Saturday, September 25, 2010
Crimson Ghosts/ Diemonsterdie Split
Nim Vind - The Stillness Illness Review
Classic, weird Nim Vind at his finest! I'm a big fan of this band, they've always been the most "different" of all the horror punk bands, save for maybe the Bloodsucking Zombies from Outer Space. When Nim Vind released "Fashion of Fear", a lot of my favorite songs from the Mr. Underhill (same band; different name) days didn't make it on the record. This rarely happens, but all of the song's that I wanted to hear redone made it onto this record! "21st Century Teenage" and "Killing Saturday Night" are classics, while songs like "Hadron Collider", "Jacknife" and "Shangro Nitra" have awesome choruses, which I always thought was the appeal to Nim Vind's music. One weird thing, however, is the inclusion of "The Radio-active Man", which was on the last record as "Interviews With The Icon". It's cool what they did with the song, but I don't think that they added enough to the song to warrant redoing it. Other than that, this is a solid album from a horror punk band that dare's to sing about something other than brains.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Repowering the Powerbook: Chapter 2
Well, we've got some success!
I purchased the Torx screwdriver that I needed, and I also purchased an AC adapter to give this baby some juice.
During the period where I was waiting to receive the AC adapter in the mail, I spoke to Hollywood. I asked him how a computer could get so destroyed.
"I was working in Reason, and I got frustrated, so I punched the screen."
"Sir, don't lie to me. This is no one-punch job."
"Okay, maybe I hit it more than once."
"The CD drive looks like it was pried open with a crowbar! The antenna is severed! Did this thing take a trip through the air?"
"Well... it may have."
Haha. All the more fun for me, right?
I plugged the AC adapter in tonight, and to my surprise, I was greeted by that classic Mac sound.
I was also greeted by this:
I can line-out via DVI to my desktop monitor, but it only functions as a second screen. It's gonna take some work getting this bad boy to use the DVI-out by default, haha.
Next stop? Purchasing a new screen and wireless antenna, and doing something about the pried-apart bottom cover.
I purchased the Torx screwdriver that I needed, and I also purchased an AC adapter to give this baby some juice.
During the period where I was waiting to receive the AC adapter in the mail, I spoke to Hollywood. I asked him how a computer could get so destroyed.
"I was working in Reason, and I got frustrated, so I punched the screen."
"Sir, don't lie to me. This is no one-punch job."
"Okay, maybe I hit it more than once."
"The CD drive looks like it was pried open with a crowbar! The antenna is severed! Did this thing take a trip through the air?"
"Well... it may have."
Haha. All the more fun for me, right?
I plugged the AC adapter in tonight, and to my surprise, I was greeted by that classic Mac sound.
I was also greeted by this:
I can line-out via DVI to my desktop monitor, but it only functions as a second screen. It's gonna take some work getting this bad boy to use the DVI-out by default, haha.
Next stop? Purchasing a new screen and wireless antenna, and doing something about the pried-apart bottom cover.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Repowering the Powerbook: Chapter 1
If anyone reading this blog didn't know, I am a film maker. The way my film company, C1C2 Productions, writes our movies involves one main writer and an editor, which is me. He writes the first drafts, and then these are sent to me and the editing begins. This worked splendidly for our first two films, because our head writer was at college at had a private place to write. Our third film, Recoil, however, found him living at home, and his computer located in the central area of the house, which meant no privacy or quiet place for him to think.
To accomplish this, we rounded up every old, spare computer we each had, and tried to Frankenstein and working PC that he could use in his bedroom. When we were rounding up computers to use, our head writer, who will herein be referred to as Hollywood, brought out a destroyed, non-functioning Powerbook G4.
"Can you use this for anything?" Hollywood said.
I then went on to explain the mac vs PC file system differences, and the self-imposed hardware monopoly that Apple places on their hardware. Suffice to say, there wasn't much that I could use this laptop for, at least for our purposes. I took it anyway, in the hope that someday I would work with it enough to be able to recover the data that is stored on the hard drive. If I could do this, the machine would be mine.
Now is that time.
