Tony

Well, after talking with my friend whom I work with on various video projects, she wants to start up a podcast to accompany here video show. Our working relationship usually falls into the roles of Producer (her) & Tech/Editor (me). We work well together. She's also started doing Promotions for a few local artists. She's one of my best friends, so when she tells me of what she wants to do & the type of scope she wants it, I will be the one to set it up on the tech side of things & make it happen. Let me remind you, we started talking about this LAST week.

A week later, I've spent some money. Along with some parts that I've already had, I bought the gear & software needed to turn my computer (a Mac Mini...Amazing what you can do with these) into a small, cheap (but fully functioning) home recording studio setup fully capable of producing audio podcasts & composing tracks & music (already using it as an editing system, so this was nothing). And I was able to do it all under $200 (I won't be buying "Ghostbusters" & "Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires this month).

Now comes the part where I have to learn the software. I'll get more into it in my next post where I'll describe what I got (with pictures) & how I'm gonna do it. Right now, it's up & running & I started working with the setup. Should be interesting.

It's been a while since I've made a goal, but...

IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!

now is the time...To learn how to use the software & start producing work!!

This is just not my week for videogame consoles. First, I get the Red Ring on my 360 (it's on its way back from Texas) & now this issue with my PS3.

I'm starting to run out of HD space on my PS3 (20GB left on my 60GB stock hd), so I decided it's time to upgrade the old internal hd. So, I backed up the drive with an external, then ran off to Best Buy & bought a drive (Seagate 2.5 in. 320GB 5400rpm SATA drive for $80). Cool, a Seagate drive is what's originally in the PS3, so it's all good. Get home & try to undo all the screws to get it off the mounting plate. Now for a part that's suppose to be user-upgradable, the screws are a pain in the ass! Of course, I strip ALL 4 SCREWS & only manage to get one undone. I'm pissed! So pissed, that I just said "@!%# it!", went on ebay & bought a used disk caddy for about $20. So I put the old drive back in & tested it. Man that was a waste of time. So when the replacement caddy shows up, I'll put the new drive in that one, then repeat backing up the PS3 hd, then do the replacement. It should go smoothly this time.

Maybe I better not touch my Wii anytime soon. Just in case.

Now I feel like a true Xbox 360 owner. It took a year & 3 month, but I got my first RRoD (Red Ring of Death) over the weekend. Was hoping this would never happen, but... oh well. It's on its way back to Microsoft for repairs. Had to pay for packing though (since Microsoft canceled sending boxes to people in May). Of course it would happen a month later.

Bad timing for me, since this Friday, Sega gives out the rewards for the "Shred the Darkness" event. After I finally get character past lv100. Hope it's still active when I get my system back. Also was planning to get "Ghostbusters" next week.

Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like being at work & falling off a ladder about 7 feet.

Yeah, I'm enjoying this one.


IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



P.S.
I now have a "FACEBOOK" account.

Well, it's a holiday, and I am sick. YAY... ouch.

So, instead of doing what I usually do on a sick day, which is sitting down & watching all 9 or so hours of "James Clavell's SHOGUN", I plugged my Dreamcast up to the (no longer) new HDTV & decided to play some of the games.

What a great flashback, & I remembered why I bought the system (ON RELEASE DAY) in the first place. A lot of these games were just plain "FUN". It's a shame that back in the day, people waiting for the PS2 basically said "@&%# you" to the system. It had great fighters & tried so many different concepts that the only current example would be the DS (in my opinion).

A while ago, I stumbled apon a website proclaming The Rarest and Most Valuable Sega Dreamcast Games. Looking over the list, I have a nice number of those titles. While I don't have any of the "Limited Edition Collectables" & I wanted to buy "Ikaruga" at the time, among the "Treasured Standard USA Releases", I have:

Project Justice (Needs a update NOW! It held up well & is a fun game)
Marvel Vs Capcom 1 & 2
Street Fighter 3 Third Strike
Bangai-O
Fatal Fury Mark Of The Wolves
Skies Of Arcadia (Another one that needa a Sequel)
Last Blade 2 Heart Of The Samurai

For a while, I thought of putting my Dreamcast collection up on eBay & seing what I could get. After today, FORGET IT! I'M NOT SELLING A DAMN THING!! The Dreamcast is staying hooked up to the tv & I'm going to try to acquire "Tech Romancer". The Dreamcast has to be my favorite video game system of all time.


IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just thought I'd quickly mention this here. Sure it isn't happening until November 15, but the tickes went on sale today, so I went ahead & bought mines (2). I'll be seated in the LOGE area of the Balcony. Should be a good concert.

Video Games Live at the Chicago Theater

5 months is pleanty enough time to get a few more people who might want to go to this.


IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!

Well, chalk it up to either an "example of excess" or an "exercise in stupidity", but I bought an Xbox 360 ELITE this week (Wednesday). Why? I think for the most part it was for "Xbox LIVE". Now I have every major system in the seventh (current) generation of videogames (including handhelds).

Anyway, now that it's back, I signed onto Xbox LIVE with much ease & was even able to retrieve my old gamertag from when I had my Xbox. So far, so good. Dowloaded a couple of games (Rez HD, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Double Dragon & UNO, which is just pure crack) & started playing single persion games to get accustomed to them. Good times so far. But things changed when I started to play multiplayer.

Now, in the past, my personal experiences with LIVE was a mixed bag. I knew it was good when I was able to find people on at the same time as I that really wanted to play the games & have fun (Outrun 2 was my game of choice, expecially since I would be playling with a bunch of British guys that weren't total assholes & easy to get along with, or playing the various SNK fighting games). Then, there were said "assholes" I usually ran into whenever I tried to play something like "Halo 2". I never claimed to be the best of Halo players, but I got tired really quick of the irratating kids & the voice modulation option screaming obscenities, racial slurs, & homophobic insults at all times. It makes the experience of LIVE less enjoyable.

Now, I decided that I would play a couple of rounds of "UNO" with people. First thing I here is some foul-mouth 10 year old telling me to "Fuck OFF", then dropping me from the game. All in the spand of 5 seconds! OK, shake it off, go into another random game. I got in on another game, but throughout the entire game it was nothing but dumb boys screaming & cursing at each other. I kept quiet for the most part. I felt no need to partake in the conversation. One guy was berating another for having a Halo picture for his gamertag & not being godly at it. In another game, I was constantly being ordered to "Have my "seaman" report to the "Poop Deck". Remember, we're playing "UNO". You would think this is the one place you could escape the "LIVE" behavior, but I was wrong. The game I was in broke up, so I figured I'd find anothe randam game. Found another, was told I can't play with her & was booted. Did the random search a few more times & it kept putting me back in the same game. I told her I wasn't trying to join her game, the system kept putting me in here. After the forth time, I said "it wasn't worth it", droped out & tried to start my own game. Played one round with people, still screaming and flirting with each other, and they left. One more time to try a random game. Was told once again by somebody else I can't join, & was booted in under 5 seconds. Tried the random & was put in this group again for about 5 more times. Once again, I told them I wasn't trying to join their game, which was followed by some smartass comment & being dumped. I then find out that they set me to "ignore", which messes up my rep percentage.

Mind you, all of this crap happend to me on Wednesday night. I'd only had the system for a few hours. Now that I've played around for a few days, I'm noticing more & more that nobody seems to want to act like a person. Insults, racial slurs, constant arguing... in every game I played online. At times it's overbearing how people act on this thing. It's nowhere near this level of stupidity on the PS3 (granted, they do have their own set of idiots). I knew that I would now have to think about games I would want that will appear on both systems, but with the way people are, I don't think I'll be switching over my reservation of "Soul Calibur IV" from PS3 to 360 (plus, I like the idea of playing with "Darth Vader"). Also, when "Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix" comes out, do I want to deal with these attitudes while trying to play a game? Trash talking, I can handle, what they do is much worse at times.

Now, it's RARE that I would agree with anything that comes from Xplay, but aparantly Adam Sessler has some strong objections to the language and attitudes that's is currently on LIVE. I think he hits on it perfectly.




I'm sure to some, this rant might seem that I'm against Xbox Live. I'm not. I'm against the horrable attitudes that a lot of people have on this thing that ruins the experience for others. There are cool people on LIVE, I just have to find them. The LIVE membership is paid for, so I will continue to play, but I will need to find a group of people to play with soon so I can avoid a lot of this.

