AtomicBaboon!?!

I'll see you in the year 2500 when I'm rich and powerful and finally have my flying car and people travel in tubes! Future Horizons Inc: Time Travel.

Amazon.com and TiVo teamed up to make Amazon's Unbox service available on the TiVo. So, I can bring up the menu on my TiVo and browse movies for rent or purchase and have them downloaded directly to my TiVo. I grabbed "Smoking Aces" and "The good Sheppard" last night.

The first movie downloaded was Smoking Aces which is just under 2 hours long. It took longer than that to download it. It started downloading around 6:54 PM and didn't finish until sometime after 10:00 PM. They aren't DVD quality videos so I did notice some compression artifacts, but they weren't bad. They are better than the picture I get from cable.

I also have a 16:9 television, and have my settings in TiVo adjusted to account for that. However, since the resolution of the movie was lower than that of my screen it was stretched out when I played it. It didn't look bad except that it only stretched horizontally. This struck me as odd since the movie was wide screen. So, I ended up having to use the zoom feature on my television to stretch it vertically. After that it looked great. The sound was good and the picture wasn't bad. That said, I would rather watch it on DVD. I bought a fancy TV and Stereo because I like a good picture and sound.

The rentals cost me $3.99 for each movie. This is comparable to a normal video rental price-wise, but what you get in return leaves a bit to be desired. As I stated before, it isn't DVD quality and I had to fiddle with some settings to get it to display correctly. Another issue is that once you press play you can only keep it and watch it for 24 hours before it is automatically deleted. So, to get the "convenience" of being able to download movies directly to my TiVo without leaving the house I have to sacrifice picture and sound quality, the ability to watch it more than once in a week, and I had to manually adjust things. Add to that the fact that it took at least 3 hours to download the movie I am not sure it is worth it. I could have driven to the video store and picked up the movies on DVD and been back watching them in 20 minutes.

It is a neat idea but they need to work on it. Dropping the price would be a good start. I could see paying maybe $1.50 or $2.00 at the most, but $3.99 is pushing it. I should also be able to watch it for 3 to 5 days like I can when I rent a regular movie. I would even be interested in a Netflix like system where I download say 3 videos at a time for a flat monthly rate, and when I am done with a movie I can delete it and the next movie in my queue will download automatically.

The limitations are due to the same stupidity we hear about from the MPAA all the time. People in charge of the industry that are trying to fight where technology is sending us instead of embracing it. Until they figure that out cool ideas like this will be limited by their short-sightedness.

This weekend I met up with my friend John and his wife and little boy and we all went to El Dorado Springs to the motorcycle dealer there. John had never been there and I like looking at Triumph's so we made a trip up there. I ended up filling out a credit app in preparation for my future ordering of a Thruxton.

The problem is I am a very indecisive person. Those who know me personally know this all too well. I can't make a decision to save my life. It's hard enough for me to decide where I am going to eat lunch everyday. Anyway, where I'm going with this is I need to buy a house. I would like to have a house before I have a motorcycle so I have somewhere to keep it. That would be the responsible decision. However, waiting until I get a house means waiting to have fun. I want to have fun riding a motorcycle NOW not later. But, if I have a motorcycle now where do I keep it. I still live in an apartment. I don't want to leave my motorcycle in the parking lot. I could "borrow" space in friends garage or rent a small storage space but talk about a pain when I want to go ride it.

Bah... anyway. Look at what John did to his motorcycle. It's crazy looking! It will definitely turn heads! Other colors are available from Tomhawk tires.

I have been using Songbird to play and manage my music collection. It is a nifty alternative to iTunes that has add-ons for iPod support, Last.fm, Qloud, importing your iTunes library, among many other things. It is supposed to not only manage your music collection but your collection of bookmarks to music stores, music blogs, network media devices and services, and any other bookmarks you choose.

On top of all that, like Firefox, it is built using Mozilla so it supports many of the same features and it is Open source so you can hack on it if you want. Keep in mind that it is still a work in progress though. I haven't had any problems with it but it is not a completed product so if you run into some odd behavior don't be completely surprised. It is however very functional and nice to look at.

