Heres a few pictures of my Fiat 500 with the new Competizone 15 inch Monza rims installed

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Were you one of the millions of people who bought Diablo III? I know I was. I remember playing Diablo II for hours on end, the just one more level syndrome was in full force. You kept playing and playing because you just knew that the best loot drop ever was waiting for you at the next boss! So with high expectation I dove into Diablo III a few weeks ago (launch day.) I will spare you my opinion on the single player using always on DRM…those who have ever listened to one of my podcasts or read more than 2 of my posts will likely be able to fill in that rant filled blank. What I will do however, is explain how the game developers greed has destroyed the game, and why…after playing for a few weeks, and completing the quests less than twice, I have more or less stopped playing.

Killing monsters is still fun….to a point. I will tell you that I am not a big fan of the game design when you have a Demon and Swords game that breaks out the +5 spinning pink laser of screw you in an attempt to give the game more variety. I could accept them a lot more if it was a specific kind of enemy that used them so I could justify them as magic wand zappers or something. But when frickin frogs use them…no. Overall, I think they did a lot with what you can, but I would really have liked a little more tactical feel. I don’t want to change the game from its click fest roots entirely…just an AI with a tad more variety would have been welcome.

The real problem with the game though it the auction house. This little idea was made for one reason and one reason only, so that the game could suck as much money as they could from your wallet. Two problems though; First the couldn’t implement the real money portion at launch, so they didn’t get to make any money. And more importantly, anyone who spends a few minutes in the IN GAME MONEY auction house soon realizes that you can buy magic items that are 3x as good as those dropped by even the most difficult bosses….for a ridiculously small amount of in game gold. While my Level 40 Barbarian currently carries around a sword that gives him +160 strength and does some insane amount of base damage….the very best weapon drop I have gotten confers less than half as much strength bonuses and never has other bonuses that are anywhere near as good. So what you soon learn is that you sell everything you find…even the most rare items are unlikely to be as good (forget about them being better) than the items you can get for an amount of gold that can be farmed in 10 minutes.

So why play the game??? Once you finish the story…you got me. Instead of getting excited over loot drops, you soon look at them as so much recycling…its all the fun of collecting aluminum cans on the side of the road. The real joy is in building a gold farming set of armor and weapons, to maximize you return on time invested. After 40+ hours of gameplay, I currently have 1 item that I “found” ingame. Every single other piece of equipment has been purchased in the auction house….because there I get the bonuses and attributes that I want. My barbarian may get lucky and find some awesome +110 sword of intellect…but that doesn’t do me much good. The same issue applies to you craftsmen. Why spend 100k gold upgrading your blacksmith…when after doing so you still have to pay to have him make armor and weapons that are absolute crap compared to what can be bough at the auction house for under 15% of that amount.

postscript:::
In its latest GAFF, Diablo III just opened up the real $$$ auction house….but if you bought your copy directly from Blizzard online…your screwed and have to wait three days before you can access it….for security reasons!?

For many of us, a good television program means much more than just a few minutes of mild entertainment. Its a way to escape the everyday grind, a way to explore our imagination and to allow our hopes and fears to be transformed into an idea we can share with out friends. Its what binds together so many hours in the office break room, and lets families discuss ethical and moral ideas without the need to embarrass ourselves. But more than that, we can become attached to the lives and characters in our favorite shows. Sure we know its not “real”, but we allow ourselves to be swept up in the fantasy, which is why when a great show goes wrong, it can be so disheartening. This is exactly what happened to NBC’s Heroes, what I talk about what they did wrong. . Sponsor: Hold your meetings online for just $49 a month Try GoToMeeting free. . Also this week in history Why in France its apparently not the person but the device they used to communicate thats to blame and more, on this weeks Mike Thinks News

When the leading scientist on space and time comes out and tells you to do or not do something, its usually a good idea to do more than take it under advisement.  He isn’t smarter than you, he is smarter than you and all your friends…put together.  Ok, maybe thats a stretch, but I still take the words of advise from Stephen Hawking a lot more seriously than all the people on TMZ.  So when he says do not talk to strangers, I say, OKEY DOKEY!

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Also this week, why journalism shield laws don’t protect criminal activity at Gizmodo

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This week in history

and

The news of the weird, including a banned ebay category that its just SICK it has its own name.

Mike Thinks News is coming, right at ya!

