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07/04/2005: LodgeNet! (Bored in Atlantic City.)

Happy 4th. There’s a new article in town, detailing my experiences bored and alone in an Atlantic City hotel room with only a television pay-per-entertainment interface called “LodgeNet” to entertain me. It’s the story of bad movies, porn, video games and hotel guest surveys.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 91 comments

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That was by far one of the tightest and most well written posts anywhere. Kudos to you. Oh, and my Pikachu can beat down your Pikachu. I played SMB endlessly as you did. Happy posting! (no, I’m not gay. straight people say that too.)

Ghosted by Xexeter @ 07/06/2005 1:28 AM EDT

Hey, Great article man. I always get a kick out of the trip reports.

Ghosted by D-Roc @ 07/06/2005 3:16 AM EDT

Manimal,

I’m just an emotional guy I guess. Oh the due date? Well, in Germany, they never change it, though originally it was July 25th. We are currently almost 39 weeks. The "new" due date is July 11th, but we aren’t sure if he will come then. Seems like they don’t like to induce around here.

I’m ready for her to have him, because…how can I put it nicely? She is just plain mean nowadays. Hard to live with I guess.

Her other two babies (my stepdaughters) were eary (10 days and three weeks) and both babies were nearly 8 lbs. She is also freaking out as school starts again soon and you don’t get paid maternity leave around here.

Semper Fi,
Erik Majorwitz

Ghosted by EMajorwitz @ 07/06/2005 7:24 AM EDT

EMajorwitz-
If your wife is as anxious to get JR out as you are tell her to take a walk, not like a stroll, like a 5 hour walk. That kickstarted my labor 11 days before my due date. It’s not a myth either, I heard it from my midwife and it worked.

Ghosted by kb @ 07/06/2005 8:24 AM EDT

I’d like to commend Mr. Clever over in the Cherry Cracker entry for his snooping skills.

But you didn’t have to wait for that totally blatent post above to figure it out.

All you had to do was look at the simultaneous rise in the use of smilies.

The answer was always there, smiling at you knowingly.

Ghosted by Hall Moniter @ 07/06/2005 9:29 AM EDT

"When I was going up the stairs, I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there again today, I wish, I wish he’d go away"

Grade School law enforcement personnel don’t get a second chance!

Okay, that stupidity is done. Sorry Guys

Hall Moniter R.I.P.
(June ‘05-July ‘05)

Ghosted by Knegative @ 07/06/2005 10:30 AM EDT

Not that it matters much now but I think the demise of the "Hall Moniter" persona owes much to his inability to spell monitOr.
P.S. no running in the halls!

Ghosted by The Manimal @ 07/06/2005 10:39 AM EDT

Um…that was a deliberate choice. yeah. That was part of the act.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude two months ago and I still can’t spell. Higher Education is so proud of me.

That’s not to brag. That’s to make a point. Degrees do not equal intelligence. I can’t even spell my name right

Ghosted by Knegative @ 07/06/2005 10:59 AM EDT

Knegative, what the hell are you babbling on about?

Ghosted by not kidneyboy...wait yes it is! @ 07/06/2005 11:08 AM EDT

EMajorwitz, Congrats on FINALLY being able to see Ep III!

Can’t say I ever had the slightest notion of crying during it…but I sure did get a few good laughs at some of the acting/writing. "Annie, Hold me like you did back on Naboo…" HA!

Ghosted by bad karma @ 07/06/2005 11:42 AM EDT

Bad Karma: That’s one of the best lines. I almost wet myself laughing. My brother and I still walk up to each other and shriek "You’re breaking my heart, Annie" about 5 times a day (I think the line was worded a little differently, but that’s how it has exolved over the weeks).

Ghosted by Mara @ 07/06/2005 12:16 PM EDT

Oh, and might I add that this Full Metal Alchemist ad is the worst one I’ve encountered yet? The giant pop-out part just comes back every time I hit close.

Ghosted by Mara @ 07/06/2005 12:17 PM EDT

I like how Yoda’s attitude was,"Oh, great! This all going to hell, gotta find a place to hide until Ep. V!" then he gets into the Capsule Corp. rocket pod.
Get ready for a slew of suggestions for inducing labor, Erik. Making her laugh long and hardy always seemed like a good idea to me. Babys come when they want, how they want, I’ve observed. Just use this time to go over all your checklists and such. Or to take up a new hobby.

Ghosted by and I remain, as always, kingklash @ 07/06/2005 12:32 PM EDT

I was astonished when I first read the website a long time ago and noticed that people still go to Atlantic City out of desire to… I live in Trenton and still I have the irrational fear that if I go to AC I’m going to come home less of a person either due to dismemberment or self-induced injuries trying to escape an even worse predicament. And broke is a definate.

