First was an Xbox 360 wired controller, to be used with my PC. (I don’t have a 360) I’ve always liked the feel of the smaller Xbox controllers, and the 360’s is even better to me. It’s working great with games like the Lego Star Wars series. Sure, it was more pricey than competing PC gamepads, but my experience with other PC gamepads has been somewhat lacking - they’ve always had some shortcomings, whether it was a fidgety D-pad or weird button layouts. I decided to go with something I knew would be good. Plus, it has the added bonus of being compatible with friends’ 360’s, should the need arise.

I also went down to the local MEC store to get a heart-rate monitor watch. I do a lot of running so I think it’ll get put to good use. Also, it’s neat to see how much you can make your heart rate rises when you get up from your chair. I decided to go with a Timex Ironman model, and so far it’s working pretty well. We’ll have to see if it pasts the durability test though - if something can’t last five years, it’s not worth it to me. (Though, by that measure, university would be worthless!)

MEC is a great store as well. Not only do they have a wide selection of stuff useful for almost any outdoor activity (though admittedly I’m really only interested in the running stuff), but their prices can’t be beat. Though it costs $5 to become a “member” (which allows you to buy stuff from them), that cost is negligible and you’ll easily save many times than on your first purchases. Also, many of their products are designed and made by MEC themselves, and provide a higher level of quality - all at prices that are lower than competing brands from what I’ve noticed. The downside? They only have stores in major Canadian cities, but you can always shop online from them - though it’s generally not ideal to buy stuff like clothes or backpacks without trying them out.

I also got a few nice gifts from MEC, mostly running wear, that should make me look less like a bum when I’m out for a cold-weather run.

I finally caved and bought a Nintendo DS Lite a few weeks ago after seeing a few of my friends play with their’s. All I can say is that I’m totally impressed with it. Arstechnica’s review gets it right - the DS Lite is almost perfect, and is much better than the original DS, (which I do not own), it seems.

The DS Lite is not only a lightweight and portable gaming platform, it’s almost a revolution of sorts. The the touchscreen input and microphone allow for games to be much more intuitive and easy to learn, which is good for attracting the non-hardcore gamer crowd. (Most of the population). And, the price is right, being just around $150 CDN before taxes. This has allowed for a whole new breed of games to become popular, in addition to the console classics such as Mario Bros. and Mario Kart.

However, other games typically made for the PC (such as Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory) don’t port well to the NDS Lite - do not expect it to replace the PC as a gaming platform, but rather to complement it. The types of games that play well on the PC don’t do well on the NDS Lite, and vice-versa.

Other features worth mentioning are the auto-suspend, which automatically pauses a game and turns off the screen when you shut the DS Lite, and allows you to pick up where you left off when you reopen the unit. No need to go through a complicated series of steps to pause/susped the game - just shut the NDS Lite, and you’re able to reopen and continue just like you would when reading a book. The games also tend to be fun, quick to get into, and addicting - the perfect time-waster.

The DS Lite also scores points for having bright and vibrant displays, and having an excellent battery life. I’d say the quoted value of 15-19 hours is about right, though your mileage may vary. There are four brightness settings, which will obviously influence battery life. Of the four, I only use the second-lowest; the others either don’t change too much or are too dim.

It’s a good thing midterms are over, since I also recently got Guild Wars Nightfall, making things doubly-bad! Unfortunately, final exams are coming up soon…