February has been a little kinder for us, even though I think a lot of it has to do with our over compensation of the last month. Yesterday was my first Friday off in a few months time, and I kinda weaseled my way into getting the day off even though everyone else in my line was working. So even though I was happy to have some time off to goof around, I still felt a little guilty being home yesterday. But damnit, I shouldn't really have to feel guilty about working 40 hours a week, do I?
The PS3 has been really good to me. The Orange Box is really cool, although I've been spending time split between the different games. One of the conditions of having a PS3 is that I can't really play games that are inappropriate for the kids to watch, and seeing how the consumer base of the PS3 is geared toward Teens and up, it can be a little tough finding anything to do on the PS3 with the kids. Burnout Paradise is great with the kids around, and Portal is a good one as well. I tend to play Portal only when my wife is around, mostly because it's interesting for her to watch and I like to show off my analytical skills. The Playstation Network is addictive as well, having classic titles that work on the PS3 and the PSP. That's pretty cool. Right now I'm playing through Uncharted: Drake's Treasure, a rental that I had considered buying. I'll say this, it has a really great visual presentation, at times just beautiful and engrossing. But at the same time, the game seems to be incredibly short - I played for 3-4 hours last night and I've already completed 40% of the game. But it sure is pretty.
Yeah, kinda needed the Friday off just to catch a breather - I've been so submerged into work that whenever I dream, it's usually about work. I wake up, work, and promptly go into slipshod parenting and then bedtime. It's been so exhausting and seemingly unrewarding that I've developing a dronelike gaze in my eyes. And I try to apply the maxim of "having be able to make enough" to justify not working on Friday. I need to be able to work less and make more, really.
The kids have since recovered a little from their illnesses, and right now it's found new hosts in my wife and now starting to affect me. I'm trying to keep it at bay, hydrating, taking vitamins and scarfing down Balance Bars as if it were really healthy.
Zoe has a way of calling certain things with a "Ba" prefix, like Baputer (Computer), Bapiano, and the other day, when Zoe was naming off family members when she said that her mommy's name was Balaine, which was pretty cute. Alex himself has been sweet at times, coming into bed and saying, "I like you Daddy. You're my favorite Daddy." Which is quite a compliment considering the other Daddy candidates. His recent thing has been coming into our room in the middle of the night. My wife had told him that when he needed something, he should come into our room instead of shouting at the top of his voice in the dead of the night for something that he needs. So the other night, at 2 in the morning, he comes into the room, and says out loud,
"Mommy? Mommy?"
My wife, confused and half asleep, mutters, "She's not here."
"Mommy?"
(Regains composure) "What Sweetie?"
"Night night."
The other night was a similar deal, when he wanted a kiss at six in the morning. Thereafter, I believe he sat in our bed waiting for us to wake up, so needless to say, he was tired the rest of the day, doling out his tiredness in bite size tantrums.
But overall, the kids have been pretty good, just getting the feeling that they don't see their Daddy as much as they should be. Anyway, day with the family today, can't spend all day blogging about games now, can we?
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
January was Suck Month
I don't know what it was about January, but it just sucked royally. I should be a little careful though, the month isn't quite over. Better look out for saws dropping from the ceiling or the like.
Right now, the kids are sick - they are coughing a great deal, first hitting Alex and then moving through to Zoe. The doctor ruled out strep throat and is testing for whooping cough, but it's still pretty inconclusive. One night was so bad that he'd cough and wake up crying, leaving my poor wife to stay up with him most of the night, sitting in the rocking chair consoling him. She definitely earned a Mother of the Year award for that one. I slept mostly because I knew I couldn't do any less than 5 and a half hours of sleep. I would implode or have some structural failure if I tried.
So now Zoe has it, but we're laying on the cough medicine, which he hates, to at least let them have some rest at night. Being sick and sleep deprived makes for a very cranky and irritable kid. They're on the mend, but we're kinda trying to take it easy, stay indoors, and watch Daddy waste away his weekend with PS3 goodness.
Work was hard. I'm on my feet for the 10 hour day, walking back and forth, doing lifting and sorting and the like, and holding in repressed anger at my co-workers for redefining the personification of "Lameass". In addition to that, we had a few 58 hour weeks, and either one or two days off. I don't care who you are, but after you work that much, you really start to lose sight of everything else, like who you are and people around you. I was dreaming about work, it was so bad. My coworkers and I got into a high tension discussion about my supervisor taking roll call in the morning, and marking people up for tardies and ultimately firing the repeat offenders with as little as one warning.
