Let's start with "necessary" purchases first. Last week I bought a Samsung HD841 DVD player. Our current dvd player is a Pioneer 5-disc changer, and while I like having a changer, it has had some problems. One, it doesn't always recognize discs, which is a pain. Two, during layer changes and menu repeats, there will be a loud *pop* in the audio, and I have no idea why. This model from Samsung seemed like a great deal - Costco had it for $99, and not only is it really shiny, but it has DVI output and will upconvert to 720p/1080i. It plays SACD's and DVD-Audio as well, but that's not much of a concern for me. Tried it out on a 720p projector, and it looked pretty good. Quite the bargain, IMO. Now I just need an HDTV with a DVI input. ;-)
Also on the necessary spending front, I spent most of yesterday with the Logitech Driving Force Pro wheel & pedal combo for GT4, and it felt great. Now I need to buy one of those, as well as build a frame on which I can mount it. It really made the game a lot more involving. I've always hated wheels & pedals for racing video games, but this one was so much better than any others I've tried.
After that glorious transition, on to GT4! It has been a couple days since I played my own game, so it's hard to remember exactly what I did, but I'll try. I did more of the Special Condition races, completing all of the tarmac events on easy, and the Tsukuba wet race on Normal. The easy Rally d' Capri gave me a Toyota rally car, but I'm undecided as to whether I want to sell it for some quick cash ($250k+ I think), or use it for future dirt/snow rally races. It really should be a lot better than the STi I'm currently using. The easy Tsukuba wet gave an RX-8 Concept, which I think I should be able to build up for the Mazda RX-8 Cup, which in turn gives an RX-8 LM race car - probably the only cool RX-8 in the game. ;-) Tsukuba wet at the normal level gave a Mazda6 touring car, which looks pretty cool, but I have yet to drive it. I don't see any good place to race it, so it might just get sold.
I bought an Elise to use for the British Lightweight and Elise Cup races, but I was fooled into buying the Motorsport Elise. In GT3, I believe it came with adjustable suspension, downforce, etc. Now it doesn't come with any of that, it just costs 40k more than a regular new Elise, and is a bit lighter. Anyway, winning the lightweight race meant I finally got a 1971 Europa, and I used it to dominate the Lotus Classic Cup, winning a '62 Elan. I was going to use the Elan for the European Classic Car Championship, but I don't know that I'll be able to get it fast enough to take on the 300SL or E-Type. Another option is to modify the Ginetta G4, which is probably the lightest production car in the game, at just over 430kg (2/3rds the weight of the Elan). That's about as far as I got.
Not quite sure what I'll do next now. I did a couple of the Honda Type R races, and finishing that series would get me the Honda HSC concept, and that could be cool. I'm not really motivated to finish the FF Challenge and Honda Cup, as you get the Mazda6 for both of them. I might go the 300SL route and do some of the historic races. I could use some built cars I already own to do some manufacturer's races. Or maybe I'll get all bronzes on the B license to get a Lupo to use in the Lupo race. :-P
On to something less nerdy now. My church softball team won the league championship on Saturday, going undefeated in both the season and the double-elimination tournament. In particular though, my highlight was the end of the first game we played that night. In the bottom of the last inning, we had runners on 2nd and 3rd, and needed one run to win the game. I was on deck, and they intentionally walked the batter in front of me. So now I'm up, and I hit a hard shot between the pitcher and 2nd baseman to win the game. :-D
Posted by Ben at March 7, 2005 09:56 AM