#and he went to the Nintendo store in new york on Saturday

[wedding-shemp]

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[orbemnews]

Still Looking for a New Gaming Console? Here’s Why One Saturday in mid-December, Chris Vernon was driving as fast as he could to a GameStop in Memphis. He had spent weeks combing the internet for new PlayStation 5 consoles, and had just heard about a new shipment’s arrival at a store nearby. It was the only present his 10-year-old son, William, wanted for Christmas. The problem was, lots of other children around the country were asking for new video game consoles, too. Mr. Vernon, a local sports radio host and podcaster for “The Ringer,” arrived too late. He waited in line for four hours before being told that the store had run out. He returned home, “crestfallen,” to tell William the bad news. Since their highly anticipated release in November, the new generations of consoles — Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Sony’s PS5 — have been in short supply. Gamers have flooded online stores in the hundreds of thousands, crashed websites, lined up outside stores and shaken their fists in frustration when scalpers snagged devices, then resold them for double the price. “It’s completely chaotic,” said Rupantar Guha, an analyst at GlobalData, an analytics company in Britain. Microsoft and Sony would not give sales totals for the devices, which arrived on the market during a pandemic-fueled surge in gaming. But David Gibson, the chief investment officer at Astris Advisory, a financial advisory firm in Tokyo, estimated that Sony had sold at least six million PS5s through the end of 2020 and that Microsoft had sold three million of the Xbox Series X and the smaller Series S. “In a lot of ways, they don’t want to satisfy demand initially. They want to have an ongoing gap between supply and demand,” Mr. Gibson said. “They want to have buzz and excitement around it for a longer period of time.” Scarcity is typical for new consoles, but the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated it by closing factories in China early last year. Then the demand for laptops and other electronics for remote work led to a shortage of chips and other computer parts. Malfunctioning chips played a role in the supply problems as well. Sony declined to comment, instead referring to a November post on Twitter in which the company mentioned the high demand. Microsoft said in a statement that it saw huge demand, too, and was “working tirelessly with our manufacturing and retail partners to replenish Xbox hardware as quickly as possible.” Mike Spencer, Microsoft’s head of investor relations, said in an interview this week that the company had topped $5 billion in gaming revenue in a quarter for the first time. Microsoft sold every Xbox unit it had last quarter, he said, adding that supply is likely to be constrained at least through June. U.S. consumers spent $7.7 billion on video games in December, according to the NPD Group, up 25 percent from a year earlier. Hardware sales accounted for $1.35 billion, the most for a December since 2013, the last time new-generation consoles were released. (Nintendo’s Switch, which first went on sale in 2017, outsold both the PlayStation and Xbox last month.) When Mr. Vernon, 42, recounted his console-hunting tale on his radio show, a listener with an extra PlayStation reached out to him. Mr. Vernon drove to the man’s house, bought the console and surprised William with it days later. “It was the hardest gift for anyone that I’ve ever tried to buy,” Mr. Vernon told The New York Times. “It ended up all being worth it for that moment.” One of the most vexing issues are the scalpers. Some are using so-called purchase bots — also known as “Grinch bots” — to snap up online offers faster than humans can. “None of these devices are reaching their customers,” Mr. Guha said. “They are just going missing somewhere in between.” Online scalper groups are claiming credit for buying thousands of consoles, though their numbers may be exaggerated. Walmart said in a blog post in December that it had blocked more than 20 million bot attempts to buy PS5s in one 30-minute stretch in November. Resellers list consoles on places like eBay and Facebook Marketplace for up to $1,000, double the retail price. Mr. Guha said he had seen a PS5 advertised for $5,000. Crep Chief Notify, a British reseller company that scalpers use, said it had more than 5,000 customers. The group charges $40 a month for a suite of tools, advice on how to resell items and access to a server on Discord, a messaging app. Max Heywood, a 19-year-old British student who is one of the company directors, said Crep Chief Notify did not use purchase bots but supplied software that monitors online stores and notifies users when new items are in stock. Bradley Gee, another Crep Chief director, pushed back against criticism that the company helps people resell the consoles at higher prices. “To be totally honest, it’s basic supply and demand,” Mr. Gee, 21, said. “There’s millions of consoles available. If you didn’t get one, it is unfortunate.” He added: “We just help members secure them. They can then do what they wish with the console.” To beat out scalpers, buyers are following Twitter accounts that announce when stores like Target, Walmart and Best Buy get new shipments. And a group of college students has seen huge interest in a free browser extension they created to notify people when digital stores restock. More than 100,000 people have installed OctoShop, a Google Chrome extension made by five students from schools in Texas and Pennsylvania. Rithwik Pattikonda, a computer science major at the University of Texas, said the idea for a shopping aide had come about during the toilet paper shortage at the beginning of the pandemic. It morphed into a tool for outsmarting scalpers chasing consoles. “The goal is to give the power to regular people,” Mr. Pattikonda, 20, said. He added that several thousand people have said OctoShop has helped them obtain a console. For many, though, the search has remained fruitless. Shannon-Leigh Bull of Warwickshire, England, has been trying to surprise her boyfriend with a new PlayStation since November. “Sometimes, you’re waiting more than an hour and you finally get through and it’s out of stock,” Ms. Bull, 22, said. “It’s like having your dreams crushed, because you thought and hoped you’d actually get one.” “I feel like giving up, and that I’m never going to get it.” Karen Weise contributed reporting. Source link Orbem News #Console #Gaming #Heres

