Simpsons' Kwik-E-Mart

We took a trip down to the Kwik-E-Mart to grab a Super Squishy which is now possible thanks to the brilliant Simpsons promotions that took over a couple of 7-11s in town. The only problem is that if it's in LA and it's cool, everyone is gonna know about it. We decided not to wait in the line. Yes, that's the line to get into the Kwik-E-Mart. :(

Traffic Jam!

Forbes and MSN just listed the 12 worst traffic bottlenecks in the United States and whatdayaknow, I drive through two of them each and every day. Topping the list is I405 and the 101 interchange. I live less than a mile from this abomination and have to wade through it every afternoon. Luckily, I get to exit Ventura right there at the 101 which makes life a tiny bit easier. Number 5 on the list is the I405 and I10 interchange which I also drive through daily. Here in LA they call these roads "the" rather than "I" which I find strange. So I405 is called "the 405" and I10 "the 10". I like to call them something else... but this is a family site. :)

360 Racing Wheel and Dirt

After reading about the release of Nascar 08 coming at the end of this month to the 360, I decided to do something crazy and buy a Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. It was a gamble being that I've never owned a gaming wheel before but I hadn't bought a game in some time and felt like splurging.

While I was at Best Buy picking up the wheel I decided to grab a copy of Dirt along with it. I had played the demo and it was a beautiful game. After hooking up the wheel, I was shocked at how much more fun my racing games were... and Dirt is just plain incredible! I played it so long I had to peel my fingers off the wheel at the end of the night. It has both force feedback and a rumble effect so when you hit a rough part of the road, the steering wheel is almost jerked out of your hands. It's very effective but not exacly "real" feeling. It feels more like you are driving a go-cart of some kind but it definitely gives you a nice "in control" feeling that the controller doesn't. I usually play racing games at a third-person angle but with the wheel, it is much more fun to drive first-person, looking straight out the windsheild.

All-in-all I give the Xbox 360 Racing Wheel a big thumbs up. It's a bit expensive at $129 but for the racing buffs it's a must have.