David Hingtgen

I claim "snow" for the main reason I have an automatic... (have fun downshifting while skidding on ice downhill)

Aerialbots would work. Concordes ARE far larger than any fighter jet. Replace Slingshot with something a bit bigger and all 4 limbs are to scale with each other. Though Fireflight as an F-4 is a bit old. Hey, make him an F-14, paint him like Jetfire, and make everybody happy. (Yes, F-14's are gone now, but so is the Concorde---and hey, Bay is the guy who had Spruance-class destroyers in Pearl Harbor) Menasor---4 cars, plus a semi PLUS its trailer---works. Defensor has no chance---motorcycle foot, helicopter arm, the same size? Many of the others are too weird to work in "the real world"---Computron, Abominus, Piranacon.

I am wondering about the 360's upscaling capabilities/quality. AFAIK the 360 only "renders/generates" at 720p, and up or downscales from there. If upscaling to 1080 takes a moment and the 360 isn't that good at it--it'd be pointless to get a 1080 TV with a game mode, as the game mode's lag-reduction would be countered by the 360's upscaling time. May be better to go with a 720 TV, which could take a 360's output directly.

Downloadable planes are already up at XBL apparently. 200pts each. Dilemma dilemma---download everything, only to have my 360 die and have to buy them all again? Or sit back and watch everyone else use the new paint schemes... I'd buy 1 or 2 *really* cool planes regardless.

More importantly to me simply than who's cheapest----who has a decent price and gets them in and ships quickly? No point saving 10 bucks if you get yours 3 weeks later. For those who bought Ivanov's----who got them first?

If it's true, it'll be my first MMORPG. And I will spend every free minute playing.

From the miniscule experience I have with non-US cars, I'd also go with the Mazda--they're the only ones that have had interiors I've liked.

I'd certainly wait. Black Friday is right after ME comes out.

Bioware has denied a Collector's Edition for months---but Gamestop etc have been listing exactly what's in it for a while. From what I can see, it truly will be "limited"---online only, not in any store. Check Gamestop/EB etc. http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=200404

That's one thing I'd never order online--anything with an LCD screen. Not worth the effort/hassle if there's dead pixels. FAR easier to take it back and exchange for a new one, then wait a week each way plus the insane shipping charges of large heavy objects.

Nope, no faceplates here yet. Don't even think they knew what I was talking about. (Different crew from who I pre-ordered from). And they're not getting the game until Wed.

Saw the 1080p 32in Sharp at BestBuy today---1400 bucks though. Target has the 32in Sony I was looking at on sale for 800. Hard to justify almost doubling the price though IMHO. 100 off (assuming) for Xmas +12% off for Reward Zone (hopefully) is still 1200 bucks. The higher res is notable if you look for it, but it's not immediately/obviously apparent at the 5ft distance I plan to watch. Demo footage was decent as BB goes. (Ironically the high-end Sony had a horrific demo like the one I was looking at earlier had---like bad VHS copy of a copy) What I really want is to see itty-bitty menu and HUD text from a 360 game--THAT will show if 1080 is worth it over 720 at 32in.

At least some stores got in the face plates today, going out soon to check. It also seems that if you ordered the flight stick, there's a face plate inside the box, and it's different from the pre-order faceplates.

THAT is neat. (sorry I don't have anything more profound to say, but I'm damned impressed) In other news, Thailand ordered a dozen Gripens. Rafale still has no export sales.

Oooh, game mode. That's missing on the 2 Sony's I was looking at. (The Sony XBR4 has it, but it costs 30% more and has a few minor issues)

I don't get the impression that many places will, I'd be pretty surprised if TRU does.

