Can anyone with a Wii give me the scoop on some stuff? I'm trying to hit the BF sales, but could really use some more intel! Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Does the console come with a Nunchuk? Does the nunchuk plug into the wiimote? Does it get its power from the wiimote, or does it need its own charger? Does the plus thingy make it so you can't plug in the nunchuks? Dumb questions, but I'm a complete noob at this stuff, so take pity on me. ;)

Chargers:
I am interested in the induction chargers, if they work well. We're only going to have two remotes to start with, but might want to expand to four later, since there are five of us. We are getting a Wii Fit as well. Do I need to buy a charger for that too? If I don't buy chargers, does everything take batteries, or what? Is the standing charger for the Wii Fit better than the plug in battery pack? How long do things take to charge? Are there charging brands that are good, or which suck?

Silicone: How about silicone skins for everything - do I need them? For comfort, so they don't slip, or to protect them from kids and chaos? I heard that the new wiimotes come with skins. Anyone know?

Stand/coolers: Does the main console fall over a lot, or are the stands just for looks? Does it really overheat? How far away can you use just the base console before you need the extra sensor to pick up signals?

Memory: Do I need to by SD cards for it? I keep seeing them being sold, but don't really understand what for other than to save RPG game stuff... we're getting Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus software initially; do we need them?

Wiimote add-ons for sports stuff: anyone use these? I tried Sports Resort in the store without them, and it was fine, but then I've done most of those sports in RL before. Do kids get it better with the add-ons?

Hey LJ Brain Trust!

Anyone know any good websites on ways various folks have hypothesized/creatively decided that time travel works? Ones including branching timestreams and the mechanics of travel between then would earn my undying gratitude. Thanks!

ETA: Got it - thanks! Folks can blast wikipedia all they want, but for stuff like this, it is pretty darned useful. Turns out what I have is both a predetermination paradox and an ontological paradox, both of which have been used in lots of fiction before, so all good, if not necessarily scientifically feasible. >;)

I haz my very furst icon EVAH. Ladybardnano, gracias!

Writing, Gibbs' rulz, and chocolate FTW! The only thing that could make this sucker better is a pic of Abby! >:)

O's computer BSD'd and gave it up the other night.

He's been on the line with good friends who think he has a partion error, and needs a new hard-drive. Trouble is, he doesn't have either the windows software or the drivers to do so. He was running XP, and the computer is a Dell, about five years old. (Mostly 3D modelling software and gaming computer, which requires Windows.)

Ideas?

ETA: He bought a new hard drive, and is loading it up. Fingers crossed!

We're contemplating acquisition of one between now and the holidays, and would like to know more about them. Folks with small children or disabilities who have experience with them are particularly invited to comment, but we're happy to hear from anyone.

Thank you!

Hey all -

O and I are both sick with colds, and two of the kids are getting it too, so I'd LOVE to hear something fun that YOU are doing this weekend, so I can live vicariously. :)

So, I'm in a stressful situation, and needing some #$*# FUN today before I go down (either today or tomorrow).

Any good ideas for how I could spend a few hours this this afternoon and give my batteries a much needed recharge? The girls will be (theoretically) sleeping, so it would need to be either a solo adventure, or something that O and I or I alone can do at home while the baby is doing whatever he's doing.(G-rated suggestions only, please - the rest we can figure out for ourselves! ;)

Hey folks -

I'm looking to hire help for my Dad when he comes home from rehab, and am wondering what are some things those of you with experience with PCAs wish you had asked about/worked out ahead of time?

Thanks in advance!

I'm on Dreamwidth as Albreda, and will be using it primarily as a backup for my LJ, since this is the closest thing E has to a babybook. :/

Well, all the same people have died, and all the same problems/to-do lists still exist, but thanks to the *eleven* people who answered my plea for good/joyful news, and a trip to the mall last night, sans kids, I'm in a MUCH better headspace about it all today.

Thank you!!

I'm having a rotten week, and it seems like every one I know is too, and here it is, only Tuesday. :/

Anyone got any GOOD news to share? See something pretty lately? Laugh at something funny?

If so, pretty please, could you pass it along? My psyche could really use the break today...

Thanks to Dulcinbradbury, I *have to* send you off to listen to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Its from Britain's American Idol ('Britain's got Talent'), and the whole audience starts off laughing at this cheeky 47 year old, and then - woah - I think was started crying *literally* about three seconds into her performance.

She needs a hair and makeup stylist, sure, but her dress was lovely; this lady is concert tour bound, or else every recording exec in the UK has their heads up their butts.

I'd like to think that MOST folks get talent that big noticed LONG before age 47, but apparently not all. Not that I have any hidden talents, mind, but Oi - what a thought, eh? I can't decide if this woman *finally* getting her moment is tragic or triumphant, but it sure makes me happy to see her shining now!

Go Susan Boyle!!!!

Lady Alheydis von Riga (aka Eydis, which I have in the past mispelled 'Aydis'), of Stonemarche and the Priory of St Colin, is the new Queen's A&S Champion!!!  Wahoo!!!

