I Should Be In Bed By Now

...but for some reason I'm not sleepy. Damn wacked-up sleeping pattern.

Right now I'm struggling to get Windows Media Player to rip some CDs so I can listen to them via my new MP3 player.
It works perfectly fine for CDs printed en-masse, which would therefore have an entry in the media player's on-line database; this saves me time when it comes to labelling each track, because the software just looks up the CD on the Internet and fills out the necessary details.
It's just that not all of my collection are so easily found. Some of them are magazine cover discs, which usually contain an odd assortment of tracks by various artists. Since they are usually a limited edition, there isn't anything for WMP to find about them online - so what it normally does is find the best match possible (which is frequently totally WRONG).

What's worse is that the version of WMP I have won't actually let you correct the false tracklist unless you are connected to the Internet! WTF? If it can't find the correct listing, why the hell do I need to go through that menu anyway just to fix the problem? Silly design, I don't know... I just hope they managed to fix that problem in the next version.

...I've also been accumulating a bunch of new DS titles, partly because I scored some $$$ over the last month, and also because a lot of them were really cheap:

• Impossible Mission - I remember playing this game on the Commodore 64. I had absolutely no success in completing the game, mostly due to being crap at it the first time (not having access to the manual didn't help). I managed to complete the game this time around, thanks to the far better interface that the DS offers - the only complaint was the apparent bug that prevented me from getting extra powerups in the puzzle-screen room. :(
  
• Rubik's Puzzle World - this is a puzzle title based on the eponymous brainteaser from the 1980s. It features the actual Rubik's Cube puzzle (with the original 3x3x3 cube, but also a 2x2x2 and a 4x4x4 puzzle to solve) and a bunch of other cube-related puzzles and games.
• Arkanoid DS - this is an updated version of another game I played on the C64. And yes, I was pretty bad at the C64 version too, but Arkanoid was so damned hard... This version uses the touch screen instead of a paddle/joystick, which makes it much easier to complete. A review I read complained about the "dead region" in the gap between the screens, where the ball is invisible, but I didn't have a problem with this since there usually aren't any obstacles in that space for the ball to bounce off, so...
• Puzzle Bobble Galaxy - oh, dear, I really am into the retro-themed games, aren't I? I had to take a break from this game after a while, because when I closed my eyes I kept seeing bubbles and patterns from the game scattering across my vision... Seriously, it's a very weird experience, and it's usually a sign that I've been playing a game for far too long. (And it seems to be related to the puzzle-type games; apparently Tetris is good for producing this effect.) Anyway, it's a really fun game.
  
• Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll - having never played a Super Monkey Ball game before, this was an interesting introduction to the theme. I totally suck at controlling the spheres through the levels (and some of those bananas are in really difficult places), but I guess it takes practice and a delicate hand.
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - =D VERY HAPPY with this game! I was pleasantly surprised by the first M&L role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance - that, and Golden Sun: the Lost Age were both excellent titles to start my collection. However, the follow-up M&L: Partners in Time was rather lacking in the side-quests and secrets that distinguished the first title, and it made the game seem far too linear for most RPG fans. I am pleased to report that the third title is a stunning return to form, with recognition of what made SuperStar Saga such fun; plus new features (you get to play as both the Mario Bros. and as Bowser Koopa! Who gets to turn into a GIANT)!
• Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - is one I don't actually own yet, but I still have some $ to spend yet, so...
  

Looking at the above list, and at all my games in fact, shows me that I have a very narrow field of interest, as far as my taste in games is concerned. Maybe I can chalk it up to my advanced years, but most if not all of the games I own are retreads of older titles. I wish I could say that it was trust in a brand name, but sadly Sonic the Hedgehog has shown otherwise. and I shall be looking at this Project Needlemouse thing very closely over the next year
Perhaps I'm just concerned that the newer titles won't be as good as the older ones? Am I a games elitist? An e-snob, stuck in an historical cul-de-sac of gaming genres? Or... is it just because the only alternatives available in the local stores are titles like My Little Pony, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and 101 Game Compendium? ;)

At any rate, stay cool folks, and keep gaming!