I'm not much of an LCD fan either--but it's the only option for sub-40in screens. Oihan---what's the difference between those two Sharp sets? If they're roughly a grand, that's a definite possibility. (I was hoping to spend 800 or so when Holiday sales occur, but I'll pay 200 bucks to go from 720 to 1080)

I'm looking at a 32in LCD too. Forget about 120hz----Every post I've read said it's a weird, disturbing effect that'll mess you up. (Since it's not really 120hz at all---it's 60hz with "guesstimated" frames inserted in every-other-frame) If you get one with it, make sure you can disable it--someday real 120hz will come, but it's not out now. I'm leaning towards the Sony 3000 series---either S3000 or M3000. (The XBR4 has issues, I think cloudiness) But those are 720p like most. Depending on the price for 1080's in the next few months, I might splurge for that---but I'm not paying double or anything. (nor will I wait another year for prices to drop---I'd like one for Xmas, but could wait until Feb/Mar or something if there's some big price drop or new model coming out) I have the exact same requirements as you---HD movies, and 360 gaming. (my current TV isn't even hooked up to cable----it's PURELY for movies and gaming--mostly gaming) So 360 performance (lag, blur, ghosting, etc) is the main concern. Honestly I'd like 30in if I could find one. 26 is just a LITTLE too small, but 32's actually "a little too big". But 32's almost always have better/nicer versions available than 26's. Sony's KDL 40S3000 looks great to me, but there's no way a 40in will fit. The 32S3000 is "very very close" but not quite as nice. But among the best 32's out there. Haven't seen a 32in 1080 in person yet, will have to check BestBuy again soon and see if they have any set up decently (and see how much they want for them)

There's quicker/easier ways to disable a truck. Plus the sheer fact that no semi can be started up and ready to go quickly. If it's "cold" shutdown, you are not going to be able to turn the key (or hotwire it) and be ready to go in 30 secs. Takes several minutes (depending on remaining air pressure), maybe 5. Now, it's possible they converted it to internal cleaners--but what's the point? Prime has big shiny external ones, it's an obvious feature. Why go to the work to make it LESS like Prime? Or in short---I have no idea why it's like that.

That's not an oil tank, that's the air cleaner. And I've never seen one permanently removed from a factory installation. Is just the one on that side removed, or both sides? I don't know how/if it'll run with one removed, but there's no way it'd last very long with both removed, if at all. I honestly can't remember a semi's air intake routing---do both cleaners supply equally to both the engine and compressor, one to each, or does it go to the compressor then the engine, or engine then compressor? Will have to find that out.

The all-time best 2D fighting game is X-Men vs Street Fighter. Just the perfect blend of speed, difficulty, characters, music, etc. Everything was just awesome. Nothing beats it, can play for hours against another human (CPU's not as fun). Reason alone to keep a Saturn around. Ryu+Magneto is a heck of a combo. I like Cyclops (so cheap you can't help but abuse it) and Ken. Or Chun-Li+Rogue or Storm. Akuma+Wolverine does severe punishment to anyone. Oh yeah--Cammy+Gambit.

Air Force One may have a heavier structural weight than basic 747's, but the payload is far less. It never hauls 300 people, their 50 lbs of luggage each, and several container's worth of cargo in the belly. Also---it flies so rarely it's really pointless to try to get a marginally more efficient plane. It's not like there's 500 of them flying every day with afterburners (unlike all our ANG F-15's for example, which can drain a drop tank in a minute if they try) Also---not many airports can take an A380. Air Force One can get into a lot more airports than most people think. Heck, it comes to CID all the time.

Yeah, but I doubt I can get my 5 bucks back from BestBuy (they'd probably ask for the pre-order bonus back!)

Don't even think about blue lights on a semi on the road. You will NOT get away with it no matter how lucky you are. Unlike cars, trucks are subject to *frequent* inspections---every day if you need to weigh at the scales. It's easy to have illegal stuff on a car---just remove it the day before the annual inspection. But good luck trying to get around daily/weekly inspections...

Replica Prime running qualities: Based on the "before" pics it looks like it was basically junkyard-quality. And most semis that old are on their 2nd engine, or at least a MAJOR engine overhaul. And the 1980's one in the movies would probably be the same way. But overall---they'd run pretty much the same. Engine tech was pretty stagnant from 80's to mid-90's AFAIK. Horsepower increase of course, a bit better fuel economy---but nothing major. And for sheer idling/running smoothness, suspension, transmission----nothing changed at all AFAIK. PS--if I was to do something like that, I would have waited until the movie was out, or even better, the DVD. Why go through all that work and money and just GUESS at the paint scheme details, when you could just wait a bit? Plus the zillion of great reference pics from the Botcon appearance etc. Overall the blue is too pale, and there's not enough orange. And it needs the toolboxes, which should certainly fit if the steps are removed.