For lack of a better term, I daydream about buying various tech gadgets. If I were not married, I would probably be pretty irresponsible and buy every last thing that came to mind. However, marriage has given me some sense of level-headedness (if that’s even a word), allowing me to be more responsible about how I spend money.

My blog entires under the Wishlist category will be about the things that I want to buy, even if I don’t have the money to do so (which is usually the case).

I want to get into the MP3 playing scene, mainly because I ride the train to work in the morning. I don’t bring my Nintendo DS with me any more b/c the case adds extra bulk to my rather small lunch bag. It is also one extra thing I have to pay attention to (someone could swipe it if I am not paying enough attention).

I do, and I don’t, want to buy an MP3 player. There are way too many choices, and I have a hard time taking anyone’s positive or negative criticisms seriously with this type of device. I know iPod, Dell DJ, Pogo Ripdrive and Zen Micro owners, and each love their device, and most state the other players are garbage by comparison.

I’m really attracted to the Zen Micro’s tiny little form factor and its purdy blue glow, but paying about $229 for a 5GB player seems crazy, since the Dell Pocket DJ 5GB can be had for $189. I really like the iRiver H10, but it is also pretty expensive.

I should note that I am interested in Napster To Go, since I have a very small CD collection (under 20 discs), and I see great value in that service.

My price range would be $100 - $200. I’d go for the $150 Shuffle 1GB, but then I think “Why not spend $40 more and get the Pocket DJ for the extra 4 gigs?”, since I am not concerned with rattling the thing around or working out with it. That falls into my price range, but then I think “Why not spend $50 more and get the DJ 20 for the extra 15 gigs?”. That takes me right out of my $200 limit. I just couldn’t bring myself to drop so much on a MP3 player, but at the same time I can’t screw myself out of so much extra storage just to save $50.

This pattern of thought throws me into an infinite loop, and I end up getting nothing. However, I may have found a condtion that will allow that loop to end.

Dell offers a firmware update for my PDA. Amongst other things, it adds Windows Media Player 10. Posters on the Aximsite forum have been able to get Napster To Go to work with their Axims, all because of WMP10 (which is Play For Sure aka Janus compatible).

What this means is that I can drop $80-$120 on a 1GB card, which should fit over 200 tracks. Since I will only listen to these on the train and at my desk, battery life is of minimal concern to me. I have a few MP3s on my Axim, and they play well without skipping or any sort of sound distortion.

I have to take into account the fact that if I ever decide to start working out (fat chance… har har, see the double meaning behind that statement?), I don’t want to have my PDA jumping around.

I probably won’t buy the MP3 player or the 1GB card - there are better ways to put my money to use.

I watched the director’s cut of Donnie Darko last night, and I can’t say that I liked it. The movie wasn’t bad at all. I was just bored watching it. I ended up dividing my attention between the Internet (reading about Jade Empire) and watching the movie, so that did not help my understanding of this complex movie.

Afterward, I went to the Internet Movie Database to read up on the movie. Several people had some interesting viewpoints on the flick. I find the underlying concept to be intriguing. It is just that I didn’t find the movie entertaining.

It has been a long while since a role-playing game has gripped me the way Jade Empire has. I find myself drawn to the game, wanting to find out what happens next. I spent the better part of my weekend playing this game as Furious Ming, a do-gooder Spirit Monk who likes to get up in people’s faces and cut them up with quick jabs to the face and torso, using the Thousand Cuts technique.

I’m 15 hours into it, but I have had to reload several times, and the game does not account those into the play total, so I’d guess I’m closer to 20 hours of actual time spent on it.