Favorite New Christmas Toys

Christmas day at the Pytlovany house was very special and included no less than 25 family members of all ages. There were new babies, new clothes and naturally new toys.

Alexis, Emily and Michal

Except for my new XO laptop, nobody I know received a new computer or laptop this Christmas. I take that as a bad sign for the computer industry. It used to be that new versions of Windows generated new computer sales but there hasn’t been a lot of excitement around Vista.

John and Jim exploring the new XO laptop.

Our big present this year was SmartParts 15” Digital Picture Frame. I have used and reviewed other digital picture frames and wasn’t expecting to be this impressed. I love it and even though it’s from a company I had never heard of. I’m happy to say the picture quality is awesome. The interface is easy and while I’m not sure I’ll use the feature, it will play audio and video files from what ever flash media you use.

The Nintendo DS Lite was still popular but the big kids were really excited about the Sony PSP. We already have a Wii which I have written about before. GPS Units were very popular with the adults. I really want one myself so I’m anxious to hear back which one works the best.

Santa gave one of my other favorites to my granddaughter Marisa. She’s been spending a lot of time playing with her new iTouch. I might get one when they expand the memory. She also received a lot of iTune gift cards which must be used in the country they were purchased. We’ll be doing a lot of downloading before she returns to Germany next week.

Click on “Comments” below and share information on your favorite new toy.

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Achilles WiiItis Injury was predicted

It was last March when I added a Nintendo Wii to our playroom and wrote “Nintendo Wii Replaces PE”. In my post I predicted, “ I’m either going to lose weight or I’m going to pull a muscle.” Well, I was right!

I really expected I would aggravate and old tennis elbow surgery but instead the diagnosis is Achilles Tentonitis. Not only is my Wii usage restricted but I now have a huge black air cast up to my knee. I’ll also be on crutches for the next week or two. Apparently playing a vigorous game of Nintendo Wii Tennis in bare feet may not have been a good idea.

Earlier this month a physician in Spain, Dr. Julio Bonis wrote to the New English Journal of Medicine and coined the phrase “Wiiitis”. I have a feeling more doctors will become familiar with this concept as the popularity of the Nintendo Wii increases.

This is a shot of yesterdays MRI. Apparently, the
black blob above the heel isn’t suppose to be so big

It’s probably impossible to prove the injury was caused by Wii Tennis. I can tell you, as an old guy who spends most of his time in front of the computer it’s still the most strenuous activity I’ve done in the past week.

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