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There's a lot of video games out there that you play, get all the way through, and that's it. What are you going to do then? Sure, there are some stores that trade in used games. But with their overhead to deal with, not to mention trying to make a buck or two on their own, you end up with a lot less than what you paid, especially when you see what they sell your used copy for. And there's some trading sites where it's a game for a game and again, you're at a lot less than what you paid. PlayerChain.com knows what that's like, and that's why they developed a patent-pending game trading system. You can get full market value for your game, and not just get a game for a game even. Signing up is free. If you have a bunch of games you want to get rid of, and some games you want, why not give them a try?

Per Harlan Ellison:
"HARLAN ELLISON
- Monday, August 27 2007 9:18:47
MY DEAR FRIEND IS GONE
At 9 AM exactly, this morning, the 26th of August, my phone rang; and it was Tom, the younger brother of my friend of more than 50 years, the most excellent sf and mystery writer, JOE L. HENSLEY a staunch, talented friend I could not have loved more were he my brother. Joe died in the night. Last night.
Please spread the word. I am in fear that such mass amnesia as exists in the country, in the genre, in the massmind, that few will know his name. He needs to be remembered. Yet when I called LOCUS to report his passing, the (very polite) young woman who answered, who took the news, may not have recognized it, nor be aware of Joe's significant credits. I'm not sure; but I cannot leave this to chance. So, please, if you can: let everyone know that big, charming, wonderful Joe Hensley is no longer coming out to play with us.
Very sad, Harlan"
Mr. Hensley's bibliography can be found here. I'm sorry I'm not familiar with his work, but I found my copy of Partners in Wonder and plan to read the story "Rodney Parish For Hire", and in turn found a story he did in Dangerous Visions that he also did called "Lord Randy, My Son". Then I will think of absent friends, and absent friends of friends (Jeff Webb) and be sad.

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You see the headlines everywhere: "Geeks Are Hot!" "Nerd Is Where It's At!" But the throngs of opposite sex that they say are there aren't, and you learn the hype is, well, hype. And the dating services online don't really address your needs, or even acknowledge them. That's where Geek 2 Geek - Geek dating comes in.

They can let you be you and find someone who understands you. Why create an online persona? What's wrong with who you are?

Mark Evanier on the Death Tax Inheritance Tax, by explaining why it's more proper to refer to it as inheritance tax, and why calling it a "death tax" turns the tide of debate more in favor of those against it. I don't know if I buy into it. The only thing is it taxes on a perceived value, and as a lot of people in Indiana will tell you, that's causing a lot of problems with property taxes. Also, the guy that caught Barry Bond's record breaking ball is selling it because he can't afford the taxes on the value assigned to that ball. What would be wrong with taxing it only when any monetary enumeration takes place? I've also heard that prizes are taxed and it's caused me to think twice about entering any contests where no money is involved. If it's a higher valued prize, then you're taxed on the full retail value of the item in question. But, say you win a car. Even someone like me who's never bought a new car knows you have to be incredibly stupid or naive to pay the full sticker price on a car if you went into the lot and tried to buy that car. And the bargain hunter in me bristles at the notion of having to pay tax on the "suggested retail price" of an item knowing I wouldn't pay that. Does anybody think that the prices on common items on The Price Is Right is the same price you pay if you went shopping at Wal-Mart, Meijer, SuperTarget, etc.
Maybe these people inheriting things are getting money or liquid assets that can cover the inheritance tax, I don't know. Maybe the people having to liquidate family homes are in a shrinking minority, I don't know.
I'm all for everybody paying their fair share of taxes, and the rich not using tricks to weasel out of it, but I don't know...

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New York City is on my list of places to visit someday. The only thing is even this little country mouse knows the cost and trouble of having an automobile. And do you remember that story from awhile back about a parking spot for sale for over $200,000? It's madness, I tell you.
Fortunately, one way to alleviate any transportation woes in the Big Apple is this car and limosine service that offers limousine service JFK, LaGuardia, and other spots in the tri-state area. Why not go to and from the airport in style? They even let you reserve online.

Heroes season 1 is coming out on DVD Tuesday. Looking over the new release thread for this week, it looks like Best Buy has it cheapest, and has a comic reprinting some of the online comics. However, the graphic novel collection is scheduled to be in the new "Previews" coming out this Wednesday, with an Alex Ross and Jim Lee cover. Also, Target has an exclusive cover and disk featuring the William Paley presentation they did, and talking to Kathy that looks like the one we'll go with.
I wish my friends down in River City could pick it up, but if they keep looking at Book and Music Exchange, hopefully it'll show up soon down there.

