MrBigglesworth's Litterbox

Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback are here to stay!

2011-03-18T11:24:00.001-07:00

http://www.bevreview.com/2011/03/14/pepsi-throwback-mountain-dew-throwback-become-permanent/

Great news!

After launching in 2009 for a "limited time" demand has been so good that these two drinks are now a permanent fixture on store shelves!

I love soda when it's made with sugar and NOT HFCS!

eCigs are awesome.

2010-02-23T09:33:00.001-08:00

I dont smoke. The wife does though.

In searching for cheaper stuff because the health issue was always present I stumbled across and discovered electronic cigarettes.

A lot of great info is here!

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/

Basically, you have a battery, connected to an atomizer. The atomizer is connected to a cartridge that is either prefilled or you fill it yourself with flavoring and desired nicotine strength. Hit the button, the juice vaporizes, inhale...and you get the nicotine hit/flavor without any of the normal crap associated with smoking. No bad smell, no smoke, no tar, no combusted materials, no carcinogens, all that bad stuff simply is gone.

Ecigs are basically an alternative nicotine delivery device. And much cheaper too. This is only the first day.

Tax time is upon us!

2010-02-15T11:23:00.001-08:00

I have all my forms to file and calculate my taxes. Im estimating owing $1700 to $2700. Yikes.

I need a NAS box

2010-02-06T16:41:00.001-08:00

Starting to run out of HDD space. I need a NAS box that will be compatible with PS3Media Server and my PS3 for streaming of non HD and HD content of all container formats that PS3Media Server supports!

Youtube wants to "share revenue" with me

2010-02-06T16:40:00.001-08:00

A video I have has a button for Revenue Sharing. Wonder if it will work.

No updates, and my PC is still old!

2010-02-06T16:31:00.001-08:00

Yes, it ages more every day.

Core 2 Duo E6400, 4GB of RAM and an 8800GT512MB.

I think I really want an Intel G2 SSD.

My PC is old

2009-08-16T15:14:00.001-07:00

Getting up to 3 years of age on this PC. I need a new one!

The new Warren Theater in Moore OK is the place for movies!

2008-05-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Just last month in April Warren Theaters opened its doors.

Its a 14 screen "luxury plex" and no expense was spared.

2 of the screens are in "gran auditoriums" where the screen is over 4 stories tall and 80 feet wide. These include statium and balcony seating. The balcony area is full service too, with food, booze and all your typical concession fare brougth right to your chair at the click of a call button.

Prices are a bit higher, $12 for shows before 6pm and $18 after, but for the matinee times, I think its very justifiable.

I have hated going to other theaters in the past. Always waiting in line to buy tickets, waiting in line at the concession stand, waiting in line to go into the show (and hoping to get there early enough for decent seats).

While this can happen at Warren for typical movie tickets in the non balcony area, it is completely eliminated if you get balcony seating.

You can buy your tickets up to 2 weeks in advance, and seats are reserved when you pick the seats YOU WANT.

No longer do you wait in line, get there "early" or any of that old school jazz. You can show up whenever you like prior to the show and your seats are open and waiting for you. Everything as stated is brought to you from concession goods to a full service menu with typical American Diner fare.

Not to mention that we are talking about the actual movies now, all the above is just gravy. As stated, we have HUGE screens in the grand auditoriums, but fully digital THX surround sound with a Dolby Digital and THX sound demo before every movie.

The only advertisements before the movie are the actual movie trailers. That's right, no annoying slide show advertising for local businesses on ANY of the screens. You already paid for a ticket to see the show, now you arent subjected to advertising that you didnt want to see in the first place.

All in all, I suck with words, but the Warren Theater in Moore is now my ONLY movie destination for seeing theatrical releases from now on.

http://www.warrentheaters.com

I need a new cell phone.

2007-10-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

My current celly is a first generation Motorola Razr and its a POS. Its fine for calls and I got it for cheap compared to the early adoptors for it, but the camera sucks, and internet is total balls.