That said, I went up to Canada a couple years ago, where a similar service was much more shoddy. The only thing of note was Tekken 3, and since two controllers were handy, my friend and I could duel. Even though we could have left the hotel and went two blocks to a real arcade in Chinatown where charming and friendly young asian girls could beat the tar out of us at a less expesive rate, we sat there, stone faced, eating abysmal room service pizza and hitting buttons that worked only 30% of the time.

And also, poutines.

Ghosted by oh @ 07/06/2005 1:41 PM EDT

Wait a second.. ExciteBike 64 and Latex Housewives? I’m so there!

Ghosted by Review the World @ 07/06/2005 2:02 PM EDT

LodgeNet? Is that how Veronica tries to catch Archie?

Ghosted by kingklash @ 07/06/2005 4:40 PM EDT

Like I said, maybe because I’m about to be a father is why I teared up for Star Wars, but man, I so wanted to kick Annakin’s ass.

The most hilarious part was when he got his ass handed to him by Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan: I have the high ground.

Two seconds later: Annakin loses three limbs.

Mark Hamill as Cocknocker: Don’t f**k with the Jedi Master son!

If only Obi-Wan uttered that, it would have been the best Star Wars movie ever!!!

Oh, still no baby…and I’ve yet to see Star Wars Episode VII.

Semper Fi,
Erik Majorwitz

Ghosted by EMajorwitz @ 07/06/2005 4:47 PM EDT

SUPER SMASH BROS!!!! Thats game rocks. That and Perfect Dark was all me and 3 of my friends did for a year. Sometimes i still break them out.

Ghosted by Gorm @ 07/06/2005 6:14 PM EDT

Better wash that quarter…

Ghosted by The Yeti @ 07/06/2005 7:56 PM EDT

EMajorwitz, in my family there are two tried and true ways to send someone into labor. One is spicy food, and the other is water volleyball.

I wish you and your wife luck and congratulations.

Ghosted by Rose Arcana @ 07/06/2005 9:00 PM EDT

Erik, sex works to start labor. It may not be the most fun you’ve had in bed, what w/ the big belly and flouncing hormones, but there’s a chemical in the semen that will kickstart the cervix if it’s ready. Just think, you won’t be able to do it for 6 weeks after the baby is born (or even longer, if you’re both too tired), so get it while you can.

I’m dying to know how much your room charges were, Matt. What did your friends say when they saw the bill? Did you gamble w/ the Found Fiver?

Ghosted by trajeal @ 07/06/2005 9:45 PM EDT

To the person who asked earlier: Getting a comped room in AC isn’t hard at all, really. This one was comped. Since most players use a card (which you get for free – it looks like a CC and goes into the machines/tables), the casino can track your play. Based on how much you put in (lose) and how much you play (use what you’ve won), you’re granted rewards ranging from room comps to restaurant comps in varying degrees of goodness. Getting a free room Thurs and Fri night (I had off Fri, friends took off) took some of the sting out of our losses. Plus, we had about 100 bucks worth of food comps, so we got to eat nice for (almost) free, too. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a waste of money, but there are efforts made to make it feel not so much like a waste of money.

Traj: An Atlantic City tradition in my group of friends over the past few years has been: If we go, I’m getting an article out of it. That takes some of the sting out of the losses, too. And sure enough, I’ve been to Atlantic City only about 2-3 more times than I’ve posted about it since starting the site.

The Borgata is pretty far from the boardwalk though, and to be honest, I wasn’t in the mood to do the big trek, and if I’m not in the mood, there’s no point in doing the article. So I chalked up our bill to the need for an article. Obviously, I wouldn’t have these pictures if I didn’t plan to write about it. I’m just hoping nobody realizes that the charges outweigh the amount "spent" within the article. Let’s keep that to ourselves.

Ghosted by Matt @ 07/06/2005 9:56 PM EDT

Um…that was a deliberate choice. yeah. That was part of the act.
Posted by Knegative @ 07/06/2005 10:59 AM EST

Erik,
They also say that Oil of Evening Primrose works but I can’t verify that since the wife tried it but she probably would have gone into labor anyway. Remember, E. Claire was 9 days late so it is best not to go over too much.

Ghosted by The Manimal @ 07/06/2005 11:14 PM EDT

Yep, that was just for you Manimal.

A teacher correcting me, imagine that. I’m used to it

Ghosted by Knegative @ 07/07/2005 12:46 PM EDT

I certainly hope they find those responsible for the tragic events in London today and punish them accordingly.

