Meet Joe!

Coffee Beans

     During the last several months while I was editing videos together, Mrs. Coffee took up a new hobby by accident.  How do you take up a new hobby by accident?  Well, Mrs. Coffee was talking with our neighbor, and thought our neighbor said she had learned how to knit on YouTube.  So, my wife came home and was curious about it, and looked up how to knit on YouTube.  She started by knitting an octopus, and then she knitted me something, keeping it a surprise until it was finished.

    What did Mrs. Coffee knit me?  Meet JOE!

Great Titans Appear! Xenoblade Chronicles' Hours Debut Report

Coffee Beans
Xenoblade Chronicles was finally released in the United States on April 6, 2012 with a retail price of $49.99. The game was developed by Monolith Soft, and published by Nintendo.

Xenoblade Chronicles received an ESRB rating of "Teen" with "Blood, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence" listed as content for parents to be aware of.

How many hours did Wii owners report playing Xenoblade Chronicles in the first 3 weeks after its release? Let's take a look!

January, February, March, & April Brewed? More Like Roasted...

Coffee Beans
     It has been 3 full months since a post here on CoffeeWithGames, and basically 5 full months since I was posting on a regular basis. What's been happening?
     Well, in January I installed a new graphics card and power supply in my computer, after I received Star Wars: The Old Republic as a gift. The installation of the graphics card and power supply went smoothly, and they are still in my PC (though the GPU almost sounds like my PS3 sometimes...LOUD).
     After I installed the new GPU and PSU, I started playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, and for about the first 2 weeks everything was going well, though I was noticing something odd with my PC. Hard-drive space was randomly vanishing. My HDD went from I think 50+ GB, to zero, in the 2 weeks I was playing The Old Republic. I was getting pop-up warning messages about my HDD space being at zero, and my PC's performance would slow way down.
     I uninstalled Star Wars: The Old Republic, and when I restarted my PC, magically the 50+ GB of data reappeared instantly along with the game's required HDD space. After searching the game's forums and doing internet searches for the issue, there was only one post I found that another player was having the same issue, and that player was in Europe. Since then though, I have seen a few more HDD posts pop-up on different forums, though nobody seems to really know why the game is causing HDD issues.

     What does that have to do with posting on CoffeeWithGames? Well, as many of you know, I did lots of data posts by watching games on the Wii's Nintendo Channel. I would record data each week by video capture, and those recordings were usually 1-2GBs in size, and that wasn't counting any trailer clips I would try to find and/or game-play footage I would randomly record. Trying to resolve The Old Republic issues in January and no HDD space, meant no data posting.
     Then February rolled around and I had gotten busy with some business connections, doing lots of video editing, so after I had resolved the HDD space, I was then using it for capturing/editing new videos and sending them out (non-game related). February's only post was on my 2011 Video Games Resolution, and then NOTHING...until now.

     What exactly will the future of CoffeeWithGames be? Well, there will be some data posts, as there have been a few games to debut in the last several months that I was watching, and there may be a new video feature...but that remains to be seen. So, CoffeeWithGames has been slow roasting for the last several months, but I do plan on getting it back up and going, though maybe not quite as often as it was before with as many posts.
     If you're wondering, "Well, Coffee have you been playing any games?" The answer is pretty simple, not really. It's been basically only Star Wars: The Old Republic back in January, and then I played Rayman Origins for about 30 minutes at the end of February, when we were actually on a family vacation. I still have two games I received as Christmas gifts that haven't even been opened!

     Anyway, CWG isn't going away, but it's in a weird transition right now until I can figure out the best way to do things with the data posts, and perhaps adding new features on a more regular basis.
     As for now, I'll leave you with one video I edited together back in January, having some fun with our oldest son. WARNING: Turn your volume down before pressing play! (I failed to adjust the audio in the editing program correctly!)

2011's New Year's Video Game Resolution - Failure, or Success?

Coffee Beans
     Remember January 4, 2011? If you don't, that was the day I posted my "New Year's Video Game Resolution". What was my New Year's Video Game Resolution for last year?
     I simply said, "...that I won't purchase any NEW or USED video games in 2011, until I finish my backlog of video games on my current generation consoles."
     The image below is what my backlog of video games looked like in January 2011:

December Brewed! Coffees Consumed, Games Played - Happy New Year!

Coffee Beans
     Happy New Year! December was super busy, with January and the new year in full swing, let's take a quick look at the coffees and Ed Hardy Energy Snacks I consumed, and video games I played in December.

