I always say when I have lots of money to pass around that I will. But after really thinking about it, I figure I should begin doing a little right now, so that when I do get lots of money (at least I hope so, I’m planning on it!), it won’t be such a new thing as far as giving.

I mean, I do give to my local church from time to time. But it’s not as frequent as my giving to others should be. Plus, it’s to my church, which goes to my church’s general fund. It doesn’t really go to charities and worthy organizations.

Anyway, if anyone knows of any good places (or ideas) about online volunteering, let me know!

I’ve done a lot of hanging out with friends and family, just enjoying my time away from work. I camped out at Chick Fil A for a grand opening in Hampton, Virginia, which was very cool. I’ll have more details on that later.

For now, it’s time to get back to work, especially with the way our government leaders predict the next few years to be like financially. I’ve got some pretty cool ideas, but right now I’m focusing on getting back into school and finishing my degree.

The event was only Friday and Saturday. But it was action packed for sure. We ran challenges with professional World of Warcraft players, who by the way traveled from Europe just for BlizzCon 2008.

I met players and fans from literally all across the country and Canada. One guy who couldn’t leave our trailer was from Wisconsin. Another gamer was from Vancouver, Canada. Several gamers came from Arizona.

The list could go on.

But now that we packed everything up and the EGT is done, it’s time to pack my bags and begin the 2,000 mile road trip back to my company’s headquarters in Wisconsin. I should see a large portion of the midwest for the first time, which (after the trip is all said and done) will mean I have seen nearly all of the United States, excluding the very southeast regions (where all the good college football teams are right now) and Alaska and Hawaii.

• The weather is absolutely amazing, especially in southern California
• In N’ Out Burger is the best place for burgers, fries, and a drink at a good price
• Sweet tea is still hard to come by, even at McDonalds
• People hold fitness in high regard, especially in California and Arizona

Rocket Boat

The Bridge

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using a credit card and cash.

Swipe and sign. Once approved, all I do is sign the little receipt and go about my day.

Many hotels require a credit card to book a room–especially if it’s during a time. This guarantees a method of payment and holds your room. If I wait to pay cash at the front desk, there’s a chance I won’t get the best hotel rate that I could have received if I had booked in advance. Another reason hotels often require a credit or debit card is because of the unexpected charges that may occur. What happens if I break the lamp in the room? Or maybe I drop the television controller and break it. They’ll just charge that my bill when I check out.

Rental car agencies require credit cards for a purchase. Period. There’s a lot that can happen to car while being operated by an out-of-towner, so you better believe they require your credit card to back themselves up in case something happens.

If I lose my wallet, I can quickly call and cancel my credit card and/or deactivate it. But if my cash is in it, I can’t do that. It’s gone. For good. This is one of the main reasons I prefer using credit cards compared to cash.

It’s cash money. It’s right there in the drawer, ready to be dropped off at the bank.

Never worry about someone charging extra items to your credit card account. You paid cash, and that’s all they have. No one has your account number, and there is no need to dig through piles of papers to look for a tiny receipt that is next to impossible to read.

Many financial planners encourage their clients to use cash when purchasing items because emotionally that person can see exactly how much money they are really spending. I think this philosophy completely differs from one person to the next. For me, I check my bank account statement daily to see how much I spend. I track my spending habits and my bills—and it hurts to see my checking account dwindle. Cash, on the other hand, actually doesn’t really affect me negatively like it does others. I feel like when I have cash in hand, it’s mine to spend however I wish. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Forever.

I just finished working at the Puyallup Fair in Washington. And I was stupid enough to walk in there without cash. I couldn’t purchase anything with a credit card. I joined the line with hundreds of others getting cash out of a nearby ATM, which were all over the fairground.

Maybe you want to grab a quick item at a restaurant or bar for a few minutes. Some restaurants won’t accept credit cards unless the bill exceeds a certain amount, generally over $5-$10. Cash can sure come in handy when you’re just looking for a bite to eat.

Also, tipping can be a lot easier and clear up a lot of hassle when eating out. It’s simple. Just toss cash on the table and swipe your card. Handwriting can also be skewed. The person in charge of managing the receipts at the end of the night could mistake the number one, for example, for number seven. That could increase your tip by six bucks.

I believe in everything I do, there should be a good balance. And so that principle applies to my cash vs. credit predicament. I will carry small amounts of cash, maybe $20-$30 for small purchases. In case I lose my wallet or something catastrophic happens, I can deal with that loss. For big purchases, or any purchase that accepts a credit card, I’ll use it. The cash is available for purchases that require it–nothing else.

You can see the event’s website at www.pennyarcadeexpo.com. One of the best ways we’ve managed to promote and gather large audiences is with our loud speaker system. In the Seattle Convention Center, attracting people with so much competition. But by calling out all the free contests and giveaways, people gravitate to our huge booth. Our display is 40 feet wide and 60 feet long. We also have more computers inside our gaming tour truck.

What I Actually Do

All in all, there are more than 20 Dell new desktops and laptops for consumers to play. Each one is geared with Alienware hardware, which is high-end technology for serious gamers.

To sum up what we do: we set up a high-tech gaming display for gamers to test out games on Dell/Intel computers.

PAX 2008 was nuts, to say the least. Several hard-core gamers slept overnight in the convention center, and as soon as the doors opened, the gamers flooded our booth. And they didn’t just drop in for a minute. No, I watched these two young gamers play Lost Planet for well over an hour. Yeah, these guys were serious. But that’s good.

That’s what the Extreme Gaming Tour is all about.

Space Needle