For my 18 month old, the Teletubbies are must see TV. She will watch the whole program and not stray from the television. The only other media that holds her captive is Guitar Hero. I can play any song on Guitar Hero, and she is mesmerized by it. Once the song is over, she’ll even cheer most of the time.

The only problem is that during the Teletubbies I can get stuff done like dishes, laundry..etc. But with Guitar Hero I have to play. Oh, sure i could turn it on and let her have a go, but I’m sure she enjoys it much more when Mommy is playing. Yeah, that’s it. I have to play for her to truly enjoy it.

She is going to be gamer there is no doubt about that. It won’t be long before she’ll be beating me in games.

One of my favorite college assignments was to make a music video. I was a Communication major preparing for a job in the television industry. I had to direct, shoot and edit the video. It was a lot of fun but a lot of work. It’s amazing with today’s technology how simple it would be to complete that assignment today.

Although making amateur music videos is much easier today, the editing software can still be quirky to figure out. I really don’t have a lot of time to tweak my videos with chasing after a toddler all day. I really like software that is simple, fast, and easy. Fliptrack.com may be the solution I have been looking for.

Fliptrack is a music video sharing website. Fliptrack makes it easy for users to share their music videos by providing a free software program that does a lot of the work for them. Once you download the sofware, choose a song from the Fliptrack library. Next browse your computer for photos you want to add. Click and drag those photos to the timeline. Then you can add effects like transitions or text to your photos. Now you are ready to preview your video. You can also add photos later to the music track. Lastly share your video with others by uploading it to Fliptrack.

Here is my video created in all of 15 minutes:

Fliptrack has an easy to use software download that will have you creating music videos in as little as 15 minutes. That’s great for me since about 15 uninterruptable minutes is about all I get these days.

Brought to you by Fliptrack.

Apparently this Summer will see the release of Guitar Hero II 80’s edition. Guitar Hero III is in the works, so I’m not really sure what all the 80’s edition will entail. This will be the third and final Guitar Hero developed by Harmonix. Guitar Hero III is being developed by Activision.

Here are some 80’s songs I would like to play:

Poison - Talk Dirty to Me ( what screams more than 80’s than big haired rock bands?)
The Romantics — Taking in your sleep (? I think that’s the title)
.38 Special - Hold on Loosely
Van Halen - Hot for Teacher

I’m sure I’ll love the 80’s edition as much as I and II.

It is never fun to have to deal with car trouble. This weekend my truck broke down while I was returning from a trip to New Orleans. Luckily the problem was a cheap fix unlike other car woes I’ve experienced in the past. One of the most expensive repairs we’ve had to make in a while has been to replace the radiator in our car.

When our radiator needed to be replaced, it was fairly obvious but sometimes small holes in the radiator can lead to slow leaks. Someone can run out of antifreeze and really cause some damage to their vehicle. It doesn’t take long for a car to get too hot when there is nothing in the radiator, and it doesn’t take long for costly damage to be done to the motor as well.

Luckily our car is not a luxury car like a Mercedes. I’m sure the cost to replace a Mercedes radiator would have been a lot more. Thank goodness for website like Radiator.com that will help you find the best deal on Mercedes radiators. I always like to shop around before buying anything. I love to save money and know without a doubt that there wasn’t a better deal than the one I got. Radiator.com also has live help, so if you are unsure of something you can ask someone. It can be a daunting task to buy your own car parts. You need to get the right part for the make and model of your vehicle.

Car trouble is bad enough and usually costs a lot to repair. It pays to look for a good deal on car parts especially parts for luxury cars like Mercedes.

I had to try Peggle after I read that it was from the makers of Bejeweled. Think of Peggle as Plingo (Price is Right game) meets Pinball. Peggle is from PopCap games. Its addictive game play has me wanting more of this puzzle game.

Peggle has a simple concept: clear all the orange pegs to clear the level. As the game progresses, orange bricks are added to the equation as well as power ups and other useful items. You have ten balls to complete this task. You earn bonus balls if they land on the bottom floating platform.

When you hit the last orange ball, you are treated to some theatrics as the game goes into slow motion. Once that last one is hit, victory music plays as you watch as the ball drops in one of the slots in the bottom for bonus points (Extreme Fever). It’s quite cute and puts a smile on my face everytime.

The demo is good for one hour of play. Peggle retails for $19.99.

Buying video games and video game peripherals can get become quite expensive. That’s why I’m also on the look out for promo codes, sales, and in general good deals on video games. A good deal can save you a lot of money. Plus it’s almost a game in itself to shop around for the best bargain.

MyCoupons.com has relaunched and now features more coupons than ever. Simply do a keyword search for “games” to get some good deals from retailers. Right now, MadCatz, maker of video game controllers and other game equipment, is offering free shipping on all orders. Be sure to jot down the promo code to make sure you get the deal when you checkout.

MyCoupons has plenty of other great offers from thousands of retailers. To keep up with the latest deals and to read some humorous true stories, read the MyCoupons blog. Joining MyCoupons is free and allows you to connect with other members through the forums.

So, remember to check MyCoupons for any video game deals before buying online. You might save some of your hard earned cash.

I’m not referring to the Styx album but the coin game with the name Pieces of Eight. It from Atlas Games. With coins you make up your ship. There is one captain to your ship. You can have mates, cannons, even a monkey.

The last person standing with their captain wins the game. There is some strategy as to how to stack your coins. You hold the coins in one hand while your other hand serves as the crow’s nest. You have place one coin in the crow’s nest. Your opponent can see that coin and the first coin in your other hand. You can play either of those coins or the coin in the back of the stack.

The rules explain what each coin does. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a little pricey at $19.99, and each player will need their own set of coins to play. Pieces of Eight is a great game to play when you are waiting at a convention for a game to start or some other setting.

Being fans of anything pirate, we are hooked on it after playing it once. Now we just have to wait for our favorite local gaming store to get in the game.

I have friends who just got a Wii, so they have been busy playing a lot of GameCube games since you can pick up most titles at a good deal. One good deal they got was Shrek II.

They will be happy to learn of a new Shrek adventure due out this Summer. It’s called Shrek the Third. Here is the premise(press release):

“..The game takes players on an epic journey through the worlds of Far Far Away after Prince Charming storms the city with an army of villains in order to seize the throne..”

Shrek the Third is due out this June.

Having a baby is one hidden expensive after another. I’m not talking about diapers, formula, toys, or baby furniture. I’m talking about medical bills. I thought I had good insurance until I had a baby. There were so many doctors and hospital bills. What was really sad was we had prepaid our OB-GYN what we thought would be the cost of her services. It turned out we still owed around $700 even with prepaying our calculated portions.

Prenatal care is very important and luckily was very affordable with our insurance. I can’t imagine having a baby without insurance. We would be in debt for life.

My next pregnancy - if I am so lucky to get pregnant again - I’m going to get the Maternity Card. We have insurance but a high deductible. The Maternity Card can help fill in the cost gap. Their maternity benefits are tailored made on a case by case basis. They can also help lower the cost of infertility treatments.

If you are pregnant or hoping to become pregnant, Maternity Card is definitely worth checking into.

Brought to you by Maternity Card.

How would you like to use that cool Wii nunchuk remote control with your PC? It’s no pipedream because it’s possible. Wiiprojects.org has all the details on how to hook up your Wii remote to a PC.

We don’t have a Wii yet and certainly don’t have a remote. We do have a USB Bluetooth device. Since we are planning to purchase a Wii, picking up a Wii nunchuk remote wouldn’t be a waste of money. It might be kind of cool to use the Wii remote on the PC.