Not sure why, but my rental car smells like a petting zoo.  Combine that with me having some digestive issues last night, and it makes for a very unpleasant environment. 

I bought Shadow Ops: Red Mercury today (when am I going to learn to rent first at Blockbuster?) and we gave it a quick go on XBOX Live! tonight.  After playing it for about an hour, here’s what I’ve found:

The pros:

·         Pretty fast action

·         You can speak to your opponents all the time, making smaller games more fun than in Rainbow Six 3

·         Fantastic sound – this one is THX certified; if nothing else, just throw the game in and listen to the THX logo sound

·         You can pick up health and ammo, allowing you to play “longer”

·         You can jump

·         You can melee attack

·         There are a number of different controller options to choose from

·         Maps are pretty big, and with the ability to jump, you can find some interesting places to ambush your opponents

The cons:

·         Arcade-style action – you can pick up health and ammo, body actions are a tad weak, etc.

·         Extremely long load times - no wonder the default is 20 minute games!

·         It doesn’t remember controller configuration between maps

·         Inability to simply “replay” the current map

·         Typically poor XBOX Live! lobby UI

·         Weapon selection is generally poor

·         Way too hard to kill someone with headshots

·         Shotgun is way over-powered at close range

·         Sniper rifle is way-over powered at long range

·         All the other guns seem relatively under powered

·         No small maps for 4 or less players – expect to run around (a lot)

·         It’s $49

Summary?  Rainbow Six 3 still rules for a first-person tactical shooter in my book.  The Clancy games continue the trend for realism.  Shadow Ops is nice for a change of pace, but I still wonder what the folks are doing who play test these games?

http://www.craigslist.org.  All about restoring a human voice to the Internet and building a community of people.  There’s *lots* of stuff you can find on this site.  Now, with that said, you have to read best of craigslist – but be prepared to laugh out loud, for some foul language and many references to sex.  There are many items in the “best of” that had me in tears from laughing so hard.  Some of my favorites:

·         I am the phantom sh*tter

·         Rant-o-rama: singing and farting

·         F’ing cicadas

·         And many, many more

Turns out there’s a very specific image URL that you must use when linking to your pictures on pbase.com.  If you don’t use it, you run the risk of their backend changing and your link becoming broken … which is what was happening the Photography in the rain post.  It’s now fixed. 

I finally got a picture tonight of the critter that’s been hiding in my tank.  The local fish store immediately identified it as a bristleworm.  Ugly little critter.  I’ll try to get the pictures posted for your “viewing pleasure.”