jimsjournal

Dance Dance Revolution -- 02/20/02

My daughter's Dance Dance Revolution arrived this week... she had ordered it from eBay and had been waiting impatiently the past couple of weeks or so for it to arrive. What is it? It is a dancing video game for SONY Playstation... there is a floor pad, just a bit larger than three feet by three feet, with nine pressure sensitive squares on it (each with a circle of lights that come on when you step on it)... when connected to your television , dance music plays, a cartoon character dances on the screen with multi-colored background, flashing lights, etc.... you stand on the middle square and start dancing, placing your feet on the appropriate squares as directed by arrows (left, right, forward, backard, etc.) scrolling up on the left side of the screen, attempting to bring your foot down on that square just as the scrolling arrow reaches a matching arrow toward the top of the screen... an exact match makes the word "perfect" appear on the screen, being a little bit off might bring a rating of "good" or "almost" and missing will yield a "bad." In game mode you attempt to get the best score. It can also be used in workout mode, where you input your weight, etc. and it tells you how many calories you burned for each song you danced to. These are available (according to Jennifer) with an inexpensive flexible plastic floor pad but what she has is a Japanese import with a solid platform. It's fairly heavy and the shipping from California was expensive.

She has been having a wonderful time dancing on her new toy. Nancy and I have also given it a try... uh, lets just say that my first attempt was hilariously dreadful and that I did a bit better on my second try, but gave up halfway through the song.

Ah, but the instruction sheet is the real reason I've brought up this topic. It says "Please read this instruction carefully before using and please follow the steps properly and remember to take good care of this instruction."

The best part is the page of safety warnings:
NOTICE

!Warning

There is maybe have some white powder on the surface of the product, please wipe off by a piece of soft, clean cloth.
Make sure to pave the cushion.
Don not put it near the furniture and other odds and ends.
Young children must be guided to use it or need parents and teaches to accompany, in case to be tumbled by it.
High technology product, do not apart, separate or fix it anyway, Or the damage can not be guaranteed.
Do not keep it in the quite high or low temperature environment, especially far away from fireplace.
If this product can't work well, please connect with your supplier directly.
This product is made for indoor games only. Do not use it outdoors or in other occasion.
Please shut off the power before removing this product.
Please put it on a flat floor, but not too smooth.
Do not wear sharp shoes when using it, that may cause damage to the product.
When using this product, pay attention to keep your feet safety.
Strong jump or shake may cause influence to the video and audio output.
Please do not jump strongly, that may bring troubles to the other person.

Okay, so perhaps I'm easily amused, but I thought that was delightful. (Please note, that is an accurate transcription of the instructions; for example, it actually does say "parents and teaches" not "parents and teachers")

I've had a very productive week at work, got lots and lots of stuff done... but not nearly as much as I somehow keep hoping to accomplish... What's that? There are still two days to go in the work week? Nope... I'm taking vacation days on Thursday and Friday. Nancy has the whole week off and I wanted to spend some time with her (and also not be in the kind of position this year that I was in last year, where I had to cram my vacation days into the end of the year)... on Thursday she has an eye exam, the kind where they put the drops in your eyse to dialate your pupils, so I'm going to go along as her driver... and we have tickets for the Providence Flower Show on Friday. (And on Saturday we're planning on going into New York City to visit son and daughter-in-law.)

Today's date is 20/02/2002 European style, the same forwards and backwards. (Yes, you're right, easily amused.)

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