I spent today entering some coordinates from geocaching.com into my Garmin GPS. I have a seminar in Chicago next week, and Pea and I are leaving tomorrow to make a weekend trip out of it.
If only I got paid to play on the internet. Oh wait, I guess I do.
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
I'm doing some testing at work to verify the new version of a particular model gives the same output as the old model. Basically it's just running a few test cases through. Unfortunately, it's not going well. On top of that, I didn't build the new model, so I'm spending most of my time complaining and devising more efficient ways to do the same thing. The good news is that I'll probably be in charge of the next version and will be able to change anything I want. The bad news is that I'll actually have to work.
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Karl came over to help me move the furniture back in each room, and then he paid for my dinner. All this, and he hasn't given me signs of impending doom at his place. Hmmm...
After that, the Three Kings met and discussed the state of the union. The CD player in the garage finally gave out. This might be the motivation I need to get the all-house speaker system in place. If I just wasn't so lazy.
After that, the Three Kings met and discussed the state of the union. The CD player in the garage finally gave out. This might be the motivation I need to get the all-house speaker system in place. If I just wasn't so lazy.
Monday, June 6, 2005
I had the day off to keep a watchful eye on the carpet installers. And since they were on the top two floors, that only meant I had to be holed up in the basement. Instead of being productive, I spent the entire day on Xbox. As soon as I pass Midnight Club 2, I'll have to work on Riddick.
I also got around to watching Chronicles of Riddick. I can see how some might think this is a stupid, pointless movie, but I really liked it. A good combination of visual effects and story. It had many sub-plots going that were easily distinguishable, but had some great ideas on joining them in the end.
I also got around to watching Chronicles of Riddick. I can see how some might think this is a stupid, pointless movie, but I really liked it. A good combination of visual effects and story. It had many sub-plots going that were easily distinguishable, but had some great ideas on joining them in the end.
Sunday, June 5, 2005
I pretty much spent all day pulling out every staple in the floor from the old carpet. I can't open my hand now from clenching the pliers.
These house projects are sure getting in the way of my tech projects.
These house projects are sure getting in the way of my tech projects.
Saturday, June 4, 2005
Karl and I busted through some projects today. We took everything out of many rooms and crammed it into fewer rooms. Then we ripped up thousands of square feet of smelly carpet. Of course, all this was rewarded with Xbox, pizza, and RvB.
In the words of Karl, if you bought an Xbox and played only Halo, it would've been worth it.
In the words of Karl, if you bought an Xbox and played only Halo, it would've been worth it.
Thursday, June 2, 2005
I finally got my main HDD, secondary HDD, CD writer/DVD, and Neo all working (somewhat nicely) together. The Neo is very picky on which IDE cable connection and jumper settings it has with multiple devices are present.
Now, to find more music.
Now, to find more music.
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
I was walking down the street when I saw two guys, one in a suit and the other in rags. Both were talking to themselves and each started screaming. I chalked them both up as crazy, but noticed Suit had an earpiece connected to his phone. Maybe Rags had a tooth phone.
I'm going to have to buy about 50 rechargeable batteries and have them in rotation. My Xbox wireless controller finally conked out. And I was in the lead in Midnight Club 2.
I'm going to have to buy about 50 rechargeable batteries and have them in rotation. My Xbox wireless controller finally conked out. And I was in the lead in Midnight Club 2.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
I officially give up painting. I'm obviously not good at it, which any one could tell by simply looking at the walls. This in turn means I hate it. Luckily, my duties have officially ended since all three rooms are done.
Maybe now I'll have time for my latest project.
Maybe now I'll have time for my latest project.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Probably the most beautiful Memorial Day in history, and guess where I was ... inside painting.
Somebody owes me for this. Big time.
Somebody owes me for this. Big time.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
I'm covered in paint and my retinas have pink burned into them (the primer was pink, not the paint).
I did get to watch House of Flying Daggers and Flight of the Phoenix this weekend. I expected Phoenix to be just another Hollywood movie made for money. Although not great, much better than I expected. I didn't really know what to expect of Daggers. It's usually hard to tell how foreign martial arts movies that are imported to the States will pan out. But, if you're into martial arts movies, this should definitely be on your list to see. As I do all foreign movies, I highly recommend keeping it in its native language and have English subtitles.
I did get to watch House of Flying Daggers and Flight of the Phoenix this weekend. I expected Phoenix to be just another Hollywood movie made for money. Although not great, much better than I expected. I didn't really know what to expect of Daggers. It's usually hard to tell how foreign martial arts movies that are imported to the States will pan out. But, if you're into martial arts movies, this should definitely be on your list to see. As I do all foreign movies, I highly recommend keeping it in its native language and have English subtitles.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
I started the "Makeover of 2005" on the house. There are three rooms getting new carpet next week, so it seemed like a good idea to paint each of those rooms. Seemed...