I like what the iPhone offers, but it cannot record video (WTF?) and has no real GPS. You cant even pair with a BT receiver for GPS integration of Google Maps.

I basically want an iPhone-like device with video recording, gps, and a real web browser that will allow me to access Google Maps and a lot of standard website forums to read and post from. I also want 3G speed capability. I mean whats the point of waiting 1 and a half minutes for that page to load. Ugh.

Also, "affiliate" AT&T stores suck. They have nothing but the standard flippy phones, and none with even GPS capability.

Why cant we get decent phones here in the US for affordable prices? ARRGH.

The PS3 is a fine Blu Ray player.

2007-10-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

I finally got my free PS3 over the weekend.

For games, it sucks ass. For an online marketplace. Ass. For demos. ASS.

MS just gets everything right for being a gaming console system (and handles HD DVD great as well) but for games. UGH. For the Xbox, when you download a game or demo, its done! It is ready to play.

For the PS3, after downloading you have to install it, then play, this subtracts valuable seconds of playtime!!!

Anyway, other than the lack of quality games, or frustrating experience with their so called store, the Blu Ray movie player portion of the PS3 gets the job done nicely.

My only complaint is no IR port so my Harmony uni remote wont work. The controller for the PS3 can be used, but is a tad ackward. I will likely get a BT remote, but I think I can trudge through it.

For Blu Ray playback however, you couldnt ask for much more. Quick, speedy loads and responsiveness to your commands, excellent 1080 picture and high resolution sound!

I am now Format Neutral! Bring on the HD movies!

DirecTV continues its HD channel expansion.

2007-10-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Today DirecTV opened more HD channel goodness with:

FX
Cartoon Network
HGTV
Speed
Fuel TV
Fox Business HD

Keep it up!

High Definition days are here!

2007-10-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

For years I have had DirecTV using a high definition Tivo to access a limited selection of HD channels from local broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC. DirecTV provided HD HBO, Showtime, some ESPN, Universal TV, HD Discovery Theater and 2 channels from HD Net, and we liked it, uphill, bothways, in the snow, at midnight.

This month in October, DirecTV finally started broadcasting new HD channels using MPEG-4 compression.

This required me to get a new satelite and High Def DVR as the above Tivo can only access MPEG-2 encoded channels. I moved the Tivo to the bedroom and took delivery of the HR20 that DirecTV now uses. I dreaded it because I loved my Tivo so much. But other than the lack of Dual Live Buffers, there have been no issues.

New channels such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Channel, TLC, Food Network HD, Scient Channel, Sci-Fi HD, USA HD etc look insanely great.

Alton Brown on his show Good Eats was showing last night after Food Network went HD and the picture is glorious to behold. At a supermarket next to a huge amount of jars on shelving, you could see each individual lid in crystal clarity.

National Geographic outdoor scenes are breathtaking.

More channels are on the way like Cartoon Network and F/X.

Keep up the good work DirecTV, with roll outs like this, I will stay a customer for a long time.

Paramount gives Blu Ray the big PUNT

2007-08-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2007-08-20-paramount-blu-ray_N.htm

Today came an announcement that has surprised EVERYONE.

Paramount, previously a format neutral studio for high definition, is now going forward to exclusively supporting ONLY HD DVD. This also includes Dreamworks, Dreamworks animation, MTV and other subsidiaries.

After checking out various high definition forums on the net today, it is apparent that one thing is happening. Blu Ray fan boys heads are exploding left and right at an alarming rate. Even Bill Hunt of The Digitalbits has gone stark raving mad over this latest blow to Blu Ray.

Now while I admite I am in love with HD DVD, I will eventually support Blu Ray with the use of a combo player, unless there is the unlikely event that Fox, MGM and others support HD DVD. Until then, I will hold my breath.

Pure Cane Sugar, in your Dr Pepper!

