I don't know about the name per se, mostly because I don't think it means anything (though I googled it and it's the name of Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter, who plays Hannah Montana, which is evidently really big with tweens) but that's the name of my wife's niece new baby. She's pretty cute, a little one with a lot of squeaks and grunts. We drove to three different hospitals before we found them, but it was nice to see the baby. Our kids are now so big that it's a little odd to think that they were that size for a while.
But seriously, my wife had one hospital in mind, I had a phantom one in mind, we went to the wrong one, and finally just 411-ed and deduced our way to the hospital. One of the times that the numbered streets in Bellevue actually helped.
---
So I've been offered to be an early adopter of Vudu, which is like Netflix of sorts. It's not too bad to try out, spending 99 bucks for the unit rather than the usual 399, and then getting 99 bucks in movie credits, which equals, you guessed it, free. Now I have Blockbuster anyway, and that's doing me pretty good there. So I'm not completely sure if I'm still going to do it or not. All I'm thinking of is how much I can sell the thing for, or whether or not I can turn it into a DVR or media server. Likely not. Probably get me in trouble too.
---
So I heard from my contractor recruiter person dude that I should be a full time employee by next week, which is weird hearing from him rather than a representative of the company. Work's been going a bit rough. I don't mind the hard work, the labor, the repetitiveness and the odd dependency that management seems to put on me solely, probably because I'm more likely to get things done and right at that. What I do mind is that some of the employees excel absolutely at being slackers. Most of the people I gather go there and work, fine. But my group tends to have a rather unhealthy attitude toward work, one especially brings his cell phone, text messages all the time, and I've never seen anyone pretend to work so hard that it could be its own occupation. He blocks his stances like an actor to minimize getting caught. He'll stick his hand and phone into a box to look like he's arranging something. He's probably the worst worker I've ever worked with. But other than seething quietly with discontent, I don't say much in ways of discouraging him. I figured I'll just put in my time, and if a certain rumor and recommendation pans out, I shouldn't even be in shipping much longer. But since that's simply a rumor and recommendation, I'm not banking on it quite yet.
---
So I've been watching a ton of movies on the PSP lately, more so than podcasts, even though those are free. So after "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Million Dollar Baby", I had wanted something a little lighter, so I watched "The Breakfast Club." Yeah, I'm one of those people who've never seen the whole thing, just bits and pieces. And I have to say that it still holds up pretty well after, wow, 27 years. Well, except that the characters are all pretty good looking, and the ending is still very much forced. But it was nice to see a piece of film history as it were. I think Anime's next on the list. But I swear, the PSP has given me a lot of chances to watch movies that I usually pass over due to time contrains. I don't want to watch slower or sadder movies usually, but so far aside from the 2 I mentioned, I also caught "Syriana", "21 Grams", and the very excellent "Zodiac".
Showing posts with label psp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label psp. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Disney on Ice
While hunting for a skating rink a while back, I saw that there were tickets for Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes on sale, so I got the cheap seats (cheap meaning after everything, it was 81 bucks) to go. But anyway, we went on Friday night and here's the recap.
First things first, driving to Everett on a Friday evening is murder. Driving especially after 10 hours of work is just murderous torture. When I get tired, my equilibrium gets thrown off and I actually get a little car sick, so that was starting to get to me a little - but it took over an hour just to get there. But after a trip to Jack in the Box and looking for parking, we walked with the hordes of children to the Arena - and when we got in, the place was crawling with kids. And kiosks peddling overpriced Disney toys. They had a ton of girls' toys, but only one sword for boys, and it was running 16 bucks. So we compromised and got the kids each a Disney mug with a sno-cone, and then found our spot and watched the performance.
Lemme tell you, screw being a rock star, if you're a Disney character and you show up, all the kids go wild. The screaming and excitement that explodes from the crowd is something to behold. Characters like Mickey and Sebastian got huge applause, and with scenes acted out from the movies and acrobats, great sets, and minor pyrotechnics, it was certainly something worth going to.
The look on the kids faces were pretty fun too, they went from elated to somewhat surprised to "my brain is fried, can I go home now?" But all in all, it was quite fun. Made me think about planning a trip to Disneyland in a year or two.
---
On the job front, I didn't get offered the sales job that I applied for, so I'll probably just take the one job that I'm doing now in a permanent basis. I was really hoping that it would go the other way, but I suppose I'll have to take what I can get.
Speaking of work, here's an incident that happened that irked me to no end. I was standing in line for the breakfast buffet at work, which was a precursor to the meeting that was going to happen right after. So I started up the PSP, and the guy in front of me turned around to see what I was doing.
"Just maximizing my time," I offered.
"You know, those things corrode your brain," he blurted, which caught me off guard. "According to the Christian right, violence in games will make people more violent."
At that point, the air was thick with irony as I wanted to kick him in the ear. I didn't say anything to that, and after a beat, he tried to further the conversation, perhaps to avoid seeming like a meddling, rude, inappropriate prick.
"Do they have Halo for that?"
"No, they didn't license that for Playstation," I replied, hinting at the that ignorant pedestal he was talking from.
And then I had to stand in line behind him some more, thinking about all the comebacks that I should've said.
First things first, driving to Everett on a Friday evening is murder. Driving especially after 10 hours of work is just murderous torture. When I get tired, my equilibrium gets thrown off and I actually get a little car sick, so that was starting to get to me a little - but it took over an hour just to get there. But after a trip to Jack in the Box and looking for parking, we walked with the hordes of children to the Arena - and when we got in, the place was crawling with kids. And kiosks peddling overpriced Disney toys. They had a ton of girls' toys, but only one sword for boys, and it was running 16 bucks. So we compromised and got the kids each a Disney mug with a sno-cone, and then found our spot and watched the performance.
