No, that's not a spoiler for Episode 3. I am, of course, referring to my poor Playstation 3, which has served me well for nearly three years.

You might be thinking, "He named his PS3 Alyx?" If so, you are missing the point. The point is that my $600 piece of hardware will no longer turn on (that's what SHE said!). The poor thing lights up its happy little green LED, then beeps in distress and flashes a red light at me until I press the power button again to put it out of its misery.

So, here I am with a broken launch model 60 GB PS3, and needless to say it's way out of warranty. If I can't fix it with some old fashioned DIY tricks, a repair is going to set me back nearly $200. Woe is me, woe is me.

(By the by, if you're wondering about the name, all of the devices I run are named for characters in the Half-Life universe. I also have Gman, Odessa, Eli, Overwatch, and Dog, and my wireless network SSID is City 17.)