I am pretty proud to say that this Black Friday, I picked up a load of brand new toys. As I was growing to be rapidly disenchanted by the amount of sold out items online on Thanksgiving, I realized that I would have to go into guerrilla attack mode if I wanted to get anything the following day. The original plan was to wake up at an ungodly hour to get to Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. to acquire everything I needed. I hit snooze on that idea, and was lucky enough to still pick up mostly everything I wanted.

Here’s what I got, with anecdotes.

Gaming

• XBOX 360 Pro w/ Guitar Hero II Bundle {$350}: It was nearly noon, and I was pretty sure these bad boy bundles would be swept up clean from Best Buy. I was unsure if I wanted to stake my birthday gift on the console and decided I would leave it to fate. When I walked in, I instantly checked to see if any were left–there were 2. I put one on hold and as a result, I have now chosen a side in the console wars! The only catch is that I can’t open it till my birthday. Guitar Hero III? Ya, I know there is a bundle with the console now, but I just need the game. Santa better have that covered.

• Forza, Top Spin 2, Ninja Gaiden Black, Dead or Alive 3, SSX, Robotech Battlecry {+/-$60}: Gamestop/EB Games was having a “buy 2, get 1″ promotion, so I snagged up a bunch of titles that I have played in the past [and are backwards compatible], or got a pretty high rating on Gamespot or IGN. Needless to say, I am psyched to play all these games. I even saw the rare and legendary Marvel vs. Capcom 2 at my local EB, but I think that I’ll have to wait until I splurge on that $70 dollar gem.

GPS

• Tom Tom One LE GPS {$120}: Since I get lost often, I really feel that this may be the most time-saving purchase that I made. It’s compact, has a nice display screen, and I really enjoy the library of voices [stupid feature to discuss, but I love it.] The big problem that I had with Mr. Tom squared was that when I tried to update the map, I got an internal server error. According to a number of forums, it’s a common problem that’s been happening in light of the TT folks updating their site. Hopefully, the site will be ready to roll soon so the Tom Tom nation can get on with their travels.

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For most tech-heads, Christmas usually comes a little early. That’s right–while the rest of your family is polishing up the last bits of turkey and crans’, you are at the laptop looking up steals.

I follow this same ritual almost every year, yet I never really make any huge purchases. This year, that all changes!

For once, I actually have a lot of tech that I need to acquire. Ya, that’s right need. For starters, I need to buy my parents an inexpensive digital camera [for traveling], as well as a camcorder. I used to think that I would hold-out to see whether HD or DVD cams would come out on top, however, I feel that neither did. I basically think that when it comes to a video camera that is going to be used chiefly for home videos, Mini DV is the way to go. I’ve used Panasonic and JVC in the past, but have had the best experience with Sony.

I also need a kick-ass pair of headphones for the job. I know Patrick did a whole segment on inexpensive headphones, and I am thinking of finding some Sennheisers. I like Grado Labs as they give me the “purchasing from mom n’ pop” feel, but the pair I have seem to leak out a lot of noise when I use them. I highly doubt that Sarah and Heather are interested in hearing me edit, thus making Grado’s unsuitable for the work environment. I also am looking into an external hard drive, always love collecting USB flash drives, and may pick up a snazzy new backpack.

I am already planning my Modus Operandi as efficiently as possible, and have found great use of this link, sent to me by Patrick Norton. I’ll also be checking out FatWallet, GottaDeal, and BFads.net. Also, If you aren’t out shopping already, check out this weeks Tekzilla for more Black Friday tips.

Hey there!

I gotta tell you, being on your alma-mater’s stomping grounds is truly refreshing. Seeing the people rushing to classes, stressed out students, and cracked out squirrels is awesome–especially when you no longer have the pressure of a student [or a squirrel..whatever that means].

I was at UC Berkeley to meet with Bob Uhrhammer who is a research seismologist at Berkeley’s Seismo Lab. He was very knowledgeable and really knew the ins & outs of earthquakes. Living on the west coast, this was incredibly interesting–The Berkeley campus is actually less than a couple of paces away from the Hayward fault line. That is a pretty frightening fact when looking at the devastation of past quakes.

Anyway, Bob was kind enough to show me around the instruments used throughout the century, educate me on the origins of the Richter scale, and even let me create an earthquake of my own. Check it out on this weeks edition of Tekzilla!:)N

This past week I had the pleasure of working with Miss Veronica Belmont of Mahalo Daily on a videogame review. First off, it was great hanging out with Veronica, since I don’t get to see her everyday anymore [as I did when we both were at CNET].

I have to say, in the game footage that we captured, I blatantly sucked. I think that interviewing someone, keeping my posture straight, and trying to stay on my mark were some of the reasons my game play was totally sub par. Plus, it was my first time ever playing Guitar Hero III. So Veronica, if you are reading this, know that I challenge you to a rematch [eventhough we were playing in co-op career mode].

Check out 2 gamer chicks get down and dirty with Neversoft’s latest, and tell me what you think of us!:

:)Nt

It’s obvious that I am on a number of different social networks. I mean, check out the little bar a few clicks down, over there —>

One thing that I have noticed as of late is the development of who I am on these different platforms. With sites like Myspace and Facebook, it is a bit easier to define yourself–you are given prompts with fields, and no essential character limit. Plus you have a giant picture which could make it easy for any fella off the street to recognize you. Even with this WordPress blog, I have a section which tells you all about me [whether you like it or not].

My recent character definition has been burgeoning on my mini-blogs. That is, I feel that I have finally differentiated who I am on Twitter versus Pownce. By just looking at the last 20 posts on Twitter, you would think I was a full-fledged bratty, food-obsessed complainer. And I really would’nt blame you. When it comes to Twitter, I find my posts to be pretty…well…bitter.

This is your brain on social networks.

On Pownce, I have more thoughtful and intellectual posts. I write about cool Web 2.0 tools I discover, music that I love, general epiphanies, seek tech support, all in addition to updating my friends on my current human condition. Why is it that I find that I am two different people on these sites? Is it as simple as being limited by the amount of text I am allowed to jot down?

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Hey Guys,
Let me know what you think, folks!

:)Nt