Archived News starting from 01-05-2012 and earlier
BlogWith my
media center BIOS refusing to boot without freshly reset CMOS values it was time for an upgrade. Since I hardly ever use it, I decided to cannibalize
my primary system and use the motherboard/CPU/RAM as my new media center. The 6 core processor means my
InfiniTV card gets a core for each tuner with 2 extra for the OS. The
performance index got a
healthy upgrade and there is a noticeable difference in speed when flipping between screens in media center now. While I professed my elimination of a primary PC to Senator Kelley as a religious awakening, and accepted that I no longer needed one, I secretly secured a deal on
new hardware which was actually slightly slower than my
old system. Of note in the new system is a graphical
UEFI BIOS which attempts to bring user friendliness to BIOS setup, a domain so far exclusive to nerds. We'll see how this progresses, but I prefer the old text-based setup and shake my fist at this development.
With the arrival of Lila, Lisa is slowly transforming into a domestic housewife. She cleans so much now I'm convinced she's either a robot or alien doppelganger. While the cooking side has yet to kick in, her need to host parties has reached a new high. Inviting every random person on Facebook she could, a
new years eve party was planned that was attended only by people I would have invited personally, proving Facebook event coordination still sucks balls. Those that did show were treated to her inability to provide food for less than 20 people and were prompted to stuff their face by the Lisa doppleganger repeatedly. Several got drunk and hilarious, several puppies urinated and shat on my floor, and Dick Clark was again thawed and reanimated for some zombie new year commentary. Also Senator Kelleys baby was allowed to stay up till midnight while my baby was not. I'm still upset about that.
While watching "
Super 8" I decided to crank the volume on my sound system past the recommended max and promptly blew my center speaker. It happened during the train wreck scene, so my first thought was everyone had a muted voice as an effect from the explosion. Once I realized it was a busted speaker cone I admitted defeat and finished the movie upstairs. Best Buy was my only option for a quick replacement, but the
SP-C21 I found for $70 wasn't a bad price and looks like it can take quite a bit more power. It tolerated the same train wreck volume that killed the previous one so I pretend it's just an upgrade I was planning on anyways.
Lila helped me upgrade my
media center with a
Ceton InfiniTV tuner that supports
a CableCARD. My previous arrangement of free satellite from my neighbor is coming to an end, so it's time to get back to native tuner support and ditch the standard definition IR blaster/satellite box mess.
Surprisingly skilled at computer upgrades, I see a bright nerd future for my daughter, assuming I can get her to stop trying to eat the memory chips.
After climbing the 9 flights of stairs every morning at my new Detroit location for work, the "stair sign management" decided to update the motivational posters in the stairwell with slogans like "save paper, save energy, take the stairs" which was ridiculous enough to motivate me to create
my own motivational posters. The Hitler reference poster was removed almost immediately when I checked on them 30 minutes later, but the other three remain in place. We'll see how long they are tolerated, but all of them are a huge upgrade from the
previous crap.
The
Senators religious awakening in projector based entertainment was so inspiring I was sold on his
magical screen paint enough to purchase my own. While I'm still a staunch cheapskate, at least my screen quality will equal the Senator (albeit 5 inches smaller) and is fractionally closer to the
Tigerbomb. Upon informing the Senator I was now in his church of polarized pigments, he demanded to prep and paint the screen personally which I
endorsed and paid with a popcorn maker I've been holding for just such an opportunity. While I'm not a big enough videophile to notice a huge difference, it does seem brighter and the paint smells fantastic.
The
previous snowman activation was over a year ago, and I admit I considered not even erecting him this year. However, the absence of an 8 ft snowman was too much for the snowman rapists in my neighborhood who were hungry for their yearly therapy. The eyesore again rises to the occasion for it's 9th year of holiday obnoxiousness and permanent trauma for the children who witness the unholy union of man and snowman. It's also a passive way to piss of Lisa, which is always a win.
I was excited to learn my HTC Trophy made the list of the
worst smartphones of 2011. While Verizon will most likely drop Windows Phone entirely, I can hope someone there "in the know" reads this article and gets all fired up to offer more than just one option. While I can't say I'm personally disappointed with the phone, I do question my nerd desires with 4G and dual core phones now on the market. Once I stop wanting things I don't need, does that mean I'm practical? Can a nerd be practical and still be a nerd?
Today Xbox launched
My Xbox Live on iOS bringing what was once a Windows Phone exclusive to the worshipers of Steve. Fortunately my cheevo advantage is still safe, as earning them is still exclusive to Windows Phone. As a consolation for selling out, the
Xbox Companion App also launched for Windows Phone only. While not as advanced as I'd like (can't manage parties, the one thing I want to do on a seperate screen) it still fills the hole that was punched in my heart. If we use history as a measuring stick, this too will most likely be on iOS in a year, I can only wonder what time-limited exclusive will follow.
My
annual Google check arrived today and I realized I must have skipped bragging about it last year since the previous boistering is from
2009. That or I'm not as Google rich as I tell myself I am. As an added bonus, I also received a
39¢ check from an eBay settlement which amused me as the postage alone was more expensive than the check. I'd venture to claim it's reason enough for another Google funded (and 39¢ class action win for the people) go cart party, but the cold weather disagrees.
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