She did a *spifftacular* job of creating a Bayeux-esque embroidery based on a photo of her husband and friends in their full 14th Cent kit.  I didn't know that she more than dabbled when she showed it to me a few weeks ago, and I'm not surprised *in the least* that she did well at Mudthaw with it.

Vivat!  :)

I'm going to help raise awareness of the impacts of typical energy consumption by turning off all of our nonessential lights for one hour tonight, from 8:30 - 9:30 PM.  This is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, and cities all over the world do it ever year, and photos of this year's rolling blackout over all of Asia and Europe are already appearing on line. 

Join me?

Can *aperfectdot* please contact me at AlbredaA@aol.com or fix your privacy settings so I can actually respond to your message?  Thanks!

D, who turns three in a few weeks, just came up to me with the book "There was an old lady", which I just finished reading to her about five minutes ago, and asked "will you teach me how to read?"

She's been learning which lowercase letters go with which capital letters over the last few weeks, and comes up to me with books in her hand saying 'I don't know the right words', but this is the first time she has asked for help in learning how to read the words herself.

Many, many moments I've had as a parent have made me happy and proud for my children, but I think this one tops even their taking their first steps in terms of how I'm watching the world open up for my children. 

Wow.

I called my dear friend Paley Anderson yesterday to see if she had any resources to offer for a friend whose horses might be in need of some temporary shelter, and she told me of the folks at Spring Hill Horse Rescue, in/near Brandon, VT.  Apparently their major work is with what are called 'Premarin Foals and Mares.'

Did you know that Premarin, the hormone replacement therapy, is made from PREgnant MAre urINe?  For the 9 million women on the drug in the US right now, 60,000 mares are impregnated and kept in little enclosures 24/7 so their pee can be collected via attached tubing.  Most of the 60,000 resulting foals are sold for meat a year after birth, but the folks at Spring Hill go to Canada (this practice is illegal in the US) to rescue foals and bring them back to the US where they get adopted.

There are apparently lots of *synthetic* hormone replacements that can be prescribed, but I guess folks just don't know where their Premarin is coming from, so they keep taking it instead.

Spread the word, folks - this is just abhorent.  For more information, please see the info on the Spring Hill Horse Rescue site, at http://www.springhillrescue.com/pmu.html

ETA: Premarin is prescribed for women who have had hystrerectomies, and PremPro for women who still have their uteri, but are having trouble with menopausal symptoms.  Wyeth Pharmaceuticals imports the urine from pregnant mares from Canada to make both drugs.  Treating horses in this way for this purpose is illegal in the United States. 

There is apparently a nation-wide shutdown on Oxycodone distribution right now, and my local pharmacies each report that they don't expect to get any more in for at *least* a month.  With that being the case, other narcotics are likely to be picking up the slack, so pharmacies will likely be running out of them soon too.  Just a heads up; being stuck without meds is NOT something I wish on anyone!

I really don't know WHY Disney has repackaged today as 'Valentines and Friends Day', because, since I love my friends, I have no problem giving them happy Valentines wishes anyway, but, well, since they have made a *point* of including friends in the occaision, I will too...

I have been on LJ for about a year now, and the social isolation I experienced being home with my girls when they were babies is a thing of the past - I am not only chatting with friends on a daily basis here, but I'm actually *keeping up with your lives* (which is just a wonder), and I can feel I'm telling you all about mine, but in a way that I know I'm not boring you to tears, since you can always just scan/skip the parent/family/A&S 50/angsty stuff if you want to do so! 

Talking on the phone is sketchy with little kids at home (crying in the background or having other must-deal-with-right-now crises, kids tugging on my sleeves, trying to avoid having the phone ring at naptime, etc), and, while my cup runneth over with wonderful friends, most of them tend to be (with a few notable exceptions) just not the sorts of friends I chat on the phone with, or at least not more often than once every couple of months.  Being able to have in depth, interesting conversations with folks I care about (not to mention the spiffy NEW folks I have met here, and you know who you are, and are just too numerous to name anyway), is just a SAHM's best thing EVER. 

So, Happy Valentine's and Friends' Day, folks, and thanks for helping me stay sane; I love you!  <3

feedproxy.google.com/~r/parenthacks/~3/1XMzp30XYQA/amazon-the-princess-bride-20th-anniversary-dvd-for-499.html

Princess Bride for $4.99 on DVD, folks.  If you don't have it yet, and are on my Flist, you either live in a cave or obviously don't have a TV.  Ergo, RUN, don't walk, to get a copy.  FMT (Funny Movie Therapy) is a critical part of my pain and stress management plan, and just *quoting* from this sucker works better than narcotics.

Favorite move EVAH!!  If you ever wonder how good a script needs to be to get sold, the answer is *total drek* - I have a preproduction script of this one (the glories of living near Harvard Sq during high school), and NONE of the jokes are in it.  Seriously - none!