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.

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!

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!

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.

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Now playing: The Sex Pistols - No Feelings
via FoxyTunes

Mac VS PC; Which side of the force am I on?

In my networking classes, among all of the talks of subnetting and security hacks, one argument always comes up: PC or Mac? It's a hot debate anywhere computing technology is relevant. "It just works" VS "unlimited hardware support". Both have their pros and cons, but I've got a much simpler, direct way to choose what type of computer you should get.

The Star Wars Computer Test

It's pretty simple, just check it out.

(Original trilogy is herein referred to as "OT" and the prequels will be called, well, the prequels.)

In the OT, stuff was dingy, broken, and didn't always work. Sometimes, you had to hit it to make it work. The Millennium Falcon, in particular, was the fastest space vessel in the universe, but it spent most of Empire needing repairs.

Much like a PC.

PC's don't always work, are hiccup-prone, and tend to require a lot of maintenance. They need repairs (patches) a lot. But, much like our space-faring brethren in a galaxy far, far away, when your PC works well, it instills a sense of pride in the one who got it running so smooth.

Macs, on the other hand, are shiny, sexy, and clean. Everything about them screams "well-polished". They're totally designed to be different than anything that came before them.

See the parallel? The prequels were shiny, sexy, clean, and almost too "well-polished". They were created using new, never before scene technology, straight off the bleeding edge of ILM. The films were bright, colorful, and full of the feeling that you were watching something familiar, but brand new.

**SIDE NOTE**I know what everyone is asking now: What about Linux? Two words: Battlestar Galactica. You don't know what it's about and it seems rather cultish and lame until you give it a shot. Then it's fucking awesome and you realize it's got all the potential to be as good as Star Wars.

So where do I fall? I'm OG Star Wars all the way. I like things that need to be worked on and tinkered with. That's my personality. I like to work on things. I think that's why I love my PC. I like figuring out how to get it working the way I want it to. I'm not apposed to Macs, as I would love to have one to use for video editing, I'm just thoroughly planted in the PC camp for now.



Until Macs start powering hyperdrives.



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Now playing: Bouncing Souls - Man In Black
via FoxyTunes

Dey Terk ur Jurb!

It's 12:00 am, I'm exhausted from lack of sleep and a long day of community college fun... So why not blog?

What's a good top ten list... ::looks at the TV screen:: Aha!

Top ten South Park episodes!

10. Krazy Kripples. "Crips". Best "mix-up" plot ever.

9. Cancelled!. Two gay aliens. Wow.

8. Scott Tenorman must die. Cartman killing a kid's parents and then putting them into chili and feeding it to him. Wow.

7. Fourth Grade.
Ms. Choksondik and Butters asking to show her a nice "fruit basket". Another f*cking classic!

6. Raisins.
This episode seriously made me feel bad for Butters. The writing in this one is superb, and the thought of a kids version of hooters called raisins is terrific!

5. D-Yikes!. The fight in the bar with Mr. Garrison and the Lesbians... "Oh yeah, scissor!" And the boys telling the mexicans to write there "essays" and they write their esse's. Classic!

4. Cartman Joins NAMBLA. A lot of fans think this is the best episode. Cartman is the 2nd best character on the show, this is one of his finest moments.

3. Breast Cancer Show Ever. When Cartman craps on the desk, totally spit milk all over the place.

2. Awesome-o. I love this episode for one reason: Butters. Butters is my favorite character, and this episode is all about Butters... but my favorite thing? The video of Cartman dancing around, "C'mon boys and touch my body, C'mon boys and touch my titties!"

1. Goobacks. "They took our jobs!!!" "Dey terk err jobs!" "Der der der!!" "Back in the pile!" If you've seen this episode, I think that's all you need.

There you have it. What can I say, it's late and I'm tired.

Top Ten tracks off of Blitzkid - Anatomy of Reanimation, Vol. 1

So, if you know me.. at all... you know that Blitzkid is my favorite band. It's been that way for about 7 years now. Next Weekend (Nov. 8) will mark the 17th time I've seen them live. I've traveled well over 1000 miles... probably more like 1500+ to see them all over the Northeast and South US. So when they release a new album...

I kinda get a little wild about getting my hands on it. Since it's release on Oct. 17th, I've scoured the Internet looking for someone who has uploaded it somewhere. I certainly don't condone downloading their music as apposed to buying it, but their stuff gets released in Europe like a month before it hits the US. Ask the guys in the band, they know I'm good for a purchase when it's available.

I found it tonight. I was helping a friend work on a school project tonight, and in between typing sessions, I decided to go on my daily Anatomy of Reanimation hunt, and lo and behold, I found it! Thankfully, I was running Firefox off of my USB drive, so I could download it and not have to try and remember the search terms and the address. I flew home, sent the link to Josh, and settled down to indulge.

The last album, Five Cellars Below , had me hiding in the employee bathroom at work with earphones just to listen. How does this one fair?

It's kinda.. odd. Haha. Don't get me wrong, it's good. It's just strange to hear these songs redone. Some stuff, like the false-finish on Dying Day and the growling on Nosferatu have become staples of their live show. but some stuff is totally new and foreign. Bad? Nah. Just new. So, as my first official Top Ten blog, I figured I'd post my feelings on this album.

Top Ten Moments off of Anatomy of Reanimation, Vol. 1

10. Hellraiser. The harmonies, man. This song has always been fucking awesome, but this version just takes it and knocks it out of the park. "Whoa, oh, oh oh ohhhh."

9. She-Wolf. The new little intro made me laugh out loud. I had to rewind just to see if it was for real.

8. Let's go to the Cemetery. This version just gives you an idea of what it's like to see Blitzkid in a packed club with everyone screaming "Let's Go!"

7. Dying Day. Finally, now the whole crowd knows that the damn song isn't over yet! And it's fucking fast, too!

6. Nosferatu. Finally, now the Blitzkid fans who haven't seen them live has an idea of the chaos that this song can bring.

5. These Walls See, "Hellraiser".

4. Return to the Living. That piano.. wasn't expecting it, but since this is one of my top 3 favorite Blitzkid songs (Wretched and Five Cellars Below are the other 2) it's kinda hard to mess it up in my mind. They took a beautiful song and made it beautiful-er.

3. She Dominates. I saw a video taken from the "Hell Nights" tour just 4 days ago, and it was Blitzkid playing this song. Again with the new harmonies! This is the one song that you will always hear called out at a Blitzkid show. Well, this and Pretty in a Casket.

2. Love Like Blood. The best sing along song ever just got better.

1. My Dying Bride. This was the first Blitzkid song I ever heard. I listened to this song and the OG version back-to-back. It sounds like a totally different song. A totally different, properly recorded, faster, better song.

So there you have it. My Top Ten favorite tracks off of Blitzkid - Anatomy of Reanimation, Vol. 1.

I'm off to go load up my MP3 player for a bathroom visit tomorrow.