Well now, summer has been quite an affair for Hektic; truth be told this whole year has been pretty hectic for Hektic 
A bit of a hiatus has been needed, but you've all wanted it, so I've got it for you. This month's Community Spotlight is none other than Top Dogs 360. Hailing from Michigan, Top Dogs has been a member of XbA since September of 2007; among other accomplishments he got the ball rolling with XbA's Trade In Center, as well as single-handedly policing that particular thread, making sure it is fair for all. Well now, without further ado:
Hektic: Thanks for the taking the time, Top Dogs. First off, how did you hear about the site?
Top Dogs 360: I heard about Xbox America through a friend on xbox live. I was viewing his myspace account and then I seen this gamercard that had our ranking for Michigan. Even though he is not an active member of the site I inquired anyway and next thing you know I am a member of this awesome site XBA.
Now thats the story of how I joined this site, but I really became active during the Hunt For Achievement activity, that was awesome and that was also the first time I started talking to Gibson's Boobies. lol aka Jackson. I tell you everytime I see the name Jackson I think of " I'm sorry ms. Jackson, I am fo real" lol. Jackson is awesome by the way. Had to get that in here somewhere.
H: Lol, yea Jackson's great, but that guy Hektic; he sure is something...we just haven't figured out what yet Well, tell the XbA community a bit about yourself.
T: Oh about me? Well, I grew up in Detroit Michigan with my mom, moved to Charlotte North Carolina to live with my dad. Then moved to northern Michigan with my grandparents and graduated high school in 2000 with a 3.7GPA, and ended up going to Grand Valley State University for 2 years, until the schloarship money ran out. I didn't want to take out a loan so I decided to stop going.
I may finish up someday (I was majoring in BioChemistry and Engineering), but I like my job I have now. I am a butcher (not really but yeah) I work in a grocery store and I am the meat department manager. The owner of the store treats me like I am his family. His son and I went to school together and his son was in my wedding. So I am pretty fortunate to have a good job in this economy. I work about 50 hours a week with full benefits for my family.
Oh I don't know if any of you from the site ever get to Michigan but if you do hit me up. I like all kinds of people and get along with everybody. If you like sports football, basketball, baseball are my pastimes then we already have two things in common, the 360 being the first.
H: Michigan has been one place I've yet to visit, but that may have to change. You guys have a gigantic airport, though. How about your family? Do they support your gaming habit?
T: Oh my wife loves RTS games. She gets me the chieves on The Command & Conquer games. And my daugther loves to sing. So those Disney sing it games people see my playing thinking I am gay no thats my daugther. We use 1 account, well, because its cheaper than having 3 gold accounts. Hence the plural in my gamertag.
Speaking of which Top Dogs 360 is for me my wife and my family. It means will we be the best at all we do. Game, Work, or whatever we strive to be the best and in the end we are the Top Dogs; well I guess I am the Top Dog but it sounds good, lol.
H: Wow, looks like I need to get myself a wife and some kids to bump up that gamerscore of mine, ha ha. So what kind of gaming set up do the Top Dogs use?
T: Alright, my gaming setup: I have a 42" Scarlet LG for my Elite 360.
H: Wow, now that is fancy. So what games are you currently playing?
T: I am currently playing Saint's Row 2, GTA 4, Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty WaW, The Last Remnant, Two Worlds, Fallout 3 (dlc), World Series Of Poker 2008, and Rock Band if I ever get a guitar and drum/bass set. Speaking of which what was wrong with the idea of a controller like in Guitar Hero 2?
H: Lol, that would be too simple, now wouldn't it? Wow, sounds like you've got your hands full for a bit. Are there any games this year that you are particularly looking forward to?
T: Some new releases I am looking forward to are Dirt 2, Need For Speed Shift, Dragon Age: Orgins, Forza Motosport 3, BioShock 2, Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy 13.
H: Well, someone is an RPG fan here! With all of these lengthy games in your repertoire, how often would you say you take the time to game?
T: I used to game every chance I had, but my priorities have since shifted. Now I try to game in the evenings anywhere from 8-11:30pm E.S.T. I have a 5 year old girl, 1 year old boy and a wife (27 like me) to keep happy so gaming falls to the bottom of the pecking order.
H: Ha ha, yes, got to keep the wife and kids happy first and foremost. Well, real quick, I am just curious; how did the advent of the Xbox America Trade In Center come about?
T: The Trade In Center? Well that came about in a combination of 3 ways. First off I would go into Gamestop or the local used store and trade in 4-5 games and only walk out with 1. Which was cool but I thought there had to be a better way. The second reason is, I rent through Gamefly and I find it to be getting rather expensive but its the only way to find games that are not available in the local market. Trading with others all across the country gives everyone a bigger selection of games to play. The third and most important reason is the honest community that XBA is. Earlier in the same day I started the thread for the trade in center, D3ADLYKILL3R set up a thread to give away a free movie ticket pass (2) to see Watchman. He ended up giving the code for those tickets to me. I was a little skeptical at first but it ended up being legit and my wife and I seen Watchman in IMAX for free. After I received the tickets I knew my idea of trading games could work on this site because of the honesty. (Get a group of people together with common interests and many ideas tend to work).
