Those who recognize the above reference, ten points. those who don't should be told: "Fire in the City of Automatons" was the third album by the San Diego band No Knife. I am from San Diego (a suburb called Santee, actually) And San Diego is, you may have heard, on FIRE.

Santee isn't, though , but that hasn't stopped my job place from deciding to close shop for the week and let families recover from being displaced and stay off the roads while rescue and fire crews do their thing. In the case of one fellow employee and a friend, losing a home isn't a myth that CNN makes up to sell air time. Thankfully, no one I know has been physically hurt, but I expect more than I realize have had some loss. We'll see what unfolds as the week comes to a close.

So, what kind of job just calls for a week off (with pay!) when the going gets tough? Well, I don't want to play my hand early, but the company I work for makes games for a console with a "3" in the title. Draw your own conclusions.

So, this week, I've been catching up and taking inventory of a few things. In particular, I've been playing games. Which is why I'm posting here, and probably what you would expect out of a post on Destructoid.

But this post isn't about playing games, though I will tell you what I've been playing: Lots of Super Robot Taisen OG1, KOF XI (import) and as of yesterday afternoon, the PSP Castlevania title(s), which I'm frankly saddened to have not heard much about around these parts. As a huge Castlevania fan in all its iterations, I am well pleased with the package as a whole. Also, it goes GREAT with my IGA signed cover that a friend got for me a month ago when he met Iga at a conference. My pals look out for me...

And that's what this post is about. My wife and I have been watching the fires burn on the news, heard the stories of people who've lost everything, and breathed the ash of that everything just stepping out on our front porch. I've felt helpless. I haven't helped anyone directly (though not for lack of trying, just lack of necessities). I even bought a new game to add to my significant collection. And for what? I think there's some truth to being "cursed" with plenty. It leads to complacency.

So while I really, REALLY like games and the community of gamers that appreciate the same things I do, I have to wonder if anyone else has been "struck by reality" and a sense that maybe they've been playing too much, and it only occurs to them when there is a tragedy or upheaval?

Also, if faced with such massive loss, would games be important for you to save? Can you turn away from what you own, or does it own you?

-GigaMach
would like to play a game about not playing games...