I’m streaming Blade Runner from Netflix right now. I’ve seen the movie in its entirety before, but I don’t think I have ever actually sat down and watched the movie. I suppose I will finally know what exactly this film is about.

Here is a line I found pretty funny at the time when Leon Kowalski, played by Brion James, was pummeling Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford: … wake up. It’s time to die! Moments layer he was shot in the back.

By the way, Blade Runner is considered a cult classic, and it is almost, if not, always rated 5 stars.

I love 80′s movies. I often prefer the special effects and animatronics to today’s CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) environments.

Mark this date in your calendars – Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – October 1st 2010. Below is a live action trailer of the game. Update: By the way, UbiSoft has been granted a trademark, by the USPTO, for the name Ghost Recon: Future Soldier?!?

Don’t forget to cast your vote in the poll. Reflect on your best and not so great moment of playing any of the Ghost Recon games in the comments below.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

xbox 360, logo, controller

My XBOX 360 is kaput! It’s at the point where it won’t even turn on. Well, it does, but it immediately powers off everything but the Red Ring of Death (RRoD). It sucks. I have been having some issue with the Xbox for some time know. Recently I wrote about how I was experiencing some xbox video problems. Well, about a week or so ago, I lost video on it completely. The TV knows that there is something connected to it, but all I get is a black screen. Amanda came across a tutorial on how to check what might be wrong with the Xbox 360, through getting it to show an error code. Well, the error code I repeatedly received was 0102, which indicated that the Xbox has no idea what the problem might be.

We have had the system since 2005. So it is definitely out of Microsoft’s manufacturer warranty. I figured there isn’t much to loose by trying some of the hacks and fixes people have described on the Internet. Since it was already broken, what could happen? Brake it even further than it is? ….. hahaha, funny, now that I write this after the fact. What can I tell you … I have  indeed managed to brake a broken Xbox 360!

Back to the Xbox 360 hack on the World Wide Web. After reading number of issues and fixes described by Xbox owners, I decided to go with the 360 Hot Air Gun fix. Supposedly if the CPU and GPU, and some times the RAM chips are heated up, with a Hot Air Gun, to the point where the solder melts, it possibly can resolve the problem with the cracked solder joints and lack of conductivity between the chips and the xbox motherboard. Unfortunately for me this fix did not work, and “broke” the Xbox 360.

It will be easier for me just to go out and get a new Xbox 360 around Christmas than to keep trying to fix a 2005 Xbox 360. Hopefully newer models do not have the same issues. Although, I thought about simply picking up a new Xbox 360 motherboard from eBay, but I see that there are Xbox 360 Elite motherboards with the same issue, 4 year latter! I will most likely post this one on Craigslist for $50 or so to help contribute toward the cost of replacing it.

Beer and Fireworks = Bad Combination

The idiot morons in my neighborhood are already starting with the fireworks. WTF?! It’s only July 1st! There are 3 days left before I have to endure the random and unnecessary thumping of fireworks. Which, the previously mentions idiots, last year were setting off randomly throughout the night for a month after July 4th. When you are trying to sleep and when you have small children it is very inconsiderate and rude to be woken up, multiple times during the night, because the mentally lacking in capacity neighbors can’t control themselves. I was finding leftover fireworks in my yard for two months after July 4th, but it was more discouraging and enraging when I found the fireworks debris on the roof of our home.

Fittingly, here is a video dedicated to fireworks idiots. Enjoy!

P.S. I like fireworks, I like watching fireworks shows. When we were on out honeymoon in San Diego, I watched a fireworks shows that was coordinated between 12 different locations throughout the city. I could see 9 of those. It was great. It was awesome. But as a home owner, I prefer to keep explosives that I’m not in control of, and knowing that if  something happens no one is going to take responsibility for, away from my property and loved ones.

xbox 360, logo, controller

Over the weekend I had some lack of video from my XBox360. Nothing that some heat couldn’t fix. Apparently most problems with the Xbox360 are fixed by that which kills PCs – heat.

I have an XBox360, which is one of those that was born with bugs and “genetic” issue – meaning an early version – one from the early ones, made before the red ring of death became evident  and all the various versions started to come out. Luckily, I don’t abuse and rarely spend massive amount of hours playing it, thus I don’t have very many problem with it! Other than the occasional screen flicker and the constant refusal of the DVD-Rom tray to actually stay closed after attempting to close it. Apparently the DVD drive gets a bad taste from DVD discs and refuses to work with them. HAHA. My solution for the latter is to place my thumb on the drive tray and prevent it from coming back out, then pushing the open/close button again!!

This past weekend I experienced something new – the XBox booted fine and there was audio, but no video. The digital TV detected an active video source, but there was no picture. At first I was going to disassemble the XBox to look for problem myself, because the warranty had expired a long time ago. But then I decided to wait for Monday and call Microsoft and possibly sent it back.

