Up late talking games & writing? You're...

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Misc: It’s been sort of a busy last few days, but I'm getting some much-needed down time with the family this weekend. We're not doing anything exciting, and we have no plans... just the three of us spending time together and taking it easy.
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Family: Although I realize that probably no one reading this blog actually cares at this point, I do want to give a shout-out to the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe blanket.
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For those of you without kids, the current thinking is that when babies are born, they are born in a premature state. I'm not talking about babies being “preemies”, but that even when they go full-term and are delivered on time, they still aren't really ready to be out in the world. The theory is that infants really should be in the womb for at least another three months, but if they were, their heads would be so large that they would not be able to fit through the mother's pelvis; hence the reason why they are ejected too soon.
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Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that for the first three months after birth, it's recommended that parents swaddle their children for sleep, meaning that they are wrapped very tightly with a blanket to restrict their movement. At first I thought this sounded kind of harsh, but after seeing how my son flailed and thrashed around in bed (even to the point of waking himself up) the wisdom of swaddling soon became clear.
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However, swaddling a baby is much easier said than done. These little guys have a real talent for slipping out of the blankets, much like miniature Houdinis. Besides that, you have to have a special sort of blanket... not too thick, and large enough to wrap the baby properly while not being so huge that you have eight miles of extra material laying around with a baby at the far corner of it.
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Are you still reading? I haven't bored you to tears and driven you to click away to another page?
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If you're still here, the SwaddleMe gets top marks. It comes in several styles and colors, but the thing that makes it so great is that it's specifically designed to swaddle a baby, with flaps overlapping in a specific order and locking down with swatches of Velcro. Done properly, the little tykes are snug, secure, and very comfortable, and it's a lot easier and more efficient to use than trying to tie a knot in the corner of a wadded-up blanket.
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And yes, that's right... this blog covers games AND parenting tips. How's that for one-stop shopping?
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Games: Been sort of scattered with the gameplay lately… at the moment, I'm still working my way through the excellent CaveIn: Miner Rescue Team on Community, in addition to the also-excellent Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2 - Raidou Kuzunoha vs King Abaddon on PS2. How's that for a title?
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As for the rest of the game tidbits I've got under my belt, I'm saving them up for tomorrow night's podcast recording. We've been on hiatus for a few weeks since both Tim (the show’s host) and I each had newborn sons enter our lives, but now that things have settled down a bit, we're getting right back to it. If everything goes according to plan, it should be posted at GameCritics before too long, and I’ll have a link to it here when it's ready.
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Oh, also… for those who may have missed them, here are a few links to some recently published pieces:
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50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (360) Review
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Mithra: the Calling (360 Community) Review
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Tokyo Beat Down (DS) Review
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Fallout 3: Broken Steel (360) Review
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Valkyria Chronicles: Enter the Edy Detachment! (PS3) Review
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Writing: Not a whole hell of a lot to report right now, except for the fact that I was finally able to spend a little more time working on the new book. It's been tough getting back into gear after taking about three weeks off, but the dust is starting to settle and the itch to get this project wrapped up and into the hands of some test readers is setting in.
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