Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Have a wonderful and joyous holiday.

http://www.hybridworks.jp/

Windy and Snowy

Last year during Thanksgiving I bought a MSI Wind netbook knowing that I would make it a Hackintosh. A Hackintosh is installing the Apple Mac operating system on a PC not made by Apple. I wanted something very light and mobile using Mac OS X Leopard and not Windows. I got the idea from msiwind.net, which has gone to cyberspace heaven. The site had a forum where other people had success in putting Leopard on their MSI Wind. One had to be very technical for this to happen because one played with bootloaders, kexts, knowing ones Terminal commands, and other such items. It was a very involved process and sometimes things didn't work out such as the wrong screen resolution and non-working wifi. I had replaced the stock wifi card and put in an apple card that I had gotten from e-bay for use in a project that I was planning and fell through.

After a successful vanilla install, one that uses the original operating system discs, and successful software updates, I left the Wind at Leopard 10.5.6 which was stable to use. For the past year I've been using the Wind without any problems. It's been my little light netbook that I take here and there. Since then, Snow Leopard has been released and msiwind.net went away. In it's rebirth came insanelywind.net which I haven't really kept up to date with. As I was trolling through the forums, Snow Leopard had been successfully installed in the Wind as well and this time it's fairly easy. It's as simple as 1-2-3. This piqued a renewed interest because I had read that installing SL was a little troublesome and would not run too well on the Wind.














Well after reading the forums and downloading the necessary files, I've successfully installed SL on the Wind. All it took was a 8GB USB flash drive, the original SL OS disc, and a couple of installer programs. I was up and running in an hour or so and loaded the latest updates. Everything seems to be running fine and fast. Of course since the Wind has the Atom processor, I'm only using it for light tasks and such. E-mail, web browsing, and word processing won't task the Wind too much. Watching .avi and .mpg files are fine as well. I haven't tried HD files but I'd figure it'd choke on those.

All in all I'm very happy with the final results. Now I'll be helping a friend build his Lifehacker Hackintosh. I was tempted as well but thought better of it. We shall see.

Energize…

Of course when Star Trek came out on DVD I had to pick it up. I got the Target Exclusive that had the saucer section as the DVD case. It's the top one in the picture. The smaller Enterprise is the one that Hot Wheels released which I have been waiting forever for.

Yosemite

From Noetic Expressions

I was on vacation and went to Yosemite for a couple of days. The drive in was very scenic and you could see the change of fall colors. We stayed in a heated cabin in Curry Village. There was a bathroom and electricity. No television or telephone although there were cell signals available, but just barely. We got there late afternoon and once settled we took a walk around but once it gets dark, it's very dark. Almost pitch black.

From Noetic Expressions

From Noetic Expressions

The next day we took a strenuous hike to Vernal Falls in the rain. It was suppose to rain only in the morning but as it turns out, it rained all day. The hike started out okay but got harder as we ascended the rock stairs. I think we went up 3200 feet in a mile and a half. Yowsa! I was very careful coming down.

From Noetic Expressions

We then headed back to the cabin and dried out. After cleaning ourselves we lunched at The Awahnee. The food was very delicious. Since it was the off season there were very little people around. It was nice. It was like having the park all to ourselves. No long lines. No long waits. Finding a place to eat was limited. Some of the places were closed for the season.
I always wanted to go to Yosemite in the winter when there was snow. The next morning it was cold and there was ice on the cars and on the peaks were a dusting of white. Very beautiful and crisp. We then packed up and started the ride home but we finished up some more sites of interest.

From Noetic Expressions

"Big Bag Of Hurt!"

So I found a notebook blu-ray burning for cheap and put it in an enclosure to test. I wanted to see how easy it was to make a back-up copy of a blu-ray disk for backup purposes. I'm on a Mac so there is only one choice at the moment. Makemkv. To make a long story short and to quote Steve Jobs, "It's a big bag of hurt!" It takes a long time to rip it to the HD, probably because it's a notebook drive. And it takes hours to process the video file into something that's manageable to use.