After researching the problem in the global knowledge fix and repair database, i.e. the Internet, I was able to determined that 1) it might not be worth the money spend to sent it in for repair, and 2) the issue could be related to the heat sync on the video chip. Something about the x-clamp (see x-clamp fix video at the end of the post). A problem which is most commonly fixed by wrapping the Xbox in a towel causing it to overheat. I again considered taking it apart and performing the x-clam fix, because I wasn’t willing to wrap the XBox in something to cause it to overheat and possibly cause heat damage to other components. Before proceeding, I simply opted out to just turn it on and let it run heat up. I’ve noticed how hot it can get! About 20 minutes later I came back to check on it. I turned the XBox off and back on. Voila, there was video again! Problem fixed.

Now if that darn DVD-drive tray could stay closed, it would be great.

Whois domain record: Microsoft, YouTUBE, XBox

I find it to be revealing as far as plot and Terminator canon changes. Something I wasn’t expecting, making it even more desirable to see. At least to me.

Will you see Terminator 4: Salvation in the theater or on DVD? Let me know in the poll below.

1. WHY DO MEN BECOME SMARTER DURING SEX?
1.A Because they are plugged into a genius.

2. WHY DON’T WOMEN BLINK DURING SEX?
2.A They don’t have enough time.

3. WHY DOES IT TAKE 1 MILLION SPERM TO FERTILIZE ONE EGG?
3.A They don’t stop to ask directions.

4. WHY DO MEN SNORE WHEN THEY LIE ON THEIR BACKS?
4.A Because their balls fall over their butt-hole and they vapor lock.

You’re laughing, aren’t you?!?!

5. WHY WERE MEN GIVEN LARGER BRAINS THAN DOGS?
5.A So they won’t hump women’s legs at cocktails parties.

6. WHY DID GOD MAKE MEN BEFORE WOMEN?
6.A You need a rough draft before you make a final copy.

7. HOW MANY MEN DOES IT TAKE TO PUT A TOILET SEAT DOWN?
7.A Don’t know…..it never happened.

8. WHY DID GOD PUT MEN ON EARTH?
8.A Because a vibrator can’t mow the lawn.

Q: Why do little boys whine?
A: They are practicing to be men.

---

Q: What does it mean when a man is in your bed gasping for breath and calling your name?
A: You did not hold the pillow down long enough.

---

Q: What do you call an intelligent, good looking, sensitive man?
A: A rumor.

- “What do you think you’re doing?” asks the wife.

- “They’re on sale, only $10 for 24 cans,” he replies.

- “Put them back, we can’t afford them,” demands the wife.

They carry on shopping. A few aisles further on along the woman picks up a $20 jar of face cream and puts it in the basket.

- “What do you think you’re doing?” asks the husband.

- “It’s my face cream. It makes me look beautiful,” replies the wife.

Her husband retorts:

- “So does 24 cans of Budweiser and its half the price.’”

A Dad Moment

Ricky held his one-year-old daughter Emily in his lap. She was jabbering in baby talk as she flipped the pages of a picture book. Nearby, Ricky’s five-year-old son Tim said, “Dad, make her read it in English instead of Spanish.”.

I extremely enjoy listening to my son talking in his own language. It is fun, entertaining and animated – full of facial expressions and gestures. Moments like these are priceless, which only parents can appreciate for their true value and not just their comical relief.

Very embarrassed, she looks around nervously to see if anyone has noticed her little accident and prays that a sales person doesn’t pop up right now.

As she turns around, her worst nightmare materializes in the form of a salesman standing right behind her.

Cool as a cucumber, he displays all of the qualities one would expect of a professional salesman in a store like Tiffany’s, and greets the lady with: “Good day, Madam. How may we help you today?”

Feeling uncomfortable, but still hoping that the salesman may not have been there at the time of her little ‘accident’, she asks: “Sir, what is the price of this lovely bracelet?”

He answers: “Madam, if you farted just looking at it, you’re going to shit when I tell you the price!”

It appears , though, that in Russia bullets are cheaper, even when the chase is moving at less than 10 miles per hour.

It appears to me that after the long! chase, the offender had finally given up as a result of losing control over the vehicle due to nearly dieing from laughter. Unfortunately a quick beat down was administered by the police!

Thank you EnglishRussia.

07:48 AM Currently it is showing the presidential limo, staff members, secret service and other security waiting for president elect to come out and be take to the inauguration site. I can also hear in the distant background the inauguration orchestra practicing.

Update 08:21 AM That’s a lot of people. I am sure there is two or three times that somewhere around also attending the inauguration ceremony.

08:21 AM Presidential Inauguration - a lot of people

Update 08:28 AM I was just thinking, because of its significance and because of the people involved, this is probably one of the most documented events in our history! Publicly and privately.

Update 08:39 AM Here is another screenshot of the amount of people attending the presidential inauguration.

08:39 AM Presidential Inauguration - lots more people

Update 09:01 AM The AP reporter just said that there are between 1 and 2 million people on site. Sorry I missed his name, but if you know his name feel free to leave his name in the comments below, I will update here. He also said that people are also as far as 1 mile away from the ceremony site. I don’t know what they can see from that far, but binoculars or telepresence will do, I suppose. The white rectangles you see on the right of the first and second images above are telepresence movie screens mounted on 18 wheelers.