H: I guess that is the heart of XbA; gamers getting together to help their fellow gamers for fun...and the pursuit of gamerscore. Well Top Dogs, I want to thank you and let you know how much I appreciate your help getting this together. For those of you with questions for Top Dogs, post them below and I'm sure he'll be happy to answer them, provided he has the time between Two Worlds, Fallout, his wife and children
A bit of a hiatus has been needed, but you've all wanted it, so I've got it for you. This month's Community Spotlight is none other than Top Dogs 360. Hailing from Michigan, Top Dogs has been a member of XbA since September of 2007; among other accomplishments he got the ball rolling with XbA's Trade In Center, as well as single-handedly policing that particular thread, making sure it is fair for all. Well now, without further ado:Hektic: Thanks for the taking the time, Top Dogs. First off, how did you hear about the site?
Top Dogs 360: I heard about Xbox America through a friend on xbox live. I was viewing his myspace account and then I seen this gamercard that had our ranking for Michigan. Even though he is not an active member of the site I inquired anyway and next thing you know I am a member of this awesome site XBA.
Now thats the story of how I joined this site, but I really became active during the Hunt For Achievement activity, that was awesome and that was also the first time I started talking to Gibson's Boobies. lol aka Jackson. I tell you everytime I see the name Jackson I think of " I'm sorry ms. Jackson, I am fo real" lol. Jackson is awesome by the way. Had to get that in here somewhere.
H: Lol, yea Jackson's great, but that guy Hektic; he sure is something...we just haven't figured out what yet
Well, tell the XbA community a bit about yourself.T: Oh about me? Well, I grew up in Detroit Michigan with my mom, moved to Charlotte North Carolina to live with my dad. Then moved to northern Michigan with my grandparents and graduated high school in 2000 with a 3.7GPA, and ended up going to Grand Valley State University for 2 years, until the schloarship money ran out. I didn't want to take out a loan so I decided to stop going.
I may finish up someday (I was majoring in BioChemistry and Engineering), but I like my job I have now. I am a butcher (not really but yeah) I work in a grocery store and I am the meat department manager. The owner of the store treats me like I am his family. His son and I went to school together and his son was in my wedding. So I am pretty fortunate to have a good job in this economy. I work about 50 hours a week with full benefits for my family.Oh I don't know if any of you from the site ever get to Michigan but if you do hit me up. I like all kinds of people and get along with everybody. If you like sports football, basketball, baseball are my pastimes then we already have two things in common, the 360 being the first.
H: Michigan has been one place I've yet to visit, but that may have to change. You guys have a gigantic airport, though. How about your family? Do they support your gaming habit?
T: Oh my wife loves RTS games. She gets me the chieves on The Command & Conquer games. And my daugther loves to sing. So those Disney sing it games people see my playing thinking I am gay no thats my daugther. We use 1 account, well, because its cheaper than having 3 gold accounts. Hence the plural in my gamertag.
Speaking of which Top Dogs 360 is for me my wife and my family. It means will we be the best at all we do. Game, Work, or whatever we strive to be the best and in the end we are the Top Dogs; well I guess I am the Top Dog but it sounds good, lol.
H: Wow, looks like I need to get myself a wife and some kids to bump up that gamerscore of mine, ha ha. So what kind of gaming set up do the Top Dogs use?
T: Alright, my gaming setup: I have a 42" Scarlet LG for my Elite 360.
H: Wow, now that is fancy. So what games are you currently playing?
T: I am currently playing Saint's Row 2, GTA 4, Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty WaW, The Last Remnant, Two Worlds, Fallout 3 (dlc), World Series Of Poker 2008, and Rock Band if I ever get a guitar and drum/bass set. Speaking of which what was wrong with the idea of a controller like in Guitar Hero 2?
H: Lol, that would be too simple, now wouldn't it? Wow, sounds like you've got your hands full for a bit. Are there any games this year that you are particularly looking forward to?
T: Some new releases I am looking forward to are Dirt 2, Need For Speed Shift, Dragon Age: Orgins, Forza Motosport 3, BioShock 2, Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy 13.
H: Well, someone is an RPG fan here! With all of these lengthy games in your repertoire, how often would you say you take the time to game?
T: I used to game every chance I had, but my priorities have since shifted. Now I try to game in the evenings anywhere from 8-11:30pm E.S.T. I have a 5 year old girl, 1 year old boy and a wife (27 like me) to keep happy so gaming falls to the bottom of the pecking order.
H: Ha ha, yes, got to keep the wife and kids happy first and foremost. Well, real quick, I am just curious; how did the advent of the Xbox America Trade In Center come about?
T: The Trade In Center? Well that came about in a combination of 3 ways. First off I would go into Gamestop or the local used store and trade in 4-5 games and only walk out with 1. Which was cool but I thought there had to be a better way. The second reason is, I rent through Gamefly and I find it to be getting rather expensive but its the only way to find games that are not available in the local market. Trading with others all across the country gives everyone a bigger selection of games to play. The third and most important reason is the honest community that XBA is. Earlier in the same day I started the thread for the trade in center, D3ADLYKILL3R set up a thread to give away a free movie ticket pass (2) to see Watchman. He ended up giving the code for those tickets to me. I was a little skeptical at first but it ended up being legit and my wife and I seen Watchman in IMAX for free. After I received the tickets I knew my idea of trading games could work on this site because of the honesty. (Get a group of people together with common interests and many ideas tend to work).
H: I guess that is the heart of XbA; gamers getting together to help their fellow gamers for fun...and the pursuit of gamerscore. Well Top Dogs, I want to thank you and let you know how much I appreciate your help getting this together. For those of you with questions for Top Dogs, post them below and I'm sure he'll be happy to answer them, provided he has the time between Two Worlds, Fallout, his wife and children
great interview too!
and you've now got your self a guitar! and thanks for the trade thread!