From what I've read, the windows side is a little more easy but the processing time is the killer. Even with my Mac Pro, which is very heavy duty, the wait time is long and arduous. I think I'll pass on blu-ray for now. The picture quality is excellent mind you but backing them up is a pain and the DRM sucks.

Time is flying…

Man, it's almost the end of October already! Time is flying by real quick this year. Next thing you know Christmas hits and a New Year is beginning. Turkey day first.

So, I've been playing Halo 3: ODST for the last couple of weeks. I haven't finished it because I'm taking my time and want to enjoy the experience. I also get frustrated at times and just wonder aimlessly. I like the new silencer and the heavy pistol is back. I've haven't tried the pistol yet though. I have to be like my friend Trent and pick up every available weapon and check where the the life packs are. Overall, I'm enjoying the game and that's what counts.


















I have a dilemma as well. I just ordered an Intel 80 GB SSD. I don't know where to install it. Should it be in my MacPro or a new MacBook or MacBook Pro? I guess I'll stick in the MacPro and test it out first to see how I like it and then go from there. The speed is gonna be incredible. It'll be almost instant on.

It's Snowing In September

It's hot here today but why is it snowing? I've installed Snow Leopard, OS X 10.6 on my Mac Pro (Early 2008). I backed up my important data and did the upgrade install. No problems whatsoever. It took like 30 to 45 minutes and went pretty smoothly. After a couple of reboots, I was off and running. Everything seems to be working fine.

Toast 9.0.4 didn't seem to work so I just made a copy of Toast 10.0.2 so that I can do my dual burning. Boot up is a bit faster. The finder is much quicker and when I have a folder full of jpgs, the previews of them come up pretty quick and not every other like before. Shiretoko (Firefox optimized for Intel macs) seems a bit faster as well as Safari.

I haven't tested other programs but as they come up, I don't think they should give me too much trouble. I just look forward to a third party program that's written to take advantage of the 64 bit architecture, OpenCL, and Grand Central Dispatch. That would be real sweet.

2009 San Diego Comic Con (Part 2)

Did you know that "Buck Rodgers" is 80 years old? Gil Gerard and Erin Gray were at the Buck Rodgers panel. There's new stuff coming up for Buck and Erin's daughter is the new "Wilma Deering" in the new adventures of Buck Rodger's. Seeing Gil and Erin brought back happy childhood memories.














That was about it for the panels that I attended. This year there weren't too many that I wanted to see. I guess I'm losing it and getting old to stay in the Hall/Room for a full 8 - 10 hour day. Chris did that for Ballroom 20 and Nelson got up pretty early to wait in line for "Lost" which Russell missed by that much.














Nourishment provided were sandwiches courtesy of Von's, Quaker Chewy Granola Bars and water. There was a Mexican restaurant near the condo that was the bomb. I had two lunches and a dinner there. It was profiled on FoodTV by Guy in "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives". The place was called El Indio. http://www.el-indio.com/ I had a carne asada, carnitas, and California burrito. The carne and carnitas were meat only with Ranchero Salsa and the California had carne asada, french fries and cheese. Yummy! On our last night we went for Japanese. My rice craving was sated.


























All in all I had a great time at comic con this year. But I think that a two or three year gap is good for me. The crowds are a bear but the atmosphere is joyous. I love seeing all the cool costumes and generous cleavage around. A shout out goes to Big Brother Rich, Chris, and Nelson for their generosity in making this amazing trek possible. Thanks for making the vacation and trip a memorable one.

2009 San Diego Comic Con (Part 1)

Well, I'm back from 2009 San Diego Comic Con and had a great time. It was fun and exhausting. Wading through the throngs of people, standing in the long lines and walking miles in the exhibit hall were tiring but getting to see Leonard "Spock" Nimoy and other stars as well as the new movies and stuff coming out excited the geek in me. It's was also great to sit in the Captain's chair especially with Orion yeoman next to me.










The ride down was uneventful. The condo was nice and close to the trolley line to get to the convention. We go our badges early and had a bite to eat at Dick's before waiting for Preview Night to open. People started to line up at 1:00 am Wednesday morning for the Thursday "Twilight" panel. Crazy!










