from my buddy Ryan, who is going to Europe for ~ 5 weeks. Technically I rented it because I agreed to buy him a controller (if I can find one). Hooked the power and video connections up, placed the sensor bar BELOW the TV (as placing it on top is a good way for it to fall off and break), then turned it on and started pointing away. I really like that there is a dashboard when you turn it on, letting you pick what you want to do each and every time.
I created Mii's for Leita and myself, then checked out the weather channel, news channel, and the internet. The internet channel is a little unwieldy, zooming and navigating and inputting site names is much more difficult than on a computer, but I was still impressed. I officially am loving the fact that most new tech toys are connectable wirelessly, doing away with cords of all sorts is a wonderful thing.
Haven't tried any games yet, went to bed early, but within the next couple days I want to invest some time in Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Or should I finish God of War? Or should I rent Super Paper Mario? Or should I get farther in S.T.A.L.K.E.R? Too many games, too little time...
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
HELLO????
Does anyone even ever come here to read this? If you've ever been here to see my ramblings, write me a note in the comment section of this post or in the Cbox on the lower right portion of the screen
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(over there and down near the bottom, black box, can't miss it)
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(over there and down near the bottom, black box, can't miss it)
GOW FTW!
Borrowed God of War from my brother last night, played it till the wee hours of the morning (but don't tell Leita that), the succumbed to a sleep full of demon-slaying and twirling SWORDS OF DEATH!!!
If you haven't played the game, go now! Buy (or rent or borrow) and you'll love it. I guarantee! If you don't, you must be a zombie. After this I'll try to borrow the sequel from my brother too, if he manages to buy it soon.
PS If you don't know what FTW means, google it. I'm behind the times because this is the first time I've actually used it, but I can now say I'm part of the real geek-internet culture...
If you haven't played the game, go now! Buy (or rent or borrow) and you'll love it. I guarantee! If you don't, you must be a zombie. After this I'll try to borrow the sequel from my brother too, if he manages to buy it soon.
PS If you don't know what FTW means, google it. I'm behind the times because this is the first time I've actually used it, but I can now say I'm part of the real geek-internet culture...
Thursday, April 19, 2007
It's been a while
It's been a while since my last update; over a month. I think it'll take a while for me to get the hang of uploading on a regular basis.
One of the very best sites I've come across lately is Pageflakes. What this is (for anyone that doesn't know already) is a customizable homepage that easily allows RSS feeds to be collected and organized however the user wishes. I've got feeds from Digg, Joystiq, Gizmodo, Consumerist, and a whole bunch more. I love the fact that all feeds update in (relatively) real-time, giving me up-to-date info on everything I've bookmarked on my homepage.
They have flakes (links) for TV programs, games, and seemingly any website you can imagine. I'm relatively limited in access during work hours, but I seem to obsessively check all the feeds i get whenever I have time.
Check the program out, it's pretty cool...
One of the very best sites I've come across lately is Pageflakes. What this is (for anyone that doesn't know already) is a customizable homepage that easily allows RSS feeds to be collected and organized however the user wishes. I've got feeds from Digg, Joystiq, Gizmodo, Consumerist, and a whole bunch more. I love the fact that all feeds update in (relatively) real-time, giving me up-to-date info on everything I've bookmarked on my homepage.
They have flakes (links) for TV programs, games, and seemingly any website you can imagine. I'm relatively limited in access during work hours, but I seem to obsessively check all the feeds i get whenever I have time.
Check the program out, it's pretty cool...
Monday, March 12, 2007
The wonders of music
I finally re-installed my deck in my car this weekend. I've had absolutely no tunage during my daily drive and too-frequent trips to Edmonton, caused by the misalignment of the CD reading laser. I think the bass in my car contributed to the failure because of the frequent and significant vibrations.
I took it in for warranty work in the middle of December (two weeks before the warranty expired) and it took over two months to get it back from them. Then, when I picked it up and used my parents garage to install it, I remembered what a pain in the ass putting in stereos by hand actually is. I had forgotten to take a picture of or write down what wires from the car corresponded to their equivalent in the deck. Hmmmmm, time to guess and check.
