I Just Love See-Through Gizmos!

I wish my Canon EOS40D had a transparent casing. I can't get enough of those little circuit boards and capacitors. I think it all stems from my teenage years when transistor radio kits were just coming in and you could build your own. That lovely smell of hot solder and plastic covered wiring . . . I suppose it's not really practical 'cos I've just realized that a see-through case would let the light in all the time and spoil the show altogether . . . pity.

Health Warning!!

Following the article below I have to report a serious side-effect from playng Nintendo Wii Sports.  My Significant Other has a hamstring injury from an over-enthusiastic Ten Pin Bowling session. She's now learning the art of playing without bending any knees!  In the process she's become a better player than yours truly and amassed a record score of 195 whilst standing perfectly vertical . . I give up!

I may be retired, but I'm cutting edge . . .

The Nintendo Wii is not just for teenies. I'm not a huge computer game player, I appreciate the fantastic graphics and sound now achieved in the latest software games but until now I've never felt the urge to purchase the hardware.

The unique approach by Nintendo in incorporating an interactive remote that describes its own position in space to the console and enables the player to interact with the TV screen by playing games and "sports" in a way that wasn't previously possible. The Wii Sports software provided free with the kit incorporates Ten Pin Bowling and the control provided by the remote gives a very passable impression of the real thing - bringing back memories of my youth in the bowling alleys of Sheffield. The more you practice the better you get, direction control and spin application are skills that can be developed - along with a modicum of physical exercise (just like the real thing my legs were tortured for a day or two at first). There is also a fitness section which presents you with small snippets of several physical activities and measures your input. My first efforts fully reflected my age group but I've recently improved to a 40 year old! - I'm liking Wii even more :-)

Now I've succumbed and bought my first "proper" game - Super Mario Galaxy - one of the latest from Nintendo and hailed as one of the best, time will tell if my enthusiasm is still undiminished in a month or so.

It seems the sales of Nintendo Wii units have outsold the combined efforts of Sony (Playstation) and Microsoft (X-Box) over the last few months so that must say something!