Lemme tell you, screw being a rock star, if you're a Disney character and you show up, all the kids go wild. The screaming and excitement that explodes from the crowd is something to behold. Characters like Mickey and Sebastian got huge applause, and with scenes acted out from the movies and acrobats, great sets, and minor pyrotechnics, it was certainly something worth going to.
The look on the kids faces were pretty fun too, they went from elated to somewhat surprised to "my brain is fried, can I go home now?" But all in all, it was quite fun. Made me think about planning a trip to Disneyland in a year or two.
---
On the job front, I didn't get offered the sales job that I applied for, so I'll probably just take the one job that I'm doing now in a permanent basis. I was really hoping that it would go the other way, but I suppose I'll have to take what I can get.
Speaking of work, here's an incident that happened that irked me to no end. I was standing in line for the breakfast buffet at work, which was a precursor to the meeting that was going to happen right after. So I started up the PSP, and the guy in front of me turned around to see what I was doing.
"Just maximizing my time," I offered.
"You know, those things corrode your brain," he blurted, which caught me off guard. "According to the Christian right, violence in games will make people more violent."
At that point, the air was thick with irony as I wanted to kick him in the ear. I didn't say anything to that, and after a beat, he tried to further the conversation, perhaps to avoid seeming like a meddling, rude, inappropriate prick.
"Do they have Halo for that?"
"No, they didn't license that for Playstation," I replied, hinting at the that ignorant pedestal he was talking from.
And then I had to stand in line behind him some more, thinking about all the comebacks that I should've said.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
I Heart PSP
Yes, I actually managed to tear myself away from the PSP to go back on the laptop - I've been playing with the settings and trying to get the encoding figured out and I think I've done a pretty darn good job. Aside from the podcasts that I've converted to fit the PSP, (some podcasts run at 640x480 to accommodate the Apple TV, but PSP max resolution is 480x272, but actually even smaller if you wanna get technical.) I can now fit an hour and a half movie in about 800 MB, so that's four movies on my 4 Gig card. 4 Movies! And it looks fantabulous. I watched Deadwood at work and it was no different than watching it on TV, except portable. The resolution is clear, the colors are nice, and there's no stutter despite reading from the card.
Been playing mostly Chili Con Carnage, a third person shooter with plenty of stereotypes and irresponsible gameplay. The main character goes on a revenge spree when his father is killed on his birthday (present was a box of kittens) when a combine harvester runs him over. And then it's just crazy from then on. It's run and gun with points for style, loads of fun, even though the loading time to get to the game is actually longer than each individual level.
But I am more than happy that I got the PSP instead of the iPod touch, mostly because it's better all around. I love touch screen as much as the next geek, but there's still something to be said about buttons. I can rewind, delete, manage the data instinctively without wondering what to touch, which is good. Think keyboard versus touch screen input. It's cool and fancy, but mechanical memorization still beats pokey pokey.
---
I don't know what the kids have been taking, but they're constantly on a crazy high. And when they're not, they're either very emotional or just whiny. But I found out that there's a direct correlation between how I treat the kids and how tired I am. We did the simply math of when I wake up at 4:30 in the morning, and when I get home at 4:15 in the afternoon, I've already been up for about 12 hours. And then to have these two kids who are excited to see their Dad and want to punch him in the groin and jump on his eyeballs, it gets to be a little overwhelming. Sometimes I come home and hide in the other room so that I could snack on something without them wanting some. No, I'm not a bastard, I don't mind sharing, but after I snack, I can still eat dinner. Kids are different.
But the kids are a lot of fun when the parents don't take themselves too seriously. For example, I was wearing my Nintendo DS shirt and there's a line graphic of a DS on the back of the shirt, so they like to poke my back and pretend they're playing a game. And their favorite game, unfortunately, is still shaking their little moneymakers and saying, "My butt, my butt..." Of course, I laugh because it's so amazingly silly and wrong.
---
Anyway, I'm out of thoughts. Getting to be bedtime anyway.
Been playing mostly Chili Con Carnage, a third person shooter with plenty of stereotypes and irresponsible gameplay. The main character goes on a revenge spree when his father is killed on his birthday (present was a box of kittens) when a combine harvester runs him over. And then it's just crazy from then on. It's run and gun with points for style, loads of fun, even though the loading time to get to the game is actually longer than each individual level.
But I am more than happy that I got the PSP instead of the iPod touch, mostly because it's better all around. I love touch screen as much as the next geek, but there's still something to be said about buttons. I can rewind, delete, manage the data instinctively without wondering what to touch, which is good. Think keyboard versus touch screen input. It's cool and fancy, but mechanical memorization still beats pokey pokey.
---
I don't know what the kids have been taking, but they're constantly on a crazy high. And when they're not, they're either very emotional or just whiny. But I found out that there's a direct correlation between how I treat the kids and how tired I am. We did the simply math of when I wake up at 4:30 in the morning, and when I get home at 4:15 in the afternoon, I've already been up for about 12 hours. And then to have these two kids who are excited to see their Dad and want to punch him in the groin and jump on his eyeballs, it gets to be a little overwhelming. Sometimes I come home and hide in the other room so that I could snack on something without them wanting some. No, I'm not a bastard, I don't mind sharing, but after I snack, I can still eat dinner. Kids are different.
But the kids are a lot of fun when the parents don't take themselves too seriously. For example, I was wearing my Nintendo DS shirt and there's a line graphic of a DS on the back of the shirt, so they like to poke my back and pretend they're playing a game. And their favorite game, unfortunately, is still shaking their little moneymakers and saying, "My butt, my butt..." Of course, I laugh because it's so amazingly silly and wrong.
