Yeah I'm still alive

I've been too busy to post anything but I want to wish everyone a very safe and happy new years!

Ready for the holidays

Not at all!

I still have shopping to do.

Catman

If you have ever owned a cat then you probably know that from time to time a cat decides that it needs to be at the other end of the house right now.

Well I'm still on the plane and there this guy sitting in front of me and every now and then he just jumps up out of his seat and goes for the baggage hold. Then gets right back in his seat
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Blogging mid flight

It's really beautiful up here in the sky on my way to Toronto. Its dark on the ground but we are above the clouds.

Looking out at clouds with swirls of pink and purple. There is a crimson glow to the west where the sun has just dipped under.

I'm flying in a regional jet from Houston so its pretty cramped in here. But I always have my blackberry which at the moment is my MP3 player until I can turn the wireless back on.

Time to eat my mini sandwich and drink my diet coke.
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Argh

I just want to stretch my legs!

We have been circling Toronto for the last 30 minutes. The fog has prevented us from landing. So now we are low on fuel and have to go to Syracuse NY to land, refuel, and get some kind of paperwork and take back off for Toronto.

I'm never going to get any sleep.
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Random thought

The only time I see people drinking tomato juice or ginger ale is on a plane.

Don't get me wrong, I actually like ginger ale, but it is often a drink I forget even exists until I fly and then I start to think about picking some up.
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DAMMIT

Now we are diverting to Buffalo NY. We must be really low on fuel.

I guess you will all know if I am alive if I post another post after this one
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Leaving on a jet plane ..... Again

I'm leaving this morning for Canada and I am just now packing. I hate packing because I always have this feeling like I am leaving something behind.

I'm looking forward to my trip, but I think they are calling for rain pretty much all week. I'll try to take plenty of pics while I'm up there and I hope we can take a detour to go see Niagra Falls.
Well, I will be online in the evenings, so I'll post anything interesting.

A man's day!

Today was just a man's kind of day! I slept in late this morning, had my coffee, then a friend and I went shooting. After firing for a couple of hours, we went to lunch and I had a big freaking steak! We then came back to the house and worked on a truck.

Strange set of events have been set into motion

I can't explain it, but do you ever get that feeling (call it paranoia) that there is all these things happening behind the scenes that is controlling or at the least steering you in one direction or another.

I know what I would like to happen but I'll play the chances and ride it out, let us see where it takes me.

More travel??

Coming back from a trip, my inbox overfloweth. I've spent all week playing catch up. The good thing is that our system hasn't update properly so I couldn't make any of my buys, which bought me time, and time is worth more than I have ever imagined.

After months of wondering when it was going to happen, they told me today that I'm going to our foundry in Canada in 2 weeks. This won't be no sales trip...... all business this time. I have to put on my big boy shoes and walk the walk and be damn sure I can talk the talk.

My mission ..... is to understand our system thru and thru and share some "objective" ideas and to "challenge" our position. Blah blah blah. Basically I need to know my shit front and back for this one!

As for my Memphis pics, I'm having trouble loading them, so you'll just have to wait.

Blogging from Memphis

Day 3 in Memphis and I am wore slap out. Here is a quick run down of my trip so far.

Wednesday:
I got here at 5:00 PM, drove 200 miles from home nonstop. Once I got checked to the hotel (which by the way is a kick ass one), we hit the bar hard and heavy. A couple of hours later we walked to this amazing resturant called Automatic Slims. After a full blown 4 course meal. We went to the famous Peabody Hotel and had a few drinks in the lobby. Then back to the hotel for more drinks. I finally retired to my room at 1:00 am.

Thursday:
Meetings first thing in the morning. I grabbed a quick lunch at T G I Fridays and then our guests started to arrive. At 5:30 PM we had a cocktail reception for an hour and went to eat at an awesome Brazilian steakhouse called the Texas de Brazil. After stuffing myself full of every kind of steak imagineable I called it a night and got some sleep.

Friday:
More meetings until lunch where we had ribs from a place called rendevous's, then I shuttled a group of people to the golf course (I don't play golf) then I headed back to the hotel where I was supposed to have meet up with another group and take them to Graceland. When I got back to the Hotel the second group had already left so I'm free until tonight where we are going to the B.B. Kings Blues Club. So I headed to the bar and knocked down a few drinks and now I'm going to take a nap!