2007-05-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

For decades it has been difficult, if not impossible to find a soda in the United States that contains pure cane sugar in it. For those instances where you can find real sugar in your cola, it is either during Passover, or is an import from Mexico, or finally a bottling company that specializes in using sugar, instead of high fructose corn syrup.

Enter, Dr Pepper. This is not from Dublin DrPepper which as been making sugar based DrPepper for over 100 years. This appears to be a limited promotion that is showing up in some stores. Around Oklahoma City, the local Buy 4 Le$$ is carrying these large, 16 ounce, sugar based cans in 12 pack cases for $7. It is worth EVERY penny. The tast you get from sugar based Dr Pepper is a lighter, smoother, and cleaner taste, where as HFCS based sodas have a harder edge of sweetness to them.

Too bad this is only limited to a small period of time. I wish all bottlers would return to sugar for their sweetener, and not HFCS.

My first Intel CPU since the mighty Celeron 300a

2006-08-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

I have a convenient excuse for an upgrade.

My northbridge chip fan died on my A8N-SLI Deluxe a few weeks back. Since the board is still under warranty I performed and RMA and sent it in for repair. I am still waiting.

For its eventual replacement (which shipped 30 minutes ago) I am awaiting an Intel Core 2 Duo e6400 which is a 2.18Ghz part. A Gigabyte DS3 motherboard, and 2GB of Corsair RAM.

I am going to transplant those parts into my case and use my x800XL a bit longer until some native DirectX 10 cards are released later this year.

The old parts, will migrate into the inlaws PC which is running on some ancient pre K7 hardware. If I remember right, less than 700mhz with only 384MB of RAM. So an upgrade for me, means an upgrade for someone else in the family due to a hand me down.

The benchies on the new Core 2 Duo look mighty impressive, especially with a moderate overclock. If I can bump my processor to 2.4Ghz my goal will be achieved of obtaining e6600 performance. If I can do anything better than that, it is all bonus gravy, and I LOVE gravy.

Outsourcing

2006-08-02T22:38:00.000-07:00

Just watched 30 Days tonight which had a subject of outsourcing.

I have always been against outsourcing.

You take away a job from an American, he can no longer afford to buy products. It may not be from the company that did the outsourcing, the the point remains. You lay off that worker to outsource that job, that worker cant buy products sold in America. Another comapny does the same, he buys different products, but the point remains. All these workers who used to be paid great wages, their jobs now overseas are no longer able to buy products due to outsourcing.

The CEOs of these companies then wonder, why are they losing money, they are saving boatloads on paying people in India less than a quarter that they paid to the American. The answer is above. You lay off the American worker, and then he wont be able to pay for things that other companies sell. It is a vicious cycle that needs to stop.

It's dead, Jim.

2006-07-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

After more than 18 months of faithful service, the fan on my ASUS A8N-SLI deluxe has bit the dust.

The system, will POST, but usually BSOD or even GSOD into a hard lock during the boot up of Windows, the northbridge chip on this motherboard gets DAMN HOT to the touch so I can see why it is locking up.

A new heatsink/fan is on order from ASUS, I just hope the motherboard is not too far gone.

On one hand if it is, they can replace it. However, if they refuse, then it is time to build a new system.

The Intel Core 2 Duo is looking mighty tasty. But my original upgrade hopes were to wait until Vista, Direct X10 native video cards, and Flight Simulator X to be released before upgrades.

Those plans may have changed somewhat.

Blu-Ray is out, and so far, it does not compare to HD DVD

2006-06-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

Today is the official launch date for Blu Ray players from Samsung, and a host of movies to go along with it.

Like HD DVD it actually broke street date from various retailers and has been in enthusiasts homes for a little over a week now.

From reports on various forums I have read, it was simply not ready for launch.