Upon first inspection, the future looks pretty grim for this machine. There are Torx screws missing, and the body is separating from itself,
Their are parts hanging out of the side,
and the screen is in such bad shape, I doubt it will even work.
So why bother?
3 reasons.
1. Mac machines are very expensive. I've been in the market for a macbook pro for a while, but seeing as how I'm a poor college student, the future looks pretty bleak on this. I figure I can play around with this machine once it's working to have a OS X based system that I can use to learn the ropes and have a better laptop that the one I'm currently running (rickety Acer Travelmate barely running Windows 7).
2. Data recovery. Hollywood is now strugging to become an audio engineer in LA, and a lot of his undergrad recording sessions are saved on this machine. Having these could help him get a job.
3. Challenge! I'm pretty good with computer repair, and I'd love to see what lengths it would take to fix this! Plus, I think it would be pretty neat to have a Mac machine running a Linux distro when all is said and done.
I'll be periodically updating this blog with the different milestones I reach in working on this. So far I've just purchased a power adapter off of ebay, which is kinda important when seeing what works and what doesn't on a computer. Once it arrives, I'll venture into the guts of this machine. Luckily, this is the Titanium DVI model, so I can DVI-Out on bootup in case the screen is totally blasted.
To accomplish this, we rounded up every old, spare computer we each had, and tried to Frankenstein and working PC that he could use in his bedroom. When we were rounding up computers to use, our head writer, who will herein be referred to as Hollywood, brought out a destroyed, non-functioning Powerbook G4.
"Can you use this for anything?" Hollywood said.
I then went on to explain the mac vs PC file system differences, and the self-imposed hardware monopoly that Apple places on their hardware. Suffice to say, there wasn't much that I could use this laptop for, at least for our purposes. I took it anyway, in the hope that someday I would work with it enough to be able to recover the data that is stored on the hard drive. If I could do this, the machine would be mine.
Now is that time.
Upon first inspection, the future looks pretty grim for this machine. There are Torx screws missing, and the body is separating from itself,
Their are parts hanging out of the side,
and the screen is in such bad shape, I doubt it will even work.
So why bother?
3 reasons.
1. Mac machines are very expensive. I've been in the market for a macbook pro for a while, but seeing as how I'm a poor college student, the future looks pretty bleak on this. I figure I can play around with this machine once it's working to have a OS X based system that I can use to learn the ropes and have a better laptop that the one I'm currently running (rickety Acer Travelmate barely running Windows 7).
2. Data recovery. Hollywood is now strugging to become an audio engineer in LA, and a lot of his undergrad recording sessions are saved on this machine. Having these could help him get a job.
3. Challenge! I'm pretty good with computer repair, and I'd love to see what lengths it would take to fix this! Plus, I think it would be pretty neat to have a Mac machine running a Linux distro when all is said and done.
I'll be periodically updating this blog with the different milestones I reach in working on this. So far I've just purchased a power adapter off of ebay, which is kinda important when seeing what works and what doesn't on a computer. Once it arrives, I'll venture into the guts of this machine. Luckily, this is the Titanium DVI model, so I can DVI-Out on bootup in case the screen is totally blasted.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Adventures in Weight Loss: Introduction
9:14 AM 10/14/2009
One of the hardest parts of losing weight is finding a system that works and is easy to stick to. All too often, people jump into a weight loss routine that requires more effort than they are willing to put in, or a routine that is very much out of sync with their daily life. I know this because I am a victim (culprit, more likely) myself. In fact, the only true weight loss method that ever worked for me was the heartbreak/ end of relationship diet (girl breaks heart/ breakup causes dieter to stop eating)!
This past summer was the best I've ever done with losing weight. I found that by tracking different stats, I can keep myself interested in losing weight. This worked well for a few months, but I fell off of the wagon. I found that the constant trying to remember what I had done and for how long seemed to take up a lot of my time.
Another thing that I had not done was set up a system of rewards and accountability. The only goal I had was to lose weight. This in itself is a fine goal, but it is to broad.
Accountability wise, I really had none. If I didn't exercise, I wasn't letting anyone down but myself. Which is where this blog comes in.
I have decided that I am going to share my trials and tribulations with the world. If I have people listening, I'm less likely to let them down. I may not have many followers yet, but the few that I do have will be enough.
MY WEIGHT LOSS PLAN
Accountability
I plan to blog each week on how well I did the previous week. I will update the world on my diet, exercise, and general mood. As previously stated, I hope this helps give me the feeling that I am doing something for more than just myself, I'll have other people waiting to hear my progress.
Tracking
The Internet is a big part of my life. I'm a Computer Networking major, so I'm nearly always in front of a computer. This sounds like a lazy negative, but it's something that I can turn into a positive.
Websites like Traineo.com and mapmyrun.com will help me keep track of things like calorie intake and running progress. hundredpushups.com is an excellent resource/ method to help you get into a pushup routine that will eventually lead you to doing 100 pushups straight. Similar methods twohundredsitups.com and twohundredsquats.com will come after I reach the 100 pushups.
One tracking method that I am eager to test is the nike+ distance tracker. I will be doing the couch to 5k running program, and having this little piece of gadgetry will help me automatically track my progress (tracking without effort is always a bonus!)
The Nike+ system works in tandem with an ipod to track steps, speed, and distance traveled. A small transmitter is placed in your shoe. Nike shoes come equipped with a spot for the transmitter, but pouches for other brands can be purchased cheaply online. The transmitter sends the information to your ipod (nano, touch, or iphone) via a small dongle that attaches to your data port (nano), or by wifi. All of this information is then uploaded to the Nike+ website the next time you sync your ipod. As an added bonus, mapmyrun.com can download your Nike+ workouts directly into your training log! Convergence technology in fitness, awesome!
Traineo.com comes in handy to track other stats like progress in weight loss and calories taken in/ burned.
Speaking of calorie tracking, if anyone knows of a good windows mobile app to keep track of intake, let me know. As it stands, I will be using a plain .txt file to keep track of everything that I eat during the day. Evernote would be a wonderful tool for this, but I am lacking a data plan on my phone to take advantage of their service. Once I spring for the data plan, I do believe that this will be my preferred mehod.
Motivation
To keep myself motivated, I will do simple things, like photo taking of weight loss and the aforementioned blogging. I have also found that by just simply putting on workout clothes, I am much more likely to go through with the actual exercise. I also plan on purchasing a bike in the future, which will help me vary my cardio workouts to keep interest.
Well, there you have my weight loss plan. If you have any tips or suggestions, please, comment away! See you next week!
One of the hardest parts of losing weight is finding a system that works and is easy to stick to. All too often, people jump into a weight loss routine that requires more effort than they are willing to put in, or a routine that is very much out of sync with their daily life. I know this because I am a victim (culprit, more likely) myself. In fact, the only true weight loss method that ever worked for me was the heartbreak/ end of relationship diet (girl breaks heart/ breakup causes dieter to stop eating)!
This past summer was the best I've ever done with losing weight. I found that by tracking different stats, I can keep myself interested in losing weight. This worked well for a few months, but I fell off of the wagon. I found that the constant trying to remember what I had done and for how long seemed to take up a lot of my time.
Another thing that I had not done was set up a system of rewards and accountability. The only goal I had was to lose weight. This in itself is a fine goal, but it is to broad.
Accountability wise, I really had none. If I didn't exercise, I wasn't letting anyone down but myself. Which is where this blog comes in.
I have decided that I am going to share my trials and tribulations with the world. If I have people listening, I'm less likely to let them down. I may not have many followers yet, but the few that I do have will be enough.
MY WEIGHT LOSS PLAN
Accountability
I plan to blog each week on how well I did the previous week. I will update the world on my diet, exercise, and general mood. As previously stated, I hope this helps give me the feeling that I am doing something for more than just myself, I'll have other people waiting to hear my progress.
Tracking
The Internet is a big part of my life. I'm a Computer Networking major, so I'm nearly always in front of a computer. This sounds like a lazy negative, but it's something that I can turn into a positive.
Websites like Traineo.com and mapmyrun.com will help me keep track of things like calorie intake and running progress. hundredpushups.com is an excellent resource/ method to help you get into a pushup routine that will eventually lead you to doing 100 pushups straight. Similar methods twohundredsitups.com and twohundredsquats.com will come after I reach the 100 pushups.