Coffees (and Energy Snacks) Consumed in December
     Maxwell House Dark Roast - I believe this was purchased by Mrs. Coffee for us early in December, and was one of the 270 cup coffee containers. It didn't survive through December, but we did enjoy it.
     Community Coffee - I consumed several different blends of this during December. We had some Community Coffee Medium Roast at our house, but we also consumed some Community Coffee blends while we were visiting family in Louisiana.  Mrs. Coffee's family likes to brew the Community Coffee blends.
     Folgers Coffee - This was another coffee blend I consumed when we were visiting family.  The Folger Coffees blends are what my mom likes to brew.
     Maxwell House Gourmet Roast - This is another big 270 cup coffee container, that was purchased after we arrived back home from Louisiana.  We still have a good amount left, and it should last us at least another 2 weeks or so.  I think Mrs. Coffee enjoys this blend a good bit, because it's the second time she has purchased it in 2 months.
     Trader Joe's WAKE UP Blend - Upon arriving home from Louisiana, we had a lot of packages in the mail.  One of the packages was pretty big, and it contained a 28 oz. (1 LB 12 OZ) container of this Trader Joe's WAKE UP Blend Medium Roast coffee.  Like in the past, this Trader Joe's coffee blend was mailed to me from fellow reader Charlie, who writes on his own blog at NicodemusAtNite.com.  Thank you Charlie!
     Ed Hardy Coffee & Chocolate Rocks - What do you do to stay awake while driving through the night? Well, I chose to eat some Ed Hardy Coffee Rocks, and the Chocolate Rocks, to help me stay awake.  I found the Ed Hardy Energy Snacks to be great while driving, as I was able to eat a few at a time, without overdoing it.  I ate them in moderation, so I would not become super caffeinated and get pulled over for driving 100+ mph, but I was in the driver's seat for about 13 hours with the help of Ed Hardy's Energy Snacks.  Not only did I find them useful, but I discovered Mrs. Coffee was sneaking some of them after we made our final stop!

Games Played in December
     Super Mario Bros. - I played this random nights in December, as our oldest son plays the "delay fish" game before bed.  Basically, the "delay fish" game is where he names everything he can possibly think of to delay going into his room by a few minutes, that I may fall for. Super Mario Bros. is one of those things.  I did end up beating Super Mario Bros. in December, when Mrs. Coffee and I had some friends over one night for a Christmas get together. It took me multiple tries, but I eventually made the dash just right, and hit the switch(if you have played it, you know what I'm talking about).
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Played some more online, and a bit more of the single-player for a video project (not just the coffee one).  Haven't played it since we left before Christmas, and since we made it back. Perhaps a few rounds in a bit to see how it's playing would do well.
     Tenchu: Shadow Assassins - A game on my New Year's Video Game resolution list.  I had played this on and off, but really started playing it a good bit in December attempting to finish my resolution.  Did I finish the game?  That's for another post!
     New Super Mario Bros. Wii - When Mrs. Coffee and I visited family out of town, one of my friends brought this over to my parents' house and Mrs. Coffee, he, and I played through this in one night.  We "completed" the game, by using the canons (he knew where they were), and defeated the final boss in just over 3 hours.  I did record a lot of it, but my PC's HDD is almost 100% full, so I'm having to shuffle files around now.
     Endless Ocean: Blue World - Another game on my New Year's Video Game resolution list.  I had played this almost 2 years ago, but started a completely new file in December so I could try and actually pay attention to the storyline.  I have enjoyed my time with the game, actually much moreso than I thought I would.  Was I able to reach the end of Endless Ocean: Blue World though?  More later!

Filtered Thoughts
     Can you all believe another year has already flown by?  Crazy.  If any of you are wondering, "Coffee, why aren't you posting much right now?"  Well, we were out of town for a little over a week, then I was sick.  I have been working since we got back also, and now school is starting up.
     Also, to add a little more to my craziness, as I mentioned above, my computer's HDD is nearly 100% full (typing this on Mrs. Coffee's laptop actually), and I just installed a new PSU and GPU (Christmas gifts), and am waiting on a DVI to HDMI cable to show up any day now, because the one that came with my PC is AWOL.  Once I get my desktop back 100% functioning with the HDD cleared off some, posting should pick back up a bit.

Questions
     What coffees did you consume (or other beverages) and games did you play during December?
     Also, do any of you have Endless Ocean: Blue World by any chance?