This is what I do these days to wind down from a day’s work. And a night’s work. Now that I think about it, I “waste” a lot of time. Hmm.

Music: Electric Guitar

Yes. The fake and the real kind.

I am also known to rock the vacuum from time to time. See the TV exploding? It’s because of the vacuum Star Power .

Starting out with the songs that I know all too well from Guitar Hero 3 (such as “When You Were Young” by The Killers, “Reptilia” by The Strokes, and “My Name Is Jonas” by Weezer), I’ve begun to play around with the tabs. It’s good fun.

• Money invested
  • Real Guitar: $99 for amp. ~$40 for cable, picks, strings, and tuner.
  • Fake Guitar: $90 for guitar and game (the other set was a present for Derek, but I get to keep it around until he gets a Wii)

I’m thankful that Derek had a electric guitar that he wasn’t using. Or I might have invested a bit more.

Art: Wacom Bamboo Tablet

I love user interface devices. One of the many reasons why I got the Wii was to get that delicious Wiimote.

With this tablet, I’m going to start maybe possibly drawing a few things. It’s going to be deathly useful for drawing diagrams on the computer, as well as just using it as an alternative mouse input. I might finally start up that web comic I’ve been wanting to do for so long. I make no promises.

Ink.app isn’t that great, however. I’d recommend against using this for handwriting recognition.

• Money invested
  • $67.62: Money going to good use. For the blog and elsewhere.

Actual “Waste” of Time: Video Games

As a child, I was always told that video games were a waste of time. I don’t think I’ll ever fully be able to shake this stigma. However, I’m slowly but surely realizing that I will probably be gaming until the day I die.

Like reading a good book (I haven’t done that in a while), listening to a great song (what are these “CD”s or physical media you speak of?), or watching a great movie (I still haven’t seen Iron Man, and no, I don’t know why), certain games will enter into the general populace. In my opinion, this hasn’t happened yet, and so I’m okay with having this slightly wrong view on video games. When the “public” thinks that games are a great way to enhance hand-to-eye coordination, increase motor skills, enjoy people’s company through online play without any concern to geography, strengthen real relationships, supplement actual workout routines, improve creativity, bring about relaxation, diminish tension…

Moving along. Hope to finish this two part of the third part of the series tomorrow. With a commentary on the conundrum I’m having with Rock Band and the Wii.