*sigh*

So right when I get into Lost Odyssey and finish the second [super hard] bossfight, I receive the box to send my 360 back.

Microsoft includes a nifty sheet of paper on which you are to mark any and all line items that apply to your Xbox 360. I marked two:

Disc makes grinding noises.

Xbox powers on with no indicator lights and no video.

Funny..... Of the six possible selections, two of them matched my unit exactly.

Oh well... I went ahead and beat Master of Magic again for the umpteenth time during its glorious 15 year history.

I installed Microsoft's XNA studio tonight. I'll report back when I have a game built. It'll likely be a simple modification to the Spacewar demo they include, but it's a start.

For those wondering about Piano: It's coming along. I have not practiced much in the last week... so whatever I may have gained has probably been lost. During the week that I practiced every day however, I was definitely seeing improvement. It didn't help much that I was using eMedia's Software and my laptop needed a reinstall.... FWIW: To those who want to learn Piano or Guitar and have knowledge of MIDI, this software is amazing.

*listening to Brubeck*

Perhaps I'll go do that now.

TTYS!

Piano

I found a killer deal on a refurbished Yamaha digital piano. Since I did not yet declare a resolution for 2008, I combined some retail therapy with what /sounds/ like a wonderful declaration. That is that I need to learn to play a musical instrument again.

The piano I purchased is a fully weighted hammer action 88-key keyboard by the name of DGX620.

If anyone has any advice on where to start, let me know. I played Piano somewhat proficiently as a child, but I have not touched one in nearly 20 years. It was a toss up between Piano and some sort of reed instrument, since I can play both, and a Violin - because I love the way they sound. The keyboard made the most sense. With the voice support I can pretty much synthesize any instrument on the planet. Some take to synthesis better than others, but you get my point. I can also play the keyboard with headphones so Sandy isn't forced to suffer with me during the first few weeks.

Wish me luck.

(My other resolution ended up being to learn French)