Chad: We’re sending someone to the Game Developer’s Conference. We got our E3 badges confirmed. The Mass Effect 3 demo has been devoured. (Okay, that last one there was a gratuitous plug for one of my most anticipated games of this year, even though I thought the demo was only so-so.) Time to ramp up the pace, because things are just going to get faster from here.

There’s a fancy event called the Game Developer’s Conference, which happens in San Fransisco each year and is invite-only. This will be our second year attending, and we’ll be sending our newly appointed features editor, Alexa, out there to attempt to cram all she can into her days to cover the show for us and, ultimately, you guys, our readers.

A month after that, in April, we’ll be enveloping Boston to cover PAX East, as we have done the last two years. That’s always a fun event and tends to be enjoyed by all.

However, the biggest event of the year as far as the North American gaming market is concerned is the Electronic Entertainment Expo. For the third year, we’ll be attending that event en masse, and getting as much coverage as we can from the show, including live blogging the conferences, getting coverage straight from the show floor in the form of written and video impressions from us of what we see and play, and just generally having a great time while doing it. Are you looking forward to it? I sure am.

You see, I wasn’t able to go to the event the last couple years, even though I did get approved for a badge. That’s the problem with having a day job that tends to get in the way of the job you’re really passionate about, yet doesn’t pay the bills. This year, however, I shall be attending, and nothing can stop me (short of a nuclear implosion over the Midwest).

While I’ve covered the show from home those two years (and probably got a better seat at the conferences than most thanks to the magical television set), I’ve also felt like my little niche of the gaming universe – the genres of games I’m most passionate about – haven’t been focused on in our coverage. I mean, who would want to cover a small NIS America game over a title like Battlefield 3 or Skyrim? That shall change this year, my friends, as we’ll have enough people to give you all the coverage you could want from games big and small.

Of particular interest to me this year is meeting some - or all? - of the public relations personnel I've been working with over the last couple years. It's one thing dealing with someone via e-mail and asking for review products. It's a completely different thing to actually meet them and -- surprise, surprise -- find out they're a human being just like you and I. So, that's one of the things I'm looking forward to, possibly even more than seeing some of the games. While I've been to events in the past, such as some events in our home base of NYC and of course PAX East, there's likely nothing that can prepare me for E3. Except maybe a shot of tequila and a swift kick in the pants.

Joel: When I saw Chad's debut post of the editors blog go up last week I said to myself, "What the f*ck?" Why didn't I think of this? This is absolutely brilliant! What better way to connect with readers on a more personal level! I need to get my grubby paws on it. That being said, I'm totally sneaking into this post... right now.

Shhhh don't tell him.

Seriously though, I can't help but share in Chad's excitement this week with all of the good mojo flowing behind the scenes. While January and February can  lack in terms of content, it can still be among the most exciting (and trying) times for a gaming site. With GDC, PAX East and E3 quickly approaching we're now putting our heads together to figure out how we can make this the best coverage that we've provided for all three events... ever.

This week I  had the chance to interview two professional baseball players, CC Sabathia and Adrian Gonzalez, who combined are worth over 300 million dollars. Talk about skills to pay the bills.

What I enjoyed most about my time with them is that while they both have a larger than life presence (when CC walks into a room, I think there's a universal unspoken understanding between everyone there that says, "Holy sh*t, he's big!") they didn't seem like they were full of them selves... at all. Both of them are among the highest paid players on their respective teams, yet they seemed humbled and genuinely excited just to talk baseball and about the game. Like two big kids... that make money by the boatload.

We also recorded our 100th episode of the ShockCast on Thursday night. And It wasn't until the discussion we had during the night of the recording that I really digested just how much hard work and dedication has gone into building DualShockers, and how many sacrifices have since been made to keep it going and growing the way it does.

I know that at the end of every episode I'm always thanking the readers and listeners for their loyalty, and I'll continue to do so, but this being my first entry into the editors blog (albeit a forced, sneaky one), I need to take a moment to tell you that I cannot say enough about this staff.

I want to thank the DualShockers crew (as a whole) for all of their own hard work and dedication. Without you guys, none of this would be possible.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me live out our/my childhood dream.

We're only six weeks into the new year, and I'm expecting huge things for the site. Things that will put us on the next level of getting the recognition that we've been fighting for these last three years -- another notch on our belt that tells us we've made it. Really exciting things that I want to share with you all but I don't want to jinx them either (I'm superstitious like that, sorry.) I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to find out.