Nintendo 3DS: “I want to hug those guys!”

Posted on April 4, 2011 by
Nintendo 3DS

Image by Dekuwa via Flickr

Was anyone in your house counting the days to March 27, frantically performing yard work for neighbors, and searching for quarters in couches? In my house this meant awaiting the arrival of the Nintendo 3DS.

A month ago, Cool Breeze and Rose Red made the decision to trade in their old DS Lite for $50 in credit at GameStop for Nintendo’s newest handheld game. The $250 3DS promised amazing 3D graphics without the use of 3D glasses. They saved up, Cool Breeze making the biggest contribution, but on release day they were $100 short. Cool Breeze stomped around and sighed for a day before Mom offered a $25 contribution and a $75 loan.

The guys at GameStop celebrated with them as they finalized their purchase. “You’re gonna love it!” they cried. “Woo hoo, the 3DS!” they chanted. They were as excited as their customers.

Having unpackaged and started the thing up before even leaving the parking lot, Cool Breeze exclaimed in ecstacy, “I just want to run back in there and hug one of those guys!”

I guess it was worth it.

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Christina, Groupon and the Steelers Break my Heart

Posted on February 8, 2011 by

What’s a girl to do when three things she loves all flop in one day? And what if that one day is Super Bowl Sunday?

I love Groupon. I recently got $20 worth of Barnes & Nobel purchases for $10. What’s not to love? If you’re familiar with Groupon, you know they’re quirky. But the point of a Super Bowl ad is to reach the millions who don’t know you. To those folks, their ads were, at best, odd and at worst, offensive.

Then there’s Christina Aguilera. I love her and have her latest on my list of things to download on iTunes. When I watched her sing the National Anthem on Sunday and heard her mistake, I thought, “Did she just muff the words?” Then I got distracted by the runs and riffs I didn’t enjoy and almost forgot about the words. I was left unimpressed, along with much of the audience.

Jimmy Kimmel had fun with it.

Then there’s the Steelers.

What’s a girl to do?

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Digitally Distracted Kid Falls Off Train Platform

Posted on February 5, 2011 by

How many times have you watched your kid so totally engrossed in a handheld game that the world around him didn’t exist?

In Italy this week a 10-year-old boy walked right off an underground train platform and onto the tracks while playing his PSP. The Daily Mail reported that an off-duty police officer jumped onto the tracks to lift the kid to safety with another train due to cross the electrified tracks in less than a minute.

This kid is no abnormality. I know my kids have walked into doors and walls playing their games. And many times I’ve had to say, “Put that game down so you can pay attention to where you’re walking.” I guess I’m just lucky my state doesn’t have underground rail.

Source: Daily Mail

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A Snow Day Equals Snow Cream

Posted on February 1, 2011 by

Celebrate the storm that’s sweeping the country with some snow cream. Here’s how:

1. Set a plastic bowl outside while it’s snowing and collect a bowl of clean snow. If you know a storm is coming, set your bowl out the night before. If all else fails, scrape the top layer of snow off the fence or the car.

2. Have on hand a can of evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla.

3. Bring in your bowl full of snow and add your ingredients. For a bowl that holds 12 cups of snow we use almost a can of milk, 1/3 cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla.

4. Serve in a fancy dish. Eat with a spoon or straw. Mmmmm. Thanks to Auntie Molly for teaching us how to make snow cream!

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Our Dreams of a la Carte TV May Come True

Posted on January 19, 2011 by

We don’t do cable. Never have. 

We do, however, have a Roku. The cool little box that sits beside my TV and brings me movies and TV series from Netflix (we’re currently into season three of 24 and the current seasons of Hannah Montana, Sonny with a Chance and Wizards of Waverly Place), movies that I can’t get on Netflix from Amazon for an extra fee (most recently for sleepovers: Iron Man 2 and Alpha and Omega), and current network TV from Hulu Plus (30 Rock). We watch exactly what we want — most of it without commercials — for $15 to $20 a month.

Well, almost exactly. My sports fans would love to have ESPN. That’s about all we’re missing to make our TV lives truly complete. That’s where this good news comes in: Technologizer reports that Roku’s first cable channel, WealthTV, has been launched. For $2.99 a month you can watch WealthTV just as you would on cable.

Not that I want to watch WealthTV, I don’t even know what it is. But if this is a sign of things to come, I’m a happy consumer.

Photo credit: graysky (flickr.com)

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Letting the Computer Choose My Clothes

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

You would think that measuring your body in 29 different places would just be depressing. In some ways it is. But at My Shape there is a payoff for digital moms that makes it worth it.

My Shape is an innovative web site that takes into account my detailed body measurements, clothing preferences and personal style. Then it develops a “personal shop” filled with clothes I will probably like, that will fit, and that will look good on me. The fit is based on my measurements and the site’s knowledge of the clothes. So for some styles the site picks a 6 and others an 8.

The sales on designers like 7 For All Mankind, BCBG Max Azria, Calvin Klein, and most every better department store brand can be HUGE! I have especially loved the dresses I’ve scored on sale at My Shape. I’ve also had good luck with jackets and tops. Jeans took some remeasuring on my part to get the right size (they were coming two sizes too big), but I finally got it right.

Here’s what I’m looking at for my next purchase:

Calvin Klein Jeans Authentic Dark Indigo Skinny Jean

The authentic dark indigo skinny jean by Calvin Klein Jeans. They’re a final sale item, so they can’t be returned. I’ve had good luck with another pair of Calvin Klein Jeans from My Shape, so I’m feeling confident. Also, with the sale price plus a 60 percent off promotion going on, they’re only $11.80. How can I refuse?

How about you? Would you let the computer choose your clothes?

Disclosure: I did not receive any promotional consideration from My Shape to write this.

Image: myshape.com

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I Won’t Watch 2D Disney Classics in 3D!

Posted on January 4, 2011 by
The famous ballroom dance sequence.

Image via Wikipedia

Disney movies are good because they are story-driven and feature beautiful animation. As a digital mom who avoids even new release 3D movies because what 3D adds does not justify the bloated ticket price, I say there is no reason to convert classics like “Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast” into Blu-ray 3D titles as Disney plans to. I say it won’t make them any better. What do you say?

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