I read a lot of books.  I also like geeky, techie things so me owning an eReader should be a given, right?  I keep trying to convince myself of that, but it hasn’t worked yet.

There are things that I just can’t do with ebooks… yet.  I have 3 or 4 people that I am constantly swapping books with, which is a big no-no in ebook land.  I also get quite a few books from my local library and while it does have ebooks that can be downloaded, they currently only have 68 of them… all military history books.

There are some upsides to jumping on the ebook wagon.  I really like the idea that the Kindle syncs it’s titles across it’s devices.  Being able to read a book on a Kindle device and continue reading the same book on my iPhone right where I left off is very appealing.  The $300 to get a Kindle 2 into Canada is not that appealing.

The Kobo eReader is interesting, too.  I really like the hardware, the price (it’s $149 Canadian), that it supports the ePub standard (as opposed to the Kindle’s proprietary ebook format) and the fact that it’s from a Canadian company.  What I don’t particularly like is the fact that for now I can only get books onto it by connecting it via USB to my computer.  (The Kobo eReader does allow you to purchase books on a Balckberry and sync via Bluetooth, but apparently iPhone Bluetooth sync will not be available at launch.)

Of course, there’s the iPad.  The idea that I could buy books from Amazon, Kobo and iBooks (if they ever launch it in Canada) is nice, but I think the device would be too big for me to enjoy reading for extended periods and - from what I’ve read - would be almost useless if used outdoors (which I do a lot in the warmer months).  A $500+ price tag doesn’t help the iPad’s cause, either. 

Out of the three hardware choices I’ve listed, if I had to choose right now, I’d probably pick the Kobo eReader.  It’s positives outweigh it’s negatives and I really like the way it looks.  The hardware, though, is not the big stumbling block that’s keeping me from truely jumping into ebooks.

The biggest hurdle for me is the pricing of books themselves.  Now that agency pricing is in effect (Kobo has a pretty good blog post that explains agency pricing here) ebooks are at par or, in some cases, higher than their paper counterparts.  For example, Michael Connelly’s Blood Work is $11.99 Canadian from Kobo Books but the paper version is $9.50 Canadian from Indigo Books (this title was not available in a Kindle eBook format at the time of writing).  Having to pay more to buy a book with less features (I consider being able to share a paper book a feature) does not sit well with me.  However, I do not need to own my books (I very rarely keep any the books I buy), so I’m open to other options.  How about a monthly subscription fee that allows me to download and read as much as I want as long as I have an active subscription, much like the way Microsoft’s Zune Pass works for music.  Or here’s a better idea: book rentals.  Give me option to rent a book for a week for $2 or $3.  Lots of companies have figured out how to do this with online video; would it be much harder to do with ebooks?

For now, I really don’t think there’s enough compelling evidence to convince myself to get on the ebook train.  I hope this changes soon, though.   I can’t wait for the day that I can say to someone “I only read ebooks.”

If this song doesn’t make you want to strut, I don’t know what will.

What kind of cruel world do I live in where there’s a Spider-Man cake in the house that I can’t eat?

Proof that Dolf Lundgren might be the greatest entertainer of our time.

The cake my amazing wife made for me.

We’re coming up on thr 3 year anniversary of the release of the Nintendo Wii.  Coincidentally, we’re also coming up on the 3 year anniversay of my putting off the purchase of a Nintendo Wii. Delaying my purchase during the first two years was easy as it was hard to find a Wii sitting on the shelf.  The past year I’ve been seeing them everywhere, so avoiding the purcahse has been a bit more difficult, but I have managed - coming up with excuses not to spend money comes quite easily to me.  With the rumored price drop to $199.99 US just around the corner, though, I felt that the time for me to pony up for a Wii had come.

Until I started doing the math:

(Prices in Canadian Dollars.  I’ve guessed at the new Canadain price.  The rumored new US price for the Wii is $199.99)

$229.99 for the Console
$59.99 for the Wii Play (and an additional Remote)
$29.99 for an addtional Nunchuck
$59.99 for Wii Sports Resort (and a Wii Motion Plus Controller Thingy)
$29.99 for an additional Wii Motion Plus Controller Thingy
$99.99 for Wii Fit

Total: $509.94 (taxes not included)

For a console that I’m still not sure I really want, that’s a hell of a lot of money (especially for the one that’s perceived to be the least expensive).  Now I realize that I could trim down on the initial purchase, but not without consequences.  My wife wants Wii Fit so cutting that out could land me on the figurative couch.  My kids (mainly my older daughter) loved the sword game that’s part of Wii Sports Resort, so getting a Wii and not getting the game they enjoyed would probably put me in the running for some kind of bad Dad award.  Of course, if I’m getting Wii Sports Resort, then I need to get an additional Wii Motion Plus Controller Thingy, which means I also need to get an additional remote.  Realistically - if I don’t want to end up in anyone’s bad books - I can cut out the additional nunchuck, saving me a whopping $30, dropping my total down $479.95. For $150 less, I could pick up a new 360 Elite bundle (that comes with a 120 gig hard drive, a wireless adapter and Halo 3) which would definitely get more use (by me, at least).

So maybe the $199.99 US price drop isn’t enough for me to finally make the Wii jump after all.  I wonder if it’s going to be enough for anyone else who hasn’t jumped on the Wii bandwagon yet, too.

Yesterday I picked up a pack of white t-shirts. I was in a bit of a rush when I picked them up, so I really didn’t pay too much attention to the packaging. It wasn’t until this morning when I opened the package (and by upon, I mean tore to shreds) that I discovered I’d bought v-neck t-shirts. In my entire history of wearing t-shirts, I don’t think I’ve ever wore a v-neck t-shirt, but I was in a bit of a rush this morning so I put one on and went off to work.