Their argument was that it was just a few minutes, and that shouldn't matter. I argued that if it was a big deal for them, then just show up on time. Work starts at the same time everyday. My co-worker accused me of living too closely to work (7 minute drive), and that some people had to commute on the freeway and traffic was what it was. I said again, work starts the same time everyday, and a lot of people show up on time or early. Then I put it to him this way, if the supervisor came to him and said, I'm going to take a few minutes from your lunch today, how would he feel, since we were practically stealing time when we show up late but still filled in the timecard as 40 hours. He said it doesn't matter, since we leave work a few minutes early anyway.
At that point, I do this thing when I'm done talking to him, which is to say, "I don't know." repeatedly until he leaves me alone, then I just put on my earphones and walk away. It's much like aruguing with children when I'm at work. They want it their way, have no logic to back it up, and can't see more than 2 seconds ahead of what the consequences will be.
One of my other projects in the new future, in addition to finishing the wedding, planning the trip to California, and all the other daily crap that I ignore, will be to go through some emails from my wife and pull up excerpts of kid adventures. I've neglected to report a lot of their shennigans and so I'm trying to remedy that.
Right now, the kids are sick - they are coughing a great deal, first hitting Alex and then moving through to Zoe. The doctor ruled out strep throat and is testing for whooping cough, but it's still pretty inconclusive. One night was so bad that he'd cough and wake up crying, leaving my poor wife to stay up with him most of the night, sitting in the rocking chair consoling him. She definitely earned a Mother of the Year award for that one. I slept mostly because I knew I couldn't do any less than 5 and a half hours of sleep. I would implode or have some structural failure if I tried.
So now Zoe has it, but we're laying on the cough medicine, which he hates, to at least let them have some rest at night. Being sick and sleep deprived makes for a very cranky and irritable kid. They're on the mend, but we're kinda trying to take it easy, stay indoors, and watch Daddy waste away his weekend with PS3 goodness.
Work was hard. I'm on my feet for the 10 hour day, walking back and forth, doing lifting and sorting and the like, and holding in repressed anger at my co-workers for redefining the personification of "Lameass". In addition to that, we had a few 58 hour weeks, and either one or two days off. I don't care who you are, but after you work that much, you really start to lose sight of everything else, like who you are and people around you. I was dreaming about work, it was so bad. My coworkers and I got into a high tension discussion about my supervisor taking roll call in the morning, and marking people up for tardies and ultimately firing the repeat offenders with as little as one warning.
Their argument was that it was just a few minutes, and that shouldn't matter. I argued that if it was a big deal for them, then just show up on time. Work starts at the same time everyday. My co-worker accused me of living too closely to work (7 minute drive), and that some people had to commute on the freeway and traffic was what it was. I said again, work starts the same time everyday, and a lot of people show up on time or early. Then I put it to him this way, if the supervisor came to him and said, I'm going to take a few minutes from your lunch today, how would he feel, since we were practically stealing time when we show up late but still filled in the timecard as 40 hours. He said it doesn't matter, since we leave work a few minutes early anyway.
At that point, I do this thing when I'm done talking to him, which is to say, "I don't know." repeatedly until he leaves me alone, then I just put on my earphones and walk away. It's much like aruguing with children when I'm at work. They want it their way, have no logic to back it up, and can't see more than 2 seconds ahead of what the consequences will be.
One of my other projects in the new future, in addition to finishing the wedding, planning the trip to California, and all the other daily crap that I ignore, will be to go through some emails from my wife and pull up excerpts of kid adventures. I've neglected to report a lot of their shennigans and so I'm trying to remedy that.
My Foray into Next Gen Gaming
(Or, how I was an Xbox360 owner for about six hours.)
So, part of my twisted bargaining process was to convince my wife, you know, I've been working like 106 hours for the past two weeks, a bit of next gen gaming might cheer me up (or something.) So I told her I was going to sell that video camera I never use to front the money for an Xbox 360. Well, when Friday rolled around, I had reached a fever pitch obsession so I asked my wife if I could get an advance on the system, and she said yes. So off I went to get the somewhat reasonably (but ultimately lackluster) Xbox360 Arcade, which was $279.
Unboxing the 360 was a little comical - Everything was just oversized. The console itself is bulky, which is fine and all, but the power AC brick was ridiculous. The plugs itself was also crazy big. But I made the space for it, elevated some shelves, and fit the 360 in the entertainment center.
To shorten the story, what I was impressed with was this: The arcade games are fun. Boom Boom Rocket is a fun game. I ordered three games online for pickup, excited to get some decent gaming in. However, my 360 had a different opinion.