I am going to skip right to the meat of the contention. Compared to HD DVD, Blu-Ray just isn't ready for prime time. Currently all BR discs are currently encoded with a less efficient codec called MPEG-2. While it is scalable beyond current DVD encoding and can deliver a great high definition picture, it simply uses a lot more space than the VC-1 codec that the player is capable of using. This is resulting in movies that have artifacts and macroblocking that is especially more visible in fast motion action scense. Think speeding cars on a street and building backgrounds whipping by. When viewed in a similar instance on HD DVD, there is simply nothing but an excellent picture. Take Serenity close to the beginning of the movie with the Reavers chase scene, that background with mountains and trees, are a sight to behold. On DVD and broadcast HD, it would be jumbled blocky pixelated mess.

The other gripe is about one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies, The Fifth Element. Reports are that the movie was mastered from a damaged print, where dirt and scratches are highly visible in the image and that overall, it really doesn't offer more than the Superbit version on standard DVD.

How could Sony launch this format in its current incarnation? I would rather wait for a product a bit more and be released correctly, than rushed out of the gate because it is tired of playing catch up. If it is truely superior, then care for it and manage it to the best possible conclusion. I really don't see what is so difficult about that. I am sure that picture quality will eventually improve, but if I was a first gen BR supporter, I would be right miffed at the current state of things.

Subnetting

2006-06-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

The part of CCNA study I feared and dreaded the most: Subnetting.

Subnetting always kicked my ass when I took a glance or cursory look at it. Sure converting Binary to decimal was easy, even identifying what a /23 in a network was. But how to take an IP address and a subnet mask, then figure out how many subnets you can get off that particular IP address, how many hosts per subnet, and what the valid IP ranges are with the proper broadcast address and all that jazz was just too much for me to aborb.

Power of 2 for the WIN!

Once you realize that subnetting relies heavily on caluation using the powers of 2 then subnetting is pretty much easily learned.

I also believe I have good reference of the OSI model now as well. I am now back filling the knowledge by going over the first couple chapters of Lammles Sybex book for CCNA, now that I am about halfway done with the CCNA for Dummies book which I am using as a primer /overview of the information I need. So far, it seems to be a great combo.

CCNA Studies are underway.

2006-06-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

Now that I am HDA certified and I have that behind me, I have started my CCNA studies for the 640-801 test.

I hope I can pass this on the first try.

I am going through studies first with the CCNA for Dummies book for a primer of core concepts. The book gives a pretty straight foward and easy to understand concept of things in the world of Cisco.

I plan to follow up with the beefy CCNA Study Guide from Todd Lammle published by Sybex, and then follow up with the Fast Pass book by the same author.

All the while I plan on getting a subscription to How2Pass.com for practice tests and simulations.

From there, I will likely start some MSCE studies.

PASSED!

2006-05-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

I resat my HDA HD0-100 certification test today.

Scored a 98%.

As I suspected and confirmed. The test is modeled almost entirely from the appendix of the coursework. Ill never skip an appendix for certification materials again.

Failing a certification test by 1 question.

2006-05-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

So my work is having me take the HDA (Helpdesk Analyst Certification) test, HD0-100.

I enrolled in the online coursework. Studied the material, took 2 practice tests which I scored an 89 and 90 on, then go to take the real test. I failed it. By 1 question. The passing mark is 77%, I scored a 76%. WTF.

Well, a couple things, first, the practice tests were vastly different in the format and structure of their questions than on the real test. Scoring well on these builds up an extremely false sense of confidence. The actual test had questions where you could easily eliminate 2 of the answers on mulitple choice portion, but the remaining two were worded in such a way as to make you doubt yourself and mark the wrong answer.

Also, the appendix in the coursework. The test seems to be nearly 80% derived directly from the appendix. As I have never read an appendix from any book before, I skipped over valuable information that would have been available to me and in my arsenal that would have allowed me to pass the test. Oh well. I shall soon retake it after going over things a bit, and reading over that appendix a few more times. Then, it is on to CCNA studies, I just hope I don't screw that one up too.

Amazon.com Strikes Again!

