Either I’m getting older or time has accelerated since my younger days, but it sure seems like summer is passing me by. I remember as a kid when the two months we’d get off from school would seem like an eternity, granted it was a very nice eternity filled with the Mario Bros, Metroid, and whatever other games happened to grace my library that summer.

But as I type this, it is already the second week of August with the PNE just around the corner, an exhibition that marks the end of the summer and the return to the grind, except in my case, I’ve never really left the grind. I’ve been working full-time for quite a while now, not including the three months I took off between my last co-op term at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and my five month stint at Puti Meditation College

These days, I spend my waking hours bashing my fingers on a keyboard and trying to make a decent living (interestingly, I’m making more today than I did putting in 40 hours at Puti). It certainly is a different experience, but I do put in some rather odd hours. I usually don’t get to bed until 2am, but — at the same time — I don’t start working until around 10am the next day.

I am grateful I don’t have a half-hour commute to the office. Just a short stroll to my, ahem, home office.

But back on topic, it seems that I’m not really accomplishing as much (in terms of rest time, leisure time, vacation time… whatever you want to call it) this summer. Although I did go on my trip to Los Angeles in May (check the archives of Beyond the Rhetoric for a few entries on that, including my experience with Jay Leno, Tom Cruise, Six Flags, etc.), I’m already itching to get another vacation.

Don’t get me wrong; I love what I do, but sometimes you just need to get away. What are your plans for these last few weeks of summer? I’d love to hear from you. Just leave a comment below.

Telus Mobile Radio is a way for you to receive some of the best XM Satellite Radio programming straight on your high speed-ready cell phone. I had the chance to review the service for Mobile Magazine, and here are my thoughts:

XM Satellite Radio isn’t reserved for those standalone units anymore. No longer are you restricted to carrying around an XM-only device to play in your car, while strolling down the street, or even at home… at least if you fall within Telus’ service area in Canada. I had the chance to try out their new Telus Mobile Radio service, powered by XM Canada, and while it was a worthwhile experience, the service isn’t without its faults….

Check out the full review here.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. I can’t wait for the Nintendo Wii to hit the market later this year, as evidenced by the several posts I’ve written on the matter. While promotional videos are fairly abundant, here is an actual in-game, real-time video (sort of) of one of the launch titles — Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam.

As you can probably guess, navigating the courses in this downhill skateboarding game is done by tilting and turning the Wii-mote (as it is affectionately known), much in the same way that you’ll be controlling your vehicles in ExciteTruck and Need for Speed: Carbon.

Anyways, here’s the vid. The resolution is kind of crappy, but it gives you a good idea of what Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam for the Nintendo Wii is going to look like when it hits shelves in October November sometime in Q4 of this year.