One tracking method that I am eager to test is the nike+ distance tracker. I will be doing the couch to 5k running program, and having this little piece of gadgetry will help me automatically track my progress (tracking without effort is always a bonus!)
The Nike+ system works in tandem with an ipod to track steps, speed, and distance traveled. A small transmitter is placed in your shoe. Nike shoes come equipped with a spot for the transmitter, but pouches for other brands can be purchased cheaply online. The transmitter sends the information to your ipod (nano, touch, or iphone) via a small dongle that attaches to your data port (nano), or by wifi. All of this information is then uploaded to the Nike+ website the next time you sync your ipod. As an added bonus, mapmyrun.com can download your Nike+ workouts directly into your training log! Convergence technology in fitness, awesome!
Traineo.com comes in handy to track other stats like progress in weight loss and calories taken in/ burned.
Speaking of calorie tracking, if anyone knows of a good windows mobile app to keep track of intake, let me know. As it stands, I will be using a plain .txt file to keep track of everything that I eat during the day. Evernote would be a wonderful tool for this, but I am lacking a data plan on my phone to take advantage of their service. Once I spring for the data plan, I do believe that this will be my preferred mehod.
Motivation
To keep myself motivated, I will do simple things, like photo taking of weight loss and the aforementioned blogging. I have also found that by just simply putting on workout clothes, I am much more likely to go through with the actual exercise. I also plan on purchasing a bike in the future, which will help me vary my cardio workouts to keep interest.
Well, there you have my weight loss plan. If you have any tips or suggestions, please, comment away! See you next week!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
My Favorite Websites: Teefury!
Last spring, I read a Time magazine article on the best blogs, which led me to my favorite movie site, /Film. /Film has a "Cool Stuff" article, which features, well, cool stuff you can buy. One day, they had this cool t shirt that I considered buying for a friend. I didn't because I was broke, but I considered it. The shirt in question was this:
I followed the link to the website where this was available, and I found something that ended up being way cooler than this shirt.
Teefury is an awesome idea. Every day, the teefury staff selects a new image for a t-shirt. This shirt is available for 24 hours, only. After 24 hours, the shirt isn't available any longer.
Every once in a while, they have "Grab Bag" days, where you can pay 5 bucks a shirt and get a random design. You don't have a choice as to what shirt you're getting.
The advantage that Teefury has over buyers, I've noticed, is a sense of urgency. I've seen cool designs on the site that I wasn't sure about. Well, I had to make a decision right then and there, because guess what? There was never a chance for me to get the design ever again. I did luck out on a grab bag and got a shirt I was on the fence about, but the chances of this happening are slim.
As it stands, Teefury is an awesome site that offers new artists the chance to see their work on the chest's of the public. I, for one, am hooked.
Here's a little taste of my collection!
This one I just purchased, and am eagerly awaiting!
This is the tee that I was on the fence about and received in the grab bag. I'm a big argyle fan, and I really enjoyed the design. It's like where a sweater vest without the lameness.
I was going through a kaiju movie phase (happens about once a year) when they posted this cool design.
This was the first shirt I bought. See if you can spot all of the references in it!
I bought this one because it reminds me of Castle Graystone.
This one is dumb, I can't lie. Grab bag special, gave it to my cousin, who likes it. As long as someone does, haha.
This one is cool, but it's a little plain. The design is freakin' awesome though.
I also have two Teefury bird designs, but I can't find images of them on the site. I hope this post gave everyone a nice introduction to Teefury, add it to your feed reader and prepare to be the only person in town with your shirt!
I followed the link to the website where this was available, and I found something that ended up being way cooler than this shirt.Teefury is an awesome idea. Every day, the teefury staff selects a new image for a t-shirt. This shirt is available for 24 hours, only. After 24 hours, the shirt isn't available any longer.
Every once in a while, they have "Grab Bag" days, where you can pay 5 bucks a shirt and get a random design. You don't have a choice as to what shirt you're getting.