Friday, May 27, 2005
I finally figured out why XBMC wasn't working. This one sure racked my brain. Here's the long version.
I built an entertainment center for the movie room with the equipment shelf way on the left side. I obviously didn't take cable length into account as all my component cables were a few inches too short to reach the inputs on the TV. Because component cable is not cheap, I rerouted all equipment to pass through my A/V tuner, with only this going to the TV. Unfortunately, I had no more inputs on the tuner for the Xbox, so I had to plug this directly into the TV. Well, XBMC recognized that component cables were connected and output 1080i. Since I only have one HD input on my TV, the Xbox is plugged into a 480p input. Hence, a scrambled picture. My current workaround is to force Xbox to down convert to 480p, which is fine for now as I don't have any HD games or movies.
As I said, this sure took a lot of brain.
I built an entertainment center for the movie room with the equipment shelf way on the left side. I obviously didn't take cable length into account as all my component cables were a few inches too short to reach the inputs on the TV. Because component cable is not cheap, I rerouted all equipment to pass through my A/V tuner, with only this going to the TV. Unfortunately, I had no more inputs on the tuner for the Xbox, so I had to plug this directly into the TV. Well, XBMC recognized that component cables were connected and output 1080i. Since I only have one HD input on my TV, the Xbox is plugged into a 480p input. Hence, a scrambled picture. My current workaround is to force Xbox to down convert to 480p, which is fine for now as I don't have any HD games or movies.
As I said, this sure took a lot of brain.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
The Three Kings convened tonight. It's always a blast to hang out. We did some grilling, gaming, drinking, car hacking, and pondering. We decided to save Edward Fortyhands for another night, one which we didn't have to work the next day and where women and children are nowhere near.
I brought my Xbox over and hooked it up to Karl's TV, and XBMC worked. So now I have to figure out what the difference between the two setups are. The two obvious differences at Karl's are that we didn't have the network cable plugged in and he had a full screen TV, as opposed to widescreen. Hmm...
I brought my Xbox over and hooked it up to Karl's TV, and XBMC worked. So now I have to figure out what the difference between the two setups are. The two obvious differences at Karl's are that we didn't have the network cable plugged in and he had a full screen TV, as opposed to widescreen. Hmm...
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
I finally saw the Minnesota quarter for the first time. It has the phrase "Land of 10,000 Lakes", a loon, and two people in a boat fishing. These are the things that symbolize Minnesota? I, as a Minnesotan, hate fishing (except if it entails beer and not much fishing). I figure I can make fun of it since my uncle was on the commission to design it. He'll hear it from me at the next family gathering.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
The good news is that I may have found a fix for my XBMC. I'll have to try it tomorrow.
The bad news is that I tried to tweak the antenna in the attic to receive OTA HD signals. Not only would this allow me to get all local HD content, but I could then cancel the "locals package" from DirecTV. Using my trusty Garmin eTrex Vista, I pointed the antenna to 318°, but there's another tower at 321°. I get decent signal for half the channels, but very weak for the other half. Another variable is that I'm running over 50' of coax, which severely degrades the signal. So either I rethink my antenna distribution or get an amp for the line.
With the Powerball at 180 million, I think I'll bulldoze the house ... after I win.
The bad news is that I tried to tweak the antenna in the attic to receive OTA HD signals. Not only would this allow me to get all local HD content, but I could then cancel the "locals package" from DirecTV. Using my trusty Garmin eTrex Vista, I pointed the antenna to 318°, but there's another tower at 321°. I get decent signal for half the channels, but very weak for the other half. Another variable is that I'm running over 50' of coax, which severely degrades the signal. So either I rethink my antenna distribution or get an amp for the line.
With the Powerball at 180 million, I think I'll bulldoze the house ... after I win.
Monday, May 23, 2005
One word, Edward Fortyhands. I tried to convince the Three Kings to attempt this. We're hopefully getting together on Thursday to try it out. Would this be a good time to get the video camera out?
Sunday, May 22, 2005
I was looking forward to watching a movie tonight. My only real chance of catching up on all the movies I need to see is during the off season of studying. My target is at least two per week. Well, it didn't happen this week. I guess it feels good to get some work done around the house, but I think the withdrawal symptoms are appearing.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
I reinstalled XBMC and am still having the same problem. I better get this figured out soon because all the movies I've been ripping are just sitting in storage not being watched. Unacceptable.
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