I've kissed mermaids, rode the El Nino

Sorry for the delay. Every time I get back in the groove of writing regular updates, I get really busy with something and before I know it, another month has gone by with no blog posts.

I'm still loving the new job, although it's far more hectic than anyplace I've worked in recent years. I'll start working on a list of tasks for our test environment, and suddenly I'll realize than nine hours have gone by. Things should calm down as the holidays approach, but right now we're in "we needed this released yesterday" mode.

Hillary's up in New York on her drunken slosh-tour, so it's just been me and Ahboo this weekend. It's taking an epic amount of willpower to remember that some french fries and a bag of pretzels does not constitute a nutritious dinner.

This morning I ventured out to Wal-Mart at around 6:30am to get some donuts. I noticed that they had set up a Rock Band demo kiosk in the Home and Garden section (which has already been converted for Christmas). I reverently picked up the replica Fender Stratocaster and began to play.

It didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped. The strum bar on the Strat was screwy, with the down-stroke either not registering, or registering twice. I managed to get most of the way through Suffragette City and Wanted Dead or Alive on Hard mode, until I found that the yellow fret had been sticking (thus explaining why I was missing so many notes).

Not to be set back by a wonky guitar, I decided to try out the drums. And let me tell you, they are an absolute blast to play. I tried Faith No More's "Epic" on Hard mode and five-starred it on my first try. Of course, the demo units have no kick drum pedal, which probably makes songs about ten times more difficult. Still, it was the most fun I've ever had in a Wal-Mart at 6:30am, restraining order notwithstanding.

The full game comes out on the 20th, and I absolutely can't wait. I haven't been this excited about a game since the original Baldur's Gate came out. Since up to four people can play, I fully expect all of our Birmingham friends to come over and rock out this holiday season. I promise I won't sing.