The advantage that Teefury has over buyers, I've noticed, is a sense of urgency. I've seen cool designs on the site that I wasn't sure about. Well, I had to make a decision right then and there, because guess what? There was never a chance for me to get the design ever again. I did luck out on a grab bag and got a shirt I was on the fence about, but the chances of this happening are slim.
As it stands, Teefury is an awesome site that offers new artists the chance to see their work on the chest's of the public. I, for one, am hooked.
Here's a little taste of my collection!
This one I just purchased, and am eagerly awaiting!
This is the tee that I was on the fence about and received in the grab bag. I'm a big argyle fan, and I really enjoyed the design. It's like where a sweater vest without the lameness.
I was going through a kaiju movie phase (happens about once a year) when they posted this cool design.
This was the first shirt I bought. See if you can spot all of the references in it!
I bought this one because it reminds me of Castle Graystone.
This one is dumb, I can't lie. Grab bag special, gave it to my cousin, who likes it. As long as someone does, haha.
This one is cool, but it's a little plain. The design is freakin' awesome though.
I also have two Teefury bird designs, but I can't find images of them on the site. I hope this post gave everyone a nice introduction to Teefury, add it to your feed reader and prepare to be the only person in town with your shirt!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
PETA vs Ringling Brothers: Virtual Hyper Awesome Battle!!!!
http://kotaku.com/5252276/peta-targets-ringling-bros-game?skyline=true&s=x
Okay. I just read this article, and all I can say is wow. To paraphrase: PETA is trying to stop Ringling Brothers from releasing their video game, because Ringling Brothers is "looking to take its cruelty to animals virtual."
Well, shit the bed, where else should cruelty to animals be? If I want to whip a lion or force a bear to ride a tricycle by nailing his feet to the pedals, I sure as shit think it's a better idea to do it in a virtual environment than in real life, to a real bear, that could really die.
They already attacked Cooking Mama, for the asinine reason that "Cooking Mama kills animals". I guess we're not supposed to know that the meat called "Turkey" is coming from a, *gasp*, FUCKING TURKEY!!
Look, I think veganism is noble. I don't have the willpower for it. Cows taste too good. Anyone who can dedicate their life to being kind, I can agree with. But c'mon. Plumber Bob from Tucson is not, I repeat not, gonna give up his bratwurst. Sorry, ain't gonna happen. That's how this world works. You pick your side, you live your life to be the best possible you that you can be, and you be an example to others. Let them make an active choice against what they feel is right or wrong with the world. Protest people shooting each other, not a video game where you pluck feathers off of a cartoon turkey.
Anyways. I'm gonna go play Fallout 3, where I will definitely be shooting radiated dogs. And yes, because of PETA, I'm doing it just because they're animals.
----------------
Now playing: The Sex Pistols - No Feelings
via FoxyTunes
Okay. I just read this article, and all I can say is wow. To paraphrase: PETA is trying to stop Ringling Brothers from releasing their video game, because Ringling Brothers is "looking to take its cruelty to animals virtual."
Well, shit the bed, where else should cruelty to animals be? If I want to whip a lion or force a bear to ride a tricycle by nailing his feet to the pedals, I sure as shit think it's a better idea to do it in a virtual environment than in real life, to a real bear, that could really die.
They already attacked Cooking Mama, for the asinine reason that "Cooking Mama kills animals". I guess we're not supposed to know that the meat called "Turkey" is coming from a, *gasp*, FUCKING TURKEY!!
Look, I think veganism is noble. I don't have the willpower for it. Cows taste too good. Anyone who can dedicate their life to being kind, I can agree with. But c'mon. Plumber Bob from Tucson is not, I repeat not, gonna give up his bratwurst. Sorry, ain't gonna happen. That's how this world works. You pick your side, you live your life to be the best possible you that you can be, and you be an example to others. Let them make an active choice against what they feel is right or wrong with the world. Protest people shooting each other, not a video game where you pluck feathers off of a cartoon turkey.
Anyways. I'm gonna go play Fallout 3, where I will definitely be shooting radiated dogs. And yes, because of PETA, I'm doing it just because they're animals.
----------------
Now playing: The Sex Pistols - No Feelings
via FoxyTunes
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