David Hingtgen

Hiro as Kensei is so obvious I wonder if it's a red herring at this point. Was I the only one expecting Sulu when he revealed himself?

Dips are fun. Especially big dips in big planes. Best ride ever was an MD-11 out of MIA. Like a roller coaster, but at 250 mph and 500,000lbs...

Also, if you spend all night in line, you'll miss the season premiere of Heroes.

Oh, I haven't read ANY of the recent reviews---I'm trying to avoid everything possible from now until release. But the hot alien lesbian was mentioned in an article that was purely about how/why it got a Mature rating. Also, I highly suspected it would be the case based on previous Bioware games, and how the species was described in the prequel novel. And Penny Arcade had a comic: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/09/19

Mwa ha ha. I was wondering if you'd heard.

Yeah! And don't forget the recently revealed "hot alien lesbian sex".

IMHO, any electronic item should be able to go 6 hours at 70 degrees ambient. 4 hours isn't at all uncommon when I'm playing a new RPG (or Ace Combat). Don't think I've ever done six STRAIGHT, but 3+3 with a 30-60 minute gap between isn't unheard of. Or 2+2+2. It's hard to find 6 hours in a day to play period IMHO. But systems should be able to take it. I know every other system of mine sure can, and not get any warmer than when it's only been used for 30 mins. Guess I'll just hope mine lasts until the new CPU/board comes out.

Man, a refurb dying that soon? Or was it in fact brand new? (would be surprised if refurbed-but-new-drives were in the chain yet)

They look to be better painted and with better parts fit than the original release. Most notably the wing stripes, and the hatch/cover on the underside of the radome over where the swing bar latches in.

I'm getting my TV for Xmas. While Xmas 2008 will probably be THE "HDTV holiday season" due to the 2009 mandate, I expect this Xmas will be much bigger than the last. Football alone I think drives the market sometimes. Plus the PS3 and X360 being even more common than just last year, plus far more HD/BluRay players. I expect every TV to drop a bit in the next few months, plus big holiday sales. Sure it'll be even cheaper next year, with better TV's--but I feel I've waited long enough. I've got an progessive-scan DVD player and a 360---and watch it all on a 20in CRT. And will have a PS3 within a few months after I get the TV. (That TV is PURELY for movies and games--it doesn't even get cable, and usually doesn't have the antenna plugged in)

That's the one. Kinda mis-named IMHO, since TV's and HD in general is discussed just as much as the "DVD successors".

I've never seen a composite that was half the weight of conventional. The main purpose of composites (IMHO) is squeezing out that extra 2% of fuel economy due to a slight weight savings. It's not some miracle super-light material. Widebody airliners can save a few thousand pounds using composite--- but fighters--dozens, maybe hundreds of pounds.

I'm currently leaning towars the Sony 32S3000, or the 32M3000---aka the 32ML130. The M3000/ML130 is supposed to be a cheaper version of the S3000---but so far no one's figured out how it's "cheaper" parts/features-wise. It simply costs less, and seems to be identical. A few hundred cheaper than the Sharp. Accepts 1080p, but won't display 1080. Not many 32's do. Big thing to look for lately--tearing when hooked up to a 360. Has eliminated quite a few "possibles" on my list for a 32in LCD. Might want to move this over to the HD thread.

It's hard to give an exact scale when it's not accurate in any dimension to any established figure (since the line art doesn't agree with itself, nor the animation), but I recall 1/64 or so being said by Graham way back at Alt.Fan.Macross, IIRC. Of all things, overall length is probably the worst thing to go by to compare scales of toys to the lineart/established numbers. The noses are almost always shortened on the toys, while everything else maintains size. Generally/roughly.

I really wonder about that plane. TF30+J85---yet it still has the auxilliary intakes? You couldn't change a thing about the J85 and maintain those inlets as functional--they're positioned right at the first stage fan. Plus it makes little sense---turbojet vs turbofan, and an order of magnitude difference in size/power. Maybe they can use some technique they learned from the TF30 to design some new J85 stage, but there's no way to combine the two in any form. Not while still fitting in a plane that size. Also--adding a second tail is a lot of weight for a plane that small. Especially when it's twin-engined already (which is inherently heavier than a single, larger engine) Finally---Northrop planes, especially the whole F-5/17/20 family, are quite reliant on their area ruling. Speed via low drag, not high power. (The YF-23 had both, which is why it had such insane acceleration). I wonder how well they realize that, and can alter the plane without ruining it. They could have doubled the drag with those new intakes, alteration of the fuselage contours, and doubling the skin drag of the tail.

Dassault almost got a Rafale order from Morocco, but it seems Lockheed stepped in with a cheaper offer for F-16's. Still not decided for certain. Even I'm cheering for Dassault at this point. I'm still surprised the Rafale has NO export orders. It's a good plane AFAIK, and aerodynamically a cut above the basic F-16 design--again, AFAIK. The F-16 is just getting uglier and heavier with each upgrade. Soon it'll be nothing but a flying bundle of sensor pods and bulges, with the handling of a pregnant yak. Personally, I don't really like any F-16 past Block 30, which is where it peaked in air-to-air.

The 3-year warranty only applies to the overheat 3-red-rings failure. But it is standard with every 360, even retroactive to launch-day ones. Everything else (drive issues, power supply, misc weird stuff) is still just under the 1-year warranty. (Which is itself an extension---it launched with a 90-day warranty).

MGS 4 isn't really "new"---we already have had a ton of stuff over the last few months. But I'd never even heard of Last Remnant until today, and White Knight was but a single trailer before.

The VF-11 ending up being 1/64, 1/65, right around there. It was enlarged from 1/72 due to fragility.

Isn't the Intrepid closed for like 18months for refurbishment?

None have it, so don't bother looking yet. AFAIK.

I hate rumble with a passion. And I hate heavy controllers. (I don't like feather-weight either, but rumble often seems to double the weight) I removed the rumble packs from my 360 controller entirely. I seriously considered removing them from my PS2 controller but thought it might affect it and didn't want to re-solder the wires. (On the 360 they just use plug-in connectors--easily put back in if needed)

Nobody's commenting on Tokyo Game Show stuff??? Anyways: The Last Remnant. Looks must-buy to me. It's Kingdom Hearts without the Disney stuff. White Knight--definite maybe. Xenogears-esque in that it's a mix of normal party fighting, and giant mecha fighting. Interesting---this year I'm buying all 360 stuff, next year looks to be all PS3 stuff (including buying a PS3).

The separate battery charger is worth it if for no other reason than it's a ***** to try to get the batteries out of the battery case. I think that's MS's intention--make it so annoying to try to remove the batteries, that you buy their rechargable battery pack. Also, I recharge mine every 2 days if I'm playing a lot. AA's add up pretty quickly at that rate. I only have the one pack, as I find no need for a second one---playing Oblivion I found that you can go for hours beyond when it starts flashing at you---you don't have to "stop at the next save point and recharge". You can finish out that entire evening's gaming and recharge it while sleeping.

****! Everyone gets a new, quieter system but me---the guy who really wants a quiet system and is willing to pay. Mine didn't even come with the new heatsink. I'm really starting to get pissed.