More Godfather and New PC

We spent Labor Day weekend at the house (the first weekend for some time now). I finished many small projects around the home and made big progress on cleaning out the garage. My son and I took the dog on long walks every day. Monday we went to a BBQ with good beer and bratwurst. Ahhh... the summer is winding down. Fall will soon be here, which means MMO season for me.

I played Godfather a couple nights this weekend and made capo in the Family. I have complete control over Hell's Kitchen, Little Italy, and Brooklyn, and I need to hit a compound to control all of Midtown. New Jersey is next on the list. My payday is a nice $60K a week after giving the Don his cut. I put the pile of cash from paydays and missions to good use upgrading my characters weapons and clothes. He's looking sharp in his black suit. I won't spoil the plot but I had fun RPing my character's revenge on a rival family after they wronged me. Bastards.

The new computer arrived Saturday and I set it up in the loft. No monitor or speakers came with it, so I hooked up a little, old CRT and a cheap pair of speakers. Hohum. The faster processor is nice, but I'd updgraded the hell out of the other PC. The specs aren't that much different... both have 2 GB RAM and beefy graphics cards. But the crappy monitor hurts. The quality and size of the monitor has a real impact on the experience. I'll have to save my nickels and pennies for a hot 22" widescreen flat panel.

The wireless network (or lack of one) is the issue I have to fix ASAP, or to be exact have the folks at Verizon fix for me. Currently we have Earthlink DSL plugged into the one computer, which worked great when I was the only online gamer in the house. I need to call Verizon in the next day or two and sign up for their FiOS service. They'll rewire the house with fiber optics and setup a wireless network. Even splitting the internet connection, Avril and I will have 2-3 times the speed. Beautiful. Eventually. Fingers crossed the FiOS install is quick and painless.

Giving in to Temptation

Since Avril joined the MMO world a few months ago, she has tempted me with getting a new computer. She frequently mentions a deal she saw advertised. Avril even offered up the money she receives for her birthday to help pay for a new computer.

She wants us both to play online. Not together mind you. While building and scripting in Second Life looks interesting to me, I prefer games with character levels, quests, and gnome slaying. Avril admires the beauty of my games, but is not interested in combat. Instead, we will play games on the same nights and not play on the same nights. I can appreciate that.

Originally I planned to buy a more powerful computer some time next spring. But Avril and I agree that a cheaper, moderately better second computer would be better for us now. Especially since I'm joining LotRO in about four weeks.

Okay, now to figure out how to set up a home network so we can share the printer and Internet connection.