Bent Corner

It’s called the Hummer HX Concept vehicle, but it looks remarkably like the Warthog vehicle in the Halo 3 game. Throw a chain gun on the back and it would be a dead ringer.

Through some loophole in the rules that govern the holiday known as Christmas, agreeing with your spouse that you will not exchange gifts this year does not include one person giving the other an XBox 360. Sheri surprised me this year by giving my an XBox 360 system. It includes the the game console, a 20 gig hard drive, two (2) wireless controllers, a headset, and a cool looking messenger bag. It also came with some games - Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Forza 2 Motorsport, and Halo 3.

She told me she bought it a month ago from Wal-Mart Online. She said it doesn’t break our no-gift agreement because she plans on using it as much as me. She has a point. It also technically isn’t a Christmas gift because she gave it to me two days ago. Who am I to question it?

I bought a wireless network adapter for it. I wanted to be able to use it online so I could enjoy the pleasure of 14 year old nerd-boys fragging me at Halo 3. Plus, I wanted to be able to stream media files from my PC to my TV. The XBox 360 allows me to do just that. I created a shared video folder on my PC and placed all of my avi videos in it. I then added them to my library in Microsoft Media 11. Now I can watch all of my videos on my 42 inch HD TV in the living room. What surprised me was the picture quality. It’s really quite good. Excellent in fact. Just to have the ability to stream digital media from my PC makes the XBox a worthwhile investment.

We had been talking about getting a Wii. I asked Sheri why she bought an XBox 360 if she wanted a Wii. She told me that she wanted both. That sounds good to me.

I read an article in the LA Times that since Nintendo can’t make enough Wii game consoles to satisfy consumer demand, they will do the next best thing - they will begin selling rain checks. They are calling them “Wii Certificates”. Nintendo hopes to squash criticism and stop prospective customers from defecting over to one of the rival game systems.

We’ve been thinking about getting a Wii. They look like a lot of fun and they don’t cost nearly as much as Sony’s Playstation 3 or Microsoft’s XBox 360. Plus with a Wii, it only comes one way. The XBox 360 and the Playstation 3 both come in different models and editions. It’s confusing. I’ve never really understood the difference between the different versions. For instance, the XBox 360 comes in a special Halo 3 edition except it doesn’t even come with the Halo 3 game.

The Wii only comes one way.

I’ve looked for them every time I go to a retail store that sells them. Though I always see enough Playstation 3 and XBox 360 consoles to choke a goat, I’ve never seen a Wii. They’ve been out a year now and I still haven’t seen one for sale.