The 404 167: Where we're going to Fhloston Paradise

Jeff's better half Stacie Blair and Dan the Mantern fill out Friday's show, where once again, things go awry with the technical difficulties. I'm starting to think The 404 is cursed. Stories for the day include fake iPhone lineups in Poland, facial recognition technology at Dunkin' Donuts, parenting tips from The 404, and our new segment "Girlfriend of a Gamer."

Today's show is suppa greeen! We're very excited to welcome Stacie Blair into the studio! She jumps into the chatroom from time to time, but this is the first time ever in the actual studio, and she does a great job helping us talk about today's stories. In fact, we're thinking about hiring her as a part-time intern and booting Dan outta here! Just kidding, we would never do that (yes, we would), in fact we also invite Dan to replace Wilson on today's show! It's all in the family today.

I love that today's show has a lot of parenting references. We talk about some of the toys our parents have waited in line for, whether or not kids should be allowed to play Xbox Live, video game ratings, and Jeff's embarrassing childhood. Have you guys ever waited in line for anything? Jeff and Stacie waited in line to get the Xbox 360, but there was also the added motivation of making a bit of extra cheese on the side. I think if I had the time (and a girlfriend to keep me company), I would wait in line if I could make a few hundred dollars, it sounds like a fun experience! Have you seen this video of Jeff and me at the iPhone 3G release? Some of these guys just look haggard from waiting in line for so long, not sure I'd be up for it.

Stacie also helps us introduce a new segment entitled "Girlfriend of a gamer." Jeff actually has an advantage over other gamers because he actually works with video games for his job here at CNET, so he can use "work" as an excuse to play games at home. "Research," right Jeff? I know all you gamers out there with girlfriends are jealous of Jeff's position, but Stacie says it's actually not bad at home. In fact, she enjoys spending time watching Jeff play some of the more interesting games and even plays a lot of games herself! There might be hope for me yet.

Other stories discussed today include Gamestop keeping your hard-earned bucks, facial-recognition technology being introduced into Dunkin' Donuts, Smash Club (shhhhh), the U.S. border officially banning "physical rigidity devices," and the worst Wii accessory man has ever created. Have a great weekend everyone!

Episode 169