I've heard of the 33% failure rates of the 360s, and the many many comments about people who are on their 2nd and 3rd console. But since some time had lapsed and the Arcade is a newer incarnation, maybe they had sorted it out. Boy, was I wrong. For the rest of the evening, I had the 360 freeze on me in the middle of gameplay off a brand new disc, during server connections, online, and once after I booted it up during the intro screen. It seriously froze like 5-6 times in one night. No error code, no official looking screen that gave any indication of a problem, just froze. Googled "xbox freeze" and the comments were overwhelming. This isn't just a fluke, it's a dangerous trend. By the end of the night, I had went from ecstatic gamer to disappointed consumer.
So the next day I returned the damn thing, and got a PS3. Now, the price tag is way heftier, about 400 bones for the 40 Gig, but now I see that it was certainly a much better way to go. Sure, no Bioshock, Halo 3 or Gears of War, but not frozen screen or dealing with tech support in another country either. Having owned both for short periods of time, I would highly recommend the PS3 over the Xbox anyday.
The Arcade version of Xbox is no frills, which was what I thought I needed, but consider this - there is no hard drive, and the included memory unit is only 256 mb, which isn't really all that much. The save files for these games are huge. To buy an addition memory unit, it would be 50 bucks. And by that time, you're already at $329, which is only 20 bucks away from actually getting the Xbox Premium, which comes with a 20GB Hard drive, headset, and HDMI cable. And without more memory, forget about music storage, trailer or demo downloads, or anything. You would have to be a really casual gamer who has it for visitors or really enjoy deleting save files right after you complete the game.
Now the next thing would be to endorse the Premium 360, right? Actually, no. At $349, the Premium sports a 20GB hard drive, but for 50 bucks more, a PS3 will see the 20 and raise it another 20, for a whopping 40GB drive. In addition, you get a Blu-Ray player. 50 bucks for 20 Gigs and a Blu Ray player, I think that's reason enough.
So, I'm enjoying my PS3, albeit full of guilt because it cost more than I started out with, but so far it's just awesome. Burnout Paradise is lots of fun in it, and I got Orange Box and Portal is one of the few puzzle games that I'll actually enjoy. Downloaded more demos and have yet to try it yet, but I'm sure this console will last me quite some time, like my PS2 has.
And no, it hasn't frozen once.
So, part of my twisted bargaining process was to convince my wife, you know, I've been working like 106 hours for the past two weeks, a bit of next gen gaming might cheer me up (or something.) So I told her I was going to sell that video camera I never use to front the money for an Xbox 360. Well, when Friday rolled around, I had reached a fever pitch obsession so I asked my wife if I could get an advance on the system, and she said yes. So off I went to get the somewhat reasonably (but ultimately lackluster) Xbox360 Arcade, which was $279.
Unboxing the 360 was a little comical - Everything was just oversized. The console itself is bulky, which is fine and all, but the power AC brick was ridiculous. The plugs itself was also crazy big. But I made the space for it, elevated some shelves, and fit the 360 in the entertainment center.
To shorten the story, what I was impressed with was this: The arcade games are fun. Boom Boom Rocket is a fun game. I ordered three games online for pickup, excited to get some decent gaming in. However, my 360 had a different opinion.
I've heard of the 33% failure rates of the 360s, and the many many comments about people who are on their 2nd and 3rd console. But since some time had lapsed and the Arcade is a newer incarnation, maybe they had sorted it out. Boy, was I wrong. For the rest of the evening, I had the 360 freeze on me in the middle of gameplay off a brand new disc, during server connections, online, and once after I booted it up during the intro screen. It seriously froze like 5-6 times in one night. No error code, no official looking screen that gave any indication of a problem, just froze. Googled "xbox freeze" and the comments were overwhelming. This isn't just a fluke, it's a dangerous trend. By the end of the night, I had went from ecstatic gamer to disappointed consumer.
So the next day I returned the damn thing, and got a PS3. Now, the price tag is way heftier, about 400 bones for the 40 Gig, but now I see that it was certainly a much better way to go. Sure, no Bioshock, Halo 3 or Gears of War, but not frozen screen or dealing with tech support in another country either. Having owned both for short periods of time, I would highly recommend the PS3 over the Xbox anyday.
The Arcade version of Xbox is no frills, which was what I thought I needed, but consider this - there is no hard drive, and the included memory unit is only 256 mb, which isn't really all that much. The save files for these games are huge. To buy an addition memory unit, it would be 50 bucks. And by that time, you're already at $329, which is only 20 bucks away from actually getting the Xbox Premium, which comes with a 20GB Hard drive, headset, and HDMI cable. And without more memory, forget about music storage, trailer or demo downloads, or anything. You would have to be a really casual gamer who has it for visitors or really enjoy deleting save files right after you complete the game.
Now the next thing would be to endorse the Premium 360, right? Actually, no. At $349, the Premium sports a 20GB hard drive, but for 50 bucks more, a PS3 will see the 20 and raise it another 20, for a whopping 40GB drive. In addition, you get a Blu-Ray player. 50 bucks for 20 Gigs and a Blu Ray player, I think that's reason enough.