It comes with a nice set of default bookmarks and among them is a site called Scissorkick.com which is a blog about interesting and oft unheard of music and artists. So far just about everything I have heard there has been extremely cool by my standards. If you like music that is "Organic, electronic & everything in between" I'll bet my right shoe you'll like what they have on scissorkick.

P.S. I am willing to bet my right shoe because it has a small pebble in it right now that is driving me a little crazy. Of course I could just take the shoe off and remove the pebble but that would make sense.

For you Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) fans out there, the band has their newest album entitled "Era Vulgaris" on their website for your listening pleasure. The official album release is June 12th (next Tuesday). I like it so far, but I like pretty much anything they do to some degree.

Chatter pointed out that there is a new blogger that calls himself "The Secret Drinker" that started The "Dive Bar" Review. That could be an entertaining blog I think.

Have a good Friday.

I was thinking today. If Sheryl Crow would go on national television and show that she can get by using one or two squares I will start using one or two too.

I know how it is done and it wouldn't be pleasant. But if she can prove she does it I will do it.

P.S. Just like her, I am kidding too. I think she's got a good sense of humor.

I think I need to adjust the layout of my site. I mentioned before that the way I have things setup doesn't lend itself well to adding more links. Having everything at the bottom like I do is a little cumbersome.

I may give in and do what everyone else is doing and put my links on the side(s). I ran across a GPL'd Word Press plugin for StumbleUpon that lists what you have recently stumbled... upon. I downloaded the source and plan on writing a Python version that I can use on my blog. If I do that I am not sure where I would put the list it produces in my current layout. I would also like to add more links to blogs and websites that I like.

I also need a cartoon baboon. I have an idea in my head and I have tried to get it down on paper but it never turns out the way I want. If any of you know good artists let me know. Maybe if I can explain what I am looking for to someone with a little more talent they could pull it off. A funny looking baboon with a green glowing behind would be funny.

I completed all the songs in Guitar Hero II with 5 stars on Medium difficulty last night. Now I am attempting to play them on Hard. That is an addicting game.

Tonight The Moxie is hosting a free show at The Gillioz. They have details on their site. I am going to try to make it over there. The Gillioz has 1100 seats in it, making it the largest theater in Springfield. I have only seen the lobby so far and it is a pretty amazing building. Then I might grab a tasty beer at Patton Alley.

Anyway... I could keep rambling... but I need to get some work done so I will stop here. Have a good day.

I ran across another film called "Sunshine" that looks like it could be really interesting. Set in the future where our sun is dying and mankind sends a group of people to the sun in an attempt to re-ignite it. Of course, they run into problems on the way there.

It has some interesting people starring in it. Martial arts action star Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies), Cillian Murphy (28 days later, Batman Returns), Chris Evans (Fantastic 4), and Rose Byrne (Troy, Star Wars Episode II, Marie Antoinette) who is also in the upcoming sequel to "28 Days Later" called "28 Weeks Later."

Sunshine is directed by Danny Boyle who did 28 Days Later, Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, and is the executive producer for 28 Weeks Later.

Anyway, it looks pretty cool. It comes out in September. Official Website. IMDB Information.

I just read that the sequel to the Russian fantasy horror movie "Night Watch," appropriately entitled "Day Watch," will be released in the US on June 1st.

Trailers and Movie Clips for Day Watch

I hate dreaming because when you want to sleep, you want to sleep. Dreaming is work. Next thing you know, I have to build a go cart with my ex-landlord. - Mitch Hedberg

I just finished watching tonights episode of BSG and... uh... ummmm... ...whaaaa... errrr... WOW!

Here's a pretty funny song: Threes Rev. 1.1

Three things trust above all else;
Your knowledge of your craft,
That someone makes a profit,
And that you will get the shaft.

I have discovered Stumble Upon. I am a little late to the game I think, but I have come across some pretty entertaining things stumbling along through the interblargs recently.

Here is one I just found: HOW TO TICK PEOPLE OFF. What's interesting (maybe disturbing or sad) is that there are some things on that list that I have done and/or do because I think they are funny. It's an entertaining list!

