Now you can’t just get rid of it because your children will break their hearts! So you must suck it up and bare it as well you can…. good luck!

I haven’t used Safari for Windows as much as you have; however I immediately noticed it didn’t have Firefox’s features so I immediately stopped using it.

There are so many features in Firefox which I regularly use, that it will take too many lines of this comment. I just wanted let you know, that at this moment, I would not switch to any another browser around no matter what software reviewers say.

For me, Firefox rocks!

Omar.-

I am 32 years old, have a BSME from the University of Dayton, am working on my MSME at Drexel University (currently a 3.67 GPA), have held a full time job for over 7 years, have a wife, a little girl, and a wonderful dog, and apparently what you all are saying is an “addiction” to video games.

In my humble oppinion - and we are all allowed one - this is an instance where we allow ourselves to see what we want. My neighbor has four kids and they live and breathe football. The mother has to FORCE the middle son to come in out of every type of weather to do his homework, eat dinner etc because all he can think of and do is football. By your definition he is addicted. By there definition he is coming along nicely.

Your responses and thoughts, while seemingly well thought out are easily countered by some unbiased research. Just google “benefits of video games” to see 1,510,000 hits. That is only google - do the same for actual research. Look into the fact that video games are now being used to train some of our most elite and dangerous fields - from neurosurgury to urban combat tactics. Can video games be bad? Yes. Can they have benefits? Yes. My parents did not take my video games away, but if you ask them I showed many of the same “addict” symptoms you describe. But she forced the time issue and I had to finish homework first, then chores, then I could play video games for a set time. In addition to that they held TIGHT control of what video games I was allowed to play. What about playing games as a family? And while MMORPG’s (massive multiplayer online role playing games) can be the most addictive, what about the benefit of meeting people from around the world? I had some very good friends that I met on Star Wars Galaxies. From France, Sweden, Germany, and even some US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This seems to be an open and shut case for you as you have both never been video game enthusiasts. But what if someone took away reading for you Brian and Angie? Would you shake? What if you were not allowed to watch your favorite TV show or Movie ever again? I think that you are not looking at this issue with open eyes but rather some preconcieved notions based on YOUR personal thoughts and experiences and not the kids.

All that being said, this is a personal issue and should be decided upon a child-by-child / household-to-household basis. Some kids / people have a natural tendancy to be “addictive” in their nature. If that is what your kids are showing then I can guarantee that it will not end with video games. That personality trait will latch onto footbal, basketball, girls, boys, shopping, or whatever the vice might be. I would also urge you to talk to some other people of various ages that play video games. If you decide to let your kids go back to video games then play with them. Don’t look at it as “quiet time” but rather a time to interact with your kids in a different manner. Video games can teach everything from decision making skills, to monetary responsibility, to social skills - yes I said social skills.

And since it is late here and my sister ended with a quote from a wise philosopher, I shall end with one of my favorite philosopher’s sayings…

“… people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that.”
Homer Simpson, Home the Vigilante

Another questions you need to ask is, “is the home my place of residence or is it a investment property”. If it is your own home it is a liability (it cost you money every month) whereas, if it is a property investement it is an asset. The property is an asset in two ways, first, it is an income property, and second, it is appreciating…on borrowed money. Let’s say you put 10% down on an investment property that cost $200,000.00 which means you will need 20 grand plus closing cost of 5-7 thousand…by the way no closing cost deals out there are always too good to be true…believe me I’m a broker! If the property is appreciating at a conservative 6% then not only is your downpayment going up in value but the 180,000.00 that is borrowed is also going up in value. The best part, when you sell the home you get to keep the difference of the appreciated value…not a bad deal considering the fact that you are making money on money that is from a lender…even if you are paying interest on that money.

Which brings me to an interesting question, could you do better investing your money into an investment property over just feeling emotionally good about having no mortgage?