|
|
Saturday, April 26th, 2008
| |
10:17 pm - Grrrrrr....
|
I'm sick of Trenton Computer Fair. I can't remember ever getting anything there that's even remotely useful or functional. EVERYTHING is broken in some way. Always. This time we got a refurbished TomTom, (which I'm still holding out some hope for, since ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) istoria bought it, not me) and that refuses to navigate any trip longer than 15 minutes. After a lot of thought, I spent $50 on a 16GB flash drive. Too good to be true? Of course. Windows doesn't recognize the damned thing and says it needs to be formatted, at 16GB, true, but then it won't complete the format. Linux also shows it to be 16GB, but won't mount it as FAT and cfdisk won't redefine the partition table; it thinks it does, but if you exit and come back in it's still not right.
Past wins include:
A waterproof MP3 player for my dad for his birthday last year. That lasted about two plays.
2 Uninterruptible Power Supplies on different occasions. One "worked" for a while, then in a brown-out fried my hard drive controller. The other one clicked. Constantly.
Random tools that are either completely pointless or work once then fail catastrophically.
Other assorted garbage.
Somebody has to keep me from spending money at these places, it's never worth it.
EDIT:
Thinking as I type here; I can probably run back down to TCF tomorrow morning, but it's 82.6 miles away (165.2 both ways). Gas is currently 3.419 a gallon. My car gets around 24 mpg. So, taking a trip to TCF will cost approximately $23.50, plus pretty much all of my morning. Add to that the fact that I bought it in the flea market section, and the chances of that vendor still being there on Sunday, particularly after unloading a basked of these defective pieces of shit, is pretty low. So, I can take the $50 loss and call it a stupidity tax for ever trusting any product from TCF, or gamble 23.50 and my time on the vendor being there and giving me an exchange or my money back. If I get my money back, I spent 23.50 on nothing. If I get an exchange that actually works, then I just bought a 73.50 USB flash drive, which I could have beaten by buying from newegg. If I get there and can't get anything for some reason, I just spent 73.50 on a useless POS. I think I'll forget about the trip and just hold on to my crappy keychain.
On an unrelated note, anybody want to buy this great 16GB flash drive? Selling now for the low low price of $40!
current mood:  irate
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
| |
9:04 am - Blah
|
I was going to post last week, but I discovered that people hadn't been really quiet lately, I had just gotten logged out of livejournal and everybody posts friends-only, so I had to scramble to read stuff before it fell off the end of my friends page and posting slipped my mind.
So, I got nudged again, so I guess it's time for a core dump.
Some friends got http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band_%28video_game%29">Rock Band recently and created a band called "The Barbarians" based on this cartoon. I played a bit; I'm apparently pretty good at the vocals, not as good at guitar, and haven't tried drums yet. This is definitely on my list of games to get when we get a PS3 eventually.
I finished Lego Star Wars II and moved on to a classic, Black and White, which I played before but never got very far. I'm taking an "I help those who help themselves" approach to my own villages and a vengeful deity approach to the ones who will be mine soon.
At work my project is in limbo, it was technically closed yesterday but a related project got an extension so we're kind of still on to support that. Considering the way they've treated this project I'm pretty apathetic about the whole thing.
Why does updating the Linux kernel ALWAYS result in breaking wifi drivers? We should have progressed beyond an absolute need to recompile drivers every time you update by now.
current mood:  blah
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
| |
11:54 am - The end of an era...
|
I was up way too late last night, but it was worth it. I finally "finished" Morrowind at around 3AM. I completed the main story quest some time before then, then ran around and finished some final wrap-ups. There's more I could do, theoretically, there always is in an Elder Scrolls game, but I feel like I've done enough. (Though I never did train up and learn to fight with spears or axes... hmm...)
Next on the PC game queue... not really sure. I grabbed a few demos of things I may try tonight (Bioshock, Sword of the New World, Clive Barker's Generic Horror Game of Something) but my next real game is either Portal or Lego Star Wars II. Oblivion is of course on my list, but I'm going to try getting a few shorter titles in before picking that up.
current mood:  accomplished
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Friday, January 11th, 2008
| |
1:25 am - Upgrades 3: Misadventures in HD
|
|
| |
12:53 am - Greece
|
Okay, I should probably have posted this earlier, but istoria has done a pretty good job with her geotagged albums. Just to make things interesting, I broke my toe just before going, so I got to walk all over southern Greece on a broken foot in an ugly medical shoe. Despite that, it was great, lots of daytrips, lots of wine, lots of Greek coffee, lots of new relatives and family friends.