2006-05-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com High Definition DVD Promotion

Sigh.

Amazon.com has done it again.

With their already money saving Amazon.com Prime Shipping I have already saved a bundle on shipping costs and received my merchandice even faster as a result. Now, they are doing a 10% discount on all HD DVD and Blu-Ray media for 1 year. Amazon.com already has the lowest HD DVD prices I have seen out of all retailers, now with practically free 2 day shipping and an additional 10% off, this format is really starting to heat up.

My next purchases will be Unforgiven and Full Metal Jacket.

Certification time is upon me.

2006-05-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

So lately, I have been mulling about going for the CCNA-Career Certification.

I really want to get into a job that lets me work on and administer networks form (insert large conglomerate company here) so I can get a nice increase in pay. I also want to expand my knowledge base and generally, get off the phone as a typical helpdesk monkey.

I have some Sybex study materials form Todd Lammle and scored a 53.1% on a Cisco CCNA assesssment test so I have some old knowledge running around in my head from the old PSINet days.

I just don't know if I have what it takes. We shall see I guess.

Han shoots first!

2006-05-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Finally, after 9 years, it will be available.

People, I am talking about the original Star Wars trilogy, in an un-altered, non-special edition form. The set will be available this Septemeber. Han shoots first, Jabba goes away and people can FINALLY stop bitching about how George Lucas personally raped their childhoods by having only the Special Edition version available on DVD. We can finally put this issue to rest.

Now if Fox would just support HD DVD!

HD DVD has arrived and it is AWESOME.

2006-04-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

So on Thursday I got my HD DVD player, at about 8:30pm.

UPS came by and tried to deliver, but I was with the wife at an appliance store shopping for a new washer/dryer as our washer bit the dust.

Needless to say, the UPS man only cometh when I am away.

So I scheduled an in person pick up at the local distribution hub. They said come at 8pm. I got there, and waited, and waited some more, and about 30 minutes later this HUGE Amazon.com box is brought out, I sign for it and I am out the door.

Before we get home, however, we decide to have a nice steak at Cattlemen's. Very good.

Anyway, the box as I mentioned was absolutely huge, and in it, there were the small air packages that Amazon uses to protect the inner shipment.

I took out the Toshiba box and unpacked everything and hooked it all up. I already programmed my Harmony 360 with the HD-A1 codes as reports are the default remote control is a total piece of ass, and I concur.

I hooked up to my Mitsubishi Diamond WS-65813 using an HDMI to DVI cable that I got when I was shipped my HD Tivo recorder from DirecTV. My Mitsu does not have an HDMI interface but does have HDCP compliant DVI so all was good.

I had a little trouble configuring the audio but that was my fault as I did not select Analog 5.1 on my receiver. I am using 6 standard composite cables to the 5.1 inputs from the HD DVD player itself in order to get the new Dolby Digital Plus sound format, which from what I can tell, sounds absolutely outstanding. It is like a more broad and enveloping sound stage. Hearing peripheral sounds in the environment in The Last Samauri, close to the beginning of the movie, such as street sounds of traffic and trolley, very discrete, but very clear and concise.

The video, Oh MAN, the video quality just floored me. I believe this is what HDTV has been created for. Not over the air broadcast (while nice) but pre-recorded HD content on optical media. Perfect clarity, no macro blocking, tearing, no artifacting, just a clean high definition image. On Serenity, during beginning of the movie with our gang on that hover transport being chased by the Reavers, I focused a lot on the fast moving background, the trees, rocks, mountainsides were all crystal clear, not a jumbled highspeed smear of low detail that we normally get. If this is what we have to look forward to on FIRST generation equipment and codecs, I can't see what we have in store for us on both HD DVD and Blu-Ray in the future.

HD DVD is here, and I am loving every bit of it.

I couldn't withstand it...

2006-04-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

I only lasted a week.

Just 1 week.

7 days.

168 hours.

10,080 min, ah hell, I caved and got the Toshiba HD-A1 player.