Update 09:12 AM Bush and Obama together at last for the traditional transitional coffee.

Bush and Obama pose for a photo op.

I enjoy the fact that it can be programed. Although in the begging of the video it looked like that guy’s head was about to be smeared all over the floor.

Do you guys have any robots you would like to have. Leave me some links to pictures or videos of your favorite/wish to have robot in the comments below.

[cb type="person"]morten-lund[/cb]

[cb type="company"]activision[/cb]

I contacted their support staff and my conversation follow:

[11:39] yvebts: Hello
[11:40] ad4game: hi
[11:41] yvebts: I am trying to register on ad4game.com as a publisher, but your system will not accept my city, because the name has a space in it
[11:41] yvebts: I can’t use – or _ because they are not accepted characters
[11:42] ad4game: just use no space
[11:42] ad4game: or write
[11:42] ad4game: space
[11:42] ad4game: we will adjust it
[11:42] ad4game: what is your website please?
[11:42] yvebts: OK. thank you
[11:43] yvebts: hivemindsgaming.com and clanmp.us
[11:51] ad4game: allright
[11:51] ad4game: i see you havent finished registering yet
[11:53] yvebts: I will attempt to complete the registration at a latter time. Thank you for you assistance.

Even though I know that I can send a letter to any one address in the US just by writing down the ZIP code and 4 digit extension, I wouldn’t write “space” in the name, because it will irritate me when I see it printed on the envelop. I have observed and have experienced the results of doing something silly like that and from people making assumptions. To top that, I have seen some really odd town names, so if they actually have someone who manually enters the address, why would they think of changing the town name?

Lastly, I tried registering last night and right before I typed this post. They still have not fixed this. As a company that claims to have been in the game advertising business for over 5 years you would think that they are quick to respond and fix issues in their system. Ad4Games.com, if you ever read this, if you have really been in the business for over 5 years just think about the number of publishers you have lost on. Even worse, the amount of revenue from advertisers you have lost on, because your advertiser sign up form has the same issue. I am not going to register until this is fixed. Probably eventually I will forget about your site and will not register at all.

BTW, what does “… been in the gaming industry for more than 5 years.” mean? You have been designing, developing, selling, promoting …. games?!

UPDATE (2008-10-27): It appears that the type of character limitations in the sign up form has been fixed. When I was signing up I noticed that Ad4Game had made a positive step in password security by mandating that passwords be alphanumeric. Good job.

I really enjoy watching this video. I really love the fact that there are references of other games, movies, media and personal work of the actors. The fact that the content of this ad was not limited to just the game makes it a great video ad, which can appeal to all generations of gamers. A video to be watched over and over again.

Good job EA and long live Westwood.

Westwood Studios was the company behind the Command and Conquer games franchise. It was founded in 1985 as Westwood Associates by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle and was based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1992 it was renamed to Westwood Studios and it was sold to Virgin Interactive. In August 1998 it was was bought by game publisher giant Electronic Arts. The company was liquidated in March of 2003 by EA. At the time its staff numbered over 100 employees. You can read more information on Westwood Studios here.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/17/google-valve
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/17/google-to-acquire-valve/

I decided to send Valve a quick email, and I think that everyone that is agains this happenign should do as well.

Good morning,

TechCrunch and TheInquirer are reporting a potential acquisition of Valve by Google.

Please say it isn’t so. I’ve been a fan of you company and games since you guys first started. I have been following your company and enjoyed your products all these years. An acquisition by google might seem like a financially good choice but technology and product wise it is not.

Valve has managed to remain financially independent and overcome a variety of obstacles all this years. Please do NOT give into the google idea. Be yourselves. Visiting Valve headquarters and working for Valve is a dream for many people. Don’t destroy your fan base.

Sincerely,

Alexandar Tzanov

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/17/google-valve

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/17/google-to-acquire-valve/

You can email Valve at contact@valvesoftware.com, or contact the company in the following ways

Telephone:
425-889-9642

FAX:
425-827-4843

Postal address:
PO BOX 1688
Bellevue, WA 98009

The community has already started a discoution on the Steam forums.

BTW, TechCrunch50 is 52 this year. Two extra companies, which is good. The more the better.

UPDATE: Look at all the bloggers/laptop screens.

TechCrunch50 Con 2008

[cb type="company"]TechCrunch[/cb]
[cb type="company"]ustream[/cb]

People are not naturally deaf, nor should we have to anticipate deafeningly loud sound coming from the speakers.

Awesome Shadow Performance – Watch more free videos

Now, doesn’t this classify as a religious oxymoron? I mean, how can you follow Jesus and then believe in something from people who believe in Nature and its mystical powers. Personally I take this as that person either doesn’t believe in either, are not too serious about their religion or is using the dream catcher as a decorative item. The latter I find somewhat disrespectful.