---
Anyway, I'm out of thoughts. Getting to be bedtime anyway.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Eloped with PSP
I thought about this long and hard last night, about really wanting a PSP and also about how everyone had the Black PSP, and then I decided to hell with it, I was just going to get the bundle today. I've read about the Piano Black PSP being a bit of a fingerprint magnet, and also from the photos I can't really tell if the Black PSP looks like a cool weapon or just a void. So I thought about the White, which was okay if not a bit glaring, and then I realized that the Daxter Bundle was actually Silver, which you can see, is a pretty nice color in itself. It's not just matte or glossy black, and though my iPod and iBook are white, I'm certainly glad it's not the friggin' birth control Star Wars one (I'm a big geek! Look at me!). All and all, I was pretty hyped about bringing the PSP home.
Impressions? It's perfect for me. In fact, I've played with the browser, the photo viewer, the videos on the memory card, and the music from the memory card more than the games itself. The video encoding is a bit fussy, so much so that most of the crap that I encoded in preparation for the PSP doesn't actually work. I think I have to encode it with Ffmpeg or something like that. Anyway, after some experimentation, I think I've found a setting that works just fine. The upside is that the video playback is nice. Smooth, high-quality (as high as you encode it), and nice bright crisp colors and contrast. Reading from the memory card is no problem. The photo viewer is a bit soft, but probably has to do with the resolution of my photos being too high than the viewer itself. The browser is tweaky, certainly doable in desperate times but it's as reliable as Netscape was in 1991. The music player is pretty slick, with some visualization that's slightly off but quite pretty.
But c'mon, the PSP is about the games, right? Although I haven't spent quality time with the games, from what I did play is pretty damn impressive. It is PS2 type graphics, and even a little crisper than that. The environments are nice, the colors are vast, and playing through a little bit of Vice City I just got nostalgic. Newer music (I got Vice City because of the licensed music, Liberty City has generic music), and I would just love to drive around and explore Vice City all over again. The loading time does take a bit of time, but I imagine it's to ensure that the gameplay is preloaded or something. I'm happy to sacrifice loading time for more in depth gameplay. The DS is fun, but a lot of times I feel like it either doesn't go deep enough, or it's too casual of a gaming experience. I'll let you know more as I play more.
I've read a lot about people complaining about the PSP, that it isn't as fun as the DS, that it doesn't have a lot of good games as the DS, and I have to say that it really depends on what kind of bloke or gal you are. For me, I'm more than a casual gamer/computer user, so I know how to utilize the different facets of the PSP, such as movies, music, and the Wi-fi, so it's a great little system for me. For the casual gamer who doesn't rip or encode videos, it's virtually a game machine, and yeah, it's probably not worth it. For the hard core gamer, the gaming is not going to be as immersive as your home console, and you'd probably be more into the hacking and the homebrewing - something that I'll stay out of. I read the reviews of the games and look at the screens before I buy, so there's going to be a handful of games that I know that I'll enjoy.
Anyway, those are the first impressions. I'm sure there's more to come.
---
I've been more relaxed the last few days - I think I'm glad that I didn't work Friday, or maybe something just clicked in me and I relaxed a bit more. I had more fun with the kids this weekend, just feeling more in control and thus being able to handle the kids better. We goofed around a bunch, and had a lot of fun shaking our butts and chasing each other. It felt good to have fun with the kids, because there's just been too many days of feeling like I'm a man on an island. I think being able to see my wife and be myself on Friday really boosted my spirits.
Well, more to do, and I gotta work early.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Go Ahead, Have a Cardiac Arrest
Because I can totally sustain blood flow to your brain until an AED arrives, at which time I'll be happy to shock you.
Yes, I applied for a CPR class at work because I've always wanted to take CPR - it just seems like one of those things that people should know, even if they never ever use it in their lifetimes. But because of either the cost or the time involved, I just never made it top priority. But if work is paying for it and I get to skip out on some work, then yeah, I'll go ahead and do it.
And I'm glad I did. If you've never had the opportunity to take a class, then at least watch something on Youtube where some people have made some pretty good videos about how to administer CPR. It's not official training and I wouldn't advise "practicing on a stuffed animal" as the video advises, but it's really not difficult. Of course, a class would be better, but you get whatever you can get.
The class itself was taught by a guy who seemingly walked out of a sitcom. He was over-the-top, cracking jokes and actually waiting earnestly for a laugh. He would say jokes at inappropriate times, and his facial expressions were probably too animated for a healthcare professional. But when he was serious, he was fine. And even though the class was aimed for the workplace (since we were working in a place that made AEDs, and it was assumed every third person would know CPR), I got enough of it to possibly do what I had to do if the situation came up.
The notable thing about yesterday's class wasn't so much the training, but the odd things that stood out. They were having some trouble with the video setup, and of course I stepped in and fixed the keyboard (batteries were dead), the sound from the video (kill the other input sources, boost input 1 which was the main audio) and even enact a choking patient while the instructor molested me from behind. I had to feign choking, and he gave me the maneuver, and made a popping sound, to which I responded by pointing to the ground and said, "My keys!" He got some laughs and I thought to myself -- I'm such an attention whore.
But seriously, I think CPR classes are a good idea for anyone who haven't had the chance to take one. Chances are, I'll never get to practice it on anyone. But it's a good feeling to know that I would know what to do if I found myself in such a situation.
