XBOX Games

Highest rated XBOX games at X-Tracker
High scoring XBOX Games at Metacritic

Compatibility list of classic XBOX games that will play on the 360

HDTV

I’m usually a little late to the game.  I was with my new XBOX and DVR. I don’t have HDTV.  I’d like it, just haven’t been motivated to research it.  Robert offers a reason to stay away from HDTV, though posted I’m sure tongue-in-cheek, I’m using it as an excuse to wait a little longer.  After all, I recently canceled my cable.  Still, all those Netflix movies we get…

Venting about XBOX

Whew!  Asking to speak to a supervisor can often be the beginning of a stressfull conversation.  Fortunately tonight turned out well.

I got an email from XBOX Live today. It began:

Dear Customer,

Your subscription to Yearly subscription to Xbox Live is
scheduled to be automatically renewed on Friday, April 14, 2006…For this subscription you will be charged
$49.99 per year, plus applicable taxes. Unless you cancel your subscription
before it ends, you will automatically renew to the currently selected renewal
subscription type at the then current price…

I bought my XBOX, Christmas of 2004.  I signed up for a free trial to XBOX Live but canceled it at the end of the trial.  Don’t you hate it when a credit card is required to get something "Free"?  They don’t charge you but they just put the onus on you to cancel and if you forget, you know what happens.   You don’t want to give them your credit card number but if it’s something you really want to try, you don’t have a choice so you take a chance and give them your number.  You know how excited you are when you first get your XBOX, of course you want to check out the online service.

Okay, so someone screwed up at XBOX Live.  When I called this evening they had a record that my account was viewed the day before the 1-year subscription started, but no record of a cancellation.  I never thought about it again until I received the email today.  So I called. They don’t let you cancel through the web or email.

The person I spoke to was pleasant and said upfront she wouldn’t be able to refund my $50 when I asked but that she could go ahead and cancel the subscription (again) and put me through to a supervisor afterward.  OK.  After canceling, again she was very up front and told me I may have to wait but that she would be on hold with me and would check back in 5 minutes.

Well I only held for about 2 minutes and when she came back on she said "Good news. I’ve been authorized to refund you your money."  Sweet. 

I really didn’t want to be upset at Microsoft.  I still have an XBOX 360 to buy and the new XBOX Live service to try.  The main reason I’m not an XBOX subscribe is that David is only 7 and he doesn’t need more reason to play the XBOX more than he already does.  I hear great things about the new service, the free downloads the game matching system and now there isn’t a bad experience with XBOX Live to give me pause about trying the service again one day.

Way to go Microsoft.  I still think it’s cheesy that you require a credit card for a trial but the fact you send out an email prior to "automatically" renewing the service shows you’re not too evil and do care about your customers.

Image to HTML

This is an interesting site that will upload any image and output an HTML page displaying the image using only colored 0 and 1 characters.

MENSA Intelligence Test

Your daily Mental Exercise [via Richard]

Why the iPod rules

It’s the developers [via Scoble]

Steve Jobs to Studios: I Got the Power!

Power Wit – Emo Phillips

Again from "Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln":

Aristotle once wrote, "The essence of humor is surprise"

This brings to mind one of my all time favorite comedians.  I love Emo Phillips, though an odd bird, his humor is simply smart!

DVD Collection

Like books and music, your DVD collection says something about you

Drama
Close Enounters of the Third Kind
Dead Poets Society
One Hour Photo
Seabiscuit
Shawshank Redemption
Stepmom
The Boxer
Thelma and Louise
Top Gun

Romance
13 Going on Thirty
Chocolat
Little Women
Sixteen Candles
West Side Story

<>

Action
Batman
BraveHeart
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park III
Last Of The Mohicans
Lord Of The Rings
Shanghai Knights
Spider-Man
Six Days Seven Nights
The Patriot
The Sum of All Fears

Western
The Good The Bad and the Ugly
Unforgiven

Comedy
Big
City Slickers
Elf
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Parenthood

Kids
A Bug’s Life
A Christmas Story
A Cinderella Story
All Dogs Go To Heaven
Agent Cody Banks
Cheaper By The Dozen (Steve Martin)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Finding Nemo
Freaky Friday
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Animated)
(The Second) Jungle Book
Lilo & Stitch
Monster’s Inc
National Velvet
Nightmare Before Christmas
Shrek
Spy Kids
Say Anything
Tarzan
The Cat In The Hat
The Lizzy McGuire Movie
The Princess Bride
The Princess Diaries
The Incredibles
The Wizard of Oz
Toy Story
Toy Story 2
What a Girl Wants

Small Kids
Barney’s Night Before Christmas
Charlie Brown Christmas
Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Charlie Brown Halloween
Dora’s Christmas
Dora’s Fairytale Adventure
Dora’s Pirate Adventure
Pippi Longstockings – Pippi’s Adventure on the South Seas (Animated)
Trevor Romain – Being a kid (Animated)
Veggie Tales – An Easter Carol
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

America’s Best Beaches

America’s Best Beaches
[via Dave]

Horseback Riding around Austin

*Colbert Ranch northwest of Cedar Park. 1/2 Day w Picnic $100. 512-355-3225. plcolbert@aol.com Directions

Lazy Ranch. Smiley Texas. (210) 391-6378. Clay Allen owner. fun@lazyfranch.com. Rodeo every weekend in Gonzlaes. Room available ($25/person)

Running-R, Bandera – 830-796-3984, runningr@texas.net. $105/adult, $50 6-12yr, $40 3-5yr

* Silver Spur Ranch, Bandera- 830-796-3037, gnwalsmith@aol.com $125/adult, $60 7-10yrs, $30 4-6yrs.  2-hr rides, 3 meals

* GuadalupeRanch SW of Austin near Boerne, 800-460-2005, info@qrranch.com, Rooms $114-$200 Trail Rides: 30min-$20, 1hr-$30, 1h-River-$35, 2hr-$65, Map