Please welcome back Mr Inconsistency.
Yeah, yeah. Two posts a week, I said. It's a good thing I stopped making promises I can't keep. When spur of the moment free time (aka - discovering you can't sleep) arises, there are other things on my agenda that take precedence at 2am. Either that, or I'm just lazy.
So, despite my lack of posts, I have kept my sidebar updated with things that may or may not be more interesting than what you're reading right now. Certainly, the ramblings and rantings of a 23 year-old computer programmer can't compare to the writings of Timothy Zahn or the exquisite production values found in a game from Blizzard, but we all have delusions of grandeur that we entertain from time to time and I am no different.
A quick scan of the sidebar will show that I'm still re-reading the Timothy Zahn Star Wars trilogy of books - this time with my wife as I introduce her to the expanded Star Wars universe. She seems to be really enjoying them. Grand Admiral Thrawn is certainly a worthy adversary to be writing about, Mara Jade's character comes alive at the hands of Zahn, and Talon Karrde gives readers a glimpse in to what a younger Han Solo may have found himself doing before the Rebellion. A fantastic set of books that any fan of the Star Wars trilogy would enjoy reading. I've recently purchased 2 more books that Zahn wrote in the Star Wars universe (along with another Neal Stephenson book, Snow Crash) that I am eargerly anticipating the arrival of from the Post Office.
Late night forays on the computer have been filled with time on WarCraft III. I pre-ordered the Collector's Edition of it from GameStop back before it was released, but 8 months later when I actually received it, I found myself as a new father and full-time employee with no free time as opposed to a full-time college student that *cough* MADE time to game when he needed to decompress. As such, I never got further in to the game than 3/4 through the Undead campaign. A stellar waste of $80, no doubt, although the CD soundtrack has gotten its share of usage. I'd like to actually FINISH the game this time so I can look in to picking up the expansion pack, The Frozen Throne. Blizzard redefined what an expansion pack was with it's release of StarCraft: Brood Wars. The addition of new units, more story and cinematics makes it a continuation of the original worthy of a reinvestment in time and money. Besides, like a good boy, I never watched the cinematic DVD that game with my Collector's Edition and I'm dying to see their gorgeous cinematics in full television screen glory.
Prince of Persia remains on my "currently playing" list but has been stagnant for several weeks. My last save game showed me to be 54% complete with it after about 9 hours of play time (I think). As much as I've enjoyed playing it, my last save point puts me in a very difficult situation that I haven't been able to overcome just yet due to the first sighting of shoddy level design that I've seen in an otherwise excellently designed game. I know that Ian is no longer enamored with the title having already tired of what is essentially glorified jumping puzzles. I enjoy the acrobatics in the game and feel they did an excellent job disguising the (unavoidable) repetitiveness of it. However, to get past my current spot, I'll probably have to load an earlier save game and play better to get back to my current point so I have more "rewinds" to fix my screw ups. Not a pleasant thought. Not only that, but with the Xbox residing in our family room, it's difficult to schedule playing time on it.
My CD is currently filled with Blue Man Group CDs that I picked up using my last $25 from Best Buy. After seeing them perform in Las Vegas, I am positively hooked.
In addition, I continue to wait, with bated breath, for the start of the MLB season. I've watched anxiously as Jim Hendry and Co. have improved the Chicago Cubs this offseason and I can't wait to get rolling. The signing of Mad Dog for at least 2 years with the Cubs has made me absolutely giddy. Seeing him dressed in Cub blue again puts a smile on my face that I can't, nor do I want to, get rid of. And now I hear we've just signed Kerry Wood to a 3-year contract through 2006 with a mutual option for 2007. Yes, it's good to be a Cubs fan.