You know how whenever someone makes the news, the merchandise with that person hits eBay? Fortunately, Michael Vick's trading cards aren't fetching much in the open market. But what if you have your dogs chew them up and donate the proceeds to the Humane Society? That's something a lot of people are getting behind.

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There are many instances when an individual, through no fault of their own, suffers an injury that is not their fault. As a result, they lose out on wages and other matters of importance in life, and wish to have that made up by the party at fault. Unfortunately, there are many people who wish to minimize or void their responsibility entirely. They don't like how it looks to the "bottom line". What you need is someone to fight on your side and make sure you get the compensation you deserve. If you need a Florida medical malpractice lawyer or any other kind of injury, the Personal Injury Trial Group is your firm that can help you out.

I picked up the early edition of the Indianapolis Star today, and it's running the first of two Opus strips that weren't going to run in a lot of papers. Anyone wanna pipe in on whether their paper ran the strip?
The Star usually runs so-called controversial strips. The only one I remember they didn't run was the "search for Reagan's brain" series that Doonesbury did before the 1980 election.
Update: The Kokomo Tribune ran the strip as well. Could it be a way to drum up support for the strip?

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There are some things in life you think are luxuries until you need them, and then they become necessities. One good example is electric generators. There were a couple of situations where the power was out for days at a time (I even blogged during one of those periods via work) and it was a blessing to have electric generators to run things and most important get the heater working. In fact, the power went out while I was writing this entry and having a backup generator would've came in handy. Electricity certainly is something you don't really appreciate until it's gone.

Ken Levine on the 30-3 shellacking the Texas Rangers gave the Baltimore Orioles. "Just prior to the game Baltimore manager Dave Trembley was rehired as manager for next season. Good thing he didn’t say “Let my lawyer look at this contract and get back to you.”"
Colleen Doran on time management for freelancers.
After days of heat and dry, we're getting rain, rain, rain. Fortunately, there hasn't been any flooding on our property yet, but the lake across the street has cropped up.

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FREEshopping.com is a patent-pending process that could help you get your online shopping for free. How it works is that after you make your purchase from participating e-merchants such as Free Blinds you are given a code you pass on to other interested shoppers. When they make a purchase from the site and use the code, you get a percentage of their purchase until you either get 100% of your original purchase or 5 years have passed.

As I'm doing my walkabout around the internet, I'm picking up grumblings that Berkelely Breathed's strip Opus won't be in a lot of newspapers the next 2 Sundays. More and more pieces of the puzzle are coming together as to why: Apparently they deal with Islamic Fundamentalism. Apparently Mr. Breathed gave the heads up on his website and mentioned that you read the strips in question starting on their intended dates of publication at Salon.com.
On another matter Disney Adventures is the latest magazine to cease publication. Although they had a high circulation, lack of advertising revenue in print was cited as the reason. Still no word as to whether the dinosaurs knew about that comet.

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Warehouse Skateboards is your one stop shop for all your skateboard needs. Whether you want a 'board ready to go when you get it, or build it from scratch, they've got you covered. And if you want accessories such as beanies, belts, DVDs or more; they can take care of that as well. And if you're brand loyal, such as baker skateboards, 187, 2SK8, Astrodeck and much more, they carry all of those. You can do a search by brand and/or product to find what you need.
You know, I'm not going to try to speak the lingo, or try some phrase or slang I heard or read. I know skateboarders are a different audience. All I can tell you is if you want a place that has everything you need at good prices, can get them to you quickly, and won't stare at you when you ask for something, this is the way to go.

82 minutes in jail?!! Would anyone explain why this falls under "normal guidelines" and not "rich and famous get better treatment"? To paraphrase Chris Rock, if this were Nicole the waitress she'd be spending a lot more than 82 minutes in jail. Does anybody know anyone else who's just served 82 minutes for any crime?

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Carly Schroeder, who starred in this summer's soccer hit "Gracie" has a new movie called “Eye of the Dolphin”, it opens August 24th. Schroeder plays a student expelled from school and forced to live with her father, a researcher who doesn't have the will or time for her. She feels trapped until she meets a dolphin, and a bond is forged. Check out the trailer:

And there's a contest to win free movie tickets going on until August 26th. That's only two days from now, so hurry! And this family movie starts today in theatres. Check out the movie website at http://www.eyeofthedolphin.net.