---
Work was a little disappointing yesterday - while I was at the CPR class, they went and assigned the overtime spots, which meant that I missed out and why I'm home today. But more than that, the new co-worker that I was getting along with turned out to be a terrible worker with no work ethics. He had started out strong, but when it was busy yesterday, he just disappeared and was found chatting up another co-worker. Because there's only one real supervisor to the 50 something production workers, there was no real supervision or anyone to yell at him to get back to work. The other way that was going to happen was if one of his co-workers ratted on him.
I know that's the way things are, but I can't help but feel a little responsible because I had to train him. Of course, I didn't exactly train him to do that, but it felt like a trust was breached somehow. In the end, I didn't really say anything about that to him, but I suspect that it'll probably get in the way of my association with him.
It's so hard to find friends that you like.
---
Kinda having a lazy Friday - My wife and Zoe are sleeping on the couch and Alex is watching E.T. I like that movie but I'm just all blubber by the end of it. In fact, during the CPR training video, I was surprised at how uncomfortable I was seeing children in mock scenarios laying on the ground, pretending to not have a heartbeat. It was more than disconcerting, I was starting to get a little upset.
Probably stressed is what I am.
---
So I got three PSP games now, and still no PSP. Hopefully this Thursday is the release date, even though I know Sony will likely push it to the 24th or something. Buggers.
Yes, I applied for a CPR class at work because I've always wanted to take CPR - it just seems like one of those things that people should know, even if they never ever use it in their lifetimes. But because of either the cost or the time involved, I just never made it top priority. But if work is paying for it and I get to skip out on some work, then yeah, I'll go ahead and do it.
And I'm glad I did. If you've never had the opportunity to take a class, then at least watch something on Youtube where some people have made some pretty good videos about how to administer CPR. It's not official training and I wouldn't advise "practicing on a stuffed animal" as the video advises, but it's really not difficult. Of course, a class would be better, but you get whatever you can get.
The class itself was taught by a guy who seemingly walked out of a sitcom. He was over-the-top, cracking jokes and actually waiting earnestly for a laugh. He would say jokes at inappropriate times, and his facial expressions were probably too animated for a healthcare professional. But when he was serious, he was fine. And even though the class was aimed for the workplace (since we were working in a place that made AEDs, and it was assumed every third person would know CPR), I got enough of it to possibly do what I had to do if the situation came up.
The notable thing about yesterday's class wasn't so much the training, but the odd things that stood out. They were having some trouble with the video setup, and of course I stepped in and fixed the keyboard (batteries were dead), the sound from the video (kill the other input sources, boost input 1 which was the main audio) and even enact a choking patient while the instructor molested me from behind. I had to feign choking, and he gave me the maneuver, and made a popping sound, to which I responded by pointing to the ground and said, "My keys!" He got some laughs and I thought to myself -- I'm such an attention whore.
But seriously, I think CPR classes are a good idea for anyone who haven't had the chance to take one. Chances are, I'll never get to practice it on anyone. But it's a good feeling to know that I would know what to do if I found myself in such a situation.
---
Work was a little disappointing yesterday - while I was at the CPR class, they went and assigned the overtime spots, which meant that I missed out and why I'm home today. But more than that, the new co-worker that I was getting along with turned out to be a terrible worker with no work ethics. He had started out strong, but when it was busy yesterday, he just disappeared and was found chatting up another co-worker. Because there's only one real supervisor to the 50 something production workers, there was no real supervision or anyone to yell at him to get back to work. The other way that was going to happen was if one of his co-workers ratted on him.
I know that's the way things are, but I can't help but feel a little responsible because I had to train him. Of course, I didn't exactly train him to do that, but it felt like a trust was breached somehow. In the end, I didn't really say anything about that to him, but I suspect that it'll probably get in the way of my association with him.
It's so hard to find friends that you like.
---
Kinda having a lazy Friday - My wife and Zoe are sleeping on the couch and Alex is watching E.T. I like that movie but I'm just all blubber by the end of it. In fact, during the CPR training video, I was surprised at how uncomfortable I was seeing children in mock scenarios laying on the ground, pretending to not have a heartbeat. It was more than disconcerting, I was starting to get a little upset.
Probably stressed is what I am.
---
So I got three PSP games now, and still no PSP. Hopefully this Thursday is the release date, even though I know Sony will likely push it to the 24th or something. Buggers.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Anticipation
Seriously, the waiting is driving me bonkers. Having to wait another day to get a PSP. I know that I am pretty spoiled, since it is my birthday present and my birthday is technically 15 more days ahead, but after the accidental early release of the Daxter Bundle by Target last week, I was pretty hopeful that someone else was going to slip up and accidently sell one. Oh well, looks like I'll just have to be a good boy and wait. It is however, surprising to me that not a lot of retailers are even aware of the release date, let alone the product redesign itself.
Am I a dick?
It's a rhetorical question, please don't answer that. It's better not knowing.
One of the core reasons for getting a PSP is for the mobile video. One of the reasons for wanting mobile video is so that I can watch podcasts, and even movies on the go, namely during the boring parts of life. For a while, I was watching videos at work on my Palm, badly encoded, terrible sounding videos during my lunch because that was like "me" time. I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to socialize, just wanted to watch my videos. I was content - I'm not one to socialize for the sake of socializing - in fact today when I was grocery shopping, I ran into a lot of former co-workers, but I didn't make much effort doing any catching up. My practical standpoint is that they have their lives, I have mine, and since they didn't intertwine before and most likely won't in the future, I don't like to have to feign interest in their lives just to be polite. It's a very selfish stance I realize, and anti-social, but seriously, we're not social folk. Any extra time we have is prioritized with family or my wife. Or myself.