I've always had an interest in Greek ancient history and architecture, so this was a great trip. We hit the highlights, Mycenae, Delphi, Parthenon, Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Agora, Sounio, and many museums. I was mostly impressed by the size of everything... looking at pictures you get the idea that in Athens there are two temples, the big one, (Zeus) and the small one (Parthenon). But the Parthenon is BIG. Much bigger than I had imagined. And the temple of Zeus is not big, it is... Olympian. Here is a size comparison... istoria had to back off a long way to take this, and you can see that at 6'4" I'm barely reaching the top of the stairs. The columns are more than impressive, they are almost oppressive. I could go on, but you get the idea.
Even though Doric/Ionic was my favorite architectural style and I never paid much attention to Mycenaean, I was also very impressed there. The age of these ruins and the condition they keep is phenomenal, and the tholos tombs are, if nothing else, fun to play with acoustically. Standing in the exact center, all sounds you make echo back to you at the same time... scuffing your feet makes a sound like sandpaper on a microphone. Whispering is eerie, speaking is like a megaphone.
Jumping ahead a few millenia, Greek driving and parking is a sight in itself. Anyone who complains about Jersey roads really needs to visit Greece. Greeks drive like they're the only ones on the road, and very late for an important appointment. Nobody signals, motorcycles weave through traffic like it's their right, traffic lights are only on your side of the intersection so if you pull to the line you can't see your light anymore. And parking... anywhere your car fits is fair game. Anywhere. Sidewalks are overflow parking, or additional lanes for motorcycles or mopeds. Horns are learned as a second language, although nobody seems to get too angry, surprisingly. The entire dance is pretty majestic and awesome, I'm just very grateful that I didn't have to drive in it.
All in all, a very good trip, educational and yet relaxing in its way. The apartment is very nice and available to us, so this is just the first of probably many trips there. Next time will be in the early or late summer, most likely, to see the islands.
current mood:  groggy
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, December 9th, 2007
| |
10:50 pm - Upgrades 2: IKEA Aftermath
|
We finished phase one of the entertainment center upgrades a few weeks ago but just got the pictures online now. ( Click here for pictures and details )
All in all, it went okay. It took a bit longer than I had hoped but the results are almost perfect.
current mood: accomplished
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Thursday, December 6th, 2007
| |
11:27 am - Rant: Aspect ratios
|
|
| Thursday, November 15th, 2007
| |
6:21 pm - Upgrades...
|
So... we're planning the move to HD.
It's a slow process, the first and most drastic change being replacing the entertainment center furniture. We just bought a bunch of kits from IKEA and we'll start putting them together next week. This is the first step for two reasons: first, we're completely out of DVD space; this should give us a nice upgrade in that regard. Second, the current shelving has a fixed space for a TV which can only just fit the one we have now (size details not immediately available) so we couldn't get an HDTV that is any wider than the SD one we currently have.
The kits we bought cost about $450 in total, not too bad. The one nice thing is that the shelving is DVD-depth, not full bookshelf depth; a lot less wasted space. Actually buying everything was a bit of an adventure, but not front page worthy.
( Click here for IKEA fun )
Anyway, once the new shelves are assembled, the next step in our plan is to convert everything to component video rather than composite like we have now. The plan will require a component switchbox, and it's apparently a little hard to find a good one that won't degrade quality too much. I doubt we'll be putting anything through it more than 480p, but even so I'd like to have the option. If anyone has any recommendations or experience with them, let me know; we need at least 3 component inputs, preferably 4.
I made this too long already, but the next few steps are:
-Upgrade to HD cable box (still works in SD)
-*The Big One* Buy an HDTV
-Most likely try to find a 60GB PS3
I'll try to post updates as things happen.
current mood:  optimistic
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Friday, November 2nd, 2007
| |
9:32 am - PSA: The following political spammers are NOT getting my vote:
|
(voting in Clarkstown district, NY)
- Payne, State Senator
- Gromack, Supervisor
- Borelli, Town Council
- Miele, Town Council
- Giordano, Town Clerk
- Ballard, Highway Superintendent
- Lee, Town Justice
- Mascola, Town Justice
- Bierker, Legislator
- Day, Legislator
- Sparaco, Legislator
- Moroney, Legislator
- Sherwood, Judge
That is all.
current mood: annoyed
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Monday, October 29th, 2007
| |
10:24 am - The most important Debian package EVER...
|
|
| Thursday, September 13th, 2007
| |
9:16 pm - Update, sort of...
|
So, I've got a problem... I'm addicted to, well, stuff. I acquire more games and movies than I really have time to play or watch, so they get a little backed up. I work through them, but the fact that I usually explore every corner of a game makes me take far longer than I should.