For those of you who haven't heard yet, "Death Note" Live Action Movie 1 will have a Theater screening on May 20-21 on 300 screens. You can find all the details here:

I'll also list the Illinois theaters that will be showing it:

AMC South Barrington 30 BARRINGTON IL 60010
Randall 15 IMAX BATAVIA IL 60510
Century @ Stratford Square BLOOMINGDALE IL 60108
Carbondale Showplace CARBONDALE IL 62901
AMC River East 21 CHICAGO IL 60611
City North 14 CHICAGO IL 60647
Century 16 Deer Park DEER PARK IL 60010
Edwardsville Showplace EDWARDSVILLE IL 62025
Evanston 18 EVANSTON IL 60201
Lincolnshire 20 plus IMAX LINCOLNSHIRE IL 60069
Naperville Showplace 16 NAPERVILLE IL 60564
Niles Showplace NILES IL 60714
Willow Knolls 14 PEORIA IL 61615
Rockford Showplace 16 ROCKFORD IL 61108
Round Lake Beach 18 ROUND LAKE BEACH IL 60073
Savoy 16 SAVOY IL 61874
Springfield West showplace SPRINGFIELD IL 62711
Cinemark Woodridge 17 WOODRIDGE IL 60517

I don't know if it's dubbed or not. I'll be working days that week, so I'll go check it out on the 20th after work, since they're playing it at River East 21. Anybody else want to go?

IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like I gotta find a way to get to Otakon!

JAM Project at Otakon


Who's with me if I can get this set up?

IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, here it is. Last Friday, I went out to a Costco and bought a HDTV. It's the Vizio VO47LF. It's the newest model. It came out sometime this past January, & my tv came off the assembly in February. It cost me a little over $1,500 (it's the most I've ever spent on a tv). 47 inch screen, full 1080p resolution, 4 HDMI ports. It has a great image. Everything is looking amazing (PS3, Wii, HD cable) I can't wait to get a few blu-ray discs in & see the image quality (I just bought "Fifth Element" & "Purple Rain" on Amazon).

Follow this link to see my setup.

I'm sorry if I seem like I'm bragging. I don't mean to. I'm just excited that I now have a HDTV & can take full advantage of the PS3 that I feel the urge to show it off (I'm usually not this geeky). I'm told, though it looks big now, after about a week, you would have adjusted & it will just look like normal.

IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a quick note.

I have a new HDTV.

More info & pics to come in my next post



IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is something I've asked myself recently. Play along with me all. Look at your DVD rack(s). How many DVDs do you have? If you have under 200 DVDs, I would say you don't have issues. Then, pull out a random DVD. Take a look at the amount of dust that is on top of it. Is it a light sheet? Is it a thick layer of dust? Now, ask yourself this: "When was the last time you looked at most of your discs?" If you can't remember when, you may have too many DVDs.

I fall into this category, and I know some of you fall into the same group as me

After inputing all of my DVDs into a catalog program, I see that I have over 600 DVDs. A good amount of them I haven't watched in years. Why have so many if all they're going to do is just sit there? I know in the past, I would buy stuff because I wanted to see it (Blind Buys) & there were things I really did want to own. Now I have four racks of DVDs full of stuff & over half of it is collecting dust. I'll throw up a quick .mac website with the list on it soon.

Don't take this as I'm about to clean house & get rid of some of my DVDs (THAT'S NOT HAPPENING). What I decide to do is to start watching everything again during my bus travels and times when I'm not playing games or doing anything important. Two weeks ago, I started converting DVDs to play on my iPod touch. The first set I started with was "Nightwarriors: Darkstalkers Revenge The Animation". Then, I moved on to "Area 88" TV series. Just finished that last night, so the next title up is "Getter Robo: Armageddon".

I don't know how long it will take, but I want to at least try to watch everything again this year. The long series are going to be murder (Rurouni Kenshin, Maison Ikkoku, Fushigi Yugi, all versions of "Tench Muyo", what bit (5 boxsets) of "Urusei Yatsura" I have, Robotech (yes I said "Robotech". I do have "Macross", but not the other 2), Doctor Who, In Living Color and others. I'll skip Kimagure Orange Road, since I watched that last December). Please have mercy on my soul.


IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it's time for me to poke my head out just to let people know I am still alive. WOW! Was it really last NOVEMBER when I made my last post? Funny thing though, I do read everybody's journal who I'm friends of. I should post more. Anyway, just a few nuggets to comment on.