[sam1715-blog]

Long Time, No Post

Okay, I totally realize I haven't been on here in about 3 years, based on my last post. But that's about to change. I plan on posting here a lot more, about my daily life, what I’m watching, video games I’m playing, anything and everything. Kind of treat it like my own journal, an online version. Some stuff I will leave out for privacy reasons or because it’s about other people, but for the most part, I will try to remain open and honest about my life. But since it’s been 3 years, I’ll start by talking about what those 3 years have been like...

In 2016, I turned 28. I wasn’t working, I was just going about my days like I usually did. My grandmother got sick and passed away. In late May we found a kitten, who I named Tulowhiskers (after Troy Tulowitzki) in our backyard, who would soon become a member of our family. I took him in, against my mom’s wishes. He weighed less than half a pound, he had a cold, parasites (which would take months to treat), some flea dirt, but other then that, he was a normal kitten. At first he was scared of his new home, but after a few days of constant love and attention, he began to thrive. And once he met his older brother, Chilli, he was the happiest cat in the world. In June, I had surgery to remove half my thyroid, as their was a nodule that wouldn't stop growing. My doctor recommended it be removed due to my age, the fact that it wouldn’t stop growing and while it was not cancerous at that time, there was no guarantee that it would stay that way. It was also getting very annoying, as I could see it and I was starting to feel it (and who really wanted to get an ultrasound on their neck every 3-6 months, as well as biopsy's done). So I had the surgery, my very first surgery, and I was in the hospital for two days recovering. I eventually got put on thyroid medication, since my thyroid function was too low. That pretty much ends 2016.

Now on to 2017. I turned 29. I got a job at Lowe’s, where I was a cashier and customer service associate. I was working 5 days a week, which meant lots of money, but also meant that naps became a daily habit when I wasn't doing the closing shift. We found two more cats in our backyard, Timmy and Stubbs. We are pretty sure they are actually related to Tulo, but unlike him, they still had their mother around, so they were being cared for. We still fed them and in September, we brought them inside to join our family. That wasn't the original plan, but that’s how it worked. So now we’re up to 4 cats (don’t worry, that's where it ends. No more cats in our house). My mom also retired from her job that year. 

In 2018, I turned 30. But before I could do that, I went on my very first plane ride, to New York City! I went with my sister and my best friend for a joint birthday weekend (my friend and I are only 11 days apart). We stayed for 3 days, went shopping (at the Nintendo store!), saw an off Broadway show, went to the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 museum, Times Square and Central Park. I also started talking to some guy, ended up agreeing to go on a date with him (which he canceled), hung out with him twice after that, only to be told that he didn't want a relationship. Looking back, I’m pretty sure I got played, based on everything he told me and when he was back in the city (he went away for work) he didn't want to make time to see me, which if I was as important to him as he said I was, he definitely would have. But that ‘s ok, you learn from those mistakes and move on. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt and that I didn’t cry because of it. But in the end it worked out. Because of that experience, my ex-boyfriend and I started talking again. He came to see me one time at work (where we talked and walked around the store for a couple of minutes) and after that, I knew I wanted to see him again. It had been 6 years since we last talked or seen each other, other then in passing. We hung out again a few days later, went to lunch and just talked. We made plan to go to a Blue Jays game that weekend and it was at that moment that I realized we couldn’t just be friends. I’m pretty sure I told him that weekend I wanted us to date again, but whenever that happened, we ended up seeing each other again. Going on dates, hanging out, growing closer. For his birthday, I got us a hotel in the Rogers Centre to watch the Blue Jays games from the room. The room over looked the field and it was something I had always wanted to do. It was also the first time we spent the night together, so we were both nervous. But it was a good weekend, we watched the two games we were there for and went to the aquarium. Back to normal life now. I was still working at Lowe’s, and eventually I switched to the online orders department. So I no longer did customer service, unless I was helping out when they were short in the front. In July, I got a new job, so I left Lowe’s. I’m going to leave where I currently work out of it, but it is a clothing store for children. I saw Taylor Swift in concert for the first time! It was amazing! So good! I got my sister Twenty One Pilot tickets for her birthday, with a catch... the concert was in NYC. So back to New York we went. Just her and I this time. We stayed for a week, got there on Monday, left on Saturday. She really enjoyed the concert. I enjoyed going to the Nintendo store again. We also went back to Central Park and explored that, we did the Museum of Natural History, Times Square again, walked a lot! We walked everywhere (except to and from the airport - that's the only time we took a cab), so we crashed pretty hard at night! And that pretty much ends 2018.

