“Wii Fit” glitch

I had a small glitch pop up in Wii Fit. The balance board is supposed to be a pretty accurate digital scale, but the readings I had for the first few days were about 10 pounds lower than what I got on our bathroom scale and the gym scale. Then suddenly two days ago it came up with the accurate weight. The only annoying thing is that on my Wii Fit weight chart, it looks like I gained 11 pounds in one day. I’d also set a goal of losing 10 pounds in 6 weeks, but Wii Fit thinks I need to lose 21 pounds since it is comparing my current weight to my target weight. I hope I don’t get any more fluctuations, like the program thinking I’ve lost that 11 pounds again, only to gain it back a few days later. Anybody else have this problem?

Speaking of scales, according to interviews with the game’s creator, Nintendo actually approached several makers of digital scales to sound out possible partnerships for the hardware side of this. The scale companies were interested, but all of them figured such a product was too risky since it had never been done before. To be fair, this was probably before the Wii had been launched, at a time when even the gaming industry was skeptical that this underpowered console with the funny name and weird controls could be a viable competitor. 

Still, think about it: what scale brands can you think of? I don’t know any. These guys had the opportunity to hitch their companies to one of the most powerful consumer brands in the world. The company name could have been on all those millions of copies ofWii Fit, and it would almost certainly have established them overnight as the cool, fitness-oriented scale company. One of the great “what could have been” stories of the year. 

Latest column: “Grand Theft Childhood”

My latest weekly column is up, and I finally managed to run my piece on Grand Theft Childhood. I actually interviewed the authors about a month ago but a combination of a busy news cycle and writer’s block stymied my efforts to get this piece out earlier.

Some people get writer’s block when they don’t have anything to say. I get it when I have too much to say. This book is so interesting and well-written that it’s almost impossible to sum up in a 600-word article. Almost every page has something interesting. On top of that, I spoke to the authors for more than an hour, giving me even more material to work with.

So I’m a bit frustrated with the piece I produced, mainly because it had to leave so much out. There is also so much rich social and political context to this debate that I was only able to touch on briefly. I do urge anyone curious about video games and kids to pick up a copy. It’s a fascinating, informed and thoughtful look at the issue.

Read on, or hit the link:

By Scott Hillis

SAN FRANCISCO, May 8 (Reuters Life!) – Playing video games does not turn children into deranged, blood-thirsty super-killers, according to a new book by a pair of Harvard researchers.

Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, a husband-and-wife team at Harvard Medical School, detail their views in “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do”, which came out last month and promises to reshape the debate on the effects of video games on kids.

“What I hope people realize is that there is no data to support the simple-minded concerns that video games cause violence,” Kutner told Reuters.

Better

Sorry the posting’s been light this week. We’ve had a slew of Japanese friends packing up and going home, which has made for some busy evenings and teary farewells.

On the upside, my bronchitis is gone thanks to the miracle of antibiotics. Yup, I sure do love me some azithromycin.

Yup, still sick

Man, this has been one of the worst colds I’ve suffered through in a while. I stayed home yesterday, today, and it looks like I will quite possibly stay home tomorrow.

Moreover, this bug seems to be impervious against extra-strength Tylenol, offering little prospect of relief. I don’t have a serious cough, but at night it’s frequent enough so that neither I nor Tala get a good rest.

Meanwhile, everyone else is enjoying some of the finest weather we’ve had this year, with bright blue skies and balmy temperatures. I enviously eyed all the joggers I saw in my brief forays out of doors today.

The only good thing about staying home is that I’ve been able to get some good reading in. I finished Discover Your Inner Economist by Tyler Cowen, and started an advance copy of an upcoming book on video games. I plan on writing a feature on it when it comes in about a month, so more on that later.

I’ve also finally had a chance to sit down and play a couple hours of Mass Effect. I’ve only logged about 6.5 hours in it so far, but I think the story is finally sucking me in. I don’t know why I’ve had trouble getting into the game but it just hadn’t grabbed me in the same way Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Oblivion did.

One last mope: I’m bummed because I finally found a place selling Mama Lil’s hot peppers, which are fantastic on nachos. I instantly bought a jar, but realized tonight that we are out of tortilla chips. We are never out of tortilla chips. And it’s too late, and I’m too sick, to do anything about it now.

Sick again

I wish I were talking about the Zep song, but no, I’m actually sick. For the third time this year. Actually the second, because I think this is just a flare-up of something I’ve had for a couple weeks now.

Back in February I came down with a typical cold for a couple days, and it has persisted as a low-level cough for nearly three weeks now. I haven’t felt sick at all — I’ve been able to run, go to the gym, go to work, etc. But I’ve lived with this mild, annoying cough.

Last night the bug asserted itself again and promoted itself into my sinuses. Now I have a phlegmy cough and a runny nose, and I actually feel sick. Not fun. I’ve now been sick more in the first 2-1/2 months of this year than I was in all of 2007.

As I said, not fun.