DrahuszYesterday my family and I went and saw Avatar in 3-D. I was completely amazed by the quality of the special effects. I remember watching the 3-D television movies back in the 80’s and having to wear the red / blue tinted cardboard glasses. Before the movie, they advertised almost all the previews in3-D. Looks like it will be a great summer to unwind with a few movies.
Yesterday I ordered my new notebook from Xoticpc.com. I was originally going to purchase the Serval Professional from Sysytem76.com, but I wanted to look to see if there was a better PC or if it was on sale. I soon learned Clevo manufactures the notebook I wanted and provides this notebook to retailers who re-brand the units as their own. So I searched the Internet for W860CU (one of the models Clevo builds) and started reading posts about their products and posts about different resellers who deal with them.
So I checked out several on-line retailers and discovered that I can get the same notebook PC (from what I can tell by looking at pictures) with more options than what System76 offered. So I customized the PC (see below) and compared to what I was going to order from System76. The price difference, $1.00 US. Like most of us, I want the best value I can get for my money. System76 just didn’t offer me everything I wanted: Blue-ray player, 3 year labor warranty, and upgraded thermal compound.
There was an option to purchase the PC with no OS, but I wanted to purchase Windows 7 from Newegg at a later date. Now I can have either a dual boot system or create a VM from within Ubuntu.
When the PC arrives, I plan on backing up the HDD first then wiping it our for Ubutnu 9.10. I will install Windows 7 Ultimate as a VM. As I stated before I am really starting to like Windows 7 at work. I have the Enterprise version installed on three PC and found it to be reliable.
UPDATE:
I just received an e-mail that my PC has shipped.
For Christmas, my family received from “Santa” Band Hero and Lego Rock Band for the Wii. Of course the kids were excited about reciving these gifts Christmas morning. While breakfast was cooking, I hooked everything up and made sure Band Hero was working.
My son and I spent hours playing Band Hero taking turns between the guitar and drums. I tried the mic to see if worked. I swear I heard the Wii complain about my lack of singing skills. I guess that’s OK, because I know I don’t have a voice for singing.
Today I wanted to try Lego Rock Band for the Wii. The guitar was working well but I problems with the drums. I could not get the red drum to work at all. The red drum is the snare drum and is also the back or cancel button for the game. Without it, it is impossible for Lego Rock Band to work correctly.
I checked the Internet to see if others were having problems with the red drum like too. It turns out the drum set will work (minus the orange cymbal) as long as you have the Wii remote installed correctly into the drum system. I thought, “I have it installed correctly. How else would I be able to play drums on Band Hero already.” The key for me was to remove the wrist strap from the remote before installing it into the drum system. Now I can play the drums on Lego Rock Band with no problems.
I created a Lego character and formed a band called Chicken Wizards (random name the game picked for me.) I played 2 gigs, and several practice sessions with the drums and guitar. It’s a lot of fun and before I knew it, it was after 2:00PM and I’ve still haven’t started my chores.
I would recommend both games for anyone with some music skills. If you are lacking in musical talent, just set the instrument for Beginner and you can still join in the fun. For New Year’s I we are having some family and friends over. I’m sure the new Wii games will be a big hit.
While I was writing this post, my son was sitting down here in the game room singing Mr. Roboto by Styx.
I would like to wish all of my hard working fellow Americans; Happy Labor Day!
On Saturday I finished all my yard work, got in a 20 minute bike ride, and took the family to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The movie was very entertaining and the kids ate a ton of popcorn. I am looking forward to seeing the last Harry Potter movie.
Today we celebrate working by taking a day off – paid if your lucky. I’ll be spending the day grilling lunch and dinner. What’s on the menu? Hotdogs, bratwurst, and lamb chops. Chips, fresh salsa, and Samuel Adams Octoberfest will be available too.
Enjoy the last weekend of summer!
Here is a link for the history of Labor Day and a cartoon by Clay Bennett.
This weekend the Cole Brothers Circus was in our area. I took the family to the 1:30 PM show on Sunday. The last time we went was August 2006. We were able to get free tickets for the kids with 2 adult ticket purchases. Getting there took no time – glad I took the Subaru Outback since everyone had to park in the grass field. After all the rain we had from Hurricane Bill it was going to be pretty wet and muddy.