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Come on!!

Ok, let's talk about smartphones. I appreciate the windows based cell phones, however I have used these before and nothing compares to a blackberry.

I see these ads for the "smartphones" and they are so expensive. When all you need to do the same thing is a blackberry.
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Back to being a crackberry addict

Yeah well its official. I'm back on the crack ...... Crackberry that is. I'm loving my new 8100 Pearl.
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The Titanium Spork

Just recently I was wondering about the spork. I mean really .... it is a cool invention. The best of both worlds, you can use this one utensil for most meals. Imagine my surprise to see this!

I actually want one!

From ThinkGeek:

The Spork of the Gods

Every mythic hero normally has an equally mythic weapon. Zeus had his thunderbolts. Thor had his hammer, Mjolnir. King Arthur had his Excalibur. Frodo and Bilbo had their Sting. Rhydderch Hael had his Dyrnwyn. King Kong had his bananas…you get the idea. It's time for you to join the ranks of the heroes and heroines of lore as you weld your own legendary weapon in your battle against a very powerful foe: hunger.

The Titanium Spork is ready to for the challenge. Titanium is known for its great strength, corrosion resistance, and light weight, which makes this spork a valuable asset around feeding time. Imagine how much more food you could shovel in at your local buffet if you didn't have to worry about the strain of picking up a heavy fork or spoon. Your food consumption can become the stuff of legends. Even just holding the Titanium Spork in your hand, you can feel its power. It is perhaps the greatest gastronomic invention since lickable wallpaper. Hunger, beware - your end is near!

I'm only going to say this once.

I have never claimed to be perfect, nor should anyone expect perfection from me. Mistakes are made no matter who you are.

When faced with political bullshit, you choose your battles and that is exactly what I have done. I'm sure I've "disappointed" a few people along the way, but does it keep me up at night, NOT ONE FUCKING BIT!!

Judge all you want, point your fingers where you may, but my intentions were always in the best interest of the people and not of myself.

Life is a book composed of many chapters. After one chapter is over, it's time to move on the next and that is exactly what I have done.

I love the Pearl

My new love affair comes in the form of the newest blackberry. The Blackberry Pearl 8100 from T-mobile has got to be the best of all worlds.

The best phones I have owned was the Sony T-610 and the Blackberry 7100T. Now imagine a perfect cross between the two and you get the Pearl!

So small... the best BB to date. All of the features of the BB to include a 1.5 MP camera. As I type right now I'm listening to MP3's using the headset while answering calls.

I have a Micro SD card in here loaded full of songs and it covers all angles!!

Hand Cannon

I wanted a revolver so I got one. This is a snub-nosed .44 Titanium!! HELLS YEAH!! Talk about power. You should see the size of the bullet it's HUGE! Weighing only 19 oz and small enough to actually carry concealed.

On the Right - .40 SW, my usual carry round

One the Left - .44, my new carry round ..... BANG!

Dead Rising (Updated)

Update!!

I downloaded the demo off of the Xbox live marketplace and this game has huge potential. Everything EVERYTHING can be used as a weapon, I was smacking zombies with signs, toys, sledge hammers, CD's, Books, everything I picked up. Every store has potential weapons in it. I was even able to put a toy mask on a zombie's head before knocking it off with a golf club. Keep your eyes out of this one!!

CAPCOM SHOWCASES DEAD RISING FOR XBOX 360

The Road to Stardom is Wrought With Swarms of Flesh-Hungry Zombies

E3, LOS ANGELES May 10, 2006 Capcom showcased Dead Rising for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, an action horror game that brings new meaning to the phrase "retail hell." Dead Rising follows the harrowing tale of Frank West, an overly zealous freelance photojournalist on a hunt for the scoop of a lifetime. In pursuit of a juicy lead, he makes his way to a small suburban town only to find that it has become overrun by zombies. He escapes to the local shopping mall, thinking it will be a bastion of safety but it turns out to be anything but. It will be a true struggle to survive the endless stream of enemies, but players will have full reign of a realistic shopping center, utilizing anything they find to fight off the flesh hungry mob and search for the truth behind the horrendous epidemic.