So, I'm enjoying my PS3, albeit full of guilt because it cost more than I started out with, but so far it's just awesome. Burnout Paradise is lots of fun in it, and I got Orange Box and Portal is one of the few puzzle games that I'll actually enjoy. Downloaded more demos and have yet to try it yet, but I'm sure this console will last me quite some time, like my PS2 has.
And no, it hasn't frozen once.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Scammy Pammy
I put one of my videocameras up on Craigslist, because I simply see no use out of it. Between my ultra cheapo camera and my prosumer Giganto, my video needs are simply fulfilled. So I put it on Craigslist, and on the same day, I got three offers. I was pretty stoked, since I was going to use the money from the camera for an Xbox or something, but as the day and messages progressed, I realized something - I was being scammed.
So without delay, here's the first scammer.
---
Hello my friend,
I saw your equipment at Craigslist, hope his in good condition and still for sale get back to me Asap...possibly with your PayPal email..thanks.
Regards
---
Didn't think much of it, so I responded normally. Then...
---
I think is fast via PayPal cuz it guarantees transaction safety and is easy to pay and receive money online, But am currently now on conferenced meting with my family so i can not be able to provide you a cash payment pls am sorry for any inconvenient that will cost you..but i will like to send the item to my son in oversea and i will pay you the total cost of the item including the shipping cost.. in which i can add you $150 for the shipping cost...i would have come to bring you a cash..but dew to that, i think is impossible for me to pay cash except PayPal..You can get back to me with your e mail link to your PayPal so i can process the payment as soon as possible..okay..thanks
Regards
Mr Jeff.
---
This raised a few flags, due to the spelling and grammar problems. And anyone who calls himself Mr. Jeff ought to be put under suspicion anyhow. Then there's the "bonus", whereby he's willing to pay 150 bucks for shipping, which is a perfectly reasonable amount for shipping -- if you're sending a capsule into space. Anyhow, there were too many things bugging me about it but I foolishly gave my paypal address anyway.
---
Yes i will like to process the payment now and immediately you get the confirmation from PayPal kindly shipped the item asap..thanks..here is my son name and address below..
Name...Onu Pius
Address...Sw9/1128a orita challenge, odo ona elewe road, opp olowo ifon
compound.
Country...Nigeria
City......Ibadan
State....Oyo
Zip code..23402..okay and hope to here from you as soon as possible..okay
I have trusted in you and i know you are a kind of seller to me...thanks
Regards
Mr Jeff.
---
And the circle is complete. Nigeria sure has a lot of rich people with open trusts and bank accounts. Needless to say, I will probably reject the payment from paypal and ignore all further emails.
The second email started out more normal...
---
Hello,
This email is to notify you about my intrest in buying your posting on craigslist. I will be expecting your response if you do still have the item for sale, i will also want you to tell me more about its working condition.
I will be expecting to hear from you soonest.
Thanks for your time...
---
But was followed up by this.
---
Thanks for your prompt email.
My Name is Vincent Lummy an IT specialist based and worked in Halifax Canada. i have intrest in buying your posted item on craigslist and the price is very ok by me. I would have preferred to get your money out to you in person and inspect the item, but due to distance between us i will not be able to make your payment in person. I will get your money out to you through WESTERN UNION Money Transfer and your money will be available to be cleared at any western union payment outlet around your location. To get the money cleared you will go to western union payment outlet with the payment payment transfer details, (MTCN NUMBER) and the answer to the test question, this are the information you need to get the fund cleared at the western union payment office. If you do want us to finish this business i will be expecting to hear from you with all your needed info for payment (NAME,ADDRESS AND VALID PHONE NUMBER), this are your info to make your payment with weste! rn union.
I will be expecting your email.
Concerning the shipping of the package i have shipping account with DHL courier i can send them to get the package picked at your place or you take it out to their location for drop off. Let me hear from you so that we can get things done with this business soonest...
Thanks...
---
I don't think you can be in IT with that kind of grammar and spelling. Maybe so. Nonetheless, it's got scam written all over it.
The third was a little weird too, a trade for time share in some resort. It's like... WHAT. How is that the same as money?
So I might be reposting the ad later. Sigh.
So without delay, here's the first scammer.
---
Hello my friend,
I saw your equipment at Craigslist, hope his in good condition and still for sale get back to me Asap...possibly with your PayPal email..thanks.
Regards
---
Didn't think much of it, so I responded normally. Then...