Now it’s 2019. I just turned 31, spent my birthday at the Raptors game with my boyfriend, who I’ve been with for just over 9 months now. I could go on and on about him, how great he is, how when he tells me things, I actually believe him. He’s never once given me a reason not to trust him, he makes time for me, definitely happier with him then I would have been if things didn’t go the way the did with the other guy. But I won’t go on and on about him. The cats are still good, they all get along. Chilli is diabetic now, it’s been about a month since we found out, making him the second cat we’ve had to get diabetes. But it’s ok, it's manageable.

I’m going to stop writing now. I’ve covered the last 3 years, shortly, but to the point, in case anyone reads this. Who knows? I have work in a few hours, so I should slowly start getting ready for that...

[michaelsshelfspace]

God is Good

Forewarning: Long-post incoming

Oh man, what an incredible weekend! I just arrived back from New York (spent Friday to Sunday there) and I’m exhausted. Literally, I think I only got a few hours of sleep both nights.

And the craziest part is, I don’t think I’ve seen a clearer, more tangible way that God has moved in my life in recent memory. He orchestrated everything to help my mom have the best trip possible. I’m blown away.

The changes to my plans began Friday, a week before the trip. The first of two plays that we were to see, Hamlet (with Oscar Isaac) was cancelled. How often are plays cancelled? Disheartened and a bit frantic, I asked Yurie, Grace, and some others for suggestions on what to do. I managed to scrape together a plan to fill in the extra time Saturday. Then, on the Friday we were set to leave, our flight was delayed by three hours. At this point, I’m beginning to really worry that the whole trip was going to go awry.

We arrived, tired, in New York at ~11pm. We’d wanted to train in, but at this point we just called a cab. A half hour later, we got to the hotel. And the hotel was amazing. My mom had got the suggestion from her friend, not knowing what it was like, and it turned out to be hip, fun, and really artistic (not at all what we were expecting).

The next morning, we walked to the breakfast spot that I’d chosen, only to find that it was closed that day to film a commercial (how often does that happen??) I hastily searched google and found another location that sounded vaguely familiar. Amazingly, that day, one of New York’s streets was closed for an athletic festival / race, which I hadn’t known about, and this new place was located right on this street. God turned us around to this place and we had a great meal and great time watching all the people pass (my mom commented that she hadn’t had a better croissant in years). We then went to a cafe recommended by Grace, and it happened to be on a nearby street exactly like the type my mom loved growing up. Wet took pictures, got some great coffee, and then walked back along the street with the festival.

The next stop was at the Noguchi Museum, a place I just happened (i.e. God had me) see on Micho’s instagram the week before (and she really doesn’t post often either). The timing worked out that we arrived exactly when it opened. And my mom and I loved it. It was so different than the other museums that we’d been to, and it was mostly full of art students since it wasn’t a common museum. From there, we went to the Guggenheim (another place I only vaguely knew about). And this museum had all of the paintings my mom loved and studied in college--Picasso, Degas, Monet, Manet, etc. When we left, the line to enter was around the block. If we’d arrived just a bit later, we would have had to wait for a while (again, God’s timing). We walked down the park and to the lunch place I’d found. And, once again, it was exactly what we were looking for: artistic, great food, close, and right next to another hotel my mom had loved growing up.

We walked down to the shops and spent a bit of time shopping, where both of us found a shirt to buy. Looking for the shops, my mom happened across the Nintendo Store on her map, which neither of us had heard of before. We went there and had another great time seeing all the games and figures and old systems. We caught an Uber from there back to the hotel to rest a bit.

And--once again--God intervened. We’d been worried about dinner the entire day (neither of us had planned for it), and then, an hour before we wanted to leave, a spot had opened up in exactly the place she had been wanting to go to: one of the Michelin star restaurants near our hotel. We arrived, got straight in, and had a waitress who completely sympathized with our desire to end the 3 course meal at 7pm so we could make our play. Both of us had an amazing meal (I paid) and finished right when we needed to. We caught another Uber, and arrived at the theatre with 20 min to spare before the play started. The play itself was amazing--a theatre in the round, which isn’t common--and this style reminded my mom of her childhood.

After that we got back to our hotel and flew back the next morning.

I’m blown away by the number of times God intervened with this vacation to set us on the perfect path. I think it was at breakfast that I first realized it was Him, and the timing continued to work out again and again. God is so, so good, which is what I kept thinking this whole trip. And I really don’t deserve the favor He showed me over the weekend. I’m just so happy that my mom was able to experience one of her best vacations in a while.

On a small side-note, I started and finished The Red Tent over the weekend, which is a retelling of the story of Jacob and Joseph from Genesis. If my mind wasn’t already attuned to God, this book really got me thinking about what it was like to live when the Hebrews were just starting out. I’m also so, so thankful I could have that experience reading this.