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June 30, 2005
Recommendations?
I've come to the conclusion that I would probably be better off buying a nice monitor for my computer rather than a standalone tv. I look at my monitor a lot more than I look at my tv..even when watching tv. I tend to watch dvd's on it as well due to the fact that it has a better sound system. As long as I have a tuner card I'm set to watch tv. I'm thinking of getting Dell's 2405FPW (widescreen and not much smaller than the tv I was thinking of) which will likely lead to an overhaul of my entire computer in a few months. It's been two and a half years since I've upgraded so I figure it's getting to be about time. Now I just need to figure out what to get. If anyone has suggestions I'd be glad to hear it. I don't pay much attention to what's available when I'm not in the process of building a system. I just started reading up on PCI Express today which was a mistake. Just when I find an AGP graphics card I think I like I find the existence of PCI Express.
Posted by mhader at 9:45 PM | Comments (1)
June 27, 2005
PS2 Rehab
Let's see if I can actually write an entry..I started it too late last night and gave up because I wasn't writing in complete thoughts.
Yesterday was an interesting and much longer than usual day at the aquarium. I finished up my lab work very early and was asked to help out with the turtles. In the basement of the aquarium is a large room devoted to turtle rehabilitation. First I helped move a loggerhead in excess of 100 pounds to a larger tank. I believe that's the first time I've actually touched a sea turtle--cause it's not recommended in the wild. In between tanks we gave it a bath, scrubbing it's carapace. That's definitely the first time I did that. Moving large turtles can be a wee bit painful due to their flailing flippers. Their flippers also cause lots of water to leave the tank and end up on the help. I was quite wet when done.
After moving the one turtle it was time to prep food, medicate, and feed all of the patients at the turtle hospital. There are currently six turtles that need to be given pills and fed by hand (well, tongs). Feeding some of the turtles is a challenge while others have no problem chowing down on a couple pounds of mixed mackerel, squid, and smelt. It takes a long time to feed them because you have to do it piece by piece. I quickly learned how each was easiest to feed. It was interesting that all of them seemed to have their own methods of consumption. I found that one liked to swim up to the food, take a chunk, swim around in a circle and come back for more. Another 'sat' in place almost the whole time while I dropped food into it's mouth. Another needed to be fed from it's left side. Turtles make an awful mess when being fed...
Once I got home I decided it was time to pop GT3 back into the PS2. I hadn't played the game in ages..and apparently didn't play it much before. I had only completed a bit over 11% of the game. I played more of the first two games in the series. My biggest disappointment came when I realized that I didn't have a rally license and couldn't race in the rally events..which is probably my favorite part of the game. I only had to complete the last challenge in the test so I gave it a go for a couple hours. No luck. I didn't seem to improve much either. My best time was three seconds over the needed time to pass. It was very aggravating. Most of the time I didn't finish because I either hit a wall too hard or got turned around. Any mistakes keep you from making it to the finish line in time. I was about ready to go out and buy a different type of racing game (whatever $20 greatest hit I could find). I put it back in again this morning and came in just over a second off my second try. During the next 50 tries or so I got progressively better. One different little mistake kept messing me up every time however. I am proud to say that I finally did successfully complete the test. Next problem..no rally car. Not enough money for racing tires either. That game can be annoying :). I managed to get the money, buy the tires and win a crap rally car so I guess things worked out.
Kira made it back safely from Honduras last night. I had the privilege of picking her up from the airport at midnight. Luckily I didn't have to work today so I was able to sleep in a bit. She says she enjoyed the trip. I haven't talked to her much about it because she slept most of today and then went out to see her friends.
Today I received the online beta test for '25 to Life' which a game that I've seen some controversy over recently. It is rated M but I don't see how it's any worse than the GTA's. They have quite a bit of work to do on this game before it's street ready. I've had a lot of loading difficulties and getting in and out of online games. The single player options are always missing from these betas which is unfortunate. I'll play it more before I give my opinions, but at first glance, I'd rather play the GTA's or SOCOM's. I'd really like to test some racing games (the only one I've had the option to test wouldn't work on my PS2--probably because it's the original model) or more MMORPGS. I've tested at least 4 games that are basically identical with different skins/maps. The online games tend to be first person shooters which I dislike playing online.
Posted by mhader at 5:23 PM | Comments (1)
June 22, 2005
M I A
It looks as if work will be picking up some and probably be moving mostly to Thursday/Friday as two hospitals were finally added today. For the last few weeks my work week has mostly been M/T/W with the occasional Friday. I really shouldn't call those work days either. More like days that I worked.
At the aquarium we've received several new sharks in the last couple months. Hopefully they'll all make it to exhibits some day. On Sunday we had a bonnethead shark which was caught off the jetties in the Charleston Harbor last week. Apparently many sharks have a hard time adjusting to the walls in tanks.