Dead Rising features an open level of freedom and offers a vast array of gameplay possibilities. As part of a real time system, time is dynamic in Dead Rising , marching on whether Frank is actively engaged or if he is stationary. Time also plays a role as zombies become more powerful when the sun goes down. Though they move slowly during the day, the zombies become stronger and faster at night, making it even more dangerous for players to survive. The unprecedented numbers of enemies come in never-ending waves and consist of a diverse population of former humans that have retained some memory of their previous lives, which is reflected in their behavior and appearance. The variety of different stores in the mall offers players an endless supply of resources including vehicles, makeshift weapons and more. Players will also encounter other survivors along the way and by helping them can acquire valuable clues as to what has happened.

Dead Rising includes the following features:

Huge environment expansive indoor and outdoor areas of the mall provide a variety of different locations to explore

Swarm technology allows an unprecedented amount of enemies on screen at once resulting in nonstop, pulse pounding action

Intense gore and vibrant realism

Anything in the mall is at Frank's disposal Grab environmental objects like umbrellas and benches to use as improvised weapons

Snatch items from different stores to use as weapons including golf clubs, lawnmowers, fry pans and more

Chow down on various mall food to revive health

Real time system, key events happen at certain times and if players are not mindful, important story elements and opportunities may be missed

Use Frank's photojournalistic skills to capture the insanity on film; the better the shot, the better the reward will be

PC vs Mac

Bad day for this guy

Toys

So I've decided to pick up another pistol. I don't own a revolver so I ordered this little beauty.


It's a Taurus Ultra lite .38 special, weighing in at only 17 oz and with a shrouded hammer for single action operation. I went to pick it up on Thursday and it was on backorder, and I was looking forward to picking it up for the weekend. A couple of buddies came over this morning and we went shooting for a few hours. I did find out that I was pretty damn accurate at 50 yards with my baby (Taurus PT-92 9mm)

Nothing like sending a few hundred rounds down range!

More fun with Photos

How cool is this!


Don't ask me why I like it so much I just do.

Playing with photo shop

This weave effect is pretty cool.


I'm finally finding time to get back in to digial art so is a start.

Another black and white

Irish Car Bomb


I just love black and white photos. I feel like the details sometimes gets lost in the color.

Another picture from Iowa

I drove past this little building everyday when I was in Iowa. I'm not sure what this building is or was but I thought it would make for a good picture.


Maybe it was an old grain silo or maybe a windmill of some sorts, but it captured my attention and my interest.

Samsung's Solid-state Laptop

Samsung will begin shipping to the Korean market its Q30, the first notebook PC with a solid-state hard disk. The 12.1-inch screen notebook will be equipped with a 32GB NAND flash based solid-state disk (SSD) with a read speed of 53MB per second (300% faster, according to Samsung) and write speed of 28MB per second (150% faster), allowing it to boot up 20 to 50% faster than a conventional laptop.

The lack of moving parts will also allow it to go fanless, making it absolutely silent, plus it'll be more efficient, boosting battery life. Here comes the downside, though: it's going to cost $3700 for all this solid-state goodness, and it's saddled with an old-fashioned Celeron M 753 (1.2GHz) chip.

Press Release

The Dublin

This was my favorite bar in Iowa City. A perfect little pub that has not been tainted by the college crowd. Best draft Guinness around there.

1 more day and I'm coming home

This is Iowa.

Yep, nothing but a lot of corn.

My first parking ticket

It's been a pretty good week all in all. Of course with today being Friday I was glad to make a short day of it. As I was driving back to the hotel, I decided to swing into the downtown district of Iowa City. Affer circling the blocks a few times I found the perfect spot, right in front of a bunch of bars. So I parked and walked along the square checking everything out. This place is a huge college town and somehow I don't seem to "fit in" with the college crowd anymore. I did however find a great tavern called the Dublin Underground. I was at home! They had the best Guiness and to top it off when the bartender gave me my beer it had a shamrock poured into the head of that heavenly lager....AMAZING!! I will have to go back and take a picture to prove it.

