Author: Erwin

In the last six months, it seems like everyone I know is having or had a baby. David and Abigail. Nic and Marcia. My friend Pam and her husband. Two people at work. A third co-worker looks like she’ll be giving birth any day now. Sarah O is also pregnant now. Babies abound.

Is it because I’m getting to that age where people are having babies? I don’t know.

The biggest development in my life is that I now own two video game consoles. Maybe I’ll go adopt a kid next week. If I get a kindergartner I’ll be ahead of everyone else.

I received an e-mail from the facilities manager today informing that there will be a Wii waiting for me at company store tomorrow. It’s my choice whether or not I buy it. Almost ashamedly, I am going purchase it.

Why the shame? I just got my Xbox 360 less than three months ago. Mind you, I got it free but I still shelled out some cash to get a new LCD, a VGA cable, Xbox Live account, and four games (all substantially less than retail). I feel lucky just to own one next-gen console and here I am about to get another.

As kick-ass as my LCD is, I pointed out in a previous post that there’s no way to connect a Wii to it. My LCD has every high-def connection known to civilization, except for component, which is the only high-def connection the Wii has. I’ll be playing it on a 4:3 standard-def 28″ TV until I figure something out. I know this sounds petty but once you’ve seen 480p gaming and above, it’s hard to go back.

So why am I getting it then? Well, everyone that has one has told me it’s a lot of fun. I can believe it too. I’ve played it a few times at work. The most important reason behind the purchase is that the Wii just makes for more active gaming. I sat for 1.5 hr tonight playing 360. While it was entertaining, I sat here like a slug. With the Wii, you’re swinging and moving around. People have documented real weight loss because of owning a Wii.

On the off-chance that I just find the Wii boring and that I prefer my 360, there’s also a silver lining. I’ve decided I won’t sell my Wii, I’m going to give it away to the BC Children’s Hospital or Canuck Place. Actually, that’s pretty dumb. If I keep my Wii, I’m going to make a charitable donation to either place because now I’ll feel guilt if I keep it. Wait, did I just think aloud and write it all down in the last paragraph.

So, I’m getting a Wii tomorrow. Ok, so it’s not the best way to spend $180 but oh well.

I had a bento box for dinner at work tonight. I left the takeout container on my desk. There were three people left working in my area when I went home. The lid is closed but I hope it doesn’t smell.

Remaining in the box was a piece and a half of tempura, one California roll, some rice with teriyaki sauce on it, and some green salad. I wonder if this is gonna be a problem when I come in tomorrow morning.

I’ve been trying to debug an online problem in our game for the last three work days. I finally solved the problem today with the help of a guy that’s about ten years younger than I am and about 10x as smart as I am. Turns out the problem was pretty stupid. I still feel like an idiot. Wait, am I even supposed to tell you the game is going to have online features?

I had to sit next to an older woman on the bus today. She smelled like a medicine cabinet. My patience is wearing thin with regard to my suburban bus route. Having to spend almost an hour a day in crowded bus full of seniors is getting old fast, no pun intended. Sometimes I look around and wonder if the bus is actually going downtown or we going to down to the casino down in Tulalip. Maybe up to Canada for cheap drugs? Oh wait, we’re already in Canada.

I work with a guy who was the digital effects supervisor on The Chronicles of Naria. There are a lot of talented people on my team. I feel pretty lucky for a guy who grew up in Coquitlam and went to elementary school next to a trailer park.

Someone on my team just came back from vacation in New Zealand. I jokingly told her before she left that I wanted some macadamia nuts. On my desk this morning was a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. She bought them in the airport in Hong Kong. I’m gonna ask her to bring me back a large sum of money next time she goes on vacation.

Apparently, the White Spot restaurant along Georgia near GM Place is undergoing renovations. That’s too bad since I was looking forward to have a BC burger platter.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cKQPTzcZto]

This weekend featured a decent Saturday Night Live telecast. Hosting was Drew Barrymore, now a member of the five-timers club. Had Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch been there, I am sure we would have seen a return to the Weshly Arms Hotel and the “hot-tub”.

Instead, we were treated to some strong performances from Amy Poehler. She channeled Dakota Fanning in one skit. My favourite though was her potrayal of Jo-Jo, the scrappy country club valet who wanted to juggle Mrs. Sanderson’s boobs. Too soon Jo-Jo! You can watch the skit here.