New Purchase coming. It's time to look at buying a new HDTV. Nothing's wrong with my current one, but I do want to upgrade. Since the switchover of the digital signal is finally happening, why not. Looking to spend around $1200 - $1400 total. Full 1080p resolution. Minimum 42in screen (when I usually buy a new tv, I make sure it's bigger than my last one. My current one is 32in.) After spending so much money on my computer, now it's the tv's turn. That's what my income tax return (which I have gotten) + my next paycheck is marked for. So I shall have one by the end of the month, maybe even the end of the WEEK. The PS3 should look excellent on it (the Wii as well).

Nice transition to video games. Last three purchases are games I've been waiting for. First was the game that I bought a Wii for, No More Heroes. Anybody who has a Wii (and is over 17, since it's a M-Rated game) should get this game for the cool factor alone. It's the first game in a while that I have fully finished. Next Dynasty Warriors 6 for the PS3. I know, if you played one Dynasty Warriors game, you've played them all, but this is the FIRST "Three Kingdoms" Dynasty Warriors game I've actually played (Usually play the "Samurai Warriors" games & "Dynasty Warriors GUNDAM"). What can I say, I like the game & I like being able to wipe out thousands of foot soldiers & Generals by myself. And this morning, I picked up my reserved copy of Super Smash Bros Brawl for Wii. This is the first of the Smash Bros series that I can now play, since I never had a Gamecube & I didn't get it on the Nintendo 64. This is a very spastic game. I will probably be playing this for a while trying to unlock everybody (want ot unlock "Solid Snake" & "Sonic the Hedgehog"). Played for a few hours today & unlocked Marth. The idea of using some of these characters takes some getting use to for this lifelong SEGA fan (though I do like using Pit & surprise, the Pokemon Trainer).

Later in the year, I'll try to acquire another computer. Time to retire "Black Heaven" (the PC I built back in 2002). It will be another mac. Whether it be another Mac Mini, or something more powerful will be the question. If I get something more powerful, "Bambina" (my current Mac Mini) will go onto my future HDTV, so I can go back to watching fansubs on a big screen tv. My place is slowly becoming a "Mac House", as I'm looking at also picking up a Time Capsule for my wireless router (or maybe picking up a AirPort Extreme on the cheap off ebay.

I know I seem to talk alot about what I plan to buy alot. The only reason I do is because I do like to hear other's opinion on either what they think I should get or if I should or not actually buy anything. It is good to be able to finally get back to getting stuff I want.

I'll end this one here. I do have another post planned & I'll do it either later tonight or tomorrow.

IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little background on the title. It's a verse from the song Bambina by Tomoyasu Hotei. It just also happens to be my favorite song on "Ouendan 2", therefore, it's my favorite mission of the game.


Anyway, I have my new Mac mini (It's name is "Bambina") hooked up & running. I have restored all of my files & settings onto it from my backup, and I can notice the difference in performance between her & my "Tardis". I have now officially pulled the plug on the "Tardis" (literally & figuratively), and pulled it out of my desk. Only thing left to do on the "Tardis" is to remove a few reusable parts (hard drives, dvd burner, USB card). A sad day indeed.

Now that I have my new computer, it's time to throw more money into it (It never ends, does it). There are some things I will "need" to get for it.

01. RAM: Instead of paying Apple's price of $135 to upgrade the RAM to 2GB, I'll do it myself & only pay $50 from OWC.. I'll be buying this on the weekend.

02. A new LCD widescreen monitor with no less than a 22 inch screen (24" would be preferred). Currently, I have my old 17" LCD monitor hooked to Bambina, & a new 24 inch Soyo "no thrills" monitor that I caught on sale back in October for $300, hooked up to the PC. Watching fansubs & DVDs on that thing is wonderful & you will never want to have to use a smaller monitor again (it looks like size does matters).

03. NewerTech miniStack v3 (no less than 500GB). This hub/drive enclosure will serve 2 functions: Gives me a drive to run Time Machine & this is the important one: because the mini only has one Firewire port, the case will give me another one (there's 3 total, but one will be used to connect to the Mac mini). So if need be, I can have a video deck/camera & a external hard drive connected at the same time.

04. Speaking of a external hard drive. Once again, no less than 500GB. Used to store video.

05. Logitech MX Revolution. I recently had a chance to play with this mouse, & quite frankly, I love it. It feels great in my hand & responds with ease. I'll try & find a deal for it ($100 is steep for a mouse).

