why not try the Zelda series, that'll take you a few days minimum i would say probably a few weeks. I used to be obsessed with all the RPG sort of games and SNES had a stack of awesome ones. After Zelda and squaresoft game would be next. Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore those take a few more sleepless nights!

I am very eager to play NES' Zelda 2 again, so the Zelda series will be played somewhere down the line. It's put on the backburner for now because I want to finish off some quicker series first.

I can probably beat the NES versions in 2-3 hours each. If I do the 2nd quest, probably another 2-3 hours. The SNES version will probably take me closer to 3-4 hours. This is only if I avoid unnecessary items and such. I've been watching various speed-run attempts to see what is acheivable in these games. Since I'm nowhere near good enough for a speed-run, I just double the speed-run time for a good estimate of how long it'll take me to win using the same route. They're helpful for showing me shortcuts, quickest routes, and quickest ways to defeat bosses.

After TMNT, I'm not sure which series I'll play next.

Okay, Castlevania is done. And I just finished TMNT 1. The speed run was about 20 minutes, I took about 50 minutes. The controls in that game are so frustrating! Jumping across platforms is a royal pain in the ass. The bosses are the easiest part of the game, by far. Seriously, I just stood on the platform next to Shredder and attacked. He never touched me.

The rest of the TMNT series is much simpler - your typical beat'em up games.

TMNT (5 games) and Contra series (3 games) are now completed. Lately I've been working on a "video game project" for the game Rock 'N Roll Racing. The project is a "tool-assisted run" using emulation tools. It's a recording of me beating the game on the hardest difficulty with the worst car while trying to keep the races as entertaining as possible. You can learn more about tool-assisted runs , as well as download various runs on NES/SNES games.

Lately I've been struggling to enjoy playing poker again. You know how I've been on quite the hot streak on PokerRoom? Well, it's finally turning around for the worst. I've once again tied my record with 8 off-the-moneys (OTMs) in a row. My ROI has dropped about 30% over the course of the last 20 SNGs:

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**CUMULATIVE**
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108 SNGs
$1661 buy-in+fees
$2345 winnings
$684 net profit
41.18% ROI

I know, 40% is still magnificient. I should be happy. It's just such a drag playing these games to the end. Lately I've been playing irrationally using a version of the gambler's fallacy: since I started off with great variance, it's now time for me to have sh*t variance. To say the least, I am not enjoying the games much anymore. But I still have another 100 SNGs to finish by February to clear the $200 bonus! I have to stick with it.

On the even more depressing side...
Back home my friends have been very flakey and I've been really lonely. It's gotten to the point where I feel sad after watching romantic comedy movies. Also, my New Years was far from spectacular. I stayed home with my family and was sober. The first thing I realized when thinking about 2006? I only had sex once in 2005. Sad sad sad...

I wish my friends would answer their phones and get back to me sometime.

God this is depressing.

Come work a week in my clinic and you guys'll be BEGGIN for the comfort and seclusion of your little computer chairs..

My ROI has finally dropped below 30%!

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**CUMULATIVE**
**************
144 SNGs
$2206 buy-in+fees
$2835 winnings
$629 net profit
28.51% ROI

Today was my worst day of poker, ever. Prior to today, the most I've lost in one day of poker was $120. Today I'm down $190 ($110 on PokerRoom and $90 on PartyPoker). This entire break has been awful for my poker playing.

I might have imagined this, but you're doing a psychology degree? If so, what's your dissertation on? I did mine on negative priming, very very dull. My dissertation was also very very bad.

Molina