I don't see any flaming going on. Obviously, l-o-s isn't meaning any offense at all.

It's true, Nintendo's products are not perfect, but they are certainly better than most of the third-party garbage that pops up. Bobslob, either you've had a case of bad luck, or there is something wrong with your GameCube. Perhaps you could try to use the second slot rather than the first, and see if there are any problems. Most games should check both slots for memory cards.