3 hours later and NO progress I said "Screw it" and we drove home. I tried for the last week to find a wiring diagram online or in Canadian Tire or at Futureshop, but nothing is available (or, in the case of Futureshop, they won't tell me because it's 'proprietary info'). I was just about to cave in and pay Futureshop $50 to install it for me when my buddy Jordan tells me he has a multi-meter that I can use. YES!
So this weekend I ripped open my car dash, destroyed 5 fuses through inadvertent wire crosses, and finally found the power, accessory, and ground wires. Then it was simply a matter of twisting wire pairs, much electrical tape, and SHOVING everything in place. It doesn't look elegant, but it certainly worked.
Now, sweet tunes are heard, sweet bass is felt, and my car is once again whole.
I took it in for warranty work in the middle of December (two weeks before the warranty expired) and it took over two months to get it back from them. Then, when I picked it up and used my parents garage to install it, I remembered what a pain in the ass putting in stereos by hand actually is. I had forgotten to take a picture of or write down what wires from the car corresponded to their equivalent in the deck. Hmmmmm, time to guess and check.
3 hours later and NO progress I said "Screw it" and we drove home. I tried for the last week to find a wiring diagram online or in Canadian Tire or at Futureshop, but nothing is available (or, in the case of Futureshop, they won't tell me because it's 'proprietary info'). I was just about to cave in and pay Futureshop $50 to install it for me when my buddy Jordan tells me he has a multi-meter that I can use. YES!
So this weekend I ripped open my car dash, destroyed 5 fuses through inadvertent wire crosses, and finally found the power, accessory, and ground wires. Then it was simply a matter of twisting wire pairs, much electrical tape, and SHOVING everything in place. It doesn't look elegant, but it certainly worked.
Now, sweet tunes are heard, sweet bass is felt, and my car is once again whole.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Stupid free iPod/MacBook/Gift Card scams...
A couple days ago I decided to look deeper into the so-called 'free iPod' websites that pop up with some frequency if your pop-up blocker isn't as stringent as it should be. Once curiosity gets the better of you and your mouse cursor clicks on the "FREE!!!! NOW!!!!! NO WAITING!!!!!" (or similar) link, you are taken to screen upon screen upon screen of offers to complete, hoops to jump through, etc. before you can claim your 'prize'.
Then, and only then, is the real hook: you have to refer people (via their email address) and 1/2/5 people must complete the offers as well for you to receive your gift. They have to follow detailed instructions on using you as a reference or you won't get credit, they have to complete the same amount of offers and refer others, and it all has to be done WITHIN 60 or 90 DAYS!
Oh, those bastards! Now I know how the scam works, I vow NEVER to do any more of them... EVER! Good thing I assumed (correctly) that they would also share my email address with spammers, and I used my junk hotmail account.
Last night I actually attempted to complete some offers in the hopes of getting a $500 Futureshop gift card, and it took 6 applications at websites for various things before it said I was close to getting my gift. They have to wait for the websites I signed up for to verify that I wasn't just signing up and cancelling right away, then I also had to refer one person and get them to do 6 offers themselves, and THEN I would receive my reward in the mail. No where while I was looking at the offers available was it mentioned that I had to sign someone else up, and I blindly hoped that I wouldn't have to... nope, not a chance.
So I spent some time today cancelling what I could immediately, but I'm still stuck with a couple offers: I've got an Entertainment Book coming that my fiance and I might be able to use for romantic dinners and trips to the zoo, we are receiving a 7 day trial of a tooth whitening 'system', and I think we have some Entertainment Weekly magazines headed our way.
I call my experiment a total failure...
Then, and only then, is the real hook: you have to refer people (via their email address) and 1/2/5 people must complete the offers as well for you to receive your gift. They have to follow detailed instructions on using you as a reference or you won't get credit, they have to complete the same amount of offers and refer others, and it all has to be done WITHIN 60 or 90 DAYS!
Oh, those bastards! Now I know how the scam works, I vow NEVER to do any more of them... EVER! Good thing I assumed (correctly) that they would also share my email address with spammers, and I used my junk hotmail account.
Last night I actually attempted to complete some offers in the hopes of getting a $500 Futureshop gift card, and it took 6 applications at websites for various things before it said I was close to getting my gift. They have to wait for the websites I signed up for to verify that I wasn't just signing up and cancelling right away, then I also had to refer one person and get them to do 6 offers themselves, and THEN I would receive my reward in the mail. No where while I was looking at the offers available was it mentioned that I had to sign someone else up, and I blindly hoped that I wouldn't have to... nope, not a chance.
