Chrishel

I think hurricanes cause more damage and loss of property but since we have technology to watch and predict, there's a lot less loss of life unless people can't move to safe areas such as Pacific Islands. Tornadoes are shorter and harder to predict, they do more acute damage but because of that people are often taken unaware and even if they are in a "safe" location like a bathtub they can still get injured from flying debris.The final effects of severe hurricanes often lasts years (look at Katrina) just because the devastation is so much larger. I grew up in Hawaii and lived through a hurricane (Eva in 1982). It was a terrifying experience because we couldn't go anywhere and we couldn't get supplies in fast enough after the storm hit. Not to mention power was out or there were rolling blackouts for almost a month afterward. Now I live in Illinois where tornadoes are a threat every year. I have to say that they are both scary and fascinating. When I hear warnings, I get a mixed reaction: do I go to the basement like I'm supposed to or do I go to the window to see it?

I was thinking about how my job (Engineer in a manufacturing plant) is like a video game but not nearly as much fun (who want's to work?!?!) and how many games I've played are actually very similar but not nearly as complicated.So here's the premise not in any order:Keep the production people happy to increase output Work on R&D (look at Competitors products and take ideas you like and mash them into a product) Build equipment to make productSet up assembly line to maximize product outputSet up marketing costs, advertising, marketing venuesSet price for productPurchase raw materials for product (deal with fluctuating prices)Deal with random events (equipment breakdowns, strikes, product failures, unhappy customers, etc.)Balance overhead costs, taxes, profit, investmentsDeal with product life cyclesSounds a lot like a cross between a coffee stand game I've played (can't remember the name) and Diner Dash/Cake Mania. Except more complicated with more business and real-life thrown in.

I believe that they already released a two-touch screen version of the DS in Japan. That being said, since most of the games that have been released are only single screen, I think that 95% of the time most people would be playing with one screen only anyway. At least until all of our DSlites/DS/DSis die and we buy the two screen model.

I like the games and they are short if you are waiting (like at the doctor's office). They are fun and interesting. That being said, sometimes I play my DS for mindless fun and sometimes I just don't want to think about math problems. In those cases, I prefer other games. There are studies that show that elderly people who keep their minds active doing word games and such show less signs of dementia or their dementia progresses much more slowly than people who aren't as mentally active. I'm just waiting for my kids to come up with the excuse, "I HAVE to play my DS! It's educational and I'm actually doings something good for my brain."

We took our charger on a trip with us because we planned to play with our DS on the plane. When we came home we had tucked the charger and away in one of the suitcase pockets. We put the suitcases away and didn't find the charger again for another year until we went on another trip. We have 2 DS units, so we did have a charger between the two.