But the flip side of that argument is that I do mean to use the PSP from time to time when I'm with the kids. Like when I'm at the playground and I'm bored, or when the kids are in the toy aisle spending about half hour just playing with the toys. Yes, I can see some eyes rolling, like in why I aren't playing with the kids, or at least just watch them. Thing is, I do watch them when they're playing, and I try to play with either Alex or Zoe but usually I don't get too involved with either one because I don't want to lose sight of the other. Having two kids in a public place is usually a triangulation thing, whereby I have to be able to see both of them. Does a PSP help? Well, not really, but at least I would be able to watch a low attention span podcast like Diggnation whereby it's just two guys talking most of the time.
I don't know, I'm aware that there are people out there who are so buried in their technology that they fail to realize the world around them, and I'm likely one of them, but it's hard to get out of my admittedly selfish ways. It's a transition I am still not be able to make successfully.
I'm currently trying Memories, with a little accent on the e. I used to remember how to do that on a Mac keyboard, but I can't be bothered to look it up now. Anyway, it's basically an offline journaling program that's freeware, and even though usually I just write directly on the blog, to have a journal that I can partake in offline feels better. Can't really explain it. So I'll try that for a while, write in the journal and then paste it on the blog. Then at least I'll have the blog offline if the whole internet suddenly decided to implode.
Which it will, you know.
Am I a dick?
It's a rhetorical question, please don't answer that. It's better not knowing.
One of the core reasons for getting a PSP is for the mobile video. One of the reasons for wanting mobile video is so that I can watch podcasts, and even movies on the go, namely during the boring parts of life. For a while, I was watching videos at work on my Palm, badly encoded, terrible sounding videos during my lunch because that was like "me" time. I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to socialize, just wanted to watch my videos. I was content - I'm not one to socialize for the sake of socializing - in fact today when I was grocery shopping, I ran into a lot of former co-workers, but I didn't make much effort doing any catching up. My practical standpoint is that they have their lives, I have mine, and since they didn't intertwine before and most likely won't in the future, I don't like to have to feign interest in their lives just to be polite. It's a very selfish stance I realize, and anti-social, but seriously, we're not social folk. Any extra time we have is prioritized with family or my wife. Or myself.
But the flip side of that argument is that I do mean to use the PSP from time to time when I'm with the kids. Like when I'm at the playground and I'm bored, or when the kids are in the toy aisle spending about half hour just playing with the toys. Yes, I can see some eyes rolling, like in why I aren't playing with the kids, or at least just watch them. Thing is, I do watch them when they're playing, and I try to play with either Alex or Zoe but usually I don't get too involved with either one because I don't want to lose sight of the other. Having two kids in a public place is usually a triangulation thing, whereby I have to be able to see both of them. Does a PSP help? Well, not really, but at least I would be able to watch a low attention span podcast like Diggnation whereby it's just two guys talking most of the time.
I don't know, I'm aware that there are people out there who are so buried in their technology that they fail to realize the world around them, and I'm likely one of them, but it's hard to get out of my admittedly selfish ways. It's a transition I am still not be able to make successfully.
I'm currently trying Memories, with a little accent on the e. I used to remember how to do that on a Mac keyboard, but I can't be bothered to look it up now. Anyway, it's basically an offline journaling program that's freeware, and even though usually I just write directly on the blog, to have a journal that I can partake in offline feels better. Can't really explain it. So I'll try that for a while, write in the journal and then paste it on the blog. Then at least I'll have the blog offline if the whole internet suddenly decided to implode.
Which it will, you know.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Dorky Apple Post
This is more or less a further discussion on Dave's iPod Touch decision.
I do think that they're either going to have notes, or even some kind of mail program on there so that you could compose a draft offline and then sent it when you get to a hotspot. If Apple doesn't include anything like that, a third party would undoubtedly fill that gap. Even though Wifi is seemingly everywhere, free wifi is certainly another thing. Even in Microsoft neighborhoods, there's only a handful of places with free wifi. The most notable one is Marymoor Park, which is a huge park that I guess, a lot of Microsoft employees go hang out during lunches or whatnot, and so they just made most of the park a free hotspot, which is pretty cool. Downside is that parking is a buck, but I suppose that's not that big of a deal.
For me, if I had the money, I would probably shell it out for the touch, since my "Cream of Crop" playlist is in the neighborhood of 5 Gigs, but it would still run a little tight. I wouldn't spring the extra hundred for the 16 Gig, because a 400 dollar iPod just seems a bit high.
I was going to use a analogy with my wife, whereby the PSP is like the well-rounded, practical marrying type and the iPod Touch was like the hot looker that turned heads but overall was more about presentation (though the function was definitely top notch, even if the storage was meager) and gadget lust. But I didn't get very far with that analogy because it made the term "wives" seem like a consolation prize.
But yesterday, my used copy of GTA: Vice City Stories came in the mail which was very exciting, and this afternoon I spend quite some time acquiring a PSP/Mac syncing program in order to coordinate all the media onto the PSP. I encoded a second movie (Van Wilder II: The Rise of Taj) in addition to the first (The Promise) without even knowing for sure if it would work with the PSP. So, all I need is the PSP and I can start having some fun!
I'm totally guessing on this, but Sony had neglected to make a big deal of this PSP Lite and Slim release, so when stores started getting stock on Thursday and Friday, some retailers, Target included, started putting them on shelves prematurely. One of the bundles was selling for 169.99, which is a great price, and some people online got a hold of it. I tried on Thursday but to no avail. Target had since taken that price offline, so I'll be hounding the papers for more details.
Well, geek out.
