The latest PS3 firmware has apparently included something that is causing the PS3 to crash or freeze up in many different games.  When the system is restarted it no longer recognizes any discs inserted into the system.  Some people have been able to get things working by doing a backup/format/restore, but I have found to not work in my own personal experience.  Some people have reported that it works but only for a short while before something freezes up.
 
Based on my internet research, it sounds like some data that is involved in the reading of the discs by the laser is getting corrupted during or before the PS3 freeze and it stays that way until (for some people anyway) it gets fixed after a format/restore.    
 
The best course of action right now for those who have not updated the firmware is to stay away from it.  I know it may mean no online play, but at least you can play.
 
Sony has acknowledged that there is a problem and are working at it.  You can read more about it in the comments to the Official Playstation blog firmware announcement.

If you like puzzle games and things that take you to the point of pulling your own hair out or punching in your monitor, check out Towlr.com. 

No instructions or directions, the point of the Towlr puzzles is to figure everything out on your own.  Lots of trial and error, and don't forget to turn your speakers on.  There are clues in every puzzle, you just have to notice them.

Cake to the smartest.

Many years ago I managed to get mononucleosis.  It was during a summer so while everyone else was outside playing, I was stuck inside.  Looking for something to do, I pulled out a gift certificate for the local video store and sent my mom to rent Dragon Warrior IV, the most recent addition to the great franchise.  I spent the next twelve days lying on the couch alternating between sleeping and playing DW4.  It was good that I didn't take longer than twelve days to beat it because my gift certifiate had run out. 

Now a few years ago I got Dragon Warrior I+II and Dragon Warrior III and played them on my Game Boy Advance.  I went through I and II pretty easily, but III doesn't really feel like a Dragon Warrior game, the way you have to create your characters based on different classes.  To me, DW games are more rigid than that; they give you the characters and you figure out how to play them.  I'm not saying that picking a party and the character and being able to customize them is bad.  It's just not what I think of when I think of console RPGs. 

About a half year or so ago, I started playing the NES version of Dragon Warrior IV again.  I had previously played and beaten Ultima III and IV for the NES, trying to play Ultima 5 but giving up.  The interface for the NES version sucks so bad and I've already beaten it twice on the PC.  I play the NES games on my cell phone.  It uses Microsoft Windows Mobile and I can use an emulator called PocketNester.  Don't ask me where I get the roms, a search on the internet will help you.  My phone works well enough for slower, turn based games but not so good for action games.  You may find a different result on your phone.  Usually the games on my phone are for when I run out of pages in a book or I am waiting for someone or something away from my computer.

So I played through DWIV and finally beat it last Friday.  It's a great game.  Without going into too much detail, I'll describe it a little.  You start off naming your character, the Hero, but when you get dumped into the game you are playing someone else.  Once you progress through that character's story, overcoming a local difficulty, that chapter closes and you are introduced to another character who has to overcome their local problem.  After five chapters of this, you are finally given control of your named character.  He goes through the game collecting the previous characters on the way to fighting the greater evil that has been hinted at prevously.  This is when the real game starts.  You get to pick your party based on all the characters you previously played so that you have the strengths you feel is best for each segment of the story.  The good news is that everyone in the party gets experience when you kill monsters even if they weren't in the battle, provided they are alive.  The interesting part is that in this chapter where you control the hero, you don't control anyone else like you did earlier.  The computer controls them based on the situation in the battle. 

The game isn't too complicated.  Until you get to the last chapter, you are fairly limited in where you go to explore.  Then the rest of the world is opened up to you, once you and your party secure the transportation.  If you talk to everyone, you'll never have to wonder what your current goal is.  I think this is one of the things that makes it such a great game that you can pick up and play over the span of many months, as I did.   Anyway, this isn't meant to be a review.  If you are looking for something to kill some time that doesn't require quick reflexes or a good refresh rate on your phone, then the Dragon Warrior series of games would be worth taking a look at. 

Now that I've finish Dragon Warrior IV, I decided that I'll go back to another classic RPG game: Final Fantasy.  Yea, I know I didn't like DW III's method of character creation for the game, but it fits with Final Fantasy.  Now I just need to figure out what four types will fill out my party....