Yo yo yo crackaz! Getcho hanz on dis! Definitive Swim. Werrrrrd.

Ron over at Chatter posted about The Definitive 200. A list of the top ranked 200 popular music albums that according to them every music lover should own. Of course, as expected, their list is completely wrong. This isn't opinion; It is fact!

Keep in mind that your perception is your reality. So if you perceive things differently than I it may appear to you that I am wrong. However, it is important that you keep in mind at all times that if your perception does not present the same picture of reality that mine does your perception is broken. Now that we have that out of the way...

Here's an example of what is wrong with this list. At #21 we have "Come On Over" by Shania Twain. That right there is a dead give away that this list is already completely hosed. It becomes even more apparent we have a problem when ranked right UNDER Shania is "Who's Next" by The Who. It gets worse when we find "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd (the album to be played at my funeral) ranked way down the list at #79! Not only is Shania ranked higher, but so are albums by Faith Hill and The Dixie Chicks!

Let's look a little further. Searching for Tool in the list brought up only one album; Lateralus at #123. Tool... at #123. They left Ænima completely off the list! Who are these people and what are they trying to do to us? Are they even human? Nine Inch Nails didn't make the list at all.

Radiohead's "OK Computer" is ranked at #111. It is the only Radiohead album on the list... no "Pablo Honey" or "The Bends." You wouldn't want to listen to those! Noooooo... but be sure to pick up "Wide Open Spaces," "Home," and "Fly" by The Dixie Chicks! Radiohead is represented by one album. Tool... one album. JOHNNY CASH... ONE ALBUM!!!! POLICE... ONE ALBUM!!!! THE DIXIE CHICKS... 3 ALBUMS!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH!!! WHAT!!!???!!! WHO CAME UP WITH... WHY DID... WHAT!!!!????!!!!

There is so much wrong with that list. I could write for hours about it. I've barely even scratched the surface. I just can't take it any more. It's so horrible.

That was a great show. I've gone to some shows at small venues like Remington's before, but this is by far my favorite. It was a good time. Good fun music, and they were taking requests from the audience. They don't play with a set list which I thought was cool. I dig it man. I'll definitely be there the next time they are in town.

J-I-M-B-O!

I'm going to check out the Reverend Horton Heat show tonight at Remington's in Downtown Springfield, MO. Should be interesting.

Mr. Reznor has a new album "Year Zero" coming out 4/17/2007, just under two years since his last major release "With Teeth." He has some strange viral marketing campaign going on for this one. From what I can tell he has put together some sort of story about the near future. The US has bombed Tehran, invaded several other middle-eastern countries, and officially waged a holy war on Islam. There are sightings of God or what is described as God, and other weirdness.

So far there are two of the new songs available for your listening pleasure on the NIN MySpace page. "Survivalism" and "My Violent Heart" The songs remind me of some of the older NIN. Not quite as poppish as the last album.

Year Zero.

I bought a Classic Video Table Tennis Kit from Think Geek and attempted to solder it together this weekend. It was hard... and it doesn't work. I under estimated how difficult soldering it together would be. I spent at least 3 hours, and the power LED lights up, and the reset button appears to work as far as I can tell, but I don't get any video or audio. I think I got the PCB too hot in a couple places because the traces pulled up off the board a bit.

I was also using a Cold Heat Soldering Tool. It can be a little difficult to get it positioned so that it would heat up. So, I would be messing around trying to get it positioned and then end up with the board in a cumbersome spot for getting the solder on it. A little frustrating but towards the end I was getting it figured out. I burned up a bunch of batteries doing it though. I think for lengthy projects I should use a real soldering iron.

There are a few places where the solder globbed up rather than spreading out evenly and this isn't good either. I am going to have to go pick up some solder wick and try to re-do those spots.

Although it wasn't a complete success it was pretty fun. I want to get better at it so I can put together some projects I have had bouncing around in me head for a while. I gotta keep trying.

