the one that I disliked the least; the one I distrusted the least, etc....

For the first time in my voting history, I had a black and white choice (no pun intended) between the candidates. Now, the candidate that I clearly felt more confident about, Barack Obama has won the election. I'm happy for him and I'm happy for the United States of America.

This is a historic day in the history of the United States. We have leaped racial hurdles for a century or more to get to this point and I'm proud of my country. I'm proud that we can see the man and not the color of his skin. I'm glad to see that a man of color can run for president and not only does he have a shot, but he wins by a significant margin. I'm proud to be a part of this moment that will be remembered in history. Think of the wide eyed children 50 years from now who will look at your and say, "you were there when Barack Obama, the first black president was elected?" and you can answer, "yes, I voted for him".

Congratulations Mr. Obama. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I have a dream", and on November 4, 2008, you gave him that dream.