I'm a newcomer to the StarCraft multiplayer scene. I adored StarCraft and the Brood War expansion, but I never played the game online aside from one or two matches with a friend. I had no idea how great the experience could be. With Wings of Liberty, I've decided to give the multiplayer a try. About 100 (a few less) matches in, I can safely say that this is far and away my favorite multiplayer experience of 2010.  
 
As time has gone on, I can't help but to always second guess my pick as Terran. At times I'll get overran early by Zerg and think, "boy, Zerg is overpowered in the early game!" only to later crush a Zerg player early to have him say that Terran is imbalanced before he calls GG and quits. Other times I'll feel like I'm cruising along into the late game only to be steamrolled by the might of the Protoss late game. Again I think, "man, Protoss late game is totally slanted in their favor for TvP" only to find another Protoss player telling me that the MMM ball with a couple of Vikings is just impossible to overcome. 
 
So I've been thinking. Don't we always get to the point where we think the other two races that we don't play are overpowered? Haven't we all felt at one time or another that the other races counters are too powerful or that our counters are insufficient? The fact that EVERYBODY feels this way makes me think that the game is indeed incredibly balanced and that the onus is on us to figure out where we're weak and how to plug those gaps. After evaluating my issues, I've learned to deal with early Zerg pressure and how to not get overran economically late. I'm not afraid of a few colossi or a pack of void rays anymore, but I'm still figuring out how to deal with those psi storms. In time I'll nail that down. 
 
Now, it's time to work my way up those ladders and realize that no matter how we feel, we're all actually the ones who are overpowered. 
 
Despite what I said above, fungal growth is imba! ;)

So far I've put about 80 hours into Civ V. For many that doesn't seem like a lot, but for me it's almost an eternity seeing how I've got a full time job and a wife and kid. The new patch is coming soon. Firaxis, have mercy on me.

 I have this weird obsession that's starting to grow in my brain. For some reason I have the sudden urge to collect the entire run of the 750 or so US release NES game cartridges. Yes, all these games are available via emulation/VC/re-release/whatever, but I kinda want the stacks upon stacks of carts accessible to me. I don't know why, but lately I've just figured that it would be a cool thing to have, even if they majority of them are just in giant bins and stacked in shelves or hidden away in a closet.

The reason I've had this itch is because I made some space in a spare bedroom we have to set up a retro gaming area. Until now I've not split my gaming areas, but I have this huge CRT set that I need to either get rid of or put to use. I've decided that I want to go ahead and use it for a pre-GCN/Xbox/PS2 gaming setup and that I'll get some switchers and that I'll have a bunch of old consoles hooked up to it. It'll be where my son cuts his teeth on gaming and it'll be fun for friends that are looking for a little retro fix.

So, am I crazy? I already have 100 carts, give or take a few. I figure to complete the collection it would cost around $4000, but I'd spread this out over many years and limit myself to about $30 a month or so until I get there. Bulk buys will obviously speed up the process and cut down on overall cost.

Seriously, somebody stop me before I get this idea really rolling.    

Aside from console/handheld/PC gaming, one of my main hobbies is arcade and pinball machine collecting. I got into it when I decided to build my own MAME cabinet from scratch (modeled after the original Mortal Kombat/Blitz cabinet), and I picked up an original Donkey Kong that needed work to give me something to play while I was tinkering with my project. After doing a full restore on the Donkey Kong (rebuilt the monitor, new side art, new control panel, buttons, joystick, t-molding, etc.), I realized that owning the original cabinets was really quite fun, and so was restoring them back to their original condition. I began to add games like Ms. Pac-Man, Asteroids, Bubble Bobble, Spy Hunter, Tron, and so on until I had roughly 20 or so arcade machines. From there I picked up a couple of pinball machines, and then before you knew it I had all kinds of machines that ranged from fully restored to "holy crap this thing needs a lot of work". As a machine gets back to "like new" condition, I then make the decision as to whether or not it will become trade bait, for sale, or one of the permanent collection.
So why do this? Well, it's fun, it's relaxing, and no matter how much I do it, there's a constant satisfaction that comes from restoring these old classic pinball and arcade machines.

Here are a few facts, stats, and general bits of info in regards to my experience with the hobby so far.

• I have owned over 100 pinball and arcade machines
• Donkey Kong was my first arcade machine, The Simpsons (Data East version) was my first pinball machine
• The last arcade machine I purchased was Punch-Out!!, the last pinball machine I purchased was Attack From Mars
• The furthest I've shipped a game in from was South Carolina (World Cup Soccer '94 pinball machine)
• The furthest I've shipped a game to a buyer for was in upstate New York (Jackbot pinball machine)
• My most expensive restore project was a Revenge From Mars pinball machine
• Best deal I ever got was for a $300 Jackbot, which I restored and sold for $1,400
• Currently I have a game room in my basement where I rotate games into play and out of storage. As of right now there are 7 pinball machines and 6 arcade machines in there, but Punch-Out!! will be going in soon.
• The least amount of time I have owned a game was a Guns 'N Roses pinball machine. I had it for about 8 hours when someone else offered to buy it for significantly more than I had paid. I wanted the machine, but money talks...
• The most played arcade machines in my collection are Star Wars (Atari vector one), Ms. Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, and Donkey Kong
• The most played pinball machines are Twilight Zone, Attack From Mars, Simpsons Pinball Party, and The Addams Family
• Longest road trip to pick up a pinball machine was 8 1/2 hours each way (bulk buy of Revenge From Mars, Funhouse, Dr. Who, Guns 'N Roses)
• Longest road trop to pick up an arcade machine was 7 hours each way (A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin)
• Number of pinball machines that have been dropped down stairs while moving: 1
• Number of dropped arcade machines: 3 (one down stairs)

I made it down to Las Vegas, Nevada this past weekend to check out the Classic Gaming Expo, the Pinball Hall of Fame, and to meet up with some friends that were going to be in town. I stayed at Excalibur (hey, it was cheap and right across the street from the show) with my wife and son, but they hung out in the pool while I was at the show. The trip was great, but I'll focus in on the CGE. 
 
   

The first day I arrived a little later than I had hoped, but I still caught the Ralph Baer discussion. Ralph was live via Skype for a video conference and he talked about the days in the beginning of creating "television games" and producing the first home console. The conversation was great as Ralph Baer was extremely candid, open to all sorts of questions, and willing to deal with the hiccups Skype introduced into the experience. 
 
After Ralph Baer wrapped up his video conference, I hit the show floor and started browsing the selection of carts, disks, and various gaming accessories, consoles, and trinkets. There was a pretty nice selection of titles to be found among the various vendors ranging from the Odyssey I all the way up to current generation offerings. Homebrew was also represented well thanks to Homebrew Heaven and Atari Age. In fact, Ed Fries debuted his Atari 2600 homebrew project at the show, Halo 2600 (which I purchased immediately).  
 
   

While browsing, the crowd was treated to live performances by 8 Bit Weapon, ComputeHer, Descendants of Erdrick, and other chiptune/electronic artists. It was the perfect thing to drown out the noise of people trying to get $1 shaved off of the asking price for a game or two. Along the backside of the convention there were also some classic arcade games and consoles all set up for co-op or competitive play. Of course all the arcade machines were set to free play.  
 
    
Besides the hanging out with fellow geeks, my highlights of the show had to be picking up Halo 2600, the live music, and the museum that was set up to display classic consoles and accessories. While the show is very small in comparison to most gaming expos, this one was worth the 6 hour drive from home. It didn't hurt that I came home up $400+ on the slots either...