So after a drink or two I decided to head on back to the hotel and there I saw my first parking ticket underneath the wiper on my rental car. $5.00 due to Iowa city. Hell, for $5 to park so close.... it was well worth it.

I will probably just go check out the mall next door tomorrow and do my laundry. That's the bad part about traveling so long.

Until next time.

UPDATE!!



So this morning I went dowstairs into the lobby to find this in the newspaper machine. Oh really, parking tickets down huh, well kiss my butt.

Things about Iowa

1. Everybody drives slow and in the left lane

2. CORN lots and lots of CORN

3. 1 paved road to every 10 dirt roads

4. At exactly 8:00 pm until 7:00 am the whole state smells of pig shit

5. For some strange reason, a lot of people jog all the time

6. There are fork lift drivers named Bubba who you wonder who needs to be driving who.

7. It's not getting dark until 9:00 pm

8. And they say I have a funny accent

9. People are not as friendly as you would expect, nothing like the South

10. For god sakes at the CORN!

I promise to be back.....Sometime

I can't begin to explain how busy I have been. I was promoted to a new position at work and I haven't had time to stop and take a breathe. My emails are piling up on me and I am really behind on my feeds, but when things slow down I'll be back in the saddle.

Hello to all my friends and I'll catch up when I can.

My New Toy

I've been without a pistol for a while, and I decided to pick this little Taurus up. It's a Millenium Pro PT-140 (.40). A nice compact, perfect for carry and packs a punch. After two weeks of it sitting in the box, I decided to break it in a little. I put 50 rounds through it and was pleased. I was able to keep a pretty tight pattern from 25 yards (considering it is a compact). I have heard a lot of people complain about the how difficult this gun is to field strip. Now maybe they just do not understand simple mechanics, but all there is to it is pulling the takedown pin out and removing the slide. All-in-all, it's a great weapon for personal defense or target shooting. Taurus also offers a lifetime warranty so you never have to worry about parts.

Check out the product page

I am such a Geek

A long time ago, I posted about being in office space hell. I realized I had my very own TPS reports.

Well it gets worse.

Today I acutally got exited about a Pivot Table!!!! I even said "Yeah, that is some good data"!

I know it comes with the territory and it's just part of my job, but how lame is that.

DISCLAIMER: No representation is made that the quality of the contents of this blog is better than the quality of the contents to be found at other blogs.

For illustration purposes

Keeping the 360 out of the cabinet helps keep it cool.



I keep the power supply behind the speaker on the left where it is more open than being behind the cabinet

Elevate your 360

Lift your 360 up a bit to improve airflow

I used a set of cushion feet from Radio Shack to give it some clearance. When it's running, I can feel more air being pulled from underneath.

I'll be back!

Long time no post! I have been so busy at work, I have not been abke to keep up as much as I would like to. Between the lack of bandwidth at home and a slight back injury, all I have been doing around the house is cracking away on the 360 and watching movies with a heating pad on my back trying to regroup.

I have a lot of articles I would like to post and some reviews of some 360 games that have been consuming much of my time.

On anoter note, Congratulations to Buddha and his wife. They have a new baby girl in the family!

Full Auto

The World's Most Destructive Racing Game is coming!

Combine raw horsepower with awesome firepower in a race that demands both precision aim and breakneck speed. Destroy your enemies and tear the world apart as you master a wide arsenal of weaponry and a stunning selection of armor-laden cars.

In Full Auto, the city of Staunton is held hostage by a mysterious group known only as The Shepherds. As a retired driver, you are coerced by the Shepherds into a series of lethal street races, where the cost of competing is far greater than anyone ever expected. "Unwreck", an ingenious new feature that makes mid-race "restarts" a thing of the past, allows players to rewind short periods of time. Botch a turn? Correct it. Miss a shortcut? Go back and take it. Under heavy fire? Use a second chance to evade the competition. And Xbox Live support ensures significant replay value for gamers itching to take on human opponents in both grand-scale arena modes and full-throttle races.

"Play mechanics that would be impossible on current generation hardware - like the ability in Full Auto to turn an entire city block to rubble, then rewind the carnage at the press of a button - will truly define the next-generation experience," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Entertainment Marketing, SEGA of America. "In Full Auto, you'll never see the same explosive sequence twice and, with our proprietary physics technology, gamers will quite literally see and experience destructive uniqueness every time they play it."