---
I think is fast via PayPal cuz it guarantees transaction safety and is easy to pay and receive money online, But am currently now on conferenced meting with my family so i can not be able to provide you a cash payment pls am sorry for any inconvenient that will cost you..but i will like to send the item to my son in oversea and i will pay you the total cost of the item including the shipping cost.. in which i can add you $150 for the shipping cost...i would have come to bring you a cash..but dew to that, i think is impossible for me to pay cash except PayPal..You can get back to me with your e mail link to your PayPal so i can process the payment as soon as possible..okay..thanks
Regards
Mr Jeff.
---
This raised a few flags, due to the spelling and grammar problems. And anyone who calls himself Mr. Jeff ought to be put under suspicion anyhow. Then there's the "bonus", whereby he's willing to pay 150 bucks for shipping, which is a perfectly reasonable amount for shipping -- if you're sending a capsule into space. Anyhow, there were too many things bugging me about it but I foolishly gave my paypal address anyway.
---
Yes i will like to process the payment now and immediately you get the confirmation from PayPal kindly shipped the item asap..thanks..here is my son name and address below..
Name...Onu Pius
Address...Sw9/1128a orita challenge, odo ona elewe road, opp olowo ifon
compound.
Country...Nigeria
City......Ibadan
State....Oyo
Zip code..23402..okay and hope to here from you as soon as possible..okay
I have trusted in you and i know you are a kind of seller to me...thanks
Regards
Mr Jeff.
---
And the circle is complete. Nigeria sure has a lot of rich people with open trusts and bank accounts. Needless to say, I will probably reject the payment from paypal and ignore all further emails.
The second email started out more normal...
---
Hello,
This email is to notify you about my intrest in buying your posting on craigslist. I will be expecting your response if you do still have the item for sale, i will also want you to tell me more about its working condition.
I will be expecting to hear from you soonest.
Thanks for your time...
---
But was followed up by this.
---
Thanks for your prompt email.
My Name is Vincent Lummy an IT specialist based and worked in Halifax Canada. i have intrest in buying your posted item on craigslist and the price is very ok by me. I would have preferred to get your money out to you in person and inspect the item, but due to distance between us i will not be able to make your payment in person. I will get your money out to you through WESTERN UNION Money Transfer and your money will be available to be cleared at any western union payment outlet around your location. To get the money cleared you will go to western union payment outlet with the payment payment transfer details, (MTCN NUMBER) and the answer to the test question, this are the information you need to get the fund cleared at the western union payment office. If you do want us to finish this business i will be expecting to hear from you with all your needed info for payment (NAME,ADDRESS AND VALID PHONE NUMBER), this are your info to make your payment with weste! rn union.
I will be expecting your email.
Concerning the shipping of the package i have shipping account with DHL courier i can send them to get the package picked at your place or you take it out to their location for drop off. Let me hear from you so that we can get things done with this business soonest...
Thanks...
---
I don't think you can be in IT with that kind of grammar and spelling. Maybe so. Nonetheless, it's got scam written all over it.
The third was a little weird too, a trade for time share in some resort. It's like... WHAT. How is that the same as money?
So I might be reposting the ad later. Sigh.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Going Pro
Well, to start off the blog, I had a terrible day.
Okay, not terrible like I got hit by a bus and then subsequently trampled on by a marathon of soccer players with metal cleats, and then getting picked apart by vultures and rodents. But maybe terrible like being hit by a little girl on a bike.
Work has been stressful this month - they decided to make January crazy ass month, which means they want us to work 50 hours for sure, but they also reserve the right to work us on Saturdays, which means 58 hour work weeks. I escaped the first round simply because we were too productive, but this week we've been struggling to meet numbers because of various reasons. Anyway, today I kinda got caught in all that crap, when two bosses with two different priorities want me to put theirs ahead. Then almost cruelly, neither of them will directly tell the other to bugger off, instead just giving me the privilege of deciding for myself which is more important. Anyway, they are expecting crazy numbers from us - like abnormal numbers considering the amount of lifting and walking that we do.
Anyway, I think that in itself is plenty challenging, but my co-worker manages to top that with a slice of oblivious idiocy. He really is a nice enough guy, but one of his main faults is that he's a compulsive complainer. And pessimistic as well. If you know me, and I say that someone is pessimistic, that has to be pretty bad. He likes to concentrate on blaming everyone, and complaining about certain things that nobody has control over. In fact, there are times when I have to interject all the commotion about who's responsible and just say, "Let's just solve the damn problem already." Needless to say, spending 10 hours everyday with him gets old fast. Some days he's neutral and okay to talk to, but some days, especially today, he's a royal pain.