I do think that they're either going to have notes, or even some kind of mail program on there so that you could compose a draft offline and then sent it when you get to a hotspot. If Apple doesn't include anything like that, a third party would undoubtedly fill that gap. Even though Wifi is seemingly everywhere, free wifi is certainly another thing. Even in Microsoft neighborhoods, there's only a handful of places with free wifi. The most notable one is Marymoor Park, which is a huge park that I guess, a lot of Microsoft employees go hang out during lunches or whatnot, and so they just made most of the park a free hotspot, which is pretty cool. Downside is that parking is a buck, but I suppose that's not that big of a deal.
For me, if I had the money, I would probably shell it out for the touch, since my "Cream of Crop" playlist is in the neighborhood of 5 Gigs, but it would still run a little tight. I wouldn't spring the extra hundred for the 16 Gig, because a 400 dollar iPod just seems a bit high.
I was going to use a analogy with my wife, whereby the PSP is like the well-rounded, practical marrying type and the iPod Touch was like the hot looker that turned heads but overall was more about presentation (though the function was definitely top notch, even if the storage was meager) and gadget lust. But I didn't get very far with that analogy because it made the term "wives" seem like a consolation prize.
But yesterday, my used copy of GTA: Vice City Stories came in the mail which was very exciting, and this afternoon I spend quite some time acquiring a PSP/Mac syncing program in order to coordinate all the media onto the PSP. I encoded a second movie (Van Wilder II: The Rise of Taj) in addition to the first (The Promise) without even knowing for sure if it would work with the PSP. So, all I need is the PSP and I can start having some fun!
I'm totally guessing on this, but Sony had neglected to make a big deal of this PSP Lite and Slim release, so when stores started getting stock on Thursday and Friday, some retailers, Target included, started putting them on shelves prematurely. One of the bundles was selling for 169.99, which is a great price, and some people online got a hold of it. I tried on Thursday but to no avail. Target had since taken that price offline, so I'll be hounding the papers for more details.
Well, geek out.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Damn You, Steve Jobs
Seriously, Apple really has me under its thumb. I was doing just fine and dandy and then they come along and mess with my reality, leaving me completely flustered with my options. I'm writing this because Dave evidently counts on me to give him the Apple scoop. I'm sure he's caught the news too, but for those who could care less, here's my lowdown on the Apple updates.
---
So I'm actually happy that the Nano has video capability, making it one of the first portable and affordable video players. It's not the first, and not the cheapest personal media player out there, but anyone who has an iPod knows iPod is really just half of the equation - iTunes is the other half. It makes getting music, organizing it, transferring it, and getting media for it a cinch. And unlike most other digital jukeboxes, it evolves over time.
The Classic iPod is now at an obscene 160 Gigs, which is something monstrous. I have hard drives that are smaller than that. My music collection alone is only about 15 gigs, and even when all my podcasts are decked out, it's only about 6 Gigs. What the hell would someone do with all that space? I suppose a buttload of movies could fit on that. Who knows.
And of course, the iPod Touch. When the iPhone came out, I thought that if they had that without the phone part, I would be sold on it. And for a while, when the rumors started swirling about a touch iPod, I was pretty tempted, but I was sure that it would just be an iPod, nothing fancy. And then I watched yesterday's presentation. 8 Gigs, Wi-Fi, keyboard, Safari, Youtube. And then today, ironically while searching for the PSP Bundle, I wandered into the Apple Store and played with the iPhone. And I was Smitten.
But anyway, it's all very confusing in my head. I told my wife about it and she's resistant due to the cost, which I don't blame her. It's $299, which is a far cry from the $169 I had tried to sell her on. I told her that with the PSP, with the $169 core, the $25 game, the $40 memory card, possibly the $20 case and some more games, it's easily the same price. I think that amused her even less. But there's my breakdown.
PSP Pros:
Actual Gaming portable, with big boy games.
Cheaper. Kinda.
Multimedia goodness.
PSP Cons:
Data entry for web surfing is phone-like, which is goofy.
Browser is supposedly iffy.
Doesn't do flash video or 640x480, which means a lot of video conversion.
Arguement:
How much web surfing will I do on the PSP?
Will future firmware fix the 640 x 480 problem?
Will I rely on Wi-Fi that much?
iPod Touch Pros:
Seamless integration with iTunes, less conversion
Freakin' touch interface, can download apps for iPod since it's running an OS.
Safari, QWERTY text entry... That's cool.
Youtube integration.
iPod Touch Cons:
No Games! Will Video wear off?
Two iPods is gadget redundancy.
Basically getting it mostly for the video playback and touch novelty.
Youtube is not the complete library, since Youtube is only starting to encode H.264 compatible videos that iPhones and Touch iPods can read. Only 2 of my videos were searchable.
iPod Argument:
How often am I around Wi-Fi and if I'm mostly at home, aren't I already on my laptop anyway? Touch keypad and all, will I even use it?
iPod clickwheel I can navigate without looking, but the touch will need to be flicked - so skipping a song or anything might be too much trouble.
I might get jacked - they are pricey little gadgets.
Well, this actually helped. I think I'll stick with the PSP. Even though the Touch is fancier and has slightly more convenient video options, the fact that I'm not always around Wi-Fi, and the video only benefits of the touch iPod (as opposed to the video plus gaming benefits of the PSP) make the PSP the logical choice. I have to do a bit more maintenance for the PSP, but I think I'll get more mileage out of it. It's like the practical and the pretty. The practical PSP wins out.
But the Touch is sooooo pretty.
