BilikFamily.com

Video Games - Today's WSJ did an extensive article on the state of video games. I've archived it in Adobe PDF format here. They gave a good summary of where things stand with respect to Playstation, XBox, and GameCube. They discussed the appeal of games now hitting a broader age range -- from 5 year olds to 50 year olds. They reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of several popular games across the different platforms. They had a few interesting insights:

Many adult players are discovering that playing games is more than entertainment -- it's a way of bridging the generation gap with their kids. Charles Ahn thought he'd packed in playing electronic games after university. But eight years ago, the 42-year-old chief executive of South Korean software company Ahnlab Inc. found himself picking up a Nintendo game controller. Now, armed with a GameCube, Mr. Ahn throws banana peels from speeding cars with his 15-year-old daughter, Shirley. "Through games, we had something in common to talk about and became closer," says Mr. Ahn. "And naturally, talking about games we would tend to go on to different subjects like her life at school."

I agree with that. Game strategies and game successes are now a common way in our house that conversations get started. Michelle called me at the office yesterday to proclaim that she (with assistance from Abby) finally completed the MarioKart "All Star Cup Tour" at the 150cc level in first place, which then unlocks a new level in the game -- Mirror Mode. We then went on to discuss how other usual things were going in the house. It's the same thing with Abby. I'll pick her up from gymnastics and she'll tell me about how some game went earlier in the day and soon the conversation moves to how gymnastics went, what projects she worked on, how the boys behaved, etc.

Lion King - Tonight I'm taking the girls to Milford Elementary to see Lion King 1 1/2. They're very excited.

Lent - With Ash Wednesday and Lent just around the corner, I wanted to have a little "fat Tuesday" of my own so I went with a co-worker for lunch at Smokey Bones located just over the border in Tyngsboro, MA. If you are a carnivore, it can be difficult to choose a lunch because it's hard to go wrong with just about anything they have. It was a big lunch but a nice change from the sandwich and drink I usually have.

Timothy - Timothy had his one year doctor appointment yesterday. He's a big boy! He's ~26.5 pounds which puts him around the 90th percentile. He's also 33 inches tall which is off the percentile charts for a one year old. He's gained 3 inches in just the last three months. So evidently he's eating well and yet with all the commotion and activity that surrounds him, he's getting leaner. Michelle noted this morning that today he's wearing an outfit that the Michael was wearing last winter when she first brought Timothy home.