So I came home and logged online, forgetting that today was actually Macworld. I watched the keynote and it cheered me up a bit, seeing the cool MacBook Air (no optical drive? You're insane!) and how they're really trying to revamp AppleTV, which I'm jonesing for a little. They improved the interface and will single-handledly kill Vudu, I believe. AppleTV has got me thinking if that's something I should aspire for when I sell my videocamera. Either that or a 360. Hmmm. False substitutes for true happiness.
The one thing I did do was to use my allowance for the week to splurge for a Flickr Pro account. I've been eyeing that for a while because I wanted an online archive of all my photos, incase the unspeakable happens and I lose all my photos. Plus if I set up my RSS feed to run that as a screensaver, that would be awesome too. But mostly because I really wanted to archive my photos and have a backup.
Sigh. What a life.
Okay, not terrible like I got hit by a bus and then subsequently trampled on by a marathon of soccer players with metal cleats, and then getting picked apart by vultures and rodents. But maybe terrible like being hit by a little girl on a bike.
Work has been stressful this month - they decided to make January crazy ass month, which means they want us to work 50 hours for sure, but they also reserve the right to work us on Saturdays, which means 58 hour work weeks. I escaped the first round simply because we were too productive, but this week we've been struggling to meet numbers because of various reasons. Anyway, today I kinda got caught in all that crap, when two bosses with two different priorities want me to put theirs ahead. Then almost cruelly, neither of them will directly tell the other to bugger off, instead just giving me the privilege of deciding for myself which is more important. Anyway, they are expecting crazy numbers from us - like abnormal numbers considering the amount of lifting and walking that we do.
Anyway, I think that in itself is plenty challenging, but my co-worker manages to top that with a slice of oblivious idiocy. He really is a nice enough guy, but one of his main faults is that he's a compulsive complainer. And pessimistic as well. If you know me, and I say that someone is pessimistic, that has to be pretty bad. He likes to concentrate on blaming everyone, and complaining about certain things that nobody has control over. In fact, there are times when I have to interject all the commotion about who's responsible and just say, "Let's just solve the damn problem already." Needless to say, spending 10 hours everyday with him gets old fast. Some days he's neutral and okay to talk to, but some days, especially today, he's a royal pain.
So I came home and logged online, forgetting that today was actually Macworld. I watched the keynote and it cheered me up a bit, seeing the cool MacBook Air (no optical drive? You're insane!) and how they're really trying to revamp AppleTV, which I'm jonesing for a little. They improved the interface and will single-handledly kill Vudu, I believe. AppleTV has got me thinking if that's something I should aspire for when I sell my videocamera. Either that or a 360. Hmmm. False substitutes for true happiness.
The one thing I did do was to use my allowance for the week to splurge for a Flickr Pro account. I've been eyeing that for a while because I wanted an online archive of all my photos, incase the unspeakable happens and I lose all my photos. Plus if I set up my RSS feed to run that as a screensaver, that would be awesome too. But mostly because I really wanted to archive my photos and have a backup.
Sigh. What a life.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
The kids got these new bikes for Christmas, so I was videotaping them on my super duper camera (you couldn't tell from the youtube encode) when I got inspired. It's nice to not be so tired of editing that I can be inspired again. Anyway, once the kids went to bed, I got to low level copyright infringement and started editing it. Everyone rather enjoys it, I hope everyone does too.
The new year so far has been okay - Watching the Space Needle fireworks on TV sputter after two false starts is hopefully not indicative for the year to come, but it's been going okay so far. My tooth hurted when I woke up this morning, and that's usually accompanied with a killer headache. I took some drugs which subsided that headache, but I reckon my teeth aren't quite done with me. They're quite mad from the excess amounts of candy and chocolates consumed over the holidays. Also, I've been chewing on chips and stuff that I really shouldn't be attempting, so for now I gotta lay off the sugar, at least until my teeth forget to punish me.
Got "Metroid Prime Corruption 3" for the Wii, after exchanging two prior purchases for it. The first time the game had no replay value so I returned it unopened, then the second game I got had terrible reviews, so I got Metroid instead because of the high ratings. Initially I wasn't a huge fan, but I don't think after the Wii I could really play any other shooter games without a Wii Remote. Metroid for the Game and for the Wii is such a huge difference. The Wii just feels more natural and entertaining.
Don't really have new years resolutions, but my wife and I are trying to budget a little better but actively cutting our funds to just an allowance, and also trying to avoid sugars and junk food. It can be a little tough, especially since on Monday I ate a whole bag of chocolate pretzels at 5 in the morning. If it weren't so damned cold in the morning, I'd lay off the eating. I blame that.
We got the Honda back and although I'm sure they did some actual maintenance on the car, it still feels like we paid over a grand to get them to turn the engine light off. And looking at the invoice is always a pain, seeing how the parts only cost about 200 bucks and the rest was for labor. I wish there was a way for me to supervise their work under my dime. Anyway, I suppose credit cards are good that way, they cover my ass while draining more money from my livelihood.
Back to work tomorrow, hopefully for only three more days of work. Unfortunately, Saturday won't be a sleep in and do nothing day, rather it'll be a drive 100 miles for more holiday related visiting. I don't necessarily mind the drive, I'd just rather be chilling at home. The long drives usually wear the kids out, and eating is always a problem for some reason. The eating timetable gets thrown off or something so we'd either eat too little or more than usual.
I also went through one of my favorite earphones on Monday, I was listening to music when I could hear the right side crackle a bit, and then just go mute. I have a few others, but the Sony will always have a special place in my heart. I'll likely go to the iPod earphones and see how they work out for a while. I like my rubber tip ones but not for work - they isolate too much sound and make a rather disturbing wet "pop" sound when I pull it out of my right ear. So I use them just for home.
Anyway, the above was mostly just for stalling while I got a better encode for youtube, and now it's done! Happy New Year again!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
An actual post! Not just Pictures!
Yeah, I'm long overdue for some kind of real post, and seeing how I have a wee bit of free time (actually, it's past my bedtime) so I should update a bit. Even though I'm relatively sure that nobody reads anymore. But that doesn't stop me! I'm vain!
So, that whole holiday debacle is almost behind us. I had four days off last week but I had to work Saturday instead, so I actually only had one day off, work tomorrow, and then I have New Years Day off. Kinda like taking a sledgehammer to my internal clock. But I'll take whatever I can get I suppose. I don't actually mind too much overtime, being how I have to recover from Christmas and now, the stupid Honda.
The Honda isn't dead, or anywhere close. But since it's been a while since the last maintenance, the check engine light prompted me to bring it in, and then the timing belt was getting worn (7 years) and it was due for its 60,000 miles maintenance. Anyway, the damn thing is going to run me a grand, which is decidedly less fun than getting a 46 inch HDTV Vizio at Costco. That's where I'd rather spend the grand, thank you very much. But no, I suppose some mode of transportation is good. I suppose.
And for Christmas, yes, I scored me a cheap little GPS, but it's actually pretty decent. Now I just have to google the address, and that's all I need. No more writing down directions, no more having millions of index cards floating around in the car. What I do have is a nice little GPS that hasn't really failed me yet. It's gotten me the scenic route a few times, but I haven't gotten lost or driven into a wall yet.
The other big thing I got was a Aiptek camcorder/camera/mp3 player/PMP/Blender. I really just wanted it for the camcorder bit, supposedly encoding in MP4 but is actually .AC3, so I have to still convert the video file. That officially brings my video camera count to 4. I really just wanted something I can fit in my pocket, easy to bring, and mostly for clips of everyday life. I used to do that with my Minolta but because it had some serious clicking noises, I stopped using the video bit of it. The other features of the Aiptek are virtually useless, but it's interesting to have.
So the kids have been really growing out of toddlerhood now, and they're like kids. Combative, argumentative, overstimulated little monkeys. I love them, don't get me wrong, and they're fun a lot of times, but there are times whereby I just wish I was more patient with them. Zoe's turned into this soap opera star - anytime you disagree or refuse one of her demands, she turns on the tears and cue the wiping away the dry eyes. Her face contorts into a wrinkled bun and she'll just pout and sulk and sniffle and whine. Alex is about the same, except less frequent but more extreme. Mostly when you tell him no on videogames or something like that. He'll just get all emotional with no real emotion behind it.
My wife and I have been having a bit of a tough time, mostly because we haven't really spend much quality time with each other or with them. Between working too much and fatigue, the kids are overwhelming us. We're afraid to take them out alone because of the aforementioned whining, and sometimes there's just too much drama between them.
Oh yeah, my wife went to the ER on Christmas - that was fun. At around 8, the rib area that she was complaining about escalated into full blown agony, so we went to the hospital and got in pretty quickly, because it was apparent that she was in pain. They suspected a blood clot or collapsed lung, so they ran X-rays, CT scan... turn out it was costochondritis, so we got sent home with a treatment plan of ibuprofen. So, I guess it takes a while to fully recover, so we'll see how that goes.
As for work, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I got to be a full time employee, and it's odd that now that I'm making more, I'm taking home less because there's deductions for medical, dental, vision, 401K, ADD... I may have preferred being a contractor since I got to keep more of my money. Oh well, at least now we're covered healthcare wise. Work got a little strange too, since one of my co-workers got fired, one went to Cambodia for a month, and the remaining one has been grossing me the hell out as of late. He's been sick, so he's spitting in the garbage can where we work and walk by. And the garbage isn't lined. Then the other day he took off his socks and propped them on the cart, putting antiseptic cream on his toes and attempting to force bile out of my ears. Needless to say, I was very careful about what I touched for the rest of the day.
