I never got involved with the Sims. I prefered Myst & Riven.

I think we may have just saved ourselves $50/month on our cable bill.

Cindy, I don't think that's boring - I think it's great. I just spect some time on the phone last week lowering our car insurance now that Joe is gone and reducing the interest rate on our credit cards. Even though I save about $60 total, it still feels good.

My cable company is my next target. We spend $116 a month, but that include internet. However, in our area, you can't get a DVR with cable. However, I think can with a dish. So, I'm considering changing it around to see if I can either get the DVR capability or save on the bill.

BTW, is it true that Tivo will shortly no longer allow you FF past commercials? This could be a factor in my decision.

Lilty -- if you go to Sims Body Shop (it comes with Sims2) you can create all kinds of Sims. The control you have over their features is incredible. There are a lot of faces to choose and then you can manipulate the faces -- I think there are about 9 or so different ways just to manipulate their eyebrows.

You can make them at every age and go and see what they would look like at different ages. These Sims can be imported into the game and I think it's a way to make a family. I haven't tried, I've had too much fun making the Sims.

There's make up available which you can put on every age except toddler -- including the guys. And there's costume style make up but no real costumes to put them in. Lots of different outfits -- including pirate outfits!

somebody could get a deal for Sims Homicide.

Homicide the series? I suppose there could be "the box" - maybe if a Sim perp couldn't go to the bathroom he'd confess sooner.

Sims 2 has teenagers, toddlers, and kids, and old people. They grow up after birthday parties (like my unsuccessful party). There are a lot of options when it comes to talking to each other. One option is Irritate.

Isn't irritate the default for teenagers?

Dude, that's it. I've been Sims clean for a good 3 months, but I'm cracking. After I have lunch and clean the bathroom, I'm playing again. I can make myself just play for an hour or so then start on my room. For really.

I'm not sure, I haven't played with it enough.

Well, yeah, sort of. (Hey, torture and story...Sims by Dennis Lehane.) If the confession couldn't be obtained in eight hours a lawyer could come and shake his finger at you or something.

torture and story...Sims by Dennis Lehane

I've had a beer with Dennis Lehane, and shudder to think at what he'd do with Sims. Nice guy, but a definite wild streak.

Chess is one of those games that I feel I should be really good at (since I've uber-left-brained, and learned to play almost before I could read), but I think I'm just too impatient. (Likewise, I kick ass at Hearts, but could never muster the intellectual energy needed for bridge. Too much counting!)

The apartment is about halfway unpacked. What's left is mostly due to a lack of furniture -- we need a kitchen table, a dresser, a desk for DH's office. We also need to put together the DVD rack and the shelf unit for the bathroom.

I had an unusual experience yesterday returning the U-Haul. They charge $2.00/gallon plus a $20 refilling charge for any gas you don't replace. Since the gas station nearby was charging $2.10, and I was completely fucking exhausted, I figured I'd just eat the $20 charge and let them fill it up. But when the outside guy was checking for scratches and gas usage, he turns to me and says, "If you give me $10 right now, I'll write off your gas." I was kind of thrown, but I said no thanks, I'll pay inside. And he kept pressing it, re-phrasing as if I didn't understand that he was asking for a bribe, rather than that I was simply refusing to give him one. And eventually he stopped and said, "So what, are you a Christian?"

And it surprised me not so much because of the assumption that Christians have a monopoly on ethics, which is irritatingly common, but because of his disappointment that it was so, and damn his bad luck for encountering one of them. In America, of all places! A new twist on an old prejudice. When I stopped mentally cracking up, I said, "No, just ethical," and stared at him until he gave me my receipt. Very odd.

And now I'm off to the old apartment to help DH finish cleaning it up so we can get some of our security deposit back.