So, school strike season is upon those in the US (which is ironic being that in many areas it is actually illegal for teachers to strike). That means i get to do what would be considered an "anti-teacher" post. This applies mainly to the US system. Maybe some of the other countries out do things better.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Over the Air HD - My Slight Problems
So, i decided that since i can basically write about anything i want to here (the benefits of first class) that i would mention what sick and twisted (don't forget demented) things are on my mind.
i bought a cheap (relatively) indoor antenna for my room here in Purgatory (actually Purgatory is a ski area in the state i am currently in) to go with my new HDTV (TC-32C3), as i don't have cable. Indoor antennas come in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, most of the ones you can find in a place like Target are not that great (functional, but not perfect). Sometimes you'll even take it home and find out it was an open box. i didn't think i really needed that great of an antenna, as most of the stations are about 20 miles away. Well, the antenna works ok (signal strength of 70-80% on many of the stations). i found about 24 stations. How many Spanish language and religious stations does one metro area need anyway?
The problem here seems to be that most cheap and modern indoor antennas are made primarily for the UHF band. What happens when the station still broadcasts on VHF? Now the reception gets a little dicey. VHF (sometimes represented with dipoles - like rabbit ears) are tricky. Back where i used to be - in my decent sized open dungeon i could get some channels from about 30-35 miles away (including the ever pesky KING, a VHF broadcast). Here two networks broadcast on VHF, the ABC affiliate and the NBC affiliate. i can get hit-or-miss reception on the ABC affiliate, but i can't even get the TV to recognize the NBC affiliate exists.
Maybe if i had my older (yet flimsier made) antenna, i would be able to get better/stronger signals. My older antenna was a Philips version of the silver sensor. It is basically a "fisbone like" antenna. Maybe if i could get it here i would have better results.
So why would i even want over the air HD?
Well, i have an HDTV with only my Xbox 360 currently available as an input source. Secondly, i really doubt this room will ever get cable. Over the air HD in some cases is better looking than the HD equivalent you get on cable (and over the air you can get info from the program itself). There are actually a surprising number of sub-channels out there. The new one i found was TheCoolTV, which actually plays music videos all day (and they have an 80s at 8 thing).
i bought a cheap (relatively) indoor antenna for my room here in Purgatory (actually Purgatory is a ski area in the state i am currently in) to go with my new HDTV (TC-32C3), as i don't have cable. Indoor antennas come in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, most of the ones you can find in a place like Target are not that great (functional, but not perfect). Sometimes you'll even take it home and find out it was an open box. i didn't think i really needed that great of an antenna, as most of the stations are about 20 miles away. Well, the antenna works ok (signal strength of 70-80% on many of the stations). i found about 24 stations. How many Spanish language and religious stations does one metro area need anyway?
The problem here seems to be that most cheap and modern indoor antennas are made primarily for the UHF band. What happens when the station still broadcasts on VHF? Now the reception gets a little dicey. VHF (sometimes represented with dipoles - like rabbit ears) are tricky. Back where i used to be - in my decent sized open dungeon i could get some channels from about 30-35 miles away (including the ever pesky KING, a VHF broadcast). Here two networks broadcast on VHF, the ABC affiliate and the NBC affiliate. i can get hit-or-miss reception on the ABC affiliate, but i can't even get the TV to recognize the NBC affiliate exists.
Maybe if i had my older (yet flimsier made) antenna, i would be able to get better/stronger signals. My older antenna was a Philips version of the silver sensor. It is basically a "fisbone like" antenna. Maybe if i could get it here i would have better results.
So why would i even want over the air HD?
Well, i have an HDTV with only my Xbox 360 currently available as an input source. Secondly, i really doubt this room will ever get cable. Over the air HD in some cases is better looking than the HD equivalent you get on cable (and over the air you can get info from the program itself). There are actually a surprising number of sub-channels out there. The new one i found was TheCoolTV, which actually plays music videos all day (and they have an 80s at 8 thing).
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Is This Place Falling Apart
Ok, i showed you pictures of my room. Now it is time to show pictures of this place - some of the potentially expensive problems this place has.