After call after call to numerous Best Buys, Ultimate Electronics, Sears and Wal-Marts without finding any instock, I checked Amazon. What is this? In stock? Free shipping? $3.99 to upgrade to overnight with my Amazon Prime membership? HELLZ YEAH!

So the movies and player should be here on Thursday. I couldn't wait, but I lasted a week.

After

2006-04-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

17 tons of dirt, some sand, lots of sod and flowers with mulch.

Twister!

2006-04-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

This was taken on my Motorola Razr, cam quality is OK for close up stuff, but far away, not so much.

During

2006-04-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

This is about halfway through the dirt laying and flowerbox/tree ring rebuilding process.

Before

2006-04-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

A quick shot of my yard before we dumped 17 tons of dirt, and laid 3 pallets of Fescue Sod. Notice the roots that have surfaced and are creeping toward the street.

Withstanding the Urge.

2006-04-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

I survived.

Barely.

The launch of HD DVD came and went.

I have no player, and still have money in the bank.

It isn't for lack of trying though. I waited, just a bit, to see if I could hold out. Then last night, I said screw it and started calling Best Buys to check stock. The first one to say they had one, I would head out and get a unit. However, all were completely sold out.

Which isn't a bad thing. Now that the instant gratification bug cannot be satiated I can wait a bit longer I think.

I am hoping that at E3 next month we will get additional information on the HD DVD peripheral add on for the Xbox360.

Right now, all we know is that one is coming. That is it. No connectivity information, no pricing, no release/launch date, nothing.

One would hope it will have most of the features of the Toshiba HD-A1 player currently available. I just hope they don't cut corners just to say, "HAY GUYS! We have HD Movie support and Sony hasn't even released their PS3, haw haw haw"

Geez, I wanna spend money, but how long can I last?

HD-DVD/Blu-Ray woes.

2006-04-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

So April 18 is fast approaching when Toshiba will be the first to the High Definition optical disc market with their already delayed HD-DVD product.

Sometime later in May/June, Sony's will debut with Blu-Ray, a competing format for HD-DVD.

The format war is a brewing.

I now, for the first time in, well, ever have the means to actually be an early adopter of a new technology. An early adaptor is a brave soul who fronts his or her money for the latest in technology. The good thing is, you are the first on the block to get a taste of the new tech. The bad thing is, you usually spend more by jumping in so early, and also face the possibility of being bitten by first generation bugs and glitches.

Anyway, I have a Mitsubishi Diamond 65 inch HDTV, and have been enjoying over-the-air and satelite broadcasts of High Definition material for about 18 months now. With HD-DVD just days away, I want to go 100%, so to speak.

Current movies on DVD played in 480p or even upconverted to a 1080i image leave a lot to be desired when compared with a true 720p or 1080i picture. Sure 480p is a hell of a lot better than the muddy washed out days of VHS, but technology marches on, and I want the goods. I just don't know if I can hold out. Will I take the plunge in the next week, or can I hold off and last until a combo player comes out that can do both formats?

The Rock-A-Fire Explosion

2006-02-11T16:17:00.000-08:00

The Rock-A-Fire Explosion was an excellent attraction for Showbizz Pizza Place for the 1980's. You had the perfect combination of Pizza, soda, birthday party having, arcade game playing, animatronic band wailing fun.

Then that rat bastard Chuck E Cheese took over and it has been down hill ever since.

The world would be a happier place had Showbizz never capitulated into going from the 8-14 year old demographic instead to the toddler-7 year old demographic. The show was dumbed down, the characters had no heart and the songs were total crap.

I weep for the future.

What takes the USPS 12 days to deliver a package?

2006-02-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

So back in late January, I got some good prices on Seasons 6 and 7 of Star Trek, DS9 and they were shipped the day after payment was recieved.

Here is a copy of the tracking log from the USPS website.