I'm going to try to post updates as I play through games and watch movies to see if anybody's interested; maybe it will help me play through faster.
I just beat Primal for the PS2 recently. It was a game I picked up on a whim because it was cheap; I found out later that one of the voices was by the late great Andreas Katsulas, or G'Kar on Babylon 5. It was decent, better than I expected, though not famous at all.
Currently I'm stalled on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance on the Wii; it's okay, but the motion controls are irritating and the difficulty is very random. I was playing through with istoria on that one, but we've both temporarily lost interest so it's going back in the pile.
Next console game will probably be Prince of Persia: Warrior Within for the GameCube, played on the Wii.
On the PC side, I'm still slogging through The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. I played this game for a long time when it first came out, but had a hard drive failure halfway through and lost my savegames. I never got very far; there's where my wanting to see everything got in the way. Now I'm playing through again, I'm head of the Fighters' Guild, the Thieves' Guild, Great House Hlaalu, and am an action or so away from the head of the Mages' Guild and Morag Tong Assassins' Guild also. I was working on the Imperial Legion when I stumbled across a nest of vampires and took advantage of that to contract vampirism to see how that goes. I do use a game guide to make sure I hit most points of interest, but I've managed to avoid all but the most general spoilers on the main quest. I really need to hurry up and finish it though; lately it's been crashing on exit, and I'm pretty sure it causes my computer to stop playing videos correctly after it runs - both new developments.
On deck for the PC is: the Bioshock demo, LEGO Star Wars II, and then TES IV: Oblivion.
current mood: blah
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, June 30th, 2007
| |
7:31 pm
|
So there was a discussion on Slashdot recently about an article titled Windows XP Revisited, all about making XP act more like Vista. Mostly the discussion consisted of people complaining that the author didn't really mention anything good, anything he did mention was commercial, and would cost more in the end to buy than Vista itself. But a few helpful people posted their own list of ways to help XP act better, and I took interest. I installed a bunch of them, and so far I'm pretty happy with them. ( Read more... )
Overall, pretty happy with it so far, we'll see how long it lasts.
current mood:  geeky
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
| |
10:38 am - New-ish computer
|
|
| Friday, March 9th, 2007
| |
2:34 pm - A tiny fanboy moment...
|
So istoria sent me a link to a comic she had just checked out based on some webcomic awards: Lackadaisy. I started reading, and after I had clicked the link for the second page I saw the artist's name, Tracy Butler.
Now, back when I used to draw frequently occasionally at all, I also discovered artists with similar interests. Tracy Butler created exactly the type of art I wanted to be able to produce. Looking back on my stuff now, of course, there's only one or two that I would like anyone to actually see. I looked at her artwork all the time for inspiration, more the art than the comics, but eventually those as well.
Unfortunately, one day, the link I had stopped working and I couldn't find any other pages to link to. Sadly, I first crossed out the link on my webpage, then finally deleted it. Then after a while I stopped drawing myself (not having boring classes to draw in removed a lot of my opportunity) and forgot about her and the other artists I had followed. Until today.
The artwork I remember is available on Yerf, and she has a personal artwork page on foxprints that is for some reason blocked at work, but I have to look at when I get home. The new comic is great, very different from the medieval fantasy work that got me interested in her artwork in the first place, but I'm hooked now and it's in my webcomic rotation.
current mood:  jubilant
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, March 6th, 2007
| |
11:30 pm - Everything Test
|
The Everything Test There are many different types of tests on the internet today. Personality tests, purity tests, stereotype tests, political tests. But now, there is one test to rule them all. Traditionally, online tests would ask certain questions about your musical tastes or clothing for a stereotype, your experiences for a purity test, or deep questions for a personality test.We're turning that upside down - all the questions affect all the results, and we've got some innovative results too! Enjoy :-) | Personality | You are more logical than emotional, more concerned about self than concerned about others, more atheist than religious, more loner than dependent, more lazy than workaholic, more traditional than rebel, more engineering mind than artistic mind, more cynical than idealist, more leader than follower, and more extroverted than introverted.
