This is just me proving that I don't have to spend 20 bucks to protect my Rock Band kick pedal.

When I first saw the Pedal Metal kick pedal plates I thought it was a nifty idea. I mean... why not? What better way to extend the life of your Rock Band Kick Pedal than by screwing some metal plating to it that some guy made. Not to mention, what a market for that guy.

However I felt... why should I spend 20 dollars for one of these... when I can make one in the comfort of my own garage? I know my way around metal. I used to work with my Father making contraptions for food processing plants. All I'd need is for my dad to cut a piece of aluminum down to size at work then proceed to grind and shape the piece of aluminum.

So we started by first disassembling the Kick Pedal so we had the foot rest by itself. We then traced it onto a piece of Diamond Plate Aluminum.   The next day, my father took it to work and cut it out so it was nothing more then a Rectangular piece of metal... with an outline of the pedal.

I then proceeded to grind it into shape with a high powered sander we had. After an hour and a half of that I had myself a pedal! However now we had to attach said Plate to the pedal. My dad grabbed some bolts to choose from. As soon as I chose one he found the drill that was closest to it's size. So we drilled about seven holes into the pedal and the plate. The easiest way to do this was of course to have the pedal clamped onto the plate itself while drilling. After that we tapped it (Maybe tapping isn't the right term but it's the only one I can think of.) so that the head of the bolt would be flush with the surface of the plate. As soon as we were done with that I fastened it down and assembled the Pedal once again.

However there was one small problem. The bolts were too long. Or rather two of the bolts were too long. The set closest to the middle on the bottom of the plate would hit the plastic whenever you went to use it... so I took off the pedal one last time. We ground down the bolts and after that it worked perfectly.

I really wish I was able to take pictures of the process but I do have pictures of the outcome. So here they are. I'm going to polish it up a little more but... for now it's just fine. All in all it took probably less then 4 and a half hours to do everything.

So on Friday, the 14th I recieved my Beta Code from SCEE. I promptly jotted down the code and started downloading... and... well...


It's alright. The character customization is crazy advanced. The only downfall with the customization is the fact that for facial hair, they only have mustaches at the moment... so.. I'm rockin' a Sellick until they throw some goatees.

The clothing options are a bit limited right now, I probably have about 6 pairs of pants and 8 or 9 tops. You run like a girl, It's frozen on me about 4 times at random places. The furniture editor is pretty nifty but sometimes when you leave your home and come back some of your ornaments may be knocked over. Kind of bothersome but.. whatever.
At the moment clothes and other things like furniture, ornaments, and such are free. There was even a free Estate. But then again there was only one estate to get.

The bowling is fuckin' difficult as all hell. Pool is much better.

Any specific questions I can answer?

I've waited in line three times for game related things. The first time I camped out in front of our local GameStop for an Xbox 360 Elite. Now they weren't doing a midnight thing, since they only had two, but I was there camping with one other woman who was geting one for her husband's birthday. I was there with her probably from 11PM or 12 AM to when they opened at 10AM.

My next experience was for GTAIV. I got there around 7PM after work and just camped out until midnight... sadly, no one really showed up until 10:30 or 11... whatever. I got a free strategy guide out of it so... it was worth it.

Lastly was the midnight release of MGS4, in which I waited around at Wal-Mart so I can get the PS3 bundle.  It was fun.

Fallout 3 has to be the highest priority for me right now.

Honestly I'd like to see a Dual Touch Screen, the Camera, and perhaps even MP3's. However the Dual Touch Screen would be just enough.