Unexpected Addiction

When I first saw commercials for the Nintendo DS Lite a couple of months ago, I knew that I must have one. Which is weird... None of the other couple dozen or so handheld gaming systems that have entered the market during my adulthood have tempted me in the slightest. I had one of the original monochrome Gameboys when I was a kid but then I got into PC gaming and my standards became too high for a handheld to fulfill. Before the DS Lite, the closest I'd come to buying a portable gaming system was picking up a Sony PSP in a Circuit City, thinking it was too big and putting it back down. So I'm not entirely sure what attracted me to the DS Lite.

It may have been some subconcious attachment to the Gameboy of my youth, but I don't think so. I only had three games for that ancient brick and honestly was much more infatuated with my Apple IIGS at the time. It may have been my Jobsellian fetish for white Lucite. I've also always liked anything from the land of the riding sun and the DS Lite is quite possibly the ultimate personiphication of all things Japanese. I was also quite happy to see the touchscreen interface and my ears definitely perked up when I heard Wi-Fi. The two cartridge slots also seemed extremely hack friendly.

Whatever the reasoning, I finally nabbed one while my wife was on a trip with the kids for a couple of weeks. I went to the store intending to buy a couple of PC games but wound up fiddling with a DS Lite and passing on the games. Instead, I went home and picked up a new-in-box DS Lite from eBay for a lot less than the $129 the store was asking for it. (Don't feel bad. It was a Wal Mart that lost the sale. Not a locally-owned retailer)

After I bought my new toy, I did some searching on the net and found a lot more than I was expecting. (I like to do my consumer research AFTER I make the credit card payment. It makes me unique.) There are a TON of accessories available for this puppy. Skins, cases, styli, Japanese release software... And what's amazing is that it's all so cheap! Cases average around $10-$15. A replacement charger is $10. For a guy whose used to paying iPod prices for accessories (my iSkin case was $39) DS accessories seem like a steal.

Now even my poor wife is being sucked into my new addiction. Which is a good thing really. I'm sure that my new money-sucking hobby would have gotten me in a lot more trouble if she didn't like New Super Mario Bros so much. We even broke down and bought a second unit. Now I have a shiny black DS Lite and she and my son share the original white one.

So now that Nintendo has worked its way back into my life, you'll be seeing a lot more about the DS Lite and its plethora of games on this site. Hope you enjoy.

It's Not a Purse!!!

Unfortunately, my new Timbuk2 Metro isn't European so I can't scream the other half of that famous Seinfeld line. Luckily, my new "man bag" is so cool that I really don't give a rat's posterior what anyone thinks. I've been resisting the idea of carrying some sort of bag or pack for awhile now. Instead, I had taken to clipping all of my gadgets onto my belt. This was, to put it mildly, not cool. One of my Australian friends used another word... Daggy. Being insulted in languages I barely understand was the final straw. Something had to be done.

I thought about a fanny pack for about three seconds. Then I started looking at backpacks. All of them were either too big or too small and not quite what I was looking for. Then I found the Metro on display next to the backpacks. I've had a Timbuk2 messenger bag for almost 10 years now and it's still going strong. My current bag is a bit bigger than what I need but the Metro is just right.

The Metro is about the size of a largish purse and easily swallows my Treo 650, 60 GB iPod, Nintendo DS Lite and all of their cases and accoutrements easily. The best part is that you carry it messenger-bag style (slung across your chest and riding on the small of your back) so it doesn't look too pursey. The only time I feel slightly effeminate is when I swing it around to remove my wallet or keys or something without taking it off. My wife insists that it looks fine and not girly at all. Then again she's used to all of my cycling friends and has seen more than her fair share of Timbuks over the years. It's fairly waterproof and judging from experience, I'm sure it will last for many years.

I bought the bag from a local Easter Mountain Sports store for 20% off. Mine is black with a red stripe. That style isn't available on the Timbuk2 site so I assume that mine was ordered in that color especially for that chain of stores or is a discontinued color. There are several color schemes available on the site ranging from basic black to hot pink to high vis orange. If you're a gadget addict like me, I highly recommend one. More info at Timbuk2's site.

WOO HOO!!! New Web Site!!!

Well my primary web site at www.bentrideronline.com has finally been revamped. Only took four months! Anywho... Much easier for me to update now and leaves me some more time for stuff like... Updating this blog! I just bought a new domain and will be moving this over to a new site shortly so stay tuned...