So I spent some time today cancelling what I could immediately, but I'm still stuck with a couple offers: I've got an Entertainment Book coming that my fiance and I might be able to use for romantic dinners and trips to the zoo, we are receiving a 7 day trial of a tooth whitening 'system', and I think we have some Entertainment Weekly magazines headed our way.
I call my experiment a total failure...
Not enough hours in a day
I was thinking the other day about how much time and money I've spent on video games of all forms. I know I've easily got over 100 games for various systems at my house right now; some bought new, some used, some rented, a couple borrowed, some free (demos).
And the thing about that is I don't think I've actually finished more than 5% of them! I have great intentions to devote myself to playing through a game when I get in, but I always find something newer and shinier within a few days or weeks. Is that a sign of a short attention span, a sign that the game isn't good enough to keep me interested, or just a sign that I am like every other person in the world and never have enough time in a day to do everything on my plate.
For example, I received NWN 2 for Christmas 2006, and have put no more than 5 hours into it so far. I was drooling over it for the longest time, and played through the original more than once, but I haven't been able to devote time to it for any number of reasons. I love RPG's, loved the original, and yet... meh. (PS Cam, if you're reading this, I loved getting it as a present, promise!) ;)
The same story applies to almost every single game on every single console I own; a couple games I finish, most I play for 5 - 7 hours, and a few I hardly touch at all. It seems like every time I find a game I enjoy, different and equally enjoyable games seem to slowly draw my attention, withering it like a dying tree (okay, a little over the top)...
One of these days I plan to write in here as many games as I can think of and find that I have, have played, and have walked away from. Goal: don't know, but who cares!
And the thing about that is I don't think I've actually finished more than 5% of them! I have great intentions to devote myself to playing through a game when I get in, but I always find something newer and shinier within a few days or weeks. Is that a sign of a short attention span, a sign that the game isn't good enough to keep me interested, or just a sign that I am like every other person in the world and never have enough time in a day to do everything on my plate.
For example, I received NWN 2 for Christmas 2006, and have put no more than 5 hours into it so far. I was drooling over it for the longest time, and played through the original more than once, but I haven't been able to devote time to it for any number of reasons. I love RPG's, loved the original, and yet... meh. (PS Cam, if you're reading this, I loved getting it as a present, promise!) ;)
The same story applies to almost every single game on every single console I own; a couple games I finish, most I play for 5 - 7 hours, and a few I hardly touch at all. It seems like every time I find a game I enjoy, different and equally enjoyable games seem to slowly draw my attention, withering it like a dying tree (okay, a little over the top)...
One of these days I plan to write in here as many games as I can think of and find that I have, have played, and have walked away from. Goal: don't know, but who cares!
HOLY HELL, I'M A DOG!
How does one go through their ENTIRE life thinking their zodiac sign is the pig, when in fact it is the DOG! I missed the cut-off for the Pig by two days... Google and Wikipedia just told me.
What a paradigm shift.
Anyone know if I need to change my life in light of this development?
(just thought I'd share this with you, I just found out myself)
(except no one is reading this yet... I guess I'll go tell my woman.... except she's asleep... yeah, so lonely)
What a paradigm shift.
Anyone know if I need to change my life in light of this development?
(just thought I'd share this with you, I just found out myself)
(except no one is reading this yet... I guess I'll go tell my woman.... except she's asleep... yeah, so lonely)
The Beginning....
Sounds ominous.......
In reality all I'm doing here is getting something on the page. I decided to start a blog because everyone (and their dog and cat and fish) is blogging nowadays, and I want to join the crowd.
Not a leader, but strictly in the middle of the pack...
I want to focus on things that I like, things that are of interest and importance to me. We'll see what happens, but at the moment I'm WAY too tired to think of anything cool to say.
In reality all I'm doing here is getting something on the page. I decided to start a blog because everyone (and their dog and cat and fish) is blogging nowadays, and I want to join the crowd.
Not a leader, but strictly in the middle of the pack...
I want to focus on things that I like, things that are of interest and importance to me. We'll see what happens, but at the moment I'm WAY too tired to think of anything cool to say.
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