The "Female Power Icons In Pop Culture" panel with Sigourney Weaver, Eliza Dushku, Zoe Saldana, and Elizabeth Mitchell was fun and informative.



















As well as the spotlight on Gene Yang. http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/abc.html










"Halo Legends" is anime from the people who made "The Animatrix". It'll be Halo universe stories by Japanese anime makers. It should be good.

The Warner Bros. panel showed previews of new movies coming out. The stars even came out to promote them. Some of the movies are "Sherlock Holmes", "Where The Wild Things Are", "The Book Of Eli", "A Nightmare On Elm Street", "The Box", and "Jonah Hex". The stars who showed up were Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams, Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earle Haley, Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Josh Brolin and Meagan Fox.

It was a delightful surprise that Hayao Miyazaki showed up for the Disney Panel to promote his new movie "Ponyo". http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/ponyo/ Disney is also re-releasing Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and Beauty and the Beast in 3D. Beauty looks fabulous and can't wait to see it. They also have Toy Story 3D coming as well as a new hand animated "The Princess and the Frog".

End of Part 1.

Road Trip

Tomorrow I leave for San Diego and the annual Comic-Con convention. http://www.comic-con.org/ I was last there in 2005. This year it sold out pretty early. The crowds and lines are going to be murder. Fortunately, I don't have too much interest in the panels in Hall H, which is the biggie. So I'll be okay. It should be fun. I'll report on the festivities when I get back or maybe while I'm there. I'll have internet access but my time may be spent elsewhere.

Later.

Noetic

13" MacBook Pro

The new 13" MacBook Pro is pretty yummy. I'm tempted to pick one up but I waiting for Snow Leopard. I know it'll be an easy upgrade but I just bought the new car so I don't want to be spending too much so soon. The iPhone and Pre are nice phones but too much phone for me at the moment. Maybe when Verizon gets the iPhone in a couple of years or so.

Something Shiny & New 2

Here are some more pictures of my new ride.

Summer Movies - May

It's June and here is my summer movie round-up for May.

1. Star Trek - The second go around was even better.
2. UP - A delightful yet poignant film.
3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Enjoyable start to summer faire.
4. Terminator Salvation - I think the story could have been better.

Until next time.

Noetic

Something Shiny & New

by Noetic

Here is something that I just picked up.

Best Friend

by alwaysrememberm3

It was a dark day for my whole family when my newborn brother encountered a tragedy that could end his life just as quick as it had begun. My brother was diagnosed with asthma only one year after he was born. Things got more and more complicated for me as questions arose. What would happen to my best friend? What should I do? I had no idea what I should do, but let me start from the very beginning.

You are probably wondering who my best friend is, but it was not a person, nor was it a thing, it was my dog. You are also probably wondering what my dog has to do with all of this, but don’t worry I will get there. On my first birthday, my parents had decided to get me what I think of as the best present ever. They had brought me to an animal adoption center, where I was going to get what I always had wanted when I was a baby - a dog. I remember that day as if it had just happened yesterday. I remember walking into a large white room, and I smelt the distinct smell of puppies. There were over ten puppies to choose from. I remember all of them playing; none of them paid attention to me, except for her. A small black puppy came running at me. At that very moment, I knew that we would be best friends forever. Or would we?

After that day Jojo and I spent every moment together. She would take naps whenever I did, walk next to me whenever we went to the park. Sometimes when I ate, she would distract me by licking me and in a matter of seconds she stole my food. I thought that was very funny. There was one activity I remember distinctly though. It was when I went to the park. I remember riding in a red wagon every day as I went to the park. I would feel the cool breeze as I went outside, but at the same time feel the warmth of Jojo, and hear the comfort of her heart beat as we sat next to each other in the wagon. She was my best friend. When I turned three everything changed. My brother was born. I was not sure whether it was one of my favorite days or one of the worst.