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| Bathroom Wall With Water Damage |
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| Another Dented Wall |
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| Crappy "Hardwood Floors) |
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| Stairs to the Deck |
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| Somewhat Rotting Deck |
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| The Fence (small part) |
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| A Slightly Cracked Wall (on its side) |
My Temporary New Dungeon
Back in college (yes i actually have a BS degree, i know you can't tell from my posts) i lived most of my freshman year on the first floor of the dorm. For some reason the people who lived there called it the dungeon. This temporary dungeon is a little different. It is on the ground floor, there are no windows (which i actually prefer) and the door very loosely resembles bars.
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| My "Computer Desk" |
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| The Extraneous Wood Stove? |
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| The Empty Light Fixture, Is it Broken? |
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| The Carpet is a Little Loose (and doesn't reach the wall) |
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| Weird Two Pronged Only Outlet (there are 5 of these) |
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| The Bedroom Door (complete with sheet) |
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| The Previously Flood Damaged Wall (on its side) |
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| The Ceiling in "My Room" |
Monday, August 22, 2011
This "vacation" has been such a huge mess
Ok, so i decided to go to my alleged sister's place for a couple months - because she would pay me to do so (and i have nothing else going on). Last time i was there things were different. i extrapolated my expected experiences from that. However, what i found has been somewhat different. Where my computer is located is giving me sore hands too. Oh, there is no possible way the fence can be fixed, if it could hold a dog it would need to be completely replaced. Maybe thing can improve.
Basically, last time i stayed in a guest room that had a cable connection and a TV. Ok that may be the minimum i thought i needed. However, i get there and her son now has the previous guest room. The room i get has no TV and no cable jack (though it does have an insane number of plugs). Without a TV (with cable) and an Xbox (not arrived yet, no tv to use it with).
So, i tried to remedy the issue with the TV by going out and buying one. Good idea, crap results. You see there is nothing really that close to this fricking house (like stores and the like). i'm kind of trapped here - at least where i was i could walk to GameSpot. Apparently she is only about a mile away from a bus stop from a worthless route. So, i walked the approximately 2 miles to Target (in the heat) to go buy a TV (i'm not going to ask my alleged sister to take me there). So, i found one - a 22" Samsung HDTV that had a box with character (a little smushed). i probably should have passed that up. So, i walk back the approximately 2 miles to my (alleged) sister's place - walking 2 miles with a 15 pound (or so box).
i finally take the TV out of the box and get it set up. What do i find? i find that the screen is mostly white (when on) and i can't make out the menu items. Then i notice that the screen seems to have an image even though the set is off. i look online for hours to find what this problem is - i hope it was an input. Unfortunately, it seems that the inner screen of the LCD is broken (not the outer one). That basically means that i just wasted the vast majority of cash on a fricking paper weight.
Now, i don't know Target's return policy on HDTVs. They say go to their site, but it doesn't say anything (if you didn't order from their stupid site). So, now i have an expensive paperweight that i don't know if i bought broken (or i accidentally broke it). i don't know if i can get any money back. i don't know how i would do that anyway - since walking would be such a pain in the posterior (and the box is open).
No, i'm not happy now. Shit happens, moslty to me. i can't even buy stuff online, because i'm not sure how to even ship it here - since i am visiting (and shippers can be touchy about such things).
Basically, last time i stayed in a guest room that had a cable connection and a TV. Ok that may be the minimum i thought i needed. However, i get there and her son now has the previous guest room. The room i get has no TV and no cable jack (though it does have an insane number of plugs). Without a TV (with cable) and an Xbox (not arrived yet, no tv to use it with).
So, i tried to remedy the issue with the TV by going out and buying one. Good idea, crap results. You see there is nothing really that close to this fricking house (like stores and the like). i'm kind of trapped here - at least where i was i could walk to GameSpot. Apparently she is only about a mile away from a bus stop from a worthless route. So, i walked the approximately 2 miles to Target (in the heat) to go buy a TV (i'm not going to ask my alleged sister to take me there). So, i found one - a 22" Samsung HDTV that had a box with character (a little smushed). i probably should have passed that up. So, i walk back the approximately 2 miles to my (alleged) sister's place - walking 2 miles with a 15 pound (or so box).
i finally take the TV out of the box and get it set up. What do i find? i find that the screen is mostly white (when on) and i can't make out the menu items. Then i notice that the screen seems to have an image even though the set is off. i look online for hours to find what this problem is - i hope it was an input. Unfortunately, it seems that the inner screen of the LCD is broken (not the outer one). That basically means that i just wasted the vast majority of cash on a fricking paper weight.