Comc[r]a[p]st cable internet has continued to be extremely flaky. Although I've been getting some channels much better than I used to. For the first time in years I can actually watch FOX, TWC, TNT, ESPN, and even HBO Family (which we aren't even supposed to get). I'm still undecided on a new tv. Spending $1500 on a tv that will be fed crappy cable (at least for a while) seems a waste. I'm just not to excited about getting back into satellite tv just yet.
Does anyone have a suggestion for a computer app that will close a program if it happens to be open at a certain time? I could use the task manager provided by mr gates, but I believe that will only close programs that it opened. I really miss my sleep timer. I hate waking up at three in the morning to commercials for GGW on my computer. At least I have a remote so I don't have to get out of bed to turn it off.
Posted by mhader at 5:58 PM | Comments (2)
June 16, 2005
I ain't got nuttin' ta talk 'bout
I only wrote a few lines yesterday so I'll try to do slightly better today. Everyone seems to be a bit slack about writing entries lately so I don't feel too bad. I guess it's just summertime slacking..or just being too busy to write. I'm definitely not too busy so I'm just slacking.
Does anyone have a good way to get rid of old textbooks? I kept way too many of my college textbooks. That was the pack-rat in me thinking I'd actually look at them again. I have actually used one of them in the recent past so I guess it wasn't a total waste. I hate sending them to the landfill, but they are all outdated so I can't sell them. I guess I could burn them..that would be fun. I just don't really have anywhere I can safely do that.
Posted by mhader at 10:08 PM | Comments (1)
June 15, 2005
I Loathe Comcast
The internet has been in and out all day. When it's on, it tends to crawl. Their cable tv looks like crap too. I can't wait for the day we have some true competition on cable. It drives me nuts. Of course I guess I could go outside..
Posted by mhader at 11:11 PM
June 13, 2005
Chasing Storms
Several years ago I ordered an IMAX movie from Buy.com entitled 'Storm Chasers' mostly to see how an IMAX movie transferred to a small screen. When I received it, I got a [movie] by the same name but not IMAX. I emailed customer support with my dilemma. They said no big deal, keep the movie and we'll send a replacement. So I get my replacement and it's the same crappy looking incorrect movie as the first time. The movie was less than $10 from what I can remember and I didn't want a third copy of the crap movie so I decided I didn't really care to deal with it any more. I busted one of the copies open today to see just how bad it really was. Ahh..awful. Absolutely awful. It stars Kelly McGillis 12 years after making 'Top Gun' -- which is probably the reason anyone knows who she is today. If anyone wants an sealed copy, send me an offer. =)
Oh, it looks as if I'll be beta testing a game called '25 to life'. It looks like a mix between GTA and SOCOM.
Posted by mhader at 10:33 PM | Comments (1)
June 12, 2005
Back to Mr. Adams
I've read several fan reviews of the show today. It was interesting to wade through them. Several people didn't like the fact that everyone was rather quiet and stayed seated for most of the show. Many others like myself enjoyed how oddly behaved the crowd was. If the crowd was too rowdy you would have missed a lot of stuff like Ryan telling his guitar it was lucky because it could have been part of the Titanic.
Of course the thing that bothered me most about the concert was the cell phones. Most specifically camera phones. First off they need to line the building with tin foil. A guy seated close to me had a conversation in the middle of a song. I paid a lot of money to see Ryan Adams. Not listen to some guy chatting on a cell phone. The camera phone wasn't too bad I suppose. It's just a bit distracting..between that and the digital cameras with bright displays. With a digital camera you'll get a decent picture, but with a cell phone camera in a dark room? Even though it was distracting, I'm hoping to find some pictures from the show.
Posted by mhader at 10:02 PM
June 11, 2005
I Hate Cell Phones
Enough with the ay's.
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals were awesome last night. We had great seats--about 8 rows back and almost dead center. I think a performing arts center is a great place to see a concert. It's a step above a bar so there is some order and you have your own space. The chairs kept people seated for the most part. In a coliseum you tend to have a very staged show. The band tends to do roughly the same act every night. There's a lot more theatrics involved. It's just not very raw.
I'm glad I bought the new CD a couple weeks ago. They didn't play the one song I really wanted to hear, but I did hear several others that I knew and enjoy because I bought the CD. Here's the set list mostly for my own reference:
Set 1
A Kiss Before I Go
Easy Plateau
Mockingbirdsong
Blossom
What Sin
Beautiful Sorta
Magnolia Mountain
Please Do Not Let Me Go
To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)
Let It Ride
Set 2
Call Me On Your Way Back Home (solo)
Sweet Lil' Gal (23rd/1st) (solo)
16 Days (solo)
Elizabeth, You Were Born To Play The Part (solo)
Shakedown On 9th Street
I See Monsters
Song Lotto: When The Stars Go Blue
Cold Roses
Side notes: Ryan kept talking to Barney, his guitar, because it wasn't wanting to stay in tune. He told it "you were lucky you didn't end up as a boat" at one point. With frequent suggestions for songs, Ryan finally reassured the audience that the band did indeed talk about what they wanted to perform before the show and actually had a set list prepared. Ryan had a hard time remembering the lyrics to '16 Days'. The audience was there to help him out although he refused the help at first. The second time through the same verse with no luck he took the help. The 'song lotto' song was 'When The Stars Go Blue' and was sung for Shannon. No, I have no clue who that is. This song was recently popularized by 'One Tree Hill' on the WB. Ryan does much better than Tyler Hilton and Bethany Joy Lenz however.
