Christmas PS3 Blues

Patience is a virtue, and you're going to have to be pretty virtuous if you're one of the millions of UK PlayStation Fans awaiting the arrival of the PS3. As if it wasn't bad enough we had to rewrite our letters to Santa this year (because it now won't hit our shelves until March), we're also all going to be green with envy as the web fills up with the usual reviews, cheats, and walkthroughs etc from sites in the States where they will get their hands on the console from November 17th.

Personally, my patience (lost my virtue a long time ago) ran out already, and my craving for HD gaming led me to the xbox 360. I suspect many others will do the same this Christmas and I don't blame you. To not release the most hyped console of all time for Christmas has got to be the craziest decision Sony has made (apart from the choice of software packed with their MP3 Walkman - but don't get me started on that one). It can't even be based on format because the PS3 will be region free, and you can play any PS3 game on it no matter what part of the world you bought it from.

If you do decide to cut your losses and go for the xbox 360 you won't be disappointed, I certainly haven't been. But you should be aware that in their hurry to steal the HD gaming market, microsoft left a couple of jobs as 'work in progress'. Although the list is growing, the xbox 360 still only plays a handful of original xbox games. If you're starting afresh that?s fine, but if you've got a hefty back-catalogue of xbox titles you were planning to play then that?s a real bummer. Backwards compatibility was a target that simply wasn't reached in time for release and early release was obviously of greater importance to microsoft than it appears to be for Sony.

However, if you're a PlayStation purist, or simply do not fancy the xbox 360 or the nintendo Wii, then your virtue will be well rewarded. Although I find it difficult to understand some of Sony's business decisions, I can fully understand the hype surrounding the PS3. It will be without doubt the most powerful domestic games console available, boasting the 'Cell' processor, twelve times faster than processors found in top range PC's. The PS3 will also offer 'Blue-ray' technology which Sony are heavily promoting to take over from dvd, as well as offering free 'out of the box' online gaming (broadband connection required).

All of this extra 'oomph' inevitably comes at a cost, and you should expect to pay more for the prestige of owning such a machine. You'll also need to keep an eye on game prices too from November and compare them to its rivals, afterall there is no point owning the thing if you have to rob a bank every time you want something to play on it. On the plus side it will play any ps2 or PS1 titles you have tucked away.

Whatever you decide, have a happy Christmas, and keep on gaming !

Rob O'Neill is owner of console Fun, the one stop shop for information on video games consoles including xbox, xbox 360, PS1, ps2, PS3, PSP, nintendo GameCube, Wii, and DS.

Studio Yoga Pilates Montreal

Quit Smoking: Why People Do Bad Things (Even When They Know They Shouldn't)

Do you do Bad Things? Even though you know you shouldn't?

It's not your fault. It really isn't. You know you should stop doing it, but no matter how much you know that, and how much you try, you just can't stop!

Everyone knows how to lose weight. Don't eat fattening foods. exercise. Everyone knows how to give up smoking. Dont light the cigarette. Yet having this knowledge just isn't enough. Sometimes even having the desire isn't enough! Time and again I hear about people who get really close to quitting smoking. They can get all the way down to one or two cigarettes a day, but just can't give up those last two. Many even make it all the way down to zero, but the cravings, oh the cravings! They are wretched, those cravings. Most will go back to smoking within the first few days. They can cut away most of the "stuff" that keeps them glued to the cigarettes, even not be addicted to nicotine anymore(!), but there is just something deep in their core that magnetically pulls them back in, like two lovers who know they are bad for each other but just can't help themselves.

What is this thing? What is at this core?

Let me take a step back for a moment. How many adults do you know who are happy? I mean really, truly happy? Think that question is foolishness? Let me ask you this. How many people do you know who love their work? I'm talkin' jump out of bed in the morning, can't wait to start. Sadly, the percentage is very small. Why is this?

We live in an interesting quick-fix culture. People don't really have to deal with their issues. We've got:

* television
* movies
* shopping
* toys
* and hitting the gym

to distract us and make us feel better. Even more than that, many people's issues are quite buried. Think of dreams that were squashed when we were young. "An artist? You could never make a living at that! You should be a doctor!" People often forget what their dreams once were.

As a result, I see an awful lot of unhappy, unfulfilled people walking around. They don't know what is bothering them, they just have that gnawing feeling that there must be more. Advertisers pray on this, selling us more and more bottles and gizmos to give us that ever elusive Happiness.

True inner needs? People either:

* think they're impossible to fulfill
* are too scared and resigned to fulfill them
* or are so disassociated from those needs that they don't even know what they would be even if they had to guess!

All those "bad" things -- smoking, overeating, gambling, alcohol, the list goes on and on -- are easy ways to fill the void. Smokers will be able to relate to this one -- if you've just had a fight with your family, what do you do? You go for a smoke. Smoking makes it feel like the problem goes away. (I call this the "smokescreen." Har har!)

I'll let you in on a little secret--the real reason it's so hard to quit is not the nicotine. It's this void-filling. When you quit smoking (or any bad habit), you're suddenly faced with real life. All those stresses and needs that you've been avoiding? There they are, pulling at your coat tails, yelling, "Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!" If you got in touch with your real inner needs and took baby steps to start fulfilling them, you would actually have little desire for cigarettes. It's true! I see it happen time and again in my Stop Smoking Coaching practice.

How do you do that, you ask? Here are some baby steps that you can start trying out now:

* Next time, instead of taking that quick fix--stop.
* Have a little quiet time and listen to what your insides have been trying to tell you.
* Try journaling -- don't edit your thoughts, just write.
* Some people find meditation and yoga to be great accesses.
* Try deep breathing.
* Go for a quiet, leisurely walk by yourself.
* Personally, I find it easiest to just start noticing where in life I seem to be avoiding things the most, or if I want something more immediate and active, doing a mindmap (a word drawing) to figure out what I'm really thinking.

For each person, the key to figuring out your needs is different. play around with it, don't give up! You'll be glad you did!

Jill Binder is The Stop Smoking Coach with a 90 day program to show people the 8 steps to quitting smoking forever, with a 100% success rate. She is the author of "What's Your Smoking Type?" and has appeared on "Daytime" (TV), "Radioactive women" (Radio), "Good times" (magazine), and "Metro toronto Today" (newspaper).

You can sign up for her newsletter, "YourTurn - Turn Your Weaknesses Into Your Perfect Life" at http://www.StopSmokingCoach.ca

Harmony Yoga Mat And Bag