Now, i don't know Target's return policy on HDTVs. They say go to their site, but it doesn't say anything (if you didn't order from their stupid site). So, now i have an expensive paperweight that i don't know if i bought broken (or i accidentally broke it). i don't know if i can get any money back. i don't know how i would do that anyway - since walking would be such a pain in the posterior (and the box is open).
No, i'm not happy now. Shit happens, moslty to me. i can't even buy stuff online, because i'm not sure how to even ship it here - since i am visiting (and shippers can be touchy about such things).
Friday, August 12, 2011
Windows Vista: Annoyance Defrag the Hard Drive
Yesterday i did something that many computer users don't do - i defragged my hard drive. Unfortunately, Vista doesn't give you any information (like XP did). So you are basically sitting on a screen with a spinning blue circle. Some information would be nice - like a progress bar.
So why does this matter to me? Well, for some reason it took me about 16 hours to defrag my hard drive. That is the longest it has ever taken. i kind of miss One Care, it would prompt me to defrag the hard drive and back up my computer.
So why does this matter to me? Well, for some reason it took me about 16 hours to defrag my hard drive. That is the longest it has ever taken. i kind of miss One Care, it would prompt me to defrag the hard drive and back up my computer.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Using a DSLR: My First Time
Many people look back on their first time with a sense of fondness. Of course, their nostalgic tinted memories may not have always represented the actual occurrence. Many of them were kind of awkward and lacked the skill they thought they possessed. This post is the true story of a first time...
My alleged sibling goaded me into going to a place called Northwest Trek (probably because it is in the NW, but i'm not so sure about the Trek). But wait, it gets more strange. Sibling Zed, as i will call it, had just purchased a new DSLR (because he thought that moisture may have ruined his old one) and told me that i could use his old DSLR - a Canon EOS Rebel XS (or something).
i normally use a point and shoot Canon PowerShot A70 (that is probably 10 years old). Point and shoots have the simplicity i want, but lack interchangeable lenses (and lenses you can turn to focus). i mean, i'm not sure (nor do i really care) what aperture, white level, ISO, etc are.
So there i was all alone, my pulse racing (not really) with anticipation as i pointed the camera and took the shot of some animal. It was like time stood still in that moment and the anticipation had finally been satisfied. The thumbnail displayed on the LCD screen looked almost decent. This was followed by numerous other shots (over and over again). It was an insatiable frenzy of 193 shots.
However, much like people's other people's first times, it turned out not as spectacular as i anticipated. It kind of felt good and right (and maybe a little naughty). However, looking back on the experience - when i put the pictures on my computer things were different. It may have seemed good for me at the time, however, the shots that seemed so right at the time were stripped bare of their nostalgic delusions and i could see how bad it was for the camera.
Would you care for some examples? Too bad (i'm not sure what some of these are). Everything was under-exposed, over-exposed, blurry, mutant like, the wrong end of the animal or something else. None of the images turned out that good.
My alleged sibling goaded me into going to a place called Northwest Trek (probably because it is in the NW, but i'm not so sure about the Trek). But wait, it gets more strange. Sibling Zed, as i will call it, had just purchased a new DSLR (because he thought that moisture may have ruined his old one) and told me that i could use his old DSLR - a Canon EOS Rebel XS (or something).
i normally use a point and shoot Canon PowerShot A70 (that is probably 10 years old). Point and shoots have the simplicity i want, but lack interchangeable lenses (and lenses you can turn to focus). i mean, i'm not sure (nor do i really care) what aperture, white level, ISO, etc are.
So there i was all alone, my pulse racing (not really) with anticipation as i pointed the camera and took the shot of some animal. It was like time stood still in that moment and the anticipation had finally been satisfied. The thumbnail displayed on the LCD screen looked almost decent. This was followed by numerous other shots (over and over again). It was an insatiable frenzy of 193 shots.
However, much like people's other people's first times, it turned out not as spectacular as i anticipated. It kind of felt good and right (and maybe a little naughty). However, looking back on the experience - when i put the pictures on my computer things were different. It may have seemed good for me at the time, however, the shots that seemed so right at the time were stripped bare of their nostalgic delusions and i could see how bad it was for the camera.
Would you care for some examples? Too bad (i'm not sure what some of these are). Everything was under-exposed, over-exposed, blurry, mutant like, the wrong end of the animal or something else. None of the images turned out that good.
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