Late one evening, about a week ago, I was walking through a grocery store.

I saw a hulking, stringy-haired man standing in the freezer section looking edgy as hell. After glancing around to make sure nobody was watching him (or, to make sure someone was watching him), he pulled up his shirt to reveal a flabby, sweat-drenched chest and belly. Then, very matter-of-factly, he reached out for a package of Deli Sliced Ham, and rubbed it lovingly over his torso.

No, the man in the store was not Harry Knowles. But I can’t imagine a more fitting portent for a phone call from Head Geek himself...which is exactly what happened next.

After getting caught up, and after ensuring my life was in the state of frustration and disarray he expected, Harry offered me the opportunity of opportunities: Write for AICN.

As with all things AICN, and my life in general, much of what I do here will be hit and miss, and pretty broad. Part of my mission involves stretching the interpretation of what “cool news” means on this site. While I have the kind of geeky background/pedigree you’d expect for an AICN staff person, I’m also technologically obsessed. Gadgets, games (could someone please cure my pathetic addiction to GHOST RECON: ADVANCE WARFIGHTER for the X-BOX 360?), schmaltz entertainment, Sirius satellite radio (Sirius/Stern –vs- Les the Loser), and musings on the blissful, unpredictable insanity of this thing we call the Internet will occasionally (but not constantly) find their way into my posts. I’ll also be whipping up movie and TV reviews from time to time. For whatever it’s worth, I tend to disagree with many of the reviews offered on AICN, which could make for a lot of fun.

That being said, here’s a bit of info that I chanced into the other day, from a rather well-placed source named Proteus. He CONFIRMED a few details that were already rumored around the Net.

Seems Sony’s current internal plans call for a release of a refitted PSP around Christmas this year. The device will, indeed, be streamlined (thinner), lighter, boast 4 gigs of memory and a camera. Proteus indicated Sony is having a hell of a time with PlayStation 3 on several fronts (between PS3’s Cell processor and its built-in Blu-ray DVD, cost effectiveness has pretty much gone out the window). Seems the ever-phantasmic PS3 may well be delayed until next year, with Sony’s reworked PSP being positioned as a lead-in to its release (in the same way Nintendo’s release of the oh-so-sexy DS Lite heralds the coming of Revolution).

Damn it! I was considering dropping some cash on a 1 or 2 gig memory card for my (apparently) soon-to-be-antiquated PSP (I’m still using the anemic 32 meg card that came with the system, and it hurts). But, not having much money, I’m wondering if a trade in and an upgrade might be more cost effective in the bigger picture.

Something to consider for those of you in the same situation I'm in. Damn, will they ever make this any easier? Bet they don’t! Thank God for The Aftermarket.

Merrick’s gonna go eat some of that Deli Sliced Ham!