06. A good Uninterruptible Power Supply.


There's also a list of software I'll be acquiring at some point (Final Cut Express, Remote Buddy, Toast & Popcorn, maybe Parallels & a copy of Windows VISTA. etc...)

Never thought I'd be so happy to have a Mac Mini, but I am. Still getting over how small it is, but it's so much more powerful than the P4 pc & G4 PPC mac that I currently have.


IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!

Now is the time... TO GET A NEW COMPUTER - DONE


It's finally happening. I'm replacing my precious Tardis (my blue & white G3 upgraded to a G4 1gHz). This was the first computer I ever bought back in 2000. I learned a lot working on it, & in return, it worked wonderfully. I've used it to make money, play games, go online, & just be a tool that I could not really live without. As funny as it may sound, it became a part of me. It was the first computer that I OWNED. Just like your first anything, it will hold a special place in you heart & memories. I've done so much upgrading of parts on the thing, it started to feel like I was "The Doctor" at times working on it (hence, the computer's name). Time has finally caught up with it. It's still chugging away (old reliable), but now it's having a harder time doing things & some programs I use in either home or work will not run at all.

I've been wanting to upgrade for a couple of years now, but I couldn't because of the Bankruptcy. Now that I'm in the clear, it is time to finally pull the trigger. Now unfortunately, I don't have the money to get the MacBook Pro that I really want, I had to at least get something "current". So, I pulled the trigger & purchased a Core2Duo 2gHz MacMini. Yes, my new computer is just a little bit bigger than MY HAND! I bought it refurbished from Apple for $100 less than what it would normally cost. Now I've bought things refurbished from Apple before (mostly iPods) & since they do cover it like any new computer, it's worth the savings. I didn't buy AppleCare because I decided to do RAM & HD upgrades myself. Apple charges too much for their RAM ($135 to up the standard 1GB RAM up to 2GB), & I can get it for $60. Now if I open up the mini, I void the warranty. I've open MacMini's before at work (and since we have certified Apple repair techs at school, if anything goes wrong, I can go through them to get it fixed by Apple themselves). I got my putty knife ready (YES, according to Apple, that's the actual tool needed to open the MacMini. Wanna see? Check out this upgrade video (9MB quicktime).)

Now it shipped backed on the 16th (with "Leopard" pre-installed) & I was supposed to get it on the 23rd (knew I should have paid for "Next-Day Air"). Problem is, It's set to go to the school (which was closed the whole weekend). They made 2 delivery attempts (Friday & Saturday), so I'm hoping it's on my desk when I get into work Monday. That means if it is, I'm not going to sleep that night. I'll set up the Tardis to do a full system clone to a external firewire drive (using a program called "Carbon Copy Cloner") while I'm at work. Then when I get home, all I have to do is hook the drive up to the MacMini & copy over certain settings & my files (my music is on an external USB hard drive).

Well, I've babbled on long enough about the new computer. It will be a sad day when I unplug my tardis for the last time. Goes to show you, "You can't stop the flow of time" (even if you travel through it on a regular basis).


IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) The universe is erupting into war and your government picks the wrong side. How much worse could things get? It doesn’t matter, because no matter what you have your friends and you'll do the right thing. In the end that will be all that matters. Now if only the Psi Cops would leave you alone. Moya (Farscape) 75% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 75% Serenity (Firefly) 69% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 69% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 69% SG-1 (Stargate) 63% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 63% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 63% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 56% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 50% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 44% Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) 44% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 25%

today's my birthday. That is all.


OMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't usually do these kind of posts, but I just got a kick out of this. In Japan, there's an independent organization called "666". They actually have a little girl called "Lamb" who is possessed by zombie wrestlers. They actually have her wrestling. It's a trip to actually see this, Check this out.



And another one



I would so get a kick out of seeing here here in the WWE, or maybe the Undertaker going over there to make an appearance with her.

Still recovering from ACEN. Full life update to come.


IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!! TWO!!!!!!!!!!!! (WILL GET!!)

p.s.: music sounds familiar? :-P

Just to let everybody know, I'm in the new place. I'm still without DSL at the moment (typing this at work). I'm still trying to get use to things here & completely unpack. Once I get settled in, I'll catch up on emails and throw up some pictures of the place.


IMA GA SONO TOKI DA!!
OUENDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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