My heart goes out to those injured or killed and their families.

Semper Fi,
Erik Majorwitz

Ghosted by EMajorwitz @ 07/07/2005 8:26 AM EDT

Any English out there that check out X-E: All of us over here across the pond wish you the best.

Ghosted by jhnnywalkr @ 07/07/2005 9:10 AM EDT

Just heard the news about London here in Korea (11:41 PM now) Horrible stuff. Thank God there are things like XE that make you forget about the real life crappy things going on. Sometimes it’s better to ignore reality.

Ghosted by Muppet Baby @ 07/07/2005 10:42 AM EDT

Do we have any Londoners here? I have no idea who any of you all might be from London, so I don’t know if I should be worried if you don’t check in. *scratches head*

Well, at least you got a free steak out of it, Matt. And, a pretty gold bag. Maybe you could cut it up and make karoake stage for all of the new Star Wars figurine additions?

Ghosted by trajeal @ 07/07/2005 12:55 PM EDT

We have "family" over in Tor Point, Cornwall, and I expect them to call some time soon. Just to let us know they’re doing all right. When they were here in the States a couple of years ago, they were amazed by the weather.

Saw Batman Begins last night. Pretty good film. So, how does one pronounce "Ra’s" anyway? Roz or Raysh?

Ghosted by kingklash @ 07/07/2005 3:00 PM EDT

If you were a fan of the 90’s animated series, you’ll pronounce it "Raysh".

Ghosted by The Yeti @ 07/07/2005 5:13 PM EDT

Lodgenet doesn’t have an option for SNES any more? Atlantic City was the first place I ever played Lost Vikings. Too bad the closest we can ever get to it again is Sonic Heroes. For shame, Sega, for shame.

Ghosted by Garaxy Conboy @ 07/07/2005 5:31 PM EDT

I do pronounce it "Raysh," but in the movie, I kept expecting a diner waitress to come out and call Wayne "Detective." Roz Al Ghul, she runs the noodle shop at the base of the mountain. "Want coffee with your Beef Bowl, hon?"

Ghosted by kingklash @ 07/07/2005 6:25 PM EDT

Matt, on the pay-per-play music system, how much was it per song? And how much were the music videos per play?

I love those mimiature condiments. Where did you get those? The restaurant you got the gold doggy bag?

Ghosted by Destro @ 07/07/2005 7:36 PM EDT

No, they came with room service. They always do.

I can’t remember how much the songs went for, but it was absurd enough not to try.

Ghosted by Matt @ 07/07/2005 7:38 PM EDT

Matt, I’m in Redmond. I was just at the Nintendo Employee Store & Museum yestarday, and let me tell you, that hotel is not out of date. Nintendo hasn’t made a GCN version of the Gateway system.

Ghosted by "MR. GAME & WATCH" @ 07/08/2005 10:31 PM EDT

Brings back memories from when I used to play Street Fighter II at the Comfort Inn.

Ghosted by CheezNapkin @ 07/10/2005 5:46 PM EDT

Smash Bros. is the best! My friends and I would play the 99 minute matches and we would lose nights doing that. One of my friends always used Pikachu (with party hat Pika ) and kicked our asses. One 99 minute match he had 54 kills and we all had -60. Ahhh…the good ol’ days. Both games are good, but the first will always be the best!

Ghosted by kos22mos @ 07/12/2005 10:48 PM EDT

Oh and one more thing Matt-if you listen to the background music on the Yoshi’s Story level in Super Smash Bros. for N64, it sounds like they ripped it off from the theme for Garfield and Friends!

Ghosted by kos22mos @ 07/12/2005 10:56 PM EDT

Classic trip How could you NOT go for the latex ladies?

Let’s see…

Bad movies…
N64 Smash…
Pikachu…
Porn…

Seems like your friends missed all the fun!!!

Ghosted by Xhadoe @ 07/13/2005 12:01 PM EDT

I heard about the attacks in London when I was getting ready to begin my commute to Philly for my internship. Needless to say, every time I say that nothing exciting happens when I’m interning, something does happen. Too bad its always something bad.

Ghosted by Allison @ 07/13/2005 2:00 PM EDT

Allison, I’m starting to agree with you. I heard about the attacks on London at – no joke – Damion’s Bar and Grill in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. My mom, brother, and I were making a shopping trip to the big malls and stopped at Damion’s for a late lunch, where we saw the news on their big-screen TVs. I hope all bloggers who live in England are all right, and know that our hearts are with you.

Ghosted by starwenn @ 07/14/2005 8:24 PM EDT

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