------------

Acceptance MINNEAPOLIS MN 55418 01/30/06 8:46am

Enroute SAINT PAUL MN 55121 01/31/06 7:57am

Delivered OKLAHOMA CITY OK 73110 02/11/06 2:37pm

-------------

WTF takes 12+ days for delivery? It would have been faster to hand deliver it. Anyway, I am hoping that they are at least in good condition when I get home.

It strikes me as odd that year after year, the Post Office raises its rates, while services continually degrade. Only in the last year did my local PO finally get an automated machine that isn't broken every time I need to get stamps.

Amazon.com woes

2006-01-23T18:57:00.000-08:00

I hate Amazon.com.

I will now end up spending more money there this year because of their Prime Shipping trial that was offered to me.

I noticed today that Star Trek TNG DVD boxsets were available for $51 for Seasons 1, 2, and 3. I haven't scored 2 and 3 yet so I added them to my cart and saw the offer for 3 month free trial in the Prime Shipping deal they recently released.

I never thought about it but then figured that based on all my purchases over the last year I definitely spend more than $79 on shipping costs alone.

So now I have 15 months worth of Prime shipping for $79.

Damn you Amazon.

In the end, I will spend more money. But at least it will be on actual products rather than shipping.

For want of Interstate '76

2006-01-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

I miss this game.

I really miss it.

I still have it on CD. The original version. However, time and technology have advanced far beyond what will allow me to play on my current PC without a lot of configuration hassle. Im seriously thinking about building a cheap Win98 SE box to throw this game at and relive.

Interstate 76 was way ahead of it's time. Way before Grand Theft Auto 3 came out, 76 just ruled.

It took place in a fictional southwest with issues of crime, high inflation and energy prices. You were a vigilante, and you had a muscle car as your weapon.

Had a totally bitching soundtrack as well by Bullmark. I still listen to it to this day.

Interstate 76, we miss you.

Activision, if you or any of the original development team read this (hah), a lot of fans would love an updated version of I76. Even if it was the same story but totally updated engine/graphics, we would snatch it up.

Intestate 82 however, is just best left at hardly a mention.

Mucho Stuff,

2006-01-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

Lots of stuff has happened in the last month.

Finally sold my dads house. Went to Branson on the Christmas break from work. Won $10,000 on a $5 scratcher ticket and ended up with $7100 after taxes. Placed a large chunk of sale from the house and lottery into an IRA and Annuity. Should hopefully reduce tax liability come April 15, 06.

Still looking for a good PDA.

The war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is surely heating up. Myself, I will probably get a combo box so I don't have to worry that if one format fails I won't wont be able to play the movies I have already purchased on it.

I have been in the HD Realm with my High Definition Tivo from DirecTV since Sept of 04, and I am really ready for some HD Love for my movies.

Got an Xbox 360 on launch day, (yeah, Nov 22 was a while back but I hardly update this blog, whatevah) been loving HD games on it since day one. I hear Street Fighter 2 Hyperfighting will be released on Live Arcade come March. I can't wait.

Also have cut out sugar laced drinks such as straight Coke or Pepsi. I can drink Diet Pepsi and Coke Zero as they don't taste too different, but Lemonade or Pink Lemonade from Crystal Light totally own me.

Anyway, I guess thats enough of an update for now. Not that anyone reads this anyways.

Intel in a Mac.

2006-01-10T15:58:00.000-08:00

So Apple has come along and released a bunch of Mac stuff with Intel Inside™.

More market share for Intel I guess, and I don't really mind it. What gets my goat is this snarky comment on Apple.com.

"What's an Intel chip doing in a Mac? A whole lot more than it's ever done in a PC."

WTF?

Then they go on to claim, 2x to 4x faster than previous Apple products. What were those previous products? G5's and the like. The same CPUs they used to claim that tehy were better all along. HELLO Jobs, pass the silly stuff you are smoking, I wish to partake!.

Gas relief.