There are a couple fun games over at PuppyGames.Net. One is Titan Attacks and another is Ultratron. They aren't free, but you can get a free demo. I paid for a full version of Ultratron and my friend Ed bought Titan Attacks. Titan Attacks is like Space Invaders on steroids. I can't quite put my finger on what Ultratron is like. It reminds me a little of a game I used to play on my Apple IIe, but I can't remember the name of it. They are both fun though.

Another fun game is Galcon. It is a fast-paced, multi-player, strategy game. They have net rankings which lists high scores. It is also available for download and to buy. To get a ranking on the net you need to register. Ed is much better at it than I am.

A friend of mine sent me this link this morning.

"Linux Genuine Advantage™ is an exciting and mandatory new way for you to place your computer under the remote control of an untrusted third party!"

Hilarious.

Linux Genuine Advantage™

Well, I've listened to most of the music suggested by Phasedar, Lord of Funkitania in his Amazon Listmania... err... list... entitled "These will give your life meaning, you filthy animal." I don't exactly have the same taste in music as Lord Phasedar, but I found some of it to be pretty decent.

I already enjoy Beck's "Guero," Radiohead's "OK Computer," Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," and of course The Beatles "The White Album" a great deal, so those were gimme's. Of those I hadn't heard before, I really like Ted Leo & The Pharmacists' "Shake the Sheets." It is a good, poppy sounding album. Not always my cup o' tea, but catchy and I have listened to it several times so far. I am trying to think of a better way to describe it, but it is Monday... anyway.

"Castaways and Cutouts" by The Decemberists is a decent album. Again, not the kind of music I usually dig, but good. It has a bit of a country or folk feel at times, with some whiny slide guitar and accordion in it, and the vocals are whiny. It's a slow album that would probably be good to chill too on a warm afternoon while you nap. I mean that in a good way. However, the album is a little flat sounding... the same droning, forlorn sound throughout the album. It's not a bad album, but I don't think it gave my life meaning like Phasedar said it would...

Rilo Kiley's "More Adventurous" isn't bad. It's a little poppy for my taste but there some decent songs with clever lyrics. "Talkie Walkie" by Air isn't my favorite album of theirs. I enjoy their album "Premiers Symptomes" a great deal more, but it is also a great deal different. I don't care for the vocals of "Talkie Walkie", but I don't hate them either. The music is great though.

I am not a huge fan of rap, but there are a few rappers whose styles are undeniably unique, and among them for me is MF Doom. He has a unique voice and style. The mixing/production is done by Madlib who uses a great mixture of old jazz, what sounds like clips from old radio programs, and other odd samples. "Madvillainy" by Madvillain is something worth experiencing if you are a fan of rap at all.

I listened to Bright Eyes, The Fiery Furnaces, and The Shins as well and none of them struck me as all that impressive. They weren't bad, but nothing that made me want more.

Anyway, that's a quick summary of what I thought. I am not great at writing reviews. My descriptions are a bit generic I suppose. I will try to put more thought into my future reviews and see if I can improve a bit. That said, if you want to hear any of these before you decide whether you want to grab them for yourself, drop me a line.

Zach over at ZachIsHere mentioned the blog Waiter Rant today. I have been reading it off and on since this morning. It is one of the best blogs I have ever read. He is a great writer. Word of warning for the linguistically sensitive: he uses colorful language.

I ran across this list of albums on Amazon: Listmania! a while back called "These will give your life meaning, you filthy animal" assembled by someone who calls themselves "Phasedar, Lord of Funkitania." I'm not sure where Funkitania is, or why I am a filthy animal, but I am going to check out these albums. I have some of them already. I especially like the comment for OK Computer: "This is kind of obligatory. I mean, if you don't have this album...you're kind of...ya know...This is awkward." That is so very very true... there is wisdom in those words.

I did it too... I know I've told some of you that I am The Amazing Spider-Man, now I have proof!