Full Auto allows players to choose from a wide selection of unique vehicle designs and arm them with any combination of machine guns, cannons, and other deadly weapons before taking to the streets. The rules of the road don't apply in this high-octane, no-holds-barred competition.

Get a FREE Full Auto Limtited Edition Faceplate for your 360 when you purchase Full Auto from Rhino Video Games!!

Turtle Beach Easy Audio Adapter

Turtle Beach makes PC surround sound a snap with its Audio Advantage Roadie USB Audio Adapter. Just a regular little USB sound card that snaps into your USB port, it'll hook you up with instant 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound connectivity, as well as all kinds of outputs to connect your computer or laptop to a bunch of different audio devices (like surround-sound headphones or portable speakers). Built-in stereo mics and a 10 Band EQ are also included, all for just $80.

Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Roadie USB Audio Adapter

Imation Flash Wristband

As convenient as the small sizes of today’s flash drives are, they also carry with them the problem of easily being lost. Fortunately, Imation has come up with a surprisingly not too bad looking solution - the Flash Wristband ($TBD).The drive features 256MB of memory, and a simple design that allows the ends of the band to plug into one another. Oh, and about 50,000 "Geek" points with your techie buds.

MCE Xbox 360 Apps

If you have a Media Center and an Xbox 360, then you may want to try these two applications.

Web Browser on your Xbox 360:
Well, sort of. Check out this Media Center app, the MCE Browser. Using windows MCE and your 360 as the extender, you can now browse the web using your Xbox 360.(bonus points for the photo on that web page)

Transcode Video:
This application allows you to transcode video directly over to your 360. To quote the web page "Designed for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and the Xbox 360, Transcode 360 aims to broaden the support for a wide range of video media including DivX and XviD."

New Xbox Live Compatible Router

The Dlink DI-634M has earned our Xbox Live Compatible Logo. This is the first MIMO router from Dlink. It is still 802.11b/g on the wireless side but (as with all MIMO routers) should reduce dead spots and increase range.

Read about the device here.

Stay Tuned

I've been really busy lately and my bandwidth at home prevents me from doing much at all, but I shall return soon.

Tip of the Day

Just a friendly tip.

NEVER tell a customer to get bent!

The boss really frowns on this.

USB Data Transfer Device

Shuffling around files between various computers can sometimes be a pain, especially sans network. Maybe you have a flash drive or USB hard drive and those will usually get the job done but not necessarily very well. The USB Data Transfer Device is a new product that offers the perfect solution - simply plug it in and start transferring your data between two computers. It automatically displays the entire contents of each PC enabling you to quickly drag-n-drop files and file folders from one machine to the other. The device will support data transfer at speeds up to 25Mb/Sec and has a 4 foot retractable USB cable.

Available at Think Geek

Nintendo funds old-school gaming expo

Retro fun:

Fancy having a game of some of those old classics like Space Invaders, Pac-man and Donkey Kong? Then later this year you can head on down to London's Science Museum, where a Nintendo funded retro game fest will be starting. The expo will run until 2007, until it is finally replaced by an interactive gallery built to inspire aspiring programmers, which will run until 2009.

It's not all about nostalgia though - gamers will have the chance to get their sweaty mitts on the latest throbbing hardware and titles. Nintendo general manager David Yarnton said: "This exhibition means not only can we celebrate the great history of gaming, but also inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to get involved in what looks to be an exciting future."

Mp3's through your cigarette lighter

Forget all the bells and whistles you have to mess with to get your MP3 player properly hooked up in your automobile, here's a nifty little gadget that replaces the whole shebang. The Yifang EM192F is a car charger, FM modulator, and USB MP3/WMA reader, all in one device. Slap this thing into your cigarette lighter and watch the magic. You'll now be able to listen to your music through FM stereo.

All in One Car MP3 Player - Power, FM Mod, and more

Thecus 1TB Music Server

The Thecus Y.E.S. Box is an all in one music server great for any home with multiple PCs all wanting to share music easily. There are a variety of different models, a barebones unit that comes with no hard drives, a base 120GB model and lastly a model featuring two 500GB SATA drives for 1TB of completely legal music goodness. The Y.E.S. Box can also function as a photo server and can also be an FTP server for music sharing anywhere. It is powered by a Intel chip, has 256MB of RAM, optional Wi-Fi, 2x Gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0. The barebones unit begins at $459 and the 1TB model runs upwards of $1500.

Product Page

Belkin Freescale

Belkin is jumping on the wireless USB bandwagon with this four-port hub. That's right, it's packing wireless USB, letting you roam free with any USB device. Using Motorola spinoff Freescale's Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, this hot connection gives you data rates that are a hundred times faster than Bluetooth. So imagine, you walk into a room with your notebook, plug in the wireless USB dongle and you're instantly connected to that USB hard drive you have stashed under the desk. No wires, no muss, no fuss. You'll have to wait until early spring of this year to give it a try, and when it ships Belkin says it will cost $129.99.

Press release

Anti-Virus USB Drive

This device has an embedded antivirus vaccine engine. Available in capacities from 128MB to 2GB, the IOCELL VaccineDrive's antivirus software automatically checks with the mother ship for the latest virus definitions each time you plug it in. No word as to exactly which antivirus software this baby uses, but it's said to protect against spyware, adware, scumware and who-knows-whatware. Not only will it frisk the files you put onto it for those creepy crawlies, it'll also cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war (against viruses) into your host PC as well. And it doesn't conflict with anti-virus software already running on your computer.

IOCELL, Launching "VaccineDrive" embedded anti-virus engine on USB drive

Windows Mobile 5 Coming to T-Mobile Next Month

T-Mobile put a page online this week for subscribers to pre-register for Windows Mobile 5 devices. Next month they will begin offering two of the many Windows Mobile devices offered by their European parent. The MDA is a Pocket PC phone based on the HTC Wizard. It features quad-band GSM/GPRS (EDGE), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 1.3 MP camera and slide out QWERTY keyboard. The SDA offers all the same features in a handset-shaped design - including a QVGA resolution screen. Since it has a traditional keypad, the SDA does not have a slide out keyboard. Cingular launched the 2125 Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone this week. It is similar to the SDA but lacks Wi-Fi and the dedicated music playback buttons.

Full Story...

More Info...

Xbox 360 Won't Do Blu-ray

There was earlier speculation that Microsoft was going to offer Blu-ray support to its Xbox 360 (most likely via an external drive). This seems to have been a bit inaccurate as Microsoft has stated that it is "fully committed" to the HD DVD platform. Apparently, Microsoft was just touting the system's ease of expandability, implying that a Blu-ray drive could easily be added externally, but that the company actually has no such plans. Looks like you’ll have to wait for the PS3 to get your Blu-ray-on-a-console fix.

MS says no to Xbox 360 Blu-ray support

SEGA LAUNCHES VIRTUA TENNIS: WORLD TOUR FOR THE PSP

Critically-Acclaimed Franchise Now Available for Gamers on the Go

SEGA of America, Inc. today announced the release of Virtua Tennis: World Tour exclusively for the PSP portable entertainment system . Intense multiplayer action enhances the addictive, fast-paced gameplay of Virtua Tennis: World Tour , which players can now take with them wherever they go.

Play against three-time Wimbledon champions Roger Federer and Venus Williams, and 12 other internationally-ranked tennis pros such as Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, Lleyton Hewitt, and Lindsay Davenport . The latest installment in the critically-acclaimed franchise also serves up a make-your-own player mode, key court surfaces from around the world, exclusive mini-games and unlockable accessories. Multiplayer mode encourages up to four friends to play together.

"Virtua Tennis: World Tour tightens up the franchise's already superb gameplay and treats fans to a new set of innovative mini-games, customization and multiplayer modes," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Entertainment Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "SEGA delivers an even more authentic tennis experience with Virtua Tennis: World Tour , which features a robust roster of internationally-renowned pro-tennis stars that gamers can challenge or play as."