---
So I'm actually happy that the Nano has video capability, making it one of the first portable and affordable video players. It's not the first, and not the cheapest personal media player out there, but anyone who has an iPod knows iPod is really just half of the equation - iTunes is the other half. It makes getting music, organizing it, transferring it, and getting media for it a cinch. And unlike most other digital jukeboxes, it evolves over time.
The Classic iPod is now at an obscene 160 Gigs, which is something monstrous. I have hard drives that are smaller than that. My music collection alone is only about 15 gigs, and even when all my podcasts are decked out, it's only about 6 Gigs. What the hell would someone do with all that space? I suppose a buttload of movies could fit on that. Who knows.
And of course, the iPod Touch. When the iPhone came out, I thought that if they had that without the phone part, I would be sold on it. And for a while, when the rumors started swirling about a touch iPod, I was pretty tempted, but I was sure that it would just be an iPod, nothing fancy. And then I watched yesterday's presentation. 8 Gigs, Wi-Fi, keyboard, Safari, Youtube. And then today, ironically while searching for the PSP Bundle, I wandered into the Apple Store and played with the iPhone. And I was Smitten.
But anyway, it's all very confusing in my head. I told my wife about it and she's resistant due to the cost, which I don't blame her. It's $299, which is a far cry from the $169 I had tried to sell her on. I told her that with the PSP, with the $169 core, the $25 game, the $40 memory card, possibly the $20 case and some more games, it's easily the same price. I think that amused her even less. But there's my breakdown.
PSP Pros:
Actual Gaming portable, with big boy games.
Cheaper. Kinda.
Multimedia goodness.
PSP Cons:
Data entry for web surfing is phone-like, which is goofy.
Browser is supposedly iffy.
Doesn't do flash video or 640x480, which means a lot of video conversion.
Arguement:
How much web surfing will I do on the PSP?
Will future firmware fix the 640 x 480 problem?
Will I rely on Wi-Fi that much?
iPod Touch Pros:
Seamless integration with iTunes, less conversion
Freakin' touch interface, can download apps for iPod since it's running an OS.
Safari, QWERTY text entry... That's cool.
Youtube integration.
iPod Touch Cons:
No Games! Will Video wear off?
Two iPods is gadget redundancy.
Basically getting it mostly for the video playback and touch novelty.
Youtube is not the complete library, since Youtube is only starting to encode H.264 compatible videos that iPhones and Touch iPods can read. Only 2 of my videos were searchable.
iPod Argument:
How often am I around Wi-Fi and if I'm mostly at home, aren't I already on my laptop anyway? Touch keypad and all, will I even use it?
iPod clickwheel I can navigate without looking, but the touch will need to be flicked - so skipping a song or anything might be too much trouble.
I might get jacked - they are pricey little gadgets.
Well, this actually helped. I think I'll stick with the PSP. Even though the Touch is fancier and has slightly more convenient video options, the fact that I'm not always around Wi-Fi, and the video only benefits of the touch iPod (as opposed to the video plus gaming benefits of the PSP) make the PSP the logical choice. I have to do a bit more maintenance for the PSP, but I think I'll get more mileage out of it. It's like the practical and the pretty. The practical PSP wins out.
But the Touch is sooooo pretty.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Something about Nothing
I got something to say and nothing to say all at the same time. So here it goes.
These next couple weeks are going to be quite something for me. Since I don't really have any friends and all I write or think about is tech stuff, it's a fairly wet week for me. On Wednesday, Apple will be announcing the next line of iPods, and even thought the likelihood of me getting one is almost close to zero (see below), it's still exciting to see how they will confirm or astound the rumors that are currently out there. Certainly, a video iPod Nano is highly plausible, a touch screen iPod as well. The thing is if they've got something up their sleeve on top of that. The iPhone certainly floored all the mockups, I'm hoping this one will too.
---
This Friday Alex will be turning four, and we're going to the Puyallup Fair, which will be tons of fun. Even though I'll be getting a smaller paycheck this week because of Labor Day and the lack of overtime last week and this week, it'll be okay. Just have to chill out on the spending and since we already bought the tickets, the cost of everything should be manageable. I think the kids will have fun at the fair though. At the very least, I can get photos of the kids looking terrified on the kiddy rides.
---
And of course, the PSP. I've been granted permission to get it when it comes out, including an advance from my Mom. And I've ordered a used copy of Vice City Stories for the PSP just to keep me busy. But mostly, I'm excited to start putting video on that sucka and have a portable media player. Woot, baby.
---
I'm often a late adopter of Web 2.0 (although I was early on Flickr and Blogger, though I didn't use Flickr for a while after I initially used it.), but I'm discovering that Digg.com is actually really cool. It started out with me watching the Diggnation podcast, which is this breezy, low production yet high entertainment value podcast of these guys responsible for Digg.com talking about the highly Dugg articles. Their banter and ease about the whole thing just seems like it's just a bunch of guys, just jabbering about cool news and tidbits. I like Digg so far because of its range. From serious news to trivia to tidbits, just basically the best bits of news out there as determined by nerds like myself.
---
It's almost 2 in the morning. Tomorrow I have to wake up at 4:30am. That is hell on my internal clock.
These next couple weeks are going to be quite something for me. Since I don't really have any friends and all I write or think about is tech stuff, it's a fairly wet week for me. On Wednesday, Apple will be announcing the next line of iPods, and even thought the likelihood of me getting one is almost close to zero (see below), it's still exciting to see how they will confirm or astound the rumors that are currently out there. Certainly, a video iPod Nano is highly plausible, a touch screen iPod as well. The thing is if they've got something up their sleeve on top of that. The iPhone certainly floored all the mockups, I'm hoping this one will too.