Our seats this year put us next to the entrance of the animals when the arrived and left the ring. The best shows for us to see from our viewpoint; the Toprasta Troupe from Columbia performing the three-tier 7 man pyramid on the high wire, the elephants, jugglers, acrobats, Aerial Ballet on Streaming Silks, and the dogs and pony review. The rest of the shows were in the center ring; 3 motorcycles in the Globe of Death, other acrobats, clowns, camels, and dancers.
It was very hot and humid “under the big top” for everyone – except for the camels. We enjoyed our circus treats and took some pictures of the family and attractions. Most of the pictures didn’t turn out as well as I would like, but a few are attached at the end of this post.
Leaving the circus was as painful as leaving a Catholic Church on Easter Sunday. One thing I like about my Outback – it has a timer for letting you know how long you’ve been behind the wheel driving (or in our case sitting in the field waiting). We did not get onto the road until 29 minutes after starting the car. The problem – poor traffic management and a few cars stuck in the mud.
On Sunday July 26th I went for a bike ride at Carousel Park in Wilmington, DE. It was a little warm and humid, but over all a good day for a ride. The trail was a mix of stone and dirt paths with a few ruts from the horse trailers and hayride wagons. The scenery included lots of trees and a white spilt rail fence with horses; and the perimeter of the park was surrounded by neighborhoods and the mail road. The park is 217 acres in size with over 6 miles of trails for me to explorer.
I’ve had this bike for 2 years with most of my riding on streets with little to no hills. This was my first trail ride, and during my drive to the park I kept reminiscing about being a kid and riding my Huffy bike in the woods. If you wanted to get somewhere quickly, the woods provided all the short-cuts you needed.
The first part of the ride on the Carousel Loop was easy to ride. Going downhill on the rough terrain at 17 mph was exciting. After the downhill run, I continued on the path with the high school on my left and the stables and indoor ring on my right. When I reach one the lowest points in the park, I made a right and followed the Secret Escape Route. The path takes you around the Blue Lagoon with a slight incline and then merges with the Enchanted Lake Circle path. As I rode by I could see some people fishing at Enchanted Lake and some kids running around playing tag.
Then came the toughest part of my ride; I made a right onto Enchanted Lake Promenade. A nice steep .25 mile ride to the top. I had to stop half way to catch my breath. Once I reached the top I rode to my car when I could get a drink. I wanted to see the horses one more time before I left so I rode to where they were grazing. I sat and watched them for about 10 minutes before packing up and heading home.
Although I got my butt kicked by riding this trail, I plan on going back again (hopefully this coming weekend.) I think I might try the Enchanted Lake Circle for a few laps.
During our family vacation to Avalon NJ, we stopped at Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May, NJ. After going through the Welcome Center, the children went for a horse drawn wagon ride. Everyone got a change to pet Levi the horse and feed the sheep.
From there we walked the village and toured the Marshville Schoolhouse (the tour guide for the schoolhouse was fantastic…lots of information and very enthusiastic) , the Pottery Shop where we saw a demonstration on how to make a bowl, checked out the Dennisville Inn, walked through the Lewis Corson Gandy Barn, enjoyed a nice presentation at the Spicer Leaming House on cooking and baking (the instructor was making a wineberry cake during her presentation), and bought candy and other items at the Village Store. They had a demonstration at the David Taylor Shop on basket weaving, and the leather-smith was making belts to be sold at the Village Store.
Unfortunately many of the buildings were not open (my father wanted to see the John Finley Blacksmith shop, but he was not in) or the guides were out for lunch. Since I was planning on grilling bratwurst, hamburgers, and hotdogs for dinner, we decided not to stop for dinner at The Grange Restaurant.
Well after getting back from vacation in Avalon, NJ, I had plenty of work to do. One task was to replace the engine air filter and the cabin air filter in my 2007 Subaru Outback Sedan. I was able to purchase the new filter for $28.00 at the local auto parts store. The procedure should take about 15 minutes to complete (longer if your taking pictures of the process.) Please note I am not an auto mechanic. This post is more for my records than anything. Subaru states the cabin air filter should be replaced yearly. The filter in my car is 2 years old. It should look pretty nasty.
On Monday July 13th I called the local Subaru dealer to see how much they would charge to replace the cabin air filter… the service desk representative said $90.00! Glad I did this one on my own.
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