As for specific personality traits, you are adventurious (100%), romantic (86%), intellectual (67%), religious (60%). | | | Stereotypes | | Punk Rock | 80% | | Geek | 70% | | Prep | 62% | | | | Life Experience | | Sex | 23% | | Substances | 5% | | Travel | 38% | | Politics
Your political views would best be described as Libertarian, whom you agree with around 84% of the time. | | Socioeconomic
Your attitude toward life best associates you with Upper Class. You make more than 0% of those who have taken this test, and 41% more than the U.S. average.
| If your life was a movie, it would be rated PG.
By the way, your hottness rank is 52%, hotter than 76% of other test takers. | TAKE THE TEST brought to you by thatsurveysite
Can't say I completely agree with the results, but I said I'd post them.
current mood: blah
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, January 9th, 2007
| |
5:31 pm
|
This morning I came to work to see this in my inbox:
Over the past few weeks our progress in closing out problem logs has been insufficient to meet the program needs.
...
In light of this, mandatory overtime is being established on the program. Everyone is asked to put in 8 hours a week of overtime.
Please manage this time carefully so that you have access to the lab assets necessary to make forward progress.
In some cases this will mean working a split shift or coming in on weekends.
Work with your systems engineering counterpart and the integration team to insure you get the assets & staff you need.
I realize this is an imposition on everyone's personal time but it's what is necessary for the program to be successful.
If we get to the point where this level of OT becomes unnecessary we'll back off on it.
Thanks in advance for your cooperation on this.
All that on top of a sore throat that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, and this is looking to be a great week.
current mood:  crappy
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, December 10th, 2006
| |
12:37 am - Wii!
|
So it's in! Got it hooked up, downloaded updates, played a game of each Wii Sports type with Cleo, then went to bed... long day. The control scheme takes a little getting used to, and various lights can interfere if they're in view of the controllers, but that's easily fixed by practice and turning off lights.
Wii is enroute, estimated delivery 12/9. I'm a little obsessive about it right now... here's what its status was last time I checked...
Dec 9, 2006 12:10 PM Delivered Nanuet, NY Left at front door. Signature Service not requested.
5:54 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery SECAUCUS, NJ
5:03 AM At local FedEx facility SECAUCUS, NJ
Dec 8, 2006 8:54 PM Departed FedEx location KEASBEY, NJ
12:54 PM Arrived at FedEx location KEASBEY, NJ
Dec 7, 2006 10:26 AM Departed FedEx location CHAMPAIGN, IL
1:48 AM Arrived at FedEx location CHAMPAIGN, IL
Dec 6, 2006 7:38 PM Picked up MARION, IL
2:18 PM Package data transmitted to FedEx
current mood: excited
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
| |
10:06 am - Wii!
|
Maybe?
Checked one of my wii tracker sites (http://www.nowinstock.net/wii/) and saw that Circuit City had a bundle available. Most bundles are crap, but I checked it anyway. Very nice! System, plus one "wiimote" and one nunchuck, both of which we were going to get anyway. I ordered it with 3 day shipping, should get it next week Monday or Tuesday. Assuming it went through, of course. A friend from work tried to order it after my heads up and had it go out of stock as he was entering his shipping info. And I haven't gotten a confirmation e-mail yet, so... we'll see how that goes.
EDIT 11:59
Got the confirmation e-mail, everything looks good. Heading over to Target during lunch to pick up some games (Zelda, Red Steel) and possibly other accessories (SD card, controller gloves, etc.)
current mood:  hopeful
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, November 1st, 2006
| |
9:56 am - Halloween Aftermath Report
|
I've been experiencing Halloween burnout to some extent for the past year or so. I got the house in Newark the way I like it, the Bottomless Pit prop was pretty much the culmination of my decorating attempts and anything else seemed like it would be gilding the lily. Also, it marked a massively increased involvement in Halloween by Ted's brothers, who took to it quickly and love building complex props, though they mainly focus on indoor props for the party rather than outdoor ones for the trick-or-treaters (TOTs). This wasn't helped by the fact that I moved out last year, so I simply couldn't be involved this year that much so I drifted further away... the condo doesn't take well to massive decorating and we don't have room to store anything complicated anyway.
( Click for long rambling commentary )As much as I like making little kids cry and run away, what some of those parents did seemed cruel even to me, dragging or carrying them up screaming and crying. We also had some of the latest stragglers this year, with people showing up as late as 9:30. All told we went through 5 of the 8 bags of candy that we bought, we started with about a half-bowl of candy and ended up with another half bowl of candy.
current mood:  exhausted
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Monday, October 30th, 2006
| |
6:44 pm - How to seize power
|
|
|
|
|
|
cold
stressed