On March 11, 1998 my brother was born. At the moment I was very happy. I was the first to hold him and remember him smiling up at me. He was my little brother and I would love him forever. As we went home I remember him sitting on my side as Jojo was on the other. I was so happy to have two friends. After that I spent all of my activities was both my baby brother Chris and Jojo. Every day was the same, but something seemed to be wrong with my brother. He was always having fun, but it seemed that he was having a hard time breathing. My parents and I were very worried. We thought that he would just get over it. We waited for several days, but he only seemed to be getting worse. Then one day it got horrible, and my parents called 911. The ambulance came and took him away. I wasn’t sure of what was happening, but I knew that it wasn’t a good thing. Then my mom told me that my brother was diagnosed with a condition called asthma. She told me that one of the possibilities of him having asthma was because of Jojo. At that very moment, I couldn’t think of anything besides what would happen to my best friend in the whole world.

I cried for several days because I couldn’t accept the fact that Jojo could be the one affecting Chris. Jojo has been the one who would comfort me whenever I was sad, or she would be the one who would play with me. I had no idea what I would do if I didn’t have my best friend with me. It was very emotional for me, because to me it seemed as if I was forced to choose between having my best friend in the whole world, Jojo, or my innocent little brother, Chris. My parents and I pondered in our heads what we should have done and it was very hard for us to decide, and after weeks we still hadn’t come up with an answer.

Then something horrible happened. My dad gave Jojo away without telling my mom or me which made me extremely sad. For a while I couldn’t understand why my dad would every do something like that. All he told me was that it was for my brother’s sake. To make things even worse for me, after about two weeks, the doctor found out that he was actually not allergic to dog hair, but instead he was allergic to cow’s milk. The moment I heard that, it gave me hope that it was possible for me to find Jojo. My family has asked the SPCA to search the database to see who had adopted her, but when it was pulled up on file, to our dismay we couldn’t find her. All that we know was that Jojo was in a safe place and with a family that would also love her.

My brother told me how it was to be a hospital and what it felt like to have an asthma attack. He said that it was very traumatizing and felt like his chest was on fire, and that he was drowning underwater. He told me that I would never want to feel what it was like and that I was extremely lucky to not have it. He did say that there was a bright side to it. He said that in the hospital he was allowed to have almost anything he wanted and watch movies and TV all day long.

No matter what, I will never forget Jojo and part of her still lies in my heart because she was the best friend I could ever have. Sometimes as I walk along the street and I see a dog that looked like Jojo, I wonder if it could actually be her. I call out her name, just in the hope that it could be her, but it never is. I now have four dogs that I love just as much, but they will never replace the piece of Jojo that lies with me. This was a very significant part of my life that will stay with me until the day I die.

Star Trek

by Noetic

One word describes the new Star Trek movie.


AWESOME!


EXCELLENT!

Okay… two words.

Miso Soap

By Arson

Jeremy Brine watched too much food channel, and too much science channel. He overanalyzed and overate. Nothing wrong with excess and appetite if you plan to leave a good looking corpse and frustrate wall street creditors in the end.

In his overabundant spare time, Jeremy invented odd things. He disdained the normal wage slave lifestyle as the normality got in the way of his preferred rituals of slouching, belching, sleeping, and waiting for that inspirational blink where all ideas come into confluence and he was drunk with brilliance. He lived alone so no one could steal his ideas. He communicated via email so he didn't have to take biweekly baths. Alone in his domain he was perfect and there was no one to dispute his genius.

On this particular foggy evening he was watching a baseball player on TV shoot three perfect fastballs past the best hitter in the league. That's me, he reflected unlikely, but inevitably. The night air breezed in suddenly and gave him a finer whiff of BO-less atmosphere. He contemplated shower, but his hunger beckoned for resolution. Why not, take a bath, he conjured, but combine it with the miracle of ready made food. A quick step in the kitchen, and his maestro mind concocted the miracle of edible miso soap. I'll make millions, he conjectured excitedly. Was the world ready for such miracles? No, thought the little creatures in the walls and like tiny soldiers of fate they conspired to turn on his hair dryer and push it off the bathroom counter where it fell into his steaming wet bath tub.

Rats!

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