Virtua Tennis: World Tour features three core gameplay modes: In Exhibition Mode, players can step into the sneakers of a professional player and take advantage of their real-life strengths on the court. In World Tour Mode, players customize their own athlete to travel the globe and win cash; and Tournament Mode, which puts players in knockout sessions where only the best will see victory. In addition, Virtua Tennis: World Tour offers four brand new mini-games - Blockbuster, Fruit Dash, Blocker, and Balloon Smash - exclusive to the PSP system.

Virtua Tennis: World Tour has received several accolades for its visual excellence and addictive gameplay, including the IGN E3 Award for Best PSP Sports Game. Developed by the UK-based development team, SUMO Digital , Virtua Tennis: World Tour is challenging and fun whether you have just minutes or hours to play .

Virtua Tennis: World Tour is rated "E" for Everyone and is available at retailers nationwide for an MSRP of $39.95.

Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360

Logitech has jumped into the universal remote control market lately with a line of Harmony controllers. So far these remotes have received mostly praise, except for their generally high price tags. Logitech used the launch of the Xbox 360 as an excuse to produce another excellent remote that supports the media-savvy 360. The remote can control nearly all units of your home theater setup along with the 360, it has a built-in memory to keep track of all of your commonly-used components and power them on and off all together. It has an integrated backlit monochrome screen and retails for around $130.

Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 Reviewed

Product Page

ALS Industries XBOX 360 Messenger Bag XB-3

Looking for a bag to carry your Xbox 360. Here's a good one, it's the ALS Industries XBOX 360 Messenger Bag XB-3. I picked one up this weekend. We all know the problem with packing up your 360 is the god awful "brick". The power supply is the only reason the 360 is smaller than the original Xbox.

This bag (beside sporting the 360 look), has a compartment in the bottom of the bag for the brick and the A/V Cables, which is nice. The bag is very padded and has room for 4 controllers and the remote.

You can pick one up at your local Rhino Video Games.

Using DivX on the Xbox 360

That the Xbox 360 can stream video from your PC to your nice big TV and is a well-known feature. Well, at least in video formats that Microsoft approves of. Naturally, that leaves out DivX. Sure, you could convert your files to 360-compatible WMVs, but where's the fun in that? Using mceDivX360, you can now stream all those DivX and Xvid movies you've accumulated over the years straight to your 360. While it technically still converts the files, it does it on the fly, so you really don't even notice.

mceDivX360 Hack Allows Xbox 360 Owners to Stream DivX Video in Real-Time

Banshee Virtual 5.0 MP3 Speakers

Here's another leap in virtual surround sound. Banshee Audio introduced its all-in-one 5.0 surround sound listening station for portable audio players, claiming to be the first of its kind. Quite decent looking, it basically gives you surround sound from its one single desktop speaker. And because it's small (11.5" L x 3" W x 6" D), it can obviously be used in the office or anywhere you have space troubles. It does, however, promise 50 watts of power. Retails for about $150 in mid-March.

Product Page

Antec Fusion PC Case

Better than a PC tower for sure, the Antec Fusion PC case is a nicely designed product with noise reduction and thermal management capabilities, perfect for those of you ready to add a PC to your living room, but not stoked about the usual form factor. With a vacuum fluorescent display, 430W NeoHE power supply and clean interior, you'll like the triple chamber design that actually isolates the power supply, hard disk drives and motherboard into separate cooling zones. The four expansion slots and three drive bays also make sure you'll be able to easily expand your system, and the two external USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port and audio connectors are certainly convenient. Should be about $200, available later this year.

Antec Fusion HTPC Enclosure

Selection of Antec PC cases

3Gbps SATA II Hard Drive

Buffalo will be releasing a new line of hard drives with capacities ranging from 150 to 500GB. These hard drives will be in SATA II and offer a blazing 3Gbps (gigabits per second) transfer rate. It seems they will be available in Japan only for the moment.

3Gbps SATA II HDD

Levi's to launch iPod compatible jeans

January 14, 2006 Invented in 1873 by Levi Strauss, Levi's Jeans are the original jeans and have long since become the most recognised brand and most widely imitated product in the history of apparel - and somehow it seems entirely appropriate that Levi's is getting together with the world's modern day technological equivalent brand, Apple's iPod. Levi's is planning to introduce RedWire DLX Jeans in the Northern hemisphere autumn of 2006. Designed for both men and women, the jeans will seamlessly integrate an iPod docking cradle built into the jeans and "invisibly" housed within a side pocket. There's also a special joystick incorporated into the jeans' watch pocket to enable easy operation of the iPod without removing one's hands from one's pockets.