---
This Friday Alex will be turning four, and we're going to the Puyallup Fair, which will be tons of fun. Even though I'll be getting a smaller paycheck this week because of Labor Day and the lack of overtime last week and this week, it'll be okay. Just have to chill out on the spending and since we already bought the tickets, the cost of everything should be manageable. I think the kids will have fun at the fair though. At the very least, I can get photos of the kids looking terrified on the kiddy rides.
---
And of course, the PSP. I've been granted permission to get it when it comes out, including an advance from my Mom. And I've ordered a used copy of Vice City Stories for the PSP just to keep me busy. But mostly, I'm excited to start putting video on that sucka and have a portable media player. Woot, baby.
---
I'm often a late adopter of Web 2.0 (although I was early on Flickr and Blogger, though I didn't use Flickr for a while after I initially used it.), but I'm discovering that Digg.com is actually really cool. It started out with me watching the Diggnation podcast, which is this breezy, low production yet high entertainment value podcast of these guys responsible for Digg.com talking about the highly Dugg articles. Their banter and ease about the whole thing just seems like it's just a bunch of guys, just jabbering about cool news and tidbits. I like Digg so far because of its range. From serious news to trivia to tidbits, just basically the best bits of news out there as determined by nerds like myself.
---
It's almost 2 in the morning. Tomorrow I have to wake up at 4:30am. That is hell on my internal clock.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Day 449 of Clown Day
It started pretty early today, at precisely the moment I put on my new underwear that I bought from Walmart. Evidently, their Mediums tend to either run a bit small, or I've been consuming way too much sugary confections. Anyway, it was a tight fit and I think it was a precursor to the kind of day I would be having. Not a bad one, just one that's really off.
When I was at work, I noticed that the "new guy" who isn't really new anymore, the one who grew a mustache in order to fit in with the rest of the guys, had shaved as well. It's like, c'mon, man. You're not going to even let me be the only guy not having any facial hair, you selfish bastard? It was funny and not at the same time, of course, if he starts showing up with my haircut and glasses, then it's time for me to skedaddle.
The rest of the day I just had weird little incidents, like items not being on my sales order, weird problems here and there, stuff like that. It was slightly contagious as well, my co-workers were having a little odd day too. At one point my supervisor called me for a meeting, and when I sat with her, she decided that it would be a good to begin with a metaphor about eggs, and baking cakes for a bakery. Really, she was just trying to tell me that once items are allocated to a sales order, it isn't necessary a wise idea to remove them and reallocate them to another order, due to the priority that the latter order had needed. That was really all she had to say, but she launched into the metaphor about cakes, me being a co-owner of a bakery, wedding cakes, and I gotta say, if I didn't already knew what she was trying to tell me, i would be even more confused because the cake metaphor sucked badly. It was more cluttered than needed to be. Anyway, then she started showing me how to do certain things on a computer, most of which really I had nothing to do with. But whatever.
But the evening with the kids was rather boring. I opted to spend some time on the computer instead of playing with them, and watched some Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. You wouldn't think that a show about a superhero who's an attorney would be interesting, but it sorta is.
---
I took my first steps toward ownership of a PSP today, I saw a rather good deal on a 4 gig memory card, so I bought it. It felt naughty.
Guess I'm just getting the core model instead of the Daxter model.
---
I've been admiring the Slingbox lately, even though I'll probably never get it because I'm never away from home long enough to warrant one. Basically, it's a unit you hook up to your cable or DVR, and it'll let you control your TV through the internet and stream programming wirelessly through the internet to your computer, allowing you to watch TV. It's handy for those who travel a lot, but for a guy like me, it wouldn't be very useful at all. But still, it's pretty cool technology. Affordable too.
When I was at work, I noticed that the "new guy" who isn't really new anymore, the one who grew a mustache in order to fit in with the rest of the guys, had shaved as well. It's like, c'mon, man. You're not going to even let me be the only guy not having any facial hair, you selfish bastard? It was funny and not at the same time, of course, if he starts showing up with my haircut and glasses, then it's time for me to skedaddle.
The rest of the day I just had weird little incidents, like items not being on my sales order, weird problems here and there, stuff like that. It was slightly contagious as well, my co-workers were having a little odd day too. At one point my supervisor called me for a meeting, and when I sat with her, she decided that it would be a good to begin with a metaphor about eggs, and baking cakes for a bakery. Really, she was just trying to tell me that once items are allocated to a sales order, it isn't necessary a wise idea to remove them and reallocate them to another order, due to the priority that the latter order had needed. That was really all she had to say, but she launched into the metaphor about cakes, me being a co-owner of a bakery, wedding cakes, and I gotta say, if I didn't already knew what she was trying to tell me, i would be even more confused because the cake metaphor sucked badly. It was more cluttered than needed to be. Anyway, then she started showing me how to do certain things on a computer, most of which really I had nothing to do with. But whatever.
But the evening with the kids was rather boring. I opted to spend some time on the computer instead of playing with them, and watched some Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. You wouldn't think that a show about a superhero who's an attorney would be interesting, but it sorta is.
---
I took my first steps toward ownership of a PSP today, I saw a rather good deal on a 4 gig memory card, so I bought it. It felt naughty.
Guess I'm just getting the core model instead of the Daxter model.
---
I've been admiring the Slingbox lately, even though I'll probably never get it because I'm never away from home long enough to warrant one. Basically, it's a unit you hook up to your cable or DVR, and it'll let you control your TV through the internet and stream programming wirelessly through the internet to your computer, allowing you to watch TV. It's handy for those who travel a lot, but for a guy like me, it wouldn't be very useful at all. But still, it's pretty cool technology. Affordable too.
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