Anyway, there's been more going on, but it's late and I'm really not that interesting. I have to get up in about 5 and a half hours, so I'd better split. Lickety.
So, that whole holiday debacle is almost behind us. I had four days off last week but I had to work Saturday instead, so I actually only had one day off, work tomorrow, and then I have New Years Day off. Kinda like taking a sledgehammer to my internal clock. But I'll take whatever I can get I suppose. I don't actually mind too much overtime, being how I have to recover from Christmas and now, the stupid Honda.
The Honda isn't dead, or anywhere close. But since it's been a while since the last maintenance, the check engine light prompted me to bring it in, and then the timing belt was getting worn (7 years) and it was due for its 60,000 miles maintenance. Anyway, the damn thing is going to run me a grand, which is decidedly less fun than getting a 46 inch HDTV Vizio at Costco. That's where I'd rather spend the grand, thank you very much. But no, I suppose some mode of transportation is good. I suppose.
And for Christmas, yes, I scored me a cheap little GPS, but it's actually pretty decent. Now I just have to google the address, and that's all I need. No more writing down directions, no more having millions of index cards floating around in the car. What I do have is a nice little GPS that hasn't really failed me yet. It's gotten me the scenic route a few times, but I haven't gotten lost or driven into a wall yet.
The other big thing I got was a Aiptek camcorder/camera/mp3 player/PMP/Blender. I really just wanted it for the camcorder bit, supposedly encoding in MP4 but is actually .AC3, so I have to still convert the video file. That officially brings my video camera count to 4. I really just wanted something I can fit in my pocket, easy to bring, and mostly for clips of everyday life. I used to do that with my Minolta but because it had some serious clicking noises, I stopped using the video bit of it. The other features of the Aiptek are virtually useless, but it's interesting to have.
So the kids have been really growing out of toddlerhood now, and they're like kids. Combative, argumentative, overstimulated little monkeys. I love them, don't get me wrong, and they're fun a lot of times, but there are times whereby I just wish I was more patient with them. Zoe's turned into this soap opera star - anytime you disagree or refuse one of her demands, she turns on the tears and cue the wiping away the dry eyes. Her face contorts into a wrinkled bun and she'll just pout and sulk and sniffle and whine. Alex is about the same, except less frequent but more extreme. Mostly when you tell him no on videogames or something like that. He'll just get all emotional with no real emotion behind it.
My wife and I have been having a bit of a tough time, mostly because we haven't really spend much quality time with each other or with them. Between working too much and fatigue, the kids are overwhelming us. We're afraid to take them out alone because of the aforementioned whining, and sometimes there's just too much drama between them.
Oh yeah, my wife went to the ER on Christmas - that was fun. At around 8, the rib area that she was complaining about escalated into full blown agony, so we went to the hospital and got in pretty quickly, because it was apparent that she was in pain. They suspected a blood clot or collapsed lung, so they ran X-rays, CT scan... turn out it was costochondritis, so we got sent home with a treatment plan of ibuprofen. So, I guess it takes a while to fully recover, so we'll see how that goes.
As for work, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I got to be a full time employee, and it's odd that now that I'm making more, I'm taking home less because there's deductions for medical, dental, vision, 401K, ADD... I may have preferred being a contractor since I got to keep more of my money. Oh well, at least now we're covered healthcare wise. Work got a little strange too, since one of my co-workers got fired, one went to Cambodia for a month, and the remaining one has been grossing me the hell out as of late. He's been sick, so he's spitting in the garbage can where we work and walk by. And the garbage isn't lined. Then the other day he took off his socks and propped them on the cart, putting antiseptic cream on his toes and attempting to force bile out of my ears. Needless to say, I was very careful about what I touched for the rest of the day.
Anyway, there's been more going on, but it's late and I'm really not that interesting. I have to get up in about 5 and a half hours, so I'd better split. Lickety.
Christmas Present #2
My cheapo 88 dollar video camera, encodes in mp4 (not really) and is great for on the fly video for me. Takes okay photos as well, and also has an mp3 player, video recording capability, for unknown reasons. But I still dig it.
Resident Evil
An on-rails shooter. Compared to RE4, it's a little less visceral, but still a relatively fun game. I wish they had better sound effects and also better zombie effects, but still loads of fun.
Christmas Present #1
Got this GPS from my Mom for 129, and then just 99. I suspect it was an aging model, because it had a discontinued feel about it. It's the Mio C220, and it's hard to find this in stores anymore. Nonetheless, it's a godsend - I never get lost anymore. I've used it the last few trips to places I was unsure of, and sure enough, I find myself everytime. It is awesome.
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