I'll continue tomorrow..
Posted by mhader at 10:19 PM
June 10, 2005
Breakin' like a rocket who was makin' its way
That's a lyric from a song in which I hope to hear live this evening. It wasn't played at Ryan Adams last three shows so maybe he's ready to play it again. No matter it should be good show either way.
Not much else going on. It's the weekend. How that differs much from the rest of this week I'm not real sure. My job needs to pick up some so I don't turn into a three-toed sloth. I might have something to write about then.
I guess I could write about all the movies I've watched this week. I'm not sure I'd want to mention the names of all the movies however. I will say that I had to watch 'Chasing Amy' after 'The Notebook' last night. Not that 'The Notebook' was a bad movie, it was just such a sad girly tear jerkn' sappy romance movie. Not that I cried mind you. The other movies I've watched at least had some comedic relief. Watching 'Chasing Amy' again was good. I had forgotten how low budget it is. Even though he had some studio influence at that point I don't think he used it. Instead he ran off of a small budget and had to rely heavily on friends/unknown actors to fill the roles. Holden is a real moron in that movie..
Posted by mhader at 5:26 PM
June 8, 2005
Humpday
Sorry for the lack of entries lately. I just haven't had much to say and I've been tired after playing tennis in the evenings. I've now played on 4 different courts since last weekend. I'm still not too good but I seem to have some sort of a serve back. Not a good serve..but enough that I can at least actually serve a game without faulting out.
I've been going through my sister's DVD collection lately. It's starting to get scary because there's nothing left but chick-flicks..make that teen chick-flicks. Maybe it's time for some new DVDs.
Posted by mhader at 9:40 PM
June 6, 2005
I Must Not Let The Title Make Me Go Estray
Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.
It's getting really hard to come up with titles for entries that fit the mold and make some sort of sense at the same time. Don't know what I mean? Figure it out.. :)
I got my tickets for the concert I'm going to this weekend. I'm not sure how long they've been at the house, but they've apparently been hiding. I'm the only one that checks the mail on a regular basis and yet I still seem to miss a lot of my mail. I wouldn't have been to happy had I not yet had them come Friday.
Posted by mhader at 9:19 PM | Comments (1)
June 5, 2005
Almost the end of an Array
I didn't feel much like writing this weekend so I took some time off as well. Now it's late and I actually have a long day ahead of me so I won't write for long. It turned out to be a good weekend despite the crap weather. My mother and I played tennis a couple times. Well we went to a tennis court and hit some tennis balls. We both need to play a lot more before we can actually play tennis. We're not what you'd call good..possibly not even mediocre. I also went out to lunch at the 'Dog and Duck' and the 'Kicken Chicken'. The 'Kicken Chicken' was much better as far as the food goes. Wow..and I went out to eat for a dinner too. I forget the name of the restaurant. I believe it was Hatchells?, which serves tapas.
Posted by mhader at 10:07 PM
June 2, 2005
My Day I Bewray
Not too much happening today. I was expecting my nail gun to arrive so I awaited the UPS truck. After several hours and no UPS truck I looked outside and found my package sitting on the porch. I'm not sure how I missed a UPS truck and most likely a ringing doorbell. My room seems to allow no sound to break through it's thin walls filled with little to no insulation.
Upon receiving the package I went to Radio Shack, that big box retail store with 'falling prices' that I can't stand, and Lowes. At the Shack I bought an adapter to output the sound from my phone to the computer--a solution which didn't work by the way. I bought a tennis racquet (orange of course) and tennis balls at my next stop. Now I just need to find someone willing to stand on the other side of the net and I can play some tennis. They didn't seem to sell those at any of the stores I went to. Then off to Lowes to buy all the adapters for my new air nailer and hose. For what I paid for the hose and nailer I'd think they could give me the ends needed (at least on the nailer). There's not that many different kinds of connections.
Posted by mhader at 10:11 PM | Comments (3)
June 1, 2005
Pay to Play on Clay?
Not that we have clay courts in town but that's not the point. Apparently you have to pay to play tennis at the public courts in town. Well. Actually only the courts that are by my house (the ones I'd prefer to play on). And only when there is someone there to collect your money. I know it costs money to keep public entities up and running, but that's what taxes are for. How much money for upkeep does a tennis court really require?
Due to corporate bureaucracy I'm pretty much done for the week. I guess I'll have to sit in front of the laptop and get some database creation going. It's time for some quality sleep right now though.
Posted by mhader at 9:15 PM