There are few things as harrowing to someone as buying their 1st new car.  Now I know your thinking, wow, thats kind of harsh…after all buying a new car is supposed to be fun Mike, isn’t it?  Well, Im not sure what its supposed to be, but I do know that its full of pitfalls and disasters awaiting you at almost every turn.  So this wee, in our top story, we talk about what a former new car salesman says you need to do to get the best deal, while not making a complete jerk out of yourself (too late for me I’m afraid).  So listen to get the scoop on buying a new car and getting a good deal…or getting the best deal on your next new car.

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Sponsor: Hold your meetings online for just $49 a month Try GoToMeeting free.

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Also this week I talk about a community where the sheriff puts politics and personal gain over public safety, and goes as far as arresting 1st responders who try and aid a woman with a broken neck because they weren’t who the sheriff wanted to respond to the call for help.  And dont forget about This Week in History where I teach you a few fun facts about this week in days gone by.

==Mike James

call me (347)284-6453 thats 347-Bug-Mike

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Zombieland

Zombies have taken over the world, insert Woody Harrelson as the bad
to the bone Zombie Killer. Gore and endtrails required. You will laugh
even as you are totally disgusted by some of the over the top zombie
feasting.

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BLOCKBUSTER Total Access click to activate coupon for $10 off your first month.
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Its no secret that time marches on, every day we are reminded about how things change.  Some days these changes are small, while others have magnitude that may cause you to question the very foundation of your day to day beliefs.  Sue time works out well for most of our everyday common place experiences, but have you ever stopped to wonder why time is…or more precisely, why time is a one way street?  Physicists do, because in spite of all the equations and theories, nothing seems to explain why why it is that a fire can consume a piece of paper, but it never happens in the reverse.

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Also this week, is your next HDTV going to cost a lot more because of a shortage of parts?  Reports are coming in that this is indeed the case, but its not just your high definition television, but also your computer monitors and to a lesser extent, your cell phone.  I also take a look at the poisoning of America…and I’m not talking figuratively, I am speaking about a delibrate and calculated move by the federal government to take an active role in poisoning thousands of Americans, sure if was 90 years ago, but still.

All that and more, on this weeks Mike Thinks News

There are a few things I think of when I want think about a new cell phone.  The 1st is, when the heck is the iPhone coming to a real cell phone carrier in the US?  Many other countries have the darn thing on multiple carriers and we here in the US are still hosed over with the choice of cool phone or reliable service.  Not for much longer though…Google and Verizon are teaming up the bring Andriod powered headsets the the Verizon network, .let the world rejoice because by years end, i may actually get a cool phone!

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Also this week

Give it away, Give it away now…unless its Eagles Tickets

Making people pay doersn’t always work like you hope

Saturns rings…no no no…I mean Saturns R I N G S ! ! !

photo courtesy of Nadbasher via flickr

The Florida man who was disbarred after numerous, and what many called frivolous lawsuits is at it again.  In a story that has to be real becuase it is so undeniably in line with former actions, Jack Tompson is suing Facebook because they allowed a group to exist named “I Hate Jack Thompson.”

According to reports he even went so far as to compare the group to an online pole that Facebook removed that asked if assasination was a good thing for the president.  I can’t imagine the court siding with Jack Thompson in this case…as has so often been true.  It still seems to me that Jack either has no clue what is and is not actionable, or he has no desire to do anything but keep his disbarred, discraced name in the headlines.

Do I hate Jack Thompson?  I hate ignorance, I hate self serving blowhards who want nothing more than to be in the spotlight, no matter the cost, and I do hate the idea that occasionally morons get much more importance placed on their misguided ideas than should ever happen.  But hate Jack, no…I feel sorry for what I beleive is a deeply sad and lost individual, doing the only thing he knows how to do in an apparently vain attempt to bring meaning and purpose to events that cannot be held to such standards

I know what your thinking…come on Mike, that headline is just a tad on the other side fo hyperboly isnt it…no, its not.  After 28 hours with the Zune HD, I can honestly say that it is the absolute worst device I have ever tried to use to listen to a podcast on.  Not that it doesn’t have its good points, but if part of the reason you have an mps/media player is to listen to podcasts (and you are listening to me arnt you?) then stay far far away.

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Also this week

Saturn goes away

Why the heck dont you like tageted adds?

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