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 70% Hulk 70% Green Lantern 65% Superman 65% Iron Man 60% Robin 57% Catwoman 55% Supergirl 50% The Flash 50% Wonder Woman 35% Batman 35%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

As I have made abundantly clear before, I am a geek. Further proof of this is a new guilty pleasure of mine. I really like the extreme power metal band "DragonForce." I like them for a several reasons. First of all, their guitar players are super fast... faster than anything I have heard before. I know Dave Mustaine is fast, and alot of the speed metal from Metallica was played and I think written by him. However, these guys are ridiculously fast. Their sound is also obviously influenced alot by retro video game music. In their song "Through The Fire And Flames" you can hear sounds that are like what you'd hear coming from a game of Pac-man. They also have those cheesy, epic sounding lyrics about fire falling from the sky, and crushing the enemy, and other fantasy themed topics, kind of like what you'd find ina story of a video game... it's great stuff. It isn't dark sounding like death metal, it as actually pretty upbeat and uplifting. The music reminds me of another guilty pleasure of mine EVE On-line. As a matter of fact, they have a music video that looks like it could have been taken right out of that game, which is probably why they are popular among many EVE players. If I could get to YouTube right now I'd look it up for you, but I will leave that as an exercise for my reader. Check out DragonForce... you may or may not regret it!

Here are some projects I want to try:

1. Write "atomiCommerce" - Started
2. Build a coffee table with a built-in Atari 2600 - 2nd Atari for this obtained, Need a house with a garage to work in next
3. Build small video cameras that will stream what they capture over a WiFi connection
4. Build an LCD projector - Need a house first
5. Build a media center PC for the entertainment center - Just thought of this last night. I have a TiVo in the meantime.

Some important, time consuming things are getting ready to change. When that happens, I will have alot more time to do the things I want to do. It will be good. More on that when I can share it. There are also alot of cool and inspirational projects in Make Magazine. Their projects have given me ideas of my own and gave me yet another reason I need a house with a big garage to work in.

I want to do something cool!

For all you cat lovers out there, here is a nice game with a cute cuddly kitten. Kitten Cannon!

Here's the list of games I have so far:

1. Pac-man
2. Combat
3. Defender
4. Space Invaders
5. Asteroids
6. Berserk
7. Haunted House
8. Baseball
9. Pele's Soccer
10. Night Driver
11. Pole Position
12. Donkey Kong
13. River Raid
14. Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
15. Dodge 'Em
16. Swordquest
17. Mountain King
18. Towering Inferno
19. Galaxian
20. Missile Command
21. Slot Racers
22. Joust
23. ...and probably some others I can't remember right now...

Here's my wanted list:

1. Frogger
2. Mario Bros.
3. Ms. Pac-man
4. Adventure
5. Codebreaker
6. Vanguard
7. Breakout
8. Pitfall
9. Pitfall II
10. Dig Dug
11. Pooyan
12. ... and some others I can't remember at the moment

I'll update the list later when I have the games and the list in front of me.

I checked out Vintage Stock here in Springfield last night, and they have 2 Pac-man carts, a Combat... and one other... I think it was Defender. They don't have much of a selection. My sister and brother-in-law went to the Vintage Stock in Joplin and found well over a dozen games, so I may have to make a trip there to see what they have left. If all else fails, Atari2600.com has a huge selection of games on their web site, and Atari Garage has a small selection as well. If any of you have any Atari cartridges sitting around, collecting dust, and they are on my wanted list, let me know if you would be interested in selling them. Most games on-line only sell for 3 to 4 dollars, but if they are in good condition, with the box and everything they sell for more.

Christmas was pretty cool this year. I received a working, 6 switch Atari 2600 and a dozen or so games from my family. It is pretty sweet, and it works on my new television. There's nothing like Space Invaders, Asteroids, Defender, Combat, or Joust on one of those. Good times.

My mom found the system and ordered it from Atari Garage. She said they were nice people when she spoke with them on the phone and were great to work with. So, since I have another Atari at home that isn't working right now I may end up contacting them about getting some pointers on how I might go about fixing it... or I might just send it to them. Either way, I may end up with a couple working Atari's before all is said and done.

I mentioned my new Television last week, and I picked that up this weekend (thanks for your help Zac) along with a TiVo. TiVo is pretty cool. I am pretty bummed that I missed most of Battlestar Gallactica last season, but that shouldn't be a problem with next season now that I have the TiVo. I need to tell it to stop trying to guess what I like though. It keeps recording Mythbuster re-runs, Daily show, and Colbert Report. It was recording something when I left for work this morning, and I have no idea what it was. I'm sure it thinks it is being very clever.