2005-09-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Prices have finally started settling back down. I grabbed a few gallons at $2.58 as the trend is continuing downward. No need to fill up completely if it keeps going down in the next few days.

Max price spotted locally was $3.09 but my last fillup carried me through so I didn't have to suffer.

Vindication by Ebay!

2005-08-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

As seen below a scammer tried to scam me, so to speak.

After months of waiting from Paypal/Ebay, I finally get a decision positively in my favor and I am owed $291. How they came up with that number is way beyond me. But after shipping back and initial shipping charges I am out only about $20 for this ordeal. Much better than the initial $300 I thought I would be stuck with.

Ack, Gas prices!!!!

2005-08-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

Gas prices today have hit $2.69 per gallon at the 5 closest stations near my workplace.

Good thing I filled up yesterday @ $2.44.

eBay DVD Pirates, ARRRRRRR...

2005-03-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

I hate DVD Pirates.

This SOB pulled a clever one.

He had 100% feedback when I saw his auction for mulitple Star Trek Box sets of Deep Space 9.

I had not had problems before purchasing many different kinds of DVD on eBay before. Everything I purchased and sold was original legit studio manufactured DVD's.

This person, with 100% feedback mind you created a typical auction, simply without pictures (feedback was the trust issue here) and even went so far as listing the UPC codes these box sets normally carry.

When I opened the box that was shipped to me I instantly knew I was ripped off. Huge DVD Keep cases (not what the studio normally sends) and inkjet out of focus blurry labels on every Disc, over 50 of them, all $300 down the drain for bootleg copies.

I emailed him and left negative feedback, as shown in the link above, he claims that they were not "pirates" but simply used. OK Ill give him that, used Pirated copies.

It would appear he has pissed off a few others and is no longer an eBay account holder. I am still waiting to see what PayPal does with my complaint.

I have contacted the MPAA and they have all his info. I hope this person really gets his just desserts with this one.

Being an avid DVD movie collector who supports the format fully, I do not mind personal backups for use when traveling in the like. But making copies and SELLING those under the pretense that you are getting legit product sets my blood boiling.

Here is a picture to the offending media.

New Addiction...

2005-03-31T13:33:00.000-08:00

The new addiction in town since November of 2004 for me has been World of Warcraft.

I cannot tell you how many hours into the night have been wasted away will taking hits off of this digital crack.

Try it, you will like it.

Long overdue...

2005-03-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

It has been quite some time since I bothered posting. Many things have happened in my life since then.

In August of 04, my father was murdered by his then girlfriend, 30 minutes later, the bitch shot herself and died. Im am somewhat glad she offed herself however. It means a lot less hassle and screwups within the legal system, plus I don't have to constantly be reminded that my fathers killer was alive.

In January 05, my gall bladder had to get removed via laproscopic surgery. I had galstones. Galstones are not what you want, EVER. The doctor stated it was one of the top 10 worse gal bladders he had ever seen. Crazyness.

In March of 05, earlier this month my uncle died due to mulitple cancer types.

Probate on my fathers estate is done, and we now have his house up for sale.

We hope that we can use the proceeds from that house, and from the sale of mycurrent home to buy a newer bigger house that is closer to my work.

I hope to have this blog updated more frequently.

Star Wars Galaxies (MMORPG)

2004-05-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

Star Wars Galaxies

This game takes up a lot of my time as of late. Got it for around $30, and it has caused me to neglect my Tivo and DVD watching. Need more RAM in my PC. 512 just doesn't cut the mustard anymore.

Drew Curtis' FARK.com

2004-05-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Drew Curtis' FARK.com

Another great site to keep up with anything in the news throughout the day.

Ars Technica: The PC enthusiast's resource

2004-05-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

Ars Technica: The PC enthusiast's resource

This is probably the best website for geeks on the internet.

OMG MAH FIRST BLOG!!111oneone

2004-05-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

This first entry is simply a test.

Please do not read this post for any information, factual or otherwise.

This is only a test.

MrBigglesworth