When I got to work I realized that the button-down shirt I’m wearing looks funny when it’s buttoned up one down from the top. Awkwardly funny. So I undid the second button, which wouldn’t have been an issue if I was wearing a crew neck t-shirt. But I’m not and with the v-neck, it looks like I’m not wearing anything under my button down shirt, which is a problem.

You see, I’m not “shirt wide open exposing his chest” guy and that’s exactly how I look now. It’s bugging me. Really bugging me. To the point I actually considered going out at lunch and buying some new t-shirts to change into. I decided against that, though, as in a brief moment of sanity I realized that such an act was a little too neurotic, even for me.

So for the rest of the day, I’m swarthy open shirt guy. I think I might go home early.

I’m a book snob. At least, I used to be. I refused to read books that had bent spines - books I’ve read look like they’re brand new. I refused to read hardcover books to the point that I’ve actually gone out and bought paperback versions of books that I’d previously received in hardcover. Yes, I really was that much of an elitist when it came to books. Not anymore, though.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. So much so that if I kept up at the pace that I’ve been tearing through books, I’d be spending well over $100 a month on books, which isn’t so bad except for the fact that I’m already spending well over $100 a month on comics and in these lean economic times, any place I can cut back on the spending is appreciated.

Thankfully, the interweb works in strange and magical ways. As I was contemplating this book spending dilemma, Barron twittered about re-newing some library books on his library’s website, which prompted me to check out my local library’s website to see if this was a feature they offered, which they do… and much more.

Now let me step back a second. As a result of my book snobbery, I hadn’t stepped foot into a library (let alone have a library card) in about 15 years. The last time I checked out out a book, there was a little card in the back that the librarian stamped with the book’s due date, so needles to say, I was a bit surprised how much the library experience has changed since then.

Now (being a proud library card holder!) I can go on to my library’s website, see what books are available, if they’re out see when they’re due back in and then reserve them, which is quite possibly the best part of my library experience. Now I don’t have to go looking for books. When I reserve a book online, I get an email confirmation letting me know it’s ready to pick-up and all I need to do is grab my book(s) off the reserve shelf, turn around 180 degrees, scan my books, swipe my card and grab my receipt. I can be in and out in less than five minutes and with absolutely no human interaction which for me, really appeals to both my geeky and anti-social instincts. To top it all off, I can also reserve audio books, DVDs and - coming later this month - even video games!

So now I’m hooked and am preaching the word of my public library. If you haven’t been to your local library in a while, it might be worth checking out.

(Pun intended.)

I was playing Need for Speed: Undercover this morning and while I was in the middle of a high speed escape from the cops, I raced past a billboard that I had thought had an ad for Toronto Blue Jays tickets. After I zoomed past it, I convinced myself that I must have read the sign wrong. I know that EA has been putting ads in their racing games, but I’d never seen one that was so localized to me (I live about an hour outside of Toronto), so I kept on Need for Speeding, keeping an eye out for another billboard, which of course, I found. My eyes hadn’t deceived me. There was an ad for Jays tickets in the game.

I know that some find any type of in-game advertising annoying and intrusive, but - depending on the situation - I don’t mind it, and in some cases, actually enjoy it. In a game like Need for Speed: Underground, driving past a billboard that has a real ad rather than a made up one (“Buy Oink Zero - America’s Number One Zero Calorie Pork Soda!”) adds another layer of immersion into the game. When I race past an ad that I’ve seen in real life, I feel like I’m more a part of that world.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go order some Jay tickets.

The past weekend I decided to jump back on the Magic: The Gathering Online bandwagon. It had been a year and a half since I’d last played (typing that makes me feel a bit like an addict. “Hi, my name is Kyle and it’s be 520 days since I last tapped for Mana.”) so I had expected to find that all of cards and mediocre combos that I had devised would be completely useless against the current crop of card releases; what I discovered was something that - for me - was much worse.

Although I played M:TGO quite often in the past, I was still a very casual player. I was never too concerned about having all of the über cards to create crushing combos and unbeatable decks. I played the cards and decks I enjoyed playing regardless of how powerful (or, more often in my case, powerless) they were. This casual approach to deck-building made me a big fan of the Theme decks that Wizards of the Coast (the publisher of Magic) would put out with every new set of cards.

Theme decks were 60 card (the standard Magic deck size) pre-constructed decks designed for a certain play-style (rush, drain, control, etc.) without having to spend hundreds of dollars on booster packs to build those decks. The majority of the money I’ve spent on Magic has been on Theme decks as not only were the of great value (usually around $15) but they were great opportunities for me to try different play styles (I’m typically a rush playin’ guy) on the cheap and well as offering me a solid foundation of a deck to tweak as I became more comfortable with the cards.

Unfortunately, Theme decks are no more.

Starting with the previous Magic expansion, Shards of Alara, Theme decks have been replaced with Into Packs. These Intro Packs have a 41 card pre-constructed deck and a booster pack. They still follow the same pattern as the old Theme decks (based off play styles) but it really bothers me that for same price as the Theme decks, we’re now getting less cards (56 in the Intro Packs versus the 60 card Theme decks) 15 of which might be completely useless with the 41 card pre-construct red deck. I had always applauded Wizards of the Coast for giving new or casual players the opportunity to only spend $15 and have all the cards they’d need be able to play a proper game of Magic.

I realize the Wizards of the Coast is a business and Intro Packs mean that players have to spend more but I had always found that once someone got hooked on Magic, spending money on cards became second nature. I guess I’d rather spend the money after I get hooked on the game rather that having to spend the money to get hooked on the game.