A couple nights ago I ordered a Samsung 40" LCD HDTV from Best Buy. I get to go pick it up Saturday. They are running a deal right now where if you put it on one of their cards you don't pay any interest for 18 months. So, I figured I would take advantage and purchase a nifty new TV. I am excited. I am going to hook it up to my PC and see how my games look on it. I have also downloaded some movies while trying out Vongo, so we'll see how those look too.

From Gamespot:

[Joel] Zumaya, who tops the 100mph mark on his fastball, was benched in the ALCS against the Oakland Athletics because of forearm inflammation. However, the Tigers training staff was confused because his injury seemed to be caused by the same motion of playing guitar--not from an overhand pitching motion.

Apparently, Zumaya is a Guitar Hero addict and was playing it so much that he was injuring his throwing arm. His trainers told him to stop playing and he was able to pitch in the World Series. Guitar Hero is fun, but to play it so much you hurt your arm? Yeah... I can understand that :)

I got to try out a Nintendo Wii last weekend. It was a blast! I play video games alot. It's sort of one of my professions. So, it takes a lot to get me excited about games any more. The Wii is great. Being able to play Golf or Tennis and go through similar motions to what you would do in reality. The interaction makes it more enjoyable, you aren't just sitting there, and people who don't usually play games will find it easier to participate. I played Wii Sports, which comes with the Wii. It has Bowling, Tennis, Golf, Baseball, and Boxing. All of them are simple to play and actually provide the opportunity for enough movement that I broke a little bit of a sweat while boxing.

I also played Rayman: Raving Rabbids. It consists of several mini-games that range from something similar to Whack-a-mole (or rabbit in this case) to a first person shooter where you are firing plungers at attacking rabbits, to a game where 4 rabbits are sitting in port-a-potties and you have to keep the doors from opening while they are doing their business or they get angry and shoot you with plungers. The sound effects and antics from the rabbits provide some great slapstick comedy. It kept me moving and laughing for at least an hour. It was great fun.

I played a little bit of the new Zelda and some other game of mini-games that utilize the motion control capabilities that involved monkeys.

All in all it is a great system. Good graphics and a fun interface. I am now convinced I am going to buy a Wii just as soon as I can find one. Apparently the various retailers here in Springfield will be getting new Wii shipments this Sunday. I won't camp out, but I might show up early and see if I can grab one.

If you head North up Glenstone past Commercial, just after you pass under the railroad bridge on the east (right) side of the road is Chicago Gyros & Deli. It is in what used to be a burger drive through, and it looks pretty rough on the outside, but they make great tasting, greasy Gyros. Five bucks gets you one of these babies, and they are packed with tender lamb, big chunks of tomato, thinly sliced onion, with tasty Tzatziki sauce all wrapped in a pita to soak up all the goodness. For 2 bucks more you get a heaping handful of seasoned fries and a drink. It ain't the healthiest meal, but it is really good... and the girl that works there is cute too. If you haven't tried it, consider this my official recommendation. They also have other dishes to go that sound good, but I haven't tried any of them yet. However, I have heard from a couple reliable sources that their Bacon Double Cheese Burger is awesome.

I had the opportunity to enjoy the newest Bond film Casino Royale the other day and I must say I was very impressed. Take the witty and clever Bond your used to, and add the action and realism from Bourne Identity and you have the new Bond. Great action sequences where Bond isn't only kicking ass, but getting his ass kicked in the process. That's not something you saw in the previous Bonds. Sure, he would get captured and slapped around a bit, but it wasn't realistic. Here, it is much more believable, and Bond isn't some wussy guy in a tux with a tiny pistol sipping martini's and looking all sharp all the time. Sure, he does a little of all that, but he's one tough bastard that fights dirty, is resourceful, and is (again) believable. I would not have a problem believing someone like this guy exists. I have always been a fan of Bond, but I think this is the best thing to happen to the character since he was created.