Philips MiraVision in New Sizes

Philips MiraVision Mirror TV is pretty much just that: A LCD monitor that, when turned off, is a reflective mirror. Certainly nicer than a big black screen in the bedroom. So it's nice to see that Philips is now offering the TV in 32- and 42-inch sizes. Check for these sometime in the next few months.

Philips MiraVisionTM Mirror TV

Lexar JumpDrive Mercury

Lexar's newest addition to its USB flash drives at CES is the JumpDrive Mercury. If you've ever had a problem with knowing how much storage space you have left on your drive, this Mercury takes care of that with an integrated capacity meter. In fact, this meter gives you the info you want without ever having to be plugged into your PC. The display, created by E Ink Corp, is paper-thin and unbreakable. The drive will come in 1GB and 2GB capacities. Also look for the JumpDrive Firefly, which is smaller and comes in 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB capacities.

Denon AVR-2807

If you've got some bucks to spend this new year and want to build a killer A/V system, there's nothing wrong with checking out Denon's new A/V receiver, which will include available Dolby and DTS surround sound decoding technologies, IR remote in/out terminals for integrated system control, and feature assignable amplifier configuration for either 7.1-channel surround operation or 5.1 surround with an amplified second zone. The AVR-2807 includes HDMI digital video source switching, room correction and calibration technology called MultEQXT from Audyssey Laboratories that maximizes room acoustics for multiple listeners, and XM Satellite Radio's new "Connect-and-Play" technology. And hey, at $1100, you'll get the quality of Denon without the $6000 pricetag of its higher-end receivers.

Quake 4 in review

I have been playing Quake 4 for the Xbox 360 the last couple of weeks and I would like to share my review with you all.

First I would like to answer a question that I hear too often. Is Quake 4 a next gen game? YES! When it comes to console gaming, never before has the line between PC and console been so close. The graphics on the Xbox 360 rival that of any computer I've seen. Not to mention playing it in Hi-Def makes a huge difference.

The gameplay is great, the story is well writtin and the controls are very tight. It has some vehicles to use but not to the point of Halo, but still nice. My only complaint is that there isn't a wide variety of enemies and there are alot of detail in the gameplay that you really do not get to use in the single player mode.

It has a very Doom 3 feel about it (coming from ID), but better. This time they had enough since to put a flashlight on your machine gun. I know, I know.... people claim that it added to the DOOM experience but to me, it was just plain annoying. However they did manage to preserve some of that experience by making the flashlight only available on your machinegun and the pistol (blaster).

All in all, I think it is well worth picking up.

Online gaming revenues to triple by 2009

Online gaming revenue is set to explode in the next few years, according to Parks Associates, who have published a report claiming that revenues from US online gaming services are set to triple from $1.1 billion in 2005 to more than $3.5 billion in 2009. Networked gaming services, such as online console gaming, multiplayer online gaming and mobile multiplayer gaming will account for almost 50 percent of revenues, the firm said. Digital downloads are expected to account for 23 percent of sales.

I know I'll be dropping a few $'s on Xbox Live Marketplace!

Interesting night

Last night, I went with some friends to the Huntsville Havoc game. We lost 3-6 after a three game winning streak. After the game we all went out to eat and we finally made it in around 1:30am.

Johnny and Diana got to meet one of the players.

On my way home I drove up on a house, fully involved in flames. It was too late for anybody to be in there and still living and the fire was spreading up a hill to another house. I called 911 and ran to the house and beat on the door trying to find out if anyone was in there. No one ever answered so I ran to the next house over and a young couple came to the door. They told me no one lived in both of those houses. The fire department arrived and ended up blocking my car in so I stayed out there till 3:30 in the morning. They put the fire out after fighting with it for quite a while.

I'm just glad no one was hurt.

Redecorating

I wanted to do something to the living room. This is what I came up with.

Before:

After:

Now this is my idea of redecorating!