Finally, the show featured two marvelous musical performances from British artist, Lily Allen. The video above shows her singing Smile, which topped the charts in her native UK.

In my previous post, I’m attempted to elicit opinions on what to do with my EA stock once I get my first set of shares at the end of February. I got two answers from current EA stockholders, both of which told me to hold onto the shares for as long as possible.

I understand the holding on part but why for as long as possible? Wouldn’t it make more sense to sell the shares once the stock price reaches an advantageous level? If I buy at $45 and the stock prices rises to $75, why wouldn’t I sell? Unlike a savings account, shares can go up and down in value over time. The power of compounding interest and time doesn’t factor into stocks. What about holding onto stock makes it better than selling when the price is high? Let’s say I do hold onto my shares until I want to buy some property. What if at that time I need lots of money but my shares are actually worth less than what I paid for them?

I wish I had started to learn this stuff when I was in my early 20s.

When I started at EA in August, my timing was fortuitous in that I was able to jump into their Employee Stock Purchase Plan right away. Rather typing out what that is, I’ll just quote another website:

“A typical ESPP program lets employees elect to set aside 10% of their salary to purchase shares of stock in their own company. This stock is typically issued at six month intervals. The purchase price per share is typically the market price of the stock less a 15% discount. The market price chosen is either the price at the beginning of the six month interval or the price at the end of the interval, whichever one is most favorable to the employee.”

My first six month offering period is coming up at the end of February. I believe when the interval started, ERTS was trading at almost $50 even. EA released their quarterly earnings report today and the company beat analysts’ expectations. In afterhours trading, ERTS is up just over $3, bring the stock to approx. $53.50.

My question is, what do I do at the end of this offering period? Let’s assume the stock stays above $50, so my purchase price will be $50 less 15%. Do I sell immediately? I’ll reap the benefit of the difference in prices plus the 15%. Or, do I hold onto the stock for a little longer, hoping the price will increase even further, thus further multiplying my gain? If I hold onto it, I run the risk of the stock price dropping and then I’ll be in a loss position.

The safe bet would be to sell immediately and guarantee myself at least a 15% gain (minus dreaded taxes). The intelligent choice would be to analyze EA’s position in the coming months and choose accordingly. I’m dumb when it comes to money, so I’m really weak in that area.

Maybe we can look it briefly… the industry is through the console transition. The 360, PS3, and Wii are all out in the marketplace now. Gamers who were holding their money back to wait for the new systems are now spending. From now on, gamers should be back to their pre-transition buying habits. EA is making games for the PC, 360, PS3, and the Wii. It seems like we have all bases covered and I’m also privy to some titles that haven’t even made public yet.

Unless, I’m missing something, should continue to rise beyond February which means I should hold onto it. Right?

Well, that was a lot of dry money talk. To offset that, here’s a picture of that giant baby (14.5 lbs) that was born in Mexico recently.

After reading this story, all I have to say is, “I hear ya brother.”

UPDATE: I know the links are not working. They will be fixed shortly. Tim says if you copy and past the links into your browser they should work.

My friend Ron was able to purchase a Nintendo Wii recently. As part of Nintendo’s Wii culture, he whipped up an online persona for himself, me, and our friend Tim. These virtual caricatures are also known as Miis.

I’m the first one. Ron is the second. Tim is the last one. Ron appears to believe I’m an overweight dude who is either always worried at something or constipated.

You can find a picture of Ron here. Admittedly, his hair is a bit longer now, so his Mii isn’t too far off. A picture of Tim can be found here.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgb8Clnj0lo]

I was hesitant to post two YouTube videos in a row but this second one is quite amusing… well maybe for geeks. If you’re even the slightest sci-fi fan, then you know how great the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was. For the original cast, it was simply the best movie out of the six that were made. There is a well-known scene at the end where Kirk pays tribute to Spock, who died saving the Enterprise. The crew then sends Spock’s burial capsule towards a newly born planet. Actually, if you’re ever around Jeff Newmark, he does a killer impression of Kirk at the end. Get him to do it for ya.

Anyways, on last night’s Family Guy, they did an almost exact shot-by-shot homage to the scene. Stewie loses his beloved teddy bear Rupert in a garage sale. The homage is Stewie’s way of showing how much Rupert means to him.

The above video shows both versions of the scene.