I want to let everyone know about a new project I’ll be embarking upon in the very near future. I hope you’ll join along.

I’m currently in the process of setting up Wii Fit Project, a site where I will conduct the following experiment: “How much weight can a 35 year old designer who’s 40 pounds overweight lose just by playing Wii Fit for at least 30 minutes every night for 2 months?”

I will keep a running diary of my activity and my progress. There will be lots of pictures and video, and hopefully they will start a bit flabby and end leaner and meaner.

Set a bookmark now for wiifitproject.com and make sure to subscribe to the RSS feed. The experiment will begin as soon after May 21st (the US release date for Wii Fit) as possible. If Nintendo or any other party is willing to supply me with an advance copy of Wii Fit I will begin the project sooner.

Wish me luck.

I arrived at home last night to find an unexpected package on my porch from Red Octane, the makers of the official controllers for the Guitar Hero games. Inside I found the Guitar Hero controller faceplate pictured above along with the following note:

For those that don’t know, the Nintendo Wii version of the Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock game shipped with monaural sound instead of Dolby Pro Logic surround sound. For some people that’s a pretty big deal, especially for a game that’s all about the audio experience. Activision/Red Octane recognized this problem and worked with Nintendo to remaster the game disc and offer a replacement disc to anyone who wanted one. My Wii isn’t hooked up to a surround amp in the basement, so it wasn’t that big a deal for me, but I figured I might as well get the replacement just in case I ever decided to put surround downstairs. I got the disc a week ago and figured that was the end of it. They had righted their wrong and made me quite satisfied, especially since I wasn’t that dissatisfied to begin with.

Then the faceplate came, and I became even more impressed. They certainly didn’t have to do that, and it is a nice gesture — the faceplate would normally sell for $15.00. I even like the design. It’s kind of got a Samurai Jack type of thing going on. Much better than the goofy Fall Out Boy faceplates I saw for sale at Best Buy.

I’m a fan of the game and now I’m a fan of the brand (at least Red Octane). Some people still complain about the Wii version’s shortcomings such as lack of downloadable content (which is being remedied we’re told) and flaky online play, but not everyone’s a console fanboy.

Now, Activision just needs to get it together and allow the Wii GH3 controllers to be compatible with the upcoming Wii release of Rock Band in June.

To continue the “unexpected surprise” theme, yesterday I noticed a cup full of single cigarettes at Magazines and Coffee next to the register. As I was getting ready to walk away, I asked if they had much demand for single cigarettes. The owner said they did, especially from people who were trying to quit.

You might say that they’re being an enabler to someone trying to kick the habit, but it’s an unexpected, unique offering and very smart… regardless of how you view the motive.

I also had an unexpected, unpleasant surprise when I saw today that they had put a “For Rent” sign in the window at Magazines and Coffee. I was told that the business is for sale and that if it doesn’t sell, they’ll be gone as soon as an interested party snatches up the property. This is sad news for the Crossroads District and sad news for me, since I get my lunch from there 4 out of 5 days a week. Where else am I going to get a smoked salmon sandwich?

It baffles me as to why they can’t stay afloat. The place is always busy, and they certainly have a core of loyal clientele. If I had to guess I’d say their overhead is too great from carrying too many expensive art magazines and having fancy sandwiches for what basically amounts to a newsstand. I imagine they just can’t make money off the quality of product they’re putting out.

I’ll miss them when they’re gone. I’m a fan of the Magazines and Coffee brand as well. It’s too bad.

But didn’t make it to the top of the heap.

As I mentioned earlier this week, we had a Guitar Hero III tournament at work this afternoon. I made it into the second round (playing battle mode) and went down on a sudden death Death Drain playing “Talk Dirty To Me” by Poison. It was close.

I learned something interesting today… there are some Guitar Hero FREAKS at work. I was amazed at the talent they displayed.

Of course, Guitar Hero has no correlation to playing an actual guitar, but it does have a lot to do with rhythm and timing. That’s some talent nonetheless.

A lot of people were talking about some crazy Guitar Hero videos out on YouTube. I was most impressed by these kids 8 and under shredding through songs on EXPERT. Here’s one to get you started. Enjoy.