June 24th, 2009
I decided it was time to build a new PC. I decided to go with a HTPC set up, as I already had my older PC plugged into my DLP TV.
I bought myself an ASUS Micro ATX motherboard with a AM2+ socket. It has the 780 northbridge chip so that I bought a cheap ATI 3450 card to use the Hybrid Crossfire feature. It will use both graphics processors to make things run better, in theory.
I initially bought an AMD Phenom Quad Core 9600, but I decided to get a Phenom II Quad Core X4 940. It was not supported by my motherboard with its current BIOS revision, but I opened the box, slapped it in there, and it was able to boot to the BIOS. I upgraded it to the supported version. I was happy that it was able to boot up to upgrade, as I didnt want to open the 9600 and kill the return policy.
I am happy with the way everything fit into the extremely quiet and small case that I got, but the graphics cards is disappointing. I get a lower score in Vista with the hybrid running then I do by using the 3450 alone. I tried to use the on-board HDMI port, but the picture was crooked. My TV will not adjust that, and neither will the ATI Catalyst software. I am going to try the DVI port on the 3450 and use my DVI to HDMI cable, and since that will not carry audio, I will need a 1/8 to RCA adapter to run to my stereo. I am still not sure how acurate the vista performance rankings are, and I will keep Crossfire enabled for now.
I plan to get a Blu-Ray player for it, as they are quite cheap, and I want a capture card as well. This should round off the HTPC idea.
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June 12th, 2009
I made it out to Starscape in Baltimore, MD again this year. I must say it was better than the previous year because it wasn’t 105 during the day and 98 and humid after a thunderstorm at night. I also didn’t have to get on a plane in the morning bound for 11 hour work days in Vegas.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Monsters of Jungle thing, but I still think the Upbeats should have gotten their own time slot. Only Chase or Status showed, and the set was kind of boring. You could tell there was no emotion behind it, but that might have something to do with the fact that they seem to spin the same set everywhere they go. Unless sits full of double drops, that is just lame.
The hotel we stayed at was supposed to have a free shuttle, but it did not. It was also quite far from the park. I don’t intend to stay there again next year.
Here are some pictures from the event that a friend of mind took. None of it is shopped. He just does strange things with his camera. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lvarone/sets/72157619487225848/
Tags: Fesitval, Music, Raves, Starscape
Posted in Music, Raves | No Comments »
May 28th, 2009
I just got my USB wrist strap in the mail along with a USB fan I ordered to cool me off after the gym and my bike ride to work. The band isn’t the best quality, but its handy enough. I loaded it up with my favorite applications from www.portableapps.com so I can do what I need to on the fly on other peoples’ Windows laptops without leaving much of a trace. Once that was done, I loaded it up with Ubuntu 9.04. I can now boot to it, like a live CD with persistence, and I plan to but some useful tools on there. I might have been better off just creating my own distro with remastersys for that part, but I am going this route for now.
Tags: Geeky, Portable Apps, Ubuntu, USB
Posted in Computers | No Comments »
May 21st, 2009
I didn’t want to post rants, anything emotional, or anything pertaining to public opinion on the blog this time around. However, I really could not take Malin being near the top of another hot list.
I was just watching Attack of the Show, and they were doing a women of the web piece. Malin Akerman was number 1. She was also number 4 on the Maxim 100, which I think did a terrible job this year. I don’t see it. Just because she is a new face and was in a comic book adaptation movie doesn’t mean a thing to me. Hell, I saw a girl about 100.5 times hotter at the train station today. In fact, I come across one or more women that are more attractive on a weekly basis.
Tags: AotS, G4, Malin Akerman, Maxim, Rant
Posted in Women | No Comments »
May 20th, 2009
Last night I picked up 2 new games. UFC 2009 Undisputed for my 360, and Punch-Out!! for my Wii.
I was afraid that the UFC game would be as hard as the last one I played back on the Dreamcast, and after my first two matches on-line with a friend, I thought this to be the case. However, I came back and won the next 3 matches. There are a lot of different moves to remember, and the controls take a little getting used to. After my 5 on-line matches, I decided to create a fighter and go through the career. I won all of my first 4 matches, but all by either KO or TKO. I was trying to get a submission, but I have not had any luck doing so. I unlocked 3 achievements during my sessions last night.
Ultimate Knockout: From the gassed state, KO an opponent in any mode.I got this by miraculously taking down “Rampage” Jackson while I was getting my ass kicked.
Ultimate Highlights: Dominate the opponent in all 3 scenes of a replay segment. This is self explanatory. I did this in the career.
Wanted: Flying Mouthpieces: Mouth piece travels more than 3 meters when knocked out. I landed a devastating blow to knock out one of my opponents. I caught him in the mouth with a nice counter punch as his punch just missed.
I threw a little Punch-Out!! in the mix. I only got through the first circuit, and I was really pleased with the motion controls. I didn’t seem to skip a beat. However, I don’t have the balance board to use for dodging. It look a little bit to remember the game mechanics from previous versions, but one I got the hang of it, I was drawing stars and dodging punches. The Disco Kid, who is a new character for this version, beat me the first time around. I then realized that I had to wait a little while before I dodged his punches, and that I needed to dodge in certain directions.
Tags: 360, Gaming, Punch-Out!!, UFC, Wii
Posted in 360, Gaming, Wii | No Comments »
April 24th, 2009
A while ago, I bought some smoke pellets in many different flavors. I say flavors, but thy are really different types of compressed wood. The Jack Daniels ones are made from the left over charred wood they use for their filtering process. They work really good with pork and chicken, but tonight I decided to try them with a nice london broil.
The steak was your run of the mill supermarket cut. No aging involved. I lit up some briskets in my charcoal chimney and dumped them out to one side of my old vintage red Webber that is actually older than I am. I seared both sides of the steak by first turning 180 degrees before flipping and turning again. I then put the pellets in and closed all but one vent to dull the flames, and I moved the steak to the other side of the grill. I let that stand for about 10 minutes or so. It came out great. Nice and pink in the middle, nice and charred on the outside, and a great smokey flavor.
I also picked up some Sam Adams Boston Ale on the way home. I had one while grilling, and it was a little strange for an ale. However, I think the sweetness of it went perfectly with the smokey flavor of the steak. Its one of the few times that a beer really seemed to compliment dinner. I often hear of beer/food matching, and I often thought it was a joke, as I never really enjoyed one while I ate a meal.
On an unrelated note, I am listening to the Paradox ESP Radio Show 4. Some of the smoothest beats I have ever heard.
Tags: Ale, BBQ, Beer, Grilling, Steak
Posted in Food, Grilling | 1 Comment »
April 24th, 2009
After having closed my website some time ago, I decided to reopen it, and go with a much simpler interface. This time around, its more for me than anything else. I plan on posting things I worked hard on, things I love, and things I am doing. Its better to have this blog serve as a personal reference and scrapbook than anything else. If you are reading this, maybe you can pick something up from my experiences.
Thanks for visiting.
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »