People all over the world have been using their Nintendo Wiis and Wii Fit to get in shape. Currently the activities on Wii Fit rely mainly on stretching, aerobics and simple exercises but the company Riiflex is planning to increase the home-gym potential of the Wii with real dumbbell attachments for the Wii-Remote.

The dumbbells, which are planned to be available in 2LB and 5LB increments, will attach onto the Wii-Remote and add a new level of resistance to any Wii workout. So far there is no information on prices or when they will be available, however, you can sign up for a preorder at the Riiflex website and stay tuned to The Play Forum for more information.

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I’ve just returned from a momentous and exciting trip to Washington D.C. for the Presidential Inauguration and am still totally blown away by what I experienced and saw there. You likely already know how insanely cold and crowded it was, but what you may not have fully realized was how many families – spanning several generations – trekked across the country and onto the cold concrete to watch history be made. I will eventually thaw and will one day pack away all of the commemorative items I collected there, but I will never forget the people I encountered who ultimately had the biggest role in shaping my memories of that trip.

Truly impressive to me were the thousands of older citizens who braved the harshest conditions to “witness this first-hand”, as one woman told me. Sheila was a 73-year old Alabama native who had never been to D.C. before this historic day. She had saved money for over a year (long before Obama had won) because she said she would never believe it if she didn’t see it with her own eyes. There were countless others like Sheila who silently reminded me that this event was of greater significance than I may ever have fully comprehend.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, and equally impressive, were the families – with young kids in tow – who were there to experience history. These, our littlest citizens, couldn’t possibly fully understand what it was they were witnessing, but they bundled up and bunkered down in the cold, trusting that their parents were on to something. They knew it was important for them to be there and I’m proud to report that I didn’t witness a single tantrum or fit thrown…which is a huge triumph given that it was 6 degrees, and there wasn’t an inch of room to run or play. I know that it cannot have been easy for those parents to manage their children under those conditions – so I applaud them for having the forethought and fortitude to give their children the opportunity to have that memory. Many other parents and teachers found other ways to discuss the inaugural events with their children and students, respectively, so that it could become a moment that they would remember and respect.

Back at my home base in New York City, my daughter watched the Inauguration with her preschool class. Her class was one of thousands across the country that put their academic studies on hold for a moment to focus on what is perhaps the most important moment in civil studies they may ever witness. She was sad to not be with me but told me she was proud to know that I was somewhere in the middle of all those people (which she thought looked “fun!”). I’d never heard her use the word “proud” before and so having her bestow the term on me has really underscored how amazing this experience was and the important role that we parents play as role models and ambassadors for them.

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It’s nice to know that someone is actually purchasing Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console. And it doesn’t hurt that the someone is the New York Yankees. When the new Yankee Stadium opens on April 16 (vs. the Cleveland Indians), the stadium will sport of bevy of Sony gear including more than 550 flat-panel HD TVs in the luxury suites, lounges, concourses, restaurants and administrative offices. Additionally, Sony PS3 systems will be available to fans in select locations throughout the Stadium.

I’m not entirely sure what that will look like. It could just be PS3 stations on the concourse as a means of drumming up sales or, this is what I hope, game systems will be placed around kid-friendly areas where bored kids can take a seven inning stretch whenever they need to and parents will be able to continue enjoying the game on field. I guess we will just have to wait until April to find out.

You can read the full story on the official Yankee’s website.

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According to Destuctoid.com, as of February 9th, GameStop will stop accepting original Xbox gear and games for trade-ins. Don’t freak out, all Xbox 360 related items are still acceptable. As many gamers and parents constantly driving kids to GameStop know, tradeing in old games for new ones is an almost weekly event. Sure you are getting a fraction of the original price but it’s still better than paying full price for new items.

So if you have any original Xbox games, consoles, or accessories that are gathering dust, now is the time to unload them.

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Yes, this is another response to the latest Ann Coulter kerfuffle. Coulter, who spews bile, dresses provocatively and, apparently laughs all the way to the bank, is raking in piles of publicity. One thing we can all agree on: The woman knows how to market herself.

I take issue with some of the ways she interprets statistics, and I don’t agree with her main premise that victimhood is the new black—or words to that effect. None of that, however, is necessarily relevant. What Coulter does, with the full complicity of her alleged enemy the mainstream media, is create a sideshow.She takes such issues as single motherhood, 9/11, homosexuality, the media and uses them as platforms to say things that are designed to get a polarized reaction. It’s just like what a toddler does to try to get a rise out of his or her mother, and it usually works.

Coulter’s stock in trade in fomenting outrage—an easy and basically useless, though highly entertaining emotion when done well. Look at the blogs and the comments online. What you’ll find is a chorus of people on both sides of the issue having a cathartic good time spewing their own opinions into the ether.

At the end of it all, I’m left wondering: What purpose does it serve? Certainly the networks profit from increased audiences. Booksellers profit. Coulter profits and paves the way for more of the same, but what change has she effected? People remain as polarized as they were before. What I don’t see, from anyone, is a substantive discussion of the issue. There is no cogent, or reasoned distillation of the facts, and there is no discussion at all of the thinking behind the statements. In opposition, there is no serious questioning of intellectual premises or interpretation of data. There is simply the call and response of charged statement and outraged reaction. It makes a good show, but does anyone stop and ask whether or not these are appropriate topics to treat in this manner? For those of you who may remember “Dynasty,” all of this brouhaha reminds me of Alexis and Crystal brawling in a fountain in their Bob Mackie gowns. It was ridiculous. (more…)

Play Categories: Advice

A funny thing happened on the way to 2009 last week. It seems that sometime during the early morning hours of New Year’s Eve, every Microsoft 30GB Zune device on the planet froze. The incident, has been dubbed “Z2K9,” a reference to the Y2K non-event of 2000, which occurred (or didn’t occur) nine years ago to the day.

According to Microsoft, the technical glitch was caused by a leap-year related incident and should have resolved itself later that day. Microsoft advised all owners of the 30GB Zune to let the battery fully drain then, after noon GMT on January 1, 2009, recharge the device by connecting the Zune to a computer or AC power.

Play Categories: Gadgets, Video Games, products